Chapter 112: Subjugation of the Floating Island — Interlude (1)

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An Archwizard was recognized as an existence that had surpassed the mere label of a Wizard.

Common sense was meaningless before them and they effortlessly performed feats and miracles that were incomprehensible to the human mind.

Among them, those who had reached the pinnacle of their respective element were called Elemental Kings.

Currently, there were only four individuals who could claim to have risen to the title of Elemental King.

Elemental King of Fire, Fire Sovereign.

Elemental King of Water, Water Sovereign.

Elemental King of Wind, Wind Sovereign.

Elemental King of Lightning, Lightning Sovereign.

In the nation of lightning protected by purple storms, Zabrok. Throne Room.

Sitting on a throne, a man with half of his purple hair slicked back slowly opened his eyes.

Dressed in a black robe adorned with a combination of violet and gold. The appearance of a young man with sharp features akin to a hawk.

His eyes, crackling purple lightning mana, were unusually bright even in the darkness of the night.

Thunder Emperor, Jaul Dragoniac. Just previously, he had instinctively felt a threatening mana.

It was a mana composed of a profoundly cold and intense chill.

"'Jormungandr."

Jaul's summon.

The purple lightning magic condensed on his shoulders, forming a small black figure surrounded by electric currents.

Jormungandr, a lightning snake magic beast with two pairs of eyes. Although its actual size was massive, Jaul summoned it in a miniature form that was no different from an ordinary snake.

At one point, the magic beast had battled for supremacy with Jaul before it eventually ended in its defeat, thus becoming his familiar.

[I felt it as well. This transcendental mana… It is the Primordial Beast of Ice.]

Jormungandr recognized Jaul's intention and responded before he said anything. As a familiar, it shared not only its Master's thoughts, but emotions as well.

After gaining certainty with Jormungandr's response, Jaul stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The Primordial Beast of Ice.

Its mana was on a level that even Jaul, the Elemental King of Lightning, could not surpass. Even if it had emerged from the opposite side of this world, Jaul would have still felt mana prickling at his skin.

This world was too inadequate to contain such a magic beast. Just the appearance of it would instantly envelop its surroundings in an absolute chill.

Although the magic beast's mana from a moment ago was merely a faint breeze against the skin…

In reality, it had actually crossed to another world and even weathered its air.

[However, it's under someone's control. It seems to already serve another master.]

The Primordial Beast of Ice served another master, you say… Is that even a plausible proposition?

Is it an existence that could even be controlled in the first place?

Although it was unbelievable, if it was true, the master must have already surpassed the level of the original Ice Sovereign.

As such, this world was about to face a turning point.

The mana released by the Primordial Beast would surely have been felt by the magic beast of ice capable of manipulating both Heaven and Earth.

Icebound Crocodile Tugaros.

Frost Spirit Merphil.

Glacial Bear Barbatoma.

Upon the fact that a master worthy of the Primordial Beast of Ice had appeared, they too would try to serve this same being as their new master.

And it was not very difficult to deduce who that person would be.

"Isaac…"

Isaac, a silver-blue-haired boy who was currently enrolled at Märchen Academy.

A prominent candidate for the next Ice Sovereign. No, someone certain of becoming the Ice Sovereign. There was no one else besides him.

The Ice Kingdom, where a bitter cold stormed about, was preparing to welcome a new King.

Isaac was an existence that even the Frost Dragon Hilde bowed to. As such, he would undoubtedly rise as the new King of the Ice Kingdom.

As a man who was served by the Primordial Beast of Ice, it was unimaginable how powerful of a Sovereign he would become.

Suddenly, the mysterious presence hidden within Isaac's essence came to mind.

The monstrous being covered in countless eyeballs boasted a majesty that could potentially devour the entire world.

Within Isaac, the Primordial Beast of Ice had probably recognized the aura of the Ice Sovereign and that enigmatic monster. Perhaps with that, it felt that Isaac was worthy to serve as its master.

"He seemed to have destroyed the Floating Island. Did he perhaps summon the Primordial Beast in that process?"

News of the Floating Island reappearing above the Arkins Sea was already known.

Initially, he thought that the Zelver Empire would handle it, as it had appeared in their nation. However…

In the end, it seemed that the next Ice Sovereign had gotten rid of the Floating Island instead.

[The other Elemental Kings must have felt that mana as well. What are you going to do, Jaul? I'm afraid that an Emergency Council will be convened soon.]

The other Elemental Kings. Each of them had reached the highest level of their respective elements and could not be controlled by any law. As such, their next actions were unknown territory to Jaul.

However, the mana of the Primordial Beast had spread by transcending space itself.

Even if the other Elemental Kings had recognized the emergence of the next Ice Sovereign,

they would not know that it was Isaac.

After all, even if they were Elemental Kings, they were not omniscient.

"…In my personal opinion, I do not dislike the next Ice Sovereign."

Though, of course, as the Emperor of the Lightning Nation, it was natural to be wary of Isaac.

The Isaac he had seen at Märchen Academy was a man of both integrity and great strength. That left a favorable impression on Jaul.

The true nature of an individual could not be hidden from Jaul's eyes. This was regardless of their race.

Therefore, he harbored feelings close to goodwill towards Isaac, the next Ice Sovereign.

"And he seems to have a reason to hide his identity. I don't have any intention of interfering with his will."

[Are you planning to be evasive?]

"At least for now. In the first place, trying to hide that power until the end is like trying to cover the sky with one palm."

Isaac probably had a reason to infiltrate the academy and conceal his identity.

Isn't he dealing with unidentifiable demons while under the guise of the 'Black Monster'?

However, no matter how much he tried to hide the maximum threshold of his mana, within the confined space of the academy, he wouldn't be able to conceal such tremendous power until the end.

As such, when the time came for Isaac to reveal his identity at Märchen Academy…

…Only then would Jaul reveal the fact that Isaac was the Ice Sovereign to the other Elemental Kings.

After all, that was the way to properly respect and protect the intentions of the next Ice Sovereign.

"Perhaps soon, we will welcome a new Elemental King."

It wouldn't take long for such a future, where Isaac joined the Council of Kings as the Ice Sovereign, to come.

Meanwhile…

All the staff, students, and Imperial Knights at Märchen Academy were astonished.

After the Floating Island disappeared, its minions that had been attacking the academy melted away, turning into ashes before vanishing.

And shortly after, pillars of starlight mana shot beneath the clouds and plunged into the sea.

In succession, various colors of starlight mana dispelled the advection fog, as it exploded in the sky, creating numerous clusters of stars. It looked like a moment from a festival, truly a scene reminiscent of fireworks.

The spectacle was beautiful to the point of rousing an eruption of admiration. It was undoubtedly the mana of Dorothy Heartnova.

Although people found it difficult to comprehend the current situation, one thing was perfectly clear.

"The Floating Island…?"

"W-we won… We won! We actually won!!"

Someone had defeated the Floating Island.

This starlight parade was Dorothy's way of announcing to the Empire that humanity had won!

Cheers resounded throughout Märchen Academy.

Even the citizens of the Zelver Empire, which spanned the Arkins Sea, erupted in joy upon learning that the Floating Island had been defeated.

"…"

A cliff facing the Arkins Sea.

Luce Eltania silently observed the starlight festival erupting above the sea.

After the Floating Island had transformed, it emitted a mana that made even Luce tremble. Even Dorothy, who was considered to be Märchen Academy's greatest power house, would not be a match for it.

Therefore, the one who defeated the Floating Island narrowed down to one person.

The Black Monster. He must be there.

The reason why Dorothy poured out starlight mana to create a shining pillar was not because she wished to reveal the fact that they had won.

Rather, it probably had the purpose of blinding everyone from the truth.

It would make perfect sense if it was for the sake of obscuring the identity of the Black Monster.

"…Huh?"

However, Luce was taken aback because of a sight that differed from her expectations.

As the starlight parade ended, nothing was visible in her eyes.

She had been certain that Dorothy and the Black Monster would be inside the starlight pillar. However, her predictions were completely off.

The cluster of stars dimmed and the sea darkened. Because of this, Luce could not properly distinguish anything.

Luce furrowed her brows.

Did Dorothy distract everyone with that dazzling starlight festival and sneak away above the clouds with the Black Monster?

Or perhaps…

"…I probably won't be able to confirm anything."

Luce sighed and turned her gaze sideways.

In the first place, her hypothesis that Dorothy had made the starlight pillar to hide the Black Monster had little to no evidence.

"Isaac…"

Now that there was no need to repel the Floating Island's attack, she had to go find Isaac again, whom she had been searching for hours.

After all, just imagining him injured caused a piercing pain in her chest.

While praying that Isaac was unharmed, Luce turned around and began moving once again.

* * *

Deep into the night.

From the scent of the grass, I sensed that I had arrived somewhere in Josena Forest, near the main gate of Märchen Academy.

Dorothy had reached the hideout where we had hung out before. I could feel it from the texture of the outer wall.

We sat side by side, leaning against the outer wall of the hideout, as we quietly spent time listening to the sound of crickets.

My magically disguised outfit, which was now completely ragged, had been taken off by Dorothy and placed in my magic pocket.

While asking, "It's cold, right?", she brought out the uniform shawl and put it on me.

Shortly after, Dorothy used her remaining mana to cast healing magic on me, but it was only at the level of basic first aid. I couldn't move my body no matter how hard I tried…

As such, I decided to wait here until I could somewhat move my body, and until the situation outside had calmed down.

And so, I raised my head, gazing in the direction of the sky.

"…"

…This was the first time that such an awkward silence permeated the air despite being with Dorothy.

Is she in a daze because she expected to die, but was actually saved?

Or is it because I, who had only been a weakling to her, had destroyed the Floating Island, thus showing a different side than usual?

'Either way, it's understandable.'

A weakling like Isaac saving her, who faced imminent death, and even annihilating that vast demon landmass with prowess at the level of an Archwizard?

If I was Dorothy, I would need quite a bit of time to collect my thoughts because such a scenario was utterly absurd.

"President."

Finally, Dorothy broke the silence.

"How did you know I was going to die?"

That's…

…Certainly a question she would be curious about.

I had already openly revealed the fact that I was the Black Monster. I could hardly say, 'Because I know the scenario of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱', so I decided to respond evasively.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice the curse that was hanging over you, Senior?"

"…So that's how it was. You're much stronger than me, so I guess it was obvious to you."

No matter how I looked at it, Dorothy was overwhelmingly stronger than me, but I decided to just ignore it and move on.

"President."

Following her first words, Dorothy immediately bombarded me with a series of questions.

"Why were you worried about me?"

"Huh?"

"I actually have the ability to read emotions. President has always been worried about me. Why was that?"

"Well, you know… I'm Senior's fan. If I knew there was a curse, how could I not worry?"

"Then why did you always dote on me? Was that also because you're my fan?"

"Of course."

I smiled, intentionally making it as bright as possible.

The side effect of using [Ice Sovereign] beyond its limits was coupled with the reaction that came with the complete depletion of my mana.

As such, since a while ago, I had been experiencing intense pain; it was as if my entire body was being pricked by thorns and I was so dizzy that my head felt like it was about to split open. Such a smile was a facade to conceal the abysmal condition of my body.

Well, the pain was gradually subsiding. It was probably also because I was gradually losing the ability to feel my body.

Since returning from the Nether, I couldn't see in front of me and even the sensation of the hard outer wall against my back was fading away.

It felt like I was sinking into the deep, dark sea.

However, knowing that Dorothy by my side, still alive, filled me with a sense of accomplishment. As such, I couldn't help but continue my conversation with her.

The symptoms had appeared because I had pushed myself too hard anyway. Surely, they would gradually improve.

"…Why is the President a fan of mine?"

"Because Senior is cool. To me, you were a person that shined incredibly bright."

I loved how Dorothy's eyes became cresent moons when she smiled.

I loved it when she smiled, revealing her white teeth.

When her earring swayed as she turned her head or when she giggled over trivial matters.

When she praised herself and acted so confidently.

When she laughed and played pranks.

I even loved the way her brain seemed to shut down upon the slightest hint of thinking.

Every side of her looked incredibly radiant to me.

"I see…"

Gradually, something covered my head. With my faint hearing, I could tell that it was fabric brushing against me.

Even though the sensation in my head had completely disappeared, it wasn't difficult to guess what it was. It was definitely Dorothy's hat.

I did not know why she put her hat on my head.

"…Isaac."

And right in front of me, I could hear Dorothy's gentle voice.

Considering her usual tone, it seemed oddly tinged with embarrassment.

Judging by the sound, Dorothy seemed to be holding the brim of the hat on both sides and pulling it down.

"Close your eyes."

Soon, something pressed against my lips.

And with that, our time flowed serenely for a while.

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