"Damn! Am I late?"
Thad, who had been traveling in a cart all night, used spatial magic as soon as he arrived in Creas and reached the main gate. As expected, the guards just stood still, showing no reaction.
It was dark magic.
And it was of a very high level.
"I have to find the Master first."
Thad headed towards the teachers' accommodation. But before he took ten steps, he heard a roar in the sky that was characteristic of spatial travel.
At the same time, Thad was alerted by the sudden Spiritual Zone, but it was Ethella descending in the light.
"Professor Ethella! How are things?"
When Thad, who had just returned from a business trip, asked the question as if he knew what had happened at the academy, Ethella felt bewildered. However, she was racing against time, so she got straight to the point.
"I think I was struck by dark magic. All the students and teachers lost their memories."
He expected it, but when it became a reality, Thad was stunned. No matter how crazy someone is, attacking the Alpeas School of Magic, one of the five most prestigious schools in the kingdom...
"There's no time. Please tell me the situation first."
"When I searched through the Spiritual Zone, all the students were heading up the mountain. Looking in that direction, it seems to be the bridge you can't cross. There are 3 leaders, and 3 people following them. Among the teachers... I guess I was the only one who managed to escape the magic."
Arcane's dark magic had reached the rank of Archmage, but since Ethella was a bishop of the Order of Karsis, she wouldn't have been easy to control. Thad explained what he knew, thinking that was enough to be grateful for.
"Let me tell you quickly. The culprit behind this incident is Bilthor Arcane. He's an archmage who caused great havoc in the world 40 years ago."
"I've heard of him. But why would someone like that come to the magic academy...?"
Thad bit his lip. It was in his master, Alpeas's, troubled personal history. However, the only person he could trust now was Ethella, and if it was her, she would accept it without prejudice.
"Vilthor Arcane is the director's master."
Ethella blinked as if she didn't understand. However, as if she had never thought that Thad would tell her that.
"I see. However, it seems that Arcane is not among those who took the students. I don't know why, but I think we should first rescue the students."
"It's not possible. I suppose Professor Ethella also felt it, but once you're under the mental spell, it's not easy to break free. Trying to rescue the students one by one could lead to a counterattack."
"We can't just leave them."
"You mentioned that three people were following them. Can you guess who they were?"
"I can't be sure, but... it might be Shirone."
"Is it Shirone?"
The moment Ethella heard the words, Thad quickly thought of Shirone. The moment Arcane's magic was cast would be about 24 hours ago. The only students who could be outside the academy at that time would be the suspended Shirone and the others.
"I'm not sure because I haven't checked their appearance. But in terms of looks, they were like Shirone, Neid, and Eruki."
"Maybe they are. Those kids will be fine for a while. They're smart students, so they'll know what to do. Rather, let's leave it to the kids for now, and Mr. Ethella, please try to find Arcane."
"What are you going to do, Mr. Thad?"
"I will find the director. The priority is to find the Master and dispel the dark magic."
Ethella nodded in agreement.
"Alright. I will search for Arcane."
Thad looked towards the crest. The school's grounds were so vast that he had no idea where Arcane could be.
"Hundreds of people were affected simultaneously. A spell of this magnitude would likely have significantly depleted his mental energy. He's probably hiding in an uninhabited place. It would be faster to search around the mountain. What's the expansion radius of your Spiritual Zone when you expand it?"
"Well, about a radius of 2 kilometers."
Thad, who estimated it, nodded.
"Using about five control points should be enough. Keep an eye around the training field as a reference point. I'll head to the academy."
"Yes. I'll capture Arcane and save the students."
"Don't overexert yourself. Arcane is..."
Thad fell silent. Saying that the enemy was powerful would only fuel his sense of duty. As a bishop of the Order of Karsis and a figure recognized by the kingdom, if he couldn't trust Ethella, who else could he trust?
"No. Please."
Thad, feeling the responsibility as Alpeas's disciple, bowed instead of his master. In response, Ethella smiled shyly and bowed her head.
"I don't know what it's all about, but I'm also a teacher at this academy. I'll do my best for my students."
"Yes. Then..."
From now on, it was a race against time.
When Thad cast a teleportation spell and flew to the academy, Ethella also finished her deep breath and focused.
The numerical sequence rose at a dizzying speed, and the Spiritual Zone expanded. The unique expansion ability unfolded, and everything within a 2-kilometer radius was sensed through synesthesia.
"First, to training field 26."
Ethella's body turned into light and flew to the top of the mountain. She covered a kilometer in a single spatial movement.
***
Kanis and the others gathered the people affected by memory loss at the starting point of the bridge they couldn't cross.
After completing the mission, Arin's face was pale. Even if she wasn't affected by Abyss Nova, moving hundreds of humans under mental control was an immensely exhausting task.
Neid, who was observing Kanis and the others from the bushes, said:
"Why are they here? It's just a bridge and a cliff."
"I don't know. Maybe they're waiting for someone?"
Eruki said, pointing one by one.
"Cliff, mind control, villain. If we only consider these three elements, the answer is obvious. They intend to throw them off the cliff."
"What? Why are they doing such crazy things?"
"Logically, it doesn't make sense. There's nothing to gain by throwing the students. But what about emotional issues? Something like resentment or revenge."
Shirone thought it made sense. Besides, if they were really going to do it, it wasn't good to wait like this.
"We have to intervene before that happens. Maybe we should fight."
Ten minutes passed without anything happening. The students and teachers remained in a state of mind control, while Kanis and Arin watched the cliff and waited for their master.
"Are you really okay, Kanis? You searched the entire school, but you didn't bring Alpeas, right?"
"I can't help it. The Master also told you to be especially careful when you meet Alpeas. We just have to do what we can."
"Still... I think I'll be scolded in some way."
Kanis looked at Arin with a disgusted expression.
"The Master is a good person. Don't worry, he'll never scold you for something like this."
Lucas, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, began to get irritated. He came for a large sum of money, not knowing that he would commit terrorism against the entire magic school.
Considering the difficulty of the mission, the initial payment was small. Furthermore, Arcane hadn't appeared yet, even though a lot of time had passed beyond the set schedule.
"Hey, when the hell is your master coming? Could it be that he escaped?"
It was an incident that attacked the five most prestigious families in the kingdom. Considering that most of the students were first-class nobles, even if this incident ended safely, the consequences would be enormous. Even the Archmage couldn't rule out the possibility that he had fled out of fear.
"Don't judge the Master lightly. Because you're not the kind of person who can talk about that."
"Haha. I'm so baffled."
Lucas scratched his head in frustration. Then, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Kanis with viper-like eyes he had never seen before.
"Do I seem easy to you?"
Arin, who had excellent emotional sensitivity, hastily stepped back as the hostility increased beyond the normal. On the other hand, Kanis had a calm expression. If it was this look, he had experienced it countless times in Radum.
"Is that what they call 'The Serpent's Gaze'? It paralyzes the central nervous system by hitting the diencephalon with a glance and is one of the abilities expressed through real combat experience and innate tendencies rather than training. Just by looking at him, Lucas could assume the kind of life he had lived.
"I don't see you as a young man anymore. From now on, it's better to be careful about what you say. You were talking about contracts and such, but the work delay is your responsibility, isn't it?"
Kanis couldn't even refute this time. Why isn't the Master coming? Obviously, it was strange that he, who had been waiting for this day more than anyone, was late.
While Kanis remained silent and suppressed his fighting spirit, Lucas also resolved the case. Anyway, they were still a team, and, more than anything, there was still work to be done.
"Not until the Master comes. The center of the operation is to annihilate them all in front of Alpeas."
"Wow, let's have some fun. After a while, they're all going to fall off the cliff anyway."
Kanis looked at him in disgust, but in the current situation, there was no reason to stop him. Being a native of Radum, he knew how dangerous a man like Lucas could be. In the end, Lucas would have to do as he pleased. The thought sent shivers down his spine.
"Trash."
Lucas's steps suddenly stopped. He should have killed Kanis in the first place. Because the human brain adapts to shock, repeating the same issue to the same subject was less effective.
"Haha, do you know why I hate you? You pretend to have some kind of great conviction. But both you and I are criminals. After today, you'll also become a murderer who has massacred hundreds."
"I don't hold my beliefs because I want to be great. I just hate people like you."
"Really? You know what's really disgusting? Weak people who only talk. What are you going to do if you dislike me?"
Lucas turned around and grabbed Siena by the neck. His face contorted, he lifted her body with one hand, and took a step toward the bridge's precipice.
"Once you kill a person, you'll realize. That you're trash just like me."
Lucas extended his arms, and Siena's legs dangled at the edge of the cliff. A groaning sound escaped her mouth.
"This woman looks good too. It's a waste to kill her, but..."
Lucas released his grip and let Siena fall. At the same time, sparks flickered in his eyes. It was a sensation as if the skin were prickling, a unique stimulation from the Spiritual Zone that only scheme users could feel.
'Where is it?'
His sensitive nervous system pinpointed the focal point of the Spiritual Zone. When he rose into the air, an explosion occurred right where his right knee used to be. If it had been a direct hit, his bones would have been shattered. A full-on strike would have broken his bones.
Lucas landed and immediately retreated, leaping over the cliff. Even if he couldn't gauge the range of the Spiritual Zone, keeping a distance was the typical strategy when facing a mage.