Chapter 340

When the Captain of the Royal Guard became immobile as if nailed to the ground,

Valter whispered from among those hiding behind the bushes.

"We need to go now. Hurry!"

Cellinne nodded.

The servant who had been forcibly dragged along, unable to resist the threats, was literally having a hellish time.

His stomach was making gurgling sounds,

And he felt like he would soil himself if he moved even a little. Moreover, these people didn't seem to have any intention of letting him go.

If he collapsed here, he would be right at the Mage Tower, so they didn't really need to keep bringing him along.

Then there was only one reason why they were holding onto him tightly.

Weren't they planning to use him as a hostage to ensure their safety until they escaped the royal castle?

The servant thought that far while clutching his aching stomach and crouching down.

Cold sweat was streaming down his forehead, and he was doing his utmost to maintain minimal dignity in such a place.

If he moved even one step from here, he might spill everything.

Please, let me go here. Give me the antidote and let me take care of business!

But contrary to his desperate wish, a rough hand grabbed the back of his neck and dragged him to one side.

It was a burly old man who could only barely fit into the Royal Guard uniform pants because they didn't fit him properly.

"You come this way. We can't have you interfering at a crucial moment!"

"Uh, uah, please, let this, heok!"

"Eh? What did you say? My hearing isn't what it used to be in my old age. Tsk."

Gurgle. Gurrgle. Gurrrgle poof.

The servant's eyes rolled back.

"Save me, please! I'm really going to soil myself at this rate!!"

Going to soil myself, myself, myself, self, self, self...

One man's desperate wailing echoed within the vast royal castle grounds.

Not only Cellinne, who was about to head to the Mage Tower,

The Captain of the Royal Guard wiping his tears,

Eva opening the Mage Tower door,

And even Yurik, who was with Dardin wearing a robe.

All the people who were together in that space froze at once.

The servant instinctively knew. That he had caused an accident.

And the only way to save his life in this situation was,

"Help! Someone help! There are criminals here who snuck out without the guards knowing-"

"You've finally lost your mind!"

Valter quickly struck the servant's head to knock him unconscious,

But his desperate shouting had already echoed loudly throughout the surroundings.

At this rate, guards or knights who had been patrolling nearby could come here,

And if that happened, not only rescuing Yesung but even escaping the royal castle would become impossible.

As soon as the conclusion was reached, Yurik commanded.

"Take the Captain of the Royal Guard hostage. He won't resist much since he's concerned about Eva. Cellinne, knock out or throw away all the guards that swarm in. I'll make contact with Yesung."

"Will you be alright, Your Highness?"

"I've been to the Mage Tower several times, so I'm familiar with it."

Having said that, Yurik ran into the Mage Tower wearing his black robe.

He had to hurriedly extract Yesung before the commotion behind him grew larger.

Fortunately, there was no one inside the Mage Tower. However, the higher Yurik climbed the stairs, the worse his mood became.

It was similar to the unpleasant feeling he had experienced when reaching the place where Yesung's god had slept in Asgard.

But this place was worse.

Yurik wasn't what people commonly called a mage,

But perhaps due to his birth, he could wield the power that people called magic.

From simple things like the ancient snake-people's body enhancement magic to complex magic requiring a certain level of understanding.

During the Acheron period, Eibon, who was his close associate and the empire's mage, had observed him nearby and reached a conclusion.

-You're not human.

-......

-Don't misunderstand. When I said you're not human, I meant that everything that composes you is not typical, separate from your ability to use magic.

-So? Are you telling me to become human now?

-How peculiar. You can freely use part of that power even though you can't hear or see the truth. I don't know if you can't reach the truth or if you don't need to. But if I were to explain your current state.

A body that was a mage's but a head that was an ordinary human's. That's what she had said.

At first he couldn't understand what it meant. But continuing to live even after Eibon's death, he had come to realize something.

The fact that he had approached magic in an extremely human way.

The magic carved into Aquilonia's Mage Tower, which had once existed somewhere in the Acheron Empire long ago, was too vast.

Pure power that hadn't been torn away, removed, modified, or manipulated by later humans like Asgard's Mage Tower.

Even while climbing the stairs, Yurik couldn't shake off the feeling that Eibon was alive and breathing beside him.

The traces of magic she had devised and designed surrounded the tower. Every chunk of stone, every grain of sand still belonged to Eibon even now, thousands of years later.

The magic that had felt like his own skin due to wearing it for hundreds of millions of years was being shed like a snake's skin.

Body enhancement magic, magic that sharpened the senses, increased lung capacity, clear vision even in darkness.

Any mage would become just one human within this tower.

Unless they were a mage who surpassed Eibon, but no such mage had ever been born.

In any country.

Yurik felt his legs growing heavier and beads of sweat flowing down his jawline.

Just a little more and he'd reach it. Then he would surely be there at the end.

Yurik gasped for breath and climbed to the top of the Mage Tower, throwing open the rusty door that blocked his way.

Darkness with nothing in it.

A voice came from within.

"-Yurik?"

Ah, finally.

Yurik gladly spread his arms and embraced the darkness.

* * *

He had been in darkness continuously.

Then suddenly there was a creaking sound from somewhere.

Judging by the unfamiliar smell reaching his nose, which had grown accustomed to this place, it seemed a door to the outside had opened.

Was it the Queen, or people who had come to take him away?

But there was no sound for that to be the case. They didn't call his name to make him come out either.

So he tried calling the name of the person most likely to come looking for him next, and suddenly something grabbed and pulled him.

So Yurik was the right answer. But what had this guy been eating for thousands of years to be this heavy?

Yurik was gasping for breath uncharacteristically.

It seemed difficult for him to answer if spoken to, so he stayed still for a moment, then Yurik let out a sigh of relief.

"Still alive?"

"I thought you didn't believe in the existence of ghosts?"

"Just saying it. Hyung, let's get out of here now."

"Get out?"

He had come to rescue him!

Suddenly his chest felt like it was swelling with emotion.

The guy who had glared at him as if to tear him apart just a few months ago had made up with him nicely! Now he even came all the way here to rescue him!

Living all this time hadn't been in vain!

"Where is this place?"

"The Mage Tower. Eibon's power is thick here, so it probably would have been difficult for hyung to endure too. And they've intentionally blocked vision here."

"This is the Mage Tower? What about the others?"

"They're all gathered below. Just hyung needs to come. We need to go quickly before more guards swarm in."

What was presumably Yurik's hand groped and grabbed his arm.

Following him for a few steps, he mulled over the answer he had just heard. Wait, guards?

"Guards? You came all the way here breaking through guards? This will cause a complete uproar!"

"It's fine."

"It's not fine! Didn't you say you were going to become the King of Aquilonia?"

"What more do I need when hyung is here? Cellinne, Valter, Dardin, and Eva all agreed to this. The throne, I haven't completely given up on it yet. It's a strategic retreat."

What about his consent? It seemed they hadn't asked for his consent.

Moreover, to leave Aquilonia after coming all the way here.

Though he didn't know much about such things, it seemed that Yurik going abroad while he was under suspicion of poisoning wouldn't look good.

It could be interpreted as Yurik colluding with him to poison the Queen, failing, and then fleeing the country.

But would Yurik not have thought of such things? Impossible. He had been very intelligent since ancient times.

So his trying to take him away now was probably.

"Afraid I might die? Because of me?"

"Yeah."

Oh, Aphoom-Zhah. Good grief.

Because of him alone, Yurik had become a guest who scattered ashes on cooked rice and beat up the host before leaving.

No, strictly speaking, it wasn't because of him.

He was also in the position of having eaten poison, and knowing that he would be revived even if he died, he was just less angry.

But he couldn't understand why Yurik had come all the way here even though he knew he wouldn't die.

Yurik could have claimed not to know someone like him. If he were executed, Yurik could have stolen his corpse and buried it somewhere appropriate.

And when the time came again, he could have revived him.

But why was he doing such a foolish thing?

He looked up at the ceiling once and let out a big sigh.

"Yurik. Not now."

"...Why?"

"No. I will follow you guys. I'm just saying not now. Think about it. You said guards have swarmed in too. I can't run or dash right now. In such a situation, how can we safely escape the royal castle? Can you take care of Dardin, Eva, and me all together?"

Yurik hesitated.

He tapped the back of the hand holding his arm.

"You guys go first and I'll follow. I understand this Mage Tower is a special space. But if I'm framed as an assassin and have to be executed, people will first drag me out of this tower."

"To die?"

"I said no! If I'm out of the tower, I'll be free too. Aphoom-Zhah can come out again. Then escaping from a royal castle like this would be simple."

"......"

"So you guys escape first. Just let me know where you'll be."

"We need to get out of the capital. We decided to forge identities at an unofficial trading guild."

"How many hours to get there?"

"If we ride horses, still a little over half a day."

News that Yurik and his companions had escaped the castle would reach the Queen's ears too.

And naturally, a pursuit team would follow.

If Yurik were alone, he could shake them off,

But if there were humans around him, the story would be a little different.

"Good. I'll go there before dawn breaks tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Don't you trust me? It's not just anyone, but you guys are all going, so I should go too. I'll watch the situation here, find just my books, and go right away. Do you trust hyung?"

Yurik didn't answer, but even in the darkness, he could tell Yurik was very displeased.

There was a jingling sound for a moment. Soon something entered his hand.

"What's this?"

"Something Yesung lent me. It would be useless inside the Mage Tower, so use this as soon as you come outside. Then you can come right away."

"Thanks."

He had forgotten about it. Yurik was actually returning this to him.

The hand that returned the black whistle slowly fell away.

Leaving behind deep hesitation until the end, Yurik repeatedly urged him to be careful and left this place.

The door closed with a grating sound. He gripped the whistle that could summon Sleipnir and drew in his breath.

Half a day. Half a day for Yurik, Cellinne, Eva, Valter, and Dardin to escape the capital.

Escaping the royal castle would take much less time than that. He couldn't let them be caught within the royal castle.

He fiddled with the whistle and then hung it around his neck again.

This might not be easy. The Queen was more human and cunning than he had thought,

And he was just an oblivious old man.

But it was definitely worth attempting.

And a few minutes later,

A scream filled with rage could be heard from the Queen's palace.