Chapter 194: Crossroads (16)
The bright flare and pitch-black magic clashed. A loud scream and tremor ripped through the ground, sending grass and pebbles flying. People were no exception.
There wasn’t much to see throughout the fierce clash. The soldiers could only see a few knights and a wizard casting spells from a distance.
It resembled a mythological monster that was half human and half beast. A humanoid with a human upper body and a scorpion-like lower body, including eight legs and a long, spiky tail extending from its back.
Initially, the monster, which resembled a human with its bipedal movement, progressively modified its body and is currently rampaging in this shape.
In addition to the six legs that supported its body, the creature had two huge pincers extending from its abdomen. These pincers were enormously huge and strong.
A knight who failed to avoid the pincers thrashing at breakneck speed was quickly crushed to pulp in midair. The transition from a living human to an inanimate thing was so quick that it appeared unbelievable.
“Kyahahahaha! Fight! Die! Fight! Die!”
The monster, which had a lengthy waist and a powerful upper torso in place of a scorpion’s head, yelled with its jaws wide open, showing sharp teeth. The curse and evil magic in its voice caused ordinary warriors to fear and run.
“Shut up━!”
At that point, a clear and crisp voice appeared, overwhelming and smashing the evil magic and speech. It was Princess Julia. She charged forward, using all of her magic, and threw her sword. It moved as rapidly as a ray of light.
The monster, named Deyron, was unable to deflect the blade that was heading towards its breast. The blade sank deep enough that only the hilt was visible, prompting the creature to spit blood. Deyron smiled even as it spat blood.
“Kukukuku. . . . . . If only I had a little more time.”
Right then, the surviving knights stormed in. None of them were unscathed. One had lost an arm, and another had their side ripped open, revealing their intestines. A knight with a severed leg dashed forward, hopping with his remaining foot.
To restrain Deyron’s limbs, the battle wizards used their remaining magic to create fire whips, wind shackles, and ice cords.
Princess Julia was the last to run forward. She snatched up the steel blade on the ground and sprang into the air before plunging down.
The scorpion’s tail extended a stinging stinger toward Julia, like a snake rearing its head. She avoided the stinger in midair and landed on the scorpion’s back, her body wrapped in magic. A loud roar and shockwave occurred.
Kuaaaaaang!
Once again, grass and dust flew, sending people flying. The only exceptions were the knights, who instantly placed their swords in the ground or dug into their hands to brace themselves, and the wizards, who built earth walls to prevent the shockwave.
The shockwave quickly subsided, and darkness returned. Except for the crackling sounds of burning tents and the materials of collapsed siege towers, the surroundings were calm.
Soldiers struggled to their feet, coughing blood from their nostrils, eyes, ears, and mouths. Despite being far from the conflict’s center, ordinary people struggled to resist the impact.
With a thud, a massive body collapsed.
A warrior panted heavily as she stood over it, her blade stuck in the scorpion’s back. Her shattered helmet and half-torn faceguard demonstrated the savagery of the encounter.
Her trembling palm touched her helmet, causing it to break into pieces with a loud snap. The dwarves’ armor for the princess of the empire had reached its limit.
Apart from the damaged helmet, the warrior had a horrible aspect. Her left arm was bent at an odd angle, and her left eye and cheek were covered in blood, as if her forehead had been ripped open.
Princess Julia used her uninjured right hand to brush back her silver hair, which was knotted and matted by blood and perspiration. Then her legs gave way beneath her, and she collapsed.
As she sat atop the half-human, half-beast monster’s corpse, she stared up to the sky. The sky was completely black, and the constellations had moved somewhat.
In the past, people thought the sky was a hemispherical ceiling. They assumed the planet was flat and that if they went far enough, they would reach a precipice.
The wizards denied this notion. They demonstrated that the land on which they stood was a spherical sphere by studying the movements of the moon, sun, and constellations. The earth, rather than the sky, was revolving.
However, Julia, staring blankly at the sky, felt as if it were moving. It could have been because her head wasn’t working correctly, owing to her entirely depleted magic and stamina. In her trance, Julia followed the steadily vanishing stars and the faint blue ocean to the east.
Prince Aldrick has lost half of the force assembled by the southern lords. At least half of them had died, as had their lords. Rumors that the master of the empire’s secret agency was siding with the princess spread swiftly.
In the empire’s large realm, which was divided into the east and west, the prince now controlled the south. However, one city on the border and in the provinces continued to publicly support the prince.
The prince had retreated and was now preparing for a decisive battle. What could he do? A direct assault on the Imperial Palace?
However, the imperial palace was strongly guarded by the emperor’s imperial guards and knightly orders, and the gates would only open if one of the princes or princesses remained.
This war of succession, in which brothers and sisters fought tooth and nail for the role of emperor, was an unsettling tradition throughout the empire. This was especially true given that there had been a few previous succession conflicts.
‘The remaining strongholds were Pendrin, Zicolimate, Orenta, and Herophl. . .’
Julia’s thoughts and reflections came together in 0.3 seconds. Julia suddenly lost consciousness and slumped.
The knights, wizards, staff officers, and nobles who had been catching their breath hurried over, yelling, wailing, shouting, and panting.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
The auction house’s inside was dark. It was artificially dark. The darkness occupied a large passageway. No one could be seen walking around. The corridor was quiet.
Ancient artwork hung on the corridor’s walls. Suddenly, footsteps echoed. Thud, thud, clack, click.
The darkness quickly gave way to light, revealing the previously hidden ornaments. Porcelain miniatures on shelves, paintings in beautiful frames, and dolls wearing full armor. However, the owners of the footsteps were more interested in something other than the artwork on display at the auction house.
Calia said, watching the darkness fade as if it had its own will,
“What considerate magic.”
“What? Are you kidding me? What kind of considerate magic is this? It feels like I’m blind.”
Weizen complained. Despite having Aellasis’ floating globe of light, their visibility did not exceed 10 meters. For superhumans like knights, mercenaries, and wizards who employed magic, 10 meters was almost nothing. In a crucial emergency where a second can be the difference between life and death, a difference of merely one meter—no, ten centimeters—could be fatal.
For Weizen, who had just fought a battle in which he could have lost his neck or had his heart crushed if he had let his guard down for even a moment, this was not a comfortable distance.
In a position where anything may happen at any time, a limited field of vision was a constant source of anxiety. This was especially true given that the wounds he’d acquired while fighting the wrapped freak hadn’t fully healed.
Calia clarified,
“This darkness is a magic spell imbued with the power to suppress the impact and magic waves occurring inside. Even if a fireball exploded right in front of you, the effect on you would be minimal. The darkness will block it. So stop whining like a dog with its tail between its legs. You look pathetic.”
“Ahahaha! Weizen, you look pathetic! Ahahaha!”
“. . . . . .That’s too much.”
Scilio flopped around laughing, clutching her tummy, as Weizen stroked the back of his head.
“Then who cast such magic? And on such a large scale? We’ve been wandering around for 30 minutes since we entered through the main gate, and we’re still lost. Normally, we would have gone back and forth twice by now.”
His remarks were true. The group’s speed was not slow. Rather, it may be deemed quick. They were strolling at a somewhat slower pace than the average person running. Calia replied,
“It seems like they cast this magic to protect something. And they also seem to have included a spatial expansion spell. The fact that this building itself is made of magic stones or magic crystals that are receptive to magic must have also helped in the implementation of the spell. It’s probably a convenience device for managing slaves and assisting the nobles. . . Anyway, there must be a great sorcerer here. Probably a dragonkin.”
“A dragonkin?!”
Weizen let out a little scream. He remembered the combat they had fought in the Grey Valley village a few weeks earlier.
“There won’t be a battle like that time, so don’t worry. Rather, it seems like we’ve gotten ourselves entangled with this dragonkin by chance. . .”
“This way. I smell something over there.”
Aellasis pointed to a location and ascended the stairs. The structure had five levels and a large area, so they had been wandering about like they were in a maze.
They had a difficult time scouting Russell because of the dark passageways and the spatial manipulation that made it impossible to see where they led. But they made their trip without much difficulty.
When they came to a fork in the road or a dead end, they would head in the direction Aellasis indicated, and a way would appear. Even when a wall stood in their way, she would mumble something, and it would collapse into sand, revealing the road on the other side.
“Hey, sis, what’s up with that kid?”
“You mean Aella?”
“Who else?”
The group went forward, led by Aellasis and followed by Weizen, Calia, and Scilio. Scilio approached Calia and whispered.
“She’s so young, yet her magic skills are top-notch, and her speech is unusual. I thought she was a bit of an airhead at first.”
“She’s just a baby. It’s natural for her to be immature in her conversations.”
“. . . . . .Are you kidding me?”
Aellasis resembled a female in her late teens. It was true that she had unique silver hair that was virtually white, but if it was a congenital trait, it wasn’t difficult to understand. During her time as a mercenary, Scilio witnessed people inserting plant stems into their bodies or decorating their entire bodies with animal teeth.
“I’m not kidding. That child is really a baby.”
“. . . . . .You’re saying she’s not human?”
“Shh. Wait a minute.”
Calia, who had placed a finger on her red, plump lips, looked up and called Aella.
“Aella?”
“Something’s coming.”
Calia looked up as she received her warning. The globe of light over their heads briefly emitted an even brighter light as it absorbed Calia’s magic.
Their 10-meter field of vision suddenly increased to 40 or 50 meters, revealing that they were encircled by a vast number of foes. Dozens of sharp blades, each with a searing sharpness, retreated from the sudden light, hiding their eyes.
They were back-alley criminals who had been hidden in the shadows, waiting to ambush them. They had raised a commotion outside the auction house.
Scilio and Weizen shielded their eyes as they stared at the faces of those who had retreated. They recognized several familiar faces.
“Robid, Depham, Rangbuto. . . . . . There are a lot of them. Have these guys gone crazy and taken drugs together?”
“To take over the underworld and turn people into chess pieces. I don’t know who the crazy bastards are, but I’d love to see them.”
They exchanged lighthearted remarks, but their hands were already on their swords, and they were establishing combat poses as magic spread through them. Aella, with her hand on her waist, talked calmly as she assessed the magical might of the criminals who had surrounded them in the back alley.
“They’ve been hidden in the darkness for a long time, so their physical functions have deteriorated. They’ve only found us now because they’re chasing after vitality and light.”
Scilio grasped what Aellasis was saying and inquired in hushed tones,
“You’re saying they don’t have any sense of reason?”
“I don’t know about that. But I don’t sense any human life signs.”
Their hearts and internal organs had already stopped, and they could no longer breathe. They had transformed into living corpses, propelled by spells dissolved in medications and the projection of a powerful will commanding them from a distance.
“Aella is right. Their hearts are beating forcibly. They’ve already lost their will to live. All they have left is longing and envy for other living beings. In a way, they’re like the undead. They’re not rotting or just skeletons, but in some ways, they’re even worse.”
Shiririririk.
As Calia raised her right hand, a swirl of blood formed on her palm.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“I lost.”
Draconian Asharin stated: It was a calm voice from someone carrying a massive blade beneath their chin.
Russell, gripping Nahilnir’s hilt in one hand and pointing it toward Asharin’s throat, opened his mouth.
“What about Count Jayvir’s son?”
“You’re a cold one. You’re holding a blade to a beauty’s neck, and all you do is ask about business?”
Russell did not respond. He just shifted the blade one centimeter ahead. That alone was enough for the blade to sever Asharin’s white neck, resulting in a trickle of blood.
“Alright, alright.”
Asharin waved her palm, and power erupted with a whoosh, creating waves. Russell felt the unusually large space shrink.
As the magic Asharin had imbued in the building was released, the formerly vast underground space shrank quickly, and the perception of distance reverted to normal.
Even Russell, who had rarely met dragonkin magic except in battle, could detect how swiftly the spell was released and recovered. Not even Calia had demonstrated such a level of wizardry.
Russell watched as the magic was released and questioned Asharin:
“You were hiding your strength. Why? Even if you hadn’t forced your way in with brute force, you would have had a chance of winning.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You did the same.”
Asharin snorted.
“Do you know what’s really strange about your eyes? They’re not only capable of disrupting magic; they can also read my attack trajectory. What kind of eyes are those? The fact that a human can have such eyes is beyond my comprehension.”
“It’s none of your business.”
At that point, all of the magic was released, and the darkness, the flames erupting from the floor, and the traces of ice that had spread everywhere were completely gone. Russell recognized he was in the underground chamber beneath the stage of the utterly wrecked auction house, or more specifically, the slave yard, which had been sealed up with iron bars.
Despite the ferocious battle, the huge underground room appeared to be unaffected. And in one corner lay Count Gayvir’s unconscious son, Roscell, with his men.
Russell confirmed that they were alive, but unconscious. Asharin inquired curiously.
“I came here to kill the slave master and free the other elf slaves, but why are you here? Why are you looking for that human noble?”
“I have my reasons.”
Russell drew Nahilnir closer and sheathed it, then picked up Final Frost, which had been lodged in the ground, and placed it inside his coat. Russell squatted in front of the unconscious Roscell, reaching out to rest his palm on top of his head.
“I know you’re awake. Wake up. Don’t make a sound.”
Roscell opened his eyes slowly, responding to his soft words. His twitching pupils shifted about and eventually settled on something in front of him. His vision was fuzzy from being kept in the dark for so long. Despite the cloudy vision, the sight of a man with piercing blue eyes was difficult to forget. Roscell managed to move his shaking jaw and asked:
“W, What do you want? Why are you doing this. . . . . .?”
“I didn’t cause this mess, Roscell. The witch did.”
“W, Witch? The one behind you. . . . . .?”
Roscell’s eyes widened as he noticed Asharin standing behind him, and he cowered as she waved her hand. Russell shakes his head.
“That woman is irrelevant. Tell me what I want to know, Roscell. There was a man who stuck to your father a few months ago. He was covered in bandages, and his face was not visible. Do you know him?”
Roscell gazed at Russell with a shocked expression.
“How do you. . . . . .?”
“I beat him up. I’d appreciate it if you could tell me where he is. And your father, while you’re at it.”
“M, My father? Why?”
“He needs to pay the debt he owed.”
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