Chapter 126
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126
Before leaving the hideout, I took one last moment to sweep the perimeter.
I had deployed several Light Orbs to guard against intrusions by Zahar nobles, alongside alarm magic devices tuned to trigger at the slightest human movement. It was a layout designed specifically to cover the infiltration routes I would have found most troublesome to navigate myself.
Of course, even this wouldn't be enough to stop a high-ranking noble or anyone above that level, but by then, the situation would already be beyond the Baraha couple's ability to handle. I could only hope that no one would deploy combatants of that caliber to such a remote location.
"I'm off."
"Please, be careful. And make sure to wash your clothes while you're traveling."
"Ugh, Mom..."
Solif, enduring a final round of nagging, looked back at the hideout with an exasperated expression before his face hardened.
While a couple with mana equivalent to mid-ranking nobles generally wouldn't need to worry about their safety, they weren't fighting an ordinary enemy.
A short while later, the three of them climbed onto the back of the enlarged Bije and headed northeast.
With a body length of five meters and a wingspan exceeding ten, the massive bird of prey was a sight that would have plunged any nearby city into a state of panic—but no one noticed. Bije flew with Stealth magic active at all times.
Given the urgency, they pushed a pace faster than any previous forced march. During the day, Bije carried the three of them through the sky; at night, while the others slept inside Turan’s body, they flew and moved manually.
Thanks to this, it took only two and a half days to return to the Dakein Plains from their hideout near the Sky Mountains at the western edge of the world. Considering it had taken Turan a full month and a half to walk there, and five days even when traveling with the Baraha couple, it was a truly remarkable speed.
*
"Asiz."
It was early evening.
Asiz, who had been pacing the villa's garden with an anxious face, jerked his head around in surprise at the sudden voice. Turan stood there, though Asiz hadn't sensed his arrival at all.
"It’s been a while. Where are... the other two?"
"Waiting outside the city. The kidnappers might have scouts watching the area."
"I see..."
Asiz started to say he was disappointed he couldn't see Meisa in person, but he bit his tongue. This wasn't the time for idle chatter.
"First of all, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for calling you here for something like this."
"Don't apologize between friends. More importantly, can you give me more details? I couldn't gather much from the letter alone."
At Turan's words, Asiz glanced around, took a breath, and organized his thoughts. Soon, the events of a few days ago began to spill out.
"A week ago, my brother went to Morgen to deliver some magic devices."
Asiz’s brother, Melo, was the heir to the Berk family. Naturally, since he was transporting a large quantity of magic devices to the main house, he traveled with an escort of knights and several of the family’s retainers.
However, when the group failed to appear several days past their scheduled return, the Berk family sent Haram—their strongest combatant—to intercept them.
The result was shocking: Haram discovered that the entire party led by Melo had been slaughtered in a valley two days' journey to the north. While recovering the bodies, they confirmed that Melo was not among the dead and that a single note had been left behind.
"There was a note at the scene. It said, 'If Arabion learns of this, the heir dies.' That’s how we knew they hadn't killed him, but kidnapped him."
"Any word on a ransom?"
"Not yet."
Asiz explained that the Berk couple was currently in conflict over the matter. The father wanted to inform the Arabion main house and request support, while the mother and current head of the family, Midella, didn't want to gamble with her heir's life. Above all, the distrust toward Arabion following the incident with Meisa still lingered.
Turan listened quietly, processing the information. After a moment, he reached a conclusion.
"It sounds like a trap."
"A trap?"
"Yeah. A pretty blatant one at that."
Judging by the strength of the force Melo had been leading, the attackers had to be at least high-ranking nobles. At this point, the possibility of it being a simple robbery by some wandering noble was non-existent.
And yet, after committing such a dangerous crime, they hadn't destroyed the evidence. Instead, they openly declared a kidnapping without even mentioning a ransom. It was as if they were saying, 'Come and find us.'
What they want is for a Zahar noble to come looking for them. And that target is likely... me.
Turan wasn't sure which faction the culprits belonged to, but they were clearly certain that Turan—a friend of the Berk family—possessed the Zahar bloodline. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left a trail that was impossible to follow by any other means.
Was it the Arabion-Nagin faction? Or Carmine? Or perhaps Zahar itself?
The instruction not to tell Arabion suggested it was another party, but it could also be a double bluff. After a brief moment of contemplation, Turan let out a small sigh.
"Can I go to your brother's room?"
"...Can you track him?"
"I am a Zahar, after all. It’s well within my capabilities."
Of course, even for him, there was no guarantee he could find Melo's trail. If they had killed him and burned the body to ash, as Turan often did, even he wouldn't be able to follow. He could only hope they were keeping him alive as bait.
A short while later, Turan moved with Asiz and found a few strands of hair in Melo's workshop. He was disguised as a servant Asiz had sent away on a personal errand, so no one suspected a thing.
"That’s a relief. The maids clean my brother's bedroom every day, so there was nothing left there..."
In contrast, Melo's workshop was relatively messy since no one was allowed inside without his permission, making it easier to find a medium.
Taking the hair, Turan immediately activated a tracking spell. As all the surrounding scents faded away and he took a deep breath, a specific scent drifted in from far away.
"Northwest. The distance is about eighty kilometers. What’s out there?"
"Eighty kilometers... there should be a small forest. I don't remember the name, but my uncle went there recently to subjugate some wolf magical beasts."
"So it's a secluded area. Perfect for hiding a kidnap victim."
Now that he had the location, there was no reason to delay. As Turan prepared to leave, Asiz hurriedly called out.
"W-wait! Why don't you tell Uncle Haram and ask him to go with you?"
Turan’s martial arts mentor, Haram Berk, was the strongest mage in the Berk family. He was a master of combat who possessed mana near the limit for a single-bloodline noble, a perfectly trained body, expert combat techniques, and various battle-oriented magic devices. Even Turan would struggle if forced to fight him with an equal amount of mana; he would certainly be a great help.
However, Turan shook his head, rejecting Asiz's suggestion.
"Master needs to stay here and protect the others."
Melo was a good friend who had crafted a Guardian magic tool for Turan, but the most important person in the Berk family was Asiz. He couldn't risk a more vital person getting hurt while trying to save another.
"I see..."
"So, make sure you stay close to Master as much as possible."
Leaving Asiz with that advice, Turan immediately took to the sky under the cover of Stealth. He flew out of the city and soon spotted Solif and Meisa waiting nearby.
"What happened?"
"It looks like they’ve set a trap for us—specifically, for me."
"For you?"
Turan explained the situation to the surprised pair. Hearing this, Solif clicked his tongue.
"That definitely sounds like it. Damn, is this because we broke my parents out?"
"We won't know for sure until we get there."
"Are you going?"
"Yeah."
As long as a hostage was involved, he couldn't just back away. More than anything, he needed to clearly identify the enemy. Was it Arabion, Zahar, a coalition of the two, or some third party? If the enemy was too strong, he would have to retreat, but not going at all wasn't an option.
*
A small forest about eighty kilometers northwest of Zabilin, the Berk family's base.
Turan frowned as he stepped into the outskirts of the forest alone.
They certainly came prepared.
Through the senses provided by his holy relics, the presence of mages he felt was staggering. Three top-rank, seventeen high-rank, and forty-four mid-rank mages. Along with about eighty knights.
Even for a Great Family, it wouldn't be easy to mobilize such a force, yet they were stationed here, waiting for someone who might or might not show up. The likelihood that the kidnappers were an alliance of several Great Families grew stronger.
A part of me almost wants to leave them be for a while.
Of course, he couldn't do that, as they might kill Melo and look for a new victim.
As he observed them, several nobles holding Light Orbs approached him from a distance. Despite his Stealth magic, they shouted as if they had sensed his presence.
"Turan of Kalamaf! Deactivate your Stealth and come out! If you don't, Melo dies!"
Since they knew his identity, they had apparently prepared a top-tier detection magic device capable of sensing Zahar nobles. Turan immediately deactivated his Stealth and revealed himself.
"Gah!"
"S-stay right where you are!"
As they drew closer, Turan saw that the ones who had called him were Arabion mages. Specifically, they were members of the Middle-Aged Faction who had served under Kadram, Meisa's uncle, and had persecuted her. He had seen their faces at least once when he had raided their villas during his previous infiltration.
Though they likely hadn't seen his face back then.
"Is this how the proud nobles of Arabion speak after kidnapping the heir of a vassal family?"
"Hmph, vassal? They are traitors who conspired to kidnap the heir of a Great Family!"
The Arabion nobles seemed convinced that the Berk family, including Melo, was in league with Turan. Turan didn't bother responding and took a few steps toward them. The nobles, staying on high alert, immediately took combat stances.
"Enough. Lead me inside. You want something from me, don't you?"
"First, disarm yourself."
"And if I refuse?"
Turan’s counter-question brought a look of fluster to the nobles' faces. It seemed they hadn't expected such a response.
"Then Melo will—"
"I’d rather wage a guerrilla war from the outside than disarm and walk in. You wouldn't want that either. Besides, aren't you prepared to suppress one person like me inside anyway?"
The nobles glanced at each other at Turan's proposal but couldn't answer immediately. After a moment, one of them stepped forward, snarling as he pointed a finger.
"Follow quietly. I’ll say it again: the moment you interfere, Melo’s life is forfeit."
Turan followed the three Arabion nobles, once again scanning the surroundings. Perhaps because they were aware of his approach, those who had been spread out were now closing in, forming a large encirclement.
A short while later, Turan saw Melo tied up tightly, with Kadram sitting on a tree stump beside him.
"It’s been a while, Turan."
Unlike their last meeting, Kadram spoke to Turan informally. It wasn't a friendly tone, but one of condescension—the way one speaks to an enemy. Turan, in turn, cast aside any pretense of politeness.
"I won't say it's a pleasure."
"Where is Meisa?"
As expected, they were looking for Meisa. They had somehow discovered Turan was of Zahar blood and realized he was involved in her disappearance.
"Somewhere in this world, I suppose."
"Don't be childish. We are prepared to capture Meisa even if she comes herself."
Kadram spoke boastfully, implying there was no way Turan could escape. Turan ignored his words and subtly shifted his gaze to scan the area.
Two of the top-rank nobles are Arabion Elders... and the other is of Nagin blood. So they did bring reinforcements from that side.
He also saw quite a few Nagin nobles among the mages surrounding them, along with some who appeared to be from vassal families.
Then, Kadram nudged a young Nagin noble standing next to him and whispered, "Well? Does he look like the one?"
"I can't tell just by looking. Didn't you say he can use disguises? For starters, his voice is completely different from the one I heard back then..."
A mere mid-ranking noble youth speaking informally to Kadram, one of the power players of Arabion?
Turan’s confusion lasted only a moment before he realized the stranger's identity. That flippant tone was strangely familiar.
Ymir...
It was clear that Ymir, the fallen god he had killed before, had already possessed a new body. And they suspected that one of the nobles who had attacked and killed the Nagin forces back then was Turan.
Turan fought down the urge to activate his Spiritual Awareness and peer into Ymir. The moment he looked at the other, the other would look back and realize Turan had been initiated into soul magic.
Just then, Kadram turned his gaze back to Turan and threw out a sudden question.
"Turan, have you ever heard the name Otas?"
"I wonder. I might have."
Turan didn't immediately deny it, opting for an ambiguous tone instead. He calculated that if he truly didn't know, a flat denial would actually look more suspicious.
Kadram watched him intently before speaking to the young noble he presumed to be Ymir.
"Well, if we're not sure, let's just capture him and find out slowly. We have plenty of time, after all."
"I can't help you. This body is too fresh."
Their conversation left no doubt that Kadram was one of the possessed vessels. With a flick of his hand and a contemptuous glance at Turan, the Arabion nobles began to radiate open hostility.
The odds were dozens to one—no, over a hundred to one.
Yet Turan remained completely unfazed. He looked around and let out a small sigh.
"What’s the matter? Finally starting to feel afraid?"
"No. I’m just wondering how I’m going to clean up the mess after I kill all of you."
Ignoring the looks they gave him—as if he were a madman—Turan lightly snapped his fingers.
Dozens of lightning bolts, descending from the high heavens, bombarded the clearing.