Karte Magnotune.
While alive, he had been praised as a promising Elemental Mage with a bright future. Now, however, he had been reduced to a wretched puppet compelled to obey orders through Dark Magic.
There could be no greater humiliation.
Mages of the past had been treated with a level of reverence comparable to that afforded to aristocrats.
It felt like only yesterday that people had gazed up at him as he walked through the streets, while lowborn commoners had not even dared to meet his eyes.
I want to die.
No. I just want to sleep now.
Was there anyone who could understand what it felt like to be exploited for hundreds of years, even after becoming a corpse?
“Sigh…”
A sigh escaped him naturally.
Now that things had come to this, he wanted to go on one spectacular rampage.
The urge to flood the entire area surged to the surface, but Karte desperately suppressed it.
Heros was Dark Magic that would not be dispelled even if its caster died.
If he accidentally killed Loeb, he would have to continue living like this forever, until someone severed the link inside his brain.
“Why have you been sighing so much?”
“We are almost at the village. Please endure it until then.”
Shuran had used Karte as a tool, bringing him out only when he was needed.
For that reason, Karte had expected to be subjected to every manner of threat and torture after these people captured him. Contrary to his concerns, however, they had respected his human rights and treated him kindly.
They had not lowered their guard.
Didia continued to glance in his direction, openly displaying her hostility.
Karte could understand how she felt. The man who had nearly killed her was walking beside her as though nothing had happened.
At present, however, Karte could not bring himself to care about anything else.
“Listen. I already gave you all the information you wanted. Should you not release me now?”
“No. Not yet.”
The white-haired Dark Mage answered firmly.
Shuran was an intelligent man.
There was no possibility that he had sent Karte without considering the consequences. He must also have prepared a contingency plan in case Karte failed.
Letra and Shairin had been sent back to the village where Darren lived.
They had originally intended to follow Rud.
It was true that having more people would provide an advantage in battle. However, when Rud suggested that Shuran might have visited the village, they immediately changed their minds.
“Mr. Loeb.”
Didia, who was walking beside Loeb, carefully whispered to him.
“Did Karte truly agree to accompany us on the condition that you would release the Dark Magic placed on him?”
“Is there a problem?”
“N-No. I simply found it strange that he was being so unusually obedient.”
Didia had accompanied them because she believed it would be too dangerous for Rud to search for Shuran alone.
Didia was also a Mage.
If it meant eradicating an evil that threatened the world, she was prepared to sacrifice herself willingly.
For some reason, however, she could not shake the feeling that Karte was deceiving them.
“Are you trying to say that this might be a trap?”
As though Loeb had read her mind, he identified the source of her unease precisely.
“Did it sound that way?”
“You do not need to worry too much. It is indeed a trap.”
“…What?”
Didia suddenly stopped walking as though she had misheard him.
“What do you mean, it is a trap?”
“I mean exactly what I said. This is bait Shuran prepared to lure us in.”
Loeb patiently explained it to Didia, who still appeared unable to understand.
“Shuran is meticulous. He evaded the police for hundreds of years as a Dark Mage. There is no possibility that a man like him would allow information capable of revealing his location so clearly to be disclosed this easily. Yes. You can think of this as him openly declaring, ‘I will be waiting here, so come to me.’”
“He intends to capture everyone investigating him at once. Is that what you mean? But he must know that doing so would place him at a disadvantage. Is there any reason for him to go that far?”
“Didia, dividing the enemy’s forces is a fundamental tactic. I did not send Letra and Shairin back to Darren’s village without reason.”
Didia pondered his words before her expression suddenly hardened.
“Could Darren have…?!”
“Ma’am!!”
Letra violently opened the Front Door and rushed into the house.
Contrary to what she had expected, the Living Room was entirely peaceful. An awkward look of confusion spread across her face.
“Letra, what is the matter? Why did you rush inside like that?”
“Where is Darren? Where is he?”
Without even looking at the Lady of the House, Letra searched every corner of the building.
When she found no trace of Darren, Shairin, who had entered behind her, immediately left to question the people in the neighboring houses.
“Darren? I do not know. I have not seen him since this morning. Perhaps he went somewhere.”
“What?”
Letra frowned at the strange answer.
Darren did not attend School. Furthermore, there was no reason for him to leave the house alone early in the morning without telling anyone.
Letra immediately left the house and began searching for Darren.
Shairin also helped by questioning the villagers about his whereabouts, but not a single person could provide a clear answer.
“S-Something is wrong.”
An inexplicable, unpleasant chill crawled down Shairin’s spine.
A child had disappeared from the village without telling anyone, yet everyone continued with their ordinary lives as though it were nothing of importance.
“Shairin, did you find anything?”
Letra approached with a deathly pale expression. Shairin briefly shook her head.
“Everyone in the village is acting completely unconcerned, even though a child has disappeared.”
“That is not all.”
Letra placed both hands on her waist and briefly surveyed the village.
“When I asked what happened last night, every one of them said they could not remember anything. It seems that Shuran really did visit the village, just as Loeb said.”
“Then what are we going to do now?”
An unintended silence passed between them.
Letra contemplated the matter with a grave expression before speaking.
“I am going to rescue Darren. What about you?”
“Of course I am coming.”
Her answer came without the slightest hesitation.
When Letra looked at her as though questioning whether she was serious, Shairin smiled brightly.
“Your nephew is in danger. How could I possibly pretend not to know? Am I wrong?”
According to Karte, Shuran was currently inside an old mansion abandoned deep in the remote mountains.
The area was completely surrounded by trees, and the mansion stood in a location that could never be found without knowing the precise route. For that reason, Karte had to guide them there personally.
It was intended to delay them for as long as possible if any of them attempted to call for reinforcements.
Then there was Darren’s kidnapping.
At this point, Shuran’s planning was almost awe-inspiring.
What sort of mind did a person need to devise a plan like this?
Didia had often been praised for her intelligence at Magic School, but compared to Shuran, she felt hopelessly inadequate.
‘Loeb is no ordinary man either.’
Despite seeing through Shuran’s intentions completely, Loeb was still attempting to enter the tiger’s den himself.
It was an action only someone with absolute confidence in his own abilities could take.
He was also remarkably intelligent.
The moment Rud heard that the person who attacked Darren’s village had used water, he realized that Karte was an Assassin sent by Shuran.
He had not taken Karte to the Hotel Room and interrogated him without a plan.
‘Who in the world is he?’
Letra had said that she knew very little about Loeb as well.
She had only sought him out because she wanted to repay him for rescuing Darren.
Thinking about the matter alone would not provide an answer.
Just as Didia quickly pushed the distracting thoughts from her mind—
“There it is.”
Karte muttered briefly and gestured with his head.
Rud and Didia looked in the same direction simultaneously.
An old, three-story mansion stood before them. It appeared to have been abandoned for several decades, at the very least.
Grass and vines had grown across its exterior, while patches of Dark mold covered the white walls, creating an inexplicably unpleasant sight.
Every window had been shattered, allowing them to see clearly inside from where they stood.
There was no sign of another person.
Dozens of crows had gathered on the roof, noisily cawing together.
They almost appeared wary of the humans who had arrived after so long without visitors.
An indescribably eerie atmosphere surrounded the mansion. It would not have seemed strange for a ghost to emerge from inside at any moment.
Didia’s face turned deathly pale.
Even Rud blinked in surprise.
“Are you certain this is the place?”
He had never imagined that the mansion would be in such an advanced state of decay.
Karte frowned in displeasure.
“Turn back if you truly cannot believe me. You are the ones who followed me despite knowing that this was Shuran’s trap.”
It was an observation that left them with nothing to say.
A trap was often more terrifying when one knew of its existence than when one remained unaware.
Rud slowly approached the mansion and carefully examined its exterior.
“Judging by the surface of the walls and the mold, this does not appear to be a building created through magic.”
“Is that truly the case?”
Didia asked in a trembling voice.
“However, there is a strong possibility that he installed various devices inside. Shuran ordered Karte to bring us here because he must have prepared a great deal for our arrival.”
“…Wait. Does that not mean Shuran will not be inside?”
“Correct. He is probably waiting somewhere else.”
“Then why did we come here?”
When Didia asked in genuine confusion, Rud patiently explained.
“Think carefully. When people see a dangerous-looking building in front of them, their instinct is to avoid entering it. Even so, Shuran is openly making it obvious that this is a trap while still attempting to lure us inside. Does that not mean he has created a reason that will leave us with no choice but to enter?”
“Are you saying that there might be something inside?”
“Yes. Something we would have to risk our lives to obtain.”
Didia wondered what such a thing could be before an important possibility suddenly occurred to her.
“Could Darren be inside…?!”
Didia looked at Karte in case he knew something, but he merely maintained his nonchalant attitude.
“I know nothing.”
There was no conclusive evidence.
Even if they risked their lives and entered the mansion, they might emerge empty-handed.
Alternatively, they might die and rot inside until nothing but their bones remained.
Amid her deepening uncertainty, Didia reminded herself once more of why she had followed Loeb.
‘I have to rescue Letra’s nephew…’
A voice in the depths of her heart repeatedly warned her never to enter the mansion.
Kyria was also staring at her pleadingly, silently begging her not to go.
Nevertheless, Didia nodded firmly, strengthening her resolve.
“F-Fine. Let us go inside.”
Had she been alone, she would never have said such a thing.
She was relieved to have Loeb beside her. If she searched the mansion with him, she could expect at least some degree of safety.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Rud spoke.
“Then let us split up and search for Darren separately.”
“…What?! Why?!”
Rud answered in a tone suggesting that the reason should have been obvious.
“Because it will save more time than searching together.”