Translator: Nox

Chapter 25

Let’s Be Strangers Now

From the moment he arrived here until now, Dante Renaud had been participating in the search for survivors more diligently than anyone else.

The reason wasn’t particularly grand.

He just wanted to find them quickly so he could rest. Moreover, he knew that if this matter wasn’t resolved properly, things would only get harder for him in the future.

‘I have to find a survivor, no matter what.’

Only then could he bring this situation to a swift, concise, and perfect conclusion.

Driven by this simple determination, Dante took the lead in commanding the Magic Knights more than ever before.

He spared no effort, working more faithfully than anyone.

In the midst of that, a signal came from Elisha, and he was simply trying to move toward it in a hurry.

That was all.

“Ha.”

The moment the ground first began to rumble, Dante let out a small, hollow laugh.

Right, there was no way his life would go easily. If things had been easy, he wouldn’t have been stuck between Erich and Elisha in the first place.

But still, really.

“Isn’t this a bit much…?”

Dante muttered softly as the figures of Hides began to fill his vision one by one.

The mages around him seemed not to even perceive their presence, merely looking around with anxious eyes.

Over there, not too far away, was a magician for whom these things would be nothing more than a snack.

Furthermore, according to the messenger, the place where the monsters attacked the Dexon delegation was exactly where Elisha was.

So why, of all places, here, in front of me?

“Can you guys see that?”

Dante slowly raised his arm and pointed at one of the Hides.

The mages stared at his fingertips and slowly shook their heads.

Immediately, Dante gave a faint smile.

‘I’m screwed.’

It would look strange if he sent a messenger out of the blue.

But if asked if he could take down all those monsters himself, the answer was an absolute “no.”

Because he wasn’t Elisha.

So, the best thing he could do in this situation was…

“Ahhh!”

Simply to reveal his location to Elisha.

At Dante’s sudden shout, his subordinates’ eyes widened as they stared at him.

‘I’m going to die of embarrassment…!’

But wasn’t being embarrassed better than being dead?

Dante tried his best to ignore their gazes and screamed once more.

“Aaaagh!”

In case Elisha didn’t recognize his voice, he added certain proof that it was him.

“Why, of all people, me! Why this way! Please, just let me rest!”

— Krrraaaakh!

“Are you crying?! You’re crying?! I’m the one who wants to cry! You oversized brats!”

Ah, I put too much sincerity into that without realizing it.

Realizing his slip-up too late, Dante let out a low cough.

At any rate, Elisha should have known his location by now, so the priority was to evacuate the mages under his command.

‘I can’t have her getting caught because she came here.’

Moreover, if they delayed any longer, their lives might be forfeit to those things.

“Everyone, deploy Teleportation Magic!”

Dante then gave orders in a serious voice, a stark contrast to a moment ago.

As long as they kept their wits about them, there wouldn’t be as much damage as before. They now knew the characteristics and habits of the Hide.

“I’ll handle these things and follow you! Evacuate far away first!”

“But then, Commander…!”

“I’ll be fine, so go!”

At his shout, a look of deep awe momentarily crossed his subordinates’ eyes.

Dante rolled his eyes again to ignore that look.

I think I know what you’re misunderstanding, but I really am okay…

“Please return alive, Commander!”

“Don’t say such ominous things!”

As soon as Dante finished shouting, magic circles were deployed everywhere.

Soon, as they all vanished from sight, Dante turned his gaze back to the monsters.

It was very strange.

Even though quite some time had passed since he shouted and bickered with his subordinates…

‘They aren’t moving or attacking.’

As if they were intentionally waiting for someone.

Come to think of it, it was the same in the Imperial Capital. They just stood there until they were attacked first.

“Are they waiting for Elisha, by any chance?”

Should I not have called Elisha?

But what if I didn’t call her and got attacked like this? Of course, he was confident he could protect himself.

‘If I play it right, I might be able to take down about three…’

It wasn’t like there were private houses nearby like last time, so couldn’t he just blast the whole ground with Lightning Magic or Fire Magic?

“Forget it, forget it.”

Elisha will be here soon anyway, so there’s no need to waste energy.

It was the moment Dante, having made his decision, cast a shield around himself.

“Dante Renaud.”

A pure white light surged beside him, and Elisha’s figure was revealed in an instant.

“I’m curious how someone who hates working so much ended up as the Magic Knight Commander.”

“No, that was…”

I did that to call you.

Dante promptly shut his mouth.

’Now that I think about it, Elisha can sense my mana.’

Then he could have just evacuated the kids and stayed still.

With the belated realization, Dante’s ears turned red in an instant.

Elisha didn’t even look at Dante as she continued.

“As you’ve probably sensed, these were all intentionally summoned by someone.”

“…”

“Why attack Dexon, of all things?”

And why appear again now, of all times?

Elisha muttered, her brow furrowed.

There was more than one strange thing. If someone had intentionally summoned Hides here, why the Shelan Plains?

As if trying to recreate the nightmare of that time…

‘Is it a ploy to put Cardion in a difficult position?’

If so, is the summoner from an enemy nation? But if they have this much skill, why not attack the Imperial Palace directly?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

Elisha let out a small sigh, then quickly shook her head.

Whatever it was, the plan remained unchanged.

Eliminate the monsters in front of her, find the summoner, subdue them, and get the information she wanted.

To do that…

“You take half.”

She spoke curtly and floated magic circles all around.

Dante’s eyes widened as he looked at Elisha.

“Half of that?”

“Yes.”

“There are more than ten just in my sight?”

“They’re slow anyway. Besides, there are no people around this time.”

Having finished speaking, Elisha kicked off the ground without hesitation. Dante let out a small groan under his breath.

Since he hadn’t been at the scene during the last attack, he wasn’t sure if he could do it.

‘If it’s an environment where I can go wild, it might be worth a try.’

Having finished his thought, Dante also cast a powerful Lightning Magic above his head.

At the same time, his hair seemed to float for a moment.

Rumble!

Powerful lightning poured down with a massive roar of thunder.

Dante smiled brightly as he looked at the Hide that had died while frozen in place.

“Look at this, Erich.”

I told you I could catch them alone.

---

Meanwhile, regardless of what was happening behind her, Elisha was steadily eliminating the Hides.

‘Dante Renaud doesn’t have the ability to handle multiple massive offensive spells simultaneously.’

In such a situation, if she were to use ‘that kind’ of offensive magic as well, the subordinates watching from afar would naturally be suspicious.

So, she used a method of detonating the mana concentrated in the Hide’s heart, without using grand magic.

— Krrgh…

As Elisha condensed mana in one hand and pressed it against the Hide’s heart, the monster let out a pained groan.

Of course, even that was nothing more than a final death rattle. The monster soon collapsed with a final convulsion.

Using the monster’s body as a foothold, Elisha shrouded herself in Wind Magic and leaped high once more.

Even as she did, her gaze was constantly scanning the surroundings.

‘I don’t see the summoner.’

She wondered if they were riding on a Hide’s shoulder like back then.

She tilted her head after killing another monster.

Even the darkness couldn’t hide from her sight, so why couldn’t she see even a single hair?

Did they just summon them and run away?

‘That would be a bit of a problem.’

It was the moment Elisha slightly narrowed her brow.

“Hello.”

Suddenly, the form of a man appeared in front of Elisha.

As if soaking into the moonlight, as if fluttering in the wind, without any sound or presence.

Elisha stopped all movement and stared at the man in front of her.

Usually, Teleportation Magic causes a magic circle to bloom beneath the casting location.

Forget a magic circle; she hadn’t felt even a trace of mana until just now.

Is that even possible?

“Is this the second time?”

Suddenly, a low and smooth voice seeped into Elisha’s ears.

Elisha immediately floated several magic circles in the air and spat out her words through gritted teeth.

“You’re acting like you knew I would come.”

“Because you were here ‘back then’ as well.”

The man then replied with a gentle smile. Elisha’s shoulders flinched for a moment.

If it was back then.

“You, don’t tell me…”

At the same time, Elisha’s expression hardened fiercely.

The man smiled gently at Elisha.

It was a faint smile that almost seemed kind.

“It truly is a fascinating thing. You—”

“Back then, you too…!”

Before the man could even finish his sentence, Elisha unleashed offensive magic upon him.

The surroundings became as bright as day due to the lightning filling the sky, then were engulfed in a massive pillar of fire. Soon, giant ice crystals filled the void and poured down like hail.

“Is she crazy…?”

Even Dante momentarily stopped what he was doing and watched the scene blankly.

‘That person.’

Regardless, Elisha did not stop her attack.

Capturing him alive was no longer even in her mind. Information? Such things didn’t matter anymore.

‘That person, His Majesty.’

Bernhardt.

Even as the attacks poured forth, that was the only thought in Elisha’s head.

If it hadn’t been for that incident, Bernhardt wouldn’t have left the world so soon.

Erich wouldn’t have said ‘those words’ to her.

If that had been the case, she would still be in the Imperial Palace with them…

“Indiscriminate anger clouds the eyes.”

Right then, a low voice was heard from behind Elisha.

Elisha’s body froze instantly.

‘When did he…?’

To have avoided all of her attacks.

“Since you likely haven’t met an opponent of a similar level until now, your attack patterns are bound to be simple, regardless of their power.”

The man then spoke, his red eyes narrowing into a smile.

Elisha reflexively raised an eyebrow.

To subdue an opponent whom attacks didn’t work on, she had to use a completely different method than before…

“And ‘that’ wasn’t my doing.”

The man continued with a still-smiling face.

“Back then, we simply discovered you. Though everything after that was intentional, of course.”

“…”

“I hope your ‘eyes are more open’ the next time we meet.”

Black smoke rose around the man as he finished speaking, and then began to scatter like ash.

Elisha hurriedly turned around to grab the man, but all her hand caught was black smoke.

She let out a long breath as she looked at the ground that had been completely leveled by her attacks.

She needed to sort out the situation.