Chapter 716: War?

The air grew cold and a chilling silence spread.

It was as though the heated argument between the Tower of Magic’s mages and the outside mages just moments ago had never happened.

The cause for the suffocating change in atmosphere was none other than a mage who had suddenly appeared in the plaza of the Tower of Magic.

For context, everyone affiliated with the Tower knew who this mage was.

And for good reason — he was the only Red One in the Tower and one of just two apprentices of the Archive.

This man had suddenly returned to the Tower and declared in front of everyone.

“Kevin Dunbar, professor of the Elemental Faction of the Tower of Magic and apprentice of the Archive. I have come to announce that I have inherited the Archive.”

This caused an enormous stir in the Tower, which had suffered great damage from the zombie army’s invasion.

The leadership of the Tower, who had been in heated dispute, paused for a moment. The students and ordinary mages, who had been quietly watching to see who the new power holder would be, began gathering in the square.

“Did I hear that right?”

“The Archive… A new Archive has been born.”

“A Red One? Is that even possible?”

“So the rumors were true… What does this mean for us?”

The people gathered in the square murmured among themselves, all eyes filled with doubt and suspicion directed at Kevin.

Not only was it hard to believe that a new Archive had appeared, but the fact that it was a Red One made it even more perplexing.

Everyone felt a mixture of conflicting emotions.

They wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, yet deep down, they couldn’t.

Despite being a Red One, Kevin was Merlin’s official apprentice, after all.

But even so, they couldn’t just accept it. A Red One becoming the Archive? It would leave an indelible stain on the proud history of mages. Future generations might even mock them for being lesser than a Red One.

Such contradictory feelings fostered malicious gossip devoid of logic.

“Did he murder the Archive and take it by force?”

“…!!”

Several people gasped as if they’d just realized something groundbreaking upon hearing that wild accusation.

These were the very mages considered the pinnacle of intellect.

Those with strong hostility toward the idea of a Red One Archive seized this as an opportunity and glared at Kevin with growing animosity, but Kevin remained unfazed, staring straight ahead.

His gaze was fixed on the new leader of the Tower, Tilda Iceye, and the military mages she had brought with her.

Mages who had been bribed by Puppet.

They, too, were staring at Kevin, and the coldest gaze of all belonged to Tilda, who finally spoke.

“What… did you say just now?”

“I said, I’ve inherited the Archive, One Master Tilda.”

Kevin’s tone when addressing Tilda had changed. In the past, he had shown her the minimum respect due to a superior, but now his voice carried the tone of someone addressing an inferior.

The students and mages nearby whispered among themselves once again, and Tilda’s expression grew even colder.

“I cannot accept this. How dare someone like you, a mere Red One, claim to be the Archive?”

Her words became even more harsh and direct, far more aggressive than anything seen during Merlin’s time.

Her simple yet clear message that the Red One as Archive would not be accepted brought like-minded mages together, forming a coordinated resistance.

However, Kevin was unbothered. Because-

“I don’t need your acceptance.”

The bluntness in Kevin’s words silenced the murmurings.

“Since when has the Archive ever needed the approval of other mages? That’s never been the case. The Archive only requires recognition from the previous Archive. Surely, you all know that?”

Standing still, Kevin began walking forward as he spoke.

“I did not come here to seek your approval. I came to let you know that I have taken the position of Archive.”

“Mages have never interfered with the succession of the Archive because it has always been passed to worthy successors. It wasn’t out of lack of authority.”

One Master Tilda shamelessly lied.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of history would know it was a blatant lie, but it didn’t matter.

People believe what they want to believe. Right now, everyone would likely believe Tilda’s words to be true.

“And you are clearly problematic. Above all, your succession is shrouded in mystery, and we must-”

“Let’s stop there, One Master Tilda.”

Kevin cut off Tilda mid-sentence.

A Red One mage cutting off the head of the prestigious Iceye family mid-speech was something impossible to fathom.

“…Do you have something to hide?”

“You never cease to meet my expectations. The moment my master died, you, who should know your place, had the audacity to interfere with the succession of the Archive and even stir up suspicious public sentiment.”

Kevin didn’t hold back, exposing Tilda’s ulterior motives.

“But I have no intention of being drawn into your petty schemes. I’m not here for foolish debates.”

Kevin’s voice recalled the presence Merlin once commanded, causing those unable to back their words with action to fall silent.

The only ones who could continue speaking were those willing to stand behind their words, whether right or wrong.

“So why are you here?”

“I’ve come to offer you all an opportunity.”

“…”

“If anyone thinks they’re more qualified than I to be the Archive, come forward and try to take the title from me now.”

“…!!”

Everyone was silently shocked. There had been those who tried to seize the Archive’s position over the millennia, but Kevin openly inviting such a challenge was a first.

“What trick are you playing?”

“I just find this more efficient than dealing with your nonsense. Or are you afraid, even though I’m giving you a chance?”

Arrogance. Such arrogance couldn’t even be adequately described with that word.

It was true that Kevin was a brilliant mage, but only among common prodigies.

Kevin was certainly no Merlin, the genius who unified multiple factions and achieved countless feats. Yet here he was, speaking like he had in his youth.

Such bravado. But there was one problem.

“Tilda, with the army-…”

One of the military mages whispered to Tilda. The army had issued a summoning order to deal with Woodsman Dave. This took precedence over Kevin.

“I heard something interesting on my way here.”

“…”

“Some mages are unknowingly dancing on strings pulled by a Dark Sorcerer.”

“…”

“Don’t you know who it is?”

As Kevin’s gaze fell upon Tilda and the military mages, his question unnerved them. Those who had something to hide began to forget about the summons.

Crackle! Crackle!

Right at that moment, the signal from the communication device rang.

It was likely another demand from the Royal Army.

Crush!

Before anything could be said, a military mage crushed the device in their hand.

Though these military mages had been bribed by Puppet and were mere puppets with strings attached, they were still mages. They could no longer ignore this provocation or the chance to claim the Archive for themselves.

Betraying Puppet for this opportunity required a unique resolve, and that resolve now turned into relentless pressure aimed at Kevin.

Yet Kevin remained unfazed, unblinking as he faced the pressure head-on. He now turned to address the other leaders of the Tower of Magic.

One Master of the Mjolnir Minor School, Thomas Nielsen, and administrative director of the Tower of Magic, Burke Post.

“Will you be participating?”

Burke shook his head, and left. Others who were dissatisfied with the current leadership stepped back of their own accord as well.

The crowd quickly split.

Students and ordinary mages who had gathered to witness Kevin’s declaration had also retreated, leaving just Kevin, Tilda, and the military mages in the square.

“To think someone like you would dare to challenge us when you can’t even fully control the Archive’s power. I’ll make you regret this.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t even need to use the Archive’s power to deal with you.”

Shwaa!

The moment Kevin finished speaking, water burst from the sewers around the square, forming massive waves that crashed into Tilda and the military mages.

It seemed foolish to have prepared this tactic in advance. How could he use such a trick against Tilda, a One Master of the Skadi Minor School?

Tilda and the military mages immediately infused their magic into the water, attempting to take control of it and counterattack.

“…?!”

However, they failed. Kevin wasn’t controlling the water.

“Spirit!!”

Realizing the presence of a spirit, they abandoned their attempts to control the water and instead unleashed bursts of magic power to shatter the waves and escape.

The shattered water splashed into the sky, forming a rainbow, and beneath that rainbow, several spirits appeared around Kevin, revealing themselves one by one.

An ice spirit in the shape of a mermaid, an earth spirit resembling a bear, and spirits of fire and lightning in the shapes of a snake and a bird.

Kevin had successfully made contracts with spirits from multiple elements — something an average mage wouldn’t even dare to try.

It was quite impressive… and also quite unlucky.

“Capture them!”

The moment the military mages saw the spirits, they immediately channeled a massive amount of magic into the ground below.

Their spells activated pre-drawn magic circles beneath the surface, and chains formed from foreign magic power erupted from the ground, ensnaring the spirits beside Kevin.

This was a spell designed to capture and control spirits against their will, violating the traditional rules of Spirit Magic.

Originally set up to capture Eve within the Tower of Magic, it had gone unused as she escaped in time, but now it was being put to use in an ironic twist.

“Not bad!”

One of the military mages shouted in glee as chains rattled, tightening around the spirits.

Although they hadn’t captured Eve, capturing a half-fledged Archive dependent only on Spirit Magic was clearly a much more profitable venture.

“I’ve seen this before at Lake Village.”

Despite his key weapon, the spirits, being captured, Kevin remained calm, closely observing the chains.

“A capture spell that disrupts the flow of magic to neutralize both mages and spirits. You’ve slightly adapted it to trap spirits.”

Sensing something, the military mages lunged toward Kevin. But Kevin was faster.

“However, you haven’t overcome its weakness.”

Kevin extracted his own emotions and infused them into the spirits, covering them with his feelings. The spirits, now empowered with something far stronger than usual, quickly shattered the chains that bound them.

At that moment, a natural disaster filled with the spirits’ wrath swept through the square, sparing none of the mages except for Kevin.

Barely escaping the disaster, Tilda screamed.

“Do you really think you can win with just that?!”

“You sure talk a lot.”

***

“Oh God…”

At the Randa Defense Force headquarters, located in outer Zone A.

One of the soldiers fighting the battle turned to his god.

No, could this even be called a battle?

No, it couldn’t. The term didn’t seem to fit.

This wasn’t a battle where an individual clashed with an army. Even if someone tried to call it that, it wasn’t. No, this was pure domination.

What was worse is that the side doing the trampling wasn’t the Defense Force—it was one man: Woodsman Dave.

Tatata! Tatatatata! Tatatata!

Even the machine guns, capable of shredding a man to pieces.

Boom!

And even the lightning strikes unleashed with magical bombardment.

“Stormtroops, launch the charge!!”

Nor the stormtroopers made up of mana users failed to harm the man.

But it wasn’t because of defense. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have been calling to their gods in desperation.

No, Dave wasn’t defending himself at all. Despite that, none of the attacks had any effect.

The bullets, which should have torn his flesh to pieces, dissipated into dust before they could even reach him.

The lightning strikes vanished just as they were about to hit his body, as if erased.

The charging stormtroops couldn’t even get close before their efforts ended in empty futility.

It was as if the world itself was not allowing Dave to be attacked, and one by one, the soldiers fell into a state of shock.

Imagine it. Full military force being unleashed, and yet the man continues to walk forward unperturbed. How would you feel?

It was pure, raw terror.

A terror entirely different from the dread of war—guns and bombs were nothing compared to this threat.

Rumors about the disappearance of Holy Power and the impending apocalypse had floated around, but only now did the soldier begin to understand what that truly meant.

‘What are we even doing?’

A soldier, sheltered inside the command headquarters, watched as Dave casually strolled inside, contemplating the futility.

Dave, who had been walking down the hall, stopped in front of a mirror and stared at it.

The soldier wondered if Dave was admiring his reflection, but his expression wasn’t that of admiration. Rather, it looked as if he had seen something disturbing, for he flipped the mirror over.

‘Wait, there’s no time for this.’

Shaking his head, the soldier tried to refocus and leave.

“Are you going to continue?”

Suddenly, a voice came from beside him. Dave had approached without making a sound. The soldier’s hair stood on end as he heard the question.

“If I keep going, will you kill me?”

“…No. You’ll die eventually. There’s no need for me to kill you.”

The soldier was momentarily left speechless by this answer, as it was so far removed from anything grounded in reality.

“Do you want to die?”

“Why… Why are you asking me that?”

Dave pointed out the window. Through it, the soldier could see something strange.

A sound like that of something growing rapidly. Immediately, the soldier realized it was a huge tree, shooting up in an instant and forming a giant humanoid shape.

Several massive trees merged together, forming a colossal giant, atop which rode several druids.

These were the military druids. Reinforcements sent by the Royal Army had arrived.

Those atop the giant were commanding the elemental spirits bound by chains, their hands alight with intense magic.

Metallic chains glinted around many spirits, holding them hostage.

“…!”

“…!”

“…?!”

The spirits, wailing like tortured souls, surrounded the giant’s fists, which then, fully encased in the spirits, hurtled toward Randa headquarters at blinding speed like a daring punch.

The force was enough to flatten Randa headquarters, which had been built to withstand bombings.

But it didn’t happen. Dave’s withered hand merely rose to meet the attack, stopping the giant’s fist dead in its tracks.