Chapter 99
“Sit down.”
Thud—
Elaine felt a chill run down her spine at the man’s low voice and followed his order.
As Elaine sat on the wooden chair, the man reached out toward her.
Instinctively, Elaine closed her eyes and raised her hands to shield her face in self-defense.
However, contrary to her expectations, nothing happened.
“Do not leave this place.”
“…”
Elaine couldn’t respond and cautiously lowered her arms to look up.
The man’s face was completely obscured by the deeply drawn hood of his robe.
‘I can’t speak.’
Elaine had countless things she wanted to say to the man who had kidnapped her, but no words came out.
She tried desperately to speak, but it was futile.
This kind of magic was unfamiliar to her.
She had heard of binding magic that restricted movement, but she never imagined there could be magic that could seal her voice as well.
Fwoosh—
While Elaine sat in the chair, unable to speak or act, the man disappeared.
Just as he had brought her here, he vanished without a trace.
‘Haaah…’
As soon as the unsettling presence of the robed man vanished, Elaine felt the tension leave her body.
Now that he was gone, Elaine regained control of her body.
Until just moments ago, she had felt compelled to obey his every word.
Elaine quickly got up from the chair and tried the door in front of her.
As expected, the door didn’t budge.
She had no idea where she was, but there weren’t even any windows in the room.
Elaine took a deep breath, scanning her surroundings for anything she could use as a weapon.
Her sword had been dropped earlier, and even the scabbard she had been carrying at her waist had been taken by the man.
There was nothing in the room that could serve as a substitute for a weapon.
Grit—
Elaine bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly.
She thought she had experienced helplessness to its fullest during the festival incident, but apparently not.
Bang—
Elaine threw her shoulder against the door in front of her.
The loud thud echoed as her shoulder collided with the door, but the door didn’t budge.
“Haaah.”
Elaine gathered her strength again and slammed her body against the door.
Bang—
Right now, it was the most plausible escape option she had.
‘…I really am useless.’
Feeling the weighty pain in her shoulder, Elaine thought bitterly.
Just like during the festival incident, and now again.
Rather than being of help to anyone, she felt like nothing but a burden.
At least during the festival, she hadn’t been a direct hindrance to anyone.
But this time, she was undeniably a burden.
Being kidnapped by an enemy while on an overseas excursion.
And without even putting up any resistance.
Elaine suppressed the sudden surge of emotions threatening to overwhelm her and moved again.
Bang—
Once again, the door didn’t budge.
***
It would have been nice to discover something, but unfortunately, they had failed.
Emily’s artifact had reacted, but that was all.
They already knew the enemy was the Nameless Organization and that dark magic was involved.
They had hoped the artifact might offer some tracking capability or analytical function, but it lacked such features.
“What did they say?”
“O’Neill Kingdom already knows everything.”
“I figured as much.”
“Then shouldn’t we head there immediately and rescue Elaine?”
Emily reacted fervently to Professor Amilion’s words.
Just as Ryu, Cynthia, and Emily returned empty-handed, the meeting in O’Neill Kingdom concluded.
They happened to run into Professor Amilion in front of the dormitory and gathered in her office to hear the details of the meeting.
“Yes, we must act quickly.”
“So where is it?”
“…They didn’t say. It seems we’ll only know by following their lead.”
“Ugh.”
This was a significant setback.
They had somewhat anticipated the possibility of not finding any traces or evidence at the site where Elaine had been kidnapped.
So even if they hadn’t found anything, it wouldn’t have been a major issue.
‘Why won’t they share the destination ahead of time?’
“Obviously, students can’t come along.”
“Hmm.”
“…”
“It seems this is something we’ll have to leave to O’Neill Kingdom’s army.”
Professor Amilion scanned the group as she spoke.
‘What should I do now?’
Ryu’s original plan was simple:
Even though he hadn’t attended the meeting, Professor Amilion would learn the enemy’s location.
Then, before O’Neill Kingdom’s army could arrive, he would get there first, take down the enemy, and rescue Elaine.
A straightforward, two-step plan.
But the very first step had gone awry.
“I’ll join O’Neill Kingdom’s army and head there. So don’t worry too much.”
With things unfolding this way, Ryu wouldn’t know the location until O’Neill Kingdom’s army reached the enemy’s hideout.
Even if he secretly followed the army and learned the location, the window of time he would have before the army launched their assault would be limited.
‘Wearing the Black Shadow Corps’ uniform here would be far too risky.’
This was the issue.
Of course, there was no way I would reveal my face and identity when facing that enemy.
If that were the case, I would need to wear the Black Shadow Corps uniform and a mask, but the place I was in right now was none other than O’Neill Kingdom.
A country where the anger toward the Black Shadow Corps was said to be the greatest on the continent.
I couldn’t predict what might happen if I encountered the kingdom’s forces while wearing the uniform.
They might prioritize capturing me over the one who kidnapped Elaine Sinclair.
“Haaah…”
It was a situation that could only elicit a sigh.
But there was no way I could show my face as a Crescent Academy student and rescue Elaine either.
“We’re leaving soon.”
“…What?”
I was startled by Professor Amilion’s follow-up statement.
I knew they would need to depart as quickly as possible to rescue Elaine.
But I didn’t expect it to be this soon.
It felt like only moments had passed since the meeting with Commander Ordin ended.
“Everyone understands how crucial time is for this mission. They plan to leave within the next few hours.”
“Hmm.”
“Ah…”
Unlike me, Cynthia and Emily sighed in relief.
It was a great thing that O’Neill Kingdom was moving quickly.
But it was too rushed.
Above all, I still hadn’t decided what to do.
I couldn’t openly join the kingdom’s forces as a student, and wearing the Black Shadow Corps uniform wasn’t an option either.
Both choices had significant limitations.
In other words, a decision was required.
And I didn’t have much time to deliberate.
If they were leaving in a few hours, I needed to prepare in secret to follow them.
‘In that case…’
***
The decision was made surprisingly quickly.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Ordin steeled his resolve, listening to the determined responses of the knights.
This was something that would have happened eventually.
It had already been quite some time since they discovered the location of the one who had slaughtered the Silver Eagles.
The reason they hadn’t attacked the enemy’s hideout was Ordin’s hesitation.
Uncertain of their chances of success, he had delayed the operation time and time again.
But now, there was no more room for delay.
This wasn’t just about O’Neill Kingdom anymore.
The Crescent Empire was involved, specifically the Sinclair family—one of the Six Great Houses.
If anything were to happen to Elaine Sinclair, it could easily escalate into a full-blown international crisis.
Clop-clop-clop—
Pulling the reins, Ordin signaled his horse to advance, and it began moving forward.
As Ordin led the charge, the knights followed one by one.
The dark night was lit by a moon much brighter than usual, a small blessing in an otherwise grim situation.
The brighter it was, the better their chances of spotting the death mist before it approached.
‘Stay calm, and we’ll manage.’
Ordin recalled the magic that had rendered the Silver Eagles helpless.
Through their research, they had devised countermeasures, though they hadn’t been tested.
At best, it was a hypothesis that seemed plausible in theory.
Despite his unease, Ordin decided to trust the kingdom’s mages.
By some stroke of luck—or misfortune—there was also a mage from the Crescent Empire with them.
O’Neill Kingdom was relatively weaker in the field of magic compared to the Crescent Empire.
The sheer number of mages in the Crescent Empire far exceeded that of O’Neill Kingdom, and their quality was objectively superior.
This was why Ordin had faith in Amilion Stappen, a professor at the Crescent Academy and a mage herself.
“Professor Amilion, was it?”
“Yes.”
Ordin spoke to Amilion, who was riding behind him.
“Have you encountered poison magic in combat before?”
“Yes. It’s commonly used by the mages of Flora Kingdom in the western continent, and while rare, it’s not impossible to find elsewhere.”
Amilion’s response sparked a mix of hope and intrigue in Ordin.
“How would you respond to it?”
“Hmm. It depends on the type of poison.”
“It spreads like a mist, and anyone without magical resistance dies instantly if they inhale it.”
“…That’s terrifying. Still, if it’s in a gaseous form, the most straightforward response would be to disperse it with wind. If that’s not possible…”
“What if it’s not?”
Ordin asked with a hint of expectation.
Using wind to counter it was a method Ordin had already considered.
“If it’s gaseous, you could try condensing it into liquid form to make it easier to avoid, or even trap it entirely.”
“Hmm.”
Ordin felt reassured as he listened to Amilion confidently outline solutions that the kingdom had spent days formulating.
“Or perhaps…”
As Amilion continued, Ordin spurred his horse forward, eager to reach their destination swiftly.
—
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