‘What an interesting combination.’
They were all people connected to Zich. Walwiss and Orland were Elena’s family members, while Wayne had all kinds of ill feelings towards him. Zich carefully craned his ears.
“So, you’re saying that fellow named Zich is suspicious.”
“Yes, sir.”
‘Ah, I was wondering why they gathered altogether.’ It seemed like Wayne had invited Walwiss and Orland to smear Zich’s name.
‘Huh? I don’t know about Walwiss, but isn’t his relationship with Orland bad?’ However, the answer to Zich’s question was soon revealed.
“Did you call my father to just say that?”
“…Mr. Dwayne, I don’t remember inviting you.”
“It isn’t strange for me to accompany my father as his son. Also, I heard you had something to talk about Elena. Aren’t I involved in this case too?”
Wayne’s expression clearly showed his annoyance, but he didn’t say more. Wayne could chase away Orland from his house, but he knew that wasn’t ideal at all.
‘Orland must have tagged along uninvited.’ Zich figured out the situation from their conversation.
“Anyways, that’s simply my opinion, sir. What do you think, master of the magical tower?” It seemed like Wayne planned to ignore Orland and push the conversation forward. However, Orland didn’t follow his father all the way to Wayne’s house to stand quietly.
“Is the ground for your suspicions that stretch of a story you made before?”
“What do you mean stretch! It’s true, that guy is suspicious!”
Orland scoffed, “If you nitpick about everything like that, of course everyone will look suspicious! It wouldn’t be strange for anyone to mobilize a secret force in a situation like this. According to your logic, we would all be potential suspects!”
‘Yup, yup!’ Zich nodded his head by the windowsill. If he could, he wanted to applaud Orland. ‘Even though it’s true that I kidnapped Elena.’
“It’s more convincing that you are purposefully trying to frame Mr. Zich because of your personal grudge against him!”
“What…!” As expected of ill-tempered Wayne, he was about to shout in response. Yet, unlike his usual self who would have run wild with rage, he tried to repress his anger.
‘Huh? This is unexpected.’ Zich was quite surprised. As if Orland was also surprised, his expression looked like he was a bit baffled. It seemed like Orland was prepared to raise his voice once Wayne began to shout.
“It’s true that I dislike that fellow. I admit it. But it’s also true that his servants are acting strangely. I tried to get some of my guys to follow at least the one who shows up sometimes, but they lost him every time.”
“You are suspecting him just because of that?”
“He’s a wanderer with a mysterious background. Also, he has a connection with Elena as a friend of her teacher. Don’t you know? Surprisingly, kidnappings are frequent between people who know each other.”
“We can’t doubt him just because of that.”
“Well, that’s true.” As Wayne agreed with him, Orland narrowed his eyes. “Anyways, I definitely think that guy is suspicious. I am going to meet his servants and check them out myself. Then, I am going to dig up information from them or get some professionals to follow them.” There was a great amount of certainty in Wayne’s voice.
However, Zich was also certain. “This guy knows we kidnapped Elena.” This was an important piece of information that made the risk of trespassing worth it.
“Master of the magical tower, what do you think?” Wayne asked Walwiss. It sounded like he wanted Walwiss to agree with him.
‘No, it’s slightly different.’
Rather than desiring agreement, it sounded more like Wayne was trying to test Walwiss. Zich leaned his head closer towards the inside of the room to hear the conversation better.
Clack.
Walwiss turned around. His eyes shot towards the window.
‘Is there something?’ Zich turned around. However, there was nothing outside the window. So, he turned his eyes back towards the room, but Walwiss continued to stare outside the window.
‘…No.’ Zich felt cold sweat on his back. ‘He isn’t looking outside the window.’
Zich placed his feet on the wall and pushed himself strongly backwards. His body moved away from the window, and Walwiss’ pupils moved slightly.
‘He’s looking at me!’
Craaash!
The window that Zich had been hanging onto burst into flames and pillars of fire shot down. A fire pillar slid right past his face and made his whole body burn up.
Thud! Zich’s feet landed on the ground, and he quickly moved.
‘I gotta make a run for it.’ He had already gained information, and this place was the enemy’s home ground. Moreover…
‘Walwiss Dwayne isn’t someone I can beat right now—’ Before he could even finish that thought, Zich twisted his body.
Crash!
A fireball shot down on the area where he used to be and created a giant, pitch-black hole.
‘Tch! It’s annoyingly fast!’
However, the fence was just in front of him. If he reached the city, even Walwiss wouldn’t be able to properly attack Zich. Yet, as if Walwiss knew Zich’s intentions, the next attack blocked him from moving further.
Crackle!
The wall burned up. It almost looked like a firewall of doom blocking the world of the living from Hell. The wall’s height was the size of five person’s and blocked Zich from retreating behind the fence.
“…Damn it.” Even Zich couldn’t do anything but click his tongue. Even when he wasn’t close to the fire, he could feel the intense heat. The surrounding grass and trees let out thick smoke as they burned without even touching the wall of fire. Zich picked up a tree branch near his feet and tried throwing it at the wall.
Pop!
Before it even touched the wall, the branch caught fire and scattered apart as ashes as soon as it reached the wall’s fire.
‘It’s going to be difficult to pass through it via brute force.’
He thought about jumping over the wall, but Zich knew that attacks would come flying behind him as soon as he attempted to do that.
‘Those attacks will be difficult to block.’
Zich let out a small sigh. Then he turned his body and lifted his head. This was the time of day where darkness reigned supreme. It was also foggy today, so even the moon and stars were not up in the sky. However, Zich’s surroundings were bright as if it was daylight. In an area that was near Zich, dozens of fireballs floated in the sky.
Moreover, they were not just ordinary fireballs. Each one of them was more than twice the size of an ordinary human. It was as if dozens of suns had appeared in the sky. In the center, a person floated in the air like a sun god.
“Honestly, I was a bit confused.” The godlike human, Walwiss Dwayne stated, “I did feel a slight sense of something that felt like magic, but I wasn’t entirely certain. So imagine my surprise when I found out that a rat had really snuck inside.”
‘He sensed some magic. Did I get caught because of the artifact? The invisibility artifact’s magical energy should’ve been hidden as much as possible.’
No wonder Walwiss was the head of the magical tower; he really earned the title of the greatest mage in this world. Zich didn’t expect that his invisibility artifact, which had been trustworthy so many times in his infiltration, would be the one to expose him.
“Release that pathetic magic. It doesn’t even work on me anymore.”
Zich easily released his magic. Since Walwiss had sensed him with the magical energy from the artifact, his invisibility magic would only make his situation worse. However, he wore a robe and covered his face. He had no intention of revealing his identity to Walwiss yet.
When Zich’s appearance was revealed, Walwiss issued a cold command. “Take off your cloak as well.”
“I don’t want to.” Zich changed his voice.
Walwiss’ face became even more cold. “It would be better for you to obediently follow my words if you don’t want to turn into a pile of ashes.”
“I’m going to refuse both. I’m not going to take off my cloak, and I’m also not going to turn into a pile of ashes. Also, for your information, I’m not going to tell you my identity and I’m not going to get caught.”
Walwiss was exasperated. He had gone through all kinds of experiences; he participated in numerous battles and experienced various assassination attempts. However, no one had ever replied to him like this. Even though some people tried to bluff their way out, they revealed their insecurity and fear in their voice and body language. Yet, the mysterious figure in front of him was confident to the point of being rude.
“…Well, that’s fine. I’ll check your face after I burn your body.” Contrary to his magic, Walwiss’ voice was as cold as ice. “However, before that, I’m going to ask you one question. You punk, are you related to Elena’s kidnapping?”
Zich shrugged his shoulders. “No idea.”
“Fine.” Walwiss raised his staff. “Then I’ll officially begin my interrogation later on. I will also ask a request from you—please don’t die. I have many things I really want to ask you.”
The fireballs next to Walwiss began moving again. Zich also took out Windur, which had already changed into an ordinary looking sword.
Whoosh!
The fireballs came rushing towards Zich.
“Tch!” Zich raised Windur. Even though the fireballs were not near him yet, his whole body was burning up.
‘As expected of Elena’s grandpa. They use the same skills!’
Like a god in the sky sending judgement down on an arrogant human, fireballs came plummeting down on Zich.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
Jaewick’s yard was burnt to a crisp. The fireballs that hit the ground landed with huge explosions and created gigantic craters on the ground. However, the fireballs didn’t end with just that—they still didn’t disappear. Like suns stuck to the ground, they began burning everything in the surroundings and rushed towards Zich.
“Damn it!” Zich fused a lot of mana into his sword, and Windur’s power strengthened Zich’s mana. “Hyaaaaat!”
Zich could no longer be laid back and relaxed like usual. He put a lot of strength into his whole body and swung Windur to shoot out mana blades towards the fireballs.
Cruuuunch!
The mana blades struck the nearest fireball. Normally, Zich’s attack would have easily split the fireball into two, but not this time.
Bam!
Zich’s attack was the one to explode. The mana blades were unable to pierce through the heat and force of the fireballs.
“…Shit!” Even Zich could not help but click his tongue. However, the fireballs paid no attention to Zich’s feelings and continued to fiercely press on towards Zich.
“Hmph!” Zich took a deep breath. He stomped on the ground and focused his mana into Windur again while the fireballs soon appeared right in front of Zich.
“Ughhhh!” His whole body burned. His robe also caught on fire, and his body began to burn. However, Zich focused his mana into critical areas of his body and endured the pain. He couldn’t protect his whole body; if he did, he wouldn’t be able to pierce through the fireballs.
“Hyaaat!” Zich slashed the fireballs with Windur.
Push!
Even though he felt great resistance, Zich was able to successfully pierce one of the fireballs with his sword. Like this, he exploded his mana out of Windur.
Crassssssh!
An explosion that turned all the other explosions into child’s play erupted from the ground.