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“Intruders… Kuh!”
The Erul Tribe members surrounding us began to fall one by one as they were subdued.
Even though they were all armed, they couldn’t withstand the powerful trio in their half-dazed state.
The problem was…
Swish swish swish!
“Ugh, why are there so many of them?”
“Sorry, just lie down for a bit.”
“…….”
Their numbers were overwhelming.
As we subdued the ones in front, two more would rush in from behind.
Kaneff, with a frustrated expression on his face, shouted nervously.
“Sihyeon! Stick right behind me. We’ll quickly break through and pass.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll clear a path to the building. You go with Lia and bring Speranza. Terzan and I will handle things outside.”
“I’ll go too.”
Anis stepped forward, wanting to join.
Kaneff nodded and turned his gaze to the approaching Erul Tribe members.
CLING CLANG!
Swish swish swish!
Chains shot out from his hands in all directions. With each sound of slicing through the wind, someone screamed and was flung away.
‘Ugh… …Is that considered subduing? Isn’t that killing?’
As I looked worried, Lia grabbed my arm and said,
“Don’t worry. Although it looks like Mr. Kaneff is attacking recklessly, he’s actually avoiding all the vital points.”
Terzan also appeared beside me for a moment and chimed in.
“Lia is right. When it comes to defeating people, Leader is more of an expert than anyone.”
“Hahaha…….”
“What are you all dawdling for back there?! Hurry up and follow me!”
At Kaneff’s shout, we quickly followed behind him, startled.
The Erul Tribe members struggled to surround us, but they couldn’t withstand Kaneff and Terzan’s assault for long and had to give way.
Moments later…
We arrived at the entrance of the Priestess’s residence.
“We’ll be right back!”
I rushed into the building with Lia and Anis.
Anis’ blue flame illuminated the dark interior.
There were no Erul Tribe members attacking inside the building.
We reached Mirna’s room more easily than we had thought.
Without hesitation, I opened the door wide.
“Speranza!”
There was no response from inside. I looked around the room just in case, but there was no sign of anyone.
“Where did Speranza… and Mirna go?”
“I don’t know.”
Anis looked around the empty room, confused. Lia, who had been checking other places, came back shaking her head.
“Speranza isn’t anywhere else either.”
The building wasn’t large to begin with, so there were few places to hide.
Where had Speranza and Mirna gone?
We didn’t have time to feel more discouraged. We hurried out of the building.
“You’re finally out… Where’s Speranza?”
“She wasn’t there. She must have left the building.”
At the news that we hadn’t found Speranza, Kaneff’s face twisted in frustration.
Even now, the Erul Tribe members were swinging their weapons and threatening us.
Kaneff continued to suppress the area and shouted.
“What are we going to do now?”
“Um…”
I naturally looked at Anis. She was the only one who could find a clue in this situation.
Anis seemed to be aware of my gaze, and she furrowed her brow, deep in thought. The whole group watched Anis with anxious eyes.
“Intruders…”
“Such a nuisance.”
“Wait a moment!”
Anis suddenly yelled as she looked at an approaching Erul tribesman. It was Daur, who we had briefly encountered earlier.
“I cannot grant a request to go easy on him…”
“That’s not it. Please completely subdue my uncle. I will awaken his mind. If it’s my uncle, he might know where my mother and Speranza went.”
As soon as Anis finished speaking, Terzan sprang forward. Appearing behind Daur like a ghost, she quickly restrained him with thin but sturdy ropes.
Terzan placed the subdued Daur in front of Anis.
“Is that enough?”
“Thank you.”
“If you’re grateful, find Speranza quickly.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Anis looked down at the squirming Daur.
“Uncle, uncle!”
“You can overcome this, uncle. I will help you.”
A mysterious energy spread around her.
I shuddered, feeling the familiar energy. It was the same mysterious energy Speranza sometimes showed. Soon, I realized it was the power of the Priestess.
The shimmering energy circling around Anis was slowly absorbed into Daur’s body.
“Uh, ugh… Where am I…?”
“Uncle! Are you conscious?”
“Anis? Here… Why am I here…?”
“I’ll explain later. Do you happen to know where my mother and Speranza went?”
“The Priestess? Speranza? Ugh?!”
Daur seemed to recall something, but then let out a pained moan. His mind was still in chaos.
“Uncle, please help.”
“Ugh…”
Groans escaped from his lips, and his face twisted in pain. However, his eyes gradually cleared.
“The altar…”
“What?”
“My head is dizzy and hazy, but I can see the back of the Priestess. She was definitely heading towards the guardian deity’s altar.”
The guardian deity’s altar…
I pictured the small path in my mind. Just imagining it made me feel as if the ominous energy was enveloping my entire body.
We immediately headed towards the guardian deity’s altar.
Kaneff and Lia seemed to have a hard time trusting Daur’s incoherent words, but we had no choice but to believe him at the moment.
Anis led the way to the altar, and the rest of the group quickly subdued the interfering Erul tribesmen.
I supported the still struggling Daur and diligently followed behind.
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay, Daur.”
“Why is this happening all of a sudden…”
Daur couldn’t hide his sympathy for the demoralized Erul tribesmen.
Seeing Daur regain his senses, I was sure that the attacking Erul tribesmen weren’t acting of their own will.
“Intruders… Stop them…”
As we got closer to the guardian deity’s altar, the Erul tribes’ resistance grew stronger. We had been holding our own with Kaneff at the center, but if the battle continued, it didn’t seem like it would be easy.
“Here! This is the path to the altar…”
-Crack!!
“Aaah!”
“Anis?!”
“Anis!”
Anis, who had been walking normally, suddenly screamed and fell. Fortunately, she quickly got up as everyone looked on with concern.
“I’m, I’m okay.”
“What happened all of a sudden?”
“It seems there’s a barrier laid out on the path to the altar. It’s much more powerful than anything we’ve encountered so far.”
“Another barrier…”
Kaneff spoke calmly as he subdued the surrounding Erul tribesmen.
“It seems we’ve found the right place. If we can break this barrier, we’ll be able to see the one who’s been causing us trouble in the middle of the night?”
“Can Anis break this barrier?”
In response to Lia’s question, Anis shook her head.
“It’s impossible with the level of divine power I possess. Only my mother can spread and break a barrier of this strength.”
“If we can’t do it with the divine power, we’ll have to use another power.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone, step back!”
Kanef stepped forward toward the barrier.
Powerful energy began to be contained in each of the chains that appeared around him.
-Sssccrrreeech!!
-Boom!!
As the chains collided with the barrier, a tremendous noise erupted. The ground shook from the impact, momentarily stopping the mindlessly charging Erul tribesmen.
‘Did the barrier break?’
I looked at the barrier with anticipation, but all that came back was Kaneff’s annoyed grumbling.
“Damn it…”
-Boom!!
-Boom!!
After that, Kaneff tried attacking several more times. However, despite the repeated attacks, he failed to break the barrier.
“Ugh…”
He eventually realized that this kind of attack was ineffective and stepped back from the barrier.
Since Kaneff had failed, a different approach was needed other than physically breaking through.
As I anxiously stared at the barrier, an unknown power surged from my hands.
“What is this?”
A strong and warm energy.
It was the power of the Fairy Queen, entrusted to me. These energies strongly surged as if they were leading me towards the barrier.
“Anis, can you take care of Daur for me?”
“Huh? Oh… Yes!”
I handed Daur, whom I had been supporting, over to Anis. Then, focusing on the power of the Fairy Queen I felt in my hands, I headed towards the barrier.
“Sihyeon?”
“…?”
I could feel everyone’s eyes focused on me. Ignoring their gazes, I approached the barrier.
-Whoooom!
The Fairy Queen’s power surged brightly in my hands. I reached out my arms as if to pierce them into the barrier.
-Crackle! Sizzle!
As if causing an intense chemical reaction, the barrier and the power of the Fairy Queen became entwined without a break. I moved my arms to create a small opening.
At that moment, the barrier, which had been unaffected by Kaneff’s attacks, began to show small cracks.
I moved my hands more widely, widening the gap.
At some point, an opening large enough for a person to pass through appeared in the barrier.
As I tried to push my hand in, the barrier quickly closed the gap.
“Huh…”
A sound of disappointment escaped my lips. Although the first attempt had failed, I could see a glimmer of hope.
Kaneff, slightly excited, approached and asked,
“Did you just break through the barrier?”
“Yes, I did. I succeeded in breaking through, but there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“At first, I thought I could completely break through the barrier, but that seems impossible. Creating a small gap is the best I can do…”
I looked at the barrier with a stern face.
“I think I’ll have to pass through this barrier by myself.”