DSLA 15

Chapter 15

The Tower Master’s party was promptly led to the reception room. Only then did the expressions of the knights brighten.

The knights dashed off to the training grounds, likely eager to boast about their escort mission with the Tower Master. Lily deliberately walked at the back of the group, dragging her steps.

“Could the Tower Master be under some kind of curse too, like the Duchess?”

If that were the case, it would explain his intense interest in her. Perhaps he thought her holy power could lift the curse. But…

“Then he would’ve gone to the temple.”

In Duke Yvonne’s case, there were specific circumstances surrounding the Duchess, and he had completely cut ties with the temple. But the Tower Master was the heir of a prestigious family—there was no reason for him to be at odds with the temple.

Of course, the temple officially regarded dark magic as “filthy.” They considered even regular magic borderline heretical, so dark magic was beyond redemption.

Lily had somewhat understood why the temple detested dark magic after experiencing a curse firsthand. Still, the temple had one priority that outweighed all else:

“If he’s the Tower Master, he must have money, right?”

Money.

Any ordinary dark mage would’ve been thrown out in disgrace, but if one arrived bearing stacks of gold, the temple would welcome them with open arms, claiming divine blessings fell equally on all. Besides, the High Priest had already used Lily’s holy power before…

“Did he go to the temple and still not get healed?”

The Tower Master’s curse seemed far stronger than the Duchess’s, but considering how easily Lily had lifted the Duchess’s curse, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

Still pondering, Lily called for the captain as soon as she stepped into the training grounds. She was the only one who had sensed something unpleasant from the Tower Master, so she intended to report it just in case.

The Duke, having received the report, furrowed his brow ever so slightly.

Sitting in front of him, the Tower Master quietly tucked his trembling hands into his robe. He tried to hide the shaking, but failed.

“As for the matter of the leaked magic enhancement potion—”

A composed voice floated out from under the robe. Stuart, who had thought no one had a voice as beautiful as his father’s, was quietly taken aback—it was just as refined.

“I have something to verify first.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“You said the effects of the magic enhancement potion were cleanly removed by holy power, correct?”

The Tower Master continued calmly, as though he hadn’t been trembling moments ago. But the Duke, seeing through him, suppressed a smirk.

“Until we confirm that personally, we cannot say anything for sure.”

The Tower Master folded his hands neatly. He was pretending to be calm, but his heart pounded so hard he felt it might leap out of his chest. Cold sweat trickled down his hidden face.

“Very well. You have the magic enhancement potion ready?”

The Duke gestured, summoning the captain. The man gave a short bow and dashed out of the reception room.

The knights who had escorted the Tower Master were too busy chattering, so training had ground to a halt. The unusually noisy training grounds worked in Lily’s favor.

The captain discreetly motioned to Lily, and no one noticed her quietly slip out of the corner of the grounds.

“They need to verify whether the potion’s effects can really be dispelled by holy power.”

The captain explained briefly while rushing, barely out of breath. Lily, panting a bit, managed to keep up.

Standing in front of the overly large reception room, Lily took several deep breaths. When she finally turned the doorknob, the same unpleasant sensation as before washed over her.

“I-I came because you summoned me.”

“Welcome, Miss Hegelstern. We called you because the Tower Master requested verification regarding the removal of the potion’s effects by holy power.”

“Yes, sir.”

Most likely, that wasn’t his real goal… The Duke gave a small wink, and Lily, tense, nodded stiffly.

Standing at the door, Lily glanced at the Tower Master. His aura was so strange that she wanted to ask directly what curse it was—but it didn’t seem like he would answer.

“Then, I’ll drink it.”

As expected, the Tower Master was the one to drink the potion. The moment he did, a wave of magic far more powerful than any knight Lily had met so far surged through the room.

Her skin prickled. She immediately sent a wave of holy power into him.

A brilliant blue light struck the Tower Master square in the chest. The stinging sensation on her skin vanished—but the sinister aura pouring from his body only grew stronger.

“I must be the only one feeling this.”

No one else reacted, so she was certain now.

Stepping away from him, Lily increased her holy power.

“Is it still not working?”

The Duke looked at her, troubled. The Duchess, sitting beside him, looked equally concerned. The Duchess’s curse had been lifted in seconds with much less holy power. But the Tower Master…

“Duke, get back!”

The captain rushed in and yanked the Duke and Duchess back. Black shadows began crawling out of the Tower Master’s body.

Lily dodged nimbly and diverted her holy power toward the walls. The energy climbed up and burst down from the ceiling, directly onto the Tower Master’s head.

“It’s gone! The shadow—”

“Aaaargh!”

Though she’d successfully dispelled the shadow, the Tower Master screamed in agony. Lily gritted her teeth. Every time he staggered, a horrific stench wafted from him—yet no one else reacted.

“What kind of curse is this?!”

Now Lily understood why he had come here. The High Priest had bottled her holy power and used it sparingly, drop by drop, as if it were his own.

That might work for simple healing—but in cases like this, where holy power had to be poured out continuously in massive quantities, that method would never work.

“Aaagh… urgh…”

“Why… why isn’t it stopping? He’s clearly in agony!”

It had been ten minutes since Lily began pouring out holy power. The Tower Master was writhing on the floor, and even Lily felt uneasy watching it.

Pure holy power was like poison—it should be administered slowly in small amounts.

“It won’t leave a wound, but…”

It would still be excruciating. Even the High Priest, who had consumed her holy power for sixteen years, always winced when taking it.

“Let’s end this quickly, no matter how painful it is.”

With her face contorted in effort, Lily poured out every last drop of her holy power. Sweat formed on her brow.

“Shouldn’t we stop—”

“If you’re just going to keep talking, then leave!”

The mages nervously mumbled, only for Stuart to snap at them. His fierce shout silenced them. This was the final line of defense.

Healing was no longer possible—survival itself seemed unlikely. They could only watch as the Tower Master writhed.

At last, Lily collapsed to the floor, utterly spent. Stuart tried to rush to her side, but an unknown force blocked him from approaching.

Boom!

Stuart slammed into the invisible wall. He even drew his sword, attacking wildly, but not even a scratch appeared.

“Lily, are you okay?!”

There was no reply. A shadow that had fully emerged from the Tower Master’s body now coiled around Lily’s feet. Stuart grew frantic, but Lily remained motionless.

Even the Duke and Duchess joined in striking the wall. Only then did it begin to waver.

“Damn it, what kind of curse does this? If it’s something unusual, you should’ve warned us! This is outrageous!”

The always-calm Duke roared at the mages. The Tower Master, lying limp on the ground, barely lifted himself and spoke in a dying voice.

“…It’s a dragon’s… a dragon’s curse.”

“What the hell…!”

The Duchess cursed and unleashed a massive blaze toward the wall. The flames roared, threatening to engulf even her husband and son—but neither flinched.

Lily, contrary to what everyone thought, was fully conscious.

But something unseen was pressing down on her body—she couldn’t move or speak.

—Who’s this little brat…?

A low growl rumbled above her. The curse that had afflicted the Duchess had been ancient human dark magic. But this—this thing wrapped around the Tower Master—was beyond human comprehension.

“You should’ve told me this was what I was dealing with!”

She might die here. She vaguely heard Stuart’s voice crying out near her ear.

If I die, will he grieve for me? He’s kind. Maybe he’ll cry a little. He’s certainly looking very sad for someone who said he brought me here for this.”

—Who do you think you are, coveting my prey?

A threatening voice rasped close to her face, like it was licking her cheek. Disgusted by the sensation, Lily mentally shouted:

“Prey?! The only prey I ever wanted was the omelet from breakfast!”

She had wanted another one but didn’t ask because she didn’t want to seem greedy. And now this?

Lily clenched her teeth. This cursed creature had been knocked down by her holy power—no need to be afraid. But she had exhausted all her energy. Her body was empty.

“I’m out of holy power.”

The shadow kept writhing, seemingly trying to enter her body.

She remembered a lesson from the temple: those with weak holy power should never attempt to break curses. If their strength was insufficient, the curse could backfire.

She hadn’t expected to learn that the hard way.

“It’ll take over twenty hours to recharge…”

There were strong people nearby—but none could even break the wall. Help was hopeless.

The shadow was just as worn out. If even a drop of holy power returned, she might still win. Lily fought hard not to black out.

Then, from above her head, a whistle blew—a call, as if summoning a bird of prey.