Chapter 182 - A Dilemma

Overall, the black hole was similar to a man’s silhouette. Only the left arm of that figure was packed with stars of all colors as if it were shoved in forcefully. Azriel frowned.

‘That part makes me feel awful. I feel nauseous…’

She stretched her hand out in the direction that the black hole was running.

“Esthera,” she said.

“…!”

The earth surged up and formed a wall. Startled, the shadow paused and swung his arm. Then, the colorful stars that were scattered from his arm formed a constellation. The man whispered, “Bana.”

Floating higher than the roofs of buildings, Azriel could not hear him whispering a spell. Her earth wall burst into dust.

‘A wizard? But why doesn’t he have mana in his body? No, let’s think about this later. Catching him is the priority.’

Descending, she repeatedly recited her spell. Meanwhile, she signaled with her chin. “Marthi, catch that person! Be careful not to hurt the one being kidnapped!”

Marthi growled in a low voice and darted out like an arrow. Following that, the walls of earth rose. Not reducing his speed, the man swung his arm. He took a position at the same time stars were scattered from it. Walls consecutively burst.

‘His arrangement of mana is too fast. Also, his movements are as fast as Marthi… Is he a swordsman?’

A swordsman only learned one or two spells related to swords all his life. Thus, if he had excellent skills, the speed of his spells was similar to the speed of his sword. For a wizard, Azriel had an extremely high speed when it came to arranging mana. Excluding Rhema, the only faster with magic than her were swordsmen. The man was breaking the walls as soon as she made a new one. Such speed was possible if he were a swordsman.

‘But can a swordsman use a spell as explosive as a bomb like that? That can’t be.’

It was strange in many ways. She could make walls more quickly if she stopped the flying magic, but she would lose the man if she did so. She decided to change her tactics.

“Esthera!” she yelled.

The man’s feet sank as the ground that had turned into a swamp pulled him down. He paused for a brief moment and dropped what he was carrying. She saw a group of green stars.

“Marthi! Save that person and stand by him!”

The man touched the wall with his left arm and soared up into the air using only the rebound of his arm. Using his legs to kick off the walls, he reached the roof in a flash and took off in a dash. Confirming that Marthi had landed near the group of stars, Azriel flew past him. Moonlight shone on the man. She could finally see him. However, because of his hood, she could not see his face at all. Judging by the lean frame showing through his tight leather clothes, she could only tell that he was a well-trained, tall man.

“Stop right there!” she yelled. The man did not look back. She had to be careful a moment ago because he had a hostage, but it did not matter anymore. Azriel sped up and approached him. “I’ll attack if you don’t stop!”

Despite her order, she did not expect him to stop. She prepared an offensive spell, but to her surprise, he heeded her command.

“…!”

Azriel nearly whizzed by him. She narrowly stopped flying and landed on the ground. Even so, she maintained her wings. The distance between them was about seven steps long. The man, who was facing away, turned around.

“Well, I stopped.” His smile showed beneath his hood. “What are you going to do now?”

His voice sounded relaxed. Azriel felt uneasy about that calmness. She prepared a few spells that were useful for overpowering an enemy. “Lay down your arms and follow me. I’ll take you in as the culprit of the missing incidents.”

“Sorry, I can’t do that.” The man tilted his head. His tone was strangely kind. Then, he took a step closer to her.

“Don’t move.” Azriel’s mana filled the surroundings. Even though he must be feeling it clearly, the man was calm.