Chapter 44

# Chapter 44: <By Accident>

Along with the black dragon's report, Cale could see one more person being held by Choe Han. The black dragon had judged this person to be a magic bomb carrier.

Cale could see the necklace around that person's neck.

'That’s it.'

Cale watched as Choe Han tore the necklace off the person. At the same time, Cale felt his body twist. Someone had grabbed his arm.

"Cale!"

It was Eric Whelsman. Cale slowly looked around. First, he looked up at the bell tower.

"Hahaha-"

The bloodthirsty mage Redika was laughing. Whiiiiing. A loud, grating noise filled the air, creating a terrifying din.

"Your Highness! We should take cover!"

Below the bell tower, royal family members and the king were being guarded by the royal knights and a few mages, who were trying to evacuate them. Cale first checked on the crown prince. His hair was still golden.

'Not a mana-based spell?'

《Did another dragon dye it? Or, is it another kind of power?》

Cale recalled the dragon's words from before and put aside his doubts to look elsewhere.

The remaining royal knights and mages were split; half were trying to stabilize the square and find the mana disruption device, while the other half were charging at the secret organization. After laughing for a while, Redika said,

"I’m annoyed."

With those words, the secret organization's full members, except for Redika, who had the red star and white star emblems on their chests, began their long-range attacks. Spears, daggers, silver threads, and magic rained down.

Bang! Whiiiiing- Beep beep.

Cale found it noisy. At the same time, the black dragon's reports continued.

-One more human.

-One more.

9:04. The third one.

"Cale! We should, well, let's go quickly!"

"Prince, let's go quickly!"

Cale looked at Eric, Amir, Gilbert, and Taylor, who had come to his side. Eric was looking around with a confused expression. Cale followed his gaze.

"What’s going on? Open the way!"

"Guide us out immediately!"

The noble heirs were trying to leave the square in a hurry. Of course, some calm individuals were visible, but it was different below the dais.

"Why are you blocking the entrance!"

"Open the way!"

The citizens were shouting and pushing towards the entrance from the back. The knights and soldiers shouted at them.

"Please calm down for a moment!"

"Please wait a moment!"

"Calm down in this situation? Open the way!"

"Damn it, the nobles are leaving now! Open the entrance for us too!"

Cale observed the hands that flashed through the chaos.

"What, what is this!"

Choe Han ran to the entrance and tore the bag from an old man's shoulder, then raised his hand high. The third one. Cale turned his head to look at the people around him.

The entrance where the noble heirs and officials had entered was already open, and many were leaving. The entrance to the square, where many citizens had gathered, seemed easier to pass through, but it was still chaotic.

So,

"This is a mess."

It was a chaotic scene. Cale placed his hand on Eric's shoulder, who was at a loss with worry, and squeezed it tightly.

"Brother."

"Ah."

When Eric came to his senses from the pain, Cale said,

"Calm down."

Eric was brought back to his senses by Cale's calm eyes and looked around. The knights and unknown individuals were fighting, and the royal family was evacuating. The citizens were in chaos. After taking in the scene, Eric turned back to Cale, who said,

"You’re acting like a brother now."

"...Thanks. I’m back to my senses."

Cale shrugged and turned his head. Gilbert and Amir, who had also come to their senses thanks to Cale's words to Eric, looked at him. Going towards the noble entrance now would only get them caught in the chaos and delay their exit. The noble heirs from other regions were already trying to gather their people and calm them down while attempting to escape.

Gilbert looked around. The other northeastern noble heirs were approaching this side where the northeastern heirs had gathered. They were looking at Eric. But Eric and Gilbert were looking at Cale.

"...What’s this?"

Cale looked at Taylor. Taylor was different from the others. He was worried about the entrance for the citizens, which was still not fully open. The entrance was slowly opening, probably due to control measures.

Taylor was a very selfless and kind person. He would naturally be concerned about the citizens first. Cale looked at Eric, the leader in this situation, and said,

"Let’s go."

At Cale's words, Eric nodded and led the northeastern heirs towards the entrance. Cale checked his watch.

9:08. The mages had started the mana stabilization process. The mana disruption device would soon lose its power. This delay was due to the large number of people and the chaos in the square.

-One more eliminated.

Now four. Two more to go. Two minutes. It was doable.

Redika's red mana auras were still swirling in the air. Once the mana stabilized, these auras would fly towards the magic bombs.

Cale looked at the clock on the bell tower and took a step. Then the black dragon reported.

-It’s over.

"...What?"

"Prince, why are you doing this?"

Taylor, who was walking beside him, looked at Cale with a puzzled expression, but Cale had no time to pay attention.

'Four is the end?'

In the book, there were ten. Has something changed? Cale stopped and looked around. The mana disruption device had a range of one mountain. If it were buried elsewhere, the alarm would sound there too.

But the high-end device's alarm only rang in the square.

Has the story changed, reducing the number of bombs?

As the time approached 9:09, a mage's amplified voice echoed.

"Mana stabilization activated!"

Then, from eight directions, mages cast their spells. Eight spheres shot into the sky.

Bang-

They exploded, spreading like a thin film. And finally,

Whiiiiing-

The noise decreased. The mana was stabilizing. 9:09:55.

At that moment, Cale could see four objects soaring into the sky. It was Rosalyn and the black dragon's magic. The four objects flew to the mountains south of the capital, following a more stable mana trajectory. The two with excellent mana sensing abilities could handle this level of disruption.

The people watched in a daze as the four objects, a beam of light, flew over the controlled, rugged mountain.

"Mana stabilization complete!"

9:10:05. The mage shouted. Redika's red mana auras followed the light beam. And finally, when the red mana auras reached the four objects,

Kwaang-!

A massive explosion occurred in the sky. A huge light momentarily blinded everyone. Black smoke rose into the sky. Even though the mountain was far from the square, a powerful windstorm from the explosion blew through, messing up people's hair.

The square fell silent for a moment. Especially the mages' faces turned pale. They knew the red mana, now on a proper trajectory after the stabilization, and its true nature and purpose.

"...That’s a magic bomb."

Taylor Sten deduced the nature of the power in a low voice. Any noble who knew a bit about magic would recognize that the only item with such destructive power was a magic bomb.

The movement of the royal family, including the king and a few princes, who were evacuating, stopped. People recalled that the objects had risen from among the citizens in the square and exploded on the southern mountain.

It couldn’t be helped.

Redika, on the bell tower, said,

"Unfortunately, no one died. Why did it explode there?"

A grating, cheerful voice.

"This is a failure."

To this, the king shouted,

"What is this? Who are you? Do you think you can get away with this?"

Realizing it was not just an attack but a magic bomb, King Jed's reaction changed. This was tantamount to a declaration of war.

At that moment, Cale had another thought.

'...A failure?'

Then what else is there? Cale's expression hardened. Taylor Sten, who was about to approach and say everything was fine now, stopped and looked up at the bell tower with Cale.

"There’s nothing I can do."

The grating voice echoed in the square. He didn’t flinch even as the king and the head knight shouted, and the mages who had stabilized the mana approached with flight spells.

Click. He snapped his fingers, and two people appeared on either side of him.

Two people in black attire without the red star and white star emblems. They were carrying bags.

Cale's brow furrowed.

'Those are them.'

These two were clearly members of the secret organization's assassination team. They were expendable. Cale now knew the fate of the two remaining magic bombs.

The two pulled out three magic scrolls and tore them all at once.

Shield and acceleration. And a spell to burn their own bodies.

"Go."

Redika ordered, and the two jumped from the top of the bell tower down towards the people. Redika sent red mana towards them.

"Stop it!"

A magic bomb will explode if not deactivated.

However, Redika was closer to the two than anyone else. The red mana reached the bags of the suicide bombers.

It was about to explode.

The two, with the acceleration spell, rushed towards the square.

One of the agents headed towards the royal family, and the other,

'This way.'

towards the noble heirs.

All of this happened in less than ten seconds.

-I’m going!

Hearing the dragon's voice, Cale raised his hand.

"Uaaaaah!"

"R, run!"

"Get out of the way!"

It was too late to run. A few seconds wouldn’t help them escape the bomb's range.

"Let’s, let’s go. Cale!"

"Prince Cale, let’s go quickly!"

Eric, Taylor, Gilbert, and Amir didn’t run like the others but instead urged Cale to come with them. It was too late anyway.

Cale felt a surge of frustration. If he ran and the bomb exploded, Cale would just lose an arm. But with the vitality in his heart, it would regenerate.

However, those urging him to go would be injured, and they would lose a limb, which wouldn’t regenerate.

Instead,

"...Sigh."

With a deep sigh, Cale opened his palm towards the sky. The plan had changed. At that moment, Rosalyn, teleported by the black dragon, cast a double shield, enveloping Cale and herself.

At the same time,

"Explode!"

Redika shouted cheerfully.

"Huh?"

Rosalyn, who had cast the spell, had a dazed expression.

A massive wing enveloped the suicide bomber rushing towards them. A silver shield rose to protect the people below, and the shield's wings enveloped the bomber. The silver shield and wings completely enclosed the bomber. And a solid, barely visible shield enveloped everything.

-I’ll block it too.

The dragon told Cale.

Under the sun. A person with a holy-looking silver shield. The silver lines extending from the shield connected to the hand of a red-haired man, Cale, who was raising his hand towards the sky. Cale, with his red hair flying, cursed.

"...Damn it!"

And the bomb exploded.