Extra in a Romance Fantasy

173 – The Core (4)

“Me, ri…?”

The voice escaping my lips trembled.

So clearly that I could recognize it myself.

I’m not the type to easily show my emotions.

Yet, in this moment, I was undeniably revealing my confusion and shock.

The situation before me, the sight in front of my eyes, was nothing short of shocking.

Wondering if I was seeing things incorrectly, I stared intently at the woman floating in the air.

But no matter how I looked, that woman was definitely Mary.

There was no way I could mistake Mary’s face.

At the same time, my intuition was also speaking.

That is indeed Mary.

I wanted to deny it, but it was likely that it was truly her.

If that’s the case, if that really is Mary…

Then why on earth is she here?

And what on earth is her current state?

Mary was floating in the air with her eyes closed.

And the space around her was intensely rippling.

Moreover, I felt a familiar energy surrounding Mary.

The ominous energy I had sensed from Hayden and Hamel.

“Do you like my gift? Wade Hebron.”

At that moment, the voice of the Master echoed again.

Only then did I turn my gaze to follow that voice.

And I saw.

A man with an unfamiliar face standing a little distance away, in the center of the crater, looking this way.

“No, judging by your expression, I suppose there’s no need to ask. It seems you’re quite pleased. I’m glad my efforts in preparing this weren’t in vain.”

He was the Master.

Gazing at my face with a penetrating look, he smiled as if truly satisfied.

I quietly held his gaze.

“…Why did you bring Mary here?”

He asked in a voice noticeably lower than usual.

It was clear from the situation alone that the cult leader was the one who had brought Mary here, no need to ask.

What I was curious about was his intent.

Why on earth had he brought Mary to this place?

“…Is it a grudge against me?”

That was the possibility that arose.

The chance that he had taken Mary hostage out of resentment towards me for obstructing him and the cult at every turn.

That was the only possibility that came to mind.

“You’re quite perceptive. …I’d like to say that, but unfortunately, that’s not the reason.”

However, the leader shook his head with a smile, denying my speculation.

“I was stabbed in the back at a moment I never imagined. I didn’t have the luxury to think about such things.”

It wasn’t hard to guess that what he was referring to was the play staged by Estelle and Kairn.

“I had no doubt that a war would break out. I even went so far as to plant personnel here in case the atmosphere didn’t shift that way. But I never expected you to grasp it all completely. Truly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was perfectly caught off guard.”

The leader shook his head in disbelief.

“Not only that, but I even attempted to mobilize troops to seize the academy. I must have been under the impression that I, or a key figure from the cult, would be inside the academy. Thanks to that, I was truly cornered.”

Despite discussing how severely he had been caught off guard, a smile remained on the leader’s face throughout.

“However, in any situation, there’s bound to be a hole through which the wind can pass. I found a card to turn the situation around.”

“…Is that card Mary?”

Given the flow of the conversation, there was only one person it could refer to.

“Yes.”

The leader nodded lightly.

“…Does Mary possess such power?”

Mary is undoubtedly a special child.

Her talents are exceptional, and her skills are outstanding.

Even in an academy where the extraordinary become the norm, her uniqueness does not diminish.

But that is merely a general standard.

The thought that she possesses the kind of power the leader speaks of does not cross my mind at all.

“You don’t know the uniqueness that Mary Blunoir possesses.”

The leader looked at me quietly and then nodded.

“How ironic. The one closest to Mary Blunoir doesn’t even realize how special she is.”

—

And then, he laughed as if quite amused.

At that action, my face twisted in disbelief.

The specialness that Mary possessed.

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

It was then.

“…A talent related to space, perhaps.”

Beluid, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, interjected.

My gaze naturally returned to him.

Beluid was gazing intently at Mary, who floated in the air, with a searching look.

His eyes held the most magical hue I had seen among all of Beluid’s expressions.

“…I recall hearing a report. One of the students from the Academy’s Magic Department awakened a talent related to space. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to it… It seems that information was about Miss Mary.”

“That would be right. The only rumors circulating were about Mary Blunoir.”

The headmaster lightly affirmed Beluid’s speculation.

Then, he seemed to recall something, his gaze drifting off.

“At first, it was merely curiosity. It was during the time when she was gaining attention within the Academy due to those rumors. It was a rare talent, and the fact that the subject was Mary Blunoir, who was close to you, Wade Hebron, piqued my interest, so I approached her without much thought. Truly, it was just a trivial curiosity.”

However, the headmaster added.

“The moment I witnessed her magic, I realized. Mary Blunoir’s awakening was not simply a talent for space-related magic.”

“…It was a gift, then.”

“Yes. It was a gift. What she awakened was not a talent for magic, but a gift.”

Beluid’s heavy speculation was readily affirmed by the headmaster.

“Moreover, it wasn’t just any simple gift. It was a special and unique gift that I had never seen before.”

“…….”

It seemed that Mary had awakened her gift while I was away.

Mary awakening a gift.

I had never anticipated such a thing would happen.

Such a scene doesn’t even appear in the original work.

“At that moment, the moment I recognized her gift, I thought perhaps I could use her for a great undertaking. However, I decided to leave that thought as just a thought. At the time, the war between the two empires was progressing smoothly, so there was no need to invest in uncertain possibilities.”

“…….”

“Yet, ultimately, the plan failed, and I found myself cornered. In a dark corner where hope seemed nonexistent. It was then that her existence came to mind.”

“…….”

“I decided to place my hopes in her, but honestly, I didn’t have high expectations. Even if her talent was special, I didn’t think she would have the power to resolve the situation. …Well, I suppose you could call that a last-ditch effort. The final struggle of someone who couldn’t stand still and accept defeat. But…”

At that moment, a light returned to the leader’s eyes.

“Her gift was something far more special than I had anticipated. Thanks to that, I was able to breach the defenses of Beluid and reach this place to carry out my grand undertaking.”

The leader turned his head to look behind him.

What his gaze fell upon was empty air, yet it was not merely empty.

I recognized it immediately. The space there was trembling incessantly.

Something unusual was happening in that place.

“And now, the grand undertaking is nearing its end. Finally. The time is coming…!”

The voice of the leader, shouting that, was filled with a vivid, unmistakable joy.

“All of this, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say, is thanks to Mary Blunoir.”

With a gentle smile, the leader directed his gaze toward Mary, who was in the air.

That gaze was as if he were looking at the most precious treasure in the world.

“…What have you done to Mary?”

I forced myself to suppress the boiling anger and spat the question at the leader.

I didn’t know the details, but it was clear that Mary was not in a normal state.

The waves of the trembling space around her and the ominous energy flowing from it made that fact evident.

Surely, the leader had done something to Mary.

“What do you mean, ‘what have I done’? Anyone who hears that would think I’ve committed some terrible act.”

“Answer me.”

“Goodness, what a fierce look you have. With just that gaze, you could easily kill someone.”

The leader shrugged nonchalantly and continued speaking.

“Even so, I haven’t done anything particularly wrong. I merely… drew out the potential of her gift and took some measures to make that gift more cooperative.”

“Measures?”

“Yes. Measures. I had to proceed in a hurry, so it was rather informal.”

“…Don’t beat around the bush; be specific.”

At this point, I was already suppressing the impulse to draw my sword at any moment.

It was clear that he had done something to Mary, and I needed to find out even a little bit of that information.

“From your reaction, it seems Mary Blunoir is quite precious to you. To think that the one who remained calm when my puppet was killed in a trap would show such a face.”

The leader laughed as if genuinely amused.

“But there’s no need to worry too much. The measures I took with her are not dangerous. Her life and lifespan are safe. There’s nothing for you to be concerned about. …Well, there are some minor side effects, but that’s nothing significant. Just…”

The smile on the cult leader’s face deepened.

“You’re talking about becoming less than human.”

Boom!

In the next moment, a massive explosion erupted from the direction where the cult leader stood.

It was an explosion so immense it seemed capable of toppling even the mightiest fortress in a single blow.

“What an absurd power and speed. I couldn’t even see the sword being swung.”

Yet, despite such an explosion occurring so close, the cult leader remained unscathed.

“Even so, as a master of the Ten Blades, I would have confidence in facing you without using magic… But to think I couldn’t even see you. It seems you’ve grown into an unimaginable monster. Well, considering you’re standing here, it must mean you’ve killed the Sword Saint, so I can understand that.”

With eyes that showed not a hint of tension, the cult leader nodded at me.

“Wade. In this state, you won’t be able to lay a hand on the cult leader.”

Beluid, watching the cult leader, spoke to me as I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly.

“……”

At those words, I silently gritted my teeth.

As the one who wielded the sword, I understood.

I knew why my sword hadn’t reached the cult leader.

The strike I had created with my sword was blocked by the distortion of the space surrounding the cult leader.

And it was obvious who had caused that distortion.

“It seems I need to deal with Miss Mary first if I want to handle the cult leader.”

“Indeed, it’s you, Beluid. You have a keen eye.”

The cult leader clapped, affirming Beluid’s deduction.

“As long as Mary Blunoir remains in that state, she can’t harm me. So, to kill me, as Beluid Demens said, you’ll first have to do something about Mary Blunoir. Either kill her or return her to her original state… Well, Wade Hebron, it seems clear what you will choose.”

“……”

I glared at the cult leader with cold eyes as he spoke with a smile.

The urge to tear him apart surged within me.

He, unfazed by my gaze, said calmly, “Well, let me just say this: Regardless of which path you choose, it won’t be easy.”

As the cult leader’s words came to an end.

Crack—

Countless fissures began to appear in the air.

And.

Crack—

As many as the numbers of the fissures, the monsters revealed themselves.

With ominous glimmers in their eyes, they were creatures that looked dangerous at first glance.

“Now, let’s see you struggle in all your ugliness.”

The cult leader laughed.

Indeed, it seemed quite delightful.