Episode 80: A chance in a game turns into reality

23. Why did my brother come out from there (1)

Rondel, a magical world boasting a high level of civilization.

However, there are still several restrictions preventing people from visiting this rondel.

'The center of the world, the sea of ​​storms, said to be the embodiment of chaos.'

'A forest of illusion that even elves from the Elysia Alliance cannot enter.'

'The Demon Cave on the Triton Continent, the land of the yellow race, which can be said to be Rondel's Asia.'

'An underground labyrinth in the northern permafrost of the Brigham Empire.'

These are the prohibitions that represent Rondel.

In addition, there are also prohibited places that allow conditional entry, such as 'Vampire Desert', 'Valley of Souls', and 'Poisonous Swamp', but if you were to choose the most famous prohibited place in the world, everyone would choose this place without hesitation.

This is 'Dragon Land', a fertile and vast land coveted by all countries on the Defteron continent.

Dragon Land, which retains Rondel's original appearance, is literally a land of dragons who claim to be the orchestrators of the world.

In the past, there were more than one nation that fearlessly set out to conquer Dragon Land and then fell.

Among them, there once existed a nation called the 'Calvados Empire' that divided power with the Brigham Empire, and it is said that it took less than half a day for that strong nation to collapse in front of the dragon's anger.

And after the Calvados Empire collapsed, the countries founded by the survivors are the current Kingdom of Reinharts and the Croisen Empire.

Currently, the Croesian Empire is the only nation that borders the Dragon Lands. Is this because of lessons from the past?

They are so scared that the border in the direction of Dragon Land is not clear.

Thanks to this, many secret groups were hiding out on the border between Dragon Land and the Croisen Empire, knowingly or unknowingly.

Among them was the man who kidnapped Ivril.

"What are you doing?"

The white man frowned as he looked at the black man putting down Everil.

"Damn it! "I couldn't help it!"

"No, all you have to do is cut him off right away. "Why are you bringing me here and making things a hassle?"

"If that were the case, would it be like this?"

"what?"

"You should check it yourself."

Ivril looked like she was out of her mind, as if she was drunk on drugs, but she looked so weak that she would faint if touched.

The white man who unexpectedly received the sword from the black man looked at the sword and Ivril alternately, then as if he had made up his mind, he swung the sword in his hand sharply.

It seemed as if the sharp, shining blade would take her head at any moment.

-Quaaang!

"Tsk! what!?"

But the sword could not reach her and bounced far away.

"Did you see it? "This woman was protected by something, and what's more, when Count Arsia Klein, the Aura Master, came out, I had no choice but to drag her in."

The white man did not pick up the sword and immediately cast magic.

For a moment, 6-circle Icecle missiles completed at his fingertips rushed towards Ivril.

-Quaaang!

"This is crazy."

But the result was the same.

The power of magic decreases as the distance from the caster increases.

However, even though the magic was fired from almost zero distance, it did not cause any damage.

This means that she is protected by a shield of at least 7 circles.

"I can't help it. "Come out."

A white man pointed his hand, which was filled with rings on all five fingers, towards the girl.

Each ring on his hand was an artifact containing the magic of the 7th circle.

"Flame Blast. Energy Blast. Assassinate."

And he poured the magic of the 7th circle one after another towards Ivril.

"This is crazy… … ."

However, the shield protecting her was strong and protected the subject.

The small accessory artifact's attack magic has the disadvantage of slightly reducing its power, but this is not enough to reduce the power of the 7th circle magic.

But is it still okay even after being hit by the 7th circle magic?

There was only one answer.

"8 circle rare shield."

"what?"

It is an 8-circle artifact whose trading price starts at least in trillions.

The 8th circle artifacts, which had a low production probability even for 8th circle wizards and were therefore difficult to obtain, were items that only the leaders of each country would have.

How dare you fill such a commoner girl like this?

"How did you get the drug drunk?"

"I'm only blocking attacks that lead to death. "Medicines that put me to sleep or put me under anesthesia seemed to work."

"How do I keep injecting the medicine up to the required amount?"

"It was no use."

"shit. "It seems like they have linked various things to the 8th Circle artifact."

It feels like I'm dealing with Vanguard's force armor.

Of course, considering the defense power and price, it seems like a system that would be impossible to commercialize.

"Why did you make the artifact so complicated? "It would be easier to just defend everything."

"I guess it's because of the saintess contest. "Because you cannot receive help from artifacts during mercenary activities."

"is it? Tsk."

"Was this girl's patron the Marquis Lawrence? "That kid is crazy too."

"Maybe they predicted this situation."

The black man thought about it and lifted Ivril up.

"I can't help it."

"Do what?"

"Throw it into the crater of Mount Kant. No matter how great the 8th Circle magic is, it will not be able to protect the target forever."

"Hmm, not a bad idea."

As expected of people who make a living by taking people's lives, they were merciless even when dealing with a young girl.

So the two headed to the volcano located at the beginning of Dragon Land.

I was able to reach the distance quickly because I only had to use the spatial movement artifact.

-Chwii!

A high-temperature volcanic area where black smoke covers the sky and lava flows like tears.

The two people had a conversation while looking down at the boiling lava.

"I guess I'll have to abandon this base. "Let's work individually for six months and then meet at base B."

"There is no choice. okay."

Then he looked down at the fluttering Ivril expressionlessly and threw him towards the boiling lava.

"huh?"

But something is strange.

Isn't Ivril floating in the air, who should be free falling towards the lava in the crater?

"… … ."

The two people looked blank at that.

And after a while.

"profit!"

A white man with a face contorted in frustration used magic to throw Everil into lava.

-Teeing!

However, the rare shield that appeared again only deflected the attack.

"Haha, fun. fun."

This doesn't work, that doesn't work either.

The killer duo, known for their steadfastness in getting things done in the underworld, felt like fools.

Does it feel like you're being teased somehow?

"The Marquis of Lawrence will make a lot of money. "If we sell this system, royal families from all over the world will clamor to buy it?"

"I know… … . ha ha ha… … . under. Yi Iik! Fuck you!"

It feels like encountering an indestructible structure in a game.

The two had to put their heads together.

Obviously, this artifact system will not be perfect.

After all, isn't Marquis Lawrence the Grand Wizard of the 7th Circle?

It is said that the 8th circle artifact (rare shield) can be purchased with money, but it was difficult to believe that he would be able to build a system that could perfectly control the 8th circle artifact.

Looking at the functions shown so far, it is a defense system that is close to perfect, but there is no perfect magic in this world.

So I decided that there must be a gap.

But the problem is that it is not easy to come up with a way to exploit that gap.

"There is only one way. Beating the artifact until its magic power runs out."

"I don't like such ignorant methods, but there is no other way."

The discharge of magic power may be after 1 minute, 10 minutes, or 1 hour.

It was a reckless attack that did not fit the profession of a killer, but there was nothing I could do for now.

The black man pulled out the Vanguard's Force Sword, and the white man took out the magic staff and held it.

"That's stupid. Instead of doing that, try attacking him mentally. "Defensive magic created by artifacts is vulnerable to mental attacks."

"okay? "This is my first time hearing it."

"Of course, low-level mental attacks are useless. However, if it is a spell of 6 circles or higher, it will work to some extent."

A new plan.

Even if it wasn't certain, it was worth a try.

Isn't it worth it anyway?

"How did I end up doing a live show like this?"

"hey… … ."

"why?"

"Who are you talking to?"

When the white man realized that it was someone other than his colleague who had offered him mental magic, his eyes widened and he quickly turned his head away.

There was a man there wearing a red suit and makeup with long slits at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

Pierrot is floating in the air, waving his hand at him, as if enjoying a summer vacation.

"hello friend."

"What, what? you?"

"An elementalist passing by."

The white wizard who kidnapped Ivril at the appearance of a man who seemed to be engulfed in madness sensed that things were awry and called out to his fellow black prosecutor.

"Hit!"

While his companion was attacking Pierrot, the white wizard tried to cast a spell.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Huh?"

But for some reason, his colleague didn't think to move, and when he panicked, he placed his hand on his shoulder.

The black man started to ooze out with a goofy expression on his face.

Just like ice melting.

"Ahh!"

The man screamed in surprise.

And then I turned my head.

Ivril, who had been floating in the air just a moment ago, was nowhere to be found, and in her place, a white man was curled up like a fetus.

It looks somewhat familiar.

That was none other than himself.

"What the hell is this?"

The frightened white wizard trembled.

But why is the voice so strange?

When I looked down, my chest was bulging, and the shadow under my feet was unusually small.

Above all, the clothes were not the clothes he had been wearing until now, but were those of Ivril, whom they had kidnapped.

As a wizard, the man was able to understand this situation.

"Mental pollution?"

"answer!"

His eyes turned to Pierrot swimming in the air.

Then Pierrot's appearance distorted grotesquely and turned into a gremlin-like monster.

"What is real?"

"what?"

"Where does the truth come from?"

"… … ."

"Are you a real person? "Could it be a fake in the illusion I created?"

Words that make me dizzy just by hearing them.

The wizard shook off his fear and used the 7th circle magic built into the artifact towards Pierrot, who had turned into a monster.

"why?"

But the magic didn't work.

No, before the magic, he could not feel the magic power that was the source of the magic anywhere around him.

"iced coffee."

I don't know what is what.

And the monster Pierrot continued to ask questions again.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?"

But the wizard could not answer.

My mind became as white as a blank sheet of paper.

"uh?"

The wizard's eyes, who were questioning him, became cloudy and lost focus.

Soon the world went dark, as if the play had ended.

"Who am I?"

After saying those words, the wizard fell to the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

* * *

After Ivril's kidnapping, I followed the kidnappers, tracing her tracks for a full-scale search.

As we had taken sufficient precautions, we were able to chase down the criminal step by step, even if not quickly, and arrived at a canyon located on the border between the Croisen Empire and Dragon Land.

"This is true."

"See you again. "Your Excellency the Marquis."

But I met an unexpected person there.

[Gregory Hayden / Auror Master]Relationship: Borderline/Neutral

Status: Favorable / Tension

These are the Blue Moon assassins who invaded my castle just a while ago to kill Ivril.

"You are probably not the culprits."

"The criminal who kidnapped Everil has been caught. hey."

As I turned my gaze, a small cabin came into view, and in front of it I saw two men, drooling and distracted.

Standing next to the two people was Auguste Knox, a spiritual elementalist in a red suit, and when he made eye contact with me, he was startled and averted his gaze.

After roughly understanding the situation, I sighed in relief and asked.

"What about Miss Ivril?"

"I'm resting inside the hut. He is safe and unharmed. "His Excellency the Marquis handled it very well."

I walked with Arsia and headed into the cabin.

And after a while, I was able to find Ivril sleeping with a peaceful expression on her face.

"We have not been able to confirm the identity of the criminals. "It looks like they hired two people as doubles."

I guess so.

Unless you are a fool, there is no way you would commit such a bold act and leave a trace behind.

But I was more concerned about the two people than the presence of the criminals.

How did you know to help me?

Can their actions be considered as if they had previously accepted my offer?

"Actually, our residence is also here."

"Oh, I see? "Our Miss Ivril was very lucky."

You want me to believe that?

I knew that the two people were not the criminals, but unless you were an idiot, you couldn't have known that this situation wasn't just a coincidence.