42 – Painful Mistake
“Who the hell are you?!”
As soon as I jumped down, Mar Tower’s Aldor roared roughly.
His expression was twisted like a startled cat.
There was no need to confirm that rational conversation was impossible.
So, the only thing I needed was to overpower him with overwhelming strength.
Of course, I wouldn’t need to swing a sword.
Just by relying on my will, the things that were once part of the tree would help me on their own.
Crack! Crackle crackle!
From the desk, chair, coat rack, bed, and bookshelf in the room, to the wooden structures inside the walls.
Dozens of wooden branches sprouted from them, shooting like arrows to entangle Mar Tower all at once.
Swish!
But the sharp ends of the wooden branches barely grazed the air, failing to catch anything.
“….”
In the now silent room, the magic wand had disappeared without a trace.
The sight I had witnessed briefly was that the little finger on the left hand of the wizard was shining golden.
He hadn’t performed any separate incantations, so he must have been wearing a ring or something that activated teleportation magic on his little finger.
Fortunately, thanks to the wooden materials scattered throughout, I was able to quickly locate his whereabouts.
The wizard was still inside the tower. And just one floor below.
He seemed to be preparing to cast a destructive spell that would blow up the entire floor I was on, right below me, in order to kill me.
But strangely enough.
The staff that the wizard had brought out from the extradimensional space happened to be made of wood.
As if communicating with spirits, the staff’s voice could be heard.
The staff was spewing curses at its owner without hesitation.
It complained incessantly about how he would use the staff disguised as a club to beat his disciples, and how he would sometimes use magic recklessly, turning his whole body into gold and hurting himself, followed by a rant that he would really go crazy.
While begging me to allow him to kill the wizard right away, he clearly drew the line, saying that I had my own plans and couldn’t allow it.
The wizard would have to work like a slave from now on for me, so it was not an option to just die in vain.
That’s why I decided to make a deal with the staff by removing just one little finger from the wizard’s left hand.
A little while later, I felt a refreshing sensation coming from the staff.
And a remark followed, saying that it seemed like a hundred-year-old ailment had disappeared as I watched the owner’s agonized expression.
And soon after.
Crack! The floor collapsed, and the wizard, bound by the tree trunk, emerged with a contorted face.
“What on earth do you want! What have you done to my staff!”
It was not just frustration, but above all, the expression of injustice that could not bear the fact that I had been so brutally attacked without even knowing English.
“I want you.”
“……”
For a moment, a deep sense of confusion settled on Matapju’s face.
The change was so dramatic that it made me slightly uneasy about what I had said.
“How dare you mock me…?”
I realized belatedly that my words were ambiguous and tried to clarify in a hurry, but it was already too late.
“I will kill you… I will burn you alive, the one who has brought such disgrace upon me!”
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Matapju, filled with boiling anger, began to shout terrifying words as if possessed.
Perhaps he was so shocked and slightly unhinged by my sudden appearance.
And in the next moment.
A vivid red light began to spew from Matapju’s ring finger.
Pop! Sizzle-
Thud! Crackle-
Thud-thud-thud, whooshing- sizzle-
Suddenly, something like lava poured out rapidly from the ring, emitting smoke and piling up layer by layer.
Whoosh- crackle-
In no time, fierce flames erupted from all directions, swiftly consuming the tree branches that entwined Matapju’s body.
Standing amidst the flames was a massive magma golem, reaching almost to the ceiling.
The room was filled with acrid smoke and intense heat.
My breath was short, and it was so hot that I unconsciously took a step back.
When Aqua drenched herself and Wint expelled smoke, the Marquis of Matapju suddenly wore a triumphant expression.
“How do you like my magma golem? It will melt you as soon as it touches you. Do you want to live? Then tell me, what is your purpose for coming here?”
“……”
“Is it from Rivengard?”
If the magma golem connected properly, it seemed like a formidable opponent.
It didn’t seem like it would be blown away by the wind, and if water was sprinkled on it, it would evaporate instantly.
Covering it with dirt wouldn’t do anything, and it wouldn’t even tickle.
But the Marquis of Matapju and I weren’t having a duel right now.
“For a Marquis, you seem quite foolish.”
“What? I’m foolish? You’re the one acting all high and mighty! Even if you beg for your life, it won’t be enough-“
Woosh-
As soon as the golem stepped forward, the ground collapsed in an instant.
While stumbling and falling, the golem desperately grabbed onto something and emitted smoke.
It was the wooden stairs embedded in the floor.
The thick wooden pillar broke on its own accord and fell along with the golem as I willed it.
And once again, a crashing sound echoed – a bit fainter than before, perhaps because the distance was a little farther.
And again, woosh-
Woosh-
Crash-
In the end, the sound that had been getting smaller and smaller eventually disappeared after a while.
“……Uh……”
While I used Aqua to put out the fire, Matapju was freezing for a while.
He seemed to be contemplating the best attack strategy or the best escape plan.
But it seemed that he had already concluded that he couldn’t overpower me using magic, based on the data he had obtained.
Because of the tree trunk that could pop out from anywhere at any moment, I couldn’t do anything about it.
As time went on, his expression became more and more blank, as if he didn’t know what to do, and it seemed like his mental state was collapsing.
But then, he hurriedly regained his composure and started his late awakening.
However, eerily enough, he was wrapped up in the tree trunks that popped out, breaking through the walls and floor, and floated into the air like a mirage.
Chuhwaak-
Ddaenggeureureur-
Just in case, I neatly dealt with Matapju’s ring finger as well.
“Take good care of the ring for me.”
Although Matapju, whose pupils were the only thing moving, didn’t give any response.
That wasn’t my concern.
However.
At this moment, if there was one big problem.
It was the knights and wizards of the Matap faction who were rising up at an incredible speed.
***
The giant white-headed eagle, Aquila, was now looking down below and making a lively noise.
Of course, flying much higher than before, it was impossible for Elaine, who was just a fragile human, to see anything.
“Elaine, look! Eos has enveloped the magician with droplets.”
Aquilla was incessantly chattering about what was happening below.
Perhaps it was Aquilla’s consideration for Elaine, who might find it boring.
“Oh, shh! I thought my head was going to split! What’s going on? Where did Eos go?”
“Well… there it is. But why is he suddenly vomiting blood?”
“They’ll be swarming soon, why are you just standing there? Move! Move already!”
“Um, I’m moving again. Yeah, that’s right, oh~ that’s it~ That scene of Wiblia sweeping away the slave-like vines.”
Then, when smoke suddenly started billowing up from the collapsed ceiling, Aquilla sensed that something was strange.
From the beginning, Elaine was so light that her weight was hardly noticeable.
She never heard any response, maybe because she was as silent as Eos.
“….”
But her presence was not completely unfelt, like it is now.
With a worried heart, Aquilla cautiously looked back, and Elaine, who should have been on the saddle, had disappeared without a trace.
“….Uh, uh….?”
For the first time, Aquilla started to feel the sweat that had never appeared before.
It could have been a mistake on her part that caused Elaine to fall to the ground.
“Oh, damn it-“
To examine the situation more closely, Aquilla circled around the room of the magic towerju, and the possibility that she had dropped Elaine seemed incredibly high.
Aquilla looked at the ground.
Even with his exceptionally sharp eyesight, the distance was so pitch black that it was barely visible.
I should have been more careful…
Eos leaped down to the tower, looking like the reincarnation of Wibrea. In my excitement, I momentarily forgot that weakened Elaine was on my back.
If Elaine had fallen from a place like this, she probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid death.
So, it was a big problem.
“What should I say to Eos?”
What kind of reaction would he show if he found out about his fiancée’s death?
Perhaps, he might come to hate himself for causing the death of the woman he loved.
Suddenly, Aquila began to cry.
***
Dealing with knights is never an easy task.
Unlike the magicians who take time to cast spells, knights can immediately swing their swords.
Depending on their level, they could easily cut through magic with just a little improvement in their skills.
Furthermore, if the magicians hiding behind those knights start casting spells all at once, no matter how impressive my armor is, there was no doubt that I would be overwhelmingly disadvantaged.
So, there was no need to engage with them.
What was important was to show how far I had gone for the elves.
Regarding the black smoke that rose from the tower, the rumor would spread throughout the continent in no time.
But in the first place, Rivengard told me to come and destroy the tower, and if I didn’t show something equivalent, considering the stubborn nature of the elves, they might ask me to go and destroy it again.
So, this plan is not enough.
For a more dramatic effect,
The entire magic tower was covered in something like tree roots, causing an indelible shame and wounds that couldn’t be washed away. That was about the extent of it.
I focused my mind once again.
Wuung- Wuung-
An even more intense light started to burst out from the green blade of the Rapier.
It became slightly lighter and brighter, resembling the freshness of newly sprouted seedlings.
It was the result of a perfect connection between all the trees in the tower and my consciousness.
As I thought about what I was about to do, fear momentarily gripped me.
What would happen if I moved all the wood in the tower?
It would probably consume mana far exceeding the amount I possessed.
Would Wiblia’s armor be enough to cover it?
I wasn’t sure. It probably required even more energy.
But if I could captivate the heart of an elf to that extent, it would definitely be worth it.
Moreover, after going through several deaths, both my total mana and physical strength had increased significantly compared to before.
So even if I consumed some energy, it wouldn’t be difficult to escape.
I transmitted my reliance to everything made of wood inside the tower.
Kwakwakwakwak! Pukwakwakwak!
The sound of rocks shattering and stones colliding reverberated loudly like a sharp scream.
It was because the thick tree roots all over the sides of the tower burst through the walls and suddenly sprang outward.
Kwakwak!
Parts of the building that were tightly attached together were forcibly broken and made explosive sounds due to the powerful force.
The roots of the tree wrapped around the tower, digging into the wall with tremendous force.
It was a situation reminiscent of a giant monster gripping the entire tower tightly with hundreds of fingers.
Kuquakkukkuk!
Soon after, the entire tower began to twist violently, like wringing out laundry.
The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and the glass windows, unable to withstand the distortion, eventually shattered into pieces.
Kukukukukung-
Thump-
When I finished my work, the strength in my legs gave way, and my knees involuntarily buckled.
Now, the blazing tower was twisted like a twisty breadstick.
And because of me, indelible scars were etched all over the walls.
This should be enough.
Undoubtedly, the elves would be satisfied with the result.
Now all I had to do was escape with the Tower Lord.
But unfortunately, I had no strength left in my body.
In an instant, I used up much more life force than I had anticipated to make up for the lack of mana.
Just maintaining consciousness felt like a miracle, and I couldn’t even flick a finger.
The mana quickly replenished, but the consumption of life force I had used up to the brink resulted in a strong recoil, ultimately paralyzing my body.
Perhaps I had become too arrogant with the power I obtained.
A single moment of carelessness was excruciatingly painful.
Thunk-
“Yes, I will definitely kill you!”
In the end, even the rope that had been restraining Matapju returned to its original position.
Matapju, who had fallen down in disarray, got up from his seat with an evil smile.
“hehehe. So, you’re out of strength? Watch closely if you can still laugh like before, even while feeling the pain of your limbs burning in the fire!”
Matapju began his incantation towards me.
“It seems that Matapju is in crisis.”
“Quickly, break down the door!”
Moreover, knights and wizards had gathered right in front of us.
Crack! Thud! Thud!
The knights started swinging their swords towards the door.
The blades were continuously piercing through the broken gaps, and the kicking also continued without a break.
“It’s open!”
“Go in!”
“Save Lord Matapju!”
Then, I heard a familiar voice just as the knights and wizards were rushing in.
“Your Highness, close your eyes…!”
The owner of the voice was Elaine, and I closed my eyes tightly.
“Ahh!”
“W-What is this sudden light!”
When I closed my eyes, an incredibly bright light filled the surroundings to the point of dizziness.
If I had opened my eyes, the pain would have doubled.
“I’ll make you recover right away!”
As I held Elaine in my arms, a warm sensation spread through me, and my strength returned in an instant.