Chapter 1

Please give me a cookie.

1

"According to the decision of the Senate, Hella, you are to be exiled."

"…Exile me?"

I twisted my lips.

What is that scum even talking about?

I brought him up from the gutter, taught him magic, and raised him to this position, and he dares to forget my kindness.

"Your research in magic is too dangerous, and the things you have done have caused widespread outrage. More and more people are afraid of your cruel and ruthless methods."

"…."

"Hella, if you quietly accept this decision, I will not take your life. The magic heart that gathers your magic power will be destroyed, but we will ensure that you can spend the rest of your days in peace."

I was speechless.

Heat boiled up from within me. My vision went white and then returned, repeating the cycle.

Melaine's words did not mean that he would let me spend the rest of my days in peace.

He just wanted me to become a quiet old woman and live quietly.

He is not much older than me, but he was the first disciple I took in, my family, my friend, and a companion who shared life and death with me.

He was the only one who took multiple formulas from me, someone precious.

‘How dare you… Who established this nation of magicians, Silophia?’

"Am I crazy? Or are you?"

I laughed derisively and stomped my foot.

The ground shook violently. Inside the shaking magic tower, as if an earthquake had struck, only Melaine, who had sentenced me to death, stood firm.

From a slightly higher platform, he looked down at me, and I released my magic power.

A black magic circle was drawn on the floor, following my will.

"I gave you a chance, Hella. I hoped you would grasp it with an honest heart."

Rustle-.

While I was distracted by the spell cast on me, chains sprang up from the floor, scraping the ground.

They moved at a speed I couldn't react to.

Instinctively, I stepped back, but this time, green vines like those on the floor wrapped around my ankles.

Losing my balance, I staggered backward.

As if waiting for that moment, a white chain approached with a clank and bound my limbs.

When I tried to use magic to break the chains, I had to open my eyes wide.

The magic power I had naturally gathered to cast a spell dispersed instantly.

"Melaine!"

I shouted his name in a scream, my eyes wide open.

Struggling against the bindings, I glared at Melaine.

"You, you… this is…!"

"Have you figured it out? This is what Hella was creating. I have completed it."

His eyes curved as he calmly informed me.

"Didn't I tell you that what you were doing was dangerous? Everything you do is a threat."

As he spoke, Hella gripped her staff again.

"Prepare."

Melaine gave the order, now familiar.

The magicians followed his command as if it were natural, acting in perfect unison without a hint of hesitation, indicating that they had been bought off over a long period.

"Ha…"

I fell helplessly to the floor.

My legs gave out from the sense of betrayal.

We had been drinking and laughing together just yesterday.

The back of my head felt as if blood was flowing, it was so hot.

They say when you're too angry, you lose your words. Today, I experienced that.

My throat, blocked, couldn't even produce a growl.

I found myself so ridiculous.

It's laughable how stupid I was to have been drinking and laughing with that guy just yesterday.

I couldn't move a finger and looked up blankly at the guy standing on the platform.

The giant magic circle I had drawn had disappeared as my magic power was destroyed, and in its place, a blue and white magic circle began to form.

At least eight magicians were involved in drawing the new magic circle, and four more were there to replenish the magic power.

‘Destruction magic…’

From the symbols, it was clear that it was a complete destruction magic.

It felt like the will to completely erase my existence, body, soul, and magic power, leaving no trace.

I had never seen this magic circle before.

I watched the magic circle being drawn on the floor where I had fallen.

They must have met secretly every night to finish the research and complete the magic circle to erase me.

Every morning, they greeted me, bowed, and reported to me, and as they passed by, they must have been thinking about this.

"How can you… do this?"

I asked, barely lifting my head.

Even in response to my question, Melaine only looked down at me, his mouth tightly shut, expressionless.

He was always a quiet and taciturn person, but did he need to be so silent even in this situation?

As I looked down again, light began to flow from the magic circle, seeping into my body.

My body was disappearing.

It wasn't burning, but it was turning into a fine white powder, crumbling like a sandcastle.

The light seeped into me, gradually erasing my existence.

They were using the magic power control device I had created for criminal magicians to suppress me and the destruction magic to completely erase me.

I watched my legs, which were breaking and disappearing like light, and only when my lower body was half gone did I slowly lift my head again.

The situation was so absurd and shocking that I had no will to resist.

I slowly looked around.

No one showed any sympathy or tried to save me.

This was the life and path I had lived.

I shifted my gaze to Melaine, who still stood there.

Boom-!

The building shook violently as if it were exploding.

"Ah!"

"Grand Magician Melaine!"

Seeing the disarray, Melaine slowly raised his staff.

He began to chant an incantation in an ancient language, his eyes fixed on me.

A dark aura began to flow from my half-remaining body, enveloping me. My eyes, reflected in the marble, turned from blue to a deep red.

"I will kill you, even if I have to come back as an undead."

Melaine said nothing but did not take his eyes off me.

I bared my teeth and forced a laugh. The dark aura swirled more dangerously.

Now the building was filled with Melaine's blue magic power and the dark aura surrounding me.

"I curse you, Melaine. I will curse you."

"Without your magic power, you can do nothing. You have become as powerless and useless as you once despised."

"…Are you mocking me?"

"I am merely stating the facts, Hella. Without your magic control, your black magic, which you boasted about, is of little use."

Melaine's stern expression relaxed, and he slowly narrowed his eyes.

With his words, I am completely cast as the villain.

So what?

I will kill that thing. Across time, even if I am reborn, I will kill you.

You betrayed my trust and took my life.

Without even a conversation, you took away what was most precious to me.

"Even now, you don't have the time for that."

"Ha! Even if this body crumbles and dies, even if I am reborn as a lowly and miserable creature, I will tear out your skull and die!"

"Farewell, Hella."

Despite my defiance, Melaine calmly bid me farewell.

How can you so calmly bid farewell?

What was I to him? I thought we were good colleagues and partners.

‘You rotten, despicable scum!’

The last thing I saw was the empty space where my body, now formless, had been.