Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 28: At the Social Gathering (2)
As soon as Iden left the banquet hall, he ran at full power.
Towards the corridor where he had encountered Emiline just a while ago.
Arriving where masterpieces hanging on walls and soft lighting continued, he rushed towards the corner where Emiline had turned last.
Breath was disturbed roughly, and sharply honed nerves clouded judgment, but it was just a trivial problem.
In his head, only one calculation was repeating.
Leisure remaining until the critical point.
About 20 seconds must have already passed.
The remaining time is tight.
The moment he turned the corner, numerous rooms lined up on both sides of the corridor unfolded.
The problem was that the structure was the same for every door and there were no markings.
The expression 'Room 3' was their jargon.
"Damn it...!"
Iden chewed his molars and raised his hands to waist height.
Pulling up mana, he blooms summoning circles on both hands immediately.
A Red Bat was summoned from the completed detection type summoning circle, and after synchronizing senses, it began to rush straight towards the end of the corridor.
Squeak—
The bat-shaped summoned beast, Red Bat, swims in front of its master unfolding detection lines.
There is no time to open room doors one by one.
He rushed weeding out empty rooms through the presence and waves the Red Bat felt, and Iden, stopping at one room door, threw the door open.
However.
Bang—!
Regrettably, it was just two knights who finished guard duty taking off armor preparing for rest.
"Wh, what is going on?"
Remaining time is about 20 seconds.
Iden struck deeper along the corridor instead of answering.
And the moment he turned one more corner.
"...!"
He could witness white knights standing in front of the door at the end of the corridor.
Two knights wearing silvery-white armor with the Wintel family crest clearly visible even from afar stood in a solid posture blocking the front of the door.
Iden's heart fluctuated greatly.
Despair about the remaining time surged along with relief.
He calculated the time inwardly.
Already 1 minute passed.
Whatever it was, ignition must have started.
No time to persuade, nor leisure to ask questions.
Iden raised mana in both hands while rushing at high speed.
Mana surges as if exploding, starting to raise wind in the area.
"—Formula deployment."
Simultaneously with the short chant, powerful mana erupted like flames from his fingertips, drawing lines in the empty air above the two knights' heads.
A semi-open type restraint specialized summoning circle began to deploy in reverse defying gravity.
The reason for choosing drop-type deployment was one.
To not give time to react.
"Stop—!"
One knight shouted but it was already late.
The moment the summoning circle was fully deployed, a mana restraint body close to formless was created.
It wasn't a simple biological summon.
Mana Restraint Type Summoned Body: Tentacle (触系) Variant.
Rather than a restraint body, it was a form closer to tentacles reading joint movements and following, and tentacles summoned above the two knights' heads began to fix elbow and shoulder joints sequentially.
"Ugh?!"
"Wh, what is this!"
Knights try to resist giving strength to winding arms and legs, but tentacles press stronger the more they do so, tolerating not even a sliver of resistance.
Eventually, two knights who lost balance in an instant were dragged down to the floor helplessly.
"Kugh!"
Dull sound crashing onto the floor.
Metallic sound of armor colliding rings.
Iden clenched his palms lightly for the last time.
Responding to the signal, the tension of tentacles was adjusted minutely, fixing them in an optimal state not hindering the knights' breathing and blood flow.
And.
The moment he reached the front of the door, Iden kicked the door without delay fixing his pivot foot strongly.
Kwaang—!!
The door with completely shattered hinges and fittings opened, and a space like a wide reading room unfolded.
"?!"
And in the center of that place, there was Emiline whom he wandered looking for so much.
She, who was reading something sitting at the desk, raised her head startled by the sound of the door opening.
At the same time, her face turned bright red.
She shouted covering what she was reading as if embarrassed without even time to recognize the situation.
"Wh, what are you doing right no—!"
Regrettably, there is no time to explain in detail.
The moment Iden was about to approach her, a bizarre wave began to burst out from behind her back as if liberated from restraint.
Wave sharp like a blade and pointed like a thorn.
"Danger—!"
Simultaneously with the shout not yet finished, red flash blinked on the wall behind Emiline.
Omen right before exploding as mana condenses.
The area becoming silent with a high-frequency sound for an instant.
Iden judged.
That it cannot be dodged completely.
That it must be blocked even barely.
Finishing calculation, he threw his body towards Emiline without hesitation.
Both hands blooming mana moved quickly cutting through the empty air.
The way mana flows out changes.
Diffusion switched to convergence, and continues deployment on the premise of blocking not attacking.
Following that, a huge summoning circle deployed behind Emiline.
Hexagonal lattice rune arrangement close to shield pattern on multiple concentric circle structure.
And in the center, a structure where a materialization anchor allowed only in high-rank defense type Summoning Arts is embedded piles up in multiple layers.
Soon.
The upper body of the summoned beast appeared first.
Rib cage reminiscent of a huge shield, giant knight pattern guarding ancient defense gates engraved on the front, solid body as if embodying an impregnable fortress.
Grade 1 High-Rank Summoning Circle borrowing ancient formulas, 'Del Finiore'.
Gugung—
The summoned ancient gatekeeper sets up a shield the size of its body towards the epicenter of the explosion.
And.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Space blinked pure white with a huge explosion sound.
Violent shockwave swept the entire room, and vibration shakes as if tearing the space apart.
Wall and floor cracked, and strong blast pressure presses down the whole body.
All that was heard was destruction sound as if tearing eardrums.
"...."
Brief silence.
Eventually when the flash faded and vibration subsided.
The wall behind Emiline had collapsed to the point where its shape couldn't be recognized.
White stone dust was fluttering covering the floor.
Emiline, who had curled up fully, opened her eyes slowly.
The wall had collapsed, and one side of the room was destroyed to the point where its shape couldn't be recognized.
And she felt something wrapping her.
Warm body temperature.
Solid arms.
Posture embracing completely as if protecting her.
It was the man who talked about painting in the corridor, and the man she thought invaded rudely to attack her, Iden Summonfield.
He was turning his back to the collapsed wall holding her in his arms.
Beyond that, something looking like a castle wall stands holding a shield.
Iden's clothes hem was torn, and dust settled on his shoulders, but his posture didn't waver a bit.
"Are you okay?"
Low and calm voice.
Emiline opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Her heart was still fluctuating, and she couldn't even distinguish if the scene in front of her eyes was reality.
Event happened so instantly that cognitive dissonance came.
She was just catching her breath in the arms of the man who protected her.
**
Kwaang—!
The moment the explosion sound tore the air of the banquet hall, the flashy space revealed a different face in an instant.
Screams and surprised breathing sounds burst out a beat late, and chandeliers shook making sharp noises as glass decorations collided with each other.
The tranquil evening party faced a new phase.
Galliard gathered his mind first.
He immediately went up to the platform and raised his voice.
"All personnel evacuate! Guards maintain movement lines and escort distinguished guests to the exit!"
The command was firm, and at that one word, the banquet hall was reorganized rapidly.
Escort knights lined up like walls in front of nobles, and attendants and maids led people with familiar hand movements.
Someone screamed, and someone clenched teeth, but everyone was moving under the common purpose that they must survive.
Same time.
Iden turned his gaze quickly.
Although he protected Emiline by a hair's breadth, it wasn't over yet.
Iden, raising his body, immediately released the two knights held by tentacles.
"Gr, Grand Duke's Princess!"
"Are you okay!?"
The liberated two knights just ran to Emiline still sitting in her spot.
They didn't show a sliver of hostility to Iden.
They understood.
The reason why they had to be subdued.
Iden spoke to such them.
"Please take care of the Princess."
Short and clear one word.
Knights didn't ask back the meaning.
Instead, sticking to Emiline's left and right immediately, they moved towards the banquet hall where the evacuation procession would continue protecting her.
Iden also rushed again retracing the path he ran and entered the banquet hall.
Procession of nobles, shouts of knights, pandemonium where crying and shouting tangled.
Even in the midst of it, Iden's consciousness was honed sharply.
Moving his steps, he recalled the voices heard through the summoning circle.
Two voices, low tone sounding like ringing a cave and high tone like a treacherous subject.
Tone thoroughly excluding emotion and even intonation unique to Northerners.
[ Start in 1 minute. Immediately after explosion, escape. ]
[ Confirm. ]
Possibility was high that they were somewhere even now.
Iden scanned people based on tone, vocalization, and suspicious signs moving his gaze as if cutting through the crowd.
But the situation wasn't easy.
Crowd flocked to the entrance so much it was hard to control the body.
Noise and commotion were too loud making sound identification impossible.
Situation no different from finding a needle in chaos.
Eventually, Iden stopped.
Tracking forcibly in this confusion now would only call unnecessary waste and sacrifice.
He clenched his molars.
Didn't catch, but didn't miss either.
Iden, collecting his fluctuating heart, repeated that voice once again.
One pronunciation, one breath interval, even minute difference in intonation.
As if carving on a summoning circle, he imprinted it in the deepest part of memory.
'Next time...'
With the vow that he won't miss by all means, Iden just promised the next time behind the evacuation procession like that.
Fortunately he protected Emiline, but the fight didn't end yet.
Rather, it was the start from now.
**
Dust in the banquet hall didn't settle yet.
Vibration started with explosion sound, and commotion and chaos caused by evacuation procession were still valid.
Galliard remained at the scene until the end maintaining cool-headedness.
Even after all nobles escaped, he commanded evacuation checking residual dangers with knights.
Dust settled on his white hair, and shoulder decorations had fallen off.
Magnanimous smile disappeared, and instead sharp tension dwelled on his face.
"Final zone check finished!"
"No signs of additional explosion in suspected points!"
While reports continued, commotion arose from the banquet hall entrance side.
Galliard's gaze headed there.
"Gr, Grand Duke's Princess...!"
Figure entering inside receiving knight's support...
It was Emiline Wintel.
Part of her clothes hem was scorched, and pure white hair ends were stained with dust.
Usual neat appearance was disheveled, and above all, her face entering the venue was out of spirit.
"Emiline!!"
Galliard ran without hesitation.
He held her shoulders and scanned up and down.
"Any injuries? Is there no place hurt!"
In Galliard's voice maintaining cool and calm, agitation and wave rose for the first time.
Self-reproach for not being able to look after his lovely sister's safety tightens his heart.
Emiline looked at such brother for a moment.
Opened mouth as if catching breath, then stopped speaking.
"...Br, Brother, that."
"How on earth did this happen. What were guards doing. Why did the explosion happen to you...!"
Emiline was still bewildered, and situation wasn't fully understood.
She was just taking a rest appreciating apricot-colored masterpiece(?) in the library escaping from the boring banquet for a moment, but suddenly a man named Iden appeared smashing the door, and rushed towards her emitting mana.
At first she considered it a clear attack.
But when the following explosion and vibration ended, she realized it was a clear misunderstanding.
Momentary instant, if he was late even 1 second, she would have been carried out on a stretcher not supported by now.
Man who appeared suddenly and disappeared suddenly before she could even convey thanks.
Emiline tried to contain that name.
"Iden—!!"
It was then.
Desperate voice rang from one side of the banquet hall.
It was Erwin wandering around with eyes lit up looking for Iden.
Erwin's neat clothes appeared as if running in from the dusty corridor were disheveled, and faint fretfulness rose on her usually cool face.
"Where do you keep disappearing to...!!"
She chewed her lip slightly and shouted the name again.
Thinking even a kid put out on the market floor on market day wouldn't disappear to this extent.
"Iden—!!"
Emiline seeing that appearance closed her mouth.
Iden.
Every time that name is heard, the memory of the figure of a man holding her in the settling dust cloud becoming clearer comes to mind.
His appearance appearing as fog lifted was like a painting.