Chapter 494

Chapter 494

"...Yes, Agent of the Saint."

Blinking in bewilderment, Seren finally lowered her head.

Ian tipped one shoulder in a slight shrug. "Still, if there's no other way, let's think of something else."

"That's not necessary. You've already helped me enough."

Knights, I swear.

Contrary to his thoughts, Ian just shrugged again. It seemed like Seren would remain his vassal for a long time. As long as she didn't die in the meantime, they'd cross paths again—one way or another. There would surely come a moment when she could repay her debt.

"It seems safe," Lucia interjected then.

Ian turned his gaze forward again. Diana was standing on the long ridge. She was looking back at them, making a large circle above her head with both arms.

"Good. I was getting a bit hungry," replying, Ian lightly shook the reins. Moro, as if it had been waiting, sped up.

"I don't mind, but why bother? It's just a low-tier spell," Ian answered.

Lucia shrugged. "Diana isn't a natural-born mage like you or me. And until a few days ago, she didn't even have the basics of spell theory down."

"Ah, so she was using magic without the basics."

Just like me.

As Ian nodded to himself, Lucia looked up at him with a newfound look in her eyes. "You weren't listening to our conversation at all, were you?"

"Well, I had my things to do. You know?" Ian replied.

He had been entirely focused on training. Even after finishing, he barely had the energy to pay attention to anything else. The mental strain left his head feeling like it was cramping, and he had to meditate to recover. The aftereffects weren't as severe or long-lasting as mana exhaustion, but they still required time to settle.

"What Diana learned is a kind of simplified spell, modified and streamlined for fairies," Lucia said, nodding. "It's probably made so that it can be learned quickly, even with a lack of basics. And it lessens the worry of the spell being leaked."

"Sounds like something a spellcaster would do."

"Most of the spells that fairies learn are like that, I hear. To learn a spell, you have to make a contract with a magic tower and pay money."

"That also sounds like something a spellcaster would do." Ian, who had snorted, added, "Anyway, it's surprising. I thought fairies had a knack for magic."

"That's an old story. Fairy spells were all absorbed by the Empire long ago. According to Diana, the towers split the knowledge among themselves and pretended it was theirs from the start."

Lucia shrugged nonchalantly. "There might still be some hidden ancestral spells left somewhere, but… even so, I'm sure only the elder fairies would know, if anyone. They're the only ones who can still use magic properly. Of course, they probably have to sign a formal contract with the Magic Towers."

"So they're leashed by magic. I guess the Empire wouldn't trust the Pointy Ears," Ian said, not at all surprised.

Lucia laughed. "Probably. Diana didn't seem to know that far, but they probably made an additional magic vow as well."

I wonder if that one signed a contract with the Magic Tower by now, too..

As Ian thought of the silver-haired elder fairy, Moro suddenly veered off course and swung its head.

Crack—

A sand spider that had been rushing at them was sliced apart by its blade-like horn. Moro, who had quickly snatched a piece of the fallen spider into its mouth, moved its jaw and turned.

Lucia, who had been patting its neck as if it were a good boy, added, "Anyway, Diana is just at the baby-steps level. And as you know, gray and red magic have different ways of handling magic."

I have no idea.

Shrugging, Ian finally answered, "Whatever. Just make sure she doesn't set anything on fire."

"Don't worry. It might be undercooked, but I don't think it will burn. Still, just in case, Sir Seren, would you mind digging a pit like usual?"

"Not at all." Seren nodded at Lucia's words, who had turned back.

Licking her sharp teeth with her tongue, she cautiously continued, "If I may ask... please make sure it's not undercooked either."

"Don't worry about that either. We have two more skilled mages," Lucia replied with a chuckle, and the saddle tilted backward.

Moro, who had been running lightly, had now entered the dune. A salty wind brushed past their faces, and Ian's brow narrowed slightly.

Smells like one of those alley markets that sell fermented seafood.

Now that they would be walking along the coastline, it meant he would have to keep smelling this smell. He could only hope his nose would get used to it quickly.

"What were you all talking about on the way?" Diana, who had been waiting, looking down from the dune, asked as she stepped aside.

Ian answered nonchalantly, "About you."

"Huh?" While Diana tilted her head, Moro's pace slowed. As the slope of the saddle became gentler, the scenery beyond the dune was revealed.

"So this is the Isolated Sea…" Lucia murmured as if sighing.

Beyond the sandy beach that continued from the dune, a navy-blue sea, filled with an eerie and alien silence, stretched out. The horizon, entangled with darkness, filled their vision.

"I'd believe it if you told me it was a lake," Ian, who had jumped off, murmured.

That was also the reason why it felt alien. Nowhere on the navy-blue water surface that stretched beyond the darkness could he find the waves that should have been there if it were a sea.

"Just in case, I think it's better not to go down to the coast," said Diana, standing beside him.

As Ian nodded, she cautiously added, "By the way, what were you talking about me?"

"That you're today's cook."

"The cook?" Diana, who had narrowed her eyes behind her mask, turned her gaze.

As Moro settled down with its belly on the ground, Lucia, who had gotten off it, was approaching.

"You have to practice for real, Diana." As their eyes met, Lucia gave her a slight nod. "You learned the Fire Beam spell, didn't you?"

"I mean… I did memorize it, but…" Diana mumbled, hesitating. Her eyes briefly flicked to Seren in the background, who was quietly digging into the sand with one foot while holding a limp scorpion by the tail.

Lucia, standing next to Diana, smiled. "No pressure. If it doesn't work, you can just try again."

"Well, yeah, I guess so." Diana nodded, though her hands kept clenching and unclenching—an unconscious habit that showed how nervous she was.

It was a feeling Ian could never fully understand. Unlike Diana, he could learn and cast spells just by assigning skill points.

"It's ready," Seren said, taking a few steps back. In the middle of the circular pit she had made, the scorpion was lying on its back.

Diana, taking a deep breath, approached it. Lucia, who had been quietly following, stood beside her. A faint magical energy began to rise from Diana, but nothing appeared in her outstretched palm.

"It's okay. Take it slow. If it doesn't work, you can try again." Lucia whispered encouragingly.

Diana, who had nodded, took another deep breath.

This is going to take a while.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Ian walked toward Seren. After all, there was a curiosity to resolve while waiting.

"By any chance, are there any strongholds that have warships?"

At Ian's question, Seren's eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't tell me, are you planning to subjugate Bukikia next?"

"Well, if His Highness agrees."

"You really don't plan to stop until every archdemon is defeated, do you?" Seren murmured in admiration.

She then caressed her chin for a moment and then continued, "I know of no completed ships. But I have heard that there are several shipwrights in Baltuen, a stronghold located near the sea, and that they have prepared materials to be able to build at any time."

She met Ian's eyes and shrugged, adding, "Of course, all of it would have to be transported overland and assembled near the coast."

Ian nodded. "Of course, that would be the case. Anyway, it's a relief that His Highness has made arrangements."

"There are probably enough materials to build several ships. You'll know the exact information when you speak with His Highness, but the ships themselves probably won't be a big problem." Seren's gaze turned to the silent sea. "The real problem will be the sea itself."

Ian nodded in agreement. In a way, it was an environment more dangerous than the desert they had crossed. The fact that their lives depended on the ship was especially so. Unless there was a way to lure Bukikia to land, it would probably be the most dangerous and tricky battle.

Well, it's not new to me now, though.

It was then that one side of Ian's vision brightened. Flames were spewing from Diana's outstretched hand.

"It worked!" Diana, with her reddish-glowing eyes, let out a low exclamation.

She had successfully cast Fire Beam. Of course, compared to what Ian or Lucia could conjure, it was modest—but even Diana herself likely hadn't expected flames of that size.

Well, for roasting a scorpion, that's probably just right…

Just as Ian had that passing thought, his gaze shifted ever so slightly. In an instant, his expression darkened. It was because the impatience and anxiety he had been trying to ignore had suddenly become clear.

As he brought his hand to the back of his neck where goosebumps were rising, his brow furrowed.

"I think that's enough. It's very excellent, Diana!" Lucia, who had been watching with a smile, said.

As the flames subsided, Diana, whose breath had become a little rough, spat out, "I don't think it's excellent enough. It's not at a level to be used in real combat yet. But…"

Diana, who had dusted off her hands with a proud look, unlike her words, looked down at the cooked scorpion. "I get the feeling. I think I can make a fireball without much difficulty now."

"That feeling is important. You'll get the hang of it soon. Right, Sir Ian?" Lucia, who had added with a grin, finally turned her gaze. It was because Ian's answer didn't come back. Lucia's smile, who had confirmed his appearance with his hand on his neck and a frown, finally hardened slightly.

"Is there… a problem?"

"Well. I'm not sure yet…." Ian trailed off. For a moment, he stared at empty space, as if watching something only he could see.

"Oh… shit…." His brow twisted with a low curse.

A flash of light burst to the left just then, and Ian's head snapped toward it.

Rumble…

A beat later, a roar followed. It was a sound like thunder from a very distant place. Diana and Seren, who had been sitting around the roasted scorpion, froze.

Lucia, who had turned in the same direction as Ian, widened her eyes as if they would tear. Beyond the horizon, as if dawn were breaking, a golden light had begun to spread—washing over the sky.

Rumble!

A roar that seemed to shake the atmosphere swept past the party then. Diana, who had reflexively lowered her posture, finally frowned and turned her head.

"Shit, what's going on all of a sudden? What the..." Her eyes soon widened blankly.

It was the same for Seren, who was sitting next to her. Both were momentarily captivated by the golden light that was dyeing the western sky and spreading like a barrier. Of course, not everyone was like that.

"Sir Ian… this is… don't tell me?" Lucia, who had blinked as if she had come to her senses, stammered and turned her head.

Her brow narrowed as she confirmed Ian's expression. "But… So soon? Our prediction is still… my goodness." Lucia, who had looked up as if she had realized something, finally parted her lips.

"Don't tell me, from the rift…?"

"Yeah." Ian, who had finally answered in a low voice, looked back at Lucia. "The time we spent inside the rift was much longer than we expected."

It must have been the source of the impatience and unease he had felt all this time. Just as it was with the inside and outside of the Black Wall, the time inside and outside the rift had flowed at a completely different speed.

"But… even if that's the case—" Lucia, who had been stammering, froze.

Boom, boom— Rumble!

The sky above them brightened dazzlingly, and a thunderous roar erupted as if the sky were collapsing. Golden lightning streaked across the sky, shining brightly. It was only then that they realized it was just the beginning.

Boom! Rumble!

With successive roars, streaks of bright yellow lightning shot out, splitting the sky in all directions. They lingered and flickered like giant cracks carved into the heavens, refusing to disappear.

"Crazy shit! What is this? What the hell is happening?" Diana, who was flat on the ground, screamed.

"It's collapsing." It was Lucia, who had been staring at the sky as if mesmerized, who parted her lips.

Diana's eyes contorted in confusion. "What? What's collaps— Don't tell me."

She froze for a moment. The conversation she had with Ian in the past finally flashed through her mind.

"The demonic realm?"

"Yes..." Lucia, who had finally lowered her head to look at her, added in a voice that trembled as much as her eyes. "The Platinum Dragon is bringing down the Black Wall."