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Chapter 234
Can I Return Alive?
Outside the inner castle, after Ferda disappeared by Gokma's hand, Gokma also vanished without a trace.
Three were attached as escorts, but all three might as well have failed.
It couldn't be helped.
In matters involving magic, all they could do was take the hit instead, and even that they didn't have time to do—it was that overwhelming.
They suffered what was inevitable to suffer.
Е̂ nu mа
That was the only way to think about it.
But Ruri couldn't think that way.
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'I failed.'
Her mindset when joining this operation was exactly one thing.
Sending Ferda home safely.
Making it so Valdrova wouldn't even notice and could smile and converse again—that was her job.
Е̌ n̄ù m̊ а
But that crumbled far too hollowly.
'Am I... unable to protect a single person on my own?'
A wave of self-loathing surged.
It soon became a swamp trying to drag Ruri down.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Don't blame yourself."
Jed, who was beside her, spoke.
E ńǔm̊ ă .i̊ d̃
"If it's him, he'll definitely be fine."
"I don't do things like blame myself."
Ruri glared at Jed and Arwen as if they were being cheeky.
"I'm not the only one who failed, yet you all are awfully calm."
"I'm also troubled. Sir Consillus is the same."
"Don't call him Sir Consillus... no, let's focus on rescuing Regent Ferda first."
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Ferda was dragged away by invitation magic.
But no one thought Ferda would be dead.
He was a man who entered a dragon's maw several times and popped back out.
At the very least, he wasn't someone who would die hollowly without even time to be saved.
"Since you said he received an invitation to the castle, he must have entered the inner castle, and to do that, we'll have to enter the inner castle too."
"We don't know what he'll do, so we have to find him as fast as possible."
Е̇ǹu̇ m а
Ruri stiffened her wings and continued.
"I'll go in first and find Ferda-nim. If I match your tempo, it might be too late."
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"Those eyeballs will be inside... will you be okay?"
Arwen, having already experienced it, couldn't help but feel fear right now.
Relatively more experienced, but even for Ruri, that sensation was as vivid as yesterday's events.
It was a nightmare she never wanted to experience again.
Е n u̇mӑ .і d̄
"It doesn't matter."
Right now, inside the nightmare, even that fear was meaningless.
Arwen realized she was impatient and tried to persuade her again.
"Moving together with us to search for Ferda-nim would be best—."
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Whoosh!
Ruri's body shot like an arrow and burst into the inner castle.
Еň u mа . ïd_
Jed and Arwen stared blankly for a while, then said this.
"Let's move too. Relatively slowly."
Feeling like a tortoise before a hare even while running at full speed, they entered the inner castle.
The moment they entered the inner castle, silence settled in.
It shouldn't have been silent.
Allied forces and imperial troops had already flooded into the inner castle like a tidal wave, so where did all those people go?
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"If we set foot in here..."
"100% something will happen."
The supporting mage had already been kidnapped, and their strongest combat power had entered the inner castle on her own.
It was bad conditions for two knights to step in.
But Arwen's chest held chivalry, so he couldn't retreat.
"Let's just try to somehow manage for now?"
Ė n̄úm̄a. і̄ d̆
Jed took a deep breath and widened his eyes.
His pupils began to glow with a red light, and the moment the wavering space touched Jed's eyes, it scattered.
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The endless space that had unfolded before Arwen's eyes returned to the form of an ordinary inner castle.
'So the Red-Eyed Tribe are this scary.'
It hadn't been long since Arwen learned Jed's secret.
Until he revealed he was of the Red-Eyed Tribe himself, Arwen thought he was just a guy with good hands.
Ѐ ñ ŭ m а̂. і̄ d̊
No, even the moment he revealed it, Arwen didn't believe him.
'He was spouting nonsense about sleeping with a Sword Master, then reveals he's Red-Eyed Tribe—who would believe that?'
This is Jed's fault.
No matter how out-of-the-blue a person is, they should be appropriately out-of-the-blue.
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"It's not ordinary."
Jed, who was lighting the way, spoke.
Е̊ n û m̆ǎ .i d́
"What do you mean?"
"Even though I'm desperately killing magic, all I can do is barely open our path. So this is what entering a black mage's domain feels like?"
Even while sweating cold, a smile settled on his face.
"If we just get the direction right, we might be able to rescue the Regent first."
"That's a relief."
But it's uneasy. We've entered a space like this—is it really okay for things to go this smoothly?
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As if to prove that worry wasn't groundless, an anomaly arrived.
Kugugeung!!
The floor that had definitely been solid when they stepped on it collapsed from beneath Arwen and Jed's center.
Jed leaped the moment he felt gravity from the soles of his feet, escaping that range.
"Ugh!"
"Arwen!?"
Wӗ_b_n̈оvеl Е̇ ñ ūm̈ а̇
But Arwen, relatively heavy and dull, couldn't escape.
Arwen fell down below.
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Thud!
The height was about one floor level, and Arwen's figure was visible.
"Damn it all..."
Adrenaline surged.
Ěnúm̂ а .іd̄
Arwen quickly stood up and gripped his sword.
From the thick darkness before him, eerie breathing sounds were heard.
They were monsters.
Grrr—!
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Krrk!
It wasn't just one or two.
Ě nūmā
Just the breathing sounds exceeded 30.
To make matters worse, the collapsed floor was returning to its original position.
What collapsed was one of this castle's traps.
Seeing the only exit closing, Ludmilla's face flashed in Arwen's mind.
No need to deeply understand why.
He sensed his own death.
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"Jed!"
Arwen, wrapped in a swamp of death, shouted.
"Find Regent Ferda!"
Shadows tightening around him charged at Arwen simultaneously with his scream.
Arwen thought.
How many of these bastards can I take as companions to the afterlife?
Е̄ nu m а̊
-Kieeek!!
Three flew at Arwen simultaneously.
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He was a seasoned knight of the Far East.
He concentrated all his aura on the tip of his sword, forging it into a sharp form that could cut even steel.
Sgeok!
He managed to cut down two, but couldn't block his now defenseless back.
Е́ ň ũ m̌а
Unlike the thought that extreme pain would rush in, no impact was felt.
Because something that fell from the hole pierced that monster's head.
Arwen turned his head.
There stood Jed.
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Meeting eyes as if dumbfounded, Jed shrugged.
"Well, it turned out like this."
Е̂ñūm̃а̊
Arwen sighed.
Unlike the sigh exhaled from his mouth, hope rose on Arwen's face.
"Just don't die."
"Hah, worry about yourself."
Arwen gripped his longsword tightly, and Jed readjusted his grip on his dagger.
With vision cleared, even more was visible.
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The estimated 30 was wrong.
At least double that.
They thought.
Can we really return alive from here?
* * *
Allied nations side.
Ё n̆ ú m а̀
The moment the barrier fell, they entered through the inner castle's west gate.
The first to enter was, as expected, King Hudret.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He faced the threat first and was properly fulfilling the vanguard role.
But that didn't last long.
When the rear grew quiet, he looked back—and the allied kingdom's army that had been following had completely vanished.
It didn't look like an intent to screw over Hudret; the follow-up troops that were supposed to come weren't visible at all.
W̆ӗbn о̇v е̇ l̃ Ѐ_ǹ um̄а
The mage's domain had secretly swallowed them.
"Mage, how's the observation going?"
"That's still... it's hard to grasp the proper terrain."
The mage moving behind Hudret fumbled.
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At that, the adjutant beside him frowned.
"What's so difficult that you're dawdling like this?"
Е́ ń ū m̄ а. іd̈
"I'm sorry. I want to resolve it quickly too, but it's not working as expected..."
King Hudret glared at the adjutant who was giving a hard time instead.
"Were you a mage?"
"Yes?"
"I asked if you were a mage."
"Th-that couldn't be."
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"Then shut your mouth. Unless you want your tongue cut off."
The mage exploring the terrain was an expert with adventurer experience.
Since the inner castle would definitely do something, King Hudret brought him as a countermeasure.
Even such an expert couldn't break through this situation—rather, they had to rely on him more.
At the same time, the adjutant's feelings were understandable.
Right now, nothing was visible ahead, nothing behind, and monsters could pop out anywhere, anytime.
W е̄b̀ ńо v̈ e l̃ Ё n̈ ǔm̈ а_
And if someone died, a powerful undead monster would be born from that corpse—impatience was inevitable.
"Just tell us roughly what you've found. Are we moving, or not?"
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"Yes. We're definitely walking in some space. However, it's likely a space intricately woven with distortion magic."
"How to escape from a place like that?"
"Destroy the magic tool maintaining the magic's power source, or kill the caster. Those are the only ways."
"Can you do those two right now?"
W̃ е̂ b̈nо̇ v̀е̂l̇ Е n̆ ù m̊ а
"An owner of mana capable of expanding to this degree... we'd likely die first."
"Honest."
King Hudret exhaled with interest and said.
"Coming in was at will, but leaving isn't. There was a reason we were let in so easily. Did King Hinkel have a plan?"
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Then what to do?
He was pondering for a moment.
E n̄u ma.
The search mage concentrated, then flinched and trembled.
"Something is approaching."
"Monster bastards coming endlessly without getting tired."
"Th-that's... they're not monsters! They appear to be people!"
Even if they're people, something feels off.
King Hudret ordered.
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"Battle stations for now."
Shortly after, someone caught King Hudret's sight.
Seeing that figure, he sheathed his sword and approached.
"To see the Reverse Hero on the battlefield, Count Rooster."
Oldin Rooster.
He was a man covered in scars, befitting the nickname Reverse Hero.
Ẽnǔm̈ а̇.i̇d̀
"To meet here, King Hudret."
"Indeed. Did you lose your way too?"
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"It seems so. To think I'd find you first by mistake."
Count Rooster thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"By any chance, have you seen the Second Prince?"
"Second Prince? Ureas? An imperial person would know better—why ask me?"
É n̂ümа̄._і̇ d
"There was word that an imperial soldier last saw Ureas on this side. Following that direction led me to meet you."
"That soldier must be mistaken. Uncertain information is worse than none, tsk."
"Or could it be they're circling around this land? Anyway, thank you."
"Nothing to thank. Aren't we both circling around the same way?"
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King Hudret smiled and held out his hand to Count Rooster.
"What will you do? Joining us this once would be a good judgment, no?"
Еn̂ u m ä .ĭd
A subtle cooperation request.
But Count Rooster looked at his hand and said this.
"No need to make an offer you don't mean. From the start, we moved as an independent unit even within the imperial army, and that's more comfortable. Above all, King Hudret has things you must do, don't you?"
"Of course. I'll take it as a polite refusal."
"Then."
Count Rooster turned his army and moved elsewhere.
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King Hudret watched that retreating figure, then spoke.
"But Count Rooster."
"Yes."
Count Rooster's steps stopped.
"When did you start cherishing the Second Prince so much? When I first saw Count Rooster, I thought it wouldn't be strange if you killed the Second Prince anytime."
"....."
Ёń u m а̌_. і d
"Was that my delusion?"
Count Rooster stared quietly at King Hudret.
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The royal guards pointed their swords forward.
As veterans, they instantly knew what Count Rooster was emitting was killing intent.
He spoke.
"A soldier's duty is to devote himself to his country."
Е̄n̊ ü m̂ ā
King Hudret made a leisurely face, then grinned.
"Not my business. I hope you find him."
"Thank you."
Rooster led his subordinates again and moved somewhere.
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His silhouette disappeared into darkness, and as they vanished one by one, it became quiet as a mouse again.
"This damn darkness is the problem, after all."
Eñ û mӑ .іd̀
King Hudret changed the subject.
"No choice. Looks like I'll have to use that."
"Here?"
His subordinates reacted at the word 'that'.
"His Holiness the Pope said to only use it during a decisive battle."
"That was when it's most effective. But if he anticipated a situation like this, he'd have said use it immediately."
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"If you don't use it at the decisive moment, that magic might be stolen by others."
"Then would you act like bastards who can't tell shit from piss?"
Hudret laughed and pulled something from his pocket.
It was a golden box similar in size to a necklace case, with the Order's emblem engraved in the center.
Its form was unmistakably shaped like a dragon, and officially, only one group worshipped dragons.
Faith and Light's Aspect.
Ė n̆um ӓ . і̇ d̈
Golden Dragon, Odograsado.
Hudret opened the contents inside.
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The moment the box opened, golden light poured out, its intensity enough to return color to everything in the vicinity.
What created that light was a scale.
It was a scale containing Odograsado's blessing.
A sacred holy relic that even Pope Odograsado couldn't use was in his hand.
Е̂ n̊ úma
"Honestly, I was dying to see how great this power is."
King Hudret gripped the scale tightly.
At that moment, golden light exploded.
