Chapter 111. Air Raid (3)
Mine Investigation Mission. 11:34 AM. Clear Weather.
Equistelle lifted her eyes from the terminal’s display, which showed the schedule, and raised her head.
It wasn’t yet noon. On the white snow of the snowy mountains, the guards of the mining city had gathered.
With little ti left before the operation began.
Dressed in windproof combat uniforms, they checked their magical gear and equipnt with stern expressions, exchanging anxious glances. Their faces were visibly tense, recognizable to one another.
Among them, one man voiced his complaints.
“Ha. I never thought working as a guard for the mining city would lead to a full-blown investigation operation like this. Don’t you think, Captain Equistelle?”
Turning his head, he saw Equistelle standing with her bombardnt lance thrust upside-down into the ground, leaning against it. She tilted her head indifferently.
“There were missions before to subdue a few wandering magical beasts nearby. You participated in those, didn’t you, Deputy Commander Slen?”
“Those were nothing compared to this ss.”
Grinding his teeth in frustration, he gestured with his chin toward the mine’s entrance.
“What the hell is going on inside that mine? The workers never ntioned anything unusual before.”
“I don’t know. That’s why we’re investigating.”
At Equistelle’s words, so of the guards openly sighed and started talking among themselves.
“I heard the frequency of magical beast appearances has suddenly increased lately. Even Pangaeon, which was quiet until now, isn’t spared.”
Though it was idle chatter, their tones were uniformly sharp. Magical beasts were incredibly powerful. Even skilled combat mages or rangers could easily lose their lives if they weren’t careful.
It was only natural for nerves to be on edge, and they were aware that wearing themselves out with tension beforehand wasn’t wise.
But knowing that and actually managing it were two different things. The man called Slen scratched his head roughly.
“So, who’s supposed to be joining this operation? It’s almost ti for them to show up.”
“You, a deputy commander, must’ve been dozing off as usual and missed the mo. It’s a special guest. Na’s Enoch Elsyde.”
“What? Enoch, as in that guy?”
A figure they’d surely heard of at least once.
Slen asked with a slightly skeptical expression.
“Is that direct descendant really as reliable as the rumors say?”
“At the very least, his recent mission successes are already the talk of the town. And he’s a direct descendant of Elsyde—any room for doubt?”
Slen shrugged slightly at Equistelle’s words.
“Well, since we’re working together, it’s natural to be curious about his strength. Especially since he was a non-mage who suddenly manifested magic… right?”
The other guards, who had been silently checking their magical gear, glanced over and nodded in agreent.
One of them shook his head.
“If the rumors are true, he’s probably surpassed the Rank 10 barrier by now. It’d be nice if he’d just reveal the nature of his unique magic.”
“Well, if he really did break through Rank 10, he wouldn’t just tell anyone who asked, would he?”
“Fair point.”
The rest of the guards nodded at Equistelle’s remark.
It was known that so who manifested unique magic deliberately kept its nature a secret.
One guard laughed nonchalantly.
“And they say if you say the wrong thing to a bad-tempered Rank 10, you’ll lose your head in an instant. Best to keep your distance.”
“Yeah, I heard most Rank 10s and above seem normal but are missing a screw sowhere.”
Slen nodded.
“Hoh, missing a screw, huh? Then I guess that applies to too, doesn’t it?”
“Who’s saying otherwise, Captain?”
Equistelle gave a faint smile at the joking retort.
The other guards gathered around her chuckled lightly.
Whether you had to be crazy to reach Rank 10, or if reaching the so-called “wall of enlightennt” at Rank 10 drove you mad, no one knew.
But one thing was certain.
For Rank 10 combat mages and above—about whom much was still unknown—it was wise not to engage unnecessarily if you valued your life.
“Don’t worry. Enoch Elsyde doesn’t seem like the violent type. From talking to him, he’s surprisingly decent for a young man.”
At Equistelle’s assessnt, Slen gave a bitter smile.
“Well, if you say so, that’s a relief. But it’s not just that direct descendant. The follower family they recently took in…”
Just as Slen was about to continue, he looked up and saw soone approaching over the snow-covered hill.
“Ah.”
A boy with black hair and black attire. He carried a long black cloth bag slung over his shoulder.
Beside him were a silver-haired maid with a cold gleam and a red-haired beast-kin girl.
The sight caused a ripple of curiosity among the other guards.
“That’s him?”
“Huh, so he’s got a beast-kin…”
But before they could say more among themselves, the black-haired boy passed by them without a word.
The guards looked at him with a mix of awe and slight confusion. Not only Enoch himself but also the young beast-kin girl, renowned for reaching Rank 10 despite her age.
How many would’ve imagined that three Rank 10 combat mages, including Equistelle, would gather in this remote mining city?
Their awed gazes shifted to Enoch’s side. And following beside him was…
“…Huh? A maid?”
Soone muttered upon seeing Lien, but no one dared ask directly. Ignoring them, I walked straight to Equistelle.
“You’re right on ti. Everyone’s here now.”
“How’s the city’s magical beast extermination going?”
“The guards are dealing with the flying-type beasts that entered the city center, but it’ll take ti to fully clear them out.”
She added, glancing toward the city sprawled below the mountain.
“We’ll definitely have the city sorted before the negotiations begin. After this, I’ll head back to the city to oversee and fight. That’s a promise.”
“Then I’ll leave the city operations to you.”
“Heh. Fine. You can cooperate with the investigation team for the mines, or act independently as long as you don’t cause harm.”
“Sounds like no issues. Let’s do it.”
Equistelle looked at with interest at my response. eting her blatant gaze, I asked calmly.
“…Is sothing wrong?”
“No, nothing major. Just that when I was with Elsyde, there were rumors about you. You’re quite different from them.”
“Rumors?”
“Oh, piqued your interest?”
Co to think of it, there was that conversation with Dionil’s squad in Rhodes last ti. It seed so people knew about my past.
Admittedly, that fact might be intriguing. But it wasn’t what I needed right now.
“No. Strategy cos before idle talk.”
I gauged the ti and added.
“Let’s begin.”
“Good.”
Equistelle smiled faintly and turned around. Glancing back, she added.
“Then, for the Saintess’s sake, I wish you luck.”
***
The mines of the mining city were vast in scale.
We descended a massive circular vertical tunnel via an industrial piston-operated elevator.
The cold air of the deep underground pricked at my skin.
Elongated white lights on the walls illuminated the gray mine entrance, bordered with yellow-and-black safety stripes.
Wooooong.
The large, rectangular elevator, capable of transporting dozens at once, rumbled loudly. Beyond the noise, the man nad Slen spoke.
“Before we enter, a brief strategy rundown.”
He looked at each guard and said.
“According to yesterday’s witness reports, guards on patrol and escorts from the Order were near the mine. They’re all currently missing.”
“Are we searching for them?”
“Yes. If they’re alive, rescuing them is part of the mission.”
Responding to his subordinate, Slen confird the elevator was nearing the ground and summarized the strategy.
“The objective is to investigate why these magical beasts erged from the mine and, if possible, reduce their numbers by subduing them.”
A chaotic operation with three objectives at once. But it also reflected the unprecedented and sudden nature of the situation.
As everyone disembarked, the underground passages of the mine ca into view.
Slen glanced at and added quietly.
“Enoch-nim, you’ll accompany us through the underground passages until we reach the breakthrough point. After that, as Captain Equistelle said, you’re free to act independently.”
His voice still carried a hint of skepticism. He still seed to find sowhat unreliable. I nodded slowly.
“Fine. Let’s do—”
Suddenly, I froze, feeling a chilling shiver run down my spine.
A presence detected through my Sense of Mana.
I snatched a tactical flashlight from a guard’s waist and shone it upward.
The ceiling, shrouded in the mine’s faint darkness. A shape ca into view.
“That’s—”
The form of a massive magical beast.
A grotesque, matte black body, rooted to the wall like a tumor.
Resembling a distorted flower, with five or six petal-like parts forming its head, it was a plant-like magical beast.
Its identity was imdiately clear to and the guards.
[Scarlet]
I said lowly.
“Everyone, stop moving.”
Scarlet. A beast that detects movent or sound, opening its flower-like maw to scream, summoning all nearby magical beasts.
Due to this trait, it was among the most dangerous and high-priority magical beasts.
‘Sothing’s off.’
I narrowed my eyes briefly. Normally, Scarlet didn’t coexist with flying-type beasts like Nictheris.
Yet, their presence here, as if ticulously guarding against intruders, suggested sothing significant lay deeper inside.
“Take it down and move inward.”
Slen, with a tense expression, asked quietly.
“But it’s too risky. Scarlet has high magic resistance, making it hard to eliminate in one strike. Retreating and using long-range magic to—”
I stared at the beast in the air and said.
“Since we’ve spotted it this close, retreating recklessly isn’t easy either. If we provoke it, the distance will make responding harder.”
“Huh? Maybe, but is there a way?”
Instead of answering, I looked at it with cold eyes and spoke calmly.
“Sirocco.”
I glanced at her.
“Bring it down.”
A bold statent, hard to accept at face value. But as Slen turned his gaze, Sirocco imdiately kicked off the ground.
Crushing the earth beneath her, she leaped, a fierce gust of wind blasting against his face.
Kiririk.
The beast opened its crimson eyes, as if to react. But Sirocco, soaring upward like an arrow—
Spun swiftly in midair, striking the beast clinging to the ceiling with a kick.
Boom!!
The beast, several tis her size, was torn from the ceiling, crashing into the wall and falling limply to the ground.
It landed before my eyes.
Still alive, it twitched, trying to spread its massive petals.
But I, staring down with expressionless eyes, raised one foot and crushed its head.
Crunch.
With the sound of sothing hard being smashed, the flower-like head was pulverized and collapsed.
It went limp, turning to ash and dissipating. I walked through the rising dust.
Beyond, Sirocco landed lightly, her ankles wreathed in red light, and approached with a triumphant smile.
“Hmm, how was that?”
“Well done.”
Pleased with the praise, Sirocco grinned and wagged her tail.
“Right?”
But Slen, witnessing it, had an expression completely opposite to hers.
“No way. In one hit…?”
It happened in re seconds. Before Slen could close his gaping mouth at the absurd scene, he glanced around.
Deep in the mine’s darkness.
The chaotic cries of magical beasts echoed through the passages.
The commotion had alerted so beasts inside.
But not all had been provoked yet. In fact, with their guard down, this was the perfect opportunity. Realizing this, Slen gestured lowly.
“All units, advance into the passage…!”
The guards passed from behind, activating tactical lights and optical gear on their magical equipnt to secure visibility in the dark.
They charged forward, cutting through the faint darkness.
Keeiiiik!!
Sensing sothing amiss, flying-type magical beasts tore through the darkness from deeper within the passage, rushing to intercept.
Seeing this, I walked forward slowly.
Sirocco and Lien followed silently behind.
perspective where applicable, preserves inverted commas and brackets, and ensures no repetition from previously translated chapters. The nas and terms follow the specified final translations.
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