Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The Rune Clan's Secret Magic
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Their pursuers from Dawn's Blade and the Special Task Force were hot on their heels.
Since they were top-tier wizards on par with Jaun, shaking them off wasn't easy.
Jaun's original plan had been to recover the item, deploy smoke bombs, and blend into the crowd of civilians to escape.
But Natasha had gotten caught in a binding spell, and a series of other mishaps had thrown everything into chaos.
"You got that right. I never imagined they'd have this many people on standby."
"Should we split up?"
"Yeah, scattering for now sounds best."
"Okay. Contact me right away if anything happens."
"Got it!"
Flash!
With that, Jaun's crew quickly dispersed.
Dawn's Blade and the Association members chasing them hesitated for a moment but calmly divided their forces and gave pursuit once more.
Kim Deok-hyun from the Special Task Force went after the red-haired woman, Teresa, alone.
"Damn it. Out of everyone, it had to be this guy."
Teresa bit her lip as she glanced back at Kim Deok-hyun following her.
Among their pursuers, he was the trickiest and strongest alongside Yoo Ah-yeon.
If it had been anyone else, she might have considered turning around for a 1-on-1 fight, but against Kim Deok-hyun—one of the elite S-rank wizards—she'd be captured for sure.
"Get lost!"
Teresa unleashed thorns of flame backward while shouting. But Kim Deok-hyun casually swung his spear to block them.
"Tch!"
At this rate, the odds of getting caught by Kim Deok-hyun were high. Teresa channeled mana into the communication magic tool in her ear and spoke.
"I think I need to lure him there. Running like this will never end."
—Explain the situation.
Berth replied.
"Kim Deok-hyun's on me. Luckily, it's just him."
—Location?
"Heading to the northern factory."
—Got it. I'll provide backup. Hold out for 15 minutes.
Fifteen minutes. More than enough time to endure.
No—if she could just reach that spot, she might even be able to take down Kim Deok-hyun herself.
"You bastard. You're dead now."
Teresa fled for about six minutes like that. Kim Deok-hyun stuck close with tireless movements.
And they finally arrived in front of a certain factory.
"Whew. Made it at last."
Teresa let out a deep sigh.
"Berth. I'm at the factory. Looks like I'll have to fight soon."
—Understood. Don't push yourself. Hold for 10 minutes.
"Heh heh. You've walked right into it."
Teresa laughed. Kim Deok-hyun approached her slowly, spear at the ready.
"What's got you so excited?"
"This is my turf."
A powerful mass of mana began to form above Teresa's hand.
The mana wriggled in the air like a living creature before sinking into the ground.
Whoooong.
At the same time, the ground started to shake. Then, a massive magic circle appeared beneath Kim Deok-hyun's feet.
"That's why you've fallen into my trap, idiot!"
Translucent mana energy erupted from the ground and enveloped Kim Deok-hyun. It was an installed barrier. Kim Deok-hyun swung his spear at it in momentary surprise.
Boom!
But the barrier, which Teresa had meticulously prepared in advance, only suffered minor scratches and didn't budge.
Kim Deok-hyun gritted his teeth at the sight.
"...I thought you were manifestation-type. Auxiliary-type, huh?"
Things were going south.
He had known to some extent that the woman before him was one of Jaun's members, but since she had joined after the Jaun crew from 13 years ago, Kim Deok-hyun had no idea what abilities she possessed.
"This is a hassle."
There was a saying in the wizarding world:
"Don't chase a fleeing auxiliary-type wizard."
He had made the most basic mistake.
At that moment, small mana orbs manifested inside the barrier and began firing at him.
Kim Deok-hyun blocked the attacks with ease.
"What is this? You call this an attack?"
"Tch. As expected, this isn't enough to take you down?"
Teresa muttered as she eyed Kim Deok-hyun.
"So, how long are you planning to keep this up?"
"Hmph. Wait. My crew will arrive soon. Then I'll kill you."
"Is that so? Even better—we can catch you all at once."
"...Big talk."
At that moment.
Powerful mana surged from somewhere.
Kim Deok-hyun and Teresa simultaneously turned toward the source.
A man gripping a sword was leaping in from behind Kim Deok-hyun.
Teresa murmured quietly upon seeing his face.
"Lee Seo-jun?"
Lee Seo-jun closed in on her at high speed and swung his sword.
"Urk!"
Teresa threw herself aside to barely dodge the attack.
But since she was focused on maintaining the barrier, she couldn't mount a proper counter.
"...Lee Seo-jun. If you don't want to die, don't cross the line."
"Shut up! Do you have any idea how many people have died because of scum like you?!"
Lee Seo-jun glared at Teresa with fury-filled eyes and shouted.
Teresa looked at him and opened her mouth.
"A lot of people died—so what do you want us to do about it?"
"...You trash!"
Lee Seo-jun's form vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to Teresa. Light mana poured from his sword as he swung at her.
Whoosh!
But Teresa narrowly dodged Lee Seo-jun's attack this time as well.
She then casually manifested thorns of flame and shot them at him.
Boom!
"Urk!"
Lee Seo-jun used his protective aura to block the flame thorns up close. Still, he couldn't avoid some minor bruises.
Teresa coldly eyed her own arm.
She had thought she'd dodged the sword properly, but a deep gash had formed. A little later, and her arm would have been severed clean off.
"...Impressive. Hard to believe this is the skill of an 18-year-old."
Teresa murmured as she staunched the blood flowing from her arm with mana.
Then she glared at Lee Seo-jun with sharpened eyes.
"By the way, I told you not to cross the line."
"Lee Seo-jun. Stand down."
Kim Deok-hyun, who had been watching the fight, tried to stop him. But Lee Seo-jun didn't withdraw his sword's mana.
"Guess talk's not getting through. I didn't want to go this far against you, but circumstances leave me no choice."
Teresa newly manifested a massive, blazing flame thorn in one hand. She wasn't planning to kill him, but to beat him half to death so he couldn't come at her again.
It was then. She sensed another mana presence from somewhere.
"What is it?"
Feeling something off, she slowly scanned her surroundings. She could sense the mana, but oddly, she couldn't pinpoint its location.
It felt like it was enveloping her from all directions.
At that moment, intense light began emanating from the ground where she stood. Simultaneously, multiple beams of light rose from the floor and shot toward her body.
"Wh-what?!"
Teresa panicked at the sudden turn of events and tried to evade.
But the light beams swiftly grabbed her arms and legs, constricting her body.
"Urk! Wh-what is this!"
Teresa looked around. Kim Deok-hyun and Lee Seo-jun also seemed clueless about the magic, wearing confused expressions.
Which meant this magic belonged to someone unconnected to those two.
"...Who the hell?"
Then, the barrier confining Kim Deok-hyun began to fade.
Teresa's mana supply for maintaining it had been cut off by the unidentified magic.
Teresa exerted all her strength to break free from the binding spell.
"You damn—!"
But no matter what she did, the magic refused to release.
"What the hell is this?!"
Even she, an S-rank auxiliary-type wizard, had never encountered a binding spell like this.
Instinctively, she realized it.
This magic was different from ordinary spells.
And soon enough, she figured out its true nature.
Having trained in auxiliary magic her whole life, she recognized it.
"Urk!"
She made a quick judgment. She poured mana into the communication tool in her ear.
"Berth. Listen carefully. Contact's about to cut off. Don't come here."
—What happened? Did they catch you?
"Yeah. There's a guy among them using unusual magic. Make sure you remember this."
—...Unusual magic? What kind?
"It's the Rune Clan's secret magic."
—The Rune Clan?
Teresa closed her eyes and focused her mind.
She sensed the mana of the light beams binding her.
Soon, she traced the faint direction of mana connected to the beams.
She turned her head toward a hill. As expected, someone stood there.
"The guy's appearance: beard, and..."
Boom!
Immense mana exploded.
—Beard, and
Beeep!
Communication cut off.
Silence hung over Jaun's hideout. None of the remaining five Jaun members could speak.
Teresa had stayed calm until the very end and fulfilled her role.
Berth set the communication tool down on the desk with a heavy expression and spoke.
"Communication's cut."
"Damn it!"
Jin slammed the wall in rage.
A crack formed, and the wall caved in.
"She really got caught?"
"Seems like it. She said herself she was captured."
"...Teresa got captured."
"What about the others? Are the others okay?"
"From what she said, it sounds like they shook them off fine."
"That's a relief."
Jin let out a sigh of relief.
"By the way, that last thing Teresa said. The Rune Clan, right?"
"Yeah. That's right."
The Rune Clan.
A clan that had once made a huge name for itself with exceptional auxiliary abilities. Their barrier and sealing techniques were still subjects of study for many auxiliary wizards even now.
"Wasn't the Rune Clan wiped out? Definitely 17 years ago, by our own hands..."
"So why's the Rune Clan coming up now?"
"A survivor must be left."
"Did they approach us out of grudge?"
The silver-haired woman, Heather, murmured.
"Forget it. Don't worry about it. Plenty of people hold grudges against us anyway. Look at the Witch of Flame. That psycho's basically our stalker."
"Hey. Everyone quiet down. That's not the important thing right now."
Baek Eun-seong, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward.
"Didn't you hear what Teresa said at the end?"
"So what."
Baek Eun-seong narrowed his eyes.
"She said 'beard.'"
"So what about the beard."
Jin asked.
"The guy who stole the Elixir of Life in Incheon last time had a beard too. Isn't it the same person?"
Jin frowned at Baek Eun-seong's words.
"...No way."
They had succeeded in capturing Teresa, one of Jaun's members, but Kim Deok-hyun was still plagued by many doubts.
"So, some light beams appeared out of nowhere and bound Teresa?"
"Yeah."
Kim Deok-hyun gave a short reply to Jung Hyun-soo's question.
"And the one who used that magic vanished without a sound?"
"Right."
"Hmm. Pretty mysterious. To immobilize a wizard like Teresa, it must be some high-grade spell."
"That's what I mean. Someone who can handle magic like that should be well-known. No one comes to mind?"
"Maybe from Dawn's Blade? They participated this time too."
"Not them. I talked with Yoo Ah-yeon earlier."
"Really?"
Jung Hyun-soo nodded.
"But where's Lee Seo-jun?"
"No idea. Seems like the reporters dragged him off for interviews."
"Tch. Guy's always busy."
Kim Deok-hyun and Jung Hyun-soo walked around the venue before entering a massive vehicle under heavy guard.
Opening the back door revealed a red-haired woman bound in mana-suppressing restraints.
Her eyes, nose, mouth, ears—all sensory organs were sealed, so her face was hidden.
Kim Deok-hyun removed the restraint from her mouth.
"Teresa, how's it feel to be trussed up like this?"
At Kim Deok-hyun's words, one corner of Teresa's mouth curled up.
"Heh heh. Exciting. Feels good. Wish you'd torment me more like this."
"Crazy bitch."
"Or just kill me now."
"Funny. You think we'd let a psycho killer like you off easy? Who'd benefit from that?"
"...Come to think of it, getting dragged off like this ain't bad. You're taking me to 'that place' anyway, right? Heh heh. What an honor!"
Kim Deok-hyun sighed deeply at Teresa's response.
"Sigh. Can't reason with her. She's totally insane."
Kim Deok-hyun shook his head and resealed her mouth.
The incident was swiftly resolved. The other Jaun members had ultimately succeeded in looting the sword and escaping.
At first glance, it might seem like a failure, but there were two major gains.
One was recovering 'Hephaestus's Hammer,' one of Jaun's target items.
The other was the capture of Jaun member 'Teresa.'