Why Are You Here From There
A fantasy world boasting an exceptionally high level of civilization, Rondel. Yet even in this world, several areas still exist that humans are not permitted to set foot in.
“The Sea of Storms, known as the embodiment of chaos at the very center of the world.”
“The Forbidden Forest, an area where even the elves of the Elysia Union cannot enter.”
“The Demon Pit of Triton Continent, the land of the yellow races that Rondel calls Asia.”
“The underground labyrinth beneath the eternal permafrost of the northern regions of the Brigham Empire.”
These are the forbidden zones that represent Rondel. There are also conditional entry zones such as the Bloodsucking Desert, the Valley of Souls, and the Poisoned Swamp. But if I were to pick the most famous one in the world, anyone would hesitate no more and choose this place without a second thought. Right, the fertile yet vast land of Dragon Land that every nation on Defteron Continent covets.
Dragon Land, which retains its original form from Rondel, is in fact the land of the dragon race that claims to be the conductor of the world. Many nations that once marched boldly to conquer Dragon Land and met utter destruction. Among them was the Kalbados Empire, which once shared power with the Brigham Empire. It is said that this powerful nation fell before the wrath of the dragon race in less than half a day. And the nation born from the survivors of the fallen Kalbados Empire is now the Lheinhatz Kingdom and the Croisen Empire. Currently, the Croisen Empire is the only nation facing the boundary of Dragon Land. Could it be because of the lessons from the past? They clearly demarcate the border on the Dragon Land side out of fear. Thanks to that, many secret organizations have made their hidden bases along the boundary between Dragon Land and the Croisen Empire, whether people know it or not. Among them was the man who kidnapped Ibril. “What the hell is this?” The white man frowned as he looked at the black man lowering Ibril. “Damn it! I had no choice!” “No, you could just cut her throat right there. Why bring her all the way here and make the job more troublesome?” “If that was the case, would we be doing this?” “What?” “Go check for yourself.” Ibril appeared dazed from the drugs, looking fragile as if she would collapse from the slightest touch. The white man, who had casually received the sword from the black man, stared at the sword and Ibril alternately, then seemed to make up his mind and swung the sword he held with great force. The sharply gleaming blade seemed ready to take her neck at any moment. —Kwaaaang! “Kuk! What?!” But the sword did not reach her and bounced far away. “You see? This girl is protected from something. Not only that, but because of Aura Master Arsia Kline, the Count, it was impossible to bring her without pulling her out.” Upon hearing that, the white man immediately cast a spell without picking up the sword. A 6-circle Ice Missile, completed at the tip of his hand, rushed toward Ibril. —Kwaaaang! “Such crazy people.” But the result was the same. Magic loses power the farther the caster is from the target. Yet even at almost zero distance, it had no effect. It means she is protected by a defense barrier of at least 7 circles or higher. “Well, there’s no helping it. Come out.” The white man extended his hand, full of rings, toward the girl. The rings on his hand were each artifacts containing 7-circle magic. “Flame Blast. Energy Blast. Assassin.” And he poured 7-circle magic one after another toward Ibril. “Such crazy people……” But the defense barrier protecting her held firm, guarding the target. Although attacking magic from small accessory artifacts has the drawback of somewhat reduced power, it was not enough to diminish the might of 7-circle magic. Yet even after receiving continuous 7-circle magic, she was fine? The answer was simple. “8-circle Rare Shield.” “What?” An 8-circle artifact that starts trading at the minimum unit of a thousand. Even if one is an 8-circle magician, the production rate is low, and such an 8-circle artifact is something that leaders of various countries might possess. Placing something like that on a commoner girl. “How did you make her take the drugs?” “It only blocks attacks that lead to death. I thought drugs that put her to sleep or induce anesthesia might work.” “The method of continuously injecting drugs up to the full amount?” “It didn’t work.” “Damn. It seems they linked this with various things on the 8-circle artifact.” It feels like facing the Force Armor of a Vanguard. Of course, considering defense and price, it is a system level that is practically unsellable, but still. “Why make the artifact so complicated? It would be easier if it was all defense.” “It has something to do with the Saintess Gyeongyeon. You can’t receive help from artifacts while carrying out mercenary activities.” “I see. Tch.” “Was the young lady’s sponsor the Duke Lawrence? That guy’s not in his right mind either.” “Maybe he predicted this situation.” The black man thought for a moment, then picked up Ibril. “Well, there’s no helping it.” “What do you mean?” “Throw her into the crater of the Kant Volcano. No matter how great 8-circle magic is, it won’t protect the target forever.” “Hmm, not a bad idea.” People who make a living off of human lives showed no mercy even to the young girl. With that, the two headed toward the volcano located at the entrance of Dragon Land. Since they could use a spatial movement artifact, they arrived quickly. —Tweeiii! Lava flowed like tears while black smoke covered the sky in a high-temperature volcanic zone. The two looked down at the boiling lava and conversed. “We must abandon this base. We’ll each operate for six months and meet at Base B afterward.” “No choice. Got it.” And Haelongde looked at Ibril expressionlessly and threw her toward the boiling lava. “Eh?” But something was off. Ibril, who should have been free-falling toward the lava in the crater, was floating in mid-air. “……” The two men looked dazed. And after a moment. “Ugh!” The white man, with a face twisted in irritation, used magic to throw Ibril into the lava. —Ting! However, the Rare Shield that appeared again only deflected the attack. “Haha, interesting. Interesting.” It doesn’t work either, doesn’t work either. The killer duo famous for reliable work in the underworld seemed like they had become fools. Was I feeling like I was being laughed at? “The Duke Lawrence is going to make a fortune. If you sell this system, the kings of various countries will shout that they want it.” “That’s right…… haha, ha…… ha. Eek! Damn it!” It felt like facing an indestructible structure in a game. The two had to think hard. This artifact system must not be perfect. After all, the Duke Lawrence wasn’t a 7-circle grand magician. Although the 8-circle artifact (Rare Shield) could be bought with money, it would be hard to imagine he could build a system to perfectly control the 8-circle artifact. Judging only by the functions shown so far, it is a defense system close to perfect, but there is no perfect magic in this world. So there must be a gap. But the problem was that a way to exploit that gap did not easily come to mind. “There’s only one way. Keep hitting until the artifact’s magic runs out.” “Such a crude method doesn’t suit my taste, but since there’s no other way…” It could run out in one minute, ten minutes, or one hour. It was an unreasonable attack that didn’t suit the killer profession, but there was no choice. The black man pulled out a Vanguard Force Sword, and the white man took out a Magic Staff. “Idiots. Why not try mental attack? Defense magic generated by artifacts is vulnerable to mental attacks.” “Really? I’ve never heard that.” “Of course, low-level mental attacks won’t work. But with 6-circle or higher magic, it should work to some extent.” A new plan. Although not certain, it was worth trying. After all, there was no loss. “How did this kind of circus happen?” “Hey……” “Why?” “Who are you talking to?” The white man, realizing that the mental magic was cast by someone other than his colleague, widened his eyes and turned his head abruptly. There was a man in a bright red suit with long eyelashes and mouth corners torn in clown makeup. Like a pierrot floating in mid-air and waving at him as if enjoying the show. “Hello, friend.” “W-what? Who are you?” “A passing spiritist.” Sensing that something had gone wrong upon the appearance of the man radiating madness, the white magician shouted to his black colleague. “Attack!” While his colleague attacked the pierrot, the white magician tried to cast magic. “W-what are you doing?” “Eh?” But for some reason, his colleague did not move, and when the startled man placed his hand on his colleague’s shoulder, the black man began to flow down like melting ice. “Uwaah!” The man screamed in surprise. And when he turned his head, Ibril, who had been floating in mid-air until moments ago, was nowhere to be seen, and a white man was crouching like a fetus instead of her. It was a familiar figure. It was none other than himself. “What is this?” The startled white magician trembled. But why did the voice sound odd? When he looked down, his chest was protruding, and the shadow at his feet was unusually small. Most importantly, the clothes he was wearing were not the ones he had worn until just now, but the ones belonging to the kidnapped Ibril. The man, being a magician, understood the situation. “Psychic contamination?” “Correct!” His gaze turned to the pierrot swimming in mid-air. Then the pierrot’s appearance twisted grotesquely and transformed into a goblin monster. “So which one is the real one?” “What?” “So where from is the real one?” “……” “Are you a real person? Or perhaps the fake in the illusion I created?” The words made one’s mind dizzy just by listening. The magician threw off his fear and used the 7-circle magic embedded in the artifact toward the transformed pierrot. “Why?” But the magic did not activate. No, magic power originating from magic was not felt anywhere around him before that. “Ah……” I didn’t know what was what. And the monster pierrot’s question continued. “Who are you?” “Who am I?” However, the magician could not answer. His mind was blank. “Eh?” His eyes, which had been calculating, became hazy, losing focus. Soon the world darkened as if the play had ended. “Who am I?” The magician sat on the ground like a marionette with its strings cut, ending with those words. * * * After Ibril’s kidnapping, to conduct a full-scale search, she followed the trail of the kidnappers and trailed them. Despite the sufficient measures taken, it was not fast, but they could gradually pursue the culprits. And the place they arrived at was a canyon located on the boundary between the Croisen Empire and Dragon Land. “This is quite a surprise.” “Nice to meet you again, Your Grace.” But there, I met an unexpected person. [Gregory Hayden / Aura Master] Relationship: Hostile / Neutral Status: Friendly / Tense These were the Blue Moon assassins who had intruded into my territory to kill Ibril just the other day. “You can’t be the culprits.” “We have captured the culprits who kidnapped Ibril. Over here.” When he turned his gaze, a small hut came into view, and in front of it, two men drooling with loose reins were seen. Next to the two men stood a mental-type spiritualist Auguste Knox dressed in a bright red suit, and upon making eye contact with me, he flinched in surprise and avoided his gaze. Having roughly understood the situation, I let out a sigh of relief and asked. “What about Ibril?” “She is resting inside the hut. She has no injuries and is safe. Thanks to Your Grace’s excellent handling.” With Arsia, I strode toward the hut. And after a moment, I found Ibril sleeping peacefully with a relaxed expression. “We have not confirmed the whereabouts of the culprits’ backer. They seem to have hired the two using a substitute.” That made sense. If they were not idiots, they would not have left a tail after committing such bold acts. But I was more concerned about the two people than the culprits. How did they know to help me? Was their action to accept my previous suggestion? “Actually, our base is here too.” “Ah, I see. Ibril’s luck was quite good.” Would I believe those words? I knew the two were not culprits, but if they were not idiots, it was unthinkable that this situation was a simple coincidence.