Chapter 240 Confounding Variable (4)

Inside Familia Hotel, Iliana and the others didn't feel anything wrong at all. They didn't feel the sudden Mana influx nor did they saw what was happening outside; the situation inside the building remained as peaceful as ever.

It was only after all of the students outside suddenly barged in could they notice what kind of phenomenon was happening outside.

They still couldn't understand what the purple mist did to the students, but judging by the look of terror on the students' face, they could deduce the mist had mentally attacked the students.

"What happened?" Iliana shouted towards Darius.

"I don't actually know..." Darius looked at Iliana blankly.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Iliana was about to dash outside to figure it out herself when Darius suddenly stopped her. She gave him a look of puzzlement, and he immediately shook his head.

"Stop. That mist... Is not a normal mist."

"Do you think I don't know about it?" Iliana quirked her eyebrow. "The color is a dead giveaway."

"That's not what I mean, Iliana. There is something sickening in the air that will hurt your stomach just by smelling it."

"Tsk. Here I thought you would say—"

"You won't last a more than a breath inside it."

Iliana frowned in dissatisfaction upon hearing Darius' sure statement. She knew Darius didn't mean to look down on her, but as a prideful Mage she couldn't help feeling he was underestimating her.

"Hmph! Let me see it by myself."

"Iliana, there is no—"

"Let her do it."

At the familiar voice, everyone in the lobby suddenly turned their head towards the owner of the voice. Basil, the owner of the voice, was leaning on the reception table with Chibi Deacon right beside him.

Basil's unannounced arrival was not the reason the people had suddenly turned their head towards him however. There was something familiar yet frightening feeling they could feel from him; they couldn't help but look at him to figure out what it was.

"Basil, where have you been?" Iliana frowned.

Basil pointed his finger outside. "I was busy preparing that."

Silence immediately descended upon the lobby as they doubted what they had heard. The students, who had seen the forming of [Bloody Mist], were baffled at Basil's claim, meanwhile Iliana, Cray, and Whitney wondered about what Basil was aiming this time.

Being the center of attention, Basil acted as nonchalant as ever. He really didn't feel that his act of casting a Forbidden Spell with Demons' and Humans' blood as the media was something needed to admire or, in the students' case, afraid about.

"What have you done?" Darius asked Basil rather harshly.

"Something that ensures the safety of the people around me."

"I am not asking about why—I am asking about what you have done."

"What do you think I have done?"

Darius immediately stepped back in surprise and horror upon receiving Basil's cold gaze. Basil didn't have any intention to intimidate him or anything—Basil was actually giving him the 'Are you retarded?' look—but he was still intimidated regardless.

"I have just cast an Isolation Spell I read on a book a few years back. It was incomplete at that time, so I cast it now that I have finished it." Glancing outside, Basil continued. "As you can see, it works splendidly."

"What ... What is this Spell actually?"

"Are you really asking a Mage the secret of his research?"

If Basil wasn't intimidating Darius previously, he was now. Darius' pupils immediately dilated the moment Basil pressured him with his Mana, but luckily it didn't last for long as he was quick to dissolve the situation.

"Wait! That was insensitive of me—I am sorry!" Darius put his hands up. "I didn't mean to ask you the formula of your Spell; I am merely curious about what the Spell actually does. That's all..."

"You should've worded it better." As Basil lightly frowned, the students gulped at him due to the fact that he could bend the stern Darius. "My Spell, as you have experienced it yourself, repulses any living creatures inside or close to it."

"So that's why you surrounded this place with it..." Darius mused to himself as he looked at Basil in astonishment. "Are you doing it to get rid off the Monsters and the Magic Beasts?"

Basil nodded his head simply without saying anything.

"Are you planning to keep all of us here?" Darius asked carefully. "Judging by the current situation, it is impossible for us to get out of Raneil Barony with this mist covering the whole Barony."

"That's why I will give you an offer."

"An offer?" Darius lightly frowned.

As Basil gave Darius a light smile, Iliana, Cray, and Whitney, who were already pretty familiar with Basil's shenanigans at this point, immediately clicked their tongue bitterly. They knew Basil was up to something again.

"I will lead all of you safely outside, in exchange for—"

"Let me do it instead—I'll take the lead."

"Hoh?"

Basil gave Iliana a small smile of amusement at her interruption. She looked very sure that she could lead everyone pass through the mist without any hindrance.

Basil gave that Iliana a challenging look, and Iliana became even more sure she would be able to handle the mist upon seeing the look Basil was giving him. Without saying anything, Iliana immediately walked towards the opened door, and stepped outside.

Boom!

She, like Basil, was born with extremely sensitive senses compared to any other humans, so upon smelling the extremely pungent smell in the air, she felt like her nose had just been blown away—she even almost couldn't stop herself gagging in disgust.

That wasn't everything however, since she hadn't stepped inside the purple mist yet. The moment she stepped inside the purple mist, she was immediately overwhelmed with extreme terror.

Still, she didn't have any plan to back down as she kept forcing herself to move forward. Basil, on the other hand, merely looked at the scene in amusement; he didn't have any intention to save her even if she suddenly passed out.

"Woah! What is that purple mist?!" Steven, the nonchalant, exclaimed.

"Gosh! Someone close the door—my sensitive nose can already smell the unpleasant scent from here!" Effie, the Half Elf, complained.

"What happened?! What happened?!" Sylvia, the muscle brain, asked curiously.

The lobby turned rowdy the moment the Knights arrived there, but the lack of response from the surrounding turned them quiet very quickly. Basil silently looked at Thompson before gesturing his eyes outside.

Thompson followed Basil's gaze, and he immediately understood why Basil had given him an offer in the first place. As someone who had dealt with many Demons for years, he understood what the mist did.

'We have to protect his family, in exchange of being protected by the mist, huh? We have accepted a very great offer, but we won't stay here forever unfortunately,' Thompson mused to himself.

Bam!

At the sound, everyone immediately turned their surprised eyes to the doorway. Iliana, who had just angrily stomped the floor, was standing in the doorway while looking at Basil unhappily.

'Oopss... Someone has just poked a sleeping tiger. Kuhaha!'

While Cray was rejoicing about the fact that a couple fight would possibly break out between Basil and Iliana, the others worried about what the equally "quirky" people would do to their surrounding if the fight broke out.

Tap. Tap.

Each of Iliana's step made the heart of Darius and the students sink to the bottom of their stomach. It was quite dramatic of them, but they preferred stepping outside rather than watching the couple fight.

"I underestimated you ... Sorry."

"I am used to it."

It was much to everyone's surprise that the problem was solved civilly. Iliana admitted her miss with a light punch to Basil's chest, and Basil accepted Iliana's sincere apology while holding Iliana's clenched hand on his chest.

Of course, that was how it looked from the people's perspective. In truth, Iliana, fully knowing that Basil would be able to block it, had just hit him with four of her Magic Circles that she had sneakily gathered on her fist.

It was a method that any capable Mage did to destroy their opponent's Magic Circles—clashing their Magic Circles that were of a higher quality against their opponent's.

Usually, anyone who was able to do it would always end up destroying their opponent's Magic Circles, since they mostly had Grand Circles. The case was different, however, if Basil became the opponent.

No one in Braxtein Kingdom had a higher Magic Circle's quality than his, so letting Iliana hit his chest would only destroy her Magic Circles instead. That was why he had held Iliana's fist, despite knowing it wouldn't hurt him in the slightest.

"Kuhum! We will hear your offer, then."

At Darius' remark, Basil let go of Iliana's hand as Iliana retracted her hand. They then immediately faced him like nothing had just happened.

Darius felt sorry he was interrupting the couple's sweet moment—in his opinion—but they couldn't waste anymore time there. They needed to get out of Raneil Barony as soon as possible so they could arrive at Woster County before the Demons.

"I will lead all of you out safely in exchange of a permission."

"Permission? What kind of a permission?"

"I want to take my family, who are still in Randalvine, to Raneil Barony."

"You have my permission."

Darius immediately accepted Basil's offer. He didn't need to think twice; Basil wasn't a coward, so he was sure he wouldn't run away from the battle.

Furthermore, he understood Basil's reason of bringing his family to the Barony well. Now that the place was safe from Demons, his family's safety would be more guaranteed.

'It is shameful to admit it, but at this point, I am not sure that even Randalvine is as safe as it looks.'

Seeing that he could convince Darius easily, Basil immediately nodded his head in satisfaction. He was about to lead them outside, when Iliana spoke to Darius.

"I will follow Basil to Randalvine."

"Why?"

"To chase some harlots away."

"Okay."

Darius didn't want to debate with Iliana, so he immediately agreed to her request. Basil wondered what Iliana was aiming for, but he didn't stop her from following him.

Although he had another reason to go to Randalvine, which was retrieving the legacy in Arthan Library, he didn't have to worry about Iliana spoiling his plan. She would never do anything that could harm him.

Turning his gaze outside, Basil stretched his hand forward, then made a chopping motion in the air. The purple mist split at his gesture, much to everyone's bafflement.

Uncaring to their gaze, he immediately led them walk through the passage in the middle of the mist with Deacon on his shoulder and Iliana on his side.