novelraw Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104: Light (3)
Serzila's Eastern Great Plain.
Actually, the term "great plain" was an old one.
The ground, like a plain, was uneven.
It was mostly flat, but there were places where the snow was piled particularly low or high.
It wasn't that snow had fallen differently in specific areas, but that the ground was dug up or piled up. They were the traces of battle hidden by the accumulated snow.
The Eastern Great Plain and the Western Snowy Mountain were once battlefields against Magical Beasts.
They had been subjugated after a long time, but their seeds are hidden everywhere.
That was the reason why subjugations were held periodically.
And the last subjugation was almost a year ago.
The 19-year-old Elaine would have participated in that subjugation.
As far as Harad knew, Elaine did not miss any events related to the North.
With each subjugation, Serzila exterminates the seeds of Magical Beasts in the great plain and the snowy mountain.
Of course, those tenacious things stubbornly regenerate.
"This way."
That regenerative power was the basis for Ellen finding the way.
"How do you know?"
"Normally, around this time, there are snow worms around here."
To be precise, they are worm-like Magical Beasts that eat snow.
It was just as Ellen said. Around this time, with the subjugation approaching, they should have been swarming in the snow.
But now, they were scattered like in the great plain in summer.
It meant that something had cleared the snow worms and passed through.
"It wasn't a Magical Beast that ate them. The width is wide. And it's regular."
Only if one of the two conditions is met can one suspect a Magical Beast.
Either the path is narrow and regular just from passing through, or the path is wide and irregular from eating here and there.
But the path Ellen was walking on met both criteria.
Many had passed through, clearing the surroundings, making the path wide, and the result was as regular as if someone had set the rules.
It was evidence of human traces.
'As expected, she knows the North well.'
Ellen was a person who only immersed herself in things she was interested in.
The North is a land she loves.
When it comes to the North, there wasn't much Ellen didn't know. The great plain was a part of that North.
"This way."
As she spoke, Ellen looked at Harad.
It meant, "Am I right?" Harad nodded. It was the correct answer. In fact, it was funny to even say that.
That young Ellen would surely know more about the usual appearance of the great plain than Harad.
The Harad of the past life had little interest in the lands of the North.
"Is there no possibility that it's a fake trail?"
"There's no reason for that. Our knights will only fall for the trap, or not, once they reach it."
Harad nodded again.
It was the correct answer. The trap might be unknown, but the path to the trap had to be easy. Otherwise, the knights would dig up the wrong place.
"Ellen isn't just strong."
"What?"
When Ellen furrowed her brows, Harad felt a sense of pride.
It was his contribution in this regression. The original Ellen was only strong.
"Was the slope here this steep?"
Ellen tilted her head and looked back at Harad. It was an answer he couldn't give.
The Harad of the past life did not go around memorizing the terrain of the great plain.
"It's incredible!"
Seria exclaimed in awe from time to time. The vast snowy field, the blizzard, and the scenery created by the occasionally seen unfamiliar Magical Beasts were the objects of her admiration.
'She seems to be fine with Magical Beasts. Why?'
It was a question that had not reached him in his past life.
At that time, all his attention was focused on the Otherworld.
Demon! Seria would shout like that when she was bored. She didn't do that to Magical Beasts. Her eyes were sparkling.
'She's not reacting to magic.'
If divine power were hostile to magic, Seria would have to shout "demon" at Magical Beasts.
It meant that what the Church ostracizes is not the Origin, but the mage.
'As I thought, the problem isn't divine power, but faith.'
The doctrines and ideology are what ostracize mages.
So the degree of it varies from person to person. Since faith is ultimately an individual's heart.
This meant a possibility.
The possibility that if one searches the Church well, exceptions will exist.
Of course, it was a possibility Harad had no intention of relying on.
Is there a reason for the word "exception"?
It is more beneficial to focus on the North and the Boundary in the time he would spend worrying about the Church.
"What kind of trap do you think it is?"
Seria suddenly shouted.
Ellen was also looking at Harad.
"It must be a trap effective against knights."
Though it doesn't seem like it would be that effective, anyway.
"Although it's called a trap, it's probably closer to a preparation. You can assume that there are no traps with the power to kill a knight. It would be in the form of an ambush."
They would be waiting in a good spot.
That place would be both the trap and the preparation.
"It's unlikely to be a full-frontal battle. They must have secured a sufficient distance. They would have created obstacles to make it difficult for knights to approach, and they would make sure we don't realize we're heading for such a terrain until we arrive."
"Ooh."
"They probably didn't block the escape route. The time and effort would be a waste, and the knights of the North don't know retreat."
Seria listened with sparkling eyes.
When Harad was asked, the answers came out fluently.
"Ah, I see."
Harad realized what the magic he had been feeling from a while ago meant.
"So this is why it's a trap."
It was a subtle magic that couldn't be felt unless one was an excellent mage.
It was a sense of incongruity that Harad, pretending to be a civilian, couldn't speak of.
Subtle magic was flowing through the ground.
"Ellen."
Harad called out softly.
Due to the blizzard, Seria couldn't hear.
But it was clearly heard by Ellen's sensitive ears. Her eyes met his.
"Hold me."
"What?"
"You were right."
It wasn't a terrain with such a steep slope.
"We're going to fall."
As soon as the words were finished.
Rumble!
The ground collapsed.
* * *
'Snow. No, it's ice. They mixed in a lot of water.'
That wasn't enough. A magic circle. Harad recalled the magic circle that had once been drawn in Kubel's house.
A means used to increase power or borrow the properties of other Origins.
It was a means that had become obsolete in the Otherworld for being inefficient, but the Liberation Tower used it frequently.
'It's both this time too.'
The purpose was the same. Explosion.
They had artificially laid weak ice, and in between, they had inserted a magic circle and a mage's item related to explosion as a core.
As a result, the ground sinks deep.
It sank more than he had thought.
To the continent, the fame of Serzila's knights was considerable. It was clear that they had been conscious of it.
'They must have gone through a lot of trouble.'
Harad looked up at the sky and let out a hollow laugh. Cliffs had suddenly appeared on both sides.
The slope. That cliff was the sense of incongruity Ellen had felt.
The great plain area is not that high.
It was an artificial height built with magical ice, and the place where Harad's party had just fallen was the original great plain.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course."
"That's a relief. You can put me down now."
The civilian Harad was being held by Ellen.
Ellen put him down as if she didn't care. Harad landed precisely on his feet.
"You're really smart."
Seria, who had landed with a light, looked at Harad with sparkling eyes.
Because in an instant, they had ended up in the middle of a valley.
"It's really just as Harad predicted."
The sufficient distance and obstacle of the cliff's height.
The valley-like terrain they only recognized after falling.
Looking back, the great plain unfolds just a short run away.
The trap was exactly as Harad had said.
It was to the point where one might even suspect that Harad had designed this place.
"Are you suspecting me?"
"No. Because Harad is not a demon."
A demon does not kill a demon.
Harad, whom the Liberation Tower is trying to kill, cannot be a mage.
That's what Seria was thinking.
It was a common perception on the continent.
Saying that kindred spirits tend to stick together. Even though most of humanity's enemies were human.
"Aren't you surprised, Ellen? Harad got it all right."
"He's always like that."
Ellen said nonchalantly.
She didn't seem pleased. Her friend was being praised.
'I'm disappointed.'
It was then. Ellen raised her head.
Harad followed suit. Indeed. Figures were revealing themselves on top of the cliff.
"Sixteen?"
Ellen had assessed the number as soon as she raised her head. It must be the correct answer. Her overall physical abilities were far superior to Harad's. The same went for her eyes.
Sixteen. Harad was newly reminded that the number was accurate. Magic was moving. Exactly sixteen spells.
Ice, iron, stone, bone... all sorts of things fell from above their heads. A wind someone had conjured added to their speed.
"Harad."
Ellen shouted and rushed over.
The light was faster than her. Divine power. It spread out above Harad's head like an umbrella. The same went for above Seria and Ellen.
The umbrella of light rippled and swayed every time it was hit by magic. It did not break through. Additional divine power filled the gaps in the umbrella.
'It's amazing no matter how many times I see it.'
Unlike mages who are limited to their Origins.
The versatility of divine power is beyond words. It is close to being omnipotent.
"The Church!"
Someone shouted from the top of the cliff in a surprised voice.
It seemed they had only just realized that a priest, not a knight, had intervened.
"Did the North call a priest!"
It was a scrawny one who resembled a skeleton.
Despite that, his voice was strong. The one who had stepped forward on the cliff looked down at them.
His eyes rolled slightly. From Harad to the left. The magic was manifested at the same time.
A helmet was suddenly placed on Seria's head.
No, it was closer to a torture device than a helmet.
It was made of a material like iron, but it had no holes. Crunch! A creepy sound came from inside the iron. It was the sound of being pierced.
Divine power squirmed. The guillotine swung horizontally and struck Seria's neck.
Seria's head fell to the snowy ground along with the holeless helmet. Light pulled the contents inside it and reconstructed Seria's head.
"Excellent."
Harad muttered without thinking.
From this distance, the person had aimed precisely at Seria's head. And he had manifested magic at that location.
'He has a lot of combat experience.'
And it was the same for Seria.
As soon as she was hit by magic and her head was destroyed, Seria had beheaded herself without a moment's hesitation.
Inside the holeless helmet, awls the thickness of a finger were sprouting here and there. Despite being hit by that, Seria did not let out a single groan.
Seria had not made a single sound of pain even when her head was smashed by Ellen.
It was proof that she was accustomed to pain.
Harad could guess the combat style of the priest named Seria.
"Inquisitor!"
The skeleton man shouted as if in shock.
No matter how much of a priest she was, that kind of resilience is rare.
The skeleton man knew that fact.
'That must be the leader. 3rd Rank?'
Seria chose to behead herself.
It is a choice with greater loss. She must have judged that she couldn't get rid of the helmet with divine power.
'He must be 4th Rank.'
Considering the distance, speed, and power, 4th Rank was more plausible.
"Don't let your guard down!"
The skeleton man shouted.
"Assume she is more dangerous than a knight."
At those words, Ellen flinched. She did not climb the cliff. She was conscious of Harad. It meant that she would not attack unless he gave her permission.
'She doesn't have to.'
Of course, the sense of accomplishment was a sense of accomplishment.
It meant that she was following him that much.
"Demon!"
Seria, who had shouted that, was looking up at the cliff.
For some reason, she did not look happy.
The spells of the sixteen demons were embroidered in her eyes. This time too, Seria took out her umbrella of divine power.
It was not three, but one large one.
A streak of light stretched out like a whip, pulling Ellen and Harad and moving them under that umbrella.
"Run away. Harad, Ellen."
Seria whispered from under the umbrella that was being destroyed and restored. Her face was still hardened. Her finger pointed at the escape route.
"Ellen can stay."
"No. Ellen must protect Harad."
Seria was gentle.
At least, she was to Harad and Ellen.
That was the reason why she was not happy even when facing sixteen demons.
"It seems it will be difficult alone."
"I am not alone. Laan is looking down upon me."
Seria smiled serenely.
It was the smile of a priest one would see when a desperate person visits a church.
Thump! Something crushed the umbrella. It was a very large rock. The umbrella, crushed at an angle, rolled the rock off and disappeared.
"Inquisitor!"
The skeleton man shouted.
It was both hostility and a spell. The grudge against the Church represented his will.
Its direction was puzzling. He had shouted Seria's name, but his eyes rolled towards Harad.
Just now, those eyes had determined the location of the magic.
Ellen instinctively stood in front of the civilian Harad. She blocked the man's line of sight.
And Seria pushed such an Ellen away.
"You must go?"
She smiled gently.
And then she was swallowed by a holeless full-body armor.