VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 15

Author’s notes: Thank you for all the messages, everyone.

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VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 15

The City of Meredith was the second nearest city to the northeastern border of the Great Empire – the boundary separating it from the Three States Alliance. It housed a population of three hundred thousand civilians and forty thousand imperial soldiers. Furthermore, it was also the city where the First Tower of Mages and the largest orphanage in the Empire were located.

“Everyone! The Rainbow Man is here!”

“It’s the Rainbow Man!”

“Grandpa!”

“You’re back!”

The arrival of an old man with ashen hair and strikingly-colorful clothes was met with shrieks and cries of excitement from the children. Not even a minute had passed since he entered the orphanage’s door, but the old man was already surrounded by a dozen children. Some hugged his thighs and hips, while some pulled on his arms and tugged at the hem of his clothes. With just a glance, anyone could see that he was really popular with the children.

“Grandpa, what food did you bring this time?”

“Are you going to cook?”

“You should stay the night! You promised to tell us the continuation of the story from last time!”

“Rainbow Man!”

“Hey, where did the purple scarf from before go!”

“We missed you!”

The innocent words of the children overlapped with each other, creating a cacophony. The old man smiled warmly at this sight. He returned the hugs of the children, patted their heads, and patiently answered their questions one by one.

“Now, now.” A young priest clapped several times. “Everyone, you’re being a nuisance to Sir Harris like this.”

One of the children hugging the old man asked in a sweet voice, “Are we bothering you, Grandpa?”

Harris gently pinched the child’s cheek. He shook his head. He replied with a voice filled with endearment, “Not at all, Nathaniel. You can hug me as much as you want. I missed all of you, too.”

There were close to a thousand children in this orphanage, and Harris made an effort to memorize each of their names. His gentle and warm personality aside, this was among the reasons why he was so popular with the children.

“You heard that?”

“The Rainbow Man doesn’t mind!”

“Grandpa, me too! Play with me too!”

The young priest smiled wryly. He said in a respectful voice, “Sir Harris, please don’t spoil them too much. You’re putting me in a difficult situation.”

Harris chuckled, clearly amused by the current situation. “Is that so?”

“If you keep pampering the children like this, I’m afraid they’ll start treating us priests us menaces. And please, stop giving them sweets every time you visit.”

“I’m putting the priests in a difficult situation, huh?” laughed Harris. “Well, couldn’t you do this much for me? It’s not like the orphanage Head is also against this.”

The priest sighed. He couldn’t even say no, since this so-called Rainbow Man was the orphanage’s staunchest and biggest supporter. More than half of the funds and donations given yearly to the orphanage came from this old man’s pockets.

Harris said to the children, “Rainbow Man needs to have a conversation with the adults.”

“Wait, you’re leaving already!”

“Not fair!”

“Take us with you, Grandpa!”

“It won’t take long. I promise to be back in a while,” said Harris with a smile. He turned to the priest, “Now, shall we talk about the suggestions I’ve given you before?”

***

After visiting the Orphanage, Harris went back to the First Tower of Mages located in the heart of Meredith City.

“Master Harris, welcome back.”

“Welcome back, Master.”

The mages greeted Harris with voices filled with reverence. Everyone, without exemption, stopped whatever they were doing upon seeing the old man. They halted, bowed their heads, and remained silent until Master Harris left their sight.

Unbeknownst to the children in the orphanage, the gentle old man who’d been visiting them several times a week was one of the most powerful figures in the entire Empire. The most powerful magician of the Tower of Mages. The Master of the First Tower, Harris Mavis.

In the annual rankings released by the Council of Scholars in the Principality of Rinvixia, Harris Mavis was ranked as the fifth most powerful man in the entire continent. It was a great feat since General Alvaren, the so-called Mage Slayer, was only at the twenty-ninth place before his death. Sword Saint Alexander, who had slain General Alvaren, rose to the twenty-sixth rank after that duel. Lark Marcus, who’d been garnering achievements left and right, was still unranked. Not much was known about the young man, and most of the information they’d gathered felt like exaggerated rumors.

Suffice to say, just the presence of the Master of the First Tower of Mages alone was more than enough deterrent for war. He was truly a monstrous existence that had been serving as one of the Empire’s pillars.

Not only was he a distant relative of the current Emperor, he was also the former chairman of the Magic Academy located in the capital of the Empire. The majority of the current royal court magicians learned magic from him, and even some of the high-ranking military officials in the nation had received his tutelage.

“Report,” said Master Harris upon entering his room located at the highest floor of the Tower.

A middle-aged man with neatly combed black hair, and thick glasses nodded. He was Adriel, the Vice Master of the First Tower of Mages and one of the Royal Court Magicians of the Empire.

“Our informant in the Three States Alliance received intel that Duke Hara plans on crossing the border of the Principality,” said Vice Master Adriel. “He’d been gathering his forces for months now, going as far as recruiting several renowned mercenaries from the Kingdom of Steelwall.”

Vice Master Adriel continued, “Although… considering Duke Hara’s personality, there’s a high probability that he leaked this information deliberately.”

“Duke Hara, that sly fox,” Master Harris smiled wryly. “I’m certain everything’s a farce. Until his alliance with our Empire has been solidified, he wouldn’t dare risk waging war with the Principality.”

Adriel agreed.

Although the Principality was one of the smallest nations in the entire continent, it was the nation where The Voiceless One lived. He was the second strongest person in the entire continent, according to the Council of Scholars. A man that far surpassed even the Master of the First Tower of Mages.

Only a fool would openly provoke such a powerful existence.

“How… meaningless,” said Master Harris. “It’s funny, isn’t it? Duke Hara and Emperor Sylvius already have everything in their grasp. Power, money, authority, a family. They already have it all. Yet, they still covet for more.”

Master Harris looked out the window and said in a solemn voice, “In a few years, I’ll be gone from this world. The same is true for the Voiceless One protecting the Principality. And the moment we die, these nations will start encroaching each other’s borders, eventually leading to war. They will kill and pillage, they will conquer lands and slaughter even the innocent.”

“I wonder,” Master Harris sighed. “What would become of the children?”

Adriel was forlorn while listening to the Master. He knew how much Master Harris loved the citizens of the Empire. Despite having the capability of single-handedly massacring an entire army, he chose to simply stay in this city and act as a deterrent for the army of the Three States Alliance.

Even the slow development of the military weapons created using the blueprints smuggled from the ruins in the Republic of Everfrost was his doing. Behind the scenes, to prevent more wars from occurring, Master Harris was doing everything he could to prevent the further advancement of the Empire’s military prowess. He believed that nothing good would come out of a single nation becoming too powerful.

“That said,” said Master Harris. He coughed to hide his uneasiness. “I need more money, Adriel.”

“Haaa.” Adriel frowned. “Did you give all of your money to the orphanage again? This is the third time this month, Master. I heard you’ve even started sponsoring the orphanage in the City of Volkheim! And the man that’s been reportedly going around, handing bags of food in the slums! That’s you, right?”

Master Harris nervously scratched the stubbles on his chin. He looked like a grandfather being scolded by his grandson.

“But it’s my allowan—”

“—The Tower Master’s allowance!” spat Adriel. “You’re already old, Master. And yet, you have nearly nothing to your name!”

No matter how wealthy a single person was, it would eventually drain one’s coffers if they continued sponsoring various organizations for decades.

“There’s a reason why the Temple seeks donations from their believers! There’s a reason why they kept encouraging their devouts to give tithes!” Adriel continued with his nagging. “It’s because it’ll be impossible for them to continue running the organization, otherwise! Even the priests have to eat to survive. And here you are, giving away all of your wealth in a heartbeat the moment you see a starving child on the street!”

Adriel’s chest rapidly rose and fell. He wiped the single bead of sweat that had formed on his forehead. They’d already had this exact same conversation a few days ago. He couldn’t believe they were having it again today.

“You’ve already spent all of your allowance for this month,” said Adriel said in a firm voice.

Master Harris was horrified. “B-But I’m sure I still have fifty gold coins remaining, right?”

“You owed me seventy gold coins last time,” pointed out Adriel. “And you promised to pay me this month, so I deducted it from your allowance.”

Master Harris groaned. He hung his head low. After mumbling incomprehensible words, he looked at Adriel and said in a pleading voice, “Can’t you do something about this month’s allowance, Adriel? The Finance Officer of the Tower wouldn’t even speak to me. But if it’s you….”

Adriel sighed in resignation. In the end, he couldn’t say no to his Master. He rubbed his brows and said, “Fine, I’ll see what I can do. The Finance Officer even started glaring at me latel—”

Adriel stopped midway his speech when a massive pressure swept through the entire First Tower of Mages. Even Master Harris, who’d been wearing a pleading look on his face stiffened. The old man’s eyes turned sharp and predatory. The two of them looked out the window, particularly at the veins of mana that had formed on the sky.

“What’s… that?” said Adriel.

It was the question that ran through their minds.

The two of them flew out of the Tower. From the sky, they warily watched the appearance of the portal.

To both of them, this was the first time they’d seen such a phenomenon. As royal court magicians, they could clearly see the massive amounts of mana forming the rifts in the sky. The heavens were being ripped apart. The sky shrieked and the clouds started parting, eventually dissipating.

Soon, a vortex appeared on the sky right above the plains near the City of Meredith. An azure sphere a few hundred meters in diameter started emerging from within it. Slowly, the azure sphere started moving closer to the ground, and upon reaching a certain height, the azure sphere glowed brighter.

The portal opened.

And from within it, a thirty-meter-tall Fire Giant started coming out.

***

Unlike his predecessors, Chief Researcher Muuka didn’t enter the portal at once. Instead, he chose to send other demons first to scout the immediate surroundings where the portals were relocated.

He could still vividly remember the fate that befell the previous Lord of the Corrupted Land. He also remembered how the Lord of Parasitic Demons fled with his tails between his legs upon meeting a powerful human.

Chief Researcher Muuka didn’t wish to suffer the same fate. He was no powerful demon. If he met that same human, Chief Researcher Muuka wasn’t confident of coming out of the encounter alive.

“Chief Muuka,” said Azrath, the Lord of the Wraiths. “Is this fine? You said that the portal could remain open for only several days at most. If we keep dallying like this—”

“—It’s fine, Lord Azrath,” said Chief Researcher Muuka in a respectful tone. “Losing a couple of hours, maybe a day or two, is a lot better than dying, right?”

So, what if he was dubbed a coward by his fellow demons? Only those who survived get to tell their tales. Only the winners get to write history.

Chief Researcher Muuka admired the two massive portals in front of them. Although they were a bit smaller than the original, each of them was large enough to accommodate several Giants at once. With the help of the Lord of the Red Tower, Chief Researcher Muuka managed to stabilize these portals to the extent that they could remain open for several days.

Chief Researcher Muuka turned to one of the Fire Giants standing behind him. “You. What was your name again?”

“Moltus, My Lord,” said the Fire Giant in a deep voice.

“And you?” said Chief Researcher Muuka to another Fire Giant.

The Fire Giant replied, “Flamgas, My Lord.”

Although Chief Researcher Muuka was far weaker than them in terms of strength, the Fire Giants treated him with the utmost respect. Under the command of the Demon Lord Barkuvara, they were assigned as guards to the Chief Researcher, after all.

Currently, the Chief Researcher held the highest authority in this army. His words were absolute, and disobedience would be akin to going against the words of the Demon Lord himself.

“Then… Moltus and Flamgas,” Chief Researcher Muuka rubbed his chin. “I have a task for the two of you.”

“Please say the word, Lord.”

“Go inside the portal and scout for any potential threats to this army,” said Chief Researcher Muuka. “Each of you will enter a different portal, and after an hour, you shall come back and report your findings.”

The Fire Giants didn’t even hesitate as they replied, “It shall be done.”

Chief Researcher Muuka nodded his head in satisfaction. Under normal circumstances, had he not been given authority by the Demon Lord Barkuvara, it would have impossible for him to order these Fire Giants around. It was exhilarating to see these powerful demons bow and heed his commands.

The two Fire Giants entered the portals separately.

Chief Researcher Muuka calmly watched the portals activate. The moment the vortex of mana spun around and the mana surrounding the azure sphere inside stabilized, Chief Researcher Muuka grinned.

It was a success.

The portals had been successfully connected to the other realm.

***

The bells of the City of Meredith rang.

Panic ensued as the news regarding the portal and the Fire Giant that came out of it spread throughout the city.

“What’s happening?!”

“Everyone, evacuate to the southern gate!”

“Do not block the path! Let the soldiers pass through!”

“It’s a monster! A massive monster! And it’s headed this way!”

“They said that it’s larger than the walls themselves!”

“Oh Gods! What are the soldiers doing?!”

Thousands of soldiers started gathering toward the northern gate, at the direction of Cattlewood Plains, the place where the portal appeared. The non-combatants, on the other hand, were ordered to evacuate through the southern gate of the city.

The Cattlewood Plains used to be a massive fertile land that gifted bountiful harvest to the citizens of Meredith. But now, with the appearance of the portal and the Fire Giant, it became an object of nightmare and terror.

The moment they saw the thirty-meters large Fire Giant coming out of the portal, the villagers living in the village in Cattlewood Plains fled to the city, leaving all of their belongings behind. Even the small group of soldiers garrisoned nearby abandoned their posts to seek refuge in the city walls.

Still, despite their best efforts, not everyone was able to evacuate on time.

An elderly serf and his grandson.

A wainwright who’d been called to the village to repair a broken wagon. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to repair the cart on time. And even the horse that was supposed to pull the wagon was taken by the villager who commissioned him.

A seamstress with a sprained ankle.

And the leader of the garrison who refused to leave his post without evacuating all of his soldiers and the villagers first.

These people watched in despair as the Fire Giant, with its golem body that resembled molten lava, started walking toward the village and the garrison. Each of its large steps quickly closed the distance, and the land it passed through burst into a sea of flames in seconds.

It was a scene straight from a nightmare. They couldn’t see how mere humans could possibly win against this monster.

The serf, seamstress, and wainwright closed their eyes as they accepted their fate. The leader of the garrison, on the other hand, swallowed his fears and prepared to charge head-on to the monster. The garrison leader wished to at least die an honorable death.

Just when all hope was lost, a voice spoke.

“What are you people still doing here?”

Everyone looked up and saw an old man wearing a strikingly colorful cloak hovering in the sky. He was holding a long staff in his right hand, and a massive mana stone on his left.

“Above…”

“W-Who…”

“Ah! Y-You are!”

The garrison leader recognized the man. Based on what he’d heard, the Master of the First Tower of Mages loved wearing obnoxiously colorful clothes. His sense of fashion was nearly non-existent, and at first, the people found it distasteful. But as years passed by, this peculiar characteristic became one of the defining traits of the Master of the First Tower.

This old man was one of the people feared the most by the Three States Alliance.

The fifth strongest man in the entire continent according to the Council of Scholars.

The Master of the First Tower of Mages.

Harris “The Lord of the Forest” Mavis.

The only magician known to have reached the pinnacle of earth magic.

“This place will soon become a battlefield,” Harris said to the people below. “I will buy you time. Flee to the city immediately. Soldier, escort these people. Lead them to safety.”

The garrison leader nodded his head. He said in a voice filled with conviction, “Please leave it to me!”

The garrison leader had long lost all hope upon seeing that Fire Giant come out of the portal. But now, with the appearance of the Master of the First Tower of Mages, the garrison leader believed that it should be possible for them to come out of this predicament alive.

“Follow me! Even if your leg breaks, run to the city!”

The garrison leader put the elderly serf and his grandson on his back. Seeing this, the wainwright also carried the seamstress on his back. All of them were prepared to run all the way to the city when Master Harris spoke.

“This wouldn’t do,” said Master Harris. “You’ll be swept away in the battle at this rate.”

The staff of the old man glowed for a moment. He cast his spell, and a five-meter large stone golem rose from the ground. The golem crouched, as though asking everyone to climb on its back.

“Take them to the city,” said Master Harris.

The people who failed to evacuate climbed the back of the golem.

“Thank you, Master Harris,” said the garrison leader.

“Go,” said Master Harris.

With that word as the cue, the golem started running toward the city, carrying everyone on its back.

Master Harris flew higher until he reached the height of the Fire Giant.

“Who are you?” said Master Harris.

Now that everyone in Cattlewood Plains had been evacuated, Master Harris no longer had to worry about any collateral damage. He fearlessly faced the Fire Giant on his own. He planned on buying as much time as possible until Vice Master Adriel gathered all of the magicians, and until the City Lord and his soldiers managed to evacuate the citizens of Meredith.

“What are you doing in this land?” Master Harris asked another question.

The Fire Giant simply stood there and faced Master Harris. Although this was Master Harris’ first time encountering such a monster, he could somehow discern that the Fire Giant was observing him.

And to his surprise, a deep voice answered, “Under the command of my Lord, I’ve come here to observe this land.”

Master Harris asked those questions just in case. He didn’t expect to actually receive an answer. To his surprise, this massive monster was sentient.

“A Lord,” said Master Harris. “Tell me. Who is this master you’re speaking of?”

Now that he’d learned that this Fire Giant was sentient, Master Harris hoped that he could resolve this predicament in a peaceful manner.

“You… do not have the right to know his name, human,” said the Fire Giant.

Master Harris didn’t take any offense at this. On the contrary, he was delighted. He was glad to receive another response. The Fire Giant hadn’t killed anyone so far. Although it had set a portion of the plains ablaze, true to its words, it simply observed everything.

“I see,” said Master Harris. “Then, please tell me. Once you are done observing this land, what do you plan to do next?”

The Fire Giant moved closer until it was only fifteen meters away from Master Harris. From this distance, Master Harris could feel the scorching heat emitted by the Fire Giant’s body.

“I do not know,” said Fire Giant slowly. “I do… not have all the answers, human.”

The Fire Giant’s gazed moved to the city from the distance. It added, “All I know is that my master wishes to conquer this land.”

Master Harris flinched.

He clenched his hand holding the staff.

In the end, the answer he feared the most came out of the Fire Giant’s mouth.

Still, Master Harris didn’t let his emotions get the best of him. He was already old. Even if he died here, he wouldn’t have any regrets. But what about the citizens of Meredith? The mages of the First Tower? The children in the orphanage?

His pride as the Master of the First Tower did not matter.

Right now, everyone’s lives depended on how well he could negotiate with this monster.

Master Harris bowed his head. “Then, I beseech you. Please allow me to speak with your master.”

Several seconds of silence passed. The Fire Giant stood there like a statue as it started considering the words of the human.

“My task is to observe. The decision to conquer this land will be left to the will of my master,” said the Fire Giant in its usual slow, deep voice. “Very well… I shall inform him of your message.”