Chapter 160
At the moment when Baek Yu-Seol struck Orenha's neck and made him faint, it was an action driven by instinct.
Thud!
Supporting Orenha's body as he collapsed to the floor, he laid him on the sofa and turned to Florin, who stood there with her mouth agape.
[If you make eye contact with someone with a curse, your heart will be stolen forever, and the effects of that curse can never be undone.]
In other words, he had practically lost his most cherished god today in this very place.
"Ah.."
Florin exclaimed as she looked at the unconscious Orenha.
Wham! Thump!
As froth appeared from his mouth and his body convulsed, a small whirlpool of mana appeared.
She hastily examined his condition.
Placing her hand on Orenha's head and channeling a green energy, she sensed the chaotic flow of magic inside him.
Suddenly, his upper body sprang up like a spring, almost colliding with Florin, but Baek Yu-Seol quickly pressed him down to prevent it.
"How is he?"
"... Not good. His mana is completely in chaos. This is similar to..."
Florin was about to say ‘Mana Eruption,’ but bit her tongue.
In mana eruption, all the mana in the body was released uncontrollably like a bomb. It was the most humiliating and catastrophic accident for a mage.
The one experiencing a Mana Eruption loses all their mana, rendering them unable to live as a mage ever again.
Knowing how much Orenha loved magic, she desperately infused her own mana to try to stop it.
*'This is going to be tough.'*
Baek Yu-Seol couldn't hide his flustered expression as he watched Florin’s efforts to stop Orenha's eruption.
Orenha was also said to be quite a formidable mage in the settings.
Perhaps under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been such a weak mage as to faint at Baek Yu-Seol fingertip.
The sentence ‘Those who gaze upon Florin’s face fall into love sickness and wither away’ often appeared in the original work.
That was just a story for ordinary people.
The higher-level mages endured her curse longer.
However, one must also consider the possibility of a Mana Eruption as confusion and mana distortion occurred within the body. Although they may not die from love sickness alone.
Orenha was at a fairly close distance to Florin, and perhaps due to weakened mental fortitude from the previous incident, he was completely unable to control his own mana.
If it hadn't been for him fainting, the situation might have escalated to the point where all the buildings in the area collapsed.
"Haa…”
Florin sweat profusely, and looked at Oren with a deeply regretful expression.
"I told you not to have anyone near you..."
Why did he not listen again and end up causing such a commotion?
But regardless of whether Orenha listened or not, it was ultimately an incident caused by her curse, and a sense of guilt settled heavily in Florin’s chest.
How could she ever rid herself of this increasingly burdensome weight on her mind?
Orenha had always been one of the few people who could give her peace of mind, and she always felt puzzled and resentful of his sudden change in behavior.
It would have been so much better if he had just been there as usual, as her advisor and friend.
"Your Majesty! Are you alright?"
Guards were keenly aware of the friction of mana in the reception room, and shouted from outside.
Florin quickly put on her mask and exerted mana control on herself to suppress the curse as much as possible before responding.
"Yes. We have an urgent case. Please come in quickly."
As the door opened, the guards rushed in and appeared bewildered.
"This… This is..."
They hadn't expected the collapsed person to be anyone other than the king's advisor.
Seeing Orenha's body trembling and the leaking unstable mana, the guards hurriedly escorted Florin away.
"Your Majesty, it's best to leave this place. The advisor is unable to control his mana. We are about to transfer him to the Cradle of the Heavenly Spirit Tree immediately, but it's better for you to leave in case you get swept away."
"No. There's no time to move. We need to take immediate action here. Also, if a mana explosion were to occur, I'll handle it myself."
"But..."
"Please don't make me repeat the same thing twice, Knight Commander Limeseril."
"I'm sorry. I'll call for a medical examiner right away."
As the knights hurried to move, it wasn't long before Stella's mages and specialists arrived.
In addition, the priests rushed in, reciting prayers and setting up formations in all directions, turning the space into a complete sealed chamber.
It might serve to prevent the shock from spreading, but it was futile.
When a Class 6 mage like Orenha causes a mana explosion... It would easily break down such barriers, with a power equivalent to at least Class 7 or 8.
Without the power of Heavenly Spirit Tree, Florin was currently very weak, and she couldn’t rely on herself.
"It was urgent, so I went to find Stella's principal, but his whereabouts are unknown. Since the previous incident, there has been no news after he disappeared, saying, ‘I’ll take care of the leftovers.’”
"... Is that so."
To make the matter worse, Eltman Eltwin had disappeared.
"Your Majesty, the mana explosion is becoming increasingly severe!"
"Ugh... Please evacuate quickly!"
Amidst the escalating situation, Baek Yu-Seol watched Orenha quietly.
There were such cases in the original game as well.
Talented mages accidentally encountered Florin and caused havoc around them.
Frankly, while the game company might have prepared for it as an event, as a gamer, it was just annoying and frustrating.
Was it reasonable to have to deal with even the rampage of extras?
Therefore, those who did not want to waste time dealing with the rampage of the extras resorted to extreme measures to deal with the ones exposed to Florin’s curse.
"Let's kill them before they go berserk."
Indeed, a simple yet cruel method.
At this moment, it was also an impossible method.
Although Orenha had done something despicable, as a follower who received Florin’s favor, he would not be left to die so easily.
But sadly, Orenha would eventually die after causing great harm to the surroundings, leaving a deep wound in Florin’s heart.
There was only one remaining option.
"Your Majesty.”
Baek Yu-Seol said cautiously to the panicking Florin.
"There is one way."
"..."
The best way to suppress Mana Eruption and prevent it from becoming a black mine.
It wasn't a method only he knew.
Everyone present knew it too.
"If we cripple his magic power... We can save him."
Wasn’t it better to cripple him and save his life than to leave him to die from a Mana Eruption?
Everyone present agreed with those words, but it was also something that couldn't be casually brought up.
Elf King Florin’s most cherished subject was none other than Orenha.
For a mage, magic was akin to their limbs.
Crippling a mage was more agonizing than severing all limbs.
Even if Orenha’s life was saved today... He might never be able to lead a proper daily life again.
"... The decision must be made by Your Majesty."
As the knight commander, who had been waiting silently, spoke up, Florin’s eyes widened significantly.
*‘Should I cripple the subject I cherished the most with my own hands?’*
*‘Even though it happened because of me, is it right to do so?’*
*‘Perhaps... will he not resent me?’*
"Ugh...!"
"Commander... I'm sorry, I can't hold on any longer…”
“Cough!”
The members who were controlling the mana eruption collapsed one by one.
Limeseril was able to stand because he was a mage of Class 7, but it seemed impossible to completely suppress the eruption.
Unable to bear the sight of the ones she cherished falling one by one, Florin ultimately had to make a decision.
"Please cripple... Orenha..."
———
The next day arrived.
A small commotion occurred within the Stella Main Building, but the guests were unaware as they departed for their hometowns.
Stella Academy, which had been particularly noisy with incidents and accidents, quieted down after the end of the turbulent Academy Battle.
Jeliel was absentmindedly staring out the window from the first-class ward of Stella Academy.
Due to rehabilitation therapy, she was forced to take leave for the time being.
It was a disappointing Academy Battle.
Not being able to participate in the Magic Survival award ceremony was regrettable.
She heard that something quite interesting happened there, but she couldn't see it firsthand.
Lying in the hospital room, Jeliel stared blankly out the window.
The burns had healed quickly.
The high priests who came from the empire poured divine magic recklessly, so much so that it was strange for scars to remain.
However, the mental scars remained fresh, tormenting her.
It wasn't because of the assault by the Dark Mage.
It was simply... because of a certain 'emotion' she felt at the moment of death.
Emotions had always naturally existed in sentient beings, but for some reason, they were all unfamiliar to Jeliel.
Even though she was accustomed to feigning emotions even to deceive her father, this was probably the first time she had truly felt emotions.
Still, she vividly remembered the incident.
Baek Yu-Seol’s black eyes were deeper and clearer than the night sky.
The eyes sparked as if they resembled the universe.
And he saved her.
*'Why?'*
First, a question is thrown into the lake to create a wave.
The small wave hit the wall and bounce back, creating another question.
*'Didn’t Baek Yu-Seol hate me?'*
Baek Yu-Seol knew about her well.
Infact, he knew her very well.
Otherwise, why would he impose such a terrible condition through the Mana Oath?
*'Does he want me to live to experience even more... excruciating pain?'*
If he saved her for such a reason, he must be crazier than she was.
"Miss, I brought strawberries."
As the door of the hospital room opened, her bodyguard Seong Tae-won entered.
Since strawberries were Jeliel’s favorite fruit, he bought them without being asked whenever something unpleasant happened.
"Thank you."
Jeliel put on a mask on her face.
A mask called a smile.
When she appeared to be smiling like this, those below were pleased.
However.
"... I'm sorry. It seems strawberries don't suit you today."
"Huh? No, it's fine. Why do you ask?"
"... Well..."
Seong Tae-won glanced at her expression and cautiously said, "You didn't seem to be in a good mood..."
She hurriedly touched her face.
Why couldn't she put on the mask of 'laughter'?
Even though she tried to force a smile, she couldn't muster one.
Jeliel forced herself to speak calmly.
"I'm just a little tired, that's all."
"I see."
"Have you packed everything?"
Due to the Mana Oath, she could no longer see her father, but Jeliel would not stop here.
There was no time to stop just because a small obstacle was placed in front of her. She was in a hurry to save her father.
*’After saving my father properly, I can smile and see him again in the future. Let's bury these emotions tightly for that time.’*
"If everything is ready, shall we go now?"
"Yes. I'll call for the dedicated aircraft."
Seong Tae-won nodded and was about to leave the room without turning around, but suddenly he seemed to remember something and said to her.
"Oh, and wasn't there a stone carving in your private room?"
"Huh? Was there such a thing?"
After a moment of thought, she remembered that Baek Yu-Sell had given her a stone carving as a gift after completing the Mana Oath.
It was truly absurd.
Giving such garbage as a gift to Jeliel, the world's richest person, was itself an act of disrespect toward her.
"Throw it away."
Jeliel commanded without hesitation... but Seong Tae-won had a troubled expression as he stuttered out his words.
"Well... actually, out of personal curiosity while organizing your belongings, I briefly showed it to Stella's archaeologist."
"What? How dare you touch my belongings..."
Despite being garbage, it was a quite offensive act, so Jeliel was about to say something.
But before she could, Seong Tae-won continued.
"As a result, there was something very interesting for you. That stone carving turned out to be a part of the 'Ancient Carmen Set Tablet'!"
"... What?"
At that moment, Jeliel’s thought process came to a halt.
"Wha... What did you just say..."
"It's true. Even Stella's archaeologist was surprised, so they brought in another archaeologist with special equipment to examine it properly, and they confirmed it was indeed a Carmen Set Tablet!"
The ancient Carmen Set.
Wasn’t that what Jeliel had been searching for her whole life to save her father?
But how could it suddenly appear here?
And by Baek Yu-Seol’s doing?
"Ah..."
Jeliel’s legs weakened, and without a single thought, she sank back onto the bed in the hospital room.
She needed... just a little more time to think.",
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