Episode 400
Berrick rested his chin on the table, staring at the bubbling liquid before him. Around him, the other mages watched intently. No matter how you looked at it, that stuff wasn’t fit to eat—yet he was actually going to drink it?
Some whispered to each other, seriously suggesting they should stop him, but no one spoke up loudly. They were all too wary of Akorella, who was smiling brightly while holding a document for the records.
“You’re really going to drink it? Ian, I’m drinking this?”
“Yeah, our little rascal Berrick. Go ahead and try it. We’ll split it into two doses. The first time, focus on the taste and describe it. Then, to monitor any physical reactions or changes, we’ll check every hour—”
“I don’t care about all that. Too much hassle.”
Akorella flipped through her papers excitedly, but Berrick ignored her and downed the drink in one gulp.
The mages gasped and clustered around Ian, who raised his eyebrows in concern.
“Burp.”
“You idiot! Didn’t I just say to drink it in two doses?”
“Hmm. Tastes good.”
“…Good? How? Be specific.”
“If it tastes good, it tastes good. What else is there to say?”
Snap. Akorella broke her pen with a forced smile. She admired his bravery as a test subject, but his ignorance wasn’t helping the research.
Berrick wiped the corner of his mouth and checked himself for any changes.
“Berrick, are you okay?”
He nodded. It felt no different than drinking a cold beverage. He shot a suspicious glance at Akorella.
“Isn’t this a failed experiment? There’s no reaction at all.”
“Side effects? Mental instability? How dare you call the great Akorella’s work a failure! Berrick, come here. I’ll help you throw it up.”
Ian flipped through Akorella’s report page by page. The ingredients were listed endlessly, and the manufacturing process was meticulously detailed. Though Ian wasn’t an expert and couldn’t fully understand it, he noticed some unusual points compared to previous enhancer reports.
“Akorella, are the items in parentheses substitutes? There are five new ones here, but I don’t know what ‘Rudlecle’ is.”
“Rudlecle is a substance found in monster blood. The researchers at the Klipford Royal Palace say it has effects similar to Vitaerol, which was used in the enhancer.”
“So, there’s monster blood in this? In here?”
“Yes. But—”
Was there a problem? Akorella’s eyes sparkled as she smiled. In other words, it was the rotten blood squeezed out from synthetic monsters they’d barely managed to cut off after battle.
The mages recoiled in horror, while Berrick just sniffled, clueless about what was going on.
“Are you crazy? You mixed rotten blood into this?”
“Look at you all, dying now and going to keep dying. Do you have the luxury to be picky? If it works, I’d eat dirt. Tsk tsk. Back in my day—”
“Ian, please put her in her place. Captain Akorella’s going to get us all into serious trouble. No, I mean, we’re the ones who’ll be in trouble.”
“Berrick already did. He’s done for now.”
“Berrick, just so you know, I liked you. You were a pain in the ass, but I liked you. So long, buddy.”
“Burp.”
Berrick met Ian’s gaze and let out a loud belch. Drinking monster blood directly—those mages who didn’t know he was from the Atan tribe just pitied him for drinking rotten blood and gave him a comforting pat.
“What’s with you guys? Can you speak plainly?”
“You just kissed her earlier. That was blood you drank.”
Berrick’s eyes went wide as he whipped his head toward Akorella, who held her broken pen, eyes gleaming.
“What? Feeling anything? How’s your stomach? Anything at all, just say something.”
“You crazy! I’m going to fight you for real!”
“Oh, bring it on! Let’s see how good this enhancer really is. Come at me.”
Ziiing. Ziiing.
As Berrick and Akorella simultaneously tried to release their magic, the mages rushed over and stopped them.
The meeting room instantly descended into chaos. The door creaked open, and Prince Noah froze in surprise, staring at the scene.
“Ah.”
“P-Please come in, Your Highness!”
“Was it too noisy? Ha ha ha! Ha!”
“Come here, how dare you feed me that!”
“You said you’d drink it yourself, so why are you making a fuss?”
“Both of you, quiet! The prince is here!”
“Down with Akorella!”
“That guy doesn’t even know what ‘down with’ means.”
“Why wouldn’t he? It means to kill!”
“Shh! Quiet!”
The mages separated Berrick and Akorella, forcing awkward smiles.
Prince Noah walked in slowly, looking utterly confused by the commotion. But it wasn’t something he needed to know about right now. He handed a sheet of paper to Ian.
“Here.”
“What is this?”
“A letter to be sent to Burgos and Luswena. It’s an agreement regarding the safety of the mages and prisoner exchange. With Minister Tweller and Captain Jaret’s help, there shouldn’t be any issues, but I thought it best for you to be familiar with the contents beforehand.”
Noah cleared his throat nervously. Since two veterans from Bariel had been involved in drafting it, Klipford could avoid some responsibility if problems arose. He came personally with the document to reassure Ian, who was already on edge because of the side effects.
Once Ian gave the final approval, they would send messengers immediately to initiate contact. Didn’t Minister Bariel threaten them? To bring all the mages before him within a day.
“……”
Ian’s gaze grew colder. Just when it seemed he had returned to normal, a chill dripped down again.
The mages huddled closer, exchanging glances. It seemed best to handle this internally for now, since facing other countries besides Bariel would only cause more trouble.
“The contents are acceptable.”
“Then we’ll send the messengers right away—”
“But this itself is the problem.”
Ian tapped the edge of the paper with his fingertip.
“Are you familiar with Damon and Eriphoni? Simply asking about the survival of mages reveals a great deal of information to them.”
Luswena was known to hold at least one captive, but Burgos’s numbers were unknown. If they had no prisoners, even asking about them would give the other side leverage. They could bluff, pretending to have captives to gain an advantage, or suspect a rift between Klipford and Bariel.
Damon and Eriphoni were exactly those kinds of people—readers not just of words, but of the underlying political currents.
Noah furrowed his brow.
“So what do you suggest? We plan to include magic swordsmen among the scouts searching near the barrier. You don’t want that?”
They were doing their best to rescue the mages on Klipford’s side, so why interfere? Ian tilted his head and nodded.
“No, proceed. If that is Klipford’s best effort. But I want to clarify that just because Tweller and Jaret helped draft the letter doesn’t mean we share responsibility. This is a letter from Klipford.”
In other words, don’t expect to shift blame. Shallow tricks won’t work. Even if Klipford gives everything in the war, it’s separate from Bariel. If Bariel has problems, they will be held fully accountable. It was a warning.
“So choose carefully.”
Are you sure there’s no better way? Is this truly the best option? Once the dice are cast, can you overcome even a small setback?
Noah folded the paper away at Ian’s icy warning.
“Don’t worry. This is my best plan, and soon it will be Klipford’s best.”
“Good to hear.”
“The sun will rise soon. Everyone should rest instead of causing a scene.”
Even if the situation was tense, the mages were key among Klipford’s reinforcements. It was better to conserve their strength and get some sleep before the next battle.
But at that, Berrick suddenly remembered what he’d drunk and lunged at Akorella again.
“Down with her! Down with her!”
“Idiot! Don’t say that in front of the prince!”
“Where did you even learn that? This is crazy.”
The door creaked.
Fortunately, Noah said nothing more and left the meeting room. He handed the letter to the waiting messenger and gave strict orders.
“If you can enter Burgos and Luswena, do so.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
It was an unspoken rule of war not to harm messengers. Not out of blind revenge or anger, but because understanding and negotiating mutual interests was more beneficial in the long run.
The two messengers, each bearing Klipford’s banner on their backs, dashed out beyond the barrier—one straight ahead, the other veering right. Noah sighed, hoping for good news.
“Your Highness, what should we do about that one?”
In the middle of the Clifford camp lay Zaira, sprawled out and fast asleep. After all the screaming, crying, and wild tantrums, she’d finally worn herself out and passed out. It was more accurate to say she’d fainted.
Noah shook his head in disgust.
“Don’t bother with her. That’s Bariel’s magic department’s responsibility.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Prince, dawn is breaking. We’ll head out to search the area in front of the barrier for any bodies. Captain Jarrett of the Imperial Guard has assigned some magic knights to assist. We’ll split into teams of four to scout the forest.”
Noah checked his pocket watch. Surely, there had been some contact by now. If so, it was crucial to find any traces to determine the enemy’s range of movement.
As Noah gave the order to proceed, the barrier gate swung open once more. The pitch-black night gave way to the faint light of early morning, casting a hazy glow over the surroundings.
The soldiers, fully armed, moved slowly through the field of corpses, identifying their own people and carefully inspecting for any remaining magic users among them.
Tap tap tap!
Hiiing!
Like shadows dissolving into the dawn, the scouting parties spread out, each veering left and right to survey the enemy’s positions and movements.
A flock of hungry crows cawed loudly as they took flight.
It didn’t take long for the messenger Noah had sent to return.
A soldier standing atop the barrier rang a bell to signal the messenger’s arrival. The weary soldier trudged inside, exhaling a breath of relief the moment he stepped onto familiar ground.
“Why are you back so soon? Any reply?”
“Haah, yes. I—I have it. Your Highness, where are you?”
“In the command room.”
The gatekeeper eyed the messenger suspiciously. The messenger carried a bundle on his back that hadn’t been there before. Feeling it cautiously, the gatekeeper realized it was a fairly large box.
“What’s that?”
“It’s the reply from Burgos.”
“Good grief…”
Something felt off. The gatekeeper turned his telescope toward the Luswena side, but there was no sign of any returning messengers.
That’s how it should be. When an important message is sent, the leaders and their subordinates hold meetings and draft a proper reply. It takes time. But Burgos had simply handed over a box and sent the messenger back as if they’d been waiting all along.
Knock knock.
“Your Highness, the messenger to Burgos has returned.”
“What? Already?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t get inside. And this is King Damon’s reply. He said it would be best if you and Ian saw it yourselves.”
Prince Noah untied the cloth wrapping the box and unfolded it, immediately recognizing five Bariel mage robes soaked in blood. His head spun.
And then—
“What on earth…?”
The box was tightly sealed.
The generals bit their dry lips and offered a suggestion.
“I’ll open it, Your Highness.”
Slowly, the general lifted the lid.
Inside was a human head.