Why Did You Summon Me?

Without magic, humans were vulnerable to supernatural creatures, and this resulted in a high death toll. As the soldiers defending the city struggled to stay alive, the low-level demons seized the opening created by the demon casters to reach the city wall. The demons flung their Abyss Ivy ropes over the wall and climbed the wall, quickly reaching the parapet.

The demons were much faster than the soldiers, and soon, the soldiers found themselves overwhelmed with magic and melee attacks. Amidst the chaos, more soldiers were slain.

Only a few minutes had passed, but two hundred soldiers were already dead. The demons had suffered casualties, too, as the despairing soldiers were fighting with all they had. However, the demons had the numbers advantage, and it seemed highly likely that the soldiers would lose.

Larger demons that could not climb the wall had gathered at the city gate. The sounds of their fists slamming the gates were akin to the bell tolls of a requiem.

Dane the Hound helplessly watched the bloodbath from the safety of the tower, anxiously waiting for Chiliarch Finn’s orders. It was not that he did not understand the commander’s strategy, but the bloodcurdling shrieks from the soldiers that were being slaughtered were unbearable.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Dante charged into the commander’s office. He was no longer concerned about the possibility of being disciplined for disobeying the orders of his superiors.

The commander and the Chiliarch retreated to the safety of a tower when the fighting started.

Dante barged into their office without knocking. He knew that if he was not a sorcerer, this very action would have led to his demise via execution. “Commander Lorenz! Chiliarch Finn!”

The commander frowned at this intrusion, and Finn did not attempt to hide his disapproval.

“What is the meaning of this, Centurion Dante?” He bellowed. “Did I not order you to wait for further orders?”

“Yes, sir, but there might be something I can do to help us,” Dante replied. “A powerful sorcerer is living in our city. I’m going to ask for his help!”

“Is that so?” Finn furrowed his brows. “Is this the same sorcerer you were tasked to capture? The one who called himself a prophet, right?”

When Dante had returned from his mission earlier, the Chiliarch had not paid any mind to his report; but now, Dante’s words had gotten his attention. The soldiers were losing the battle, so Dante’s decision to get help was cause for attention.

Commander Lorenz shook his head in disbelief. “A prophet? Does that not sound like something primitive frauds would come up with?”

“Please have faith in my judgment, sir. The man was…strange, but I don’t think either of us has ever seen the kind of power he possesses,” Dante said, after which he narrated the encounter he had had with Baiyi.

As Dante spoke, the two veterans widened their eyes in shock. “It took him less than a second to cast a Silence spell?! If he could do that, then…” The Chiliarch tapped his chin with a finger.

“Was he vexed by the misunderstanding that occurred earlier?” The commander asked, visibly concerned.

“That is why I must be the one to do it. I, uh, am certain that I’ll persuade him,” Dante replied, visibly uncertain. The prophet seemed to have a good temperament — or, at least, Dante hoped he was a man that would not want innocent people to die on his watch — but the man’s eccentricity rattled Dante’s confidence.

“Fine; you have my permission. Return as soon as possible, Centurion. I fear we won’t be able to hold out much longer,” Finn replied, nodding. “Tell him the army will visit him after this to offer an apology and good rewards for his help.”

Commander Lorenz nodded, but in his heart, he cursed the Empire’s malformed social hierarchy. ‘The privileges that sorcerers enjoy are unbearably disproportionate!’ 

No one in the military could place a leash on sorcerers. Even Lorenz could not punish Dante for his rude entrance and brazen disobedience of his orders. Furthermore, a mere Chiliarch was Lorenz’s superior even though Lorenz had a higher military rank than him.

Commander Lorenz was annoyed that the army would beg one man for his help to defend the city. The fact that the man was a sorcerer annoyed him even more. Should the people of Rohlserl not choose to fight because of the love they had for their country and its people? Do they have to be begged for help, seeing as the situation was dire? Worse, the man was to be rewarding for fighting on their side, something that should have been done out of a sense of  duty!

Dante did not bother to conserve his mana. He took to the sky with a levitation spell and sped off towards the guesthouse he had met Baiyi. When Dante got there, he burst in and raced up the stairs towards Baiyi’s room. A few seconds later, he was outside Baiyi’s room with his knuckles raised, ready to knock on the door.

Before he could, however, a voice rang out from inside the room. “Your wish is understood. Now, return from whence you came, and fight with all your might. Highland City will not fall tonight!”

Dante’s vision suddenly darkened. A few seconds later, his sight returned, and he found himself at the city wall. He could hear the loud clanks of metal clashing against metal, as well as the screams of humans and the howls of frightening demons. A fight had broken out atop the city wall.

What did that prophet mean? To Dante, the man’s words were mysterious and almost insensible! What would he tell his superiors?

A flame of anxiety erupted in Dante’s heart, but the centurion forced himself to calm down. He recalled the prophet’s words and repeated them several times in his head. Suddenly, his face lit up.

Dante rushed to a door on the enormous wall and dashed up the stairs behind it. When he exited, he was atop the city wall. He spotted a small group of demons right in front of him, and he wasted no time in smashing them with an explosive spell.

The struggling soldiers atop the city wall turned around in shock. When they spotted Dante, they began to cheer. ‘Our darkest hours had passed!’ They could not help but think. ‘The Sorcerers Corps is with us now!’

Their morales soared, and they no longer looked tired. With their spirits reignited, the soldiers began to fight with renewed vigor.

Dante continued to fire off spells at every demon that he laid eyes on. Soon, he had only half his mana left, but his efforts had turned the tides of battle. The soldiers had now gained the advantage.

With things under control, Dante raced to the commander’s office. “Commander! Chiliarch! The Prophet has divined our future! We, the sorcerers, are to join the battle now !”

Lorenz and Finn exchange doubt-filled glances. However, with the number of casualties rising, the two could only set aside their skepticism. The number of soldiers still fighting had reduced so much, it was almost foolish not to deploy the sorcerers. Hence, with gritted teeth, Finn gave the Sorcerers Corp the go-ahead.

The arrival of the sorcerers was a sight to behold. Formations appeared in front of their chests as they dove off the city tower, illuminating the night sky on their descent. This was the prelude to a turn-around. With the arrival of the novice sorcerers and sorcerer apprentices, the army recovered and took the fight to the demons. The demon spellcasters were alarmed. They quickly switched targets to the flying sorcerers, and a magic battle broke out in the sky.

The sorcerers — the Empire’s trump card — shined gracefully. Despite there being a few of them, they had managed to tip the scales to the army’s favor. The command over magic was spectacular. As time passed, the army gained more ground.

Baiyi, who was monitoring the battle with his psychic sense, exhaled in relief. “Gosh. You lot should have done this earlier. There was no need to hide your trump card!”

Earlier, when the Highland City army was being backed into a corner, Baiyi found himself doubting his understanding of the Rohlserlian Empire’s military might. Did he somehow fabricate memories of the empire’s strength? When Baiyi skimmed through the memories again, he noticed the absence of sorcerers in the memories.

That was when the realization struck him. The knowledge he had of the Rohlserlian Empire’s battles originated from the Archmage, who had never needed to worry about his strength or mana. With the powerful Book of Servitude in his possession, the Archmage had won his battles by obliterating his enemies with a rain of devastating spells.

Hence, Baiyi’s memories and knowledge of the Empire’s might was skewed. In reality, the Rohlserlian Empire had few sorcerers, who were spread across different army bases. To commanders, sorcerers were a mighty but scarce resource. When strategies were being drawn, the amount of mana the sorcerers’ had available had to be taken into consideration, to prevent wastage.

When the death toll reached one thousand, Baiyi became more uneasy. Being addressed as the last emperor of a lost emperor had never made him happy. At this time, he could be considered a ruler and protector to these people. Hence, he was unhappy to watch his people die.

‘So, according to my old man, the commander of this army is a guy named Lorenz, right? It is said that he does not like taking risks. He would never show his trump card until he was out of options,’ Baiyi thought. ‘Now that I’m watching you, I have to admit that you’re quite dedicated to your tactical principles…’ 

Baiyi understood why Lorenz, who he now considered a coward, would use such cruel tactics. The man wished to reserve his strongest fighters for the Abyss Lord, who had yet to make an appearance. He did not know that this was unnecessary, though. Baiyi had wished he could appear at the city gate and tell Lorenz that it was fine to fight without reservation, but he would be unable to explain his presence should he attempt to do that.

It was at this time that Dante flew to the guest house to seek his audience. Baiyi had used that chance to pass on his message, albeit in a feigned mystical way that was typical of prophets. ‘Throw yourselves into the battle and leave the Abyss Lord to your future emperor!’

“Wow. For someone so unloved by history, the Hound’s better than I thought,” Baiyi said, chuckling.

Baiyi began to plan his next move. If he was to go up against an Abyss Lord, then he would have to drop the façade. He cast a communication spell with which he used to ring Mia. “Calling Mia. You there?”

“Gah! Mr. Ho — I mean, Dad? ”

Mia sounded nervous. She had been shocked by Baiyi’s usage of magic, as the two had promised not to do so in public.

“I’m — well! I’m, uh, outside? With, you know, Lulu. Tee hee!” Mia stuttered. She tried to sound as cute as possible, to avoid getting in trouble. Baiyi knew that she spoke that way only way she wished to warm her way out of trouble. Baiyi had heard Mia speak that way whenever she did not finish her homework, or whenever she wore a skirt that was shorter than what he allowed.

However, this was not the time for him to have a stern word with her, so he went straight to the point. “There are demons on the prowl, Mia. Don’t be afraid; just go out there and kill every last one of them!”

“Say what?! Something like that is happening now?” Mia exclaimed in disbelief. Baiyi did not miss the soft sigh of relief that came after. “Okay. Roger that!”

Before Mia could hang up the call, Baiyi heard her cute voice utter a most terrifying two-word incantation:

“Sharkie? Bite .”

‘Wait, what?! That spell right off the bat?! Just where the hell are you, Kid? That’s not a spell you can use anywhere!’ Baiyi shook his head helplessly.

Mia had not known that a battle had broken out outside the city because she had not spread out her psychic sense. Mr. Hope had asked her to do just that to avoid being made by the city’s sorcerers. This was why she had failed to realize that war was ongoing.

While the army fought its hardest to repel the Ancient Golems, Mia and Lulu were having fun at the bazaar, watching a warrior crush rocks into pieces with his chest. They were so entertained that they kept cheering and clapping.

If Baiyi knew this, he would have been puzzled, as most students at Da Xue could pull off that very same feat. Attie and Mordred, for example, could crush those rocks with their chests, and Baiyi was sure that Mia could do the same. The only student Baiyi imagined would struggle with this was Vidomina, whose huge bosom was more of a cushion than a hard surface. It was just weird that Mia would find such a performance interesting.

However, when Mia looked up and projectiles streaking across the night sky, she reaffirmed that something big and dreadful had begun.