Chapter 7
The next day, Astina and Theo were to meet the King of Gail. Their scheduled meeting was for afternoon tea, but they arrived at the palace at the crack of dawn. A pale-faced servant had pounded on the door of the Nordo estate, begging for their help. Without even time to change, they had rushed to the palace behind him.
There, they came face to face with a monster.
Bergin, known as the greatest mage in the Gail Kingdom, had lost his mind and was running rampant.
"What is that? What’s wrong with him?" Astina cried.
The palace knights were desperately trying to contain him as he unleashed wild blasts of magic. The courtyard was a scene of utter chaos, littered with rubble and the bodies of the fallen.
Theo’s eyes widened as he studied the berserk mage. "There’s no way that… the one who kidnapped the mages is…" He trailed off, clenching his jaw.
"What do you mean?" Astina demanded. "That man is the kidnapper? Then why is he acting like this?"
"First, we have to stop him from leaving the palace," Theo said, his voice taut with urgency. "If he gets out, innocent people will be hurt."
"But how? He’s completely out of control!"
When they had fought Varius, they had had a steel cage. Here, they needed a barrier spell at the very least, which required a magic circle. Their only option was to draw one elsewhere and lure him into it, but that seemed impossible while he was rampaging so recklessly.
Theo unclasped the bracelet from his wrist. Its gray beads were actually magic stones, charged with Astina’s own power. "Tina, hold him for just a moment. I’ll construct the circle."
"Got it!" Astina raised her hand high.
Instantly, hundreds of flaming spears rained from the sky, slamming into the ground around Bergin. They formed a fiery, circular cage, trapping him within. While he was contained, Theo quickly placed the magic stones around the perimeter of the blazing wall.
"Graaaaaah! Aaargh!" A horrifying howl echoed from within the flames, followed by an explosive flash of light that shot into the air. It was a small mercy that, unlike Varius, Bergin’s human form could not leap over the wall of spears. But it would not hold for long.
The base of the burning spears began to frost over. "Theo, hurry!" Astina shouted.
"It’s done!" At Theo’s cry, lines of light raced across the ground, connecting the magic stones. A barrier circle, drawn from pure magic, blazed into existence just as the frozen spears shattered and collapsed. "Tina, over here! The stones’ power won’t be enough on its own!"
"Right!" Astina rushed to his side and placed her hand on the circle.
Inside the transparent walls of the new barrier, Bergin unleashed a furious barrage of spells, but he could not break through the shield now reinforced with Astina’s immense power. Flames erupted, winds howled, ice formed, and the ground trembled within the dome of light. Bergin’s eyes had turned a milky white as he shrieked and threw spell after spell. Unable to watch any longer, Astina turned her head away.
Theo drew closer, wrapping a protective arm around Astina’s shoulders.
"He won’t last long," he murmured. "He’s already pushed past his limit."
"I can feel different kinds of mana," Astina said, her voice tight. "Did this man steal it from other mages?"
Theo gave a heavy nod. Like Varius’s black magic, every mage’s power had a unique wavelength, and the spells they favored depended on the nature of their innate abilities. The torrent of energy erupting from Bergin, however, could never belong to a single person. In that instant, they finally understood who had been kidnapping the mages, and why.
Astina’s gaze fell upon the agonized Bergin, and she muttered bitterly, "Why is everyone so desperate to become a monster?"
Watching the same horrific scene unfold, Theo swallowed a groan. Just as he had predicted, Bergin’s rampage was brief. He thrashed about until every last drop of magic in his body was depleted, then, in a final, shuddering spasm, he collapsed.
Theo dispelled the barrier and approached the body. It was just as he had suspected. Mages were born with a vessel capable of containing mana—not something tangible, but an intrinsic part of their being. Bergin’s body showed traces of nine of these vessels, which mages called cores. The immense power contained within them had swallowed Bergin whole before shattering him from the inside out.
Astina’s brow furrowed as she watched Theo straighten up.
"Did he really steal their mana? Is that even possible?"
It was a question to which only Theo, in all the world, knew the answer. He was Theovlin Jesuph, the genius mage born with a vessel so small it was almost a mockery to call him a mage at all. Long before Bergin, it was Theo who had first researched the transplantation of cores, a dark chapter from a time when he would have done anything to become powerful.
Sorrow clouded his features as he shook his head. "It’s impossible. The attempt was doomed from the start." That was the conclusion he had reached after exhausting every possibility. For Bergin to have survived the transplantation of eight cores at all was nothing short of a miracle.
Faced with the gruesome result of such foolish greed, Astina muttered gloomily, "What about the other mages?"
"They should be alive," Theo assured her. "Though they won’t be able to use magic anymore."
Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Astina let out a heavy sigh. "What am I going to tell Hingis?"
Bergin, she’d been told, was a mentor to all the mages of the Kingdom of Gail, including Hingis. And that same man had kidnapped his peers to steal their power. Worse, the accomplice in this horrific affair was undoubtedly the master of this very palace. Astina and Theo turned, their eyes burning with resentment as they stared at the main building.
Just then, a palace servant who had been cowering in the shadows crept toward them. "Is… is he dead?"
"Yes," Astina confirmed flatly. "He’s dead."
"Phew, what a relief," the servant breathed. "Tower Master, please come this way. His Majesty the King has ordered me to escort you."
Astina glared at the servant, her eyes cold, and jerked her chin. "Fine. Lead the way. I might as well hear what he has to say."
With the servant scurrying ahead, Astina and Theo entered the main palace, one of its walls now a pile of rubble. They passed through a long corridor where staff and knights scrambled to clean up the devastation until the servant finally guided them to the audience hall.
Unlike his war-torn palace, the King of Gail was impeccably dressed. Seated on his throne, he offered Astina a placid smile. "Tower Master, and you, nameless mage. The Kingdom of Gail owes you a great debt. I was just pondering how I might reward you."
"I have no interest in a reward," Astina cut in sharply. "I want to know how this was allowed to happen."
"I, too, am most curious about that, Tower Master."
The King of Gail was either incredibly brazen or a fantastic liar. Bergin, a guest in his own palace, had captured eight mages and stolen their power, yet the king claimed to know nothing? As Astina let out a humorless scoff at the blatant lie, the king continued, unperturbed.
"So then, what do you say to becoming my queen?"
Astina stared. "…What did you just say?"
"Your sister became an empress. Isn’t it a bit unfair that someone with your extraordinary abilities should be a mere countess? Think about it. Marry me and become the Queen of Gail."
Having finished his pronouncement, the king waited for her answer with a smug look on his face. Astina, however, was experiencing firsthand that being utterly dumbfounded could render a person completely speechless.
"If you and I join forces," the king added with a sly, suggestive tone, "you could become the empress of a nation even greater than Dresden."
That was the last straw. Astina’s voice erupted through the hall. "No!"
"No? And why not?"
"Because Theo is the one I love!" she declared. "I have no desire whatsoever to be your queen!"
"Tower Master," the king scoffed, "isn’t he a charlatan with no mana? A man like that, with no status or fortune, is not worthy of you. What could he possibly offer you?"
For a "nameless mage," the King of Gail seemed to know a fair bit about Theo. The look in his eyes as they flickered over him was one of absolute, dismissive superiority. Astina’s bewilderment was rapidly turning into boiling rage, but her opponent was a king. A wrong move could start a war, and her sister had warned her against doing anything dangerous. War was dangerous, so punching this man in the face was out of the question. Unfortunately, no one had ever taught her how to deal with someone who spewed such utter filth.
As Astina began to pound on her own chest in sheer frustration, Theo, who had been silent until now, spoke, his voice dangerously quiet. "I was wondering why a renowned mage like Bergin would do something so foolish. It seems it was because of you, Tina."
"What? Why me?"
"Oh, allow me to correct myself," Theo amended smoothly. "Not because of you, but because of some fool’s greed."
"What are you talking about?"
Astina tilted her head in confusion and blinked. Theo let out a soft laugh and leaned in, pointedly planting a kiss on her cheek before fixing the King of Gail with a withering glare. It was a look one might reserve for something utterly insignificant.
"As if the neighboring empire weren’t threatening enough, it suddenly produces an archmage capable of single-handedly obliterating a small kingdom. Imagine how much that must have rattled their nerves. They must have entertained the foolish dream of creating a rival to you, Tina. There is, however, a limit to stupidity."
Unable to stomach the humiliation, the King of Gail stamped his foot and shot to his feet. "What did you just say?!"
"Why is Your Majesty so agitated?" Theo asked, his voice laced with mock innocence. "Ah, could it be that the fool is…" He trailed off, pointing a finger directly at the king.
It was the first time the king had ever been so insulted to his face. His face flushed a furious, apoplectic red. "You—you dare! You dare!"
"If I may be so bold as to add one more thing," Theo continued, his voice cutting, "if you hope to marry Tina with a face like that, then that, too, is a foolish dream. Isn’t that right, Tina?"
He turned to Astina and flashed a brilliant smile, a smile so beautiful it compelled her to nod in fervent agreement.
