C80
"Damn! Am I too late?"
Thad, who had ridden a carriage all night, teleported to the main gate as soon as he entered Creas. As expected, the guards just stood there without showing any reaction.
It was dark magic.
And it was of an incredibly high level.
'I have to find Master first.'
Thad turned to the teachers' quarters. However, before taking ten steps, he heard the distinctive roar of teleportation from the sky.
At the same time as Thad, alerted, entered the Spirit Zone, and Ethela descended on a beam of light.
"Teacher Ethela! What's the situation?"
When Thad, who had just returned from a business trip, asked a question as if he knew what had happened at the school, Ethela was puzzled. However, as time was of the essence, she went straight to the point.
"It seems we've been hit by dark magic. All students and teachers have lost their memories."
Thad was stunned by the reality, even though he had expected it. No matter how crazy he is, it was insane to attack Alpheas Magic School, one of the five prestigious institutions of the kingdom.
"We don't have much time. Please tell me what's going on."
"From what I've observed in the Spirit Zone, the entire student body is climbing a mountain. It seems to be heading towards the impassable bridge. There are three leaders, and three people are tailing them. Among the teachers... It seems that I barely managed to escape."
Viltor Arcane's dark magic was on the level of an archmage, but since Ethela was also a bishop of the Karsys Monastery, it was impossible for her to be controlled. Thad explained what he knew, grateful for that fact.
"Let me tell you quickly. The perpetrator is Viltor Arcane, an archmage who disturbed the world 40 years ago."
"I've heard of him. But why would someone like that attack a magic school...?"
Thad bit his lip. He was in the bad personal history of his mentor, Alpheas. However, Ethela was the only person he could rely on at the moment, and he believed she would accept it without prejudice.
"Viltor Arcane is... the principal's master."
Ethela blinked but did not imagine any further than what Thad had anticipated.
"I see. However, Arcane doesn't seem to be among those taking the students. I don't know the circumstances, but we should rescue the students first."
"That won't work. As Miss Etella must have felt, once caught in a mind spell, it's not easy to break free. If we try to save the students one by one, we'll end up being counterattacked."
"We can't just leave them either."
"You said there are three people tailing them. Do you know who they are?"
"I couldn't confirm exactly, but... it might be Shirone and his friends."
"Shirone?"
The moment he heard Etella's words, Thad immediately realized. The time when Arcane's magic was cast would have been roughly 24 hours ago. The only students who could have been outside the school at that time were Shirone and his friends, who had been suspended.
"I can't be sure since I didn't confirm their appearances. But in terms of temperament, they were likely Shirone, Nade, and Iruki.”
“Perhaps it is. Those kids should be fine for a while. They're smart and will know what to do. Instead, Teacher Ethela, please find Arcane."
"What will you do, Teacher Thad?"
"I'll look for the principal. Our priority is to find Master and remove the dark magic."
Ethela nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll find Arcane."
Thad looked around the mountainous terrain. The grounds of the magic school were so vast that it was hard to guess where Arcane might be.
"Hundreds of people have been affected at once. With such a large-scale magic, their mental energy must have been significantly drained. They're likely hiding in a place with no people. Searching around the mountain will be faster. What is the radius of the spirit zone when expanded with Joiner?”
"Um, about 2 kilometers in diameter."
Thad, who calculated the estimate, nodded.
"Five points should be enough. Patrol based on the training grounds. I'll go to the school."
"Yes. I'll save the students after catching Arcane."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Arcane is..."
Thad swallowed his words. Saying the opponent was strong would only fuel her sense of duty. Who else could be trusted if not a bishop of the Karsys Monastery and a nationally recognized Joiner? (카르시스 수도회의 비숍이자 국가가 인정한 조너를 믿지 않으면 누구를 믿겠는가?/I’ll look into it later.)
"No, I'm asking you."
Thad, feeling the responsibility as Alpheas’ disciple, bowed his head in place of his master. Then Ethela shook her head with a shy smile.
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm a teacher at this school too. I'll do my best for the students."
"Yes, then..."
From now on, it was a race against time.
As Thad teleported and flew towards the school, Ethela took a deep breath and concentrated.
The Spirit Zone expanded as the sequence formulas increased at high speed. As Joiner's unique expansiveness was used, everything within a two kilometer radius was felt through Synesthesia.
'First, to the 26th training ground.'
Ethela's body turned into light and flew to the top of the mountain. She had covered 1 kilometer with a single space teleportation.
The Battle of Mages (1)
Canis and his group gathered the memory-blocked people at the starting point of the impassable bridge.
After completing the mission, Arin's face was pale. Even if they was affected by Abyss Nova, moving hundreds of humans with mind control was an enormous amount of hard work.
Nade, who was watching Canis and the others in the bush, said.
"Why here of all places? It's just a bridge and a cliff."
"I don't know. Maybe they're waiting for someone?"
Iruki said, pointing his fingers one by one.
"A cliff, mind control, and a villain. These three elements make the answer clear: they intend to drop them off the cliff."
"What? Why would they do such a crazy thing?"
“Logically, it makes no sense. Dropping students off the cliff wouldn't benefit them. But what if it's an emotional issue? Like hatred or revenge."
Shirone thought it made sense. Also, just waiting like this wasn't enough if they were really going to do such a thing.
"We have to step in before that situation arises. We might even have to fight."
For 10 minutes, nothing happened. The students and teachers stood in a daze under mind control, while Canis and Arin looked out over the cliff and waited for their master.
"Are you sure it's okay, Canis? We couldn't find Alpheas even after searching the whole school."
"We can't help it. Our master warned us to be especially careful when meeting Alpheas. We just have to do what we can."
"Still... I feel like we're going to get scolded."
Canis looked back at Arin with a displeased face.
"Arin, our master is kind. They won't scold us for something like this, so don't worry."
Lucas, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, began to get annoyed. He had followed them for the promised large sum, but he didn't know they were going to terrorize the entire magic school.
Considering the difficulty of the mission, the advance payment was also on the low side. Moreover, Arcane had not yet appeared, even though the promised time had passed long ago.
"Hey, when is your master coming? Did he run away by any chance?"
It was a case of assaulting one of the top five prestigious schools in the kingdom. Considering most of the students were high-ranking nobles, the aftermath would be tremendous even if the situation ended peacefully. It couldn't be ruled out that even an archmage might have fled in fear.
"Don't underestimate our master. He’s not someone for the likes of you to mention."
"Ha. I'm so dumbfounded."
Lucas scratched his head irritably. Then, suddenly raising his head, he glared at Canis with a venomous gaze he hadn't shown before.
"Do I look that easy to you?"
Arin, who has excellent emotional sensitivity, hurriedly retreated as the overwhelming hostility beyond the normal level surged. On the other hand, Canis maintained a calm expression. He had seen such a gaze countless times in Radum.
'Is it the Sahan Gaze?'
It was one of the Schema techniques that attacked the brain with a gaze, paralyzing the central nervous system, and was manifested through real-life experience and innate tendencies rather than trainin. Just by seeing Lucas use the Sahan Gaze, one could guess the life he had lived.
"I'm done going easy on you because you're young. From now on, you'd better watch what you say. You're the ones who are late in handling the job even though you were talking about contracts."
Canis couldn't even refute this time. Why wasn't their master coming? It was obviously strange that he, who had been waiting for this day more than anyone else, would be late.
As Canis remained silent and withdrew his fighting spirit, Lucas also released his gaze. After all, they were still on the same team, and above all, there was still the matter of receiving the remaining payment.
'I shouldn't have followed them from the beginning.'
Lucas looked back at those affected by Abyss Nova. Their metabolism is normal, so there is not much time left for them to stand still. Things would get more complicated when those with weak stamina started to collapse.
"Hey, what if we just kill them now? It'll be a problem if they pass out. We can't throw each one of them either."
Lucas had been hired as a professional swordsman. While mages were good at taking many lives, there was nothing like a swordsman for cutting the throats of the survivors one by one. In the end, when his stamina was depleted, it would all fall on Lucas, so he was thinking of reducing the number in advance.
"We can't do that until our master arrives. The core of the plan is to slaughter them in front of Alpheas."
"Tsk, then let's at least have some fun. They're all going to fall off the cliff in a little while anyway."
Canis glared at him as if disgusted, but there was no reason to stop him in a situation like this. As a native of Radum, he knew how dangerous a person like Lucas was. In the end, Lucas would do what he wanted. It was infuriatingly annoying.
"You're such a piece of trash."
Lucas's steps came to a sudden halt. He should have killed Canis in the first matter. The human brain adapts to shocks, so repeating the matter on the same target had diminishing effects.
"Hehehe, do you know why I hate you? It's because you act like you have some great conviction. You and I are both criminals. After today, you'll become a murderer who has slaughtered hundreds of people."
"I don't hold onto my beliefs because I want to be great. I'm just disgusted by people like you."
"Haha? Really? Do you know what's truly disgusting? It's weak people with big mouths. What are you going to do even if you find me disgusting?"
Lucas turned to face the front and grabbed Sienna by the neck. Her face contorted, and he lifted her body with one hand and took large strides toward the cliff of the impassable bridge.
"Once you kill one person, you'll know. That you're the same kind of trash as me."
Lucas held out his arms, and Sienna's legs swayed off the cliff. A choking sound burst from her mouth continuously.
"This woman is not bad either. It's a shame to kill her, but oh well..."
Lucas oosened his grip and let Sienna fall. At the same time, a spark flickered in his eyes. It felt like goosebumps, a unique sensation that only Schema users could feel from the Spirit Zone.
'Where is it?'
His sensitive nervous system detected the focal point of the Spirit Zone. As he flew into the air, an explosion occurred with a bang where his right knee had been. If he had been hit directly, his bones would have been broken.
As soon as he landed, Lucas did a somersault and stepped back. Even if he couldn't guess the radius of the Spirit Zone, keeping as much distance as possible was the standard tactic before facing a great mage.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
