[Vol. 7] Chapter 193: Death Magic
While smiling and giving a cheerful comment, the man pulled out an ordinary piece of white cloth from other empty hand. With a quick wave, the powerful alchemy bullets, more than ten of them, that should have exploded on impact and caused serious damage, all vanished without a trace, as if they had fallen into the sea and disappeared!
"Just a little trick, hope you enjoyed the show~"
Clang!
Without any warning, a cold flash of light silently sliced across the man's neck, cutting him cleanly in half while he was still talking. But before anyone could cheer or be surprised, his split body and head suddenly released a cloud of white smoke, blocking everyone's view!
“Orluk! Get back!”
Hearing Carinvega's urgent shout, the girl who had landed the sneak attack instantly sensed danger. She quickly tried to jump back, but to her surprise, the white smoke wasn’t poison or anything strange. It was just normal smoke?
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
From within the smoke, countless white shapes rose into the air. To everyone's shock, the strange enemy, who should have died from the sneak attack, suddenly vanished, along with Berenic, the person he had captured. They both disappeared right before everyone’s eyes, turning into doves and flying away.
He escaped!?
Almost at the same time, everyone had the same thought, but they quickly dismissed it.
No, that can’t be it. If the sneak attack had really hurt him, it would make sense for him to run away. But what just happened looked more like a trick, a clever illusion used to mock them.
The next moment, Rosie, the blonde girl standing closest to Carinvega, suddenly changed her expression and shouted:
“Your Highness, get down!!!”
"!?"
Because of years of teamwork and deep trust, Carinvega didn’t hesitate. She reacted almost faster than a normal person could, ignoring all manners and throwing herself straight to the ground!
Almost at the same moment Carinvega threw herself to the ground, a gloved hand suddenly reached out from a mysterious "door" that appeared out of nowhere. The hand grabbed at the spot where the princess had just been, but it caught nothing but air.
“Oh dear, what a shame~”
“Light, become my blade and strike down! Aurora Burst!”
At the same time Carinvega barely dodged the attack, the furious light mage girl began chanting quickly without hesitation. Her staff summoned a bright white beam of light, full of intense heat and power. Like a sword, it slashed toward the card marked with the "door" symbol!
This must be the man’s true weak point!
However, just before the light blade could hit the card, or the hand still reaching out from the "door", a square magician’s box suddenly dropped from the sky. It covered everything completely. The powerful light beam cut into the box like a knife through soft tofu. But just as it pierced about a third of the way in, Rosie’s face changed drastically. She quickly stopped her attack with all her strength.
“Guh—!”
Because she forcefully stopped her magic midway, the blonde girl was hit by the backlash. She couldn’t control it and coughed up blood. At that exact moment, the magician’s box slowly opened… but the card and the enemy were already gone.
Instead, inside was Berenic, tied up and unable to move, her face full of fear. She stared at the light sword, which was now only half an inch away from her neck!
It was obvious, if Rosie had been just a little bit slower to stop, she would have cut off her own teammate’s head.
“Hahahaha! Sharp girl, very promising, very promising~ Did you all enjoy that ‘disappearing person’ magic trick?”
“Ugh!”
While everyone was still stunned by the unbelievable scene, that nightmare-like, elegant voice echoed again from a different direction.
Carinvega and the others quickly turned to look, and saw that the man had somehow returned to where he had attacked Orluk earlier. With just a light wave of his staff, he made Orluk float helplessly in the air, just like Berenic had been before. It was as if invisible hands were grabbing her entire body and neck. She could only let out weak, choked sounds like “ugh ugh ugh.”
“Orluk…”
With help from her teammates, Carinvega got up from the ground. She looked at the blue-haired girl who was completely powerless in the enemy's grip, and after biting her lip, she stepped forward and spoke:
“I understand now… I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt anyone else.”
“Your Highness? What are you saying…?!”
The others, who were all pointing their weapons at the mysterious man but too afraid to make a move, were shocked. Rosie, who had just wiped the blood from her lips, grabbed the princess’s shoulder in panic. But Carinvega simply shook her head. Just one look from her was enough to stop everyone from arguing.
After going through so many dangers in her life, the princess had gained a lot of experience. It was clear to her that this magician-like man was far stronger than anyone here. If he had chosen to go all out from the beginning instead of toying with them using his strange magic tricks, most of them would probably already be dead.
Even though she could be a bit slow sometimes, Carinvega actually thought very clearly in moments of crisis. Since fighting back would only cause more people to die, it made more sense for her, the real target, to step forward on her own. That way, at least her teammates might be spared.
Unlike in a game, where there would be a clear script to follow, she had no idea who this terrifying man really was, or why he wanted to capture her. But one thing was certain, he didn’t just want to kill her. If that were the case, there would be no reason to waste time showing off or playing games like a cat with a mouse.
She was scared, but Carinvega was sure that she wasn’t in immediate danger. Just because they couldn’t stop this man didn’t mean the powerful people from Sainz Academy or the Austre Empire wouldn’t be able to.
Take Miss Violet, for example, a strong and mysterious woman. Carinvega didn’t know why Miss Violet, who was supposed to be an examiner, hadn’t shown up yet. But if she could stall for time, help from the academy or the Empire might arrive soon...
There was still hope.
The man, clearly surprised by the girl’s sudden offer, narrowed his eyes and for the first time gave a thoughtful smile.
“As expected from the one known as the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus]. You truly care about your people, no wonder they all respect you so much. I must say, I’m truly touched… But since I have a job to do, I’ll have to trouble you for a little while.”
“It’s fine. Just let Orluk go and promise not to hurt anyone else. I’ll stop resisting and go with you.”
Seeing the man nod slightly with a half-smile, Carinvega took a deep breath. She once again used just her eyes to stop the others from trying to hold her back, then walked forward step by step toward him, all by herself.
“Sister Rosie?! Do something… please…”
Noelle tugged at the sleeve of the blonde girl, who was not only the strongest fighter there but also the smartest. She looked desperate. But Rosie just held her staff tightly in silence, staring without blinking at Carinvega and the man as they slowly got closer. It was like she had already accepted what was going to happen, or maybe she was just waiting… preparing for something.
Ten steps… five steps…
The distance between Carinvega and the magician grew smaller and smaller. As she got closer, she began to feel the terrifying aura that the man had been hiding, deep and cold, like a prison or an abyss. She could also see Orluk’s worried eyes as she remained trapped and unable to move.
Carinvega didn’t know if her decision today, in this big moment, was the right one or not. She didn’t know what kind of future it would lead to. But just like all the choices she had made in the face of uncertainty before, she believed… at the very least… she was doing what she felt was right.
Now she was just a few meters away from him.
The man casually tossed aside Orluk like she didn’t matter at all, as if her life or death meant nothing to him. Then he smiled and reached out his hand toward the princess’s shoulder.
“Hehe… Well then, Your Highness, let’s go—”
“Your Highness, get down!!!”
At that exact moment, a loud and clear voice suddenly rang out from far away. It didn’t sound like anyone already there. Just like when Rosie had shouted before, Carinvega didn’t even have time to think. She instinctively ducked down, right as a blood-red spear shot through the air from the dark entrance of a nearby cave, aiming straight for where she had just been!
“!?”
While Carinvega was just an ordinary person in terms of speed, the man was clearly far faster. But unlike her, he didn’t have absolute trust in others. That one brief moment of hesitation was enough, because by the time he realized what was happening, the tip of the blood-red spear had already brushed past Carinvega’s fiery red hair and back, heading straight for him!
“Splat!!!”
The sharp, piercing sound of the spear hitting its mark echoed through the cave.