Book 6: Chapter 11: Being Who Comes From The Depths of Silence (1/2)
Casey Groove had three older brothers, all of whom went off to slay dragons and never returned.
Her eldest brother was grabbed by a wyvern and dropped from a high place. He died instantly from a broken neck.
Her second brother was torn apart by the claws of the Red Dragon, and his corpse returned with missing limbs.
Her third brother was burned to death by the Red Dragon's fire breath. He was buried in his armor, unable to remove his helmet and armor that melted into his seared skin.
Every time a dragon threat occurred, her father would request the kingdom to send out the Dragon Knights over and over again. However, they rarely arrived in time.
Casey's hometown, Bright, was a barren land of little importance to the Ridill Kingdom. That's why the central nobles haven't paid any regard to it.
In fact, the more dragons there are in this land near the border, the less likely it is to be attacked by neighboring countries. Some even said that dragons were more useful than weak nobles as a line of defense—regardless of the people who lived in the land.
After the dragon ravaged their land and took away their family, Casey and his family were on the brink of despair… but then the Knights from the Randall Kingdom came to their rescue. They rushed to the Bright territory in secret and struggled hard to exterminate the dragon.
Casey's grandmother has a tie with the Marquis family of the Randall Kingdom, apparently, because of that connection, they had rushed over to help.
One can imagine how grateful Casey and the others were for that support when their country had abandoned them.
Since then, Casey's father, Count Bright, and the noble of Randall have been in secret contact with each other, exchanging information about the situation in their countries.
One topic that often came up was Duke Crockford.
This man, the second prince's maternal grandfather and the most influential man in the Ridill Kingdom have his eyes set on war with the Empire, and he apparently wanted to invade Randall as a stepping stone to that goal.
If the second prince became the next king at this rate, that nightmare would become a reality.
—Is there anything I can do?
He told Casey with a pained expression on his face.
—You should go to Serendia Academy.
If she could catch Felix's eye and cajole him, that would be the best.
But if that's not possible…
—Use this.
His father gave Casey a small magic tool to use… the [Conch Flame].
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What's going on?
Casey was confused as she was carried on the shoulder of the dark-haired man.
This Nero guy, who was wearing a school uniform even though he was clearly at the age of a person who would attend school, was strange, but what even stranger was Monica.
It was surprising that Monica knew about the existence of the [Conch Flame], but when she also said that she would neutralize it was even more so.
That's not possible…
Casey's father had told her how powerful the [Conch Flame] was.
The downside of the [Conch Flame] was its narrow effective range and its low accuracy. That's why she set it off at the moment when Felix was present for the bringing in of the fireworks.
Even if the [Conch Flame] didn't hit Felix directly, the damage caused by fireworks should kill him for sure.
The man known as Nero easily jumped over the old garden gate and proceeded to the inner part.
Since this old garden untended, it was covered full of weeds. At the center of the garden lies an old fountain.
Climbing down from Nero's shoulders, Monica ran over to the fountain and peered into it. The now unused fountain was filled with puddles of rainwater and was covered with moss.
”This fountain has a magic formula carved into at the bottom… it was a large-scale barrier that protected the academy.”
Monica also squinted at the decorative carvings on the outside of the fountain.
”There's another layer of protective barrier around the large-scale barrier… probably to keep the barrier from being destroyed, he added another layer of protective barrier around the large-scale barrier…”
”In other words, if you don't deal with the outer protective barrier, you can't tamper with the main large-scale barrier, right? …So what are you going to do?”
In response to the dark-haired man's words, Monica declared in a voice without a hint of hesitation.
”I'll only break the outer protective barrier.”
Casey became more and more confused, wondering what Monica was talking about.
She might be a novice when it came to spells, but she could tell that what Monica was talking about was not something anyone could do.
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Monica stood in front of the fountain and focused her concentration. What she needed to do now was really simple.
First, destroy the protective barrier that covers the outside of the fountain.
Next, rewrite the formula of the large-scale barrier inside the fountain so it can be used against the [Conch Flame].
The outer protective barrier, which was triggered by any attempt to touch the inner large-scale barrier, was extremely strong and would not be destroyed by ordinary spells.
If so, Monica will only have to destroy it with all the power she has.
Monica closed her eyes and quickly weaved a magic formula.
This magic formula was a very high-level spell that only a few people in the kingdom have mastered. Even Monica, who's got no chanting skill, needs more than ten seconds to complete it.
Once Monica completed her spell, she would only say the last chant out of awe and respect for the one she was about to summon.
”…Answer my call, O king of the shapeless guidance, show me a glimpse of your power.”
At that moment, the rustling of all the trees stopped.