Chapter : 161

“Descendant of the Hero! Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Haha! Lucian almost lost his temper at the noble who approached him with a hearty laugh.

Patience, patience. The other person was just a noble who didn’t know anything.

Although he probably wasn’t trying to intentionally bother Lucian, there was no helping his own impatience.

In a situation where he didn’t know what had happened to Theo, it wouldn’t be enough to rush to the Emperor and ask for help, but nobles kept striking up conversations with Lucian.

“I am on my way to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

It was the common opinion of Lerwon, Zephyros, and Theo that it was best to avoid conflict with the nobles as much as possible.

Even Lucian, who didn’t know much, had to agree that it was better not to make enemies.

But in this urgent situation, did he really have to be friendly to people he was meeting for the first time?

The noble, not even noticing Lucian’s gaze gradually turning cold, rambled on and on.

‘I can’t be held up like this, even if it means making an enemy!’

Just as he was about to express a clear refusal, someone grabbed Lucian’s shoulder.

The Emperor of the Empire, Leonald Lapileon, smiled at the noble and asked.

“I’m sorry, but I believe you’ll have to lend me our hero for a moment.”

“Y-Your Majesty the Emperor!”

The noble, who had been boasting about how his family had made great contributions to spreading the hero’s achievements since the time of his ancestors, hurriedly bowed his head and then fled without looking back.

“For someone who blocked the hero’s path, he lacks courage.”

Tsk, Leonald clicked his tongue lightly and cleared his throat in front of Lucian.

“Were you looking for me, Lucian?”

In truth, while asking this question, Leonald didn’t really expect a positive answer.

Lucian was clearly uncomfortable with Leonald, and whenever Leonald made a joke, he would always remain silent.

Lucian’s feelings were so transparent it was almost refreshing. If he hadn’t sincerely respected the hero, he might have teased him about that part.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

That’s why Lucian’s answer was all the more surprising.

He never thought he would actually agree. Leonald cleared his throat for a moment before looking at Lucian.

It seemed something unusual had happened.

“What is the reason?”

“By any chance, have you seen Theo since the party started?”

At that question, the Emperor made a slightly ambiguous expression.

He thought no one would have noticed since he was surrounded by people, but had he really been seen having a private conversation?

He had put in a lot of effort, even using perception-distorting magic, but was this the power of the owner of the Holy Sword, which possessed the power to break magic?

“Yes, we had a brief conversation.”

It wasn’t actually a brief conversation, but Theo would have had the sense not to say anything direct.

“Do you happen to remember when it was? And have you seen him since then?”

He had spoken directly with the Emperor! Lucian, having found Theo’s last trace, showed an openly welcoming expression.

At his appearance, Leonald could easily guess that something had happened to Theo.

The feeling that came with the realization was displeasure. Who dared to harm an invited guest at the Emperor’s party?

“No, I haven’t seen him since our conversation. I confirmed that he went outside, so I will ask the royal guards about it.”

“Is that possible?”

“I would appreciate it if you did not forget that the person standing before you is the Emperor of the Empire.”

Leonald gave a confident smile.

At that sight, Lucian felt a sincere sense of relief.

This was a confident proclamation from none other than the Emperor. There was no reason not to be relieved.

“I will have it figured out and let you know within the hour. So in the meantime, it would be better for Lucian to get some rest.”

“It’s alright. I’ll look around and search for him myself.”

It seemed that actively moving and searching was more suited to Lucian’s personality than just waiting anxiously.

Besides, he might discover some other crucial clue while walking around.

“Just your promise to help is enough.”

“You could rely on me a little more, you know.”

Leonald made a disappointed face, but decided to leave it at that. Anything more would become a demand.

“30 minutes should be enough, so let’s meet here again at that time.”

“I am truly grateful, Your Majesty.”

After expressing his thanks, Lucian immediately ran off without looking back.

To be envious of that friendship would surely be an overindulgence.

He was the Emperor, and freedom was not permitted for one who reigned on high.

Well then, shall I make a move to grant the hero’s first request? The Emperor strode off in the opposite direction of Lucian.

* * *

Even with the Emperor’s help, his anxiety did not easily disappear, but rather took root deep in his heart and only fueled his worries.

It’ll be okay, it’s fine, there’s no problem. Even as he comforted himself, the anxiety crept up.

Once he returned to the mansion, there would be a way to contact Evan.

For some reason, he had a premonition that it might be related to the Master of Gold.

Although he hadn’t explained the detailed reason, Theo had always been wary of her.

In that case, it would be right to suspect that side as the culprit.

Lucian clenched his right fist, where the Holy Sword was engraved, and was about to immediately meet the Emperor to inform him that he was returning to the Lisitoel mansion.

“Stop, Hero.”

If it weren’t for a certain ‘man’ who had spoken to him, Lucian would have moved on without hesitation.

The man who had spoken to him was someone Lucian had seen once before.

“The fake Master of Gold.”

The Master of Gold’s stand-in and her faithful subordinate.

And also, a person who it wouldn’t be strange to see invited to a party at the Imperial Palace.

After all, the Master of Gold was the Emperor’s benefactor who had helped greatly in restoring the Empire that had suffered under a tyrant.

It wouldn’t be strange for her to receive an invitation from the Emperor, and she would have the wealth to obtain an invitation to any party in the Empire. That’s why she was the ‘Master of Gold’.

“Why?”

But this meeting was unnatural. The words telling him to stop were also strange.

There could only be one reason.

“So the Master of Gold did take Theo.”

Why? The first thing that came to mind was her objective.

But was that important? The reason would be revealed once he defeated his opponent anyway.

In an instant, Lucian’s demeanor changed.

Seeing this, Mordegar had to try very hard not to laugh.

“I shall give the Descendant of the Hero an advantage.”

From his grasp, a complex magic formula, so intricate it made one’s head ache just to look at it, shimmered and disappeared.

At the same time, Lucian could feel the air here had changed.

Mordegar had isolated this place from normal space.

“No intruders will come.”

Mordegar had to fight while maintaining the spatial magic, so this was clearly an advantage for Lucian.

Which meant it was a penalty for Mordegar.

“I will gladly accept.”

The opponent was a direct subordinate of Golden. It would not be easy to win with just this much of an advantage.

But, he would fight.

To find out the reason.

To save Theo!

“!”

The moment the light of the Holy Sword flashed, Mordegar immediately launched spheres and arrows of fire, burning like the flames of hell, at Lucian.

All magic in the world is made of mana and magic formulas.

If magic were a doll, the magic formula would be the doll’s cloth, and mana would be the stuffing that fills the doll.

Just as dolls have different shapes, all magic has a form.

Also, in the case of elemental magic, its appearance has a great influence.

An arrow shape is fast, a sword shape has a strong impact. A sphere with no particular shape has a speed and strength in between.

So if you were to ask a mage which one is stronger—

“Using both at the same time is the strongest.”

That’s what Theo, who had personally taught him magic, had said.

You could think of it as drawing a circle with one hand and a triangle with the other.

However, while it would be nice if it were just drawing circles or triangles, a magic circle is several times more complex.

Moreover, if the flow of mana is distorted, the magic won’t even activate properly, so the actual difficulty is dozens of times higher, and for high-level magic, it becomes hundreds, even thousands of times more difficult.

It is something that requires a lot of mental strength from a mage.

However, the advantages are just as clear.

“It becomes difficult to deal with.”

The speed at which the sphere and arrow fly is different.

Dealing with irregularly flying magic was a difficult task unless one just foolishly blocked them all with defensive magic.

Lucian moved his body nimbly and negated them with the Holy Sword.

After cutting down the last sphere that was aiming for his arm, Lucian quickly charged towards Mordegar.

“Such speed.”

It was a speed like an arrow being shot, but Mordegar was not flustered.

Responding to this level of speed was within the scope of his predictions.

He threw a potion made through alchemy from his waist at Lucian.

Lucian immediately ducked his body to avoid the alchemy potion.

Cutting it with his sword was also an option. The fact that he didn’t meant—

“It seems you’ve learned how to deal with an alchemist.”

Mordegar muttered.

The one who taught him that method must have been Lerwon. What a troublesome thing he did.

However, that was only for dealing with run-of-the-mill alchemists.

Mordegar, like Lerwon, was an alchemist personally trained by Iris Viden.

He couldn’t be stopped with just that.

Snap!

With the crisp sound of his index and middle fingers snapping together, a fine crack appeared.

The potion that had grazed past Lucian’s head exploded, and the potion in the bottle instantly vaporized, creating a smoke screen.

At the smoke that spread in an instant, Lucian held his breath and chose to break through.

Before the sword of Lucian, who had pierced through the smoke screen, could reach him, Mordegar took two light steps back, and black lightning gathered at his fingertips, forming a shape.

A bird of lightning that appeared in an instant was shot at Lucian.

I’ll cut it down completely with the Holy Sword!

Stopping his speed, Lucian gathered the strength in his legs and slowly cut it down with his sword.

The holy sword cut down the magic, and cut it down again.

The moment he cut down the last bird of lightning, residual lightning grazed his wrist.

“Ugh!”

A small bolt of lightning instantly stimulated the muscles in his arm, causing a spasm.

For a moment, the strength in the hand holding the sword almost gave out, but Lucian instead gripped the sword firmly and cut down the bird of lightning that had flown in late.

“Hoo….”

Seeing Lucian breathing deeply and looking straight at him, Mordegar was so dumbfounded that he let his lips relax.

The hero he had cornered at the Golden’s mansion was much weaker than this.

No matter how much training he received at the Academy and how much real combat he experienced, could he grow this much in an instant?

“Is it the hero’s blessing?”

Or, was it the work of someone who was supposed to be locked in prison?

Whichever it was, it seemed he would have to find out for sure.

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