The Kidnapping (Part 2)
“Haa… As expected of the young lady. Even a plan prepared over more than a decade nearly fell apart.”
“…I never thought you would betray me.”
Levia’s blood-red eyes looked up at the old butler standing before her.
At the moment, both her arms and legs were locked in special restraints.
“I had no intention of acting this early either. But… unfortunately, Lady Loxia is walking around far too healthy.”
“…Why that bitch Loxia?”
“Originally, our comrades should have at least killed her or rendered her completely unable to fight… but they failed.”
“Fuck, so I’m just the substitute for that bitch?”
“Hehe, please calm yourself, young lady.”
The moment the name Loxia came up, Levia’s expression twisted at the implication that she was merely a replacement.
“Unfortunately, since we failed to take first place, we have no choice but to deal with the one right after her—you, young lady.”
“You… You’re a Black Mage, aren’t you?”
“Hehe, as you’ve already noticed, yes, I am.”
“Once I get out of here, I’ll kill every last Black Mage in this world.”
“Hehe, how truly terrifying.”
The old butler, Carlos, gave a gentle laugh before turning his back and walking out of the room.
With a heavy clank, the door shut, leaving only a single small candle as the sole source of light in the solitary cell.
“Damn it… Not even that bitch Loxia, but I got caught in this pathetic trap…!”
There were no windows. The air was stale, and dust floated through the shabby space.
In such a place, she was rendered utterly powerless—an utterly unreasonable situation.
This thing… what the hell is it made of? I can’t activate any magic…!
The restraints, which looked like pure white handcuffs, were sucking away every drop of Levia’s mana through some unknown principle.
Not only did they prevent her from using magic, they even made moving difficult.
Why does this kind of crap only happen to mages?
A wyvern that could nullify the mana of Loxia Astra—the strongest mage of the current era.
And now these restraints that drained the mana of the next strongest mage, Levia.
Nothing like this ever happened to the Knight Department, yet strange things kept appearing specifically for the Magic Department.
“…Whatever. Once I get out, I’ll kill them all anyway.”
Though a momentary doubt about the magic had crossed her mind, Levia quickly pulled herself together.
She was the eldest daughter of Duke Gloria and ranked second in the Magic Department.
Until she surpassed her goal—Loxia—she would never stop.
“First, these restraints.”
Levia brought the restraints closer to the candle in front of her.
She examined them closely, but for some reason, even with all the knowledge stored in her head, she couldn’t find an answer.
Where on earth did they get this?
It didn’t look like any magic tool she had ever seen, and the material itself was completely different.
Yet it didn’t feel like a condensed form of Black Mages’ power either—there was no sinister aura.
If anything, it felt more like…
It feels holy.
“!!”
The moment that thought struck her, Levia quickly reached a conclusion.
-Creeeeak…
“This is the place, comrades.”
“Ohhh, it really is Levia Gloria…!”
“Magnificent, comrade. As expected of the noble one who served that maniac for over a decade for the sake of our great plan.”
“Hehe, it was nothing. At my age, a decade or so doesn’t feel that long.”
At that moment, the door opened and Carlos appeared, accompanied by two Black Mages.
The moment Levia saw the Black Mages wearing robes split evenly between black and white, she instantly realized their identity.
Those who worship the Dyer.
They were Black Mages who worshipped the great demon known as ‘The Dyer.’
She had heard that Black Mages who worshipped The Painter had appeared not long ago, yet already another faction was stepping forward.
“Well then, can you use her in a well-preserved state?”
While Levia was quickly assessing her opponents, Carlos asked the male Black Mage, who nodded vigorously in response.
“Do not worry. Thanks to our comrade’s perfect preservation, there should be no issues.”
“Hehe, that’s a relief. Then I’ll leave her to you.”
“Leave it to us.”
After the short exchange, Carlos left immediately, leaving only the two Black Mages in the room to check on Levia’s condition.
“Ugh, where do you think you’re touching!”
“Are there any visible wounds?”
“No, none at all!”
“Good. Since she’s the same gender, check her thoroughly.”
“Yes!”
The female Black Mage stripped Levia’s clothes and examined every inch of her body, while the male Black Mage, who had turned away, began drawing a magic circle on the floor according to the woman’s instructions.
“Tsk, is this your last act of consideration?”
“The pure body of a virgin is of utmost importance. If a man’s gaze were to touch her, it would interfere with the ritual. The opposite applies when the material is male.”
“What the…”
Even the legendary unicorn probably wasn’t this picky.
While thinking that, Levia felt a question rise and asked.
“…You’re surprisingly willing to answer?”
“To keep her in the best possible condition, it’s better to minimize any resentment. Besides, you’ll forget everything anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“…The Dyer, Inkcrion.”
At the words that she would forget everything, Levia recalled what she knew about the Dyer.
The Dyer—Inkcrion’s power was ‘mental manipulation.’
There was a high chance that the people before her were either trying to control Levia’s mind or planning to use her as material to create or summon another being.
That meant they would answer anything for her sake, so Levia calmly asked the questions she was curious about one by one.
“Then what about these restraints?”
“That is a holy relic from the Holy Kingdom. To be precise, it’s an item that should have gone to the heretic inquisitors.”
“A holy relic…?”
“It is the ultimate restraint that can suppress evil by absorbing aura, mana, or even dark mana indiscriminately. The only way to remove it is for someone else to do it, so give up.”
At the mention of a holy relic, Levia’s eyes widened in surprise.
If it was a holy relic, it made sense that it could devour all of her mana.
But before that, there was something even more incomprehensible.
“…How did you obtain a holy relic?”
How they had obtained it.
A holy relic should have been the hardest thing for Black Mages to acquire, so where could they have gotten it?
The female Black Mage answered in his place.
“Well, because we who serve ‘The Dyer’ have connections with the Holy Kingdom!”
“…What?”
“We made a deal where we receive several holy relics and funds from them in exchange for delivering results!”
“No way…”
Could the people of the Holy Kingdom really do something like that?
She had heard that there were several problems within the Holy Kingdom, but she never imagined they were trading with Black Mages.
Once I get out, I’ll destroy the Holy Kingdom too.
Thinking that this damn restraint came from the Holy Kingdom, Levia gritted her teeth and made a firm resolution.
Once she escaped, she would tear down that rotten Holy Kingdom as well.
Now then.
How do I get out?
How could she escape?
Quietly waiting for rescue was not a good plan.
There was no telling how long it would take, and if the Black Mages realized someone had come to rescue her, there was no telling what they might do.
Since they might even perform an unstable ritual, it was better to take action herself rather than wait for rescue.
Unless an assassin shows up.
Unless someone came and killed the opponents instantly without any warning or detection, she would have to get out on her own.
That was why, even though it was humiliating to have the female Black Mage look at and touch every part of her body, Levia kept asking questions without pause.
After a conversation that felt both long and short, Levia was able to gather a great deal of information about the nature of the ritual and the Black Mages who worshipped The Dyer.
“Alright, it’s time for the ritual. Let’s prepare.”
“Ah, yes!”
Just as she had half-formed an escape plan, the time given to her ran out.
“First, the blood of a virgin.”
“Understood!”
At the man’s words, the female Black Mage pulled out a dagger from her robe and stabbed it into her own arm.
She collected the flowing blood into a small vial she had taken out, then handed it to the man.
“It needs to be shaken several times, so I’ll shake it on the way. Be careful when you bring the material.”
“Understood!”
Lightly shaking the vial containing the blood, the male Black Mage headed for the door.
The female Black Mage followed behind, carrying Levia on her back.
-Creeeeak…
The moment the door opened.
“Target discovered!”
-Slash!
In the blink of an eye, one of the Black Mages was butchered.
The male Black Mage’s body, cut clean in half, collapsed to the side. Levia, still carried on the female Black Mage’s back, was finally able to see who had come to rescue her.
“This one was just a low-ranking grunt too. Died in one hit.”
“Huh…? Senior…?”
The ash-gray-haired man who rarely remained in the memory of Levia, who usually didn’t bother remembering people.
“Why doesn’t anyone last more than two hits?”
It was Ashen Serdis.
“…Why the hell did someone like you come?”
“What the—this girl? I came to save you and this is how you greet me?”
“…In a situation like this, shouldn’t that woman Loxia be the one who shows up?”
“No, why do you look so disappointed…”