Michael #2

 

Anna’s mind went blank.

Sealing Lich was Anna’s mission. She took charge of it herself, even shouting at Michael.

—Leave it to me! I’m the expert when it comes to magic.

He even made confident boasts.

If it was a matter of tracking down and capturing the Lich from the beginning, I wondered if sealing the Lich that was already in my hands wouldn’t be so difficult.

Because of this, Anna did not feel much pressure and approached this matter with a somewhat relaxed attitude.

But I never thought things would turn out like this.

“This bitch⋯!”

Anna’s eyes, slit sideways like a cat’s, took on a fierce glow, 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? If I don’t do as I’m told, Michael will be furious.”

What would happen if I just got angry?

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

He’s a man colder and more indifferent than ice. Judging by his personality alone, it’s no exaggeration to say he’s even more inhumane than Richie.

‘If they find out Richie ran away, I’m finished.’

If Michael found out, Anna would lose his trust forever.

The future was already drawn before Anna’s eyes.

In Michael’s imagination, on either side of him were women as beautiful and alluring as Anna, linking arms with him.

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

Heroes are sensual, so it’s natural for women to gravitate towards successful males.

Michael would easily discard Anna as if she were an old shoe.

“Whoa!”

Anna screamed, putting her hands on her cheeks like in a Munch painting.

The knight who had fallen in the midst of the commotion squinted his eyes.

Anna didn’t care. The others didn’t care. Now, Anna’s feet were on fire.

“It’s not too late. We have to catch him. We have to catch him. If we drag him back and throw him in jail, no, if we seal him up, it’ll just be a fleeting incident. Yeah, that’s all that matters.”

Anna paced around the prison, muttering rapidly like a madman.

As I was looking out the window out of habit to gauge the time, I realized that I was in a dungeon.

It was hard to tell exactly what time it was.

“There’s still time. We can catch it in three hours, no, two. Okay, it’s okay. Anna, you can do it.”

Anna escaped from the dungeon without even looking at the knights lying on the floor.

What we need now is the top magicians of the Magic Tower under Anna’s command.

And shoes that are comfortable for long walks. Not these uncomfortable high heels.

***

No matter what, Anna is a genius sorceress. It wasn’t just her own baseless boasting.

Even so, Anna was the boss of the magic tower, and once the wizard race has set a goal, they will find the fastest route to solve the problem without regard to the means and methods.

And now, Anna was empowered by absolute power. There were no limits to her available resources, and no superiors to worry about.

“Do it quickly. Faster! It doesn’t matter how many magic stones you use.”

The highest-grade magic stones, each the size of a fingertip and worth over ten thousand gold, disappeared one by one like melting snow every few dozen seconds.

The senior magicians spared no effort in using their magic stones and unleashed their tracking magic to their hearts’ content.

A powerful magic that can find even a single needle dropped in the vast grounds of the Imperial Capital.

Traces abounded. Estelle’s hair on the bed, dried saliva on the glass, the sweet smell of a girl permeating the room.

All of this became milestones that showed Estelle’s current location.

Anna followed Estelle, following the tracking magic used by the wizards.

“Just wait and see. If you catch him, you’ll have to give him a slap first.”

A seal is a seal, but before that, I’ll take out my anger. Anna entered the Imperial sewer, intent on revenge.

“You’ve slithered underground like a worm. Who would think you’re some hideous undead?”

It was annoying. No matter how splendid and majestic the imperial capital may be, the foul stench emanating from its underground sewers was no different from any other city.

If anything, the smell is worse as the waste from the continent’s most populous capital city gathers there.

Anna pinched her nose and squinted her eyes.

“I guess I’ll have to throw away the dress. And the underwear. Ugh, this is annoying.”

When things don’t work out, bad news piles up.

Visit!

I accidentally misjudged the depth and stepped into the puddle with all my might, sending a splatter of dirty filth splashing onto my cheek.

“%$@#$…!”

A terrifying curse flowed from Anna’s lips. The senior wizards flinched in surprise and avoided eye contact as much as possible.

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

If Estelle had planned a grand escape using the underground sewer, it would have been a truly foolish idea.

Naturally, the empire left no room for rats to run wild.

The underground waterway itself is nothing more than a man-made labyrinth, with no exit leading to the outside.

“I’m almost there.”

One of the chief wizards smiled triumphantly.

The wizards’ skills were impeccable. They quickly pinpointed Estelle’s location.

“I see it’s not running away anymore. It stopped in front of me for a long time. Has it given up?”

“Who’s the one who’s whining? He’s loud and gets chased quickly.”

Anna threw a fit. They each prepared their own subduing spells and advanced through the darkness of the culvert.

Crackling lightning, flickering flames, and other spells of excessive power, more than enough to kill a single person, appeared.

‘What can I do if I get rich?’

Even if she’s immortal, all she can do is not die. Anna underestimated Estelle.

That’s understandable. Seeing Richie being brutally beaten by Michael hundreds of times, I couldn’t help but think that way.

The next moment.

Anna felt the chill air touch her nose. It was the first scent she had ever smelled, piercing through the foul stench of the sewer.

What is this?

Anna looked around at the senior wizards with wide eyes, but they were equally puzzled.

“It’s a smell I’ve only ever smelled in the North. The air is cold, too. The temperature in the space ahead has dropped.”

“I know that too.”

Anna snapped and took a step forward. Her heart pounded. She had a foreboding feeling.

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

It was an unusually low temperature that was difficult to handle in a dress as light as butterfly wings.

“Did you open an ice cream factory in the basement or something? Ugh, it’s cold!”

I wanted to just throw everything away and go back, but I held back and finally arrived at the underground sewer treatment plant.

“That’s ridiculous!”

Anna’s mouth fell open.

Shhhh—

A massive portal opened in the vast expanse of the underground sewer. A biting wind blew from the portal.

“I’ve connected space. A direct connection between the northern pole and here!”

Anna, a skilled sorceress, immediately understood what was happening.

The great magic of the Spatial School, “Giant Dimensional Gate.”

It is a magic of immense scale that crosses mountains and rivers and connects the two extremes of the continent in an instant.

‘I also need to muster up the courage to use this magic!’

Of course, Richie and Estelle were standing next to the portal.

Anna felt a moment of awe, despite being an enemy. She admired him as a sorcerer.

How long and how much effort must have gone into preparing to unleash this great magic?

It would have been even more difficult to deploy a magic circle in the unstable environment of an underground waterway.

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

Anna squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.

This is the empire’s greatest crisis yet. A portal has opened, directly beneath the capital, in an unexpected location.

Even those who are ignorant of military tactics will know the danger.

‘It’s hard to stop… No, it’s not just hard. It’s fucked up!’

Even in the sub-zero temperatures, cold sweat trickled down Anna’s forehead. The other senior magicians were no exception.

“Master of the Tower, this is dangerous! You must report this to Knight Commander Michael immediately.”

“If you understand, run! You two, go and report the situation. The rest of you, follow me.”

Anna said, drawing out her magic. The empire is in crisis, but the Lich is equally vulnerable.

Before all troops were moved from the portal, they were concentrated in one spot in the underground sewer.

Striking at this moment would be a major blow even for Estelle. Not only would her troops suffer massive damage, but the portal itself would likely be destroyed.

“I’m sorry, but you made me look so funny.”

Anna’s hair was swirling like flames.

“Oh, come here.” Anna said, raising one corner of her mouth as if it were her habit.

“I’ll burn everything as soon as it comes out.”

Their bodies were flushed with heat. The senior wizards, perhaps emboldened by Annaduck’s heat, each prepared for battle.

But after a while.

“Kwaaak!”

A scream rang out from behind.

Anna turned around at the sudden scream.

In the darkness, two necks rolled in, shaking and swaying.

It was the head of the two chief magicians who had been sent back to inform Michael.

“Attempting to contact enemy main force. Difficult. Preemptive interception successful.”

There was a maid walking towards me, muttering in a strange, inhuman tone of voice.