Is It an Ambush?
A second attack came flying right after the first.
But there was one thing that shadowy figure had overlooked.
All three of them.
The three standing in front of me were every one of them Alpha Class.
They might have been startled by the opening strike, but if I just gave them a proper lead they were skilled enough to handle it without trouble.
“Barrier! Right now!”
I shouted, and the guys who had frozen in shock snapped back to their senses and immediately began unfolding magic circles.
“Hup!”
The first to react was the red-haired Lindel.
He raised both hands and deployed a magic formula; a powerful barrier snapped into place.
A silver shield identical to the one Valrod had used—only larger and stronger—completely sealed off our front.
Kaaang—
A fierce clang rang in our ears.
Haisa started gathering flames between both palms.
“Where? Where do I shoot?”
He turned his head toward me.
“…Kh.”
Abel, still sprawled on the ground and looking thoroughly humiliated, adjusted his glasses and struggled to his feet; I ignored him and kept my eyes forward.
Stay calm. Calm.
The qualities a support mage needed most: composure and situational judgment.
A barrier was up in front of us. The attacker didn’t seem to be a mage.
Another flicker of movement from the six-o’clock direction… not a monster either.
What we needed right now was to identify what that thing was and secure our field of vision.
“Haisa, I’ll light it up. Pinpoint the location.”
“Uh… yeah.”
I took a deep breath.
Spreading my hand, I made the softly glowing mana sphere erupt into explosive brilliance.
“Holy Light.”
Paaat—
A tremendous flash burst before our eyes, and for an instant the whole area blazed bright.
The figure whose shadow had been stripped away looked somehow off, yet—
“…That’s…”
—it was unmistakably human-shaped.
And that face… I had seen it this morning.
A guard…
One of the guards who had been with Rotwell. But there was no focus in his eyes.
Just as Haisa’s flames were about to explode, I snapped back to myself.
“Hold it!”
At my shout Haisa, who had been aiming the fire, flinched.
“Huh?”
The moment the light hit him the guard tried to melt back into the darkness.
“Wh-what do we do? Shoot or not?”
His eyes were unfocused, his whole presence wrong.
Mind control?
That wasn’t the immediate problem.
I locked onto the fleeing guard’s feet.
Focus. Focus!
No mistakes allowed.
I immediately began unfolding another magic circle.
Eudeudeuk—
I bound him in an instant with a restraint spell.
Haisa gathered flames again.
“He stopped… restraint magic?”
“Haisa, can you just knock him out?”
Only then did Haisa nod and scale the fire down.
Hwaak—
The moment the flames left his hands a violent explosion roared in our ears.
Thick smoke blanketed our vision.
I kept the restraint magic up, not yet certain of a clean hit.
“Go check for me?”
Haisa and Lindel both nodded.
I glanced sideways. Abel was brushing grass off his clothes.
When our eyes met he chewed his lip and looked away.
“You, you know I just saved your life, right?”
He had nothing to say; he just stomped hard on a clump of weeds.
Petty little…
I lightly ignored Abel’s sulking and turned toward the fallen man.
“Lutes! He’s out cold! Not moving!”
“What do we do?”
Lindel and Haisa were already looking to me for orders as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Hang on, we’re coming too.”
Fortunately, the midnight ambush ended there.
When I shone the lantern on his face I was certain. It was one of the guards I had met that morning.
“I’m sure of it. He’s one of the guards I saw.”
“For real?”
The two of them looked back and forth between me and the unconscious guard in surprise.
“Yeah, but why he ended up like this…”
Abel, who had come up beside us at some point, leaned in for a closer look.
“Contamination Magic.”
“…Contamination?”
I had heard of it.
A catch-all term for magic that scattered virulent plagues or warped mana—dangerous stuff, that much I knew.
“Contamination Magic is banned even in the Empire…!”
Lindel was horrified.
“Well, anyone who’d invade the Academy was never going to be right in the head.”
“Ah.”
My casual correction made Lindel nod in understanding.
“Looks like they stole the shell by mimicking his mana, then slapped a delirium spell on top so he’d just wander around.”
Abel examined the body while delivering his diagnosis, but his voice was trembling; he was more shaken than he let on.
Stole the shell…
I recalled what Professor Laen had told us half an hour ago.
“So they could use him for illusion magic?”
Steal the shell, then use it for more precise illusion work.
The pieces clicked into place.
“Illusion magic… possible. Once you steal the mana, imitation gets a lot easier.”
“So what do we do now?”
Lindel fidgeted and scanned the surroundings.
“Professor Zygmunt is waiting for the documents. We have to hurry.”
Abel was right; we had a scroll that needed to reach Professor Zygmunt urgently.
“But what about the guard?”
Haisa’s counter made Abel sigh.
“…The magic’s still on him. If we’re not careful we could get hit by it too.”
“So leaving him here is…”
“Our mission comes first. And after getting ambushed like this we need to report even faster.”
Opinions split and the argument began.
…They’re really going at it.
I stepped out of their conversation for a moment and looked around.
The lakeside was west of here.
West is…
I looked up at the sky.
The constellations would help me find direction.
That way.
After roughly fixing the western bearing I turned back to the three still bickering.
“Guys.”
All three students looked at me at once.
“We can’t waste any more time. Here’s what we’ll do.”
A compromise formed in my head.
Tadak—
I picked up the pace.
The compromise was simple.
Abel, Lindel, and Haisa would stay behind and guard the captive.
I, who knew the lakeside best, would go alone as fast as I could.
They had only been caught off guard earlier; they were still among the Academy’s top-tier mages. If they stayed fully alert they could handle anything that came.
That Abel guy…
I remembered the look on his face when I laid out the plan and asked for the scroll. He had looked ready to die, chewing his lip, yet because he owed me his life he handed it over without a word.
At least he had a shred of conscience.
A little faster.
I checked the sky, confirmed I hadn’t drifted off west, and ran harder.
Alone I was far quicker than when the four of us had been together.
Why the missing guards…
Reasoning it out:
Someone had deliberately planted artifacts inside the Academy.
Then the intruders had ridden teleportation artifacts in.
They had kidnapped the guards, brainwashed them with Contamination Magic and delirium spells, and set them loose.
Whatever their goal, if we hadn’t responded properly the damage could have been huge.
And the reason they made the guards move…
To make us mistake them for enemies and inflict serious injuries on our own people.
In that case…
Is the real goal just chaos?
Attack the Empire’s educational institution and sow greater confusion.
Why?
But that was only my speculation.
I shook my head.
All I had to do was my own job.
I wiped the stray thoughts away.
…
And the moment I cleared my mind, another thought always slipped in.
Is she asleep right now?
First and foremost, Eline came to mind.
Even when there was no logical connection, she kept surfacing.
I didn’t know why, but probably because I had seen her more than anyone else this past month.
Is that really all it is?
In the past I had spent far more time with friends, yet I had never thought of them this constantly.
“That’s what they call love, young master.”
Alfred’s words floated up.
Exams were coming, and two weeks after that the Holy Fire Festival; my schedule was packed, yet she still filled my head.
Uttuk—
My body stopped dead.
…
“What if…”
The words slipped out even though no one was around. After the Holy Fire Festival I would keep seeing her at school, but—
What happened after graduation?
I would return to the territory; Eline would enter the Magic Tower.
“…”
I had thought there was still plenty of time, but it was a future that would arrive eventually.
And then—
Let’s stop seeing each other.
I hadn’t meant to imagine it, yet the scene of Eline someday leaving me rose unbidden.
Why all of a sudden?
Truly out of nowhere.
Thinking about the future already…
Did I deceive her?
The image of those always-lively blue eyes wavering as she looked up at me after I told her the truth also appeared.
“Ah.”
When I lifted my head the surroundings looked darker.
Thinking the lamp had gone out I looked down; it was still shining.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Magic.
It was magic.
Not ordinary magic either—something that blurred vision itself and gnawed at the mind. Those damned thoughts just now… probably its influence.
Purification.
I cast the Purification magic I had studied with Eline; my vision cleared somewhat and the ache in my head eased.
Basrak—
Footsteps.
Thump.
My heart began to race.
Thump. Thump.
I took a deep breath and slowly turned my head.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Two men stood there.
Hooded robes, one hand raised, muttering something while staring at me.
They were far enough that I couldn’t see clearly, but that was magic aimed at me.
…
Intruders.
I cooled my head. I had to assess them.
Delirium… is it?
Creating illusions, stirring my mind even more.
Amplifying negative thoughts to make me lash out in rage, maybe.
Nasty bastards.
Ping—
Something came flying.
I clenched and opened my fist, throwing up a barrier.
Pang—!
I had misjudged.
I had assumed they would either go after Abel to reclaim the guard or hide deeper.
This way…
I never expected them to target me when I was almost at the lakeside.
No—if, as Professor Laen said, chaos was the goal, then targeting me made sense too…
Kang—
A second attack came.
I reflexively raised another barrier and barely blocked it, but there were two of them.
“…The one we saw in the daytime.”
“What do we do?”
I caught their muttered exchange.
“The one from daytime” almost certainly meant the ones who had cast the illusion of Rotwell and the guards.
“Now that we’ve been spotted, disguising as students will let us hide longer.”
Not a pleasant conversation.
In any case it meant they intended to subdue me as well.
Hmm.
If I’d known it would come to this I should have brought one more person.
Tadak!
Branches snapped and grass crushed underfoot; someone was closing in fast.
Stay calm.
Composure was vital.
The running footsteps grew quicker.
Three paces, two paces, then… one.
Now!
Shwiik—
I barely twisted aside, dodging the dagger, and a large male figure filled my vision.
“You’re using close combat against a mage?”
“Shut up.”
The man, astonishingly unflappable, immediately swung the dagger again.
Chwaak—
“Ugh.”
My clothes tore, but I managed to keep my balance and stay on my feet.
Who would have thought the self-defense techniques I learned just because I was from a knight family would come in handy.
“Nice moves.”
He offered a brief compliment and that was all.
Another attack came at once.
I threw up a barrier with one hand and barely stopped the physical strike, but—
Shuaaat—!
Behind me the other man deployed magic.
“Don’t worry. We won’t kill you.”
At the sound of wind slicing past the back of my head I raised another barrier.
Teong—
A heavy, tingling sensation ran through my body; at the same time my center of gravity wavered and my legs began to shake.
Ppeok—!
The instant the opening appeared a dull, powerful blow smashed into my side and I tumbled to the ground.
“…Ugh.”
A tightly coordinated combo they had clearly practiced more than once.
My ribs throbbed; a metallic scent rose from the arm the dagger had grazed.
This is the Academy?
I staggered upright only for the man in front to adjust his grip on the dagger.
“Give up now and it’ll hurt less.”
“…”
I slowly lifted my head and met his eyes.
“I’d rather not.”
“…Idiot.”
Looking thoroughly disgusted he charged again.
I stretched out one hand.
Even if I attacked, the man behind would just block everything with magic.
In that case.
I condensed mana as tightly as I could.
Recalling the familiar sensation of clenching and opening my fist, I pushed it to the limit.
“Holy Light.”
I detonated the light.
A blinding flash swallowed them; the whole forest flickered once.
“Keuk!”
“…You little shit!”
Both men flinched and covered their eyes at the same time.
The chance is now…!
I tried to form as many mana bullets as I could and counterattack, but—
“Pathetic.”
Sswaeek—
Another powerful sound cut the air.
Puk—
Something flew from a completely unexpected direction; I couldn’t react in time and went down again.
“…!!”
Magic from a perfect blind spot.
When I raised my head another man stepped out of the darkness.
A familiar face was lit by the lantern.
“…Rotwell-ssi?”
More precisely, the man disguised as Rotwell.
“Can’t even handle one little brat?”
“Sorry, Captain.”
The two men bowed their heads; the man disguised as Rotwell looked at them with contempt before turning back to me.
“Finish it quickly.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
My back throbbed. Something had stabbed me; it burned… and it hurt.
“Huu…”
I let out a short breath and the other two started walking toward me together.
My breathing was ragged. My mana was unstable.
Looks like I’m completely caught.
Had my complacency been the mistake?
If I gave up resisting right now, could I at least keep my life?
They would probably impersonate me and wander the Academy, but at least the pain would stop.
But—
…I don’t want that.
I forced myself back to my feet.
“Huh.”
The approaching men stopped short and spoke with irritation.
When I looked at the one they called captain, the Rotwell disguise had already peeled away, revealing his true face.
It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but half his face was burned and the other half was crossed by a scar.
“…Looks like you need some education.”
His real voice was low and rough, like metal scraping metal.
He strode forward; the other two closed in as well.
I clenched and opened one fist while watching them.
One of them.
I could definitely take down one.
Jeobeok.
Jeobeok.
They came closer; I formed a single mana bullet in a blind spot.
“It would be easier if you just surrendered quietly…”
Blood ran down my back and the throbbing intensified, but I ignored it.
If I held out as long as possible, if I resisted hard enough, the people who had seen the Holy Light would come running.
Of course, only if I lasted that long.
Tadak—
The man with the dagger charged again.
My head spun and my back screamed, but I had to catch the timing.
Three steps, two steps, one…
Damn it.
My head hurt so much I missed the timing—
Kwaang—
A thunderous roar exploded.
“Ugh…!”
I hadn’t cast any magic, yet an enormous boom shook the air.
Light flared in front of my eyes; I couldn’t see a thing.
Already hit…?
Thinking I had been struck by magic I tried to resist with everything I had—then the light faded and my vision returned.
“…?”
The man who had been charging fastest had vanished without a trace.
Before my brain could process it a groan reached my ears.
“Keueoeok…”
He was now embedded in a tree some distance away, moaning.
The one who looked like the captain and the mage both turned their heads in shock.
“What the…?”
They stared at me without understanding, but when they saw I looked just as clueless they turned away again.
“…”
At the far edge of the forest stood a single person.
Strangely, even though the distance should have been too dark to see, she was crystal clear to my eyes.
“…Huh.”
I had no idea why she was here, but—
Silver hair gleamed under the moonlight.
Even in the night her blue eyes shone vividly.
Eline.
Eline was standing at the edge of the forest.
An illusion?
I wondered if I was seeing things, yet when I blinked the hair fluttering in the wind was unmistakably Eline’s.
How is she here…
Before my question could be answered she slowly parted her lips.
In the silence her voice, low enough to freeze everyone present, was startlingly calm.