Episode 468
“Move?”
“Yes, Elder. This is just a trap for the enemies to pursue.”
The grinning dwarf Banzoni said something unexpected.
‘Not here? But why is Topju…’
Luisa’s lips seemed to be dry.
I was skeptical while coming here, but ever since I heard that I, as an elder, could not come out without the tower owner’s permission, I was completely convinced that this was a place for a ‘ritual’.
The location we arrived at was a large cave located in an unknown mountain range in the northern part of the continent. Inside, accommodations were built to accommodate hundreds of people.
Since the situation seemed suspicious to anyone, he secretly left a message to Ronian just before entering the cave.
But now?
‘…It’s a big deal.’
If McLane sends someone here.
So, if they were to fall into a trap, they would also be marked as enemies by McLane, who considered this place to be the last refuge of the Kassel Tower.
I wanted to erase the ‘password’ I left near the cave right away, but I couldn’t even show signs of anxiety, let alone go back out.
“…Okay. So where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we get there. Until then, rest easy.”
“I will be the highest ranking person until the tower owner comes, right? Shouldn’t I know?”
“Ah, Elder. You must be mistaken. I’m sorry, but the person ultimately responsible for this matter is not you, but me…”
When Johnny Van smiled meaningfully, the purple dots that took up half of his face distorted hideously.
“I know that you are an Auror user. However, the Kassel Mage Tower only recognizes mages who follow its will as leaders. You…” “
This was an order directly from the tower owner, who is at the top of the tower. There is no way you can disobey his will. Are you saying you will?”
The guy’s smile sent a chill down my spine and I felt anxious.
This guy, leaving me as an elder?
‘Did you learn something? Any sign of when the brainwashing will be broken?’
For a moment, the worst case scenario came to mind, but reason soon denied that possibility.
The Kassel Tower does not forgive traitors.
‘…If the tower owner had known, this guy would have made a sneak attack first.’
No matter how much of a mage you are, if you are sneak-attacked by an Auror user at close range, you will never be able to withstand it.
When I thought about it that way, my anxious mind seemed to calm down a bit.
Of course, only the return of reason to think calmly did not improve the situation. Rather, the sense of crisis only grew stronger.
“Then I see that you are satisfied. Departure is tomorrow morning. Please rest.”
Even after Van Johnny turned around, Luisa couldn’t fall asleep easily.
‘why…?’
Did Tapju choose that dwarf as the leader of this incident instead of himself?
‘If I had known that my brainwashing was broken, I would have told you to kill me right away. Even if you are suspected of being a traitor, the same would be true.’
That was certain.
Then, beyond this road….
‘There must be something hidden that I shouldn’t know.’
Moreover, all the other surviving elders headed to the battlefield and only he came here.
That means.
‘But at the same time, it’s probably something I need.’
What does that correspond to?
That time when I couldn’t come up with an answer no matter how much I thought about it.
smart.
– Let’s talk about Luisa.
My father’s heavy voice came from outside the door.
“Did you hear they were moving?”
“Yeah, I didn’t know either.”
“Is the next destination really where the ceremony takes place?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Even if the tower owner decided to side with the empire and you have ties to McLane, is he the kind of person who would exclude the necessary forces from the battlefield?”
“…No.”
Only then did she realize what her father was trying to say.
“Are you saying the tower owner is trying to get rid of me? If that were the case, he would have done something a long time ago.”
“Yes, I guess so. But it doesn’t seem like you have any other ulterior motives? For example, something that requires the blood of the King of Four Directions. I’m saying this because you are an elder, so I think you might have some useful information.”
“Hmm? What is that…?”
“There were people who came into this safe house a little while ago. Some of them were causing a commotion, but when I looked at their faces, they were people I knew. They were Erina, the second child of the Western King’s House, and Grandon, the eldest son of the Southern King’s wife.”
“…yes?”
“It’s not particularly strange that the tower lord’s touch has touched other people in the Four Four Kings. But why are those children here? They don’t have much power, and it doesn’t seem to me that they have mastered the magic of the Kassel Magic Tower.”
Luisa’s expression hardened at those words.
‘What are we going to do by gathering the royals?’
This important time.
As long as the mage himself is not summoned with all his might, it is clearly related to ritual.
The first thing that comes to mind is…
“…sacrifice.”
Luisa’s face turned pale, surprised by the words she had uttered.
next day.
The route Banzoni spoke of was quite unexpected.
“Inside the cave?”
“It’s a cave connected to the other side of the mountain range. Did you really think you could go outside again?”
Banzoni’s voice seemed to contain a hint of ridicule, but Luisa did not react.
Most of the elites of the Kassel Magic Tower here are magic swordsmen.
And the leader in front of me was Banzoni.
‘It’s a trap, but it’s also a path that actually leads.’
In that case, the information left to Ronian was not seriously wrong.
‘thank god.’
– Take care of yourself.
The last greeting I heard in the last communication.
Luisa, recalling the voice of a young man much younger than her, unconsciously felt her heart sink.
Then I widened my eyes in surprise at myself.
‘…a pathetic thought.’
I can’t believe you’re even thinking about men when you have to risk your life on an adventure in Baekcheokgandu.
…man?
“Puhup.”
For a moment, I burst out laughing because it was so absurd that it was out of character for such a serious situation.
Then the dwarf who was walking ahead turned around and frowned.
“I hate it when people laugh behind my back, Elder. Please be careful.”
The brown eyes, burning with anger, looked lifelike at first glance.
They only speak politely, but it looks like they’re going to stab me at any moment. In reality, his hand was twitching as if he wanted to pull out the sword the size of his body that was strapped to his back.
‘Yeah, I thought this guy wasn’t normal, but…’
I didn’t expect him to react like this to me, the elder. That was nothing short of confirmation that what would happen in the future would not be a good direction for me.
“I’m not interested in you, so don’t worry, dwarf.”
Crack.
With the sound of teeth grinding, life surged from Johnny Van’s body. It seemed like the provocative words he deliberately chose had really touched his complex.
Van Johnny, who was radiating his life as if he was going to attack at any moment, soon took a deep breath.
“Whew… If you weren’t an elder of the tower, you would have seen blood here. Thank the tower lord.”
Although the words he spoke were openly quarrelsome, the guy closed his murderous eyes and turned back again.
“We are the advance party. We will leave, so please follow us quietly.”
And to Luisa, a mage who deals with the properties of souls and dimensions, that appearance felt very unnatural.
‘A crazy person doesn’t do crazy things and follows orders…’
As I raised my senses even further, I felt traces of subtle magic that I could not help but notice in the excitement of the guy.
‘As expected, brainwashing…’
If brainwashing is involved, it means that there is no intention to harm oneself right away.
After confirming that fact, Luisa followed Van Johnny with heavy eyes.
‘A place where real ceremonies take place. If you check it…’
Even though I knew that the magic swordsmen behind my back were casting evil gazes.
The large cave became increasingly narrow.
In addition, I don’t know if it was natural or artificially created, but the road was divided into two or three branches at intervals of about a hundred meters.
And Johnny Van walked forward without hesitation even for a moment.
‘First one on the right this time.’
Luisa magically left a mark at each crossroads as promised to Ronian.
The traces of that subtle magic power were barely noticeable, and even those wouldn’t appear until an hour after the rest of the party had passed.
The problem is…
‘Even after you realize it’s a trap, you’ll have to trust my sign.’
I kept walking slower because I was worried, but it was all I could do right now.
In fact, there were too many things to worry about, starting with the war between McLane and the Empire, so it was right to do what he could for now.
Of course, even though she thought that, Luisa could not let go of her anxious feelings for more than half a day.
Walking through the endless darkness, relying on the light of a few torches, was psychologically difficult even for a mage with knight-level physical strength.
Even more so if you have serious concerns.
However, the light that began to appear in front of her and the enormous energy she felt from it were enough to wake Luisa up.
“This is…”
“This is the place where our great work will be accomplished. How do you feel?”
Behind Johnny Van, who proudly shouted and spread his arms wide, a large square could be seen that could be described as truly vast.
On the floor, a magic circle filled with ancient language that even Luisa’s knowledge could not recognize was emitting a soft gray light, and it was so huge that it brightened up the entire square.
Wooooow.
“…amazing.”
It was a magic circle of scale and energy that a mage could not help but admire, regardless of the situation he was in.
When Luisa’s eyes were scanning every corner of the magic circle as if she were mesmerized.
A noise was heard from far away that broke the immersion.
Rumble!
A vibration and roar like an earthquake came from beyond the road they had passed.
For those in the cave, it was the noise they had to be most wary of, so naturally everyone’s heads turned.
“This…!?”
“Huh? There’s an intruder?!”
“what!?”
Luisa’s eyes doubled in size at Van Johnny’s words.
So fast?
McLane must still be at war with the Empire?
“Who are the people following from behind?! My father…!”
Unlike her, who was anxious in many ways, Banzoni quickly regained his composure and answered calmly.
“Oh, I guess our relationship is better than I heard? Well, it’s probably okay. The mansion probably collapsed, but the latecomers must have widened the distance by now. I don’t know what they are, but it’s like they dug their own grave.”
A mage cannot doubt the physical abilities of an auror user. Moreover, you can trust that there is still value left in both.
However, Banzoni’s very calm attitude bothered me.
“Still, there is an intruder, so shouldn’t we at least prepare for it? We don’t even know who it is?”
“It’s okay. Even if you survive this trap, you will die while wandering in the maze. The tower owner said that unless you are a superhuman, you will not be able to break through the illusion magic in the maze. And as you know, all of the superhuman level people remaining on the continent are Ruspell. “It’s in Haim.”
“…But our way out is also blocked?”
“You don’t have to worry about that either. We have enough supplies here. Surely someone like a mage won’t have any problems with his physical condition just because he can’t see sunlight?”
“…Of course.”
“Then you can calmly wait for the tower lord and prepare for the ritual. Ah, the accommodation is ready.”
“Ready? I haven’t received any special instructions?”
“Just practice as usual and keep your magic in order. He is in charge of everything.”
What is the meaning of this faint smile?
Luisa’s expression suddenly hardened as she remembered a possibility that had been on her mind all along.
But at that moment.
Quaaaaaaa!
The noise echoed through the cave again. This was reported. Luisa could tell that the sound came from a much closer place than before. A
look of caution also appeared on Van Johnny’s face, which had been calm the whole time.
“…Already?”
Luisa’s eyes lit up as she looked behind him.
