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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 149
In an instant, a flash of light enveloped us, and all four of our bodies were transported to a secluded location.
Fortunately, I had previously marked coordinates here.
Meryl and Rebecca, unable to grasp what had just happened, looked around in a daze before exclaiming in shock.
“Huh?”
“What is this…?”
As they struggled to comprehend the situation, they soon realized what I had done—it was elemental magic, and not just any magic, but a 7th-circle-level spatial transference spell.
“You can… use magic too?”
“And a 7th-circle spell at that…”
At their questioning looks, I created a barrier by completely freezing the surrounding sound waves, then turned to face them.
For some reason, both of them seemed to be suppressing their fear toward me.
There was no real reason for them to be afraid of me—so why the sudden change in attitude?
No, come to think of it, even back in the dungeon city, Rebecca had shown a similar reaction.
The real issue was that I could also sense a subtle fear coming from Meryl as well.
Was there a specific reason for them to be afraid of me?
As I ran multiple hypotheses through my head, an unwelcome thought emerged—one I’d rather not consider.
These women… they were searching for Arsha.
And the Moon Watchers, the organization they belonged to, was known for eliminating people who posed potential threats to prevent horrific disasters.
In other words, if they were looking for Arsha…
[It’s possible they intend to kill Arsha Cascadia.]
Just as the Librarian’s voice echoed in my head, my body reacted instinctively.
With no one watching or listening, I tore open my subspace, drew my sword, and pointed it at them.
“From now on, answer my questions.”
The chill in my now-informal tone made them audibly gulp.
“Why are you looking for my younger sibling?”
Truthfully, I didn’t even need to ask—the circumstantial evidence was already conclusive.
If they had good intentions in searching for my sibling, they would have contacted me first.
Instead, they were searching for Arsha in secret.
That could only mean one thing—Arsha Cascadia was their assassination target.
“L-Leon, Your Highness… why are you suddenly—”
Crack!
Fractures formed on Meryl and Rebecca’s masks before they shattered completely.
“I think I already have my answer. I’m only asking to confirm, so don’t try anything foolish.”
With their masks broken, their faces had turned pale.
They already knew how dangerous I could be.
Necromantic magic was one thing, but elemental magic was far more suited for neutralizing unexpected variables.
I had already solidified the space around us and blocked any potential activation of their artifacts.
If their goal truly aligned with the Moon Watcher’s twisted logic, then neutrality was no longer an option.
They would be classified as enemies—ones I had to eradicate, just like the cultists.
The only reason I hadn’t killed them yet was that I needed to verify the truth.
“W-Why are you doing this…?”
“The Moon Watchers. You two are part of an organization that eliminates evildoers for a greater purpose, correct?”
Silence was their only response.
“And yet, you came all the way here looking for my younger sibling without giving me any notice. How am I supposed to interpret that?”
Meryl, realizing what I was implying, quickly stepped forward in a panic.
“Wait! Leon! This must be some kind of misunderstanding!”
“Yeah. They all say that.”
Under normal circumstances, I might have calmed down.
But this was a time-sensitive situation.
This wasn’t just about finding Arsha—I needed to find her before these damn assassins did.
“Leon, I’ll check in on Baron, the slave trader.”
“Thanks.”
If Luna searched for Arsha while I dealt with the Moon Watchers, we could save time.
Of course, I wasn’t going to let her go alone.
“Muyeong, follow her.”
From within my shadow, a black shadow wolf silently emerged before merging into Luna’s shadow.
With that, Luna lightly stomped on the ground and leapt onto a nearby building.
Then, with a slight motion, she kicked off the air, creating a brief sonic boom before disappearing.
She’d find Baron quickly—his location had already been noted.
What was more surprising was that she hadn’t used aura or mana to do it—it was purely physical ability.
Luna had been taught some common sense, so there shouldn’t be any issues.
“Now, let’s continue our conversation.”
As I turned back to Rebecca and Meryl, erasing my faint smile, they flinched once more.
“I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Go ahead. If anything sounds suspicious, there will be no negotiations.”
Meryl swallowed hard, trying to steady her trembling hands, then nodded.
To summarize her explanation, the Moon Watchers had been deployed across the entire Pinas Archipelago with a mission to locate and retrieve Arsha alive.
How they even knew she was still alive was beyond me.
“Go on.”
“Rebecca and I have been gathering information here on Remilish Island. We don’t know her exact location, but we are certain that Arsha Cascadia is still alive somewhere in this archipelago.”
My fists clenched reflexively.
Was this… relief?
Or was it guilt for only learning about my sibling’s survival now, as her older brother?
It didn’t feel good either way.
“We are telling the truth. Our mission is to find her, not to kill her.”
Meryl’s insistence made me nod.
And then—
I raised my sword to her neck.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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“W-Why are you doing this?!”
“Doesn’t something seem off to you?”
Logically, their story wasn’t impossible.
But there was one major flaw in their actions.
“No matter what your reasons were, that doesn’t concern me. But why did you hide this from me?”
"That..."
"Is it difficult to answer? I suppose it would be. If your plan was to kill or do something strange with Arsha, then the moment you tell me, everything falls apart, doesn't it?"
If that were the case—if their goal was Arsha’s safe return—then from their perspective, using me would have been the best choice.
After all, wasn’t there Meryl Dyne, someone who had connections with me?
And yet, they chose to keep this from me.
"You have nothing more to say, do you?"
"That’s..."
She desperately searched for something to say, but no words came out.
In the end, it must have been an ill-fitting relationship.
Just as I was about to sever Meryl’s neck—
"Because you're dangerous!!"
Rebecca's outburst made my hand pause.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"We’ve confirmed that Arsha Cascadia is alive. But... we don’t know if she’s truly safe, what condition she’s in, or anything else."
"Go on."
I slightly withdrew my sword and took a step back.
"You believe your sister is dead. If we manage to rescue her, that would be great. But if we told you and you found out something had gone terribly wrong… then there would be no turning back."
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
"Are you treating me like some kind of bomb? What exactly have I done?"
Meryl sighed, stopping Rebecca from saying anything more.
"That’s enough, Rebecca."
"Senior..."
"Lord Leon, what Rebecca said is true. We have no way of knowing her condition. That’s why we chose to rescue her, but if something went wrong, we decided it might be better for you not to know."
"You keep repeating the same thing, but how does me knowing make a difference?"
What, am I supposed to destroy the world or something?
After a long moment of contemplation, Meryl finally answered.
"You are strong, someone with great power. But you are not a complete person, are you?"
"That’s quite rude."
"That’s what I believe. Regardless of your strength, you are excessively attached to the concept of family. We judged that it would be cruel to reopen that wound with false hope."
It was an annoying statement, but not necessarily wrong.
Was she lying?
Telling the truth?
Or was it a mixture of both?
Either way, it felt like they knew something about me.
Regardless of the truth, I sheathed my sword, and the two of them finally let out a sigh of relief.
Buzz.
At that moment, I received a transmission from Luna.
"Did you find her?"
-We have a problem.
"Give me the coordinates."
Luna was highly knowledgeable in magic.
Getting fixed coordinates was nothing for her.
After receiving them, I took Meryl and Rebecca—who were still under surveillance—and activated another teleportation spell.
What appeared before us was a complete mess.
"…Is she alive?"
"She’s not dead."
Saying this, Luna clutched the necklace hanging around her neck.
Meryl’s eyes widened in shock, and she urgently shouted.
"Th-That’s a Subjugation Collar?! Stop! If you try to remove it recklessly—!"
CRACK!!!
Despite some resistance, Luna effortlessly crushed the necklace with her bare hands.
"Huh?"
Meryl’s eyes went round in disbelief.
"Why were you wearing something so strange?"
"No idea. As soon as they realized I was from the Central Continent, they put this on me. It was annoying, so I took them down."
A Subjugation Collar.
I had heard of them before.
A tool from the archipelago used to restrain slaves.
Typically, it was employed on particularly rebellious ones.
It was designed to inhibit magic and suppress physical abilities.
And if it was forcibly removed or if a linked artifact was activated, the wearer would experience excruciating pain—or even injuries close to death.
Each one was known to be quite expensive.
I hadn’t expected that someone would try to put one on Luna.
Then again, she wasn’t wearing a hood anymore.
Plus, she had likely told them outright that she wasn’t a noble or royalty.
If they had seen her appearance, it wouldn’t be surprising if they got greedy.
The real issue was that forcibly removing the collar would usually cause severe backlash to the wearer.
But Luna had shattered the sturdy collar as if it were nothing, leaving everyone stunned.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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