Chapter 70: Hostage Crisis (3)

I glanced outside and let out a dumbfounded laugh.

That bastard Allen was shouting at the top of his lungs, telling everyone to find me.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“How come we can’t do something about that guy?”

Karina, who was following me, turned her eyes in the same direction.

“Like, get him expelled from the Magic Tower, strip him of his status, or ostracize him. Can’t we do something?”

“Why? He’s doing just fine.”

“…What? That guy?”

I stared at Karina in disbelief.

“That’s doing fine?”

“It’s a reasonable and rational judgment for a mage, isn’t it? Max Wagner and ten hostages versus one Gerard. Anyone would see sacrificing you as the logical choice, no?”

I stared at her intently, wondering if she was serious.

‘Oh. She’s serious….’

I started to wonder if all mages were just a bunch of lunatics.

Whether they were smart or not, they were endlessly selfish and lacked any sense of normalcy.

Every mage I’d met so far was like that.

A madhouse and the daughter of the king of that madhouse was standing right next to me.

‘By the way, if they knew Karina was here, all hell would break loose.’

With the Wagner Marquis family acting like that, if they knew Karina was trapped here, they’d probably smash the barrier without a care for the hostages.

My judgment was spot-on, as always.

Patting myself on the back, I stuck a scroll on the wall in front of me.

With that, the final scroll was in place.

“Done?”

“Yeah.”

I turned to Karina.

“From now on, your role is the most important. Got it? If you get caught, we’re screwed. Trigger the scrolls to seal off the second floor. Be the bait. Just draw their attention properly, and don’t get greedy. Okay?”

“You think I can’t handle something that simple?”

Yeah, I do.

“Wanna die? Fix that face, now. Or I’ll trigger the scrolls myself.”

I quickly corrected my expression.

The little princess of the lunatic brigade was more than capable of doing just that.

“You just do your part.”

With that, Karina pulled a stiletto dagger from her cloak and handed it to me.

The stiletto dagger was standard self-defense gear for mages.

I had to use it to infiltrate from the rooftop.

‘I could use my own dagger, but that might give away that I’m a thief.’

So, I headed to the rooftop.

As I climbed, I opened a subspace, pulled out a rope, and tied it to the handle of the stiletto dagger.

Clunk!

When I opened the door and stepped onto the rooftop, countless stars poured down over my head.

Whoooosh…

The night had already fallen, cloaked in darkness and into that sacred realm, red flames intruded.

BOOOOM!

‘It’s started.’

I shed my outer coat and moved my sword from my waist to my back.

After securing it tightly, I gripped the rope firmly.

And then I ran.

Tap tap tap!

The world flipped.

From black to red.

“Intruder!”

“That’s Karina Zain! Grab her!”

“Damn it, the flames… put out the flames first!”

As I entered the lecture hall through the window, the Dark Clerics were already in chaos.

The sudden explosion and the flames that sealed off the lecture hall.

“I’m Karina Zain! Come at me!”

And then there was Karina, appearing out of nowhere.

Because of her, no one was paying attention to me.

‘A bit sloppy, but she’s doing well enough.’

Karina Zain was a walking aggro magnet just by existing.

That’s why I used her as bait.

‘I’ll leave that side to Karina.’

As soon as I entered, I quickly scanned the surroundings.

The number and positions of the hostages.

The number and positions of the enemies, the state of the lecture hall, and its internal structure—I crammed every detail into my head without discrimination.

“Contact the guys on the first floor. Tell them to come up and flank that girl!”

A particularly large cleric caught my eye.

Even from behind, his presence was the strongest among the group.

His voice sounded familiar too.

‘That’s Sabo.’

I moved cautiously, keeping Sabo in my peripheral vision.

Not far away, I saw the final piece needed to complete this plan, lying on the ground.

He was looking at me, his eyes gleaming.

At the same time, I recalled my earlier conversation with Karina.

When I explained the entire plan, she seemed worried and asked:

“Why not just safely contact the professors outside?”

“No way. The professors would have to break the barrier to get in, and that would alert the enemies. The hostages would be in danger.”

There was actually one way.

My dagger, imbued with barrier nullification.

With it, I could slice through the barrier unnoticed and let the professors pass through.

But that was too risky for me.

I’d have to explain the dagger’s existence to the professors later and convince them, which could end up biting me in the ass.

“Then it’s just the two of us?”

“No, we’ll call for reinforcements.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? You just said we can’t.”

“I said we can’t call from outside the barrier. But there are people inside.”

The hostages.

They might be captured now, but they were still cadets of the 889th Psychology Department of Frey Heroes Academy.

Each one was at least a 3rd-circle mage.

Among them, Bain Winter, the top student of the 889th Psychology Department, was a 4th-circle mage, just like Karina.

“But there’s no one useful, right?”

Of course, in her eyes, they were all beneath her.

“There is. Bain Winter.”

“Bain Winter…? Who’s that?”

Let’s not even go there.

“Oh, I remember. The second-year Psychology Department top student, right?”

“Yeah. But there’s someone we need to save first. He’s the key to this plan. The core strength.”

His name was Max Wagner.

The man right in front of me.

“…”

I had already reached him.

Karina was still drawing aggro, and all I had to do now was untie his ropes and remove his gag.

That’s when it happened.

“There! The flames are weakening… huh?”

My eyes met with one of the Dark Clerics.

‘Oh, shit.’

I leaped forward quickly.

“There’s another intruder!”

“Stop him!”

The nearby clerics rushed toward me.

I drew my sword and swung.

Toward Max Wagner.

Slash!

The gag covering Max’s mouth was cut in half.

“Max! Summon!”

I shouted, blocking the clerics charging at me.

From behind, I heard Max muttering.

“Answer my call, Narvik.”

At that moment, a pillar of sand shot up from the floor.

Emerging from it was a humanoid figure.

“Argh!”

One startled Dark Cleric swung a black sword at it, but the blade passed through the sand harmlessly.

It was Narvik, the divine beast of the great desert.

A creature with the head of a dog, the body of a human, eagle wings, and a snake’s tail.

Thud!

The Dark Cleric’s head exploded.

In the blink of an eye, time seemed to freeze around us.

A heavy silence descended.

The battle stopped, and the Dark Clerics alternated between looking at their headless comrade and the suddenly appeared Narvik, their eyes slowly filling with murderous intent.

That’s when it happened.

A piercing laugh filled the space.

“Ki hahahaha!”

I turned my head.

Sabo was laughing, staring at us.

‘Is he insane?’

He certainly looked it.

“Oh, sorry. I got too excited.”

“…”

“Are you Gerard?”

“So what?”

“I knew it.”

Nodding, Sabo gave an order.

“No need for the hostages anymore, right? Kill them all.”

Instantly, the clerics scattered in all directions.

To kill the still-bound hostages.

“Narvik!”

[I know.]

But we had Max and the divine beast of the great desert.

[Mirage Flower].

The black swords aimed at the cadets suddenly turned toward their own allies.

“Die!”

“Drop dead!”

A massacre of friend against friend unfolded before my eyes.

This was exactly why I freed Max Wagner first.

With this, the situation was over.

‘The professors should be breaking the barrier and entering the first floor by now.’

All I had to do was sit back and wait for the praise.

I untied Max’s restraints.

“Thank you for the help, Senior Gerard.”

“Save the thanks for later and free your classmates first.”

“What? But that guy…”

Max’s eyes turned to behind me.

There was Sabo, still wearing a sinister smile.

Amid the chaos, he was maintaining his composure.

“What’s with him? Why’s he fine?”

Narvik answered for me.

[It doesn’t work on him. A spiritual entity residing in his body is protecting him.]

“A parasite? A spiritual entity?”

[Born from the condensed malice and killing intent of humans. I don’t know more than that.]

Sacred Sabo.

In ‘Frey,’ he was only mentioned by name, so I didn’t know what powers or abilities he used.

This was my first time facing him.

Well, at best, he’s probably high-priest level, I thought, raising my sword.

“I’ll take him.”

Since I started this, it was only right that I finished it.

I approached Sabo, sword in hand.

We faced off.

But he didn’t draw his weapon.

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm?”

“Not gonna draw your sword? Giving up? Just so you know, it’s better to die by my hand now. If you get captured, what’s waiting for you is a hell worse than death.”

Sabo covered his face with his hand, chuckling.

“My goal was always you, Gerard.”

A chill ran down my spine.

An inexplicable sense of unease crawled up my back.

“If you die, I have no regrets.”

Yeah.

This feeling, which I hadn’t felt in a while, was [Instinct].

[Instinct] was screaming.

Danger.

And the source of that instinctive warning was Sabo’s hand.

In Sabo’s hand was a rope.

A familiar rope.

At its end was a familiar stiletto dagger.

And Sabo was holding it upside down.

“Die well, Gerard.”

Sabo plunged the stiletto dagger into his own heart.

“…!”

At that bizarre act, I stood frozen, sword in hand, blinking.

‘What? What just happened?’

I wasn’t the only one shocked.

Max Wagner, glancing over while freeing his classmates.

The 889th cadets, helping Narvik deal with the remaining Dark Clerics after being freed.

The professors, who had just finished clearing the first floor, came up.

Everyone was stunned.

And I stood still in front of Sabo’s lifeless body.

Realizing something was terribly wrong.

There was no hesitation in his “die well” act.

His eyes, looking at me, were filled with unwavering certainty.

Certainty that I would die.

‘Why?’

Then my eyes fell on the stiletto dagger lodged in his heart.

“Karina!”

I turned around.

“Snap out of it, Karina!”

I saw Manager Baron and Department Head Allen.

Below them, Karina had collapsed.

I rushed to her side.

“M-Manager Baron? Why is Karina…?”

“I don’t know! She just… suddenly collapsed!”

“Damn it, magic isn’t working! What the hell is going on!”

Allen frantically tried casting healing magic on her, but Karina’s body was turning black and stiffening.

A sudden premonition hit me.

‘No way…’

Narvik, who had approached, confirmed my fear.

[It’s the Curse of Blood.]

My body trembled as if struck by lightning.

The Curse of Blood.

The culprit, of course, was Sabo.

“A c-curse?”

“Oh, my God.”

“If it’s a curse, then Karina…”

The professors couldn’t finish their sentences.

If it was a curse, no one here could solve it.

Only one person could.

Professor Ilai.

“Professor Ilai! Where is she right now!”

But she wasn’t here.

“What do we do?! Professor Ilai is at the cathedral at this hour…!”

“Damn it! The cathedral’s in the East Gate District! That’s too far… Wait, Gerard, you bastard! Get back here!”

“Gerard!”

Without thinking, my body moved first.

I immediately scooped Karina up and sprinted at full speed.

I ignored the furious shouts of Allen and Baron’s cries behind me.

Every second counted.

There was no time to hesitate.

Karina was dying, and no one there could save her.

Not even the Magic Corps or the Central Knights.

The only way to save her was to get her to the cathedral.

And the fastest person here was me.

[Dark Sprint].

Black mist enveloped my lower body.

Whoosh!

The cathedral in the East Gate District.

Even by carriage, it was a 20-minute journey.

So, as soon as I entered Icata, I unhesitatingly climbed a stone wall and leaped onto a building’s roof.

Tap!

What I needed now wasn’t a path blessed by the sun and life.

It was the path of thieves, guarded by the moon and night.

I jumped from building to building, recklessly.

My breathing grew ragged, my mana twisted.

My pounding heart protested with pain.

Still, I maintained [Dark Sprint] and ran.

‘Please. Just a little more.’

Karina Zain, a character essential for the ending.

She absolutely couldn’t die here.

…That wasn’t what I was thinking.

Karina took the hit for me.

If I hadn’t borrowed that stiletto dagger, this wouldn’t have happened.

With [Star’s Blessing], I was immune to curses anyway, damn it. That made me feel even worse.

“Ugh! Damn it. Damn it.”

I don’t know how much time passed.

I couldn’t tell how Karina, slung over my back, was doing.

I just ran mindlessly, and at some point, it felt like the world and I were separating.

From then on, my body didn’t feel like my own.

The wind brushing my face was gone.

The sound of my thundering heartbeat and ragged breathing vanished.

The sensation of my feet hitting the rooftops disappeared, as did the movement of my leg muscles and the flow of mana through my mana circuits.

In the end, everything vanished.

Darkness.

All that existed here was it and my consciousness, sprinting through it.

It felt like running through a pitch-black tunnel where not a single ray of light was allowed.

“…Gerard?”

And then, I saw a light ahead.

“Gerard! What’s going on…!”

The darkness faded.

As if slowly yielding to the light.

The void left by the darkness was filled with radiant light.

“What’s happening!?”

Before I knew it, Professor Ilai was standing in front of me.

And then I lost consciousness.

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