Chapter 35
After hearing the news about Damian and Silveryn spreading from Wiesel, these people seemed to have prepared this ambush in advance.
They also knew that to capture Damian, they would have to deal with Silveryn.
There was a high probability that they had intentionally caused the river to flood, making them change direction to the edge of the empire.
If they had forces in the empire, it would be easier to clean up afterward if they carried out their plan within its borders.
"What do you intend to do with Damian?"
"That child will die here."
"...What crime has he committed?"
"Don't interfere any further."
Silveryn felt sorry for Damian.
What a tragic fate. How twisted must his life have been for him to become mortal enemies with these mages at such a young age?
Before meeting Silveryn, Damian was just a weak and poor young boy. He shouldn't have had any connection with high nobles at all.
If it weren't for her, Damian might have already died without anyone knowing.
Silveryn quietly observed the ice blades.
Although it belonged to mid-level magic that wasn't special, due to its grotesque number, it would exert power beyond high-level magic.
Moreover, it formed a favorable match-up against the elemental magic that Silveryn mainly used. There was nothing to say except that they had planned a method to deal with her in advance.
Most mages wouldn't be able to withstand those blades and would be torn apart.
But that was all.
Is the warm southern capital of the empire unaware of the stories from the north, where people lived each day prepared for death?
No matter how many people there were or how much of a difference in compatibility there was, it had no real effect on Silveryn.
She was curious about their intentions.
Had they judged that they were willing to risk annihilation to capture Damian?
Or had they started this with the arrogant confidence that they could handle someone like Silveryn without much difficulty?
"That's an impressive magic. I'm honestly surprised."
"..."
"I'm curious about who your master is."
"Someone of a different class from you."
"Who?"
"The King of Mages."
Silveryn shook her head in disgust.
Hearing that answer, she could finally be certain it was the latter.
Countless people in the world claimed themselves to be the greatest mage.
Fools who mistakenly believed they were chosen by God and sought power by any means necessary.
Those who faced the limits of power and eventually turned to black magic, leading to their downfall, were exactly such people.
It didn't seem like there was a possibility of ending this through dialogue.
"I have no intention of abandoning my disciple."
"It seems you don't want to end this nicely."
Silveryn had no intention of dragging this out.
Mana began to concentrate around her.
"Right, I'll listen to your story after it's all over."
"You'll die here too."
Silveryn's hair began to float slowly as if gravity had disappeared.
Suddenly, the world turned completely dark, as if a total solar eclipse had occurred.
Flames gradually rose from beneath Silveryn's feet, completely enveloping her.
The mages surrounding her were all shaken at once.
A level of magical pressure they had never felt in their lives was pressing down on them.
The density of the mana before them far transcended human levels.
Despite most of them being intermediate mages, they couldn't withstand the magical pressure and began to collapse one by one, foaming at the mouth.
And their gazes were not directed at Silveryn.
Simultaneously, with Silveryn's mana bursting forth, an unknown being manifested in the sky.
The mage facing Silveryn shouted, "The sky, shoot towards the sky!"
There, a being emitting an overwhelming sense of pressure was oppressing them.
All the ice blades changed direction and rushed into the pitch-black sky.
"Again!"
The mages barely supported their bodies and chanted spells.
Thousands of ice blades appeared in the air once more.
They once again cut through the pitch-black void.
However, there was no impact on that unknown being in the sky.
The magical pressure was growing stronger.
The mage facing Silveryn in front couldn't properly control her body and knelt down.
It was a rare sight to see mages collapsing, unable to withstand magical pressure.
Soon after, the shape of two eyes as large as houses appeared in the sky.
Those eyes were looking down at the ground, burning fiercely enough to dye the whole world red.
This supernatural being, which seemed to demand immediate kneeling and worship, was filled only with anger and malice towards earthly things.
Even those who were fleeing collapsed and crawled on the ground, unable to withstand the magical pressure.
***
One minute felt as long as an hour.
I knew nothing about mages, so I had no way to deal with them head-on.
I had to acknowledge and accept it. I wasn't skilled enough to face mages yet.
The best I could do now was to trust Silveryn and wait.
I kept watching the carriage window.
The fog began to clear slowly.
As the visibility improved, strange movements started to appear between the trees beside the carriage.
Something was there.
They had approached, targeting our carriages while Silveryn was gone.
They revealed themselves as they emerged from the forest.
Thugs wearing robes and masks.
They were similar to those I had seen in my dream.
They were gradually forming an encirclement, slowly narrowing the gap with the carriages.
"Damn it."
Liria and the maids were in danger too.
As I was about to open the carriage door and go out, Silveryn's words came to mind.
The carriage is the safest place.
Had Silveryn anticipated that this situation would occur?
As I hesitated for a moment.
A shadow fell over my head as if the sunlight had been blocked.
As shadows repeatedly fell, it soon became completely dark, like night.
"What is this..."
Has something happened to Silveryn?
Soon after, light flashed in straight lines on both sides of the carriage, and flames rose up.
Whoosh
In the blink of an eye, it extended to the sky with terrifying momentum and became a curtain of fire surrounding the carriages.
"Teacher...?"
The flames were so fierce that it seemed like just approaching them would turn one into black charcoal.
Moreover, huge balls of fire were descending from the sky to the ground.
Bang! Bang!
These mercilessly struck the ground and exploded.
Through the crackling sound of flames, screams of agony echoed from beyond the curtain.
"Aaargh, the fire won't go out!"
"Aaaaargh!"
"My, my, my body!"
"Retreat, retreat!"
The quiet forest path had instantly transformed into a living hell of chaos.
***
The village was filled with smoke from burnt flesh.
The group of mages surrounding her were all dead.
They had all turned into piles of black charcoal, kneeling and prostrating as if worshipping a god.
Silveryn grabbed the hair of the one who seemed to be the leader and dragged them along as she walked somewhere.
After leaning them against a brick wall, she tore off their mask.
It was a woman in her 30s with long silver hair and nasolabial folds on her face.
This was presumably the person who had appeared in Damian's dream.
Silveryn spoke in an emotionless tone, "How does it feel to face a real king?"
The woman bit her lip.
She was terrified.
"..."
"It seems words won't work."
"Are, are you going to torture me?"
"..."
"You won't find any evidence."
They had been extremely cautious. From Silveryn's direct observation, all the mages this woman had brought with her were hired mercenaries.
The only person likely to be directly connected was this woman, and she had probably undergone harsh training to ensure she wouldn't reveal anything.
Silveryn had known from the beginning that interrogation wouldn't be easy.
"I don't use such outdated methods."
Silveryn took out a ring with a green gem embedded in it from her bosom and put it on her finger.
The Eye of Nielgra.
It was an artifact of the highest grade that could control the target's mind and extract the truth from deep within.
It was the very artifact she had briefly considered using on Damian before.
It was close to a consumable item that couldn't be used indefinitely, but she was willing to use it to uncover the truth about Damian.
"...!"
As the woman recognized the nature of the artifact and tried to bite her tongue, Silveryn immediately activated the artifact.
Her ring reacted to her mana and emitted a green light.
Soon after, the woman's eyes, controlled by the Eye of Nielgra, rolled back, showing the whites.
"Urgh, grrk."
However, the woman's reaction was strange.
Her body seemed to be having a rejection reaction, trembling and grinding her teeth.
Seeing this, Silveryn could be certain.
It must be a mage family.
Only mage families implant devices in their vassals and blood relatives to cause such rejection reactions to psychological control magic.
In this situation, it was impossible to get the desired answer. If the interrogation wasn't finished quickly, this woman would die from the rejection reaction.
Silveryn went straight to the point.
"Are you a hired mage?"
"Grk, n-no."
"What's your name?"
"Eld, ris. P, ppp, urgh"
She didn't properly say her surname. Finding this strange, Silveryn immediately changed her question.
"What's the name of the master you serve?"
"The, the King of, Ma, Mages."
As expected.
As anticipated, a trigger had been set to prevent direct answers about the family.
"Why did you try to kill Damian?"
"Urgh, danger, factor, grk, all who, app, approach him, li, lie."
"What's this about a lie?"
"...Mas, sters, control, grk."
This was difficult for Silveryn to understand.
Is she talking about the Masters Class?
That Damian is hard to control?
"What's the relationship between Damian and you people?"
"Grk, dan, danger, factor."
"Danger factor?"
So Damian is a danger factor to them, and if he enters the Masters Class, he’ll be uncontrollable?
Or is there another meaning?
Silveryn pondered for a moment.
"Is there someone from your family in Eternia?"
"Grk, urgh, grk."
The woman's body showed an extreme rejection reaction. Foam came out of her mouth, and her limbs were becoming increasingly twisted.
There was clearly something.
And, a question flashed through Silveryn's mind.
It was about mage families and magic transfer.
These two had a very strong connection to Damian's abnormal mana recovery speed.
A mage family looking for Damian.
A strong bond.
And someone in Eternia.
The puzzle pieces were gradually fitting together.
And finally, Silveryn could infer the whole story behind this situation.
Her heart sank heavily.
And Silveryn slowly asked her final question.
"What's the relationship... between Damian and that child in the academy?"
Unable to overcome the rejection reaction, the woman's head exploded.