Weapon Master of the Count’s Family

Chapter 85. The Immortal Great Mage (5)

As the vanguard of the Empire, I had fought countless battles and faced numerous enemies.

Mages were no exception.

But I had never once witnessed an 8th-circle spell.

This rarity underscored how powerful and world-shaking such magic was.

And now, I was witnessing the legendary 8th-circle spell, Lilith’s ‘Vespera Inferno,’ unfold before my eyes.

Is this… really a power a human can wield?

A chaotic blaze that seemed to devour everything.

Unlike any magic I’d encountered across countless battlefields, it was a mythical force. That was Lilith’s ‘Vespera Inferno.’

Whoosh!!

Black flames erupted from her rune, engulfing the battlefield in an instant.

The sheer force of the blaze caused the Nocturne-laden ship to lose balance, rocking violently and being pushed back.

Even the intangible wraiths were caught in the flames, burning black.

This isn’t just spewing fire. It’s magic that alters the very essence of matter.

I halted my combat stance.

My gaze was wholly captivated by the surreal flames.

Gaiard, who had swiftly returned to my side, swallowed hard, equally entranced.

“For a human to wield such magic… Her claim to face Ernst wasn’t a bluff.”

Even at his peak, Gaiard thought confronting that magic head-on would be foolish.

If he judged it so, the fate of the monsters on the deck was already sealed.

Grr…

The sight of wraiths burning in the flames was itself a calamity.

Amid screams and chaos, the fire offered no escape.

Whoosh!

The Nocturne ship began to lose form, sinking as a massive burning wreck.

The black flames showed no sign of abating.

Even after the ship fully submerged, a towering pillar of fire stood, blazing toward the sky.

“Turn the ship. If we touch that fire, even I can’t handle it,” Lilith said, warily pursing her lips.

At her command, the ship hurriedly turned, distancing itself from the flames.

Once safely away, they discussed the situation.

“Ernst, that cunning human! Setting a trap like this… Did he anticipate this? He’s clever,” Lilith said, mixing admiration with frustration, gritting her teeth.

“We can’t just let this slide. Nea, quickly sense the next magical trace.”

“Don’t make it sound easy. This is like finding a needle in a desert.”

“That’s why we brought you.”

The mage called Nea took a deep breath and entered a meditative state, focusing to detect Ernst’s magical traces.

While she tracked the magical flow, I spoke with Lilith to assess the situation.

“I expected traps, but not ones sophisticated enough to ensnare us.”

“I agree. He’s more meticulous than I thought.”

“He even accounted for us tracking him. Can we find him next time?”

“Hard to say. Tracking his magical traces won’t be easy. But we can find a direction where the flow subtly converges within the overall magical current.”

Following that direction might yield a clue.

“So our role is to move as fast as possible before the trace vanishes.”

Looking back at the still-burning black flames, I added, “Just in case, don’t use that spell on Ernst. We need to interrogate him.”

“Don’t worry. That was just me pushing a bit to deal with the Nocturnes. I’d like to see his face too.”

Lilith nodded, and shortly after, Nea, true to her reputation as a tracking master, detected another trace resembling Ernst’s pattern.

“A faint magical signal 10 kilometers east-southeast.”

“Alright, turn the ship that way!”

“Wait! This is too slow!”

As I took the helm, Lilith moved to the stern, summoning a fierce wind.

A typhoon-like gust filled the sails, and the ship surged forward.

Whoosh!!!

The ship cut through the waves and arrived at another vessel hidden within a barrier.

The mages collectively located a gap in the barrier, each using their methods to open a path to the ship.

At first, all was silent.

Nothing was visible on the deck, and an eerie stillness hung in the air.

“Gaiard, you go first.”

“Got it.”

Gaiard spread his wings and cautiously landed on the deck.

As he inspected, nothing seemed amiss.

“All clear.”

Hearing this, I carefully maneuvered our warship alongside the other ship.

Then, I placed a wooden plank to cross over.

Opening the ship this easily? After that monster trap?

Unlike my lingering suspicion, Romen moved to open the door to the inner cabin.

“Let’s go in here…”

Creak.

But I saw green smoke suddenly billowing from the door’s crack and shouted in alarm, “Dodge!”

Poisonous smoke began rising from the deck’s gaps and the cabin.

A toxin so potent that a single breath could burn your lungs enveloped the ship, threatening them.

The mages hurriedly tried to retreat to the warship, and I swung my sword to create a gust, attempting to disperse the smoke.

Thud!

But before they could fully return, a barrier activated, encasing the entire ship.

They were trapped with the toxic smoke.

“Lilith!”

“Hold on!”

Lilith and the mages struggled to dismantle the complex barrier.

The poison grew thicker, choking them.

“Ugh! Cough!”

On the verge of suffocation, Lilith finally broke the barrier.

They escaped, gasping for air.

“Phew!”

“Haa!”

Having narrowly survived, I didn’t hesitate to order the search for the next ship.

“That damned human. We’ll find him and make him pay.”

“Agreed.”

They forcibly opened another protective barrier, only to find a ship loaded with mana bombs.

…

A suffocating tension gripped them.

I issued a command a split-second faster.

“Brant! Teleport!”

“Understood!”

Just before the bombs detonated, Brant cast a teleportation spell, swiftly moving them through the bomb-laden ship’s core back to their warship.

Boom!!!

A blue explosion’s shockwave rocked their ship.

The vessel swayed, and everyone braced to stay balanced.

“That was close.”

“Ugh! Ernst!”

Lilith, angrier than I was, focused on finding Ernst.

But the traces they found afterward were all traps or monster-filled decoys.

After sinking the sixth ship, Gaiard remarked in disbelief, “That guy must’ve brought an entire fleet.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But they were confident they could overcome any trap Ernst set.

The problem was that Nea and the mages could no longer find any trace of Ernst.

Or rather, nothing clear enough to pinpoint.

In the best case, it meant no more traps.

In the worst, he’d perfectly concealed his traces.

“This is bad.”

“So, you’re saying you can’t find him anymore?”

At my question, the mages fell silent.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that…”

“We’re ashamed. To think we, the five of us, couldn’t find one person after all our confidence.”

As the mages lowered their heads in embarrassment, Gaiard, who’d been listening, sneered.

“Knew it.”

“Gaiard!”

I frowned, scolding him, and Gaiard shrugged, leaning against the railing.

“Open your eyes. He’s thoroughly toying with us. Traps everywhere, while he hides perfectly.”

Nea cautiously countered Gaiard’s words.

“He hasn’t hidden perfectly. I can sense faint traces. But they appear briefly, vanish, and reappear elsewhere.”

Brant added an explanation.

“This can only mean Ernst is teleporting at regular intervals.”

“Then can’t we teleport too?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t teleport such a long distance, especially with an entire warship.”

Even Brant, a master of spatial magic, bowed his head in frustration.

His demeanor starkly illustrated the difficulty of the situation.

“We can’t keep up…”

I paused in thought, then nodded decisively, addressing everyone.

“Then there’s only one answer. We make him come to us.”

This was the strategy I’d successfully used before—

luring the Society’s mages.

“It could work, but would someone so thoroughly hidden come to us?”

Gaiard raised a skeptical question, and it was reasonable.

Ernst not only stayed hidden but also moved periodically, setting meticulous traps.

There was no way he’d fall for an obvious bait.

“Forget trying to catch him with cheap tricks. The Ernst I know wouldn’t fall for that.”

The other mages nodded in agreement, especially Romen, Ernst’s former colleague, who was resolute.

“He won’t be tempted by anything, no matter what. He’s never been obsessed with anything in his life.”

Lilith and the others chimed in.

“I never met him, but if he’s hidden this well, he wouldn’t come even for ether.”

“Exactly.”

But my expression remained unshaken.

I planned to use a stronger bait.

“Would he not come even if we had what he’s searching for? That’s not something he could ignore.”

“What’s that?”

“How about the reason he’s been here for centuries?”

“No way…”

“Exactly. I’ll bring it now.”

With that, I leaped over the railing and dove into the sea without hesitation.

Splash!

No one had time to stop me.

Stunned by my sudden action, they could only stare as I sank beneath the waves.

“He’s crazy!”

“Oh no!”

As they panicked and murmured, Gaiard alone crossed his arms calmly and shook his head.

“That lunatic. He’s gone to meet that guy again, after just getting out?”