Ch.9393. Where You Are (2)

“…I wish the hero wouldn’t leave.”

Daphne’s expression contorted, and the two women’s powers collided in midair. Marianne felt a spear of pure magical power pressing down on her through her holy barrier. Daphne’s magical control and scale had developed remarkably in just a few days. Enough to easily overwhelm Marianne.

“That’s what I…!”

Crack. The sound of the balance tipping. Like cracks forming on ice, fractures dug in and pressed down on Marianne’s holy barrier. Daphne poured out even heavier mana, trying to push Marianne back. As the power gathered and built, it began to glow brightly and heat up as if about to explode.

“Feel the same!!”

BOOM!!

The magical power exploded with a thunderous roar. Marianne, still clutching her holy spear, was thrown back helplessly like a straw in a typhoon. Daphne stretched her hand toward Marianne, who was suspended in midair. Chains of magical power extended from Daphne’s feet, shooting out and coiling as if to capture Marianne.

“I’m also worried about how Ilroy is doing. I’m saying I wish he hadn’t left.”

Marianne created magical footholds in midair, elegantly avoiding the flying chains before landing on the ground. Daphne bit her lip firmly and pushed her hand downward. The magical chains began to pour down like rain over Marianne’s head.

“Still, I… trust him more than that. I don’t want him to get hurt because of me!”

Marianne swung her holy spear to block the incoming chains. Deflecting chains that flew at her from dozens of directions was similar to facing dozens of opponents, but for Marianne, this was already second nature. Block, deflect, dodge. Daphne’s chains relentlessly pursued Marianne from all directions like hunting dogs.

“So stop right there, Marianne. I don’t want to regret letting you go.”

Marianne felt the immense pressure of magical power surrounding her. Daphne wasn’t trying to use lethal magic. But the full power of a 6th circle mage wasn’t something that could be easily broken through, even without lethal magic.

“…He might be able to entrust his back to me, but he can’t place me by his side. I’ll protect even his back.”

Daphne’s resolve was firm. Marianne sighed softly as she observed this unyielding side of Daphne, so contrary to her usually gentle demeanor.

Will. Something Marianne had never possessed in her life. What was just beginning to bloom in Marianne was small and pitiful compared to what Daphne displayed. Like a tiny spark beneath the shining sun. Marianne tightened her grip on her holy spear.

But she wouldn’t give up.

Marianne aimed her spear again. Fighting to the end without will was something she was used to.

“Really, you’re stubborn to the end.”

As Daphne said this, her eyes wavered slightly. The word stubborn. Someone who tenaciously carries out their will. It somehow resembled Ilroy a little.

“…I suppose I should be a bit more forceful then.”

Daphne ignored the thoughts surfacing in her mind and launched chains at Marianne. Marianne raised her holy barrier surrounding her spear and advanced forward. The chains broke. Daphne began pouring out different spells to stop the approaching Marianne, but they only made Marianne’s countermeasures more skillful.

“If you won’t use lethal magic, it will be difficult to stop me.”

Daphne shook her head. Meanwhile, Marianne was getting closer and closer. Although the power of Daphne’s magic was growing stronger, crucially, no magic powerful enough to kill Marianne emerged. That turned the balance of power between them once again.

“If I wanted to, I could subdue you covered in wounds, but I have no intention of hurting you. Stand down, Marianne. I really don’t want to do this.”

That difference changed the outcome of this confrontation. Marianne extended her holy spear forward. Daphne’s magic scattered. Walls of fire and ice blocked Marianne’s path. She pierced through the fire and shattered the ice. The hem of Marianne’s clothes was singed by magical flames.

“So please… stand down.”

Sizzle.

Not much time remained. Daphne had poured out most of the non-lethal magic she could muster, but Marianne continued advancing undeterred. She didn’t mind her arm being scratched by sharp icicles, or suffering minor burns and singed hair from the blazing fire.

Daphne’s eyes were fixed on Marianne, but Marianne wasn’t looking at Daphne. Tick. The compass in Marianne’s pocket moved slightly again.

Marianne swung her spear. Daphne watched her magic shatter and drew up even more magical power. The concentration of magic was crossing the line Daphne had set for herself. With just one word from Daphne, this magic could become a lightning bolt, ice spears, or stone pillars that would strike Marianne down. And then there would be nothing to interfere with Ilroy.

Just one spell.

BOOM!!

The magic shattered. The explosion and thunderous noise resulted from canceling the spell just before activation. Daphne sat on the ground, looking up at Marianne standing before her. She didn’t appear to have many injuries, but she was a mess. Daphne sighed deeply, wondering what to do with this headstrong young woman.

“If I go in, is there a way to find Ilroy?”

Marianne silently took out the compass she had kept in her pocket. Even now, the compass needle was pointing toward the fog. It had been doing so since Ilroy walked alone into the fog.

“…That’s unfair.”

Daphne muttered and flopped down on the ground. Winter. The night, just three days before the new year, was cold. The cold stone floor pushed up a chill. The sound of the wind sweeping across the ground could be heard.

“If I had known, I would have looked at something else. I got too fixated on that magic book.”

Daphne laughed self-deprecatingly. A small flame of magic rose from her outstretched hand before extinguishing.

“I’m not going in there. I’m desperately looking for a way to interfere with the magic inside the fog from the outside. I might need another circle or two, but can’t I do that much? When there are already two reckless people going in to face the calamity alone.”

Daphne grumbled. Marianne quietly met her purple eyes and listened to her story.

“I’m not just worried about Ilroy. Marianne, you’re our comrade, fellow warrior, and party member too. Ilroy might truly be able to face the calamity alone, but Marianne, you can’t.”

Marianne’s golden eyes remained unwavering.

“I’m not afraid of death.”

Marianne looked at Daphne and spoke in a faint voice.

“Even if I die in the fog, absorbed by magic, it would only be one more person added, and it wouldn’t significantly affect the overall situation.”

The amount of magical power Marianne possessed wasn’t particularly large. Her strength came purely from her skill with her body and spear, and the quality of magic converted through her holy barrier.

“Ilroy said it himself, why give up when there’s even a thread of possibility to save someone.”

Marianne straightened her bent knees and took a step.

“…Be careful. If something happens to you, I don’t even want to imagine what would happen to Ilroy.”

“Then Daphne, I’ll entrust my back to you.”

Marianne said as she walked away. Daphne frowned as she watched Marianne recede. What was she thinking, saying such things? Daphne drew up her remaining magic and sent it to Marianne. It was the protective spell she had first cast on Ilroy, her most confident magic.

“Since you’re going in anyway, please bring Ilroy back safely.”

Daphne smiled bitterly at Marianne, who blinked in surprise at the protective spell cast on her body. As a bonus, Daphne poured all her remaining mana into making the spell last at least two or three days. Then she let her completely drained arm drop.

“When you both come out safely, know that I’ll start nagging then.”

“…Understood.”

Marianne clenched and unclenched her fist a few times, then looked at the fog. Unlike the cave that seemed to openly invite entry, the fog just writhed in place as if indifferent to whether anyone entered or not. Marianne raised the compass she held in her left hand. The compass was pointing straight ahead of Marianne without the slightest deviation.

Tick.

When the compass needle twitched again, Marianne took a step. The fog, which had been pretending to be indifferent, revealed its true nature at the appearance of new prey. As Marianne’s hand touched the fog, it swallowed her instantly. In the place where Marianne had disappeared, only a little ash from her magically burned clothes remained.

==

“Isn’t it funny that the person who seemed least likely to get seasick is like that? How is she planning to fight later?”

I slightly turned my head at Daphne’s voice. How many times have I heard that line now? The conversations I had with these people in the illusion changed each time, but the first words they spoke to me were always the same. Emphasizing that I was trapped in a loop. But they made sure our conversations were always different so they wouldn’t feel like NPCs in a game.

“How much did she eat this morning to keep being like that?”

“I warned her that she should eat less, but she’s still like that.”

Daphne answered with a smile at my indifferent response. The sea breeze wasn’t strong this time either.

I’ve gotten used to it. Now I could feel the swaying even when standing on land. I had no idea how much time had passed outside. I also looked at Marianne walking toward me. This cursed calamity had shown me Marianne dying in so many different ways. Whether her legs were cut off, her neck severed, her chest pierced, or she was crushed to death.

“We’re getting closer.”

Marianne’s cautious voice reached me. Would I have to watch her die again this time? How long would I have to continue this repetition? How long did the fog intend to show me this scene? Until I gave up completely and accepted death from the Kraken? Or,

“We should prepare.”

In this illusion, would I become numb to the deaths of my comrades and those fighting alongside me?

My hand holding the Holy Sword trembled. What if I gradually became more and more insensitive to the deaths of others? Until I denied myself, denied my resolve, and became a machine that sacrificed those around me to protect the majority?

If not that.

I looked back. The surging sea. At its end, the edge of Barktins was faintly visible.

Until I denied salvation like Aryen and admitted that I should let the Kraken land on the shore to face it?

I shook my head. Even this charade couldn’t continue forever. Eventually, the fog would lose enough magical power to show me this illusion. An illusion of this scale would require a continuous outpouring of enormous magical power.

I had to believe that, so I could continue to endure in here without breaking.

I looked at the approaching end of the sea route. The waves surged again, and the sound of monsters scratching their throats could be heard. The swells mixed with hordes of monsters came rolling in. I listened to the artillery captain and ship captain shouting as I watched that pitch-black wave.

“Load the cannons!!”

The bow turned. Daphne and George showed surprised expressions at the tilting sensation. I firmly massaged my right arm to ensure my grip on the Holy Sword wouldn’t weaken.

And once again, the brutal war in the illusion began.