Thomas glanced at General Lennard. The General looked full of contemplation as he walked beside him, pondering deeply about the president's peculiar behavior.
Actually, the strangeness is not something that can be seen with the naked eye. Thomas can't wrap his mind around it but it feels like he feels a different aura from the president. That of course couldn't be explained by common sense so he tried to reject that idea in his head.
However, when Thomas recalled what had happened around him since he started experimenting with that foreign power called Magic, Thomas knew that there were indeed things that couldn't be explained logically but had actually happened.
Was what they felt from the president just now Magic inside his body? In that case, the feelings of him who could feel it were a form of sensitivity to Magic.
Thomas turned to General Lennard. "General, maybe what we were worried about at the beginning did happen."
"About us opening another door and causing Magic to come into our world?" General Lennard asked without turning to him.
"Yes."
"I'm also getting more and more convinced of that possibility, Thomas. With everything that's going on here, I know that something has happened."
"What do you think?" Thomas asked.
General Lennard said. "I was thinking that maybe this is karma for us for stealing the key in the first place."
Upon hearing the answer General Thomas blinked quickly. He was silent for a few seconds, pondering over the words.
Thomas understands a little about karma. What one puts out into the world will inevitably return to them.
"Maybe that's true. But already happened, didn't it, General?" Thomas said. "Let's just find a way to overcome this."
General Lennard sighed again. "You're right. So, what do you want to do now?"
"I still have some data and samples from the experiment we did back then. I want to see if there's something wrong with the president."
General Lennard grimaced. "I can't believe I'm suspecting the president."
Thomas saw the General shake his head with a grimaced expression that looked reluctant. He respects the president so much that the thought of suspecting him is almost unheard of even when the president makes questionable decisions - like those Magic experiments involving humans.
But now he had to be suspicious when the bad possibilities were visible in front of his eyes. The problem is that he feels that the president is not himself.
If it was the president's decision himself, then maybe General Lennard would do as he was told.
"What are you going to do with his request?" Thomas asked.
"I'll give it to him with orders that they have to keep an eye on him and act immediately if they find anything wrong with the president," General Lennard replied.
Thomas didn't answer because he didn't think it was a good idea when they chose to comply with the president's request that it was still unclear whether he was a threat or not.
But if they don't obey his orders, the president might do something that is beyond their expectations. At least now they can keep an eye on him easily if they deploy the ten soldiers.
~~~
What they were headed for now was a place in the north of this world. So, naturally, that place is very cold.
When they were in the air Aurdis who was sitting on Erend's palm already felt the cold wind blow. She tapped into her Magic, weaving a protective cocoon of energy around her body to ward off the chill and envelop herself in comforting warmth.
Erend flew lower and lower until they finally saw a plain covered in ice. As soon as they landed, a group of monsters that looked like white apes with nearly three-meter-tall bodies came lunging at Erend.
Erend opened his Dragon mouth and immediately blew fire at them.
*SWOOOSSSHHH!!!*
The flames instantly scorched the white ape monsters and melted much of the ice that covered the land.
Erend looked around to see if any monsters or anything else had appeared. For now, he saw nothing. So he put Aurdis down and changed back to human form.
Aurdis moved her eyes for a few moments, scanning the area for the exact location of Adaeram since this place was only filled with plains of ice. The place they have to look for is actually visible from the satellite map image, but the power of the place prevents people from spotting it if they are near it.
"You found it?" Erend asked.
Aurdis didn't answer right away. After searching again for a few seconds, she was able to come up with an answer.
"Yes. I found it." Aurdis walked towards the place. Erend followed her from behind.
Aurdis waved one hand her front. A veil covering the place was instantly lifted, revealing a two-meter-tall gray obelisk.
"Is that... some kind of veil?" Erend asked, his forehead creased in surprise. "Like you did to cover me?"
"It looks like that. But different," answered Aurdis.
"How did the veil get here?" Erend asked.
Aurdis turned to him. "You said that there are many stories about strange things from your world, right?"
Erend nodded.
"Maybe... just maybe. In this world there have also been beings who can use the same power as Magic," said Aurdis.
That raises even more questions for Erend. At first, he only thought that all fairy tales were just fairy tales to entertain or frighten children. However, now he feels there is some kind of truth to all that story.
"I will create the Magic circle." Aurdis started to create a Magic circle while Erend pondered his own thoughts.
An oddity similar to Magic didn't only happen in this place but also the places of Adaeram that they had previously visited. Erend initially only thought that those places were just places with a concentration of some kind of ancient power in this world - which either existed or not. He thought that those places would not release that much power.
But it turned out that his guess was wrong. There's something in those places. Something that might come from ancient times of this world.
'I have to find out more about all this.'
Saeldir and Arty appeared from the Magic circle. They put the stake right away. A shockwave is generated, spreading a madness-reducing effect around.
Arty took a deep breath. "Finally. It's only one place left, isn't it?"
"Yes," Saeldir replied with a smile that indicated that he was also relieved.
"Maybe after this, we can use the Magic circles that have been installed around the world to go on a vacation?"
"Hmm." Saeldir nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a fine idea."
Then the two of them exchanged glances with a smile. This sight did not escape Erend's attention, who had been staring at them from the side.
His forehead creased. 'What the hell is going on between these two?'
Arty turned to Erend. "Why haven't you taken off yet? We have to finish this as soon as possible."
Erend scowled at his sister. "You two seem to have gotten along better."
Arty blinked quickly. "W-What do you mean? S-shouldn't we get along? So... we can work together better."
Erend still looked at his sister with suspicion. "Yeah, right..."
Then he turned his gaze towards Saeldir. As soon as he caught Erend's gaze, the Elf immediately turned his head away.
'Something is going on between the two of them.'
Erend decided to leave the matter for later. He stepped away and activated Dragon Transformation, carrying Aurdis then shot into the air.
Saeldir watched Erend leave. He felt his heartbeat still quite fast now after getting Erend's suspicious gaze.
"Hey, let's go back. It's cold here," Arty said, stroking her arm.
"Huh? O-Oh, right."
And then, the two of them returned to the room.
~~~
'What are you thinking?' Aurdis asked in a playful tone.
'The next location, of course,' Erend replied curtly.
'That's it?'
'Yeah. Besides the fact that maybe Arty has become even closer to Saeldir.'
Aurdis let out a soft giggle. 'You don't have to worry about Arty. Saeldir is a good Elf.'
'Is he, though?' Erend sounded very doubtful.
'Yes. I've known him for a long time. He's sometimes quite annoying when he's focused on learning something but overall he's nice.'
Erend let out a grunt from his throat. Because he was in Dragon form the grunt sounded like two rocks grinding each other.
They didn't talk about Arty and Saeldir anymore because Aurdis felt that Erend wasn't too fond of that topic. So they continued their journey in silence.
About five minutes later Erend could finally see where they should go next. Erend dived down, but before he landed Erend felt something strange in that place which made him stop in midair.
'What is it?' Aurdis asked.
'I don't know... I have a bad feeling,' replied Erend.
Erend and Aurdis immediately scanned around to find the source of Erend's anxiety. However, they found nothing.
'There is no-'
Before Aurdis could finish her sentence, something shot Erend from below. Hit him square in the chest.
~~~
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