Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Evangeline (2)
"The, the castle walls…!"
Rowen was bewildered.
In truth, the Illusion castle was not a building constructed of ordinary materials, as its name suggested.
It was the masterpiece of Jarsen, the castle's administrator—the strongest fortress created by breaking down the boundary between reality and illusion, which was the very existence known as the Illusion castle.
In preparation for such a brute force assault, it was designed so that the moment someone touched the castle walls, they would be consumed by illusions and wander until death….
CRASH!
It crumbled pathetically, as if actual castle walls were collapsing.
"Huh…?"
Jarsen, who was monitoring the situation from inside, felt the same way as Rowen.
"Why is… that collapsing?"
Originally, if attacked in such a manner, the castle's central circuits would be damaged and the castle itself would completely evaporate.
Since it was a virtual castle made of 'illusion' in the first place, it shouldn't be able to show such a collapsing appearance!
Layla, who had lost her power but still retained her knowledge, also doubted her own eyes with a dazed expression.
"Jarsen, is such a thing possible?"
"No, it's impossible to explain by physical laws."
"If not by physical laws?"
"If we must consider possibilities, the moment that bastard's power contacted my illusion, it stole and dominated it. The result of 'him destroying the castle walls according to his own intentions' appeared as an illusion."
"……."
"This way, all the traps laid throughout the castle become useless. Even Giovanni couldn't do such a thing…."
GURGLE!
Jarsen's gaze turned to Evan, who lay with eyes closed inside the life support device.
"By the way, you said that bastard mentioned this girl's name in the Great Forest?"
"That's right."
At Layla's affirmation, Jarsen's expression twisted with anger.
"Then it explains why that bastard passed by without bothering to deal with Rowen. This bastard called Rudian knew our circumstances in detail from the beginning."
"…How?"
"As of now… the greatest possibility is that Rowen betrayed us."
"……!"
"Whether Rowen could act cunning enough to hide his betrayal is questionable, but this is the only possibility."
The bond of the Seven Arks was absolute.
The only being on the outer ring of such bonds was Rowen.
There had never been a single information leak over the years.
But if such a thing happened recently, they could only infer that there was a traitor within.
"Yes, then we can proceed without any pangs of conscience."
Actually, if they were to specify one more suspect, they could suspect Britian as well, but enraged by the situation before their eyes, they directed all arrows toward Rowen.
"For now, I'm going out too. Layla, you alone shouldn't have problems with Evan's modification itself, right?"
"There might be some issues with fine adjustments, but… we can't worry about such things now."
"Good. Try to buy as much time as possible."
Jarsen gritted his teeth as he watched Rudian running toward them through the screen.
***
Rudian, who had destroyed the Illusion castle's walls, ran straight toward where Layla and Jarsen were.
"Stop!"
Rowen chased after Rudian using lightning energy.
"I, I don't know how you destroyed the castle walls, but I cannot let you pass like this!"
"Even if stopping me now would endanger Miss Evangeline's life?"
"Still with that talk!"
Rudian clicked his tongue slightly and stopped in place for a moment.
Though called a castle, its size was on a scale that wouldn't yield to Nevan's imperial palace in comparison.
Moreover, since Rudian was advancing while forcibly smashing the traps laid everywhere, it was natural that the already fast Rowen would catch up to him.
"I tried to shake you off and go, but it seems rather difficult?"
Rowen couldn't be dealt with casually, given his level of skill.
Moreover, this divine power and Outer Force temporarily obtained were excessive powers beyond his station, as the Underworld King had said, making them still difficult to control.
"…Have you finally decided to fight?"
"Hmm, no. That's not it."
Rudian drew Diablo and drew up the maximum power he could use.
"Since I've safely penetrated into the castle interior, I think I could just explode my power here and be done with it."
"……!"
"If you continue to block me, I'll just cast one destruction magic here and flee. In that case, would Miss Evangeline really be safe?"
GRIND!
Rowen, grinding his teeth, couldn't say anything.
Having seen the destructive power of Diabolic Gluttony that swept away the undead army, Rowen would have realized that if that magic were used here, it would likely turn out just as Rudian said.
"What do you… want?"
"I told you, didn't I? What I want is to save Miss Evangeline from danger. Incidentally, I'm also thinking of dismantling the Seven Arks."
"Save Evan…? You, who has no connection to us whatsoever? Seriously?"
"She is a precious talent. If things continue like this, she will become irreversible. Layla and Jarsen must have already started the work of modifying her into a spirit entity."
"Spirit entity…?"
Rudian gave Rowen a rough explanation about spirit entities.
A great technique that drastically shortens a lifespan that is already effectively terminal, but allows one to wield power rivaling the gods while ignoring the constraints of causality just once.
"You could say it's like my current state. Well, unlike Miss Evangeline, I'm fine because I have a sturdy body, but her story is different since she was already physically weak."
Naturally, the price of that great technique was life, and Rudian finished his explanation by saying the reason was to stop Rudian himself.
Having heard all the explanations, Rowen's lips trembled blue.
"I, I can't believe it."
"If it's hard to believe, then fight me now and waste time. I can guarantee it will be the biggest regret of your life."
"……."
Rudian turned his gaze away from the agonizing Rowen and spoke toward empty air.
"Do you think so too, Illusionist Jarsen?"
"……!"
SWOOSH!
The moment those words ended, a human figure appeared as if sand was gathering.
That figure gradually changed into a middle-aged man wearing a suit and fedora reminiscent of a modern British gentleman.
Rowen looked at Jarsen with a powerless expression.
"Lord Jarsen…."
"Rowen, what are you doing with an intruder right before your eyes?"
"That is…."
Even to Rowen's gaze demanding explanation, Jarsen ignored that look and coldly pointed at Rudian.
"Eliminate the intruder. As the administrator of the Illusion castle, this was the command I gave, wasn't it?"
Normally, Rowen would have obediently followed those words, but with his sister's safety at stake, Rowen responded with a question rather than action, unlike usual.
"Lord Jarsen, is this intruder's claim about modifying Evan into a spirit entity true?"
"…Is this insubordination?"
"Please answer my question properly."
"……."
After remaining silent for a while, Jarsen, as if having finished some calculation, slowly opened his mouth.
"So what if it is?"
"……!"
Rowen's eyes, having encountered the truth he absolutely didn't want to hear, contorted with shock.
***
Evangeline Sigrun Elaid.
92 years old this year.
Though she would be no different from a grandmother in human terms, Evangeline was not a pure human but a half-blood of human and spirit.
Wolfgang Elaid, a former member of the Seven Arks, encountered a sealed ancient spirit while exploring a dungeon, fell in love, and through their relationship, Evangeline was born.
In other words, Rowen and Evangeline were half-siblings, but Wolfgang Elaid raised them both while hiding this fact, and after Wolfgang suddenly died on a mission, this fact was buried forever.
And with Wolfgang's death, the mother, the ancient spirit, also disappeared, unable to bear the grief, so the two were thrown into the world without parents to care for them.
Thus the siblings came to live supporting each other… but the problem was Evangeline's special constitution.
Due to her birth as a half-blood of human and spirit, Evangeline could handle natural energy with transcendent spirit sensitivity.
However, the human body was incapable of accommodating that natural energy.
Moreover, since the only lifeline who could control that power—her mother—had disappeared, Evangeline was living a life with a time limit.
Though Rowen, her only blood relative and older brother, struggled desperately to save his sister, it was impossible to save Evan with the continent's technology at the time.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Galdran, who had come to find Rowen by chance, recognized Rowen's talent and recruited Rowen into the Seven Arks in exchange for providing Evangeline with a life support device.
Of course, the reality was that Galdran, having noticed Wolfgang's affair, recognized Evangeline's potential and intended to use her as a secret weapon.
"Heh, hehehe… almost finished."
About 20 minutes after Jarsen left.
Layla felt the massive spirit power surging within the life support device—disguised as a sealing sphere—and smiled with satisfaction.
"As expected, the adjustment is a bit unstable… but it's still within the margin of error."
Mental brainwashing, physical modification….
Everything was definitively complete.
Having worked on this for decades while avoiding Rowen's eyes, Layla didn't think this great technique would fail at all.
"Come, open your eyes. Evan."
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
The locks maintaining the sealing sphere were released one by one.
As the seals were released, Layla made a twisted smile and laughed maniacally.
"Hurry, hurry and come out! Eliminate that detestable enemy blocking our path! Kyahahaha!"
The command Layla input into Evan, who had become a spirit entity, was the elimination of Rudian Belstad.
Since the life of Evan, who had become a spirit entity, now had only about a week left, no other commands could be given.
SPLASH!
As all the locks of the sealing sphere were released, the spirit water that had been maintaining Evan's life began to flow out entirely.
Suddenly, tremendous energy swept through the research lab….
Slowly… Evangeline opened her eyes.
"…Ugh!"
Before the tremendous energy that seemed to shatter the entire space, Layla, who had lost her necromantic power, could barely maintain her balance in an awkward posture to avoid falling.
"……."
Step, step….
Slowly, Evangeline walked out of the sealing sphere.
Through her long emerald hair wet with water, vacant eyes stared directly at Layla.
"Now, now that you've opened your eyes, quickly move to fulfill the command… gack!"
Layla couldn't finish her words.
Before she knew it, wind spirits had wrapped around Layla's neck and lifted her into the air.
"Gack! Gasp!"
"Spirits… exist everywhere… and know everything…."
"The, the command… fulfill…."
"Ah, I'll listen to that. The command you input is giving me such a headache."
Before she knew it, something like a blue crystal was held in Evangeline's hand.
"That, that is!"
"But you who deceived my brother… and tried to use me… deserve to die regardless of the command."
Life Force Vessel.
The lifeline containing Layla's soul.
Regardless of how Evangeline had found it, sensing what would happen next, Layla desperately reached out her hand and pleaded.
"Please! No… don't!"
But despite Layla's pleas, Evangeline pronounced her death sentence in a cracked voice.
"Die."
CRACK!
The Life Force Vessel in her hand shattered.