Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Frontier (1)
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The expansion of space was swift.
Izaya cloaked his fist in aura, Braha summoned an earth spirit, and Ramu crossed his twin swords.
Tsssss-
As the three forces intertwined, space twisted.
Siegfried confirmed that the spatial expansion traced a curve at one point.
The three possessed skills capable of interfering with space.
But the current expansion was merely expanding.
Siegfried lightly rotated his right hand clockwise. Space began to warp.
"What the hell is that guy?!"
Ramu exclaimed in shock as he watched his twin swords bend unnaturally.
There were many spells that interfered with space, but bending thick metal like this was something he'd never encountered before.
Izaya muttered.
"No way... Spatial Siegfried?"
Braha and Ramu frowned upon hearing the mutter.
Indeed.
He couldn't be certain, but no one else in the Kingdom of Celdam wielded space magic this extraordinary besides Siegfried.
A world-renowned battle mage. And once hailed as the pinnacle of talent, though now somewhat overshadowed—a grand mage.
"Looks like it."
Bright golden blond hair, white skin, handsome features.
A young man whose appearance rivaled even elves—there was no one but Siegfried.
Ramu clicked his tongue and unleashed his aura.
Space forcibly expanded, allowing him to retrieve his twin swords before they snapped.
"I don't know why this guy's blocking us!"
Braha wasn't in a good mood.
A tree spirit, Pino, was summoned. From the barren ground, a thick tree trunk erupted with a boom-.
"I'm pretty pissed off right now!"
Siegfried grinned sinisterly at the tree trunk surging upward, filling the alley. He swept his left hand sideways, and the trunk vanished as if by magic.
But it was a feint.
As the trunk disappeared, Izaya had already leaped right in front of him. He drew a deep breath and swung his fist.
Bang!!
An explosion erupted the moment the fist struck empty air.
But Siegfried was nowhere to be seen.
"Behind you!"
Braha's voice came from below.
Izaya turned, and there stood Siegfried, his hands moving in a bizarre form.
"Not on my watch!"
Ramu kicked off the building's outer wall and leaped upward swiftly.
His aura-infused twin swords surged toward the enemy.
"That won't work on this side either."
But they were blocked by a single sword.
Ramu's eyes widened. He looked at the figure blocking his path.
A boy. His face was hidden by a mask, but judging by his build, he was far too small to stand in Ramu's way.
The boy—Jamie—flashed a sly smile and spoke.
"Scud."
A blue light seeped into the magic sword Scud.
It was his first time using it in real combat, but knowing the spell's nature made deploying it perfectly no difficult task.
Jamie's form vanished.
Not teleportation.
Scud's ability was exactly as its name implied.
It allowed the caster to move at extreme speeds, as if sprinting.
On top of that, the spell Jamie cast amplified the speed even further.
Bam!
Ramu instinctively defended against the killing intent.
A heavy impact.
He'd barely climbed up, only to fall back down.
At that moment, a massive flower bloomed on the ground. It resembled a sunflower, its center filled with lush, fluffy grass that looked incredibly soft.
It was created by Braha using the flower spirit Fluffy's power. Ramu fell into it.
'An elf.'
Jamie glanced at Braha.
Her use of various spirits confirmed it once more—she was an elf.
Elves, born with an affinity for nature unmatched by humans, commanded all spirits except those of 'light' and 'darkness'.
Two humans and one elf. A peculiar yet intriguing combination.
Crackkk-
Then, an unpleasant sound came from above.
Looking up, Siegfried was distorting Izaya's body—space itself—along with it.
"Gaaahhh!"
"You bastard!"
Braha urgently summoned both the fire spirit and lightning spirit, renowned for their offensive prowess.
"Pathetic worms."
Siegfried's smile vanished.
For a moment, it felt as if space itself had frozen.
"Touching my property and expecting to live was your first mistake."
Spatial Siegfried.
Whatever magical enlightenment he'd attained was unknown, but the spell he was about to unleash wasn't something even easily witnessed in the Mythic Era.
Space was crushed.
A blade of gravity slamming down from the heavens, targeting only the foe.
The pinnacle of space magic!
Everything within the space Siegfried designated would vanish.
Ting-
The bell rang at that moment.
All mana began to disperse.
Jamie descended straight to the ground amid the sudden phenomenon. Maintaining flight while mana scattered was difficult.
Looking up, Siegfried appeared unfazed. It must be related to his magical enlightenment.
"That's more like it."
The voice came from behind.
"I came because something seemed off, and we almost had a disaster?"
"Han!"
Braha called out brightly to the voice's owner.
Jamie turned. There stood a black-haired man in unusual attire, his skin slightly yellowish—an unfamiliar race.
He held a staff adorned with several bells.
"Good thing Han showed up. Whew—I really thought we were goners. Right, boss?"
The one called boss was Izaya, who had nearly been torn from space by Siegfried moments ago.
He was now panting beside the man called Han, who must have brought him somehow.
"You alright?"
Han asked Izaya worriedly. Izaya nodded with effort.
"Thanks to you, I survived."
"Hmm."
Han nodded in relief and looked up.
Siegfried glared at him with sharp killing intent.
"Too strong, huh?"
Han assessed Siegfried calmly. But contrary to his words, his expression seemed quite relaxed.
Not an attitude to show before a 7th-class grand mage, but this man could afford it.
Jamie knew at first sight. The man in strange clothes, of unknown race, was a master-class powerhouse.
Siegfried refrained from attacking recklessly for the same reason.
A clash between master-classes in a city like this could lead to unpredictable consequences.
"Annoying."
Siegfried muttered as he landed beside Jamie.
He whispered softly, only for Jamie's ears.
"What now? We're at a disadvantage."
"...Why tell me, an adult?"
"Where's the adult in a kid during this?"
He really wanted to crack open this man's skull.
The one who'd been angriest was now speaking casually. Definitely a lunatic.
He'd known, but in this situation, it hit home just how remarkable a lunatic he was.
"If the young master handles the three, we might manage."
He trailed off ambiguously, but his expression brimmed with confidence in victory.
But that would only escalate things.
The commotion would have alerted Senderman's guards. They wouldn't take long to arrive.
"Do we have to fight?"
"Pardon?"
Siegfried blinked at Jamie's unexpected words.
"We just need to get what we came for."
With a master-class on their side, prolonging the fight would only disadvantage them numerically.
No need to continue combat in such a scenario.
The opponents likely thought the same.
'Otherwise, they'd have kept attacking.'
They'd want to leave this place as soon as possible.
And rightly so.
"It's advantageous for us anyway."
"I see."
Siegfried nodded in understanding.
He'd witnessed it himself at the Gehenna auction house.
"That black man on the second floor?"
"Yes. He's definitely master-class."
"Haha. Master-classes are like roadside pebbles these days."
Siegfried laughed self-deprecatingly.
Anyway, if that black man arrived, the situation would turn bizarre.
"What are you two whispering about?"
Ting~
As Han placed the bell staff on his shoulder, a clear chime resonated between them.
Siegfried eyed him and spoke.
"Given the circumstances, fighting would just hurt both sides."
"Oh! Same thought—thank goodness. I was worried you'd insist on fighting."
"Well, we don't want much."
"Hmm, about that. Hold on."
Han turned to his three companions.
This was for them to decide, as they'd executed the operation.
Braha and Ramu looked to their team leader, Izaya.
He pondered briefly, then nodded. Time was short; better hear their proposal first.
"Speak."
"Hand over the Shadow Sheep's heart. I bid on that item."
"The All Might too."
"The All Might too... Yes?"
Siegfried, relaying Jamie's request unconsciously, grimaced and turned to him.
"Hurry."
"...I'll hear the explanation later."
Siegfried glared unnecessarily before continuing.
"Hand over the All Might too. Give us those two, and we're done."
"Shut up! Everyone gathered there is trash!"
Braha shouted in fury.
"Filth buying and selling elves as slaves! We won't hand our items to scum like you...!"
"Braha, that's enough."
Han shook his head at Braha.
Braha ground her teeth hard enough to chip them.
Jamie shrugged at the scene.
"The elf seems really angry."
"...Not an elf?"
"Who do you think you're fooling? She's an elf."
"Uncle?"
Han's eye twitched at "uncle."
He was still in his prime—uncle at best, if generous. But he couldn't snap at a kid.
"Fine, say she is. Anyway, just hand over the two items?"
"Yes."
"Ramu."
"Damn. Such a waste."
"Less wasteful than your life."
Fair point.
Ramu grumbled as he produced the two items.
One was a pristine orb-like stone containing what seemed like the universe. The other irregular-shaped stone emanated brilliant prismatic light.
"Take them over."
"Me?"
Han nodded, so Ramu approached Jamie and Siegfried with a reluctant face.
Wary of tricks, he stopped three meters away and placed the items on the ground.
He tossed a line at Jamie.
"Kid. I went easy on you earlier."
"Oh yeah?"
Jamie smirked mockingly, and Ramu slunk back embarrassed.
"Not that we don't trust you all, but..."
Han gave his group a glance and stepped back.
Ting~
The bell rang once more.
Mana dispersed again. Different from 'Mana Burn' that incinerated it, but without the skill to resist, it was inevitable.
'Strange. Not magic—what is it?'
Not like last year's Blue Dragon Mayatrei's Mana Burn preventing all spellcasting, but the situation irked him nonetheless.
Then.
As Han backed away to flee, he stared at Jamie in surprise.
"...Welton?"
"Hm?"
"Young master. Your hair color..."
At Siegfried's words, Jamie touched his hair. Creating a mirror in the air to check.
"What?"
His hair and eyes had returned to their original colors.
Had the discoloration spell unraveled from the mana dispersal?
Emerald was practically the Welton signature.
Any true powerhouse would recognize Welton traits.
Things were about to complicate.
He'd expected as much.
If Han hadn't continued.
"You're Jamie? Huh? Jamie Welton?"
His excited demeanor left the three flustered.
"Han? What's wrong?"
"Han!"
"Hahaha!"
Even at their calls, Han burst into laughter.
Then he said.
"Just like Beryl described?"
Beryl Onyx.
The name popped up out of nowhere.