2025-04-19 22:22:51For a minute, Anthonius stopped and gazed at the young girl next to him. Abruptly, he recalled something. "Did you tell this child to hide his magical powers?" Anthonius said, turning to face Dima.
With astonished looks on their faces, everyone turned to face Dima.
"That child? Hiding magical energy?" Dima returned the question to Anthonius. "Even before you all came, I was struggling to fight that creature on my own. How could I possibly have time to do that?!" Dima shot back at Anthonius.
Anthonius was taken aback by Dima's response. Anthonius initially believed that Dima was the one requesting that the youngster they had saved conceal their magical abilities.
"Sweet little girl... who was with you before these two uncles arrived?" Vanity whispered. offering the girl a box of candy and encouraging her to share what she had gone through.
The little girl was both afraid and perplexed. Without saying a word, she gazed at the faces of every member of the main investigation team before turning to face Vanity.
"Don't be afraid!" In an attempt to win the trust of the young child, Vanity said. "If you want to tell me what you've experienced..., I'll give you 2 more boxes!" Vanity Fair started to make two additional boxes of Turkish delight using magic.
The little girl inhaled deeply and then let out a leisurely exhale. Her face was displaying obvious signs of terror. It appears that the girl will suffer from severe trauma as a result of what she just went through. The young girl began to narrate her experience, but she was frequently stopped and periodically became silent for a long time. Perhaps she was remembering every detail of what had happened to her.
The little girl is named Tatiana, a rank 0 witch (not yet ranked) who just enrolled in a magic academy in Tohron 6 months ago. In 2 months, Tatiana's older sister will graduate from the same magic academy as her. Tatiana and her friend want to attend the graduation ceremony by giving a gift in the form of a firework potion (a magical potion that will create fireworks if the bottle is thrown). By coincidence, one of the ingredients of the potion is a powder that is usually found on walls made of decayed bricks.
Tatiana claimed to have run into the Shadow-man while searching for the brick powder on her way home. Tatiana said that she observed between 15 and 20 shadow men. They headed south on foot from the north of the ruins at the city's edge, where she and her buddy were looking for components for a firework potion. Tatiana cooperated with one of the Shadow-men's orders to conceal her magical energy, but her friend did not. Tatiana reported that her friend's body collapsed shortly after the shadowmen departed. There were several scratches on her friend's back and numerous blazing reddish-purple stones imbedded in her body.
Anthonius interrupted Tatiana's story to inquire, "Shadow-man?"
"I am not mistaken. The shadow men were they. We were once taken to Breeze Swamp surrounds by the history teacher and a mythical monster. I know," Tatiana stated so confidently, "and I am positive it was the Shadow-man."
There was silence among the main investigating team. With the exception of Alyosha, their features were bewildered as they gazed at one another. How the Shadow-men got out of the Breeze Swamp area was a mystery to them all.
Terra is home to numerous monsters, including Shadow-man. The region around the Breeze Swamp next to the Trade City of Ein and the ruins on the edge of the City of Tohron is the Shadow-man's home, just like that of the majority of other monsters. The Shadow-man is exactly what its name implies: a black shadow with a form similar to an adult man. The Shadow-man's body cannot even be touched because it is only a shadow. Shadow-man's body has a composition similar to a particular gas, and when Shadow-man penetrates it, it feels frigid.
The Shadow-man is considered the most passive of the monsters that inhabit Terra, in contrast to some of them. A Shadow-man would not fight back even if someone were to slit his body with a blade. All they will do is keep quiet, seemingly unconcerned about what has been done to them. Even Shadow-man, like Abyssal Ice Flower in the Dry Valleys and Orb Soul in the Ares Desert, is considered a harmless species.
Shadowman consumes the remains of living things in the marsh as well as muck and manure. Shadow-men use their legs to eat everything because they lack eyes, mouths, noses, and ears. Because of this, it is quite improbable that the Shadow-man will leave the swamp; even if they are relocated, they will still eventually return to the Breeze Swamp area. Since the Shadow-man's body cannot be used or even sold, no one would hunt that creature. That is why, even since Terra's initial inception hundreds of years ago, the number of Shadow-men has stayed constant.
"I have never heard of a Shadow-man leaving Rawa Breeze," Anthonius whispered. "Even at my age of almost 400 years, I have never heard of it even once, but if Alyosha has seen it too..., then it can't be a lie, right?" Anthonius tried to believe the little girl's words, even though his logic opposed it.
"I... I have never heard anything like that either," Dima whispered.
Vanity Fair shook her head. "There was such an incident," Vanity said. "Anthonius..., you are the highest general in Crimson Knight. You should care enough about every conflict among your subordinates and also the rumors circulating in Terra!" Vanity was mocking Anthonius for his indifference, always focusing solely on every task Meuz assigned to him.
"Me?" Anthonius was confused. He doesn't understand why he is actually connected to the Shadow-man.
"The rumor has spread among every member of the Lazuardy Sword that Leah used to be an outcast, and she once worked for a mad alchemist named Antonie Xander just to be able to eat. Many of us dislike her because of this. Because we don't want a member of the lower class to lead us. As an alchemist's underling, Leah worked with Miss Tsabitha Younha on a case involving a serial killer in Euhron. The Shadow-man was also involved in the case. There are rumors that Meuz has a spell that can force Shadow Man to submit to his master!"
"I thought it was just a myth," Javier whispered, glancing at Anthonius. "Mom once told the reason why Meuz imprisoned Zamman, didn't she?" asked Javier as if reminding his older brother. "He was imprisoned, and even his entire power was sealed, not just because of the conflict, but because Zamman mastered too much forbidden magic compared to the other founders of Terra."
"I thought it was just a myth. So it really exists...?" whispered Anthonius. "If it's true... that there is still someone using that forbidden magic besides Lei and Zaman... it means our mission this time is a matter of life and death." Anthonius warned all members of the core investigation team. "If that creature was indeed created using the forbidden Zamman spell, then we can be sure that what we are facing this time is Manji!" Anthonius warned.
The main investigating team members all fell silent. They had been uneasy about the beast that had murdered the wizards in Terra from the start. In addition to its capacity to produce amethyst crystals, which are a mixture of antimatter shields, that beast also has a very erratic and random pattern of murder. They all understand now that that prospect is quite likely to occur if Manji is the criminal. Even more frightening than what the dragons had done, the fabled monstrosity made from the Shadow-man may destroy Terra.
"Besides that... I want to show you something!" After getting to his feet, Anthonius urged Tatiana and the other members of the main investigative team to move away from the amethyst crystal that was positioned in the center of the room. Only Alyosha appeared to comprehend what their young general was going to do, but everyone followed Anthonius' instructions.
"If possible... I want Meuz to recruit another archer." Anthonius' statement, "Because even just one, I feel it's not enough," instantly astounded everyone. "Rain Arrow is just a basic attack spell that even a 10-year-old can perform, but if we change its size to the size of a sewing needle, or even smaller than that, then... its destructive power will become terrifying. It will destroy antimatter magic as well as pure orichalcum shielding. In the Za'ud District, the same incident occurred throughout the war. Records created by Miss Tha on the events that destroyed the city can be found in the Terra archives center in Sofya City, even though a large portion of the history of what truly occurred there was concealed during the Meuz administration."
On Javier's bow, Anthonius strung the bowstring. The bow then sent a number of arrows toward the crystal in the center of the room. The amethyst crystal cracked a few seconds after the arrows rained down on it, but no one saw it because there were only a few flashes.
"Although it worked, it is very inefficient. With just one application, my manna runs out instantly. Additionally, it takes me a little longer to fire the arrow since I have to compress the magical energy to make the arrow samalla sa a niddle. It becomes imperative that someone is present to deflect the enemy's attack in our direction. Manji, who can sense magical power, makes this worse by focusing on the person with the most potent magical ability. Therefore, in order to consistently tie the creature's attention and make it ignore us, we require a front guard that possesses magical power equal to ours through the use of Guardian magic. Are you prepared for all of these dangers?" Anthonius inquired.
"The crystal shattered...," Dima said, stunned by what he was witnessing. "Antimatter shield is the strongest defensive magic; how could you do that?" Dima inquired.
"10% fractional attack damage. It could kill the user!" Anthonius was cautioned by Vanity. "Rain Arrow is one of the attack spells capable of producing fractional attack damage, which is damage that cannot be blocked or resisted by any defensive magic." Another name for it is absolute assault damage!
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Promise Short-term withdrawal
"Can we still continue this mission?" Anthonius was asked by Javier."We're going back to Filansia to have a face-to-face meeting with Meuz. We are waiting for more deaths to happen in order to gather bodies that we ought to have been able to save if we keep the current system in place. Because I cannot make a decision for this team, because the main investigative team has indeed been under the auspices of Meuz from the beginning." Anthonius made the choice to pull out and return the main investigating team to the City of Filanesia. They even disregarded a few of the victims' bodies that are currently waiting at the Charon River."Can I know what happened to the mithril mine?" Omar questioned, "Is what actually happened exactly like what we saw, or am I just having hallucinations? Did the mine collapse?""Isn't it obvious?!" Vanity answered. "The mine indeed will not last long. Since ten years ago, many people have anticipated that the mine would eventually be dismantled."Terra is al
Promise Without any guidance, beginning from scratch
A guard came up to them. He said, "Excuse me, could you please show me your assignment letter and your identification cards?"Anthonius gave the officer their identification cards and duty letters right away, as did every member of the core investigating team. The gatekeeper ran to the guard position a bit later.Omar said, "Has something bad happened in the city?""Shut up, and stop asking me!" Dima's voice was sharp.Omar, who had been instructed to keep silent, simply pouted and gave Dima a displeased look. "This old man...!" complained Omar.Shortly afterward, the security guard who had asked for the witches' task permits and identity cards came back. As he gazed at the faces of every member of the core investigating team in front of him, his face appeared pale.As the guard handed Anthonius his duty permit, he said, "What has happened? Why has the city's security been tightened to this extent?" he continued."The Shadow-man was spotted roaming about the town square a few days ago
Promise The time thief, and the deceiver of death. Antonnie Xander
Many witches are still reluctant to interact with Tsabitha Youenha and Antonnie Xander, two alchemists who have been on the run in Terra for a long time. Although many rank S witches are reportedly close friends with both of them, these witches are unwilling to discuss their past. As they do with Tha's status, which is not all that different from Antonnie's, they act as though they are unaware of Antonnie's status as a Class 1 fugitive. The S-rank witches claim that dealing with Antonnie is equivalent to dealing with death; therefore, the problem with Zamman has nothing to do with their wish to avoid Tha or Antonnie.Children are frequently hired by Antonnie to labor for him. He used to do the same thing to Tha and Leah, who is currently Lazuardy Sword's highest general. Several decades ago, Leah and Tha were sold by Antonnie to Azalea to deal with a case. Azalea, the sole daughter of Naar, the king of hell, was even involved in this significant case. Azalea gave both orders to murder
Promise The Sorcerer of a Thousand Years
Among the seven great witches who have lived for over a millennium is Meuz. Compared to other wizards in Terra, Meuz has a higher maximum quantity of mana points because he has lived for an excessive amount of time. However, Meuz's magical barriers and shields deteriorate with age because he is a defensive magic specialist. However, a lot of wizards wonder how Meuz has kept his body in good condition for nearly a millennium. Many witches are curious about Meuz's appearance underneath the heavy cloak that covers every part of his body and the Orichalcum mask he always wears. What is the true appearance of Meuz?"Javier Mareq..., The presence of those crystals greatly disrupts the activities of the residents. I command you to minimize the side effects of the Rain Arrow, then gather the best archers in Terra and teach them how to apply the Rain Arrow by changing the size of the arrows so they can destroy the crystal shards and expedite the crystal-clearing process throughout Terra. Those
Promise That Impossible Magic
The entire office was astonished and perplexed when Javier Mareq arrived at the Crimson Knight headquarters in the city of Filanesia. Numerous Crimson Knights stationed in the city of Filanesia exchanged whispers and questions with one another. They wondered why their supreme general's younger brother had physically visited the headquarters.It has long been known by all Crimson Knight members that Javier's despair, brought on by the death of one of his subordinates and his close friend Erel, led to his assignment outside of Terra. Furthermore, the younger brother of the young general had twice turned down significant roles offered by Meuz in order to join his older brother in Crimson Knight as the deputy general and royal guard. Every time he was given a significant assignment, Javier would always tell his brother that he should be treated like any other soldier and sent to the Crimson Knight's outer guard outside of Terra. After Anthonius gave his approval, Javier Mareq was given a
Promise Who is sealed?
Just as he was aiming his bow at the target, an archer stumbled. He passed out a bit later. In addition to asking the other archers to halt their training and take a short break, Javier rushed to his aid right away."We need a medical wizard; maybe an alchemist who can make a potion to replenish the reagent's mana rate would be fine too." One of the archers remarked, "Even though this magic is simple, it can drain our manna in just two to three attacks.""Alright," Javier said in response.Javier met Vanity by coincidence when he carried the previous archer, who had fainted, to Filanesia Hospital with the assistance of an archer. After escorting the previously unconscious archer to the treatment room, Vanity asked Javier to wait for her in the hospital lobby when she arrived. Shortly after Javier had been waiting, Vanity rushed over to him."What happened?" Still sporting blood-stained latex gloves, Vanity asked. She appears to have recently undergone emergency surgery."One archer fa
Promise The destroyed body in the Ein City.
"Hey… I'm home. How are you doing…?”Only silence was what the young elf received. The gravestone in front of him would not give an answer to the question. A bunch of gladiolus was then placed on the gravestone. A symbol of bravery and the devotion of a soldier who has fallen on the battlefield. A bottle of the finest wine and a crystal glass he placed beside it. All of that was given as a gift for his friend's 134th birthday."I can't save her. Even… I still can't find her. Sorry…! I will try to look for that girl again. The people I asked to send to look for her are now also dead. So… please give me a chance to recruit new ones!""Isn't it funny…," he whispered."I just realized you all are going to get old so fast. I don't even know about you yet, but you've already left me. Sometimes I get confused. Actually… am I the one who is insensitive, or are you the one who always dies too soon?"Thick fog slowly covered every inch of the view. Raindrops began to drench the branches and wil
Promise The sea of blood in Akarmara. Abkhazia
August 8Magic existed long before humans were created. When God created the devil, magic was ocured. The saying "magic belongs to demons" is not incorrect, but over time, magic no longer belongs to the demons. Human greed and reason are the ideal combination to copy the demons' magic to satisfy their desires.At the begining, there were only three types of magic: defense, attack, and antimatter magic. Two of these three basic types of magic were then imitated by humans to wage war in order to expand their territories or simply to demonstrate dominance over other tribes. Nevertheless, only antimatter magic has remained unchanged throughout time. One of the reasons that has prevented antimatter magic from being studied by humans or even developed by demons is the large use of manna; as a result, the magic has been abandoned over time and is only mentioned a few times in history or community stories as a legendary magic.Although antimatter magic is often described as "similar" to defen
Latest Chapter
Who is sealed?
Just as he was aiming his bow at the target, an archer stumbled. He passed out a bit later. In addition to asking the other archers to halt their training and take a short break, Javier rushed to his aid right away."We need a medical wizard; maybe an alchemist who can make a potion to replenish the reagent's mana rate would be fine too." One of the archers remarked, "Even though this magic is simple, it can drain our manna in just two to three attacks.""Alright," Javier said in response.Javier met Vanity by coincidence when he carried the previous archer, who had fainted, to Filanesia Hospital with the assistance of an archer. After escorting the previously unconscious archer to the treatment room, Vanity asked Javier to wait for her in the hospital lobby when she arrived. Shortly after Javier had been waiting, Vanity rushed over to him."What happened?" Still sporting blood-stained latex gloves, Vanity asked. She appears to have recently undergone emergency surgery."One archer fa
That Impossible Magic
The entire office was astonished and perplexed when Javier Mareq arrived at the Crimson Knight headquarters in the city of Filanesia. Numerous Crimson Knights stationed in the city of Filanesia exchanged whispers and questions with one another. They wondered why their supreme general's younger brother had physically visited the headquarters.It has long been known by all Crimson Knight members that Javier's despair, brought on by the death of one of his subordinates and his close friend Erel, led to his assignment outside of Terra. Furthermore, the younger brother of the young general had twice turned down significant roles offered by Meuz in order to join his older brother in Crimson Knight as the deputy general and royal guard. Every time he was given a significant assignment, Javier would always tell his brother that he should be treated like any other soldier and sent to the Crimson Knight's outer guard outside of Terra. After Anthonius gave his approval, Javier Mareq was given a
The Sorcerer of a Thousand Years
Among the seven great witches who have lived for over a millennium is Meuz. Compared to other wizards in Terra, Meuz has a higher maximum quantity of mana points because he has lived for an excessive amount of time. However, Meuz's magical barriers and shields deteriorate with age because he is a defensive magic specialist. However, a lot of wizards wonder how Meuz has kept his body in good condition for nearly a millennium. Many witches are curious about Meuz's appearance underneath the heavy cloak that covers every part of his body and the Orichalcum mask he always wears. What is the true appearance of Meuz?"Javier Mareq..., The presence of those crystals greatly disrupts the activities of the residents. I command you to minimize the side effects of the Rain Arrow, then gather the best archers in Terra and teach them how to apply the Rain Arrow by changing the size of the arrows so they can destroy the crystal shards and expedite the crystal-clearing process throughout Terra. Those
The time thief, and the deceiver of death. Antonnie Xander
Many witches are still reluctant to interact with Tsabitha Youenha and Antonnie Xander, two alchemists who have been on the run in Terra for a long time. Although many rank S witches are reportedly close friends with both of them, these witches are unwilling to discuss their past. As they do with Tha's status, which is not all that different from Antonnie's, they act as though they are unaware of Antonnie's status as a Class 1 fugitive. The S-rank witches claim that dealing with Antonnie is equivalent to dealing with death; therefore, the problem with Zamman has nothing to do with their wish to avoid Tha or Antonnie.Children are frequently hired by Antonnie to labor for him. He used to do the same thing to Tha and Leah, who is currently Lazuardy Sword's highest general. Several decades ago, Leah and Tha were sold by Antonnie to Azalea to deal with a case. Azalea, the sole daughter of Naar, the king of hell, was even involved in this significant case. Azalea gave both orders to murder
Without any guidance, beginning from scratch
A guard came up to them. He said, "Excuse me, could you please show me your assignment letter and your identification cards?"Anthonius gave the officer their identification cards and duty letters right away, as did every member of the core investigating team. The gatekeeper ran to the guard position a bit later.Omar said, "Has something bad happened in the city?""Shut up, and stop asking me!" Dima's voice was sharp.Omar, who had been instructed to keep silent, simply pouted and gave Dima a displeased look. "This old man...!" complained Omar.Shortly afterward, the security guard who had asked for the witches' task permits and identity cards came back. As he gazed at the faces of every member of the core investigating team in front of him, his face appeared pale.As the guard handed Anthonius his duty permit, he said, "What has happened? Why has the city's security been tightened to this extent?" he continued."The Shadow-man was spotted roaming about the town square a few days ago
Short-term withdrawal
"Can we still continue this mission?" Anthonius was asked by Javier."We're going back to Filansia to have a face-to-face meeting with Meuz. We are waiting for more deaths to happen in order to gather bodies that we ought to have been able to save if we keep the current system in place. Because I cannot make a decision for this team, because the main investigative team has indeed been under the auspices of Meuz from the beginning." Anthonius made the choice to pull out and return the main investigating team to the City of Filanesia. They even disregarded a few of the victims' bodies that are currently waiting at the Charon River."Can I know what happened to the mithril mine?" Omar questioned, "Is what actually happened exactly like what we saw, or am I just having hallucinations? Did the mine collapse?""Isn't it obvious?!" Vanity answered. "The mine indeed will not last long. Since ten years ago, many people have anticipated that the mine would eventually be dismantled."Terra is al
Zamman's prohibited chant and Shadow-man
For a minute, Anthonius stopped and gazed at the young girl next to him. Abruptly, he recalled something. "Did you tell this child to hide his magical powers?" Anthonius said, turning to face Dima.With astonished looks on their faces, everyone turned to face Dima."That child? Hiding magical energy?" Dima returned the question to Anthonius. "Even before you all came, I was struggling to fight that creature on my own. How could I possibly have time to do that?!" Dima shot back at Anthonius.Anthonius was taken aback by Dima's response. Anthonius initially believed that Dima was the one requesting that the youngster they had saved conceal their magical abilities."Sweet little girl... who was with you before these two uncles arrived?" Vanity whispered. offering the girl a box of candy and encouraging her to share what she had gone through.The little girl was both afraid and perplexed. Without saying a word, she gazed at the faces of every member of the main investigation team before t
Initial assumption
Meuz had ordered Leah and Lazuardy Sword to create an illusion spell on the only mithril mine they had, but it seems that S-rank wizards are still quite difficult to deceive. They will soon know that the mine has actually been devastated. Of the 4 mines that existed, with 2 of them being the main mines, now only 1 mine is still operating. Anthonius even estimates that the last mine will not operate for long after the main mine is destroyed.After they arrived at the settlement located about 8 kilometers from Fort Solfini, Anthonius asked Alyosha to buy some travel supplies for them. At first, Alyosha was silent, as if he were dazed, even failing to respond to Anthonius's orders. The anxious Anthonius then invited Alyosha to rest at a simple eatery to regain their energy.…"How are you doing now?" Anthonius asked while handing a cup of warm tea to Alyosha. "You kept silent the whole journey. That makes me anxious. Let's take a break first!"Alyosha looked at Anthonius, but then he loo
Examination
The creature doesn't appear to be moving from its spot. Although the amethyst crystals that covered the creature's body were constantly eroding, the creature genuinely paid attention to Anthonius's Rain Arrow. Alyosha, who had successfully moved Anthonius's body away from their former battlefield, saw this but said nothing, staying hidden.Anthonius asked Alyosha, "Can you hide your magical power for as long as possible? The creature will target someone with the greatest magical power in this area.""I can." Alyosha instantly concealed his magic, though it might not last long."Even if you walk in front of it, as long as you don't have any magic, the creature won't be able to find you. We return to Fort Solfini right now. That is the nearest safe place we can reach." Anthonius advised Alyosha to go back to Fort Solfini."Are you sure?" Alyosha questioned doubtfully as he observed the creature that had only moments before attacked them. "I might not be able to face it. You and Dima hav
