[Space-Time That Might Exist] Cage

Weige walked ahead.

Ubel and Lanto followed behind him. Both wore black wristbands, their footsteps echoing monotonously in the empty corridor. The walls were rough stone bricks, and at intervals, magical lamps cast cold white light.

The three of them had been gone for a long time.

At the end of the passage was a heavy iron door. Weige stopped, took out a key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The metallic scraping sound was particularly jarring in the silence.

The door opened.

Inside was a small cell. It had four stone walls, no windows, and only a small lamp overhead. In the corner was a simple stone slab bed, and other than that, it was empty.

Weige stepped aside, gesturing for the two to go inside.

Ubel and Lanto went inside. Their footsteps slid softly on the cool stone floor.

Weige followed them in and stood in the doorway. His gaze swept over the two of them, finally settling on the restraints on their wrists.

"Raise your hands."

The two raised their wrists.

Weige stepped forward and examined it carefully, pressing his fingers on the surface to confirm there were no signs of looseness or damage.

"Kindness."

He took a step back.

"Don't put up a futile resistance."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the cell. The iron door closed behind him, the latch engaging with a clear "click." The footsteps gradually faded into the distance, eventually disappearing into the depths of the passage.

The cell fell silent.

Lanto lowered his hand, his gaze falling on the black restraint around his wrist. He moved his wrist, the rope digging into his skin, the sensation distinct.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, his voice muffled in the enclosed space. "What kind of talk is that?"

Ubel had already sat down on the spot. She leaned against the cold stone wall, her legs bent, her arms resting on her knees. Her eyes stared unfocused ahead.

"Do we still seem to have the strength to resist?"

She tilted her head, and her green ponytail slid down to her shoulder.

Lanto didn't reply. He walked to the stone bed and sat down. The bed was hard, and the coolness of the stone could be felt through the thin fabric.

He wanted to say there was a bed, but upon closer inspection, he realized that sitting on the floor was no different from sitting on the floor.

Underground, Ubel sensed his wrist.

... It's still the same as before.

He couldn't see, and his magical perception was also useless. There were no signs of his mental defenses being compromised, nor did it seem like he had truly lost his sight.

It's probably because the brain can't recognize what the eyes see.

The ability to control the magic within the body disrupted cognition... This also explains why the perception of magic is ineffective.

In other words, what's binding me now is a kind of magic that restricts my senses. It's the same as the matter manipulation magic he uses; it's very powerful, but it's just an application of basic magic and has nothing special about it.

The nature of magic is not important; what matters is the principle behind its implementation...

Never mind.

Why think so much? With my brain, thinking about it all is just a waste of time.

Leave this to the Glasses Guy.

It feels rather complicated...

Lanto, sitting on the bed, was also thinking.

As expected, magic was still unusable. Although the exact mechanism was unknown, this rope had the effect of preventing people from using magic.

Although I wanted to escape, it was impossible without magic. Even if Ubel believed the rope could be cut, the magic that "Nothing Is Uncuttable" was useless and meaningless.

... wrong.

The rope was imbued with a spell that prevented the user from using magic. Ubel defeated Sense's clone in the First-Class Mage Exam, completely ignoring the multiple defensive spells [the effects of which] on Sense's hair... and then used a spell that could "Nothing Is Uncuttable" to sever it.

Sense's hair was far stronger than Defensive Magic and far sharper than Ordinary Attack Magic. Yet Ubel easily cut through that extremely dense and hard weapon like ordinary hair.

In other words...

No, that's not right.

The cause and effect are messed up. Ultimately, we can't even use magic now.

No, that's still not right.

If Ubel can even ignore this premise...

He gave up on thinking for himself.

I don't understand.

He said in a low voice.

"Thinking about principles is really meaningless."

He raised his eyes and looked at Ubel.

Ubel was still blind, but his face was turned in his direction. His purple eyes stared blankly ahead, the usual playful curve at the corner of his mouth had faded, and his face was expressionless.

Lanto looked at her for a few seconds.

"Ubel."

"What's wrong?"

"Can you use magic?"

Ubel turned his head to the side.

Why do you ask that?

She paused for a moment.

"... Never mind, no need to explain."

She stretched out her hand, palm facing up.

"Hands out."

Lanto stood up, walked to her, and knelt down. He reached out and placed the black restraint around his wrist within her reach.

Ubel's fingers touched the knot. Her fingertips traced it lightly, slowly, as if confirming its shape and texture.

Then, she pressed the tip of her index finger against the rope, while her thumb hooked onto the other side.

A light swipe.

"Snap."

A very soft, almost inaudible sound.

The black restraints snapped in two, sliding to either side and falling onto the stone ground with two dull thuds. The break was as smooth as a mirror, the edges impossibly neat, as if directly "separated" by some concept beyond common sense.

Lanto stretched his newly freed wrist. A faint ring of marks remained on his skin, slightly reddening under the cold white light.

Ubel withdrew his hand, a smile appearing on his face.

"That's the answer."

Lanto stood up and rubbed his wrist. The blood flowed back through him, bringing a slight tingling sensation.

"You've been a great help," he said.

Then he continued thinking.

She is clearly susceptible to "invisible" magic such as mental interference and illusions, but with magic that has "tangible" or "effects," as long as she imagines it "can be cut open," she seems to be able to distort its inherent rules...

For her, where is the line of distinction? Are there any inherent rules?

I simply cannot imagine how her magic works.

No.

Thinking about these things is pointless.

The most urgent thing is to escape.

Moreover, even this guy himself probably doesn't understand the so-called rules.

A while passed.

The other end of the prison corridor.

Kanon and Noi walked side by side.

Footsteps echoed rhythmically in the empty corridor. Noi walked slightly ahead, while Kanon lagged half a step behind, his hands in the pockets of his dark uniform jacket.

After walking for a while, Kanon suddenly spoke.

"Noi."

"Um?"

"Are you an idiot?"

Noi didn't stop walking, but merely glanced at Kanon. His expression under the brim of his hat remained unchanged.

"That's going too far," he said calmly, "Although I do know I'm a fool."

Kanon didn't respond. He looked ahead, where he could vaguely see the outline of the iron gate to the prison area at the end of the passage.

"I heard that you razed most of the Old Empire Square to the ground."

"That area was originally slated for demolition."

"Oh." Kanon nodded. "So, you're planning to report to Captain Fres that I helped complete the demolition of the plaza and sped up the demolition process for the construction team, Captain, that should count as a merit, right?"

Noi remained silent for a few seconds.

Only the sound of two footsteps could be heard in the passageway.

"... Kanon."

"Um?"

"Come with me to report."

"I refuse," Kanon answered decisively. "Go get scolded yourself. That's Captain Fres, after all."

He glanced at Noi.

"You really made a scene. That's not like you at all."

Noi didn't say anything.

"If the other side refuses to surrender, and there's a possibility of fighting, normally you should rendezvous with me first. And under normal circumstances, you would undoubtedly do the same."

Noi remained silent for a while.

"I believe," he finally spoke, his voice lower than before, "That failing to apprehend them on the spot will definitely lead to more serious consequences."

"Oh?"

"Especially one of them," Noi said, glancing at the approaching iron gate, "Is extremely threatening."

How so?

"Her fighting style..." Noi paused, seemingly searching for the right words, "No, I should say she gives off... a lot like Captain Fres."

Kanon's hand, which was in his pocket, twitched slightly at a few fingers, then relaxed.

"..."