TMLOH 109

Chapter : 109

The scenery had completely changed.

It was a strange space I had never visited before, yet for some reason it felt familiar. A vague sense of déjà vu.

“This place… feels like a parallel world.”

Maybe it was because I had experienced this twice already? The atmosphere, the sensation—it felt familiar.

Still, this space didn’t seem hostile or threatening, so it wasn’t silent or scary.

Standing still, blinking my eyes, a flame flickered in the air as if enticing me.

“Are you telling me to follow?”

As I walked toward the flame, the room seemed to expand in real time.

Finally, I reached the far end of the room.

Wuuuuh-.

A mass of shapeless energy vibrated in the air, calling out to me.

“This is…”

Ether?

This item, humming in a condensed form of energy, was a rare item that a minor villain had grabbed and escaped with when the Magic Tower was destroyed in the later part of the novel.

That villain had become so notorious that readers had been shocked.

Was this a hidden item in the secret room?

“I never thought I’d get something like this.”

When I touched the ether, the silver energy that recognized me coalesced and transformed into an object.

Ah, as expected…

I had become a violin.

“I’d heard it transforms into a tool suitable for its owner…”

That’s why the owner often changed, making this item’s form the most variable. Staffs, swords, shields, even daggers—it had transformed into many weapons before. And now, in my hands, it became a musical instrument.

The sensation was strangely thrilling.

“How strange. It’s like it recognizes me as its owner.”

But why hadn’t an exit appeared, or the space changed?

Wuuuuh-.

As the thought crossed my mind, the ether, now transformed into a violin, trembled, as if giving me an answer.

It wanted me to play it.

“What a ridiculous thing. So I’m supposed to play because it’s an instrument?”

I grumbled, yet there was no hesitation in my hands as I held the bow.

After playing in that nightmare, the violin no longer felt difficult or burdensome.

“What should I play?”

The question barely crossed my mind.

The bow in my hand brushed the violin strings lightly.

Ta-dan, dan-ta-dan, dan dan!

The Super Mario theme.

The melody, as famous as the game itself, flowed from my fingertips.

It was the encore piece I had heard at a recital when I had once gone with my mother to a friend’s performance. It had left a strong impression on me, and I had tried to play it myself.

Sometimes, things like this were nice.

As the short performance ended, the space collapsed and vanished.

Up to that point, everything was fine.

Dr-dr-dr-drk.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the building itself trembled; the Magic Tower shook.

Was there an earthquake?

No way!

In an instant, I realized.

If I stayed here, I’d be done for.

In the pitch-dark darkness.

【…….】

Mist stretched like wings, devouring a massive beast-like entity whole.

Crack-crunch.

A terrifying sound, one that could stop a normal person’s heart just by hearing it, echoed. Amidst this, a man, as if listening to a symphony, closed his eyes and savored the taste of something before opening them.

His golden eyes, vertically slit like a reptile’s, were chilling.

-…….

[…….]

Countless eyes and ears brought him news of the outside world.

From the darkness, his bored gaze exuded an unusual fascination.

“Hah, well.”

He was so astonished that he was speechless, yet he found himself smirking.

“Our little lady couldn’t resist and caused trouble again in such a short time.”

Was it a lack of awareness, a lack of restraint, or just her natural tendency to be careless?

“Perhaps we’ll have to capture her.”

Watching the still-undigested mass, Cheyan twitched his fingers.

“I don’t want to see her cry.”

It was strange.

Even when a toy cried, he never felt this way.

But a mere mortal… so fragile, life so short that a wrong move could kill them, and yet his heart was so affected by them.

Truly mysterious.

“Maybe it’s a singularity…”

Even if he dismissed it, she had been unusually tolerant since their first meeting.

Perhaps it was because he had seen her trembling with fear without even knowing who he was.

And yet, her eyes were so pure.

“Tch.”

Cheyan clicked his tongue.

If he had more freedom of movement, he would have taken her without hesitation.

He was still lacking.

To replenish his insufficient energy, he resorted to consuming sealed entities—but this had limits.

‘We really need to hunt that wizard…’

As long as the palace’s “thing” wasn’t touched, Nayta wouldn’t move. Since a deal had been made, there was even less to worry about.

The summoning at the Sky Tower was part of his plan.

There was only one variable: the Archmage Mercedes.

“I didn’t expect she’d come already.”

Our little lady preferred hiding at home, so she wouldn’t normally run into an archmage on the streets.

Still, Cheyan thought he had to prepare, even if the chance was tiny.

“If I can’t bring her, I’ll have to go myself.”

The Sky Tower’s proud Star-grade magician, Robert, groaned at the incident that happened on his duty shift.

‘Why me?!’

The misfortunes of this red-haired magician never ceased.

Suddenly being summoned to investigate an anomaly at Lake Sharit, becoming a witness to an incident at the palace, feeling responsible and having to meet the emperor, reporting to the Sky Tower, even summoning the revered ‘Great Master’—all in one day.

And now, while on duty, an anomaly appeared in the tower?!

‘What is this? Am I cursed?’

He had only intended to help his cute disciple participate in an event to become an archmage’s apprentice!

Moreover, the melody just now.

A faint yet unmistakable supernatural power imbued in the tune.

“Hah, damn it.”

The weaklings in the lower tower hadn’t noticed, but those who had come up the Sky Tower could not have missed it.

Pa-at! Pat! Pa-at!

As expected, Sky Tower magicians who rushed in via warp clung to Robert.

“What’s happening?”

“What on earth…”

“Who—?”

Their expressions were half-dazed, but the search was the same.

“So that energy I sensed earlier was real.”

Magicians are born with the power of stars. Upon reaching a certain level, they are chosen by the stars and become ‘true magicians.’

This was the internal definition of Star-grade magicians, different from publicly known knowledge.

A Star-grade magician could claim a chosen star as their territory and move freely.

This was why the Sky Tower floated at the highest point in the atmosphere: convenience for moving between stars, a secret of magicians.

The problem?

Pure star energy cannot be properly accepted by mortal bodies.

Thus, magicians inevitably became contaminated by star energy and often went mad.

Those who could manage this energy and create their own star could become an archmage, but most magicians ultimately lost their sanity.

This explained why temples and magic towers did not clash, and why magicians pursued truth rather than conquest.

But…

“It was purification.”

I had only felt fragments for a very short time, but that was enough to be certain.

“A purification ability—was it an ability? Anyway, it was definitely purification!”

“Who was it?”

“What happened?”

Looking at his office, now chaotic like a flea market, Robert took a deep breath.

There was no way to stop the already frantic magicians.

“Find her!”

“Search!”

The Magic Tower was thrown into chaos.

I had caused a mess.

I didn’t know exactly what, but the sense of crisis told me it was serious.

Wuuuuh- Wuuuuuuh-

“You—shrink quickly.”

I scolded the ether and moved swiftly.

Time to get out of here, fast!