Chapter 196: Mercurius (3)

Lloyd reacted instantly. As soon as the dozens of swords fell on him, Lloyd leaped toward Mujak. The vivid turquoise blades shook like leaves in a sandstorm as Mujak released almost all his Aura. His Mirage was a decisive blow that could deal dozens of attacks at the same time.

Kiiing...

The blades released sharp screams as the two swordsmen crossed each other.

“

Cough.

”

“

Urgh.

”

They both groaned, but the depth of their groans were different. Mujak stared in disbelief at the sword piercing his abdomen. He had never been let down by his technique, which had always allowed him to corner his opponent.

Mujak looked up in pain. “... Ho-w?”

As he scanned Lloyd’s body, he only found a few superficial injuries from Mirage’s swords. Lloyd had somehow managed to land his own killer blow while dodging his. Mujak couldn’t understand it.

Lloyd muttered, “An ability that makes swords real... What a technique. If there were four or five more, I wouldn’t be able to avoid a mortal wound.” Lloyd snorted. “Still, it was a bad technique to use on me. I don’t know if all the illusions can be materialized, but I can tell illusions from reality."

“Ugh...” Mujak groaned as pain shot through his abdomen. How could he be defeated in this favorable situation? Blood seeped out from between his lips.

However, unlike his mocking words, Lloyd recognized his opponent’s capabilities. His usual relaxed atmosphere had disappeared.

You aren’t easy, master of the Central continent.

It was too big a variable to overlook. Lloyd pulled the sword out of Mujak’s abdomen and prepared to decapitate him. However, he was interrupted.

Kwakwakwak!

Ice spears and wind blades slashed through the air.

“... Ah, I forgot about you.”

It was a mistake. Lloyd retreated a few steps with a bitter smile. Mujak coughed up blood after the sword was pulled out, but he wasn’t dead.

Lloyd looked at the magicians standing on either side of Mujak and retreated with a shrug. “Four people are too much. Time to go!”

William sputtered, “What, wait...”

Lloyd disappeared around the corner, “I promise to meet you later!”

Despite the injuries he suffered, he was still a swordmaster who had transcended the capacity of the human body.

“Damn, we have to chase him before he heals!”

“No, chase him later.”

“What?” William glanced at Sylvia.

“If we follow him without Mujak, he’ll ambush and kill us. It’s best to focus on healing Mujak here. We can just track him down again.”

“Uhh, you’re right. You are also brilliant.”

“Che.”

He might have gotten too hot headed, but William was also an outstanding figure. He understood right away that Sylvia was right. So, before sitting down, he examined the passage a few times.

He used every detection magic that the White Tower had. “Hoo, it can’t be helped. Then the decision is easy.”

Mujak’s wound was deep, but fortunately, it wasn’t life-threatening. The combination of healing potions and healing magic managed to stabilize him. If Lloyd’s plan had been to delay his pursuers, it had worked out perfectly.

Mujak, who had unknowingly become a burden to his party, apologized with a heavy sigh, “Hmm, this old man has become a burden. I’m sorry.”

“No, you got injured.”

“I would be happier if I had cut off one of his arms… This just makes me mad.”

Mujak had pride in his own abilities, but the north had too many monsters. There was also Veronica, who could cut his head off as easily as peeling an apple. While Mujak was feeling ashamed, he felt a strange sense of discomfort.

“Um, I would like to say one thing if it isn’t impolite.”

William prompted, “What is it?”

“T-That person isn’t there.”

The two of them didn’t see anyone when they followed Mujak’s finger. But that was the point.

“Where did the girl with yellow hair go?”

Para, the Yellow Tower candidate, had disappeared.

***

Tak.

Lloyd moved quickly and only slowed down when he noticed no one was following him. He had thought there would be at least one, but they seemed fairly good despite their young age, truly worthy of being called the elite forces of Meltor. If possible, he’d wanted to pick off at least one before he was attacked again.

It was quite a dangerous situation.

He started pouring potions on his wounds. The denser the aura, the slower injuries would recover. These wounds would probably take a month to heal completely. Mujak’s stabbed stomach was more severe, but it wasn’t a comforting thought.

“I only won because he lacks practical experience and fell for my barbs,” Lloyd muttered as he continued walking. “It would’ve been different if he had turned it into a fight of attrition. I would have had no way to escape.”

It was Lloyd’s hobby and habit to always analyze his fights. Lloyd’s win over Mujak was actually because Mujak had self-destructed. Instead of taking advantage of the favorable situation, he had blind faith in his Aura Ability. If Mujak had kept his distance and allowed the three magicians to support him with a barrage of spells, Lloyd would’ve been killed.

That’s why he had taunted Mujak until the latter couldn’t endure it any longer. The Sultan was a Janissary’s idol, so insulting him was the perfect way to get to them. The taunt had created a winning change for Lloyd, which he had exploited. Lloyd was always faithful to his tactics, and the victory matched his abilities.

“... Hmm, the path still isn’t visible. Is there no way to break inside?”

He had been walking for several kilometers. No matter how large the ruin was, a doorway should’ve appeared by now. However, Lloyd couldn’t find anything. His Aura Ability was very useful, but he couldn’t see anything other than short-term results. It had told him how to enter the ruins, but he didn’t know how to break inside.

At that moment...

A voice echoed inside the dark passage as if hearing Lloyd’s inner thoughts. “How interesting. I never thought I’d see a master with the Pathfinder ability.”

“... Who?” Lloyd couldn’t determine the location of the voice. He hid his annoyed expression and looked around warily.

The voice seemed to be coming from the other side of the passage. “It allowed you to figure out how to wake up Mercurius, find the tunnel, and see through the illusionary swords. If so, it isn’t hard to understand. Pathfinder, the power of guidance, is the ability to see the conditional future.”

Lloyd carefully stepped back. “... You, who are you?”

A swordmaster’s Aura Ability was akin to another life. Some abilities were easily seen through, but there were those like Lloyd’s which were hard to determine. So far, he had used his ability to overcome dozens of adverse situations and come out victorious over strong enemies. It was literally his joker, his last trump card.

However, this voice knew his secret! Fear filled Lloyd’s eyes as he raised his sword. Reading someone’s mind and manipulating their behavior, this was the natural enemy of those with his kind of abilities.

As Lloyd trembled with fear for the first time, a seemingly adorable girl appeared in front of him. She said, “Don’t be afraid, it has been a long time since I’ve had so much fun.”

“You...!”

She was one of Meltor’s three magicians. Her presence was vividly clear now, unlike earlier when she had been hiding it. Lloyd raised his sword reflexively, but he was curious about the other person’s true identity.

“Didn’t you hear me ask who you were?”

“There is no reason to answer. You just have to listen to me talk.”

Lloyd was struck dumb by the absurd reply. Meanwhile, Para kept talking, “At first glance, Pathfinder looks like a universal power, but it has a fatal drawback. The previous users of this ability were ignorant of the weakness and died.”

The ability to see the future was treated as a powerful ability in any age, and Lloyd’s Pathfinder told him the way to accomplish his purpose in the form of a path. He could make the impossible possible, as well as succeed when the probability was low.

However, Paragranum ridiculed his ability, “You are too short-sighted. You climbed the ladder without realizing it ends in midair. You crawled into this set of ruins without knowing anything.”

“... Is that so?”

“Hoh?” Para was surprised by the reaction.

On the other hand, Lloyd held his sword with a grim face. “Why are you saying such words when standing alone in front of me, Witch?”

“Witch... It has been a long time since I’ve heard that name.” The twenty four year old Para smiled brightly at his provocation. The girl’s face was beautiful, and the declaration which emerged from her pink lips didn’t match her outward appearance.

“Where is your confidence coming from, mortal? How dare you place your dirty feet in my creator’s dwelling? Death alone won’t absolve you. Instead, I’ll play around with you for ten thousand years.”

Chill.

It was the first time Lloyd Pollan had felt this type of chill. This was an evil that stood apart from humans. The sincerity of the grimoire, Paragranum, caused the sword master to freeze. It awakened a survival instinct he thought he had forgotten.

“Kuoh, waaaaack!” Lloyd screamed in terror as he sprang forward.

Mortals usually chose one of three options when confronted with death. They would give up resisting, run away, or struggle meaninglessly. Lloyd’s response wasn’t worth a penny to Paragranum.

“In the end, you all have the same reaction. It isn’t interesting-” She yawned like a girl her age and ordered, “「Identification code PRGRN3681214, space freeze.」”

The world stopped. A space exactly one meter wide froze around Lloyd. It was 9th Circle space magic from the Age of Mythology. Lloyd’s eyes betrayed his shock as he was held in place.

Paragranum laughed at Lloyd’s ridiculous frozen expression. A cruel smile appeared on her face as she spoke, “You are like a child compared to my master.”

“.......!”

“Don’t roll your eyes at me. 「Isolation.」”

Lloyd’s fate was determined with those syllables. The frozen space containing Lloyd literally disappeared. He would now be stored in a corner of the lab’s warehouse which was only known to Paragranum.

A necromancer would turn him into a death knight, but he would be a perfect experiment in an alchemist’s hands. Maybe he would become a chimera or a homunculus.

At that moment, the giggling Paragranum turned to look at the entrance. The vibrations from Mercurius had stopped. Since she still hadn’t taken full control of the laboratory, there could only be one cause.

“It’s over.”

Only Paragranum knew, but the battle for Paracelsus’ laboratory had reached a conclusion.