< 143. Come, Spring (8) >
#143
Evelyn, who was looking at Vajra, was amazed. Her eyes were sparkling.
“I think this is possible…! Erzsebet, can you help me?”
“Do you want help?”
“yes. “To successfully transfer a soul, some preparation is needed.”
Evelyn said that a very large amount of mana was needed to separate the witch’s soul. From what I heard, it seemed like not only Erzsebet but other wizards would have to be captured. She said, hesitating as she continued her explanation.
“Hey… I know I need to avoid letting things escalate, but… can’t we recruit that person?”
“who?”
“Over there… the person standing on the cliff…”
Her gaze rested on a young man. A water-soaked fur coat was draped over her man’s shoulders as he looked out to sea. Evelyn expressed her admiration again.
“I can feel the powerful mana here… Could it be a high elf? No, this is more than that…”
Indeed, an enormous amount of mana was gushing out and swaying over the young man’s shoulders. Ronan’s brows narrowed.
Aside from Evelyn’s illusion, the question was why it was here. I told you to go back right away because your wounds could get worse, but why are you still fighting? Ronan walked towards her with long strides.
“wait. “I’ll bring it.”
The young man was looking at the sea with empty eyes. The bow of the boat he was on was sticking out above the water. Ronan stood next to the young man.
“I haven’t gone yet. Itargand.”
“···Is it you?”
“Not you, Ronan. “What are you doing here?”
“I was thinking about it.”
Itargand continued speaking without looking away. The arrogance that existed before was not visible, but the state of being ecstatic did not look good as it was. Ronan tilted his head.
“What are you thinking?”
“I may be… weak.”
“her.”
Ronan reflexively laughed. It wasn’t because it was funny, it was because it was absurd. I never thought I would hear such self-criticism from the mouth of a dragon in my lifetime. The shock he received upon coming to Lodolan seemed quite severe.
“Why do you think that?”
“I never managed to melt the ice. I wouldn’t have been able to defeat her witch without your help. No, instead of winning, she would have died in that cold basement.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“My mother always praised me for being strong. But that was a blatant lie. “The flames I let out during the coming-of-age ceremony were just a joke…”
Itargand sighed. I could feel his self-esteem hitting rock bottom and digging into his basement. After thinking for a moment, Ronan opened her mouth.
“Do you want to become stronger?”
“Yes. But, I don’t know how.”
“Shall I tell you?”
Itargand turned his head for the first time. I felt somewhat similar to Schlieffen, both in terms of fighting from the beginning and pursuing strength in an already strong subject. He was unlucky, but he didn’t hate it. Itargand asked.
“What is that?”
“Nothing much. “You just have to try like a human.”
“human···? “How should I do that?”
“If you help me first, I’ll tell you. Follow me.”
Ronan turned his back and walked away. Itargand followed him with a puzzled expression. Evelyn’s face turned pale when she realized too late that Itargand was a dragon.
****
Preparation didn’t take long. Itar Gand’s mana amount was so large that he didn’t really need to recruit others.
The ceremony took place at the back of the fort. The sound of waves crashing down the steep cliff could be heard. Ronan looked around and shrugged his eyebrows.
“There was a place like this too.”
“I finally found it. “It’s the perfect place to secretly practice black magic.”
Evelyn laughed. Her room was so narrow and cornered that no one could see it except five people. On her bumpy floor was a magic circle she had drawn in chalk.
It was a structure in which two circles overlapped side by side, and Asher and Vajra were located in the centers of the circles, respectively. This Belin was sitting on her knees at the overlap.
Erzsebet and Itargand quietly placed their hands on her back, preparing to deliver mana. Ronan’s role was to watch over her. After taking a deep breath or two, Ibelin opened her mouth.
“Okay then, let’s get started.”
The other three people nodded. Evelyn’s lips parted. A song-like chant flowed like water. Erzsebet and Itargand’s bodies were paralyzed. Suddenly Asher’s body rose into the air.
“Ugh…!”
“f*ck, I’m surprised.”
Ronan frowned. Asher stopped about 1 meter from the ground. Suddenly, he began to twist his whole body violently.
“Kyaaaaaaa! Ah, ahhh…!”
“Damn, is this okay?”
Ronan asked in disgust. It felt like a patient suffering from epilepsy was having a seizure. The color of her hair was constantly changing. Her white parts were turning red, and the red parts were turning white.
“You’re fighting for control.”
“Control?”
“yes. As the witch’s soul moves to Vajra, Asher’s personality rises again. “It’s a good thing.”
Evelyn answered with her eyes closed. Erzebet and Itar Gand’s mana was being absorbed into her at a rapid rate.
“Now let me focus a little. As I told you in advance, you must never be disturbed…!”
Evelyn said. Since I didn’t know anything, I had no choice but to do it. At that time, someone’s voice was heard from behind.
“I’m playing. “What is a good phenomenon?”
“ok?”
Ronan turned his head in the direction of the sound. there was nothing. The voice came again from the front.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but you better stop right now.”
“Hey, I’m surprised. What are you?”
Ronan lowered his gaze and shrugged his shoulders. She had a little kid crouching down and resting his chin on her knees.
He was a boy who looked to be about ten years old at most. There was no sign of him being popular at all, so it was a mystery as to where he had suddenly appeared. Instead of answering Ronan’s question, the boy continued speaking indifferently.
“Because that is soul-destroying magic.”
“···what?”
“The two people supplying mana will probably suffer mental damage as well. The child who became the host is amazing. Even though I borrowed the dragon’s mana and held it down, it resisted. “It’s like looking at my childhood.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. I didn’t exactly understand the sudden situation. She was just letting her intuition speak. At least this boy wasn’t lying.
When I looked up, I saw Asher still struggling. Ronan chewed his lips and grabbed Asher who was floating in the air.
“Damn it, stop now!”
“Kwaaagh?!”
Evelyn screamed and collapsed. The two people who had been supplying her with her mana also opened their eyes. They took a deep breath and looked around.
“Well, what happened?”
“Did I… faint?”
This was definitely not the reaction someone who had just lost their mana supply would have. Ronan glared at Evelyn. Her face, which had always been gentle, distorted fiercely.
“What are you doing now? “It’s almost done!”
“You f*cking bitch, what were you trying to do to my friends?”
Ronan, who laid Asher on the ground, pulled the hilt of the sword. He aimed La Mancha at Evelyn’s neck and growled. The boy who was watching said with interest.
“I have a good feeling about that too. Normally, I would have been pounding my head to tell myself not to talk nonsense.”
“You, are you…?”
Evelyn, who belatedly noticed the boy’s presence, froze in place. As soon as the field mouse turned around the alley, she reacted the way she would if she encountered an adder. She pulled herself up as the boy looked back and forth between her and her Asher.
“Beings who have lived as spirits for a long time can share their souls and place them in a vessel. That girl is proof of that. “It was a waste to completely throw her away and replace her.”
“Okay, why are you here? how?”
“I chose a new bowl because it was a really good one. So much so that I couldn’t not know.”
match! Suddenly the boy clapped his hands. Seaaaa… Something like white mist slowly flowed out from Asher and Evelyn’s noses and mouths. The fog that came out of Asher was much more abundant.
“Huh…!”
Ronan and Erzsebet’s eyes widened. Slurp. Evelyn spat out all the mist and fell to the floor like a doll with its strings cut. Asher, who was lying down with her eyes closed, raised her body screaming.
“Hyaaaaa! “Go away!”
“Asher?!”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Asher’s hair, which had been bleached white, was turning its leaves at a rapid rate. He, who was leaning against the wall and out of breath, looked up.
“Ro, Ronan…? Erzsebet?”
“Are you okay, man?”
Asher, who was looking around, raised his hand and looked at it. Water filled his eyes as he saw that his hands and feet were moving according to his will.
“Hey, guys… I, I…!”
“Let’s share the joy of reunion later.”
Asher was about to say something. The short-haired boy lifted the tip of his chin and pointed at his fog.
The fog that flowed from the two people was gradually combining and changing into a specific shape. Ronan’s eyes narrowed.
“That is…”
Finally, the fog stopped deforming. She was a beautiful woman. The woman’s body, wearing her fluttering dress, was translucent like her spirit.
Ronan instinctively realized that she was the Witch of Winter. The woman opened her eyes and screamed in horror.
【W-this place…!】
“It’s been a while. “Did you have a good vacation?”
【Wait a minute. I can’t go back yet. I haven’t achieved anything yet…】
“I’m a little late because I have work to do. “Let’s go back quickly.”
match! The boy clapped again. The witch’s figure became fog again and dispersed. When the boy clapped his hands once more, the fog was sucked into the phantom he was wearing and disappeared.
【Aaaaa…!】
A low scream flew through the sea breeze. The witch’s presence disappeared from the world. The four people were staring at the boy, dumbfounded. Itargand was the first to speak.
“You… are strong.”
“yes? Um, it’s kind of like that, right?”
“Maybe even more than my mother…”
Itargand’s breathing became heavy. The boy tilted his head. He, who was thinking hard about something, laughed.
“Oh, it’s not that bad. “It’s still not enough compared to Navardose.”
For a moment, goosebumps ran down the back of Ronan’s neck. That was not a simple guess, but a conclusion drawn after elaborate calculations. Putting yourself and the Mother of Fire on the same scale? Ronan wiped the cold sweat from his hands and opened his mouth.
“you. “What is it?”
“wait a minute. “I’ll finish what I have to do first.”
The boy who responded pointed to the ground. Paaaa…! As soon as a sound presumed to be chanting came out of his mouth, a wave of mana spread throughout Lodolan.
Kugugoogung! A loud roar echoed above their heads. Erzsebet raised her head and shouted in horror.
“Oh my god!”
The Fortress of Screams was being restored. The collapsed ceiling was moving and gluing itself together. New flesh was growing on various parts of the reef that had collapsed due to freeze-up.
“Nonsense.”
Ronan also couldn’t help but be shocked. Jaradin, a rare earth wizard, was doing things on his own that would have taken at least three people to accomplish. And that wasn’t the end.
Coo coo coo coo! The entire Lodolan began to vibrate with a roar that was incomparable to anything before, as if the world was being lifted. Asher, who was in a state of panic, pointed towards the cliff and shouted.
“It’s floating, it’s rising!”
“what?”
Ronan frowned. Ronan’s eyes widened as he hurried to the edge. Lodolan was indeed floating in the air.
The sea where even the drift ice had almost melted and disappeared, the ships lined up, and the ice pick left behind by the witch were rapidly moving away. said the boy.
“I heard that the lower part was completely flooded. In that case, isn’t this better? “The prisoners couldn’t escape either.”
No one answered. Lodolan stopped after ascending for about ten minutes. The clearer air was filling my lungs.
“This is… really…”
A flock of sheep-like clouds was passing by before my eyes. As the altitude increases, you can see further away. There was something like a small chimney rising far out on the horizon.
It was the Dawn Magic Tower that was originally invisible. The boy, who was admiring the surrounding scenery, touched his chin.
“Ah, it’s a problem when it comes to transporting prisoners by boat. “We will take action, so don’t worry too much.”
All four people were now looking at the boy with awe in their eyes. Ronan suddenly laughed. At this level, she couldn’t help but notice.
“What is going on here, Grand Wizard?”
“Ohh? “As expected, I have a good feeling.”
There weren’t many beings in the world who could do something like this so casually. The wide-eyed boy grinned.
“You heard. Jinne Lee chose a really nice new bowl. “She also came to catch her and take a look at her dishes.”
“Well, if you’re an archmage…”
A voice came out of Asher’s mouth as if he would faint at any moment. Erzsebet was frozen as if she had been cursed with petrification. The boy, who was stretched out, looked back at the group and said.
“Nice to meet you all. “I am Lorhorn, the lord of the Twilight Tower.”
