Chapter 49: Obstacle (2)

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No matter how much Riley waved his hand in front of her, Sugar’s gaze remained fixed in one place.

“Hey… why now of all times…”

Why did this have to happen now?

As Riley panicked, magical projectiles rained down through the mist. Clicking his tongue, he quickly grabbed Sugar and dodged to the side.

He tried to make as little noise as possible. Unlike Louveci, Claude didn’t have superhuman hearing.

As he did this, the crows’ chorus grew even more intense. Their cawing, almost human-like in its fervor, echoed loudly throughout the area.

Something was off. What would happen once that song ended?

[Have you decided to hold your breath and wait for the right moment? It doesn’t matter. Once the spell is complete, it’s all over.]

Claude’s calm voice was infuriating. What kind of spell was he preparing?

First, the barrier was already complete. There was no way the two children could escape now.

Then, an attack spell? But did he really need to mobilize so many crows for that?

One child was out of magical energy, and the other didn’t know many spells. There was no need for such a big commotion to deal with these two. Riley was painfully aware of this.

‘Then what…’

Not a barrier. Not an attack.

What was Claude aiming for in this situation?

A more secure binding? Something to completely capture us?

“…!”

Suddenly, something flashed through his mind.

A horrifying and unpleasant scenario crossed his thoughts.

Riley quickly fired a spell at the singing crows, but their incantation didn’t stop. They either nimbly dodged or even if hit continued their song without interruption.

[You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?]

Claude chuckled as he approached. Since Riley had just fired a spell, it wasn’t hard to gauge his location.

[Let me tell you something. The activation range of this spell covers the entire barrier. How does it feel? Hopeless, isn’t it? You thought freedom was right in front of you, but it turns out you were standing on the edge of a cliff.]

“You piece of trash…”

[Ah, for the record, I’d like to have a good relationship with you. I’m very interested in that book. Can I take a look? Or is it only for the owner? Anyway… if you surrender now—]

“Drop dead.”

Riley immediately chanted an explosion spell.

Through the smoke, Claude protected himself with a barrier an swiftly flew in and kicked Riley in the stomach.

“…!”

[I’m starting to get annoyed. Even for me, things have gotten too tangled. All because of you, I can’t even count how many subordinates I’ve lost today.]

As Riley struggled to get up, Claude slapped him across the face. The inside of his cheek tore, and the familiar taste of blood filled his mouth. A disgusting taste he had experienced countless times before.

[I’ve been quite gentlemanly with you. What’s the problem? Ah, the problem is that girl over there.]

Claude, who had kicked Riley a few times, turned his gaze to Sugar who was standing dazed.

A bad premonition. Riley quickly grabbed Claude’s ankle. He tried to infuse it with magical energy, but Claude threw a scalpel to stop him.

“Gah…!”

[You’re directing his energy at us? After all that chaos? I’m really angry. You seem to care for that girl, don’t you? Take a good look now. Once we reach our destination, you might never see her face again.]

“You bastard!”

Riley pulled the scalpel from his hand and charged.

Claude grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and instead stabbed the scalpel back into Riley’s arm.

Even so, Riley gritted his teeth and stood in front of Sugar, blocking Claude. He raised his bleeding arm, shielding her with his entire body.

[…Hah. Admirable. Disgustingly so.]

Was this why the woman had suddenly brought up the past? The face behind the mask, his expression, sharply twisted in displeasure.

“You’re not taking her… We’ll… escape somehow…”

[Sure. But what does that matter? The teleportation spell is almost ready. Once we reach headquarters, the other apostles and followers will welcome you warmly.]

A large-scale teleportation spell.

The targets: everyone within the barrier.

The destination: the cult’s headquarters.

With this much commotion, it was likely the holy knights would show up. So it was best to leave as safely as possible.

If they were pursued, it would be troublesome, and who knows what might happen? Better to use a teleportation spell and leave in one go.

Originally, he hadn’t wanted to use it because it was cumbersome and consumed a lot of magical energy, but with the delay he had no choice.

Riley, who had vaguely figured out the spell, was desperate.

He had to save Sugar. He had to set her free. But he was almost out of magical energy. His body ached from running around the mountains all day. It had been an exhausting day for his young body.

His breath came in ragged gasps, mixed with the metallic taste of blood. Whether it was from his breathing or the inside of his cheek, his mouth was filled with a bitter, bloody taste.

His left wrist was twisted, scalpel wounds bleeding painfully, yet he stood steadfast in front of the girl, his head raised to glare forward. His eyes were sharp, the deep blue flames in them burning with determination.

In another world, this child had started with a single desire to be acknowledged and had brought a continent to the brink of destruction.

That same determination had now transformed into a desire to protect one girl.

[…I think I need to crush you a bit here.]

Claude, disliking the look in Riley’s eyes, pointed his wand at him.

Riley too, held the grimoire in his right hand. As if responding to its owner’s resolve, the light from the book grew brighter.

The pages flipped on their own. Though there weren’t many, it still offered the spell he needed.

Seeing this, Riley chanted the incantation. Even with his body on the verge of collapsehe prepared the spell.

A spell perfect for this misty environment.

“……—…—……”

As Riley uttered the mysterious language, the mist in the forest rose into the sky. Swirling violently, as if someone was pulling it upward.

The mist condensed, forming a cloud above the heads of the three people present.

“Eratio Truen Bestia De Baran—”

The language of an ancient tribe that once lived in the Cloudveil Mountains. A spell used in rainmaking rituals, always successful.

And the price paid for disturbing the mountain’s master.

As he spoke each syllable of that history, the sky darkened, and thunder rumbled.

‘Ugh…’

At the same time, his mind grew hazy, and he barely clung to his consciousness. He had no time and no mental energy left. Though he hadn’t finished the incantation, he had to cast the spell in this state.

Claude, noticing Riley’s condition, had already finished his incantation and was waiting with a smug expression. To keep his promise of crushing him. To render all Riley’s efforts meaningless.

[Is the incantation done?]

Riley pointed his finger at Claude without answering. Satisfied, Claude immediately uttered the activation phrase.

[Fire Dragon.]

“Master of the sea of clouds—”

Flames erupted from the wand, gathering together to form the shape of a dragon which charged at Riley.

The rain poured down fiercely. The cold winter rain, biting enough to sear the skin only slightly dampened the dragon’s momentum.

But that was all.

[What do you think you can do with a little rain? Disappointing.]

Riley knew. This wouldn’t be enough.

But it wasn’t time yet.

He simply held Sugar tightly and watched with wide eyes as the dragon approached with ferocious speed.

Just before impact, he quickly rolled to the side carrying Sugar in his arms. He ran in a circle around Claude.

The fire dragon followed closely.

[How amusing. Do you think you can extinguish the dragon’s flames by running around in the rain?]

Claude pulled out a scalpel. He wanted to crush Riley with magic, but this was too disappointing.

However Riley had been waiting for this moment. As soon as he saw the scalpel, he crouched down, shielding Sugar.

And with his finger pointed at Claude, he uttered the activation phrase he had deliberately left out.

“—Dragon’s Wrath.”

Only now was the spell complete.

Boom—!

A deafening sound accompanied by a flash of lightning struck the spot where Claude stood. Drenched by the rain, with no time to cast a defensive spell due to the scalpel, Claude had been deliberately lured into this moment.

“Huff… huff…”

Under the now-clear sky. As Riley caught his breath and looked around, the crows were silent. The fire dragon had vanished.

Did it work? The smoke cleared, revealing stillness. Even an apostle, struck by lightning without a barrier would be incapacitated.

But something still felt off.

“…”

As Riley looked around, the crows, which had stopped moving, began to stir again.

Caw—

Caw—

The nightmare-like creatures began singing again.

The moment he realized this, a scalpel flew from the trees.

“Ugh!”

Riley jumped to the side and looked up at the tree.

There stood Claude, unharmed. He had already transferred his consciousness to a crow—a spare body.

The body that had been struck by lightning crumbled into dust and disappeared.

[That was a good attempt. You almost brought me to the brink of death. I’m quite impressed.]

He landed on the ground, speaking calmly as he pointed his wand.

[But it’s because of this body.]

He immediately chanted the incantation for an explosion spell.

Damn it! Riley cursed inwardly, suppressing his frustration as he shielded Sugar. He was truly out of magical energy now.

He clenched his eyes shut, bracing himself for the impending impact.

—!

“…”

He cautiously opened his eyes.

It was strange that he hadn’t felt the explosion.

The aftermath of the blast seemed to have vanished. As if someone had blocked it for him.

Raising his head, he saw a woman in black standing amidst the smoke.

Without looking back, she tapped her staff on the ground and lunged toward Claude.

[Louveciiii—!!]

The angry voice of a crow echoed. Louveci cheerfully responded, “Yes, it’s me!”

[You…! I knew it! Traitor!]

“Don’t misunderstand. My faith in him hasn’t changed. I just want to stop you.”

[Enough of your nonsense! Having those kids join the cult is for his sake, isn’t it? Why are you, of all people, stopping me!]

“That’s one thing. But the kids don’t want to join the cult, do they?”

She spoke as casually as if she were declining lunch. With a single staff, she blocked Claude’s attacks and lightly pressed her finger against his abdomen. A simple motion, yet it sent Claude flying into a tree.

“You…”

Before Riley could say anything, a barrage of attacks rained down. Claude had summoned his subordinates who had finished setting up the barrier.

“Kill all the crows!”

With just that one command, Louveci stepped forward.

She had seen it with her strange eyes. The unholy, bug-like holy knights approaching with the guards. She had seen them coming. They just had to hold out until then.

She could manage that much.

The goal was the children’s escape. To the Holy Capital.

If they could just stop the teleportation spell, they could make it. Louveci immediately pointed her staff and chanted a spell.

“Illusion.”

Claude froze as the spell took effect.

However, another crow quickly transformed into Claude’s form and threw a scalpel. He had transferred his consciousness to another crow just before the spell hit.

As he retreated into the trees, his subordinates swarmed in. Louveci tapped her staff on the ground, an invisible force spreading around her like a storm, preventing anyone from approaching. The subordinates were immobilized.

Her earlier claim of being out of energy was a blatant lie. Riley exhaled weakly, feeling hollow at the sight.

But this wasn’t the time for that.

Riley kept his eyes on the crows.

The birds circling the sky. Perhaps because of the unexpected situation, Claude had decided to speed things up. The song grew faster, nearing its climax.

They had to stop it somehow.

Just once, just once more. He had to squeeze every last bit of strength from his body.

He couldn’t let this opportunity, created by Louveci’s betrayal of the cult, go to waste.

Gasping for breath, he raised his hand.

His arms and legs trembled, but the sweet scent behind him eased his mind a little. Taking comfort in that, he steadied his stance.

How would this end?

Would they be able to smile?

A faint fear crept in, and a dark thought crossed his mind as his body felt like it was being torn apart.

But even so, he would give his all—

“Riley.”

“…!”

In the cold winter mountains, a voice as warm as a spring breeze shattered his thoughts.

Translator Note

For magic spells the author sometimes use phonetic sounds with what appears to be a mixture of Spanish, Latin, English and more so I have done my best. The structure isn’t exactly there but I tried to choose the best fits