Chapter 111
“Let’s talk here.”
At my words, Duke Becken twisted his lips into a sinister smile, as if he had seen right through my shallow trick. It was a smile both fishy and overtly menacing.
It seemed Yoon Haul’s intuition was correct. There was nothing strange about this man doing me harm right now.
However, this was the first floor of the Magic Department. If he used magic openly, it would all be recorded, so he wouldn’t be able to forcefully drag me away.
Step, step.
Duke Becken took a step forward. Yoon Haul, seemingly scared, grabbed onto me with trembling hands but didn’t back down. In fact, she stepped forward instead.
A genius mind is sharp. Yoon Haul was clearly thinking of a way to escape this situation.
I calmly asked Duke Becken, “Is it something you can’t talk about here?”
“That seems to be the case. I wanted to arrange a separate place… but an unwelcome leech is attached.”
Duke Becken’s murderous gaze turned to Yoon Haul.
“So you’re that famous second-year student from the Theology Department.”
“….”
“Seems you missed seeing this part.”
With a cold smile, Duke Becken pulled out a stiff badge from his pocket.
“This is a permit. It means I can use magic here. I can create a space of my own anytime I want.”
Was he relying on this?
But the Magic Department isn’t that careless.
“It will all be recorded in the Magic Department. You’re talking about kidnapping me so boldly.”
“That’s because it doesn’t matter.”
Doesn’t matter?
There’s no way it doesn’t matter to forcibly drag a student from Ardel in the heart of the Magic Department.
Unable to grasp his true intent, I swallowed nervously.
Duke Becken chuckled and stuffed the permit back into his pocket.
“You decide: Will you come quietly, or will you be dragged by force?”
“Do you think that’s an acceptable thing to say?!”
Yoon Haul gritted her teeth and lunged forward.
Whoosh.
Duke Becken smirked and easily blocked the magic Yoon Haul unleashed.
“Pointless. It will only shorten your life.”
“Ugh!”
Snap.
With a flick of his finger, Yoon Haul collapsed with a thud.
Duke Becken would have immediately realized that the magic she had just unleashed was just a diversion; Yoon Haul had been reaching for the permit to try and block his magic.
It was a clever plan, but it failed.
“She was trying some foolish trick, so I made her faint for a bit. She won’t remember anything when she wakes up.”
A fainting spell.
Duke Becken casually touched his sleeve, smiling as he did so.
“You should appreciate that I didn’t kill her.”
“….”
“You’re no match for me. Now, follow me.”
As soon as Duke Becken finished speaking, a heavy pressure weighed down on my entire body, as if pressing on my shoulders.
So, he intended to drag me along from the start.
Mass teleportation.
Even as I was forcibly taken away, the unfamiliar sensation blurred my mind.
Space and time swirled.
It would unfold exactly as Yoon Haul had foreseen.
Looking down at the unconscious Yoon Haul, I gave a bitter smile.
Duke Becken’s words jolted my fading consciousness awake.
“So, where is the Cube?”
* * *
Yoon Haul woke up exactly three hours later.
A cleaning staff member on the first floor had woken her up.
“Hey! How long have you been sleeping here? You scared me, suddenly popping out of nowhere!”
“Ugh….”
Her head felt like it was splitting open.
She couldn’t remember anything.
Yoon Haul shook her head, dazed, as she got up.
It was only a brief comment, but she gleaned a few hints from what the staff member said.
“How long have you been here? You scared me, suddenly popping out of nowhere.”
It was the reaction one might have upon seeing someone fall from the sky.
She had collapsed openly in the bustling first-floor hallway, where people were constantly passing by, yet no one had noticed.
That could only mean one thing.
“Someone tampered with space and time?”
Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.
But who could have done it?
“This is strange. Where am I…?”
Ugh.
Her head throbbed in pain again.
She had come to the Magic Department early in the morning to receive an award.
She had looked at rare artifacts, and sent Adela off to return to Ardel Academy.
And then… and then…
It felt like she had left something behind.
“Han Siha.”
Yoon Haul suddenly sprang to her feet.
The person who should be by her side was not there.
Because Duke Becken had only partially tampered with her memories, the future she had seen of Han Siha a few days ago still remained intact in her mind.
“So, where is the Cube?”
“Ah.”
Yoon Haul’s face turned pale. She had spent days worrying about what might happen to him.
She had investigated every possibility, desperately trying to see even a little bit more of the future that had faded from view.
Yoon Haul didn’t like her ability.
Everyone sought her out, hoping to see their future, but it pained her to deliver fragments of memories that held no real meaning.
It had always been that way.
She could see the future, but she couldn’t change it.
Once again, she had known everything, yet helplessly lost Han Siha.
“Remember. Remember… anything, please….”
She couldn’t even begin to guess what might have happened as a result.
The future doesn’t change.
Yoon Haul had to bitterly accept this undeniable fact.
“How foolish.”
But she couldn’t just collapse and lament her inability to prevent the future once again.
A faint voice in her memory was speaking.
“There’s an office of mine on the second floor. Not that you need to know, but if you ever do, come find me.”
She needed to find that prophet.
* * *
“You can’t go up there! The second floor is off-limits to regular students!”
“Hey! Student!”
She was relentless.
Ignoring the staff’s warnings that she couldn’t just go up to the second floor, Yoon Haul sprinted up the stairs.
She ran frantically down the hallway, searching for the office with the name Han Si-hyuk.
“Huff… Huff.”
She didn’t know who he was.
He might help, or he might not.
But since he was also a prophet, she was desperate enough to grab onto him for help.
“Found it.”
Having located Han Si-hyuk’s office, Yoon Haul pounded on the door.
Bang, bang. Bang.
Just as she was about to knock again after getting no response, the door creaked open.
A man with a frown emerged.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
His black eyes were cold but filled with deep emotion.
Tall, with brown hair. His expressionless face looked down at her.
It was only then that Yoon Haul realized who this prophet resembled.
Han Siha.
‘…His brother.’
The aura was so eerily similar that it was surprising I hadn’t noticed before.
Though he didn’t seem to be his biological older brother, that was irrelevant right now.
+The only thing that mattered was that if he was Han Siha’s brother, he might be of some help.
In a desperate voice, Yoon Haul spoke up.
“Please… help me.”
“What?”
Han Si-hyuk, who had been frowning until then, froze at the next words.
“Han Siha. We need to find Han Siha.”
“….”
“He’s disappeared.”
* * *
“Damn it… this is so messed up.”
The Magic Department must be cursed. It’s unbelievable how things keep going wrong every single time.
I let out a sigh, leaning my head back.
No Basilus. No Kloshti.
And after fainting and waking up, I found my arms tightly bound with ropes.
The situation was worse than before.
My insides were burning, and considering the lack of strength in my hands, I must have been poisoned.
My mind was still foggy. Swallowing my despair, I groaned.
“Ugh.”
If Yoon Haul had been knocked out in such a short time with a paralyzing poison, the person must be a dark mage skilled in toxic magic.
I tried to gather every bit of my remaining magic to struggle against the restraints, but of course, they didn’t come off easily.
I had a bad feeling about this situation ever since I found the Cube.
That’s why I had tried to prepare some protection, but when the moment actually came, it wasn’t easy.
I stomped my foot, using what little magic I had left to send out a signal.
[Call]
I had to summon those two lazy things, probably napping back at the Ardel Academy dormitory.
Thump, thump.
It wasn’t working well, so I kept struggling, kicking my foot.
Seeing my actions as mere flailing, Duke Becken entered the room with a sneer.
“A tamer without his beasts… foolishly charging into the battlefield.”
I wanted to punch him in the face, but the unbearable pain stopped me.
It felt like all my organs were being torn apart.
The poison was meticulously attacking my body, preventing me from using my magic.
Cough.
Unable to hold it in any longer, I spat out blood. Duke Becken watched with a twisted grin, as if finding the sight amusing.
The burning pain inside me continued to intensify.
“See? Your antidote artifact isn’t as effective as you thought. It’s proof that your plan was flawed.”
Duke Becken, thoroughly entertained, kept on laughing.
“But the idea was a good one.”
“I didn’t create it to be judged by someone like you.”
“Oh, really? I thought I was the evaluator?”
“…Damn it. You’re right.”
Han Si-hyuk’s words flashed through my mind.
‘Everyone in the auditorium was watching you earlier. How are you sure none of them were one of those people?’
Han Si-hyuk, how many steps ahead were you thinking? Seriously.
If I make it out alive, I’ll stop underestimating you.
“You probably can’t use any magic at all. You can’t even break those lousy ropes, so don’t even think about coming at me.”
“….”
Wait a second.
Can’t use any magic at all?
Carefully, so as not to let Duke Becken notice, I tried using my magic.
No, I can still use it.
The amount of magic I could use had significantly decreased, but that was due to the magical restraint properties of the ropes, not the poison.
Which means…
The artifact managed to protect my magic?
Yoon Haul, you’re a genius, even in hindsight.
Before the presentation, she had suggested extending the time from three minutes to five, just in case. I had scolded her about the budget and how it was just for demonstration, but…
That decision saved me.
Three minutes should have been enough for the poison to fully take effect, but its toxicity had been reduced by more than half.
The burning pain… it would have been unbearable without the artifact.
“You tried to resist, but that just hastened your end. Too bad, but it was inevitable.”
Duke Becken babbled on, oblivious to my clearing mind.
“Of course, I don’t intend to kill you.”
“Well, how gracious of you.”
“I heard you’re not the only one who knows about the Cube’s secret. I’ll need you to bring me the others. Now, tell me where they are.”
I moved my magic.
Slowly, I focused my weak magic to work through the ropes, creating a tiny opening.
I could definitely get out of this.
The magic control I had now was far more precise than in the past, enough to craft a blade out of my magic.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Even as I desperately concentrated, I kept up the banter with Duke Becken.
“You really think I’m going to tell you?”
“I’ll force it out of you if I have to.”
“More poison?”
“You might not realize it, but there’s a lot I can do with this.”
“….”
“How did you know the location of the Cube?”
Come on. Come on.
The ropes began to burn slightly, making a faint crackling sound.
I distracted Duke Becken with more nonsense, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“Whatever threats you make, you won’t get the information you want. Your dumb brain couldn’t even comprehend it.”
“What?”
“Your stupid brain that overlooked my artifact.”
Come on…
Snap.
Ah, finally.
“This is so damn frustrating.”
Without hesitation, I tore off the ropes and stood up.
Duke Becken was speechless, staring at the strange sight before him.
“How… how did you…!”
I wanted nothing more than to punch that smug face of his.
And then… well, after that…
Maybe I’ll just go for it.
Wham.
“Oof!”
I did exactly what I had planned five minutes ago.
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