IATAOTHKG | CHAPTER 77 – Novexa Novels

[CHAPTER 77]

There was no one there.

Not a single person, strangely enough.

Following Caliph’s order to stop moving, Meyna only turned her head and looked around the forest.

Countless trees stood close together. They were all enormous.

Branches and leaves tangled with each other, forming what looked like a green ceiling, and because of it, the night sky was barely visible.

It’s not even raining.

It didn’t seem like the rain had stopped suddenly in just a few minutes. It looked more like the trees were acting as a massive cover.

Perhaps it was a small relief. Biterion had said the rain might contain poison.

“How can you just get off like that?”

Caliph approached without a hint of presence and spoke like he was scolding her as he stopped beside her.

When she turned to look, he looked very annoyed.

“You’re fearless.”

Even in his scolding, there was concern.

Now that she heard him, it really had been reckless. She had stepped outside the carriage without thinking, just like someone without a shred of caution.

But still…

Something felt off.

It was as if some enormous and indescribable force was leading both her body and her thoughts.

“Where are we?”

At her question, Caliph let out a short sigh. He answered only with a frown that said he had no idea either. Meyna calmly retraced the situation before the accident.

“The moment we exited Belite Square, the carriage hit something hard.”

It was the road leading from the square to the train station.

She felt too strong of an impact for it to have simply been a rock or a streetlight, and the moment it happened, she blacked out.

“You’re certain we left the square?”

“Yes.”

Meyna nodded firmly.

Locating one’s position was one of the most basic duties of an aide. Even if it wasn’t Caliph, ability users usually devoted all their focus to missions that involved hunting or extermination, often forgetting where they were, or even what day or season it was.

“I definitely saw the sign through the window.”

Caliph nodded at her confident expression and spoke.

“If so, then we can assume this is a Crack.”

A Crack was a virtual space formed when leftover mana used by ability users flowed like water and pooled in certain places.

Sometimes it took the form of a forest like this one, but it could also look like a mountain, a cave, or an underwater city.

Caliph added with a sigh.

“We’ll just have to wait until someone from the guild comes to rescue us.”

A Crack was a trap-like space. Even if one could use mana, entering or exiting it by choice was impossible.

Only upper-class mage level A or higher could open and close a Crack’s entrance.

Meyna stared blankly around her and asked quietly.

“So all these trees are illusions?”

The moment she reached out toward the leaves swaying in the wind, Caliph stepped in front of her and blocked her hand.

“What’s wrong with you today?”

“What?”

“You’re acting like a clueless foal. Why?”

Caliph looked her up and down as she lowered her arm hesitantly.

“This place is full of flowing mana. It can be dangerous for ordinary people like you—”

His voice stopped abruptly. He stared at Meyna’s face with sudden surprise.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, he reached out without warning.

His hand cupped her cheek. Meyna froze, while Caliph studied her face with no hint of personal intent.

His fingertips grazed the corner of her eye.

“The wound is gone.”

He spoke almost to himself.

Meyna had only been startled by the sudden touch, but now she couldn’t hide her confusion at his words.

Ever since she began suffering from Awakening Pain, her wounds had been healing quickly.

“And you don’t look like someone in pain from stomach cramps.”

Without giving her time to lie or come up with an excuse, Caliph finished piecing the situation together.

He withdrew his hand and faced her.

“You.”

“…”

“Are you hiding something from me?”

He was someone who could read a person’s thoughts just from their eyes or footsteps.

He already knew the answer now as well, but some kind of personal belief seemed to be holding back his logical judgment.

A deeply personal trust in Meyna.

“Answer me.”

As he quietly urged her, Meyna was overwhelmed by crushing guilt.

She could not bear to meet his steady gaze.

In his blue eyes, there was a firm belief that even if she had left him, she would not have lied to him.

Meyna pressed her lips shut and stared at the wounds on his body that refused to heal.

The bite marks of a monster on his shoulder. Torn flesh and exposed bone on his hand.

He blocked a killing blow with his bare hand. Even in the instant of the carriage accident, he used his uninjured arm to pull her close and shield her. He looked like someone who did not even feel pain despite being covered in blood.

He only waited for her answer.

Time passed in silence that felt endless.

Caliph’s lips parted slowly.

“You can’t answer.”

His jaw tightened, his mouth twitching in frustration.

“So you really aren’t…”

“…”

“Mine anymore.”

Caliph let out a dry laugh, his face a tangled mix of despair and emptiness.

Meyna squeezed her eyes shut and flinched.

Just then, a familiar voice called out.

“Captain! Aide…!”

When she opened her eyes, Rob was running toward them from beyond the forest, calling both their names. He sighed in relief when he spotted them.

Rob steadied himself on one knee and lifted his head.

A light green glow burst from him. The massive trees rippled grotesquely, and the sound of rain returned.

Rob quickly walked over and cast a protective spell around Caliph and Meyna, surrounding them with green light.

He inspected Caliph’s body and spoke urgently.

“The rain has begun mixing with toxins, Captain. If it touches wounds made by monsters, the flesh will rot.”

“…”

“And your hand, what happened here?”

Seeing Caliph ignoring him, Rob sighed heavily and muttered to himself.

“Falling into a Crack at such perfect timing… If you had been exposed to the rain, you might have lost your arm.”

The forest vanished.

The three stood on the roadside near Belite Square, right where the carriage accident had occurred.

People and ability users bustled about. Members of the scout team were busy checking for injuries and discussing what had happened.

“How long until we can use mana again?”

“No more than five minutes.”

“Who could do something like this?”

“It’s advanced black magic. Only a few people could pull off something like this.”

“So the scout team was the target?”

Meanwhile, Meyna curled in on herself, soaked in the rain. The moment she left the mana-filled space, the stomach cramps returned as if it had all been a lie.

“Aide… no, Lady Meyna.”

Rob corrected himself with a slightly bitter smile and worriedly studied her complexion.

“Are you in pain?”

“Go gather with the guild members somewhere safe.”

Caliph dismissed him and opened a portal. He supported Meyna as she struggled with the pain, his expression cold and unreadable.

“I’ll take you. To the Prince.”

* * *

How did Caliph know Biterion was the Prince?

Since when did he know?

Did he also know she would awaken as an ability user within a month or two?

Those were the only questions filling her head.

She ignored anything involving personal feelings between the two men.