DOTD Chapter 9

Instead, he said something else.

 

“I don’t have a knack for making people understand what I can’t prove.”

 

Hearing my muttering, Yzmel swung his hand out of thin air, pulling out a waiting staff and pointing it at me.

 

“I suppose it’s safe to assume that you’ve posed a threat to the sanctity of the Master?”

 

Huh, look at this guy?

 

“Are you going to attack me?”

 

The fact that he had his staff out was a clear indication of his intent to attack, to cast a powerful spell.

 

To my panic, Yzmel replied, “Why not?”

 

I could see mana gathering at the tip of the slightly curved staff.

 

Evan, who had turned toward Yzmel, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and nudged it upward with his thumb.

 

“Stop.”

 

He held his sword ready to draw if necessary.

 

“Don’t think melee gives you an advantage, and if you want to see if my magic is faster or yours, you can draw your sword.”

 

Despite Yzmel’s taunt, Evan didn’t move an inch, watching the staff as if sizing up the distance.

 

I feigned ignorance and continued to analyze the power objectively.

 

Yzmel’s mana was condensing faster than before.

 

‘…Better to focus on defensive magic,’ I concluded quickly and accurately.

 

“Kid, you’re not curious about my skills, are you?”

 

Before I could finish my sentence, there was an explosion accompanied by a loud bang.

 

Almost simultaneously, I moved in front of Evan, who had his sword drawn, and formed a shield around him. 

 

A shield of mana was created in a small radius from the hand held out in front of him.

 

How dare he use the word ‘kid’ to provoke me?

 

It was childlike in that respect, but the speed and power of the magic were anything but cute.

 

As Yzmel unleashed his attack, several of the layers of defense shattered in unison.

 

“You’re going to kill someone for not answering me.”

 

This one’s definitely crazy about Adrian.

 

He mercilessly poured mana into the shattered sections to repair the shield.

 

In the past, when I didn’t have enough mana to spend, I used to rely on physical enhancements to defend myself, so I wasn’t used to spells that put up a shield like this.

 

I guess the only thing I could do was to wait for a break in the attack and counter it with a binding spell.

 

Focusing as hard as I could, I blocked the endless barrage.

 

“Bella!”

 

Evan called my name urgently, grabbing me by the shoulders, his eyes shaking violently with panic.

 

Stupidly, I’d overlooked something. The wound on my side still hadn’t healed from the monster’s attack.

 

A burning sensation washed over one side of my body.

 

“Ugh.”

 

The wound was widening in proportion to the amount of mana that was rapidly escaping.

 

‘You bastard, you didn’t heal it perfectly on purpose, did you?’

 

It was worse than last time. The amount of mana used was too much for my lack of combat experience and unfamiliar magic.

 

I could feel the hot blood trickling down from my waist to my legs.

 

“Cancel the magic, quickly!”

 

Evan shouted as I blocked the flames that were piercing through my distraction with my sword.

 

No, I couldn’t.

 

Barely, I might say, but Evan seems to struggle to parry even one of those many attacks.

 

No matter how much of a master he claims to be, Evan has only just begun his adventure.

 

Yzmel may be young, but he’s one of the best mages in the tower. And Evan has little experience fighting a mage.

 

“Not now, just a little longer…”

 

Clutching the bleeding side of my body, I strengthened my magic.

 

Everything around us blurred, so I closed my eyes. My legs are wobbly, and I feel like I’m going to lose my balance at any moment.

 

“No! You have to stop this now!”

 

After narrowly missing one of the attacks, Evan leaned in close and shouted

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“There’s blood, there’s blood…”

 

I opened my eyes at the sound of his trembling voice.

 

Evan stood there, unable to touch the wound, unsure of what to do. I grabbed his wrist and turned his gaze toward me.

 

He flinched at the sudden contact and slowly turned to face me.

 

A loud noise and a flashing explosion filled my vision as his shaky form came into focus.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

He bit his lip at my firm, calm words. 

 

His eyes were moist for some reason, and he spoke, “Bella, do you know something? When I touch you, my power becomes all mine.”

 

“What does that mean…?”

 

“Being stronger than everyone else was a curse for me, and I want to be stronger for once.”

 

What?

 

As soon as I heard his words, my head went blank for a moment.

 

Didn’t he just say that, wasn’t that very early?

 

Too scared to think about it, I jumped up just in time to see Evan’s shield tear.

 

“Oh, you’re crazy…”

 

I gasped, unable to repair the tear.

 

“You can’t be…”

 

My eyes followed Evan, but he had already moved away from me and was in front of Yzmel.

 

Evan swung his sword wildly at the fireball from Yzmel’s staff.

 

There was an explosion so loud that it sent a blast that reached me, a good distance away.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Covering my eyes with my arms, I turned my head around and was thrown backward hard.

 

Crashing into the rubble of the building, I strained my already injured body. I lost too much blood. My head was spinning.

 

“…Here, mage! Catch him!”

 

I could hear the surrounding shouts through my dazed mind.

 

🦋

 

“Yzmel!”

 

Someone approached Yzmel with quick steps.

 

After appearing in the Tower of Gold’s teleportation room with the help of a traveling spell, his appearance was that of someone who had been in a battle.

 

Not only was he covered in dust, but his clothes and hair were scorched.

 

“Have you been fighting again?!”

 

Yzmel frowned slightly at the exclamations of the other mages and brushed the battle debris from his clothes.

 

“I had a good reason this time, there was a suspicious person…”

 

Yzmel trailed off slightly. The mages shouted in frustration.

 

“That’s not the point now!”

 

Brushing the embers from the ends of his red hair with his hand, Yzmel looked up.

 

His eyes widened at the next words.

 

“The Master… has returned!”

 

🦋

 

With a heavy clank, mana cuffs were placed on my wrists.

 

As I struggled to free myself, armed men approached, grabbed me, and pulled me to my feet.

 

“Ugh.”

 

‘Be gentle with me, I’m a patient.’

 

I struggled to lift my stubborn eyelids and looked around.

 

Where’s Evan? Where’s Yzmel?

 

There was a jumble of people, some who had heard the commotion and come to watch, some who had come to clean up the mess, and some who looked like clumsy but armed vigilantes.

 

“Aren’t these earrings some kind of magic item?”

 

Someone said, pointing to my earring, and another person who was listening next to him replied.

 

“Leave them alone. Unless they were made by the Master, they won’t work anyway because of the bindings.”

 

That’s good news for me. I thought to myself amid the chaos.

 

I’d been so busy arguing with Yzmel that I hadn’t thought about it, but what did Evan think when he heard where the earrings came from?

 

He looked angry…

 

I shook my head, forcing the image of his expression from my mind.

 

Well, we shouldn’t have gotten involved anyway. Let’s move on.

 

Anyway, would someone please apply a cloth to my wound? My vision keeps getting blurry.

 

At this rate, I’m going to pass out again.

 

The two men holding me started chatting amongst themselves to make sure I wasn’t distracted.

 

“This place is a mess. Must have been a fight between some really powerful mages.”

 

“Yeah, you wouldn’t have gotten a bone if you were closer.”

 

“The two at the point of the explosion had already fled.”

 

“But do you have any idea why the Master suddenly acted like that?”

 

Huh? Master?

 

A word that refocused my nearly stunned ears.

 

“The order to round up all the unaffiliated mages in the Land of Gold.”

 

“Well, it’s good for people like us anyway.”

 

“Yes. It will reduce the number of mage accidents.”

 

What the hell, wasn’t Adrian’s whereabouts a mystery?

 

What did I get into a fight with Yzmel about?

 

Before I had time to wonder, I was being dragged away by two men.

 

They dragged me roughly, wobbling on my legs, and loaded me into the back of the wagon.

 

The slightest movement caused me to yelp in pain from my wounds. The mana bindings on my wrists felt too heavy.

 

Wizards are human, and I don’t have the monstrous physical strength of Adrian.

 

Adrian wouldn’t have asked them to kill mages to bring them to him!