The dining hall was in complete disarray.
Food and shards of broken plates were scattered around the table that had been split cleanly in half.
“What is this?”
“What did I just see?”
The siblings who had witnessed it from only a few steps away could do nothing but sit in their chairs and blink.
“He just cut through the magic, right?”
“Yes. Rodos did.”
It was truly unbelievable.
This was not the Rodos they knew.
When he had suddenly barged in after smashing through the doors with an axe in each hand, they had assumed it was an aftereffect of the accident.
After all, rumors had circulated that part of his brain had been burned away along with his magic circuits.
Rodos paid no attention to what his siblings thought and merely stared in silence at the mess he had created.
‘Did I put too much strength into it?’
Although he did not show it outwardly, Rodos was taken aback.
He had only intended to cut through the spell, yet the shockwave created by doing so had split the table in half.
The power of aether was far greater than he had imagined.
“Hahahaha.”
Harka was laughing between the two halves of the broken table.
It was the first time his magic had ever been blocked.
“My magic was stopped? By him, of all people?”
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand.
It had not been one of his older siblings who had casually stopped his magic.
Nor had it been his father.
It had been Rodos.
Harka casually kicked aside a plate lying near his foot and muttered to himself.
“Was it magic? No. Then swordsmanship? Him?”
Harka was somewhat confused.
The Rodos he had seen at the training grounds and the Rodos who had just cut through his magic simply did not fit with the frail weakling he remembered from the past.
“Then what is it?”
Harka approached Rodos.
Flames burned along his staff.
“Then there is only one conclusion!”
As though he had suddenly realized something, the flames surrounding Harka’s staff burned even hotter.
“You obtained some kind of new power.”
Harka glared at Rodos.
That was the only explanation that made sense.
“I do not know how someone like you happened to get your hands on it, but tell me about it too.”
Harka was curious.
What method had Rodos used to grow so much stronger?
There was no possibility that mere effort had changed him this dramatically in only six months.
Rodos must have discovered some new method that Harka knew nothing about.
He could not tolerate that.
A failure like Rodos had no business possessing such a method.
Someone as talented as Harka was the one who ought to make use of it.
“…….”
“You still refuse to answer. You could simply tell me.”
When Rodos remained silent, Harka set his clothes on fire.
The fabric began blackening as it burned.
Rodos brushed the flames out with his hand before they could spread.
‘He is insane.’
Rodos shook his head as he looked at Harka.
To think he would set another person on fire without hesitation.
He was just like every other mage from House Augustus Rodos had encountered in the past.
They were all insane.
Though Harka seemed even more deranged than most.
“Are you really not going to tell me?”
“…….”
Rodos neither confirmed nor denied anything.
Even if he explained it, he doubted this man would understand.
Instead, he took a tomahawk in each hand and assumed a combat stance.
There was no need for words.
‘Axes are fair to everyone.’
He was not yet fully prepared for a fight.
But lunatics like this needed to be beaten until they came to their senses.
A few blows from an axe handle might knock some sense into him.
“You have nothing to your name, yet you are remarkably stubborn.”
Harka pointed his staff at Rodos.
To think this fool had the audacity to challenge him.
“If you refuse to hand it over, I suppose I will simply have to break you apart. I wonder what it feels like when your arm burns while you are still alive?”
Flames gathered around Harka’s staff and began condensing into a sphere.
“Try stopping this one too.”
He might have gotten lucky once, but it would not happen again.
“Lord Harka, are you insane?”
One of the siblings Rodos did not recognize shouted urgently.
They knew what spell Harka was about to use.
Explosion.
It was a 5th-Circle Flame-Attribute spell that violently compressed flames before detonating them.
It was one of Harka’s favorite spells.
“You cannot use that in here!”
“So what?”
Harka ignored the warning and began chanting.
‘This will not be easy.’
Rodos could also sense that the flow of mana was far from ordinary.
Both the quantity of mana and the power of the spell were tremendous.
‘Now.’
Holding his axes, Rodos charged.
This was his only opportunity.
His best option was to attack before the spell was completed and force Harka to cancel it.
“As if I would let you.”
Harka grinned as though he had read Rodos’s intentions.
He was a 6th-Circle mage.
A spell of this level could be completed in an instant.
FWOOSH!
A sizable sphere of flame shot toward Rodos.
‘I will split it apart.’
Rodos fixed his gaze directly on the spell and raised both hands high.
At that moment—
The blazing sphere of flame hurtling toward him vanished without a trace.
“!”
At the sudden turn of events, Rodos instinctively tried to turn his head and look.
Someone had arrived.
In that instant, his entire body froze as though encased in ice, refusing to move.
“What?! My magic!”
Harka flew into a rage when his spell disappeared without leaving even a trace.
“That is enough.”
The voice was low, yet exceedingly sharp.
Rodos immediately knew who it belonged to.
Marcos.
“What is the meaning of this commotion?”
Marcos had appeared without anyone noticing.
Kshar stood beside him.
“F-Father!”
“We greet the Head of the House!”
The other siblings bowed their heads.
Harka was no exception.
Showing proper respect to the Head of the House was an absolute rule of the family, as natural as breathing itself.
Rodos lowered his head perfunctorily before carefully studying Marcos.
The distinctive red hair of House Augustus.
Sky-blue eyes that contrasted sharply with it.
Sharp eyes, a refined nose, and an elegant jawline.
Even by Northern standards, he possessed flawless features.
‘So that is him.’
He looked exactly as Rodos remembered from the days when he had been the Great Warrior.
Marcos was clearly using magic to preserve his appearance.
At that moment, Marcos looked down at Rodos with lifeless eyes.
“Your gaze is rather high.”
At that single sentence, it was as though gravity itself had suddenly intensified, and every object in the room crashed toward the floor.
With nothing but a few words, Marcos had altered the very laws governing the space around them.
The chandelier illuminating the dining hall plummeted and shattered, while the already damaged plates were crushed into powder.
“Urgh!”
“Head of the House!”
Objects were not the only things unable to withstand it.
Everyone was forced flat against the floor regardless of their own will.
It felt as though dozens of people were pressing down on each of them.
‘Incredible.’
Even Rodos could not resist it.
The pressure was overwhelming.
It took every ounce of his strength merely to lift his head.
“Oh?”
Marcos approached Rodos.
Even though he had increased the gravity within the room tenfold, Rodos was still holding his head up.
‘Marcos.’
Relying on sheer willpower, Rodos continued looking directly at him.
Marcos did not even bother meeting Rodos’s gaze.
Rodos was not worth that much attention.
Instead, Marcos increased the gravity further.
“Urgh!”
Rodos could no longer endure it, and his head slammed down.
“You may have changed somewhat, but you are still essentially the same.”
He did indeed appear different from before.
Back then, he had been useless trash with no value whatsoever.
Now, perhaps he was useless trash with a little spirit.
That was the extent of Marcos’s interest in Rodos.
He turned toward Harka.
“Harka.”
“Fath—Head of the House! I apologize!”
Still pinned against the floor, Harka struggled to speak.
His eyes trembled with fear.
“Explain what happened.”
“This—Rodos started it first. I admit I was also at fault, but Rodos was the one who—”
“Be silent.”
Marcos did not bother listening.
No, Harka’s explanation was not worth hearing.
The sight before him was already irritating enough.
“Chief Steward.”
His voice was low.
Kshar immediately approached and bowed.
Even under the immense gravity weighing upon the room, his expression remained as composed as ever.
“Yes, Head of the House.”
“Clean all of this up.”
“As you command.”
Kshar immediately summoned the servants and began clearing the ruined dining hall.
At the same time, Marcos dispelled the magic affecting the room.
“Haah! Haah!”
Only then did everyone struggle back to their feet and breathe sighs of relief.
Kshar and the servants moved swiftly to restore order.
Magic flashed throughout the room as the wreckage was cleaned away.
Marcos sat in an undamaged chair and watched everything.
His expression was one of utter boredom.
“Everything has been restored.”
Kshar reported after returning the dining hall to its original state.
Marcos said nothing and merely flicked his hand.
“Yes. Understood.”
Kshar immediately understood and instructed the servants and maids.
“Escort all the young masters and ladies out except Young Master Harka and Young Master Rodos.”
“Yes.”
The servants and maids escorted the direct descendants under their care out of the dining hall.
Only Rodos and Harka remained.
Marcos finally spoke.
“Judging by what I saw, the two of you were fighting. It is hardly unusual for brothers to quarrel.”
Marcos smiled faintly.
Harka appeared relieved.
Rodos, however, knew better.
That smile was entirely false.
“But it angers me that you would behave this way during a meal intended to foster harmony among family members.”
Just as Rodos had expected, Marcos’s expression hardened.
Harka immediately clasped his hands together and began pleading.
“I apologize! I have brought shame upon the family name.”
Rodos stared at Harka in disbelief.
Where had the arrogant man gone who had been shouting, committing arson, and threatening him only moments earlier?
Rodos shook his head.
The man was pathetic.
“Disgusting.”
Marcos shook his head.
Harka’s magical talent was worthy of notice, but he lacked the character capable of carrying it.
Marcos particularly despised the sight of someone groveling so desperately.
For someone bearing the great name of Augustus to behave in such a manner was tantamount to insulting Marcos himself.
“Well, enough. Since you failed to settle the matter properly, I will give you an opportunity to fight each other formally.”
“Thank you!”
Harka’s mood brightened immediately.
His father had given him another opportunity.
“That is fine with me as well.”
Rodos answered without hesitation.
Why would he refuse an opportunity to beat Harka properly?
A warrior grew through battle.
“I have heard both of your wishes, so we will proceed without delay. Har—”
“I need time.”
Rodos spoke before Marcos could finish.
Interrupting the Head of the House was something no one would have dared even imagine.
“You want time?”
Marcos merely smiled in amusement.
It was the first time Rodos had ever behaved this way.
“My body has not fully recovered yet. Give me one month.”
It was a cold and rational judgment on Rodos’s part.
He had only managed to cut through Harka’s magic earlier because Harka had let his guard down.
If they fought head-on now, Rodos had no chance of victory.
He needed more time to increase his strength.
“Coward. Are you planning to spend the entire month running away?”
Harka sneered at Rodos for asking for time.
Rodos merely shrugged.
Harka could think whatever he pleased.
“Fath—Head of the House, I want to settle this tomorrow!”
“Be silent.”
Harka immediately closed his mouth.
Everything depended upon Marcos’s will.
“There is one more condition. If I win, grant me one thing that I desire.”
“Interesting.”
Marcos found the situation rather entertaining.
It was not enough that Rodos had asked for time.
Now he was demanding a reward if he won.
It was becoming very interesting indeed.
When the boy who could no longer use magic had first said he intended to learn martial combat, Marcos had found it ridiculous.
He had never expected to feel even the slightest anticipation toward a son who had done nothing but disappoint him.
Marcos did not care whether that strength came from magic.
Rodos could wield an axe or swing a sword.
As long as he possessed strength and ability, that was enough.
Power.
That alone mattered.
There was no such thing as useless strength.
Strength could always find a purpose somewhere.
‘I suppose I will watch him for a while.’
Marcos found himself somewhat curious about what Rodos would show him after one month.
“Very well. If you win, I will grant you one thing you desire. The duel will take place one month from now. I look forward to seeing what you can do.”