Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 4: Trash (2)
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Beep— Beep— Beep—
Jamie frowned as he watched the necklace glowing.
"What's going on?"
Jin asked without letting his guard down.
Jamie silently gripped the necklace tightly and stared in the direction of the Magic Tower. Faint smoke was rising from the barely visible tower.
"......Looks like something happened to my disciples and secretary."
"Shouldn't you go check?"
Jamie gazed at the tower with a troubled expression for a moment before shaking his head.
"It's fine."
"I heard your disciples are still young."
Jin almost added 'like you' but stopped himself.
Jamie was only thirteen, but he didn't look it at all.
Jamie turned off the signal from the necklace and said,
"They're young, sure."
He faintly lifted the corner of his mouth as he prepared to move.
"But they're my disciples."
He wasn't the only one who'd grown stronger over the past five years.
They had trained rigorously under him.
He was certain that among their peers, there were few children more exceptional than those two.
They weren't quite ready for the battlefield yet, so he hadn't brought them along.
'Better this way.'
Experiencing the battlefield at a young age wasn't a bad thing.
Besides, it wouldn't matter as long as they stuck together.
'No need to worry.'
This was trust earned through experience.
So Jamie could focus on his own task.
"You sure it'll be okay?"
"Let's hurry. We don't have much time if you want to achieve your goal."
With that, Jamie vanished via teleportation.
Left alone, Jin mulled over his words and chuckled.
"That kid's got some guts, I'll give him that."
Then he quickly followed after Jamie.
"Guh! Boss, we can't advance...!"
"What the hell? Since when do brats like these...?!"
Teru, captain of the Violens martial unit from the Drian Church, scowled at the flames engulfing the moderately wide corridor.
He'd already lost count of how many unit members had fallen.
It had been a long time since the elite Violens had been pushed back so helplessly.
Teru glared at the red-haired boy beyond the flames, madly unleashing fire spells.
He looked about thirteen or fourteen, still boyish, but the flames bursting from his small hands rivaled those of a seasoned mage.
But if it were just the redhead, they wouldn't be struggling like this.
'The real threat is the girl behind the red brat.'
An ordinary-looking girl, slightly taller than the boy in front.
They might be siblings, but they didn't resemble each other much.
The problem was that she had seen through all their tactics.
'Her magic isn't much compared to the red brat...'
But whenever they tried something, she countered first.
It felt like they were dancing on the palm of her tiny hand.
And it wasn't just the two kids.
A woman had their backs, manipulating shadows to slaughter unit members from the opposite side.
If it were just the pair, they could've flanked and ended it quickly, but the woman made that impossible.
"Wh-what do we do?"
"Orders are absolute. Break through, no matter what."
"You mean..."
"Initiate berserk mode."
It was humiliating to resort to berserk against just two kids and a woman, but better than mission failure.
He still didn't understand why they needed to capture those three, but they followed orders.
"Lennon, suspicious movement from behind. They're preparing something."
"Preparing?"
"Everyone charging now is bait. Engage with minimal power."
"Got it."
Following Ann's instructions, Lennon scattered 3rd-class fire spells at the enemies coming in groups of two or three.
With Hera covering the rear, breaking through a fire mage's defense in this straight corridor was extremely difficult.
Even minimized flames stopped them cold.
Ann used the breathing room to assess and analyze.
Born with the 'scholar's talent,' she possessed overwhelming insight that pierced any situation.
Even in the heat of battle.
'Bait numbers are increasing.'
Enemies throwing themselves into the fire like moths.
They knew it was pointless, yet persisted—there had to be a reason.
The round Magic Tower hid their starting point.
Something was happening there, but she had no way to confirm.
Ann summoned wind to make Lennon's flames burn fiercer.
'Hard to gauge their numbers now. A war of attrition favors them.'
They'd burned plenty, but more kept coming—suggesting a large force.
Maybe they'd thinned out, but Ann was certain otherwise.
These were definitely bait.
Waiting for their mana to run dry.
'Both sides are aiming for the same thing.'
The moment their firepower dipped, the beasts would pounce.
'Just the three of us.'
Hera was holding strong from behind, but she'd burned plenty of mana too.
If this dragged on, blocking their numbers would be impossible.
Ann calmed her racing mind amid the urgency.
Several ideas flashed through; useless ones discarded swiftly.
Then she turned to look behind.
A wall.
Plain wall, but Ann stared intently.
"Hey, Ann!!"
Lennon shouted as his mana dwindled, frustrated by her lack of orders.
But Ann didn't respond.
Still staring at the wall, lost in thought.
Then she tapped it with her fist a few times.
"Damn it! What the—"
"Lennon! Lady Hera!"
Ann called them over and placed her hand on the wall.
Then declared,
"We need to break through here."
"......Why the wall all of a sudden?"
"Considering the size of our lodging, this is definitely a room. Let's escape via the window."
"Th-through the window?"
"I'll do it."
Hera didn't question or hesitate. She mercilessly unleashed shadow thorns at the enemies, then used her shadow arts on the spot Ann indicated.
Boom!!
A black mass erupted from the shadowed wall section, crumbling it like tofu.
A room appeared, just as Ann said.
"No way, for real?"
"It echoed."
A blocked wall would sound dull, but it bounced—confirming space inside.
Ann rushed in first; Lennon and Hera blocked enemies while following.
"They're coming soon."
"What?"
"Whatever the enemies prepared."
The bait numbers were thinning.
Meaning no more need for decoys.
As if confirming her words, a roar echoed from beyond the room.
"Raaargh!!"
"Power... overflowing power!!"
"What the hell are those?!"
Lennon scowled at the outer roars and began chanting.
"Five approaching at tremendous speed."
Hera had placed detection magic on the corridor shadows.
Impossible to avoid shadows entirely, so she could track their numbers.
Soon, a massive impact hit beside the breached wall—someone smashed through another section.
Why bother when the adjacent wall was open? But their bloodshot eyes silenced questions.
"Kuhahaha. Never thought we'd need berserk just to grab one brat and one girl."
"Surrender now, and we'll go easy. Keep resisting, and one of you dies for sure."
Unlike previous foes, these men were 1.5 times bulkier, steam rising from their bodies as they approached.
Their muscles writhed grotesquely, unnaturally bulging.
"Urk."
Lennon made a blatant gagging motion, prompting one berserk unit member to warn sternly.
"Red brat, we'll snap your limbs first."
"Eek. Scary."
Lennon smirked mockingly, and the man couldn't hold back, charging with a yell.
"Then die!!"
Boom boom boom—his mere steps shook the ground like an earthquake.
So Lennon made it real.
[Earth Vibration]
Earthquake's lesser spell shakes the floor violently
The floor, already damaged by heavy steps, collapsed entirely.
"Ugh!"
"Heh."
Lennon let out a hollow laugh at their fall.
The tower's high ceilings meant a nasty drop.
"What now?"
With the floor gone between factions, enemies couldn't cross recklessly.
Jumping risked interception by spells, same fate as their comrades.
With some leeway, Ann dashed to the window to check outside.
Smoke rose from various spots.
Something big had happened in the capital—a battle.
Probably tied to these foes.
Then she spotted a fleeing man in her view.
"Let's join him."
"What outta nowhere?"
"Lady Hera, please!"
"Yes."
Hera shattered the window and wrapped the two kids in shadows.
Fortunately, the tower's shadow tilted their way.
Slightly larger than the tower itself—all in her domain.
"Descending. First..."
Hera clasped hands and chanted.
"[Shadow Arts]" "[Shadow Bind]"
⟨ Shadow Magic ⟩
"What is this?!"
"Damn, my feet are bound!"
"That wench's doing!"
The unit members' shadows bound their own feet directly.
Trapped by their own shadows, they were helpless.
"Damn it! Break free!"
"Would the Violens, servants of the God of Violence, yield to such petty magic?!"
"Raaagh!"
"Can't hold long. Descending now."
Drian Church's berserk granted over tenfold strength.
Even superior shadow magic couldn't fully restrain that raw power.
She enfolded the kids and spread shadow wings wide.
Soaring high, Lennon unleashed his prepared spell.
[Simon Style: Red Flare Ray]
Flame spell devised by Simon Count himself
A red line struck their position, erupting into ferocious crimson flames along its path.
Kaboom!!
The crimson blaze exploded massively, engulfing the area in hellfire.
No berserk human could survive that.
......Or so they thought.
"You can't stop us with parlor tricks like that!"
"Chase them!!"
"Kill them all!!"
The battered Violens monsters leaped from the tower's upper floors with all their might.
"Whoa! Are they insane?!"
"They won't catch up anyway."
"Persistent bastards."
They watched the plummeting foes with grimaces.
They'd escaped for now, but it wasn't over.
"Lady Hera, head toward that man!"
Ann pointed at the fleeing man below; Lennon frowned.
"Who's that guy?"
"The enemy of my enemy is a friend."
A man hurling projectiles at foes dressed like theirs, smashing a close one's head with a hammer—impressive.
Though increasingly surrounded, joining him seemed risky.
'But I can trust this kid.'
Ann's performance so far.
Her situational judgment far surpassed adults.
No magic talent, but her insight and decisions were genius-level.
"Understood."
Here, trusting Ann over herself was wiser.
Decision made, Hera dove straight there.