Running Away From The Hero! (Remake)-Chapter 261

Evade the Hero CH 261 TL

#10 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Tower

Magic Tower.

This is a sacred place and homeland for Sorcerers.

A long time ago, in what is now called ancient times.

Magic was a technology rejected as demonic power, and Sorcerers who could use magic were shunned by people.

Rejection breeds rejection.

Just being called a Sorcerer made people see them as equivalent to demons.

It didn’t end there.

Some people went beyond rejection and started hunting, and when their lives were threatened, Sorcerers began to unleash their pent-up anger.

Humans killing Sorcerers and Sorcerers killing humans continued.

Even innocent people became targets of wrath.

A Sorcerer who hadn’t done anything was killed by an ordinary human.

The angered Sorcerer who killed ordinary people then.

It happened once, twice, thrice…

What started as small-scale murders in a village escalated into a war between ordinary humans and Sorcerers.

That’s when a deity intervened.

“Sorcerers are not heretics!”

It was the deity’s decree, a divine command that humans dared not defy.

Normally, it would have been an absolute command to obey, but humans did not stop. The deity who uttered those words was none other than the goddess of mercy and devotion.

Magic at that time was akin to miracles of the gods.

Fire erupted in empty space, and solid ground moved as if alive.

With skilled Sorcerers manipulating even the climate with magic, who would think of them as ordinary people?

This led ordinary people to believe that only demons could perform god-like miracles.

Yet, the question remained: why did the deity issue such a decree?

The one who issued the decree was none other than the goddess of mercy and devotion.

Since she was the most compassionate and devoted, people thought she would even pity demons and further believed that they were being deceived by the words of evil demons.

The goddess of mercy and devotion had worked tirelessly since the creation of the world, showing her mercy to even the worst of criminals, so people believed she would forgive them no matter how bad their deeds.

And indeed, she did.

The goddess of mercy and devotion tried to reform even the most heinous criminals through mercy and devotion to the very end.

Many repented and atoned for their sins, but because of such actions, people ended up not listening to her, creating a paradoxical situation.

As a goddess of mercy and devotion, it was unbearable.

She looked down upon the earth with sorrow every day, pleading through other gods for a new decree.

However, the ancient gods hesitated to intervene in worldly affairs.

Prior to the imminent chaos caused by evil, there were no notions of heroes or saints.

The only one who responded was her sister, the goddess of mercy and devotion.

But the goddess of mercy and devotion knew.

The moment her sister, the goddess of greed and desire, acted, the world would descend into chaos.

It was evident that she would incite conflict between non-Sorcerers and Sorcerers for mere entertainment.

So, the goddess of mercy and devotion worked alone to prevent the conflict between non-Sorcerers and Sorcerers.

Was her effort successful? A great Sorcerer emerged from among the Sorcerers.

He led many Sorcerers who followed him and spoke of trusting in the goddess of mercy and devotion.

Ordinary humans were only fearful of themselves, Sorcerers said, and if Sorcerers behaved a bit more, they could avoid fighting.

Other Sorcerers didn’t believe him. They had lost too much to simply accept his words.

They rejected and rebelled against his words.

However, the great Sorcerer acknowledged it.

He knew he had lost a lot.

He knew that if he made mistakes, he could lose even more.

“However, that’s inconsequential.”

Although he acknowledged it, he refused to leave it unchanged.

“You must follow my lead.”

With these words, the great Sorcerer exerted his power, crushing all Sorcerers under his command.

The great Sorcerer was formidable.

Though not transparent, the moment he cast magic, all Sorcerers fell.

He instructed his students and Sorcerers who followed him to gather the fallen Sorcerers and led them to a massive tower he created with magic.

Of course, to not intimidate humans, the tower was structured to descend from the first floor to underground.

There, under the guidance of the great Sorcerer and his followers, who upheld his will, they researched and taught magic until humans no longer feared Sorcerers, patiently waiting.

As time passed, awakened magic wielders emerged.

As evil spread across the world, a misguided deity turned malevolent, plunging the world into crisis.

Amidst the birth and disappearance of numerous nations, magic naturally became a part of human strength, and Magic Towers gradually emerged from seclusion.

The most notable change was the outward appearance of Magic Towers.

Instead of underground towers, enormous towers began to rise visibly from the outside.

Nevertheless, the independence of Magic Towers remained steadfast.

Magic Towers maintained their independence against any external authority.

The value of Magic Towers, once the pride and homeland of Sorcerers for ages, lay not in authority but in magic.

Empowered by this pride, Sorcerers from Magic Towers resisted external temptations and upheld their distinct identity.

There were kings who tried to lure Magic Towers into their fold through persuasion and threats, but none succeeded.

This led to the development of independent Sorcerer training institutions within their respective domains.

One prominent example was the magical school of Marzis in the Karan Empire.

There, Sorcerers from the empire and those from Magic Towers engaged in a clandestine war to recruit exceptional talents.

If we were to delve further into the story of Magic Towers, it would be endless, but the most crucial history would be summarized as such.

“This is the history of Magic Towers.”

Having concluded his speech, the Sorcerer of Magic Tower surveyed his surroundings.

“For ages, we have lived and studied magic in Magic Towers. There were times when we fought non-Sorcerers, but thanks to the efforts of the goddesses of mercy and devotion, Sorcerers were eventually recognized as a part of human society.”

These were young Sorcerers, barely in their twenties.

They possessed remarkable talents, but their mental strength was lacking.

To excel as Sorcerers, they needed the knack for making sound decisions in diverse situations and the mastery to analyze foes while employing optimal magic.

The current state of the continent was such that even Sorcerers lacking these qualities had to be sent out.

Therefore, this Sorcerer was teaching them the history of Magic Towers.

The narrative included the struggles and adversities Sorcerers faced, detailing their journey to their present stature.

“For the sake of repaying the mercy and devotion of the goddesses, we must eliminate the evil spirits.”

The goddesses of mercy and devotion were revered by all beings in the world.

Even dragons, who didn’t believe in gods beyond continents and magic continents, acknowledged the goddesses of mercy and devotion.

The Sorcerers were no exception; they held in memory the goddesses’ endeavors on their behalf and for their shared history.

“Fight for the pride of Magic Towers and Sorcerers. It is to save the world from evil spirits. That’s why we are praised as Sorcerers of Magic Towers by others, and it’s our duty to leave our pride in history!”

With nods from the young Sorcerers, the Sorcerer of Magic Tower raised his staff.

“Everything is for the truth of magic!”

“Everything is for the glory of Magic Towers!”

Similar cries reverberated across numerous Magic Towers scattered throughout the continent, symbolizing their devotion to magic and the Magic Towers.

It seemed as though the Sorcerers of Magic Towers would defeat all the armies of evil spirits.

However, the world proved unforgiving.

“Grr!”

A Sorcerer was caught by the claws of a griffin descending from the sky and disappeared.

Soon after, accompanied by a ‘squish’ sound, the fallen Sorcerer transformed into a pool of blood upon impact.

“Use magic towards the sky!”

“And the ground too!”

“Gah! The front line! The front line has been breached!”

The battlefield resounded with curses and screams.

Even the esteemed Sorcerers resembled common soldiers once they engaged in battle.

“Ugh… Is this all…”

Leading the Sorcerers and coming to support the Marker Kingdom, the Head of Magic Tower, Lemin, grimaced at the unexpectedly strong armies of evil spirits.

Even though they were under the protection of evil spirits, it didn’t mean magic couldn’t affect them.

But compared to ordinary monsters, their firepower was at most half or even less.

“Head of Magic Tower!”

A cry akin to an elder’s scream made Lemin turn his head.

“Damn it…”

These were adversaries they hadn’t encountered before.

Initially, they encountered small-scale forces numbering in the hundreds.

These numbers were used to give Sorcerers with no combat experience the experience they needed by using magic.

Many Magic Tower Sorcerers struggled with distributing their magic power in their first battles.

In the military, the focus was solely on concentrating firepower at the moment to train Sorcerers and continue using that experience.

However, in the case of Magic Towers, they approached magic as a lifelong study, allowing them to use various types of magic. Yet, they rarely had the opportunity to use it in practice.

While Marzis students had opportunities to practice magic in the Karan Empire, their focus wasn’t on combat spells.

“However, Eugrasia’s monsters were an exception.

Despite this, inexperienced Sorcerers displayed their full magical potential against the demonic hordes, draining their reserves.

The crisis came afterward.

Demonic forces continued to appear in small numbers.

Unable to defeat the increasing demonic forces due to dwindling magic, their numbers grew unchecked.

Eventually, the Sorcerers of the Magic Tower and the soldiers of the Kingdom, pushed back, had to rely on the nearby stronghold’s walls for siege, and the demonic forces seized the opportunity.

Keep pushing. If we fight until our magic runs out, we can defeat powerful Sorcerers!

They acted as if speaking so.

It was unbelievable that these demonic forces, believed to be devoid of intelligence and driven solely by destruction instincts, were so relentless.

Such sentiments weren’t unwarranted.

Even now, as if supporting the necessary troops, types of monsters whose numbers had dwindled were coming to support, one after another!

“Scout’s report! The newly emerged force includes a large army with Ogres and Trolls!”

“Damn it!”

No matter how sturdy the walls were, they could crumble under the attacks of the tainted Ogres.

So, they used up their remaining magic to eliminate the Ogres, but it was futile.

“How many magic recovery potions do we have left?”

“About 50 bottles.”

The words of the army officer here left Head of Magic Tower Lemin with an impression.

“It’s not enough…”

The magic recovery potions used so far were substantial.

Perhaps in another territory, Sorcerers would have already run out of potions, having consumed them repeatedly.

The lord of this place had prepared exceptionally well against the demonic forces.

Nevertheless, it proved inadequate.

The demonic forces displayed greater cunning and strength than anticipated.

If things continued like this, everyone would die.

“We can’t let that happen!”

As the Head of Magic Tower and the representative of its Sorcerers, leading them to certain death was inconceivable.

“This realization was regrettable.”

At that moment, thoughts of his missing granddaughter flooded the Head of Magic Tower’s mind.

She was quite the audacious child.

What sort of child would consider joining the empire’s most nefarious organization simply due to the disappearance of the family crest?

She had defied everyone’s objections and disappeared like running away.

She managed to deceive the esteemed Sorcerers of the Nermia family and escaped.

What happened next?

After the downfall of Howling, she returned to serve the Great Demon and enrolled in Marzis.

Later, after leaving the imperial academy, she came to Eugrasia and even became the student council president.

She was one of the three leading Eugrasia’s prime.

That was none other than his granddaughter.

“Fortunately,”

Her summoned creature, Surtr, would have been a great help in such a situation.

It might have handled those Ogres, granting the Sorcerers a safe window to cast magic.

But even that had its limits. No matter how exceptional his granddaughter was, humans had limits due to magic.

“Indeed. It’s high time for a normal life.”

After disappearing suddenly, then reappearing just as suddenly, his granddaughter hid everything and lived in hiding at the Magic Tower.

As if fearing some kind of contagion.

He considered it rather pitiful to ask his granddaughter to venture onto the battlefield, feeling like a typical grandfather.

“It appears that as one nears death, emotions intensify.”

The Head of Magic Tower chuckled and raised his staff.

If this consumption battle continued, this place would be conquered.

But they had to resist.

They would hold out until heroes or the imperial army arrived.

“Alright then…”

“Head of Magic Tower!”

The gathered magic in the staff began to pressurize the atmosphere.

The Magic Tower, the homeland of all Sorcerers.

Lemin’s magic, leading one of those Magic Towers, had long surpassed human limits.

“Come on! Evil demonic forces! I will take you on!”

A massive storm of wind tore through the enemy’s vanguard.

“Wow!”

Instantly, over a hundred demonic forces disappeared, and the morale of the soldiers and Sorcerers began to rise.

“This is the power of the Head of Magic Tower!”

That was the moment Lemin shouted thus.

“Kwaaaah!”

“Huh?”

A deafening roar, more than ten times Lemin’s magic, echoed.

“Huh?”

And they witnessed the disappearance of forces greater than ten times Lemin’s magic.

“What… what’s happening?”

Despite Lemin defeating lower-tier monsters like Goblins and Orcs, the roar vanquished powerful units such as Ogres and Trolls.

“Oh, the reinforcements of the demonic forces are gone!”

“Did a dragon appear?”

For over a thousand demonic forces to vanish in a single strike!

It had to be a dragon; nothing else could achieve this.

“T-There!”

At that moment, through the magical device, soldiers saw what seemed like thousands of troops.

“Reinforcements!”

Hundreds of Sorcerers must have unleashed a combined spell.

Before the Sorcerers could grasp the situation, a colossal fire giant materialized, wielding a massive greatsword.

Kuoooooh!

As the giant swung its flaming sword, the demonic forces vanished in the hundreds.

“Huh?”

Their struggles appeared inconsequential against such overwhelming firepower.

“That’s…”

Although larger than before, Lemin, recognizing the giant, intercepted the magical device from the scout.

“Oh…”

At the forefront stood his granddaughter, leading the army.

“Head of Magic Tower… Should we attack?”

Despite his waning magic reserves, witnessing his granddaughter effortlessly unleash her full magical potential made the Head of Magic Tower contemplate retirement seriously.