Ch.118Past Connections Are Dangerous (5)

In the face of an unexpected situation, I was frozen in place after exiting the door, but Astride simply walked past me and smoothly entered the elevator.

‘…Could she really not have noticed?’

Given that she came all this way, she must have obtained some information about me, yet she literally didn’t even spare me a glance.

Thinking this might actually be for the best, I naturally headed toward the apartment exit with Song Hayeon.

That’s when Henesia, who had been with us, spoke up.

“Stop right there.”

“Excuse me? Are you talking to us? What’s the matter?”

Henesia let out a deep sigh, shook her head, and then gestured for Astride to come out of the elevator.

“Where do you think you’re going? That’s clearly our target over there.”

“…Sorry, I was thinking about something else.”

“I keep telling you that too much focus can be a problem too.”

As expected, Henesia had noticed us from the beginning. I faced them, sensing that an unavoidable moment had arrived.

“Master? Do you know these people?”

“Sort of.”

Henesia took a few steps toward me and Song Hayeon, who had stopped, and spoke in a low voice.

“Are you Baek Eunha, the necromancer?”

“What about it?”

“I came because I’m curious about something. What’s your relationship with my teacher? The one who taught you necromancy.”

Hearing this, I tilted my head in confusion, but soon understood the situation.

‘So that’s what they think of me.’

My appearance has changed, and my power is subtle compared to before. It seems Astride and Henesia assumed I was using the name of Baek Eunha as a disciple of the real Baek Eunha who had returned to Earth.

“At first I wasn’t sure, but after seeing the videos circulating, I understand. You definitely have a connection to my teacher.”

“I do have a connection, yes.”

After all, the teacher they were referring to was none other than me.

However, Henesia, failing to realize this, continued to pressure me.

“Then you’ll have to tell us where our teacher is. Let me make it clear that I won’t back down.”

Wait, what do you mean “where”? I’m standing right in front of you!

I stared at Henesia with a sour expression as she continued to spout nonsense.

This situation was becoming quite troublesome.

Even if I revealed my true identity, I had no way to prove it since I couldn’t use my powers due to the side effects of necromancy.

If the two of them simply believed me, there would be no problem, but if not, things could get rather complicated.

Seeing my hesitation, Henesia sighed again and began to draw up vast amounts of magical power.

Whoosh.

“I see. You don’t intend to tell us. Then I’ll have to find out by force.”

“Ah, no, that’s not exactly what I meant…”

Against these two, someone like Song Hayeon wouldn’t stand a chance. Knowing this, I desperately glanced toward the building.

And as if answering my silent prayer, someone opened a window and jumped down toward us.

Swoosh!

Thud!

“What’s going on? Who are these people…?”

It was Yesiel, the Saint of France who lived in the same building as me.

I gave Yesiel a meaningful look and asked urgently:

“Where’s Xavier? Why didn’t he come with you?”

“Master went to the PC bang and hasn’t returned yet.”

“Oh, come on. Nothing’s working out today.”

What is that old man doing at a PC bang at a time like this?

While Yesiel was certainly a valuable ally, to be honest, she wasn’t enough against Astride and Henesia.

Seeing that the situation hadn’t improved, I clicked my tongue and began to speak.

“Wait a moment.”

“Why? Have you decided to tell us about our teacher?”

“There’s no need to make a fuss. She’ll be back in about two days anyway.”

In the end, the approach I chose was to delay the situation once more to buy time.

After all, my powers would return in two days, and then proving my identity wouldn’t be difficult.

Surely they wouldn’t ignore that and attack over just two days.

“…”

As expected, Henesia showed signs of contemplation at my words.

Since she thought I was related to her teacher, she probably didn’t want to cause unnecessary conflict.

‘I think this might work out.’

Just as I sighed with relief, Astride, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly moved.

In the blink of an eye, she passed through Yesiel and Song Hayeon like a mirage, positioned herself behind me, and lifted me up by placing her hands under my armpits.

Swish.

“Eek?”

“Henesia. This child is strange. She’s lying.”

At this mysterious movement, Yesiel and Song Hayeon first raised their guard and prepared for battle, while Henesia nodded as if she had expected this.

“I thought so. Just sweet talk to buy time to hide, right? Sorry, but that doesn’t work on Asti. She has an uncannily good intuition compared to normal people.”

I overlooked that.

Actually, I wasn’t exactly lying, just not addressing the main point.

It seemed that during our time apart, Astride’s unique perceptive abilities had also grown dramatically.

Holding me up in the air, Astride somehow embraced my entire body and murmured in a languid voice.

“This child feels strangely familiar. I like her.”

“H-hey, let go! How dare you do this to me…”

But my powerless protests were just silent screams scattered in the air.

As the standoff resumed, Henesia sighed and spoke softly.

“This isn’t going anywhere. I said that, but I can’t just hurt someone related to our teacher. Then there’s only one option.”

Whoosh.

Rustle.

Immediately after Henesia drew up magical power and chanted a spell, the three of us—excluding Yesiel and Song Hayeon—began to rise into the air.

It was a flawless flight spell.

“Well, won’t the teacher contact us first if we keep her?”

“…Yes. I agree.”

I glared down at Yesiel and Song Hayeon on the ground, hoping they might do something, but with the distance already widened, there was nothing they could do.

In the end, I was captured by the two of them without being able to lift a finger and taken away somewhere.

#

Bang!

“What exactly happened?”

Baek Seoha, who burst through the front door with Lee Jicheol, asked Yesiel and Song Hayeon, who were sitting with gloomy expressions. Song Hayeon answered with a face full of shame.

“As I told you, Master was captured by those two people. They seemed to know each other somehow, but exactly what their relationship is…”

Baek Seoha was quite agitated, but after taking a deep breath, she spoke with a somewhat calmer mind.

“Yesiel, you were there too. Were they that formidable?”

“To be honest, there wasn’t even a chance to fight. They just snatched her away…”

Song Hayeon sighed deeply, and Yesiel beside her continued.

“To be frank, even if we had fought, winning would have been difficult. Both of them possessed an unbelievable level of strength.”

“…”

Despite the brief encounter, Yesiel had felt it—the composure and pressure of powerful individuals emanating from both of them.

It was a sensation she only experienced when her master, Xavier, was being serious.

“Song Hayeon must have noticed too. For a moment, I couldn’t track their movements at all. And it didn’t even seem like they were using any special techniques.”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

In reality, Song Hayeon was still at a level where she couldn’t even comprehend such high-level confrontations, so she hadn’t really grasped what was happening.

After pondering for a moment, Yesiel gave a definitive assessment.

“Our opponents possess Seven-Star level skills. I can’t guarantee success even if the four of us went together.”

If Yesiel, with her rational judgment, said so, then the actual situation was probably not much different. This deepened Baek Seoha’s concern.

“So we have no choice but to seek Xavier’s help.”

“Yes. Without Master’s assistance, it will be difficult.”

Yesiel concluded with a slightly annoyed tone.

Recently, her master had become obsessed with worldly games, neglecting training and just wandering outside.

Despite being her master, it was becoming slightly embarrassing.

And soon after, the person in question, Xavier, appeared, opening the front door.

Click.

Thud.

“I received your message. Seems like quite a lot has happened.”

He was wearing a tracksuit that looked like something a neighborhood uncle would wear, black slippers, and in his hand was what appeared to be a vegetable hot bar bought from the PC bang.

Looking at this unreliable appearance, Yesiel inwardly muttered.

When they returned to their homeland, she would definitely prevent her master from bringing a computer into their residence.