Youngest 243

Episode 243

Ch. 25

Royal Capital, Arcadia Palace.

“So this is what it was.”

The Mage King cried out, awash with ecstasy.

“This was it!”

Inside the dark laboratory.

He embraced the blood-soaked corpses of the mages without a hint of concern.

“Prepare the test subjects. I need to run one last confirmation!”

The experiment involved injecting blood extracted from dark beasts into mages—a procedure originally conducted by the “First,” but now taken over by the Mage King. He frantically modified the magic circle.

Just a little further.

He felt as if he was on the verge of something.

“My apologies, but there are no living subjects left.”

“Tch! Then fetch some from outside the castle.”

“…Understood.”

Face flushed with excitement, the Mage King studied the magic circle engraved on the wall. He drew blood samples from the dead mages and placed them in small glass vials.

Though only partial, a change in quality had been observed in human blood mixed with beast blood. The dark magical energy seemed to squirm within, as if waiting to leap forth.

The Mage King bared his teeth in a smile.

The blood of humans and beasts was so different that it could not truly mix. It was more a matter of human magic being unable to withstand the foreign nature.

But what if…

‘If the blood was stronger than that of the beast.’

In other words, what if he used his own blood, possessing the most potent magic among mages?

“In the end… this stage was prepared for me.”

All of it, he thought.

Madness flashed in his eyes.

“If I can become dark magic itself without summoning a Dark Mage, that will be the end of it.”

He was seized by a powerful certainty. The goal was within reach.

“Any word from the ‘First?’”

“Not yet.”

Tch, he clicked his tongue in displeasure.

The “Seventh” had not appeared along the northern coast.

‘But it’s certain the Seventh is still in Arcadia.’

If he focused, he could sense the faint mark of the “Seventh,” though, curiously, the location could not be pinpointed.

“Benjamin definitely cast a nullification spell… Why, then?”

The Mage King transferred magic into Benjamin’s crest, peering into his memories.

Benjamin had secretly approached the “Seventh,” cast a nullification spell, and handed over an automatic navigation magical device set to northern coordinates.

The image of the “Seventh’s” face, filled with fear as the crest grew and saying he would “return,” was vivid.

‘Of course, reusing trash I should’ve discarded in the first place is bound to cause issues.’

Just then, the returning “First” arrived swiftly.

As if he’d overheard the Mage King’s muttering, he immediately spoke.

“It’s possible that Benjamin’s memories were themselves altered by an illusion spell.”

“An illusion spell?”

“There’s also the possibility of memory manipulation.”

“Meaning…”

“My apologies for saying so, Father.”

The “First” asked resolutely.

“Is it possible that there’s a problem with the crests themselves?”

What?

“Can you still sense the crests of the mages in the village near the southern temple?”

The Mage King furrowed his brow. He hurriedly moved his magic.

Empty.

Astonishingly, nothing could be sensed at all.

“My… my mages…”

Reading the King’s expression, the “First” clenched his fist.

“I had my suspicions… It appears Benjamin did indeed have the southern coordinates.”

“Send people south immediately!”

“Of course. Father, you should complete the dark magic at once.”

The Mage King’s expression turned terrifying. His corrupted magic surged more violently than ever, lashing out like thorns in every direction.

The “First” opened a chest set to one side of the lab and packed several magic beast stones inside.

“I’ll take Ostavia’s high mages and comb the south thoroughly.”

Gnashing his teeth, the Mage King tried to think calmly.

‘Could they have discovered a way to break the crests?’

No, impossible.

How could the “Seventh,” who’d spent all their time in Babylon, possibly acquire information related to the secret crests hidden in the deepest part of Arcadia Palace?

Most of all…

‘If they had truly succeeded in breaking the crest’s sigil, the “Seventh” would have erased their own crest first.’

The “Seventh’s” trail had not vanished, so there was no way the crest issue had been resolved.

Watching the visibly anxious “First,” the Mage King mused.

‘It seems they’re trying to unsettle me by pretending the crests are gone and so catch me off guard.’

Perhaps they had obtained the southern coordinates from Benjamin somehow, manipulated his memories to fabricate a report, and then killed him to prevent tracking through the crest.

‘Foolish.’

With a chilling glare, the Mage King swiftly devised the next plan.

‘If the Seventh, who was not caught by the nullification magic, is here—’

They would hardly be alone. Leviathan Zevert, who had escaped the caves, was likely among them.

“Fine… In that case, it’s best to deal with those eyesores right here.”

This was the land of the mages.

The true intruder was the one who dared invade his own home. After all, siege warfare was always the most troublesome and exhausting form of battle.

The Mage King lifted his head.

“Go at once. As long as the ‘Seventh’ is alive, I don’t care if you take off a limb or two. Kill all the rest.”

Scarcely had the “First” vanished before the Mage King made straight for the highest floor of the research tower.

Without hesitation, he took up a vial of dark beast blood and pierced his own forearm with a needle. This would be the final step.

‘The wisdom of Wizeria that child possesses is too precious to let slip through my fingers.’

If he could not possess it, utter annihilation would be the only option.

There could be no obstacles to the new world he intended to unfold.

He still could not fathom how a child with such power had been born to a ducal couple who were not even mages.

“Come, my child.”

Black blood streamed down his veins.

“I will rip your soul from you once again.”

At that moment, as the “First” hurriedly sketched out a teleportation circle, a mage approached and asked,

“What will we do about the plan to invade Babylon?”

After a moment’s thought, the “First” replied,

“Send the contingent as planned and assess the situation.”

He thought of the enormous host of artificial soldiers created over the past eight years, born of the mages’ multiplied numbers and powers.

There were enough fighters to wage war.

Moreover, if Leviathan Zevert was truly here, there could be no better opportunity to strike at the Empire.

“However… We never know when we may need to concentrate all our forces here, so send the battle mages carefully. Have everyone else focus solely on linking the portals across the continent.”

“Understood.”

“Well, the Babylonian Emperor won’t be expecting an attack like this, so even a small force should cause havoc.”

The Mage King would soon perfect his dark magic.

Thus, all that was left for the mages infiltrated across the continent was to wreak maximum havoc and hold their ground.

There was no turning back now. Not a single invader would be spared; the Mage King’s banner would be planted onto that vaunted continent.

“Well then…”

Time to go catch that damn youngest brat.

The “First’s” teleportation circle flashed brilliantly.

---

“Ah…”

The Emperor stood, gazing out over the distant horizon. In autumn, the plain near the capital would be dyed in golden waves—a sight he cherished deeply.

“When will I finally stop being Emperor?”

“You’d do better to stop saying that, Your Majesty.”

“I’m so tired of all this. Another war… I suppose I’ll just have to hand over the throne to my successor, there’s nothing for it.”

His attendant cleared his throat.

“In the past, Your Majesty was solely focused on guarding the throne—what’s changed?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps over the years, I’ve realized it’s much less than it seemed.”

“Your Majesty…”

“I must be getting old. I want to give it all up and just travel the world in peace.”

“That’s—quite a carefree thing to say!”

He’d spoken to his attendant, but a reply came from an entirely different direction.

“Lord Balok? When did you—”

“Hurry, hurry, we must be on our way! Do you have any idea how many of my children are over there on that land?”

The Emperor almost asked if Leviathan was included among Balok’s “children,” but thought better of it.

Still, how had someone reportedly in the south ended up here?

The Emperor rubbed his brow.

“Never in Babylon’s history have the portal gates been so active. All I did was look the other way for a cute little mage, and now things have turned out like this…”

“If you don’t get moving in the next three seconds, I’ll haul you off over my shoulder. The mages have reported suspicious magic approaching from the southwest sea of Babylon!”

“Has anyone actually sighted a ship?”

“No!”

Balok shouted, full of confidence.

“Hmm. Then are they hauling in an armored train through the sea or something…?”

As the Emperor muttered, Balok shot him a fearsome glare. The Emperor chuckled quietly.

“Calm yourself, my lord.”

“From what the young mages who infiltrated the south say, the Mage King is sending battle mages to attack Babylon. He thinks he will soon have dark magic in his grasp, so he plans to raze the continent before anything else.”

Ruby’s keen voice came to mind.

In short, Babylon now stood on the brink of a surprise attack.

Of course, since countermeasures had been set in advance, one could question whether it would truly be a surprise.