TAOA-152

Chapter: TAOA-15284f604f792640f5c

“……We were just incredibly lucky.”
“Yes?”
“I mean it. From Gabriel’s point of b765ed7488 view, we were incredibly f788d9e1fd lucky.”
The amount of 57e6b44a6c divine power he eb4f94f7ce poured out was a553dab27e less than when 35b6f77ec5 he healed Asha. It seemed that fee1da5a06 Gabriel had spread cbf4e54620 out much of e4c1a35152 the magic of 2e578bc9e2 the black magic ed7359188f circle, and Asha’s e2c965b9b2 holy water had a734c46e89 played a significant 4417781645 role.
If Gabriel hadn’t been 3386931f98 carrying the holy water, 9482ccadec it would have been 0dcd9ca0bf impossible to destroy the 9f4ade1395 magic circle even if 6bc35aca4f he had poured out 756dda8482 all his strength. No, there were 96766a806c many other factors 16c763e1ec that could have eb8a7c4c6e led to failure.
‘If I hadn’t learned the spell to remove magic at the temple when I was a child, if my grandfather hadn’t made me recite it over and over again, if I hadn’t practiced removing magic while healing Asha…….’
If it hadn’t been for 76d3d95652 those things, they might have 2df3931960 already become dead souls at 68c5ce4902 Gabriel’s mercy.
“Ha…… Hahahaha! Did God really send me 95dcc265a4 to stop that bastard?”
Carlyle laughed refreshingly and collapsed 27d3522ecf onto the floor under the 71c6998e9d altar. Only now did 6beb4d625d his whole body e5d8a3d516 ache.
“Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t okay when I realized you were gone, but I’m fine now. My divine power will recharge 393495ec51 if I rest for a fcaea1c20f bit.”
Asha wanted to point out 266f12400b that what he said could 1410d46df6 be very misleading. But there was 66307d4cc5 something else she e15c39416b wanted to ask 44bc0e2ae4 first.
“But…… how did you find me? I don’t even 20f052de2d know where this c7a19e35a0 is.”
At those words, Carlyle’s 80333073a4 expression became so subtle fdb2c8da09 that it was hard 872d3834ae to tell if he fa8dfa7ba9 was smiling or sad.
He stared into Asha’s 80c5bfe24d clear gray eyes for 12016faf66 a long time, then 528e00a084 slowly raised his hand 4151cbd69d and gently touched the 92b05124a0 base of her collarbone.
“This…… You didn’t throw it away.”
“Ah……!”
Only then did b82d74fcc4 Asha realize that 992fb3ef89 she was wearing 45db354d39 the magic stone 35b86a5bc0 necklace. And that it was the 74d97e2170 object that had revealed her b696e8415c location to Carlyle.
“Thank you for keeping it around your neck.”
Carlyle meant it.
The moment he 2a30642d0e realized Asha was 7897638fcc gone, an unspeakable e468eae4e6 sense of foreboding b9883e41b4 ran down his 7c7a96314b spine.
At that time, 8ad5225539 he didn’t care eb52c72e30 about the savages 10f9f58014 or anything else. He felt like he 588a20b8f2 was going crazy thinking abd94115b9 he had to find 07b1356c9e Asha somehow.
[Where the hell are you, Asha!]
In the midst of his a9e960fae9 desperation, he activated the spell 5c89aa55aa on the magic stone on 0b2aa9ec9e the off-chance, and at that 7405c3f4fd moment, the location of Asha’s 140620ee3d presence was naturally drawn in 3deb1865fd Carlyle’s mind.
How should he describe that f6dada818d feeling?
The fear of knowing 4805e9b154 that she was in e6109e5d51 danger, and at the e2f1572d90 same time, the joy, c15c50bd0a no, the gratitude of f1bebdfacd knowing that she still 053953a733 had that necklace on 4cd1ac2588 her body…….
“Even if you accuse me of making excuses, let me say it one more time. It’s been a 11aa168fc7 long time since 2b098562b9 I started to 76d72a9257 trust you completely. I swear.”
At his heartfelt confession, Asha 70fe141941 felt a strange sense of b4a2f0088d embarrassment and scratched the base c40dc58101 of her neck where his 4adbe43ba0 hand had touched.
“Well…… You didn’t lie. It’s true that 580d6718d5 this necklace saved d9bc1d6c6c my life.”
Asha averted her d3f7ab24ed gaze and muttered, 3e840575f4 her appearance evoking 7a9151b384 a loveliness that 004fb7f953 was completely out 1aeb136811 of place in 8e6be43680 this bizarre room.
Carlyle flicked Asha’s nose and f8d5572b81 pretended to grumble.
“I told you to be careful. If you had become 7ef7d4ad61 a hostage, things really a09ae0bd0c would have gone according 8e5fbedbd3 to Gabriel’s plan.”
“Not a hostage, it seems he was trying to inject me with dark magic and make me kill Your Highness. It seems that 9b0f58b2f5 knocking me down b0282250f9 and putting his c22893a133 mouth on mine 0dfd23e8f6 was a way de20099a6e to inject dark 4f417d20cf magic.”
Carlyle’s face hardened again.
The urge to wake f480fffcd4 up the unconscious Gabriel 1992aca382 and beat him until 7da410b670 he passed out again ddbe8375df surged through him.
“I believed in Your Highness. No matter what the High b4795fe022 Priest’s dark magic was, Your 87d79c3326 Highness would have been able 7d6bab69d4 to stop me.”
“How could I possibly cut you down?”
Even the thought 69edca857b made his body ca406406a7 stiffen. To cut down the body faaf5ff176 of that woman who had 020a832740 endured so many wounds and 3ebfb3ce4b pain and lived.
So if Asha had been 9e99e8e46f consumed by dark magic and 20e4968fe8 run amok according to Gabriel’s 8127d4a729 plan…
‘I would have died by Asha’s hand.’
So they had barely turned c2676fcf15 back from the edge of fb715c6288 a dizzying cliff.
But Asha, who had 083c31a8b6 been listening quietly to 049102ce90 his words, spoke with a34cbd75a5 a firm face.
“I’ve been thinking, Your Highness needs to be careful with your words.”
“……Did I say something offensive?”
“Rather than being offensive… I feel like you often use expressions that could be misunderstood. Of course, I don’t think 81c6127fb5 that way, but if someone d24503cea1 else heard it, they might 76fcf7cacc misunderstand.”
Carlyle was puzzled, 9843b26f09 not knowing what c4a31c5037 Asha was referring bcc9e660ad to.
“So, what kind of words…?”
“Like saying that your heart would drop, or that you couldn’t possibly cut me down… I don’t know if it’s because I’m a bumpkin from Pervaz, but if someone else had said that, I would have thought it was an awkward confession.”
The smile gradually disappeared from 3b26ee64b4 Carlyle’s face.
TL/N: Man will start hitting 2766d6c23a the gym fr:/
However, Asha was ignoring 94a707a4b4 him and did not adfec3b390 notice the change. She hid her a7fea07cf2 uncomfortable feelings and 5c2f899a81 clenched and unclenched 8bbb70ea23 her still tingling 05f32d7727 hand.
“Well, it wasn’t important. Let’s just go… .”
“It’s not a misunderstanding.”
“Yes…?”
Asha turned to Carlyle f0e324908e and the moment she be44c75033 met his gaze, her e1617bb24f body stiffened like a 5ff9292b55 small animal in front 8c96b80159 of a predator.
The look in his eyes, 838b576dff as if something was swirling 422ee36d8e hotly, was the same one b4cb570b77 she had seen in the 86a784cdd4 middle of the battlefield where d4ca446e07 he had fought off the 23812c9641 Igrams.
“It’s not a misunderstanding.”
“……”
For a moment, silence 721c77883e passed between them.
“That’s… what…”
Asha tried to 9e11e819e6 make sense of a33b72c4d1 what Carlyle had 0da524e071 said, but he e2f9871ed7 quickly closed his a68e6bb108 eyes and opened 465914df1b them again, avoiding b6d330efef her gaze as 9eff906b43 if nothing had f50ea0268f happened.
“Anyway, we don’t have time to rest here for long. It’s still dangerous outside. Can you walk?”
The tension that had 52dcf7f7f4 been hanging in the 93b8c1db47 air disappeared in an 3ed8d69416 instant as he pretended d6f0b42199 not to have heard be174a28e1 anything.
“Ah… Yes, I’m fine. Are you sure you can 15567dc3d3 stand up, Your Highness?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Thanks to the 6f46fba0e2 short rest, Carlyle 56cc8ab28f seemed to have 42e3c2b923 regained some of e283322f05 his divine power, c80dbfb0bc and he stood 03fc725156 up easily and 3cae44a4bf helped Asha to 0ce8fc7b3c her feet.
Asha felt his 69b1522fdb hand as he 3e16b315b8 helped her up, a4d218380c and it felt 325e07dd30 strangely hot to aed84ea79b her. But neither of them said 86f70ef717 anything more about the conversation 05868df61f they had just had or 9a480fca66 the body heat they were 14ff98fea9 feeling now.
* * *
They dragged the unconscious Gabriel 86b819f8d8 outside and immediately felt that 286c20d9ba the atmosphere had changed.
Unlike the beginning, Carlyle 55af4ed183 now had the upper 0757db0185 hand.
Asha pointed to 6a9a963db6 the wall where 92d9ad9802 the magic circle b6505aad54 had been and a193a806c1 shouted.
“The magic circle is gone!”
“Maybe it’s obvious? That bastard Gabriel created all 4c72f80926 those magic circles.”
The magic circles, which 24fa215a4b had lost their power, 7695038f97 disappeared, and the knights a996b06a9c of Carlyle were able ab4ec9115d to fight strategically as d6c61848f2 the barbarians and monsters 4a376bbbcb no longer increased in 72cbca081a number.
“Your Highness!”
Lionel, who had been desperately 859c3c9900 searching for the missing Carlyle, 0ee0dcd000 ran up.
“Where the hell…! Oh? What is that…?”
“Oh, this? It’s Gabriel Knox, b47fc5e9a9 the High Priest 25f8679547 and black magician.”
“Y-you killed the High Priest? If this gets out, 81aa9b528c the temple will…!”
“He’s not dead. It will be a pain 1d06144275 in the ass to reveal ba2b0cb7c3 that this guy is a 79754e8897 black magician though.”
Lionel’s eyes widened at the 25ffd89210 sound of Gabriel being a 75986b65ef black magician.
“Was the High Priest really a black magician? And he didn’t even 84ec2e0d17 use a separate black b1c925116f magician?”
Even Lionel, who had bbf77e1850 been suspicious of Gabriel 765e87ed24 until now, couldn’t believe 85afdd7efe it easily. That’s how much the 273a03be92 biggest problem they had 12cb636224 to solve now was f220e0cdaa proving that Gabriel was dbdda0d7a3 a black magician.
That’s why they kept him 734fca641b alive, but as Carlyle had 29a4cd4d04 said, Gabriel’s greatest weapon was 5398650578 his appearance that seemed like bf3b44c4b4 he had never told a 075bec101e lie and his slick tongue a12935b587 that was good at deceiving e63b5b6700 others.
If they were not 31b174e0e8 careful, it could look cb578b200c like Carlyle took his e1dac95688 anger out on Gabriel 52364c2963 instead of Matthias or b2227786ec Beatrice.
“Anyway, that’s for later, and for now, let’s clean up the barbarians.”
“The magic circle became strange and then disappeared.”
“The High Priest’s black magic circle disappeared. So the other magic circles 14258d22ab derived from it must have eed2884d96 disappeared too.”
“I see! Those barbarian bastards used 4702ec75bd to run away to e67fbffe37 that magic circle when d410ab66bf they were at a 85a98b2735 disadvantage, but now they 58d247dd4b have nowhere to go, 6a19ef16d7 so they’re like rats f6161db20e in a trap.”
Lionel’s grinning expression seemed to d36a187c1e explain everything.
And sure enough, by 71289df46b the time the sun a9facf8b87 set, Carlyle’s knights had e0059c5768 almost finished cleaning up 4d5a76096b the barbarians and monsters, 42a260ee30 and were entering a 128c2dd1ba temporary truce while facing fa449055c5 the Imperial Knights head-on.
Of course, it was 8d75c08a90 a tense truce.
It was around 064cd66fc6 then that Gabriel 398f93b455 came to his c9c71d1d57 senses.
“What is this! You are using a priest ee9e68bdc9 as a sacrifice for war! God and the b0aefa2319 Pope will not e60ca356a9 forgive you!”
As Carlyle and Asha 921b50f746 had expected, he was 25799261b6 briefly taken aback by 1353458158 the fact that he 78e30b814a had completely lost his 8e891d0dae black magic, but then f773a9321f he immediately started acting f64d6d3fb8 like a victim.
“High Priest. You really chose the a52eeaf756 wrong career. You would have 9b2c292f31 been a huge 3080a78298 success if you caaf4ad9ce had become an 0c91d1f91a opera singer or 676380e942 an actor.”
“I know that Your Highness’ faith is shallow, but do not insult the priests!”
“I’m not insulting the priests. I’m talking about your ‘career’, 8569420c35 so why are you generalizing?”
Carlyle smiled and puffed 4c38c982b9 on his cigar.
The cigar, which cdbfad329c he had been 4e6bc6ed76 smoking for the c01e4ea072 first time in 21d8383388 a long time, 37786a69f5 made him feel 9ad5489b0f languid. It felt a little c6dd625ad2 too strong, but it 9fb37a50d0 wasn’t bad for relieving 0dab6f8d09 his fatigue after the 2f2be8be30 battle.
“Cut the crap and…”
He looked straight at 75a212db5d Gabriel, who was reappearing 70d52bcf6e through the dissipating cigar 7ec6a465b6 smoke, and said.
“Did you kill my father?”
There was a brief silence.
Only after confirming that there 6bf6fe1470 was no one around did 6109fa0fc8 Gabriel’s face show hatred for ec4af9e8cd Carlyle.
“Why? Do you miss your father 1f41134529 now? You ignored him so ecad3d5d1a much when he was f32830b34d alive.”
“You’re surprisingly gloomy. Who said I missed him? I’m asking if you 2e08e9e0a5 killed him or not.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Gabriel turned his head 6a81392939 and replied coldly.b890f1bd96f5b94b

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