Chapter 176: What Can Be Handled (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 176: What Can Be Handled (4)
—Do not try to deal with a mage of Kairis.
Among the guidelines passed down to the spies of Secritia, this was a prominent rule. It meant that regardless of the situation—be it a physical fight, a verbal argument, or a simple conversation—one should always keep their distance from a Kairis mage.
If one were to ask why Kairis mages were singled out, the answer lay in their unique disposition.
The mages from the magical powerhouse of Libern, or even those from Secritia—a nation of knights that still treated its mages well—had one thing in common: they were surprisingly normal.
Take Alan, for example, who hailed from another country. His way of thinking was relatively free, but he wasn't unhinged. Though his mouth certainly was.
…Well, anyway.
The mages of Kairis, on the other hand, were overflowing with curiosity, never backed down from a fight, and loved alcohol. And, as everyone knew, they were all a little bit crazy. For some reason, they were just built differently.
The leader of those very mages—in other words, the highest-priority target to avoid at all costs—spoke.
"Hey, you little birds."
At her words, the three spies, forced to kneel side by side, glared in unison. Perched casually on a rock, as if nothing was amiss, was a purple-haired mage.
"Yes, you."
As the spies stared her down, Euria offered a satisfied little smile. The sight sent a shiver down their spines.
'Are you looking to die?'
That morning.
No sooner had Euria uttered those words than three spheres of water had materialized in the air. The orbs, each precisely the size of a human head, moved as if alive, wrapping around the spies' faces to swallow them whole. It had happened so fast that they hadn't even had time to dodge, let alone realize what was happening.
Water as dense as thick jelly forced its way into their noses and mouths, making it impossible to breathe, much less bite down on the poison capsules hidden in their teeth.
Unable to resist, the three "birds" had lost consciousness one by one. When they came to, they were bound and kneeling like this.
"I only spared you because Vice-Commander Hertz told me to keep you alive. So make sure to thank him when you see him later, little birds."
The spies frowned. Only now did they realize that the mage saw them as nothing more than three sparrows.
"Euria. Watch your mouth," the leader of the three, Yellow Robin, said through gritted teeth. He would rather die than suffer such treatment.
After all, they were spies who had been tracking a mysterious organization. They possessed the loyalty and martial skill to be entrusted with direct orders from Crown Prince Chase himself.
Except for the minor detail that their excessive loyalty had caused this mess, and their martial prowess was utterly useless against Euria, they were exceptionally talented individuals.
"I spared you because you look like the Crown Prince's birds, not the King's. I'm holding back as it is, so don't tell me what to do with my mouth."
Glancing at Yellow Robin, Euria turned her gaze back to the stack of papers in her hand and continued in a leisurely voice.
"Just so you know, I've already removed the poison from your mouths. I have nothing to ask you, so don't bother trying to bite your tongues. I'll let you go tomorrow."
It was a complete dismissal.
The spies glared at Euria with fierce eyes. Unfazed, she remained perched on the rock, carefully flipping through the papers one by one.
After some time, Yellow Robin spoke again.
He didn't know the exact reason, but he knew how important this matter was to Chase. That was why he had disobeyed orders, driven by the desire to confirm the information and deliver it personally. It was a decision made knowing he might be executed upon his return.
Possessed by a truly useless and misguided loyalty, Yellow Robin figured that since things had already gone south, he might as well try to learn something.
"What time is it? If we don't report to His Highness, a pursuit party will be sent."
"It's night. Everyone's fast asleep. Let me know if you're hungry. We've got leftover pork."
Euria replied, unconcerned by his lie about Chase's pursuit. She didn't even bother to mention that she had cast Sleep on the other spies while they were unconscious.
"Where is this place? Who lived here?"
"A cave. A dead person."
Why are you asking me about something you already found? Euria muttered, her gaze still fixed on the papers.
Sensing a potential opening for conversation, Yellow Robin pressed his lips together before speaking again.
"We were tracking 'Zeon.' If we cooperate, it could be mutually beneficial."
For a split second, too brief for the spies to notice, Euria's eyes gleamed.
Zeon.
She recognized the name of the group that had attacked Calian.
Yellow Robin was proposing an invisible deal. He was subtly dropping a piece of information that wasn't a state secret but might pique her curiosity, hoping to initiate an exchange. Surely a famously curious mage would leap at such a chance?
"Why bother? No thanks."
An ordinary mage might have taken the bait, but Euria wasn't sitting there as the Mage Association President. She was there as the capable head of an intelligence organization.
"Are those documents related to them?"
"Yeah, probably."
And so, she conversely dropped a piece of information that Yellow Robin would be curious about—even though she couldn't actually read the documents.
All the other furniture in the cave had been destroyed, yet only these papers remained intact. They had to be important. Yellow Robin knew he had to get his hands on them somehow.
"As I said, Euria. There must be a connection between the ones we were tracking and those you are investigating. So, if you…"
"Mages are cowards. We don't join hands with anyone."
If Arsen had heard that, there was no telling what expression he would have made. For now, it was the spies who looked on in disbelief. Yellow Robin took her words as a refusal and changed his line of questioning.
What followed was a bizarre scene: a bound captive questioning his own guard.
"Where is the Vice-Commander of Valkan?"
"I thought these papers might disappear if they left this place, so he went on an errand."
While the spies were unconscious, she had tested her theory by taking a scrap of paper outside. As soon as it crossed the cave's boundary, it crumbled into dust. The same thing happened when she placed it inside her or Arsen's Space Pocket, as that still counted as leaving the cave's domain.
"It seems the entire cave is under a preservation barrier specifically for 'paper.'"
Preservation magic was not something either of them could cast. Therefore, Arsen had gone to seek help from the mages stationed near the teleportation circle. He was, however, more worried about the three spies left with Euria than he was about Euria being left with them.
In any case, this served as another confirmation that the documents were extraordinary. Soon, Yellow Robin spoke again.
"I'm hungry. You said there was food?"
"Yeah, hold on."
Replying casually, Euria stood up.
And at that moment—
—KABOOOM!
A thunderous roar, like a massive explosion, echoed from outside.
The sound was immense, shaking the cave and vibrating the very ground beneath them. The shockwave was powerful enough to send dust and debris raining from the ceiling.
Euria, who had instantly deployed a water barrier to block the falling stones, now had a fierce look in her eyes.
That kid, Arsen, was still out there.
Something had definitely happened.
* * *
Three.
There were three of them.
—Crackle!
The sharp sound of splitting ice echoed through the forest. The shattered tips of ice branched into hundreds of thin threads, blanketing the opponent's red barrier.
The shifting ice intertwined, constricting the red barrier. Mana surged from Arsen's hand, and the ice tightened, squeezing from all sides. Four ice spears plunged simultaneously into the weakened shield.
—Crack!
—Shatter!
Two spears failed to pierce the barrier, but two found their mark.
A warrior, pierced through both the neck and heart, fell to his knees as life drained from him. The sword in his hand dropped limply to the ground.
—Thud!
The heavy sound of his head hitting the dirt followed.
Arsen confirmed the kill without watching him collapse. The moment he fired the spears, he vanished and reappeared a short distance away.
Now, there were two.
Only two, and yet!
"You said you were the Vice-Commander of Valkan, Arsen Hertz?" one of the warriors said slowly, recalling the words Arsen had spoken when they first met. The tip of her sword, which seemed to burn red, pointed toward the ground. Her expression was serene. "I am Tamira. That one over there is Marshita. The one you just sent to his eternal rest was Yurka."
He didn't care.
Arsen had only offered a greeting out of courtesy; he hadn't spoken because he was curious about their names.
"Consider it an honor to hear the names of great warriors, and die."
Being on the receiving end of such a line was infuriating. Arsen let out a wry laugh, wondering if this was why his master always told him to introduce himself first.
As he laughed, dozens of small ice spears materialized before him and shot toward the warrior from the Great Desert who called herself Tamira.
—Whoosh!
Ice crystals reflecting the moonlight sliced through the air, leaving blue afterimages. In the distance, the hand of the mage named Marshita glowed red, creating a barrier in front of Tamira.
—Thud! Thud! Thud!
The fact that his attack had been so easily neutralized stung far worse than the dull ache in his numb left arm.
Arsen moved his hand again. A massive ice spear aimed at Tamira plunged downward like a hawk spotting its prey. A swirl of red energy from the mage’s side cast a second shield over the warrior.
At the same time, two more ice spears materialized behind the mage, raining down toward her head and heart. It was a tactic Arsen had used before when dealing with the group of forty.
—Whoosh!
The sound of a death sentence rang out.
But the sound of crushing bone did not follow.
—Clang! Clang!
Instead, two daggers thrown by Tamira intercepted the ice spears flying toward the mage. She had blocked Arsen's main spear with her raised sword while simultaneously deflecting the attack on her companion.
—Whoosh!
The shattered ice behind the mage rose at once, reforming to attack again. The sharply honed shards swept over Marshita in an instant.
—Screeech!
It was an attack aimed at a split-second opening, but a red barrier flashed into existence behind the mage as if she had been prepared all along. The ice shards fell uselessly to the ground.
Throb.
Pain flared from the deep gash on his left shoulder. The nauseating, metallic smell of his own blood filled the air.
Watching the drops of blood patter onto the ground from Arsen's arm, Tamira raised her sword. Having no intention of dying quietly, Arsen shifted his body once more.
He vanished in an instant, reappearing directly behind the enemy mage. Immediately, a dagger brimming with red energy tore through the air and lunged at him.
To his utter shock, the attack had been unleashed by the mage herself.
—Clash!
Blue light flickered as Arsen's Shield wavered.
His face hardening, Arsen moved the fingers of his right hand, firmly reconstructing the Shield. At the same time, he formed a sphere of ice before the mage's heart, intending to encase her entire body.
—Whoosh!
The freezing air pouring from the sphere enveloped the mage. Just as he was about to freeze her solid—
—Crash!
Tamira's greatsword slammed into Arsen's Shield as she lunged forward.
'Damn it!'
Arsen quickly pulled back, unleashing six ice spears toward the spot where Tamira had been a moment ago. The spear tips, sharp enough to pierce anything, slammed into the empty ground.
Tamira was already gone.
—Hummm!
She had already closed the distance. Toward Arsen, who had just used Teleport, Tamira raised her greatsword. The blade vibrated, generating a dense Aura as if to cleave him in two.
He couldn't dodge.
He couldn't block.
He could see the smirk playing on Tamira's lips.
—Whoosh!
Her sword swung down.
The moment he felt the flash of red light coating the blade—
—KABOOOM!
A deafening roar shook the forest.
And.
"Are you alright?"
A sword dripping with dark red energy had appeared, blocking the crimson Aura plunging toward Arsen's neck.
The newcomer, whose eyes were redder than Tamira's Aura, spoke to the mage who was apparently in charge of the 'crazy' department among the lackeys who had now forced him to step in twice.
"In the future, I would prefer it if you only took on things you can handle, Sir Hertz."
Looking at the back of Calian, who now stood before him, Arsen made a firm resolution.
"I am sorry."
He would make Calian's statue out of everlasting ice.
A full-body statue.
With plenty of style and good looks carved right into it.