303 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

**Chapter 303: The Dark Forest** In the dense forest where even the starlight failed to penetrate, a group of individuals dashed through the uncharted thickets. “Wheeze! Damn it, how did I end up in this mess…!” A middle-aged man in leather armor muttered in frustration. Draped over his shoulder was a young man, whose high-quality clothing hinted at an extraordinary status even at a glance. His eyes were closed, but his strikingly yellow skin compared to the average continental folk and his black hair evoked the prestigious bloodline of the Empire. Of course, to the middle-aged man, this young man was nothing more than a burden. A burden that was absolutely crucial and could not be lost. – No matter what, secure the second prince. – Only the direct bloodline of the Emperor can serve as a shield against the royal palace’s attacks and provide us a path to emerge into the light. ‘Is that even possible?’ Will the prince, who was abducted while out for negotiations, trust them? They had failed at previous missions as well. ‘I’d be lucky if this brat doesn’t wake up and decide to kill us all.’ Due to his infiltration position as an officer in the central legion, he was somewhat familiar with the conduct of the imperial royals and remained skeptical. Arrogant fools who thought no one stood above them but the Emperor, despite their lack of competence. While the direct descendants of the Emperor were reputed to be different, it also made them potentially more terrifying. ‘Why did I get myself into this reckless task? Damn it!’ But in the ‘Tower,’ the principle of absolute obedience was non-negotiable. He had no choice. – Tracks found! – They're up ahead! – Beep! The whistle echoing from below the mountain sent a chill down his spine, prompting the middle-aged man to quicken his pace. ‘Already?!’ He already knew who was pursuing them. The Imperial Inspection Division. Though he wasn’t certain of their specific affiliation, they would certainly be elite agents. No matter how they traced the trail, they were tenaciously persistent like revenants. However, they weren’t the main problem. The fact they were on his tail meant that either the Swordmaster Tris Hornsby or the Gale Wizard Galen Decide was nearby. ‘Cursed monsters.’ Though he held the position of an elder in the Tower, he was no match for those two. He didn’t want to find out which of them pursued him, but he had no choice any longer. The air around him suddenly transformed into sharp blades, attacking from all directions. ‘Gale!?’ The icy wind mixed with bone-chilling cold was an unmistakable threat. With a gritted grin, he reflexively drew the sword from his waist. *Swoosh!* The ‘gray’ force blade shot out, deflecting the onslaught of wind blades in all directions. “Damn it!” No doubt everyone pursuing him would now know his location due to the explosive sound, but he had no other choice. What was more frightening was the wizard seemingly glaring at him from a kilometer away in the sky. [Release the prince!] *Buzz.* “Ugh!” The magical message struck his eardrums with an intensity stronger than most lower-tier attack spells. It was astounding not only for the precision of the magic sniping him from such a great distance but... there was a bigger problem. ‘I’m caught. There’s no escaping.’ Had it been the Swordmaster, there might have been a slim chance. While not a superhuman, he possessed skills that others could not, making his battle capabilities sometimes surpass those of superhumans and more effective in creating combat variables. But evading the Gale Wizard targeting him from above was impossible with the methods he knew of. In that case.... ‘Mutual destruction!’ To die together with the Gale Wizard. The odds were slim, but not entirely impossible. ‘Even if I fail, I can buy some time.’ During that interval, others could conceal the prince. Resolving so, the middle-aged man flung the prince into the dark underbrush and quickly activated the gray mana embedded in his heart. ‘Berserk. Mind Control on target Wizard. Memorizing on Battle Mode.’ A berserk spell that exchanged reason with an amplified physical ability several times over. And a mental magic to focus that frenzy on a single target. Along with a macro spell to automatically activate prepared battle magic, a secret of the Tower, the middle-aged man's eyes began to blur. Simultaneously, a gray aura enveloped his entire body, strengthening him rapidly, with three gray orbs the size of a man’s head spinning irregularly around him. Then, what felt like a sudden gust of wind brought a half-white-haired wizard of gold, seemingly aged by time, to land before him. An appearance that, save for the streaked hair, retained a youthful visage. “Central Legion Captain, Palmon Lehalt, I hereby arrest you… huh?” *Boom!* The calm declaration was abruptly severed as the force blade struck directly against his barrier. A force blade blazing with fiery intensity. Simultaneously, black thorny vines sprouted instantaneously from where the wizard had perched, ensnaring him. *Crackle.* Watching the cracks forming in the barrier of wind and ice surrounding him, the wizard inside instead laughed in astonishment. “Oh? A swordmaster from the revered Cassel Magic Tower? It’s my first time seeing one in the flesh.” “Grr.” But the only response to his admiration was a beast-like growl. *Boom!* Amid the rapid sword strikes like lightning, the three gray orbs alternately spewed out clouds of poison or summoned thorny vines and black lightning, launching relentless attacks. Galen Decade furrowed his brow lightly at the sight. “Surrendering to madness? It is incredible to maintain magic under such conditions, yet even so, it is insignificant against my greatness….” *Crack.* Galen’s overly confident expression faded as the gray force blade sliced through the shattered barrier. *Boom!* With movements uncharacteristic of a wizard's agility, Galen narrowly dodged but couldn't avoid a thin gash marring his handsome face, now risen into the sky. "Blood...?" A subtle pain he hadn't experienced in decades. Feeling the touch of dampness at his fingertips, Galen's expression twisted into one of fury. "My noble blood!!!" The Gale Wizard. Renowned as the Empire's strongest combat magician, master of wind and ice. To those in the know, another of his monikers was the Mad Narcissist. A high wizard acknowledged among high wizards, he embodied the archetype of a wizard, a psycho among psychos. “I’ll shred you to pieces!” As his blue eyes rolled back, exposing the whites, razor-sharp blades of wind began to swirl 100 meters around him. “Tear and freeze!” The roaring sound. Shrieks and howls. A violent gale erupted in the tranquil midnight forest, sending the creatures within fleeing from sudden calamity. And into this tempest charged Palmon, only to spew a fountain of blood mid-air before plummeting to the ground. *Thud.* “Heh...” Wounds as though his body had been sliced countless times. Yet, remarkably, Palmon began to stagger back up, the gashes already healing at an incredible pace. This miracle only stoked Galen’s rage further. “You can endure? You dare endure, you filth!!?” With a howl that seemed to shake the sky, an icy storm began to rain down on the struggling Palmon. The devastation left after a spell amplified dozens of times from the typical 5th Circle Blizzard. In the heart of the chaos... The summer forest transformed into a desolate ruin, overtaken by a winter’s harsh frost. At its center stood Palmon, now an immaculate statue of ice. “Hahaha! Serves you right, trash!” *Shatter.* Was it the vibration of his laughter? Palmon’s form, one of the few remaining intact in the ravaged forest, shattered into pieces of ice. At that moment... “You’re even crazier than the rumors say.” A cold voice echoed in the ruined space, silencing Galen's mad laughter. “Have you forgotten why you were chasing after that child? Had I not intervened, the child too would have ended up dead, tsk tsk.” An older man emerged, his voice clicking in disapproval. An old man, small in stature, one you might see in any southern village of the continent. His tattered garb further emphasized his frailty, looking as though it might crumble under the summer sun. The younger man, seemingly double his size, floated alongside in midair, an odd match to the old man who appeared unrelated. But Galen, knowing the truth, could only stiffen at the sight. “...Who are you?” “Me? The one you and that old Tris are hunting.” At these words, Galen's expression froze like ice. “The Master of Cassel Tower?” “You could call me that.” “Are you the ‘Serpent that Swallowed Truth’?” “Oh, you’ve heard of that? You’re not like other brats these days.” “Ha...” Ahae. The old man spoke as if addressing a child. Typically, this would set Galen aflame with rage, but now he merely glared coldly at the old man. “To think you’d show yourself before me. Brave, aren’t you?” “I should’ve come sooner. Because I was late, a precious one was lost, tsk tsk. That Dark Sword lived up to his reputation.” “Dark Sword?” “You don’t even know who gave you your orders. For a man of your fame, you lack knowledge.” The old man laughed, flashing his yellowed teeth, making Galen’s face harden even more. “A filthy tongue for an old man. Let’s see how long you keep yapping.” White energy radiated from Galen’s body, casting a brilliant glow in the air. Naturally, all eyes were drawn to it. *Crack.* The old man's simple step forward produced a faint sound and the blueish aura erupted like shattering glass around him. “Krrr...” Galen, hovering in the air, trembled as a thin line of blood trickled from his lips. “I thought you were just mad, but you're quite sly, aren't you? Was that psychotic facade just an act?” The unassuming old man’s face held a smirk. But Galen could no longer laugh. A finalized move easily upended by a trivial one. “Don’t be ridiculous!” The wizard’s face twisted as he began to unleash a brilliant blue and white aura over his body. It swiftly transformed into a chilling, transparent storm, sweeping across the area. The roaring wind turned into an invisible tempest of tiny blades, slicing everything to dust. Winds that eroded all they touched. For a few elite, it offered concentrated destruction; against many, it was an area attack defying common sense. Always showing maximal effect, Galen’s true secret magic turned the frozen forest ruin into dust. Yet. “Is this the famed Gale’s Legion then?” Calmly, a voice resonated from within. A mature voice, distinct and unusual, cut through the noise of the raging storm. As Galen's face hardened at such an alien scenario, a burst of black light streaked through the center of Gale’s Legion like lightning. *Slash.* “Kak!?” Galen, barely dodging, watched as blood spurted from his right chest. At the same time, the gale seemed ready to obliterate the forest slowly abated. “You dodged?” The old man reappeared within, speaking with surprise. Though he had just severely wounded the Empire’s top warrior, he clicked his tongue as though unimpressed. And Galen, unknowingly having escaped death, forgot his pain and asked in a daze. “Could it be... a Grand Wizard?” “Grand Wizard? Ancestors would laugh if they heard.” “What...?” "If the true Grand Wizards from before the 'Great Migration' could witness this, they'd be ashamed. Of course..." "What do you mean...." "You are even further beneath them," he added with a cold, mocking smile as pitch-black darkness began to envelop Galen. Realizing too late what was happening as the elder’s expression shifted, Galen's face turned pale. "Ughhhhh!" With a cry—half grunt, half scream—the blue and white brilliance surged again. Yet, the sacred radiance slowly dulled as it was consumed by the all-devouring darkness. And then... *Boom.* With a resounding vibration that echoed through the air, everything that had been in that space vanished as if it had never existed. However.... “Ha? He managed to escape?” The old man, staring blankly at the empty space with disbelief, chuckled softly and shook his head. “So, he had a hidden card up his sleeve. Ha. Not a madman after all, but a sly fox, isn't it?” The old man spoke as though addressing someone unseen, though there was no one to answer him. “But I know you've been awake for quite some time now. Hey, boy, would you care to hear my proposal?” At those words, the young man who had been dangling in mid-air, seemingly unconscious, opened his eyes slightly. It was none other than the second prince, Baros Ban Ares.