Chapter 318: In the Name of Light (3)
I could see the lieutenant, who had come with me, with her mouth open.
She was probably expressing surprise at the barrier in front of her.
She was also a wizard. There was no way she couldn’t recognize its worth.
“Is it fascinating? Ludmilla.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“No. I can understand. Since you’re also studying this science… It would be strange not to be surprised.”
“It feels… It feels like we have entered a dungeon, sir.”
“Strictly speaking, it is far from a dungeon. There’s no system judgment in this place. It will be easier to think that someone made it artificially.”
“If that’s true, isn’t it even more amazing? The very fact that a human can create this kind of magic barrier… It’s hard to understand from my common sense…”
“If…”
“Yeah.”
“If you are a specialized wizard, it will be possible. This is not a matter of magic power but rather a matter of technique… As you can see, it is designed quite complexly. Even those who are familiar with magic won’t be able to figure it out at once. This is enough to think that the cla.s.s or attribute related to this… is most likely to be at least legendary-grade.”
“Legendary-grade…”
“Probably, it is the work of one of the State’s Eight Seats or the Republic’s Five Tiger Generals or someone who has similar powers. The most appropriate person would be the State’s shaman. Or a wizard hiding in the magical kingdom…”
“But isn’t she not a wizard? To be precise, she is close to a sorcerer…”
“Of course, this is not her doing. Her magic has a different mechanism than the magic we use. If it were her doing, I would have noticed right away. Of course, the State wouldn’t have done such a stupid thing.”
“Then, sir.”
“Yes.”
“Are you saying that the person who made this barrier and the person who dropped the magic this morning is not the same person?”
Of course, I had to nod at the question.
It was hard to say that the same person cast the two magics, no matter how I thought about it.
The fact that the one who had the magic of formidable power and the user of defensive boundary magic that even I found hard to decipher was the same person was impossible, even on a continent where there were many incomprehensible things.
The two magic were entirely different types of magic.
It would be impossible for a genius on top of a genius to master both magic, which was not easy to get to the level even if one kept digging on only one thing.
“It’s highly likely they’re not the same person.”
“I knew it… If so, it would be right to think that this is a specific group targeting us.”
“Yes. I think it’s probably right that they planned it for us at the national level.”
“National level…”
“I don’t know what the purpose is, but…”
“Is there any possibility that it’s the State?”
“It won’t be them.”
Something was suspicious about this whole thing.
However, if it was the Lee Kiyoung I knew, he would have no reason to do this. The political problems this would bring would be ma.s.sive.
I didn’t know him well yet, but he preferred to minimize the risk as much as possible.
His past moves gave a strong feeling that he was always concerned about his safety and political position.
In fact, I could see that in the simple game that we played.
‘To say that the State did this?’
No matter how unstable the State was, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to commit such stupid things.
Despite the task of making an alliance with Laios, no one was going to make this stupid move.
‘The situation itself is useful.’
If I hadn’t considered the possibility of a third force hoping the two forces to fight, I would have sent a protest to the State right away.
As I didn’t know exactly who they were and what they wanted, I had to avoid moving externally as much as possible.
As I went inside, lost in thoughts, the more difficult it became to dismantle the magical barrier.
Looking back, Ludmilla and other wizards who came with us were also in deep trouble.
It was also surprising that archers were not allowed to follow their tracks.
Not only was the magic barrier periodically erasing traces in this place by itself, but it was continually interfering so that it could not be traced in any other way.
‘As if the magic power is alive.’
It was a pa.s.sing thought, but it might be an expression that fit well.
I had a hard time processing all of this.
‘Is it really made by a human?’
I didn’t know if rangers that could read hundreds of years old trails may be able to light up this trail, but archers who had reached that level did not exist in the Republic.
No, it was not even common to find such power among the elves.
Even if they come…
‘They won’t be able to read the traces accurately.’
Had it not been for the faint reverberation of black magic, we wouldn’t have even come to this point.
‘A black magic… black magic.’
It was then that a voice came from next to me.
“Er, sir.”
“Yes.”
“It’s not for me to say this, but can I suggest to go back… It doesn’t matter if something happens to us, but I’m afraid you’ll get in trouble.”
I could understand them, but this couldn’t possibly be delayed.
“I’ll be fine. We have insurance on hand, and an investigation team from the Republic is probably arriving… I know I’m at risk, too, but just following this trail took a lot of time. The time it takes for magic to remain floating in the atmosphere immediately after the manifestation of magic is usually around five hours. In this case, it may take about seven to eight hours, but it is by no means a long time.”
“Seven hours…”
“It means that the concentration of magic power is that strong. We have to keep trying at least until the reverberation of floating magical power in the atmosphere remains. If we can’t follow this trail within today, it’s very likely that everything will be cleared after that.”
“But the President will be worried, sir. If the one who unleashed this kind of magic is aiming for you…”
“I can look after myself. For now, the break is over. We will move faster than we just had.”
“Okay.”
“Please prepare the magic right away. I will lead.”
“Okay.”
With the momentum, the unofficial investigation team went through the cave in a matter of seconds.
The more I went in, the more ominous magic power I felt. The more the barrier was released, the more magic power blocked inside flowed in.
‘It’s inside.’
I could consider this a hint.
‘It could be a trap, but…’
The insurance against raids was more than enough.
As soon as I walked, I could see the hall.
Of course, what was inside was way beyond my expectations.
“Sir, sir… this.”
“I’m also seeing.”
“Sir… what… What the h.e.l.l is this?”
“A demon…”
“Demon?”
It was a monster with a huge appearance.
His face was like the lightning of fire, and his eyes were like flames burning in the abyss.
His mouth was like a crack in a rock, and his large wings seemed to tuck into a crumpled sky. It seemed that I was overwhelmed just by looking at him.
It’s hard even to describe the majesty. A human being is too small and shabby to look at him located among several black magic circles.
You couldn’t even stand properly under his pressure.
Biting my lips tightly as the best I could do.
‘This… Something like this… Exists? On this continent?’
I was starting to feel suffocated.
While wandering around the continent, I have watched many creatures that the expression “out of standard” fits, but no one had provoked this fear.
‘This is… This makes no sense…’
“R-Run away…”
“No, Ludmilla. There is no need to run away.”
“I’m sorry?”
“It is sealed.”
“Oh…”
“Someone seemed to have sealed the devil. I don’t know if he’s here from the beginning, but… right now, that demon can’t move by itself. I don’t know who sealed such creature here, but…”
“Maybe a black wizard?”
“Yes. I believe to be a… pretty high-ranking black wizard. I’ve studied black magic for a while, but I haven’t seen or heard anything about how to use a high-ranking demon. Maybe…”
The destruction of the city was most likely the power of that. The most convincing evidence was right before my eyes.
The magic circle used to summon demons is also relatively recent. The binding magic to seal this demon was also noticeable.
‘What is it aiming for?’
The probability was low, but I had to think about the case where the magic was not aimed only at the Republic.
It sounded ridiculous, but it was possible that it was waged by black wizards who harbored resentment from the State, the Republic, or the neutral country.
It wasn’t that there weren’t any black wizard clans working in secret.
The number of cases that should be considered for this incident had increased.
Whatever the reason, the important thing now was to inform others about this.
“First, report to the Republic… and then, Laios. Take control of all this area right away and take steps to ensure that the dispatched people can also come here. This is our top priority. I’m telling you just in case, but you guys here right now haven’t seen anything. Anything.”
“O-Of course, sir.”
“Then… right now…”
It was when I said this. Someone appeared on one side of the room.
‘What is that…’
It was so dark that I couldn’t see well, but when I put in magic on my eyes as much as possible, I could see a face I had seen before.
‘Lee… Kiyoung?’
I couldn’t instantly understand why he was here.
It was because I had encountered an unexpected person in a much-unexpected place.
The Honorary Cardinal of the Holy State was with a sealed demon.
He spoke way before I could.
“It was you. The summoner who summoned the demon here… was it… really you?”
“What?”
“I asked if it was you, Jin Qing.”
“What…?”
‘Bullsh*t.’