DSFL | Chapter 123 – Novexa Novels

~Chapter 123~

Bloodshot veins burned in Erkessian’s eyes. Idette faltered back in fear, but then she grabbed my hand and ran with me.

The once-dim lanterns lining the street suddenly flared with blue flames as we passed, as if exposing our escape to everyone.

“Idette!”

His furious voice thundered behind us. At the sound, Idette bit her lower lip so hard it looked painful, as if hearing him alone was unbearable.

“Don’t listen to him.”

“With a voice that loud, how could I not?”

“…He’s just loud for no reason.”

Idette looked at me in shock for a moment before hesitantly speaking.

“Lady Bianca, there’s something I must tell you.”

“…What is it?”

“You think I stayed in Tyrannian just to meet Erkessian, don’t you?”

Her face clouded with embarrassment.

“That’s partly true… but honestly, I couldn’t leave. There’s an illusion spell cast over the whole village.”

“….”

“If you try to escape, you just circle back to the same place again and again.”

“A maze, in other words?”

“Yes.”

I glanced up at the sky and saw Penny circling above in her transformed form.

“That’s fine. From up there, we can find the way out.”

Still… why can’t Idette use the original power she was supposed to have?
Because Ailins is sealed…?

Before I could untangle my thoughts, the ground shook like an earthquake. Buildings collapsed, and then something burst up violently from beneath the earth.

Grrrr…!

A giant monster towered as tall as a mountain, its twisted form resembling a grotesque human face.

Ignoring the people chasing behind, the creature roared directly at us.

“A Dremua? But those live in the desert—”

Idette’s words trailed off. She stared, trembling, at where Erkessian stood. From the monster’s jagged teeth seeped black mist, stretching out like a road under the blue lantern light—pointing the way forward.

Erkessian’s eyes glowed red with rage again. Idette recoiled, but still clutched my hand and kept running.

“H-how… what do we do…?”

The blue lantern flames blazed brighter around us as if determined to betray our movements.

With pale, trembling fingers, Idette fumbled inside her clothes and pulled out a small notebook.

“I’ve never tried magic this big before…”

“Idette!”

The earth trembled once more, throwing us off balance. Idette dropped the notebook in the chaos.

Thud.

“Don’t listen to him!” I shouted again.

But the notebook rolled straight into the hole where the first Dremua had emerged.

Seeing this, Idette’s face crumpled in despair.

“…I can’t do it. Maybe I should just go back to Erkessian and beg for his help—”

“What happened to you all this time?” I muttered, but before she could answer, more black mist spread outward.

Smaller Dremua cubs appeared, their glowing red eyes flashing all at once as they shrieked and charged.

I lunged toward Idette instinctively. My foot knocked over a lantern, and its flames leapt onto dry wood.

Whoosh!

“Wait…!”

The fire spread quickly, catching a nearby oil barrel.

Boom!

Oil spilled across the ground, feeding the fire until it raged in all directions.

‘The notebook…?’

Through the blue blaze, I spotted it lying inside the flames.

I ripped off my robe, drenched it in collected rainwater by a crumbled wall, and dashed toward the fire.

Just as I stepped in, a dark aura blocked my path.

Another Dremua cub burst out of the ground.

“…!”

Startled, I instinctively swung the wet robe.

The moment the soaked cloth touched its skin, an eerie shriek rang in my ears. Steam hissed, and its flesh twisted in agony where the water struck.

That’s it… water is their weakness.

I snatched the notebook from the fire and sprinted back to Idette.

“Idette, their weakness is water. Use that.”

“M-me?”

I shoved the notebook into her hands. She only mouthed words without sound.

A mage’s power grew stronger the more openly they bore their true name. But Idette—Ailins’s descendant—had never had that chance. She always had to hide her magic.

So the seal wasn’t the problem at all…

A faint blue glow flickered in her red eyes.

“There’s another future besides becoming empress, isn’t there?” I said firmly.

She stared at me.

“Believe in that. You’ll always be a mage, no matter what.”

“….”

“And I believe in you too.”

Thinking about it, I wasn’t the only one. Peril believed, Ricardo too. Even the Tower mages acknowledged her.

Maybe not enough to call her a great sorceress yet… but enough to fight Dremua.

Idette cautiously flipped through her notebook, full of spells she had written down.

“Uh, so… maybe a big pond? Or should I make it rain?”

She tugged at her hair nervously as Penny circled above, wings fluttering. It looked like she’d already found a way out of Tyrannian—but she couldn’t come down with all the monsters still swarming us.

Another deafening rumble shook the ground. Idette raised her hand quickly, chanting in an unfamiliar tongue.

Then she fell silent. But nothing around us changed.

“…Is it done?”

“Uh… something’s off.”

Her halfhearted reply made me cover my face in despair.

We’re doomed. We’re so doomed.

But then—a distant roar of something massive rushing toward us filled the air.

It wasn’t wind. Too heavy. Not monster footsteps either—too light.

Moments later, a colossal wave appeared, big enough to cover the entire night sky.

“No way…”

I pointed at it with a trembling finger. Idette looked just as horrified.

That wave wouldn’t just sweep away the Dremua—it would kill us too.