Ch.119Past Connections Are Dangerous (6)

It had been two hours since the confrontation in front of Seoha’s house.

Now I was continuing an uncomfortable conversation with two people inside a house floating somewhere in Earth’s atmosphere.

‘…Your skills have improved considerably.’

This sky house was created with Helena’s magic. She waved her hands while forming some kind of spell, and in an instant, a simple house appeared.

Seeing that, I could be certain. These two had indeed grown since the time they were with me.

‘That’s only natural, I suppose.’

These two had been changing day by day since before.

Moreover, considering that Tebe and Earth have different time axes, it’s highly likely that about 10 years have passed there since I left.

That would have been enough time for both of them to develop significantly.

“So, what exactly is your relationship with the teacher?”

“……”

“Ugh, you’re completely tight-lipped. Is it really that hard to talk about?”

“…Don’t push too much. She might have her reasons.”

“Asti, I’m sorry, but our situation is more important right now.”

Helena clearly didn’t like that I was avoiding answering by remaining silent.

But I couldn’t help it. I was currently bound by a gag order, making it difficult for me to say anything.

‘…Damn it. This is driving me crazy.’

Above all, I was extremely annoyed that I had to deal with this chaos for two more days.

This is why I didn’t want to use necromancy, and it was all because of that damn fake priest.

“Are you really not going to say anything? I’m getting angry now. Even alumni loyalty has its limits.”

No, I’m telling you I can’t explain anything right now.

Even I was about to burst from maintaining this silence.

However, seeing that Helena was about to explode if I ignored her any longer, I could only avert my gaze and mutter submissively.

“Um, just two days somehow…”

“What exactly happens after those two days you keep mentioning? Will some miracle occur in your sleep?”

“……”

She seemed to have absorbed the local culture already, now even quoting proverbs while constantly berating me.

At that, I made a decision.

Once my power returns, the first thing I’ll do is teach some manners to this impudent little brat.

“Oh, making that unpleasant face again? Are you in any position to do that? Do you really want to be humiliated here?”

“……”

Again, I lowered my gaze and maintained my silence submissively.

Swearing that I would definitely return this humiliation in two days.

That’s when an unexpected situation occurred.

Flash.

BOOM.

CRACKLE—!

A sudden lightning strike hit the floating house, and the impact completely shattered it to pieces.

Having no power, I was honestly slow to react, but thanks to Helena spreading a protective barrier around the three of us, no one was hurt.

I summoned Gordon in alarm and quickly retreated backward.

“P-protect me,”

“…It seems to be an opponent with rather ominous energy.”

The figure that appeared was a tall man with blonde hair.

His moderate muscles and sharp eyes created a quite striking impression.

And above all, the blue sparks circling around his body involuntarily captured attention.

“Finally found you. Are you the infamous duo I’ve heard about?”

“I’m not sure, but I guess so.”

“For a duo, there seems to be one extra person.”

“This one isn’t particularly involved. I’m just looking after them temporarily for business reasons.”

From their casual conversation, it seemed he was a hunter from the American side who had been pursuing Astride and Helena.

His confident attitude toward these two who had already destroyed three S-rank hunters, and his apparent lightning-controlling ability.

From there, I could easily deduce his identity.

‘Ryan of America’s Seven Stars, is it?’

Ryan Bristol. Commonly known as the Thunder God.

As a first-generation hunter, he had quite a few rumors surrounding him, but he had been something of a recluse who hadn’t shown himself much in recent affairs.

For whatever reason, it seemed he was now cooperating with the American upper echelons to capture these two.

‘Is his skill level about the same as Xavier’s?’

If so, he would certainly be no pushover.

However.

‘One-on-one might be challenging, but two-on-one is definitely impossible for him.’

The current Astride and Helena are much stronger than I thought. Ryan would probably be more likely to lose even in a one-on-one fight.

Whether aware of my thoughts or not, Ryan maintained his confidence as he addressed the two.

“Actually, the Americans want me to subdue and capture you, but I have a different idea. You’re talents who would be more beneficial as allies than enemies. What do you think?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t work under anyone.”

“I see, but if you change your mind, feel free to let me know anytime.”

After finishing his words, Ryan exploded magical power at his fingertips and added one more thing.

“You might change your mind soon.”

FLASH!

BOOM—!

As if the previous strike was merely a greeting, the sky darkened and several massive lightning bolts began to strike from above.

The lightning continued to increase in volume, and now even wind and rain began to rage.

In the midst of this chaos, Ryan quietly activated his skill.

“Lightning Flower.”

BOOM!

CRACKLE—!

From the moment Ryan took an offensive stance, I had already retreated far back with Gordon, but the two who were facing him were directly hit by an enormous mass of lightning in an instant.

To be honest, the power far exceeded my expectations.

I haven’t seen Xavier’s full power yet either, but at least in terms of attack power, this might be superior?

“…Powerful indeed. I’ve never seen anyone besides my master cast such a spell here.”

“Me neither.”

Recently Xavier has only shown unreliable aspects, but the hunters called the Seven Stars are certainly formidable.

At this level, even those two who were treated as heroes of reversal in Tebe couldn’t easily dismiss such an attack.

However, when the lightning subsided, the appearance of the two was surprisingly unscathed.

Only parts of their clothes were singed.

“…I’m surprised. For someone who appeared suddenly and spouted cliché lines, you’re quite strong.”

“Yes. Much stronger than the S-rank hunters we met before.”

Helena, who instantly changed her expression, gestured to Astride to move back and spoke again.

“I’ll handle this. Asti, go over there just in case,”

“…Alright,”

No, I’m watching just fine, so there’s really no need for that.

I tried to ignore her as she quickly came behind me and started embracing me again, focusing my attention on Helena who was emanating killing intent.

If the opponent is someone of Ryan’s caliber, I should be able to confirm Helena’s exact combat power as well.

“Is lightning magic your specialty? No, they called them skills here, right?”

“That’s right. Just to be clear, don’t assume that what you just saw was my full power.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear.”

After finishing her words, Helena, with a slightly annoyed face, swung her staff and created a massive magic circle in the air.

“If that was your full power, you wouldn’t even be worthy of being my stress relief.”

BOOM!

CRACKLE—!

Helena also unleashed lightning magic.

Huge streams of light instantly transformed into several thunder birds, each flying toward Ryan through different paths.

“My, this is fierce.”

Ryan tried to dodge by flying skillfully through the air, but realizing it was impossible as the thunder birds changed direction to follow him, he soon stopped moving.

“Discharge.”

CRACKLE!

BOOM!

The electricity that spread widely from Ryan’s body shot down the thunder birds one by one, causing Helena’s brow to twitch.

She’s probably somewhat perplexed right now.

Unlike Tebe’s magic, the skills used by Earth’s awakened ones are relatively free in terms of formula composition and formal aspects.

If one doesn’t make quicker judgments here, it’s not easy to respond appropriately.

“You’re certainly strong. I understand why other hunters couldn’t even put up a fight. However, it won’t work against me.”

“…Oh, is that so?”

Helena was now visibly angry, her irritation clearly rising.

Among the causes is probably the frustration from my continued silence.

Thinking about it made my skin crawl.

“…Helena is seriously angry.”

Astride muttered with a slightly anxious expression, then grabbed the scruffs of my and Gordon’s necks and began to move even further away from the center of the battle.

I asked with some confusion.

“Do we really need to retreat this far?”

“…Yes. We do. Helena is going to use grand magic when she’s angry.”

I know several spells called grand magic in Tebe. However, I don’t know any magic that would require such a cautious attitude.

But soon, Gordon and I could clearly understand the reason.

BOOM!

RUMBLE!

CRACKLE—!

Even though we had moved much further away than before, white lightning covered the sky so intensely that we could barely see in front of us.