Chapter 113: A Woman’s Duty?

Though she didn’t understand the situation…

Silverna charged forward, cutting through the darkness with her feet pounding the ground.

A Primordial.

Moreover, it was now severely injured.

I can’t miss this opportunity!

Silverna had witnessed firsthand how wild Black Dog’s rampage was before it suddenly disappeared.

Worthy of being called an untamed beast, its rampage instilled fear even in the Malidean Wall’s brave soldiers’ heart.

Whoosh!

The long spear thrust in sharply.

She aimed precisely for its heart, but the creature caught the shaft with its remaining right arm.

Grip.

Its bleeding slowed its reactions!

Though her attack was rendered ineffective, Silverna didn’t stop assessing the situation.

In its eyes, she was probably an annoying fly that suddenly appeared when it was already all annoyed.

Its red eyes burned more intensely as it snatched the spear and threw it to the ground.

Silverna had fought so many Transcendent Race that she lost count.

Ironically, it was thanks to that she managed to achieve such remarkable growth.

“Miss!”

Silverna had already extended her hand behind her.

At that moment, Anna’s spear flew into her hand with a perfect grip.

Having anticipated losing her spear, she neither retreated nor hesitated.

She thrust the spear she received—held in reverse grip—into the creature’s left shoulder, aiming for its fresh wound.

“Graaaah!”

In the past, she might not have even been able to pierce this guy’s skin, but now it was different.

She gritted her teeth, applied more force into her spear, driving the blade deeper into the flesh.

Black Dog swung its right arm desperately, trying to subdue Silverna with a punch.

It was confident that one direct hit would kill Silverna instantly, but…

“Whether you’re a Transcendent Race, or a Primordial—!”

At that moment, Aura rippled from Silverna’s empty hand.

Her first spear that she had thrown away responded to her Aura and immediately flew back.

Thwack!

And it pierced through the creature’s right arm—the same arm that was being swung at her—and embedded itself there.

“When stabbed, you’d die just the same!”

“Grrrrk?!”

Its left shoulder was pierced by one spear and its right arm had another spear embedded in it.

The severe bleeding from its violent movements had further slowed its reactions.

Adding more to its misery, the Argentite resonated with her Aura, emitting a fierce cold.

Black Dog’s right arm gradually froze.

But, it didn’t give up. Despite its close proximity, the creature swung its right foot as it saw an opening.

It wasn’t trying to kick her, but rather push her away.

“…!”

Silverna momentarily lifted into the air, flew backward and rolled across the ground.

“Miss!”

The Primordials were beings capable of killing humans with just one strike.

Which means, a single hit was enough to threaten Silverna’s life.

“Cough! Cough!”

She frowned as she clutched her abdomen that was hit, coughing up blood. To end up in such a state after almost winning and being struck just once frustrated her to no end.

If there was a silver lining, the kick wasn’t delivered with full force, so her life wasn’t in danger.

“Tsk… Urrg…”

Inside the indented ground…

Black Dog stood, catching its breath.

It tried to pull out the spears in its body to escape, but…

Blood poured from its left arm like a waterfall, and he also engaged in battle with Silverna just now. Hence why…

“Gurk—!”

It collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth, losing consciousness from excessive bleeding.

“Primordials or not, the Transcendent Race are all the same.”

Silverna bit her lip, approached the creature with Anna’s support.

“Anna, you heard it earlier too, didn’t you?”

“…The black-haired dual swordsman part?”

Anna answered cautiously.

Then, a faint smile appeared on Silverna’s face.

It was the first time that she had let out such a genuine smile ever since she was stuck in here.

“He’s here.”

Emotion washed over her like a tide.

“He’s come to save us.”

Their situation, which had been gloomy and desperate until just now, finally loosened up a little.

“He definitely will come to save us.”

“Oho.”

Isaac swung his arm back and forth.

He couldn’t help but marvel at his reattached broken shoulder bone.

“Magic is truly an interesting technique.”

Seeing the result of the treatment that the mage from the Magic Tower that accompanied the unit gave Isaac, the Grandmaster nodded with satisfaction.

But hearing that, the mage frowned and retorted.

“Technique? It’s truth and wisdom. Don’t insult our magic.”

“…If that’s what you believe, so be it.”

“Haa, this is why I didn’t want to be dispatched.”

The mage left the tent all irritated. From his attitude, the saying that everyone from the Magic Tower were magic supremacists held true.

Come to think of it, what happened to Vivian?

Vivian, the mage dispatched to the Malidean Wall.

He was an eccentric mage who could be called a talent supremacist. During Isaac’s later stay, they had become somewhat close—at the very least, they were able to chat while drinking together.

“Ridiculous. What, just because you got magic, I suddenly can’t lop off your head?”

The Grandmaster shrugged in disbelief. Seeing her tail stiffly raised, pressing against her back, she seemed quite displeased.

“This injury of yours is largely due to my unworthiness, so I’ll let it pass this time. But if I hear such words again, I might not be able to hold back.”

“…There are only a few mages coming with us, so please bear with it.”

“Are you taking his side now? He may be one of few mages, but I am your only master.”

“…”

As Isaac looked at her with an incredulous expression, the Grandmaster cleared her throat and turned her head.

Her tail also softened, as if the tension had eased.

“Sorry, I got a bit excited. Back when I was younger, I was taught that mages should be killed first and foremost. That’s probably why.”

“…?”

Back when she was younger?

Is this matter related to her search for her schoolmates?

After the mage left, Rianna entered the tent.

During the healing process, the mage had ordered everyone except one person to act as his guardian to leave, so Rianna had to go out.

“Are you alright?”

Just like the Grandmaster, Rianna looked quite depressed.

She seemed to be blaming herself for her failure to protect Isaac despite being by his side.

“Again, I—“

“Rianna, I’m not someone you need to protect anymore.”

“…”

“So don’t make that face.”

Though those words were meant to be comforting, Rianna’s expression didn’t change much.

Even his handsomeness couldn’t ensure that his words would be effective, after all.

Seeing this, Isaac awkwardly changed the subject.

“What did Lord Eisenwolf say about Black Dog? What’s his judgment after seeing it?”

At Isaac’s question, Rianna immediately composed herself.

“A heavy discussion about how it suddenly appeared from the sky ensued. We checked with the mages, but they couldn’t find any magic that could do that. As you said, it seems to be the effect of a sorcery.”

“My, their sorcery could even twist space.”

The Grandmaster clicked her tongue.

A heavy atmosphere filled the tent.

They were all frustrated that they failed to deter the previous surprise attack.

Luckily for them, Black Dog also didn’t know why it suddenly fell in the middle of their camp.

Seeing the two women silently pondering, Isaac spoke up.

“Conversely, this gives us a clue about the disappearance of the Malidean Wall.”

“…!”

“Mhm. If they can twist space, then they could make the Malidean Wall disappear.”

It’s just a matter of difference in scale.

They’ll have to put in much more effort and resources, but it’s more than worth it if they could remove the Malidean Wall out of the picture.

“You’re amazing, Isaac. Everyone is drowning in their gloom, and yet you…”

Rianna murmured in an affectionate voice. Isaac, feeling awkward again, stood up with an awkward cough.

“Is the atmosphere that bad?”

“Yes. The Blue Stream Society nobles who saw that creature up close especially, had their morale completely crushed. They even…”

Rianna hesitated momentarily.

She seemed to be considering whether to tell him about this or not, but eventually, she revealed it.

“They even suggested retreating.”

“Nonsense.”

“But Lord Eisenwolf is seriously considering it. The reason being, if the Transcendent Race could employ such an absurd method of surprise attack, then us trying to reclaim the North with just the current forces will be unreasonable.”

“Lord Eisenwolf…”

He was someone who had long passed the time to worry about achievements. His time to back down due to fear had also ended long ago.

Now that he had seen how strong the Primordial was…

Just one of them fell out of nowhere and the troop was already in such a disarray, if there were another one or two that fell out…

He probably judged that the leadership would be annihilated.

That was how much shock he had received after seeing the impact Black Dog’s surprise attack left.

After thinking that far, Isaac decided to get some fresh air and clear his head.

“I wanna check if my shoulder is healed properly, also I wanna cool my head. How about a duel?”

Isaac said, wanting to avenge yesterday’s defeat, but…

“No!”

“Are you crazy?!”

Both women shouted simultaneously.

Isaac momentarily hesitated, overwhelmed by their force.

“Even magic doesn’t heal your wound in an instant. You need to rest for at least two days.”

“Didn’t you hear what the mage said? You could have been permanently disabled if things had gone wrong. Do you want to put down your sword forever?”

“…I can still wield a sword with one arm. It’s not like I lost my legs or something.”

At those words, the Grandmaster clenched her fist as if she was about to knock him on the head.

“Just what in the world is wrong with you?”

“…Honestly, I’m just feeling a bit restless. Also…”

“Also?”

“I’d like to talk to the Reeves siblings.”

Their performance during the showdown with Black Dog might seem insignificant at a glance.

But Isaac noticed that there was something special in their swords.

It was something he hadn’t noticed despite him having dueled Marlin several times, and there was a good reason for that.

Every time I dueled with Marlin, I felt strangely unsatisfied. It’s clear that she was hiding something.

That was partly why he had prolonged their duels. Because he knew that there were more to their sword.

Seeing Isaac’s persistence, the Grandmaster let out a subtle smile.

“It’s a woman’s duty to please a man, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“…?”

Towards the puzzled Isaac and Rianna, the Grandmaster proposed with a grin.

“What do you say, Helmont? Would you like to cross swords with me for this man’s sake?”

Rianna’s eyes widened.

Then, without much deliberation, she nodded and walked out of the tent.