Episode 676
Ding! Diiing—!

During the near-silent prayer time in Toorun, the attendants slipped off their shoes and ran barefoot across the marble floor. They moved with precise coordination, careful to make no noise—not even the rustle of their robes.

They hurried into the king’s chambers, heads bowed low, carrying a damp towel.

“Ugh, ugh…”

King Kumasha of Toorun scratched at the back of his neck, gasping for breath. His groans of discomfort sounded as if a thorn was lodged deep in his throat. The attendants bowed even lower, pretending not to hear.

“Are you all right, Your Majesty?”

“I don’t know why this is happening…”

Though dozens were in the room, only the prime minister dared speak. Kumasha’s trembling body gave way, and he collapsed sideways again.

“Could it be because of ‘that’?”

The prime minister’s question hung in the air. Kumasha fell silent for a moment. Ian Hielo. Beyond the doll’s glassy eyes, that presence had surely been watching him.

“King of Toorun, is it finished?”

“Damn it!”

Kumasha scowled, scraping the floor with his nails. Then he let out a furious roar, but no one dared meet his gaze.

Ian Hielo had executed nearly the only known countermeasure against the puppet magic. Whether he did so knowingly or not, it didn’t matter.

“To look straight through the doll to see who’s behind it.”

By doing so, attacks aimed at the doll could reach the puppeteer. The power was greatly diminished, but for a child like Kumasha, even that was unbearable.

Tears streamed down the boy’s face as he rubbed his aching body. His pale skin flushed red.

“In the case of the magic swordsman Barsabe, Your Highness was controlling him, but since he was never attacked, it wasn’t a problem. The same goes for other puppeteers—if their identities remain unknown, there’s no real cause for concern…”

“I know! I know that already!”

Since Lady Darsi’s arrival, things had clearly started to go wrong. Forbidden magic, the disappearance of any buffer to absorb the shock—it all added up.

Kumasha glared irritably at the prime minister. To think he just stood there, doing nothing but looking down on him and babbling as if he knew better.

At that moment, a calm voice came from outside.

“The mages have arrived.”

The mages who had escaped through a portal from Luswena had reached the vicinity of the Toorun palace and entered. Kumasha shouted sharply, as if relieved.

“Summon all the puppeteers!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Thanks to Lady Darsi, Kumasha understood that more safeguards were needed to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Not just one, but two or more puppeteers would be stationed between him and the enemy, so the force wouldn’t reach him directly.

“But Your Highness, regarding Erika from the Hawan Kingdom—you mentioned she learned the countermeasure when she killed Prime Minister Shatima. Has there been any further reaction since then?”

The prime minister handed the boy lukewarm water and asked. Kumasha gasped harshly but forced himself to take a sip.

“Not yet.”

“…Not yet.”

There were only two ways to counter puppet magic: from the outside, or by severing it from within. Ian Hielo’s case was the former.

Erika’s was the latter. How Prime Minister Shatima knew and passed on the method was unclear, but fortunately, the memory was fragmented and incomplete.

“Do not allow Erika even a moment’s hope. If she lets her guard down, it will be disastrous, Your Highness.”

Kumasha only raised his moist eyes in response.

When word came that the mages and puppeteers were ready, the boy staggered to sit upright. Damn Ian Hielo.

“We will seal the mages as forbidden and send them back to Luswena—or to Ian Hielo. Select a couple of puppeteers to accompany them, just in case. And Lady Darsi—”

Kumasha motioned for scissors. Holding a small pair in one hand, he examined the tangled threads with his fingertips.

“Cut them.”

Snip.

As the threads snapped, a faint wisp of smoke rose from the ends. There was almost no physical reaction, and since Elder King had locked them away in a drawer, they were useless even as decorations. Better to cut them than let them cloud his mind.

“Bring the Luswena mages and puppeteers here.”

“Yes, Your Highness. A wise decision.”

Hot sunlight poured over the cold marble. Kumasha sighed softly, listening to the distant tolling of bells. The world outside looked so peaceful, yet inside, it was chaos.

Closing his eyes briefly, Kumasha prayed to the underground deity. Please, let this time be the one to take Ian Hielo’s life.

---

“Erika, I believe this will be our final attack.”

The rain was growing heavier. Despite her best efforts to keep her core dry, water seeped through her fingers.

Her lieutenant reported that this would be the last strike and awaited Erika’s orders. It would be ideal to take down the mages with magic bullets, but that was never their goal. Their mission was to disrupt the mages temporarily, to give Luswena a chance to breathe.

“Shall we start wrapping up and fall back to the rear?”

“It’s better to cross the border into Hielo. Troops are waiting near Merellof; once we signal, they’ll move in.”

“I don’t know about Hielo, but there are many survivors in Merellof. If we fight alongside them, the mages won’t attack easily.”

“By then, the core will have dried completely and can be used again. Now is the time to retreat, Erika.”

“Give the order…”

Though not officially allied, the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ held true. They needed to unite against the massive wall that was Bariel.

If Luswena fell here, the consequences would fall squarely on Hawan.

“Erika?”

But Erika gave no response. She just stared blankly at the mages in the sky.

Then, the last bullet was fired.

Bang! Bang!

“Come on! Huh?”

Beric, who had been waiting for this moment, twitched his arm as if ready to swing his sword, but the bullet whizzed past him. He sprinted after it with all his might.

“Throw it straight, will you!”

Erika’s lieutenant, seeing this, felt a brief relief at the delay but grew anxious at her hesitation.

“Erika! You have to decide!”

Shaking her shoulder, the lieutenant finally roused Erika, who muttered listlessly.

“Fine. Order everyone to retreat.”

“Yes, understood!”

It was strange. She knew Erika was from Bariel, but why did meeting the mages unsettle her so? It was a mystery.

At the late signal, Hawan commanders waved their flags vigorously, ordering the soldiers to fall back.

Whoooosh—whoooosh!

Meanwhile, Ian raised his hand briefly, signaling the Hawan soldiers not to pursue. He clearly intended to draw the mages’ attention as much as possible.

“They’re heading into Hielo and Merellof, but ignore that. Clearing Luswena is the priority.”

Even if they lost territory temporarily, reinforcements were on the way. Luswena had to be crippled before they could safely leave the rear undefended.

More importantly, if mages appeared in Hielo and Merellof, the hopeful locals might rise up to defend their lands. Admirable, but Ian did not wish to see their blood spilled.

“If the locals get caught in the war, even mages won’t be able to protect them without casualties. It’s best to evacuate them before the Hawan army arrives.”

Just as Ian turned away, Beric, chasing the bullet, leapt high and caught up. Then, with all his strength—

Klang!

He swung his greatsword, altering the bullet’s trajectory.

The projectile, which had been falling close to the ground, suddenly shot straight forward. It flew between dragons, over the heads of Luswena soldiers, and toward the steadfast wall.

Crash! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

“Ho.”

Beric shielded his eyes from the rain and watched the wall. Something had hit perfectly—dust billowed as bricks began to crumble.

Rumble—!

“Get out of the way!”

“The wall’s collapsing! Move!”

Thanks to the rain, the dust settled quickly, but once the stones started falling, they didn’t stop. Like dominoes, the rubble toppled endlessly, destroying the area. This was the nature of the last magic bullet fired by Hawan.

“Explosions keep coming!”

“The tremors continue! Run!”

“Hawan, you crazy bastards! Please stop! We’re all going to die!”

The shockwaves kept coming relentlessly, continuing until no more force could be transmitted. It was similar to the “Chaotic Bell” spell Hail had once used.

Berrick stared at the collapsing barriers with a puzzled expression, while the mages looked down at him in disbelief. The archers who had been firing Idgal arrows at the walls had long since been swallowed by the dust and fallen silent.

“Berrick, what the hell are you?”

“Not bad, huh? Yeah, this time I actually did pretty well.”

“It’s hilarious how every time he pulls something like this off, he gets overhyped. Don’t get cocky! You just got lucky, man!”

“Luck’s a skill too, you know?!”

“See? Already puffing out your chest. Damn it.”

“Hey, what are you mages doing? One good hit and those barriers would’ve fallen ages ago! Ha! You’ve been slacking off! Give me my damn salary back!”

“Who told you to be so damn reckless—”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for the excuses from the mages who couldn’t break a single barrier! Hahaha!”

The mages’ eyes narrowed. They clasped their hands together, drawing in magical energy, and from all across Luswena’s land, living tendrils of power sprouted and stretched out.

“…Kill that bastard too.”

“Got it.”

Swish!

The world tree’s tendrils lashed out like whips, striking the ground. They were clearly aimed at Berrick, but he dodged nimbly, while the soldiers of Luswena screamed in agony as the tendrils tore through them.

Boom! Crash!

“Ahhh! Nooo!”

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

The same chaos unfolded on Eldert’s side. Unable to stand firm on the ground, Eldert mounted his dragon and grabbed his bow.

Kuguk-kung, kuguk!

“All the barriers have fallen!”

The tremors ceased along with them. The surviving soldiers wanted to retreat toward the rear barriers, but the massive debris blocked their way. Forced to scatter left and right, their formation crumbled beyond repair.

From above, Eldert watched the devastation with a heavy heart.

“Eldert!”

But he quickly snapped back to attention at the mages’ call, gripping the dragon’s reins tightly. Luswena still had two barriers left. And…

Swish!

Shaking off distractions, Eldert fired arrows at the pursuing mages to keep them at bay, then fled toward the palace. Hale gestured for him to chase.

“Catch him! Bring him in alive and make him pay for his crimes!”

Meanwhile, in a chaotic corner of the battlefield, Erika, who was about to retreat beyond the border, suddenly froze at a voice she heard.

—You can’t leave.

It was Kumasha’s order.

Erika stood rooted to the spot. Without her, no one could immediately grasp how the situation in Luswena was unfolding. Her body wanted to turn back and defend the front lines, but something…

—Hold your position.

Is this really right? Is keeping Hwan’s soldiers here the best course of action?

Drip. Drop.

Amid the rain, Erika recalled Shatima’s final moments once more. And like ice cracking beneath her feet, she remembered her parting words.

“Hold onto your will. Look to yourself. Understand?”