Chapter 70 - Twenty-Third Episode - Zeshum Ruins (14)
I ran and caught up to Ebelheid, who was walking fast.
I was a bit out of breath, probably from walking around a lot and using up all my magic.
I reached to my pocket, thinking it was time to drink the Abel Potion.
“………Oh, was that already out?”
I tried to give it to Abelheid…… then he pointed out that it was illegal…… and then the hobgoblins attacked us and that was… haven’t been returned yet?
I wonder if I left it behind.
That seemed to be the last of the ones I was carrying around.
I’m sure the carriage was still loaded with them……but I can’t go back to get them now.
“Um, Ebelheid-san…… I don’t think I’m right about this, but you knew what’s the behind the ruins, right……”
“As I thought you’re instincts are sharp”
As I thought, he knew.
If so, why did he pretend not to know?
From what I’ve seen so far, they should have let the lord invest in it without telling him.
“Beyond this door, there are ten golems lined up on each side. It’s the culmination of the technology of the Land of the Sky, Alfheim. Don’t worry, they’re not protecting the ruins. It’s just an unused weapon.”
…… you’re thinking it’s okay to tell it to me?
“Then what’s there further down the line?”
“Right. I’ll tell you an old story that has come been passed down to us Zeshum.”
Then Ebelheid begins to speak.
Looking forward, walking forward.
“We, the elves of Zeshum, defeated in the religious war, have been driven to earth. For us Elves, it is the greatest humiliation. The peaceful, yet certain, decline of our species. In some ways, it is worse than the death penalty. For we can only mourn and envy the heavens for generations to come until our blood is destroyed.”
As I listened to Ebelheid, I crossed the second door.
The passage was different from the previous ones in that it was fancy painted.
The walls were recessed into a semi-elliptical shape, and in the recess sat a pure white earthen figure that must have been three meters long!
The Golem of Zeshum.
As Ebelheid said, there are ten of them on each side.
Right behind me, the investigators and Wegener shout in admiration.
Even I would jump on the golems if it weren’t for the current situation.
“But my ancestors did not give up. They overran and plundered the Norcs on the ground and built up a strong fortress. And for what purpose? All in order to drop the heavens and allow us Zeshum to take the throne again.”
What is now being said by the world is that the elves were persecuted by the Norcs and built as a countermeasure to the persecution of the elves. The ruins of Zeshum.
But this is like the opposite.
I didn’t know it was the elves who attacked first.
“Before long, the elves of Zeshum were shunned even on earth, and the king of Zeshum fell in love with Norcs. The king of Zeshum fell in love with Nox. The king ordered his own entourage to seal the fortress of Zeshum by laying down strong wards.
He thought that if he completely destroyed it, the elves of Zeshum would suffer persecution. By sealing Zeshum’s fortress as a reconciliation plan, he simultaneously hurled a threat at Norcs. Though………in the end, the king was killed by another elf.”
Ebelheid told the history of Zeshum, which was not spelled out on the surface.
Mea tightly squeezed my hand, as if Ebelheid’s story was shocking.
I looked at Mea and she was looking at me uneasily.
“Then, the Arrow of God…”
I turn my gaze back to Ebelheid and ask.
“Naturally, it’s a weapon to shoot the land of the sky, Alfheim. With that, you can have everything in this world, even a country. It’s the most valuable treasure in the world. What a foolish king to choose the woman of Norcs in the balance.”
When they reached the middle of the aisle lined with golems, Ebelheid stopped and turned himself around.
“Now then, I’ve no more use for you guys.”
Ebelheid said and swung his arm down.
His sights were on Wegener, who was flailing at the golem and waving his valence at the surveyors.
“Oh Flame, Form, Sphere”
I didn’t think it was possible, but I was wary.
I waved my wand to the side.
A line entered the magic circle floated by Ebelheid.
Ebelheid’s hand exploded and smoke spread out.
“Guh!”
Scratching out a magic circle.
It is an advanced technique, but the book said it is not practical.
This is because if two sorcerers face each other, and if the magic can be scratched out, it’s faster to shoot another magic.
Besides, if the opponent’s chanting was fast, there would be a lot of mistakes.
In order to seal off the scratching out, the core of the magic circle may be encrypted and made difficult to understand.
The same was the case with Ebelheid’s magic circle.
Since I couldn’t grasp the core at all, I had to put up a mountain and draw a line.
As a result, it couldn’t be completely erased, and it exploded out of control.
When I confronted Noswell before, I’d redrawn the magic circle and reversed the direction of the magic, but that’s the exception to the rule.
Ordinary sorcerers chant from the transcription of a magic circle in a matter of seconds.
If they’ve even set up the encryption, there’s no time to analyze it and then redraw it.
“Hii, hiiiii! Hey, just now, you pointed at me a magic circle…… Eh, Ebelheid-dono, what do you think you’re doing! Depending on your answer, I won’t let you get away with it!”
Wegener turned over on the spot, pointing his fingertips to Ebelheid, who would be on the other side of the smoke.
When the smoke had faded, Ebelheid had moved farther away.
“You are brilliant as I thought, Abel. There are only a handful of things even a high elf could do to stop this technique of mine. You could be proud of yourself.”
Ebelheid claps with a smile in his mouth.
“… what do you think you’re doing?”
I said, keeping my wand pointed at Ebelheid.
“The Arrows of Gods, are beyond the reach of a norcs man. They are mine, the descendant of Zeshum. I have no more use for the lord’s men.”
“Do-, don’t be silly! You! You say you conspired against this Wegener!”
From way behind, I could hear Wegener’s voice.
Ebelheid didn’t seem to be interested in Wegener and didn’t even look at him.
“In order to release the Arrow of God, we need a reasonable amount of magic stone. Even with the rest of the wards and what I have in my possession, I can’t fire more than three shots. I’ll conquer the earth and collect more magical stones, and eventually, I’ll take possession of the Land of the Sky, Alfheim. Heaven and earth, literally everything in this world will be in my possession.”
“…… Conquer you say, no way.”
He calls it to conquer, but in essence, it’s looting with weapons.
To show off their power, they will actually use the Arrow of Gods as well.
I don’t know how powerful it is, but if he does that, It’s clear that many people will die.
Ebelheid’s hand is extended to me.
I brace myself, thinking it’s a pre-magic action.
“Abel, be my right hand and I will give you half the world.”
Ebelheid turned his left palm and declared that.
Maizen, who was attached to my side, stepped forward and drew his sword.
“You madman! Abel, can you deal with that elf?”
“Wait, wait a minute, Maizen!”
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna follow……”
“E-, Ebelheid-san. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said just now. So……”
Ebelheid heard my words and snickered.
“Hmm, it’s true that your magic is top-notch…… but after all, you’re only a child. But it’s going to be a pain in the ass to go head to head with you.”
Ebelheid held one of the magic stones in his hand and raised his arm straight up.
A large magic circle emerged to surround Ebelheid.
“Oh Miasma of the Forest of Sleep”
Is it the secret art of the elves, it’s a line of chanting and structure of a magic circle I’ve never heard of at all.
Perhaps it’s because of being warned, the time from chanting to activation is faster than before.
Besides, the distance is too open. It’s impossible to interfere with the magic circle from now.
In the blink of an eye, the magic circle emitted a black light and fired off a thick black smoke.
The smoke quickly spread and came towards us.
The scale is huge.
The black smoke completely covers the passage.
It seems that the magic power of the magic stone was used to increase the size of the place.
“Ugh……… Carry it!”
As I chant, an Ortem carved from the World Tree appears in front of me.
It’s the magic of teleportation.
I hold it in my arms as it floats in the air.
“Oh, puppet, suck it up!”
A magic circle floats around the Ortem and emits light.
Black smoke is sucked into Ortem’s mouth.
I hooked Maizen’s feet as he tried to escape and rolled him to the spot.
“Ouch! A, Abel, what are you…”
“The safest place is to be near the Ortem! Mea too!”
As the black smoke came up to us, it was sucked into the Ortem.
But what it failed to suck in passed behind us and swallowed the investigators and Wegener in a matter of seconds.
When the black smoke subsided, it was just me, Mea, Maizen, and Ebelheid standing there…
Wegener and the others have fallen, but they are not dead…… I think.
From the feeling of the magic power, it is not the kind of thing that takes away lives. It’s probably a spell to put them to sleep and quickly neutralize them.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶