Chapter 70. Condition for a Follower Family (1)
In the darkness, I felt a soft touch on my arm.
Lien, who was supporting my shoulder from the side without a word, her arm wrapped around mine.
Looking at my maid with blurred eyes, I also stumbled and focused on my steps.
Perhaps it was because my body was a mess from the terrible fatigue I got from using the Sword Saint's mana. The path in the basement seemed longer than when I entered.
How long had we walked?
A streak of light appeared before me at the end of the passage.
When I finally came up to the surface, supported by Lien.
A cold gust of wind grazed both our cheeks.
Unconsciously raising one hand to shield my face from the cold wind that blew against me, my eyes widened.
‘Ah.’
Before my eyes, an astonishing panorama unfolded.
The light cluster that had been leaking from Tantalus's magic circle.
It was now breaking into countless light crystals and soaring towards the night sky.
Fragments of light twinkling like fireflies, melting into the distant star clusters of dawn.
All the mages of Elsyde, who had been carrying out missions in various parts of the Beast-kin village, were also looking up at that scene.
I said briefly to Lien.
“I’m okay now.”
Lien’s silver-blue eyes looked at me coldly. She didn't give any particular answer, as usual.
Whoosh.
Lien's slender fingertips moved away from me.
I nodded slightly to express my gratitude to her.
No one knew yet that Lien had entered the underground residential area with me. They must have thought it was originally my solo infiltration strategy.
‘I have to make it seem like I met Lien outside as much as possible.’
That way, I wouldn't have to explain the unbelievable feat of Lien, merely a maid, following me into the basement and dealing with almost all of the Vendetta combatants alone.
‘Then Lien’s identity won’t be exposed to the family mages, just like it hasn’t been until now.’
I stood alone, even as I stumbled.
When I arrived at the square like that, I suddenly realized that the surroundings were gradually getting brighter and slowly raised my head.
A pale dawn glow spread among the stars in the night sky.
And above the village, being colored by the hues of dawn.
Numerous movements began to arise little by little in various places.
“Ugh…….”
“What happened, here…….”
As if finally waking up after a long night's sleep and greeting the morning.
I saw the Beast-kin who had been unconscious and lying on the ground beginning to rise one by one.
The suppression magic circle must have also lost its effect.
Well, they must have designed the magic so that the suppression effect ended at the point when the Magical Beastification was completed.
That way, all the experimental subjects of the village, regaining consciousness right after being beastified, would immediately go on a rampage.
‘And then they would have attacked the Elsyde mages.’
Judging from the actions of the Elsyde mages recorded in the original work, that was indeed the case.
「The mages belonging to Elsyde, having killed all the Beast-kin who had lost their reason and turned into Magical Beast experimental subjects, annihilated them.」
「Seeing their blood-stained Unique Magic Gear and hands, the Elsyde mages clenched their teeth in guilt before the corpses of those who were once Beast-kin.」
According to the Official History, it should have happened like that.
However, now that the Magical Beastification experiment plan had been stopped, the situation unfolding before my eyes was completely different.
I raised my head and looked straight ahead.
Around me, the anxious voices of the family's combat mages were heard from various places.
“Hey, Beast-kin. Are you awake?”
“Please wait a moment! The Order’s healing mages are treating those with severe injuries first!”
“Bear with it. You’ll be fine soon.”
Instead of being stained with the guilt of annihilating them as planned in the destined future, the Elsyde mages.
Were helping the Beast-kin who had lost consciousness here and there throughout the village and were dedicated to relief efforts.
“Young Master Enoch!”
At that moment, a group of mages wearing black robes were seen approaching from afar.
They were mages belonging to the Elsyde family, clad in modern black operational robes.
“We have confirmed the cessation of the large-scale magic circle’s activation!”
Askel was the first among them to greet me. He approached with a flushed face and shouted.
“Young Master Enoch! Surely, Tantalus…!”
I nodded.
As the battle concluded, the scattered Elsyde mages who had been carrying out the operation began to gather one by one.
And from the main street on the opposite side of the square, another group of mages were also approaching this way.
Askel, beside me, said, looking at the familiar figure of a female knight in uniform approaching from there.
“Lady Teano.”
She was walking this way with her Nemesis Knights under her command.
Beneath her pressed uniform hat. Her faint purple hair, glowing lightly even in the darkness, fluttered in the wind.
Teano seemed to be directing the current situation, holding her hand to one ear and deploying communication magic.
“All personnel. Confirmation of Vendetta forces retreat.”
Almost simultaneously with Teano's arrival. Another knight beside her reported the situation in a low voice.
“No enemy combatant response in search magic. No casualties among personnel assigned to the joint mission.”
“Understood.”
Teano nodded once and spoke into her communication magic.
“This is Teano. Large-scale magic neutralized and enemy repelled confirmed. As of this time, the operation is terminated. Good work.”
Having finished the communication, she turned her gaze to me, who was standing in front of her, and spoke.
“You have worked hard, Young Master Enoch.”
But I did not answer.
I stood still, watching the dawn of the morning.
Teano looked at me quietly for a moment.
“…….”
He was a slightly incomprehensible person.
Following the recapture of the fortress and then the underground area.
A direct descendant who single-handedly broke through the entire command system.
It was no exaggeration to say that the greatest contribution to the battle in this mission was made by me.
Honestly, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was an achievement hard to believe by common sense.
‘Nevertheless, a completely calm demeanor.’
Thinking that, Teano watched me for a moment, then suddenly turned her gaze around.
Meanwhile, on the faces of the surrounding family mages who were looking at me beside her, a quiet fervor flickered.
Seeing the composed appearance of a seventeen-year-old boy who had not yet even had his coming-of-age ceremony, some of the mages belonging to other families even seemed slightly impressed.
But in reality….
My internal circumstances were completely different.
‘Damn it, now my whole body aches!’
Due to the accumulated fatigue and injuries from the all-night battle being mixed up, I was now in no condition to speak or do anything else.
-Step.
But even in that state, I somehow managed to stumble and take steps, approaching the central square of the village spread out before me.
Beside me, Teano looked at me, who was shuffling my feet and walking with a slightly puzzled expression.
“…Young Master Enoch?”
But I did not stop.
There was something I absolutely had to confirm, and it was happening right ahead.
Rumble!
Above the village square. The final battle, which had not yet ended, was still unfolding there.
Sirocco and Leontos.
The warrior with gray hair like a lion's mane.
The girl with red hair and white skin.
The two of them clashed, moving like a whirlwind.
Leontos's Unique Magic Gear, resembling a stone axe, was swung repeatedly with air-breaking sounds that seemed to crush space.
But Sirocco evaded or blocked those attacks with light and fast movements. Her smooth legs, conversely, charged, targeting the enemy's openings.
At first glance, it seemed like a fierce exchange.
But the flow was already one-sided.
I quietly read the battle situation and judged.
‘It’s almost over.’
Sirocco's movements were becoming increasingly light and sharp, while Leontos's movements had become noticeably slow. The outcome was already decided.
Swish! (Note: '파악!' is difficult to translate directly, but it sounds like a swift, sharp action or breakthrough. "Swish!" or "Whoosh!" fits the context of a fast movement/attack)
As expected.
The next moment, Sirocco found an opening when Leontos raised both arms above his head to swing down his Unique Magic Gear.
Charging inside with an intense dash, Sirocco knocked away Leontos's arms with both hands, then swiftly kicked Leontos's abdomen, which was exposed.
Hit squarely by the kick, the guy was pushed back significantly, raising dust from the floor with his feet.
And then, kneeling on one knee and clutching his abdomen, he gasped for breath from the impact. His energy was already completely drained.
“Heh, what happened?”
Below the rising scarlet sunlight of dawn.
Sirocco lifted her chin slightly and spoke mockingly.
“You were babbling about Magical Beastification or whatever, but you’re a total pushover, aren’t you?”
Leontos gritted his teeth.
Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped his mouth once, saw the blood on his hand, and made a hollow expression.
Sirocco looked down at him and said, provoking him.
“Want to do more? Why don’t you just give up?”
Leontos gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Shut up!”
Still not giving up, the guy kicked off the ground and surged straight at Sirocco.
He swung his Unique Magic Gear greatly at a threatening speed.
But Sirocco, as if deftly placing a hand on the ground, seemed to perform a somersault and retreated backward.
Whoosh!
Then, leaping repeatedly into the air, Sirocco rotated her body quickly in mid-air and unleashed a powerful kick.
Her kick, swung at a speed that seemed to leave afterimages, hit Leontos's solar plexus as if sucked in.
An enormous impact sound burst out around them.
KABOOM!
Leontos's heavy body, hit squarely, was thrown back significantly and crashed into a structure in the square.
He still didn't give up and tried to get up again somehow.
But the next moment, Leontos confirmed something that came into his distant view and stopped his movements.
“…Ah.”
The green mana that had been leaking onto the ground throughout the village.
All of it was breaking apart and becoming light crystals.
Seeing that, Sirocco also quietly looked up at the sky and murmured softly to herself.
“It’s over.”
She glanced towards the upper part of the square.
Seeing me there, Sirocco smiled faintly and wagged her tail slightly like a greeting.
Wag.
Behind her smiling figure, beautiful green light crystals broke apart and rose into the sky.
Leontos also silently watched the mana fragments disappearing beyond the starlight of the night sky.
And then.
From behind me, I felt a presence.
“Enoch Elsyde. Direct descendant of the glorious Elsyde.”
A Beast-kin with white-haired wolf ears and tail.
The current head of the Lycaon family and the Chieftain, supporting himself with his heavy staff-shaped Unique Magic Gear, was leading his attendants and approaching this way.
He approached slowly and bowed deeply.
“With your and the Main House’s help, all the Beast-kin of our tribe have received immeasurable great favor.”
From afar, Sirocco, startled, stood her tail on end and shouted.
“Grandfath—no. Chieftain! You came all this way when you’re sick…!”
But the Chieftain gave her a glance as if he was fine, then turned back to me and bowed deeply again.
“Also, I apologize. Not only did we ask for cooperation, but due to our oversight, we burdened you even further. To think all the Beast-kin of the village would faint….”
I looked down at the bowed Chieftain for a moment.
A sincere apology for not having made any preparations, not having expected what would happen beneath their village.
But it wasn't something to blame only them for; it was something that the Elsyde family mages, as well as I myself, had not anticipated.
‘From the beginning, Tantalus was a Rank 10 black mage.’
Those who could construct magic of that scale and with an incredibly sophisticated effect of turning people into ‘Magical Beasts’ were few and far between even within the Empire.
Furthermore, it would have been magic unimaginable among the Beast-kin tribes, which were far removed from the Empire and had greatly reduced magical knowledge.
It was understandable that they hadn't prepared.
Shhh.
Meanwhile, the Chieftain slowly turned his head sideways.
The banished one, Leontos, lying on the ground and glaring at him.
“Tell me.”
The Chieftain opened his mouth heavily to him for the first time.
“Why did you do this, Leontos.”