Episode 65 – Quick-witted guys.
65. Quick-witted guys.
The lodging rented by the city was the largest inn in Freeville.
Of course, the inn door was locked.
Boom!
After opening the door with a friendly knock and entering.
When I gave the mayor’s name and identified myself to the owner, who ran out in horror, I was welcomed back.
After all, Mukwoldae had come to solve the city’s problems.
I left the horse in the stable.
After leaving my luggage upstairs.
After changing out of their wet clothes, the group gathered again at the restaurant on the first floor.
Leon, Riel, Aria, and Fenrir sat together at one table.
A bowl of steaming carrot stew was placed in front of each of them.
But no one touched the spoon.
“Aria.”
Leon called her name softly.
“Yes.”
Aria unfolded the map of Priville that she had just brought from City Hall.
It was a map with red dots on the victims’ locations.
She took out one of her pens from a storage compartment inside her robe.
When she raised her index finger and infused it with mana, the ink on her pen mysteriously turned red.
Seuuuch
Arya immediately moved her hand and began drawing lines on her map.
It was clean and beautiful curves and straight lines that were not disturbed or misaligned even an inch.
“What is this doing?”
When Fenrir asked with her eyes wide, Leon scowled at her and waved her hand.
It meant to wait quietly.
Seuuk- Si-ik-
Lines and shapes were drawn by connecting red dots.
The dots that were spread out in a disorderly manner connected to her fingertips and touched.
Then, little by little, certain rules and patterns began to appear.
Seueuugh-.
It didn’t take long for Aria’s hand to stop.
A red circle filled with geometric patterns was revealed on the paper.
Leon brushed the corner of her mouth with his fingertip.
“This can’t be right…”
“Yes.”
Aria nodded her head.
“It’s a large magic circle. “For the entire Freeville.”
“Huh.”
After a brief laugh, Leon took out a piece of tobacco and asked.
“The medium is blood, life, and fear.”
“Fear?”
“Yes. In fact, fear is the most important part.”
“Hmm.”
Leon’s eyebrows slightly tilted.
Fear.
It is an emotion that living things can feel, and has no clear substance.
Could something so vague be a medium for magic?
“Let’s move on for now. So what is the effect of the magic circle?”
Riel and Fenrir also leaned forward as if they were very curious.
Aria’s red lips calmly parted.
“First of all, as soon as this magic circle is activated, all people consumed by fear within the range are identified. In this case, it would be all the residents of Freeville.”
“······.”
It was an unusual introduction.
But as if this was more important, she continued immediately.
“And the souls of the targeted people are all extracted…”
“······!”
“You will be offered as a sacrifice.”
* · * *
Whooooo-
A thin line of pure white smoke rose.
“Taking away thousands of people’s souls all at once?”
Rather than being surprised by this terrible fact, Leon was surprised.
‘That’s amazing. ‘How did they make something like that?’
I was even more amazed that the Demon World guys were able to do that.
Extracting a soul intact enough to offer it as a sacrifice was a much more difficult task than simply killing it.
This is truly amazing technology.
After taking another puff of tobacco, Leon asked Aria.
– Did you see that in Manmarok too?
These words were sent into her head using a technique called electromagnetic waves, or mana messages.
Because I still didn’t trust Riel and Fenrir at all.
How many times have you seen it before you can tell it all?
Aria answered Leon’s question by nodding her head.
– Yes. It was created through Magias’ own research. It is believed to have been completed relatively recently.
‘Hmm.’
A new technology and magic circle completed by Magias just before his death.
But the blood donation group here is using it?
“······.”
A question mark appeared above Leon’s head.
What are these guys?
From Noble mtl dot com
Did Magias get excited and go around talking about it?
So the demon world knows everything?
At a time when doubts were growing.
“Is the conversation over already?”
Hera appeared.
She always had blood on her face.
There was a faint luster in her eyes.
“Not yet. “What do they say?”
Drurr-.
Leon asked as he pulled out the chair next to her.
“Hmm, thank you?”
Hera smiled and answered.
“Well, it was an obvious story. “My family was caught, I was threatened, I just did what I was told…”
“It’s corny. “What did the blood donation group tell you to do?”
Hera leisurely recited the content of their conversation and what she found out through the interrogation.
The fact is that she has been in contact with the blood donation group and receiving orders.
The fact that citizens were controlled and incited and confined within the city.
The fact that the Forest Owl mercenaries were intentionally sent into the forest.
Under the pretext that there was no place to accept requests, even the fact that they did not hire support staff even though they had funds.
Leon nodded his head once.
The pieces came together little by little.
“We have to use up every soul here, so we have no choice but to desperately prevent the citizens from leaving.”
“Huh? Soul? “What does that mean?”
Leon quickly repeated Aria’s explanation to Hera.
“Aha, so…”
Hera’s smile deepened.
“But what is the soul offered as a sacrifice used for?”
“······I don’t know that much. But it would be worth thousands of human souls.”
The population of Freeville is approximately 3,000.
It is not unusual for this number of souls to be used.
“First of all, Aria. “I think I know what you want to say.”
Leon stretched out his hand and tapped several places on the map.
It was a position where the line was cut unnaturally.
“Is there still space that needs to be filled for the magic circle to be completed?”
“That’s accurate. But there isn’t much left. “If we complete just five more locations, it will be complete.”
Aria drew five circles with her pen.
“What is work?”
“Killing a person through a specific process and method. “The cruelty they showed wasn’t intended to simply cause fear.”
“Well, should I at least draw out all the blood?”
Fenrir suddenly intervened and asked a question.
“Where should we dispose of the residents in this place?”
Leon shook her head.
“It doesn’t have to be someone who lives here, right? All you have to do is kidnap them from somewhere, take any hostages they have, and kill them inside. “They are so crazy that they can cut them up among themselves.”
“That’s right. And since it is too late to drag out the hiding residents one by one and evacuate them, it will only incite confusion.”
Everyone agreed.
This time Riel spoke.
“Wouldn’t you need more support?”
It was a more serious matter than I thought, with the lives of the entire city at stake.
“Well…”
It is evening time now.
There was strong rain, wind, and thunderstorms outside.
I couldn’t think of anyone who could ignore the weather at this time and come running on time.
“Let alone whether it is necessary or not, is there anyone who can come?”
“How about using the security forces at City Hall?”
It was Hera who dismissed Riel’s opinion.
“Ah, these are cumbersome, cumbersome pieces of luggage. “It would be better to let some dogs loose.”
You can force it out by pressing it with force.
Where else would you use a soldier who is so scared?
It’s difficult to control and just useless.
If we actually encountered the enemy, there would be countless corpses.
And in Leon’s opinion, there wasn’t a significant lack of power.
I don’t know how great the Blood Donors are, but there is a master here, Hera.
If something really absurd happened and life was in danger, there was also a last-ditch measure to break the brooch.
Riel was satisfied and settled the situation.
“Then we have to move quickly. I think we can split her group into five and use the communicator to communicate.”
Leon said, shaking off his shortened butt.
“Let’s do that. “Aria and I will be in one group, my sister will be on her own, and the rest can be divided into three groups.”
If you divide it according to power, this is correct.
The group lowered their heads.
After splitting up in an instant, they began to disperse into the rainy night.
* · * *
Approximately 10 hours later.
“Tsk.”
Leon clicked his tongue and took off his hood as if he was frustrated.
The weak raindrops hit his face.
“If this is the case, I guess I won’t come today.”
From yesterday evening until now, when the sun is shining.
Sentries and vigils throughout the early morning hours in the five districts of Freeville.
However, the blood donors who were catching and killing people every day suddenly quieted down.
It must be because of Leon and his group.
Of course, it’s hard to say that I sensed their presence guarding the raid site.
It would be correct to say that the group stopped their activities simply because they entered the city.
“I didn’t know they were such spineless friends.”
Hera suddenly approached and flicked her tongue.
“Little brother, what do you want to do? “Would you like to check what’s in the forest?”
“That’s tempting, but…”
Leon’s gaze returned to Aria.
“Aria, how are you? “Do you think it’s possible?”
At this, the woman who was sitting seiza opened her eyes.
While she was spending the night, she was developing a technique to dismantle the magic circle.
Creates a high-dimensional, large-scale destruction ceremony on the spot.
The 4th Circle wizard is alone.
This is actually nonsense.
“Yes, I think it’s possible.”
The head of the Elprime Magic Department, a rare genius, found a way.
“But I need a little more time. “I think it will be done before tomorrow morning.”
It was fast enough.
Leon shrugged his shoulders at Hera.
“Did you hear? It took less than two days. Let’s just wait until then. “They might come when we go out.”
“Hmm. “That’s about it.”
For that reason, Leon and the others chose to wait.
But.
There was no need for Aria to use the ceremony to destroy her.
“Oh, sh*t. “These quick-witted guys.”
The offensive began the next night.