This Is How You Kidnap (3)
This Is How You Kidnap (3)
"..."
A heavy silence settled. The sound of someone swallowing beside him was loud enough to ring in his ears.
The mages couldn't tear their eyes from the intruder's face. Even the 9th Elder, renowned for his composure, couldn't hide his successive waves of astonishment as he stared at the intruder.
The intruder was a beauty with an imperious gaze. Honestly, calling her a beauty was insufficient. Looking into her blue eyes felt like falling under a spell, leaving you entranced.
And her hair—what of it? It was like a pristine sea untouched by human hands.
But, and yet...
Staring at her stirred up an inexplicable rage. The anger swelled, threatening to consume his sanity like a whirlpool.
If they hadn't been mages, and moreover, if they hadn't been white mages famed for their self-discipline, a bloodbath might well have erupted.
No, it probably would have.
Even he, an Elder of the White Tower, found it hard to control his emotions.
‘What in the world is this creature?’
The intruder had appeared not from anywhere else, but from atop a dragon. He'd only faced a dragon once in his life, but he knew what it meant to ride on a dragon's back.
‘A close friend close enough to offer its back, or its master.’
A friend would have rushed to the dragon collapsed in a faint, not stared their way with an unreadably ambiguous expression.
Then it had to be the latter.
The dragon gliding through the sky suddenly ramming the Magic Tower also made sense if it had done so at the intruder's command.
‘Her actions are no different from a witch's.’
If a mage draws magical power from nature, a witch draws her magical power from a demon she serves.
Demonic power is destructive and far denser, but to obtain it, you must offer countless human lives as sacrifices.
It wasn't for nothing that witches were called turncoats who had betrayed humanity.
And witches were also the main enemy of the White Tower.
‘Now, reveal your true nature!’
The 9th Elder dispersed a thin thread of magical power and aimed it at the intruder. A wisp of magical power so faint that only those who had reached a significant level could even perceive it enveloped the intruder.
The intruder showed no sign of noticing.
‘Good!’
The 9th Elder smiled with confidence. Though his rank was low, he prided himself on being second to none in the control of magical power.
Soon, the result would be clear.
Proof that the wretch was a wicked witch...
But nothing happened.
‘Huh?’
The 9th Elder fired another thread of magical power. The result was no different.
The Elder's eyes flew open at the unbelievable result.
‘It's not changing color?’
Light magic was specialized for combating evil. If the intruder truly was a wicked witch, the thread of magical power should have turned black.
There were only two cases like this.
First: the magical power was so pure it rivaled nature itself.
High elves, who were one with nature, fell into this category. That was why being near a high elf—no matter where you were—gave you the feeling of standing in the heart of a forest.
The intruder, whose very appearance provoked aggressive emotion, was fundamentally different in essence.
Then there was the second case: the intruder had blocked all access, preventing her magical power from being read.
And that meant only one thing.
‘...She's stronger than I am.’
Overwhelmingly so.
A reckless attack would get everyone killed.
Then, for now, dialogue...
That was when it happened.
"A—a witch!"
A mage who had belatedly collected himself pointed at the intruder and shouted. At those words, the mages who hadn't yet steadied their hearts flinched in alarm and deployed their spells.
"O light!"
"Judgment of justice..."
Their number alone was dozens.
The chants echoing from all directions were enough to cloud the 9th Elder's response.
"Stop at once!"
He belatedly came to his senses and shouted, but several spells had already been launched at the intruder.
‘Damn it!’
Now that it had come to this, there was only one option.
The 9th Elder pulled out his staff and struck the floor.
Light Spear.
Surging light magical power formed the shape of a giant spear.
Originally, this was a spell used when dealing with large species like yetis, but this wasn't the time to be particular.
The sight of hundreds of spells pouring in a single direction was nothing short of spectacular.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
No matter how strong the opponent, emerging from that explosion without the slightest damage was impossible.
She would at least leave a brief opening.
That much was enough.
If only he could buy time to prepare the next spell...
That moment.
"So you lot threw the first punch?"
A drawling voice came from beyond the smoke, and a blue flash blazed.
Crackle!
Along with a chilling sound, a blue current whirled from the intruder's fingertips.
Thunderbolt.
"Gaaargh!"
An electrocuted mage collapsed, screaming. The current didn't stop there but spread to every side like a serpent.
One strand became two, and two became four.
The blue current had already filled the interior of the ward.
"Wh-what is..."
The 9th Elder turned his head in a daze. The current, which had already reached his nose, filled his vision completely.
***
‘They really are weak. Must be because it's still early in the run.’
Olivia turned away from the unconscious 9th Elder.
She'd cut some slack for the average mages whose levels were in the 20s, but it was a little surprising that an Elder in the low 50s had fallen in one hit.
Calculating damage was far more difficult than she'd expected. It was a relief the target had been a mage with at least some magical resistance. If she'd used that on an ordinary villager...
‘Just thinking about it is horrifying.’
Olivia tilted her head up slightly and looked at the shattered staircase. The collapsed pillar was completely blocking the way to the upper floors.
All of it was Glacia's handiwork.
Thanks to that, reinforcements couldn't come down from above, but not being able to go up was a problem on her side too.
Judging by the commotion at the staircase, they seemed to be clearing the pillar and preparing to descend.
Then she'd go in the opposite direction.
Olivia moved to the point directly opposite the staircase and stopped. The next instant, a fist wreathed in electric current punched straight up through the first-floor ceiling.
Bang!
The ceiling exploded, and debris shot upward.
"E-enemy!"
Arriving on the upper floor, Olivia quickly scanned her surroundings.
[Casey]
[Ronan]
Unfortunately, the person she was looking for wasn't here.
In that case?
Crackle.
"Gaaargh!"
She only had to knock everyone out and go up to the next floor.
The next floor.
"Intruder!"
Crackle!
The floor after that.
"Intru—!"
Crackle!
And the floor after that one.
"Wai—!"
Crackle!
Oh, she was getting faster.
Olivia had already adapted.
After demolishing five more floors and ascending, a scene entirely different from before awaited her.
To start with, there were incomparably more people. It seemed every remaining mage had gathered here.
"Your rampage ends here, witch."
A familiar old man revealed himself from amid the crowd.
The White Tower Lord, Lloyd Claycian.
He'd been quite popular in the community because of his gap-moe quality, where a man who looked like a neighborhood grandpa would beat demons to a pulp.
When the player walked the righteous path, he'd offer an affectionate smile and encourage their journey, but when they took the betrayal route, he'd burn the player's head off without a moment's hesitation.
—Hoho, just stand there. I'll fix those deplorable manners of yours.
She'd really liked him once.
There had even been a time when, for Lloyd's sake, she'd entered the White Tower and grudgingly learned white magic.
Though it had been a long while since she'd stopped using the White Tower.
Olivia stopped reminiscing and raised her head.
[Lloyd Claycian]
- Level: 66
- Favorability: -80
Contrary to the information shown in the Status Window, Lloyd maintained an expressionless face.
But she knew. She knew that Lloyd was utterly furious.
His consistent lack of expression meant he considered Olivia a demon, or a turncoat on par with a demon.
The other mages' gazes were the same.
Hatred, disillusionment.
All manner of negative looks shot toward her.
To the White Tower's mages, she was already a mortal enemy, a target to be killed.
Well, in a way, it made sense.
She'd knocked out more than a few white mages on her way up here.
"I didn't kill them."
"That is precisely why I am humoring you, if only briefly."
In truth, she'd tried talking first.
But the moment their eyes met at the start, she'd realized.
‘This isn't something that can be resolved with words.’
If the White Tower's mages were this bad, it went without saying for everyone else.
It was a moment that brought home the fact that she'd become the enemy of the entire world all over again.
But!
Olivia had a goal. A goal to see the ending of this godforsaken world.
To do that, she absolutely needed allies.
Even if her method was wrong.
Olivia asked one last time.
"If I said I'd leave right now if you just handed over three people... you wouldn't believe me, would you?"
"You know well."
"What if I swore it on my mana that I mean no harm?"
"The oath of a turncoat who sold her soul to a demon isn't even worth hearing out."
"What if I'm not a witch?"
"That's what they all say as an excuse."
Words wouldn't reach him.
Had Lloyd Claycian always been this kind of person? No. She knew Lloyd's personality better than anyone.
Then there was only one answer.
The damn Favorability stat was stifling his reason.
Olivia clutched her head with one hand and laughed.
"Ha, haha. Hahahaha."
You crazy game-company bastards. Just wait until I get out of here.
"Haha..."
Olivia's laughter cut off sharply in the middle.
And she spoke firmly.
"I warned you clearly."
A dense chill rose around Olivia.
The next instant, light and ice collided.