Chapter 126. Arch-Nemesis

The first emotion that came over her was relief. And then joy.

Ellen tried to get up but ended up falling over. It was no wonder, as her feet were tightly bound with rope.

“Damn it, Ellen…!”

Seeing Ellen fall and get covered in dirt, Enoch was beside himself with worry. He hurriedly jumped off his horse and tried to run to her, but a strong gust of wind blocked his path.

It was Pyrene Castile’s magic.

“Brother, is it time yet?”

Pyrene asked in an anxious voice, and Navaroa, who was helping Ellen sit up from the ground, replied bitterly.

“Eight minutes, no, about seven minutes left… We need to hold out until then. It’s tough, especially since our opponent is Enoch Bayern.”

“Why did the maze magic break? This has never happened before! Who on earth…?”

Pyrene, who was looking towards the direction of the search party with a bewildered expression, suddenly froze. Her eyes were fixed on a silver-haired man.

He had an extraordinary presence. A strong magical power emanated from him, something she had never felt before.

Pyrene, who had been muttering to herself, quickly informed Navaroa.

“Brother, that silver-haired man… He’s a mage. He’s definitely the one who broke the maze magic.”

While there were mages among the Grand Duke of Bayern’s retainers, they mostly used natural magic to inflict significant damage on the enemy in battle, so they wouldn’t be helpful in this situation.

‘That silver-haired mage isn’t one of the Grand Duke of Bayern’s retainers.’

Then who is he?

Why is he helping them?

At that moment.

Click!

The sound of guns being loaded echoed, and Enoch and his Gunner Corps aimed their guns at Navaroa and Pyrene. Enoch, with bloodshot eyes, glared at Navaroa as if he wanted to kill him and issued a warning.

“Hand over my wife. Unless you want a bullet through your head.”

Navaroa, who was supporting the struggling Ellen with one arm, remained surprisingly composed even in this situation. With a calm smile, he responded.

“You know very well that no matter how much I get hurt, I won’t die.”

Enoch scoffed loudly for everyone to hear and spat out his words.

“There’s no such thing in this world. Even your vaunted healing power has its limits. Today, I’ll make sure to kill you until you die.”

“……”

Navaroa, who had disclosed his plan to only a few close confidants and had acted with just Pyrene, realized that this was his fatal mistake.

He had overestimated his magic. He hadn’t anticipated that his spatial leap would have such a quick limit. The same went for the maze magic. He never imagined there would be a mage on the other side who could break through it…

And wasn’t that a familiar face?

Navaroa recalled the events in Schleswig.

‘…A mage?’
‘Yes. A mage far stronger than you, Navaroa.’

He had sensed an unusual magical power back then too. As expected, that silver-haired mage was a dangerous individual.

‘Could he be related to the Mage’s Tower of Rosretzia?’

The thought crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed. Mages from the tower rarely involve themselves in worldly affairs unless it’s significant. They also don’t roam freely like that. Whoever that silver-haired mage was, he wasn’t affiliated with the tower.

‘And right now, his identity isn’t important.’

Protecting Pyrene and dealing with this many people, especially Enoch Bayern, was no easy task. Without the ability to use spatial leap, Navaroa needed another card to play. For example…

A hostage.

“…I’m really sorry about this, Ellenore.”

He tightly embraced Ellen’s slender waist with one arm, still struggling, and pulled out a pistol from his belt pouch, aiming it at her temple.

Enoch Bayern glared at him with a murderous look, but Navaroa remained calm and spoke in a composed voice.

“It’s best not to act rashly. Unless you want to see your precious Grand Duchess’s head blown off.”

Six minutes left.

Just a little longer to hold out. Just a little longer…

“…There’s no other choice. I intended to intervene only minimally…”

At that moment, the silver-haired mage muttered softly and pulled something out of the inner pocket of his white coat.

It was a locket pendant. The silver-haired mage opened the locket’s lid with a click, staring directly at Navaroa.

“……!”

The next moment, pitch-black darkness enveloped Navaroa. He realized that all his senses were being paralyzed by this darkness.

What was this? It was a magic he had never heard of or seen before. Who was this mage? Was he really from the tower…

As the darkness lifted, Navaroa’s senses slowly returned. …About five seconds? He realized his hands were empty. The gun was taken, and Ellenore…

“Ellen, you’re safe now.”

She was now in Enoch Bayern’s arms.

“……”

Seeing that sight… oddly twisted his mood.

“Brother!”

“…Pyrene.”

And in those brief five seconds, Pyrene had been subdued by Bayern’s knights.

Navaroa looked at the countless gun barrels pointed at him and let out a hollow laugh.

It couldn’t get any worse than this.

“Shh, it’s okay now. You’re safe.”

After cutting the ropes that bound her hands and feet, Enoch held Ellen in his arms, gently comforting her.

“Enoch…”

“Yes, I’m here.”

She was trembling like a puppy soaked in rain. The hand gripping his clothes was so tight that the bones stood out white. He bent his head and kissed her forehead and cheeks repeatedly, soothing her with a gentle voice. It’s okay, you’re safe now, Ellen.

After some time, Ellen’s body went limp. It seemed she had been holding on with sheer willpower, and now that the tension had released, she fainted.

Enoch handed her over to Haley and Jasmine, instructing them to guard her well. He then glanced at the silver-haired mage, ‘Silver.’ Noticing his gaze, Silver smiled and spoke.

“I will also protect the Grand Duchess, so don’t worry.”

“……”

Enoch nodded silently in response. Although Silver’s true identity was still a mystery, his intention to help Ellen seemed genuine.

With his gun loaded and ready, Enoch slowly approached Navaroa, who was surrounded by knights. Like a predator sizing up its prey.

Navaroa, facing Enoch’s piercing golden eyes, had a bitter smile on his lips. Their countless clashes on the battlefield had made them arch-nemeses, so this outcome might have been fate.

With a casual tone, Navaroa spoke.

“…Enoch Bayern. From the moment I first saw you, I had a feeling. That either I would die by your hand or you by mine. It was inevitable.”

“Really? From the beginning, I knew it would be me who would kill you.”

Enoch smirked and aimed his gun at Navaroa’s left eye. His intention was clear. He aimed to damage the brain.

“I’ve always wondered. Can you regenerate even if your brain is damaged?”

“……”

“From the looks of it, you can’t use spatial leap, and you’ve already used maze magic once today, so you can’t use it twice. What’s left is your regeneration magic, spatial control, and the magic of your fifth personality, which you never reveal even when cornered. Those three.”

“……”

“Go ahead, struggle to the end. I’ll kill you until you die.”

A man who had killed countless humans on the battlefield was no different from the Grim Reaper. Just as Navaroa knew Enoch Bayern inside out, Enoch knew him well too.

Navaroa had always been curious. How could such a human exist in this world?

With a wry smile, he muttered.

“…You’re a devout atheist, but I think you were— without a doubt, blessed by God.”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear your nonsense.”

Enoch pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

“No! Brother!”

With a loud gunshot, Pyrene’s sharp scream echoed, and the birds perched on nearby branches flew away.

The bullet pierced Navaroa’s left eye and exited through the back of his head. His skull shattered, and blood and brain matter spilled out as his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

One shot.

In a few seconds, Navaroa’s fingers twitched.

Soon, his injuries rapidly healed, and he slowly stood up.

And then, another gunshot rang out.

Bang!

Two shots.

The second bullet seemed to hit an invisible barrier and fell to the ground.

Spatial control.

The red eyes of his second personality gleamed with a strange crimson light.