CH 52

As soon as Haron returned to the mansion, he violently tore off his jacket and threw it while uttering abusive language and slammed the wall with his fist.

He grinded his teeth as his fever rose uncontrollably, so he opened the window of the room wide.

‘Someday, the warrior will be able to kill the Devil with his own hands’

Whenever I remembered the words that the saint had spoken about, I felt sick and nauseated.

[She’s not wrong, is she?]

“Shut up.”

[You’re going to kill the devil one day, whether it’s because of you or because of me.]

“I told you to shut up.”

[If you don’t face reality, you’ll only live in a dream for the rest of your life. Why did the Devil write letters for two years without seeing you?]

2 years. It has already been that long. Haron cooled the heat on his forehead and eyes with the back of his cold hands.

When Haron didn’t respond, Riggs also calmed down without saying more.

“You’ll be able to kill her with that hand.”

He looked down at his palm.

‘Yeah, I pierced her with this hand.’

It was when Riggs lent its strength, but it was only his will to pierce her down from the beginning to the end. The single sentence that the saint said evoked the trauma buried deep within him.

A few shimmering scenes came to mind in his dizzying mind. The half-broken mask, flowing silver hair, moaning in pain, bleeding…

“…God damn it.”

Haron spit out swear words that seemed to boil in his throat. Then he turned his head and looked out the window at the dark sky in the distance. It didn’t look good.

But apparently, at the end of that direction was the Devil’s Castle, and she was there.

[I miss you.]

“…”

[Two years is a long time.]

It became natural to read the thoughts and feelings of others while sharing consciousness. Riggs knew. For Haron, a home or a haven was not here.

His soul was as good as two years ago. He pretended to be fine and moved no more than an empty guise, but it was such a clear love that Riggs wondered how the other person would not know.

[This is enough. It’s okay to go back now, right?]

Haron slowly turned his back. When the candle flickered once more, he had already disappeared in the room without leaving a trace.

* * *

(Lucia’s POV)

– That’s right! I had a completely successful experiment, but the guy next to me suddenly made nonsensical comments on my results…!

I smiled and nodded as Tina’s words flowed through the crystal ball.

– It’s really outrageous… So, after that, he said he saw it wrong, and he made a fuss about it and didn’t even apologize!

“Hey, that’s bad.”

– Ugh. It’s all good here, but sometimes it’s frustrating because there are guys who can’t communicate like that.

Tina puffed up her cheeks angrily. I reached out to kiss her, then realized that she was a crystal ball and lowered it again.

Tina chatted about 10 more minutes after that. Then, when the crystal ball’s magic ran out, the call ended.

“How was it? The quality of this one is perfect, right?”

Finn, who was sitting next to me, looked at me with anticipation. Instead of answering him, I handed him his money bag I was holding. Finn grabbed it and bowed his head.

“Please use it again!”

“Are you saying that on purpose?”

“Maybe.”

Finn smiled awkwardly, covering his mouth. In my arms now, Deran was in a very calm state.

“By the way, Lucia’s dog is very gentle. I also wanted to raise a large, gentle dog like this.”

“…It’s from the cat family.”

“What?”

“Nevermind.”

I turned my head, pretending not to hear. I could see Deran twitching as if he wanted to say something too, but I winked to stop him from speaking because there are ‘monsters’ that speak, but there are no ‘animals’ that speak. Deran bit his mouth as if he couldn’t help it.

After the house was destroyed by magic practice last time, it was concluded that training in the house was not allowed.

So, while looking for a suitable place, I decided to do it in a nearby forest vacant lot, but the location was similar to where I had met the thugs with Tina before, so Deran was worried and came to escort me.

The problem was that Finn magically appeared in the vacant lot, so the scene us two together was caught before Deran could hide.

‘I’m just glad it was Finn.’

When Finn called Deran a dog, he believed it without a doubt.

In fact, Deran looked like a jaguar no matter how much I looked at him or how I looked, but it was a little strange how he could think of it as a dog.

“Now, let’s start today’s class in earnest.”

Finn’s blind image disappeared and he became smarter as he called his hands lightly.

“Last time we learned how to control and manipulate magic, today we will learn how to fully discharge it. It’s surprisingly difficult to release all the magical energy in your body at once.”

“Why do I have to learn that?”

“Well… When I was learning, my teacher taught it to me.”

“What an example of a great disciple.”

“Thanks for the compliment!”

It was not a compliment…

Finn spread a long mat of his on the grass in the vacant lot.

And made me lay straight on it.

“Think of making a magic ball with your whole body, just like how you created a magic ball in the palm of your hand last time after relaxing your whole body.”

“Ugh.”

“Inhale deeply, exhale at once, and push away mana.”

“Wait. Is this okay?”

I jumped up from where I laid and looked around. There were no people nearby, but there were quite a few trees and plants. I don’t know if it would be dangerous.

“Try it! It’s going to be okay.”

“You said that last time, and a wall of my house flew away. Plus, my magical power will be released at once. Then…”

I stopped talking.

Yeah. I don’t know what would happen if I released it wrong here. The vacant lot and a piece of land could fly away. But Finn was still smiling.

“It’s okay. Come on.”

At his urging, I was forced to lie down and take a breath.

And let go of the magic with worries…

“…Nothing’s going on”.

I tilted my head and looked at Finn. He was hiding behind a tree far away, and I knew it. He smiled as if I had improved and came to me.

“Look at that. I told you everything was fine, right?

“You ran away pretty far considering that.”

“Ah… Ahaha. If I get hurt, the cost will be wasted for treatment.”

It was such a beautiful excuse.

* * *

That night, I returned to the Devil’s Castle and sat quietly.

“…He said forehead, between the collarbones, and below the stomach.”

Then I pressed my fingers on the three points Finn pointed out. They are said to be the three most important points in the flow of magic, but in fact, I didn’t feel much of it.

‘The flow of mana was blocked and it was not released properly. Keep practicing, and press firmly on the points I told you. And for the next release practice… Be sure to try it out when I am not there!’

Finn smiled and said that, but I could fully tell that the last words were not full of sincerity.

Maybe it’s not because he’s afraid of getting hurt, but because he’s afraid of spending money due to problems.

I closed the window and rubbed my eyes with a yawn. It was already a very late night, and time to go to sleep.

As soon as I buried myself in the bed, my eyes naturally closed. It was about time I fall into a sweet dream in a quiet and dark room.

“… Something came in.”

My eyes opened. Someone came through the barrier.

I woke up and checked out the barrier. The condition was fine. It seemed that only humans invaded without breaking the barrier.

“That’s weird.”

Barrier prevents all human invasions that I do not allow. As long as the barrier was intact, there was no way for other humans to sneak in.

That didn’t mean there were many humans who I allowed to enter. At most, Tina, Shud… And…

[The Devil!]

At that moment, I opened my door and Deran rushed in. I turned my head and looked at him.

[Someone has invaded the Devil’s Castle.]

“Yeah, I know.”

[Nothing big has happened yet, but would you like to go first?]

“Hmm.”

I got up slowly. Then, wearing the robe that Deran had given, I moved and headed towards the royal scepter.

“What is the number?”

[Only one has been identified so far.]

“That person must feel good to break into the Devil’s castle alone.”

I said in a dull voice. The question of how the intruder was able to cross the barrier has not yet disappeared.

One person came to mind, and remained like a gnash in the tip of my fingernails and touched my nerves, but I tried to pretend I didn’t know.