The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go

 

Cedric saw a huge boulder crashing down in front of him and quickly dodged it.

 

A second later, a block the size of a house fell where Cedric had been a moment ago.

 

‘The oracle wasn’t finished…!’

 

The well, crushed by the collapsing ceiling, had already lost its light.

 

‘Who did this, and how…’

 

Cedric thought to himself as he crouched low and drew the dagger he had kept hidden in his arm for self-defense as a backup.

 

Surrounded by the highest level of protective magic, there was no way the famously sturdy Temple of the Gods would simply collapse.

 

Surely someone sabotaged it on purpose.

 

‘I wonder if it’s to keep me from receiving the oracle.’ 

 

Cedric gritted his teeth and scanned the mangled room for something.

 

Then he spotted a white robe among the rubble.

 “A priest…!” 

Upon closer inspection, his head was bleeding.

 

Cedric felt a chill run down his spine at the sight.

 

‘Paul must have been in the next room…’ 

 

He couldn’t afford to lose his capable servant, who had been caring for him for nearly two decades.

 

Satisfied that the room was clear of intruders, Cedric turned to head for the next room, but what he saw froze him in place.

 “That’s… 

Through the crumbling ceiling, the blue sky was visible.

 

And against that blue sky, an ominous, black, all-consuming mass of energy floated above the collapsed ceiling of the temple.

 

Soon, a tiny figure emerged from the mass of energy.

 

‘People.’

 

Cedric saw a total of five people emerge from the circle of black energy and immediately ducked behind the rubble.

 

They must be the ones who brought the temple down.

 

If they were the wielders of the black magic that had attacked the search party, they would not be easy to subdue.

 

Besides, unlike him, there were many of them.

 “What, are they hiding already?” 

One of the five men who had leaped out of the black mass of energy and landed lightly on the shrine froze, clicking his tongue.

 

Ducking behind a pillar, Cedric quickly scanned them, assessing their power.

 

‘They’re all fully equipped.’ 

 

It was a rule that no weapons were allowed in the sacred temple, so no imperials who went to receive oracles were allowed to carry swords.

 

Daggers were allowed as an exception, just in case, but they were no match for five fully armed men on their own.

 “Spread that out now, the imperial guard will be here any minute.” “Okay, wait a minute. Are you all wearing your masks properly? I can’t tell if it’s leaking through your noses.” 

The man holding the black glass orb looked back at the rest of the men.

 “Well, whatever. I heard the fumes won’t do much good with these masks on.” “Forget it, spread the word, we’re running out of time!” 

To the annoyance of the seemingly commanding man, threw the glass ball he was holding at the floor.

 

As soon as the glass shattered, a puff of white smoke rose and filled the room.

 

‘Smoke from a sleep enchantment.’

 

Cedric quickly stuffed the leaf Ciel had given him into his mouth and covered his nose with his sleeve.

 “It’ll be all over the temple soon enough, and no matter how well the Emperor hides, he won’t be able to fight it.” “Then of course he can’t. How are we supposed to defeat a man with such a terrifying sword?” 

‘What?’

 

The men’s voices echoed in Cedric’s ears as he gasped at the word ‘sword’.

 “Anyway, as soon as you see that fainted Emperor, wrap him up. That way, it’ll be easier to send him off.” “Okay, fine, I get it. But is this smoke this thick? I can’t see a thing.” “It’ll settle down soon enough, so don’t fuss with it.” 

The sleep-inducing smoke was thicker than I thought.

 

‘If I sneak up on them one by one while they can’t see.’

 

The odds were in my favor.

 

He had no intention of being taken gently by those brutes.

 

If it was discovered that he was not the true master of Caliberne, the quill would be returned to Ciel in short order.

 

‘Not a chance.’

 

Gritting his teeth, Cedric gripped the dagger in his right hand so hard it threatened to burst, then turned and ran toward the men.

  “What the hell is that…?” 

Kashuel had no answer to his fellow mage’s shocked question.

 

What should have looked like an empty lot surrounded by a protective shield was now completely bare.

 

Moreover, the ominous black masses of magic that had appeared before the shield was broken were gaping open, as if they would swallow everything around them.

 

‘The shield was broken as soon as that thing appeared, what kind of magic power is that…’

 

It was absolutely impossible to break the shield of a temple with ordinary magic power.

 

No matter how many great mages came, they wouldn’t be able to do it.

 

However, as soon as those black masses of magic energy appeared in the air, the temple’s protective shield was instantly pierced.

 “Uh, there!” “The temple is collapsing!” 

Kashuel’s jaw dropped in shock as he watched the massive temple, which had been cracking as people had said, begin to crumble.

 

‘Cedric is still inside…!’

 

He exclaimed, and the attendants who had been watching the scene also cried out in horror.

…

“His Majesty, His Majesty…!” “Someone do something about that shield! Have you contacted the priests?” “I can’t reach anyone right now, my means of contact is jammed!” 

A blast of black magic shattered the protective shield just outside the temple, at its very center.

 

But the four layers of protection that spanned the temple’s entrance to the main hall remained unbroken.

 

Those who saw the temple collapsing made a desperate push toward the entrance, only to be repelled by the invisible barrier.

 “Gather the mages and try to break this shield first!” 

Marquis Lauren shouted.

 

His shout brought Kashuel to his senses and he approached the entrance to the temple.

 

If they could gather the power of all the mages here, they might be able to break the shield.

 

‘We have to do this quickly. This is going to require a lot of time…’

 

It was then.

 

Someone rushed through the gathered mages and sped toward the temple entrance.

 “Wait, they haven’t penetrated the shield yet—” 

And then, against everyone’s expectations, the figure passed through the temple’s entrance with a seemingly effortless movement.

 

Everyone who witnessed the scene gaped open-mouthed as they watched the figure charge toward the temple.

 

The figure dashed toward the temple’s main building, seemingly unaffected by any protective magic.

 

When the figure finally reached the high ground on which the main temple stood, the dark robes fluttered as she drew the sword at her waist.

 

A familiar blue spark flashed through the flowing silver hair.

 

The four layers of protective shielding that had been slowly rising as it touched the others crumbled away.

 “How did you do that…” 

Kashuel muttered as he looked at Ciel standing atop.

 

It was nearly impossible to break a protective spell with the power of a mage.

 

A mage’s offensive and protective magic were different.

 

Unlike defensive magic, protective magic was usually woven in such a way that it could not be easily broken by offensive magic.

 

However, if the magic swordsman’s strength was much higher than the caster of the protective magic, it was possible to break the protective barrier with the swordsman’s offensive magic.

 

‘You broke all of that by yourself, a magic swordsman?’

 

Amidst the confusion, Ciel, who held the sword, sent a signal to the people below.

 

They understood and began to move in unison, and her replacement knights immediately rushed to the entrance of the temple.

 

As she and Marquis Lauren entered the temple, Kashuel watched the hem of her black robes disappear through the rubble of the crumbling temple, thinking to himself.

 

‘She never hesitates.’

 

He secretly hoped and prayed.

 

‘You better be safe and unharmed, Ciel Minerva.’

  

‘Wait, this smoke…’

 

As soon as I saw the white smoke with a distinctive slumber fragrance, I took out an orange-colored leaf and held it in my mouth.

 

‘I should have given the rest of the leaves to Cedric, as well.’

 

More than seven and a half minutes had passed since the temple began to collapse.

 

I don’t know how long the smoke had been spreading, but it would have been hard for Cedric to hold on with the amount he was carrying.

 

‘Too bad the shield shattered so quickly.’ 

 

For someone with so much magic, their magic could be impossible for the opponent to overcome, or they could completely neutralize it.

 

With that in mind, I passed through the temple entrance without delay.

 

I wondered if I could do that against the temple’s protective magic, but as it turned out, the barrier had no effect.

 

‘I’ve broken the shield, and they’ll be here in a few minutes.’ 

 

I signaled by transmission that I would go in first, find Cedric, and come out with him, and that the others should remain in place and follow behind me.

 “Your Majesty?” 

I cautiously called out to Cedric, but there was no response.

 

As I stepped into the room that seemed to have been most heavily damaged, a foul blood scent stung my nose.

 

The blood in my veins instantly turned cold at the thought that this blood could be Cedric’s.

 

Desperately, I pushed forward through the smoke and saw two tangled figures.

 

A burly man was choking a bleeding man with familiar black hair.

 “I’ll crush your face just enough to keep you from dying.” 

The man grinned wickedly and raised his hand, a sharp stone smeared with blood, ready to crush Cedric’s face.

 

Cedric’s body moved before his head at the sight.

 “Your Majesty!” 

And with a flash of fury, the sword sliced through the air.