episode_0173

“Me, Lee… … ?”

The voice coming out of my mouth was trembling.

Clearly enough that I could recognize it myself.

I am not the type of person who naturally shows emotions well.

However, right now, I was obviously embarrassed and shocked, unable to hide it.

To that extent, the current situation, the sight before my eyes, was shocking.

Wondering if I had seen something wrong, I looked closely at the woman’s face floating in the air.

However, no matter how you look at it, that woman was Mary.

There was no way I could mistake Mary’s face.

At the same time, my intuition was also speaking.

That’s Mary.

I want to deny it, but that’s probably Mary.

So, if that’s really Mary.

Why on earth is she here?

And, what does that state mean?

Mary was floating in the air with her eyes closed.

And, the space around Mary was shaking intensely.

Also, I felt an energy around Mary that I had never felt before.

That ominous energy I felt from Hayden and Hamel.

“Do you like my gift? Wade Heblon.”

At that time, the leader’s voice was heard again.

Only then did I turn my gaze to follow the voice.

And then I saw it.

A little far away, standing in the center of the crater, I saw a man with a face I had never seen before.

“No, looking at the expression on his face, I don’t think there’s any need to ask. I seem to quite like it. It was worth the effort I put in to prepare.”

That guy, the leader of the cult.

He looked at my face intently and smiled as if he was truly satisfied.

I quietly looked into the eyes of the religious leader.

“… Why did you bring Mary here?”

He asked in a significantly lower voice than usual.

You can tell just by looking at this situation, without even needing to ask, that the cult leader is probably the one who brought Mary here.

What I was curious about was the intention.

Why on earth did he bring Mary here?

“… Is it a grudge against me?”

That was the possibility that came to mind.

There is a possibility that he took Mary hostage out of resentment toward me for interfering with the church.

That was the only possibility that immediately came to mind.

“You’re quick to notice… I would like to say that, but unfortunately that is not the reason.”

However, the leader shook his head with a smile and denied my guess.

“At an unexpected moment, I was stabbed in the back in a very grand manner. I didn’t have time to think about that.”

It wasn’t that difficult to guess that what he was referring to was a play between Estel and Cairn.

“I had no doubt that war would break out. They even planted people here in advance just in case things didn’t go that way. But I didn’t know you fully understood that. It’s no exaggeration to say that I was completely defeated.”

The leader shook his head as if he was dumbfounded.

“Even that wasn’t the end, they tried to occupy the academy by mobilizing troops. They had probably already guessed that I, or a key figure in the church, was inside the academy. Thanks to you, I was really pushed into a corner.”

Even though he was talking about how he had been treated harshly and was in a corner, the leader always had a smile on his face.

“However, no matter what the situation, there is always a hole for the wind to pass through. I found a card to overcome the situation.”

“… So, you mean Mary?”

According to the flow of the story, there was only one person it was referring to.

“Okay.”

The leader nodded slightly.

“… Mary has that kind of power?”

Mary is definitely a special child.

The talent he has is outstanding, and his skills are also outstanding.

They have such special talent that their specialness does not diminish even in an academy where outstanding people are average.

However, that is just a general standard.

It never occurred to me that he had the kind of power that the cult leader was talking about.

“You don’t know what’s special about Mary Blue Noah.”

The leader looked at me quietly and nodded.

“This is ironic. You, who are closer to Mary Bluenoa than anyone else, don’t know how special she really is.”

Then, he laughed as if he was very happy.

At that action, my face became distorted.

What’s so special about Mary?

I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

It was then.

“… Is it a talent for space?”

Veluid, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, intervened.

My eyes naturally returned to him.

Veluid was quietly looking at Mary floating in the air with searching eyes.

Those eyes had the most magical color among Veluid’s eyes I had ever seen.

“… I remember hearing it through reports. It is said that one of the students at the Academy’s Ministry of Magic has awakened a talent for space. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but… I guess that was information about Miss Mary.”

“It will be right. The only person there were rumors about was Mary Bluenoa.”

The religious leader lightly confirmed Beluid’s guess.

Then, he looked a little distant, as if he was reminiscing something.

“At first it was just interest. It was a time when she was attracting attention within the academy due to those rumors. It was a rare talent, and the fact that the target was Mary Bluenoa, who was close to you, Wade Heblon, caught my interest, so I went looking for her without much thought. Really, just for trivial interest.”

However, the religious leader added.

“I recognized her magic the moment I saw it. Mary Blue Noah’s awakening is not just a talent for space magic.”

“… It was a gift. ”

“Yes. It was a gift. What she awakened was not a magical talent, but a gift.”

The religious leader readily confirmed Belluid’s guess, which he heavily interjected.

“It wasn’t even a simple gift. It was a special and unique gift that I had never seen before.”

“… … .”

It seems that Mary had awakened her Gift while I was away.

Mary has awakened her gift.

I never expected something like that to happen.

That scene doesn’t even appear in the original work.

“At that moment, when I recognized her gift, I thought that maybe I could use her for a greater cause. However, I decided to just leave that thought as a thought. At the time, the war between the two empires was progressing smoothly, so there was no need to invest in uncertain possibilities.”

“… … .”

“But in the end, the plan failed, and I found myself in a corner. In a dark corner with no hope in sight. It was then. What reminded me of her existence was.”

“… … .”

“I decided to place my hopes on her, but honestly, I didn’t have high expectations. Even if her talent was special, I didn’t think she would have the power to solve that situation… Yes, you could say that it was a struggle. This was my final struggle, unable to stand still and be defeated. however… … .”

At that point, light returned to the cult leader’s eyes.

“She and her gift were so special that they far exceeded my expectations. Thanks to this, I was able to break through Veluid’s defenses, reach this place, and proceed with my great work.”

The leader turned his head and looked back.

What was within the line of sight was empty space, but it was not empty space.

I recognized it right away. The space there is constantly shaking.

Something unusual is happening there.

“And, the great cause is now coming to an end. Finally, the time has come… … !”

What was evident in the voice and face of the religious leader who shouted like that was clear and vivid joy.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that all of this is thanks to Mary Bluenoa.”

With a soft smile, the leader looked towards Mary in the air.

That gaze was as if looking at the most precious treasure in the world.

“… Dear Mary, what have you done?”

I asked the religious leader as if I was chewing, trying to calm down my boiling anger.

I didn’t know the details, but it was clear that Mary’s condition was not normal.

This was a fact that could be known just by looking at the waves of space shaking around it and the ominous energy flowing out.

Clearly, the cult leader had done something to Mary.

“What are you doing? If anyone hears it, they’ll think I’ve done something bad.”

“Answer me.”

“Wow, those eyes are scary. I can kill someone with just my eyes.”

The leader shrugged his shoulders slyly and continued speaking.

“Even though I said that, I didn’t do anything special. just… I just took some steps to bring out the potential of her gift and use it more cooperatively.”

“Action?”

“Yes. action. There was no time, so I had no choice but to proceed in an abbreviated manner.”

“… Don’t talk around, be specific.”

At this point, I was already suppressing the urge to pull out the knife.

It was clear that he had done something to Mary, and I needed to get some information about it.

“Looking at the reaction, it seems that Mary Blue Noah is quite precious. The guy who didn’t lose his composure even when I fell into a trap and killed my doll is showing himself like this.”

The leader laughed, as if he was truly happy.

“Still, you don’t have to worry too much. Because what I did to her wasn’t dangerous. Her life and longevity are safe. Nothing you worry about will happen… Well, there are some minor side effects, but that’s not a big deal. At best… … .”

The smile on the cult leader’s face deepened.

“It’s to the point where you cease to be human.”

Quang!

The next moment, a huge explosion occurred in the direction where the religious leader was standing.

It was a huge explosion, as if it could collapse a huge castle wall in one blow.

“Unbelievable power and speed. I couldn’t even see him swinging the sword.”

However, even though such an explosion occurred just a short distance away, the leader was still unharmed.

“Even so, I am confident that I can deal with a Ten Sword level warrior without using magic… It’s so bad that I can’t even see it. It seems he has grown into an unbelievable monster. Well, the fact that you are standing here means that you killed the swordsman, so that is understandable.”

The leader lowered his head, looking at me with eyes that did not show the slightest hint of tension.

“Wade. In this state, you won’t be able to touch the cult leader.”

Belude said to me, who was clutching the handle of the sword while looking at the religious leader like that.

“… … .”

At those words, I gritted my teeth quietly.

I knew this because I was the one who swung the sword.

Why didn’t my sword reach the cult leader?

The slash I made with my sword was blocked by the distortion of the space surrounding the cult leader.

And it was obvious who caused the distortion.

“In order to deal with the cult leader, I think we need to do something about Miss Mary first.”

“As expected, it’s Veluid. I have a good eye for attention.”

The religious leader clapped his hands and confirmed Beluid’s guess.

“As long as Mary Bluenoa remains in that state, she cannot harm me. So, in order to kill me, you have to do something about Mary Bluenoa first, as Veluid Demens said. Either kill her, or return her to her original state… Well, Wade Heblon, it seems obvious what you will choose.”

“… … .”

I glared at the leader, who was laughing and talking, with cold eyes.

The urge to rip the guy to death right away continued to surge.

He looked into my eyes calmly and said.

“Well, let me just say this. No matter which one you choose, it probably won’t be easy.”

As soon as the leader finished speaking.

Cheok─

In the air, countless cracks began to appear.

and.

Crunch─

A monster appeared corresponding to the number of cracks.

Monsters with ominous eyes that are dangerous at first glance.

“Now, try to struggle ugly.”

The cult leader laughed.

Indeed, it seems pleasant.