Chapter 21
He was roughly draped in a black robe with a hood. His hair was as black as the robe, and his eyes matched the color of his hair.
Dark circles hung heavily under his eyes, and even from a distance, he looked very tall and gaunt. It was almost like…
“The one Amy mentioned…”
Alice covered her mouth in shock. Could this man really be the guest Emma and Amy had mentioned at the inn? Someone who didn’t look human at all?
‘The culprit Amy described didn’t seem like this. Weak, almost on the verge of collapsing, and somehow eerie…’
Alice sat hidden in the bushes, observing the man who looked like a beast.
He would move forward, then stop and glance around repeatedly. It didn’t seem like there was any human reasoning in him.
At that moment, another arrow flew swiftly—but this time, it wasn’t aimed at her; it was aimed at the man.
The man calmly watched the arrow coming toward him and swung his arm to block it. The arrow hit the horn growing from his arm, deflecting off and changing trajectory.
Unfortunately, it was now heading in Alice’s direction.
“Damn…!”
Alice quickly stepped back. The arrow embedded itself in the ground where she had been sitting.
Luckily, she had dodged it, but now the man’s and Alice’s eyes met.
“Kwaaaak!”
The man let out a loud roar and charged at Alice. She tilted her body to the right just in time. His attacking hand smashed into the ground.
“What strength…!”
Though he looked gaunt and powerless, his grip was unexpectedly strong. The ground caved in where his hand had struck.
He pulled his hand back and attacked her again. Alice unleashed magic, forming a protective barrier around herself.
The man hesitated as he hit the barrier but then clenched his fists and attacked again, unable to break through.
Realizing his attacks were ineffective, the man, now furious, unleashed a flurry of punches.
Alice frowned and extended both her hands forward.
‘Blocking is fine, but I can’t attack like this…’
At that moment, another arrow flew by and embedded itself nearby. It was shot by the archer who had been tracking her location.
“Ah, attacking from here and there… seriously, what a hassle…”
Alice muttered in frustration. She was annoyed not only because she had to keep blocking the man’s relentless attacks but also because arrows kept coming from the side at unexpected moments.
“Hah…”
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Alice channeled her magic into both hands.
She waited until the man raised his arm into the air to strike again, then released the accumulated magic in an explosion.
Boom!
A large sphere of light shot from her hands, hitting the man and causing a massive explosion.
The force sent him flying into a tree. Alice brushed the dirt from her clothes and stood up.
The man, likely injured from hitting the tree so hard, remained slumped and unable to get up.
“He’s not getting up…”
After all those attacks, one strike had knocked him down. That ended faster than she expected. Now, it was time to deal with the other one.
Alice lightly stretched and looked up at the tree where the archer had been.
“What? Already ran away?”
But the figure she had glimpsed through the leaves was gone. The archer must have escaped while she was dealing with the man.
“Wasn’t I the target? Why did she run off halfway?”
Alice approached the tree to inspect the area. Placing her hand on the trunk, she felt the flow of air around it.
She sensed faint magical energy matching her own from the tree. After roughly assessing it, Alice removed her hand.
“She used a teleportation scroll.”
Magic acts like a fingerprint to all magicians. Each magician’s energy is unique.
Of course, ordinary people can’t sense magic, and even magicians can only determine if the energy is theirs or someone else’s—not specifically whose.
So, sensing her magical energy coming from the tree meant the archer had used a magical item she herself had made.
Moreover, the magical items she created rarely circulated in the market. She only made items that other magicians couldn’t easily produce.
One of her signature creations was a teleportation scroll. Most long-distance teleportation scrolls in the northern regions, especially Erdin, were made by Alice herself.
Using one of her items while fighting her was short-sighted.
“This energy is from a long-distance teleportation scroll… not from the south, then?”
Analyzing the magic from the tree, Alice even identified the type of scroll. Long-distance teleportation scrolls are single-use, hard to make, and very expensive. They aren’t usually used unless someone wants to travel from the north to the south in one jump.
‘Then the culprit is from the south? Or maybe their base is in the south. We can’t rule out a backup plan either.’
Alice scratched her head. She couldn’t jump to conclusions but felt it would be necessary to visit the southern regions.
“I should have stopped her before she used the scroll.”
She had focused on defeating the beast-like man and ended up missing the person who had actually targeted her life.
Alice glanced at the man, still slumped against the tree.
“Ugh…”
“Still alive?”
He barely seemed to breathe. Alice crouched to inspect him more closely.
“Uh… his skin…”
She hadn’t noticed before while just blocking his attacks, but up close, his skin was dotted with purple spots. He was showing symptoms of Magi poisoning.
“Did he lure people into the forest and get poisoned himself?”
However, anyone thinking clearly would know continued exposure would poison themselves, so this seemed unusual.
Moreover, she had heard that one symptom of Magi poisoning was horn growth all over the body and eventual insanity.
While Alice pondered his symptoms, there was a cracking sound nearby.
The man slowly crumbled to the ground.
Alice reached out and touched him. What remained in her hand was nothing but powder.
“…This will have to be investigated at the temple.”
Since he crumbled so easily, she couldn’t move him anywhere. It would be best to leave him for the priests, who were far more knowledgeable about Magi matters.
“Meow.”
Alice stood up, and a familiar cry came from nearby.
Cherry emerged from behind the tree where the archer had been, carrying a piece of paper in her mouth, and ran to Alice.
“Where have you been all this time?”
Alice picked up Cherry and took the paper from her. It was shaped like a business card, with a golden circular emblem on it.
At first glance, it looked like a magic circle or a family crest.
“Where did you find this?”
“Meow!”
“Near that tree?”
“Meow!”
Cherry rubbed her cheek against Alice’s as if to say yes. Alice petted her and stored the paper in her ring.
She thought it would be best to examine it again after leaving the forest.
Alice circled the area several times to ensure there was nothing else to investigate. After thoroughly checking the magical beast’s core and collecting the arrows the archer had fired, she was finally ready to leave.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
“Meow!”
With Cherry’s energetic response, Alice tore open a teleportation scroll. The light from the scroll enveloped them.
Alice returned to the village of Cier. As her vision adjusted after the scroll’s light faded, she heard laughter around her.
“Brother, over here! Throw it to me!”
“Isn’t it too far? Can you catch it?”
“I can do it!”
“Next time, throw it to me too, big brother!”
Among the children’s voices, a familiar voice stood out. Alice looked toward the sound.
Aiden was playing catch with the children.
