Academy’s Genius Swordsman - Chapter 332
#A16
“W-we really don’t know anything! Please spare us!”
The fierce-looking middle-aged man bowed his head. Just an hour ago, he had been the leader of the Black Scorpion bandit group, but in an instant, he had become a beggar who had lost everything. Behind him, hundreds of his badly wounded gang members trembled in the same position.
“W-we’re all going to die…Why is that guy here···.”
“Boss…! Sob!”
The sky was covered with thick clouds. A secluded place on the outskirts of the island. The occasional moonlight illuminated the ruined fortress.
The catastrophe, which looked like an earthquake had occurred, was all the work of one man. Ronan, who had turned his sword around, asked nervously.
“Are you sure you’re not telling the truth? You said you were the biggest bandits around here. You should have something to say.”
“T-that’s true, but···! We have our own rules. We only collected money in designated areas and never went near the island. Please believe us!”
“You’re being cheeky even after getting caught. You’re quite the guy.”
Thwack! Ronan hit the leader’s head with the back of his sword. The shiny bald head rang out as if a wooden fish was being struck.
“Ugh···!”
The leader gritted his teeth. It was unbearably humiliating, but all he could do was swallow his tears and tremble. The leader shuddered as he recalled what had happened a little while ago.
‘Am I dreaming? Cutting down the entire fortress.’
It took less than an hour for the Black Scorpion bandit group, which had a 4-year tradition, to collapse. Ronan, who had come alone, asked if they knew anything about the recent disappearances, and then began to cut down the fortress and its people. Thud! The leader banged his forehead on the floor and pleaded.
“I swear to the heavens that we don’t know anything. Please spare us!”
“Spare us!”
His subordinates repeated his words in terrified voices. It was getting to be too much. Whether it was prison or anywhere else, as long as they could get away from this monster, they would be satisfied.
“Tsk, then who the hell is doing this?”
Ronan, who had been glaring at the bandits, cursed. Judging from his expression and tone, it didn’t seem like he was lying. If this continued, people would disappear somewhere else.
‘Damn it, it’s been almost a month and there’s no progress.’
As always, he was catching and punishing those who were suspected of being involved in the disappearances. He was so busy running around day and night that he was having trouble fulfilling his duties as a husband and father.
Still, these guys were big enough to know something, but it was all in vain. Ronan groaned as he wondered where to go next. A familiar voice rang out from above his head.
“R-Ronan! Something terrible has happened!”
“What?”
Ronan looked up. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching. A pajama-clad Astel was floating in the night sky.
His youthful face was a little pale, but otherwise he looked the same as he had ten years ago. His fiery red hair shone even in the darkness. The eyes of the bandits who recognized him bulged.
“G-Grand Mage···!”
Even in his ridiculous outfit, they could tell who he was. He was the mage Astel, who had reached the pinnacle of magic after Lorhon. After becoming a Sword Saint who cut down stars, he had become a Grand Mage. Ronan left the despairing bandits behind and asked.
“What’s going on? Your face is as white as a sheet.”
“O-our children have disappeared! Ranse and Sechika···!”
“···What?”
Ronan’s face hardened. Astel sobbed and explained everything. Ranse and Sechika, who had suddenly disappeared, matched the pattern of the previous disappearances. And there were unidentified bloodstains at the scene. Ronan opened his mouth after hearing the whole story.
“Is it Ranse or Sechika’s blood?”
“I-I don’t know. I just found it…Shita is flying in from the north right now.”
“I see···So it’s come to this.”
Ronan muttered. Suddenly, the bandits who had been watching the two of them gasped. They couldn’t move as if their bodies were paralyzed. A murderous aura that they had never experienced before was spreading over Ronan’s shoulders.
“Y, you can’t breathe…!”
“Spare me. P, please.”
The murderous aura was so strong that they couldn’t even breathe properly. Many of them began to sob or urinate.
The bandits, who were more desperate than ever, appealed for mercy. Ronan’s arm blurred for a moment before returning to its original state. Paang! A belated cracking sound rang out.
Before they could wonder what he had done, the sky covered with clouds split open to the left and right, and a cluster of stars that seemed like they would pour down spread out overhead.
“Heuk…!”
The bandits were shocked. The cross-section of the clouds cut by the sword wind was smooth and clean. In Ronan’s empty hand, Lamancha was now gripwas confined.
The sword that had slaughtered even giants flying in the sky. Ronan, who had turned it around, turned his gaze to the leader.
“Hey.”
“Y, yes!”
“I’ll keep it short. Surrender.”
Ronan growled lowly. It seemed better than facing a tiger. The leader, who had been panting, slammed his head on the floor once more and shouted.
“O, of course! I will surrender immediately!”
“Get lost.”
Ronan, who had declared coldly, left with Acel. The bandits, who were completely overwhelmed, couldn’t lift their heads even after their figures had completely disappeared. After a long time, the bandits, who had gotten up, moved to the nearby guard post naturally, even though there was no one to watch them.
****
“Ugh…ugh…”
Lanze, who had been groaning, opened his eyes. His head was groggy as if he had been drugged. He staggered to his feet and looked around.
“Where is this…?”
The surroundings were covered in darkness. Judging from the fact that he couldn’t hear the sound of the wind blowing, it seemed to be the interior of some structure. What happened? Lanze muttered, holding his forehead.
“What…what happened?”
His memories of last night were intermittent. He thought he had heard someone’s voice before he lost consciousness, but he couldn’t remember exactly.
‘So I left the house…and went into the back alley…ah.’
Suddenly, Lanze’s face turned pale as he pieced together his memories. The person who should have been there was nowhere to be seen. He looked around anxiously and shouted in a loud voice.
“Secika!”
His voice echoed in the darkness. But there was no answer. Lanze, who brought his hand to his mouth, shouted once more.
“If you’re alive, answer me! Secika!”
This time too, there was no answer. Lanze’s breath quickened as he imagined the worst. Shuahk! Lanze’s body, which had been looking around, suddenly shot up into the air as if it had been caught by the wind.
“W, what?!”
Something invisible was holding him. The pressure pressing down on his body was somehow familiar. Soon, a familiar voice came from behind Lanze, who had stopped.
“Don’t make a loud noise. Idiot. What are you going to do if you get caught?”
“You…!”
Lanze turned his head and his eyes widened. Secika was watching him with her arms crossed. She too was floating in the air like him.
“Secika.”
Her clothes were a bit messy, but she didn’t seem to be hurt. The tension that had been tight was completely released. Lanze, who had opened his mouth wide, hugged her tightly.
“L, Lanze?”
“You’re alive. That’s a relief.”
“O, of course. What do you think of this Secika-sama…for now, can you let go of this?”
Secika’s face turned red. Lanze, who belatedly realized what he had done, hurriedly released her embrace. The two of them, who had turned their backs to each other and coughed in vain, looked at each other again.
“Ahem…s, sorry.”
“A, ah. It’s okay to do that when you’re so happy.”
“Thank you for understanding. So…where is this?”
“I don’t know. I just woke up too. But maybe…it’s not a normal space.”
Secika frowned. With her keen mana sensitivity, she had noticed that this was a strange place from the moment she opened her eyes. Lanze tilted his head.
“Not a normal space?”
“Isn’t this an ordinary space?”
In the space where the missing people are trapped, Ranze and Sechika discover that the missing people are not dead, but their mana is being drained. Following the flow of mana, a giant white snake appears, and behind it, Dalman, the former head of the Bokmajeon, introduces himself.
“Everything is distorted. I saw something similar in my father’s book before… It’s a subspace artificially created by a being with very powerful magical powers.”
“A subspace?”
“Yes. It’s a dimension that shouldn’t exist in the first place. Who the hell created this?”
Sechika muttered. Her eyes had now adapted to the darkness and she could gradually see her surroundings. Indeed, upon hearing that, several strange things came to her attention.
It was a space that was very reminiscent of a huge cave cavity. Even if you spoke softly, your voice echoed loudly, and you couldn’t see the walls or ceiling. Everywhere in sight, shadows darker than darkness were wriggling like tendrils.
She had certainly never seen anything like this before. Ranze took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated his mind. Having inherited keen senses from his mother, he could sense things that others could not see or hear.
Soon, Ranze opened his eyes and pointed to the middle of the darkness.
“I can hear something over there.”
“Really? I can’t hear anything.”
“No. It’s for sure. The sound of water… no, footsteps?”
“Hmm, let’s go and see. Are you not feeling seasick anymore?”
At Sechika’s question, Ranze gave her a thumbs up. Sechika chuckled and chanted a spell.
Swaaaah… The wind that manifested from her fingertips gently wrapped around the legs and feet of the two. It was a haste spell that increased their movement speed.
It was not something she inherited from Ascel, but a property that was uniquely hers. Ranze felt his body become noticeably lighter and exclaimed in admiration.
“Your proficiency has increased even more.”
“That’s basic. You heard the sound, so you lead the way.”
Ranze did so. Sechika was able to cast both telekinesis and wind magic at the same time, so the two glided through the air towards their destination.
The darkness that they could not fathom passed them by. They had been traveling like that for about ten minutes. Ranze, who had discovered something, shouted through telepathy.
[Stop!]
“Ugh…!”
Sechika, who was following behind, came to an abrupt stop. Ranze, who had wiped his face once, pointed to the floor with his index finger.
[Look over there.]
“······!”
Sechika lowered her head and covered her mouth with both hands. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of people, were lying in a row, lined up. They were of all ages and genders, but there were unusually many children, and all of them had their eyes rolled back in their heads. She barely held back her emotions and opened her mouth.
“Th, they’re the people who went missing… That’s for sure.”
“···Are they dead?”
“I, I don’t think so. But their mana is being drained from their bodies…”
Sechika trailed off, fumbling her words. She could see the mana flowing out of people’s bodies in real time.
The flow of mana was all concentrated in one place. She slowly moved her gaze along the flow. At one point, a sharp scream escaped from Sechika’s mouth.
“Kyaaaah!”
“What’s wrong, why are you… Heok!”
Ranze’s eyes bulged as he looked at the same place. Far away in the darkness, a white snake larger than any dragon was sleeping curled up.
“···What is that?”
He couldn’t believe it even as he saw it with his own eyes. The scars from the statue covered about half of its sleek body. Ranze was about to say something more. Right behind him, someone’s voice echoed.
【You better not provoke it. Unless you want to be eaten right now.】
“Wha…!”
【Despite how it looks, it used to be the head of the Bokmajeon, you see.】
Ranze turned around reflexively. A man who had suddenly appeared was looking down at the two of them, carrying something on his back.
He was a fairly handsome young man, but his face and limbs, which were exposed outside his sleeves, were covered with grotesque marks reminiscent of stuffed dolls.
“Ra, Ranze…”
“Who are you?”
Ranze, who had stepped in front of Sechika, growled, his hand on the hilt of his sword. The sparkling air current he had seen in the alleyway was floating around the young man. The young man, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.
【My name is Dalman. The last ember of the great Nebula Claige, and the one who was once killed by your father.】