’This is a top-secret matter, so I can’t give you the details, but the peace of the continent is at stake here.’

’What?’

He had entered under the guise of a dispatch, but Simon was here to carry out a mission for Kizen headquarters. And if what they said was true, then Daniela Villenne—Meirin’s father, who was being so kind to him—could very well be an enemy.

’Ugh.’

It was agonizing to sit here, harboring such suspicions while talking to a man who was treating his daughter’s friend with such warmth. If headquarters was right, would he have to fight Daniela? And if he did, what would he possibly say to Meirin when he returned to school? What exactly was the Ivory Tower planning?

’This is unsettling.’

Simon kept a smile plastered on his face as he listened to Daniela’s explanation of the Tower of Time, but the words felt like they were going in one ear and out the other.

He was deeply envious of Merida, sleeping so peacefully beside him.

"There’s no need to worry too much, Student Council President," Daniela said warmly, noticing Simon’s tense expression. "I heard from my daughter that you can’t return to Kizen until you complete the dispatch evaluation. I’ll speak to the Tower Master and see if we can get it finished within the scheduled time."

"Ah, I would appreciate that," Simon replied, though he knew the evaluation wasn’t the real problem. He couldn’t go back until he completed his secret mission.

"And a word of caution." Daniela lowered his voice and gestured subtly. "Do you see that man in the gray coat over there?"

"Yes. The one sitting on the stairs?"

The event had a strict dress code. While everyone else was in formal attire, the man Daniela indicated was slumped on the stairs in a long coat, tipping a grimy water bottle to his lips. A yellow liquid dribbled down his chin, carrying a strange, acrid smell.

’...Alcohol? Or some kind of drug?’

"It would be best not to get close to him."

Indeed, no one was going anywhere near the man, who was pointedly ignoring the entire event.

"Who is he?"

"Girdon Vailis." Daniela’s voice turned to ice. "He is a man accused of mass murder."

At some point, Merida had woken up and was now staring at the man.

"...Girdon."

"You know him?" Simon asked.

Merida nodded.

"A bad person."

Simon pressed a hand to his forehead. ’Shouldn’t have asked.’

"When the Festival of Time begins, make sure you do not go near him," Daniela warned, a deep shadow falling over his face. He even sighed, muttering, "What was the Tower Master thinking, bringing a man like that here..." before his expression softened again. "I’d like to talk more, but I must go greet the other guests."

"Thank you for the advice!"

"Don’t mention it. If you have any more questions, you can speak to this child. Mird, come here."

A girl in a white dress, about Simon and Merida’s age, walked over.

"They are important guests," Daniela instructed her. "Be polite and assist them in any way you can."

"Yes, Master," Mird replied.

"This is Mird, from the Ivory Tower Academy. Feel free to ask her anything."

"Thank you for your consideration, Sir Daniela."

At Simon’s formal reply, Daniela shot him a playful look. Simon smiled awkwardly before finally managing, in a near-whisper, "U-Uncle Daniela."

"Hahahaha!" Daniela retreated, looking thoroughly pleased.

The moment he was gone, Mird, who had been watching Simon with narrowed eyes, broke into a wide smile.

"So it’s true that students from Kizen were coming."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you," Simon said.

"Likewise. I’m Mird, from the Ivory Tower Academy."

Just then, Merida blinked.

"What’s the Ivory Tower Academy?"

It was an innocent question, but Mird’s eyebrow twitched for a fraction of a second, a flicker of annoyance quickly masked by her smile.

"Hmm, I guess the Kizen students wouldn’t know. It’s a school run by the Ivory Tower, where we pour all our knowledge and resources into raising the continent’s greatest talents. We’re sometimes called the ’Ivory Tower Kids’."

It made sense that the Ivory Tower would have its own educational institution to rival Kizen. She turned to Simon.

"We even have some former Kizen students who joined our academy. Though their grades are all at the bottom, of course."

’Ah.’ So that was why Serne had failed the students she’d taken a liking to at the beginning of the year. ’She wanted them to fail at Kizen so they would enroll in her academy.’

As Mird spoke, she glanced around the room.

"Ah, but I am a little jealous of you ’Kizen’ folks!" Her voice suddenly grew louder. "I don’t think our skills are any worse than yours, but the ’Ivory Tower Kids’ program is kept under wraps. I hear you ’Kizen’ students get praised and admired just for wearing your uniforms in public, right?"

A heavy footstep thudded nearby. Simon’s senses picked it up instantly. Even as Mird chattered on, every cell in his body screamed a red alert, focused solely on that sound.

"At the academy, we only learn Jet-Black Dynamics. You all learn seven subjects at Kizen, right? It seems a bit inefficient, but with nearly two thousand students, I guess it makes sense."

Another step, closer this time.

"Oh, right! And you call your teachers ’Professor’ at Kizen? That’s interesting! Even the titles are different!"

"Mird." Simon placed a finger on her lips. "Please lower your voice. People are looking."

"Eh, what does it matter? You guys are from Kizen—"

In that instant, a hulking man in a gray coat loomed over Simon, his face inches away.

[...You.]

The foul stench of drugs washed over him. A voice like grinding metal grated from the man’s mouth.

[Are you from Kizen?]

The killing intent was suffocating. Mird scrambled back in terror, and Merida nudged Simon’s arm, shaking her head urgently—a clear warning not to answer truthfully.

Simon lifted his chin. Then, with a serene smile, he met the man’s gaze.

"Yes. I am the Student Council President of Kizen. How can I help you?"

A dangerous glint flashed in Girdon’s eyes. Simon’s own gaze sharpened in response. The corners of both men’s mouths curled into identical smirks as their arms shot out.

A deafening boom ripped through the banquet hall as their fists collided head-on. A massive shockwave followed, and panicked screams erupted.

"What’s going on?"

"It’s a fight!"

Simon winced, shaking out his arm as he stepped back. ’Ugh, my arm feels like it’s going to snap!’

[Be careful, boy!] Pier’s urgent warning echoed in his mind. [He is not someone you can handle yet!]

Girdon stared at his fist, clenching and unclenching it before letting his arms fall limp.

[Kizen are vile demons.] A ripple ran through his body, and construction materials—rebar, lumber, pipes—began to protrude from his skin, his face, his entire form. [Unforgivable.]

His metallic, grating voice echoed through the hall.

[Disappear!]

The materials embedded in his body shot outward in every direction.

The air filled with the sound of crashing and splintering as the projectiles tore through the hall. A length of rebar shattered a marble pillar. A pipe ripped through a wall. The grand chandelier overhead crashed to the floor, its crystals shattering against the stone. Screams erupted as the sudden, indiscriminate attack laid waste to the hall. Miraculously, there were no casualties, as every guest was a necromancer who had awakened their core.

"...Is that Girdon’s spatial black magic?"

"Ugh! Why the hell is he attacking us, too?"

The smoke cleared from the area that had taken the brunt of the attack, revealing Merida, who had thrown herself in front of Simon.

"Merida...!"

’Hah... Hah.’ He could hear her ragged breaths. Her hands were held in a peculiar stance, and a single drop of blood trickled from a cut on her forehead.

[She cursed the objects to alter their trajectory,] Pier noted.

Girdon advanced, his feet scraping loudly across the floor.

[Impressive. But the Kizen whelps cannot be allowed to live. Grow up, and you’ll become demons just like them. Annihilation is the only way.]

He grabbed his chin, and with a sickening crunch, his jaw unhinged and dropped to the floor. From the dark maw within, the sound of rattling rebar was followed by an eruption of blinding light.

"...You have got to be kidding me," Merida breathed, her voice laced with disbelief.

[Die.]

The eyes of every onlooker widened in horror.

A deep, deafening rumble echoed from the tunnel of his gaping mouth, and a full-sized, rusted train shot out, wrapped in a blinding flash of light.

’He’s insane!’ He was actually trying to kill them.

Simon gritted his teeth, shoved the frozen Merida aside, and lunged forward. The hilt of a sword materialized from the subspace he had already opened. ’I have no choice, even if it means revealing I’m a Legion Commander!’ Pier’s bones were already fused to the hilt.

Just as Simon’s hand closed around the Greatsword of Ruin, a figure in a tuxedo shot past him.

’Uncle Daniela?’

Jet-Black erupted from the man’s body. Simon saw Daniela extend an open palm.

’Disertio!’

With a thunderous boom, the massive train collided with Daniela’s hand. Simon’s eyes went wide as it simply disintegrated, dissolving into a cloud of iron filings that scattered through the air and blanketed the hall in black dust. There was no sound of impact—the train simply ceased to exist.

Only after he had effortlessly erased several more train cars did Daniela turn around.

"Are you alright?"

With a single gesture, he had reduced a train to ash. Stunned, Simon quickly released the Greatsword of Ruin and nodded.

[Do not interfere,] Girdon warned in his terrible voice. [Kizen must be erased from this world.]

"I had orders from the Tower Master not to engage you unless you made the first move. But this has crossed the line, Girdon." Daniela lowered his right hand and raised his left.

A high-pitched ringing filled the air as countless magic circles of every color blazed to life around him, emitting smoke, chilling the air, and crackling with sparks.

"How dare you touch the Tower’s guests."

[You call Kizen ’guests’? The Ivory Tower is truly finished!]

With a flourish of his coat, Daniela completed his battle preparations. The other guests began to stir, ready to join the fight. Girdon summoned his Jet-Black, poised to crush anyone who challenged him, but then...

He looked up, his eyes narrowing as if he’d sensed something. Finally, with a swirl of his coat, he turned.

[I will go on ahead and wait.]

"You think I’ll let you escape!" Daniela unleashed his magic. The four elements of black magic roared to life, pouring down on Girdon. It was a display of immense power, but unlike Girdon’s chaotic assault, it was precise. Each spell was controlled, targeting only Girdon while minimizing collateral damage. Lightning snaked around tables; flames flew without so much as singeing the tablecloths beneath them.

But Girdon’s evasion was just as masterful. With a faint whoosh, space warped around him, his body distorting like a paper doll as he weaved and dodged. In an instant, he was at the massive doors of the banquet hall.

"He’s heading for the Tower of Time!" Daniela yelled. "Stop him!"

Ivory Tower soldiers rushed in, firing their own black magic. A few of the guests smirked.

"He’s as good as caught."

"Indeed. The Tower of Time can’t be opened without the Tower Master’s permission."

However, Girdon’s specialty was spatial magic. His body thinned into a mere thread and was sucked through a microscopic crack in the doors.

[I’ll be waiting,] his voice echoed. [Kizen!]

Simon frowned. The arm he’d collided with still ached. ’I’ll have to use some healing magic on this later...’

Suddenly, Simon’s eyes shot open in surprise. Daniela had rushed over like a lightning bolt and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" His hair was a mess, his glasses halfway down his nose, but he didn’t seem to care.

"Ah, no! I’m fine."

"That’s a relief. A true relief...!" Daniela fussed over him, checking him from head to toe and brushing dust from his shoulders before finally smiling brightly. "Now I can face your uncle and my daughter."

...This was hell. Having to suspect such a good man. Even now, having to analyze the true meaning behind his warm, concerned words.

Daniela stepped away from Simon and shouted, "I am declaring a state of emergency! My apologies to our guests who have traveled so far, but this year’s ’Festival of Time’ is over!"

The guests murmured in confusion. Voices of protest rose from the crowd, but Daniela ignored them, already mobilizing his soldiers.

"Form a pursuit team at once. I will command it myself. We’ll drag Girdon out and—"

"Who gave you the authority to end the festival, Daniela?"

A heavy thud echoed from the grand staircase. Daniela, along with everyone else, froze. A man was descending.

’That man is...!’

Simon knew who it was without an introduction. The leader of the radical faction who now held the reins of the Ivory Tower. Serne’s adoptive father. The most powerful necromancer in this domain.

The Tower Master, Bermude Aindark, had arrived.