Chapter 84
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Master (3)
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As I passed through the corridor, I called for Ash. If there were magical beasts inside, I'd need his help.
Ash appeared from the opposite side of the garden and came running quickly, causing Wedin to flinch in surprise and stop in his tracks.
"Ash, you're completely soaked..."
Ash, who had run through the rain, looked utterly pitiful with his drenched fur hanging limp.
'His body must feel heavy.'
I understood.
Most of Ash's abilities relied on his sense of smell, and when wet, his body grew heavy, slowing him down.
"Got it. Don't push yourself— just provide support."
Ash gave a silent response and leaped through the open door gap ahead of the knights.
"Wedi, you okay?"
The White Guard Knight glanced at Wedin, who had followed me, and asked.
Wedin faced him with a resolute expression.
"Yes, no problem."
"Having a holy mage with us is reassuring, but if things get dangerous, you pull back immediately."
"Understood. Don't worry."
Wedi's face showed no hesitation. The White Guard Knight grinned in satisfaction.
"Good. Then let's move in."
With the White Guard Knight and Sir Jenard in the lead, Wedin and I followed, along with five knights from the White Guard. We entered the corridor entrance on the first floor of the Edelia annex.
The wide, straight corridor ahead was deserted, just as expected.
Sir Jenard gauged the direction and cautiously took the lead.
Soon after, hurried footsteps of knights echoed from other parts of the building. Father's group and the Silver Guard Knight's knights had just entered as well.
I drew my staff and advanced while staying alert to my surroundings.
I carefully monitored the flow of mana, checking for any potential threats.
Even so, my nerves were on edge from the black dragon's aura emanating from deep inside the annex.
Bertharot could sense mana, so if I used any, he'd recognize me.
Or... would he?
It had been so long since our last encounter that I couldn't be certain of anything.
"...It's awfully quiet."
Sir Jenard, who was leading cautiously with his sword drawn, muttered.
The White Guard Knight gripped his sword and scanned the surroundings as he replied.
"The Court Mage Chief and Prince Raymond ordered the kingdom knights to arrest the nobles, but it seems they don't trust them."
If they did, kingdom knights would be guarding this place, and we'd have to cross blades with them.
Just the thought was horrifying.
We Prius, who prided ourselves on political neutrality, could truly be branded as traitors.
"Calling a diplomatic delegation rebels—when we should be received with full honors. This is a grave outrage..."
Sir Jenard's voice trembled with anger and shame.
The White Guard Knight's expression was complicated, unsure how to comfort him.
"For now, let's focus on calming the situation."
The moment we turned the corner, the White Guard Knight spotted three Gatras, stopped speaking, and raised his sword.
The Gatras lowered their stances as if they'd been waiting and charged straight at us.
Sir Jenard and the White Guard Knight swiftly decapitated them in a flash.
The three Gatra bodies slammed into the wall almost simultaneously and collapsed.
The two veteran knights had instantly assessed each other's range in the narrow corridor and reflexively created distance to swing their blades.
Their skill level was beyond my comprehension.
"You two, stay back as much as possible. The corridor's narrow, so be careful."
The White Guard Knight said as he shook the black blood from his sword.
"Yes, White Guard Knight."
I fell back a bit with Wedin.
As per the White Guard Knight's orders, the White Guard knights maintained formation in a single file, spaced apart.
We watched from right behind the White Guard Knight as he and Sir Jenard wielded their swords.
Each time Gatras burst from the corridor or empty rooms, we flinched, but the next instant, their bodies thudded to the floor.
"They just keep coming endlessly. Where are they all coming from?"
The White Guard Knight pulled his sword from a Gatra's head.
We hadn't gone far down the corridor, yet they popped out every few steps, making progress agonizingly slow.
The ornate corridor, filled with lavish and antique decorations, had turned grim with the beasts' corpses and blood.
Occasional screams of magical beasts suggested battles raging in other corridors too.
"These aren't naturally occurring magical beasts. Like Varkus summoning Gatras before, the black dragon or the Court Mage Chief is calling them."
I answered calmly.
Fortunately, the narrow corridor prevented them from swarming all at once—usually one or two, at most four.
Occasionally, Ash would pop up from front or rear, snapping a Gatra's neck before vanishing, and the White Guard knights cleaned up the rest.
Back at Cornic, the family knights—far more numerous than us—had been scrambling to flee.
"Then we need to push forward quickly."
The White Guard Knight sighed and resumed walking.
Soon, a vast hall adorned with colorful glass appeared.
Even in this situation, it was beautiful enough to make one glance at the ceiling and pillars.
"That's the main entrance over there."
Sir Jenard pointed to the wide corridor laid with a red carpet.
At the end of the carpet stood massive double doors with glass ornaments, firmly locked.
The White Guard Knight ordered a knight to open the main entrance and bring in the kingdom knights outside.
Once the knight ran off, he turned to face the opposite direction.
"Then this way must be the banquet hall."
The red carpet stretched from our position deep into the corridor.
Gatras prowled leisurely amid the ornate corridor lined with sculpted pillars.
"To witness such blasphemy again..."
Sir Jenard growled through clenched teeth and raised his sword.
"Hah!"
With a shout, he charged the Gatras, and the White Guard Knight followed right behind.
We advanced, cutting down the Gatras dominating the corridor one by one.
Wedin had drawn his sword too, but opportunities to swing it were rare.
Frontal Gatras were handled by the White Guard Knight's line, and rears by the other knights.
Then, just once, a dying Gatra, bleeding out, lunged its maw at Wedin.
Wedin let out a weird yell—"Urgh!"—and smashed its head.
He stood there staring at the black blood on his hand for a moment before belatedly catching up.
"Not regretting following us?"
I asked quietly, and Wedin gritted his teeth, nodding toward me.
"You get used to this stuff."
"If you say so..."
"Liberic, come here."
The White Guard Knight called me from a few steps ahead.
I hurried forward, cutting my chat with Wedin short.
After clearing all the Gatras in the corridor, Sir Jenard and the White Guard Knight reached an arched doorway that seemed to lead to the banquet hall.
The door was, of course, firmly locked, with some magical device installed above it.
"This is..."
A intricate magic circle rotated around a central red ecronium.
Using visible mana to scan around, I saw the circle connected not just to this door but through the corridor walls to others.
There were surely similar devices there too.
"Looks like it's blocking the door."
The White Guard Knight tried pushing the banquet hall door, but it wouldn't budge. No—the magic circle prevented even touching it.
"That's not all. This device..."
"Arghhh!"
The moment I placed my hand on the device, Wedin's scream came from behind.
A Gatra's head was thrusting out right beside him.
"Wedi!"
Before the White Guard Knight or knights could reach him, Wedin instinctively thrust out his hand to defend himself.
Then, sparkling ice granules poured from his hand, clinging to the Gatra's face.
Kieeeek!
The Gatra shrieked, its face frozen solid, blinding it, and recoiled. In that instant, the White Guard Knight cleanly severed its neck.
"Wedi, you okay?"
I rushed to Wedin, now slumped on the floor.
Wedin stared at his glowing blue gauntlet, face blank as if he didn't understand what happened.
It was a half-gauntlet exposing his fingers—one Grain had gifted him before leaving Cornic.
"Blue Spring Gauntlets, huh. Holy artifacts made by the water Arbat clan."
The White Guard Knight glanced at Wedin's gauntlet with interest.
"But that just now... it looked like magic."
Wedin couldn't hide his confusion.
"Who knows. All I know is they channel the water Arbats' innate talents. Anyway, we need to deal with that magic circle first. Is it summoning the Gatras?"
"Ah, yes, exactly."
I extended a hand to help Wedin up.
He was still dazed but took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. Fortunately, he seemed fine beyond the shock.
I returned to the banquet hall door.
Placing my hand before the ecronium, an ominous mana rippled in my palm.
"Father and the Silver Guard Knight probably have these on their path to the hall too. They block doors while spawning Gatras."
"How do we remove it?"
I pondered briefly.
Overwhelming it with strong mana would shatter this kingdom-level spell easily, but not affect the others.
Father and the Silver Guard Knight were likely fending off endless Gatras at their doors—we couldn't leave them and enter alone.
In that case...
"This should do it."
I pulled the Knot-Unraveling Key from my pocket.
This would dismantle all connected circles—like unraveling a thread, undoing the entire linked spell.
"Everyone ready to go in?"
I gripped the key's head and extended it toward the circle.
"Anytime."
The White Guard Knight grinned, while Sir Jenard adjusted his sword stance in reply.
I took a small breath and focused mana into the Knot-Unraveling Key.
Althur's crest glowed as the key's magic overlaid the door's device.
The magic circle unraveled with a hiss, and the central red ecronium clunked to the floor.
The circle vanished completely.
Connected circles elsewhere dissolved simultaneously. The magic enveloping the entire annex seemed to melt away.
The foul aura of the summoned Gatras vanished cleanly too.
Kiiiek...
The banquet hall's massive doors creaked open as if welcoming us.
The Edelia annex's banquet hall consisted of white pillars and pristine stone floors.
The ceiling was high enough for footsteps to echo, covered in sparkling stained glass.
Almost simultaneously as we entered, Father and Erner came through the left door, while the Silver Guard Knight and Shuren entered from the second-floor staircase entrance.
Good thing I'd dispelled the circle at the right moment.
The hall inside was eerily quiet.
No sign of the black dragon. Instead, three people sat at the far end.
Seated around a round table, they neither conversed nor faced each other, simply sipping tea.
"Your Majesty!"
Sir Jenard's face paled upon seeing the plump middle-aged man at the table's center.
The middle-aged man with graying whiskers was King Karon Lesis. His pallid face clutched the teacup with trembling hands.
He slightly raised his head, glancing at Sir Jenard and us, his terrified eyes darting around.
The two beside him were clearly threatening the king.
At least the black dragon wasn't visible yet. If we could rescue the king without a fight...
I desperately hoped so inwardly, but I couldn't ignore the intense mana swirling atop the spire.
"Release His Majesty at once!"
Sir Jenard bellowed, face flushed with rage, sword raised. His voice shook even the third-floor glass ceiling.
Outside, thunder and lightning flashed across the sky, relentless rain pounding the windows.