Ch.106Chapter 106. First Elder Kilbis (5)

It was truly a long-overdue feeling of genuine irritation.

Despite various incidents recently, I hadn’t felt this annoyed until now.

‘Hmm.’

I contemplated how to handle the situation.

The top priority was rescuing Elaine.

I wanted to just grab Elaine floating in the air and escape, but there were too many uncertainties.

That barrier-like magic surrounding Elaine was highly suspicious.

The First Elder already knew I could easily pass through barriers made with black magic.

Yet he confidently brought Elaine out like that.

He must have something he’s counting on.

And if I just disappeared with Elaine, there was a high probability that Commander Ordin would die.

Though he wasn’t particularly important to me, I’d feel a bit sorry to just let him die.

‘This is why it’s easier to be alone.’

“First, hand over that undead wyvern.”

The First Elder spoke with a voice full of confidence.

Grrrr-

The dragon seemed to understand what the First Elder said and growled lowly.

Whether it liked or disliked the idea, I couldn’t tell.

“Then you’ll exchange for that student?”

“You don’t understand your position.”

Whoosh-

“Kya, kyaaat!”

The First Elder mercilessly dropped Elaine again in response to my words.

Unlike before, this time a sharp scream escaped from Elaine.

Falling rapidly almost to the ground again, Elaine was flailing, trying to regain her balance.

And at that moment, I saw it.

As Elaine swung her arms trying to balance herself, formless energy rippled where her fingertips touched.

‘Surprisingly weak?’

Though my eyesight isn’t exceptional, I could clearly see it.

The protective barrier surrounding Elaine appeared noticeably weak.

That’s how barriers typically worked.

They block external impacts well but are naturally weak against internal forces.

After all, barriers are magic created to protect against external attacks.

Simultaneously, a thought flashed through my mind.

A thought that I could resolve the situation without gambling on uncertainties.

‘If it doesn’t work, I’ll go in myself.’

Considering the worst-case scenario too.

“Okay. I’ll hand it over.”

“What are you trying to—”

Woong-

First, I dealt with Commander Ordin.

While pretending to give orders to the dragon by stroking its head, I teleported Ordin somewhere else.

Normally I would go along when teleporting people since it could be dangerous, but I didn’t have that luxury now.

‘Even if something goes wrong, it’s better than dying here.’

“Wh-what! Where did he…?”

The First Elder visibly panicked when Ordin suddenly disappeared, raising his hands.

Simultaneously, I felt a massive wave of energy from the ground.

It was clearly a powerful spell.

There’s no way he could cast such magic in such a short time.

The magic circle must have already been laid on the ground beneath that fog.

Feeling the enormous mana gathering from the ground, I sent the dragon flying toward the First Elder.

Of course, the dragon didn’t just obediently fly toward the First Elder.

It opened its mouth wide and charged as if to devour him.

At the same time, I teleported in front of Elaine.

“Tear it and jump!”

“…Ugh.”

I shouted with all my might toward Elaine, who was still struggling to maintain her balance.

Elaine looked up at my shout.

With a frowning expression of confusion.

It was completely different from the expression I had expected.

I thought she would naturally look relieved or happy to see me.

Only then did I remember.

‘Ah.’

The situation was so urgent that I hadn’t thought about it.

Right now, I wasn’t Ryu from the academy but Ryuyeong, the commander of the Black Shadow Corps.

Wearing the Black Shadow Corps uniform and a black mask.

There was no way Elaine would follow my instructions.

‘Oh shit.’

As soon as this thought occurred to me, I moved.

There wasn’t even 0.1 seconds to waste.

I didn’t want to enter the protective barrier surrounding Elaine, but I had no choice.

I didn’t know what trap might be waiting, but I had to save her.

In the worst case, I might not be able to move for a while, but I could use ‘that technique’ if needed.

‘I have no choice but to—’

Just as I was about to move to Elaine’s side.

Slash-

Elaine gathered white mana in her hand and swung it like a sword.

Though naturally weaker than an actual sword, it worked.

Elaine’s hand tore through the protective barrier.

And as if in one continuous motion, Elaine threw herself toward the torn gap.

With quick movements that showed no hesitation whatsoever.

Woong-

I reached out toward Elaine as she jumped from midair.

**

It was extremely frustrating.

Elaine massaged her shoulder, which felt a dull pain, while grimacing intensely.

She had thrown her body against the door countless times trying to break it, but it wouldn’t budge.

It seemed to be protected by some special magic.

“Haaah.”

Elaine sighed deeply with frustration as she slumped into a chair.

There was a window in the room, but she couldn’t see outside.

Because of this, it was difficult to tell how much time had passed.

‘Will Ryu come to rescue me?’

When Elaine determined that escaping on her own would be difficult, the first person who came to mind was Ryu.

Ryu, who always observed situations with a relaxed expression while his black hair fluttered.

Elaine had no doubt that Ryu would come to rescue her this time too, with a similar expression.

However, separate from that, her pride was hurt.

Her helpless situation of being captured and unable to do anything.

‘If it were Ryu, what would he do in this situation?’

Elaine tried to imagine.

What would Ryu do if he were captured by a mage without weapons and confined in a space like this?

‘…He would probably use magic to get out.’

There would be many other methods too.

Thinking about it made Elaine newly aware of the skill gap between herself and Ryu.

Pung-

“Phew.”

‘Huh?’

As Elaine was deeply immersed in her feelings of helplessness, someone appeared before her with a popping sound.

The man with an unfamiliar face was exhaling a rough sigh.

Elaine instinctively recognized the long-haired man.

She couldn’t tell earlier because he was wearing a white robe, but this man was the one who had brought her here.

“It was good to bring you here.”

“Urgh!”

Elaine tried to lunge at the man who was muttering quietly while looking at her, but failed.

There seemed to be a solid wall between her and the man.

“Go. Bait.”

Whoosh-

Elaine instinctively closed her eyes and raised her guard, feeling a strong energy momentarily.

She thought an attack was coming, but that wasn’t it.

Before Elaine could properly come to her senses, she felt a sensation similar to before.

Her body felt like it was floating, and her vision changed instantly.

When Elaine finally opened her eyes, she saw a familiar figure in front of her.

‘Is that…?’

She wasn’t seeing things wrong.

What she saw was the undead wyvern that had attacked the academy during the festival.

That undead that had disappeared without a trace after the attack that day.

There were two people riding on the undead wyvern.

One was a man in all black clothing wearing a mask, and the other was someone Elaine knew.

Grand Commander Ordin, whom she had met when she came to the O’Neil Kingdom.

Before she could properly assess the situation, Elaine couldn’t stand still due to the feeling of her heart dropping.

The chilling sensation of suddenly falling from the air.

Only then did Elaine understand what was happening.

She was being used by that kidnapper.

Truly as a hostage.

‘That person…’

Even in the midst of confusion, Elaine felt strangely familiar with the person next to Grand Commander Ordin.

The black clothes, the mask covering his face, and the undead wyvern.

‘Someone who was at the academy.’

Strangely, looking at that person reminded Elaine of Ryu.

Though their builds were completely different, the aura they gave off was similar.

At the same time, she felt oddly reassured.

The situation was clearly dangerous, and looking down made her dizzy and likely to lose balance, but she felt at ease.

A feeling that everything would work out well.

“Tear it and jump!”

Elaine snapped to attention at the voice shouting in front of her.

It definitely wasn’t Ryu’s voice.

It was a thin voice closer to a woman’s than a man’s.

But strangely, she trusted it.

Despite the suspicious black clothes and mask, despite riding the undead wyvern that had attacked the academy.

Whoosh-

Elaine immediately acted on the words of the voice telling her to tear and jump.

Though she had no sword, she gathered mana in her hand and ignited it.

It was a technique Ryu occasionally showed her.

And without hesitation, she swung her hand like a sword.

As she clearly felt something tearing at her fingertips, she also felt a sense of vertigo.

Ryu’s words suddenly came to Elaine’s mind.

His words to trust him and jump when in danger.

Elaine didn’t know why those words came to mind now, but they somehow reassured her.

For some reason, the suspicious figure before her gave off a familiar feeling.

Thud-

Elaine threw herself through the torn gap.

Looking down gave her a dizzy feeling, but she felt she needed to jump now.

‘Urgh.’

Elaine tightly closed her eyes as her body fell, accompanied by a chilling and sinking sensation.

She didn’t even have time to scream due to the dizzying feeling.

She was going to fall like this.

Just as she thought that.

“Ah.”

“Okay. Well done.”

The next moment, Elaine was in someone’s arms.

Someone wearing a black mask and speaking with a familiar tone.

“Ryu…?”

Elaine instinctively murmured.

Feeling warmth and relief deep in her heart.

Thump- Thump-

Her heart was beating so fast from the shock.

Really, so fast.

Elaine blankly looked up at the masked person while being held in their arms.

Woong-

And the next moment, the surroundings changed.