Ch.132Otherworld Alliance

The moment the space twisted, the scream that erupted gave the impression that space itself was alive. The idea of space—not a living being—screaming was impossible. It was the sound created by colliding mana as the magic collapsed.

“Are the other areas like this as well?”

“This is the first time the magic has been dispelled, so…”

What purpose could it have served? Seorin carefully observed the mana dispersing before her eyes. According to the investigation conducted by the elven side together with the Magic Tower, the spatial magic covering part of the forest wasn’t causing any particular harm.

That made it all the more puzzling. Who would enter the elves’ forest and try to dominate a portion of space? Even the mages of the Magic Tower couldn’t dispel it—they called it a strange magic.

Surely it was the work of a reincarnator.

“I heard there were no individuals who appeared to be reincarnators in the forest… My guess is that it seems to be the work of an insider…”

If no traces of outside intrusion were found, there was a high probability that a reincarnator had emerged from within. If Karnok, who possessed the remarkable blessing of detecting lies, had been here, he would have been a great help in identifying the reincarnator. It was quite regrettable that he couldn’t come along.

“We’ve been continuing our identification efforts with that in mind, but…”

There had been no progress, in other words. It wasn’t particularly strange. Most reincarnators shared the memories of those whose bodies they occupied. A cautious reincarnator would immediately pretend to live as before, naturally blending into the group.

‘Perhaps this person might be a reincarnator.’

Seorin nodded and turned around.

She had to run through the vast forest with the forest guardian elf to dispel the magic. Occasionally, she encountered mages who were investigating the spatial magic more frequently.

“Is that—is that the Mage Killer? The one I’ve only heard about…!”

“They say it devours all the surrounding mana. I think ‘Mana Eater’ would be a more fitting name than ‘Mage Killer’…”

The mages, who had been making little progress, focused on this fascinating new subject. The sight of a small female knight using a peculiar sword to absorb the mana constituting the magic, eventually causing it to dissipate, was a scene that no mage could simply ignore.

One of the mages watching the scene spoke to an elf who was working with them.

“Listen. Wouldn’t it be better for us to follow that knight instead? There’s no point in us staying here like this when nothing’s getting resolved…”

The mages had been staying in the elves’ forest for quite some time. Despite this, there had been no progress, so they suggested following her instead. After all, dispelling the strange spatial magic covering part of the forest was just a matter of time.

“Hmm…”

The forest guardian elf who had been investigating the spatial magic with the mages nodded. He too had similar thoughts to the mage. Thus, Seorin’s group grew larger each time she went around dispelling spatial magic.

“A strange scream is heard every time the magic is dispelled.”

“Could it be due to the connection with another space?”

“No. It’s just a coincidence created by colliding mana…”

The mages exchanged opinions as they watched the magic easily breaking apart. It was then that a middle-aged mage who had most recently joined approached Seorin and spoke to her.

“Knight, could you do me a favor? My name is Tellespon. I’m quite versed in spatial magic.”

“What kind of favor?”

“Instead of completely breaking the magic, would it be possible to disrupt just a part of it? To put it simply, I’m asking you to make a small hole. If that’s possible, I’d like to interfere with the magic. If I can do that, I think I might be able to determine the purpose of the magic and who used it…”

Instead of answering, Seorin looked down at the dark sword she was holding. It was a sword that absorbed mana. Come to think of it, she had never really tried to control its power.

The sword was extraordinary just by its existence.

“I’ve never tried it before…”

“Then why not give it a try this time? You have nothing to lose, after all.”

The mage was right. For Seorin, it was a proposal with nothing to lose. After briefly considering, Seorin nodded.

“Let’s try it.”

Upon arriving at the next location, Seorin pointed her sword toward the space itself. She had become accustomed to using the Mage Killer to cut through things without substance. Now she could tell where to swing the sword for it to break properly.

‘The place where the flow of mana changes rapidly. It’s a space isolated from the outside, but the most important place is where it draws in mana from the surroundings.’

It’s a trace invisible to the eye. She could only feel it through her senses. Seorin swung her sword toward a small point. The extreme swordsmanship unfolding from her small hands cut through the air, belatedly bursting with a sharp cutting sound.

Swoosh-!

Unlike before, she cut shallowly. There was no weight felt at her fingertips. After all, she had only cut through mana, which had no substance. Although it was her first attempt, the magic didn’t shatter all at once, as the mage had requested.

Swoooosh-

A strange wind sound came from where Seorin’s sword had swept. She turned to look at Tellespon.

“Is this enough?”

“Oh, ohhh… Perfect. It turned out exactly as I thought.”

Tellespon immediately ran toward where the wind sound was coming from. The thick hem of his robe fluttered comically, but no one laughed at the sight.

That’s because most of those present were mages. They merely looked at Tellespon with interested expressions.

Tellespon immediately released his mana. The mana flowing out of his body began to flow toward one axis of space, following the strange wind sound. The small hole created by Seorin became a path for him to interfere with the magic.

“Oh…”

The connected mana begins to send information to Tellespon. The connection of spaces, the absorption of mana, the isolation from the outside, and the phenomena that would occur as a result. All the information contained in the magic intertwines with Tellespon’s knowledge, creating a visual effect.

Woong-!

The invisible mana emitted light, revealing itself, and Tellespon’s body, wrapped in mana, floated into the air.

At that moment, Tellespon opened his eyes with an expression of shock.

“Th-this…!”

It was a strange sight. His expression was urgent, but his mouth only gaped. He seemed to have much to say but couldn’t speak. Eventually, the hem of Tellespon’s robe swelled greatly.

‘Something’s wrong…’

“What’s happening?”

“If you’ve found something out, speak up quickly.”

“His expression doesn’t look good… Has something gone wrong…”

At that moment, everyone present felt it. The massive amount of mana beginning to swirl around Tellespon.

The mana vortex started from within his body, so others were slow to recognize it. Some mages let out silent exclamations of shock as they prepared defensive magic, and Seorin also drew in mana to utilize Sun Force.

‘Perhaps…’

In a split second, numerous thoughts flashed through Seorin’s mind. If she plunged the Mage Killer in her hand into Tellespon’s chest, she could preemptively block the suspicious magic that was about to activate.

But if she did that, Tellespon would die.

The strength in her sword-holding hand subtly drained away. Immediately after, light burst from Tellespon’s body.

Flash-!

***

The lost senses begin to return. The first thing Seorin recognized was the smell of the wind blowing around her. The distinctive scent of soil and grass from the forest tickled her nose. It was a different smell from the elves’ forest.

The next sense Seorin recovered was her vision. The world, blurred by light, gradually regained its form. As she recognized the world with both eyes, Seorin moved her body.

Although the sensation in her arms and legs was only faintly felt, her body instinctively assumed a swift sword stance.

‘Forest…’

It didn’t take long for all her senses to return. Seorin, still on guard, looked around. It was a very unfamiliar forest. The shape of the grass and the types of trees that had grown were different from the elves’ forest.

And overall, it was dark. This was because the densely grown trees covered most of the sky. Of course, even without the trees covering the sky, the entire forest probably wouldn’t have been much brighter.

‘Night…?’

The dim sky looked like a night sky. A desolate sky with not a single star, only a round moon hanging alone. Seorin tilted her head.

‘It was definitely daytime…’

The color of the sky, the place where she stood, the mages and elves who had been with her—all had disappeared. Magic, spatial magic, they had called it. It seemed as if she had been caught in what she had only heard about—spatial transfer magic.

Seorin spread her detection field, Ashen. A faint wind spreading from her covered part of the forest. Through the expanded detection field, Seorin could sense the movements of all living beings around her.

‘What monsters…’

She sensed numerous rough and fierce presences that were not human. This was not the kind of presence one could feel from humans or elves. It was the distinctive presence of monsters that didn’t hide their wildness and aggression at all.

And there were quite a number of such monsters.