Julius and Damion defeated the captor however now over a dozen swords are pointed towards them.
Kingdom guard 1-"Stop right there criminal scum"
In front of Damion there stands 21 castle guards. There are 20 of them wearing chainmail armor with the kingdom's crest on the front and on their shields. One of the guards is wearing full plate mail armor with a different crest on their chest plate and shield than from the rest.
Julius-"What are the kingdom guards doing here?"
Voice-"It is likely because the battle caused a large amount of destruction"
Julius looks around and sees holes and broken stones everywhere.
Julius(in his head)-"Well 90% of that damage came from Damion"
Damion-"Listen, we have already been through a lot today. Can you just let us leave?"
Damion(in his head)-"This isn't good, from that intense fight my mana is starting to run low. I can still cast a few spells but there are quite a few enemies here"
Castle guard 1-"You are under arrest for destruction of both public and private property in the surrounding area as well as the reckless endangerment of the citizens around you"
Julius(in his head)-"Well at least it seems they don't know about Damion having dark magic and him escaping from the dungeon"
Voice-"It also seems that they are unaware of you being here as they are only focused on Damion"
Julius(in his head)-"That makes sense. Well, I guess we have to fight these guys now"
Voice-"It seems that Damion is running low on mana after your battle with the captor"
Julius(in his head)-"What is my mana reserve right now"
Voice-"You're mana count is also low at about 30%"
Julius(in his head)-"We should still be able to beat these regular castle guards though correct"
Voice-"I would advise against it. One of the guards seems to have a significantly higher mana amount than the rest of the guards"
Julius(in his head)-"I'm guessing that would be the one in plate mail armor"
Voice-"Correct"
Julius(in his head)-"How strong is he exactly?"
Voice-"Their physical power is superior to the captor you just battled, not only that but it seems their battle sense may be even more honed than the captor's was"
Julius(in his head)-"What levels are they?"
Voice-"The captor was level 70 and the knight is level 100"
Julius(in his head)-"So the captor was a lower level than Adam and Elise but this knight is a higher level than them?"
Voice-"Correct"
Julius(in his head)-"Wait... I just realized I never asked you what level Damion is"
Voice-"Damion is level 78"
Julius(in his head)-"Wow that's one level higher than Adam, although he is almost out of mana"
Voice-"I don't see this as a favorable situation"
Julius(in his head)-"I'll just do the same thing I did before and zap the brain of that knight!"
Voice-"I don't believe that will work this time"
Julius(in his head)-"Why not?"
Voice-"That knight has an anti magic barrier around them"
Julius(in his head)-"Is that the same kind of barrier that was at the tournament?"
Voice-"It is similar"
Julius(in his head)-"Then why can't I just turn off my magic like I did back then"
Voice-"Due to this barrier being smaller and also this knight's higher level with precise control of magic you would be unable to pass through the barrier due to the mana you possess. Even if you deactivate your skills and remove your natural barrier, you wouldn't be able to pass through it"
Julius(in his head)-"Maybe we can figure out a way out of this, from what it seems like these guards don't know that Damion is the dark magic user from the dungeon"
Barrier knight-"That one there, he is a dark magic user who escaped from a dungeon"
Julius(in his head)-"Why does he know that!?"
Voice-"Things just can't work out for you can they?"
Kingdom guard 1-"What?"
Kingdom guard 2-"He's a dark magic user!?"
Kingdom guard 3-"I didn't even know there was a dark magic user in the dungeon"
Kingdom guard 4-"I heard they caught some kid who could use dark magic years ago"
Kingdom guard 2-"Is he a curseborn then!?"
Kingdom guard 1-"He must be"
Julius(in his head)-"Seems the other guards were clueless but not anymore"
Damion-"I don't know what you're talking about"
Barrier knight-"Is that so?"
Damion-"I'm just an adventurer passing by, this random person here attacked me randomly so I defended myself"
Julius(in his head)-"Good job Damion, if he keeps up an act we may be able to get out of this situation"
Barrier knight-"How unfortunate, well if that's the case I suppose you could leave"
Damion-"Thank you sir"
Damion bows and walks away.
Kingdom guard 2-"So is he not the dark magic user?"
Kingdom guard 4-"I think that dark magic users can be found with blood red eyes so maybe it isn't him"
Barrier knight-"Before you go though, there is one issue"
Damion stops walking, the barrier knight walks over to the unconscious captor on the ground. The barrier knight then sits down next to them laying their hand on their shoulder.
Barrier knight-"See this 'random person who attacked you randomly' happens to be a high ranking member in the kingdom's military"
Damion-"Is that so, very strange"
Barrier knight-"Yes, very strange indeed. Stranger still, this person happened to be sent to capture an escaped dark magic user. I was sent as backup with these other guards simply responding to a sudden magical duel"
Damion-"Well I'm sorry for causing such a commotion sir. I hope you find this dark magic user"
Barrier knight-"I hope so , however, do you mind telling me your name?"
Damion-"It's... Dave"
Voice-"Maybe he could have said something that didn't share the same first two letters of his name"
Julius(in his head)-"He had to think of it on the spot"
Barrier knight-"I see, do you per chance have your adventurer license with you"
Damion-"Not at the moment no"
Barrier knight-"I see"
The barrier knight stands up and steps back from the unconscious captor. The barrier knight then draws their sword and begins walking towards Damion.
Barrier knight-"I hope you don't mind coming with me for questioning. Maybe you have some insight on where this dark magic user could have run off to"
Julius(in his head)-"I don't think avoiding conflict is going to work now"
Voice-"A fight seems to be the most likely outcome at this moment"
Damion-"How unfortunate"
Damion suddenly lunges forward towards the barrier knight putting his arm close to the knights armor covered face.
Damion-"Dark skill: armor unbinding"
Damion creates a magic circle filled with dark magic.
Barrier knight-"Barrier skill: anti magic barrier creation"
Damion's spell hits the barrier and gets nullified.
Damion-"Not good"
Damion then puts his hand backwards creating a second magic circle away from the knight.
Damion-"Dark skill: spacial unbinding"
Damion launches away at hypersonic speed.
Damion(in his head)-"I have used up nearly all my magic now, I have to get away from here"
Suddenly while Damion is still moving quickly within his spell, the barrier knight appears above him moving at an even faster speed through the air.
Damion-"Wha-?"
In one swift motion the barrier knight slams Damion's back with the blunt side of his sword slamming Damion into the ground. Damion bounces off of the ground due to the high force with a large cloud of dusts and debris below him. As Damion is bounced back into the air the barrier knight hits him with their sword a second time causing Damion to once again launch to the ground.
Damion-"ghhrrr (sounds of pain)"
Barrier knight-"Barrier skill: imprisoning barrier"
A magical barrier is created on top of Damion keeping him trapped.
Julius(in his head)-"That all happened so quickly, I didn't expect somebody wearing all that armor to be that fast, I have to go in there and help Damion"
Voice-"I would not advise this action"
Julius(in his head)-"I know that guy is super strong but I have to help Damion"
Voice-"You should save it for later, think of another plan to free him again. I suggest going back to Adam, Elise, and Joe again for help"
Julius(in his head)-"You're right, and maybe I'll just go with their plan about solving this diplomatically with the guild. It may be our only option now"
The barrier knight levitates the spherical barrier around Damion into the air with Damion inside of it.
Barrier knight-"I'll be taking this fugitive back to the dungeon where they belong"
The barrier knight then walks over to the unconscious captor, they then lift up the captor onto their shoulder.
Barrier-"I will also be taking this comrade to the infirmary to be treated, I want the rest of you to check the surrounding area, make sure that no citizens were harmed in the battle"
The rest of the kingdom guards-"Yes sir!"
The kingdom guards begin searching the area for injured citizens. The barrier knight takes Damion and the captor back towards the castle. Julius begins flying back to the apartment.
Julius-"I don't know what to do now. Hopefully, my friends know what to do. I'll have to apologize to them for everything"
Julius flies into the room he was in before and finds nobody there.
Julius-"Did they already leave for the guild?"
Voice-"There is a note on the table"
Julius flies down to the note.
The note has the words "meet us at the church" written on it.
End of chapter 23.