I had no time to grasp which era or point in time I had fallen into. A war was already underway. Looking down, I saw low-ranking demons and monsters climbing up the tower. Screams and shouts echoed from all directions.
Of course, the shrieks of those monsters pierced my ears as well. Lindel had long become a wasteland.
Even in the middle of a storm, some buildings were still burning. Black smoke filled the air, and mana explosions echoed here and there. They were so loud that they made my ears ring.
Booooooooom!
Craaaack!
Kaboooooom!
‘Damn it.’
“Hold them back!! Damn it! Kill every last one of those bastards trying to climb into the Magic Tower!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Requesting backup! Backup! The second floor has been breached!”
“Is the spell ready yet?! I asked if it's ready!”
“Priest! We need a priest!”
A warrior swung his blunt weapon without even sparing a glance at his severed limb. Paralyzed archers stood where they were, letting their arrows fly, but their efforts were clearly not enough.
The tide of demons swarming in like a pack of piranhas was overwhelming.
Some warriors swung their weapons, blasting a few enemies into the air.
If there was one silver lining, it was the fact that a demon lord hadn’t descended. Even his lieutenants, including the likes of Donovan, were nowhere in sight, but the battle was ferocious. The moderates hadn’t invaded the continent on a whim. They were here with the intent to erase everything in Lindel.
‘Is it not the 27th Legion?’
Given the circumstances, it was probably more accurate to assume this was the work of those masked scums and the black mage group, Saladin, at the time. It likely took place after Jung Jin-Ho’s death. Looking closely, black mages were mixed among the demons.
“You rotten scums!”
“The Lord of Hellfire shall judge you all!”
“He... hehehe! Gahahahaha!”
Their eyes and faces are twisted with madness. Whether they had already lost it or not was debatable. Honestly, the way they were shouting and spitting while screaming made them look more demonic than the demons they had summoned.
There was a blind frenzy in them, and it was like they were drugged or under a hallucinatory spell. What was clear was that they were far from human.
One had fused with a demon from the waist down, while someone else had their organs spilling out with every step. Some were even wrapped in tentacles like living puppets.
Many of them cried, “For Saladin!” before detonating themselves like human bombs.
It was revolting. It was a kind of sight that wouldn't just stick to you; it would actually cling to you. Now I understood why Kim Hyun-Sung was so obsessed with wiping out black mages upon entering the second life.
Even if it meant neglecting other matters like the Empire’s affairs, he likely felt that they needed to be purged before anything else. It had to be because of this war.
Of course, there had to have been countless incidents involving black mages before this war even broke out, but the sight before me was nothing short of pandemonium.
War was always horrifying, but this was beyond horrifying. It was more than miserable as well. I saw fallen warriors, people being swallowed alive by demons, soldiers tormented by plagues, and those screaming in agony.
I also saw survivors who could do nothing but scream in despair, and monsters closing in on those very survivors. The sight was more horrible than the war against the Outer Gods in the second life.
I was sure that this sight would surely be seared into my brain. It was no wonder Kim Hyun-Sung had decided to put the black mages on the top of his kill list. Anyone would do the same upon the scene before me.
“Aaaargh!”
"Ahhhh!”
“Help me... help me! I don’t want to die... I don’t want to...”
“He... hahahahaha!”
“Die! You bastards! Die!”
“Don’t run! If you run, we're all going to die! We’re all going to die, you bastards!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaaaaah!”
‘Damn it. Han Sora...’
Resentment toward Han Sora, who abandoned me here, began boiling within me.
‘After everything I did for her...’
“What the hell? Are you a trainee mage?” Someone's voice echoed next to me.
“...”
“I asked if you’re a trainee mage or not?!”
‘Shit, are they talking to me?’
“Y-Yes?!” I answered.
“What the hell are you doing here?! You have completely lost it?! You want to die or something?!”
‘No... shit... Who wants to die right now?’
“Hey, Carlton! Why the hell is there a trainee mage down here?”
“I don’t know! Damn it! Just get them upstairs!”
“This kid’s frozen solid! Just staring like an idiot... Who the hell sent a rookie like him into a war zone?!”
“What the hell are you talking about?! All the trainees were evacuated upstairs... They must’ve missed it! Damn it! More arrows over here!”
“You dumbass rookie! Don’t just stand there! Get the hell out of the way!”
An overly agitated archer shoved me away. I didn’t want to fall, but I naturally toppled over. A large warrior saw that and shouted, “He can’t even walk straight on his own! This useless bastard, damn it!’
‘What the hell? You guys are the ones who pushed me. Of course I fell.’
“He’s frozen still like an idiot! This stupid rookie! Shit! He even pissed himself!”
‘The hell are you talking about? It’s the rain, damn it. I’m soaked from the rain.’
“You carry him, Big Boy!”
“Damn it! Are you insane? In this situation?!"
"Just get him upstairs! If he dies, the Magic Tower will have a fit!”
“Are you saying that we have to babysit this brat in this mess?!”
“You want to leave him here to die? You want to deal with the old geezers at the Magic Tower when that happens?! Get him upstairs, now!”
The warrior nicknamed "Big Boy," true to the name, looked at me with clear displeasure written all over his massive face. Obviously, if I were to stay here, I would die. The demons were already climbing the tower.
Big Boy was swinging his huge axe at them nonstop.
Just then, an idea came to mind. If I wanted to survive, I had to speak up. I had to shout.
“I-I can fight, too!” I shouted.
“What?”
“Eek... I said I can fight too!” I repeated myself.
“Wh-What the hell is that rookie saying?!”
I became the trainee mage who was so terrified that I wet myself, so casting a spell was out of the question. With the desperate determination to protect the Magic Tower, I picked up a fallen sword and swung it at the demons climbing the tower.
Of course, there was no way my attacks would work on them.
The blade barely made contact before bouncing off. My movements were clearly unstable. I couldn’t even walk properly, yet there I was, swinging a sword with all my might. How could anyone just stand by and watch such a brave little mage fight alone?
“Yaaaaaaaaaah!”
‘Big Boy, you bastard. Are you just going to stand there and watch?!’
“What is with that kid?! Hey! Do you really want to die?!”
“It’s dangerous! It’s dangerous!’
“Die! Dieee! Heuk... kgh...”
“What are you doing?! Big Boy! Are you really going to let that rookie die?!”
“D-Damn it.”
In the end, it seemed that Big Boy’s heart was moved by the sight. Anyone could see the look of shock on his face. The sight of a rookie flailing around with a sword he couldn’t even swing properly because he couldn't cast a spell out of sheer fear was enough to stir the heart of even a hardened veteran.
Eventually, Big Boy scooped me up.
Naturally, I resisted, shouting, “L-Let me go! Put me down!"
“...”
“I-I can fight, too!” I said.
“Shit... Hey, kid... did you sneak out just to fight?” asked Big Boy.
“Th-That’s...”
“We’re not desperate enough to need kids like you out here. Damn it... I don't care if the world’s ending... How could it come to this? Anyway, staying inside is the best way you can help us, got that?” Big Boy asked.
"But...”
“Do you understand?!” he shouted.
“...”
“...”
‘Big Boy... he’s kind of sentimental.’
“All you’ve done is get in the way... damn it...” Big Boy mumbled.
“Heuk... heuk...” I cried.
“S-Stop crying... damn it...” Big Boy said.
My tears must’ve tugged at his heart again. All around us, the battle raged on, but Big Boy held me in his arms and carried me up the Magic Tower with determined steps. Explosions echoed now and then, and the tower trembled, but it wouldn’t collapse so easily.
‘There are barriers in place.’
It wouldn’t be conquered so easily. In fact, the demons couldn't bring Lindel down. It only truly collapsed when the Outer Gods appeared. The demons screamed, clawed, and raged violently, but this place wasn't going to fall—yet.
There was no doubt that the heart of this defense was none other than...
'...my Ha-Yan.’
She was the final bastion of humanity and the greatest archmage on the continent.
Ha-Yan stood unshaken in the second life, but she was even more unshakable in the first life. The fact that everyone was defending the tower so desperately could only mean one thing—they were waiting for someone’s spell.
It was the kind of spell that could change the tides in an instant. Even the demons knew it. That was why they were growing more aggressive by the minute, but the adventurers weren’t backing down. The only question was...
‘What kind of spell is it? What’s going to flip this battle?’
When the spell was about to be completed, a massive surge of mana emanated from the very top of the tower.
Peering upward through my Telescope, I saw Jung Ha-Yan. She was dressed in a slightly different way compared to the second life, and she was standing at the top of the tower, channeling a spell.
The storm around her became fiercer by the second, and it was like a typhoon was being made. Lightning ripped through the sky, striking down demons below.
Just then, voices erupted from every direction.
“Start the operation! The operation is starting!”
“Get on! Damn it! Hurry up! It’s coming! It’s coming!”
‘Get on what? What the hell is coming?’
While Ha-Yan was chanting out loud, a massive wave of water crashed down on Lindel. It was an absurd sight. Waves of water were rising in Lindel. There wasn't supposed to be even a drop of water here, but I saw tidal waves in the distance.
Just then, I remembered Kim Hyun-Sung's words back then. "Miss Ha-Yan managed to move the entire Sacred Democratic Country away."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of drums echoed, followed by booming voices.
“Raise the anchors! Raise the anchors!”
“Move it! Move it, damn it! Get on! Get on!”
“Hahaha... hahahahahaha! The Archmage! We’ve got an archmage on our side!”
Lindel sank slowly, and a massive fleet rode the waves, heading straight for the horde of demons.
“Th-This is insane...” I mumbled.
“Raise the anchors! Sweep those demon bastards off the map!”
I looked up and saw Ha-Yan holding her staff high toward the sky with both hands.
Upon seeing that, I found myself muttering the same words as Kim Hyun-Sung. “Jung Ha-Yan moved the entire Sacred Democratic Country away and... turned land into an ocean.”