Chapter 183 (1): Young Mage, You Can’t Protect Anyone

Department of Forest Resources Management / Headquarters of the Ministry of Magic.

Two figures flew over and landed outside the barrier. Gunther had used magic to deflect light and conceal their tracks. According to the Church of Heavenly Father’s agreement with the royal family, he didn’t use this opportunity to spread awareness about Father’s grace.

He was a smart man who knew his priorities.

‘Renata’ tucked her wings in and looked ahead. Outside the barrier, someone else had arrived before them and was quietly figuring out a way to break down the barrier. She had short blonde hair and a delicate face with a serious expression, dressed in a butler suit.

Megan!

When Auston received the call from Wayne, Gunther and Renata had already set out from Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and they were traveling with wings. However, Megan still reached the ministry’s headquarters earlier.

“Lady, are you with the Ministry of Magic?” Gunther asked politely, expressing his will to offer help.

Megan nodded and said bluntly, “Someone projected the Forbidden Zone of Remains here. The headquarters of the ministry is trapped in the land of fugitives. Those inside cannot get out, and those outside cannot get in.”

“Is there a way to enter?” Renata asked with an impassive face, which was typical of an angel. They were an arrogant, difficult bunch, making communication with them a struggle.

Gunther had heard of the mythical Forbidden Zone of Remains, also known as the Great Prison of the Forgotten. The gateway to the prison in Londan was set up in the Red Leaf Asylum, guarded by a legendary mage.

In the past, the asylum had belonged to the Church of Heavenly Father, formerly the infamous Inquisition. The church had the final say about who was deemed insane.

But not now. The church’s power in Windsor was undermined, and the Red Leaf Asylum was no longer under its control. Although the clergy members of the church were allowed to become part of the staff, the right was only granted to provide checks and balances; all other churches could send their members to earn a post at the asylum, too.

When everyone held only minor influence, no one did; the highest authority was the director of the asylum.

When Megan explained the situation, Gunther had to suspect Planck, the current director. He knew the Great Prison of the Forgotten the best, and he alone would be able to seal the Ministry of Magic without rousing suspicion.

Wonderful. The ministry is starting a civil war! Better that they kill each other. The Pope will love that!

Gunther smothered a smile. Not only would the Pope love it, he would, too, but he maintained a worried look and expressed his concerns for the ministry—oh, Windsor could not do without the Ministry of Magic just as a church could not do without faith.

Megan didn’t bother responding to his false concerns. She had been working for Auston long enough to know what Gunther actually thought. She turned to Renata—or the angel who had taken over her body, to be precise. “There is a way in, but I’ll need your help.”

Renata paid no attention to Gunther’s pointed look. The angel had descended for the sole purpose of banishing the demon, and she volunteered her support.

Can’t you leave her hanging for a while? Must you agree so readily? Just wait five minutes!

Gunther thought with resignation, feeling how the Pope must feel. A randomly contracted angel always behaved this way. They never cared about the church’s interests in the human world.

Hopefully, Mona would work faster and secure a tamed angel for the church so that they could confidently command one.

Ignoring Gunther, Renata and Megan discussed their strategy; Megan did most of the talking, while Renata listened. Although it was their first meeting, they got on surprisingly well.

“Projecting any of the grey spaces requires an incredible amount of energy, the Forbidden Zone of Remains being no exception.” Megan went into her plan calmly. Her proposal was simple and straightforward: she would find the source of the energy and destroy it.

In case the mastermind had another energy source prepared, she asked Renata to damage the spatial rampart as soon as the energy source was destroyed. Once the space was damaged, the projected Forbidden Zone of Remains would disappear, and there would be nothing the mastermind could do.

The plan fit Renata’s preference for violence. Ignoring Gunther, she soared into the sky and gathered holy light in her hands, waiting to unleash a killing move.

“Do you need help, Miss?” Gunther went up to Megan, offering to help save the Ministry of Magic.

Megan glanced at him and said, “Just keep your mouth shut and stand there. That will be the best you can do.”

Gunther awkwardly tried to explain, but Megan interrupted him: “Anything you say can and will be used against you, which I will submit to the Ministry of Magic. For the interest of the Church of Heavenly Father, I suggest you stay silent.”

“Don’t bother the woman, Gunther!” Renata snapped from above.

Gunther stood aside in frustration, feeling like the odd one out. While Wayne was also an angel, he was much more likable. He did what he was paid to do and always answered the church’s call. When he heard about a demonic descent, he also responded faster than anyone.

Megan searched around. Her deep blue eyes turned into golden-red draconic eyes, and ten minutes later, she swung her fist in the air, seemingly aiming at nothing.

Clack!

Her whooshing fist broke space itself and cracked it like a mirror. Once she identified the right spot, she unhesitantly made several heavy swings to shatter the well-concealed barrier and revealed a complicated magic circle. The main component was an inverted pentagram, obviously the handiwork of a demon.

“More than that...”

Megan found an antique silver coin in the center of the magic circle, which was a token given to the higher-ups of the Ministry of Magic, connected to a grey space. That was the source of the endless supply of earth, fire, water, and wind elements, ensuring that the projection of the Forbidden Zone of Remains could be sustained.

Electric storms ravaged, carving through the air with roaring noises to deter any visitor. Ignoring the intimidation attempt, Megan stepped into the magic circle with an expressionless face. The wild barrage of attacks instantly overwhelmed her.

Lightning surged across trembling space, and swelling wind threatened to tear everything apart. The crumbling space cracked like black spiderwebs. Awash in surging energy vortexes, Megan’s form seemed blurry and imperceptible. A pale dragon claw reached through the flickering currents, grasping the antique silver coin firmly.

Clack!

Like a light getting switched off, the energy storm vanished in an instant.

Hum—

Friction in the air created piercing noises, and amid the sonic waves, a hemisphere of light barrier rippled above the Ministry of Magic. Eyes glowing golden, Renata raised her sacred spear above her head, releasing the energy she had been accumulating.

Boom!!!

The loud bang reached half of Londan. One side of the glowing hemisphere cracked, and the shockwaves shot out in the opposite direction. The resulting powerful current blasted Renata away and uprooted the trees and the grass their roots clutched onto, whooshing into the distance.

Gunther almost had a heart attack. Those two were acting with no concern for consequences. As the only rational person present, he quickly cast light-deflecting magic to cover up the spectacle.

While the visual was concealed, though, the sound wasn’t. Several million people across the nation would’ve heard the loud bang, let alone the Queen, who lived nearby.

He didn’t even have to think to know that if the Department of Forest Resources Management did not come up with a good explanation, they would be quite busy cleaning up the mess in the future. And the foreign spies would have looked for clues of a weapon of mass destruction.

Gunther couldn’t believe it. In the end, he was the only one who was helping the ministry.

Once the storm had settled down, Megan had already put on a black mage robe to cover up her naked body, and she had hidden the antique silver coin.

Although Renata hadn’t succeeded in shattering the spatial rampart, it was good enough. With the spaces inside and outside reconnected, the legendary mages would be able to get out as long as they weren’t dead—even if they had to crawl on all fours.

From above, Renata looked for any suspicious targets with eyes glinting with golden light. Soon enough, a few flickering figures leaped out of the spatial fissure.

Rather than thanking them, the legendary mages bowed slightly at the angel to express their respect for the higher existence. Planck, locked by chains, grumbled in protest. Although all leads pointed to him being the culprit, he knew he was the good guy.

Megan turned to leave as soon as she rescued the locked-up legendary mages. Two men blocked her way.

Bourne and Obed.