CH 98

Serdel, who started moving again, continued to run. However, because the forest was so wide, she couldn’t find any trace of anyone.

If this is the case, she will only be wasting precious time. She couldn’t just wander, so she had to come up with a way.

‘Can I use more power here?’

There are already seven rings, which is the most that she can make.

She didn’t know what would happen if she overdid it.

Serdel recalled the way Falden used Radun’s power in the original story.

Even though they both had the same basis for their power, he inherited the power of a white crow and used it combatively without suffering too many repercussions.

The way he used his powers and abilities was completely different from the way she was able to do things.

It’s like day and night. No, like the outside and the inside.

His power combined with the white crow’s had an amplifying effect.

‘So I can’t take it any further.’

What kind of bad thing will happen to her if she overdoes it?

‘Is there no choice but to try it myself?’

She was nervous, but she couldn’t act halfway here. After anxious thinking for a few more seconds, she immediately began to focus.

She added twisted skeins of thread over the existing ring. 

It was impossible to increase the number of rings, so there was no choice but to expand the area already created.

The four rings more than doubled in size compared to the other three rings she hadn’t worked on.

Nevertheless, contrary to her concerns, it was easy. Rather—.

‘I feel a little more stable.’

It felt almost contradictory.

Why is it less of a burden when she used her power when her body and mind were separated?

Come to think of it, even when the black crow trained her in her dream, her body was only asleep. 

‘—Now is not the time to think deeply about these things. Calm down.’

Turning her head, Serdel turned her attention from Addis, Redan and Falden. 

He had mined a mana stone with her the other day to report to the Emperor. 

If he still has it, she will surely be able to find their trace. 

‘….’

After suppressing her anxious mind.

‘I found it!’

Serdel’s eyes began to see a mixture of silver and gold.

She hurried to move her legs, but it was slower than when she moved on Dell.

It would be convenient if she could fly like magic. While pondering her regret, darkness came, and she moved non-stop until the day dawned.

‘It’s so quiet.’

At this point, it was possible to meet a few monsters, but it was as quiet as a dead mouse.

She was scared. 

‘Everything’s gonna be fine.’

Everyone’s going to be fine.

As she became more nervous, she became more impatient for no reason, and her concentration broke.

Serdel scrambled to refocus her mind and continued her slow trek.

After another half-day of moving like that, she was able to find the camp.

As if there had been a great battle, there was nothing. Instead, the bodies of soldiers and mercenaries were scattered all over the large and small barracks that had collapsed. 

There were also traces of a fire, and the choking smell of smoke was even stronger at that time.

After crossing the battlefield for a while, the air current stopped.

She glanced at the cave that appeared in front of her. She felt a presence inside.

When she gathered power in her eyes, she widened her field of vision, and she was able to look into the cave in more detail.

Several soldiers and servants were sleeping together, and between them, she could see Siri and Terra taking care of their surroundings.

She almost burst into tears.

Siri’s leather armor was torn here and there, it seems that she was seriously injured. 

Contrary to Siri’s tired face, her eyes were sharp, perhaps because she had jumped from life to death and back repeatedly. 

There was no longer her previous appearance of smiling innocently like a puppy.

Leaving behind the complex emotions, Serdel looked beyond that.

Damon was sitting alone in a corner.

Even though he was very tired and his face was pretty beat up, he shone like he was in another world.

He was sharpening his blood-stained sword.

The usual soft look was there, but the deadly force that came out of nowhere quietly was fierce.

‘The others—!’

She couldn’t see them.

She heard that they were all fighting together, unlike during the expedition.

Why aren’t they here? 

Come to think of it, the number of people in the cave was small to be the total number of troops.

‘Don’t tell me, did they split up?’

It was impossible, so Serdel quietly went inside.

No one noticed her presence. No one will ever see Serdel as she is now unless they are very sensitive, or she allows it. 

As she walked past Damon and went further inside, she heard a shallow groan.

When she got closer, Redan, who had taken off his top, was sitting there. 

The amount of blood oozing over the bandages wrapped around his solid muscles was unusual.

The magi that covered it was also thick.

Redan’s hand was holding a mana stone that Falden had probably given him, he absorbed the mana contained inside and prevented the magi from penetrating further.

His body was shaking like crazy.

‘What about Maro? Where is he?’

Where the hell is Addis?

While Serdel’s thoughts were running around.

“Am I— seeing something?”

When he opened his eyes, Redan growled with heavy breathing.

It sounded more like coughing because of pain in his voice.

“Or is it time to die—”

‘Can… you see me?’

It seemed that he felt a sense of her presence for a while because of the increased concentration of energy he had after absorbing the energy of the Mana Stone.

“…even if it’s a hallucination, I don’t want to see you in a dangerous place like this, so go away.”

Serdel’s face was distorted.

“…No, don’t go…. Even if it’s a hallucination, yeah, it’s a hallucination, but stay in front of me. I can’t die here. Even so… My head is getting blank… I have to keep talking….”

It felt like her heart was about to collapse at the sight of his struggling smile.

“In the past, I didn’t think there was anyone who would be hurt if I died… Now, I feel sorry for Nuna, I feel sorry for you… and I feel sorry for my father.”

Saying that, Redan looked the most pitiful in Serdel’s eyes. What does this look mean—.

“Hey, I’m sorry. That bastard Hershe Maient…”

While muttering, he bit his lips to the point of bleeding, as if he were getting emotional.

“That bastard…”

His eyes grew redder and redder.

“When you’re having a hard time… I can’t be next to you as your older brother… I’m sorry. Ha, haha. It’s just hallucinations, just hallucinations… but I’m sorry….”

Something dripped down the tip of her chin. Serdel didn’t even know she was crying and only shook her head to try and clear her blurred eyes. 

Why can’t sorcery heal people? If she had been a wizard, she would have healed him right away if she had only been able to use heal magic.

Even when the ending failed, the feeling of helplessness was not so deep.

Redan’s eyes also shed tears.

“And… when I was young… I’m really sorry for putting all my resentment that mother died on you in the past because you didn’t tell me properly… But, Serdel… I don’t know how much I regretted it….”

‘….’

“When I was young, I was always annoyed by you looking at me and chasing after me. Instead, you were smiling at me… You looked so stupid… But if I could go back to that time, how great would it be…” 

Serdel’s head bowed down gradually.

Maybe her face is a mess right now. She didn’t want to get caught.

“I can’t go back… Yeah, that’s right. So… I’ll survive and stop wasting my breath. To my place, I’m going back… Serdel… can you smile at me for once?”

Redan’s body leaned to the side at the end of those words.

‘Oraboni!’

His eyes were slowly losing focus and he was slipping down to the the floor.

‘Oraboni! Oraboni!’

Her heart rushed her in panic.

‘Maro, I have to bring Maro!’

She left the cave after setting up several layers of camp with sorcery around the place where Redan was.

‘How do I find it, how do I find him?’

The more she thought of Maro, the more she remembered the unique energy he had exuded while treating Damon.

In an instant, she awakened her instincts, and Serdel used location-tracking magic based on his energy from her memory.

At the same time, she kept trying to swim through the forest in the direction of the Monster Village she saw the other day. 

But to find Maro, she had to stop moving.

At that moment—.

The earth rang, and she could feel the monsters headed to the scent of blood.

Serdel’s head turned.

‘I must not let them go to the cave!’

She combined the runes flowing from her fingertips according to her will.

She didn’t know how effective her attacks would be in this state, but she can’t just give up. 

The mana gathered between the completed sorcery spells soon became blades of wind and smashed into the incoming horde. 

Whoosh! 

She tore down a few monsters with a creepy shattering sound.

Without stopping there, the ground on which they were standing sank, and protruding earth swords slashed through the other monsters as well.

Kill, kill again.

To protect Redan and his people. Fortunately, she didn’t get tired because she was able to constantly swallow the energy of the Lord of the Wizard Tower through the mana stone. 

Just having someone to support her was a great help at this moment.

It was then. 

From the other side, flashes of light came, and many monsters turned into dead bodies and fell to the floor.

It was Belters.

He was approaching with Maro, who seemed to have fainted, on his shoulder.

Even when he saw Serdel, he was calm.

She was also more relieved than surprised he could see her as she didn’t expect to be able to deceive Belters’ eyes since he was the top swordmaster.

“You’ll hear more about this later. The subjugation will be over soon after dealing with the boss. Young Lady, let’s get out of that state and return to reality.”

– …..

“Dame Addis is fine, so you don’t have to worry.”

His smile to Serdel was soft. After hesitating for a while, she ended her projection and raised her consciousness back to her body when she heard that Addis would arrive soon.