Chapter 28

# 28

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The smell of grass had faded.

The birds were silent.

No... that wasn’t right. The wind was still blowing. The scent of grass could be felt at the tip of her nose, and the birds were chirping.

It was just slow.

Everything was just slow.

Nabia looked at Wood with wide eyes.

His eyes glinted with murderous intent, and his face was twisted in a wicked expression.

His upper body was leaning back, his tightly clenched fists pulled back as if to shatter his own nose bones.

Gradually, his upper body curled inward. His fist flew in like an arrow released from a bow.

'Slow.'

All of this seemed to unfold much slower than the time it took for dust to settle on the ground.

Wood’s hateful gaze clearly pierced her vision.

Had she ever looked at those eyes, which regarded her as insignificant and disgusting, for so long and in such detail? Wood had always swung his fists at her with that look and that expression.

In the slowed world, Nabia alone lived in real time.

She instinctively grabbed Wood’s arm firmly and at full speed.

The Black Moon greedily siphoned off the opponent’s mana.

She felt a surge of power. The abundant force of water poured into her.

Now she was certain.

'I can steal the opponent’s magic.'

Not just the magic that had manifested, but she could also draw in the opponent’s abilities through contact.

What a nightmare of a power. Wood’s expression was clearly warping.

Crack!

A spark of blue energy leaped between Wood and Nabia.

It was a sign of mana surge.

This was Wood’s limit. The end of his potential. Nabia had siphoned it all.

Normally, his body should have been torn apart and he should have been spitting blood, but that didn’t apply to Nabia.

The phenomenon occurred. Sparks flew. However, Nabia was not a mage who used magic by channeling mana from within her body.

The Black Moon was an unconventional power.

Crackle!

Nabia was covered in sparks.

Wood retracted his fist. He let go of her collar and hurriedly tried to back away.

His expression was filled with fear.

At that moment, the speed of the world around them synchronized.

Through the gaps in the blue sparks covering Nabia’s body, her red eyes shone brightly. That red gaze met Wood’s.

Nabia returned Wood’s words with a voice tinged with amusement.

"You should have run earlier, you fool."

Boom!

Silver hair fluttered in the water mist that rose like a storm.

* * *

Nikan brushed his slightly frozen skin due to the late autumn chill.

His movements were laden with an undeniable fatigue.

It was understandable. The commotion had started the previous morning, followed by an immediate departure to the imperial city to deal with the empress, and then his return.

Upon returning, he found his foster daughter had disappeared.

The recent days had been the worst, to the point where he felt it was undoubtedly a series of unfortunate events.

"Nabia?"

"......We haven’t found her yet."

When his subordinates gave such incompetent answers, Nikan felt an urge to strangle them.

A dignified leader. A lenient leader.

His sanity, which had been precariously balancing between these two roles, was on the verge of snapping under extreme stress.

He calculated how much astronomical amount of money it would take to make up for retracting his words to the empress if he couldn’t find Nabia.

'Where can I find a new foster daughter?'

The sense of defeat, something only the most wretched and lowly could feel, gnawed at Nikan.

He had never experienced such a significant failure in his life.

'No. It’s not a failure yet.'

Night had already passed.

Torches were gradually extinguished as dawn approached.

The time for the reconnaissance teams to return with interim reports was drawing near.

"Uh... Over there...!"

At that moment, one of the advisors, who had been standing guard, opened his mouth wide as if he had witnessed the sky turning upside down, pointing at the sky.

'Why is he doing that?'

Just as Nikan furrowed his brow in confusion and was about to turn his head in the direction the finger pointed,

Zap!

An intense sensation swept from his left cheek, across his nose, to his right ear.

Precisely, from the direction the advisor had pointed, a powerful aura made the fine hairs on his body stand on end.

"......!"

He turned his head in disbelief.

And he witnessed it.

"......A water spout?"

No, no, that couldn’t be.

This was not the middle of the ocean but solid ground.

But it was clearly a massive water storm.

And it was a storm with a very ominous presence.

"How could such a phenomenon...?"

Nikan felt as if his heart was being ripped apart. This dense aura of mana was familiar.

It belonged to his son.

"Wood..."

His son couldn’t produce such power.

"Wood!"

Nikan ran in the direction of the rising water spout. It was far. Running like this wouldn’t be enough.

He hurriedly took a horse from the stable and mounted it.

He spurred the horse, charging straight toward the water column that seemed to pierce the sky, clearing any obstacles in his path with magic.

A thick, ominous aura of mana enveloped Nikan like a fog over a lake.

This was the aftermath of a surge.

When he arrived, the water spout had already vanished without a trace. However, the aftermath was clear.

The area was completely devastated.

Nikan’s expression was one of horror. No, it was more accurate to say he was overwhelmed.

The air was so thick with mana that it was hard to breathe.

A vivid image of what had happened here formed in Nikan’s mind.

Such a surge must have drained all of his life force! In his field of vision, Wood lay on the ground.

"Wood!"

Nikan dismounted and embraced his son.

Despite being drenched from the water, a clear trail of blood was visible at the corner of his mouth.

He had suffered internal injuries and spat blood.

But his body was still warm. He was still breathing.

Nikan thanked the heavens.

"Master!"

Many people who had witnessed the water column soon arrived.

"What is this...?"

A building, whose purpose was unknown, was almost completely destroyed, and broken tree branches were scattered everywhere.

The ground was gouged out as if a giant had scratched it.

Was this a man-made disaster?

Wood was an excellent mage with a distinguished lineage.

But everyone knew he wasn’t capable of such power.

Nikan himself couldn’t produce such power.

"Take Wood to the doctor for an examination. Hurry!"

"Yes, Master!"

At that moment, someone called out from a distance.

"We found Miss Nabia!"

Nikan closed his eyes tightly.

This incident was ultimately due to Wood.

But what mattered most was Wood.

Nabia was merely property.

A very valuable property to make her the empress, produce an heir, and place the empire under the Agnus family.

If Wood had killed Nabia, he would be angry, but it could be replaced with something else.

Nikan sent Wood to the main hall first and then approached Nabia.

He hoped the child was unharmed.

"Her condition?"

"She’s unconscious."

Nabia’s clothes were a mess, as if they had been dipped in muddy water.

Small cuts were visible here and there, but there were no broken bones, and she was relatively intact.

'At least that’s a relief...?'

The water spout would surely spread rumors throughout the capital.

Thinking of the hyenas who would be curious about the Agnus family’s every move and would start sniffing around for prey, he felt irritation rising.

'Especially the empress.'

The meeting scheduled for tomorrow could be postponed due to today’s incident.

However, he would undoubtedly be summoned to the palace to investigate the circumstances of the water spout.

'A scapegoat for this incident will be needed.'

Just as Nikan was lost in thought with a cold expression,

Flash!

"Hmm?"

Nikan reflexively picked up something that flashed on the ground.

It was the hairpin Nabia had brought to Vivian’s bedroom yesterday.

However, blood was smeared on the side opposite the pearls.

He turned his gaze to Nabia.

She had visible abrasions, but could her blood have stained the hairpin?