Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: The Linked Flow
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As the scenery continued to change.
The ones targeting Loan were caught in his barrier just as he was about to pass through what was once Ollen's quarantine zone.
It seemed they too had cast their net and were waiting for the fish to swim in. The moment Loan sensed them, they moved simultaneously.
“Aul.”
To be fully prepared, Loan summoned Aul in advance.
Perhaps because it had been a while since he'd been called.
Aul flew circles around Loan, who was leading his horse, before perching on his shoulder and rubbing affectionately against his face.
For a moment, Loan felt a pang of guilt for only summoning him when needed.
Loan promised Aul they would spend some quality time together after he dealt with the current situation.
“Aul!”
He then checked the remaining mass of mana.
The Nostra thugs had been simple villains, so there was nothing worth feeding to Aul from them.
***
The last one he had saved was from the demon of the underground city, Naberius.
It had shrunk over time, but since it came from such a powerful demon, it was more than enough.
Besides, the mana drawn in by his necklace was substantial, so he wasn't worried.
Loan didn't immediately dissolve the mana mass into his Convection. Instead, he let it hover before his chest, allowing it to flow in naturally with each breath.
In essence, he had created a virtual Circle outside his body.
“Don't go too far.”
“Aul!”
The figures approaching, shaking his barrier, began to leave trails of light in his vision.
Loan tied his horse to one side and stood alone on the wide thoroughfare, waiting for them.
They were bold. After spotting Loan, they didn't try to hide but approached confidently, side by side.
Three in total.
Loan was inwardly looking forward to this. He had a strong desire to discuss the magic he was conceptualizing with someone.
But such topics were often difficult to discuss with those close to him.
It was like exposing each other's vulnerabilities, requiring caution.
Aul sometimes served as a conversation partner, but it was hard to get the kind of response he hoped for.
When it came to reactions, an enemy was better.
Pointing out an opponent's achievements, even if they were an enemy, and deepening his own understanding was one of Loan's small pleasures.
Right now, however, displeasure took precedence.
“So you use demonic swords. You're from Le Tell.”
There was no mistaking it.
Not with the murky haze rising from their swords.
Le Tell's demonic swords, forged by stabbing them into human-trees to absorb life force.
Loan's Sheville had been created by shattering Blake's demonic sword.
“Sharp, aren't you? Just as expected from someone from the facility.”
The woman in the trio nudged the giant next to her with her shoulder and spoke.
“Nothing to confirm or deny. They said we'd know just by looking at his face.”
“There's carelessness in your voice. Stay sharp.”
A large man in priest's robes.
A long tongue darted from his torn mouth, a clear sign of demonic possession, yet it was strange that he spoke with reason.
But, before he could give any orders.
“Too slow. Linked formation, now.”
The one-eyed man, who had been glaring silently at Loan, positioned himself behind him in just three steps.
Simultaneously, the dark priest and the woman moved in different directions.
The dark priest lunged toward Loan's front, thrusting with long, sword-like fingernails.
The woman had already leaped into the air and was descending upon the crown of Loan's head.
Watching them calmly, Loan mulled over the word 'linked.'
It meant that circular forms were organically connected and combined. An image of a knot momentarily formed in his mind.
In this context, it must mean their attacks were interconnected, flowing seamlessly like water.
Fwoosh-!
The sound of slicing air passed behind Loan.
He had already stepped into a Narrow Path, a single spot their three attacks couldn't reach.
Astonishment filled the faces of the three as their coordinated attack was so easily nullified.
The one-eyed man barked.
“Again!”
Loan read the unfolding of their second attack with his mana.
Same positions, different roles—their next move began.
A thrust became a horizontal slash. A vertical strike now fell diagonally from the shoulder.
The individual forms of their attacks had become more destructive, more seamless.
Yet Loan, once again escaping from what seemed an inescapable net.
Now stood with his arms crossed, carefully observing the trio's movements.
The trio froze, utterly bewildered.
Loan asked.
“What are you?”
The woman frowned.
“What are you talking about now?”
“I find it fascinating. I was just pondering how to open a new path to create a horizontal circulation.”
“…”
“It's just fascinating that you show up shouting about a 'linked' formation and give me inspiration. How could it not be?”
A coincidence, like a revelation meant to solve his dilemma.
Loan simply found it fascinating, but the trio, understanding neither his words nor his intent, could only maintain the strange standoff.
Moreover, the fact that two flawless attacks had failed to harm him in any way made them hesitate to launch a third.
Loan said.
“A horizontal flow, linked to the vertical one. It would probably be best for them to intersect near the end of the circulatory path…”
He walked steadily toward them. The trio flinched and backed away.
Loan continued to advance, laying out his concept. They continued to retreat.
“In that case, it would be good to gain propulsion as the flow turns upward from its base. The navel could serve as a focal point.”
Loan envisioned a path of mana circling his abdomen.
For most movements that require power, the lower body is crucial.
A force that extends outward can only be strong if it has a solid foundation.
If he could open a second, horizontal path of circulation, managing mana would become much easier, supported by the power of a stable lower body.
“Besides, this is an important place for me—where I first grasped the Narrow Path.”
Because this was Ollen.
Perhaps the idea came to him naturally because this was near where he had perfected his movement technique while chasing Sienna.
Loan smiled, marveling at the series of coincidences that felt like fate.
“A little more movement should make things clearer. If you won't come to me, I'll go to you.”
And in an instant, he closed the distance between them.
The woman didn't even have time to think of dodging. The moment Loan's face filled her vision.
Her neck was pierced by the wind.
“Everything is organic. Linked, just as you said.”
Before his words had even faded, he poured into the space between the dark priest and the one-eyed man as if compressing it.
“Drawing twice the mana is good, and I can circulate it through my body faster.”
He spun, and the wind extending from his movement sliced both their necks simultaneously.
Around the time Loan formed a perfect mental image, far away in the Union.
Lazaros felt a pang of pain in the third eye situated between his brows.
And reflexively, he lifted his head toward the place where the eye's original owner would be.
The clock tower.
A summons had come from there.
He stopped his work and headed for the clock tower, climbing the stairs for a long time.
At the top, a large door slid open.
The spire of the Union.
The Union, built on the site where the World Tree was said to have once stood.
Tectonic shifts have left not even a trace of it, but the tall clock tower at its center might be someone's wish for a glory that existed in the distant past.
And at the very top of the clock tower.
The place Lazaros had just entered, where the sound of massive turning gears was deafening.
Was, ironically, the Governor-General's private space for rest, contemplation, and self-cultivation.
Naturally, access was restricted.
Currently, only Bureau Director Lazaros could enter this space, and even then, only with the Governor-General's permission.
Gazing silently at the back of the absolute ruler, Lazaros made a sound with his mouth.
“Knock, knock.”
The sound was naturally drowned out by the mechanical noise, but the absolute ruler's shoulders twitched slightly.
Suddenly, it was as if a gentle breeze had stirred.
Motes of dust danced in the sunlight streaming between the giant hour and minute hands.
Then, Lazaros was freed from all mechanical sound.
In that moment of profound silence.
A voice resonated in the air, which felt as if it were enclosed in a membrane.
The Governor-General slowly turned around.
She was not wearing her usual black blindfold. Her two vacant eyes looked particularly lonely today.
“He should be in Ollen by now. How was his condition?”
“He seemed at ease, both in body and mind. Despite what must have been a difficult journey.”
“He's at an age where trial and error are necessary. If he's shaken it off, that's all that matters.”
“He seemed to be in high spirits as well. Like a child awaiting a gift.”
“Given the boy's nature, it's unlikely he was pleased with the reward.”
“No. Seeing as Dean Arthur stayed for a long time, I suspect he may have had a breakthrough in his magic.”
“That's good news.”
Unlike her smile, her voice sounded a little weak.
Lazaros barely suppressed a sigh.
But his concern for the absolute ruler was conveyed to her all the same.
“Do not worry. It won't be for long.”
Lazaros did not cease his counsel.
“A few years ago, when your eyes were overused, it took you a long time to recover. I cannot help but be concerned.”
“These are turbulent times. It's the same for me and for him. There is much he must wish to know about the world.”
“Even so, haven't you grown excessively weak lately? It shouldn't be this bad from him simply using the eye… It seems you are not letting him see easily, Governor-General.”
“Just as there are things he must see, even at the cost of his own life, there are things I must not show him.”
The Governor-General's stolen 'eye that sees the present.' It was a strange battle for control over it.
The one whose eye was stolen was trying to block what the one who took it was trying to see.
It was surely about Loan.
Her supernatural ability and divine skill were astonishing, but the Governor-General's will to see it through was even more impressive.
“If you continue, your well-being will be…”
“I will control the timing.”
At her firm reply, Lazaros tried to change the subject, but what came to mind was also related to Loan.
“There is some unrest among a very small faction.”
“Is it about Boris's dismissal?”
“Yes, that's right.”
The Governor-General already knew.
She asked gently, “It must seem strange to you as well.”
“I do not doubt you.”
“I'm grateful for that.”
After a brief silence, the Governor-General spoke. “Boris is a good boy. Unless he suffered a shock great enough to alter his character, he would have always been upright. That is what I believed.”
“Did meeting Loan become a variable?”
“Loan creates incidents. Some manifest in reality, others within a person's mind. It's not just us; it's the same for our enemies. Everything acts as a chain reaction. A direct cause? It's not that simple.”
“You mean his very existence in the world is a variable.”
“Even if I still had both my eyes, I would not have foreseen this.”
“Is that so.”
“It will continue. With us, and with our enemies. That's why the royal family uses my eye. So I must stop it. For now…”
Her voice trailed off, but it was filled with resolve. Lazaros knew it was the resolve to sacrifice.
And so.
He had no choice but to change his original plan.
“The important thing isn't the Stone of Goetia, but Loan.”
“You were planning to use the eye.”
“I was considering asking, as I feared time was of the essence. In hopes of finding a trace.”
“But.”
The Stone of Goetia. He had wanted to find information about demons.
To do so, using the 'eye that sees the past' that the Governor-General had entrusted to him would be a great help, but it would also accelerate her weakening.
“I've changed my mind. Protecting you, Governor-General, is the same as protecting Loan.”
“My life is not important. However, I do wish to watch over him until the time comes.”
Lazaros's heart felt heavy.
“The agents will find it. We will prepare thoroughly. I trust them, so you can trust me, Governor-General.”
“I always have.”
With those words, once again.
*Whirrr— Gung— Clank—!*
The mechanical sounds filled Lazaros's ears.