Chapter 39: Mage of Blazing Fire (7)
Finally, the subjugation of the Mage of Blazing Fire was concluded.
I didn't know for what purpose the Mage of Blazing Fire had sought this place, nor why they had attacked as if they had been waiting for us.
There was just too little information given.
‘As expected, there’s nothing.’
I wondered if anything had been left where the mage was, but unfortunately, all that remained was scorched black ash.
Which ant getting information about the Mage of Blazing Fire was a lost cause.
‘I guess the fact that I found out the mage's na is Agni is an achievent, if you can call it that.’
Well…… I could probably look into that discreetly through the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
Although it was a mission, I didn't gain much, but there was no need to feel it was a waste.
Because in a way, I had already gained sothing very large from this subjugation.
‘To et the Mage of Blazing Fire right after obtaining the Salamander's Fang…… I was lucky.’
What if I had t the Mage of Blazing Fire without having obtained the Salamander's Fang, or if I had t a different mage instead of the Mage of Blazing Fire?
I probably wouldn't have been able to face the mage without major damage like this ti.
Of course, in a way, facing a mage who could even use Demonic Transformation as an enemy could be seen as very great misfortune, but since this damned world was originally filled with all sorts of misfortune, it was nothing special.
“You’ve worked hard. If not for your performance, the mission would not have succeeded. Especially you, Vell…… you are very special. You have far surpassed my expectations.”
“I just did what I had to do.”
“A soldier-like remark, very excellent. As it was not an easy mission, a separate reward will be given to you all.”
Edric laughed heartily.
However, before returning, there was one thing I had to clearly address.
“Commander.”
“Speak.”
“Are missions like this often given to the Special Task Force?”
Edric's hearty laughter changed to a slightly awkward smile.
This mission was excessively high-risk to be entrusted to the 4th Special Task Force, which had only three mbers left.
No, in fact, it was a mission where failure was to be expected.
Could it be that Winter Castle had assigned this mission without knowing such facts?
Well…… as soone who knew that Winter Castle's information network was not to be taken lightly, I didn't think so.
“No, that's not the case. They’ve been becoming more frequent recently.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
There were still many things that didn't sit right, but I didn't press any further.
Because sotis, excessive curiosity could shorten one's life.
“Then let us go.”
“Yes.”
I placed the fainted Alicia on the horse.
After a bout of sobbing, her body could no longer hold out and she had fallen into a coma.
Although Alicia's condition was serious, since I had secretly and little by little exerted the authority of the Orb of Water without Edric knowing, her life should not be in danger.
‘She will probably be fully recovered by the ti we reach Winter Castle.’
Currently, the Orb of Water had temporarily driven out the cold energy that had been residing within it and had regained a part of its original authority.
The cold energy had been temporarily weakened due to the blazing fires that the Mage of Blazing Fire had indiscriminately unleashed.
In addition to that, the presence of the Fang of Blazing Fire, which I always carried, would also help weaken the seal on the Orb of Water, so for the ti being, it would exert its proper authority.
Just as we were about to return to Winter Castle, Edric stopped.
“Vell, I'm entrusting Alicia to you.”
“What about you, Commander?”
“I have a place I need to stop by for a mont. You two can return on your own, right?”
Edric said so, even though I could desert at this very mont.
Moreover, we were currently near the Barony of Blake, south of Winter Castle, and we even had horses.
Whether he saw through the fact that I wouldn't desert anyway or if it was for so other reason, Edric said so.
“It is sufficient.”
“Then I'm counting on you. I'll see you in Kreutz.”
Edric said so, then turned his horse and headed south.
I didn't know what business he had in the south, but for so reason, I had a feeling that it was related to the mage we had just subjugated.
After Edric left, I looked towards the south for a mont before turning my horse's head.
There was still work to be done at Winter Castle.
***
A guest in the night is not welcod.
This is even more so if it is an uninvited guest who has co suddenly without an invitation.
It was the sa for the uninvited guest who had now co to Baron Blake's mansion.
“……Who goes there?”
Baron Blake, who had awoken from his sleep due to a strange presence, drew the sword by his bedside and faced the uninvited guest of the night.
The uninvited guest's figure was obscured by the shadows of the night and was not clearly visible, but even Baron Blake, who was not very skilled in swordsmanship, could tell that the uninvited guest was no ordinary person.
“You do not call the guards. It is quite a wise choice not to increase the number of aningless sacrifices.”
“I asked who you are.”
Baron Blake growled and pointed his sword, but the uninvited guest did not care in the slightest.
“Co to think of it, it's quite strange. The kind of people called mages do not move easily. Because all actions are followed by a price. But for a mage of that level to suddenly attack in a place like that, as if waiting for us? It doesn't add up.”
Soon, the uninvited guest revealed themself from within the shadows.
“Doesn't it seem like a ploy to intentionally weaken Winter Castle's forces? I an…… a trap. Even more so when you consider who requested this mission.”
Seeing that figure, Baron Blake's face turned deathly pale.
He had recognized the identity of the uninvited guest.
“Could you be……. No, it can't be! It's impossible! You were dead!”
“A pity. I am alive and well like this.”
“How on earth…….”
“I will not be taking questions. You are in no position to do so, either.”
Edric, who had visited the Blake barony as an uninvited guest in the middle of the night, smiled wryly.
Because with the reaction just now, this whole inside story was read in an instant.
“I thought it was strange, so it was your doing after all? The cowardly thod is just like you.”
“……What are you talking about?”
“There's no need to play innocent. Why did you think you could expand the influence of the Barony of Blake, beyond Winter Castle, even a little by doing so?”
“A, a misunderstanding! I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but it has nothing to do with !”
“I told you there's no need for that.”
Shhhwing…….
The sword drawn from Edric's waist glinted, reflecting the moonlight.
Whether it was because the moon was particularly bright tonight or for so other reason, Edric's sword blade looked exceptionally red.
“There's no way soone like you could command a mage of that caliber…… soone, approached you? No matter how much I think about it, I can't think of anyone who would do that.”
“I have no idea what you're talking about…….”
“Hmm, if you can't rember, I'll make you rember. It's not sothing to be proud of, but I have quite a knack for that sort of thing.”
Edric's hand moved at an invisible speed, and in an instant, it was stuck in Baron Blake's abdon.
“Keok, keoheok……!”
“Does it hurt? If you don't want pain to beco your old friend, you'd better rember sothing.”
“I, I know nothing─”
Crack!
“Keuaaaah!”
Edric's kick, which moved like a flash of light, shattered Baron Blake's shin in one blow.
Baron Blake, with his leg bone completely broken and his leg bent at a grotesque angle, collapsed and sobbed.
“Do you rember now?”
“I don't know…….”
“My, I didn't know you wanted to et such an old friend so badly. I will help you.”
Crack!
Cra-crack─!
Along with Edric's kicks, Baron Blake's legs were completely shattered.
“Keuk, keueuk……. Is there anyone outsi…….”
“You've lost your wisdom. Wasn't the reason you didn't call the guards at first to avoid a aningless sacrifice?”
Edric's mocking words sounded like the devil's whisper to Baron Blake.
“Speak, who was it? Ah, if you don't feel like talking, you don't have to. I don't like to be so obsessed either.”
Baron Blake knew.
He knew what kind of man Edric was.
In the first place, Baron Blake had no choice.
“The, the Twilight Troupe! They said they were the Twilight Troupe!”
“The Twilight Troupe?”
Edric's brow furrowed.
The Twilight Troupe…… It was a na Edric had never heard before.
“So, people called the Twilight Troupe contacted you and made such a proposal? As an opportunity to weaken Winter Castle?”
“Keuuu…… e, even so! B, by what authority are you intervening? This is a matter between Kreutz and Blake!”
Baron Blake shouted in a fit of rage, his face flushed red.
“No, no. This is not simply a matter of Winter Castle. It is my business as well.”
“What does that…….”
Soon, Baron Blake's face, having understood what those words ant, turned deathly pale.
Baron Blake knew the man in front of him.
How fearso this man was, and also how he was soone who should not be made an enemy of.
Edric smiled with utmost ferocity.
“The previous Margrave was my benefactor. Do you think I could stand by and let his na be disgraced?”
“I, I didn't know! I didn't know there was soone like you in Winter Castle!”
“I suppose that's true. But what can you do? The way of the world is originally unreasonable.”
“S, save─”
With a flash of light, Baron Blake's final plea beca his last words.
The blood-stained blade, reflecting the moonlight, looked exceptionally red.
Despite having committed the grave cri of murdering a nobleman, no sign of agitation could be found in Edric.
As if such a thing was nothing.
“The Twilight Troupe, you say……”
Although Baron Blake was a cunning man, he was not a man with the guts to do sothing like this without considerable certainty.
In fact, the Mage of Blazing Fire encountered in this mission was a very dangerous being.
If it weren't for the incomprehensible performance of Vell Blackwood, this mission could have ended not only in failure but also in the annihilation of the 4th Special Task Force.
aning the cunning Baron Blake had good reason to be uncharacteristically confident.
‘Or he could have been threatened in so way by the Twilight Troupe…… but there would have been no need for that.’
Because Baron Blake, contrary to his timid personality, was also a man with the ambition to always expand his influence.
“Hmph.”
He didn't know what the Twilight Troupe did, but it was clear that they were at least a threat to Winter Castle.
The vanished Destruction Dragon.
The recent appearance of the mutant.
The increased frequency of demonic beast appearances.
The Twilight Troupe.
Lately, strange things have been happening continuously in Winter Castle.
As if it were so kind of on.
‘And on top of that…… Vell Blackwood as well.’
Edric, who had been watching Vell Blackwood until now, knew that he was no ordinary mage.
He couldn't tell for what reason a mage of Vell Blackwood's caliber had ended up as a prisoner being dragged to Winter Castle.
However, it is often safer to keep a suspicious person at the closest distance.
Therefore, Edric would remain as the commander of the 4th Special Task Force, just as he had been until now.
However, if there was just one thing that was regrettable for Edric, it was this.
“It seems a comfortable retirent is out of the question.”
It seed he would have to postpone his retirent for the ti being.
***
It's warm.
A warmth, of which she couldn't tell where it was coming from, road throughout her body, cooling her body that had been hot from the burns.
Clop, clop…….
The sound of horse hooves echoed on the desolate night road and Alicia slowly opened her eyes.
The figure reflected in her blurry vision was none other than Vell Blackwood.
“……Ah.”
Alicia's lips parted as she stared blankly at Vell Blackwood's face for a mont.
“You're awake.”
“What…… happened?”
“It's all over. The mage is dead.”
The distorted burns still covered her entire body.
For so reason, they had faded quite a bit more than in her mory and the pain was less than she had thought, but only then did Alicia realize that everything she had seen was not a dream.
“Is it really…… over?”
“Yes.”
The Mage of Blazing Fire was dead.
The very mage that Alicia had risked everything to kill.
When she had finally faced the Mage of Blazing Fire, Alicia had charged desperately, risking everything she had.
But in the end, she couldn't reach, and in the mont she thought everything was over in despair, Vell Blackwood appeared.
She didn't know what kind of magic he had used, but Vell Blackwood had torn down the barrier of blazing fire that the Mage of Blazing Fire had deployed all too easily.
And then Edric appeared as well.
The Mage of Blazing Fire, whom Alicia had searched for with everything she had, was now dead.
Although the one who killed him was Edric, it was Vell Blackwood who had, in effect, driven him into that situation.
“Really…….”
Really, it was all over.
Alicia, having once again confird that all of those things were not a dream, tried her best to suppress the emotions that were welling up again.
Let's not cry. Let's smile.
Because now is the ti to smile.
“……Thank you.”
“Don't ntion it.”
Vell Blackwood smiled lightly.
That was all, but for so reason, Alicia felt as if she was being saved by that smile.
“……Ah.”
On the day she lost everything to the Mage of Blazing Fire, Alicia had made a vow.
That she would kill the mage, even if it ant risking her all.
And today, Alicia made another vow.
That she would willingly offer all of her remaining life to you.
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