Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Pile of Ashes
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The people who had been prostrated slowly raised their heads at the sudden silence.
It was because the magic that had been exploding nonstop amid constant shouts had come to an abrupt halt.
Wondering if it was over, they looked around, but everything was still the same.
“W-Why is everyone doing that?”
“Lord Ian’s magic just stopped Wesley.”
“What’s that? Good job! Lord Ian! Give it your all!”
“Hey, stop that witch somehow! Please!”
“What are you all doing? Why are you just standing there staring?”
“Jeyrat! Magic Department!”
“Get behind Lord Ian to protect His Highness Gail!”
Ordinary people, unaware of what had gone wrong, began shouting loudly.
But even so, the mages and guards remained frozen like statues, unable to move easily.
‘Lord Ian’s magic just worked on him now?’
‘It left an impression at the New Year’s banquet, but to that extent?’
‘No, the opponent right now is Lady Wesley.’
‘Could this be one of Lady Wesley’s illusion spells, by any chance?’
A rookie mage who had just joined the department surpassing the Magic Department Minister who had risen to the youngest court count position?
It couldn’t be.
It was as absurd as a newborn infant knocking down a seasoned warrior in the training grounds.
“Ian, it worked great! Hey, well done!”
“…Um, Lord Romandro.”
“Yeah? Why, why?”
“You’d better stay away from me.”
Romandro, who had been happily grabbing and shaking Ian’s arm, froze.
Afraid for his life, yet being told to back off?
Ian silently nodded toward Wesley with his chin.
Her gaze had completely shifted from Gail to Ian.
“Eek! Oh dear, heavens! Ian, be careful, be careful!”
Flustered and at a loss, Romandro stumbled backward and practically fled on all fours.
A guard helped him up, and Ian calmly surveyed his surroundings.
Everyone was still staring at him in a daze.
‘It clearly worked with Forbidden Magic. It’s too early to gauge the intensity of his mana.’
He had been debating whether to help Gail or not, but now there was no choice.
If he was the only one who could do it, he had no option but to succeed.
There was nothing more foolish than showing a passive attitude here.
It would be best to use this as a stepping stone to firmly imprint his presence.
“Ian! Get your head straight.”
The first to approach Ian was Nakina.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and leaned down slightly.
Matching her gaze with Ian’s, she glared at Wesley together with him.
“It seems like you’re the only one who can land an effective hit right here. The captains will arrive soon, so prioritize His Highness Gail’s safety until then. Have you ever used attack magic? Or defense magic?”
“…No, but I’ll make it work.”
“Perfect answer. What spells do you know?”
“None of those either, but if you help me, I’ll make it work.”
“Even the attitude is flawless. Good.”
Numerous spell formulas flashed through his mind, but Ian lightly shook his head and replied that he didn’t know.
“Ian.”
It was Wesley’s call.
She was smiling brightly as if amazed.
Her snow-white skin had veins bulging out, making it hard to tell she was smiling.
“Oh my, so that’s it. I see now.”
Everyone tensed and held their breath at the sight of the woman muttering like a madwoman.
But Ian could read her intent.
From the mana sphere attack just now, she had realized Ian was a product of Forbidden Magic.
That he was someone who hadn’t existed in this world, and thus had been a constant thorn in her side.
“Wesley. Every word you speak, every step you take, is creating sins.”
“You were the one in Karenna too, weren’t you?”
The flow of mana grew increasingly fierce.
The disheveled woman’s hair slowly fluttered, and soon flames ignited at her fingertips.
The heat was so intense that inhaling it felt like it would burn their throats and lungs, so everyone held their breath.
“And that’s how Gail found out. Ahh. Now I understand what happened. Ian. You were the problem all along.”
As Wesley’s momentum turned ominous, Nakina unleashed her mana.
It was to teach him the formula with light.
Ziiing! Ziiing!
Magic was akin to a kind of scholarship, so until mastery, one had no choice but to go through each activation process step by step.
Once internalized and engraved in the mind, it could be done effortlessly, of course.
But even so, the results varied immensely depending on how vividly one visualized the image, making it not difficult to rank mages’ talents.
“Nakina, no explosions!”
At Tommy’s shout, Nakina nodded.
This was the lobby of the Grand Council hall.
If they couldn’t lure the target outside, a strong impact could backfire.
So they needed to use magic to bind and subdue the opponent.
「Binding」
It was one of the basic spells usable on-site, yet a complex pattern appeared in front of Nakina’s body.
The magic circle glowed in concentric rings, with dozens of activation formulas whirling around it chaotically.
“Ian! Read it properly! Then it’ll be like this!”
Geometric shapes emerged from the floor where Nakina stood.
It was as if lightning had shattered into pieces.
The magic quickly climbed the walls and spread to the ceiling.
And soon, it located the target and mercilessly descended around her.
Kwachik! Kwaaang!
Pillar of light plunged down in front of and behind Wesley, to her left and right.
Her hair fluttered once more from the impact.
No fear was visible on her clearly exposed face.
She had already staked her life to summon Forbidden Magic.
“Ian, did you see? Can you do it?”
It was a very brief moment.
The time from Nakina unleashing her mana to activating the spell was merely a few seconds.
The other mages watching from the side jeered and shouted.
“Nakina, you joking? How’s he supposed to do it after seeing it once!”
“Yeah, even we’d struggle with that! Mana strength and application are different things. Anyway.”
“Don’t do that, just keep blasting mana at her!”
“Hold her attention until the captains come!”
“That guy doesn’t even read the room when talking shit.”
“Snap out of it! Don’t waste effort!”
“You fucking bastards, all shut your mouths! You’re distracting me! I’ll split your heads open.”
Unable to take it anymore, Nakina bellowed, and the mages bit their lips like they’d eaten honey and fallen silent.
It was a moment when they should be pooling their strength, yet they didn’t know why everyone was acting up.
Nakina leisurely eyed Wesley passing through the pillars of light.
‘As expected, it didn’t work.’
Normally, the Binding spell restricted the opponent’s range with the mana flowing between the pillars.
But Wesley was approaching without any restriction.
Nakina anxiously turned to Ian.
“I saw it well, Senior Nakina.”
“…Ah.”
Ian was smiling.
More than any words, his single smile said it all.
That he was confident, that he had read all the formulas she had just shown.
Before Nakina could say anything, Ian activated the magic.
Ziiing. Ziiing.
Paaaat!
Golden Eyes like a lion’s.
His pupils dilated, and mana exploded from his entire body.
Ian transposed the formulas Nakina had shown directly into his mind and activated them without the process.
Light began seeping from the gaps in the marble floor where he stood.
“Th-This is……”
“Dodge! Everyone, get away!”
“C-Crazy. He’s crazy.”
The power of mana pressing down like gravity.
As cracks formed in the marble, the light grew fiercer.
Soon, everything around him—the walls, ceiling, and all adjoining surfaces—became engulfed in light.
Kwaaang! Kwang!
Dozens, hundreds of light beams falling from the ceiling.
Large and small, they enveloped Wesley without error.
The black smoke she emitted vanished powerlessly each time Ian’s magic struck.
As the gaps slowly filled, Wesley screamed, straining to shatter the magic.
“Ian, are you going to interfere to the end?! You’re also a product of Forbidden—”
Kwaang!
“It would be best if you stayed silent. Wesley. As I said before, every word you speak keeps piling up sins. Wouldn’t silence be better for your well-being?”
As she tried to shout the secret of Forbidden Magic, Ian unhesitatingly dropped a beam onto her head.
Wesley lightly swatted it away with her hand, but still.
Nakina watched, momentarily pondering which part to be amazed by.
‘How many beams of light are falling, exactly? And he’s using Binding magic as attack magic. Is this…….’
Possible?
No matter how transcendent magic was, didn’t it still have common-sense boundaries?
Not just Nakina, but the other mages too lost themselves watching the beams pouring toward Wesley.
Kwaang! Kwang!
“Like shooting stars……”
She didn’t know who muttered it, but those around felt it was a fitting metaphor.
Watching a meteor shower in broad daylight, in the half-open lobby.
“…B-But, you know.”
Romandro was likewise flat on the floor watching it.
He tugged at a guard’s collar and whispered.
“Why is Wesley just standing there?”
From her initial appearance until now, she had threatened but hadn’t really counterattacked.
She had simply tried to get inside—to meet Gail precisely.
Even when the mages attacked in unison, she had just ignored them.
‘No counterattack.’
Ian felt the same.
Unlike the others’ neutralized magic, his was affecting Wesley.
The fact that she kept swatting away the light with her hands was proof.
“Hey, isn’t something off with Lady Wesley?”
“Yeah. The heat’s getting hotter, and I don’t know if this is the right way to put it, but……”
“It feels like my body’s burning.”
“Y-Yeah. Right, that’s how it feels.”
Her skin was blistering and peeling in the blazing heat.
To the point where it felt like she was burning her own life to move.
Breathing raggedly, she soon looked at Gail.
The man’s eyes were filled with disgust, but a smile rose on the woman’s face.
“Gail.”
Ziiing! Ziiing!
Peureng! Peong!
At that moment, Wesley called Gail’s name and unleashed her mana to its maximum.
The immense explosive force shattered Ian’s Binding magic beams powerlessly.
She rushed to Gail in an instant and wrapped her arms around his nape.
“Your Highness Gail!”
“Attack! Hurry!”
“Pry her off! Pry that witch off!”
Everyone was shocked briefly, then reached full alarm.
Wesley had grabbed the back of Gail’s head, frozen in surprise, and kissed him.
“Gail. Did you think I’d kill you?”
“Crazy……”
“Death wouldn’t let you know my pain.”
Only then did Ian realize.
Wesley hadn’t broken through the palace’s forces with Forbidden Magic to see Gail’s blood.
She intended to curse him with eternal torment.
She had probably come here to tell him that directly.
“Gail, you—thus—, forever—.”
Black smoke rose around Wesley.
His head grew dizzy, and her curse came through fragmented.
But Gail seemed to hear it clearly; his eyes widened, and he spat curses unfit for his dignity.
“You mad bitch!”
He tried to pierce her nape with his sword in one thrust.
But Wesley’s form had already turned to smoke and vanished, leaving only hot ashes swirling around.