Chapter 94: Michael #2

Chapter 94: Michael #2

Anna’s mind went blank.

Sealing the Lich was Anna’s mission. She had even boasted to Michael, taking it upon herself.

“Leave it to me! I’m an expert when it comes to magic.”

She had confidently boasted.

She thought that sealing the Lich, who was already within their grasp, wouldn’t be that difficult, unlike tracking and capturing her from the start.

Therefore, Anna didn’t feel much pressure and approached the task with a somewhat relaxed attitude.

But she never expected things to turn out like this.

“You damn bitch…!”

Anna’s eyes, slit like a cat’s, gleamed with a fierce light, and her pretty face quickly turned terrifying.

“Where did you run off to, you idiot!”

Anna muttered anxiously, staring at the empty prison.

‘What should I do? Michael will be furious if he finds out I didn’t do as he said.’

If only he were just angry.

Anna knew Michael’s personality well. He never gave anyone a second chance.

He was a man as cold and calculating as ice. In terms of personality, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was more inhuman than the Lich.

‘If it gets out that the Lich escaped, I’m finished.’

Anna knew she would lose Michael’s trust forever.

Anna could already envision her future.

In her imagination, Michael was flanked by beautiful and alluring women, no less stunning than Anna, clinging to his arms.

There was no longer any room for Anna to squeeze in.

It was natural for women to flock to a handsome man, as heroes are often lecherous.

Michael would discard Anna like a worn-out shoe.

“Kyaaaak!”

Anna screamed, covering her cheeks with her hands like in a Munch painting.

In her noisy distress, a fallen knight squinted.

Anna paid no mind. The others were none of her concern. The fire was at Anna’s feet now.

“It’s not too late. I have to catch her, I just have to catch her. If I drag her back and throw her in prison, no, if I finish the sealing completely, it’ll just be a minor incident. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.”

Anna muttered rapidly, like a madwoman, as she paced the prison.

To gauge the time, she habitually tried to look out the window, but then realized she was in the underground prison.

It was difficult to know the current time immediately.

“There’s still time. I have to catch her within three hours, no, two hours. Okay, it’s fine. Anna, you can do it.”

Anna left the underground prison, not even glancing at the knights sprawled on the floor.

What she needed now were the chief mages of the Magic Tower under Anna’s command.

And, comfortable shoes for walking long distances. Not these uncomfortable high heels.

***

Despite everything, Anna was a genius mage. It wasn’t just baseless self-praise.

Believe it or not, Anna was the boss of the Magic Tower, and mages, once they set a goal, would find the fastest route to solve the problem by any means necessary.

And now, Anna had the backing of absolute power. There were no limits to the resources she could use, and no superiors to worry about.

“Hurry up. Faster! It doesn’t matter how many magic stones we use.”

Magic stones, the finest quality, costing over ten thousand gold for a piece the size of a fingernail, disappeared like melting snow every few seconds.

The chief mages spared no expense, unleashing tracking magic to their heart’s content.

It was powerful magic capable of finding a single needle dropped on the vast grounds of the Imperial capital.

There were plenty of traces. Estel’s hair left on the bed, dried saliva on a glass, the sweet scent of a girl lingering in the room, and so on.

All of this served as signposts indicating Estel’s current location.

Anna followed Estel, guided by the tracking magic used by the mages.

“Just you wait. Once I catch her, I’m going to slap her first.”

Sealing is sealing, but first, I’ll take out my frustration. Anna, harboring thoughts of revenge, entered the Imperial sewer system.

“Hiding underground like a bug. What else can you expect from a foul undead creature.”

It was annoying. No matter how radiant and majestic the Imperial capital was, the sewers smelled just as bad as any other city.

In fact, the smell was worse, as it collected the waste from the capital, the most populous city on the continent.

Anna held her nose and scrunched up her eyes.

“I’ll have to throw away my dress. And my underwear. Ugh, annoying.”

When things go wrong, bad luck piles up.

Splash!

She misjudged the depth and stepped firmly into a puddle, splashing dirty water on her cheek.

“%$@#…!”

A torrent of curses flowed from Anna’s mouth. The chief mages flinched and tried to avoid her gaze.

“Come out quickly. You can’t escape anyway.”

If Estel had planned an escape through the sewers, it was a truly foolish idea.

Naturally, the Empire had ensured there were no openings for rats to scurry through.

The sewers themselves were a labyrinth created by humans, and there were no exits connecting to the outside.

“We’ve almost caught up.”

One of the chief mages smiled triumphantly.

The mages’ skills were impeccable. They instantly pinpointed Estel’s location.

“It seems she’s not running anymore. She stopped quite a ways ahead. Has she given up?”

“Who told you to chatter? Be quiet and just chase her.”

Anna snapped hysterically. They advanced into the darkness of the sewers, each preparing their suppression magic.

Crackling lightning and flickering flames. Beyond that, magic of excessive power, more than enough to kill a person, appeared.

‘So what if she’s a Lich?’

Being undead only means she doesn’t die. Anna underestimated Estel.

It was understandable, given how many times the Lich had been brutally defeated by Michael.

The next moment.

Anna felt a chilling air brush against her nose. A scent she had never encountered before, piercing through the foul stench of the sewers.

‘What is this?’

Anna’s eyes widened, and she looked back at the chief mages, but they seemed equally puzzled.

“It smells like the North. The air is cold too. The temperature of the space ahead has dropped.”

“I know that.”

Anna retorted and moved forward. Her heart fluttered strangely. She had a bad feeling.

As she got closer, it became colder, and Anna wrapped her arms around herself.

It was an abnormal cold that she, in her delicate dress, could hardly withstand.

“Did they build an ice cream factory underground or something… Brrr, it’s cold!”

She desperately wanted to give up and go back, but she managed to hold on and finally arrived at the end of the sewer system.

“Unbelievable!”

Anna’s jaw dropped.

Whoosh-

In the vast space of the sewer, a colossal portal had opened. A biting, cold wind blew from the portal.

‘She connected dimensions. The extreme North and here, directly!’

As an accomplished mage, Anna immediately understood the situation.

A grand spatial magic, “Giant Dimensional Gate.”

It was a ridiculously scaled magic that could traverse mountains and rivers, instantly connecting the two poles of the continent.

‘Even I have to put in a lot of effort to cast that magic!’

Naturally, the Lich, Estel, stood beside the portal.

Despite being an enemy, Anna felt a sense of awe for a moment. She was impressed as a mage.

How long and how much effort must she have put into casting this grand magic?

Furthermore, unfolding a magic circle in the unstable environment of the sewers would have been even more challenging.

“No, no. This is not the time to be admiring it.”

Anna squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.

This was the greatest crisis the Empire had ever faced. A portal had opened directly beneath the capital, in a location no one had anticipated.

Even someone ignorant of military strategy would understand the danger.

‘It’s hard to block… No, it’s more than hard. We’re screwed!’

Despite the sub-zero temperatures, cold sweat trickled down Anna’s forehead. The other chief mages felt the same.

“Tower Master, this is dangerous! We must inform Knight Commander Michael immediately.”

“Understood, run! Two of you, go and report the situation. The rest, follow me.”

Anna said, drawing upon her magic. While it was a crisis for the Empire, Estel was also in a vulnerable position.

Before all her forces could be moved through the portal, they were concentrated in one spot within the sewers.

If attacked at this moment, Estel would suffer a great setback. Not only would her forces sustain heavy damage, but the portal itself was likely to be destroyed.

“Unfortunately, you underestimated me.”

Anna’s hair rippled like flames.

“Alright, bring it on.” Anna smirked, a habitual gesture.

“I’ll burn everything that crawls out.”

Her body grew hot. The chief mages, emboldened by the heated Anna, prepared for battle.

But a moment later.

“Kyaaak!”

A scream echoed from behind.

At the sudden shriek, Anna looked back.

Two heads, dangling and swaying, rolled out of the darkness.

They were the heads of the two chief mages sent to inform Michael.

“Attempting to contact enemy command. Difficulty. Preemptive interception successful.”

There, a maid walked, muttering in a bizarre, inhuman tone.