Chapter 179

Frankly, it was impossible not to be afraid. Time magic wasn’t something you wanted to come into contact with if you could help it. And ever since I crossed the northern border, I continuously felt my heart beating strangely. As if it was beating in time with the magic that was spread out around Hoiore.

How could I not be afraid, entering an unknown land without knowing what kind of time magic there was and if I couldn’t destroy it?

‘I could get trapped in time magic again.’

My heart sank in fear. The unthinkable answer to that question made my fingers curl. I hung my head instinctively, not wanting anyone to see my terrified expression.

‘It’s alright. Kaichen’s here. If anything goes wrong, he’ll come and save me for sure.’

It was faith. Faith that he would not give up on me. On the other hand, without me, no one could have gotten in.

However, Hoiore wasn’t as involved in time magic as Acrab. That was an arrow that Princess Exchetra sent to Julius. An arrow to mark the beginning of war.

He had to destroy the time magic in Hoiore in order to save everyone. That way, the misunderstanding about the relief supplies could be resolved and he wouldn’t be stuck in the clutches of the princess.

I have decided… I breathed deeply and lifted my head. “I’ll be back!” I firmly said.

As I stood in front of the gate, Kaichen, who had been silent, approached me. His golden eyes, which was darker than usual, filled me up and made me swallow my words. There were a lot of things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t bear to, and my words were stuck in my throat.

I smiled and hugged him tightly. I leaned my cheek against his wide chest, heard the faint thump, thump beating of his heart through his thick clothes.

How long would he have to run for it to be this loud?

I felt him sigh at the top of my head. Kaichen gently stroked my hair. Just as I was about to tell him not to treat me like a child, I immediately got cut off as he hugged me from behind until it felt like he was suffocating me.

“Come back safely,” he mumbled.

“…Yes.”

“You’re not allowed to get hurt.”

“Yes.”

“If things get difficult…”

“….”

“Call for me earnestly…” He dipped his head down and whispered, “I will find you at any cost.”

My anxiety and fear disappeared at his words. Yes, this man will surely come to rescue me. That was also what I thought back then when I waited for Kaichen. My relationship with Kaichen had changed, but the fact that he would always come to my rescue gave me courage.

Forgetting that Julius and Chusinik were watching, I hugged Kaichen tightly and laughed like a fool. If it wasn’t for the situation we were in, I would have hugged him by the neck and kissed him right away. He licked his lips as he looked down at me regretfully.

My growing courage would disappear if I kept stalling, so I smiled broadly at Kaichen and ran to the gate with all my might.

I entered through the gate with a splash. I wondered if I was about to drown in the cold, but it was just the sound of entering the area under time magic influence, and I was fine. I wasn’t even wet.

“Ah…”

I thought of what I would do if I ended up being sent to another place, but it wasn’t much different from Acrab’s time magic. The place I was standing at was just through the castle gates. But it was filled with a creepy stillness that wasn’t much different from the outside.

“This…”

Turning my head slowly, I saw a guard yawning. On the other side, a guard was standing awkwardly without hiding the bored expression on his face. They looked strange as if they were going to move at any moment, but they didn’t budge, as if they had hardened.

Swallowing, I entered the city. Winter birds looked like they were flying in the sky, children looked like they were running around, and I could also see merchants carrying fresh fish. It was so lively that it could’ve passed off as a well-made movie set.

I bit my lips and rubbed my arms.

‘Time has stopped.’

I knew that communication magic and telekinesis couldn’t be used. Magic couldn’t move because time had stopped. But… why was it impossible to use magic outside Hoiore? Isn’t that outside the area of time magic? It was still an unsolved mystery.

If it was like Acrab, then the only thing that would be able to move freely in Hoiore would be the medium.

I ran around recklessly, hoping for an answer if I came across a medium.

Fortunately, just as I had expected, I could still use magic in Hoiore where time had stopped.  It was only then when I realised that my magic was the same as time magic. Polluted, black magic akin to a place where time intertwined endlessly.

Perhaps Kaichen had noticed that, and told me that I had a talent for time magic. He knew that my magic wasn’t all that different from the product of time magic.

‘That’s why I couldn’t use telekinesis.’

Since communication magic and telekinesis couldn’t be used inside time magic, I couldn’t use them directly either. But on the bright side, communication magic can still be used if it was created by someone else.