C167: Preparations for Battle (2)
Crollo Fabius was locked in a room and trembled. Eventually, the day came. The day the Witch of Fire promised to kill him.
'Where the hell is he now?'
Rudger, who said he would help him, was not seen. No. Was he even trying to protect him in the first place?
Come to think of it, he didn't even leave the means to contact him.
Crollo trembled at the sudden rush of anxiety.
'What if I've been tricked?'
What if Rudger didn't intend to help him from the start? But he certainly seemed to have a purpose for the Witch of Fire. Then at least he'll deal with the Witch of Fire but that didn't guarantee his safety.
The thought just occurred to him and it became certain the moment he heard a hum from afar.
"Agh!"
At the sound of the song that always resounded in his nightmares, goosebumps grew all over Crollo's body.
The witch came to kill him.
'Oh, where are you? Where is he?'
Crollo tore his hair and shouted to himself. Meanwhile, her singing voice gradually grew louder. It means only one thing. His death was approaching.
Is this the end?
In such a desperate moment a mouse appeared in front of Crollo Fabius.
* * *
Esmeralda walked slowly down the dark and quiet street with no one around. She shook her black hair in the darkness where even the moonlight was not visible. Her bouncy steps were light and cheerful as if she was a person who went out for a walk.
Before long, she stopped at the front of the dormitory where Crollo Fabius was staying. Esmeralda raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door.
"Knock knock. Can you hear me?"
She asked, but no answer came from within.
Esmeralda, who had been agonizing for a while, pulled the door handle.
"What?"
The door, which she thought would be locked tightly, opened too easily. Did he give up? Or is he going to beg for his life?
"No, no."
How long has she been waiting for this day and to end this?
Esmeralda entered the house, holding back her slowly rising anger.
The room was so messed up that she couldn't believe someone lived here.
'I thought he would get worse.'
She was going to give him death after pushing him to the limit. However, looking at the traces of the room, he was pressured more than expected.
Esmeralda was beginning to get annoyed and started looking at the room, wondering why she couldn't see Crollo Fabius.
'Where is he? He should be here.'
Then a sound was heard from afar and a cruel smile appeared around Esmeralda's mouth.
"Hmm. That's how it should be. Do you think it's more fun if you struggle like that?"
The scenery beyond the window was so dark that she couldn't see anything, but Esmeralda saw the back of Crollo Fabius, who was hurriedly running away clearly.
"Ahahaha."
Esmeralda smiled happily and followed him.
* * *
In a dark forest far from the festival site four men and women were moving cautiously.
"Aidan, what the hell are you going to do?"
As the end of the festival was approaching, Tracy kept grumbling in disbelief that she was in a place like this.
"I don't know if it's true that there are really suspicious people in the first place."
"Be quiet because there are or you can leave."
"What?"
Leo's comments made Tracy angry and in the end, Aidan had no choice but to mediate.
"Shh. Stop it, both of you. We might get caught at this rate."
"Aidan, if what you said is true, we shouldn't be here."
Tracy brought up a legitimate argument.
Aidan confided to everyone that he had witnessed some suspicious people, that's why the four of them were moving now but Tracy wasn't very happy about this.
"This is too dangerous."
She was worried.
If there were suspicious people gathered then coming here it's like entering a tiger's den.
"Can't you just tell the teachers?"
"That's…"
Aidan also hesitated because he was worried about that, but Leo quickly stepped up.
"Will the teacher believe us?"
At Leo's point, Tracy replied indifferently.
"What? There's no guarantee that they won't believe me."
"So, who are you going to tell? Miss Merylda? Or Miss Selina? If not……."
Mr. Rudger Chelici?
He didn't bother to mention his name, but everyone kept their mouths shut up. Leo was sure that Mr. Rudger would be of great help but he is not a person that's easy to talk to.
Leo continued.
"We found out about this unintentionally. Say you're letting the teachers know, they'll ask right away where we found out about this. How did that happen?"
"Aidan happened to be……."
Tracy closed her mouth as she tried to speak.
"Yes, it's a coincidence. Will the teachers believe we just happened to know?"
"Are you saying that we, too, have no choice but to be suspected?"
"We should have told them earlier if we wanted to tell. We came all the way here and if we tell them later we'll also be suspected."
It wouldn't be a dangerous situation, but it was certain that their academy life would be affected.
"Now we have to prove our innocence or just pretend not to know and go to the festival."
"That's not allowed."
Aidan said firmly.
The meeting of a suspicious organization was not something he could ignore.
Leo shrugged his shoulders, saying he knew it, and asked Tracy with an expression, "What are you going to do now?"
Tracy bit her lips and hesitated to answer. In fact, she also wants to make contributions but she doesn't want to take risks.
"But… it's during the festival."
Tracy wanted to properly enjoy the first Magic Festival in a long time. She even promised to watch fireworks with Aidan but now, she is chasing suspicious people through the dark bushes.
Tracy looked at Iona with a look of asking for help. She, who had been following silently so far, looked at Tracy and tilted her head and responded that she did not understand why Tracy looked at her with that kind of look. Iona didn't think much in the first place.
"Ah! Yes! Okay! You can do it!"
Eventually, Tracy, who gave up, squatted down and huffed while Leo breathed a sigh of relief inside when he saw her.
'Have I passed the hurdle?'
If teachers were called here, the situation would escalate. It was a little forced, but he was glad that he succeeded in persuading them.
'I don't know who gave me the information, but he wants things to be done by me.'
Otherwise, he would have distributed information to Theon as well.
The fact that he only informed him means that he will wait and see what he will do.
'I feel like I'm being tested.'
However an unidentified opponent held the reins so he had no choice but to follow.
Aidan approached Tracy, who was squatting and asked carefully.
"Tracy, are you okay?"
"I don't know!"
Aidan couldn't understand why Tracy was suddenly angry and Leo, who was watching the scene, tapped Aidan on the shoulder.
"Good luck."
"Huh? Huh? What does that mean?"
"If you don't know, that's fine. Anyway, I think it's about time."
As soon as Leo finished speaking, the bushes moved a little and people began to appear one by one.
Aidan and his group hurriedly lowered their bodies.
Before they knew it, about 10 people gathered in one place and began to talk about something.
"Everyone, are you ready?"
"Yes, everything is ready. Now is the time when the festival is in full swing."
"Then let's go. Everything is for Dawn's sake."
Hearing their conversation, the four of them stared at each other with heavy eyes.
Aidan nodded and said carefully in a low voice.
"Let's go."
* * *
Rudger moved quietly in the dark. He was so stealthy as if a shadow was crawling on the floor. There were no people on the street, but even if there were, they wouldn't have been able to find him.
"Hans, what's the situation now?"
Rudger, who was moving fast in the shadows, asked Hans and the answer came right back.
[Crollo Fabius is running away]
"Where is he heading?"
[First of all, I'm using mice to guide him to a place where there are no people. I'm thinking of guiding him into a deserted warehouse.]
"What about Esmeralda?"
[She's following him calmly. Fortunately, she seems to be enjoying this situation and wants to play with her prey slowly.]
Hans was watching the situation in real time while speaking with Rudger.
Crollo Fabius was running away panting like a man who encountered a ghost and Hans was controlling the mice that were guiding him.
Whenever Crowe Fabius tried to escape to a place where there were people, a fireball came and blocked his way.
– Kyahahahaha!
Crollo's complexion became pale and tired at the creepy screams that flowed out as the flames exploded.
Watching the scene, Hans felt the back of his neck wet with cold sweat.
[She's really stimulating Crollo's trauma by leading him how she wants to.]
"It means she doesn't want to kill him right away."
[It looks like it]
"I see."
Rudger said so and cut off the communication.
'That's what I expected.'
Esmeralda had no intention of killing Crollo Fabius immediately, nor did she want to be noticed. The reason was that she deliberately led Crollo to another place, because he was trying to run away to a place with a lot of people.
'Esmeralda is trying to keep things quiet.'
At least she didn't mean to kill anyone like a lunatic.
'The reason she summoned Quasimodo at the banquet hall that day was because she thought she wouldn't be able to kill Crollo Fabius another time.'
It must have happened out of impatience. However, that action eventually alerted Crollo Fabius and helped to make him suffer. That's why she's moving with more leeway now.
"Then, let's clean up the troublesome ones first.'
Rudger, who melted in the shadow, suddenly appeared in the center of the forest path. After releasing the [Aether Nocturnus] around him, he arranged his clothes and walked slowly toward the inside.
He heard a loud noise in the distance. Though invisible to the naked eye, Rudger's sharp sense caught the people there.
He took the pocket watch out of his chest and checked the time. By now, Aidan's party would be dealing with the remnants of the Black Dawn Society on the other side.
The students are capable children, so there will be no problem.
He gave Leo the information because he knew they'll be fine. Otherwise he would have contacted the other teachers in advance.
"Who is it?"
Someone beyond the bush found Rudger and shouted. In the first place, he approached them openly, so they discovered him.
Rudger smirked at them.
"What are you doing here?"
"Enemy!"
The other person, who did not recognize Rudger because it was dark, shouted reflexively and everyone took out their weapons.
"You're quick-witted."
But before that, countless ropes sprang out of the shadows under their feet and tied their bodies.
"Unauthorized gatherings within Theon are prohibited."
"Ugh!"
They tried to shout, but their mouths were blocked and they couldn't even scream.
There were 11 people and all of them were infiltrators.
'Is Joanna Lovett not here?'
Then she'll be where Aidan is.
'Joanna Lovett is a Second Order so even if she came to Theon as a student, she will have excellent skills but that doesn't matter.'
After confirming that all 11 infiltrators had been subdued, Rudger took a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was the blue business card from Casey Selmore.
Rudger tore it in half and as if proving that it was not an ordinary item, the torn business card turned into water and scattered like bubbles in the air.
Less than a minute after the signal was sent, the reaction came.
The smell of water came from afar, along with the sound of rushing water. Soon waves glided through the bushes and on top of the waves stood the sky blue-haired Casey Selmore.
"Huh? This."
Casey got off the water and was puzzled by the scene.
"I'm here. Who are these people?"
"They are the ones who dared to sneak into Theon and set up a plot."
"I see! Not……."
Casey stared at Rudger with a slightly questionable stare.
"Did you call me for this?"
He knew she'd wonder, too, so Rudger sprayed the bait he had prepared for this.
"These guys call themselves the Black Dawn Society."
"……."
There was a sharp glow in Casey Selmore's eyes.