Chapter 54

As the knight clad in armor charged, Baron Mud immediately sought a countermeasure.

"Crossbows! Bring me a crossbow!"

The knight in armor was like a monster.

It would be foolish to engage the knight in close combat.

Swords didn't work, spears didn't work.

Against a beast that might barely be subdued with an axe or hammer, why bother with close combat?

"We, we don't have any crossbows!"

"What?"

Baron Mud had intended to subdue Belenka with the crossbow, a weapon recognized as a cheat in another world.

Knight or not, it was a one-shot for you, a one-shot for me.

"Damn!"

Baron Mud realized too late.

He had a couple of crossbows but had given them all away to the guards outside!

His subordinates' faces turned pale.

A knight in black armor, emitting a murderous aura, was charging at them.

Problem. Who's going to stop that knight?

You should stop the knight, who else~

Without crossbows, facing the grim reality of stopping this mad slaughter machine, the morale of the tomb robbers plummeted.

"I have a crossbow! Bring it to me!"

"Yes!"

While the tomb robbers (meat shields) bought time, one of the subordinates dashed to fetch the crossbow.

Meanwhile, Baron Mud moved to subdue Baron Talian and the wizard.

Their target was the wizard, Inglan.

If they could capture the Baron Talian before the knight captured Inglan, the tide would turn in their favor.

Fortunately, they had the advantage in numbers.

The opposition only had a frail attendant and two mercenaries.

If Baron Mud and his men attacked all at once, they could capture both the noble and the wizard.

"Charge!"

Baron Mud shouted.

However, as soon as he moved, the wizard Ian responded immediately.

"[Darkness befall!]"

As Ian shouted, a tremendous darkness gathered, making the torches held pale in comparison.

This was the underground.

A realm of darkness.

The darkness summoned by Ian's call instantly concealed the location of Ian and Lucy's party.

"Damn...!"

As the wizard disappeared before his eyes, Baron Mud panicked.

He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with magic, but a wizard who manipulated darkness like Ian was a first for him.

"Such petty tricks!"

Insults aimed at an enemy are not so far from praise in essence.

In a medieval era where curses were not well-developed, calling something a "petty trick" was like saying, "You have mastered a marvelous skill!"

Baron Mud was greatly annoyed by Ian's magic.

It meant that Ian was exceptionally skilled at it.

'What to do?'

Baron Mud pondered.

If he threw himself into that darkness, there was a chance of capturing Baron Talian and the wizard, but...

Deliberately stepping into the veil of darkness cast by a wizard was an utterly foolish act, no matter how he considered it.

What does the enemy desire?

Is this darkness a trap or a deception?

Baron Mud couldn't make up his mind.

Deception and concealment were the powers inherent to the nature of darkness.

But then, at that moment, the wizard Inglan erupted with a voice as loud as thunder, reciting a spell with unwavering conviction.

"De - Karar - Luma!"

Under normal circumstances, one might have dismissed him with a thought, 'Old man, what a strong voice you have.'

However, the miraculous phenomenon that followed left Baron Mud speechless.

From the raised fingertips of Inglan...

A brilliance like the blazing sun surged forth!

Baron Mud stared, spellbound.

'...Ah!'

As Inglan released an intense radiance,

Ian's darkness, having lost its place, vanished.

Ian's curtain of darkness lifted.

The expressions of Lucy and Ian, hidden beyond the curtain, were now visible.

Their emotion was one of shock.

Inglan's choice of light magic was purely accidental.

In the midst of a rapidly unfolding battle, Inglan, far from being a seasoned warrior capable of calm, strategic decision-making, was just an old man who loved magic.

The issue, however, was his specialty in photon magic.

Photon magic, a discipline exploring the mysteries of light and brightness.

Just as Eredith was adept at fire magic and Ian at dark magic, Inglan enjoyed and excelled at photon magic.

So familiar was he with it that even in the underground, where the only light came from feeble torches, he habitually chose photon magic.

As the heavily armored knight charged at him, feeling a threat to his life, Inglan instinctively appealed to the mysteries of light.

Inglan was a distinguished wizard, one capable enough to serve as a university professor.

He had the skills to confidently engage in a magical duel with anyone.

When such an accomplished wizard unleashed his specialty magic, it created a radiance so intense that it was hard to believe they were underground.

Inglan had only one goal.

To blind!

He aimed to blind Belenka with the dazzling light, buying time to escape!

However, the photon magic he habitually and accidentally chose was in direct opposition to Ian's specialty, dark magic.

Ian, unaware of what magic was being cast opposite of him...

Found his darkness completely obliterated by the photon magic deployed for survival.

"Damn it!"

As the darkness screamed and scattered in all directions, Ian realized something had gone terribly wrong.

The culprit was the blinding light emitted by that shining old man!

As Ian's darkness disappeared, Baron Mud and his men could be seen cautiously approaching.

The silver lining was that they, too, could not escape the blinding effect, slowing their approach.

But no matter how slowly they moved, the distance between them was too close.

They would engage in mere seconds.

"Belenka!"

Ian called out to Belenka, but it was in vain.

Belenka was already staggering, having lost her sight.

She would regain her senses in a few seconds, but that was the same amount of time it would take for Baron Mud to approach.

"Damn... What do we do?"

Ian quickly assessed the situation.

Lucy and the other attendants were of no use in close combat, and the same was true for Ian himself.

It was impossible to fend off Baron Mud alone.

It was too late to recall Belenka.

What about shaking the ground to entangle the enemy's feet?

No.

The earth would not respond.

Its interest had long since departed.

Then there was only one option left...

"Take down Inglan!"

Cancel Inglan's magic and summon the darkness again.

That was the solution Ian chose.

"Belenka-!"

As Ian shouted, Belenka responded.

She still had that much sense left.

"Close your eyes-!"

Belenka, who had been staggering from the brilliance of Ian's magic, focused on Ian's voice.

'Close my eyes?'

As if her eyes weren't already shut.

But Belenka closed her eyes nonetheless.

She trusted Ian's words.

Even though Ian was a quirky and strange person...

His skill in magic was genuine.

"Focus on the voice of the wind!"

'What are you talking about, Ian! I'm not a wizard!'

Telling a knight to listen to the voice of the wind?

Belenka protested internally, but Ian continued unabated.

"You can do it, Belenka!"

Ian was clearly preparing for some kind of magic.

But she was still taken aback by Ian's sudden request.

Listening to the voice of the wind.

She had never thought of, much less experienced, such a thing.

Yet, Belenka trusted Ian.

There must be a method to this madness with the eccentric wizard!

Belenka concentrated as hard as she could, trying to comply with Ian's request.

'...'

As she focused.

Ian recited a spell with a thunderous voice.

"Ka - Raura – Osus!"

A stream of wind spread out around Belenka, swirling in a circle.

Within it.

Was the pure laughter of the playful wind.

'...Ah.'

Belenka, focusing solely on the wind, felt the flow summoned by Ian throughout her body.

[Do you feel it?]

[Do you feel it, human?]

[Do you feel it, human? Our dance...?]

It was an echo of wind created by magic.

The wind spreading out from behind Belenka lost its force as it collided with walls and objects, disintegrating.

That information was conveyed directly to Belenka.

Belenka was enveloped in amazement.

'I can see...!'

The sequential breaking of the wind's voice.

Astonishingly, that provided Belenka with a visual representation of her surroundings in her mind.

Being from the medieval era, she had no name for this phenomenon.

This wasn't an experience a typical medieval human could have.

However, Ian, who had once lived in the modern era, knew what to call it.

Echolocation.

[Advanced Technique - Echolocation.]

[A skill that uses the echoes of sound to determine the shapes of surrounding objects. The sharper one's senses, the more accurate the detection.]

A technique for understanding one's own and surrounding objects' locations through the patterns of echoing sound waves.

Ian had devised this modern-medieval magic by applying the concept of SONAR from his time in the modern world.

Having pinpointed Inglan's location, Belenka immediately swung her sword, scabbard and all.

"What?!"

Inglan was horrified to see Belenka swing her sword with her eyes closed.

How could she, without seeing anything?

Lee Sin! Lee Sin has appeared!

"What kind of trickery...!"

Inglan quickly dodged, but Belenka swung her sword accurately.

"Ugh!"

Inglan was struck by the scabbard and tumbled to the ground.

Simultaneously, the magic of light disappeared.

As soon as Inglan's light vanished, Ian laid down a curtain of darkness again.

And towards the charging enemy, he swung his staff with all his might.

The final spell was a Magic Missile(physical)...!

Bang!

A tomb robber struck by the staff fell to the ground.

With the curtain of darkness now in place, Baron Mud had no way to confront Ian.

"Damn it! Retreat! Everyone retreat!"

Baron Mud led his men in a swift escape.

Their skill in fleeing was unmatched.

Belenka wanted to pursue, but she still couldn't move as her vision hadn't recovered.

"Ah, it's over..."

They had to be content with just capturing Inglan.

After all, the enemy was like a rat in a trap.

There was no rush to chase them.

"Old man. Just give up. Surrender and you'll be treated as a prisoner of war."

Ian approached Inglan, who was lying on the ground.

Belenka had hit him so hard, it seemed like something might be broken.

Old people bones don't heal well. I wonder if he'll be okay.

"Hey, Ian!"

"Me?"

"Yes! The magic you used at the end! What kind of magic was that!"

"..."

Really? That's the first thing he asks after being captured?

Ian was incredulous, but Inglan's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

He had seen such clear eyes somewhere before.

Dehitri, the madman with the clear eyes from the Santiago Knights.

Seeing Inglan's eyes sparkle just as brightly, he was probably a madman as well.

"It was wind magic."

"Wind? How can wind cure blindness!"

"I got the hint from the echoes in the cave."

"... Echoes? What does that have to do with wind magic... That's just fairy mischief, isn't it?"

Inglan, thinking, suddenly exclaimed.

"That's it! You asked the wind fairies for help! To show you the way!"

"..."

"You! To accomplish such a difficult task! Your skill is tremendous! I apologize for mistaking you for an earth wizard. You're truly an exceptional air wizard!"

Lucy, listening from the side, tilted her head in confusion.

"Doesn't Ian use... dark magic?"

"Dark magic?!"

Inglan was taken aback.

Dark magic, such a bizarre and rare magic?

"You! You know how to use Dark magic too?"

"... Old man. You didn't watch the fight properly, did you?"

Narrow-sighted old fool.

Ian muttered under his breath.