Encounter (2)

Kyle was also vaguely aware.

If they were trying to swallow the Drake family by using the late family head, having put in so much effort, they wouldn’t just let it fall apart.

As a preventative measure for that, they had already considered the possibility that if something happened to the curse, its master might appear.

In other words, this operation was not only about freeing Persis from the shackles, but also about digging a trap to take out the enemy’s leader.

“Finally, you’ve shown your face. You were quiet in the background, but it seems you couldn’t stand it when the fire fell on your toes, huh?”

“Hooh, you are….”

Even as she faced him, growling like a beast exuding murderous intent, the woman didn’t even blink an eye.

Rather, upon seeing the stigmata engraved on Kyle’s hand, she seemed to guess his identity, only giving a faint sneer.

“Kyle Lionheart, was it? It’s the first time we’ve met in person.”

“Cut the fancy talk. Are you acting like a goddess or something?”

“……!”

Twitch.

However, that relaxed attitude cracked as soon as Kyle’s words followed.

It was only for a fleeting moment, but Kyle could see the woman’s mouth muscles twitch slightly, as if they were paralyzed.

As he realized that his prediction was correct, a deep smile formed on his lips.

On the other hand, the woman’s complexion hardened slightly, completely reversing their expressions from a moment ago.

“K-Kyle. What are you talking about? A goddess….”

“I’ll explain later. Getting rid of that face is the priority.”

It wasn’t just her who was surprised by this; Sylvia asked for a detailed explanation, but Kyle had no choice but to postpone his answer.

It started as just a guess from a small clue, but now he was certain, as the person in question reacted as if to say, “That’s the right answer.”

“…There was quite the clever brat mixed in. I thought he was just a kid who knew how to use magic.”

Kugugugu…!

The woman, having been hit by him, belatedly regained her relaxed smile, then began to emit blatant hostility.

As an unidentified energy spread out as if to engulf the surroundings, the floor and ceiling of the room gradually cracked and screamed.

It was an extraordinary energy that would make ordinary people kneel just by facing it, but rather, Kyle wore a bold smile as if he had been waiting for it, and shouted.

“Anise! You focus on healing! Vermillion, you also focus only on protecting Father and Anise. Sylvia and I will stop this bitch.”

“U, un! Got it!”

“…I’m in your care.”

As Kyle’s instructions were given, Anise placed her hand on Persis’s back again and began to emit golden light.

Vermillion felt uneasy, as it seemed like those who had been caught up because of him were taking the blame, but now he had no choice but to do his best in the task he was assigned.

The moment he ran over there, saying he would participate out of mere pride, he couldn’t guarantee the safety of his father and lover behind him.

“Sylvia, you also focus only on supporting me. Don’t use that eye recklessly. It would be troublesome if you used too much power and collapsed.”

“Yes, I know. Kyle.”

Sylvia immediately retreated behind Kyle and began chanting an enhancement-type magic spell.

The power contained in her right eye is certainly strong, but the price that comes with it is also clear.

If the being in front of her is really the goddess Erze herself, as he said, trying to do something carelessly with this power could cause her to suffer from the aftermath.

If that happens, it would only be a burden on Kyle.

Therefore, Sylvia also decided to concentrate on the role she could play and support Kyle as much as possible.

Jiiing.

A light green fairy and a purple fairy that appeared above Kyle’s head sprinkled something like sparkling gold dust and disappeared.

Wind veil, which increases the agility of the treated person and increases immunity and evasion against magic of the 3rd tier or lower.

Soul flare, which increases the activation of the treated person’s magic power and amplifies the power of the magic used.

And finally.

“Kyle! I’ve finished the mana link too!”

“Thank you, Sylvia.”

Even Mana link, which connects each other’s magic circuits to share magic power itself and increase the speed of magic manifestation.

Kyle, who had finished preparing, immediately put strength into his feet, lowered his posture slightly, and began to wave his index finger as if writing words in the air.

‘Origin magic!’

Then, a faint ray of purple light emanating from his fingertips created an unknown character.

Vermillion, who witnessed this, widened his eyes.

Commonly used magic in modern times has been improved to make it easier to use magic by simply chanting spells, even if the power is slightly reduced to suit modern techniques.

However, in ancient times, there was magic through characters called runes or ancient languages.

These powers, called origin magic or primordial magic, exert extremely powerful effects, but not many people use them.

It already feels like your head is about to explode just from chanting spells and manifesting magic power, but you also have to draw a formula mixed with runes, so it is naturally a forgotten magic among wizards.

However, since magic is strengthened by adding one process to what would originally end in two processes, its power was naturally incomparable.

“Fuck off.”

Kwaaaang─!

Since there was a barrier set up around the area, Kyle roared as if to unleash his power to his heart’s content, and the roar echoed and the woman was swallowed into the explosion.

It was a shocking power that would have disappeared without leaving even a speck of dust for anyone to see, but Kyle frowned and kept staring into the smoke.

‘What is it?’

It was only for a fleeting moment, but the enemy’s presence was not captured by his senses.

It wasn’t just a matter of erasing magic power to eliminate presence.

The strange aura that had been clearly felt until just now had disappeared without a trace.

‘Strange. What the hell was that just now?’

Sylvia, who was already emitting red light from her eyes and staring at the same place as Kyle, also realized this.

She, who is superior to Kyle in terms of pure eyesight, could not detect any signs.

To borrow an old expression, if she had soared into the sky or sunk into the ground, there should have been some sign of it.

But this woman completely disappeared and reappeared in the same place without any signs, as if she had cast a teleportation spell with no incantation.

Even if there was a certain time gap, I would have thought that she had moved to another space and returned.

It was such a fleeting moment that even the expression “in the blink of an eye” was not enough, so that didn’t fit either.

“Kuhuhu, how amusing. That’s quite the power. I guess you deserve to have that stigmata.”

The woman’s sneer and shrill voice were heard from within the slowly fading dust.

When her figure was completely revealed, there wasn’t even a scratch on her body.

‘Is it the same trick as last time? No, it’s different.’

Kyle narrowed his eyes as he looked at this.

He wondered if it was an absurd power that nullified the magic itself, like the Archbishop used, but the feeling is different from then.

In the first place, because the magic was nullified at that time, even the aftermath, such as explosions or dust rising, did not occur in this way.

In other words, one of two things.

She either completely avoided that preemptive strike through some method.

Or she took the attack head-on and was not damaged at all.

But Kyle judged that the former was less likely.

So, assuming the latter, what tricks could she use to be unharmed even after being hit head-on by origin magic comparable to great magic?

If you think about it normally, you can safely assume that the damage itself didn’t occur due to a simple difference in power.

‘But that’s not it.’

However, Kyle realized through the fact that her presence had disappeared, even for a fleeting moment, a little while ago.

If it was an attack that wouldn’t have caused any damage in the first place, she wouldn’t have tried to evade it in that way.

Whether it was evasion or not is still ambiguous, but at least there would have been no reason to do such a trick.

That means.

– Sylvia.

– Yes, Kyle.

Kyle, who had established a deduction, immediately spoke to Sylvia with telepathic magic.

Then, he explained his plan and told Sylvia her course of action accordingly.

After the conversation ended, Sylvia’s eyes widened for a moment and then returned to normal.

– I understand. I’ll try.

– I’m counting on you.

It wasn’t that she was surprised by his plan, nor was she shaken by his reasoning.

It was just that she was happy with his actions of borrowing strength, recognizing her not as someone he had to protect, but as a comrade fighting together.

Then, she has no choice but to respond to that call.