Twin-Faced Tower Izermar · The Assault Begins

Just as Rinnes and Byron were locked in a standoff, the setting sun was suddenly blotted out.

Black clouds drifted in from the east, covering the lands of Izeluma in the blink of an eye. Day turned to darkness in an instant, and the gloomy, ominous clouds smothered everything beneath them, making it hard to breathe.

Then came lightning that pierced through the darkness, as though a Thunder Tree of Crucifixion had blossomed in midair. The immense magical energy reaction made Rinnes's eyes burn.

"Urgh..."

Rinnes let out a muffled groan and instinctively raised a hand to cover her eyes, reaching for the eye drops in her bag to ease the pain.

But before she could find them, the ground began to shake violently. A powerful shock surged from her back through her entire body. Though the earth had absorbed most of the lightning, the remaining aftershock was far from insignificant.

The lightning had originally targeted the ground—or, more precisely, the Ley Line beneath it. Had it been aimed at people, even the strongest human would have been reduced to ash.

The air was filled with a burnt odor. It was ozone produced when oxygen was struck by intense electricity.

Byron's expression turned livid as he raised a hand to hold down his hat and looked eastward.

He could feel his connection to the land beneath his feet weakening drastically. Because of that lightning, though he did not know what had happened, one thing was obvious: they were under attack.

It had been an ancient rule to employ weather magecraft at dusk. Their enemy's aim was to strip the land of its protection over the Izeluma family.

When land was damaged, the flow of magical energy naturally became more difficult than usual. If magi managed the land, they would naturally