I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

A soft whisper, almost peaceful to some, yet the implication within was catastrophic.

Talo seemed to float alone without any escort, but a closer look revealed a cunning web constructed to take down those who approached him.

Most of the aerial artillery currently not bombarding the surface was stationed there to protect Talo himself.

The angels of Argyrion were not unleashing magic immediately; they were preparing another door to recharge their magic power for a reason. They lacked the power to wipe out the countless weapons stationed within the barrier.

As he shook his body, trying to shake off the enemy, Orthes’s hand moved faster than the angel’s flapping wings.

Crack!

Gripping the hilt of the blade embedded in his nape, he twisted to the right. The sound of bones and flesh tearing filled the air. In the moment of pain, magic flew towards the spot where the angel had just been flapping its wings.

It wasn’t automated targeting from pre-placed weapons but a direct aiming spell cast by the mages of the Ten Towers.

The magic that barely missed the angel soared far away, sweeping the ground.

Argyrion did not have the leisure to look at the ground, but Orthes did. He surveyed the land that the magic had swept over.

‘…Flowers?’

The land, imbued with the magic glow, swelled grotesquely. The raised land tangled together in a bizarre shape resembling steel roses stamped out of a mold.

Orthes’s eyes interpreted the principle of the magic. It was exploding from within by multiplying the metallic components like iron inside the target.

If an ordinary human had been hit, they would have looked like skewers pierced all over.

For a mage of the Silver Iron Tower, it was a technique that could be performed with absolute finesse. If he wanted, he could stop the magic while leaving just a part of the limbs torn apart, meaning it could serve both as lethality and subjugation.

‘Can I respond?’

Orthes twisted the hilt of the knife lodged in his nape once more. The angel screamed and twisted its body as if falling. Maintaining focus on the door was tremendous willpower.

‘If hit by the blade, the structure would be ruined…’

Even if he countered with a magic overlay, the problem was that it wouldn’t nullify the magic itself.

If he defended the magic with a blade, the blade’s metallic components would irregularly multiply, ruining its shape. If he used a magic overlay as a response, it would only mix other elements into the structure that was multiplying, not preventing the multiplication itself.

‘It would be better to interfere with the direction before the magic is completed up close.’

His eyes sent a warning. He could see the magic’s trajectory aimed at him. It wasn’t the artillery fire from the weapons that Talo had summoned, but the lethal magic prepared by the angels of Argyrion.

‘This is where it ends.’

Orthes’s eyes read the information of the battlefield.

While Talo showed interest in Orthes and took on an observer-like attitude, the preparation for the second door was ready.

The angels intended to kill Orthes, even at the cost of their comrades. The numerous trajectories drawn all around proved their resolve.

Of course, Orthes had no intention of dying.

He drew his High-Frequency Blade and jumped down. The swung blade during the fall aimed toward the door tightly gripped by the angel.

Argyrion realized that the attack wasn’t enough to destroy the door and laughed at Orthes.

However, Orthes hadn’t aimed for destruction from the start. He had inserted the basic light attribute spell “Illumination” into the magic formation constructing the door.

The silver glow pouring from the door began to brighten.

So bright it was almost blinding; if it got too bright, one wouldn’t be able to see anything. In the shining blindness, only Orthes’s vision remained clear.

He hadn’t expected this time consumption to last long. A mage like Talo might have already modified his vision to infrared like some specialized combat droid; Argyrion, dulled by the extra-dimensional, wouldn’t be perceiving his surroundings solely in the visible spectrum.

However, there was time needed to switch the action mechanism of the senses. Calling forth vines again with “Growth” drive, Orthes grabbed the angel’s wings.

The angel was being pulled down while Orthes soared high in response.

At that moment, he reached the highest altitude in this spot.

He activated the drive a third time. “Gust.” Riding the swirling wind, he dove toward Talo.

And Talo saw Orthes.

“Using only the Magic Imprint Drive… The lack of power indicates insufficient magical achievement; then those extraordinary physical abilities must be due to fighting spirit?”

To hone fighting spirit to that level, the haphazard training method passed down among mercenaries was insufficient. A proper fighting technique was necessary.

Talo knew well where such ‘proper’ training came from originally.

In the present age, fighting spirit commonly seen is injected into special melee combat droids through combat application programs.

Like a mage from the Silver Iron Tower, Talo was well-versed in the design and history of combat droids. The source of the fighting techniques injected into droids originates from the visions sold by knights of old.

“Scum from a bygone era of knights!”

Finally, the identity of this mysterious ally, the third force, became clear.

The abilities actively repressed by the Ten Towers were only divine power, but abilities gradually diminished under magic existed beyond that.

Elemental sorcerers absorbed under the mountain of magic, elder spells stripped of their mystery by the label of primitive magic. The fighting spirit of forgotten knights, barely surviving by selling off their visions.

It seemed one among those long-forgotten sought to regain recognition amidst chaos.

“Sure. If it’s one of the ancient knight families, they’d have probably received at least one artifact as a gift.”

Now it all made sense. Even the identity of this ruin.

How could an artifact of the ancient Mage King still be here? Not only mages followed the Mage King; there were also many knights who admired that overwhelming power.

Some had sworn loyalty against the Mage King’s tyranny, while others had made nominal oaths of loyalty, effectively surrendering.

Regardless of loyalty or betrayal, the Mage King bestowed proof of allegiance. To some, it was glory, and to others, a source of humiliation.

This ruin is…

“Seems to be a castle or domain granted by the Mage King. The signal conveyed to the Ten Towers was a magical beacon, and it was a trap prepared by an ancient knight family.”

To have the resources to pull off such a stunt. He had thought all knight families had fallen out of touch with the flow of time. Had they hidden away like followers of superstition into the underground?

Talo traced the history of the magical society. Many knight families had faded away gradually under the pressure of magic. If that was an incorporation masquerading as a downfall…

‘Their force must be quite vast. It would probably overwhelm even a typical Apex Tower.’

The reason for disguising their actions as those of Argyrion was simple. Right now, the order led by the Ten Towers was in unprecedented chaos.

If the elder of the Ten Towers were to be assassinated in such a situation, at least the status of the elder’s affiliated tower would suffer a significant blow.

‘There’s no guarantee this ploy is a one-time deal. They’ll likely continue their operations.’

The fate awaiting the fallen Ten Towers was evident. Succession wars.

The remnants of knight families would strive to initiate succession wars to create a new One Tower, manipulating a mage tower from the shadows.

Or perhaps the order could be reversed. A certain mage tower might have contacted the knight remnants intending to say, “We’ll integrate you into the mainstream society, just help us.”

However, that plan fell apart with the real Argyrion’s appearance, and in a moment of improvisation, they disguised themselves as Argyrion support troops to assassinate the mages of the Ten Towers, but that too ended in failure.

Finishing his deductions, Talo shook his head.

“The blades prepared by the outdated stragglers are remarkably shabby. It was fun, though.”

The fact that knights pulling swords were setting traps was a rather pitiful downfall for those who prided themselves on chivalry.

“A body fervently trained in fighting spirit. Whatever it might be, it could be useful. Perhaps I should take a look at their memories.”

Magic power gathered in Talo’s hands. Preparing to contact Orthes’s body during his charge, he was ready to cast alchemy. With their trained fighting spirit, they might resist somewhat, but if he poured his own magic power, it would be a different story.

‘The limbs, excluding the brain and vital organs, will be dealt with here.’

On one side, defensive magic spread in layers. The core of that magic was an anti-fighting spirit field created to thwart assassination-specific droids.

It was a magic that heightened the magic density inside the field in response to fighting spirit to nullify attacks. Just as movements of people are hindered underwater with denser-than-air liquid, this space would hinder the movements of anything with latent fighting spirit.

Orthes’s black blade touched the anti-fighting spirit field. Talo predicted Orthes’s sluggishness and reached out. The moment those fingertips touched, that arm would turn to scrap metal.

Without resistance, the anti-fighting spirit field pierced through, and Talo’s head was split in half.

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