Chapter 216
Although I wasn't particularly close with Hubert, now that everyone who needed to know already knew, I wanted to avoid a situation where I couldn't use my power when necessary just to hide my identity.
This was not the time for wordplay.
And I needed to make an example of those who touched my people.
I did it to the ones who touched Luna, and it would be the same for the ones who touched Cecil.
I downed the Griffin Potion and threw the bottle aside.
Clang!
A man standing guard at the cave entrance immediately drew his sword upon hearing the loud noise.
"Stop right there. Who are you?"
Skipping all the troublesome procedures, I headed straight for the entrance.
"Hey, you bastard, I said stop!"
As I approached within sword's reach, he swung his sword.
Sion, Ruscus, the Principality's knight, Louis. The trajectory was somewhat different from the opponents I had crossed swords with several times. Perhaps it was swordsmanship originating from the North.
But it didn’t matter. It wasn't as fast as Sion's sword, nor as difficult to predict. Most swordsmanship seemed to have large, unnecessary movements and was slow to me.
I blocked the diagonal sword strike with my wooden sword and approached the opponent's body as if sliding down the blade.
Then I punched him in the face.
Taking advantage of his stagger, I struck away his sword and immediately grabbed his collar, starting a one-sided beating.
***
About ten strong men were sitting, leaning against rocks or pillars that could support their bodies.
They roared with laughter watching one person showing off tricks in high spirits and greedily drank from their cups.
Among them, Gale was silently sitting in the deepest part of the cave. Just from the layout, it was a place that could be called the leader's seat.
Then the boisterous feast gradually quieted down.
This was because loud noises echoed from the entrance towards the inside of the cave.
Those who were showing off tricks, those who were politely drinking, and those who were in high spirits all closed their mouths and looked toward the entrance.
Sensing something amiss, they stood up one by one and grasped their weapons.
Gale just kept eating the meat he had hunted in the deepest part of the cave, paying no attention.
Sruk—Sruk—Sruk—
The sound of thick leather being dragged spread throughout the cave interior.
Damian, wearing a mask and covered in blood, was holding a wooden sword in one hand and the nape of a guard's neck in the other.
The largest man among the group cracked his neck left and right, loosening his joints, and said, "What are you doing, bastard?"
Soon after, several lower-ranking members spat out curses in the northern language.
But because of the unknown pressure emanating from Damian, they didn't dare to rush at him recklessly. Like dogs barking enthusiastically at something beyond a wall, they only threatened verbally.
Damian threw aside the guard he had dragged in and said, "This is an example."
Then Gale, who was in the corner, spoke first, "You've got guts."
"..."
He continued eating leisurely, not even looking at Damian, as if he had no intention to attack.
Closely cropped hair. The composure that comes from hundreds of real combat experiences. Gale's massive physical presence. The pressure emanating from him was not far behind either.
"It's as I heard," Gale spoke as if he had known about the existence of that mask for a long time.
Damian skipped all pleasantries.
"What information did you leak to Cecil?"
"We threw out the bait, but it was that woman's choice to take it even knowing that."
"Tell me where she went."
When he spoke in a commanding tone, the eyes of the subordinates around became as fierce as butchers'.
Gale made a hand signal to stay put, then continued speaking, "The magic sword hunter performed a ritual using villagers as sacrifices at the Rupola Altar. And they say he possesses a magic sword never seen before."
"..."
Gale smiled coldly seeing Damian's reaction. Damian looked like he might kill someone before leaving, his eyes half-crazed.
"I need to get back the magic tool taken from Cecil."
Unable to hold back any longer, one subordinate shouted angrily, "What the hell, you bastard?"
But despite the subordinates' opposition, Gale accepted Damian's demand in a dry tone.
"Give it to him."
Then a subordinate said as if arguing, "Gale, there's no need to listen to this bastard's demands."
Gale spoke firmly, "Rox, don't make me say it twice. Give it to him."
"No, I'll show you an example in the Northern way myself. Uwaah!"
As he started to take a fighting stance holding an axe and facing Damian, Gale stood up and swung his fist at Rocks' face.
A dull impact sound filled the cave.
"Give it to him! You son of a bitch," Gale's shout was so loud that the entire cave shook.
Only after being thrown into a puddle of dew did Rox accept Gale's order.
They were a pack of wolves that submitted to power and were ruled by power. And Gale was their absolute leader.
A subordinate brought a heavy-looking backpack from inside the cave and put it down in front of Damian.
Damian silently checked the contents, then packed up the bag and turned to leave.
One of the subordinates who had been quietly watching this scene said to Gale, "Is it okay to let him go like this?"
Gale emptied his cup and continued, "We'll surely clash one day. But not now."
***
Hubert gave a silent applause with his fingers when he saw my appearance.
"...Did you kill them all?"
I shook my head.
"Ah, you didn't?"
Ignoring Hubert's nonsensical words that might have been a joke, I organized the situation in my head.
He had no intention of fighting me.
Is he afraid of fighting me? Him, who even clashed with Sion?
There was no movement to withdraw in response to the official document either. My judgment was that he was just conserving his strength for something coming in the future.
Moreover, Gale was already aware of the existence of the magic sword hunter. He was far ahead of me in terms of information.
What is Gale aiming for in this mission? Revenge? A magic sword? An artifact?
Either way, that wasn’t important. Finding Cecil before she got into more danger was the priority.
"Did Gale just let you go? Even giving you the loot himself?"
"Yes."
"Huh, this makes me feel terribly betrayed by Gale."
"Time is short. I'm going to the Rupola Altar."
"Whoa, wait, do you know where that is?"
"I'll have to find out."
Hubert snapped his fingers.
"Alright. Let's go to the camp first. There's a rough map we found while searching the houses in Marbas. No need to rush. Cecil is a clever woman, so she'll hold out well even if something happens."
***
Not many had left the camp yet. Those who had finished packing were now checking their horse reins and feeding fodder, speeding up preparations for return.
Everyone was moving busily, seemingly with many things to check including packing. They looked too busy to pay attention to me and Hubert.
I first checked if the Drama Club was still there. They were nowhere to be seen. It seemed the Drama Club had left with Luna.
"Did you say Rupola Altar? I'll go get the map first."
Hubert patted my shoulder and quickly moved to where his luggage was.
The Dance Club members were gathered in one place, arguing with serious faces.
The faces of Cecil and her close friends were still not visible.
I checked Cecil's backpack again in a corner.
Various metal spheres of unknown use were randomly mixed in, starting with the most familiar Frost Wind Bomb.
Although the detailed decorations and engravings were different, the overall shape was similar to the Frost Wind Bomb, so it seemed that only the functions were different while the operating method was the same.
I sorted them by type and packed as many as possible into my bag.
Just as Hubert was about to run to me with an old parchment,
Someone shouted at the camp with a voice close to a scream, "Help!"
Everyone's attention focused there.
A girl was staggering towards the camp, looking as if she had rolled down a mountain.
"Sob, sob sob, help, help, please."
Hubert saw the girl's face and let out a sigh.
"Naias. The girl who went with Cecil. Oh no."
He immediately sensed that things had gone seriously wrong upon seeing Naias's face and covered his forehead.
Other students, including the Dance Club, all gathered to support her.
Naias shouted with her face covered in tears, "C-Cecil... Cecil has been kidnapped!"
***
A heated debate broke out among the remaining students.
Their opinions were divided between those who thought they should stay and fight to save Cecil and those who thought they should quickly return as per Eternia's orders.
"You saw the situation in Marbas and other villages, right? What happened to those who were kidnapped? There's only one opponent. If we join forces, we have a good chance."
"We must return unconditionally. It's a problem beyond our capabilities. If we unnecessarily step in, the damage will only spread. Wait until the higher-ups take action."
"How long do you think it will take for Eternia to get here? By then, it will be far too late."
The opinion of those who wanted to fight was that they had a good chance if they pushed with numbers.
On the contrary, those who wanted to return argued that there must be a clear reason for the “urgent return order” and that returning with the remaining people would minimize the damage.
The debate didn't last long.
In the end, it was concluded that they would split into two groups according to their opinions.
Although it was unclear how much help it would be, more than half stepped up to save Cecil.
"That's right. Gale! If Gale joins, we have a chance!"
In the midst of this, one Dance Club member hurriedly left on horseback, saying he would ask Gale for help too.
Naias gathered herself and led about twenty people to the spot where Cecil had been kidnapped.
Looking at the map Hubert had brought, it exactly matched the path to the Rupola Altar.
As they made their way through the forest path, Naias recounted the moment they encountered the magic sword hunter.
"It was a small altar crudely made of stacked stones. The area around the altar was filled with human bones... Suddenly that monster appeared."
"Monster? You mean a magic creature?"
"No, no, it was a person. But half his face was melted, and his eyes were strange. He jumped out from somewhere and took Cecil. We tried to fight, but nothing worked. It was so sudden... I'm so stupid, I can't remember. Cecil shouted at me to run away, and only then did I come to my senses and ran out. I don't even know how I got out unharmed."
Naias shed tears as she walked. She still hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
As they climbed a hill path in the forest, everyone suddenly sensed a change in the air current and looked around.
Soon after, the group's footsteps gradually slowed down.
"What's this? Why is my body..."
"Mana?"
"Huh?"
The less experienced first-years suffered from the strong pressure pressing down on their bodies but didn't understand this phenomenon.
Eventually, some couldn't bear it and clutched their chests, collapsing to the ground.
Victor, a first-year Combat Department member walking beside Naias, said, "It's magic pressure. This place, no, this entire hill? I can't grasp where it's coming from."
Ridiger, the Dance Club leader, shouted, "Magic pressure? There's nothing in front of us! What are you pretending to know?"
For magic pressure to form, there needed to be something that densely condensed mana. Whether human, magic creature, or a blue form of concentrated mana, some entity had to exist nearby.
But in front of them, only a peaceful forest stretched out.
"It must be coming from far away."
"You're saying there's this much magic pressure even though mana is being spread from an invisible place?"
The march came to a complete halt.
When one student who tried to force their way forward vomited from the mana pressure, other students pulled them back.
The Combat Department members, not grasping the concept of magic pressure, suffered but couldn't gauge the magnitude of the force. They couldn't grasp how big this was.
But those belonging to the Magic Department were different.
Their faces had turned pale, crushed by this overwhelming force they were encountering for the first time in their lives.
"I-I've never experienced anything like this in my life."
"T-this is impossible. How is this possible? Urgh!"
The dream-like plan of heroically saving the girl in crisis was shattered from that moment on.
They couldn't even face the enemy and had to lie on the ground trembling.
The eyes that had been full of fighting spirit when leaving the camp now began to fill with regret. They realized with their bodies that this was something beyond their capabilities, as some second-years had warned.
In the midst of this, my eyes met Victor's. Among the twenty or so people, only Victor and I were standing normally.
Victor nodded faintly to me as if giving a signal.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded.
This level of magic pressure wasn't very significant to me. It was an extremely low pressure compared to when I held the magic sword.
Soon after, a group of about a dozen men on horseback came rushing from behind.
It was Gale's group that I had faced earlier. The Dance Club member who had guided them said,
"Yes, they were here."
Gale, who was at the front, got off his horse and clenched and unclenched his fist as if sensing the magic pressure. After recognizing that there was no problem, he walked up steadily and naturally stood in line with Victor.
Is he joining so readily?
It seemed he had other intentions rather than saving Cecil.
The students crushed by the magic pressure looked up blankly at the three of us—me, Victor, and Gale—standing on two legs.
Their expressions showed they couldn't understand how we could withstand it so easily.
Victor said with a tired-looking face, twitching the corner of his mouth, "It seems the people who were meant to go were already decided."
And then, without anyone taking the lead, the three of us simultaneously advanced towards where the magic pressure was spread.
If we had continued like this and faced the magic sword hunter, it might have made for an interesting picture, but unfortunately, I had to fall behind for a moment.
Because.
"Damian, Damian...!"
Luna, who I thought had left with the Drama Club, suddenly chased after me and grabbed me with her frail voice.