The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority

Chapter 100 : Going Home (2)

Going Home (2)

About an hour before Ian passed through the warp gate.

Right after Aris broke the barrier.

The moment she realized Ian and Kargon had been kidnapped, she immediately redirected the ship toward land.

'Damn it....'

Judging by the situation, it was clear the demon cultists had escaped through a portal.

If so, they likely hadn't gotten far.

Most likely, they were still within the territory of the Hisperion.

Trying to cross the border with a simple, makeshift portal—something easy to set up anywhere—would require an enormous amount of magic power, so much that even Aris would have trouble handling it.

If those villains really had that level of magic power, they wouldn't have just kidnapped Kargon and Ian.

The demon cultists never did things "halfway".

If something had even a little value, they'd snatch it up and sell it to their cult.

If they'd had the resources, they would have kidnapped Yuria and Charlotte as well.

But they only took Kargon and Ian.

'They didn't have enough strength to kidnap everyone.'

Or perhaps they came targeting Ian from the start.

If that was the case, it was the worst possible scenario.

If, after capturing Ian, they'd had any energy to spare, there's no way they would've left Yuria and Charlotte alone.

But they only seized Ian and Kargon before fleeing.

That was proof Ian fought so fiercely that he seriously depleted their strength.

But after such a rough and long battle, would Ian be all right?

Aris grew rather anxious.

If Ian truly was a dragon, and the demon cultists had made him their top priority, they would have prepared appropriate strength to deal with him.

There might have been several mid-rank master-level enemies among them.

'Ah...'

If Ian faced that kind of force alone, he might have been crippled...!

–Crunch!

Her teeth ground together as several ominous thoughts flashed through her mind, but ultimately, it was all speculation.

She needed to hear from the people who had actually seen what happened to Ian.

Aris asked the younger girls she'd rescued from the island, Yuria and Charlotte, everything they knew about Ian.

"I-I don't know! We were all together, but then suddenly he put us down and dashed off alone—then he just... disappeared! I think he was trying to save Kargon...!"

Charlotte babbled incoherently for a while, proving little help.

"Aris! Did you report to the Heavenly Sword Palace!? Can you at least tell us how things are going!? Are we really supposed to just sit here!? Aren't you tracking the portal!? Have you figured out where they took him!?"

Yuria, on the other hand, pressed her noisily.

'Haah... Worthless.'

Even so, after patiently questioning them one by one, Aris was able to get a rough sense of what had happened to Ian.

The younger girls said they owed their safety to Ian.

That Ian had protected them from the demon cultists.

Then, having stuck together for a while, he suddenly left them and dashed off on his own.

Ian must have sensed something at that moment.

That the cultists had activated a portal to escape.

'Then...'

Maybe Ian wasn't kidnapped after all....

He might have chased after them to rescue Kargon.

He jumped into their portal to pursue those carrying Kargon off.

'It's truly brave... Such a boyish thing to do...'

But it was too dangerous.

Ian's strength was still below early-stage Master.

Even if he really was a dragon, he would only be a hatchling at this stage.

If even a single late-stage master was among those demon cultists, Ian's life could not be guaranteed.

True, Ian had defeated a early-stage Master, Dellen, a few months ago, but back then there were variables like Flostilla, and now Ian was likely nearly unarmed.

If only she'd let him keep the swords he'd received at the Sword Selection Ceremony.

–Crunch...!

Aris bit her fingernail in frustration.

'And I need to report this situation to the Heavenly Sword Palace right away.'

Only then could they seal the borders and cities to prevent the cultists hiding somewhere in the country from escaping any farther.

The demon cultists had been thorough.

They'd smashed all the communicators that could be used to contact the Heavenly Sword Palace, so she hadn't been able to report the situation.

If Aris had been at her usual full strength, she would have run across the ocean herself to notify the Pavilion.

Even though the nearest city was about 200 km away, Aris, at full speed, could have reached it in under 10 minutes.

From there, she could take the warp gate to the Hisperion Main Hall and arrive at the Pavilion within 15 to 20 minutes at the latest.

'... Kh.'

But she'd used too much of her power to break the barrier.

She'd overdrawn enhanced energy atop the pitching ocean out of sheer force.

Although Aris had attained the peerless Grandmaster realm, she hadn't reached perfect mastery.

In such a state, she'd unleashed high-level powers that even consummate Grandmasters hesitate to use, so of course her body had paid the price.

Her mana circuits were torn, and her dantian overheated, so that raising even a little bit of aura now brought pain like thorns in her heart.

To fully recover, she would have to rest for at least a week.

'Haa... If only... If only I'd been a bit faster...'

Still, she regretted not pushing herself harder.

From what her sisters had told her, they'd missed Ian by a mere hair's breadth.

If she'd managed to break the barrier even just 10 seconds—no, 5 seconds—sooner...

She could have slaughtered the villains as they opened the portal and earned some points with Ian.

'Haaa... But what's the use of regrets now... I walked right into their trap like a fool.'

Aris swept her long hair back and massaged her forehead.

Having become strong enough to split mountains as a Grandmaster, perhaps she'd been overconfident in that strength.

To think she'd lose the boy she'd set her sights on right before her eyes.

She hadn't experienced such humiliation since breaking through to master-rank.

'I really need to reflect.'

Aris didn't make excuses and admitted her mistake.

It was true that she'd been too busy filling the huge vacancy left by the recently ousted Theo faction at the Heavenly Sword Palace, so she hadn't had the time or energy to pay close attention to this test...

Even so, it was a clear error to be so neglectful of matters concerning Ian, now the most important person around her.

This predicament was the price of that mistake.

'Never... I'll never make the same mistake again.'

A chilling cold appeared in Aris's eyes.

'I will never... give Ian to anyone.'

From a young age, Aris loathed having her things taken away by others.

Ian was a raw gem she didn't want to yield even to her own father, the Heavenly Sword Lord.

Ian had shown potential unlike any of the other talents Aris had recruited to this day.

How much effort had it taken to discover such a diamond in the rough?

She couldn't just stand by and let a demon cultist steal away someone so precious she wanted to keep him in her hands at all times.

She'd planned to nurture Ian, coax him, and take him as her closest confidant. To lose him so absurdly?

That was something Aris could never permit.

'I'll recover him. No matter what...!!'

A blizzard swept through her gaze.

'First, sealing the borders and cities is top priority.'

She needed to go to the Heavenly Sword Palace and meet her stepmother, Marceline Hisperion.

Marceline was the Palace Lord's second wife and currently acting as the Lord in his absence.

If Aris informed her that her biological son, Kargon, had been kidnapped, Marceline would immediately declare a nationwide lockdown.

Once the lockdown order was issued, inspections at all gates would be greatly strengthened, and artificial mana storms would rage at the borders.

With that, the demon cultists could not escape Hisperion's territory no matter what they tried.

Disguising their identities would be no help against the sharp inspections, and any attempt at stowing away or using other preprepared portals would be blocked by the mana storm.

'Still... there's a chance they've already crossed the border.'

It had already been over an hour since the cultists disappeared with Ian.

If they'd managed to set up a chain of portal devices all the way to the border, they could have exited the country long ago.

The cultists' portal devices required immense magic power to cross long distances in a single jump, but when used to make several short hops, the power required wasn't as great.

Of course, portals were precious artifacts even to the demon cultists, so unless they belonged to a truly powerful cult faction, the chances they had that many were low.

But it wasn't impossible.

'So I need to hurry to the Heavenly Tower as well.'

After meeting her stepmother at the Heavenly Sword Palace, she'd need to go straight to the Heavenly Tower to meet with the mages.

The mages of the Heavenly Tower could trace the portal's residual magic and track where the demon cultists and Ian had gone.

But if she brought just any mage, tracking the portal's path could take a long time.

To catch the demon cultists as quickly as possible, she'd need to bring either the Tower Master or Vice-Master.

Only then could she get Ian back before anything happened to him.

'Those slippery snakes of the Heavenly Tower are hard to budge even a little, but...'

Given the urgency, she was planning to bring them along by force if necessary.

'Every second counts.'

Residual demonic energy from the portal—the denser the residue, the easier the tracking.

She needed to bring those sly tower mages to the island while the traces were still strong.

"Lady Sword Dragon Master! Land in sight!"

Just as Aris finished finalizing her plans, an instructor shouted, pointing to the horizon.

Land was visible beyond the rolling waves.

"Good. This is urgent, so I'll head to the Heavenly Sword Palace first."

–Fwoosh!

Without hesitation, Aris hurled herself onto the sea.

Her body hadn't recovered at all, but this distance was easily manageable for her.

–Fwaaaa!!!

With a leap that sent the ship rocking beneath her, Aris's figure shot across the water like a catapult.

Attaining the realm of Walking on Equally Leveled Waters, where the sea became like level ground beneath her feet.

–Boom!!

Her mana circuits felt like they were about to snap apart, but gritting her teeth, Aris broke the sound barrier.

In the blink of an eye, she crossed the sea and leapt to the city, then immediately used the local warp gate to teleport to the Heavenly Sword Palace.

By repeating sprints and leaps, she soon arrived before her stepmother's office.

"Haa... Haa..."

Aris's breathing was a little rough.

She addressed the knight standing outside the office.

"I'm here to see my stepmother. It's urgent, so please hurry."

The knight bowed respectfully and replied.

"My apologies, lady Aris. Lady Marceline is not here."

At that, Aris's brows tightened.

"She's not? Where did she go?"

"She's at the palace infirmary. To see Young Master Kargon."

"... What?"

Aris, momentarily losing control of her expression, gaped.

"What did you just say?"

"...? She said she went to visit Young Master Kargon. Did I misspeak...?"

"No, no, it's not a slip of the tongue. Are you sure? She went to see Kargon?"

"Yes. Young Master Kargon, Lord Hisperion's sixth child."

"...?"

Aris cocked her head in confusion.

Kargon was in the infirmary now?

How...?

He was supposed to have been kidnapped alongside Ian.

Aris's eyes darted nervously.

"What on earth...?"

Then what about Ian...?

Ah.

Could it be that Ian...!?

No. No, this wasn't the time to make guesses.

Whatever the case, she needed to see her stepmother.

Aris hurried toward the infirmary.

And there—

"...!"

Aris confirmed Kargon was lying in a single-patient room.

"..."

Lady Marceline sat quietly at Kargon's side, gently fanning him.

–Creak...

Aris opened the door and entered.

"Stepmother."

"Aris. You're late."

Marceline turned her head to Aris.

Fiery red hair and golden eyes, just like Kargon.

One look explained exactly whom Kargon took after.

From head to toe she wore jewelry-encrusted garments, giving off a bewitching aura.

Marceline regarded Aris coldly and spoke.

"If this had been your scheme, I would've killed you on the spot. But judging by your state, it seems not."

Marceline, too, was a Grandmaster.

She instantly saw that Aris's energy pathways were badly damaged.

Though there was no blood connection between them, such words would be harsh in most families. But Aris paid it no mind and asked,

"Kargon was kidnapped by the demon cultists an hour ago. How is he here now?"

"Hmph."

Marceline snorted and turned away.

"That boy brought him back. It was interesting... Now I see why he's attracted such attention. And why you made yourself Sword Dragon Hall Mistress. You noticed his talent too, didn't you?"

"If you mean... that boy..."

Aris steadied her breath.

"Do you mean Ian?"

Marceline's cold eyes fixed on Aris.

"My son was kidnapped. While you, the Sword Dragon Hall Mistress, dithered and did nothing, that boy rescued him from the demon cultists with his own hands. Unlike someone who spins only dirty webs, he's a truly admirable and precious child. Don't you agree?"

There was a faint mocking and accusatory tone, but Aris ignored it.

Something else was more important.

"So Ian has returned as well?"

"You truly know nothing, do you?"

Contempt flashed in Marceline's eyes.

"You should leave. My son needs to rest in peace."

Aris had no intention of staying longer.

She needed to check if Ian had actually returned.

"Ah. Wait."

As Aris was about to leave the room, Marceline called out to her.

"... Yes?"

"You. Be sure to thank that boy."

Marceline's eyes burned nobly, like the sun, as she looked at Aris.

"If anything had happened to my son because that boy failed to save him... I would have killed you myself for your incompetence."

It was the truth, and also a warning never to make the same mistake again as Hall Mistress.

"..."

Aris met Marceline's gaze without expression and left the room silently.

She didn't care a bit for Marceline's warning.

"Ian...!"

Right now, the only thing in her mind was Ian.

My small gemstone, and perhaps my little dragon.

She needed to confirm that her precious secret treasure was safe, and she wanted to do it as soon as possible.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】