Chapter 109
“What?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“…”
‘What was I thinking?’
Elaine quickly swallowed back the name “Ryu” that had unconsciously slipped out of her mouth.
The person holding her now was clearly not Ryu Yeong.
Their frame was much slimmer than Ryu’s, and the voice was entirely different.
‘But it feels so familiar.’
Despite that, Elaine found the person in the black mask incredibly familiar.
Even though it was someone she was meeting for the first time, she felt neither anxious nor afraid—instead, she felt safe.
That was despite the obviously suspicious outfit of black clothing and a mask.
“Anyway, you’ll be safe here.”
The black-masked figure spoke as he gently set Elaine down.
Only then did Elaine take a good look around her.
‘This place is…’
The first thing that caught Elaine’s eye was a massive building.
The headquarters of the O’Neill Knight Order.
A moment ago, they had been in a place crawling with dark magic, but now, in the blink of an eye, she was at the knight order’s base.
Even this spatial movement ability was reminiscent of Ryu.
“Well then.”
“Wait a moment!”
Elaine hurriedly called out to the black-masked figure as he prepared to leave.
She didn’t know why, but she felt that she couldn’t let him go.
Moreover, she wanted to confirm the suspicion that had been steadily growing in her mind since earlier.
“Hmm?”
“Who are you?”
“…”
The black mask gave no answer to Elaine’s blunt question.
Whether it was because he didn’t want to or because it was difficult to answer, Elaine stared at him intently.
Not that it helped, as she couldn’t read any expression through the mask.
“It’s a secret.”
“Oh…”
The response that came from the mask was hollow.
Elaine had expected that he wouldn’t straightforwardly reveal who he was, but his answer was as blunt as her question.
“By any chance…!”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know Ryu?”
Elaine’s gaze carried both suspicion and hope as she asked.
Her instincts were telling her that this person was Ryu, but her mind said otherwise.
It wasn’t an illusion or some kind of deceptive magic.
Elaine had made physical contact with him—and embarrassingly, she had even been held by him.
Common knowledge held that illusions or deception magic would dissipate upon direct contact.
However, his physique and voice remained unchanged despite the contact.
That meant this wasn’t some kind of magic.
This person truly looked as he did.
“I don’t.”
“…”
A brief silence followed.
Elaine struggled with how to interpret his words.
It felt like an obvious lie, but Elaine was the type to believe what people said.
If someone claimed something, she would often accept it at face value.
‘This is strange.’
However, this time, even Elaine felt that something was off.
First of all, how did this person know about “Ryu”?
That alone was already suspicious.
“That can’t…!”
“Elaine?!”
“Huh?”
Just as Elaine was about to confront the black mask, a voice called out from a distance.
It was a voice she hadn’t heard in just a few hours, yet she already missed and welcomed it dearly.
The voice belonged to Cynthia Surplus, her classmate at the academy.
“Is that really you, Elaine? How did you…?”
“Ah, Cynthia.”
Seeing Cynthia running toward her, Elaine suddenly felt like crying.
More than seeing the knight order’s headquarters, Cynthia’s appearance made her feel that she was truly safe now.
“What the heck! Professor and everyone else went to rescue you…!”
“Oh.”
Cynthia’s words reminded Elaine of Ordin, the commander she had seen atop the Undead Wyvern earlier.
She had been too overwhelmed to think about it, but Ordin had definitely been there.
On top of the Undead Wyvern.
Swoosh—
“Huh…”
“Anyway, it’s a relief!”
Cynthia ran up to Elaine and hugged her tightly.
Though Elaine was surprised by the sudden embrace, she also felt a warmth spreading in her heart.
There was sincerity in Cynthia’s hug.
Even though it had only been a few hours, Cynthia had truly been worried about her.
Gulp—
Elaine swallowed hard as she felt the genuine care in Cynthia’s embrace.
Had anyone ever worried about her so sincerely before?
Perhaps, but no one had ever expressed it so directly to her.
Maybe that was why.
Elaine felt tears welling up, almost ready to spill.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…N-no.”
Elaine managed to respond to Cynthia’s question with a trembling voice.
Only then did Cynthia let go of her.
By then, Elaine noticed Emily Franz running toward them from behind Cynthia.
‘What about Ryu?’
As soon as Elaine recognized Cynthia and Emily, her thoughts instinctively turned to Ryu.
And at the same time, her gaze shifted to the black mask beside her.
“What?”
“Huh? Why?”
“The person… standing next to me, didn’t you see them?”
“Next to you? Was someone there?”
Cynthia looked around, genuinely confused.
It didn’t seem like she was lying.
“The person wearing a black mask. Didn’t you see them? They’re the one who brought me here.”
“Really? I didn’t see anyone.”
“When did they…?”
Elaine, like Cynthia, scanned her surroundings, but the black mask was nowhere to be found.
She couldn’t even guess when they had disappeared.
“But Elaine.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing well.”
“…?”
Elaine looked at Cynthia with a puzzled expression.
There was a playful smirk on Cynthia’s face.
“You’re doing great… with informal speech.”
“Oh.”
Elaine reflexively covered her mouth with her hands.
She hadn’t realized she’d been speaking informally to Cynthia.
Cynthia burst into a wide grin at Elaine’s reaction.
“Fantastic!”
“Ah…”
“Elaine!”
With Cynthia’s cheerful laughter and Emily Franz running toward her with a worried expression, Elaine had no time to dwell on the black mask.
Caught between awkwardness and embarrassment, she could only fidget nervously.
***
‘Phew.’
Cynthia’s timing couldn’t have been better.
Thanks to her arrival, Elaine’s attention was elsewhere, allowing him to slip away unnoticed.
Now that Elaine was safe, he felt relieved.
That had been the most important objective.
“Okay, now for that guy from earlier.”
Unlike Randgar, the First Elder who had been using various dark magic techniques.
To be honest, none of his individual spells posed a significant threat to him.
No matter what kind of magic it was, he could open a subspace and pass through it.
The problem was the sheer volume of magic.
Ordinarily, even the most skilled mage had limits in battle.
After all, the mana and stamina of a single human being had their limits.
But the First Elder in that space earlier had seemed like someone without such constraints.
It was likely due to the peculiar nature of that place.
‘Even I have my limits.’
Just as mages couldn’t use magic infinitely in combat, the same principle applied to him.
While his techniques and abilities required far less mana than typical magic, there was still a limit.
“Hm.”
Even for him, continuing to fight in that space would have been unfavorable.
There was no need to fight on the enemy’s terms.
So, the answer was simple.
Draw the First Elder out of that space and defeat him elsewhere.
‘Time to focus.’
Whoom—
As soon as he finished organizing his thoughts, he moved again.
Back to the place where he had fought the First Elder earlier.
***
“Like a slippery eel.”
Kilbis muttered in frustration as he glared in the direction where the Black Shadow Corps leader had disappeared with Sinclair.
Of course, his voice would not reach him.
Kilbis quickly assessed the situation.
He calmly weighed the losses and gains to plan his next move.
First, what had been lost.
‘The plan has failed, and Sinclair is gone.’
He had thought the arrival of the Crescent Academy students would make the plan succeed, but it had done the opposite.
The sudden interference of that thieving group had completely flipped the situation.
Originally, Kilbis’s goal was to lure Ordin and the kingdom’s army from O’Neill Kingdom to this location.
Then, he would use the large-scale magic he had prepared in advance to annihilate the kingdom’s forces.
He had also planned to kill Ordin, a key figure and symbolic leader of the O’Neill Kingdom.
After that, he would immediately march on the kingdom and launch an attack.
‘All I gained… is this Undead.’
Compared to the magnitude of the failed plan, it was a paltry outcome.
Kilbis glanced at the Undead Wyvern, which was now bound tightly and unable to move, growling softly.
Its body was wrapped completely in black mana threads, finally subdued.
“Tch.”
Kilbis clicked his tongue in irritation.
At the very least, he should have killed Ordin earlier.
Whoom—
Just then, an annoying sound reached Kilbis’s ears.
A low humming vibration.
Instinctively, Kilbis turned toward the source of the sound.
‘What?’
The noise was coming from above the head of the bound Undead Wyvern.
“Oh, you’ve really tied it up tightly.”
The one who had fled with Sinclair earlier—the leader of the Black Shadow Corps—was standing there.
Kilbis barely suppressed a laugh as he looked at the returned leader.
No matter how confident one was in their ability to escape, to come back here of all places…
“Utterly foolish.”
Kilbis muttered under his breath as he began to gather mana again.
It wasn’t for casting a spell.
Instead, it was just enough to activate the magic circle lying beneath them.
‘You won’t escape this time.’
Kilbis initiated a spell similar to the one binding the Undead Wyvern, ensuring the leader couldn’t flee.
‘And after that…’
The sequence of spells he planned to use next flowed smoothly through Kilbis’s mind.
—
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