Chapter 27
Finally, Kalion opened his mouth, Okay. The knights will withdraw to the rear.
I beg your pardon? Orp asked, unsure if shed heard correctly.
Cedric and Orp, who were expecting rejection, looked at Kalion in bewilderment as he gave an unexpected answer. They turned their heads towards each other and seeing that they were both surprised, it was clear that they didnt mishear.
Did you say that the spell will start around noon tomorrow?
What? Yes! Thats right! Orp said, sounding astonished.
Then the knights will begin their withdrawal in the morning. Deliver the message.
Yes sir! Cedric replied obediently.
Fearing that Kalion may change his mind at any moment, Orp hurriedly said goodbye and left the room, and Cedric, who was staring blankly at Orps exit, said in a loud voice, Sir!
Quiet. As I said just now, all the knights are to withdraw to the rear in the morning and prepare to look after the villagers of Haldis after the spell has been cast.
Are you saying that we brought three units of knights, but will be returning without even pulling out a sword?
Think of it as going out for a walk.
Cedric held his head with both hands and moaned in response to Kalions reply. He knew how much the knights would complain to him when he delivered this command, and he slowly turned his head and looked at Kalion with resentment.Im certain that hes losing to Miss Erna on purpose!
A normal Kalion would never back down in such a situation. For him, the Hessenguard knights were his pride and joy, but now, he was acting completely out of character by withdrawing them from the battle that lay ahead. Cedric shuddered when he thought about how things were changing since Kalion and Erna started sharing a bedroom. If it was like this now already, what would it be like further down the line?
The next day, Erna stood on a grassy hill overlooking the magnificent lake, rubbing her stiff neck, Ouch.
Unlike the day before, she was in a bit of a mess. When Orp had woken her up in the morning, the white bed sheets were soaked with cold sweat. Her neck and shoulders were tightly cramped as shed slept curled up tightly in an odd position, like an animal trying to escape the cold, and now she felt stiff and sore whenever she moved her neck.
It was strange that she felt like this today since shed slept in the same bed the previous night and had woken up feeling fine.Nothing, in particular, has changed, I dont understand this.
Kalion, whom shed thought would go to another room if he had any tact, had entered the couples bedroom and laid down on the sofa with his eyes closed, despite her glare. Instead of asking the question about whether hed sat on the bed the day before, Erna had promptly cast a spell. A few of the letters had moved swiftly over her hand, glowing red, and soon a curtain of transparent red light had appeared around the bed on which she was lying.
What is that? Hed asked. Kalion had alertly stared at the spell Erna had cast as hed raised his body.
A spell that burns when touched, burning until there is no blood left to burn and bones turn to powder, shed replied.
Oh, okay then.
Dont worry, its a spell cast just in case a certain someone forgets about my warning of me having to kill if he comes over the carpet. It has nothing to do with you, right? Shed explained sarcastically.
Message received loud and clear. Kalion had averted his gaze and had soon laid back on the comfortable couch, ignoring Ernas scornful grin as shed confirmed that her spell had been cast safely.
Closing her eyes, shed smirked about what shed said about the spell burning someone to death; it was a lie, and she recalled thinking that only a crazy person would go to sleep with such a spell cast. A spell cast with such power required quite a bit of mana, and she couldnt waste mana on such nonsense, especially with such an important task ahead of her. Besides, this wasnt the Archdukes castle, it was someone elses mansion. She couldnt do an irresponsible thing such as hanging a dangerous spell in someone elses house. So the spell shed cast wasnt that potent, a person would only be stung if they touched the area in which it was.
She also recalled, that when she was drifting off to sleep, shed thought that it would be a sight if he accidentally bumped into it.
In the morning, Orp had woken her up after removing the spell, lecturing her about why she shouldnt have cast it. Erna had looked around her as soon as shed regained her senses and saw that there were only traces of it as shed moved out of the awkward position shed slept in.
Orp informed her that Kalion hadnt been in the bedroom when shed come in to open the curtains and Erna thought it mustve been because he was afraid that he might touch the spell and burn alive! Erna had spun her shoulders widely, immediately feeling a sharp pain in her neck and shoulder.
Why does it hurt so much? Erna had moaned in pain. The building was full of knights so she hadnt understood why shed felt like that.
In all honesty, she mustve passed out from sheer exhaustion the day before and then mistakenly thought that it was thanks to the knights that shed slept well. Orp had approached her as shed cracked her neck.
Maam! All the knights have withdrawn from the planned area of
operation.
And the placement of wizards?
All placements have been completed in the designated positions.
Good. Then send a signal to start.
At Ernas words, Orp had begun to draw magic letters made of light in the air. It was a very simple spell requiring only two letters, and when the mana was added to the letters, a huge mass of blue light had appeared in front of her and quickly soared into the sky.
The beam of light had shot up to the sky, making a sharp sound, like the screeching of a hawk, and exploded beautifully in the sky above Haldis. Despite the broad daylight, people had gazed at the blue flames that had looked as bright as midnight fireworks.
The blue light bursting in the air was the signal for the wizards to prepare. The atmosphere in the forest changed as everyone seemed nervous, perhaps because of the light, or the fact that the demons must know that the wizards were nearby. Suddenly, the demons that had been holding their breath in the lake, due to the increased number of people in the area, came up to the surface one by one.
What a crowd, Erna said as she rubbed her arm while looking at the demons that floated on the surface, who resembled turtles out for a sunbathe.
Its disgusting, Orp said, feeling repulsed.
She said she would take care of it herself, but seeing how many there were now, she regretfully thought that it might have been better to just leave it to the order. But, Erna immediately shook her head,Its also a good thing that the order doesnt cause unnecessary damage.
They were not only Kalions henchmen but also citizens of Hessenguard and they were currently the greatest force that maintained order and security in Hessenguard. So even though they were Kalions people, it was right to treat them with respect; their strength was the strength of the Hessenguard.
Erna lifted the magic formula shed shown Orp yesterday, into the air again, and as she waved her hand toward the sky, the magic formula grew exponentially and ascended, filling the void.
However, no matter how strong Erna was, it wasnt easy for her to maintain a huge spell on her own. Besides that, the wizards still needed her command, so she couldnt drain all her mana and collapse. Therefore, Erna made it possible for her and the wizards to split it up into segments, and then infuse it with mana.Im in the middle, and the other wizards on either side of it will fill it with mana too.
No special action was required to infuse mana. One just needed to understand and focus on the meaning of the letter itself. Slowly the magic formula was filled with mana, and the letters began to shine brilliantly from below.
Erna tapped her stiff neck and looked up at the sky, It will take some time.
* * *
Cedric looked up at the brightly lit sky and said, still grumbling, It seems like its close to completion. As lunchtime approached, the magic floating in the sky of Haldis gradually began to emanate a stronger light. The letters, which had been motionless when theyd first floated, were now shining brightly and spinning at a ferocious speed. When Kalion turned around, the knights were also admiring the sky with a curious face; Cedric was not pleased with the look.
Foolish bastards. If the wizards do all the work, you will become jobless. You have to be able to feel a sense of crisis. The knights who were nearby heard Cedrics nag and smiled bitterly.
Still, isnt it a good thing to be able to deal with demons without coming into direct contact with them? Its the wizards duty to eradicate demons, and the knights duty is to war with humans mostly, one of the nights commented.
It is, but still, I feel like our duty is taken from us. Cedric glanced at Kalion briefly as he complained, hoping for some kind of validation about how he was feeling and he wanted to shout out, Cant you see? Im hurt because my duty is taken from me!, but he knew that Kalion would just click his tongue at such a complaint.
Enough with your useless chatter. It seems to be almost completed, so lets get ready to start taking care of the citizens of Haldis, Kalion said firmly.
Cedric grunted, but faithfully carried out Kalions order, ensuring that the knights were ready to run towards Haldis as soon as the spell was activated.
While they were waiting for the spell to be completed, someone yelled frantically, Look there! Demons are coming up!
What? Kalion hurriedly looked to where the knight was pointing. He could see the demons that had been in the lake up until now, crawling onto the land, side by side. They seemed to have trouble breathing as they were not used to the land, but they began to advance steadily regardless. Kalion was able to immediately sense what their aim was.The wizards!
It was clear that they were somehow aware, that the spell that was being prepared by the wizards, would kill them, and thats why they were risking their lives on land, ignoring their suffering.
Kalion sprung into action and shouted to the knights standing behind him, I order you to protect the wizards from the demons!