Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: All Sorts of Variables (5)
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Zion looked back at Amy and mocked her.
“Hmph, serves you right. You should've known who not to mess with.”
“You coward! Untie me, now!”
“Don't worry. I'll let you go. But first, you get to watch a good show.”
Zion half-turned and gave an order to Genoger.
“Bring me Shirone's head.”
At that, Genoger climbed the spiderweb binding Shirone, a foul smile on his face.
Using his mimicry ability to control his center of gravity, he moved freely along the steel wires without a single scratch.
“Amy! Amy!”
Even with his life on the line, Shirone called out to Amy.
Seeing this made Zion even more delighted. He wanted to torment Amy right in front of Shirone, but his desire to possess Ataraxia quickly was just as strong.
*Wait, but where is Arius?*
The stage was perfectly set; it was time for him to appear.
A slight unease crept in, but it made no sense for a Scale Mage who handled time and space to be late for an appointment. He would probably appear in a flash at the last moment.
*Tch, making a scene with all this unnecessary drama. Always so full of himself.*
It wasn't like he didn't know his personality from the start. Arius had his professional pride, so he would get the job done right, no matter what.
Zion scanned the surroundings one last time and made a throat-slitting gesture.
Genoger, who was pressing down on Shirone, stuck out his tongue and flicked it as if to lick his face. But Shirone didn't even look at him, shouting to Amy with all his might.
“Amy! Run!”
“Kekeke, how pitiful. But you're going to die anyway.”
Genoger spread his arms and legs wide, positioning himself as if to crush Shirone. A popping sound came from his side, and two new arms emerged from inside his collar.
Seeing this, Shirone's face turned pale.
“Keke, what? Is it disgusting? But I can make up to six arms.”
With his two new arms, Genoger pulled a steel wire from his mouth. Then, with practiced skill, he wrapped it once around Shirone's neck.
“It'll be painless. I'm the best in the business.”
Shirone sensed death and closed his eyes. It seemed his short 18 years of life were about to end here. But he couldn't die like this. He shouted with all his strength.
“Amy! Th—!”
“Snip!”
Before Shirone could finish his words, Genoger laughed bizarrely and pulled the steel wire with both hands. The wire dug into Shirone's skin, creating a thin, ring-like line on his neck.
At the same time, a crackling sound of electricity came from behind Genoger. It was the distinct noise of Flicker magic, the trademark of a Scale Mage.
*Of course.*
Zion clicked his tongue at Arius's showboating. In any case, his timing was impeccable, so there was no reason to be angry.
“Huh?”
A look of confusion flickered in Zion's eyes.
It wasn't Arius. Or was it? His face was covered by a mask, making it impossible to identify him.
“What's with that getup?”
The masked figure didn't answer, rolling across the floor to block the critical path to Reina and Amy. Just from the position he took upon appearing, it was clear he wasn't an ally.
*It's not Arius? Then where is that bastard? Shirone is already dead...*
Zion hurriedly turned his head toward Genoger. He was wearing his usual bizarre smile, but his expression was subtly distorted in a way that was impossible in reality.
Shirone, too, had his eyes wide open, facing Amy. And the most important thing, the steel wire... was slightly embedded in Shirone's skin, frozen and unmoving.
At that moment, the crackling sound of Flicker magic was heard again.
Arius appeared in the space, immediately rolling on the floor and stopping beside Zion. He was drenched in sweat, revealing his recent exertion.
“Damn it! Am I late?”
Zion, unable to contain his irritation, shouted.
“What! What happened? Who is that guy?”
“I don't know. He's clearly an Unlocker of time magic. I tried to shake him off, but he kept disturbing my coordinates...”
Within the spatiotemporal field, the two had attempted over 700 Flickers. The masked figure had struggled as well, but in the end, he was the one who was late.
*Damn it. The matchup is the worst.*
To a space specialist, a time specialist was a natural enemy. No, the same was true in reverse.
A relationship like fire and water, where each repelled the other.
Nevertheless, the fact that he arrived first meant the masked figure's skill was among the highest of all Scale Mages.
*Who the hell is he? With that level of skill, he should be a mage I know.*
And that was why he wore a mask.
The reason for covering his entire face must be a measure to completely hide his identity. After all, once you reach that level, you can substitute vision with the Spirit Zone.
A few possible individuals came to Arius's mind. But none of them had any plausible reason to stand in his way in this situation.
Unable to hold back, Zion swung the blade of his gauntlet and approached Shirone.
“Tch! Fine! I'll take care of it myself!”
“Do not approach!”
Zion flinched and stopped in his tracks.
Naturally arrogant, he was more annoyed at being yelled at than relieved to be out of danger.
“What's wrong? They can't move anyway.”
“That is a time field, a specialty of time-type Unlockers. Simply put, it's a Slow spell converted into a detached form.”
“Detached form? Speak in a way I can understand.”
Arius found Zion pathetic, but there was nothing he could do.
Considering a fight might break out, he had to explain the key points while facing the masked man.
He didn't expect much from Zion's combat prowess, but the Arman could be helpful depending on how it was used.
“If you enter the field, Your Highness will end up like that too.”
Zion observed Shirone and Genoger, frozen in time.
To be in such a state with an enemy right before you was a terrifying thought.
“Just don't get close. The moment you touch it, anyone will suffer the same fate.”
“Then what if that bastard makes the first move?”
“That's also impossible. If the caster enters the detached Spirit Zone, the detachment is released. In other words, time will resume. That masked man has no choice but to maintain this state.”
Without letting his guard down against the masked man, Arius discreetly examined the field.
The radius was smaller than expected. But since he was clearly a time-type specialist, the time distortion had to be immense.
*Huh?*
Arius sensed something strange and stared intently at the time field. More precisely, at Genoger and Shirone trapped within it.
*They're moving...?*
Genoger's arm was moving.
Of course, it was at a level that even he, with his extremely refined senses, couldn't confirm visually, but the 'feeling' that it was moving was definitely there.
*What in the world is going on?*
Given the opponent's skill he had witnessed during their Flicker chase, an extreme time distortion should have been applied.
But at this rate, visible movement could likely be confirmed after only about an hour.
*If I calculate the time it takes to dive into the first stage of the Root Consciousness...*
Arius swallowed dryly.
It wasn't over yet.
Since the brain wasn't completely separated from the body, there would be pressure from the unconscious, but in any case, Shirone had received a shock close to death.
Moreover, by the time he reached the first stage, Shirone's condition would worsen, so if they could seize the advantage, they had every chance of winning.
“Your Highness, I'm opening a Door.”
“What? Now?”
“There's still a chance. But unfortunately, I'll need to borrow some of your power. Please follow me as soon as I go in.”
Arius activated Door magic outside the field. His Spirit Zone materialized, creating a two-meter-tall oval sphere.
As Arius jumped in, Zion gnashed his teeth in frustration.
But there was no time to hesitate. He didn't want to deal with that masked man here anyway.
“Damn it! What a pain!”
Zion retracted his tentacles and threw himself inside the Door.
Only then did the masked man uncoil from his crouched position and stand up. After a moment's thought, he ran toward the Door without looking back.
“Wait!”
The masked man stopped in front of the Door and looked back at Amy.
“Take me with you! It's like the gate to heaven, right? I've been there before. I can help save Shirone.”
The masked man spoke for the first time.
“How do you plan to enter in that state?”
“W-well... if you untie this...”
“Ignite.”
“What?”
Amy stared at the masked man with surprised eyes.
“Don't you know Ignite? Aren't you a flame mage? Highly adhesive spiderwebs are weak to fire. You could have burned them off with flame magic and escaped.”
“Ah...”
Amy had a blank expression. Looking back, she couldn't understand why she hadn't thought of it.
Was it because the situation was urgent?
That was certainly part of it. But to be precise, she hadn't managed to pull the idea from her subconscious.
The flames of the Spirit Zone don't burn the mage, but the fire created when burning the spiderwebs does.
That cost-benefit analysis had suppressed the idea. Even though Shirone was dying.
*Why did I...*
Amy's eyes welled with tears as she lowered her head.
“There's no need to blame yourself. It's difficult to react in these situations without training. You have too little experience. Following me is dangerous. It won't take long. Wait here.”
“No! I'm going with you!”
Amy shouted, her eyes filled with fierce determination. If she let the masked man go alone, she felt she would regret it for the rest of her life.
*It's not that I'm scared! It's not because I'm afraid of some fire!*
She really hadn't thought of it. But Shirone... he would have.
Maybe the last thing he was trying to say was 'Ignite'. Even when he was about to die, he was trying to say something to save her...
*Shirone! I'll save you, I swear!*
She cast Fire Mist, and flames shot up the spiderwebs. Just as the masked man had said, they burned away easily. Amy squeezed her eyes shut, not caring if her face was ruined.
At that moment, the heat suddenly vanished.
When she opened her eyes, the masked man was standing there, having caught the burning webs in mid-air and thrown them aside. The webs burned up and disappeared quickly, like a magician's string.
“H-how...?”
The masked man sighed and knelt before Amy.
“Foolish. Even if you had escaped, the outcome would not have changed. Your opponents aren't idiots; it would only have hastened Shirone's death.”
Amy stood up immediately.
This man was truly strong. And even now, he wasn't giving up and was trying to do something.
“Let me go. No, now I'll go even if I have to go alone.”
“Amy! Me too, I'm going too! Untie me!”
Reina, stuck high up, shouted as she kicked her ankles.
Amy cast Ignite between her fingers and asked.
“Will you be okay? It's going to be hot.”
“I'm burning up more on the inside right now! Hurry! The tunnel might close.”
Amy chuckled and enlarged the flame between her thumb and forefinger.
Even a little heat would set it ablaze instantly, but if she fell due to gravity, she might not get severely burned.
But before she could cast the spell, the spiderweb split vertically, and Reina fell.
Amy stared at the masked man, bewildered. Who was this person who had cut just the web with a simple Wind Cutter? He was an expert she could never have met through her own connections.
Reina landed nimbly and approached Amy.
She too looked at the masked man with curiosity. He didn't seem like a bad person, but she didn't let down her guard since his identity was unknown.
The masked man checked the state of the Door. An energy field was radiating strongly from the edge of the space. It was a sign that its lifespan was coming to an end.