Kidnapped the Saintess of the Hero Party

51 – The End and the End of the Continent

Tiron pondered for a while before giving an answer.

“If you are Matap’s Master, you should be able to see the end of the continent. Just use the Philosopher’s Eye.”

“It seems difficult to handle.”

“That’s not true. On the contrary, it’s easy to handle.”

Tyrone went to the side of Cheonrian and turned to look at Lucion.

“However, when viewed from afar, it appears blurry due to the dispersion of mana. I can only see the Belvet Territory for now.”

A shudder.

Lucion’s hand briefly tensed. The name of the border where he had stayed for over ten years in his previous life, the Osland Kingdom’s forefront with its fortified walls.

In that case, he should be able to see the current state of Belvet as well.

Lucion took one more step towards the Cheonrian Object. He pointed at it with his finger.

“Can I try using it?”

“Well, let me show you how to use it.”

#

Tyrone placed his hand on the artifact.

“Activate.”

As he entered the activation command, mana flowed from his fingertips. The sphere, responsive to the mana, emitted a blue light.

Zap!

The randomly floating sky-blue current stretched taut like a rubber band pulled to its maximum. It appeared more like a straight line, resembling a dagger.

The pupils gazed towards the window.

The tip of the dagger was aimed towards the pupils.

Mana gathered at the tip of the dagger and shot out through the pupils.

The emitted blue light was launched towards the window coated in black, and then, a scene from somewhere began to appear on the window.

Lucion could tell where the shining place was.

“Belvet… Castle.”

He saw the appearance of the former territory.

#

Belvet is a frontier. A castle wall was built on the empty plain, dividing the border, and the people who maintained the castle wall used it as a base, creating a village.

Originally, it was a road that not many people traveled on, but when the nearby trade route was closed, some of the traffic leaked through the Belvet territory.

As the population grew, the need for public safety arose.

At first, mercenaries guarded the Belvet territory. However, when the population reached almost 30,000, the Kingdom of Oslant dispatched a young lord to the Belvet territory.

The youngest knight commander.

Placing him as the lord of the forefront instead of a key figure in the capital.

In order to prevent the invasion of the demons, the power of knights and clergy was needed. To make Belvet, which had no established system, into a livable village, it was good to send someone who had held a position in the center.

Also, it would make control easier.

It was only natural for Lucion, who could serve as both a knight and a clergyman, to be dispatched.

The knight commander had fought many battles with the mercenaries and traders of Belvet. He could see the faces that he had grown fond of moving and alive.

“Nice to see you.”

Brave little Phaerlow turned the wolf skin inside out and swung his sword, dreaming of becoming an inspector in the distant future. Big-handed Garia was preparing a meal for the villagers in a pot the size of his own height.

James, who adhered to the concept of mysticism, seemed to have been an ordinary student at the time. He was sitting on a tree, reading a book through a monocular.

Everyone.

“They are the comrades I lost.”

The demon’s attack came unexpectedly. Phaerlow, who fought to protect the villagers during the first ambush, died.

In the large-scale battle, James, who had cast protective magic, perished. Garya, running on foot to find her missing daughter, stumbled and fell off a cliff to her death.

Later, it was discovered that the missing daughter was Sycera.

Presumably, reaching out to catch her daughter flying from the cliff, she fell without seeing below. Sycera was always up for such pranks.

Nevertheless, everyone was still alive.

While this fact was bittersweet, it was incredibly relieving.

Lucion raised his fingers and rubbed his eyes. His eyes were a bit irritated.

“Hmm. Did you lack sleep?”

“Oh. I’ll tell the mansion folks to make your bed more comfortable.”

“No! It’s fine.”

Lucion clapped his hands.

“I just stayed up late planning… Rather, the activation method is peculiar. The Teleportation Artifact.”

Usually, they don’t incorporate verbal activation. It’s mostly something that constantly operates or requires a separate charging agent. Verbal activation is seen as archaic due to the perception that magic is often used without speaking. In reality, a lot of magic requires casting without speaking, so telepathic magic is mostly obsolete.

Priests, however, use chants to strengthen their spells.

Mages considered telepathy a luxury. Still, occasionally, they used telepathy for large-scale joint spells or siege magic.

Tyrone nodded.

“Yes. It’s peculiar.”

Tyrone focused on the scene outside the window. He still had his hand raised to the Teleportation Artifact.

“Actually, what I showed you earlier was just an example. Originally, it’s done like this.”

*Snap!*

The sight outside the window vanished completely and then reappeared.

Although it’s called a window, it’s a fairly large screen, about three times the size of an adult.

In the center of the window, the figure of Fantasia appeared.

“It’s Fantasia.”

When I saw Velvet before, it looked like I was standing in the town.

But this time, it’s different. It feels like I’m looking down at Fantasia from the sky.

“This is Fantasia seen from the Matap. We will move from here. This is how Celestialians originally use it.”

Tiron seemed thrilled. Using Celestialian was a very enjoyable thing. Handling inventions made by Darahan himself was quite meaningful to a magician.

To those who dream of Matap, it seemed like a dream, but to Tiron, it was reality.

“Do you see it?”

Lucion nodded.

The image reflected in the window showing Celestialian kept changing rapidly.

“It’s like I’ve become a bird.”

The view kept changing rapidly. It felt like I had turned into a bird and was lowering my altitude to hunt insects, rushing forward.

The town looked closer.

Tiron turned the airspace of Fantasia clockwise several times. And once he got used to it, he changed the direction to the northwest. The northwest was where the Oslan Kingdom was.

A big road appeared.

Different-sized towns appeared around the road.

After riding on the road for about a minute, a huge city appeared that seemed to have no end in sight.

#

‘Osland, indeed.’

The towering castle walls.

Skyscraping structures surpassing the castle’s height.

Especially, three ominous-looking towers standing out.

Yet, one never approaches them. From the towers, a hazy smoke emanates. A long-range counter-magic.

The capital of Osland, hidden from the Black Tower’s view due to the defense of the Azure Towers. Of course, having defenses didn’t guarantee the failure of an attack.

“As you can see, additional preparation is needed if you want to breach it.”

Saying so, Tyron flicked his empty left finger.

The vision began penetrating a blue mist.

As if observing the world beneath the clouds, the entire Osland Kingdom unfolded. However, just before the blurred scene became clear again, a red light was emitted from the Azure Tower.

“Seems like they’re mistaken for enemies. Warning shot.”

Retracing magic is fairly well-known. What the Azure Tower did was to aim the magic by emitting red light towards the source, the Black Tower.

A signal in red, warning not to look any further.

Immediate response was an agreement among the magicians.

Magicians, even if from the enemy side, never executed each other instantly.

The value of a lifetime of accumulated knowledge was what preserved their lives. Mutual respect and acknowledgment of each other’s necessity.

If one magician died, decades of research would vanish.

“Unfortunately, I can’t show you the kingdom’s appearance.”

The sight ascended back to the sky. Beyond the blue clouds, looking towards the direction of the royal road, only clouds were naturally visible.

“Shall we proceed right away?”

Lucion nodded.

“All right. Any precautions? If you see a red light, step back. Other than that.”

Tiron pondered, then shrugged.

“Nothing in particular. I can see anything visible. I can even see the Elf’s forest or where the barbarians dwell. As long as it’s not looking into other dark towers, it should be fine.”

Lucion cleared his throat twice. No intention of seeing elves or barbarians. No other dark towers.

“Just be aware that getting too close consumes a lot of mental energy. You won’t be able to sustain magic for a long time. Still, if it’s the distance of a kingdom… you can see it as if it’s right next to you. Only for a few minutes, though.”

Lucion nodded.

That should be enough explanation.

Implemented through artifacts for convenience.

Farsight is originally a standard spell.

It only creates mana to serve the role of the eyes. It just sends it far away. Perhaps it was an attempt to make it into an artifact because it’s a magic of exceptionally high difficulty compared to consumption.

However, it would be dangerous to share it. After all, it’s magic that can be used for all sorts of perilous things.

Indeed, it is right to manage it so that only designated individuals from the dark tower can use it. But…

“Could it be used to see the Demon King’s territory?”

It doesn’t make sense to only know about the Demon King through rumors. Why don’t they know the detailed situation of the Demon King?

“Are they defending?”

If so, it makes sense. They might not be able to see across the continent, as the mana connection cannot overcome its twists and may be cut off.

Farsight is no different from spreading low-curvature curves to see far away. It may be difficult to see the exact opposite side of the continent through Farsight, but…

‘I have to do that.’

If you know the structure, you can do it.

Adding sacred power made it seem like something could be done somehow.

“Let’s try.”

Lucion extended his hand into the sky.

And activated the Celestial Artifact.

In a slightly different way.

“【Activate】”

Crackle!

The blue pupils of Celestial burst into golden light.

Following that, Lucion could see the world outside the tower’s black window that he had wanted to see.

#

The first thing that appeared was the sky of Panaesia, just as Tyrone had seen it.

Usually, he would lower the altitude and move far, but Lucion chose to raise the altitude instead. If you wanted to see the other side of the continent by flying there, raising the altitude would be more advantageous than lowering it.

“At least there shouldn’t be any obstacles.”

Gradually, the view of the village became smaller.

Forests and seas started to come into sight.

“Lord Sion?”

Tyrone called out in bewilderment, but Lucion ignored the call and focused on using magic.

Treetan appeared, emitting a white light.

He confirmed that he could see as far as a place that would take a week to walk.

“However, the mana consumption is no joke.”

The more there was to see from the window, the more mana was consumed. Even though it was strengthened by divine power, Lucion could feel it emptying out rapidly. If Lucion himself was at this level, other wizards couldn’t even imagine reaching such heights. Tyrone shouted, “Lord Sion! If you go any higher, it will be too much for us! Mana shocks might occur!” Lucion nodded in response, as if to say it would be fine.

Meanwhile, the view of Panachia was gradually shrinking. The window, which served as a screen, appeared to be three times the height of a person and as small as a fist. Clouds passed by. Slowly, the entire continent came into view. From the moment the altitude was raised significantly, mana consumption actually decreased. This was because there was less need for expression, and maintaining the magic was enough. Instead, Lucion had to focus to ensure that the flow of mana was not interrupted or lost. If someone were to interfere, the connection would be immediately severed.

“Stay focused.”

For the first time in a while, Lucion was able to concentrate solely on the magic, setting aside the surrounding situation. When the view of the Oceland Kingdom from the window became as small as a person’s head, the entire continent came into sight. It was a continent surrounded by the sea.

The world was mostly composed of blue, brown, and green. There were also parts that were white.

“Wow.”

Lucia exclaimed with excitement.

A sight that she had only read about in books.

Since Celestialsight was a magic that allowed the eye of magic to go and see directly instead of a person, the image on the screen was more accurate than any map.

‘That way.’

The land at the end of the continent was dyed in a deep purple hue. It was a land as vast as the combined territories of the entire Osland Kingdom.

“Shall we take a closer look?”

A distance that required connecting 1000 Osland Kingdoms to reach.

There, the Demon Realm existed.