chapter 88
88 – No. I was also arrested
My eyes, which had been closed by the cold chill, naturally opened.
What caught my eye was a small room the size of a studio.
No, to be precise, a prison for imprisoning intruders would be a better term.
“Looks like you succeeded.”
The original plan was to lure the warlocks underground and then send in hidden guards to subdue them all.
However, their strength was stronger than expected, and in the beginning, even Aline was pushed back by the black magician who looked like a bishop.
And the most unexpected thing was that they had a parchment with a teleport magic.
No matter how much Fenia is a great wizard, she can’t break the teleport magic encased in the parchment.
If you miss them now, there’s no way to catch them again.
That’s why I lightened my body with light magic before their magic was used and then jumped at them.
Thanks to that, I managed to enter their hideout.
My location is because of the magic ore you handed over to Rayman, so it won’t take much time to find me.
I stood up and looked around.
There was nothing to see around except for the iron bars that prevented people from going outside.
There was no noise, and I didn’t even feel the slightest movement of people.
With my level of magic, which I had developed through many hardships, I could sense that there was someone around me with magical power.
However,
I can’t feel anything.
That meant two things.
One was that there really was no one around here. But it can’t be.
A dark prison where no light can be seen.
This was exactly what you described with Layla being kidnapped by the black magicians’ hideout.
Then this prison meant that I couldn’t use magic right now.
I lightly raised the mana over my hand to check it out.
The mana that flowed inside her body naturally started to gather in her hands, and blue magic power rose above her hands.
Sud.
However, even though it is usually enough magic to be used for a long time, the magic power has become as small as a burnt match and then completely extinguished.
As expected, you used magic so that you couldn’t use magic well.
Of course, Fenia, the archmage, or Chloe, a high-ranking mage, could easily use magic in a place like this.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t use magic here.
“Where is that?”
I pulled out a small bottle of liquid that I had hidden deep in my chest.
A bottle smaller than one knuckle.
However, even if the liquid contained in it was the size of a knuckle, it had a value that could not be ignored.
The sap of the World Tree.
The sap of the World Tree that has been with elves for hundreds of years in the forest where they live.
‘I never thought I’d get this.’
It was while moving Pilar underground to trap the warlocks.
Losing her family and friends due to their black magic, her body trembled slightly.
No matter how hard the strategy is to catch the warlocks, I couldn’t make her face the warlocks alone, so I asked Fenia to use her magic to change her appearance.
And there was a big reason why he disguised himself as an elf in case of an unexpected situation.
But Pilar didn’t expect me to be the bait together, she stared at me for a while with her widened eyes.
Then she nodded her head briefly, and her slightly darkened face became a little cautious, and in her bosom she handed me the sap of the World Tree.
-‘You’ll need it more than me, who uses a bow.’
The sap of the World Tree that increases the amount of mana and increases the power of magic.
It is a prized item even among elves.
It was quite rare to give something like that to a person he hated.
“So I have to save you.”
Even warlocks can’t kill me, a nobleman. Of course, if I interfere with their work, they will kill me without hesitation.
However, killing a nobleman leads to a situation where there is no choice but to go to war with the nobleman completely.
If that happens, the warlocks won’t be able to do the research they want, and they’ll keep fighting until one side gives up.
I looked at the bottle in my hand for a while and slowly opened the stopper.
“This is the sap of the World Tree… ….”
When I opened the cap, the subtle scent of the forest filled the room even though it must have been a small lamb.
And without hesitation, he poured the sap straight into his mouth.
Gulp.
Contrary to the appearance of ordinary water, the sap of the World Tree was heavy and intense enough to make one’s eyes widen.
As if drinking Kaoliang wine, you can learn what the internal organs look like.
I waited for the sap to spread through my body, then slowly opened my eyes.
Then, my vision, which had been a little hazy, began to be seen more clearly, and I felt a sense of vitality while my body felt powerless.
However, there was something more to be confirmed than the improved physical condition.
After subduing my excitement a little, I gathered mana into my hands once again.
Then, even though he had gathered a small amount of mana, a larger and thicker magic power rose above his hand.
“I think I know why even the emperor couldn’t get it easily.”
Even in a place where there was a magic limiting magic, my magic power continued to rise without stopping.
Your power is stronger than when you were outside.
The amount of mana is also at least doubled. No, it seems to have increased more than twice as much.
In my current state, I thought I could break that iron bar with magic and save Fila and the other elves.
I raised my mana once again and created a blue bullet in front of my eyes.
The speed at which bullets were made was faster than before, and the quality of magic contained in them was also heavier than before.
Checking the bullet with satisfaction, I aimed it at the lock.
And that was the moment when he was about to use magic to blow the lock.
‘Are you a warlock?’
I quickly looked around at the mana I hadn’t felt before.
However, no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t sense that there was anyone there.
And my gaze naturally turned to the ceiling where I could feel the magic.
I can feel someone’s mana up here.
As I was staring at the ceiling with a bit of nervousness, one of the walls of the ceiling was ripped open.
And a familiar blonde woman looking through the hole in the ceiling.
“Claire?”
“Looks like you knew you were coming this way.”
I looked at her with her eyes, unable to understand why she was here.
But rather, she was looking at me with an interesting face.
“Are you here to help me?”
No matter how much he ate the sap of the World Tree and the quality of his magic changed, it was questionable whether he could deal with the warlocks and save the elves by himself.
However, if Claire, who is the most gifted in magic among the princesses, helps by her side, things will change again.
With her, even if you can’t save all the other elves, at least you can rescue Fila safely.
However, contrary to my expectations, her answer made me faint.
“No. I’ve been caught too.”
“… ….”
“I thought it would be fun, so I followed along, but it seems to be a bigger deal than I thought.”
When I involuntarily shut up, Claire continued before I hurt myself further.
“But you don’t have to worry. Sooner or later, the knights of the imperial family will come to rescue us.”
“Yes. I guess so.”
Unlike my disappearance, the imperial family will try to save Claire by any means if they know that she, the princess, has disappeared.
Rather, they might come here to rescue us faster than Fenia and Allin.
But if you just wait for the party to come to help, you may not be able to save the captive elves, let alone Fila.
So I looked at Claire and opened my mouth in a slightly serious voice.
“Claire. Please help me.”
“Why? To rescue the captive elves?”
I nodded, and Claire fell silent for a moment as if pondering.
Then he started muttering in a small voice to himself, then nodded and opened his mouth.
“Okay. I will help you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t expect that she would listen to my request at once.
“Thank you. Mrs. Claire.”
As I bowed her head in greeting, she jumped slightly from the ceiling and landed lightly on the floor.
“That door seems to be the problem.”
Looking at her lock, she lightly raised her mana.
Fire-!
Then hot flames blazed over her hand.
But Claire’s magical firepower gradually began to decrease, probably because of the magic hanging in the room.
If it was Claire, she could break her lock with a little more mana, but I didn’t want to waste her mana right now.
Casting her magic faster than she did, I created a blue bullet and fired it straight at her lock.
Kwajik-!
Then the lock, which cannot be opened with normal magic, fell to the ground as powder.
Kikiiik.
I immediately opened the locked door and came out immediately.
As soon as I left the room, the stuffiness I had felt a while ago disappeared, and I was able to use my mana naturally.
And most importantly, another mana that had not been felt before was felt from far away.
I didn’t know if there were warlocks or elves there, but I couldn’t afford to argue about that right now.
I turned my head to look at Claire, who was still in the room, and opened my mouth.
“Follow me. Mrs. Claire.”
“…… Huh.”
As if a little flustered, she answered slowly and stared blankly at my face for a while.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes, it’s okay.”
“Then I will move right away.”
Claire nodded, and we immediately moved to the place where we felt the magic.
Rail, who was running in the lead, couldn’t see the face of Claire, who was following behind.
At first, she doesn’t usually smile at others, but she smiles slightly while looking at the back of the rail.