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chapter 53
The dark magician Regi wasn’t always a dark magician.
Regi had been a promising talent at the Mage Tower. Even among the finest prodigies, he was considered a future tower master, blessed with innate magical talent.
He showed magical aptitude at just eight years old, and was encouraged to enter the Royal Academy early.
Despite the expensive tuition, Regi’s parents enrolled him in the academy, supporting their son’s dream without hesitation.
Life in the capital was always tight. To cover his living expenses, Regi took on commissions from nobles every vacation, earning money in small magical tasks, and sent the remaining funds home.
By age twelve, he had gained such a reputation as a prodigy that his commission fees skyrocketed.
Life improved little by little. Around that time, a younger sister was born in his hometown.
Her name was Eliza—a small, beautiful little girl. How adorable and precious this tiny life was, Regi could hardly believe.
“Eliza, I’ll become the greatest mage in Bertel. I promise I’ll buy you everything you want to eat, wear, or own!”
Life went on simply and peacefully.
But happiness lasted less than ten years.
The year Regi graduated from the academy, his parents were falsely accused and executed.
The charge: attempted murder of a noble. The claim was that they had plotted against the lord of their estate and were caught.
The lord handed Regi’s parents over to the capital’s court, and without a fair trial, they were hanged.
“This is a false accusation! My father would never do such a thing! I’ll gather witnesses…!”
Despite all efforts, there was nothing Regi could do. Standing before their cold bodies, he couldn’t even shed a tear.
Everything felt unreal.
Regi and his nine-year-old sister were left alone in the world. According to Bertel law, criminals are not even allowed gravestones.
At that moment, he realized: this tragedy happened to my family because I am powerless.
To protect his only remaining family, he needed strength and power.
If he became a grand mage of enough renown, maybe he could expose the real culprit.
At least… if he could find out who framed his parents!
With that determination, Regi devoted himself to earning achievements at the Mage Tower. He repeatedly resisted temptations from powerful figures who sought to monopolize his abilities.
“The Mage Tower is fair and impartial. It answers to no faction. That’s why I must become the tower master.”
For Eliza.
To Regi, she was his reason for living, his everything. Every coin he earned from his work at the tower went to his sister.
Three years later, he received news that Eliza, whom he had raised like a daughter, had fallen ill for unknown reasons.
Rushing back to his hometown, he discovered that the uncle and aunt he had trusted were abusing Eliza and stealing all the money he had sent.
“To give Eliza the proper medicine, you’ll need more money. Hmm… 2,000 gold per month should cover it.”
When Regi faced their oily, grinning faces, the last remnants of his humanity vanished.
By the time he came to his senses, blood covered his hands.
The middle-aged couple who had been her guardians were dead before him, eyes wide open.
“…I did this.”
But it didn’t feel satisfying. Regi realized quickly:
“It wasn’t just my uncle and aunt.”
Neighbors turned a blind eye to the girl, always wearing tattered clothes and running errands for her uncle.
“Please take good care of my sister. She’s still shaken from losing our parents.”
Every time he visited, he had pleaded.
“Here’s a small token of my appreciation. Please watch over her as you can.”
But the replies were always dismissive:
“You’ll have to take care of your sister yourself. How old are you?”
“….”
“Eliza’s condition is unfortunate, but there’s nothing I can do. And if it’s contagious, take her away quickly.”
The neighbor’s door slammed shut in his face.
At that moment, his eyes went wild.
In the overwhelming despair, Regi thought:
Everyone who neglected her is her abuser. They all deserve to die.
Deserve to die… must die…
I will kill them all.
When he came to his senses again, an entire village had disappeared.
Black rain fell from the sky.
The air was thick with his overwhelming magic; it was impossible to breathe. Blood, stench, and magic—all flowed from his own hands.
Instinctively, Regi realized he had crossed the point of no return.
“Now… it’s just you and me, Eliza.”
It’s okay.
He tried to comfort himself. They didn’t need the humans attacking them—they deserved to vanish.
“It’s okay… we’ll be fine. I’ll make sure we are.”
Regi disappeared into the world, holding his sick sister.
That was one year ago.
Regi’s eyes snapped open.
The cold drops falling from the cave ceiling made him spring to his feet.
They… they came here!
“Eliza…!”
“Awake?”
A clear voice echoed. Even as his pale face turned almost blue, Regi recognized the voice.
It came from deep inside the cave—his secret sanctuary, his lifeline.
Fortunately, the bed where Eliza lay was still there.
A young man with black hair leaned over Eliza’s bed, and a pink-haired girl perched at the bed’s edge.
The cloth covering his sister was slightly displaced. Rage surged, nearly blinding him.
They dared touch my sister. Dared!
A dark aura seeped from Regi, staining the surroundings.
“Ah, this…”
Ariletti’s eyebrows twitched. Familiar.
Having been exposed to this magic before, nearly twice succumbing to its toxic effects, he knew the pain of rotting alive—it was nearly as extreme as the torture chamber on his first run.
Ariletti muttered involuntarily:
“Truly… a pain I never want to endure again…”
Having taken preemptive antidote herbs, none of the group showed poisoning symptoms.
Realizing his magic was ineffective, Regi grit his teeth and charged.
“Get away! Leave!”
Glen, who had been watching over Eliza, intercepted Regi with brute force.
Mages are vulnerable in close combat—especially hand-to-hand.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Glen drove a fist into Regi’s side, then drew his sword.
The steel tip, sharp as ever, aimed at Regi’s throat.
“You mean your sister? The poor girl trapped between life and death, not truly alive because of her wicked brother?”
Regi shuddered at the young man’s composure.
The handsome youth with deep blue eyes glared at him as coldly as the sword in his hand.
The girl lying beneath the dark veil was hardly recognizable as living.
Her forehead to left eye was already blackened with rot, and the rest of her body was decaying. No heartbeat, no breath; her body stiff as wood.
