Chapter 983
Without realizing it, Beric glanced down at his feet.
Hmm. This is inside the house.
The problem was that it was so utterly wrecked, it might as well have been outside.
“Corporal Barsabe.”
Startled out of her daze, Barsabe snapped to attention. Right now, Ian wasn’t here as Hadell, but as the Minister of Magic. She gave a crisp salute.
“Corporal, return to the palace. It seems there’s trouble within the palace guard.”
A flicker of confusion crossed Barsabe’s face. Ian had just relayed Arco’s message—that attempts to disrupt order inside and outside the palace had been detected. But was it really the palace guard causing the problem?
Barsabe furrowed her brow with concern. If Ian’s suspicion was true, it could only mean internal division… and at the center of it, her own father.
“Captain Herchi will be waiting as well.”
Ian added that as if reading her thoughts, subtly implying that Herchi had nothing to do with this.
Ian sensed movement beyond the roof and stretched out his hand again. The rain had soaked his leather gloves through.
“Hurry.”
“…I’ll see you at the palace.”
With a sharp salute, Barsabe dashed out beyond the protective barrier. Seeing this, Beric wiped the blood from his nose and asked,
“Ian, what about me? I’m part of the palace guard too.”
“You’re excused.”
“Why? Did I really get kicked out?”
As the old woman struggled to rise, debris from the building fell around her. Ian watched quietly and replied,
“You’re coming with me to Crony.”
“Eh? Really? I’m finally going out?”
If there was anything related to demonic power near Crony, they needed a keen tracker to detect it—someone who could distinguish between humans and non-humans. The goal was to handle them accordingly. Once the situation was under control, the evidence would be shown to the empire’s citizens.
“Tch, these young ones don’t even respect their elders. No wonder the country’s in decline, tsk.”
The old woman grumbled as she struggled to stand. Considering she had taken Ian’s full attack head-on, she looked surprisingly intact. Beric gawked and pointed at her in disbelief.
“Who calls you an old lady? You’re a crazy hag! Be honest—aren’t you younger than me?”
“Shut up, you brat!”
“Oh? Getting all riled up, huh? Guess I’m right. Poor thing, your old-man syndrome is serious.”
The old woman glared but couldn’t move easily. One scrappy magic swordsman might have been manageable, but now there were two mages. And—
‘He said his name was Ian.’
Ian Hadell. The genius hailed as the first noble mage.
They said his power surpassed the entire Ministry of Magic. His strength was extraordinary—even a snap of his finger packed immense force. The old woman steadied her trembling legs, deep in thought.
“Arc.”
At that moment, Ian looked up and called out. One mage, who had been pouring all his energy into maintaining the barrier, hesitated.
“Hm?”
“You’re going into the palace too.”
“But the barrier—”
“I’ll take over. They’re short-handed inside.”
The mage glanced toward the palace. With the lockdown in place, it was no surprise they were understaffed. And Ian wasn’t there. The mage nodded and turned.
“I’ll go in first, then.”
At the same time, the barrier flickered and dimmed.
The old woman’s eyes gleamed. This was her chance—the last chance she’d ever get. Whether she broke through the barrier or crawled out through a tunnel, she had to escape now.
‘Facing Ian Hadell means certain death.’
She lowered her stance and watched for an opening. Just as the mage turned to fly off—
Snap!
Tat-tat-tat!
The old woman summoned all her remaining strength and kicked the barrier. A sharp crack sounded. The mage turned back in surprise, but Ian gave a reassuring look.
Crackle!
Whoosh!
“Hey! Old hag!”
The old woman tumbled out beyond the barrier, rolling a few times before vanishing at an unbelievable speed. Beric tried to follow, but seeing Ian remain still, he hesitated as well.
“Not chasing?”
“We will.”
“She’s already gone.”
“If we follow too closely, she’ll just keep running.”
“What do you mean?”
Ian gestured toward the guards assessing the situation from afar. The order was to secure the old woman’s group once the area was under control.
“If we chase immediately, she’ll only try to escape. But if we don’t, she’ll eventually return to where she came from.”
“Return? That old woman seemed to come from the north.”
Beric’s eyes widened, then he snapped his fingers in realization.
“Crony?!”
“Yeah. Her last known location was Minister Freddy’s mansion. Now that things have escalated, he won’t just sit idle. She’s probably moving, but we can’t pinpoint her exact location.”
With Merni involved, there was no way Freddy was leisurely sipping tea at his mansion. She was likely blending in with the soldiers gathering near the palace, ready to slip inside amid the chaos.
“But how do we find her? She didn’t leave a trail or anything—just disappeared like that.”
Ian raised his index and middle fingers. What was that? Just leather gloves?
Beric’s eyes sparkled with golden light as strange symbols swirled around Ian’s fingertips.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“You don’t need a physical tether to track movement.”
“When did you learn that…?”
Beric reached out in wonder, but Ian pulled back his hand and took a watch from his inner pocket. In his mind, he was calculating how things were unfolding inside and outside the palace.
Beric stared at Ian for a moment, then exclaimed,
“That’s right. There’s no way the old woman could have jumped up like that after your attack.”
Ian had planned from the start not to eliminate her, but to use her as bait for the chase!
Beric shook Ian’s shoulder excitedly, but Ian just looked annoyed.
“Man, my house is totally wrecked. If Helna sees this, she’ll try to kill me.”
What could be done? It was a trap set for Crony from the beginning, so the repair costs would fall on Ian and the Ministry of Magic. As long as the palace was secured, what did it matter if the house was ruined?
“Ian, can I borrow some money?”
“Huh?”
“I look like a mess, so I probably can’t get a loan. What good is having a rich friend if I can’t borrow from him? If you lend me some, I promise I won’t stiff you. Deal?”
Beric clasped his hands together, pleading. Ian tilted his head in confusion. Did he know the old woman was bait but not that he himself was bait?
“…I’ll see how you’re doing.”
“Aw, come on! Just lend me some!”
Beric grabbed Ian’s arm and shook it. Ian pushed him gently, signaling it was time to move.
“When we catch Crony.”
“Really?”
“No interest.”
“You promise?!”
Beric rolled up his sleeves, fired up with determination. He’d already taken a beating from the old woman—black eyes, bruises, and a bloody nose. Silly Beric… Ian nodded and gestured for him to follow.
“Going? Now? Finally?”
“The magic I planted isn’t fading anymore. It must have stopped somewhere.”
“Let’s go! Let’s finish this quickly!”
As Beric tried to sprint ahead, Ian grabbed the back of his neck. Ian had clearly intended to go right, but Beric was veering left. Some things you just can’t figure out.
“Beric, this way.”
“Uh, yeah, this way! This way!”
Thud!
Ian leapt lightly into the air, and Beric followed with a big jump onto a rooftop. The streets were empty, probably due to the lockdown. It felt like a deserted city.
Swish.
Children peeked out from between window cracks, spotting Ian and gasping in awe. But soon, their parents pulled them back inside.
Whoosh!
“Ian! Come with me!”
Beric shouted, struggling to keep up as they ran through wide gaps between buildings.
After some time, Ian sensed they were close to the old woman and stopped midair near the palace’s north gate, where Bariel soldiers were controlling access.
Swish.
Landing on a rooftop, Ian scanned the area. He couldn’t track magic from here. He kept looking around and ordered Beric,
“Beric, search.”
“Hah, huh? Search for what? That old lady?”
“Anything. Just hurry.”
“Okay, okay. Give me a moment to catch my breath. You flew here, but I ran.”
Beric took a deep breath and sniffed the air, but with so many soldiers around, he couldn’t pick up any ‘special’ scent.
“This is tough.”
“Keep looking.”
“Can’t we go down and search?”
“……”
Ian hesitated. If they showed themselves to the soldiers, the Imperial Defense might order an attack. He wasn’t worried about being attacked, but expanding the civil war was absolutely unacceptable. Once blood is shed, war spirals out of control. Ending it is far harder than starting it.
Wheeeeee!
Boo- boo-
Suddenly, the sound of metal horns echoed from all directions. Tension spread instantly, and confusion rippled through the soldiers.
“What’s going on? Why are they acting like that?”
Beric wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered under his breath.
Whoosh—
The soldiers began hooking their grappling irons onto the castle walls, preparing to breach the palace. The guards stationed atop the walls hesitated, unsure of how to respond.
“Stop! Halt!”
If they climbed up, they’d have to stab them down. And if someone fell, it would almost certainly mean death. But if they didn’t stop them, the palace gates would be wide open.
As the soldiers faced off, shouting at each other, Ian’s expression hardened. He turned around sharply.
“Chronie…”
He had to act fast.
For Bariel’s sake.
“Sir Chronie! We have a serious problem!”
The news reached Chronie, who was waiting at the North Gate. Merni had been summarily executed by Herchi. The officials were in an uproar, convinced they’d be next.
“What should we do? Herchi killing Captain Merni is basically a signal. They’ve drawn their swords.”
“Though the soldiers are ready, the officers’ reactions are worrying. We need to push forward quickly…”
“Exactly. There’s no way the mages can control the soldiers. Let’s force the gates open before anyone loses their nerve!”
Chronie pressed his fingers to his forehead, deep in thought. Clearly, everything was spiraling out of control. Nothing was going right. Even if he set Beric’s side aside, the chaos inside the palace was spilling out, threatening to consume him.
“The palace gates… we have to break through.”
Reluctantly, Chronie gave the order. Some officers’ faces darkened, but at this point, no one could turn back.
“Use the soldiers to break through the palace gates. Tear them down if you have to, climb over if you must. As long as the mages are distracted, I’ll slip through and handle things from inside.”
“Sir Chronie? How do you plan to get through…?”
At the question, Chronie’s eyes flashed with a golden light.
“With magic, what can’t I do?”
From his clenched fist, a spear of golden light erupted.
Now it was time for Chronie to take the lead.