Chapter 52

“Daniel?”

Chen didn’t know who that was. Vivian spoke rapidly, without taking her eyes from the telescope lens.

“Wizard! Second floor, second room on the left.  Hurry up, there’s no time to waste!  Oh, and be sure to bring a pen and paper!”

“Yes!”

Chen hurriedly climbed down the ladder and ran towards the mansion. Vivian hoped he would bring Daniel soon.

Just below the fortress wall, a fierce battle was in full swing. The sounds of sharp metal piercing hard skin, the roar of knights, and horses wailing blended together in a terrible symphony.

Vivian stared through the telescope at the crack near the wall. The rift was spitting out a steady stream of beasts. As Vivian raised her hand, dozens of roots formed around the crack, blocking its entrance. She had to wait for Daniel to come, so it was necessary to stop the flow for now.

She glanced down in the meantime. Her pale blue eyes were full of agitation, and her body began to sway. Fortunately, none of the knights seemed seriously injured. True to Tainy’s word that they were ‘good enough’, they were doing their part with all their might.

“What?”

Not long after, Chen approached with Daniel in tow.

Daniel was yawning as if he had just woken up. The bags under his eyes had gotten darker.  Vivian stared at him for a moment, then quickly snapped out of her daze and began to move.

“Paper and pen. Did you bring it?”

Daniel raised the objects in his hands, muttering, 

“I don’t know why he asked me to bring this.” 

He had a quill in one hand, and paper in the other. It was fortunate that he was able to grab those materials while he was being dragged out here urgently.

“I just closed a crack, and a magic circle appeared.”

“What is a crack?”

[TN/N: Daniel is still in dreamland (◔‿◔) ]

“That hole in the ground. Can you see the beasts below?”

Daniel looked where she was pointing, saw a strange-looking beast, and frowned.

“All those beasts came from the crack.  And when the crack was closed, a magic circle appeared.”

“A magic circle?”

“Didn’t I tell you that I found a scroll torn in half? I think the pattern is similar to what was drawn on the scroll.”

Daniel stiffened as if he had been doused with ice water. He seemed to have realized that there was a possibility that this had to do with black magic.

“Can you make the magic circle appear again?”

Vivian pointed at the crack below them.

“There’s another crack, so I think I can. I called you to check.”

“No, but why am I……”

As he followed Vivian along the wall to where the crack was more easily visible, he burst into laughter. After all, his job was to open a closed door, but because he was a wizard, his work increased. Vivian looked down at the crack, pretending not to hear him as he murmured. Daniel was the only one who could answer questions about magic in this place.

Thanks to her roots, the beasts were trapped and could not continue to trickle out. Vivian nodded to Daniel, who was standing next to her. He lifted his pen to the paper, and watched the crack intently.

Next to the crack that was sealed with roots, a tree trunk pushed its way aboveground, just like before. Long roots grew off of its surface, snaking towards the open crack. It began to stretch the crack from both sides.  The sound of demonic scratching reverberated through the western land.

The moment the crack was stretched into a straight line, a blue light began to flicker.  Vivian felt the dark energy seeping into her roots again. Even though she was feeling it for the second time, she wasn’t used to it. Unpleasant goosebumps formed up and down her arms.

There was another strong flash of light.  This time, everyone turned their heads toward the crack, regardless of whether they were a knight or a monster.

Fortunately, it didn’t react any differently than the crack previous. A magic circle appeared in the air a few meters above the ground.  Daniel’s hands began to move busily. On his paper, a geometrical work of art was formed.

Vivian held on as long as she could before inserting her roots into the magic circle to break it. Just like before, it wriggled and then shattered like glass.

“Did you draw everything?”

“Yes.”

Daniel showed his paper to her. She looked at the magic circle with a very complex expression.

Once he put it down, Vivian immediately began to deal with the remaining beasts one by one. Thanks to the struggle of the knights, the number of demons had been greatly reduced. Vivian gathered some stragglers and set them on fire, and continued to deal with the remaining beasts in the same way. The knights disposed of their embers in water buckets they received from the soldiers on the wall.  After she finished, quite a bit of time had passed.

Vivian had used her powers for the first time in a long time, so her body was sore all over, but she went straight to Daniel’s room without a break.

“Daniel. What did you find out?”

Daniel’s room had been cleaned for some reason. In the center of the room was the piece of paper, and various books were opened all over the floor. Daniel was reading one of them, deep in thought.  He looked like a scholar in a rather profound dilemma. Vivian quietly sat down on the bed.

Before long, Daniel let out a deep sigh.

“I’ve seen magic circles similar to this.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Magic circles are affected by many factors such as shape, type, number, and location, but……  This is quite similar to the gold technique I saw in the past.”

“If it’s a gold technique……”

“It’s black magic.”

Daniel nodded, and held out something to Vivian. Vivian didn’t know what it was, but she accepted it.

“Is this the scroll pattern that the Lady saw last time?”

It was a neat image of the magic circle she saw today, cut in half. He probably prepared it this way so Vivian could better determine if it was the image she had seen on the scroll in her room.

Vivian looked carefully at the paper she was handed. There were two circles. One had a star in the center, with strange letters encircling it. The other had a sun pattern in the center, so even that it looked like a pinwheel. A huge crescent moon connected both circles.

The picture of the magic circle that had been blurred in her mind slowly became clearer and clearer. Although she still couldn’t remember it in detail, Vivian knew for sure that there were two circles and a huge crescent moon. There were many other small patterns, but as far as she could recall, they matched to a certain extent.

“I think so. Then this is really……  black magic?”

“If it’s the same as the one you saw in your room, then yes. And this magic circle came out of that crack…….”

Daniel rubbed his chin solemnly and whispered in a subdued voice.

“It may be true that the curse on this land is due to black magic.”

Even though she already suspected it, her chest dropped in dread. She was devastated, but she felt a little surge of pride despite it all. She, who had no knowledge of magic, had figured out the cause of the curse all on her own.

She felt insanely smart.

A knock on the door broke through the silence. They both turned towards the door at the same time. Daniel spoke softly.

“It’s open.”

It was Roger.

Vivian looked at Roger standing outside the door and rolled her eyes.  Similarly, Roger expressed surprise at seeing her here. His expression quickly soured.

“My Lady. What are you doing here at this late hour?”

“Why are you here…….”

Vivian, who was bewildered, soon discovered that Roger was awkwardly wrapping one arm around the other. She jumped off of the bed in surprise.

“Sir Knight. Are you hurt?”

She hadn’t heard his answer yet, but Vivian’s face turned white. She remembered the hoarse voice calling him from the wall.

Was it then?

Was he injured then?

Roger saw the pale Vivian, and quickly closed the door.  Unlike Vivian, Daniel slowly got up and approached Roger, assessing the situation.

“Are you hurt?”

He asked in a calm tone, very different from Vivian. It seemed like he’d been through something like this before. Roger stopped Daniel from giving him his chair and sat down on the bed.

“It’s not serious. Only slightly cut by a blade.”

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves.  Contrary to his detached attitude, after removing his sleeve, a serious wound was revealed. Despite the severity, Daniel only shrugged.

“It’s because you come to me every time you get hurt. Magic is not omnipotent.”

“I didn’t come here to do this, what the hell am I doing?”

Daniel mumbled over and over again, but he still calmly placed his hand over Roger’s wound. White energy flowed from Daniel’s palm and wrapped around Roger’s forearm.

“Thankfully this is a small wound, because if it was a big wound, I would’ve never healed it. As I said before, magic is not omnipotent. The injury may look better on the outside, but the burden on the body remains the same.”

A small wound. This is a small wound. She carefully watched Daniel, who was treating the wound with his tongue sticking out.

“Nagging.”

Roger, who had been quietly receiving treatment, briefly complained about whether he could bear it any longer. Daniel continued to heal him without stopping.  Meanwhile, Vivian watched the wounds that were slowly starting to heal in wonder. Magic really was an unfamiliar and mysterious power.

“By the way, I haven’t heard your answer.”

“Yes?”

Daniel looked puzzled. Roger turned to Vivian, who was sitting next to him.

“Why is the Lady in Daniel’s room at this hour?”

Vivian smiled awkwardly, persistently curious as to why he was here amidst his injuries.

“It’s just the two of you.”

His very quiet voice made them feel very uncomfortable. Why did she feel like she committed a mortal sin even though she hadn’t done anything wrong? Vivian’s neck began sweating profusely.

***