For You 76

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#76

“Andelion!”

I opened my eyes and looked at the sword. I quickly withdrew the magic power I had put into the sword and examined it carefully.

“Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell…”

“Are you okay? Are you not hurt…?”

The sword and I simultaneously worried about each other’s condition. I was grateful to the sword for thinking of me even at a time like this, yet I wanted to blame it for caring about others first in such a situation. However, more than the surge of emotion, I felt relief at hearing the sword’s voice again.

“You suddenly went silent, and I was worried. Are you okay now? Or are you still not feeling well? What happened? What do I need to do for you?”

“No, before that, Andelion. What did you just do? And where are we?”

The sword asked me in a seemingly serious voice. All I had done was insert magic power into the line connected to the power inside the sword. Just as I was about to answer, the sword seemed to notice where we were and slowly spoke.

“Wait, is this the palace? Did we come to the palace?”

“That’s right. This is the palace, but…”

“What on earth did Zahar do! Putting you here!!”

The sword’s voice shouting loudly made my head dizzy. It was more bearable than when I used all my magic power at once just now, but my head was still ringing all the same.

I explained to the sword how the current situation had unfolded. As I spoke, it became quite detailed, but I didn’t miss even the smallest part to help the sword understand. This included the fact that Persis and Iria had come to the Duke’s mansion together, what the Duke and Kara had told me about the sword, and that magic had been activated using the power inside the sword as a medium.

“So in conclusion, you were abducted?”

“Kidnapped, perhaps?”

“Abducted or kidnapped. It’s the same in the end.”

That was true. I kept feeling that something was different, but I didn’t bother to argue again.

“Andelion. You saw it, didn’t you?”

At that moment, hearing the sword’s words, I unconsciously held my breath. I recalled opening my eyes in that dark space just moments ago. There were several people in that space seen through someone else’s body, but only one of them came into my view.

“You did see it.”

However, what the sword was asking about wasn’t the other people present there, but the person connected to the power inside the sword. Though it wasn’t precise since I saw it from someone else’s perspective rather than my own body, I had been to that stone-walled space exactly once before. It was such an impressive memory that I still couldn’t forget it.

The underground temple in the palace. A large coffin in the center of a vast, empty space. And a certain person inside it. The moment I recalled that face, I almost dropped the sword I was holding. Realizing my agitation, the sword let out a deep sigh.

“Now I can’t hide it anymore.”

Though it wasn’t a detailed explanation, it was sufficient. From Kara and the Duke’s words, I could easily infer that this ‘voice’ from the sword wasn’t actually the sword but something else. However, I couldn’t believe that the identity of the voice was none other than that being I had seen when I went to the temple guided by Persis as a child. The body I had just entered was also the owner of this voice.

I never thought I would understand the meaning of having a parched mouth so acutely.

“Soon, you won’t be able to hear my voice at all.”

“What?”

“It’s okay. Even if you can’t hear my voice, you’ll be able to understand my intentions. You just followed the line connected to the sword, right?”

I nodded slowly. I could understand what the sword was trying to say without a detailed explanation. The line I had just put magic power into had absorbed all my power like a sponge and guided me to the sword’s real body.

“If you use that line, you’ll be able to understand my intentions.”

“But…”

“No time to explain further. Things have gotten bigger than expected. I’ll explain the details later.”

As the sword said, there was no time to inquire or investigate further. Nevertheless, my frustration wouldn’t ease.

I wanted to directly confirm with the sword’s voice what I was suspecting. I knew this wasn’t the situation where I could do that, but I felt that I should stop just moving around without knowing anything. I was even suspicious that what was happening to us now might be due to ignorance.

“Promise me. You’ll tell me everything.”

But as the sword said, there was no time to hear everything. The people gathered around the sword’s real body just moments ago seemed somehow ominous. Especially one of them clearly saw me. To be precise, he seemed to recognize me inside the sword.

“Andelion, pick up the sword.”

I followed his instruction and picked up the sword. Having received basic sword training, I at least knew how to use a sword.

“Just wrap the sword with magic power. It’s okay. Even with that much, the sword will respond.”

The magic power that started from my hand holding the sword gently wrapped around the entire sword. The sword, dyed with a red light, made my entire vision appear red. However, soon the red light sank into the sword and disappeared.

“Now, swing it.”

With those final words, the sword in my hand drew a smooth arc and cut through the iron bars in front of me. With a loud clang, the iron bars that seemed like they would block the sword were cut diagonally very quietly, like thin paper being cut.

There was no way I could do something like this. I should have been amazed by such an impossible power, but somehow it felt natural. That’s how natural the sword in my hand felt, like my own body. I felt strange and couldn’t move from that spot for a while.

“No time to be dazed. Let’s move quickly.”

I urgently nodded and swung the sword again. This time too, the sword smoothly cut through the iron bars. It felt as if it was natural that no sound was made. All I could hear was the sound of the cut iron bars falling to the floor. After cutting all the iron bars blocking my way, I escaped from the prison that had been confining me.

“Now, hold magic power in your finger and draw this pattern on the sword.”

The sword only said ‘this pattern,’ but what it was automatically came to mind. I had seen something similar before. The magic circle that caused problems during the entrance ceremony incident was similar to this.

“This is, what…”

“I’ll tell you everything later! Hurry! Someone might come after hearing the noise!”

Due to the pressing voice, I couldn’t ask him more and started drawing the pattern he taught me on the sword. Instantly, my body became transparent.

“Do you know the palace structure?”

“I know it from when I was young, but it must have changed a lot since then.”

Fortunately, since Persis had dragged me around the palace, I was familiar with most of the geography. But I couldn’t rely solely on old memories.

“For now, the top priority is to get out of here. Understood?”

I nodded and moved my feet. I had no choice but to trust the invisibility magic cast on my body. I might encounter Yaksi as soon as I went up, but I thought I could escape well using this magic.

* * *

I was luckier than expected. It seemed absurd to say I was lucky in such a situation, but in this context, it was somewhat true.

I was worried I might encounter Yaksi as soon as I escaped from prison, but fortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. The place I had been was the Magic Research Wing, and fortunately, all the capable magicians who could notice me under the invisibility spell seemed to be absent, as I was able to leave the Magic Research Wing without being detected by anyone.

Now the problem was what came next. If my memory was correct, the Magic Research Wing was quite far from the palace entrance. Moreover, the place directly connected to here was none other than the palace guard training ground. I thought about asking someone for help, saying I had been kidnapped by Yaksi, but I couldn’t move carelessly since I didn’t know who to trust.

Although I didn’t think so, even the guards might have been bribed by Yaksi. I kept my body as low as possible while checking my surroundings. If I relied solely on magic and encountered someone sensitive to magic power, everything would be over.

The sword had stopped making its voice heard for some time. However, through the thin line inside the sword, I could immediately sense the sword’s intentions or emotions. The sword was genuinely worried about me. It even seemed a bit anxious.

Just as I could feel the sword’s emotions, could the sword also read my heart? I hoped so. Just as he was concerned about me, I was also worried about the sword. The scene I had just seen through his eyes looked more dangerous than expected.

For now, I decided to find a way after escaping from the palace. I couldn’t understand why this situation had occurred. It felt like things had flowed beyond what I could handle alone. As soon as I left the palace, I planned to ask either Persis or the Duke for help to resolve this situation.