Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Imprisonment - 3
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I hurriedly closed the space.
Neril rushed over to me.
“Maide, you okay?”
“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
“Here. Drink this. It’s Serein’s special potion.”
“I just said I’m perfectly fine.”
“It’s just good for you, so drink it. Come on.”
I had no choice but to take the potion she was practically shoving at me.
Trail snickered.
[It reminds me of Neril making you nutritional juice every morning later on.]
‘Shut up.’
As I drank it, Neril pulled out the communication orb.
“Can I call everyone now?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait a sec.”
When she activated the communication orb, it got pretty noisy right away.
-Neril, did you get him?
-Wow, Serein hasn’t changed at all.
-What does that have to do with whether we got him or not?
-Everyone, quiet down. Be calm like me.
-Old man, stop tapping your foot.
Neril chuckled.
“It’s over. Hurry back.”
-Ah, what a relief. There was this massive explosion out of nowhere, and we were so worried.
“That was me.”
-No way. It suits you.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
-Hahaha. See you soon!
Not soon—more like right away.
With the mime-sealed Agril, their speed was probably the fastest on the continent.
They reappeared in just a few minutes.
“Ow, hot!”
“It’s like stepping on lava.”
“Everyone, come here.”
Neril cast a simple spell on all of them.
They looked around with expressions like they’d just survived.
“It’s even worse up close. Nothing’s left.”
“It’s a spell Biond developed.”
“But even Biond couldn’t produce this much power. Amazing, Neril.”
“Ahem.”
Neril, weak to praise, just turned her head away.
Ophens asked,
“What about Kaild?”
“I’ve got him locked up tight.”
“Good. No need to worry about him stabbing us in the back against Velosian.”
“Yeah.”
“What now?”
I thought for a moment before answering.
“We need to scout a final battlefield against Idria. That fight’s probably going to be huge too, so we should pick somewhere with as few people as possible.”
“Somewhere like the starting line or the Secret Forest, full of no-man’s-lands. Got any spots in mind?”
“Yeah, I do. Let’s head out. I’ll explain on the way.”
“Got it.”
Kaild was already imprisoned.
So the party members—and even me—were finally relaxing.
That’s when it happened.
Crack.
Suddenly, something shattered.
What was that?
We quickly turned toward the sound.
“Gasp!”
Risel inhaled sharply in shock.
There was a hole in midair.
It was a hole in the space I’d created.
“W-what the hell?”
“Maide, why’d you do that?”
“I didn’t make it.”
Cold sweat dripped down my back.
I knew the current Kaild was far stronger than Idria.
That’s why I’d put everything into tearing that space just moments ago.
No way he broke through it?
“It’s Kaild.”
“No way, that can’t be.”
“Damn it. I didn’t think he’d gotten this strong. Everyone, fall back.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than—
Boom.
Another hole tore open on the opposite side.
Two holes in midair.
Kaild stuck both hands out from them.
Then he started pulling them apart, like ripping an invisible cloth.
Neril said,
“No matter how strong that cockroach got, this is weird. He was a total wreck just now.”
“…….”
“Even if he could break your space, wouldn’t recovering his body come first?”
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
I had no response, but Kaild did.
From beyond the space, he let out a creepy chuckle.
“Heh heh. Yeah, I was surprised too.”
“Kaild.”
“Didn’t know Velosian’s power was this much.”
“What are you talking about? Are you saying you had hidden power even while getting beaten by me?”
“No. I used everything I had. But it welled up again. That’s all.”
Welled up again?
I recalled Kaild collapsing from Neril’s magic.
When I first saw him, I thought he was dead for sure.
But he got right back up, and even if not at peak condition, he’d recovered enough to go hand-to-hand with me.
Ophens said in a tense voice,
“His recovery speed is insanely fast?”
“Yeah. I just realized it myself, but even when I use all of Velosian’s power, it fills right back up. Like water rising in a well.”
“……!”
“Enough with this freaky trick—I’ll rip it apart soon. Better wash your necks and wait!”
So that meant he’d returned to the state he was in when we first clashed?
This was a serious problem.
‘Beating Kaild again wouldn’t be hard. But…….’
[Indeed. We can’t trap him anymore.]
‘Yeah.’
I let out a sigh.
“It’s impossible to imprison that guy. Fundamentally.”
“Maide.”
“No matter how much we beat him to the brink and shove him into the space, he’ll recover in no time. And full-strength Kaild seems able to tear my space apart.”
“…….”
“Let’s fall back.”
You don’t know how bitter those words tasted.
Maybe sensing my feelings, Serein spoke up unusually subdued.
“Don’t lose heart. It’s not your fault, Maide.”
“Thanks. But it’s not just failing to contain Kaild that’s got me down.”
“Huh?”
“He said he borrowed only 10% of Velosian’s power. If even that much has us unable to contain him…….”
I realized too late I’d said too much.
No need to demoralize the party.
“Sorry. Pretend you didn’t hear that…… Huh?”
But surprisingly, their expressions weren’t bad.
If anything, they looked more resolved than before.
“Don’t talk like that.”
“Yeah. You’re always the one showing us the way, Maide.”
“We can definitely beat Velosian too.”
“Your growth so far has been superhuman anyway.”
“More importantly, since we can’t trap him anyway, how about we smash him one more time and watch his face twist up before we go?”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Even with this frustrating outcome, their composure was something else.
Truly heroes worthy of the title.
Tap.
Then Jenia tapped Adwin’s shoulder.
He’d been quiet, so it must’ve bugged her.
“Why so quiet? Usually you’d say something embarrassing to lighten the mood.”
“I don’t say that stuff just to change the mood. It’s all dead serious.”
“Then it’s even worse.”
“Anyway, I was thinking.”
He fidgeted with his fingers before continuing.
“Maide hyung. Locking Kaild up is still the best, right?”
“No question.”
“Phew. Good. I’ve made up my mind.”
“What mind?”
“This.”
Adwin pulled something from his bosom.
The branch of corruption I’d distributed last time.
All our eyes went wide.
“Adwin, no way?”
“I’ll mess with that bastard’s soul a bit.”
“If it’s that, you can do it in your current state. No need to give up anything.”
“So far, all I could do with souls was summon from the afterlife, boost concentration, put to sleep, or blur presence.”
“…….”
“What I’m about to do is totally different.”
Adwin swallowed hard.
“I’m going to try erasing his soul.”
Kaild reacted first.
He suddenly screamed like a madman.
“T-that thing Velosian did to Phirensha?!”
“You know it well, huh. Guess you saw it up close.”
“Stop it. Serein went through the same. One of your comrades is a victim of that crap.”
“…….”
“Doing it to me? Is that what heroes do?!”
We were too stunned to speak.
Adwin ignored him cleanly and said to me,
“Just putting his soul to sleep won’t cut it. Unlike Ophelia, his soul vessel is too vast. Guess it’s from being called a hero for so long.”
“So even asleep, he’d wake right up? That’s why erase it entirely?”
“Yeah. I’ll do it as much as I can. If the soul’s erased, his body’ll crumble like with Serein noona, so he won’t tear your space.”
I wanted to stop Adwin.
Not because of the one-month limit, but because I didn’t want him sacrificing something precious to fix my failure.
But before I could speak, Neril did.
“I think it’s fine.”
“Neril.”
“Maide, you’re too soft on us. With the branch of corruption, he doesn’t even have to give anything up. Feeling guilty for letting him even think that way?”
“…….”
“We don’t have anything better than Adwin’s plan anyway.”
True enough.
I looked at Adwin silently.
The boy who’d ended up on a world-saving journey at such a young age.
He should’ve been playing with kids his age or learning necromancy from Mariana.
But now he was grown enough to suggest this himself.
I sighed.
“Thanks, Adwin.”
“Haha, what for? And you thanking me? Hyung?”
“Huh?”
“How much do I owe you?”
I gripped the branch with both hands.
“My wish isn’t just saving Dad.”
“…….”
“Mom said it: when you beat the Demon King and come back, the ‘three’ of us will eat together. Me, Dad, and Mom around the table. That’s my real wish. So…….”
Snap.
He broke it without hesitation and said,
“I’m prepared for that seat to be empty without me.”
And the next moment—
Adwin’s body began to glow.
Invisible spells covered his body.
They all lit up at once.
The light was so bright we had to close our eyes for a bit.
When we opened them, Adwin muttered blankly,
“Ah…… I see.”
“See what?”
“I wondered how turning fame into power would apply to a necromancer like me. It activated by making me truly understand my body’s spells.”
“Truly understand?”
“Yeah, understanding the spells is intermediate…… More precisely, it means I’ve perfectly grasped the nature of souls. Necromancy is all about handling souls, after all.”
He looked back at the space.
Kaild was still straining with arms outstretched, trying to tear it.
Adwin said coolly,
“Now that I understand souls, I can erase them too.”
“Y-yeah. Go for it.”
“Erase him completely?”
“No, I can’t ask that much.”
“Don’t worry—his vessel’s too big anyway, so it’s impossible. Instead, widen the space a bit.”
“Huh?”
“Let me see his soul.”
I chuckled and expanded the space just a little.
Kaild, having heard us, quickly hid his body.
It was just like a prisoner shrinking from the light when the side door opens.
“Pathetic, so pathetic.”
“S-shut up.”
“Adwin? Can you see it?”
Adwin stared intently at the fist-sized hole.
Instead of answering, he reached out toward the space.
And the next moment—
“Huh? Gasp!”
He suddenly inhaled sharply.
“Ugh. S-stop. It hurts so much. It hurts!”
“…….”
“Cough. I’m dying. Please spare me, Adwin. Maide!”
Serein clicked her tongue.
“I’ve been through it, so I know—that really is deadly.”
“And yet you dreamed of swimming in gold coins.”
“……! How do you know?”
“You were sleep-talking.”
“That gold was metaphorical—really symbolizing my dreams and hopes…….”
I ignored the group’s banter and watched Adwin.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Wiping it, Adwin said,
“I thought I could erase half. Only got about 30%.”
“That enough?”
“Unless it’s someone with insane willpower, Kaild won’t manage. Not while his body’s in that much pain and focusing on tearing space.”
“Good.”
I closed the space, relieved.
Seeing the hole shrink, Kaild yelled desperately.
“Maide! Don’t do this!”
“Have to.”
Whoosh.
The space vanished completely.
We crossed our arms, waiting to see if he’d thrash again.
But minutes passed in silence.
Neril said with a refreshingly bright smile,
“Ah. So nice and quiet.