Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: The Aftermath of a Flawed Spell
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But Birna wasn't given an easy opportunity to resolve her doubts.
The chaos, which had briefly subsided, was reignited by Basini's misunderstanding.
“Was it a success? Something feels different, but did it work? Birna? Birna!”
Basini yelled repeatedly at the back of Birna's head, and when he received no answer, he came to his own conclusion and began to run wild.
“Yes! No wonder my clothes feel so fresh. Something must have happened. What are you all doing! Wipe them all out!”
The command, born of a misunderstanding, ignited the fighting spirit of those who had been lying in wait within the main chamber.
The members of Nostra, who had been in a standoff, moved as one.
They spun and drew their swords because Basini's words held a certain persuasive power.
They, too, felt inexplicably refreshed and believed the spell for certain victory was now affecting them.
*Shhhk*
The result that followed was simple.
The Union had already taken control of the main chamber.
They were in a position to cut their throats before a sword fight could even begin.
And that is exactly what they did.
In an instant, dozens of people collapsed to the floor.
Basini's eyes widened at the sight, which was akin to a mass beheading, and some of the ordinary people screamed and poured out of the chamber.
Soon, the chamber fell deathly silent.
The sounds from outside now grew louder.
“The spell has been activated!”
“Kill them all!”
“Yaaaaah!”
Loan surmised.
Those allied with Grave—or the members of Nostra, Le Tell, and Basini's faction lying in wait in Felsina—had mistaken the spell's activation as their signal and begun their attempt to seize the city.
They had clearly mistaken their clean, unwrinkled clothes as a positive magical effect.
But Loan didn't need to explain the situation to his seniors.
A significant number of the Union's Runners, certain that their opponents were outside, leaped out the windows in perfect unison.
*Whoooosh*
A series of brisk sounds cut through the wind.
Screams followed screams.
If the spell had actually manifested as Birna intended, it was hard to say how things might have turned out, but as it was, the villains had no advantage.
No matter how they ambushed them, it would be difficult to overcome Ferrara's royal guards, who had remained steadfast even through the change in regime.
And it wouldn't be easy to face the Union members who were already waiting for their surprise attack.
On top of that, additional personnel were rapidly spreading throughout the city, fanning out from the parliament building.
Even without looking, it was clear that the catastrophe the Grave coalition had hoped for would not come to pass.
While the commotion grew outside, the situation inside the parliament building also took a turn.
Now, all that remained in the main chamber were the heads of Ferrara's five great families and their escorts, Richa and Loan, and a few elite Runners from the committee who were close to being Seekers.
With Nostra eliminated in an instant, only Basini and Birna were left on Grave's side.
Among them, the dumbfounded Basini was being showered with every curse imaginable.
“That son of a bitch was trying to take everything for himself!”
“What? Wipe us all out? Us? After we’ve been pandering to you all this time?”
In the end, he couldn't withstand the combined assault of the nobles, led by his once-loyal supporters, Lord Scala and Lord Correr.
“Birna! Birna! What the hell happened! Guh!”
He desperately called out for Birna before being severely injured, captured, and bound.
But Birna, the one he so desperately called for, was not in a relaxed situation either.
In fact, it was more accurate to say she didn't dare to respond.
The nobles who had lost their target, along with Richa, had drawn their swords and surrounded the podium, and she couldn't break the staring contest she'd been locked in with Loan.
She finally spoke, with difficulty.
“You're Loan, aren't you?”
Loan gave a slight nod without a word.
He kept twelve Shevilles floating around her, ready to pierce through her body at any moment.
The subtle, independent, and precise movements of the sword fragments, combined with the caster's calm expression and demeanor, clearly demonstrated the high level of magic Loan wielded.
Birna continued.
“Yes. That face. That skill. It bothered me ever since you came up from the underground…”
She had been suspicious from early on.
His unusually striking appearance had made her think of him the moment she saw him—the young prodigy of the Union.
For him to suddenly appear from the underground, it was only natural for her, the one who drew the magic circle, to be concerned.
However, the memorial tower had been unveiled without any issues, and she had a confidence bordering on arrogance in the magic circle she'd constructed, so she had tried to ignore it.
The result of that carelessness was her current predicament.
She couldn't understand what had happened, but she had no intention of letting herself be captured so easily.
Even less so of giving up her life.
“Hooo…”
She let out a long, slow sigh.
Loan saw that Birna was slowly gathering her mana, looking for an opportunity to turn the tables, and sent a mental message to Richa.
-Vice Commander, please leave me alone with her.
There were two reasons for this.
To prevent Birna from doing anything foolish to the remaining people.
And because he wanted to know more about her.
“Alright.”
Richa wasn't worried about Loan.
It wasn't just because of the incredible feat he had accomplished. It was more a matter of faith in her husband, who had given his all to send Loan here, disregarding his own injuries.
Besides.
From Richa's perspective, investigating the remaining nobles, taking appropriate measures, and quickly quelling the chaos outside were her top priorities.
She addressed those who remained.
“The Union was aware early on that the Basini family and Nostra were in collusion. We knew they were planning to seize control of Ferrara on the day of the council's opening and moved to stop them. Therefore, you are all key witnesses in this incident. Considering the gravity of the situation, I expect your full cooperation.”
No one complained.
There was nothing to be gained by antagonizing the Union in this situation.
Immediately, the members escorted the remaining nobles and the bound Basini out of the main chamber.
They would likely be moved to an annex for interrogation and investigation.
And so, only Loan and Birna remained.
The two of them maintained the same distance and posture as before, as did the Shevilles.
Loan spoke first.
“That was a rather high-level magic circle. It wasn't easy to dismantle. So I tweaked it in a direction I was more familiar with, but I didn't realize it would be this effective.”
Despite having seen the results, Birna doubted Loan's words.
“You modified the magic circle? The fact that's even possible is amazing, but I never imagined you could pull something like this off. How long did it take you?”
“Hmm. It’s hard to keep track of time underground. Maybe ten minutes at the shortest, an hour at the longest.”
Both the minimum and maximum were absurd figures. She naturally assumed he was mocking her.
Birna scoffed.
“Right. You must feel like a winner. I acknowledge and respect that. Even if I don't know what you did.”
“I thought you'd be curious about that. You're a mage, after all.”
“Ah, I use magic, but I'm not much of a scholar.”
After a derisive laugh, Birna slowly raised her right arm, palm facing the sky.
Her sleeve slid down, revealing a tattoo that stretched from her wrist to beyond her elbow, catching Loan's eye.
It was a case of using a magic circle as a tattoo, just like Director Lazarus.
Birna said.
“It's a bit rich for me to say this, since this is the result of my own arrogance, but seeing as you sent everyone away, it seems you're the arrogant one now.”
“Unlike you, I have a lot of questions. About the magic circle. And about who you are.”
“Who I am?”
After another scoff, she said.
“Funny. I've never been interested in people, so I wouldn't know. It's an emotion I've never had.”
Loan believed her.
Because in the way she looked at him, he couldn't sense any of the expression, attitude, or emotion one has when beholding something beautiful.
How could that be, when he was now a proper adult man?
As he thought this, his tone became unintentionally blunt when he spoke.
“Is that why you chanted the spell as if to annihilate everyone?”
“I wish I could have. It’s what I always desire. To erase the existence of humanity from the world, leaving only Him and me.”
What kind of past did she have to despise humanity so much? Was this 'Him' not human, then? And what about her, the one saying these words?
That made it even stranger.
Was the desire to wipe humanity from the world not evil?
How could her mana look so pure when she spoke such wicked words with such sincerity?
Was the theory Loan held incorrect?
In the midst of his inner turmoil.
“I have a few questions of my own. Well, one of us will survive, so I suppose someone will find their answers in the end.”
With those words, a condensation of mana floated above Birna's palm.
It was a tangible sphere with the properties of water.
‘Using mana itself as a weapon is similar to my style…’
Judging by the density of the condensed mana, he could more than guess how powerful it would be.
She was clearly a formidable opponent.
She hadn't used much mana to activate the magic circle, so she was currently in peak condition.
“I've heard about you. That you excel at analyzing and dismantling magic. That you handle telekinesis with finesse, yet with considerable destructive power.”
Glancing at the Shevilles, Birna continued.
“But you know. Do you know why mages have fallen so far behind other classes? It's because they're weak in close-quarters combat. Fragile bodies, unable to protect themselves.”
“Are you saying you're different?”
“Perhaps…”
Before Birna could finish her sentence, she moved toward Loan.
Loan simultaneously unleashed the Shevilles at her, and at that moment, the mass of mana on her palm enveloped her entire body.
A water-property mana shield.
It looked moist, yet it possessed considerable cohesion and hardness. So much so that the Shevilles bouncing off it looked entirely natural.
It was a method similar to Convection, and Loan was inwardly impressed.
Birna's body blurred for a moment.
Her speed surpassed his expectations; it seemed she was using the mana shield covering her body to enhance her physical abilities.
But for Loan, who combined his extrasensory domain with the ability to see mana, there was no reason he wouldn't be able to see her, no matter how fast she was.
He had already reached a level of foresight.
*Thump-thump-*
*Swoosh*
He could clearly see Birna rushing toward him, stomping the ground rapidly from side to side as she threw punches.
In any case, it was certainly fascinating.
To possess the intellect to draw such an incredibly complex, large-scale magic circle, yet also enjoy close-quarters combat.
Tilting his head, Loan moved lightly to increase the distance between them, planning to immediately counter with Convection.
“Hm?”
The mana shield that had simply been covering her fist suddenly shot out like an awl, aiming for Loan's heart.
Loan's extrasensory perception commanded him to create more distance than necessary.
He interfered with Convection, pushed back as he activated his Domain, and retreated by extending the Narrow Path behind him.
As expected.
The mana Birna extended was like a spear made of liquid, but it couldn't exceed the distance Loan had anticipated.
Of course, it was a sharp and powerful attack that would have been fatal had he not dealt with it properly.
“Damn it!”
Frustrated that things weren't going her way, Birna charged at Loan again, closing the distance.
Meanwhile, Loan was deeply impressed by how Birna transformed her mana to use it for physical attacks.
It was the first time he had seen a mage who fought in a similar style to his own.
A part of him wanted to continue fighting and draw inspiration from her, but the situation didn't allow for it.
‘She won't die from this, right?’
With that thought, Loan extended both hands forward.
He positioned the mana condensation—once again aiming for his heart—between his palms.
*Bzzzzzt*
And summoned lightning.
Streaks of blue current, about to cross between his palms, instead surged up the water-property spear and raced toward Birna's body.
*BOOM!*
Simultaneously, a massive explosion erupted.