Chapter 104

The man looked at Eddie and slowly clenched his fist.

As he did, he felt the Mana Gem embedded inside the ring he was wearing.

It was a device he had been wearing since before Eddie arrived, to send a signal to the magicians on standby inside the mansion.

And just a moment ago, when Eddie had neutralized the items in the room, he had contemplated sending the signal.

But he soon gave up on the idea at the sight of the power that neutralized dozens of items without batting an eye.

If that was his basic level, even if all 30 magicians on standby rushed in, a perfect suppression would be impossible.

So, for now, he decided to play the long game rather than rashly retaliating.

It was better to let Eddie expend more mana.

That way, it would be easier for him and Sylvia to subdue Eddie.

While the man was racking his brain, Eddie slowly withdrew his mana.

All the items, except for the listening item disguised as a small mirror on the wall, were neutralized.

Now, what happened in this room would only be conveyed to Furas through sound.

Eddie withdrew his extended left hand and nodded in satisfaction.

The atmosphere had already grown as heavy as it could.

Eddie had no intention of hiding his changed atmosphere and attitude.

He didn't want to endure the disgust of putting on a smiling face after coming this far.

And most importantly, Eddie didn't have much time.

If he dragged things out with useless pleasantries, Marcel's mana maintaining the Tracker might run out.

So, Eddie neutralized the items in the room to signal that he wanted to get straight to the point, and fortunately, Sylvia and the man accepted his intention.

Sylvia spoke first.

“The purpose of creating this meeting is to discuss your future course of action. What are your plans for the future, Eddie?”

“There’s something you need to tell me first, Teacher Patman.”

“What is it?”

“Who is the person sitting next to you, and why is he sitting in front of me?”

“……”

“You said you would guide me to my new room, but it's filled with disguised surveillance items, and there's a strange man here. Wouldn't it be natural for me to be quite bewildered by this situation?”

Sylvia was momentarily at a loss for words at his soft but sharp remarks.

The man then let out a low laugh and stepped in on her behalf.

“You’re right. My introduction was late. My name is ‘Alta’. I am an old acquaintance of Lord Furas and the one who introduced Sylvia to the Kirhausen family.”

“…I see.”

Eddie’s eyes glinted sharply for an instant.

The man who introduced himself only by the name Alta, without a last name.

If his words were true, he was definitely the person he had seen in Sylvia’s memories.

The man in the green cape who had personally brought Sylvia to Shainborough.

In other words, a key figure in the external force that had joined hands with the current Kirhausen family.

Naturally, he became curious about what kind of position this person held.

‘Could this be the one they call ‘Teacher’?’

It was a plausible guess given the circumstances.

Eddie stared at Alta and threw a question.

“Then what business does someone like you have with me?”

“Haha- you are very cautious. It’s understandable, given the sudden appearance of an outsider. But I am here today on behalf of Lord Furas.”

So, in this place, my words are the Lord’s will.

Saying so, Alta subtly adopted a high-handed attitude.

It was pressure, telling a mere tail not to get cocky in front of the family head’s close associate.

However, Eddie did not shrink from it and retorted confidently.

“In that case, I should be having this conversation with you, Alta, not Teacher Patman.”

“…What?”

“You said you are representing the final decision-maker of Kirhausen. Then there’s no need for me to go through an intermediary.”

“…That’s right.”

“Then ask away. What the family head is curious about me.”

“……”

Eddie, who had completely seized the initiative of the conversation despite the pressure.

Alta was flustered and momentarily lost his composure.

Eddie knew the reason for his fluster well.

‘He probably intended to psychologically pressure me, confuse my mind with Insight, and then subdue me. To make me fall for mental manipulation without a chance to exert my power.’

And to do that, the person mainly conversing with Eddie had to be Sylvia.

But because the initiative of the conversation had passed to Eddie, that was no longer possible.

‘As expected, he’s no ordinary person.’

Alta thought, looking at Eddie.

Although he was momentarily flustered by Eddie’s momentum, he soon regained his composure.

He put on a relaxed, expressionless face again and asked Eddie.

“Are you willing to remain in Kirhausen as a subordinate?”

“No, I am not. I will be leaving Kirhausen as of today.”

“You are well aware that leaving like this is a betrayal, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I find that regrettable.”

“Then where do you plan to go after leaving? Do you intend to continue attending the academy?”

“I will no longer be Young Master Marcel’s tail, but yes. I will continue to attend the academy. As for where I will go… I don’t wish to say.”

“Your will seems firm. Even if your treatment at Kirhausen improves significantly, will your decision to leave remain unchanged?”

“Yes. It will not.”

It was a seemingly ordinary persuasion and pressure.

But Eddie was so bored he could have yawned.

So he prodded him openly.

“And you’ve been busy wrapping your power around me since a while ago. There’s no point in dragging this out, so if you’re going to do it, do it quickly. Mr. Sorcerer.”

“……!”

Startled, Alta’s pupils dilated and he held his breath.

A moment of silence descended.

And the next moment.

Alta’s incantation power, in the form of black smoke, revealed itself as it enveloped Eddie.

Whooooooosh-!

The black incantation power was erupting from Alta’s two hands.

As befitting a heretical sorcerer who had deeply researched the dark arts, the brightness of his incantation power was as low as it could be.

Whooooooooosh-!

The black smoke created a vortex, trapping Eddie.

The only thing visible in the churning darkness was a pair of brilliant, golden glowing eyes.

Alta felt a chill at the sight of the eyes that did not lose their light, but he steeled himself and drew upon his incantation power even more.

To activate the Well spell formula implanted inside Eddie.

‘I don’t know how you noticed, but it’s too late. The Well formula inside you is already reacting to my incantation power, suppressing your mana…….’

It was at that moment.

Alta’s black incantation power, which had been revolving around and trapping Eddie, stopped.

It was not Alta’s doing.

Feeling that something was wrong, Alta immediately called out to Sylvia.

“Sylvia!”

It was a call for her to hurry and disrupt Eddie’s mind with Insight to help him.

Sylvia’s eyes turned purple as she turned her head towards Eddie.

But Eddie’s hand was faster.

A golden mana bullet flickered from the finger he pointed at Sylvia.

‘This is……!’

By the time Alta and Sylvia sensed the danger, it was already too late.

Bang-!

The fired mana bullet struck Sylvia on the forehead.

Her head snapped back, and she tumbled down from the sofa.

Alta’s eyes widened in surprise at the situation that had unfolded in an instant.

Fortunately, Sylvia was not dead.

No, she had not lost her function.

He could tell because the pupils of her open, fallen eyes were still a brilliant purple.

He had given her just enough shock to lose consciousness without losing her function as a Homunculus.

And the fact that he had controlled the power of a mana bullet to that extent meant.

His incantation power was not suppressing Eddie at all.

“You… you bastard, how!”

Alta’s eyes became bloodshot.

The dark art he had just manifested was meant to restrict Eddie’s movements and activate the Well spell formula implanted in him.

But Eddie had extended his hand without any difficulty while enveloped in the incantation power.

Not only that, he had even fired a mana bullet with controlled power.

‘Could it be that this bastard knew how to use sorcery as well!’

He hastily guessed that was why his incantation power had gone out of his control and stopped moving.

“Ha… but… if that’s the case, it doesn’t make sense that you were affected by Well and Deer!”

In the end, the flustered Alta mentioned ‘Well and Deer’ with his own mouth.

And that sentence was clearly heard by Eddie, who had Tracker cast on him.

Grin.

A genuine smile spread across Eddie’s lips.

And at the same time, a new light flashed from within the black smoke, a light that was not from Eddie’s eyes.

That light came from the Oath Gem Clode hanging around Eddie’s neck.

The reason why the black incantation power that tried to restrict Eddie’s movements had been powerless from the start.

It was because of the mana essence of a magician who was a former sorcerer, residing in the Oath Gem Clode.

A heretical sorcerer who had dealt with dark arts much more deeply than Alta before becoming a disciple of Edmund von Kirhausen.

The incantation power of Gianni Monvero was protecting Eddie.

Eddie began to earnestly wield the incantation power of his former disciple.

Alta, thinking that Eddie could also use sorcery, hastily withdrew his power.

But it was already too late.

Kwaaaaaaa-!

The pitch-black incantation power of Gianni that erupted from the Oath Gem Clode instantly absorbed and dominated Alta’s.

“Ugh…!”

It was the same ‘Binding Spell’ that Alta had used to try and seal Eddie’s movements.

But its power was far greater than Alta’s.

Alta was enveloped in the black smoke and floated into the air.

He tried to somehow move his hand to send a signal to the magicians waiting outside.

But he couldn’t move an inch.

‘Damn… it!’

“It’s no use calling them, the magicians won’t come.”

“What, what are you talking about!?”

“They would have come already if they were going to. Have you forgotten? The family head is listening to this entire situation.”

“Then… don’t tell me……”

“Yes. It seems he has made his choice. Not to engage in a battle just to save you.”

“……!”

Alta’s bloodshot eyes turned towards the listening item on the wall.

As Eddie said, if the magicians were to be deployed, they should have been deployed long ago.

With such a commotion, the emergency situation would have been known even without shattering the Mana Gem to send a signal.

But the magicians were not deployed.

Nor did anyone come to deliver Furas' words or will.

Was it really as Eddie said, that he wouldn't use the 'all-out war' card just to save him alone?

He trembled with a sense of betrayal.

Alta glared at the listening item and exerted an extremely high level of concentration.

‘But I can’t just die quietly like this.’

The binding spell was tightening around his throat, but he could still speak.

“────────”

Alta vibrated his bloodshot throat and managed to mutter a single line of incantation.

Then, the two Homunculi who had been standing on one side of the room suddenly started rushing towards Eddie like mad.

“……!”

The two Homunculi rushed forward with bizarre movements, as if they were caught in a snare and being dragged.

After a moment of deliberation, Eddie finished tightening the noose around Alta’s neck.

And as soon as he lost consciousness, he used his mana to lift the limp body and threw it at the two charging Homunculi.

Crash-!

The Homunculi fell, hit by Alta’s body.

Eddie did not miss that moment and fired mana bullets, striking the heads of the two Homunculi.

However.

He failed to control the power for a moment, and the heads of the two Homunculi were pierced through.

“Ugh…”

With that, pain came.

Eddie clutched his left side and let out a small groan.

‘I did use a lot of power in a short period of time.’

Eddie’s mana consumption up to this point had been considerable.

The unique powers of the disciples residing in the Oath Gem Clode could be used through mana combination.

Mana combination consumed far more mana than using ordinary magic.

It was only natural.

For a magician to use power that didn’t fit their vessel, they had to pay a commensurate price.

Even now, Macloren’s summoning power was drawing a summoning circle.

Gianni’s sorcery power used to deal with Alta.

And Eddie’s own mana.

Having used all three of these powers in less than an hour, his mana circle was sending a signal to exercise self-restraint.

Any more than this was dangerous.

He might carelessly lose the mana initiative to Rakan’s claw.

But Eddie paid it no mind and approached Sylvia.

When he healed the shock from the mana bullet with a simple healing spell, Sylvia’s body twitched and reacted.

Sylvia slowly raised her fallen body.

While Sylvia was regaining consciousness, Eddie suppressed the pain and drew upon his mana again.

For the plan to succeed, it was now time to take a risk.

It was time for Rakan’s mana, which he had controlled to keep it from running wild, to now run wild.

And by now, enduring the pain was no big deal.

“Are you conscious? Teacher Patman.”

“What… what happened… Huk!”

Sylvia, who was looking around, discovered the fallen Alta and the two Homunculi.

‘I’ve been had!’

Grasping the situation, Sylvia immediately cast Insight on Eddie.

But that was exactly what Eddie had been waiting for.

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