Fate: How About a New Savior?

The sunset vanished without warning.

Shiomi, passing time reading in his room while waiting for the situation to evolve, noticed the evening sky suddenly dimming.

Before the sun could be completely swallowed by the clouds drifting in from the east, what caught his attention first was the overwhelming number of small magical sources approaching.

Magi? Around twenty... no, thirty of them?

He closed the book in his hands.

Being framed as a murderer didn't particularly rattle him. His plan was simple—cooperate for now, wait until the real culprit got frustrated at his persistence and slipped up, then act.

But for an army of Magi to appear just as Iselma's generation of magical achievements was being snuffed out one after another...

That couldn't be a coincidence. These people were coming regardless of the murders.

Rising from the sofa, he moved to the window.

In mere moments, dark clouds had swept over the land surrounding Iselma's lakeside estate.

A deep rumble of thunder echoed across the sky.

Then lightning tore through the clouds, slamming into the forest, its flash illuminating the darkened air in a sudden blaze of brilliance.

A weather-based Magecraft launched precisely at dusk—clearly meant to sever Iselma's connection to its land.

When the land was damaged, the mana flow from the leylines became more unstable than usual. Under normal circumstances, Magi guarding their territory would reinforce the land with defensive Magecraft.

Naturally, the attackers would begin by disrupting those defenses.

Would Iselma simply sit back and wait to be crushed?

Just as Shiomi pondered this, a knock came at the door. When it opened slowly, Lady Inorai, dressed in her signature green gown, stood there.

"Lady Inorai?" Shiomi greeted her with a smile. "Now's hardly the time to be calling me in for questioning, is it?"

"No. I figured you wouldn't be able to sit still—after all, your daughter went to check the perimeter of the forest," Inorai replied calmly, the look on her face one of complete control. "I've come to lift your house arrest."

"Judging by your tone, you already know who's behind this attack on Iselma?" Shiomi stepped toward the door. The moment he learned Caren was near the forest, there was no way he could stay still.

"The Galliasta family," Inorai said as she turned and began walking away.

Shiomi's brow twitched.

"Galliasta?"

He'd heard the name before—a newly emerged Magus family from the Middle East, descended from oil tycoons. Backed by vast wealth, they specialized in seizing the achievements of others, even other Magi.

So they'd set their sights on the current generation of Iselma's magical accomplishments... and launched an assault?

Shiomi exited the Tower of the Sun and made his way toward the edge of the forest.

Rain had already begun to fall, a heavy downpour slamming against the earth and soaking the entire Windermere Lake District.

Weather-altering Magecraft on this scale was immense, but not unheard of. Rainmaking rituals—or those like it—had long circulated across cultures worldwide. Yet for modern Magi, executing such a feat was far from easy.

One major obstacle: the fading of mysteries.

The reason this invading force of Magi could pull it off was simple—they were exploiting the terrain.

Iselma's Twin Towers stood in a region notorious for its volatile weather. The natural conditions already lent themselves to climatic shifts; Magecraft merely accelerated the process.

Several kilometers away, perched on a slope overlooking Iselma's lands, a young man watched with pride.

Atrum Galliasta—the newly appointed head of the Garista family—clung to a scantily clad maid, whispering smug boasts of his success into her ear.

The spellwork had been of his own design. The surprise attack was being carried out by over a dozen Magi from his family, all following his lead.

"Come, plunder! Usurp! Do it efficiently—!"

Atrum laughed heartily as he declared war, but his voice abruptly cut off, the final word hanging unfinished.

"—Begin…"

A light flared near the Twin Towers.

Unlike the sharpness of lightning, it resembled a lighthouse glimpsed by ships during a stormy night at sea. The light shot swiftly into the sky, vanishing into the dense clouds above.

In an instant, the rain ceased, the storm clouds scattered, and the sunset with its crimson sky returned.

Atrum raised the antique telescope in his hand to see who had done it. The shock in his heart quickly gave way to fury. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the maid at his side, leaving red marks on her flawless, wheat-toned skin.

The Ninth of the Primordial Runes: the Rune of Seafaring.

Originally used to calm the seas during violent storms, its true essence lay in the complete control over weather. Not only could it pacify wind and wave, but also conjure tidal forces powerful enough to level a city.

The forest, once capable of forming barriers, now stood bare and exposed after the damage to its land. Bathed in the evening glow, it was little more than a pristine nature reserve.

[Iselma is under my control. Do whatever you want with the attackers.]

That was the last thing Inorai said to Shiomi before leaving.

Whether it was to make someone else do the dirty work, or to confirm something, Shiomi didn't really care.

In his field of vision, he already saw the Magi squad confronting Caren and the others.

They were the vanguard of the Magus army that had assaulted Iselma.

Without exception, they wore green hoods and cloaks, concealing both their bodies and faces—like a demonic army from ages past.

Just moments ago, they had been riding high on the weather support from their allies behind them. Now, they were thrown into bewilderment. Several of them already lay on the ground, pierced by glowing Mana arrows.

"Leave this to me. What's coming next isn't something you can handle," Shiomi said, placing a hand on Caren's shoulder.

She gripped two hand crossbows etched with Rune script—weapons Shiomi had prepared for her self-defense.

Unable to wield offensive Magecraft effectively, Caren relied on magical tools to support her attacks.

The crossbows fired arrows whose power adapted to the user's intent. The embedded spellwork automatically converted ambient Mana to fuel them.

To put it simply, they were like automatic pistols with perfect accuracy.

Just earlier, Caren's group had encountered an advancing Magus squad. With Gray spearheading the front and her and Reines supporting from the rear, they managed to stop several enemies.

The torrential rain created by Magecraft had heavily disrupted their movements—but just as quickly, that interference vanished.

"When I saw the rain stop, I knew father had arrived." Caren lowered her crossbow. "We're pulling back for now."

With that, she retreated behind Shiomi, taking Reines and Gray with her.

Shiomi now stood alone in the forest, facing the Magi hidden among the trees..

...

(90 Chapters Ahead)

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