Chapter 61
Eisel unconsciously gasped.
Leave this place?
Kain, what are you talking about?
Are you telling me to escape alone right now?
It was the perfect moment to ask back, but Eisel couldn't open his mouth after looking into Kain's eyes.
He hadn't known Kain for long, but Eisel had never seen such depth in Kain's gaze. The emotions held within those red eyes were indescribably complex and intertwined.
'Kain...'
To be honest, he knew.
With the restraints on now, safely escaping this place with Kain was impossible.
'No, the truth is, I can't even guarantee I can escape alone.'
One hopeful thing was that Sir Zechrom, the 6-star mercenary, hadn't moved yet. Sir Zechrom only followed the orders of his employer, the white-masked figure.
For Eisel to escape alone, now was the only chance, while he remained still. Kain knew this and was giving the hesitant Eisel one last opportunity.
'Such a brutally rational decision.'
If both couldn't escape, one would sacrifice themselves. And the one with the lower chance of survival would sacrifice for the one with the higher chance.
It was an extremely rational decision, but not many people could make such a rational decision when their own lives were on the line.
Eisel had thought Kain was in despair when he was frozen still, but now he realized that wasn't the case.
'Kain was continuously calculating and finding the best course of action in that situation.'
And Eisel couldn't squander the chance Kain had created for him. He couldn't make the worst choice of both of them getting caught.
"...Alright."
Eisel made up his mind and channeled his mana.
'I'll definitely come back for you.'
Even if Kain was captured, he wouldn't immediately die or be severely injured. Lady Rosanne and many others were coveting Kain, and the organizers would try their best not to damage the 'item.'
'After escaping, I must confirm where Kain is taken and then rescue him.'
He had noted who had successfully bid on the Marceline siblings, so he could temporarily put their rescue lower on his priority list.
Whoosh.
As Eisel channeled his mana, wind mana surged through his entire body.
But that mana was sucked into the restraint on his wrist. With an unpleasant sensation, as if his circuits were being absorbed, the transparent crystal turned green.
But.
"Wind Runner."
He pushed even more mana into the sucking circuits.
The small crystal became completely green, and when it could no longer absorb mana, the circuits finally began to function normally, manifesting the 5th Circle spell, Wind Runner.
Whoosh.
Eisel leaped into the air.
"What, they're escaping!"
"Hey, quickly, throw something! The item's getting away!"
At the customers' shouts, escorts threw daggers and other projectiles.
But Eisel, as if running through the air, stomped on successive shockwaves erupting beneath his feet, moving towards the high ceiling of the abandoned mine.
Whoosh.
Due to the continuous mana leakage, he was only moving at half his usual speed, but by constantly changing direction, he narrowly dodged the thrown weapons.
Soon, Eisel's figure disappeared into a gap in the abandoned mine's ceiling.
It happened in an instant, but surprisingly, the white-masked figure remained unperturbed.
"Should I go after them?"
Sir Zechrom asked briefly, and the white-masked figure shrugged.
"Hmm, how annoying. Fine, go get them. You can even sever their Achilles tendons. I figure they'll probably be cut off after being sold anyway, so consider it pre-emptive."
"Understood."
Sir Zechrom immediately lowered his stance after hearing the instruction.
By strengthening his body and leaping with all his might, he could reach that gap in an instant.
However.
"...!"
He soon realized his feet were frozen to the ground.
"What in the...!"
Sir Zechrom reflexively looked towards Liquita and Ellard.
But they were merely sitting beside the customers who had successfully bid on them.
Moreover, they were gagged.
It was impossible for them, who couldn't even cast Ice Needle, to have silently cast Frost.
'...Wait. They cast Frost silently?'
But this was no time to let the sense of incongruity linger. He immediately twisted his foot, slammed his sword into the ice to break it, and quickly traced the source of the mana where Frost had manifested.
His gaze stopped on Kain, who was looking at Sir Zechrom.
The crystal on the restraint fastened to Kain's wrist glowed blue.
'An ice-elemental mage?'
And the moment that question arose in his mind, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Kain's restraint, which had been filled with blue, now had red mingling within it.
'What in the...?'
Two opposing elements.
Pure mana of fire and water, incompatible, clashed together in one place.
They reacted as if boiling.
And.
Bang!
The restraint on Kain's wrist, the crystal that suppressed mana, shattered, unable to withstand the clashing forces.
Clank.
Kain unfastened the broken restraint and let it fall to the ground.
"W-what in the world? This bastard!"
"The restraint...!"
"Is that guy trying to escape too?"
"They said the mercenary was going to catch him, why didn't he go?"
"There's ice broken around his feet?"
"Could it be that guy is an ice-elemental mage too?"
Customers instinctively sensed that something was seriously amiss and pointed fingers at Kain.
"Hey! Kill that bastard first!"
"No, don't kill him, capture him alive if possible!"
"Yes! Capture him!"
"He's expensive, just subdue him!"
Attention instantly focused on Kain.
The escorts charged at Kain, following their employer's command.
"...No."
Sir Zechrom muttered.
He had just witnessed two sights he'd never seen in his life within a short span.
The first was the mana of water and fire clashing, causing a restraint to burst.
The second was the wave of highly pure mana, covering Kain's body in a chilling blue, overflowing from him.
'What kind of ice-elemental mage's mana...'
It shimmered.
That's how it appeared to Sir Zechrom.
'He's not an opponent you can defeat with the thought of capturing him alive.'
The opponent was merely a boy who looked to be in his mid-teens.
But the mercenary's instinct, honed by countless brushes with death on the battlefield, screamed that warning.
"Stop..."
But it was already too late.
"Ice Fog."
With Kain's low chant, the mana emanating from his body instantly spread in all directions.
Whoosh—.
A mist composed of countless, infinitely small ice particles instantly spread, chilling the surrounding air.
"W-what is this!"
"My body...!"
"Aargh!"
And the mist, as if alive, enveloped the escorts and guards rushing towards Kain.
"I-I can't move..."
"W-what..."
Escorts below 4th Circle were instantly frozen up to their necks.
Crack. Snap.
Escorts who had reached the 5th Circle realm could barely move, their every joint stiff and rigid.
And.
"Icicle."
At that moment, the clumps of Ice Fog that had gathered at their respective designated points instantly shot up as sharp icicles, piercing their bodies and heads.
Thud. Crunch.
It was a unilateral massacre.
The escorts who had tried to attack Kain all lost their lives in mere seconds.
The customers who had been shouting to capture Kain alive were completely frozen before they even realized what had happened.
The white-masked figure, who had been acting as the seller and giving orders to the hired Sir Zechrom, stood frozen like a silent statue on the auction platform.
Crumble.
Kain shattered their bodies, causing them to collapse.
Asking why they kidnapped the mages, how they kidnapped them, listening to apologies and pleas for their lives, and making them grovel—such a series of actions held no meaning for Kain.
"O-oh no..."
"Save me..."
The guards on the outskirts, who witnessed the tragedy unfolding in the center of the black market, realized there was no chance of victory and tried to flee.
"The door... Open, hurry! Open, damn it!"
"Aaaargh!"
They tried to unlock the doors or undo the chains they had fastened.
The frozen lock remained unyielding.
The desperate struggles to escape the encroaching white mist soon ceased entirely.
"..."
Within that mist, only Kain, the mage siblings (whom the mist seemed to protect), and Sir Zechrom could move.
Thud. Thud-thud-thud. Crash.
"...Ugh."
Only Sir Zechrom had managed to break through the ice covering his body with his own strength.
He tore off his frozen mask and let it fall. The scars on his face, testaments to surviving countless battles, were revealed.
"What in the world..."
Amidst the encroaching ice fog, if he hadn't intensely wrapped his body in mana, Sir Zechrom too would have been utterly defenseless against the ice fog permeating his skin, before he could even react.
No matter how physically strong a human was, they couldn't train the inside of their body.
Even now, if he relaxed his guard for a moment, the surrounding ice fog would penetrate his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or any other opening, freezing him from within.
"..."
Kain gazed silently at Sir Zechrom, who was the only one left alive.
Kain was much smaller than Sir Zechrom in both height and build. He was a youthful boy with flawless skin, as if he'd never experienced a single real battle.
But in Sir Zechrom's eyes, Kain no longer appeared that way.
'I must give it my all.'
He gripped his sword tightly.
The beginning and fundamental rule of combat was to first assess the opponent's skill level. He had thought his eye for assessing an opponent's skill was quite accurate after countless battles.
But frankly, he couldn't even guess Kain's current Circle.
'5th Circle? 6th Circle? Or perhaps, 7th Circle?'
No. That was impossible. It wouldn't make sense unless Kain was merely a boy in appearance, an ancient mage who had drunk something like the legendary Elven Tears to regain youth.
'Based on the level of magic he used, it's highly likely he's a 5th Circle mage.'
If Kain were 7th or 6th Circle, he would have used 'Blizzard' instead of Ice Fog, and 'Frozen Spike' instead of Icicle.
All the spells Kain was demonstrating now were 5th Circle or below.
It was just that the completeness and versatility of Kain's magic were incomparably high.
Higher than any mage's magic he had seen so far, regardless of their elemental affinity.
'However, if he is indeed 5th Circle, I have a sufficient chance of winning.'
Because, no matter how complete and versatile it was, 5th Circle magic wouldn't be able to block an aura.
"Aura Enchantment."
Mana shimmered and bloomed from his tightly gripped sword.
Mana intensely condensed, crossed the critical point, and materialized, emitting a subtle golden glow like a heat haze.
'It's been a long time since I've used this.'
He calmly regulated his breathing.
With mana flawlessly wrapped around his body to prevent Ice Fog from penetrating, Sir Zechrom, with his sword enveloped in an aura, was about to charge at Kain.
"Ice Cannon. Accelerate."
Kain's chant reverberated.
