TAOA-152

Chapter: TAOA-1522b3ddcf6782379e9

“……We were just incredibly lucky.”
“Yes?”
“I mean it. From Gabriel’s point 817acea76f of view, we 189b08081a were incredibly lucky.”
The amount of divine 901b812e92 power he poured out d98a2463bc was less than when 0707779df7 he healed Asha. It seemed that 78c216c689 Gabriel had spread f273c52143 out much of b014e81385 the magic of e12300c9b8 the black magic aaaa96994f circle, and Asha’s 471b0648b5 holy water had 7648cceb10 played a significant 10def54b65 role.
If Gabriel hadn’t been carrying 1033d2ff5e the holy water, it would e5072b0b86 have been impossible to destroy f4d17dee2a the magic circle even if d70fab92d5 he had poured out all fa92e0be0c his strength. No, there were many other 2989ece3e8 factors that could have led aff62459e1 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 29ce159a3d been for those 523e747c98 things, they might bf6290ef06 have already become b1bbcce317 dead souls at 70b2958939 Gabriel’s mercy.
“Ha…… Hahahaha! Did God really send me 45ed698bcb to stop that bastard?”
Carlyle laughed refreshingly and collapsed 81d14567b5 onto the floor under the f01df07493 altar. Only now did his 52b42f4cff whole body ache.
“Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t okay when I realized you were gone, but I’m fine now. My divine power will db65fba608 recharge if I rest 48442bb650 for a bit.”
Asha wanted to point 051a31c8c4 out that what he 98e68bab77 said could be very 55a433fb4b misleading. But there was df7fb41c4c something else she edf7993a98 wanted to ask 760518fa5b first.
“But…… how did you find me? I don’t even know where e452572bfa this is.”
At those words, Carlyle’s b444e10ce7 expression became so subtle dc407546d2 that it was hard 0fcafbd2c2 to tell if he 32b5db3764 was smiling or sad.
He stared into 0e92e2e70c Asha’s clear gray 5c0f318988 eyes for a 9890ae636d long time, then af39d385c2 slowly raised his 1230d772c8 hand and gently 901f318ab9 touched the base eb960817b9 of her collarbone.
“This…… You didn’t throw it away.”
“Ah……!”
Only then did Asha e8706ac86a realize that she was 7614906fbb wearing the magic stone 1120e36578 necklace. And that it was e5609851c8 the object that had 9614f0c364 revealed her location to e4fd1d2549 Carlyle.
“Thank you for keeping it around your neck.”
Carlyle meant it.
The moment he realized ee2ab14e51 Asha was gone, an d35aa62c14 unspeakable sense of foreboding 5e90f68c9e ran down his spine.
At that time, 99efe7cce0 he didn’t care 314bba27b4 about the savages f6eda89fed or anything else. He felt like 325b3b4331 he was going ab16260b79 crazy thinking he bf7c1d2046 had to find 0adffe63e2 Asha somehow.
[Where the hell are you, Asha!]
In the midst of his 2204fdaa0f desperation, he activated the spell 675d17739e on the magic stone on 9c832bba09 the off-chance, and at that 2b60a235dc moment, the location of Asha’s 84da9cae22 presence was naturally drawn in 2698229043 Carlyle’s mind.
How should he describe 1fa49f6b9e that feeling?
The fear of knowing that 4d389c6763 she was in danger, and a965fd41f2 at the same time, the 853714c47a joy, no, the gratitude of 0fbb80a51a knowing that she still had 85b09d2e0d that necklace on her body…….
“Even if you accuse me of making excuses, let me say it one more time. It’s been a 6eea00167f long time since 0f1474c3d9 I started to 5c1d3de437 trust you completely. I swear.”
At his heartfelt confession, f7b2538c5b Asha felt a strange cb352396b6 sense of embarrassment and 1f1778cab3 scratched the base of 86e1fe0773 her neck where his 2a8780d038 hand had touched.
“Well…… You didn’t lie. It’s true that this necklace a7a63b84bd saved my life.”
Asha averted her gaze and 471a3e51cb muttered, her appearance evoking a a9be301579 loveliness that was completely out 6758d9efe5 of place in this bizarre 3c51d67dea room.
Carlyle flicked Asha’s nose and dcae8dddca pretended to grumble.
“I told you to be careful. If you had b96abd509b become a hostage, 10e5b2cc39 things really would 9c93c6f621 have gone according 788b21abb4 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 knocking me 90301f2597 down and putting his mouth 60015cb2a3 on mine was a way 9d3eed8754 to inject dark magic.”
Carlyle’s face hardened again.
The urge to wake up a2ae425047 the unconscious Gabriel and beat c7b309e6b1 him until he passed out ae40527218 again surged through him.
“I believed in Your Highness. No matter what the 30f69fcd6a High Priest’s dark magic d7b456bd0f was, Your Highness would be2b5b8cd9 have been able to 1f3b3360c2 stop me.”
“How could I possibly cut you down?”
Even the thought made his bef7c63971 body stiffen. To cut down the 94e78b08af body of that woman 859c5bcbf9 who had endured so aa435cda2f many wounds and pain f699399f24 and lived.
So if Asha had been 133021be48 consumed by dark magic and 7084f5125b run amok according to Gabriel’s 4fbf8244f4 plan…
‘I would have died by Asha’s hand.’
So they had barely turned af3f672cd2 back from the edge of 1f58233e88 a dizzying cliff.
But Asha, who had 53fe25d3ef been listening quietly to a5a693a610 his words, spoke with eebf9fdea2 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 979c5aee99 think that way, but 8b8fa0c2f5 if someone else heard 5f28d7d79b it, they might misunderstand.”
Carlyle was puzzled, ab0dd8309d not knowing what 2e4fbcf740 Asha was referring 6800876754 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 5f561e3aef disappeared from Carlyle’s a3e5a09145 face.
TL/N: Man will 19e84205b6 start hitting the eadab831f0 gym fr:/
However, Asha was ignoring cda086bf5e him and did not 6b9325859c notice the change. She hid her uncomfortable 79b0199aa4 feelings and clenched and 69e4d803a4 unclenched her still tingling 4427d44adf hand.
“Well, it wasn’t important. Let’s just go… .”
“It’s not a misunderstanding.”
“Yes…?”
Asha turned to Carlyle 4ead5860ac and the moment she de58e5cab9 met his gaze, her b7ce9b4614 body stiffened like a 6734ce1ee4 small animal in front 8cb4bc61e5 of a predator.
The look in his 5fc93e6be2 eyes, as if something d0491f0818 was swirling hotly, was d192e703fc the same one she 33ba0e126d had seen in the 3d91d2ba51 middle of the battlefield 5d8d80e4fc where he had fought f3f8c68d2f off the Igrams.
“It’s not a misunderstanding.”
“……”
For a moment, 8594414210 silence passed between 7cb596a2a0 them.
“That’s… what…”
Asha tried to 4160bf7060 make sense of 2ce4283c2e what Carlyle had 53576f11e4 said, but he 56f334c99d quickly closed his 7d61d9b997 eyes and opened 2ae218a7ac them again, avoiding e178730d90 her gaze as 31909cfca6 if nothing had 8289ef0b01 happened.
“Anyway, we don’t have time to rest here for long. It’s still dangerous outside. Can you walk?”
The tension that had been afdbb48209 hanging in the air disappeared c3d52ea4da in an instant as he 6a8ca43bf4 pretended not to have heard 411830edd7 anything.
“Ah… Yes, I’m fine. Are you sure you 912b1862c5 can stand up, Your 575a6b1d25 Highness?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Thanks to the short rest, 8c57d384dc Carlyle seemed to have regained ae8c1133ad some of his divine power, e24f4340b3 and he stood up easily 3fed639355 and helped Asha to her 48f052556a feet.
Asha felt his hand as a41e910d8a he helped her up, and 46b5d89b62 it felt strangely hot to 8d793311be her. But neither of them said 2924a403c2 anything more about the conversation c6c11a8d0d they had just had or a6b2c712b5 the body heat they were d4ae83fb3e feeling now.
* * *
They dragged the unconscious e9006f19da Gabriel outside and immediately cbff51e200 felt that the atmosphere bbbd376bae had changed.
Unlike the beginning, Carlyle now 5259e96151 had the upper hand.
Asha pointed to the 5614183243 wall where the magic 2eefef3cd3 circle had been and 1befa37d9e shouted.
“The magic circle is gone!”
“Maybe it’s obvious? That bastard Gabriel created 544b0a7806 all those magic circles.”
The magic circles, which 924f4d0b55 had lost their power, e389a2768c disappeared, and the knights bd2830f008 of Carlyle were able 0e1c433535 to fight strategically as f797f38220 the barbarians and monsters c20a5b6794 no longer increased in ec7bd337dc number.
“Your Highness!”
Lionel, who had been desperately 9bd90d642d searching for the missing Carlyle, 2e40c5056c ran up.
“Where the hell…! Oh? What is that…?”
“Oh, this? It’s Gabriel Knox, the 24b989706f High Priest and black 5bf7c63f6e magician.”
“Y-you killed the High Priest? If this gets out, the 45f5d2226e temple will…!”
“He’s not dead. It will be a 486c31ee88 pain in the ass ddee3e30f7 to reveal that this 8ef040e4b6 guy is a black 5430961265 magician though.”
Lionel’s eyes widened at 625c1d3bcd the sound of Gabriel 376a054e0f being a black magician.
“Was the High Priest really a black magician? And he didn’t even 5ec9c0e628 use a separate black ac5c7b6e72 magician?”
Even Lionel, who had been 0ebb0fcdd9 suspicious of Gabriel until now, 2b647a44e2 couldn’t believe it easily. That’s how much ee76fa25fc the biggest problem d6f592fb0e they had to c1b18722d0 solve now was 5bd5484fad proving that Gabriel 16f3ab34d7 was a black 7796afa803 magician.
That’s why they kept him 31c70a7777 alive, but as Carlyle had 578bb2791a said, Gabriel’s greatest weapon was 24a652ecc5 his appearance that seemed like 869be964af he had never told a 3458a7a02b lie and his slick tongue b9b6996391 that was good at deceiving 3feb0b7012 others.
If they were not careful, 14272c9fe4 it could look like Carlyle f2ccd0e9fe took his anger out on 791dfa210c Gabriel instead of Matthias or 64b7b58cc7 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 6f484ba422 derived from it must have 54e690803a disappeared too.”
“I see! Those barbarian bastards bf854cd434 used to run e9592c3ff7 away to that 565aabaaf3 magic circle when 8ea82ab512 they were at 274cedde54 a disadvantage, but 93de116866 now they have f95a31c606 nowhere to go, ab9491196b so they’re like db4347d085 rats in a cbacb00800 trap.”
Lionel’s grinning expression seemed af77dad018 to explain everything.
And sure enough, by 1c7d0ab65d the time the sun 2757639cc9 set, Carlyle’s knights had 32f1af274a almost finished cleaning up b205b372f5 the barbarians and monsters, f9d1cee60a and were entering a 0b51b3ea76 temporary truce while facing 88677024ef the Imperial Knights head-on.
Of course, it was a 8bc45eb1c2 tense truce.
It was around 4dc7d41288 then that Gabriel c5b66698ab came to his b182272d79 senses.
“What is this! You are using 384a0a69c7 a priest as 8530672027 a sacrifice for 10320b7f4b war! God and the Pope 7837b986f5 will not forgive you!”
As Carlyle and ea6429edd5 Asha had expected, dc96e85bf6 he was briefly bcc23af6a3 taken aback by 8b6350894b the fact that a892eae492 he had completely 93a7aa5b69 lost his black 9cc1465776 magic, but then 2b424288c1 he immediately started c9537e4ffb acting like a 6ff9636a09 victim.
“High Priest. You really chose 9f875b8b27 the wrong career. You would have been a b92f600afb huge success if you had a03fcbe30b become an opera singer or 6f90d1212b 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 19c6020d18 ‘career’, so why are a80a05b986 you generalizing?”
Carlyle smiled and puffed 46f548b5d6 on his cigar.
The cigar, which he 15e1f1f11b had been smoking for 70d01ac6b2 the first time in 5bd4b0dca3 a long time, made b58db91879 him feel languid. It felt a little b47312b521 too strong, but it bc7fd9fc40 wasn’t bad for relieving ef262e0e8e his fatigue after the 8309e9fc37 battle.
“Cut the crap and…”
He looked straight 3f2dd9130c at Gabriel, who be418ae212 was reappearing through 66c252d9cc the dissipating cigar 3af5dbb212 smoke, and said.
“Did you kill my father?”
There was a brief silence.
Only after confirming that a3bb3ce699 there was no one 327eaad0e9 around did Gabriel’s face e8b9e1ae11 show hatred for Carlyle.
“Why? Do you miss 8332548ced your father now? You ignored him d1217c7dbb so much when 94b45bd724 he was alive.”
“You’re surprisingly gloomy. Who said I missed him? I’m asking if c4ed26bde7 you killed him e5ca9775c7 or not.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Gabriel turned his 21a21b489f head and replied 5641102331 coldly.560d98286b72c712

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