Chapter 393

“Haa…”

I knocked aside another incoming mana and narrowed my eyes. Narrowed them—but didn’t close them. The scattered flashes, abrupt as drops of white paint splashed across darkness, stung my vision, but shutting my eyes here would be a death sentence.

Boom—

Right. It was no different from a camera flash. I’d endured them countless times before. I slammed my foot into the ground and swung my sword. In this pitch-black field, I couldn’t make out my opponents. Relying on the brief flashes of light was impossible with so many obstructions, and…

I couldn’t sense it. Not the vibrations of a human body—only magic.

‘Where are they attacking from?’

Blue mana rained in from every direction. Breaking through in any one direction would be risky. They were all the same shade of blue, so it could’ve been a single caster—but blue eyes were hardly uncommon.

“There’s only two of us. Isn’t this a bit much?”

My voice, half laughing, vanished beneath another explosion. Behind me, Mecklenburg kept his back to mine, maintaining just enough distance between us as he ground his teeth with a strained groan. At least four of them. Probably more. Spatial magic had been deployed, so the nearby village wouldn’t hear a thing.

Clang— Shhk—

Mecklenburg’s swordsmanship was as solid as ever. He reacted sharply to every spell flying at him, batting them all away without letting a single one through. Well, you’d have to be at least that good to rank second at the Imperial Second Academy. I knocked a streak of mana aimed at my waist aside and looked up. The moment I pivoted on my heel, an arrow-like bolt of magic shot straight past my face.

Whoosh—

As it skimmed past my right temple, I spun the hilt half a turn in my hand, changing the sword into a staff. Without the broad blade catching the wind, its weight settled downward. Mecklenburg barked, “You told me to stay focused, yet you’re just standing there watching me?!”

“You’re slow.”

I’d already dealt with it, though. Muttering under my breath, I slammed my staff into the ground.

Boom-rumble-crash—!

— Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Ariel, that attack her and her fortress and besiege her, will be as it is with a dream, with a vision in the night.

A searing flash spread across the field, swallowing the verse beneath the roar. Mecklenburg’s eyes flew wide as he threw an arm over his face and reinforced his barrier. The blue mana, the same color as my eyes, surged across the ground and through the air—and the attacks rushing toward us were swallowed whole and vanished.

Caw— Flap.

I glanced up at the bird that had finally appeared overhead and changed my staff back into a wand. The warp permit tucked into my pocket was still there. And…

Where could they be? Where… Wand in hand, I started running in one direction when another blue flash burst to life. Oddly enough, the attack skimmed past the side of my face. Bad aim? Or…

I knocked aside another stream of mana aimed just below my waist, near my hip, then caught a faint flicker of light hanging high in the distance and slashed diagonally upward. Fireworks exploded right in front of me. A spell that distorted depth perception. One of the areas where I still lagged behind Leo. Let’s think again.

Clang—!

I glanced at the front of my jacket, now slightly torn, then kicked away another streak of mana trying to wrap around my ankle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mecklenburg pull his sword close and sweep upward to deflect an attack aimed at his waist. The ankles, I could understand. Locking down our movement was a smart choice. But the waist?

‘Even if they’re just firing blindly, their aim is way too trashy.’

Ever since I unleashed that wide-area spell, the attacks had gotten noticeably sloppier. There were only two explanations. First, they were attacking from farther away now. Second, I’d definitely taken a few of them out. Neither explained why they kept aiming for our waists—and our jackets. Channeling a little more mana into the tip of my sword, I shouted to Mecklenburg.

“The luggage we brought. Is it gone?”

“It’s destroyed!”

“Haha. So I swore in My wrath.“

BOOOOM!

— They shall never enter my rest.

The blue sphere before us swelled like it was filled with water, then burst apart into countless shards. As it shattered, the barrier corroded away, and the blue flames I had conjured engulfed the forest before surging high into the sky. Somewhere far beyond my reach, between the village and these fields, I felt someone casting spatial magic. Were they trying to keep the villagers from noticing, too?

I spun around, rushed back, and grabbed Mecklenburg, who was gasping for breath from the strain of my mana.

“Albert!”

“Warn… me… before you cast…! Are you trying to kill me…?!”

“Good. Glad you’re still alive. Now hand me the permit.”

I grabbed his jacket and searched the pocket where the permit should be. The moment he realized what I was doing, the color drained from his face.

“Hey, wait. You’re going to the train station?!”

“They want us gone. Preferably back in Germany as soon as possible.”

I pulled the permit from the inner pocket of his jacket, waved it with a grin, and said, “Hold them off. I’m counting on you.”

CLANG!

Clutching both permits together in the same hand as my sword hilt, I swung back in a wide arc and blocked the blade coming for my back. A blade—not magic. Finally. It wasn’t until I set the place ablaze with magic that they decided to show themselves. Smiling at the masked mage before me, I lowered my stance and burst forward, slipping between Mecklenburg and the enemy. Faced with a real opponent outside the training grounds, Mecklenburg once again looked completely shell-shocked.

“Wait, I’m coming too—!”

I sprinted toward the warp point as fast as I could. We couldn’t go together. If we both disappeared, there was no telling what they’d do to Ismailov. That alone might be worth observing—but I wasn’t the kind of person who could stand by while someone suffered because of my decisions. Worse, if they decided their target was gone—or that the fight wasn’t worth it anymore—and simply fled, we’d lose every chance of learning anything. One way or another, whether we captured them or they captured us, we had to face them ourselves.

Less than a minute later, the weathered marker came into view. I memorized the number carved into it, planted my staff like a cane, and slammed it into the ground. The forest, washed in darkness and broken only by bursts of blue light, vanished in an instant. The sharp whine of magic cutting through the air disappeared with it, like waking from a dream.

In its place stood a Roman-style hall bathed in soft light beneath an enormous chandelier. I narrowed my eyes and steadied my breathing. Attached to one side of this massive train station was the checkpoint for warp permits. After straightening my rumpled jacket and smoothing my hair as best I could, I hurried over to the counter. The inspector, who had been lounging in his chair until he noticed me running over, slowly sat up and spoke.

“What brings you here?”

“…I’d like to extend my Russian Empire warp permit.”

I forced down the ragged breaths that still threatened to escape after everything that had just happened.

The inspector from this morning was gone. Naturally—this was nighttime now, so the shift must have changed. Looking half asleep, the new inspector asked lazily, “The reason?”

“I visited Lavrentyev Monastery, and I was truly impressed by the devotion and solemnity of the Orthodox monastery there. I’d like to stay a little longer. Here’s a letter of approval personally written by the acting abbot.”

There was no point hiding the fact that I’d been to Lavrentyev Monastery anymore. The ‘local mages’ had already attacked us. That was why I’d warped straight here instead of passing through another region. Whatever their reason for attacking, word of our arrival had clearly spread much faster than I’d expected. At this point, there was no reason to struggle to keep it hidden, take the long way around, or invent some lie when the straightforward option was right in front of me.

The inspector accepted the letter, skimmed through it, and handed it back.

“I see… Very well. How long are you planning to stay?”

“Two weeks, to be safe. The monastery buildings are in pretty rough shape, and we’re planning to help repair them. My traveling companion will be covering the expenses, so I’d at least like to stay long enough to see the work begin before returning home.”

The inspector raised an eyebrow.

“Really? That’s very generous of you. It’s always good to meet a young man willing to do something for Russia. Next time you come, bring the donation receipt with you. It’ll make the process much quicker.”

That’s enough. Hurry up! At this very moment, Mecklenburg was probably fending off multiple attack spells all by himself. I thrust the now thoroughly crumpled travel permit toward him.

“Understood. This is the coordinate permit I received this morning. I only need to submit this, correct?”

“Yes.”

Looking exhausted, the inspector took another sip of his cold coffee. He ran his fingers over my permit and Mecklenburg’s, then looked back up at me.

“Where is the other gentleman?”

“Ah, well…”

“Unless there’s an unavoidable reason, both of you need to be here.”

Damn it. Of course this was where I’d get stuck. I didn’t have time for this. Bracing a hand against the counter, I shook my head.

“The situation made that impossible. There are thirty-five minutes left until midnight, right?”

“Correct. A warp only takes a snap of the fingers. Even five minutes would be plenty.”

The inspector raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. He didn’t object outright, but it was obvious he wasn’t convinced. I took a slow, deep breath.

‘Should I tell him we were attacked?’

No. Pathetic. What a half-baked idea. Then should I warp Mecklenburg here for a moment? That wasn’t the worst plan… but could I really rule out the possibility I’d just been worrying about? I narrowed my eyes, biting my lip as I looked down at the inspector.

‘Or I could just drop this guy right into the middle of the attack.’

The thought pleased me for exactly one second before I came to my senses.

‘…No. Neither of those will work. What the hell am I even thinking?’

Dropping the inspector into the scene wasn’t actually a bad idea. But…

As if they’d extend our permits without a hitch. Two Germans arrive in Russia and, before even a full day has passed, get caught up in a fight? Thinking that, because we’re the victims, they’d simply renew our permits and thoroughly punish the Russians responsible—whoever they are—is wishful thinking. Since we’re German nobles, the case probably wouldn’t be swept under the rug unfairly. Even so, from Russia’s perspective, foreigners getting caught in an incident at a time when international relations are already tense are nothing but trouble. By the book, there shouldn’t be any issue extending our permits. In reality, though, this is exactly the sort of situation where everyone gets kicked out.

If I’d rather work with the Russian police than Ismailov, then I could just report it. If I’d rather be shipped back to Germany before I even get the chance to meet Ismailov again, sit in a noble estate reading reports on the investigation into the rogue mages, and let the German police know exactly why we came to Russia in the first place, then I could just report it.

“The truth is, he couldn’t come because he’s injured. Right before we warped, we were passing through the woods and he got bitten by a venomous spider. I need to get back and fetch a doctor as soon as possible.”

The inspector looked troubled for a moment, then raised an eyebrow as though nothing had happened.

“I apologize for saying this, but we hear that excuse quite often. It’s usually from people trying to overstay their visas.”

Overstaying, huh. My identity was fake—I was reusing the alias I’d used when entering Munich-Freising—but the permit itself had been obtained through perfectly legitimate channels, so that had nothing to do with me. I suppressed my impatience and tried to reassure him.

“We’re nobles. What would we possibly gain from pulling something like that?”

“From our Empire’s point of view, there’s no guarantee you won’t keep one permit in reserve and use it to bring in someone dangerous from abroad. As you know, the restriction isn’t technical—it’s administrative.”

“Then why not make it a technical restriction? So what exactly am I supposed to do now?”

“Well, it’s not much different from Old Humans cutting holes in the border fence to sneak across, or hiding children in train baggage cars to smuggle them overseas. Administrative measures should be enough, but for some reason, once magic gets involved, people stop treating administrative measures as measures at all. So unless you bring Mr. Clemens Schmidt here in person…”

“No, I’m telling you he collapsed after getting bitten by a spider. Would you like to come see for yourself? This is urgent. Please, hurry. His leg’s swelling up.”

I looked the inspector straight in the eye, putting as much urgency into my voice as I could. At the suggestion of going himself, he flinched and shook his head.

“N-No? I can’t leave my post—”

“So you can come with me? Though you might get bitten by one of those wolf spiders too. You’d be shocked if you knew what just happened to me.”

“W-Wait, that’s not what I—”

“Oh, right. Actually, could I ask you one more favor? Since you’re coming anyway, could you help carry my friend back? I had no idea there were that many spiders in the forest… I’ve lived in cities my whole life, so this is my first time in a forest like that. Are there always this many spiders? I kept shaking them off with magic, and they just kept crawling back up my legs. Why do they insist on getting inside your boots? Honestly, I’d feel a lot safer if a local like yourself came with me. I’m sure you know these forests better than I do, and probably know all about Russian wolf spiders too. Anyway, if you could also see my friend in person, issue his permit, and point us to where we can find a doctor, that would really solve everything. So, what do you think? Just this once—”

Bang.

“Just go.”

The inspector forced a smile devoid of any life and held out two freshly stamped documents. I clapped my hands together and shook my head in admiration.

“You’re a lifesaver. I’ll bring my friend back with me soon—and the donation receipt too.”

“Please do. Before your deadline, Mr. Emil Abel.”

“Though… am I supposed to deal with the spiders by myself?”

The inspector simply looked away without answering. I immediately grabbed a tourist guidebook from the station and calculated the distance between the warp point we’d used earlier and the nearby ones.

‘Good.’

Counting under my breath as I stepped outside the station, I spun my wand between my fingers until it became a staff. I stuffed the crumpled coordinate book carelessly into my jacket, then slammed the staff into the ground.

BOOM— Clang!

The staff instantly shifted into a sword, its blade gleaming with mana. After taking three long strides forward, I smiled at the person waiting ahead.

“Couldn’t have picked a better spot.”

I brought my foot down hard as I looked at Mecklenburg, who was sitting on the ground in complete shock.

“And the timing, too. On the wicked he will rain—“

BOOM—! KRAAAASH!

— fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot!

Flames roared across the ground toward my feet before surging up and clinging to my opponent. Wherever the fire touched, it stuck fast as though coated in glue, pinning them in place. Their eyes went wide. A moment later, the flames swallowed their head whole.

“Gaaaah—!”

Then, as if someone had muted the world, the scream vanished. Mecklenburg’s face had gone completely pale, twisted in horror. Beyond him, three or four people already lay unconscious on the ground. I raised my right arm, spread another barrier, and grabbed Mecklenburg with my other hand, pulling him back.

“Get up.”

“Why… why now…?”

I grinned at his bloodless face.

“So you admit it now. You wanted me to protect you, didn’t you?”

“Y-You…! Watch the front!”

I already was. More accurately, I could feel it.

CRACK— SCREECH—

An attack caught between my original barrier and the new one layered over it, producing a harsh grinding sound. I flicked my wrist, shattered my own barrier, slipped past the attack hurtling toward me, and closed the distance in a single burst. My opponent’s metallic wand stretched out into something like a fencing sword and thrust straight at me. Looking into his gleaming eyes, I asked, “Where?”

“…!”

BANG!

I slipped behind his left side, hooked his ankle with my foot, and yanked hard. Before I could fall with him, I kicked off backward and landed lightly. At that exact moment, countless diamond-shaped green spikes of mana, honed to razor sharpness, slammed into his back.

“Kgh…!”

I thought I heard his core crack. With that thought in mind, I swung my blade over Mecklenburg’s head to take my turn. Even though my attack was flying straight toward him, Mecklenburg didn’t even flinch. Instead of staring at me in shock, he calmly switched his sword back into a wand and spun around. It all happened in an instant.

— Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth!

“Aagh!”

Booom—

The person who had slipped in behind Mecklenburg was blasted into the air. He hit the ground right where my sword had passed, clutching his throat and rolling across the dirt. There was no impact, no explosion—only his scream remained. With no more attacks coming, I grabbed Mecklenburg’s hand and pulled him back to his feet.

He’d already taken down three people on his own while I was at the station. And I’d dealt with two just now. He must’ve knocked them out by hitting their cores. Whether he’d cracked them or shattered them, either way. Seeing the sweat and blood running down his jaw, I asked, “Did you cry because this big bro wasn’t here?”

“Are you insane?! That’s sweat!”

“Gross.”

“What?”

Looking thoroughly offended, Mecklenburg clutched at his neck. I took out my handkerchief, smacked it against the scratch on the back of his neck with a loud slap, then picked up the luggage and started toward the warp point.

“W-Wait. We’re just leaving?”

“Why not? None of them can move anymore.”

“Still… there were more than just those five.”

I tossed the sword lightly into the air, letting it turn back into a staff, then tapped it against the ground. Mecklenburg glanced back once, then silently fell into step beside me. Looking at his exhausted face, I shrugged.

“Fitting for the runner-up of the Second Academy, indeed. How many did you take down while I was gone?”

“…….”

I let out a quiet laugh at the way he was trying so hard not to smile.

‘He’s ridiculously pleased with himself.’

Better not say that out loud. Instead, remembering that this wasn’t the Mecklenburg from the Imperial Mage Association yet, I asked, “Looks like taking people down still gets to you. Mentally, I mean. You okay?”

“…I’m fine. You do it too.”

“Oh, so because I do it, you have to? Then who was sitting there waiting for me to come back?”

“Who was waiting for—?!”

He’s so loud. As his voice started to rise, I clamped a hand over his mouth and kept walking.

Soon, the only sounds left were the occasional birdsong and the crunch of fallen leaves beneath our feet. More precisely, even the faint scrape of my staff dragging across the ground.

Then, at one point, the mana connected to my staff quivered. Annoyed, I yanked Mecklenburg back by the arm just as he stepped ahead of me and snapped my fingers.

Boom—!

— He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.

“Ghk…!”

Light exploded around us. Mecklenburg stumbled from the sudden warp before catching his balance. Finishing the incantation, I shot him a brief smirk.

“So, who’s the one who can’t warp now?”

“Hey, wait, this isn’t the time to—!”

“Exactly.”

I smiled at the two mages sprawled on the ground, pinned in place by my mana. They wore the same clothes as the ones we’d fought earlier.

“Knew these bastards would come back.”

I’d spread a thin mana barrier across the ground. Even if they’d fled for the moment, they’d have to return sooner or later if they wanted to get their comrades to a hospital.

Bang.

“Agh!”

Planting my foot against one of the mage’s side to keep him down, I asked, “Who are you? And why are you attacking us?”

“W-We…”

“Yes?”

“We are the Kaluga Vigilance Committee.”

It was only a polite question, but the answer came surprisingly readily. I stared at him, then looked over at Mecklenburg. He let out a snort, wearing the same You’ve got to be kidding me expression I probably had.

I let out a dry laugh.

“Well. Now you’ve got me wondering what exactly we did wrong.”