[331] Midwinter’s night (2)
The outfit, which looked like it would freeze to death at any moment, was a delightful treat for drunkards.
However, the woman was preaching a message to people, not paying attention to the gaze that was looking at her.
“The end of the world is coming. It’s dangerous here. Everyone, leave the castle quickly.”
‘end? What are you talking about out of the blue?’
Dante did not take it seriously.
There are people who give up their lives because they are distracted by pseudo-religions.
The character of the ice queen itself was a legend processed for the festival, so it didn’t make sense that it was dangerous.
I couldn’t find a single person who listened seriously, as if the tourists had the same idea.
“If it’s the end anyway, isn’t it the same wherever you go? Where do you go when you leave here? Surely you’re not asking me to die in the arms of the sickest wife waiting at home? Fuhahaha!”
“I heard and saw it. That’s never going to happen. If you need attention, why don’t you stop talking nonsense and dance?”
The woman looked at them straight in the face without changing a single expression, perhaps accustomed to this kind of tamusi, and confronted them.
“It’s not a lie. This is an oracle from the goddess Achaeans, who controls the melody of time.”
“Aceanis? I have never heard of such a religion.”
“You have to take my word for it! Sooner or later, the dawn of the apocalypse will take place here. Everyone dies!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll trust you, so let’s go inside. Let’s talk while drinking.”
When the tall man hugged the woman by the shoulders, she pushed it away with both hands and shouted.
“Don’t put your ungodly hand on it!”
“Ugh! this lady really Don’t do that, come in. What kind of bad person am I?”
The woman reached into the cylinder slung across the bottom of her backpack, pulled out something, and thrust it into the man’s neck.
At first glance, I thought it was a quiver, but when I looked at the contents, it was a thin iron core 50 cm long.
The tip was sharp like an awl, and inside the ring on the other side was a small bell that jingled.
Feeling the force of being stabbed, the giant hurriedly removed his hand from the woman and stepped back.
“Oops, with a temper.”
As the business grew, tourists who had not considered it a big deal became interested and gathered.
Dante heard the men standing behind them exchanging trivial jokes.
“She was crazy. It looks fine, but that’s it. How about we play together today?”
“Arthur. You can bleed while dealing with a woman like that. How do you know what will happen?”
“It’s a pity though. She is a rare beauty.”
Dante studied the woman carefully.
“Archaeanis…”
It was a name he had never heard of, even for Dante, who was very interested in the psychic.
Well, there are tens of thousands of religions in the world, so it was impossible to know the names of all the gods they believed in.
The woman was talking the same thing like a parrot.
“The end is coming. Hurry up and leave the old castle ruins! otherwise everyone will die. What I mean is true!”
“Will leaving solve it?”
People’s eyes were focused on Dante.
He drew more attention because he was the first person to take a woman’s story seriously.
said Dante, stepping forward.
“If the apocalypse really came, wouldn’t there have to be a solution? I don’t think it’s going to end with running away.”
When the woman confirmed that Dante was a younger boy than she was, she turned to the crowd with a look of disappointment.
“I am Totemist Lyria, a mage of the Akeanis Shrine. An edict will be attempted here tonight. Failure to do so can be dangerous. So, please leave here as soon as possible.”
Dante paid more attention to the fact that she was a mage than to the feeling of being ignored.
Mages are those who work in the Order of the Spirit, and the magic circles they use have many similarities to magic circles.
That’s why Dante, who majored in information magic, also studied the spirits, even if only on the surface.
If the magician materializes the phenomenon through an equal exchange, the magician reinforces one aspect of reason with the power of will.
The two are similar but different.
If the fire needs to be extinguished, the wizard will create water. However, the mage suppresses the will of fire by strengthening the will of water.
What governs the balance of the source.
Mages call this the law.
It was the ability to encompass a broader and wider range of phenomena, although it lacked a sharp taste like magical transformation.
Nevertheless, the reason why it does not receive attention in the western world is that the power of the law itself is not logical.
Mage The exactly white mage is those who fight to destroy evil in the world.
However, good and evil are nothing more than artificial distinctions made after human beings were born.
But how can mages seal evil?
Due to the ambiguity of this proof, the reality was that people in the world disparaged the law as an imitation of magic, that is, alternative magic.
“There is no time! Get out of here before the day ends. Your life is at stake!”
Lyria appealed with a desperate voice, but people didn’t even listen.
Dante looked around, but when no one came forward, he approached her again.
“Can I help you?”
Lyria sighed softly without looking back at Dante.
‘Anyway, kids these days.’
It wasn’t just once or twice that I met a boy who behaved like this while going around to pray.
It seemed that being a magician in itself was a job that aroused quite a bit of curiosity among young children.
Looking at the boy’s appearance, he has a handsome face and a good style. Perhaps he was a kid who had played quite a bit, and even had ear piercings.
‘But this time I picked the wrong opponent, kid.’
Lyria glared at Dante with cold eyes.
“It’s not for a kid like you to intervene. You should go home soon too. If you don’t want to offend your parents.”
Dante was about to reply, but one of the onlookers said:
“uh? That kid… Isn’t that Dante? Air servant Dante, the most promising wizard in the kingdom.”
The middle-aged man knew Dante’s face thanks to his work at the top of the magic material supply chain.
Even if they weren’t wizards, most people engaged in magic-related work were reading academic journals.
This is because there are hundreds of types of magical weapons that are newly developed each year, and students’ needs must be analyzed to preoccupy successful products.
“huh? Is that boy a wizard? Doesn’t it look like that?”
“No, I am still a student. But from what I’ve heard, it’s said that it’s a skill that even pros can’t carelessly touch.”
The magician was a mysterious being to the common people.
Furthermore, the title of the kingdom’s best in any field was not given to just anyone, so people’s attention was focused.
Only then did Lilia correct her expression and look at Dante.
As a mage, she also knows much more about the wizarding society than ordinary people, so the feeling of disregard has completely disappeared.
“The best student in the kingdom?”
Dante licked his lips and shrugged.
“No, what… Are you going to become the second person now?”
The man working at the magic guild also knew that a boy named Sirone had defeated Dante.
But nostalgia for a champion is not easily forgotten.
It was also Dante who boasted an undefeated record since childhood, so the popularity of the public did not cool down easily.
Lyria didn’t care whether Dante was number one or number two. It was important that he was a mage with some expertise and that he was being listened to himself seriously for the first time.
Dante pointed to the tavern on the third floor and said.
“This place is a bit different. Shall we go in and have a drink?”
Lyria looked at Dante with suspicion.
Even if he was an excellent wizard, it would be a different story if he flirted with him in this way.
“If you’re thinking about making a deal, find someone else.”
“What are you talking about? Work?”
“Then why are you trying to help me?”
“My major is magic circles. Will that deal with the sealed margins too? because I’m interested It might be useful for my major.”
“A magic circle?”
If the boy’s words are true, he will surely be able to help himself in his work.
Besides, if you’re the kingdom’s best prospect, at least at the student level, doesn’t that mean you’re the best at handling magic circles?
“good. let’s go in But I will not drink.”
“As you like. I just need a beer too.”
Only then did Lilia shake off the snow-covered hair and follow Dante into the bar.
“Oh… it was stolen by a kid whose head didn’t even have blood on it.”
The old castle site was not only a dating course for lovers, but also a place for lonely singles to find a relationship.
Numerous young men who tried to challenge Lilia looked at the two with envious expressions.
* * *
8 o’clock in the evening.
The old castle site was so quiet.
The moonlight shimmered down on the statue made of ice.
Even the sound of laughter resounding from the distant shopping district could be heard reverently here.
Breaking the stillness of the night, the two figures swiftly jumped over the collapsed wall and entered the deserted castle.
Dante’s expression was serious.
If the story at the tavern was true, the old castle was never safe.
‘You see the future? Is it really possible?’
According to Lyria, the head of the Achaeans is a 70-year-old woman named Poriter.
It is said that she had the ability to recall what would happen in the future from birth, like déjà vu.
Rumors circulated that he had a mental illness when he was young. She herself even suspected megalomania.
However, what is the probability that the scene of the future that suddenly came to mind coincides even by coincidence?
One day at the age of 18, Poriter realized that he saw his village burnt down by bandits just as he had imagined.
You have the ability to see the future.
She said she had no foresight, although she herself could not tell by what means she could foresee what would happen in the future.
Rather, as if a person walking into the future recalls the past, images like old memories suddenly arise.
“Did someone like that say that there would be a disaster on the old castle ruins?”
Lillia nodded her head with eyes full of trust.
“A disaster is not just a disaster. He said that an entity capable of bringing about the end of the world would appear.”
“It is the end of the world. If you’re against such a great guy, there’s nothing we can do, right?”
“no. That’s why Professor Poriter is great. the future can change I don’t know what kind of disaster it is, but I just need to deal with it before it manifests itself. You remove the egg before it hatches.”
“Right. Have you thought of a way?”
“I’m going to use necromantic sorcery. His energy permeates this place now. After materializing it, I will immediately lock it in the barracks.”
“But will it be easy? What if it is stronger than expected?”
Lyria reached into the barrel she was wearing behind her waist, took out a needle, and shook her wrist to make a bell sound.
“That’s why I, the totemist, was dispatched. This totem has a birch wick embedded in it. If you strengthen the power of the law with this, you will be caught.”
Lyria planted her totem into the ground. Then he moved and took out another totem.
“It is true that there was a shortage of manpower because it was a sudden oracle. There is much more evil in the world than people think. Not only me, but most of the ancestral spirits are wandering around the world without even being able to enter their homes.”
Lyria drew a huge circle 20 meters in diameter using 20 totems and walked towards the center.
Dante followed behind and asked.
“I’ve been wondering before, how are you doing?”
“huh? what?”
“If it’s a magic circle that grants physical restraint, I can design it too. But isn’t that what the seal margin is like? It only reacts to evil. When something goes into the bar, how do you tell if it’s good or evil? What’s the definition of evil?”
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