An explosion occurred over the skies of Martes.
At the roar and the flash, the citizens turned their gazes to the sky. Amid the blazing flames, the roof of the most expensive inn in the city, the Lorix Inn, had been completely blown off.
"F-fire!"
"Call the soldiers! Hurry!"
People became frantic, but the fire was too high up for them to do anything about it.
Before long, a large crowd gathered in front of the inn. Taking advantage of the commotion, Theon quietly concealed himself.
'What kind of brute mage does something like this?'
Casting three Third-Tier spells simultaneously.
That alone was shocking, but the fact that he detonated those spells in a small room was simply appalling. He could've killed himself…
"Grrgh…!"
Theon grimaced. Thanks to the outfit made from beast-hide, he avoided burns, but he'd still taken quite a hit.
His insides churned, and his ears were ringing.
As he groaned and lifted his head, Verden emerged from the flames.
"Is… is that even human?"
"Looks like a mage?"
People stared up at the floating Verden in awe.
'Disgustingly unscathed.'
Clicking his tongue, Theon decided to retreat for now.
But how to escape? Judging by the way he was scanning around, he didn't look ready to give up easily… That's when a brilliant idea flashed through Theon's mind.
Clearing his throat, Theon shouted in a distorted voice,
"It's an arsonist! That lunatic mage is the arsonist! Run if you don't want to burn to death!"
What?
Panic spread in an instant. Screaming, the crowd scattered in all directions.
Theon slipped away through the throng.
'There's nothing he can do if I'm not in the sky.'
Theon let out a small sigh.
He had failed the assassination ordered by the Doctor. It might've worked with poison, but that wasn't Theon's style. He took pride in the killing techniques he had honed over a lifetime.
If only that mad mage hadn't had such good instincts, the assassination would have definitely succeeded.
'The Doctor's going to throw a fit again.'
What's he going to hurl this time? Surely not his test subjects? The thought alone made Theon's head ache.
As he escaped the area and slipped into a dark alley, a chill ran down his spine.
Sensing something ominous, he looked up—and there was Verden, tracking him from the sky.
And it didn't end there.
"Ugh?!"
Whoosh! A blue arrow grazed Theon as it zipped past.
Even if the streets were empty, to cast magic so openly in the city… He'd heard there were mages so consumed by magic they lost their minds—clearly, this guy was one of those lunatics.
A sinking feeling hit him—he'd messed with the wrong person.
'What in the world were the Archons thinking, sending a mage like that…!'
Boom! A stone wall shot up in front of Theon.
Accelerating, he kicked off the wall and vaulted over it. He'd narrowly escaped—this was only the beginning.
Whoosh! Whooosh! Clang!
Magical arrows rained down in rapid succession.
Theon twisted and turned with all his might, deflecting the arrows. Like a rabbit being driven into a trap, his escape routes gradually narrowed. No matter how he moved, it was hard to escape the aerial mage's line of sight.
At this rate, getting caught was only a matter of time.
Suddenly swerving, Theon slashed with his dagger.
Crash!
Breaking through a wall, Theon darted into an old shop. In the basement was a passage often used as shelter by beggars and criminals.
Verden descended to the ground and followed him into the underground.
Homeless people lay scattered throughout. Though Verden spread his mana, the assassin's gear must have had special properties—he couldn't pinpoint his location.
A drunken man staggered up to Verden and spoke.
"Hic… Haven't seen so many new faces around today."
Had he seen the assassin?
"Did someone wearing black just pass by?"
"Hmm, can't quite remember. But if I had this, maybe it'd jog my memory."
The man made a circle with his fingers and snickered.
Verden thought to ignore the time-waster and walk past, but the man suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Nope, no can do. This is my turf. You gotta pay to pass. Even if you don't wanna die, you still gotta pay."
The man spun a rusty blade and stepped closer.
At that moment, a dagger burst from the man's abdomen. Blood splashed across Verden's face.
'Tricky bastard.'
Using another person as a distraction.
Blocking the blade with his staff, Verden shoved the body aside and released his mana.
Boom! Along with the corpse, Theon was hurled back.
Slamming his dagger into the ground to slow his fall, blood trickled from the corner of Theon's mouth.
The two locked eyes. No words were exchanged. Sliding toward Verden, Theon slashed upward with his dagger, thinking—
'If he activates a mana barrier, I'll trigger the smoke bomb.'
That would be the only chance to escape while he couldn't cast other spells.
But contrary to expectations, Theon's strike sliced through empty air. Twisting his waist, Verden spun his staff.
"What the…?!"
The mana-charged strike carved a blue arc through the air.
Thwack! Theon's body lifted from the unexpected impact. As Verden reached for him again, Theon clenched his teeth.
At the same time, a smoke bomb detonated. The stone spear pierced through the black smoke.
Whirlwind magic quickly cleared the smoke, but the assassin had already vanished. In his place, fresh blood droplets remained.
'He avoided a fatal wound.'
With mana detection failing and the possibility of traps ahead, Verden decided to stop the immediate pursuit.
Of course, he had no intention of giving up. The tracking spell was already in progress. Unless the other side had a mage, the target would never escape his grasp.
Wiping off the blood roughly, Verden climbed back to the surface.
"D-don't move!"
Nearby patrolling soldiers surrounded Verden with spears raised.
***
"What in the world is going on…?"
Mayor Gellin Warhard unconsciously rubbed his forehead.
An explosion in the city in the middle of the night. No casualties, so not a terror attack, but it was undoubtedly one of the most serious incidents in the city's history.
The shock was all the greater because it involved a mage to whom he had just personally issued a pass yesterday.
Knock knock. Someone knocked at the door.
"Come in."
"Yes, Mayor."
Martes's Adventurer Guild Master, Oscar, stepped inside. The two sat facing each other, both with grave expressions.
"How goes the investigation?"
"It's progressing to some extent… It seems clear that this person Asher is the key figure."
The Adventurers' Guild, by nature, often worked in official cooperation with the state. Their search capabilities and strength were far more efficient than mobilizing hundreds of soldiers.
Moreover, there was a connection between this incident and another case the Adventurers' Guild was already investigating. It was more than reasonable for Guildmaster Oscar to take full charge.
"So you're saying that he… was planning a terrorist act?"
"Quite the opposite. From the circumstances, the mage is more likely to be the victim. That's also what he claims."
Oscar handed over a document containing the interrogation process.
Mayor Warhard narrowed his eyes and read carefully, not missing a single word.
The testimony obtained from Verden. The incident that occurred last night had started like this:
Having been guided around the city by a fellow Gold-rank adventurer named Iris, Verden returned to his inn late at night.
There, he discovered an assassin hiding under his bed and a fight broke out. Overpowered by magic, the assassin blew up the floor with a bomb…
"Then what about the magic that was witnessed in the middle of the night?"
"They say it occurred during the pursuit of the assassin. It happened in an unpopulated area, so no citizens were harmed by the magic. From what we've checked, there doesn't seem to be much damaged property either."
Of course, even so, the mere use of magic within the city was already a serious matter.
"In the end, there was only one casualty. And even he was a wanted criminal known for robbery."
"Well, that's some relief. Have you found out who tried to kill him?"
"...It's speculation, but we believe it may be related to the person who allegedly tried to kill an adventurer two days ago. However, the investigation team reported finding nothing in the cave."
Not even traces of small animals.
There was a cave in the forest, but no creatures had gone inside. That was unnatural.
Which meant, someone had tampered with the corpse of the assailant Verden killed, and the mutant goblin. Moreover, that someone might also have tried to kill Verden.
The mayor rubbed his lips, then looked at the guildmaster.
"Then there's a possibility this mysterious figure might attempt another assassination. Not just on Asher, but on that adventurer party as well."
"We tried to assign protection, just in case. But the problem is… no one is willing to take on the job of guarding Asher."
Rumors about Verden had quietly spread through the city. A mad mage who set fire to an inn.
Though efforts had begun to fix the false narrative, rumors, by nature, were hard to kill once they spread.
Mercenaries and adventurers, ever sensitive to gossip, refused to go anywhere near the protection request. They said a mad mage was scarier than a demi-human.
Even though they risked their lives on every job, they cherished their lives above all else.
"Hmm. Then I'll try finding someone from the knight order. Leave that to me. But in exchange, you must find the one threatening this city's peace as quickly as possible."
"But of course, Mayor."
Thus, someone was appointed to serve both as Verden's bodyguard and his observer.
***
The city's public order was in the hands of the soldiers, but they were not the true symbol of force.
That honor went to the knight order, a unit directly under the mayor and officially recognized by the kingdom. They were the true power of the city. Still, like the soldiers, they could not disobey orders from above—even if it was something they didn't want to do.
"Why me, of all people, to guard a mad mage?"
Jason, the vice-captain of the knight order, grumbled.
There were so many subordinates. Why did he, the second-highest in the knight order, have to be the bodyguard? They even had mages in the order—why did it have to be him, especially guarding a man? If it were a woman, that'd be a different story.
Arriving at the guard station, the soldiers saluted him.
"Welcome, Lord Jason."
"Is the subject inside?"
"I'll show you in."
He followed the soldier inside. In front of the room where the subject waited, Jason asked,
"By the way, what was the mage's name again…?"
"...Asher."
Not even knowing the name of the one he'd be guarding…
The soldier gave a short cough, saluted, and returned to his post.
Jason knocked, then entered the room. A mage with ash-grey hair sat inside.
'Younger than I expected.'
A Third-Tier mage, and at that age? Was he one of those so-called geniuses?
With the curiosity of someone seeing a rare creature, Jason stepped closer to Verden.
"I'm Jason, vice-captain of Martes's knight order. From now on, until your safety is secured, I'll be accompanying you wherever you go. Do you have any questions?"
"May I go outside now?"
"Yes, that's fine. But you must stay within my line of sight."
Verden nodded and stood, heading outside. Jason followed behind him, keeping a fixed distance.
'Where's he going all of a sudden?'
The number of people dwindled as they left the city center.
Before long, they reached the outskirts. Still, Verden didn't stop, going even deeper. Eventually, Jason could take no more and stepped in front of him.
"Just where are you planning to go?!"
"You said I just had to stay in your sight, didn't you?"
"Well, yes, but… If you don't tell me your objective, I can't allow you to go further."
Well, telling him the reason was simple enough. He planned to use the knight's strength anyway.
Standing in front of an old building, Verden spoke.
"It's here."
"...Here? What's here?"
"The assassin who tried to kill me yesterday, probably."
What? As Jason flinched, Verden's eyes gleamed.
Boom! The building's entrance was torn off entirely by magic.