Chapter 297 – The One Who Understands (2)
The Wells Town, from which the two had vanished, became endlessly quiet.
As the unknown commotion that had shaken buildings and the very ground subsided, the townsfolk cautiously poked their heads outside one by one.
An elderly man, leaning on his cane, took a step forward. Wandering down the familiar street, his hand suddenly froze midair, trembling.
"O-our town is...."
It was devastation beyond words.
Whether the ground had collapsed or not, a gigantic sinkhole had opened in the plaza, and the road that stretched in a straight line from it had been shattered beyond recognition.
What on earth had happened?
He had seen small earthquakes from time to time, but in his seventy-three years of life, he had never once experienced a disaster like this.
He could not suppress his panic.
A strange voice sounded beside him.
"Please, step back, it's dangerous here."
When he turned his head, a young man with black hair was standing there. A face he had never once seen before in Wells Town.
"Wh-who are you?"
"An adventurer."
Ethan revealed his Platinum Plate.
It was one of the identities he used when active in various regions.
The old man didn't know much about the guild, but he could easily guess that the token symbolized a renowned adventurer.
"Due to an abnormal species, unavoidable damage has occurred. The subjugation is underway, so please return to your homes."
"Abnormal species... y-you mean, a monster? Adventurer, I've lived here for decades and have seen many demi-humans, but never───"
Kuuuuuuuuung!!
At that moment, a massive wave swept across the earth.
The tremor was so great he nearly lost his balance.
The old man staggered, raising his eyes to the sky, and from beyond the mountains behind, countless birds shot up in terror, shrieking as they fled.
"Ah...."
A chill crawled down his spine.
The years he had lived told him, there was something over there.
Snapping out of his frozen state, the old man instinctively turned around.
"Everyone! Everyone, get back to your homes at once! A monster, a monster is rampaging! Hophin! Get the children inside right now!"
"Y-yes, elder!"
At his desperate cry, the townsfolk scattered.
Perhaps because many abnormal species had been appearing recently in the autonomous territory of Midros, not a single person doubted his words. Or perhaps they were simply too naive.
Watching the street grow quiet again, Ethan let out a faint sigh.
"Thanks to that, it was easy to get the residents under control. At least, it's fortunate that despite this scale of disaster, no lives were lost."
The rescued child had been returned to their parents.
On the way, he had hidden three corpses that seemed to belong to Kendras's gang as well.
If the entire Wells Town had been thrown into chaos, calming them would have been no easy feat.
"Yes, fortunately no residents have been injured or killed... not yet."
Rebecca kept her gaze fixed on the mountain range.
Irregular roars thundered, and the air trembled. But that wasn't what troubled her most.
Ethan and Rebecca were far more sensitive to magic power than ordinary mages. They had been trained that way since childhood.
That was why they could clearly feel it.
Even from this distance, a vast and pure magic power that endlessly pressed against them both.
Cold sweat slid down without her realizing.
"Ethan, is this the amount of magic power of the 6th tier? As far as I know, not even Master, no, even others───"
"I can't judge precisely either. But...."
If one entered the sea, could they measure its depth?
Even if they flailed about, they would only realize that their feet would never touch the bottom.
This was the same.
"One thing is certain, there's no room for us to intervene."
Kugugugugugu...!!
Once more, the mountains wailed.
All Ethan and Rebecca could do was watch the sight from afar.
***
In perceiving the world, sight is indeed a crucial sense.
But it is not everything.
Hearing, smell, touch, and even taste.
Even with eyes closed, even when facing what cannot be seen, with concentration one can still sense existence. Moreover, the magic power saturating all directions aided perception.
This was Verden's domain.
The roiling clouds, from the sky countless hailstones poured down.
When the falling ice shattered against the ground, exuding frigid air, the land froze over in the blink of an eye.
Whirr. Adrian flipped his sword into a reverse grip.
All his weight shifted drastically onto the balls of his feet.
He dashed through the barrage of icy shards without faltering. What he could not avoid with his exceptional dynamic vision, he brushed aside smoothly.
He reached sufficient speed.
In the instant he twisted his body and straightened his sword───
"?!"
A flash of blue light erupted in the heavens.
Kwaaaaang!
A massive lightning bolt struck the earth.
In an instant, the blinding bolt robbed him of his senses. The heat and pressure blasted Adrian off his feet, sending him tumbling across the ground.
He jolted as his body slammed against the base of a tree.
"Ghhk... ahk...!"
Crackle, crackle.
His muscles and nerves spasmed uncontrollably.
Barely managing to force the lightning that had invaded his body outward by circulating his qi, his condition was still unchanged.
'He's reading, every one of my movements.'
To a mage, his speed should have been invisible.
Could it be, in that brief span, his path had already been calculated? It was hard to believe, but otherwise this made no sense.
Grit.
He clenched his teeth and pushed himself up.
When Adrian lifted his head with difficulty, he saw the staff floating into the sky.
'He... abandoned his weapon?'
A sudden question.
But the answer soon came.
Orient, hovering above, radiated light.
The orb's innate ability. As the rainbow-hued aurora enveloped the surroundings, Verden's magical power surged drastically.
"...!!"
A chilling sensation jolted Adrian's spine.
Just as he realized the danger and tried to react, Verden lightly twisted his wrist.
Triple Casting.
Fwooooshhhhhh!
Uprooted trees were hurled into the air.
Three whirlwinds formed into a triangle, revolving as one, reducing the winter forest into a barren wasteland.
It was a miniature disaster.
Adrian barely escaped the range, gripping his sword firmly.
[Leave no witnesses alive.]
A single command burned into his mind.
He focused his spirit and drew a deep breath.
Kwaaang! He circled the storm, seeking a way to break through.
The dust clouds kicked up by the storm, and the intensified magic power, made it impossible to see or sense what lay within.
Splitting the storm with technique alone, was not the answer.
The opponent would never miss the gap created by that.
'But I can't just leave it be, either.'
He was facing a being who wielded magic.
To give him time and distance, would be both a blunder and a fatal mistake.
Soon, he found a way.
'The gap where the wind is pulled inward.'
Ignore the shock.
Thought turned immediately into action.
Adrian plunged headlong into the storm without hesitation.
Before the fierce current of wind could completely block his path, he tore open a gap with two sword auras and hurled himself inside.
A calm space, like the eye of a storm.
Maintaining a certain speed, Adrian stepped inside, where Verden's right arm was already extended.
6th-tier Concentrated Magic.
The sphere of gravity approaching from the front suddenly swelled, unleashing its pull. It devoured even the storm around it, dragging Adrian toward it with crushing force.
'So even this, he anticipated.'
That distorted judgment.
Perhaps even the storm's gap had been a lure.
Regardless, to be caught was the end.
But Adrian did not stop his legs.
He whispered to himself.
If he avoided and widened the distance once more, he might never approach again.
Now was the chance.
He had to give everything.
'Faster, still faster!'
His body was enveloped in violet qi.
His physical ability heightened further.
Not only that, but Adrian, disregarding the burden, even used the pull of the magic sphere itself, propelling himself to his maximum speed.
New Moon.
A violet crescent moon, sharper than before.
Unlike earlier, he did not evade, but chose a frontal clash. That strike bisected the gravity sphere in an instant and shot forward.
Verden manipulated the terrain beneath his feet, shifting his position.
Without even moving directly, he brushed past the fierce sword aura. In that time, Adrian closed in behind him again.
'No... he might have read me already.'
His instincts moved before his judgment.
At the same moment his sword thrust forward, he stamped down again.
The afterimages splintered his presence. A deception born of tremendous speed.
Immediately, killing intent loomed before Verden.
Adrian, right upon him, let out a silent roar. The rusted blade-tip, still holding its murderous edge, aimed for the throat.
Certainty burned within his obsession.
'I've got you───'
Suddenly.
Just before piercing the mage's skin, the sword froze.
It was as if his whole body had been shackled. Adrian's eyes widened as he tried to move, but he could not budge.
Even circulating qi made no difference.
"How...."
"A simple principle."
Verden pressed the sword aside with a finger.
"Look beneath you."
Fwoooosh.
A blue radiance burst up from beneath their feet.
Hidden under the ground, now revealed, were eighteen intermediate-grade magic stones. A vast magic formation that had not been there before shone brilliantly.
A magic circle created by Bohemirn's tower master, Balrog Bessias: Imprison.
Its materials required at least ten or more intermediate or higher magic stones, and a flawless formula.
Except for the caster of the circle, every living being standing upon it would be suppressed by this supreme binding magic formation.
While his storm and magic power blocked sight, Verden had laid this trap to completely subdue the swordsman before him.
Not only elemental magic, but magic circles were among his specialties.
Thus, the battle was all but decided.
With just a flick of Verden's finger, his opponent could be killed.
"Now, do you feel like talking?"
"..."
Adrian gave no reply.
Staring blankly at the circle, the blood vessels in his eyes bulged red. Ignoring the toll on his body, he began resisting with violent force.
Flinch.
For a moment, the sword moved.
'To think he could resist Imprison with that body.'
Verden felt surprise, and snapped his fingers.
Two chains of gravity rose from the earth, binding Adrian's arms.
With the weight compounded by both the magic circle's suppression and gravity, Adrian fell to his knees.
Verden approached.
He questioned the prisoner of the circle.
"What's your name?"
As expected, no answer came.
Completely subdued, Adrian showed no sign of movement, but it was clear.
He was struggling with all he had to break free.
'A mental strength bordering on obstinacy.'
A swordsman who wielded violet qi.
The Duchy of Riviant, the Kingdom of Estiria—among all those Verden had seen who had awakened qi, he had reached a remarkable state.
'If his body had been in peak condition....'
The outcome might not have changed, but to subdue him like this would have been extremely difficult. Perhaps, killing him would have been the only option.
That was how differently he moved.
'Just what is his connection to Balrog?'
With him refusing to speak, there was no way to know for now.
So, putting the interrogation aside, Verden turned his gaze to the armor. The second doubt. From inside it, he kept feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
With his index and middle fingers, he summoned searing flame through Mado.
Ssshhhk!
Pressing firmly, he melted the joints of the metal piece by piece.
Already battered by battle, the armor gave way quickly.
Clang. At last, it fell away.
Beneath, only thin garments remained.
The fierce battle had torn even those, leaving them in tatters.
And then it was revealed.
On the bare skin of his chest, clearly etched, a magical, geometric pattern.
Verden's eyes slowly widened as he beheld it.
"...A forced magic circle?"
The Forced Magic Circle, Coercion.
The most dreadful magic circle ever created by Balrog Bessias.
And the very culprit that, nine years ago, had completely stolen away Verden's life devoted solely to the pursuit of magic, now lay branded before his eyes.
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