Chapter 95

Chapter 95

It was a very fleeting moment.

Leonhard saw that Celine, standing proudly in front of him, was not a warlock.

However, that magical moment was gone in an instant like early spring snow. For a moment, the blue-gray eyes that seemed to sparkle were immersed in the dark aura unique to warlocks. He had no choice but to admit the harsh reality.

Celine was a warlock.

He barely swallowed the stinging lump that heated up his entire body as his head froze completely and couldn’t think at all. The mind that had been moving him for so long shouted at him to slash the warlock right in front of him, but he couldn’t move his body.

Leonhard pursed his lips, not even realizing what he wanted to say.

‘Celine…’

Right then.

Celine turned and started running.

‘….!’

Leonhard instinctively began to pursue her.

“Celine…!”

The moment Leonhard called her name, she knew right away that something was very wrong.

He clearly recognized her.

However, instead of a smile of relief, Leonhardt showed a look of astonishment and horror.

‘He thinks… I have become a warlock.’

Celine stumbled back. If he thought a little rationally, he would know that becoming a warlock was impossible.

She just separated from Leonhard just a few hours ago. It was not enough time for a wizard to turn into a warlock. Nonetheless, the stage was making Leonhard mistake her for a warlock, and the chances of him coming to his senses by the end of this stage were extremely slim.

‘Ah…!’’

A small hope swelled in Celine’s heart.

It wasn’t that Leonhard was suddenly insane and mistook her for a warlock. It was because of the stage that neither she nor Leonhardt could do anything about.

So, at the end of the stage… Leonhard’s delusion will also end.

She remembered the maze stage in the game. It was a very simple stage, all they had to do was escape the maze by avoiding the chasing Leonhardt Bernoulli. As it was the last stage, the difficulty wasn’t that simple.

‘It’s still the same now.’

Celine cupped her trembling hands.

‘If we run away… Leonhard will come after. I have to find a way out of that situation somehow.’

As she turned her back, in an instant, she felt Rose and Bart’s eyes on her.

She didn’t have to put it into words.

The three started running away almost simultaneously.

Celine realized a major problem almost immediately after starting. Instinctively, the three retook the path they had marked so far. She calmly judged while constantly moving her legs.

‘If I continue like this, I will never be able to clear the stage.’

But she didn’t have time to stop and explain things to Rose and Bart either.

“Both of you, go first.”

“Celine!”

Rose immediately protested.

“Don’t think anything strange. I will follow you soon.”

“Do you want to be killed by Lord Leonhard?”

Celine smiled bitterly.

Rose wouldn’t know that she was on point.

“It’s not like that. Never mind me, both of you get out of here quickly.”

When Rose and Bart stopped walking instead of answering, Celine’s heart pounded. If they didn’t move quickly, they’d run into Leonhard, who was quickly chasing them. At least they were able to get away with this much because Rose moved and erased their traces at the same time.

But, this was Leonhard?

Finding their traces would be as easy as breathing for him.

“You, you promised.”

Her lips trembled and she couldn’t get her words out.

“That’s… because I thought there must be something other than Lord Leonhard.”

There was a hint of sadness in Rose’s voice.

“Tell me, Celine. Can you fight Lord Leonhard?”

“….”

Celine couldn’t answer.

“Sending us off first and staying here is no different than saying you’re going to fight Lord Leonhard.”

“…I’m not trying to fight.”

“Then?”

Rose urged her to answer, but Celine heard Leonhard’s presence before she opened her mouth. They started running toward the entrance again.

Celine mechanically moved her legs and tried to think positively.

‘To send them up first at the entrance… I can start from scratch. That might be more comfortable.’

However, it wasn’t long before Celine noticed how naive her thoughts were. Even though they passed all the sections Rose had marked, the door they came in and the stairs they came down were nowhere to be seen.

“Why is the entrance, ha, not coming out?”

Rose gasped for breath.

“We didn’t miss any mark.”

Bart answered in an incomprehensible voice.

Celine bit her lip.

‘It’s the stage…’

She herself had no intention of escaping through the entrance, but the sage did not seem to think so. Seeing how it changed the normal maze so that even Bart and Rose couldn’t get out.

“Don’t worry. There must be another way.”

Fortunately, Celine’s bizarrely confident tone seemed to work this time.

“…Is it a prophecy?”

“Yes.”

As Celine nodded her head, Rose gave her a slight push on the back.

“Then, take the lead.”

It was what she wanted.

Celine moved instinctively. Of course, she met several dead ends, but her legs in Hermes’ shoes did not tire. Fortunately, Rose and Bart followed her well without complaining as she made it her goal to continue moving in one direction only.

The maze in the game looked complicated at first glance, but she didn’t have to memorize every section to clear it. All roads eventually lead to one exit. Therefore, finding a way in a maze itself was meaningless.

Celine ran and ran.

Fortunately, Bart, who had excellent physical strength befitting a knight commander, and even Rose was not far behind her. It was true that it looked a bit daunting, but considering that Celine was wearing ‘Hermes shoes,’ the two’s endurance was amazing.

It was when she fell into a half-trance.

“….?”

Suddenly, a cliff appeared.

Celine clutched her chest, which was about to jump out of surprise, and slid off the edge of her precipice.

“This…”

Bart muffled his words in a dumbfounded voice. His face turned as pale as a sheet of paper when he confirmed that it was a cliff with an endless abyss. Even more shocking was the fact that they couldn’t even see the other end of the cliff.

‘What to do…’

A cold sweat trickled.

This was a situation she had never seen before in the game.

‘If I build a bridge and cross it…’

Rose was one step faster than Celine. In an instant, a bridge made of iron stretched endlessly from where they stood into the air.

“….!”

Rose’s eyes widened.

Celine looked at it with uneasiness. It seemed that her bad premonition would not be wrong this time either.

“There is nothing on the other side.”

Celine gulped.

If they couldn’t cross this cliff, the only option was to turn back. Though if they did, they would run into Leonhard. At the thought, she glanced down at the precipice and at the great abyss that faced her.

‘….’

If she was alone, she would have thought of throwing herself down there. However, she couldn’t go on such an adventure with Rose and Bart.

While thinking about it, Leonhard’s presence came closer and closer. The sound of her heart beating echoed in her ears. Celine closed her eyes tightly and gathered her magic. She had no intention of confronting Leonhard openly. It was enough to give Rose and Bart time to escape.

“…Celine.”

Rose quietly called her name.

“I’ll face it somehow, so run away.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Celine was a little startled and replied.

“Can you fight the Lord Leonhard?”

“…It’s the same with Rose.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Rose shook her head.

“Can you attack him?”

“….”

Celine bit her lip. Rose stabbed her to the core.

She’d have to deal a heavy blow to Leonhard to get what she wanted. It didn’t seem like there would be other way, but even if there was, it was unclear whether she would be able to use it.

—Thump.

A dull footsteps echoed.

Her chest tightened.

Leonhard was coming towards her, to cut her.

Leonhard couldn’t clear his confused mind the whole time he was chasing Celine.

‘What on earth do I want to do…’

When he met her, he couldn’t even think of what to do. His instinct to pursue Celine moved his legs.

‘…How fast it was.’

Leonhard chased after Celine at full speed, but the gap between him and Celine did not close at all.

No, it even increased.

Because the alley he chased after seeing Celine’s figure ended up being a dead end. The whole maze felt like it was helping her escape. Still, it didn’t make sense for him to miss a warlock in an isolated space.

Finally.

Leonhard encountered Celine and the other warlocks at a dead end.

‘….?’

He frowned.

He thought it was a dead end as the hesitated and couldn’t go forward, but there was an endless space behind Celine. However, for whatever reason they stopped, it didn’t matter to him.

Leonhard slowly approached them like a beast seeking prey.

“Lord Leonhardt!”

“….?

Leonhard’s mouth fell open. No matter how distraught he was, he could not forget this voice.

It was the voice of Carpathia’s leader.

“Bart…?”

“Lord Leonhard, can you recognize me?”

There was a glimmer of hope in Bart’s voice.

“Why are you with the warlocks!”

Leonhard exclaimed in great bewilderment.

“No matter what they say, they are warlocks. Come here quickly!”

This time it was Bart’s turn to be puzzled.

“Lord Leonhard, do you think Lute Celine… is a warlock?”

“…Can’t you see it.”

Leonhard gritted his teeth.

Right now, the person who wanted it to be a mere illusion more than anyone else was himself. Nonetheless, his five senses shouted that Celine Hunt had become a warlock.

“Lord, you’re mistaken…”

“Get out of the way.”

Leonhard ordered.

‘I… I was foolish.’

When he saw Bart, who was deluded by the warlock and couldn’t come to his senses, he realized the weakness in a corner of his heart.

‘I thought Celine might be different…’

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Instead of attacking her, he pursued Celine, who fled from him. For a very brief moment, he expected that humanity may remain in Celine. However, it was clear that she had become a warlock who deceived people and destroyed life, befitting a warlock.

Leonhard took out Rashir, which felt as heavy as lead.

A bluish light filled the aisle, revealing Celine’s pale face.

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