A dozen dirigibles of varying sizes hovered in the sky above the Asteriscus Manor, each one adorned with shimmering runes and the family crest, their banners fluttering proudly in the wind. Though many of the airships appeared aged, they were durable enough to withstand storms and even elemental attacks. They were living relics, a legacy forged over generations by the Asteriscus family.

  On the ground below, the estate grounds bustled with movement as family members and servants loaded the last of their belongings. Crates of treasures, research scrolls, magic items, and personal items were carried up the boarding ramps under the supervision of Magi. Elders moved in orderly lines, overseeing the process with solemn precision, while younger acolytes whispered among themselves, wide-eyed as they prepared to leave behind the only home they had ever known. In total, there were almost two thousand personnel included in this huge migration.

  Onboard the largest of the dirigibles, Victor stood at the helm, surveying the scene from above. The Thornwood Forest lay at the far edge of the kingdom, and even at full speed, the journey would take several days. He was certain the path ahead would be anything but smooth, and obstacles were inevitable.

  Beside him, Alvin Asteriscus stood silently, hands clasped behind his back. “The last time our family moved with this many people was at the end of the Dark Era, more than a millennium ago,” he remarked quietly.

  Victor gave a faint nod. “This time, we’re not fleeing. We’re advancing — to reclaim the glory our family once held.”

  As the final boarding was completed, a series of signal flares shot into the sky from the ground. A low, harmonic thrumming filled the air as the vessels began to rise in unison, lifting the legacy of the Asteriscus family toward its new future.

  Before the largest dirigible could take off, Angela requested a private audience with Victor.

  “What is it? Are you going back to the Amethyst Ring Tower?” Victor asked.

  “Mhm.” She nodded with a grunt and explained, “Although the Asteriscus family is more important to me, I have debts I need to repay there. Also… my mentor told me I now have the qualifications to compete for the successor position. If I manage to become the next master of the Tower, I’ll be able to support the family even more.”

  “You should do that.” Victor nodded in approval before taking out an interspatial ring that once belonged to Wyne and giving it to her; the ring now contained more than a thousand novice-grade mana crystals and several magic tools and potions of varying quality.

  “What’s this?” She looked at the interspatial ring in confusion. “Are you giving this to me?”

  “It’s a parting gift,” Victor explained. “Take it as an investment.”

  “No taking it back, okay.” Angela put on the ring before going on her way.

  It would indeed be a great advantage if Angela rose to the position of Tower Master. While the Amethyst Ring Tower wasn’t a top-tier Magus organization like the Arcane Radiance College, it still held considerable influence and could pull its weight in the region. Having an ally in such a position would only strengthen the Asteriscus family’s as well as his academy’s standing in the times to come.

  Afterward, all the dirigibles took to the skies, with the one carrying Victor called the “Arcturus” leading at the front as the rest of the fleet followed in tight formation. Birds scattered from the treetops as the shadow of the migration passed overhead.

  Below them, the Asteriscus Manor — a place filled with memories — slowly faded into the distance, becoming little more than a speck on the horizon.

  It was time for Victor to begin his return journey.

  A dozen sleek, falcon-shaped dirigibles cut through the morning sky. Each one bore the emblem of the Merlin family — a red dragon exhaling fire — etched proudly onto their dark red hulls.

  At the front of the formation was the flagship “Zephyros,” a vessel three times the size of a standard dirigible commonly seen in civilian or trade use. Its decks bristled with magic cannons, and its hull was shielded by reinforced magic barriers that could withstand a full-force assault from even a Nexus Temporal Magus.

  Alphonse stood in the control room, eyes locked on the rolling hills ahead. They had reached their destination: the Asteriscus Manor.

  Or rather, what remained of it.

  Strangely, the once-bustling estate was silent. No guards rallying to defend their homeland, no defensive magic array crackling in anticipation, no mana signatures pulsing from within. Nothing remained but silence and empty structures.

  Alphonse’s brow furrowed at the sight. “They’re gone.”

  A scout had previously reported no signs of activity, but Alphonse had assumed it was a ruse — an ambush waiting to spring. That assumption shattered the moment he stood before the manor’s gates and found only stillness.

  One of the elder Magi approached from behind and asked cautiously, “Should we begin the sweep, Patriarch?”

  Alphonse raised a hand slightly. “Do it. I want every inch of this place searched.”

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  But then, Alphonse had a different idea and gave another order. “Have one of the dirigibles fire on the manor before we send anyone in.”

  “As you wish.” The elder Magus gave a respectful nod before ordering the others to carry out Alphonse’s order.

  A moment later, one of the side ships adjusted its position, charging its magic cannon as it locked onto its target — the center of the Asteriscus Manor. Then, the cannon fired, releasing a beam of compressed Electro elemental energy across the sky, striking the manor grounds with a thunderous blast.

  Boom!

  Stone erupted on impact, shattering into fragments as a plume of dust and debris rose high into the air. Compared to the standard magic cannons used by ordinary people, this magic cannon’s destructive power was at least ten times stronger.

  But even after the smoke began to settle, nothing stirred below.

  “…It’s truly abandoned,” Alphonse muttered. “All right, send in the advance unit.”

  “Yes, sir!” the elder Magus replied with a firm nod.

  Within minutes, squads of elite Ki-Warriors and battle-hardened mages descended from the airships, led by several experienced Ki Masters and senior Magi. They fanned out across the manor grounds, delving into underground vaults and combing the surrounding forests. But no matter how thoroughly they searched, they couldn’t find a single soul.

  The Asteriscus family — and all of their servants — had vanished, as if they never existed in the first place. It was too eerie.

  Back aboard the Zephyros, a grim-faced Magus returned to Alphonse with a report.

  “They’ve evacuated the entire estate,” he confirmed. “The migration was and likely took place just two days ago, judging by the mana traces. From what we can piece together, they left using a fleet of dirigibles… at least a dozen strong.”

  Alphonse paused for a second to think. While he had expected the Asteriscus family to abandon their estate and flee, the decision to bring along all of their servants and valuables didn’t quite make sense. Mortals were expendable — they would only weigh down the evacuation. It would’ve made far more sense for only the core family lines to escape.

  What troubled him even more was the fact that the advance unit had reported no signs of traps. It was way too clean, which wasn’t something that a Magus family would do.

  Suddenly, several explosions erupted from the ground.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Waves of purple light and concussive blasts tore through the entirety of the Asteriscus Manor, enveloping even the old northern garden. Screams rang out, followed by bursts of strange spatial ruptures that sent shockwaves rippling through the air.

  “What’s going on down there?!” Alphonse barked, spinning toward the communication crystal.

  The voice that crackled through it was strained with panic. “We’re under attack! No visible enemies, no magic circles! Something’s warping the environment! Argh!”

  The wrinkles on Alphonse’s face deepened as his expression turned grim. What kind of magic could twist time and space without leaving behind any trace?

  On the ground, more than half of the elite unit was already down. Several Ki-Warriors had simply vanished — some disintegrated mid-motion, others frozen in place like broken puppets. The space around them had bent into impossible angles, folding in on itself in ways that defied normal laws of physics. In some areas, elemental explosions erupted seemingly at random, tearing through formations and killing them in clusters.

  Whatever spell had been laid here, it had been set with terrifying precision. It didn’t rely on conventional spell models, nor did it leave any ambient mana residue that could be tracked. It was something obscure. Esoteric.

  Only the high-ranking Ki Masters and official Magi managed to retreat, shaken and wounded.

  Back aboard the Zephyros, Alphonse’s expression was stormy with barely contained fury. He hadn’t anticipated that the enemy could conceal a trap so thoroughly — one that evaded all detection and annihilated most of the advance unit, sparing only the Ki Masters and Magi.

  It was a staggering humiliation.

  He didn’t yet know who had set the trap, but he swore, with burning conviction, that he would hunt them down even if it meant chasing them to the ends of the world!

  The sky was dimming all around, casting hues of pale gray as Victor’s fleet of a dozen dirigibles sailed through a mountainous corridor blanketed in drifting clouds. Below them, jagged cliffs stretched endlessly, while above, streaks of latent lightning pulsed within the roiling sky.

  They were passing through an uncharted zone in the southern skies — an aerial route most dirigibles avoided. Not because of distance or terrain, but because this region was far removed from major Magus factions and riddled with unpredictable hazards, including unaffiliated elemental domains. Victor had chosen this path deliberately, hoping to avoid attracting the attention of larger political powers until the migration was complete.

  Aboard the lead dirigible, the Arcturus, Victor stood in the main control room, arms folded behind his back as he stared out the glass window. So far, the journey had been smooth.

  Out of the blue, Victor was alerted that his trap system, which he had placed at the Asteriscus Manor, was activated. Huh. So they’ve arrived already? That’s quicker than expected.

  The traps he had left behind were extremely well-hidden. By utilizing the {Spatial Fold} spell, Victor had been able to conceal a variety of Bet-tier offensive spells within isolated pockets of space. Through careful tweaking, he had adjusted the spell’s parameters to trigger only under specific conditions of time and location, effectively turning it into a deadly, unavoidable snare — one so subtle that even a Nexus Temporal Magus might overlook it.

  Still, because the Asteriscus dirigible fleet had taken the southern route, the journey that should have taken two to three days at most had now extended to at least five. At the moment, they were only two to three days in, barely halfway through the route.

  It might take the Merlin family half a day to deduce their trajectory, but considering their faster vessels and the fact that they didn’t need to detour, there was a real chance an advance unit could catch up before they reached their destination.

  “This is quite concerning…” Victor murmured.

  Even so, he wasn’t overly worried.

  By the time an interception occurred, they should be nearing the outskirts of the Thornwood Forest. And whatever force the Merlins deployed, be it elite Magi or even a Nexus Temporal Magus, Victor was confident he could hold them off. At least for a short while.

  Just then, the dirigible swayed, and the lights flickered dimly.

  A flash of light burst in the clouds ahead. Then, from the swirling mass of wind and storm, a colossal humanoid figure began to take shape, its form crackling with raw elemental energy. Composed entirely of wind and thunder, the being stood at least a hundred meters tall, its eyes glowing like twin orbs of electric gold.

  The windows cracked open, and violent gusts of wind came rushing in. Alongside the roaring wind, streaks of blue lightning scattered in every direction, tearing through the air with a deafening crackle. Many of the acolytes and mortal crew were thrown off balance, some collapsing to the floor under the force of the disturbance.

  “Insignificant vermin! You dare trespass upon the domain of the mighty Kuhuk?!”

  The voice boomed across the skies, accompanied by a violent thunderstorm.

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