[Vol. 7] Chapter 249: Battle for the Tower
"Hey! You over there, get back inside the building, now!"
While Carinvega was still frozen in place, trying to figure things out, the out-of-control plants, twisted by chaotic energy, seemed to sense their presence. At the same time, a member of the Sainz Guard shouted a warning after noticing them, and countless vines suddenly lunged like giant snakes!
"Falling Blossoms Slash!"
With a sharp cry, Miss Yir’s sword sprang from its sheath as if it had a mind of its own. She formed a sword seal with her fingers, and in a flash, cut down all the incoming vines. The [Blunt Edge] and the [Gale Wind Sword] stepped up as well, skillfully coordinating with the rest of the disciples to clear the space in front of the hotel. Their effortless teamwork left the nearby guards wide-eyed in awe.
But no matter how strong they were, they were still just a few people, and even experts like them had limits. They could only protect a small area around Princess Carinvega. It was clearly impossible for just them to suppress the chaos spreading throughout the entire Sixth District. Realizing this, Kiri immediately turned toward the girl with the mismatched eyes.
“Princess, I don’t think there’s much point wasting time here. What should we do next?”
"Umm..."
Carinvega hesitated.
Even though the priestess had told her some of the backstory, she still didn’t have a clear picture of what was really going on. Without a game script to guide her, she honestly felt lost in the face of such a major crisis. Almost on instinct, she turned her eyes toward...
“Wait! Where’s Miss Violet?! Did anyone see where she went?!”
“...Huh?”
“No idea! She was just here a moment ago...”
Clearly, even these top-level sword masters, who were said to be legendary-level, hadn’t noticed how the black-haired girl had vanished. Caught off guard, they could only look at each other, confused and shaking their heads.
“Miss Violet...”
By now, Carinvega could tell the mysterious black-haired girl whose identity, background, and powers were all wrapped in secrecy, wasn’t fully on their side. Violet likely had her own goal, something the princess still didn’t understand, but it was definitely not simple.
Helping Carinvega was only one part of her plan, just one of the ways to reach her true goal. But it wasn’t everything. Maybe now that Yir and the others were here to help, she felt her presence was no longer needed for the moment, so she quietly left.
Even though the team had lost an important fighter, Carinvega knew they still had a mission to complete. After all, she was a princess. She had faced many storms before, and she understood one thing very clearly. No matter what happened, the leader must never lose her composure. So...
“…We don’t have time to worry about that. Let’s move out immediately.”
“Yes, Your Highness! Uh… so where are we going now? The main hall in District One? Or should we head to the [Tower of Nature] to help out there?”
The girl with mismatched eyes shook her head. After a moment of silence, the confusion in her eyes slowly faded, replaced by a sharp clarity, like someone who had just solved a riddle and knew exactly what to do.
“Neither. We’re going to stop a ‘war’.”
…………………………………………
Just as expected… they’re all starting to move now.
High above the Sixth District, at the very top of the towering [Tower of Nature], the black-haired girl floated silently among the clouds, her white wings gently flapping. The sky of [Eternal Day] Barrier was now only a thin layer above her. The priestess gazed thoughtfully at the huge green gemstone embedded at the top of the tower.
She had originally planned to go with Carinvega, just to tag along. But now that those younger members of the Swift Wind Sect were guarding her, and considering the princess’s subtle ability to influence fate, her own presence felt… unnecessary. If that was the case, then she might as well spend her time on something more meaningful.
“The Tower of Nature... the one who created this thing really had some talent. Even if they only used [Inverted Law], which isn’t truly divine power born from nature itself, it’s still impressive. To hold up against something that powerful without collapsing… well, this imitation of [Nature]’s laws is surprisingly solid.”
Muttering to herself, the black-haired girl looked up into the distance.
The light of [Eternal Day] Barrier that once covered all of Sainz… was now dimmer than ever.
The group on the ground, Carinvega and the others, might not have seen it clearly due to their angle, but in reality, the problem wasn’t just with the tall tower in the Sixth District. Looking around from above, it was clear, out of the seven giant magical towers that supported the city of Sainz, all except the grandest and oldest one, the “Tower of Origin”, had lost their light.
Some great mysterious force had attacked all seven towers at once. It avoided the strongest defense, the [Eternal Day] Barrier, and started corrupting them from the inside. It was trying to take control of all the magical towers by force. Although it hadn’t succeeded right away, it had already caused most of the towers to become unstable or behave strangely, which led to chaos throughout the districts.
The Seven Towers of Sainz were created by human hands, using great wealth, knowledge, and magic. They were like the “gods” that protected the academy city. Even though the towers couldn’t move, they could cast powerful, mythical-level magic across wide areas. Spells far beyond what any ordinary person could ever hope to use. In a way, you could think of them as seven false gods.
The existence of these towers was one of the key reasons why the Empire had never dared to go against Sainz directly. This foreign force might be able to disrupt the towers for now, but completely taking control of them in one move was unlikely. If Sainz were that easy to defeat, it wouldn’t have lasted for over a thousand years.
But… that might be exactly what the attackers were trying to do, by messing with the towers, they could weaken the academy city’s main defense and create a perfect chance for their real plan to succeed elsewhere.
If that’s the case… then maybe the [God of Subversion and Paradox] really did make some kind of deal with the Empire. Was that earlier sacrificial ritual all part of preparing for today’s attack?
…The princess probably still needs some time to reach her destination. In the meantime, I’ll deal with a few things here.
With a single thought, Violet sent out part of her divine consciousness, separating it from her real body. The spirit-like form easily slipped through the thick walls of the massive tower and entered its core.
The scene inside appeared clearly before her eyes.
“The main energy source has been corrupted! Switch to the backup system! We have to shut down the runaway life-force field before it gets worse!”
“We can’t, Tower Master! The outside corruption is still spreading! If we shut off the main power now, the tower’s defenses will drop for a moment, and that could let us lose control of the entire tower!”
“Tch… damn it! Has the council still not responded?! What even is this weird energy, and when did it get into the tower’s energy system?!”
“T-Tower Master, we’ve been cut off from the other six towers, the strange energy is blocking all communication. Right now, the only way to get help is to physically travel to the First District, but as you can see, the situation outside…”
“Of course I can see it! Damn it! There’s a traitor, someone on the inside! Who’s the bastard that let the enemy into the energy core?! If I find you, you’re dead!!!”