Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Zahard Territory (1)

 

“Don’t worry. He didn’t leave.”

 

“Yes?”

 

With a puzzled expression and voice, Irrucil looked up at Leila. Then she saw that Leila’s face was tired.

 

“Mother, your complexion. . . . . .”

 

“It’s been a whole day since you returned to the castle. Your father, I, and that rascal took turns taking care of you. I don’t know how he knew you were awake, but he called me and then went to his group.”

 

“Ah. . . . . .”

 

Irrucil realized that she had been unconscious for almost four days. Come to think of it, she had no strength in her body. Once she realized it, a terrible hunger came over her.

 

Grrr.

 

Irrucil’s face turned red at the loud sound coming from her stomach. Seeing her daughter like that, Leila sighed lightly and got up from her seat.

 

“I’ll have them deliver your meal to your room. You’ve been lying down for four days, so you’ll feel better if you eat something like porridge. We can talk about what happened later.”

 

“. . . . . .Yes.”

 

Leila nodded and stroked Irrucil’s cheek.

 

“Welcome back.”

 

After stroking her daughter’s cheek once, Leila soon left Irrucil’s room.

 

Irrucil gazed intently at the room Leila had left. Her spacious room, to which she had returned after three months, was the same as it was before she left to find Russell.

 

A fluffy bed and soft blankets, a red and yellow rug on the floor, a large mirror on the wall, and a painting depicting a mountain range covered in white perpetual snow.

 

In fact, it was a modest room for the eldest daughter of the Zahard family, who had a vast territory and city, but since the head of the family, Lahart, had a personality that shunned luxury, Irrucil naturally followed that family tradition.

 

She herself preferred a sharp, well-honed sword and dagger over jewels.

 

The room was filled with a warm heat, and when she turned her head, she saw a portable brazier burning with a magic stone as fuel on one side.

 

Next to it was a table with water for washing her face and hands.

 

Irrucil washed her hands and face, wiped them with a towel, and quietly reflected on the contents of her dream.

 

There were things she remembered, and she wondered if they had happened. For her, who had thought there were almost no gaps in her memory from childhood until now, the events with Russell were quite disturbing.

 

Russell’s eyes, which she had only thought of as beautiful as jewels when she was young, actually disturbed and controlled people’s minds and memories like a demon’s eyes.

 

Knock knock.

 

━My Lady. I have brought your meal. May I come in?

 

“Come in.”

 

Irrucil looked out the window as she watched the maid leave with a cart containing a bowl of porridge.

 

The sky, which was already dark, was a deep blue. The sky was filled with a faint Milky Way and stars that looked like scattered sand.

 

Below it, she could see the mansion and castle where the Zahard family lived, and the vast territory stretching out.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“It seems that a location tracking spell has been cast. How did you find out?”

 

“I don’t think they would back down so easily and give something like this.”

 

Russell said, receiving the identification card Calia handed him. Gilead, who was presumed to be an Odys executive, gave him proof of identity. Russell already knew that this, which he said he would use when he needed it, was actually a medium for identifying his location, as well as a location tracker.

 

Originally, it would have been impossible to know. The complex magic circuit and ritual engraved on the inside of the identification card would not work unless the owner himself recognized it, such as by saying a trigger word or putting blood on it.

 

He didn’t know what kind of organization would engrave such a location tracking spell on their officers’ identification cards, but judging from how easily Gilead had given it to Russell, it was possible to infer that it was used for various purposes other than location tracking.

 

“There are other spells that are intricately woven together that I don’t know about. I don’t know what they are, but I know it’s not good to have it.”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Russell’s purple eyes sparkled as he looked at the identification card he had received from Calia. At the same time, a thin magic power, like a thread, flowed from his fingertips into the inside of the identification card.

 

“They won’t be able to find out where I am, even if they activate it.”

 

The delicate thread of magic power extended along the circuit engraved on the inside, slightly changing the structure and pattern. The ritual engraved on such a small square metal plate was like a magic circle in itself, and it was difficult to implement proper magic if even one of the complex circuits was misaligned.

 

Russell, realizing the structure, immediately changed the direction of the circuit without any discomfort and changed the order and position of the pattern of magic symbols that facilitated the accumulation and circulation of magic power.

 

Calia, who had been quietly watching Russell’s actions, was impressed.

 

“You’re quick with your magic power. Usually, wizards have a hard time pulling it out and handling it.Oh, Russell. Can you stop there for a moment?”

 

“Why?”

 

“I thought of something fun when I saw what you were doing.”

 

Calia’s small, white hand covered Russell’s large hand. In fact, it was closer to being placed on it. Calia covered Russell’s hand with her own, like that, and chanted a low spell.

 

The spell wasn’t very long, and as soon as it was over, the magic power that had been swaying according to her voice was sucked into a whirlpool and seeped into the identification card.

 

“What did you do?”

 

At Russell’s question, Calia kept her hand in place and said it calmly.

 

“I made it so that when the other person tries to find out your location, it will show their location instead. It will follow the signal and track it down as soon as it arrives. Unless there is a wizard greater than me on the other side, it will be difficult to realize that their own location has been revealed.”

 

She said it calmly, but in fact, it was a very sophisticated and technically difficult spell. It was a spell that interfered with a spell that someone else had cast, not a spell that she had cast herself, and reversed the cause and effect.

 

“That’s great. Thank you.”

 

Russell smiled and stroked Calia’s head. Then Calia blinked and looked at Russell like that.

 

“. . . . . .What are you doing?”

 

“I’m complimenting you for doing a good job. Why do you hate it?”

 

“No, rather than hate it. Hmm. . . . . .”

 

Calia hummed, closed her eyes, and then settled herself properly, rubbing her head against Russell’s palm. A languid voice flowed from her red lips.

 

“Something feels strange. No one has ever done this to me before. . . . . .It’s strange. It’s very strange.”

 

Calia, who kept repeating that it was strange, had no intention of shaking off Russell’s hand. Russell continued to stroke her head, then put the identification card in his pocket.

 

“Stay in the room for now. I’ll meet my family and come back.”

 

“Shouldn’t I greet them too?”

 

“I’m going right back anyway.”

 

“In that case. As you wish.”

 

Russell closed the door to the guest room where Calia was staying and left. When he stood in the hallway, a familiar sight caught his eye. It was a path he had walked for twenty years. He could reach where he wanted even with his eyes closed.

 

Russell, who had passed many corners and hallways that would have been confusing for a first-time visitor, arrived at the head of the family’s office.

 

He felt a tingling sensation calling him here. Of course, there was only one person who caused that sensation.

 

Russell opened the door without knocking. As soon as he opened the door, he saw large bookshelves on both walls. Between the bookshelves, there was a low table with simple refreshments, a single chair for the head of the family, and long chairs on the left and right.

 

And behind it was a desk with documents and unidentified statues, as well as a balcony overlooking the white snow-capped mountains and the northern territory.

 

Lahart, the head of the Zahard family, who was leaning against the desk, raised one eyebrow as he watched Russell open the door and enter.

 

“Amazing. Did you feel it?”

 

“You already knew, yet you’re still teasing me. Father.”

 

“Even if I knew, it doesn’t mean the surprise goes away. It might be diluted, but still. Sit down.”

 

At Lahart’s gesture, Russell sat down on the long chair. Lahart, sitting in the upper seat, stared at his son like that.

 

After a moment of silence, during which neither of them spoke, Lahart sighed weakly, as if throwing up. He leaned back against the backrest.

 

“This, really. How strong have you become? I can’t even see it anymore.”

 

“Time is time, isn’t it?”

 

Lahart made a ridiculous expression at Russell’s answer.

 

“It’s been less than a year since you left home. No, it’s not even a year. There are still a couple of months left. But now, I can’t feel your magic power with my senses. When was the last time I had this experience?”

 

Lahart couldn’t believe it, even as he looked at Russell. His son’s magic power, which had seemed tangible just a year ago, was nowhere to be seen.

 

A year is not a short time, but it is also a time as fast as an arrow for warriors and wizards who train their bodies and magic power.

 

There are many who shut themselves in secluded caves or laboratories for decades just to raise their own realm, but it is rare for them to achieve truly visible results.

 

It could be explained by differences in talent, effort, or luck, but Russell’s realm was at a level that could not be easily explained by that alone.

 

‘I’ve thought this since then, but it’s truly unbelievable that he’s human.’

 

Then Russell’s eyes turned to Lahart. Lahart’s hand flinched involuntarily as his purple eyes sparkled and met his own.

 

It was only for a moment, but if there had been a sword on his waist, he might have grabbed the handle. It was because he thought that a monster he couldn’t understand was right in front of him.

 

Russell was his son, but his birth was shrouded in mystery and secrecy. There was no difficulty in the process of raising him, like with Irrucil or his other children, and that made the sense of​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

 

Russell said.

 

“I won’t be here long, Father. I came back to bring my sister.”

 

“You’re leaving again?”

 

“I haven’t seen the world yet. There’s still a lot I haven’t seen. There are many races I haven’t met.”

 

Lahart looked at him with a hard face.

 

“Are you saying you’re abandoning your family and territory for a mere reason like that?”

 

Russell didn’t ask if he thought of himself as family.

 

“It’s my long-held dream.”

 

Lahart shook his head, his temples throbbing at Russell’s answer.

 

“What about your engagement to the Vladyka family? Hella is still waiting for you.”

 

“I told her before. I’ll end the engagement.”

 

“. . . . . .Really.”

 

Lahart, who had been nodding his head, pointed outside.

 

“I understand, so get out. I still have things to do. Let’s talk about the rest at breakfast tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, Father.”

 

As Russell disappeared from the office, the office space came into view. The space that appeared to have been filled when Russell was there seemed to show off its presence, as if it had let out a breath it had been holding as soon as he disappeared.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

Creak.

 

There was a groan, as if it hadn’t been oiled in a long time. Russell didn’t mind. The servants who were afraid of him knew it already.

 

From a very young age, rumors and gossip about his appearance and eyes spread secretly and widely in the shadows of the castle, in the alleys of the territory, and grew in size.

 

Words like the animals that met his eyes froze stiff like stones and died, and all died bleeding from every hole.

 

The annoying thing is that they weren’t completely false.

 

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