Chapter 106
It had been a long time since I felt this genuinely annoyed.
There had been a lot of incidents lately, but none had frustrated me this much.
‘Hmm.’
I considered how to resolve the situation.
The top priority was rescuing Elaine Sinclair.
I wanted to simply grab her and escape, but there were too many uncertainties.
The magic surrounding Elaine, like the barrier, seemed highly suspicious.
I already knew that the First Elder could easily pass through even barriers created with black magic.
And yet, he was confident enough to bring Elaine out like this.
There had to be something he was relying on.
If I recklessly escaped with Elaine, Ordin would almost certainly die.
While he wasn’t someone particularly important to me, leaving him to die felt a little wrong.
‘This is why working alone is easier.’
“Hand over the Undead Wyvern first,” the First Elder said confidently.
Grroooar—
Yongyong growled low, as if it understood the First Elder’s words.
I couldn’t tell if it agreed or disagreed.
“Then let’s trade for the student,” I offered.
“You don’t know your place.”
Vmmm—
“Ah! Aghhh!”
Without hesitation, the First Elder dropped Elaine again in response to my words.
This time, Elaine let out a sharp scream, different from before.
Elaine flailed her arms, trying to regain balance as she plummeted toward the ground.
That’s when I noticed it.
As Elaine swung her arms to stabilize herself, her fingertips brushed against the invisible energy around her, causing it to ripple.
‘Surprisingly weak?’
Though I didn’t have the sharpest eyes, I could clearly see it.
The protective barrier around Elaine looked fragile.
Barriers were usually like that—strong against external impacts but weak against internal forces.
After all, barriers were designed to protect against external attacks.
A thought flashed through my mind.
It seemed possible to resolve the situation without gambling on uncertainties.
‘If it fails, I’ll just go in myself.’
I accounted for the worst-case scenario.
“Alright. I’ll hand it over.”
“What are you planning—”
Vmmm—
First, I dealt with Ordin.
Pretending to stroke Yongyong’s head as if giving it a command, I teleported Ordin somewhere else.
Usually, moving with someone could be risky, so I typically traveled with them. But I had no time for that now.
‘Even if something goes wrong, it’s better than dying here.’
“Wh-what?! Where did that man go?”
The First Elder raised his hand in visible confusion as Ordin disappeared.
At the same time, I felt a massive energy surge from the ground.
It was undoubtedly a grand-scale spell.
Casting such a spell in a short time would be impossible without prior preparation.
The ground beneath the mist must already have been layered with magic circles.
Feeling the energy gathering from the ground, I directed Yongyong to charge at the First Elder.
Of course, Yongyong didn’t obediently fly toward him.
It opened its mouth wide as if to devour the First Elder, rushing in with ferocity.
Simultaneously, I teleported to Elaine’s side.
“Rip it and run!”
“…Huh?”
I shouted at Elaine, who was still struggling to regain her balance.
She looked up at me, frowning in confusion.
It wasn’t the reaction I expected.
I thought she’d look relieved or happy to see me, but instead…
That’s when I remembered.
‘Ah.’
The urgency of the situation made me overlook an important detail.
I wasn’t Ryu Yeong of the academy right now—I was Ryu Yeong, the Black Shadow Corps Commander.
Clad in the Black Shadow uniform and wearing a black mask, Elaine had no reason to trust me.
‘Oh, crap.’
The realization hit me, and I moved instantly.
There wasn’t even a 0.1-second margin for hesitation.
I didn’t want to enter the protective barrier around Elaine, but I had no choice.
I didn’t know what traps awaited inside, but saving Elaine came first.
In the worst-case scenario, I’d be immobilized for a while, but I could always use “that technique.”
‘No other choice…’
Just as I was about to move to Elaine’s side—
Shrrrip—
Elaine gathered white mana in her hand and swung it as if wielding a sword.
Though it lacked the power of a real blade, it worked.
Elaine’s hand tore through the protective barrier.
And without hesitation, she threw herself through the tear.
Her movements were quick, showing no sign of doubt.
Vmmm—
Reaching out, I extended my hand toward Elaine as she leapt from the air.
***
Elaine Sinclair rubbed her aching shoulder, her face twisted into a grimace.
She had repeatedly slammed her body into the door, trying to break it down, but it didn’t budge.
It seemed to be protected by some sort of special magic.
“Haaah.”
Elaine let out a sigh filled with frustration and slumped into the chair.
The room had windows, but they didn’t show the outside.
Because of that, it was hard to tell how much time had passed.
‘Will Ryu come to rescue me?’
Elaine thought to herself.
Believing it was nearly impossible to escape on her own, her first thought was of Ryu Yeong.
Ryu, with his flowing black hair and perpetually calm expression, always assessing the situation.
Elaine firmly believed that Ryu would come to save her with that same expression this time.
Still, that didn’t make her any less frustrated.
She felt humiliated by her helplessness, caught and unable to do anything.
‘What would Ryu do in this situation?’
Elaine imagined.
If Ryu had been kidnapped by a mage and trapped in this space without a weapon, what would he do?
‘…He’d probably use magic to escape.’
There were likely countless methods he could use.
Thinking about it, Elaine realized the gap between her and Ryu’s skills.
Boom—
“Huuuu.”
‘Huh?’
As Elaine sat in her chair, consumed by helplessness, she heard an explosive sound and someone appeared.
The man, whose face she didn’t recognize, let out a heavy sigh.
Looking at the long-haired man, Elaine instinctively realized who he was.
Although she hadn’t recognized him earlier because of his white robe, this was the man who had brought her here.
“I made the right choice bringing you here.”
“Ugh!”
Elaine tried to lunge at the man who muttered those words while looking at her, but she failed.
It felt as if an impenetrable wall stood between her and him.
“Stay put, bait.”
Fwoosh—
Elaine instinctively closed her eyes and raised her guard against the surge of energy she felt.
She thought an attack was coming, but it didn’t.
Before she could fully regain her composure, Elaine felt the same sensation as before.
Her body floated weightlessly, and her surroundings changed in an instant.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar figure.
‘Is that…?’
She wasn’t mistaken.
What she saw before her was the Undead Wyvern that had attacked the academy during the festival.
The same Undead Wyvern that had vanished without a trace after the attack.
Two people were riding the Wyvern.
One was dressed entirely in black, even wearing a mask.
The other was someone Elaine recognized—Ordin, the Grand Commander she had met in the O’Neill Kingdom.
Before she could make sense of the situation, Elaine felt a chill run through her body.
The unsettling sensation of falling from the sky.
Elaine realized what was happening.
She was being used as a pawn by her captor.
A perfect hostage.
‘That person…’
Even amidst the chaos, Elaine felt an inexplicable familiarity with the figure next to Ordin.
The black clothes, the mask covering his face, and the Undead Wyvern.
‘He was at the academy.’
For some reason, seeing him reminded her of Ryu Yeong.
Their builds were completely different, but their aura was strikingly similar.
Oddly, she felt reassured.
Even in such a dangerous situation, even as the dizzying sight below threatened to make her lose her balance, she felt calm.
It was as though everything would turn out alright.
“Rip it and run!”
Elaine snapped back to reality at the voice shouting in front of her.
It wasn’t Ryu’s voice.
The voice sounded thinner, closer to that of a woman than a man.
Yet, it was strangely convincing.
Despite the suspicious black outfit, the mask, and the fact that they were riding the Undead Wyvern that had attacked the academy, Elaine trusted the voice.
Fwoosh—
Elaine acted immediately, following the command to rip and run.
Though she didn’t have a sword, she gathered mana into her hand.
It was a technique Ryu had occasionally demonstrated.
Without hesitation, she swung her hand as though it were a sword.
She felt something tear under her fingertips, along with a faint sense of emptiness.
Ryu’s words suddenly came to her mind.
“When in danger, trust me and jump.”
Elaine didn’t know why those words came to her now, but they reassured her.
The strange figure before her carried a familiarity she couldn’t explain.
Thud—
Elaine forced herself through the tear and leapt.
The dizzying view below threatened to overwhelm her, but she knew she had to jump.
‘Ugh.’
Elaine shut her eyes tightly as the chilling sensation of falling swept over her.
She couldn’t even scream.
The thought that she might actually fall filled her mind.
And then—
“Oh.”
“Alright, you did well.”
The next moment, Elaine found herself in someone’s arms.
A masked figure with a familiar way of speaking.
“Ryu…?”
Elaine murmured instinctively.
A deep sense of warmth and relief washed over her.
Thump-thump—
Her heart raced wildly, the sheer shock of the moment overwhelming her.
Truly, it was beating fast.
Still in the arms of the masked figure, Elaine stared up at them in a daze.
Vmmm—
The next moment, the scenery around her shifted again.
—
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