Chapter 125

“It’s more chaotic than I imagined.”

Ever since we stepped into Zone 2, quite some time has passed, yet Ivella’s furrowed brow showed no signs of relaxing.

The reason was simple.

Delia was glued to Ulan, not letting go of his hand.

“…Delia.”

“What, again?”

“Are you really that clueless?”

Her eyes sparkled like fire.

Ivella prodded.

“How long are you planning to do this?”

“Until I figure out the identity of the smoke.”

“So when’s that exactly?! It’s been thirty minutes already; why can’t you find it yet?!”

“Well, Zone 3 is expansive.”

Simple and straightforward response.

Then she quickly turned her head away.

“Now, don’t talk to me. It’s annoying.”

“…”

Ivella made an exasperated face.

She wanted to pull them apart, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. That would mean interrupting Ulan.

In this impossible situation.

Noa chuckled awkwardly.

‘Well, the penalty effect is really kicking in.’

Ivella had two penalties: jealousy and lack of understanding.

These penalties had rarely activated in the original story, but now, with the conditions just right, they were fully functioning.

Maybe that’s why?

Ivella was missing something.

‘If she thought just a bit cooler…’

She could easily realize that Delia didn’t need to be holding Ulan’s hand at all.

Currently, Delia was moving on her own with her own will, chatting with Ivella, and even maintaining magic.

In other words, letting go of his hand wouldn’t mean losing control of her magic. But Ivella didn’t catch on.

‘Must be her jealousy clouding her judgment.’

Noa clicked her tongue.

Of course, it could be solved if she hinted at this fact, but she had no intention of doing so. That would just earn Delia’s ire.

So, she planned to leave it as is.

After all, it was easier this way.

‘But what about Ivella?’

Why was she acting like that?

Noa caught sight of Laurea, who was wearing a distinctly displeased expression.

Her gaze towards Delia oddly resembled Ivella’s. This led to a natural thought.

‘Could she also have feelings for Ulan?’

This sudden speculation crossed her mind.

But Noa shook her head quickly.

‘No, that can’t be.’

The reason was simple.

It was due to Laurea’s penalty of having a ‘middle-aged preference.’ As long as this penalty existed, she would never develop feelings for someone her age.

‘Ulan is younger, after all.’

This meant there was no possibility of anything happening.

But then, why was she reacting like that?

As Noa puzzled over this, the guiding professor halted.

“We’ve arrived.”

At the edge of Zone 2, right at the boundary leading to Zone 3. They had reached their final destination.

After a brief pause to clear his throat,

the professor immediately began his explanation.

“That place is where the Abyssal Rift opens.”

“Hmm, that’s right there…”

“And the entire surrounding area was a battlefield against monsters. We’ve intentionally left it untouched for preservation.”

“It certainly looks like it.”

Count Dermore nodded in agreement. Other mages from the research team mirrored him.

“Wow, what a massive mark.”

“The terrain has completely changed.”

“The battle must have been quite fierce.”

“Well, even Sir Gorfant mentioned he faced serious challenges.”

The mages exchanged remarks with one another.

They all gazed at the place where Ulan had fought the Frost Dragon.

After sharing a brief moment of admiration,

“Now, let’s begin the investigation.”

The thorough examination kicked off.

Each mage hustled to handle their assigned tasks, and the students of Eloden Academy were no exception.

Meanwhile, Ulan’s group was an exception.

For understandable reasons. Ulan’s ultimate goal wasn’t investigation, but to find the Twin Axes.

‘However, right now…’

There’s something more urgent on the agenda.

To uncover the identity of the black smoke I had witnessed beyond the fog. The more I thought about it, the more unsettling I felt.

‘Just a little longer to wait.’

Delia had already exceeded thirty minutes using the Eye of the Observer. Soon, she should be able to confirm what was beyond the fog.

Ulan remained steadfast, waiting patiently.

On the other hand, Delia’s thoughts were different.

‘I want to stay like this forever.’

To her, the moment of holding hands with Ulan was far more important than uncovering the mysterious smoke.

Thus, even knowing Ulan’s goal, she subconsciously hoped the smoke’s identity would remain a mystery.

‘If it gets revealed…’

Ulan would let go of her hand.

This thought brought a wave of disappointment and emptiness washing over her. At the same time, it made her feel oddly forlorn, prompting her to grip tighter onto his hand.

As if to say she would never let go.

‘I wish they wouldn’t find it.’

That way, she could maintain the façade of holding on to Ulan’s hand under the pretense of keeping the magic active. As she felt the warmth of his palm, Delia hoped silently.

But that didn’t last long.

“Huh?”

Delia blinked her left eye. This was the eye sharing sight with the Eye of the Observer.

“That is…”

In an instant, something captured her attention.

It was the sight of black smoke shooting up into the sky like mad! The same ominous black smoke Ulan had felt uneasy about earlier.

“Found it?”

Just then, Ulan asked.

Surprisingly, while his usual perception was severely lacking, he was quick to catch on to this.

Delia pouted. However, that was just for a moment; she soon answered affirmatively.

“Yes, I found where the smoke is coming from.”

“Where?”

“At the edge of Zone 3. It seems to border Zone 4.”

The words spilled out smoothly.

However, Ulan wasn’t the only one who was listening intently. Ivella, Noa, and Laurea also seemed intrigued and moved closer.

“Do you see anything else?”

“Um, the smoke is dense… Oh!”

Delia’s eyes widened.

As if she had discovered something extraordinary.

“There’s a magic circle drawn on the ground.”

“A magic circle?”

Delia nodded.

She then proceeded to explain what she had observed.

How the source of the black smoke was the magic circle drawn on the ground and how the smoke billowed upwards, gathering like clouds.

Ulan’s gaze narrowed.

“It’s clearly not ordinary smoke.”

In general, smoke tends to dissipate into the air.

At that moment, Ivella curiously asked.

“Do magic circles just appear on their own?”

“No, they don’t occur naturally.”

“Then that means…”

There’s someone who drew the magic circle.

Everyone’s mind traced the same thought.

“Is there any other clue?”

“I’ll get a bit closer.”

If I close the distance, I might see something.

Delia immediately focused on moving the Eye of the Observer. She aimed to shift lower to see the landscape near the magic circle.

After a while,

Delia’s eyes widened slightly.

“…A person?”

“What? A person?”

“Yes, there’s someone near the magic circle.”

A mage cloaked in ash-gray robes.

The reason she identified the person as a mage was that he was currently in the midst of casting a spell.

When Delia conveyed this to her group, Ivella tilted her head in suspicion.

“Isn’t it an illusion?”

“Illusion?”

“Yeah, they said from Zone 3, one might see illusions or hear voices.”

“That’s true. Besides, we are the first ones to enter the Source of Magic today, right?”

Laurea added her two cents.

Meanwhile, Delia shook her head.

“That’s not it.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Objects created by magic aren’t affected by illusions or hallucinations.”

A confident answer filling the air.

Noa nodded along, showing her agreement.

“So that means…”

“It means it’s a real person?”

With Ulan’s mumbling trailing off,

the expressions of the other group members hardened.

Putting together all the information they had gathered so far, it pointed to the mage in Zone 3 being an intruder.

But just then,

Delia’s expression stiffened.

“Just now, a spell was activated.”

This was in relation to the explanation that the mage had just completed casting.

Then, it was Noa who asked a question.

“Can you tell what kind of magic it is?”

“I don’t know. It’s a spell I’ve never seen before.”

Delia shook her head.

“But if you look closely at the incantation…”

She felt she could guess it to some extent.

Just as she was about to express this thought,

Delia clamped her mouth shut.

She realized there wasn’t any need to.

Because right after the incantation was complete, the magic the mage activated became clear.

“…Huh?”

A dazed voice slipped out.

Through the Eye of the Observer, she witnessed a grotesquely twisted space. And then the empty air suddenly tearing open.

Familiar phenomena. A well-known scene.

Her golden eyes went wide.

“Delia?”

On the other hand, Noa tilted her head in confusion.

She couldn’t comprehend why Delia had suddenly gone silent. And this was right on time.

Thanks to Noa’s prompt, Delia barely shook off her shock.

“Haaah.”

After several deep breaths,

she finally regained her composure.

And immediately spoke about what she had seen.

“Don’t be surprised, but listen.”

“What’s going on?”

“A rift has opened.”

“…What?”

“The Abyssal Rift has opened.”

This utterly unexpected revelation.

All eyes widened in shock.

“W-What does that mean?!”

“The Abyssal Rift opened? Right now?”

“Elaborate a little more!”

The trio shouted in panic.

However, Delia’s answer was nowhere to be found.

Instead, her complexion turned pale.

“…!?”

With the Abyssal Rift opening, the figure of the ash-gray-robed mage became visible. And it was a face Delia recognized.

“Diplyn…?”

Her voice trembled.

Then shock filled her golden eyes.

It was entirely understandable.

This mage was none other than Diplyn Cernio, her mentor who had taught her magic and the head of the Magic Department at Arsen Academy.

“Huh? The headmaster Diplyn?”

“Why is that name suddenly popping up?”

Laurea and Ivella’s words drifted past her ears as Delia widened her left eye.

She wanted to confirm whether she was seeing correctly.

But as she realized she wasn’t mistaken,

the apricot-colored hair, purple eyes, and pointed ears like Delia’s served as undeniable evidence.

“Why is Diplyn…?”

As her voice trembled, suddenly her expression froze.

“…!”

It was due to her making eye contact with Diplyn.

More precisely, the Eye of the Observer was detected.

Panicking, Delia hurriedly attempted to withdraw her magic. But at that moment, she felt a sharp pain in her left eye.

“Ack!”

A scream slipped out involuntarily.

What felt like a sharp object piercing her eye made Delia clutch her face and collapse.

Hot blood streamed down her cheek.

It was blood flowing from her left eye.

“D-Delia!”

“Step aside! I’ll heal her.”

Laurea quickly approached.

She covered Delia’s left eye with her palm, calmly reciting a prayer.

Whiiiiiing!

A pure white light enveloped the wound.

A moment later, the bleeding ceased, and the injury quickly healed. Thus, Delia’s pain-stricken expression returned to normal.

“…Thanks. I owe you my life.”

“No need for thanks. More importantly, what on earth just happened? Why was there suddenly blood from your eye…?”

“The Eye of the Observer broke.”

The Eye of the Observer shares both sight and sensation. Hence, when the eye breaks, the user experiences matching pain.

Once Delia finished explaining, she lowered her head as if feeling ashamed. With the Eye of the Observer broken, she wouldn’t be able to see Zone 3 anymore.

But nobody seemed to mind that.

What mattered was something else entirely.

“Did you just say Diplyn?”

“So you mean the mage casting spells in Zone 3 was Headmaster Diplyn?”

Returning to the original topic of their conversation,

Delia silently nodded her head.

In affirmation.

“So the one who destroyed the Eye of the Observer was…?”

“That’s right. It’s Diplyn.”

Just before the Eye of the Observer was shattered, the last thing she saw was the sight of an ice spear forged by Diplyn flying toward her.

With Delia’s acknowledgment, the atmosphere shifted coldly, like a bucket of ice water dumped over the scene.

“…”

High Mage, Diplyn Cernio.

She was not only the head of the Magic Department but also the administrator overseeing the Source of Magic.

It was exactly this reason why Teron, the student council president of Eloden, had gone to seek permission to enter Zone 2 from Diplyn.

With a title that high, she could easily traverse the Source of Magic without any visit records.

When all the information and clues gathered until now were pieced together, one conclusion emerged.

“Could it be that she was the one who opened the Abyssal Rift…?”

“So it’s that woman.”

Ulan’s gaze grew cold.

There was no need to ask why she opened the Abyssal Rift or what her objective was.

Ulan was aware that those who were dying to open the Abyssal Rift belonged to only one faction.

“…Abyss Worshippers.”

As he spat out the words, Ulan gripped his axe tightly.

A murderous gleam in his eyes. He was ready to dash into Zone 3 at any moment to take Diplyn’s head.

This was entirely reasonable.

A high mage-level Abyss Worshipper could potentially become a troublesome existence in the future.

However, Ulan could not take a step forward.

The moment he realized Diplyn’s identity.

Tap! Drip!

Raindrops began to fall from the sky.

In fact, up until that point, there hadn’t been any issue. Rain was not a big deal.

Yet the problem lay in the color of the raindrops.

“Huh? Why are the raindrops…?”

“Why are they black?”

Just as Ivella and Laurea commented, the raindrops looked like they had been mixed with black paint.

It was disturbingly unpleasant.

Perhaps that’s why? The group furrowed their brows, shaking off the raindrops pooled on their shoulders. But soon, they gaped in shock.

As if they had discovered a new problem.

“What?! It won’t wash off!”

Though the raindrops flew away, black stains remained. Not just on clothes, but even on their arms and faces, the stains wouldn’t come off.

Out of nowhere, this bizarre phenomenon occurred.

As the commotion escalated,

“This… This is…!”

Suddenly, Noa’s eyes widened. Moments later, she screamed with a pale face.

“We need to get out of here!”

“What?”

“Quickly! Before it’s too late…”

Noa’s voice rang out urgently.

However, she couldn’t complete her sentence.

Before she could finish, the sporadic raindrops transformed into a torrential downpour.

Shwaaaaa!

Heavy rain poured down noisily.

Then all sounds were swallowed by the sound of rain, and the world turned dark rapidly. It was as if black paint had been dumped all over everything.

Not long after that,

Zone 2 was swallowed by darkness.

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