Rescue Operation (Not) (3)
[Done! Form the core! Quickly!]
“L, like this?”
[It’s complete! The 3-step method! This guy learns fast!]
“hehehe.”
The strange sight of the giant fox and the fox hugging and jumping around in joy.
In the clearing carved out of the tree, a beautiful formation unfolds, emitting a crimson glow.
The 3-step formation that the fox girl, who had sucked my energy dry, had completed under the tutelage of Gwiho.
It’s a multi-formation.
‘Amazing. Is that the realm of high-ranking sorcerers?’
The 0-step formation that I had unlocked as a trait is literally no different from a blank canvas.
I’ve only declared this space as my sphere of influence.
The formation doesn’t have any effect.
The 1-step formation, which is one step further, is the stage where you start to exert influence within the formation.
The 1-step formation has detection capabilities, so it can be used like a CCTV.
And the 2-step formation is the stage where you can apply sorcery to the formation.
After equipping the formation with the desired sorcery, such as sleep sorcery or weakening sorcery.
You can apply a curse to anyone who enters the formation using the detection ability.
However, the 2-step formation had the limitation of being able to equip only one type of sorcery.
The 3-step formation, the multi-formation, solves this limitation.
It’s a level of disaster for the person being targeted, who can be cursed with more than two curses when entering the formation.
‘Sorcerers······. They deserve to be persecuted.’
Unlike magic, which gradually wears off over time once cast, formations last semi-permanently.
Even magic power is harder to detect than mana, so a formation that is carved into space and concealed is something that even skilled sorcerers can only find with great effort.
Moreover, since the fox girl can create clones, she can set up multiple multi-formations in different locations at the same time.
If she becomes proficient, she will be able to lay out landmines that are impossible to find and have a wide range.
That’s why magicians suppress them as evil and unholy sorcery.
Because there is no way to deal with them and they are too powerful.
[Well done! Little fox! Well done! hahahahaha! I’ve decided! From now on, I will make you my direct disciple! If it’s this guy, he might be able to aim for not only the double formation but also the triple formation, or even beyond that!]
“Thank you, Master!”
“Little fox?”
[I gave this guy a name. It’s not right to call a disciple a bug.]
I wondered who Gwiho was talking about.
It seemed that Gwiho had given the fox girl a name.
Little fox, little fox, little fox······.
Well. The sound isn’t bad.
It’s a name that falls far short of my naming sense.
But why is it Little Fox?
“But why Little Fox? Since it’s a giant fox, shouldn’t it be Big Fox or Giant Fox?”
[I named him Little Fox because he has a small mind and a narrow vision.]
“Ah. It’s a perfect name when you hear it. Well done.”
“Master! That’s what you meant?!”
[Do you have any complaints about the decision of your heavenly master?]
“Of course! Of course! Please give me a prettier name! Like Elizabeth! Or Christina! Why, there are so many!”
[Ugh······. Are such messy names from the south good······. Originally, in the north, there is a custom of giving humble names to avoid the envy of ghosts, but this master’s heart is not known. Teing, sh*tsu.]
“T, that meaning······! I, unworthy disciple! I will gratefully receive and cherish the name Little Fox that Master has given me!”
The fox girl bows and accepts the name.
It seems that Gwiho’s sweet talk worked well.
By the way, it seems that Gwiho is very fond of her, to the point of accepting her as a direct disciple.
When he first saw her, he was disgusted and called her a monster.
Now, he loves her because she has a constitution that overflows with magic power.
[Now that the formation for your old lover is complete, my disciple and I are going to go into seclusion to train. How about you join us in seclusion until you unlock the 1-step formation?]
“Okay. It would take me another 100 years with my body. Leave with your disciple and have a good time.”[Oh. You’re suddenly being respectful? You’ve been treating me like dirt this whole time, and now you’re changing your tune when it’s time to part ways. You wretched thing. People tend to remember the last impression they have of someone, and that’s what you’re aiming for, isn’t it?]
“Think whatever you want.”
I simply changed my mind.
When I first brought him with me, he seemed as innocent as a grade-school fox.
But as time passed, Gwiho began to show signs of maturity, reflecting on his past, regretting his actions, and even showing remorse.
And most importantly.
The fact that Gwiho is someone I can trust is a big deal.
Because we have shared the same goal for a long time.
[I never knew that you were also aware of the monsters from the other world and were preparing to fight them. 200 years ago. I was ambushed by four apostles sent by him and suffered a fatal wound, which left me in this state. Since then, my resolve for revenge has never wavered. Even though I have lost the power of the Grand Duke, my responsibility to protect the North remains. I will definitely avenge myself on him.]
Gwiho gritted his teeth and revealed his murderous intent.
The one who injured Gwiho’s waist and weakened him to this extent was none other than the Four Heavenly Kings.
In other words, Gwiho and I have a common enemy, the final boss Draken.
‘The power of the Grand Duke is indeed formidable. He was on par with the Four Heavenly Kings 200 years ago.’
200 years ago, the members of the Four Heavenly Kings would have been different from the current ones.
The current Four Heavenly Kings are just a bunch of immature brats who haven’t fully grown yet, but the members at that time were literally the strongest dream team.
To have survived facing all four of them at once.
If Gwiho regains his prime strength, there will be nothing as reliable as that.
[Especially that damn bloodsucker! I hate him the most! He showed interest in my sorcery and then quickly copied it! There was nothing tricky about the magic or swordsmanship he used! He was the one who finally dealt the blow to my waist! Ugh! My blood pressure rises just thinking about that pale face!]
“······.”
Among the Four Heavenly Kings 200 years ago, the bloodsucker would be······.
Huh? That would be Transylvania, wouldn’t it?
‘I must never let the two of them meet.’
I must not let the two of them meet, even by mistake.
The fact that I am close enough to Transylvania to touch her chest must not be known either.
I made up my mind to keep this in mind.
[Then I will train Sogong to be useful in the upcoming battle!”
“M, Master? What are you talking about? Are you telling me to betray Lord Draken······?”
[Haven’t you already betrayed him? You’ve been hanging around with humans all this time.]
“That’s not betrayal, I just cooperated a little because he asked me to give him my energy!”
[That’s what the world calls betrayal. You foolish disciple.]
“T, that can’t be······.”
Sogong’s shoulders slumped in dismay.
Will he grow up under the tutelage of his master and become a decisive weapon to strike Draken?
Or will he spend his life being chased by the Four Heavenly Kings?
It’s obvious which one he should choose.
‘I’ve gained a strong ally from an unexpected place.’
Even though he is now in ruins, he was once the Grand Duke of the North.
There can be nothing more reliable than this.
Moreover, I have high expectations for him to personally create a genius sorcerer as a decisive weapon.
I will leave Sogong in Gwiho’s care from now on.
[Even though I’m like this, I was once a Grand Duke! I have plenty of energy, so you can train by consuming mine! Come on, let’s go! To the toilet!]
“Eww! Master, yours looks disgusting! Eugene! I want to eat Eugene’s······!”
Sogong was dragged away by Gwiho, who had bitten his neck.
But for some reason, Sogong’s expression was strangely smiling, which was very suspicious.
[Yonseok.]
“······!”
At that moment.
Gwiho let go of the neck he was biting.
He jumped up and flew behind me.
[You think I wouldn’t know if you created a clone?]
“Gasp?! How did you know?! I never said I could make a clone!”
[I can see the spirit of life in your eyes. You’re still 1000 years too early to try to deceive me.]
“That’s impossible!”
And Gwiho dragged away the giant lizard that was hiding behind me.
Both I and Gwiho can distinguish between Sogong’s clone and his real body, so our compatibility is not very good.”Noooo! I have to say goodbye to my delicious regular pocket money! I hate the closure! I hate it!”
[I know that ghost looks delicious, but please be patient. You should be patient too. You’ll see it again someday anyway.]
“I understand······. Next time, when we meet again, I’ll suck your energy until you become a mummy, so be prepared!”
“Okay. Take care.”
The little boy gave up and absorbed all his clones into his main body and was dragged away by Gwiho.
It felt refreshing, as if he had married off his annoying daughter.
At that moment, when he was relieved and sighed.
Mijung turned her head abruptly and glared.
“What’s wrong?”
“······Detection, it’s done. Someone. This, came into the forest.”
Mijung’s 1st-stage formation was set up at the entrance of the forest.
The fact that the formation reacted meant that someone had come.
And there was only one person who would visit Sancheong Forest at this timing.
“Hide.”
“······Yes.”
Yerinada.
.
.
.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
She immediately noticed, even though she was a layman in witchcraft and had a constitution that was not good at sensing magic.
This formation is not ordinary.
“Ugh!”
“······!”
Inside the huge formation glowing red.
Alicia groaned with her hands and feet tied.
Seeing her, she lost her mind.
“Alicia!”
I don’t know what kind of device is inside, or what kind of curse will be cast.
But even so, her feet moved on their own and entered the formation.
Even though she knew it was a bait, she couldn’t bear to see Alicia suffering in pain right before her eyes.
If I lose Alicia because I hesitated, it would be an unbearable pain.
A few curses are nothing, my sturdy body can handle them.
“Just a little bit······! Hey! Wait!”
The moment I entered inside, my body suddenly felt heavy.
As if I was carrying a large rock, I felt like I was going to collapse at any moment.
But this is nothing.
It’s a little hard, but I can move forward enough.
The problem is a surprise attack when I’m unarmed······.
‘Transylvania is escorting me. It’s okay.’
At that moment, Transylvania outside the formation looked at me with a sword in her hand.
She’s a guy who’s not very good, but as long as the slave contract is valid, he’ll do his best to protect me.
Unless dozens of great wizards come rushing in, Transylvania’s escort will not be broken.
Then I have to hurry and save Alicia and get out!
“Ugh!”
“Oh, sister. No. Don’t come!”
“Shut up, you nuisance! If you hadn’t been caught by a strange warlock, this wouldn’t have happened!”
Bang.
I shouted out words I didn’t mean and vented my anger.
Instead of keeping it deep in my heart.
To my most precious subject.
To my only friend.
To my precious younger sister.
But this is at the same time.
It’s also the anger I’m pouring out on myself.
“Why are you being held like an idiot, making people worry!”
I almost doubted Alicia.
I almost believed that Alicia had betrayed me and coveted my man.
I’m so angry with myself for that.
Is there anyone who gives as much for me as Alicia?
Is there anyone who follows me as sincerely as Alicia?
Besides Alicia, is there anyone else who sees me as a person, not as a Frost Lord?
There’s only one person like that, Eugene.
I almost threw away the only person in the world because I couldn’t overcome a moment of emotion.
If I had been given one more chance.
If I had made an irreversible decision then······.
I feel dizzy.
It hurts just to imagine kicking Alicia out and regretting it.
That’s why.
I’m even more angry now.
“It’s dangerous because of witchcraft!”
“That······! If I cut it all down, that’s it!”
I drew my sword and swung it.
However, the blade of the sword did not cut the red flash floating in the air, but simply passed through it.Nothing changes.
And right after that.
“Ugh?!”
A counterattack flies in.
A blow that is the exact opposite of the attack I had launched.
I quickly twist my sword to block it, but the impact pushes me out of the formation.
“Reflection?!”
Have I ever seen such a damn spell!
What if there is a spell that reflects attacks!
Is it that you will never let go of Alicia easily······.
“Sister, I’m fine! Don’t get hurt for nothing······.”
“Be quiet, you little brat! How can I give up on you! I will never give up, even if I die! I’m working hard to figure out a way to get out of it! Stop talking nonsense!”
Click.
I wrap a bandage around my hand and grab my sword again.
Then I step back into the formation.
I take a heavy step and head towards Alicia.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘A spell that reflects all attacks······.’
Clang.
As I lightly swing my sword, another slash attack flies at me.
Suddenly, a sword blade flies out of the void and attacks me, but I easily block it.
‘The time difference is about 0.3 seconds.’
There is a time difference.
If I know this, the method of destruction is simple.
In fact, it is not much different from the original strategy.
“Bend.”
There is nothing in this world that cannot be cut.
It is a teaching I learned from my father, and I realized that it is truly true.
Whether it has a physical form or not.
If it can be touched.
If it can be seen or felt.
That means it can be cut.
So, bend.
Bend the spell.
Bend the formation.
But the problem is still.
‘How’.
“Reveal your true form!”
Bang!
I stomp my foot forward.
I turn on Beast Mode and bring out the hidden savagery.
In an instant, my blood vessels dilate and my blood flow accelerates.
I focus all that power into my eyes.
Then the capillaries in my eyes swell and burst, causing blood tears to flow.
It’s only been four days since I turned on Beast Mode after my duel with Transylvania, so it’s hard on my body.
But it’s enough to focus my eyes for about a second.
One second is enough time to see something that I couldn’t see before.
“I see it!”
And, just before Beast Mode turns off.
I found it.
A faint orb shimmering in the center of the formation.
A strange structure made of magic that cannot be seen with normal vision.
My intuition tells me.
That is the weakness of this formation.
That is the core of this formation.
I have to cut that.
That’s enough.
If a swordsman is given something to cut, he needs nothing else.
Just cut it without asking any questions.
Now that Beast Mode is off, I can’t see or feel it.
But the round orb is definitely there.
I have memorized the location.
Now all I have to do is take a deep breath.
Raise my sword blade and swing it.
I don’t know if the orb will break with this one blow.
I’ll just do everything I can.
If I fail, I will be hit by a reflected counterattack and die.
If I succeed, I win.
It’s that simple.
“Bend!”
Bang!
Something shatters in the empty void, and the pressure that was weighing me down disappears.
The red flashes that were scattered around me also subside.
The string of that flash reaches Alicia’s heart and disappears with a pop.
Only then does the unclean something that had been lodged in Alicia’s chest reveal itself.
Was she under a spell until now!
“Sister······.”
Alicia looks around in disbelief.
Alicia has not a single wound.
The restraints are also released and she is free.
At that sight, I burst into tears.
I dropped my sword and ran to Alicia.
“Whew! That was scary!”
Thank goodness.
I’m so glad she’s okay.
I hugged Alicia.
I cried and cried and cried.”Waaah! That was scary!”
“Ugh…”
In the ruined magic circle, Transylvania clicked her tongue as she watched the people hugging each other and sobbing.
‘It was a spell that would be broken if I just dragged that rabbit beastkin out?’
A deceleration curse and a counterattack reflection curse.
It was a three-stage multiple magic circle with two curses cast at the same time.
The way to break it was extremely simple.
Just get out of the magic circle.
You just had to not fight inside it.
The blood oath embedded in the rabbit beastkin’s heart was also supposed to break as soon as it left the magic circle.
Perhaps the designer of the magic circle, Eugene, had also expected the answer to be ‘walk out with Alicia’.
‘To think they would break a magic circle that was made not to be broken…’
Was it because their understanding of magic was so low?
It seemed that the King of Palana had been mistaken in thinking that he could not move Alicia without breaking the magic circle.
She had also perceived the magic circle as a simple ‘thing to be broken’.
She had seen the core of the magic circle, which could not be seen by the eyes of a non-magician, and cut it.
Was the core of the magic circle something that could be physically cut?
Transylvania was amazed by the sight, which she had never seen before in her hundreds of years of life.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Y-yes, sister. But more than that, Eugene-“
“I know! Eugene was also captured by that evil sorcerer! I’ll kill him… I’ll chew that bastard up and swallow him…”
Alicia’s ears drooped down as she was crushed by Yerina’s murderous intent.
Alicia was trembling with fear in Yerina’s arms, but Yerina, who could not see her face, thought that Alicia had not yet recovered from the fear of the sorcerer and hugged her even tighter.
‘I’m sorry, Eugene. If you get caught, you’ll be taken to the ice cave without fail.’
Transylvania decided to pray for Eugene’s soul in advance.
Her calculations had been wrong.
She should have included this woman’s twisted affection and madness for him in her plan.
Since Yerina would eventually catch him and hear the whole story, it seemed unlikely that Eugene would have a good ending.