Chapter 168: Clue (1)
TL: Potato-tan
The man said nothing in response to the skeleton’s words. The skeleton enjoyed taunting him about the body parts he lacked.
When the man didn’t respond, the skeleton shrugged.
━Things are going smoothly here. The princess will surely lose the war she thought she couldn’t lose. The royal army will advance west, right?
“. . .Has Giselle joined them?”
━I’ve received word that she’s infiltrated. What will you do about the north? Surely you don’t intend to leave that man be.
“No.”
The man spat out the word as he surged with magic power. Crimson flames enveloped him, and his body gradually began to fade.
“I will tear that bastard apart myself. Don’t you dare touch him.”
━That only makes me want to touch him all the more. You look like a pitiful, drenched dog.”
The skeleton’s taunts brought a flush to the man’s face. But he said nothing more. This castle was the skeleton’s domain. No matter how strong the man was, he couldn’t win in a place where the lich’s magic power ran rampant.
He might be able to if he was willing to sacrifice his life, but there was no reason to do so. After all, despite their differences, they were currently working towards the same goal.
“Until next time.”
And with that, the black flames consumed the man, leaving only embers behind. The only thing left in the room was an armored skeleton wearing a bronze crown.
━Yes, until next time.
With a rattling laugh, the lich’s form also faded.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“He’s not dead?”
“No. His heart is still beating.”
“But he looks like he’s about to die?”
“That’s because he’s been through a lot. . . .”
Aellasis, who had been sitting on the floor, turned her head. Russell, his hair and body washed, was approaching, vigorously towel-drying his hair.
His upper body was bare, revealing his bare chest. The morning sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Russell’s upper body.
Gulp.
Aellasis swallowed involuntarily as she watched the sunlight dance over the curves and contours of his muscles.
For some reason, his every movement seemed slow.
The way he ran his fingers through his long black hair, the way the tiny droplets of water that clung to his hair flicked away, the way the remaining droplets trickled down his skin.
The same kind of sensory awareness she felt when using magic or moving her body was reactivated, making her carefully admire Russell’s physique. It wasn’t intentional, but it was also her will at the same time.
“Aella? Calia is here too. What’s the matter?”
This wasn’t the first time she had seen Russell’s naked body. But for some reason, her eyes kept wandering to it lately.
‘Come to think of it, he hasn’t been holding me as much as he used to. Why is that?
Is he upset because my body has changed a bit? If that’s the case, I won’t let him get away with it. It’s not my fault that my body has grown. It’s natural growth. Dragons are creatures who naturally balance their physical and mental growth as they mature.’
Suddenly, Aellasis frowned as a thought crossed her mind. She occasionally realized, like this, that she was a completely different being from other intelligent creatures.
Dragons grew stronger and wiser as they aged. They grew stronger without having to study or train.
This was because the knowledge learned from the first dragons and their descendants was naturally passed down to their successors.
It didn’t come all at once, and the type and quality of knowledge that emerged varied depending on their magic power and mental maturity.
In this case, it was knowledge that naturally arose as she wondered about the changes in her own body.
As Aellasis forgot about Russell’s body and became absorbed in her thoughts, Russell, who had asked the question, looked at Calia instead.
“What’s the matter. . . He’s out too.”
“Yes. Shouldn’t we interrogate him? We didn’t get much out of him yesterday, so we should investigate this one as well.”
“Good timing. It’s a bit early, but we can finish before breakfast.”
Russell, brushing his wet hair back, came closer. Percus, a dark elf, was lying in front of Calia and Aellasis.
Black ropes, looking like they were made of shadows, were tightly bound around him, somewhat resembling a restraint suit.
“Just untie him. Don’t wake him up.”
“Got it.”
At Russell’s words, Calia waved her hand. The shadow restraint suit loosened and sank to the floor, disappearing, leaving Percus lying on the floor in his entirety.
But even though his restraints were removed, Percus remained unconscious.
Russell was able to get a good look at Percus for the first time. He had a younger face than he had expected. Calia seemed to have had the same thought.
“He’s a young elf. Forty years old at most? Maybe even younger.”
“Can you tell his age?”
“There’s a way to find out.”
Calia placed her hand on Percus’s chest. Without causing any wounds, several drops of blood rose from his skin and spun above Calia’s palm.
Calia tasted the blood with her finger and her expression hardened.
“. . .My guess was correct. He’s about forty-two. He’s a very young dark elf. They usually have their own living space in the desert. Why would he come all the way up to the north? And at an age when he hasn’t even come of age.”
“That’s unusual.”
Calia nodded, her face still hard.
“Elves usually don’t let their young children go out on their own. That’s because there are many humans who covet their natural beauty. It’s usually only after they’ve come of age that elves are allowed to go outside.”
“Coming of age.”
“On average, they train in magic or martial arts until they’re fifty years old and take a qualifying exam called the coming-of-age ceremony. That’s when they’re given the qualifications to be able to withstand most threats. But it’s hard to imagine that this dark elf has passed the coming-of-age ceremony. His magic power is too weak. It doesn’t seem like he’s trained his body either.”
Calia prodded Percus’s arm as she spoke. As she said, Percus didn’t show any magic or throw any punches at Russell. He had simply run away with all his might, carrying the incense burner.
He was tall, and had the agile movements of an elf, but he hadn’t been able to escape Russell easily.
“Elves are a slow-learning race, but they are also the ones who learn correctly. But this dark elf seems to be a bit off track. Is it because his life is already forfeit?”
Calia muttered as her index finger moved gracefully. A line of magic power flowed from her fingertips, drawing a magic circle that sank into Percus’s forehead.
“What did you do?”
“I fixed his broken consciousness so he can wake up. It seems like he was handled quite roughly.”
It seemed he had forcefully opened Percus’s mind when he first caught him. Percus’s mind was collapsing much faster than expected, unable to withstand the eye.
Looking back, it seemed he had been too harsh on a young elf who hadn’t even reached his coming-of-age ceremony.
Just then, Percus’s eyelids fluttered and his closed eyes opened. Percus blinked, looking bewildered.
“Wh, what? Where am I. . .? I was definitely being chased. . . Where is this?”
Russell grabbed Percus by the scruff of his neck and lifted him to his feet.
“Do you remember me?”
At his question, Percus’s face turned pale in an instant. He tried to get up, but Russell grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down.
“Let’s make this quick and easy. What does a new world mean? Why are you trying to destroy the northern cities?”
“. . .This world will soon collapse. The walls between worlds are thinning. In the midst of the impending collapse, we dark elves will leave to find a new world.”
“How?”
“. . .If you spare my life, I’ll tell you everythi━Gawk!”
Russell’s right hand slapped Percus’s face. He had hit him lightly because he still had more questions to ask, but even that was brutal for Percus.
His left eye burst open, sending crimson blood and clear liquid streaming down. His cheekbone was crushed and sunken, and his jawbone was dislocated, causing his left mouth to sag.
“Ugh. . . Grrr. . . Kkkrrr. . .”
Percus trembled as he drooled blood and bits of broken teeth. His mouth was in such a state that he couldn’t speak, but unfortunately for him, there was Calia, an expert in dealing with life and blood, present.
“Calia.”
“I understand.”
As she chanted, the blood and teeth that had been scattered on the floor rose up and re-entered Percus’s mouth. His sunken cheekbone popped back out, his dislocated jawbone snapped back into place, and his shattered left eye returned to its original state.
“Will you answer or not?”
“Y, Yes. So please don’t hit me anymore. S, Stop hitting me. . . .”
Percus realized that he wouldn’t get an answer if he continued like this and cowered, trembling.
“. . . . . .We have allies. Those who work in the darkness of the empire. One of them gave me that incense burner and told me to weaken the north as much as possible. It would be good if the territories or cities were destroyed, but it would be enough if many people died. What’s important is the will that people emit. . . Ugh?!”
Just then, Percus, who had been speaking well, suddenly grabbed his own neck. Russell’s magic power flared up instantly.
“Everyone, get away!”
Russell shouted as he stepped back, and Calia and Aellasis created a protective barrier almost simultaneously. The dark elf was enveloped in black tentacles that had erupted from his body.
“Ugh, Aaaah!”
Calia exclaimed as she realized something.
“It’s a curse that befalls those who reveal secrets! Russell! You have to get that dark elf away from here! A powerful explosion will occur to kill both the one who revealed the secret and the one who heard it━”
“It’s okay.”
With those words, Russell approached Percus slowly, his eyes gleaming. Calia soon realized, contrary to her expectations, that the explosion didn’t happen right away.
“What is this. . .?”
Calia saw Russell making a gesture, as if he were waving his hand in the air. At first glance, it looked like a visually impaired person reaching out with both hands and feeling their way.
However, Russell’s eyes saw something completely different. It was a three-dimensional magic circle in the shape of a regular octahedron that was being completed in order to incinerate the whistleblower and the surrounding area.
The aura that had erupted from Percus’s body was trying to draw a compass by absorbing the surrounding mana and magic power. A total of thirty-two figures, eighteen straight lines, eight curves, and four overlapping circles.
Russell was using his magic-imbued hands to trace the magic circle and distort the aura one by one.
It was the same as when he had blocked the troll’s flames and halved the dragon’s breath. The difference this time was simply the difference between dismantling magic power imbued with the attribute of fire and dismantling magic that was connected to a spell.
Of course, the latter was more difficult.
“Mana interference. . .! Was it possible to do this too?”
Calia’s admiring exclamation reached his ears, but Russell continued to focus, ignoring it.
His strong will, unwavering mental strength, and judgment told him he could do it. His pupils radiated a deep brilliance.
Soon, his sharply raised finger severed the last spell.
Zzzzaaaang!
A dense shock wave erupted with a loud bang. However, the shock wave didn’t advance beyond a one-meter radius of Russell.
His magic manipulation skills, which had grown along with his magic sensitivity, were not weak enough to miss a shockwave like this.
Russell, who had absorbed the shock and noise in an instant, soon withdrew his magic power that had been suppressing the surroundings. The swirling magic power subsided.
“Oh dear.”
Percus, who had been at the center of the magic formation, was completely charred. He had been exposed to the intense heat that the magic formation was trying to generate.
“He ended up dying after all. It would have been nice if we had gotten a little more information.”
As Calia lamented, Russell looked down at the dark elf’s body, which had turned to coal, and soon picked something up from the wreckage.
“It looks like there is a clue.”
Leave a Reply