Chapter 46
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 46: Trigger (2)
It was an instant.
The moment she faced Redric in front of the entrance, the darkness spreading from his fingertips twisted the air.
As if a bucket of black ink was poured, vision was dyed pitch-black instantly.
"——!"
A short scream burst out from Vivienne's mouth.
Sensation of body sinking down, dizziness of up and down flipping, unpleasant touch of cold thing crawling over skin wrapped her whole body.
Ears became deaf as if sinking into deep water, and heart beat chest hard.
Pressure unbearable unless closing eyes.
And.
Thud.
Everything stopped.
Cold sensation climbed up her back.
Vivienne slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing seen was a grey sky.
Cloudy sky difficult to distinguish whether day or night hung low, and cold wind brushed her cheeks.
Uneven hardness along with freezing coldness was felt below her body.
Rough and cold touch reached her palms.
"This place is......."
Voice cracked.
Raising upper body to sit with difficulty, surrounding scenery entered her eyes.
Both sides were a narrow cliff top surrounded by rocks, and behind was a dizzying precipice.
Could know without looking down.
That falling means the end.
And in front, a man stood about a dozen steps away.
It was Redric Ricardo.
Coat hem was shaking in the blowing wind.
He was standing with a nonchalant expression like a person who came out for a walk.
"You've woken up."
His voice was no different from usual.
Vivienne's heart sank with a thud.
"......Wh, what did you do."
Redric exhaled a small sigh.
"I, too, don't prefer this method."
Exhaling a sigh as if lamentable, he continued speaking calmly.
"There are three types of things in the world."
As if wind carried his words, it rang over the quiet cliff.
"Things I want to do."
One step.
"Things I must do."
Another step.
"And, things I can do."
Sound of his shoes stepping on stone floor rang clack, clack.
"Doing work fulfilling all these three is a blessed life. Because most people live choosing one of the three."
A thin smile brushed his lips.
"But I am different."
Vivienne stepped back little by little.
Madness.
What bloomed thickly from his pupils was terrible madness.
End of rock touched her heels.
No more place to step back.
"Work destroying this rotten world."
Redric's pupils sank darkly.
"That is the work I want to do, work I can do, and work I must definitely do."
Vivienne's breath became rough.
He is crazy.
No, might have been so from long ago.
"So I, must be a blessed existence."
Black mana bloomed from his fingertips.
Blooming like smoke, gathered again forming a sharp air current.
Space distorted as if creaking.
It wasn't simple elemental magic.
Contract with life as collateral and power paying that price.
It was black magic.
Goosebumps rose on Vivienne's skin.
"......Y, you are crazy."
Redric approached slowly.
Black air current wrapped his arm, corroding the stone at his feet minutely.
As if enjoying Vivienne's reaction, he showed leisure wearing a pervasive smile.
"I already know."
His gaze pierced Vivienne.
"That you found the solution."
Vivienne's heart seemed to stop.
"Because there is nothing more pure and true than the pupils of an explorer cooped up in a laboratory. Well, didn't expect you to be this quick-witted though."
He stepped one step closer.
Now distance between the two didn't have many steps left.
"I do not hope for big things."
Voice was low but clear.
"Out of the three things, just one."
His black mana flickered riding the wind.
"Thing you can do."
He held out his hand.
"You just need to do that. The formula inside your head, just that one."
Vivienne instinctively shrank her body taking a defensive posture.
"Wasn't for mine development from the beginning."
Redric's eyes shook very briefly, then became quiet again.
"To overturn the world, sometimes a powerful spark is needed."
Darkness wriggled at his feet.
Sticky darkness began to spread to surroundings.
"Now please complete that work, Vivienne."
His voice laid low.
Warning voice announcing the end.
Black mana tightened the air over the cliff fiercely.
No place to escape.
Redric's mouth corners went up slowly.
**
One day ago.
Underground in Redric's mansion, flame ring bloomed in the secret space surrounded by thick curtains and blocking arrays.
Beyond the dimensional passage opened in semi-circular shape, a figure whose silhouette was even hard to distinguish was sitting.
Face wasn't seen, and only voice rang low.
"Dwirig disappeared."
Redric reported bowing his head.
"Even mansion servants don't know his movement line."
Short silence flowed beyond the flame ring.
"Possibility of being discovered."
"High."
Redric's answer was firm.
"Timing is too subtle to view as accidental departure. There was also internal agitation after the banquet incident."
Leader's voice lowered one tone.
Unpleasant sign was revealing clearly.
"...Meaning someone holds our clue."
"Do we revise the plan?"
As Redric asked, flame flickered greatly once.
Answer tolerating not even an inch of silence followed immediately.
"Plan proceeds as is. Instead, hurry."
Along with those words, flame ring slowly contracted and disappeared.
Thin curve was drawn on Redric's lips.
Ambition grown thanks to the dean who insulted him saying his ideology was twisted during Academy assistant days.
Ambition trying to prove he wasn't wrong by collapsing the Academy.
But past days eventually running away here without achieving it, and realized after joining Endermit.
Academy.
Collapsing such a thing is a very trivial matter.
That taking the Kingdom as a stage beyond Academy, beyond Northern Territory was his vessel.
"Ha, haha... hahaha—!"
.
.
And now.
Over the cliff, Redric blooming black magic held out his hand towards Vivienne.
Black flame soared as if splitting from his fingertips.
Center of the flame wasn't red, rather close to ink color.
Fire burning life, afterglow of contract gnawing vitality.
Every trajectory wind brushed, air sizzled and twisted, and texture of space flickered as if tearing minutely.
As if the sky over the cliff itself was obeying him.
"Just that one is enough."
Redric's voice was calm, but aspiration dwelling in it was boiling.
Vivienne's gaze headed back for a moment.
Precipice to fall endlessly if stepping back one step, far-off darkness was opening its mouth.
Toe tips trembled numbly.
But she swallowed fear clenching her teeth.
Didn't want to do it.
That was all.
Didn't want to take away countless lives transmitting explosion formula to him.
With that one, reason to swallow fear was enough.
"...No."
Weak but clear refusal.
That one word split the silence over the cliff.
Redric's eyebrows twitched minutely.
Smile faded, and lines around mouth hardened.
"Vain resistance."
"No."
Vivienne's voice trembled, but pupils didn't retreat.
"Things I can do are... more."
Redric tilted his head.
Like a professor listening to an interesting research topic.
"What is it."
"Resisting a crazy bomber."
For a moment, only wind sound brushed the cliff.
And Redric's laugh leaked out low.
Sound like sneer, and like admiration.
"Haha, as always humans are a kind finding answers."
Air around him began to distort.
Black mana gradually swells growing power.
"If you don't complete it, we just find another scapegoat."
Black air current twisted like a snake crawling empty air.
"Someone will do it. However many break in that process, eventually we will find the answer."
Vivienne clenched fists enough for hands to turn white.
Felt like heart was ringing inside ears.
Fear filled up to the bone, but gaze didn't drop.
Tear-filled blue pupils were still staring straight at him even in trembling.
Eventually, Redric's patience snapped, snap.
"Then it can't be helped."
Black mana amplified explosively.
Space over the cliff flipped instantly.
Black air current divided branches like split lightning rushing towards Vivienne.
Forbidden black flame forcibly collecting contract price taking vitality of what it touches as collateral.
Trajectory of mana flying scratching earth ruptured cliff surface.
Vivienne closed eyes tightly and curled up her body.
Roar tearing ears approached.
Cold wind struck face.
Now it's the end—
Moment thinking so.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Explosion sound splitting night sky burst.
Explosion sound shouldn't be heard.
Mighty mana would have melted her body before explosion sound even burst.
Rushing black magic shattered into pieces colliding with something in empty air.
Black flame splashed in all directions striking cliff wall, and fragmented mana residue scattered like heavy rain.
"ㅡ!?"
Vivienne opened eyes startled at the solid touch holding her shoulder.
Blue light.
Blue light shield emerged in the center of scattering black mana.
Huge multi-layered structure summoning circle was unfolded over the cliff.
Complex defense formula overlapping circles, triangles, ancient letters and binding patterns.
Each layer rotated organically dispersing mana flow, calculating backwards and offsetting black magic's penetration power.
As if a huge blue shield was standing.
And behind that.
And in front of her.
A man with familiar appearance fluttering blue-grey hair was blocking black magic kneeling on one knee.
Receiving black mana wave head-on, maintaining defense formula stretching one hand forward.
High-Rank Summoning Circles were engraved in multiple overlaps under his feet, and each circle was resonating assisting each other.
"...."
Man turning head slightly checking her then staring front again.
Vivid straight scar crossing neck from under his ear revealed itself clearly receiving moonlight.
Scar seen after a truly long time.
Vivid scar whose existence cannot be denied.
Straight scar as if engraving name.
Iden Summonfield.
No.
It was Edom Rivan's.
Blue summoning circle pulsated strongly once more.
Runes engraved on the outskirts of the defense formula burned brightly reversing black magic residue.
Black flame lost place to go shattering into pieces scattering in empty air.
Iden stepped forward one step.
Simultaneously with the step, a new auxiliary circle was created wrapping Vivienne's surroundings completely.
Another blue pattern unfolded behind his back.
High-Rank Summoning Formula floating in the air settled as if redefining the battlefield while rotating, starting to swallow black mana.
Over the cliff.
While black flame and blue summoning circle collided again.
Edom Rivan was standing.
Original male lead.
Not Cale Bailus.
Edom Rivan.
Was saving Vivienne in crisis.