Karnak smiled softly upon hearing the news from the Tower of Dawn.

"As expected, Search Black is good at this sort of thing," he commented.

Elezar and Dreltein had set out, but they were leading an army only half the size of what they had commanded during their previous attack on the Tower of Dawn. It was all thanks to the timely kidnappings and releases of the two princes.

"Well, the person who made the lock taught us exactly how to pick it, so it would be a problem if we couldn’t do it," said Karnak.

The palace’s magical defense wards had been jointly created by the imperial magic tower and the Tower of Dawn. And Diogres Kolon was the Master of the Tower of Dawn. He knew every detail about the wards he had set up, so he had been able to inform Desteran of the most precise vulnerabilities.

With reliable information like that in the hands of a professional like Search Black, kidnapping one or two princes was not difficult at all.

"Well, this is about the limit, though," muttered Karnak.

Kidnapping the crown prince or the emperor was utterly impossible. In fact, it was an absurd notion to even think of. Though kidnapping the third and second princes in succession created the impression that even the crown prince and the emperor might be in danger, it hadn’t actually been particularly difficult. But human psychology was a strange thing. When events like these happened in succession, it created the illusion that even the crown prince or the emperor himself might be in danger.

Serati suddenly spoke up, as if something had come to mind. "Come to think of it, it’s surprising Master Diogres approved the plan to abduct the prince."

Although he now found himself cooperating with the Twilight Cult by coincidence, Diogres had no real grievance with the imperial family. He was still a loyal servant of the empire.

"I never imagined someone like him would go along with a plan that endangered a member of the imperial bloodline," said Serati.

Karnak nodded. "That’s why I had you review the plan in advance."

After all, when traveling with one of the strongest mages alive, necromancy might be forgiven. But truly evil deeds were a different matter. And as always, Karnak couldn’t distinguish where the line for truly evil lay.

"If it passed Serati’s standards, Diogres would likely be able to accept it too," he continued.

"So it wasn’t just about trying to live like a decent person, then." Serati let out a dry laugh. "I was wondering what made you come up with such a reasonable plan for once."

"Didn’t have to worry about that stuff before. But working with goody-two-shoes types is exhausting," lamented Karnak.

"If that’s the reason, wouldn’t working with villains be even more tiring? You can’t trust each other," questioned Serati.

Karnak scoffed, like she’d said something ridiculous. "Villains are the ones you can trust! You just pop their heads open and brainwash them."

"Ah... right..." Serati regretted asking. She was the fool for entertaining the question.

Afterward, Desteran returned to the capital ahead of them and mobilized Search Black to carry out the prince abduction plan. Meanwhile, Diogres and Karnak’s group headed toward the Tower of Dawn.

This time, they abandoned any hope for a comfortable journey. They crossed the continent in the shortest distance and time possible, switching horses often by taking advantage of the Twilight Cult’s imperial route.

Thanks to that, they reached the region where the Tower of Dawn was located in just fifteen days. Retaking the tower did not prove difficult. After all, most of the mages there still supported Diogres. No matter how loudly the empire claimed he was a heretic, few mages believed it. And it wasn’t because Diogres was particularly virtuous.

—Master Diogres is a cultist of the Black God?

—What kind of nonsense is that?

—The man spends all year cooped up in the tower. When would he have found time to join a cult?

A few mages from the imperial magic tower had been assigned by Elezar for surveillance. They remained stationed at the tower, but with help from allies on the inside, Diogres swiftly cleared them out and then informed the empire that he had resumed his position as Master of the Tower of Dawn.

That happened to be shortly after the second prince had been returned, so the timing worked out well. With all the preparations complete, all that remained was to eliminate Elezar and Dreltein, using the tower as their stronghold.

To this proposal from Diogres, Karnak promptly voiced his opposition.

—We must not go to war with them.

—What are you saying? Didn’t we come all this way to fight a war?

—We did... but I meant something a little different.

Fortunately, their groundwork had been effective in reducing enemy forces by nearly half. Even so, Elezar and Dreltein’s army still greatly outmatched theirs. And yet, despite being weakened, Elezar and Dreltein had marched out without hesitation. If they truly believed victory was out of reach, they would’ve delayed to gather more troops.

"We can’t make an enemy of the empire." Looking out the tower window at the sky beyond, Karnak spoke in a serious tone. "Our enemies must be only Elezar and Dreltein, and no one else."

***

The northern imperial road stretched across the vast plains of Lacania. Three thousand troops marched along the road. It was the second punitive expedition against the Tower of Dawn, led by Elezar and Dreltein.

The two rode side by side, conversing.

"Having our forces reduced isn’t entirely a bad thing," commented Elezar.

Dreltein agreed, "Our mobility has improved because of it."

It was a distance that would have normally taken ten days. Now, it had been cut down to five.

"Looking back, it seems we deployed an unnecessarily excessive force during the first expedition," continued Dreltein.

In truth, the current force was sufficient to subdue the Tower of Dawn. The previous battle during the first expedition had already destroyed more than half of the tower’s defensive wards.

"No matter how powerful Diogres is, he couldn’t have restored all of them in such a short time," said Elezar.

It was something she could be certain of, as a mage of the same level. What was impossible for Elezar was equally impossible for Diogres. "So, dealing with the tower’s magical defenses won’t be an issue. My Replica Tower is still intact, after all."

The Replica Tower, a copy of her own Platinum Tower, was currently hidden in an uninhabited wilderness near the Tower of Dawn. It had been placed there in preparation for the possibility of Diogres regaining his power and returning to the Tower of Dawn.

Well, even if that hadn’t been the case, issues with budget and manpower had left her no other choice.

Dreltein let out a faint laugh. "Of course. How could they possibly haul that thing back to the capital?"

On the other hand, dragging it to the Tower of Dawn would take only half a day. It was perfectly usable.

Elezar continued, "And besides, he no longer has his staff."

The Dawnshroud Staff, the relic of the Tower of Dawn and Diogres Kolon’s cherished weapon, was now in her possession. She had defeated Diogres in their last battle and taken the weapon from him.

Of course, not having the staff didn’t mean Diogres couldn’t use tenth-circle magic. But it would certainly affect his casting speed and spell precision, even if only slightly. And in battles between equals, a slight difference often became the decisive factor between victory and defeat.

All things considered, Diogres was not in a more advantageous position than before. Then why was he showing himself again? What cards did he have up his sleeve?

"Search Black, no doubt." That was Dreltein’s guess. He didn’t know the reason, but from the circumstances, it was clear that Desteran had joined hands with Diogres. "It must have been Desteran who came up with that absurd idea to kidnap the princes."

"You really think Diogres of this era would agree to something like that?" Elezar thought to herself for a moment, then smiled. "No, perhaps it was Karnak’s doing."

"True, those bastards are not to be underestimated," said Dreltein.

Karnak had already interfered with the cult’s plans multiple times and had even cost them Jedex. If not for Tesranach’s strict order never to leave the empire, they would have crossed into the Seven Kingdoms long ago to deal with them.

"They’re likely with Diogres now, aren’t they? Perfect. We can take care of them all at once," said Dreltein.

"We’ll need to be careful. They may not look it, but they were the ones who defeated a martial king," warned Elezar.

Both Gellard, who had been possessed by the future Leven, and Beltia Crotium, had been forced to retreat in defeat by Karnak’s group.

Dreltein, himself a martial king as well, looked displeased. "They didn’t defeat them with their own skill, did they?"

"That doesn’t mean we should underestimate them," countered Elezar.

They were formidable opponents, no doubt about it. And now they had joined forces with Diogres. They had enough power to make them believe they had a fighting chance.

Even so, Elezar and Dreltein still wore calm expressions. There was a reason for that. Now then, how did they even know that Karnak’s group had defeated Beltia? It was something they couldn’t have known unless someone told them. And the person in question was walking a little apart from the marching soldiers at that moment.

It was a woman in her forties, with an unremarkable appearance, clutching a longsword to her chest like a doll. She was muttering the same words over and over like a madwoman. "Kill him, Karnak... I will kill him..."

***

The second expedition force against the Tower of Dawn marched for three more days. Finally, they reached a day’s distance from their destination. Dreltein called a temporary halt and dispatched scouts to the Tower of Dawn. It was a common tactic for anyone leading an army.

The scouts safely surveyed the tower and its surroundings. However, the scouts gave a strange report upon returning.

"Um, Lord Dreltein..."

Seeing the scout captain unable to continue speaking, Dreltein pressed him. "What is it? Give your report!"

"Well, it’s..." It was only after a long pause that the captain was able to continue. "The Tower of Dawn... is empty."

***

The dark blue Tower of Dawn rose high in the middle of the wasteland.

Looking up at it, Ronchester, Elezar’s adjutant and disciple, a ninth-circle mage, muttered, "They really abandoned the tower."

It was something he simply could not understand. For a mage, a magic tower was not merely a place to live. It was a powerful weapon, a shield, and armor all at once. And he had just abandoned it? Diogres, on the brink of war?

"Could it be that he plans to flee like this?" Ronchester questioned.

Lachete, another disciple of the archmage and an eighth-circle mage, shook his head. "If he planned to run, he wouldn’t have revealed himself in the first place. Why would he declare himself to the empire only to flee?"

Unlike the confused subordinates, Elezar and Dreltein showed no signs of panic. They simply looked around the empty Tower of Dawn with curious eyes.

Elezar broke the silence. "I can see what kind of ploy this is..."

"But this isn’t the sort of thing Diogres of this era would do," said Dreltein.

On the other hand, it was something the Diogres they remembered from the future used to do often. In fact, it wasn’t something that only Diogres resorted to. Elezar and Dreltein themselves had employed similar tactics.

"Wasn’t this the exact tactic that Lord Tesranach enjoyed during his days as the Monarch of Death?"

It involved retreating, hiding, ambushing, and setting traps, followed by springing ambushes and surprise attacks. After becoming Tesranach’s subordinates, Diogres, Elezar, and Dreltein had often mimicked his tactics. As long as one ignored things like conscience, morality, and honor, they were indeed efficient and rational tactics.

"It’s so familiar that it’s almost nostalgic." Clicking her tongue, Elezar looked out across the wasteland on the opposite side of the tower.

Beyond the wasteland, on the horizon, lay a vast mountain range beneath a blanket of clouds. It was the Pellantia Mountains, which divided the empire’s north and east. From the traces of movement, it was clear that Diogres and the Tower of Dawn’s forces had headed toward those mountains. If they had deliberately chosen such rough terrain, there could only be one reason.

"It means they have no intention of engaging in a frontal battle, even if it kills them."