The streets soaked in crimson blood.
A man stood alone, exhaling harsh breaths.
“Shit… Did they slather honey everywhere or what?”
Hertlocker wiped the blood from his dagger onto his shirt.
His fingers, sore from gripping the sword for too long, were swollen and red.
In times like this, he felt the urge to attach a comfortable wooden guard to his hand.
But since both the blade and the handle had to be made of a single element for mana disassembly, he had no choice but to endure the discomfort.
“They keep popping up endlessly. *Spit.*”
*Slosh, slosh.*
Hertlocker’s boots squished through the puddles of blood as he moved forward.
He had spent most of his time running away, only killing the reckless ones who dared to attack.
Can you believe they’re giving money to these nobodies to interfere with Schlus Hainkel?
It seems the client of this incident despises the institution just as much as Schlus Hainkel does.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t send these losers to block the way, knowing they’d be cut down with a single gesture from Schlus Hainkel.
“Hertlocker. Are you safe?”
A vibration from an artifact in his pocket disturbed the air.
It was a bit garbled, but he quickly recognized Eric’s voice.
“Yes. I’ve arrived at the barrier.”
Hertlocker lifted his head, looking up at the main entrance of an abandoned cathedral.
With his eyes tracking the flow of magical power, he could see complex spells engraved above the entrance.
The magnitude of the output matched the intensity of the magical waves emanating from it.
Clearly, someone was trying to hide something inside.
Unless it’s an ultra-special trap.
For now, there were no other hints.
Whether it was a trap or not, he had no choice but to confront it first.
He couldn’t waste any time; he had no idea what could happen to Emilia.
“I’ll break through.”
He reached out to touch the main door.
The flow of magical power became more precisely readable, but…
“*Tsk.*”
That was all.
Just interpreting that vast amount of information felt like his head might explode.
At this rate, it was impossible to figure out even the form of the barrier, let alone interpret it.
“Damn it!”
But he couldn’t just give up.
In fact, the difficulty in breaking through was a positive sign.
It meant the chances of Emilia being inside were high.
“Heh…!”
Whatever it took, he’d break through.
Even if it seemed impossible at first, once he tried striking it, it usually worked out.
Hertlocker had gone through that experience countless times.
Behind him, he wasn’t sure if a guardian spirit was present, but no matter how strong the opponent he faced, he always managed to win dramatically.
Things had been going wrong recently, but this time would be different.
It had to be different.
Because it involved his younger sister.
Whenever Emilia was involved, extraordinary strength emerged.
So this barrier should unravel smoothly, like magic…
“*Hah!*”
But it didn’t happen.
Suddenly overwhelmed by weakness, Hertlocker’s legs buckled, and he fell.
“Is it… Mana exhaustion?”
He felt no mana at all coursing through his body.
He had poured all his magical power into interpreting the spell.
No way, it didn’t make sense.
He still hadn’t interpreted even half of the barrier.
Did this mean there was truly no opportunity left?
Just as Hertlocker sank into despair, lost in thought…
“Hey, you punk. Are you trying to do this alone again?”
“…!”
A large hand rested on his shoulder.
Turning around, he saw Eric standing there, wearing a mocking grin.
It wasn’t just Eric.
A dozen agents from the intelligence agency had gathered around.
“What are you doing! If you all move at once, it heightens the risk of being caught by the Empire!”
“I was just going to help break the barrier and leave, you go in and rescue Emilia.”
“Y-you all…!”
“Shut it. We’ll take care of the thanks later.”
The agents all approached the main door, getting ready to act.
A barrier that absorbed all shock and magic.
To physically destroy it would require astronomical power, so the only real method left was to break the spell.
“I’ve interpreted a little under half. The location of the core is…”
With Hertlocker’s information relay, the operation began.
The agents divided their tasks among themselves, focusing on disrupting the flow of magical power, interpreting the core, then disassembling it.
They were comrades who had worked together on the battlefield for years.
Not a single drop of mana was wasted; every bit was utilized as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Just a bit longer.
A little more…
“*Guh!*”
“*Mana exhausted!*”
The agents collapsed onto the ground all at once.
Hertlocker, who had regained a bit of vitality by then, shot back to his feet.
The main door was still firmly shut.
He would need at least an hour for significant mana recovery…
The moment despair clouded Hertlocker’s face, Eric pushed the door lightly.
*Creeeak…*
“Go on, Hertlocker.”
“Director!”
The door opened effortlessly.
The barrier, which had just moments ago emitted enough magic waves to make his head spin, was no longer there.
He did it.
“Hurry inside!”
“Yes!”
At Eric’s urging, Hertlocker quickly stepped inside.
He had to find Emilia.
His beloved younger sister.
“Emilia! Emiliaaa!!!”
Sunlight streamed through the stained glass into the vast interior.
Hertlocker’s hollow cry echoed here and there.
In the dark cathedral, there was not a single trace of life.
“Hah…”
He couldn’t jump to conclusions yet.
Hertlocker lifted each chair to check underneath.
He searched even behind the altar.
He climbed up to the ceiling.
He even ripped up the floorboards in search.
But from anywhere, he couldn’t find Emilia, let alone any sign of a person.
“Don’t tell me this is happening. Please…”
A cross, split in half, lay on the ground.
Watching it, Hertlocker felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety wash over him.
It was an anxious feeling he wished to deny.
*
Adventurers had already approached close by.
Damn it. I have to jump off the roof.
*Thud!*
“Huh?”
He landed right in front of the old woman, who widened her eyes in surprise.
A pretty natural act.
“Jin, emergency request. Hide me and throw off those guys.”
“No, young man. What are you talking about…”
“Here’s some gold coins.”
*Clink.*
As he handed her a gold coin, the old woman’s expression changed immediately.
Then she spread the cloak she was wearing and began to swing it around.
“Seriously. Now you’re treating me like a lackey?”
Before he knew it, Jin had transformed into the pointed-eared elf she had shown before.
But that wasn’t the issue; he was in a hurry.
“Hurry up. Adventurers are chasing me.”
“Why are you being chased? Depending on the reason, I might not help.”
“I killed someone.”
“What? Not helping. I don’t want to ruin my career for no reason.”
“Jin!”
*Boom! Thud!*
A rumble emanated from behind.
He hurriedly turned to see, and sure enough, adventurers were swarming in.
This was the marketplace, surrounded by civilians.
He couldn’t use wide-range magic.
Damn it, how am I supposed to deal with adventurers now?
But he couldn’t just go willingly.
He prepared to draw Vafe, locking eyes with the apparent leader.
‘Huh?’
But the guy’s gaze shifted away.
As if he couldn’t see him.
“The scent cuts off here. *Tsk…*”
“What?”
What the hell.
Only now did he realize.
There was a barrier spread around him.
It was so intricately concealed that unless you were aware of it and scrutinized it closely, it was barely visible.
“*Sniff, sniff.* Indeed, the scent is quite strong.”
“What…”
As a voice came from near the nape of his neck, chills ran down his spine.
He shoved Jin away to distance himself.
The realization that he could trap him inside the barrier scared him a bit.
“But it’s not particularly unpleasant.”
“Quit joking.”
“Hehe. I’m serious.”
Earlier, the sight of him gnashing his teeth seemed to be a thing of the past, now that he was relaxed after saving him.
Jin casually spun the gold coin…
He truly found it irritating.
“Don’t worry, citizens! We’re adventurers!”
“We’ll briefly commence a search for your safety!”
“Is there anything more you wish to say? In that case, it might be better to change locations.”
The adventurers pointed toward the busy marketplace.
Even though Jin’s barrier wouldn’t be easily discovered, changing locations felt safer.
After quite the walk, they arrived in the plaza.
It was normally a crowded place, but today, thanks to the chaos, not a single shadow was in sight.
Gradually, the barrier completely vanished.
“Anyone who could take on dozens of adventurers just to avert a crisis certainly wouldn’t hand out gold for nothing. What’s the real issue here?”
“….”
Jin chewed on the gold coin while muttering.
Truth be told, this gold was just a way to escape a predicament.
He had given it as he had no silver or copper coins in his pockets.
But if she thought that the price for casting a barrier was too high…
Then he could make her work a bit more for it.
“Do you know who’s behind this commotion?”
“Huh? A commotion? In the heart of the Empire’s institution?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
Jin, who also acted as an informant, must know the underlying details of this event.
He must have been aware from the planning stages.
Whatever crow received the request, virtually all information ends up flowing to Jin.
“Well, I think one gold coin won’t cut it for that information.”
“Three coins.”
“No, five coins.”
“….”
Is she insane or what?
But he didn’t have the luxury to negotiate, given the urgent situation.
“Fine. Five coins.”
“Oh right! You don’t get discounts. I should’ve said ten!”
“Hurry up and give me the information. Who’s behind it?”
“Umm… even so, I can’t divulge info about the requester. Even if it’s someone else’s order.”
Security is ridiculously tight.
She genuinely knows more than Henderson, that crow.
“Then tell me about the crow that took the job.”
“It’s someone you know well.”
“What?”
“Who else could bear a grudge against you and kidnap your attendant? It has to be Kinghart.”
“….”
What the hell is she babbling about?
“I don’t know what you talked about when you met, but it seems they’re quite angry. They outright decided to kidnap your attendant. I hear the request was put up for auction. Kinghart took the job, saying they would receive the least compensation. It seems…”
“….”
“Uh-oh. Did I hit a nerve?”
Jin, who had been quietly observing Hertlocker’s face, noticed something uncanny and grinned.
It was her version of a gamble.
She was confident that the relationship between him and Hertlocker was bad enough to take such a risk.
But there was one fact she didn’t know.
That was, being kidnapped, his attendant was Hertlocker’s younger sister.
“You know well.”
“….”
Honestly, suspicions had already crossed his mind.
But just then.
At the moment she tried to deceive him, it all became clear.
Emilia had been taken by Jin.
“Did the request include killing me too?”
“Ahaha… sorry, that’s classified!”
“…!”
In that instant, Jin vanished into thin air.
It wasn’t teleportation or any such magic.
That kind of high-level magic didn’t exist in this world.
He was simply deceived.
‘Selection and Concentration. 1 second used on mana sensitivity.’
Before he knew it, he had been trapped in a barrier.
Activating the ability, his vision immediately cleared, revealing the flow of magical power surrounding him.
It was tough to perceive, but the barrier itself was simple enough to dismantle quickly.
“Whoa?!”
He spotted Jin fleeing in the distance.
Just as he was about to rush forward to give chase…
“You’ve set up a lot of tricks.”
He nearly exclaimed.
Even using ‘Insight,’ the information he picked up from the back of his head yielded nothing.
That wasn’t Jin; it was a projected image created by magic.
He quickly realized that this place was even within a barrier.
A barrier within a barrier.
He couldn’t decipher how many layers of barriers trapped him.
All he knew was what he had to do.
Break the barrier, and break it again.
Using ‘Selection and Concentration’ for another second, he continued to tear through the barrier.
Each time, Jin attempted to make him comprehend that world as reality, but it was futile.
He could see the flow of magic clearly now.
“How the hell…?!”
This refreshing air.
And the endless sky, where he couldn’t feel a single trace of magical flow.
It was unmistakable.
This was reality.
“How did you break out of that?!”
Jin, who couldn’t run far, stumbled and fell backward.
Was it due to her so-called poor physical ability?
Her calf muscles trembled, as if they were cramping.
Surely, no one had ever been able to contain him after draining all their mana.
[ Jin ]
[ Real Name: Jane Watson ]
[ Gender: Female ]
[ Member of the Crow. Skilled in disguise. Inside there… ]
Just to check, he confirmed it; it was indeed Jin.
“Crow Jin. If you don’t want to die, spill your client.”
“…!”
Turning the internal circuit, he pulled out Vafe and aimed it at Jin’s face.
The sizzling blade pressed up close, and Jin trembled but replied,
“Hehe. You idiot? If I tell you my client, I’d get hunted down and killed by the crows. Why would I say that?”
She was laughing in his face.
Even when death loomed over her, she remained so relaxed.
Did she believe he wouldn’t be able to kill her?
“No matter what, it’s between you and me. I’ll keep quiet if you tell me right now.”
“Even so, information about the client is off-limits.”
“….”
“If you really want, I can tell you what happened to your attendant.”
“Tell me! Now!”
“I’ll show you. Just a moment…”
Jin reached out, weaving a spell.
It was a spell to summon an image from somewhere.
He could have dismantled it, but he let it be.
Soon, a small hologram floated in the air.
“This is your attendant.”
“…!”
It was Emilia.
The quality wasn’t great, but it was clearly Emilia, with her hands bound and her mouth taped.
Her hair was a mess, and her face was bruised, making her condition a wreck, but at least it offered some relief.
However, that relief turned into despair when—
“Huh?”
As the image began to zoom out.
Below Emilia’s waist,
There was nothing that should be there.
It should have continued down.
Instead, what filled the space was crimson blood.
…And her entrails, swirling around chaotically.
*Thud.*
As Jin’s mana drained, the image cut out.
