Chapter 14

EP.14 Childhood Friend Kidnapping Case (3)

"Why are you...?"

Matteo frowned. He never imagined that Kaya, the second-in-command, would barge in.

Though he didn’t know what had happened, it was clear that Ian had joined forces with her. In other words, she was the enemy.

He would resist, but the outcome of the confrontation against Kaya’s powerful magic seemed all too obvious.

"Matteo, where is Amy?"

Before he knew it, Ian had reached Matteo.

However, Matteo only glanced at him and couldn’t launch an attack.

Because Kaya was on guard. If he moved rashly, Kaya’s wind, which dominated the abandoned warehouse, would fiercely overwhelm him.

A cold sweat trickled down Matteo’s cheek.

"Answer me."

Snap—

Ian pointed his wooden sword at Matteo, speaking threateningly.

When the man he considered insignificant, the noble he disliked, pointed a wooden sword at him, Matteo’s eyes flared with anger.

"How dare you command me...!"

Rumble—

Just as Matteo was about to swing a rock magic at Ian.

A wall of ice sprang up from the ground, blocking the two of them.

「Ice Wall (Ice Attribute, ★4)」

Matteo, thinking it was an attack, was startled and quickly retreated.

He turned his head toward the ice magic caster. A blue light magic circle appeared on Kaya’s wand, which was pointing at Matteo. It was the incantation for [Ice Wall].

"Answer."

The [Ice Wall] crumbled into blue powder and scattered.

Kaya’s wind also threatened Matteo.

As long as she was there, Matteo could do nothing. Not even give Ian Fairytale a taste of his power.

Critical situation.

Matteo swallowed hard.

"…?"

At that moment.

A strange and ominous mana aura swept through the center of the abandoned warehouse.

The gazes of Kaya, Matteo, and Ian reflexively turned in that direction.

Their survival instincts suddenly sounded an alarm.

In the center of the abandoned warehouse, black mana slowly rose and concentrated in one spot.

[Shaaaaa—]

[Suuuuu—]

The black mana emitted a strange wailing sound and transformed into a bizarre creature with two heads.

It was about 3 meters tall, with a grayish-brown skin.

Its facial features, with prominent cheekbones, resembled a shark. Its body, wrapped in a black shroud, had an extremely short upper body and abnormally long, wobbly legs.

Its arms were in the shape of shark fins, extending to its toes.

The two heads emitted hoarse sounds, “Shaaaaa,” “Suuuuu.” The students who saw the menacing creature turned pale.

“What, what is that...?”

They immediately guessed the identity of the bizarre creature.

“A demon...?”

This was... a being considered a natural disaster, a ‘demon.’

[Shaaaaa—!]

[Suuuuu—!]

Suddenly, the two-headed shark demon roared at Ian and Matteo.

A blue light magic circle appeared beneath the demon’s feet.

A dark, sea-like ring of water rose.

The ring of water instantly transformed into a wave and flew toward the students with great force.

「Wave Deployment (Water Attribute, ★6)」 + 「Black Water (Water Attribute, ★5)」 =

────────「Black Wave (Water Attribute)」

Whoosh—

“Ugh!”

Kaya quickly cast [Ice Wall] to protect herself and Matteo’s unconscious subordinates.

Matteo tried to create [Rock Wall] to block the powerful wave, but...

His defensive magic was shattered by the [Black Wave] in a single blow.

On the other hand, Ian, who didn’t know how to cast defensive magic, could only channel light attribute mana into his sword and swing it.

“Gasp!”

[Ice Wall] successfully protected its target until the last moment.

[Rock Wall] was shattered and failed to perform its function.

Ian’s sword also failed to repel the demon’s [Black Wave].

Ian and Matteo felt a shock as if something inside their bodies was exploding, and they were swept away by the wave.

The [Black Wave] crashed into the walls of the abandoned warehouse, sending them flying into the forest.

The two of them tumbled and collided with a tree.

The clear black water subsided.

The two men lay sprawled out like drowned rats.

“Are you okay?!”

Kaya urgently called out to Ian and Matteo, but she had to turn her attention back to the demon.

To escape this dire situation, they had to bring down that dangerous being.

[Shaaaaa—!]

[Suuuuu—!]

Once again, a dark ring of water rose around the demon.

Matteo spat out water and blood. He wanted to avoid the attack, but his body wouldn’t respond. [Rock Wall] would be meaningless against such powerful magic.

It was a futile end.

The plan to kidnap Amy Holloway, knock down Ian, and threaten the nobles flashed through his mind.

The slight, nagging pain in his chest, felt during the gang’s meeting, intensified.

Overwhelmed by regret, Matteo bowed his head.

“What are you doing?”

A man’s voice came from in front. Matteo lifted his head.

A black-haired man stood in front of him, holding a wooden sword and glaring at the demon.

“Ian Fairytale...”

“If you don’t want to be protected by me, get up quickly. I’m struggling to protect myself.”

Matteo couldn’t understand Ian’s words. Wouldn’t it be more natural to use him as a shield or run away? Isn’t that what nobles do?

But to offer protection, even to an enemy?

It was hard to accept that the second son of the Fairytale family would make such a choice.

Besides, Ian didn’t have the strength to protect him.

But as Matteo looked at Ian’s back, he felt a constriction in his chest.

He knew that not all nobles ignored commoners. He just chose to ignore it.

After witnessing his parents, who were commoners and housekeepers, being insulted and mistreated in the noble’s mansion, he couldn’t suppress his anger.

“...”

Matteo extended his arm and released rock mana.

A solid wall of rock formed in front of Ian.

「Rock Wall (Rock Attribute, ★4)」

“You...?”

Ian, startled, turned his head to look at Matteo.

There was no time for conversation. The second [Black Wave] was already upon them.

Whoosh—

Kaya tried to create [Ice Wall] to protect herself and Matteo’s subordinates and counter with [Gale], but...

Her magic was powerless against the [Black Wave].

The surging torrent, moving as fast as a cannon, crashed into them.

“Gasp!!”

“Scream!”

The [Ice Wall] protecting Kaya and the [Rock Wall] protecting Ian and Matteo were shattered again.

The shockwave sent Kaya flying backward.

Even though it was water, it felt like a massive hammer had struck her.

The tree Matteo was leaning against shattered, and he and Ian were swept away by the wave, tumbling through the forest.

Ian eventually lost consciousness. He had used his last strength to barely stand up and protect Matteo.

Matteo, spitting blood, weakly stared at the ground. His body was drenched, and he lacked the strength to lift his head.

All he could see was mud.

“Ugh...”

Meanwhile, Kaya shakily got up from the ground.

The mercilessly rising dark ring of water. The third [Black Wave] was about to come.

The demon gave them no chance to resist.

Soon, the [Black Wave] flew toward Kaya and the unconscious Ian and Matteo.

In that moment, Kaya sensed death.

“...!”

Then.

The air grew still.

A cold and overwhelming elemental magic enveloped the battlefield, as if freezing everything.

Kaya’s eyes widened.

「Ice Creation (Ice Attribute, ★1)」

Crack—

In the blink of an eye, the [Black Wave] froze. The magic’s momentum was halted, and it took on a sculptural form.

Kaya, startled, looked around.

In the frigid air, it seemed as if time had stopped.

“Move, Kaya.”

“...Ah.”

A voice as cold as frost and heavier than ice.

Joy of survival washed over Kaya.

She quickly turned to the man who had approached behind her.

Silver hair, blood-red eyes. A man in the first-year uniform of the Merhen Academy’s Magic Department.

Kaya called out his name with relief.

“Lord Isaac!”

* * *

What is this?

What’s going on...?

[Orpheus of the Abyss]

Level: 110

Race: Demon

Attribute: Darkness, Water

Danger Level: High

As soon as I entered the abandoned warehouse, I was shocked.

The warehouse was in ruins, and a demon was already out.

The sky still had a hint of twilight... It’s too fast!

‘Why is Kaya here...?’

I don’t know why Kaya is here, but Orpheus of the Abyss seemed to have appeared earlier than expected, sensing her powerful magic.

Normally, it should have appeared when Ian and Matteo were fighting, sensing Matteo’s magic.

‘Wow, this almost went wrong...’

I almost missed the timing. If I had been a bit more relaxed, Ian would already be dead, and the world would have faced a bad ending.

According to the original plan, I was going to wear a magic disguise suit, kill the demon, and escape.

But sensing that the situation was not ordinary, I rushed here without even putting on the disguise suit.

‘At least the bad ending is avoided.’

Fortunately, Ian and Matteo are lying in the mud, close to each other.

The fact that they are so close means that the situation where Ian tried to protect Matteo did occur.

Even though the situation has changed, it still went as I wanted. Now it’s time to clean up.

There’s only one thing left to do.

[Status]

Name: Isaac

Level: (130)

Gender: Male

Grade: 1

Title: Freshman

Magic Power: (35990) / (36000)

- Magic Power Recovery Speed (A-)

- Health (A)

- Strength (A+)

- Intelligence (C-)

- Mental Strength (S)

The moment I decided to fight Orpheus, the [Evil Slayer] trait activated, sharply increasing my level and stats.

I could freeze the demon’s [Black Wave] with just [Ice Creation]. I have the advantage in both level and elemental affinity, so I can easily defeat the demon.

I immediately melted the ice. The frozen [Black Wave] turned into dark blue powder and scattered in the air.

[Shaaaaa?