episode_0088

“Haa.. How did things end up like this again..”

Senel returned to the vicinity of the auction house to find Zeros.

There was still a fierce battle going on there, and Senel had to move while keeping as much distance as possible to avoid getting caught up in it, which inevitably led to some delay.

‘Anyway… I was quite absent-minded. How could I not have noticed that Zeros was missing there?’

Senel regrets that although the original situation was chaotic, he should have checked it at least once along the way.

Although from a simple perspective, Zeros was just a servant of Katlena. Senel, who already knew roughly what kind of relationship the two had, also found it difficult to treat Zeros as a simple servant.

‘If things go well, this child could become a part of our family in the future, so we can’t just leave him like this.’

Senel finally succeeded in arriving at the auction house while thinking like that.

Since the front door was in chaos, he had no choice but to enter upstairs through the window.

‘I know this place is usually off-limits… Well, given the circumstances, I guess it doesn’t really matter.’

A situation where no one is seen, as if personnel have been mobilized due to the battle taking place inside and outside.

Senel then immediately used the magic circle to try to find out Zero’s location.

The Circle of Magic is certainly one of the best detection spells, but it has the disadvantage of not being able to use other magic while in use, so it could only be used after a certain level of safety was secured, as it is now.

The place where the battle takes place is quite a distance from here.

Senel was finally able to feel relieved and began to pursue in earnest.

Since he was inside this building, it wouldn’t be difficult to figure out his location in just a few seconds.

however..

“Huh?”

The next moment, I felt an ominous presence of power right next to me.

Senel had no choice but to immediately retrieve the magic circle and prepare for battle.

‘I wanted to avoid an annoying fight, but… isn’t it a little… late for that?’

A being that had already begun to enter her field of vision.

It was… the silver-haired woman in a maid outfit that I had seen at the auction house earlier.

“I see. I thought the power to protect the auction items was too weak, but is this the real power that was left until the end?”

“..Huh? What is that..!?”

At that moment, Senel finally discovered the vault door next to him.

At this, she began to look embarrassed, feeling that she was in a rather strange situation.

‘No. Of all places, why did you have to come here?’

Of course, from the buyer’s perspective, I was willing to cooperate to some extent in protecting the auction item, but no matter what, the prospect of having to deal with someone who felt like he was on a different level from the other raiders was not something I wanted to see happen.

‘That’s true, but… I can’t back out here, even if it’s just because I feel bad about the auction items. If I do well, it’s also an opportunity to pay off a considerable debt to the organizers.’

To be honest, since the items up for auction were so expensive, even Senel couldn’t buy everything he wanted.

In that sense, it might not be such a bad thing to be of decisive help in this matter.

After finishing her calculations, Senel immediately pulled out the sword she had on her waist, and seeing her like this, the woman in the maid outfit slowly approached her with a cold smile on her lips.

“That’s good, I guess I can enjoy myself a little for the first time in a while.”

The maid lightly wiggled her fingers as she said that.

“! Heh!”

At that moment, Senel felt an eerie sensation and quickly stepped backwards.

and..

-Pot!-

The next moment, distinct marks began to appear on the floor.

Senel automatically frowned as he took in the traces that were thin yet clear, as if the floor had been split open.

“Hoo..”

The maid let out a small exclamation of admiration at Senel’s nimble movements as he evaded the attack, while Senel’s face began to break out in a cold sweat, along with a distinct tension that was even more evident than before.

‘It was dangerous.. If I had reacted even a little late, my arms or legs might have been cut off. This woman.. is stronger than I thought.’

At this very moment, the maid was emitting ominous magical power beyond what she had sensed.

Given the circumstances, it seemed as if he was hiding his power just like when he entered the auction house earlier, and Senel began to worry that perhaps he was in a worse situation than he thought.

‘That’s true, but it’s already impossible to get out… Right now, I have no choice but to focus on the battle.’

Senel quickly regained his composure as he cleared the anxiety in his mind.

An attack that is carried out in a way that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Senel quickly thought about this mysterious blow that was delivered from a considerable distance away and decided on his next move.

‘Judging by the depth of the hole in the floor, the power is at least on par with a sword using condensation. So…’

Senel slowly gathered magical power into both arms while thinking that.

Depending on the situation, it might just be a waste of magic power, but it was definitely worth a try.

To find out what the enemy’s capabilities are and what their limits are..

“!.. That guy..”

Magic power gathering in Senel’s arms.

The maid wiggled her fingers again, adjusting something, realizing that the density was beyond imagination.

and..

-Kiaaah!!-

Something shoots out from Senel’s arm with a strange sound.

It flew straight towards the maid’s head with terrifying speed.

at that time..

-Kikikikikikik!-

“!”

“… .”

It stopped right in front of the maid and couldn’t move forward any further.

A small voice came out of the maid’s mouth as she realized what the lump was.

“Snail..? But even so, this power..”

The sight of a snail standing still before your eyes, its teeth flashing eeriely.

However, upon seeing that sight, the maid’s face showed a look of surprise for the first time.

On the other hand, even though the attack failed, a faint smile began to form on Senel’s lips.

‘I see… what that woman’s magic is.’

That thing that stopped the snail’s movements as she shot it.

It is almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, at this very moment…

The snail’s identity began to be revealed by the sticky fluid flowing out of its body.

‘Wire… is that it? To be exact, it’s a thread drawn out with magic. That woman’s attack method is to pour condensation on it.’

At this very moment, a silvery magical thread is wrapped around the snail’s body, blocking its movement.

This made Senel nod inwardly as he figured out what the invisible attack had just been.

‘A thread so thin that it’s invisible to the eye… Using it for both attack and defense… This is definitely not an ordinary magic. If you can pull out a magic thread of that thickness and even pour magic power over it…

In addition, judging by the fact that he was even holding onto his own snail that could pierce through rocks, it was clear that the thread’s durability was also extraordinary.

The skillful technique, the amount of magical power to support it, and the massive calculation power to carry out all of this in an instant.

In other words, the technique of using this thread was something that made it clear to the opponent that he was a very skilled player.

However, apart from that fact, at first glance this situation seemed to be disadvantageous to Senel, whose attack was blocked, but when you look into the details, it wasn’t actually like that.

‘What the heck is this snail? Why doesn’t it get cut?’

It was a thread that could easily cut apart not only the human body, but even rocks and steel.

However, at this very moment, the maid’s thread was barely able to stop Senel’s snail’s movements, and for some reason, it was unable to cut it off, and a deep sense of doubt was rising on the maid’s expression.

At that moment…

“!”

“Krrr!!!”

The maid began to look puzzled as she watched the snail tied to a thread suddenly split open before her eyes.

“This..this is!”

“Hoohoohoo.”

A snail whose split head transforms into smaller heads in an instant.

It came out in an instant, twisting its thread and wrapping itself around her hand, showing a look that was likely to arouse disgust.

and..

-Whoosh!-

“Tsk!”

The next moment, the maid quickly tears off her sleeve and escapes right before her arm is completely grabbed.

Senel automatically clicked his tongue at her more flexible response than he had thought, but instead, he took advantage of the momentary loosening of the restraints to quickly retrieve her snail.

Meanwhile, the maid smiled with interest for the first time as she watched Senel free himself from his bonds.

“She’s strong… More than I thought. Is this really that woman’s daughter?”

“!…”