Chapter 137 - The assassin breaks in
Translator: VALIANT
I left the academy as soon as my classes were over.
Naoise, who had become the snake demon Mina’s attendant at the academy, didn’t make any unusual move. He treated me like a normal friend, as if he was back to his former self.
Once I was outside the academy grounds, I disguised myself and took to the skies with my aircraft.
My objective this time was to secure Alam Karla.
Even if I held the title of Holy Knight, if I ever got caught in the act, my whole clan would receive the death penalty. In fact, the entire Alvanian Kingdom itself would be in danger.
That’s why I had to disguise myself.
And to take action in spite of the risk, because otherwise, it would be a checkmate for me.
Whether I could secure Alam Karla before the enemy made his move or not would completely change the course of this battle.
…It would’ve been easier for me to act if I had my own body double at my disposal.
I had gained too much fame.
Even if the circumstances compelled me to, I had earned too many achievements, and gathered too much attention. Because of that, it was hard for me to take action.
That’s why I strongly believed that I needed another me.
Even today, if I had a body double, I could’ve had him stay in class while I departed the night before.
But it’d be hard to find the right person for this job.
Even if I used makeup to match his face with mine, I would still need him to possess facial features and a body shape similar to mine to an extent. On top of that, the biggest hurdle was that he had to possess mana.
Unless they intentionally hid it, mages always passively exuded mana.
Even if he didn’t have as much mana as I did, it would be abnormal if he didn’t possess some, at the very least.
And while there were a few exceptions, nearly all mages were aristocrats, and hardly any of them would be willing to be my body double.
[I’ll have to think about it.] (Lugh)
Depending on how things would develop in the future, I might not be able to take any actions without one.
Even if it may take time and effort, I would try to make it work.
I traveled by air and arrived at the Holy Land, where Alam Karla was located.
The name of that place was Fomoire.
It was a small city, yet at the same time, it was a country. The smallest country in the world.
I already knew the sanctuary located below the royal capital, but for this place, the entire city was a sanctuary.
Most cities had walls to defend against monsters, but here, there weren’t any.
Instead, there was a barrier.
A preposterous barrier that covered the whole city. Its scale and toughness were humanly impossible to achieve. This was the power of a god.
I heard that this barrier was made to eliminate all impurities, and that any monster that touched it would die on the spot.
[…And that’s not all.] (Lugh)
I observed the divine barrier from afar.
Using my Tuatha Dé eyes, I saw through its formula and analyzed it.
Dia and I had spent more than ten years analyzing the rules behind the formulas. That’s how I could understand most of its code.
Even so, I could only read 60% of it.
The thing is that the magic we knew was something that God had tailored for human use, but that barrier was the kind of magic that God himself used.
The spell he used was in a whole different dimension.
On top of that, the way it was coded was peculiar and intricate.
Still, I took the challenge.
The divine barrier… Now that’s instructive. I wish Dia could see it.
I used the parts I understood to follow the flow of the formula, established a number of hypotheses, picked up the one that seemed most consistent, and made a conjecture.
[Now I’ve got a general understanding of it. That thing’s not just a means of defense. It’s a management system. But there are gaps in it.] (Lugh)
A management system.
Surprisingly enough, it could read mana wavelengths, and identify every individual that way.
The administrator could keep track of whoever entered the city, and whoever left it.
The strength of that system was such that I could force my way through it if I wanted to. It was made to repel monsters specifically, so any mage who was counted among the very best could manage to get through it.
I had never been to this city.
So they couldn’t identify me based on my mana wavelength. If I broke in, they would know that I did, but they wouldn’t know that it was me.
…No, maybe I’m being careless.
On one occasion, Alam Karla invited me to the sanctuary of the royal capital.
The sensation I felt back then was the same as the one that barrier was giving me.
The sanctuary of the royal capital was a replica of this place. If so, then perhaps even this barrier was replicated.
And if it was, then there was a good chance that they knew my mana wavelength, and shared that information with this place. After all, that Pope-impersonating demon was being wary of me.
It would be extremely bothersome if they registered me as a criminal.
Of course, there was still the possibility that my mana wavelength wasn’t registered at all. All this was entirely hypothetical.
But as long as there was a chance that they did, I couldn’t act rashly.
[…Then maybe I should just destroy it.] (Lugh)
Since I could only read 60% of its formula, it was impossible for me to alter the barrier, but I could meddle with the formula and destroy it. With the third arm I had brought along for this mission, such a feat was possible.
It was an exceptional weapon, but more than that, it was a divine hand, and its true value lied in its ability to touch the untouchable.
Nonetheless, breaking the barrier of the Holy Land would cause a huge commotion, and alert the other party. If the barrier was destroyed, they’d be on high alert for sure.
It would make it complicated for me to secure Alam Karla.
Then forget it.
This leaves me with only one option.
[I’ll fly over that barrier.] (Lugh)
The barrier encircled the city, stretching about 20 km underground and aboveground.
It wasn’t shaped like a dome, but like a high wall.
The top was empty.
They probably assumed that even flying creatures wouldn’t ascend to the absurdly high altitude of 20 km.
In fact, even if you used the wind or enhanced your own physical abilities, it was impossible to rise over 20 km with brute force.
But I could work this out.
I wasn’t gonna rely on the wind or physical enhancements.
First, I clad myself in the wind. This wasn’t for flying, it was a protective suit.
What I was gonna use to fly was…
[The god spear,【Gungnir】] (Lugh)
It was a special spell that reversed the target’s gravity and shot it to an exceedingly high altitude.
Normally, I used it to levitate a material to extreme altitudes for a large-scale attack. Or to send the enemy themself flying away.
However, if I use it on myself…
I can fly in a super efficient way.
Still, I had to remain careful.
After all, I would essentially be falling into the sky. At an acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.
It would take me about a minute to reach an altitude of 20 km, so I would accelerate to a reasonable speed.
It put a considerable strain on my body, and it was hard to keep control of my spell in that speed range.
If I lost consciousness in the middle of it, I would plummet to the ground and die instantly.
…I didn’t think I’d have such a hard time before I even entered the city.
I cracked a bitter smile as I completed my spell.
The acceleration caused my cheeks to pull back.
My speed increased again, again, and again, like I was falling upward, with my cheeks pulled back.
Then I canceled my spell at the right moment.
But my ascent didn’t stop. I kept rising even higher while expending my kinetic energy and decelerating.
Then, once I had completely crossed the barrier of the sanctuary, my kinetic energy had run out, and gravity pulled me back down.
The air was thin and chilly.
The higher the altitude, the lower the air pressure and temperature, and the thinner the oxygen. And the more abrupt the changes in the air and temperature, the greater the load on the human body.
Even Mt. Everest was only 8,000 m high. I ascended more than twice that height in barely a minute. It might as well have been suicide.
If I hadn’t had my wind armor, the consequences would’ve been dire.
I gathered the wind and used it like a thruster to move forward and above the sanctuary.
I fell while shooting the wind like a thrust reverser so as not to gain too much speed.
As I lost altitude, I discarded my wind armor.
Instead, I deployed a layer of wind around me. This technique that refracted light and made me invisible was one of my specialties.
As I approached the ground, I intensified my reverse thrust, killing most of my speed, and landed using my whole body to absorb the impact. It dampened the noise.
I ran into a back alley, made sure no one was around, and dispelled my invisibility.
I was able to enter the city without being noticed.
[Stage one clear. Now I move on to the main act.] (Lugh)
I examined the cathedral in the center of the sanctuary.
This was where Alam Karla was.
I had already checked her schedule ahead of time.
The intel my network uncovered matched Nevan’s intel. So it seemed pretty solid.
In one hour, the shrine maiden would perform her weekly purification ceremony in the cathedral’s large bath. Filled with holy water, it would enhance the shrine maiden’s power.
No one would be allowed near her during that time.
Neither guards, nor attendants.
In other words, this was the perfect situation to kidnap her.
If I missed this chance, I wouldn’t get another opportunity to snatch her away while she was alone.
That’s why I didn’t want to alert the enemy.
And just in case, I couldn’t interrupt her ceremony either.
I blended in with the city, and disappeared into the crowd heading to the cathedral.
I was an assassin, not a kidnapper.
Abduction wasn’t my forte, but I’d still handle it without fail.