novelraw Chapter 112 : Chapter 112
Chapter 112 : Chapter 112
Chapter 112
The moment the woman's voice was heard, Garius sensed the magic power contained within it and shouted to Jeremy.
- Jeremy! Concentrate on the magic!
Even if that being killed everyone here, he had to maintain the magic until just before death.
Because the Young Lord was inside.
'...An unreasonable reason.'
It was an unreasonable and irrational reason that he, a wizard, could not understand.
Even if he stopped the magic right now, tore the Blink scroll, and ran away, no one would be able to curse him.
'Not that it means I can run away...'
Having become more sensitive to mana after gaining a small realization, he was certain.
Even with Moner's combat power, they couldn't defeat the being in front of them.
'She is a strong one who can shake one's mind just by infusing mana into her voice.'
Even if he ran away with all his might, he wouldn't be able to escape that woman's grasp.
"...Are you ignoring me?"
Garius, snapping out of it at the chilly voice, told Jeremy to maintain the magic and then opened his mouth.
"Greetings, I am Tower Lord Garius of the Reime-Front Hold Branch of the Magic Tower."
He brought up the Magic Tower just in case.
No matter how strong she is, bearing the hostility of the entire Magic Tower would be at least a little uncomfortable.
However, the woman's answer after tilting her head for a moment was something he hadn't imagined.
"...Magic Tower? What's that?"
Garius was momentarily speechless.
Because no matter which remote part of any kingdom you go to, there shouldn't be anyone who doesn't know the Magic Tower, the home of all wizards and the spire of knowledge.
However, the curiosity contained in the eyes visible under the huge hat was clearly genuine.
"The Magic Tower is the home of all wizards and the spire of knowledge."
"By wizards? That can't be..."
Tilting her head saying wizards wouldn't do such useless things, she shouted in slight surprise.
"Uh! Don't tell me, are you a human?"
When Garius nodded, immense mana gathered around her.
"It seemed like you saw beyond the wall... How can a human see beyond the wall? Are you really human?"
"I don't know what you mean by beyond the wall, but I am indeed human."
"Wow, that's really fascinating?"
Although she smiled brightly as if amused, Garius did not relax even a bit.
The being in front of him was clearly not human, and he couldn't gauge her thoughts or emotions.
Above all, she was binding Commander Vergil and the entire Special Mission Unit by moving tremendous mana.
Him speaking and Jeremy maintaining the magic were only possible because she allowed it.
"So what are you doing in my cave?"
At her question, Garius's face darkened.
He couldn't even guess how to answer to avoid her anger.
Since she called the cave where the Serpent King was 'my cave', in the worst case, she might be the owner of the Serpent King.
Garius swallowed hard and opened his mouth.
"We didn't know there was an owner of this cave."
"Of course. Because no human knows this cave."
Unlike her sweet voice, her horrifyingly cold eyes stared as if piercing through him.
"That's why it's even stranger. This is a place only those who know of its existence can find; how did you find this place?"
'Only those who know of its existence can find?'
That can't be.
Because it was a soldier of the Special Mission Unit who found this place.
For a moment, the Young Lord who ordered to find a place where a Serpent could hide crossed his mind, but it was a soldier named Derku who found this place, not him.
"We found it by chance while searching this area for a Serpent."
"Strange..."
Even while saying that, she didn't seem to care much.
"Then you came here to catch those big snakes? Why?"
"It's a long story..."
"Ahaha! Unlike you guys, I have a lot of time, so it's fine. Tell me slowly."
Garius sighed inwardly and opened his mouth to explain.
* * *
"Ahahaha! So, you caught them to stop those pigs from eating them?"
He explained the unavoidable reasons in detail, but that was the summary.
When Garius nodded, she asked with a peal of laughter.
"And you went into that cave to catch a big snake too?"
It was a voice full of laughter just like before.
Only the mana felt in that voice had become several times thicker than before.
"...Yes."
Her gaze slowly scanned the humans gathered here.
"You guys can't do it."
A voice devoid of any mockery or contempt continued.
"Even if hundreds of you gather, you can't. Should I get the human inside out for you?"
For a moment, Garius's gaze turned to Jeremy and the blue flames burning the cave.
"Ah, that fire is impressive, but even that won't work. That snake has resistance to fire."
Having said that, she tilted her head for a moment and continued.
"But no matter how stupid that snake is, I don't think it would pass over such hot fire?"
Garius's gaze looking at the blue flames wavered.
'Those words are clearly true.'
Because such a strong being would have no need to speak lies.
Thinking that the Serpent King could be caught with just the atmospheric temperature in the first place was also due to the Young Lord's words.
Words of just a young noble son who is neither a wizard, nor a scholar, nor a knight.
"How about it, should I get him out?"
The Young Lord was clearly wrong.
It was stranger to have believed his words from the beginning.
If it were blind knights, maybe, but for him, a wizard, to trust others so easily.
Just as he was about to nod, Jeremy's voice, who was casting the ignition magic, lingered in his ears.
[Shouldn't we, the wizards, pull ourselves together especially at times like this?]
Only then did he realize that dazzlingly dense mana was flowing out every time she exhaled.
Pushing away the dense mana that shook even an Archmage's reason , he continued with difficulty.
"Phew... Could, could you wait, just a moment?"
"Really? If you stay a little longer, he'll be eaten by that snake?"
He gritted his teeth and organized his thoughts.
'First, that being is not the owner of this cave.'
Because there is no owner who asks for the opponent's permission to enter. If it were really her cave, she would have ignored everyone here and entered.
'Second, it is clear that there is an unknown 'restriction'.'
Seeing her continuously 'offering' to help since earlier, it was clear she had some kind of restriction.
A strong person of that level has no need to propose anything.
Even if she enters the cave to kill the Young Lord, there is no one who can stop her.
'Finally, she wants to act against the restriction.'
The fact that she didn't ask for permission when overwhelming the Special Mission Unit or trying to shake their minds with mana means those two actions didn't go against the restriction.
If her entering the cave itself is not an action 'requiring permission'.
'The meaning of helping might be different from mine.'
Having made a decision, he opened his mouth again.
"I apologize, but we do not need help."
"...Really?"
This could be a wrong judgment.
The Young Lord might actually be in danger, and he might not be able to be saved without her help.
Nevertheless, Garius gritted his teeth, nodded, and answered.
"Yes, but I thank you for your generous offer."
No matter how strong the Serpent King is, he couldn't be as strong as the woman in front of his eyes.
"......."
At the sudden silence, Garius quietly pulled up mana and prepared for the pain that would soon come.
Since he didn't know how she would react after not getting what she wanted.
Just as he was cursing his past self for putting a restriction on all 'combat magic', the woman broke the silence and began to laugh.
"Ahahahaha! The squirrel was right! You guys are really interesting! I didn't know you could endure my 'breath' to this extent!"
Laughing while clapping her hands as if it were really fun, she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes and asked.
"Then tell me this. Why did you start that fire?"
'She didn't ask for permission.'
Instead of asking if he could tell her, she demanded an answer. In other words, seeking an answer does not fall under her restriction.
Garius, who pondered for a moment, opened his mouth.
"No matter how hard scales and bones the Serpent King has, I thought he would have only one pair of lungs like other Serpents."
"Hmm...? That snake has resistance to fire?"
"Surely the Serpent King's scales have resistance to fire, but I thought he couldn't have gained resistance for his lungs and internal organs."
She stared at Garius wordlessly with narrowed eyes.
"......."
Actually, it wasn't a thought but a conviction.
'It was just the Young Lord's conviction, not mine.'
Before even seeing the Serpent King, the Young Lord said the Serpent King's scales would have high fire resistance and gave up on physical attacks before even shooting a single arrow.
Furthermore, he didn't allow close combat for anyone in the Special Mission Unit because the poison couldn't be treated.
As if he had caught the Serpent King dozens of times.
'I don't know what it is, but the Young Lord is hiding something.'
Garius, a born wizard, guessed that the Young Lord must have obtained a grimoire from legends.
If it's a grimoire that contains all the wisdom of the world and shows the information the owner wants, it could explain the incongruity felt from the Young Lord to some extent.
So instead of telling the truth, he said that coming up with the hunting method was entirely his idea.
"...Really?"
The moment the woman who was looking at him silently opened her mouth, dense mana flowed out.
At the same time, as if representing her emotions, the surrounding mana pressed down on the air and tightened his breath.
"Keuk, keuk."
Even while writhing in pain, Garius checked Jeremy and the Special Mission Unit first.
And convinced that even if the lie was discovered and he died, it would only be him, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Kuhuk, i, it is true."
As he spoke while exhaling air as if tearing his lungs, she frowned and said.
"Since you say so to that extent, I'll let it slide."
"Heok! Heok, heok, heok!"
Garius, finally breathing the allowed air, felt fear before relief.
'How much, how much longer can I endure.'
Neither the title of Tower Lord of the Magic Tower, nor the title of Archmage, nor even the magical knowledge he had built up over decades meant anything to the being in front of him.
It would have been better if she had just killed him.
She could kill him anytime, and as just now, she could make him experience death as much as she wanted.
Just as his body was trembling from the fear gradually encroaching on his mind, her sticky voice rang in his ears after looking at him wordlessly for a while.
"I wanted to see the human inside too... but it can't be helped. I guess I'll have to be satisfied with just you."
The old man called the Archmage moved his mana more carefully than ever.
Because it would be better to detonate his mana circle and die rather than become a state of neither living nor dead, captured by a being whose name he didn't even know.
Just as the carefully moved mana was about to knock on the mana circle surrounding his heart, a voice full of irritation was heard.
"What is this again?"