Chapter 75 : Chapter 75

Chapter 75

"Captain!"

The cries of his men reached him, but Samuel did not retreat and stared at the charging magical beast.

His sword, imbued with sword energy, cut through the air and headed for the magical beast's neck.

And the next moment.

Peok-!

A shimmering barrier appeared, separating the magical beast and Samuel.

The charging magical beast's body collided with the barrier in mid-air.

The fallen magical beast pawed the ground to charge again, but it was already too late.

A dome-shaped giant shield enveloped and protected all the knights, including Samuel.

The 7-star defensive magic 'Aegis Parma.'

It was the most powerful among the defensive magic that deployed shields.

At the same time, the two professors, who had raised their wands, shouted at Samuel.

"Captain Tivon! Please evacuate with your men immediately!"

"This is not a magical beast that the city guard can handle! We will block it, so please go to the portal immediately!"

Samuel quickly took in the changed situation.

The students and city hall personnel who were still evacuating.

Eddie, who was maintaining the portal they were entering alone.

And the two professors who were deploying the shield.

Cheok-

After hesitating for a moment, Samuel pointed the tip of his sword at the portal.

"Everyone! To the portal! The injured will be supported by one person each and placed at the front!"

"Yes!"

Samuel was not only straightforward but also a warrior with quick judgment.

The ones who had to stay until the end for everyone to survive were not the city guard, but the mages.

Among them, he realized that the last one to remain would be that tail of the Kirhausen family.

It was terrible that the adults had to run away first, leaving a 14-year-old child behind.

But this was the only way for everyone to survive the magical beast now.

"Retreat!"

.

.

.

"Good grief, they just don't listen."

Eddie shook his head in disbelief.

It wasn't because of the knight order that was retreating obediently, but because of Joy, who had come up next to him and was pointing her wand at him.

Joy, who had been hesitating until the end, had finally turned her back on the portal Eddie had created for her.

She had chosen to help rather than run away.

The help she had chosen with her wand was 'Forwarding,' one of the techniques she had learned in their secret meetings.

It was a mana transfer formula that injected one's own mana into a magic user to fill their deficiency.

Frankly, he was proud of Joy for thinking of Forwarding in a situation like this.

She had found the best method, considering her own capabilities, which did not yet allow her to create a portal.

Moreover, this also firmly achieved the sub-goal that had been abandoned due to the change in plan, 'confirming Joy's will to help.'

If she wouldn't run away in front of a Rakan tribe central individual, she would face future dangers together.

Still, he nagged her a little for not listening.

"What were you thinking, staying behind? Do you even know what that thing in front of you is?"

"You said it yourself, it's a central individual. Not only did a real magical beast appear, but it's a central individual, how can I run away alone? If we agreed to help each other, we have to help until the end even if the plan goes wrong!"

Joy's upright and firm attitude despite the nagging.

Eddie smiled faintly at the will she showed once again.

The confidence that he could gradually trust Joy was quite satisfying.

But the crisis was not over yet to be happy.

Kwaang-!!!

The magical beast's horn rammed the shield head-on.

"..."

Truly immense power.

It was just a physical collision, but the tips of the two professors' wands vibrated.

Fortunately, the evacuation was almost complete.

If a few more members of the city guard went in, Joy and the two professors could also take the portal.

But the magical beast did not stop its attack either.

Kwaang-! Kwang! Kwaang-!!!

The magical beast continued to ram the shield.

The power of the magical beast king's confidant was truly enormous.

"Ugh!"

"Keuk..."

The two professors' wands shook wildly.

The two professors gritted their teeth, holding their trembling arms.

Jjeojeojeok-

In the end, a large crack appeared in the two professors' shield.

'To threaten the defensive power of Aegis Parma with a simple physical attack...!'

'This is insane power. At this rate, neither Fred nor I can hold on...!'

Kwaang-!!!

Uuuuuung-

But just as the shield was about to break.

A new shield was overlaid, blocking the magical beast's attack.

It was the Aegis Parma that Eddie had newly created.

As soon as everyone had finished evacuating, with Captain Tivon being the last, Eddie reduced the size of the portal and dispersed his mana.

With no one watching anymore, he ordered his two disciples, not the two professors.

"Fred! Brenda! Run now!"

The two professors ran towards the portal.

And at the same time, the magical beast's golden eyes flashed, and the light from its whole body gathered at its horn.

The magical beast had begun to use its mana in earnest.

Joy was horrified when she saw that.

"Eddie! The portal...!"

"..."

The shape of the portal gradually distorted as if it were being gnawed away.

Eddie bit his lip as he realized the opponent's trick.

'Mana interference!'

Mana interference was one of the ways magical beasts subdued human mages.

It was a technique that disrupted the mage's formula with their own dense mana.

'Damn it... it must have noticed that my mana is dispersed between the portal and the shield!'

To protect the portal, Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and drew up even more mana.

But a formula that had been interfered with once did not easily become whole again.

Magical beasts were life forms composed of mana.

Their power was refined to a much higher degree than humans, who had to have the aptitude and learn to use mana.

Therefore, unless the mage was overwhelmingly strong, it was impossible to reverse mana interference.

Of course, a fully prepared Eddie would have been able to turn the tables.

But now, he had already consumed a lot of mana.

Pajijik! Pajik!

The portal became more and more distorted.

At this rate, even if the two professors and Joy tried to escape, their bodies would be torn apart inside the portal.

'There must be a way...!'

It was then.

Jjeojeok... Paang-!!!

The formula was completely disrupted, and the shield broke.

The magical beast charged madly towards the open front.

"...No."

Eddie made a firm decision and first used Launching to knock Joy away.

Then, he sent the two professors who were coming to help flying to both sides.

Finally, he was facing the magical beast.

Eddie moved his wand with the intention of killing it.

It might provoke the magical beast king, but saving his people came first.

But the magical beast was a little faster.

Kwadeuk-!

The magical beast's mouth accurately bit Eddie's shoulder.

"Ah."

With the pain of his shoulder being pierced, his body floated up.

And the next moment, Eddie was sucked into the portal right behind him with the magical beast.

Just before his vision flickered out due to the turbulent mana inside the portal.

Eddie finally realized as he looked into the eyes of the magical beast that had bitten him.

Calm eyes without a single trace of killing intent.

From the beginning, it had come to capture him.

Paaaaaaat-!

The portal shimmered with an unprecedentedly strong light.

"No!"

With a desperate cry, the two professors swung their wands with all their might, but the portal disappeared just before their mana could reach it.

"..."

The two professors and Joy stared blankly at the empty space where the portal had disappeared.

"Ah... no..."

Fred ran to the spot where the portal had been.

His face, as he fumbled on the ground with the hand holding his wand, was contorted with despair.

A portal does not close immediately just because the caster disappears.

The portal had closed due to the magical beast's will.

That meant that the right to open and close the portal had been transferred to the magical beast due to mana interference.

And if the magical beast had opened a portal to the campsite and come out, something terrible would be happening by now.

"That's... that's the only thing that must not happen..."

Muttering desperate words to himself, Fred hastily swung his wand.

Saaaaaa-...

For a moment, light flashed and the shape of a portal seemed to be forming, but it failed to form a circle and scattered.

He had consumed too much mana by forcibly maintaining the portal and deploying the shield at the start.

Brenda was in the same state.

At this rate, even if they created a portal, they wouldn't be able to maintain it.

And they couldn't have Joy, whose mana hadn't even matured yet, create a portal.

"Haah..."

The ends of the two professors' sighs trembled helplessly.

Just then, Joy approached Fred.

"Professor, I'll assist you with mana through Forwarding. I learned it from Eddie, so I can do it."

"Joy, your Forwarding won't work properly with your current energy level. You can only try after you've at least calmed your mind and body."

"I have plenty of stamina, and I've already made up my mind. You know as well as I do that he won't die that easily, professor."

"Joy..."

"We have to go to the campsite quickly. Seeing as it bit Eddie without killing him, it seems the magical beast has a separate destination, but if by any chance it really landed in the campsite, by now that place...!"

Joy's voice grew louder and louder.

She too was trembling with the same fear as Fred, the fear that the campsite and their comrades there would be attacked.

Seeing that, Fred's mind became clearer.

He couldn't be agitated when a student was anxious.

"It would be a mess. I know. But if we try rashly now, we'll just waste mana and fail. Then it will take much longer to go back."

"But...!"

"Both of you, calm down. The place the magical beast headed to is not the campsite."

It was then that Brenda's serious voice was heard.

In front of her, there were already several summoned beasts that had come out of the summoning stone.

She had taken out summoned beasts that they could ride in case their energy recovery was delayed.

But something was strange about the state of the summoned beasts.

Fred quickly ran towards Brenda.

"Professor Jin... is this by any chance?"

"Fred, I think... this is the 'last case' His Excellency talked about."

The summoned beasts were all raising their heads and tails towards the sky, their whole bodies shimmering brightly.

From far away, the faint howling of magical beasts could be heard.

The summoned beasts were reacting to that howling, not Brenda's command.

The 'rapport' of a summoner who had a superior compatibility.

Even Brenda's rapport, which was on the strong side, had been pierced by the magical beast's howling.

This meant one thing.

That the magical beast king, Rakan, had personally stepped forward.

"N-no way... Then the place that magical beast headed to just now was...!"

"The place where Rakan is."

"..."

At Brenda's words, a shiver ran down Joy's spine.

The two professors exchanged tense glances.

This situation was unintentional, but also intended.

***

About a week ago.

Palamedes meeting.

The discussion about the plan for the Valcon Ruins investigation was nearing its end.

"Lord Edmund."

"Speak."

"You still haven't mentioned the 'one more thing' you told me and Fred about before the meeting."

"Ah, that?"

Eddie nodded at Brenda's question.

Come to think of it, there was that.

"It's nothing much. I was thinking of talking about what it would be like to meet Rakan in person."

"...Pardon?"

The calm voice contrasted with the not-so-calm content.

Brenda was dumbfounded, and so were the others, but no one dared to dismiss it as a joke.

Eddie had never spoken of jokes or delusions in their meetings before.

"If you are assuming a meeting, what is the reason for meeting him?"

"It's always the same. To increase our hand."

"It's too dangerous."

Leodimir immediately expressed his concern.

He knew from various information that Rakan might still be alive.

All the other Palamedes members did too, and this time, Eddie did not dismiss that concern.

"I understand. It's an absurd assumption. But it's also an assumption worth preparing for."

"Is there a reason to draw even the magical beasts into our hand?"

"The more we prepare for the plan, the more we proceed with it, the more it reveals how dangerous Kirhausen and the external forces colluding with them are."

Eddie said, rubbing his throbbing head.

It was like an onion.

The more he dug into Kirhausen, the more it brought about a dangerous premonition.

He felt that a more radical, and therefore more powerful, move was needed.

Contact with the magical beasts was a gamble derived from that end.

Leodimir eventually agreed on the necessity, but his worries still lingered.

"But we lack the means to persuade and draw him in."

"There are two things for that. One is the dirty secrets of Kirhausen that we will collect at Valcon. The other one is..."

Having said that, Eddie pointed to himself.

"The memories of my past life that will prove that I am a being worth joining hands with."

"Are you trying to induce a sense of kinship as a fellow victim?"

Eddie smiled slightly at Kenneth's rather cynical question.

"We'll have to investigate to know the details, but if they messed with Valcon, Rakan wouldn't look kindly on it. In a sense, we have the same enemy."

"But will the magical beast king agree with just that much motivation?"

"It's up to Rakan to decide whether to invest or not. They are beings who can see through souls anyway, so lies won't work. I have no choice but to persuade them by showing all the cards and intentions I have."

"Now that you put it that way, it seems like there is a possibility."

Surprisingly, the only one among the Palamedes who showed a positive reaction was Kenneth.

Unlike Leodimir, he focused more on the success of the plan and the resulting profits.

But such a cool-headed perspective was also necessary to create a grand plan.

Eddie said to the Palamedes.

"Anyway, the most important thing is that Rakan and I have a common enemy in the 'current Kirhausen.' And that I have the cards to persuade such a Rakan."

Saying so, Eddie smiled.

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