Chapter 245: Lord of the Tower (2)

Silence implies consent.

Aileo remained utterly silent, offering no defense.

This forced everyone to accept the truth of what had transpired.

“Is that… is that true?”

“Did you really try to kill the Grand Masters?”

“How could you… how could you do such a thing to Lady Floria, who took you in as an orphan? Say something, Aileo!” Agus, Lona, and Paula demanded, their faces flushed with anger as they pressed him for answers.

“Huuu…”

A faint sigh escaped Aileo’s lips, breaking his silence.

He turned to face the Masters and spoke. ”…Have none of you ever considered such a thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“As time passes… I grow older, yet I feel forever trapped in my guru’s shadow.”

”…?”

“The world hails us as great Masters, but in the end, we’re merely Techno Mages bound to the Tower of Wishes. I’ve devoted my youth entirely to this tower, yet the highest rank I can ever attain is Master.”

”…”

“A guru is a monster who lives for centuries. Even after you and I grow old and die… they’ll continue to look down upon us from above the title of Master for decades, perhaps even centuries, to come.”

As Aileo quietly spun his tale, cracks began to appear in the mask of composure he had so carefully maintained.

“In the end, no matter how high we soar, we can never surpass the name of our guru!”

”…”

“Why?! I sacrificed everything to achieve this… and all I get is this?! Why?! Did you all truly desire lives content with merely the title of ‘Master’?”

Beneath the shattered mask, Aileo’s true face, stained with madness, was finally revealed.

“I was prepared to shoulder everything for the reform of the Labyrinth… for its future! To achieve that, the title of ‘Grand Master’ had to be discarded!”

Aileo’s confession, delivered like a rapid-fire barrage, left everyone speechless.

“Tch.”

Louis clicked his tongue and glared at Aileo.

The old man’s face was a tapestry of wrinkles.

Even Aileo must have had a youth, a time brimming with ambition and vigor.

He had vowed to hone his skills until he surpassed his guru’s renowned reputation.

That was Aileo in his younger days.

But as time passed, the disciple aged and grew feeble, while the guru remained eternally young and beautiful.

No matter how hard he tried, Aileo could neither surpass his guru’s shadow nor even reach beyond it.

After years of inner turmoil and anguish, Aileo made a decision… a wretched move.

“Aileo…”

Floria looked stunned, as if shocked by the thoughts her disciple had harbored.

A heavy silence filled the Tower Lord’s chamber, creating a solemn atmosphere.

Aileo closed his eyes, as if everything were over.

That’s when it happened.

“Bullshit.”

The solemn atmosphere was abruptly shattered as if cold water had been splashed on it.

Louis sneered at Aileo.

“Even a beast wouldn’t bite the hand that raised it from a pup. We took you in, a street orphan, fed you, sheltered you, educated you, and elevated you to the position of Master. You should be groveling in lifelong loyalty, like a dog…”

“That’s because of my own efforts…”

“Shut up. You have no right to speak—or even breathe—in this Tower of Wishes.”

”…”

“Upset that all your wasted youth only got you this far?” Louis’s eyes glittered with murderous intent, his gaze icy beyond mere coldness.

“If Floria hadn’t taken you in back then, you wouldn’t even be here now. You’d probably have died a nameless death in some alley, or rotted away as a vagrant.”

”…”

“Do you honestly believe that the position you hold now is solely due to your talent and effort? That’s laughable. Where do you think the wealth you’ve enjoyed all this time, the food and drink you’ve consumed, the clothes you wear, and the knowledge that earned you the title of Master came from?”

A low growl rumbled in Louis’s throat.

“Everything you have originates from this Tower of Wishes. Your youth? Your prime? Those were sacrifices you were supposed to make for what you now possess!”

”…”

“Don’t try to justify your actions with empty words. You’re simply greedy. You wanted more than you already had, more than you deserved, more than you sacrificed.”

Each of Louis’s words struck the Masters like daggers to the heart.

Though Louis addressed Aileo directly, his words served as a chilling warning to all the Masters and Trainees.

“The Labyrinth rewards you in proportion to what you sacrifice.”

“But don’t grow greedy for more.”

The Masters swallowed hard, unnerved by Louis’s words.

Aileo trembled violently, overwhelmed by humiliation.

Louis turned his gaze from Aileo, who was biting his lip, and tilted his head to one side.

“Ah, I almost forgot about you.”

All eyes followed Louis’s gaze.

“Huh!”

William gasped, startled by the dozens of eyes suddenly fixed on him.

Louis chuckled softly.

“What? Did you think you’d be let off just because I didn’t mention your name?”

“W-well, that’s…”

Truthfully, William had hoped exactly that.

Everyone had assumed William was safe because Louis hadn’t mentioned him while exposing Aileo’s crimes one by one.

But they were wrong.

Louis had simply been saving William for last, wanting to savor the moment.

After all, no matter what anyone said, William was the first name on the first page of Louis’s Kill List.

Louis turned to William and said, “From where I’m standing, you’re just as rotten as Aileo—absolute scum.”

”…”

“William Fix, age 43. You joined Aileo’s plan, then betrayed him to seize the position of Tower Lord for yourself. In the process, you conspired with the Syron Family and smuggled Victor’s Legacy—the Labyrinth’s most prized asset—out into the world.”

Even after being shocked by Aileo’s revelations, the crowd gasped again.

“T-the Syron Family?”

“What in the world is going on?!” William shouted, his voice rising above the murmurs.

“Wh-what are you talking about?!”

“Wait. There’s more.”

”…”

“You gathered evidence of Aileo’s crimes in anticipation of losing the Tower Lord election today. You planned to brand him as the shameless guru-killer and force him to step down. You even collected dirt on other Masters who supported Aileo, and on those loyal to you as well. Ah, thank you for that. It’s made my job much easier.”

”…?!”

In other words, Louis was implying that most of the corruption he had exposed stemmed from William himself.

“You shared that information with the Syron Family and sought to seize control of the Labyrinth by leveraging their power.”

“This is a setup! It’s a lie!” William shouted, but since everything Louis had said so far had proven true, his denial carried little weight.

It also explained why William, who had lost the Tower Lord selection, could so calmly congratulate Aileo.

Louis smiled at William, who was waving his arms wildly. “A lie, you say? I’ll bet my position as Tower Lord that Victor’s Legacy is hidden in the safe under your bed. What will you wager?”

”…?!”

“Since I’ve wagered the Tower Lord position… how about your neck?”

William’s face paled as he staggered backward, his eyes darting toward the exit.

But…

“Where do you think you’re going?” Agus blocked William’s path.

Behind them, Harold brandished his hammer, his eyes narrowed.

Startled, William scrambled back, shouting desperately, “D-don’t come any closer!”

”…”

“One word from me, and soldiers from the Syron Territory will swarm this place! Syron’s warriors are already on standby!”

“Ah, so that’s how you planned to gobble up the Labyrinth?” Louis chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. “Go ahead and try.”

”…What?”

“Contact them. Now.”

Crack!

William was already cornered at the edge of the cliff. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a communication stone from his pocket.

Buzz… Buzz…

The short signal repeated endlessly. As no one answered, anxiety tightened William’s features.

Then, suddenly—

Buzz!

A brief vibration signaled that the connection had been established.

William’s face lit up. He urgently raised his voice into the communication stone.

“H-hey! Things have gone sideways here! Send reinforcements immediately! Hurry!”

William believed that the military forces from the Syron Territory would be his lifeline.

As if in answer to his desperate plea, a voice echoed from the communication stone.

“Hello?”

But it wasn’t the voice William had been expecting. It was a clear, feminine voice.

“Louis?”

Hearing his name, Louis reached out, and the communication stone flew from William’s hand into his. Louis snatched the stone, grinning. “What happened?”

“We’ve captured them all, of course!”

“How many?”

“Roughly fifty, I think? Let’s see… one, two, three… Huh? Hey! Tania, Kendrick! Stop beating them! You’ll kill them!”

”…”

The raucous sounds from the communication stone echoed through the Tower Lord’s chamber.

Though the voice came only from the communication stone, it sent a chill down the spines of those who heard it.

“Enough. Don’t kill them yet.”

“What is it?”

“Save them? Don’t bother. Leave them be. If they die, it’s their fate. I’ll finish up here and contact you later.”

The communication ended.

William’s face turned ashen as he realized the lifeline he had been desperately clinging to had just been severed.

Silence fell once more.

Clatter.

Louis tossed Mana Restraining Rings from his pocket dimension.

“You there.”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

“Put these on them.”

“Understood!”

Meister Andres, summoned by Louis, swiftly retrieved the rings and approached the prisoners. Though he was tasked with restraining his former comrades, Andres showed no hesitation.

One by one, William, Aileo, and all the others involved in the plot were fitted with the Mana Restraining Rings.

“Hmm… That’s settled for now.”

Louis turned his head. Every time his gaze swept across the room, the Masters and 1st Grade Apprentices flinched.

His body reacted instinctively, having witnessed the consequences of Louis’s gaze time and again.

“Scared, are we?” Louis chuckled, his eyes settling on Agus.

“Agus.”

“Yes, Tower Lord,” Agus replied, bowing respectfully and addressing Louis by his title.

Louis’s smile deepened, impressed by Agus’s quick wit and adaptability. “I hear you’re in charge of the Labyrinth’s Transcendence Machine Corps.”

“That is correct.”

“How many pilots do you have?”

“One hundred thirty 4th-grade Transcendence Machine pilots, fifty 3rd-grade pilots, and twenty 2nd-grade pilots—a total of two hundred.”

“And how many Transcendence Machines are combat-ready?”

“All two hundred are operational.”

“Really? Then prepare them all immediately.”

“Huh?”

“You have one hour. Once my order is given, all units must be fully armed and ready to deploy within ten seconds.”

“L-Lord of the Tower?”

A staggering two hundred Transcendent Machines stood ready.

Among them were twenty 2nd-grade Transcendent Machines.

This force alone could raze an average kingdom to the ground.

As if sensing their unspoken question about how he intended to use such power, Louis silently walked to the video transmission device.

Standing before it, his voice turned cold:

“Count Syron, are you watching? If you dared to target my Labyrinth, you must have been prepared to face the consequences.”

Louis’s lips twisted into a grimace.

“Look forward to it. I’ll be paying you a visit soon.”

And he’d be bringing all two hundred Transcendent Machines with him.

Louis’s words were tantamount to a declaration of war.

The onlookers gaped in astonishment.

Meanwhile, Agus trembled violently, a chill spreading from the tips of his toes upward.

Ah… this man…

Louis’s mere presence compelled all to submit.

Agus had wandered countless battlefields, witnessing the might of numerous warriors, generals, and kings. Yet none had ever radiated such an overwhelming aura of power.

Simply standing before him forced one’s head to bow involuntarily, while deep within his chest, military fervor surged uncontrollably.

He’s the Emperor!

And not just any emperor, but a ruthless conqueror destined to trample all morality underfoot and devour every territory in his path.

In that moment, Agus grasped his fate.

He understood the true reason he had entered the Tower of Wishes.

Agus had sought out Louis to pledge his unwavering loyalty.

“Agus.”

“Yes, Tower Lord!” Agus replied briskly to Louis’s question.

“Your answer?”

“I will obey your command!” Agus declared with unwavering conviction.

Agus’s heart pounded fiercely in the presence of the Tower Lord, a man who walked the path of true hegemony.