When Vaelmon unleashed his spell, eight magical rings appeared, radiating downward from the top of the chimera. As all the rings converged at the center in an instant, a blinding flash erupted
—the spell had generated a shockwave as violent as a bomb explosion.
Though the mages channeled all their mana into the barrier, the spreading shockwave tore deep cracks through it. The knights inside had completely lost their vision amid the dust and smoke; the ground beneath their feet shook like an earthquake from the spell's devastating impact.
"M-Master Vaelmon! Are you all right, sir?"
As the dust cloud slowly dispersed and settled, not a single speck of dust remained from the crater. Vaelmon's spell had carved a massive crater at the center of the facility.
The Chief Mage stood calmly at the edge of that deep pit, holding his staff in his hand. The knights and mages were horrified by the scale of the destruction before them; this was not merely a spell, but a display of power that pushed the limits of magic.
Normally, military-class spells—due to their intensity—could only be cast by mages affiliated with the kingdom. Multi-circle spells could sometimes be performed by multiple mages pooling their magic, but spells of such destructive power could only be used with the king's approval.
Vaelmon turned around and called out to Alaric.
"Alaric, prepare the teleportation scroll. We're taking our wounded back to the kingdom,"
After leaving a group of mages behind to search the rest of the facility, they teleported toward the capital with the rest of the group.Vaelmon immediately presented himself before King Thalaron.
"Your Majesty, we let a few members of the organization slip through our fingers. All we have are notes regarding the experiments and research conducted here."
King Thalaron looked at Vaelmon's exhausted and angry expression.
"It's no problem, Vaelmon. We've already suffered too many losses in this operation. Please, leave such risky missions to the kingdom's knights. You are the kingdom's Chief Mage; if anything were to happen to you, this kingdom would be deeply shaken."
"I understand, Your Majesty," he said, and took his leave.
After the ceremony held for those who had died in the operation, Vaelmon personally visited each family's door, providing both material and emotional support.When he returned home, his wife Elowen greeted him with worried eyes. Elowen paused for a moment when she saw the dust and exhaustion on her husband, then embraced him tightly.
With Elowen's embrace, Vaelmon finally set down the weight of his armor and responsibility for the first time. Then Nerya joined them.
Some parts of the armor on Vaelmon's body had darkened, and his cloak bore traces of dust and scorch marks. Nerya held her breath when she saw her father in that state.
"Father!"
Nerya took her father's arm and guided him to the chair in the living room.
"That pallor on your face... What did you go through out there?"
Vaelmon took his daughter's trembling hands. "Calm down, Nerya. It was just a bit too noisy a day for an old man—that's all."Nerya cupped her father's face in her hands.When Vaelmon saw the worry in his daughter's eyes, he shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I didn't mean to scare you. But that organization clearly stated they were targeting my grandson. As his grandfather, I couldn't just sit back and wait for them to make their move."
Nerya smiled peacefully. "It's okay, Dad. Having you safe and sound by our side is what matters most to me."
As the weeks passed, Kael had finally recovered. He had returned to his regular morning training and hadn't skipped a single sword practice session. However, during training, he felt inadequate; he realized he was constantly treading water. He had to break through the fourth ring as soon as possible. He could use the first three of the five forms Master Grimm had taught him with ease, but the fourth and fifth forms drained him. In magic, he had focused solely on firebolts to improve his control. He thought to himself:
"Lyra's family comes from a line of famous fire mages," Kael thought. "Maybe she can help me with this."
As Kael walked down the Academy's corridor on his way to class, he felt a weight on the back of his neck that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. When he turned around, he came face to face with a massive man who nearly blocked the doorway entirely. The ice house crest on his cloak revealed his identity.
"You there! You must be the Kael Director Felan mentioned. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a spirit sword at your waist..."
Kael lifted his head slightly; the man towered over him like a tower.
"Y-yes, sir. May I ask why you're looking for me?"
"I am Falcon Cave, Head of the Cave House. My daughter Revia told me she survived thanks to you. I've heard what you did, young man."
When Falcon placed his hand on Kael's shoulder, Kael felt as if he were nailed to the ground. Falcon's voice was cold yet reassuring: "My daughter is very precious to me. As a father, I know my debt to you. Thank you."
Just then, Revia appeared in the hallway. When she saw her father, she panicked. "Dad!"Falcon's stern expression softened instantly when he saw his daughter.
"R-Revia! I was just thanking Kael."
Revia hurried over to Kael's side. Her gaze shifted between her father's face and Kael's bewildered expression.
"What are you doing here? With Kael... what were you talking about?"
Falcon cleared his throat slightly, as if he'd been caught red-handed.
"I was just thanking him, Revia. When I heard that Kael saved your life, I wanted to express my gratitude as a father. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Revia's cheeks flushed slightly; her father's open display of gratitude toward Kael had embarrassed her a bit. Turning to Kael,
"My father's a bit impulsive—I'm sorry if he made you uncomfortable."
Kael replied with a tense expression:
"I-it's no problem, sir. I'm also glad to have met you."
Just as Kael was about to ask permission and head back to class, Falcon stopped him.
"Wait, son!"
Falcon pulled a small, elegant box embroidered with the Cave House crest from his pocket. Inside the box was a crest.
"This is our house's emblem. In the Gineth region, you can move about freely with this crest. Just show it to the guards; they'll treat you as if you were a member of the Cave family. Stop by our estate sometime; I'd love to host you."
"Gineth" was a region located in the west of the Eastern Kingdom, which was under the rule of the Cave Clan.
Revia slipped her arm through her father's and tugged him gently.
"Dad, you're drawing too much attention here. Let's go."
Kael took the crest in surprise. "Thank you very much, sir. I'll definitely stop by."
At the same time, Vaelmon was assessing the situation with Zephyros.
Vaelmon: "Grace, Brian, and Rete—those were the names I heard. There was also a special-class shadow mage with them; I couldn't see his face clearly. When I cut off the leader's arm, they vanished into the shadows."
"You said they used a military-class spell, Dad. You're an 8-ring mage—were the chimeras really that powerful?"
"The chimeras weren't powerful—except for one. There was one that was entirely the result of a laboratory experiment. I've never seen or heard of such a creature before. Even though I used mana overload, I couldn't penetrate my spell through its skin."
Zephyros tensed at what he heard; he knew just how terrifying his father's power was. If a creature capable of withstanding his magic were released into the kingdom without the underground organization's hideout, the casualties and losses would be unimaginable.
Vaelmon continued, "The man named Grace said he killed Kaelin. Kael couldn't have killed a Class C creature with a four-ring fire spell or sword techniques—could he have removed his ring?"
"I spoke with Kael; he didn't seem to remember everything clearly. Additionally, Ms. Felan said the creature wasn't killed by a human, and that there were no other Class C creatures in the area besides Anul."
Vaelmon gripped his staff; a deep contemplation filled his eyes.
"Very interesting..."