Chapter 1: A Broken World

The destruction of the Heliriox Magic Academy sent shockwaves throughout the empire. After all, it was Riox—this was simply unbelievable.
Before anyone could grasp the underlying conspiracy, a series of even more astonishing events unfolded, forcing people to wonder: What was happening to this world?! What was happening to this country?!
The king was killed by his most beloved and trusted son, Prince Theo, along with Lawrence, the commander of the Royal Knights. The northern frontiers were once again attacked by barbarians, and Altak, Galk, and Galik found themselves in fierce battles. Food had once again become a critical issue determining the survival of the entire north.
Rebellions within the empire grew more intense, with even the Theralanders joining in. Armed with stolen weapons, they captured a city in the east and declared that Theraland would no longer be under imperial rule—in other words, they had declared war on the empire!
Under normal circumstances, this would have been utterly foolish. The Royal Knights’ forces could have crushed the Theralanders in just a few days. However, due to the death of Commander Lawrence and various suspicious events in Sassen, the Royal Knights were ordered to reorganize, meaning local authorities had to fend for themselves against the Theralanders.
Originally, Galik, as a military stronghold in the northeast, might have sent troops to help suppress the Theralanders’ rebellion. Unfortunately, faced with barbarian invasions and severe food shortages, Galik was preoccupied with its own problems. In fact, several border regions were struggling with food shortages.
After remaining closed off from the outside world for half a month, Sassen finally sent some news: Prince Theo, for some unknown reason, assassinated his father, King Eiger. He was subsequently stripped of his right to inherit the throne and imprisoned. The throne passed to the younger third prince, Reg. As his uncle, Prince Gran appeared among the Sassen nobles in a new guise, declaring that he would help the young king rule the country.
Prince Gran, who had once been a pitiful man who might be poisoned by the old king at any moment, was now surrounded by clever nobles in Sassen. They immediately suspected that Prince Gran might be the mastermind behind these events.
But they found it hard to believe that such a foolish and ridiculous fat pig could gain the support of royal magicians. No, that fat pig definitely couldn’t do such a thing!

Not all nobles agreed to this decision; there were many who opposed it. Yet those who opposed it were eliminated before the second council even convened. One poor wretch even fled his home only to be killed in public, in front of everyone in the streets. Afterwards, Jerry Belford of the Royal Magic Association simply attributed it to a feud and settled the matter by arresting a few scoundrels.

Thus, the nobles chose to remain silent, accepting this reality and agreeing to Prince Gran’s influence. The empire’s most important succession to the throne ended in such a ridiculous and absurd manner. But the silence of the Saxon nobles did not mean the local forces remained silent. Cities like Fort Lorn, Altak, Sibi, and Spinio immediately questioned this situation. They refused to recognize the rule of the new regime led by Prince Gran. Subsequently, the merchants of Opereles, the empire’s wealthiest city, declared autonomy, stopped paying heavy taxes to Saxon, and used a large sum of money to form their own knight order.

If Altak’s refusal to support indicated that Saxon had lost control over its local borders, then Opereles’ declaration of autonomy meant Saxon had lost the support of its entire merchant class. In other words, the empire lost a huge portion of its taxes—about 70% of the total—which was the deadliest blow for Saxon!

To make the merchants of Opereles retract their damned declaration, the Royal Knight Order, still unaware of what had happened, rushed to that city, the wealthiest in the entire south—no, in the entire empire. Unexpectedly, the knight order recently formed by the Opereles merchants managed to repel the attack of the Royal Knight Order.

Meanwhile, in the world of magic, the mage tower [Vander] activated its most powerful magic barrier and rallied the dark mages from the Rex faction to strongly accuse Jerry Belford, the vice president of the Royal Magic Association, of collaborating with necromancers to destroy Heliorex for his own ambitions. Of course, Jerry Belford denied these accusations outright.

As a result, the empire’s dark mages split into two factions: one based at the mage tower Vander, consisting of dark mages from the former Rex faction and the Vander faction; the other led by Jerry Belford, based at [Gore] next to the Saxon mage tower, and comprising the mages from the Glorn Magic Academy [Magickwood] faction.

It is worth mentioning that although Jerry Belford firmly denied any collaboration with the necromancers, the fact that those necromancers had taken control of Vando was beyond his denial, and on this point, Jerry Belford chose silence. For a time, it seemed as though all blame pointed at the empire—orcs in the west, barbarians in the north, Salonia in the south, plus frequent rebellions in various regions… Eventually, the empire fell into chaos, with rising prices and internal and external threats. The situation of this ancient dynasty was perilous; perhaps with just one more push, the entire country could collapse. Almost every city was recruiting mercenaries to form armies, and the prestige of the Saxon Imperial City had dropped to its lowest level ever. War had become a topic of conversation at every meal, and it was easy to predict that the entire empire would go through a rather long period of darkness… Ambitious men flocked to various armies, realizing it might be an opportunity, but for some women, the rising prices caused by the country’s chaos were their main concern—like Dia, for example. Dia returned to her hometown, a small town named Asi in the southern Jelbart region. Aside from the constantly rising prices of food, it seemed unaffected and remained a peaceful and harmonious city. “Hey, Dia, there’s fresh wild boar meat today!” “Thank you, Uncle Nick. I’ll take some…” “Oh, no problem!” At a stall in the market, Dia smiled as she chatted with the vendor, carrying a small basket. “By the way, Uncle Nick, are there any news lately?” “News?” Uncle Nick, with a beard covering his face, rubbed his chin and complained, “The situation has been very unstable lately. I heard that Saxon is at war with a southern city… And those damned taxes keep getting heavier. They’ve already increased three times this month. If this continues, I’d rather join the army than hunt!” “Hehe!” Dia covered her mouth and giggled, then took out some coins from her pocket. “I’m not joking at all!” Uncle Nick said seriously. After taking the coins from Dia, he thought for a moment, then returned some of them and said with a smile, “I’ll give you a discount!” “This…” “That’s enough!” Uncle Nick smiled, wiped his hands with a cloth, and asked, “How’s your father?” “I haven’t heard from him since my mother passed away. I heard he’s in the neighboring city… But I haven’t run into him…”

“Tch! That guy is really something. Let me tell you, if I had a daughter as well-behaved as you, I wouldn’t even have time to smile. That guy… never looks for reasons within himself, can’t say anything nice. He’ll never get promoted in his life. He’s only fit for the army. I really can’t understand how your mother could like him!”
“Uncle Nick!”
“Alright, alright,” Uncle Nick scratched his head awkwardly, then glanced at Dia with a teasing look. “Is that little guy here with you? I heard he’s living at your place now?”
“Well…” Dia’s face turned red as she stammered, unable to speak.
“Don’t get deceived like your mother, okay…”
“Of course not!” Dia said, blushing and complaining.
“Hehe, you’re right,” Uncle Nick shook his head cheerfully, then seemed to remember something and said, “By the way, why not have that little guy work as an apprentice at Old Val’s shop? At least it’s a job… Actually, I think joining the army would be better for him—the benefits are very good, even for an ordinary kid…”
“Thors isn’t an ordinary kid!” Dia interrupted Uncle Nick seriously. “He’s a magician!”
“A… magician?” Uncle Nick was clearly surprised.
“Yes! He’s a student at the Rexox Academy just like me, and he’s much better than me!” Dia smiled slightly and pointed at the basin beside her. Instantly, the clear water in the basin began to spin rapidly, forming a vortex.
“Don’t… don’t let anyone see!” Uncle Nick looked anxious, glanced around, and whispered, “You little rascal, don’t you know that magicians are now being forced to join the army?”
Dia playfully stuck out her tongue and canceled the spell.
“You kid,” Uncle Nick shook his head helplessly, then advised her kindly, “How about having that little guy go hunting in the mountains with me? A man must take on the responsibility of supporting his family…”
“No, Thors he…”
“Let’s decide it then. Have that little guy come to see me tomorrow!”
“Well… thank you, Uncle Nick. But I want to discuss it with him first… I don’t want to pressure him…”
“You kid, just like your mother… Alright, let me know after you’ve discussed it!”
“Hmm, thank you, Uncle Nick!”
After saying goodbye, Dia bought some fresh vegetables and necessary bread, then carried the basket home.
Early summer in the empire wasn’t hot. Dia loved sunny weather the most, but her heart couldn’t match such pleasant weather.

I really am such a selfish person!
Glancing at the clear sky, Dia sighed quietly.
She had witnessed the collapse of Rexx Academy with her own eyes and heard about many professors who died in that battle, but…
Still, she didn’t want anything to happen to him…
Sigh!
With a light sigh, Dia walked up to an ordinary house and gently pushed the door open.
“I’m back!”
“Mm!” A response came from the old sofa in the living room. There was a boy who seemed to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, lying on the sofa with his hands behind his head, his gaze slightly unfocused as he stared at the ceiling.
“Are you awake already?” Dia asked softly as she quietly approached the boy. “What’s wrong, Thos?”
“Ah, nothing!” The boy shook his head slightly, stood up, revealing his right arm covered in black tattoos that resembled a fierce beast, while his left arm had a completely different white tattoo that looked like thorny patterns wrapped around a magic circle.
Picking up a jacket from the sofa and putting it on, the boy turned around. Seeing the girl’s downcast mood, he asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Dia shook her head and held up the basket in her hand, saying lightly, “The breakfast is broth. It’s not too greasy, is it?”
“Hm, it’s okay,” the boy replied with a forced smile, as if preoccupied by something.
“Then… that’s good,” Dia sighed slightly before energizing herself and heading toward the kitchen. Soon, her voice came from there, “Huh? Thos, have you seen a flint in the kitchen?”
“A flint?” The boy was stunned for a moment before walking toward the kitchen, saying in surprise, “Weren’t you supposed to lose it yesterday? You said you couldn’t get sparks and needed to buy a new one?”
“Huh? I completely forgot…”
“Sigh!” Seeing Dia’s surprised expression, the boy shook his head helplessly, raised his hand, and with a snap, flames appeared in the stove.
“Isn’t that enough?—We don’t need a flint at all!”
“No!” Dia shook her head seriously. “Uncle Nick said that the city’s guard forces have been forcibly conscripting magicians to serve in the army lately, so we can no longer use magic. Besides… household chores don’t require magic, right?”
“Yes, yes,” the boy sighed helplessly and shook his head. “I really don’t understand why you want to learn magic…”

“Hehe, it was just for a beautiful wish back then, Royal Mage…” Diya’s voice suddenly stopped, and the atmosphere in the kitchen became tense. Leaning against the wall, watching Diya silently wash the meat they had bought, the boy asked softly, “Will this area be affected by the war too?”
“Mm, maybe,” Diya replied softly. “I heard from Uncle Nick just now—that recently, the Saxons started a war with a city in the south…”
“First it was the northeast region, Brownhill, Jacobsenbu, even Galic. Then cities in the east were attacked by the Theralanders. Now the Saxons are at war with cities in the south…”
“But it won’t reach here for now, right?” Diya interrupted the boy with a smile. “Although the situation is a bit chaotic now, everything will get better. That’s what Thos said!”
“Hah, is it your turn to comfort me?” The boy shook his head irritably before walking over, rolling up his sleeves. “Is there anything you need me to help with?”
“Not at all!”
“Is that so…”
Gently pushed out of the kitchen by Diya, the boy returned to the living room and continued lying on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Rioks…
Is it gone already?!
That always-smiling old man, the respected great mage Greth Kaines…
“Little one, where are you from?”
“From the west, west of Lorn!”
“Lorn… Child, lying isn’t something to be praised!”
“I think unjustly doubting what others say isn’t something to be praised either!”
“Hehehe, I’m very sorry, but unfortunately, you don’t meet the admission standards!”
“Respected Mage, are you referring to the third criterion?”
“Hehehe, what an interesting little one… What if I say yes?”
“Then I have no choice but to go back. After all, you’re a respected great mage!”
…
“Little one, how have you been lately? Oh, by the way, you did excellently in the last competition!”
“Thank you for the compliment. As for how I’ve been… it’s okay!”
“Oh, that’s good. Don’t forget—you still owe the academy 500 gold coins, 500 each year!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“Hehehe…”
…
Was he killed by Argus? That old man…
And Rioks, where he had lived for three years…
Argus…
Tch! What on earth am I thinking?

It has nothing to do with me at all. With Argus’s power at that time, even if I stayed, I wouldn’t be able to do anything! That guy must be an [Apostle] of some great demon, just like me, and back then he was far stronger than me… What am I worried about anyway? This world has nothing to do with me! Hmm… maybe there is a little connection, Dia… Uh, perhaps… Allen, Scott, Ravia… and Professor Hode… “Tch!” Speaking of which, how are they now? Are they also feeling a sense of loss? No, what happens to this world has nothing to do with me, right? Yes, nothing to do with it! I never thought about standing at the center of this stage, so… Right now, the only thing bothering me is that guy, Sloth! Ever since that incident, that sleepy guy has been awake the whole time. Did he figure something out? Talking about a contract being formed, saying my soul would be used as the key to unlock his seal after I die… That bastard… By the way, does that guy even know how to unlock the seal? Just by devouring a human soul, can he unlock it? Apparently, the most important thing is to forget, right? Tch! In my original world, there were no souls, but after dying, I ended up signing such a strange contract with some mysterious great demon. Damn it! But there are still decades left before that happens. As Sloth said, as long as I don’t use his power, the contract will slow down its devouring speed… Yes, things like Rioks shouldn’t be something I worry about. Argus is crazy; no one can stop that madman who wants to destroy this country, and that crazy guy possesses such immense power… What I should be thinking about now is Dia, right? The person I clearly want to protect… Hmm, everything else doesn’t matter! But why do I feel so oppressed? “Thos?” “Hm?” Thos instinctively looked up and saw Dia staring at him curiously. Surprised, he asked, “W-what’s wrong?” “Breakfast is ready!” “Oh,” he smiled in relief, walked over to the table, sat down, took the bread from Dia, and hesitantly said, “In the town… uh, when I went out today, did I hear about any places that need help?”

“Huh?” Dia, who was pouring soup, stared at Thos in surprise. Then, as if she understood something, she smiled and said, “Do you really care that much, Thos?”
“Of course,” the boy replied irritably as he took the broth from Dia. “Do you think I’m some kid who can’t do anything? Even without magic…” He paused, realizing that despite being familiar with life at the Rexox Academy, he didn’t know much about this strange world. What could he do without magic?
Seeming to notice the boy’s unusual expression, Dia felt a bit amused but pretended not to notice. She picked up a piece of bread and said carefully, “Actually, Uncle Nick mentioned it to me, but I think we don’t need to worry too much…”
“How can that be! What does that uncle do?”
“Uncle Nick is a hunter…”
“Hunting…” The boy was stunned, deep in thought.
As if reading his mind, Dia chuckled lightly and said, “There are no hunters who use fireballs to hunt!”
“Hm? Can’t they?”
“No,” Dia shook her head seriously. “The situation for mages is very delicate right now. Every city is expanding its army. If people find out you can use magic, you’ll definitely be forced to join the army!”
The boy, still chewing his bread, said oddly, “What about using traps or something?”
“Mm!” Dia nodded as if it were obvious. Then she sighed slightly and whispered, “Maybe before long, even small towns won’t be able to stay peaceful like they are now…”
Thos glanced at Dia, took a bite of bread, and reassured her, “It’ll be fine!”
“Mm!”
Just then, Thos, who was biting his bread, suddenly stopped. His gaze sharpened as he stared at the door, and a faint glow of fire appeared on his right hand.
“Thos?”
He raised his hand to interrupt Dia, sensing a very strong dark force outside the house.
“Knock, knock, knock!” The door was knocked on.
The boy slowly stood up and said to Soges, the soldier puppet who was dozing near the door against the wall, “Open the door, Soges!”
“Oh!” The dull-minded soldier puppet nodded slowly. Having absorbed a great deal of its master’s magic over time, it had become almost like a normal human. Apart from the faint striped marks on its face that revealed its identity, it was hard to believe it was just a puppet made of special metal.
With a creak, the door opened, and a familiar, cheerful voice came from outside.

“What a sunny morning, praise to God… Oh, good morning!”
“…” On high alert, Thos glanced at the smiling person outside the door, twitched his lips, dismissed the magic in his hands, and said irritably, “It’s you! Weren’t you on a trip? Why are you back?”
Next to him, Dia exclaimed in surprise, “Ulric?”
It turned out the master of that dark force was the vampire Ulric.
“It’s me… It’s great to see you again, kind lady!” After entering, Ulric performed a proper bow, then looked at the food on the table with a frown and said, “If you don’t mind, could I have some? I haven’t eaten anything in three days…”
“Is that what a noble should say?” The boy sitting on the chair rolled his eyes.
“Of course,” Dia said with a smile, standing up and pointing at the table. “Sit down first. I’ll go get you some utensils.” With that, she headed to the kitchen.
Seeing Ulric’s eyes light up at the food on the table, Thos propped his chin and said irritably, “Hey, weren’t you on a trip? Talking about divine will… Why are you back?”
“I thought they’d like my music, but I didn’t earn a single copper coin…”
“You idiot… Who would like music from hundreds of years ago?”
“Sigh… So without money, I can’t travel around? What a failure…”
“Hmph!” The boy snorted disdainfully at the vampire with a gloomy expression and said irritably, “Then why are you back? Don’t tell me…”
“That’s exactly right!” Ulric interrupted Thos, speaking in a very calm tone. “It seems I’ll have to trouble you guys for another while…”
“Hey, what do you mean by that?”
“Is my expression not clear enough?” Ulric looked at the boy in surprise. Then, seeing Dia come out of the kitchen, he stood up politely, took the utensils she handed him, and thanked her gracefully.
“Isn’t it good?” Dia said with a smile as she handed Ulric a piece of bread. “But Ulric, you can’t use magic, um, you know…”

“Oh, I’ve heard about that,” Ulric nodded seriously. “All the cities are expanding their armies, right? Except for Vandel, no mages not protected by the local magic associations can communicate with their governments due to threats. Many cities don’t recognize the new king—of course, mainly targeting the prince who’s taking over the rule…”
“Prince Gran?”
“Yes, he must have plotted this conspiracy with Argus to seize the throne. Alas, such things can happen… Prince Gran is probably the biggest beneficiary of this plot!”
“I think it’s that guy Argus!” Sos said with a sneer as he bit into his bread.
“Maybe so,” Ulric agreed, nodding and frowning. “Argus has successfully sparked civil unrest in the empire. If this continues, this beautiful country…” He paused, hesitating. “During my travels, I tried to gather information about Argus. He’s currently in Sassen, with no unusual activities… but…”
“But what?”
“It’s strange. He seems to be building something north of Sassen, recruiting many commoners for it. What on earth does that man want?” Ulric shook his head and sighed. “Sassen is said to be in great chaos now. It seems they’re still at war with merchants from the south because those merchants refused to pay huge taxes anymore…”
Looking at the rich broth in his bowl, the boy said indifferently, “It doesn’t matter anyway…” He twisted the spoon in his hand and said in a strange tone, “Rioks…”
As if understanding the meaning behind Sos’s words, Ulric put down his spoon, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and whispered, “I heard that seventeen professors died, including that great mage… Now those professors have mostly moved to Vandel. They should be safe…”
“Seventeen?”
“Yes. I just don’t know which seventeen professors. I only heard it from mercenaries during my travels. Argus… that man is too powerful. It’s like a nightmare. He might be the strongest among your humans…”
“You’re wrong,” Sos said indifferently, glancing at Ulric. “Argus… he’s no longer human!” He added in his mind, including himself…

“That’s true,” Ulric said with a frown, seemingly unaware of the boy’s expression. “I’ve always been suspicious about the origin of that dark power he possesses. How could humans have such immense strength? Even with the help of demons, the demons behind Argus are really… Could it be a level-seven Piers-class demon? Yet he easily defeated the Immortal King summoned by the necromancer in that battle. Although the Immortal King summoned to this world was weakened in power, it shouldn’t have been so easily defeated, right? Could it be the legendary level-eight Satan-class archdemon? Ha, that’s ridiculous. The legends of Satan-class demons are even more absurd than those of vampires…”

“But vampires do exist, don’t they? — There’s one right in front of me!”

“Uh,” Ulric was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile before resting his chin in thought. “But I’ve never heard of a Satan-class demon. It must be a Piers-class one…” As he spoke, it seemed he thought of something, and he asked curiously, holding up the bread, “What do you plan to do? I think it would be better to move to Vandel. Although the main body of the magic community in this country is still made up of black magicians, Riox has been removed, and Vandor has also been affected by those necromancer battles… Ah! What a beautiful city… What a pity…”

“I don’t know. We’ll decide later!”

“Oh, right,” Ulric said seriously, as if remembering something. “It seems Riox has been controlled by the other side. Many people now know about their alliance with the necromancers. There are quite a few black magicians everywhere preparing to take revenge. I heard Argus has already been targeted in several assassination attempts…”

“That guy won’t be killed so easily,” the boy said, looking at Ulric in surprise. “Where did you hear all that?”

“In the taverns everywhere. Taverns are the best places to gather information! It’s still the same after five hundred years, hahaha. What good luck! But sadly, why doesn’t anyone appreciate my music? Ah, what a pity…”

“…” The boy rolled his eyes irritably. Suddenly, as if sensing something, his gaze instinctively turned toward the door. At the same time, Ulric’s eyes also shifted there, and he whispered, “It seems there’s more than just me visiting today!”

“Hmph!” Sensing the powerful magical fluctuations outside, the boy snorted coldly and said in a low voice, “Open the door, Sordjes!” With a wary tone, the soldier puppet gently opened the door, looking at the man and woman standing outside in confusion, as it seemed like he had seen them somewhere before.
The man outside waved his hand and said cheerfully, “Finally found you guys… Well, you seem to be doing fine! I really needn’t have worried about you, kid!” Beside him, the beautiful woman with a hint of worry on her face also couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Looking at the guests outside, Thors felt mixed emotions.
“Professor… Hode?”