NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 137 - Magic Circle.
Alex's footsteps faltered mid-stride as Sophie's panicked words echoed through their bond. His sharp eyes narrowed, and for a split second, his composed mask cracked, revealing a flicker of dread.
'What did you say?' he asked for confirmation.
[Z-Zahara... she fell for a trap!] Sophie repeated, panic still audible in her voice, making Alex clench his fists, his body tensed.
'Where is she?' He demanded, his mental voice steely.
[She was in your room. She triggered a magic circle. I-It was supposed to activate when the door was opened, I think. And... and she wasn't even aware of it—] Sophie's voice was laced with guilt and panic, an uncommon state for her; she didn't even know what she was saying, so Alex, gritting his teeth, cut her off.
'Sophie. Calm down,' he closed his eyes as he felt her silence and ordered, 'Tell me everything from the start.'
As Sophie began, Alex's feet moved. He turned to Vanessa, who was looking at him with a frown, and Alenia, who mirrored Vanessa's expression, "Mother, I might need both of your help."
That was all he said before moving forward. He didn't have time to waste, nor was he mentally stable. The only reason he was able to maintain a semblance of calm was because he knew he would get nothing if he didn't.
The only thing that entered his ears was the sound of his heels clicking against the furnished floor; everything other than that was dull.
He didn't even check whether Vanessa and Alenia were following behind or not, nor did he care about the other council members who were left frowning and shaken since Alex's expression right now was worse than the scariest expression they had seen on his face until now.
Mira, unlike others, had even stepped forward, only to be stopped by Vanessa. "Wait here," Vanessa ordered, her mind reeling as cold light flashed past her eyes.
Neither she nor Aleina knew what had happened, but as they spread their senses, they noticed something in the direction Alex was heading.
'Magic circle,' they thought, exchanging a serious look before they vanished from their spot, reappearing right behind Alex, who had already reached his room and was now staring at the magic circle.
There was dull white smoke rising from it, along with a slightly burnt smell. It was clear that the floor couldn't bear the weight of the magic circle, meaning it was a high-class magic circle.
'It was supposed to be me...' Alex clenched his fists, his mind racing. From what Sophie had told him, Zahara had tried to enter his room in order to surprise him, but...
[I-I am sorry... I shouldn't have been that relaxed—]
Sophie apologized again, as she blamed herself for Zahara's situation. She was the one who hid everything from Alex after all.
'Stop it.' But Alex's growl cut her off. 'Try to trace the caster, or find a way to activate the magic circle again—'
"It is a one-time teleportation circle." Alenia's words were heard breaking Alex out of his thoughts. She was observing the magic circles with a frown.
"Can it be used again?" Alex quickly asked, urgency clear in his voice. He had just now noticed the presence of Vanessa and Alenia.
"I... don't think so," Alenia answered, her tone a bit low as she saw Alex's urgent expression.
She turned to Vanessa, urging her to talk, as she couldn't be the bearer of all bad news.
That gaze made Vanessa grit her teeth, but she could understand how Alenia felt; even she could feel rage bubbling within her just by looking at how much her son was struggling.
His body kept trembling, his eyes searching theirs in the hope that they would find some kind of solution, but Vanessa knew that it was impossible for them to use this magic circle. With a serious expression, Vanessa continued Alenia's point. "The magic circles require raw natural mana from the magic stones. Without mana stones, they can't even be activated."
Her face hardened at the sight of Alex's expression—it had turned dark. But she still added, "If it was just a magic circle, then we could've used some of our magic stones to reactivate it, but it isn't."
Pausing a bit, she pointed at the magic circle. "This magic circle is a one-time use circle." Looking deep into Alex's frustration and rage-filled eyes, she concluded, "You can't do anything even if you have mana stones."
She wanted Alex to know that his urgency wouldn't get him anywhere. There was no way to trace this magic circle. "Even if we use all the magic stones we have, just setting them up would have taken enough time for the connection to have been cut off—"
"Stop. Stop it if you can't find any solutions." Alex, however, interrupted her, his tone filled with controlled anger.
For the first time, Alex was showing anger at Vanessa, something that shocked both Alenia and Vanessa.
"Alex." With her eyes turning cold, she grabbed Alex's shoulder, making him turn to her. "Instead of wasting your time with the one you can't save, you should be looking for the one who placed the magic circle—"
Vanessa froze mid-sentence, and so did Alenia. They could both see Alex's eyes red with desperation. They could see fear in his eyes—something they had never seen before.
For the first time in his life, Alex was scared. He felt like he had failed someone who really cared for him.
"It was supposed to be me, mother..." He finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "That trap was supposed to be triggered when I opened the door and stepped in. But she..."
His gaze turned to the floor as his nails dug into his palm. "She just wanted to surprise me..."
Alex quivered with uncertainty as he added, "That girl, out of her love for me, wanted to surprise me. She wanted to make me love her more."
The more he spoke, the more shocked Vanessa and Alenia grew.
'Girl? Love? Wasn't Mira the one he loved?' Such questions went through Vanessa's head. She didn't know that Mira wasn't even Alex's woman yet, much less the fact that Zahara was.
But before Alex could go on, Sophie's urgent voice echoed through his head.
[Wait!] Sophie's voice brightened slightly though still hurried. [I just got through Zahara! She's safe!]
The amount of relief that line brought Alex couldn't be described in mere words. He went as if he were showered with calm, hot water, but Sophie wasn't done yet.
[A-And I think we will be able to reach her. But...]
She hesitated, not because she was worried about herself or uncertain, but because she was worried about Alex.
'But what, Sophie?' Alex urged her. He could feel her worry, but he didn't care.
[... It's low, Alex.] After a pause, Sophie spoke, [But there's a chance you can re-activate the magic circle.] Your journey continues on empire
'What's stopping you then? Tell me.' He gritted his teeth. His expression, which had calmed down a bit, got covered in haste again.
Vanessa and Alenia frowned at these shifts in Alex's expression. They felt like they were being kept out of some conversation.
[You have natural mana, Alex. The same type that mana stones have.] Sophie began, still unsure if they should be doing this yet knowing that this was the only way.
[Unlike mana stones, which would take time to allocate to the right spots, with mana, you have to push it into the magic circle and it would get activated.]
Alex didn't even wait for her to complete those words, directly kneeling on the ground, his expression serious as he pushed his mana into the circle.
[Alex... the connection is about to be cut off.] Sophie knew that it was no use, but she still tried to warn Alex. [There's a chance that you might die—]
'Say no more,' Alex, however, interrupted her, 'I won't stand by even if there's a small chance of us making it to Zahara as soon as possible.'
Sophie turned silent at that. She knew that Alex wasn't going to change his mind. All she could do now was wish for his success. The chances of him succeeding were still there, especially with the type of mana he had.
"What are you doing?!" But Alenia and Vanessa weren't the same. They quickly tried to snap Alex away from the magic circle.
[Alex, we don't have time to explain it to them.] Sophie quickly stopped Alex, who was about to explain things to Vanessa and Alenia.
"Then we don't wait." Alex's voice was a low growl.
The next second, before Alenia and Vanessa could reach him, two green veins erupted out of the ground and shot toward them, much to their shock.
"What are you doing?!" Vanessa's growl was heard as she quickly froze those veins.
"That will kill you." Her cold eyes flashed with urgency as she added, "No human can activate magic circle with their mana—"
Her words, however, were cut short as a sudden rush of mana was felt in the room. It was as if every particle of mana in the surroundings was being sucked, and the source of it was Alex.
"W-What?" Both she and Alenia had their steps faltered as they saw the magic circle under Alex lighting up. They then saw his eyes on them, a relieved smile on his face.
"I will leave the rest to you guys." That was all he said before a bright light flared from the magic circle, causing them to cover their eyes, panic flashing in their eyes as they used their power to zoom toward him.
But can a human move faster than teleportation?
"Hold on, Zahara. I'm coming."
Between the wooshing of mana and the tension of the situation, they heard his whisper, and before their hands could reach him, he was gone; even the magic circle was now broken.