Escape

Lanto emerged from behind the broken wall.

He stood in the center of the open space, his sharp black suit covered in dust and gravel. He raised his hands, palms facing outward, a gesture that clearly signaled his surrender.

Noi looked at him, the short stick in his hand still loosely pointing to the ground. The surrounding rubble, suspended in mid-air and teetering on the verge of collapse, began to slowly descend as his will relaxed, finally crashing heavily back to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The gravel rolled, making a continuous grinding sound.

"A wise choice." Noi's voice was steady, revealing no emotion.

A few meters away, Ubel leaned against a broken section of wall. She chuckled softly, her purple eyes looking at Lanto with knowing eyes and a hint of her usual teasing.

"Really? 'Unable to participate in this gamble,' huh, Glasses Guy?" Her voice was light and cheerful, with a rising tone at the end. "You really feel sorry for me~"

Noi turned his head, his gaze from under the brim of his hat turning towards her.

"Be honest," he said, "You've already lost."

Ubel's smile deepened.

"Really? I didn't expect the Magical Special Forces to be this strong..." She smiled, as if making a serious assessment, "However, saying I lost isn't quite accurate."

The moment the words fell--

A massive, heavy, almost tangible magical force erupted from Ubel without warning. The magical force did not Swirl, but rather poured out precisely in a targeted manner, like an invisible giant hammer, slamming heavily onto Noi.

Before Noi could even assume a defensive stance, he was sent flying by the violent force, his back slamming heavily against a still-intact wall behind him with a muffled thud, the plaster peeling off in a shower. Even more bizarrely, the force didn't dissipate after the impact; instead, it transformed into a sticky, solid, invisible shackle, pinning him firmly to the rough wall, his limbs stiff and unable to move.

"... What is this?" Noi tried to struggle, his muscles tense, but his body remained motionless. His eyes, hidden beneath his hat brim, darted around as he calmly analyzed the situation. "Gravity Magic? No... it's something more precise... a targeted gravity binding?"

Lanto stood to the side, looking at Noi, who was firmly fixed to the wall, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes behind his glasses. He hadn't expected Ubel to have this trick up his sleeve.

Ubel ignored Noi's surprise. She walked a few steps to Lanto's side and decisively grabbed his wrist.

"They're gone."

Her grip was strong, with an undeniable force. Lanto was pulled along by her, involuntarily moving towards the outer edge of the ruins.

"Don't even think about it."

On the wall, Noi squeezed out two words through clenched teeth. Despite the invisible pressure binding his body, he raised his right hand, holding the stick, with great difficulty, inch by inch. A faint light shone from the tip of the short stick.

The next instant, the surrounding ruins responded once more. Not only the rubble, but even the few intact streetlights nearby, with their straight poles, were uprooted with a sickening metallic twisting sound. Walls, floors, streetlights... tons of debris, accompanied by the sound of the wind, crashed down and swept across the escape route of Ubel and Lanto from different directions, blocking all escape routes.

Noi's voice came through the magical bindings, carrying his characteristic calm and analytical tone:

"I've seen through your magic... Although I don't know the specific principles, you can't cut through metal, right? Those streetlights... your attack just now failed to cut them."

Ubel didn't stop or even turn around. She simply held onto Lanto, casually swinging her staff upwards in her other hand.

"Yeah?"

Several invisible and intangible, yet extremely sharp, slashing trajectories appeared out of thin air, cutting through the smoke-filled air.

"Swish, swish, swish--!"

Smooth, mirror-like cuts appeared precisely on the approaching walls, floors, and—those few metal streetlights.

The iron lamppost, which had been intact in her attack path, was now as fragile as paper, neatly sliced and broken. The heavy lamp head spun and fell, crashing to the ground with a loud thud. The cut was smooth, reflecting the fading light of the distant sky.

Gravel and twisted metal continued to fall like raindrops. Although the main structure was cut open, the scattering of fragments and the aftershocks were still unavoidable. Ubel and Lanto sprinted sideways and ducked, their movements swift, but the flying sharp stones and broken steel bars still cut several thin, bloody gashes on their arms, cheeks, and calves. Their dresses were torn, and blood seeped through.

Noi stared at the streetlight that had been easily sliced in half, his pupils contracting slightly.

"... Hiding one's talents? No, that's not right..."

His mind raced. The streetlights were fine during the first attack. But this time... had the judgment criteria changed? Or was it that she had...

There's no time left.

Ubel showed no intention of lingering in the fight. Just as Noi was slightly shaken by the unexpected cut, she tightened her grip on Lanto's wrist.

The next moment, a slight crackling sound came from the ground beneath their feet. Ubel's magical power erupted in a violent yet exceptionally efficient manner, propelling their bodies upwards at an astonishing speed, like stones hurled by an invisible giant hand. They tore through the darkening sky and vanished instantly behind the continuous outlines of buildings at the edge of the ruins, leaving only a brief shriek as the air was torn apart.

"Asshole..."

Noi cursed under his breath. The heavy pressure that had pinned him to the wall began to slowly weaken after the caster moved away. He mobilized all his magic to fight against the remaining restraints, trying to break free.

The footsteps approached quickly. Weige rushed out from another alleyway, saw Noi struggling against the wall, paused for a moment, and then went forward.

"You messed up?"

He asked a simple question while raising his hand. The magic power gathered at his fingertips transformed into sharp wind blades, precisely slashing at the invisible pressure field surrounding Noi. The wind blades collided with the invisible force field, producing a hissing sound. After several strikes, the viscous pressure finally dissipated.

Noi's body went limp, he staggered half a step, and steadied himself against the wall. He raised his hand to press his back, which was still sore from the impact, and his expression was not good.

"Probably. Tsk."

Weige looked around at the devastation, like a battlefield ravaged by giants, then at Noi's disheveled state, and sighed.

"You really caused quite a stir."

Noi didn't reply. He bent down to pick up the hat that had fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and put it back on. He needed to organize his report, and the thought of the possible consequences made him feel even worse.

Weige seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Oh, speaking of which, I still have a three-year-old son at home who hasn't been breastfed..."

As he spoke, he began to quietly move backward.

Noi immediately looked up at him, her eyes filled with hostility.

"Come back. Help me clean up this mess."

Weige stopped in his tracks, a look of helplessness on his face.

"I don't want to get scolded along with you..."

A dozen or so streets away from the ruins, deep in a relatively quiet alley.

Ubel released his grip on Lanto's hand. The two landed very quietly, almost without a sound.

The alley was narrow, with towering stone walls on both sides, and only a sliver of the gradually darkening night sky overhead.

Lanto steadied himself, and instead of checking his wounds, he adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses falling on Ubel with undisguised scrutiny.

What kind of speed is that?

The explosive acceleration during the escape was far beyond the scope of ordinary Flight Magic.

Ubel leaned against the cold wall and pulled out two thumb-sized crystal bottles from her personal spatial storage magic. The bottles contained a thick, bright red liquid that rippled slightly in the dim light. She tossed one of the bottles to Lanto, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you!"

Lanto caught the bottle, unscrewed the stopper, and without hesitation, tilted his head back and drank it. The warm liquid instantly slid from his throat into his stomach, then quickly Swirl to his limbs and bones. The burning abrasions and scratches on his arms and cheeks tingled and numbed, and the bleeding stopped and healed at a visible speed.

"Wow, you're so considerate." He put down the empty bottle, feeling the surge of strength Rapid Recovery. "... Well, anyway, now that we're safe, let's go back and report."

"Etc."

Ubel herself drank the healing potion. The deeper wounds on her arms and legs healed quickly.

"Tsk," Lanto looked at her, his tone complicated, "I originally thought you were the kind of person... who didn't care about your own or others' injuries, after all, you looked like you wanted to die with that guy."

Ubel looked up, her purple eyes shining brightly in the shadows of the alley.

"I'm a pacifist, you know," she said matter-of-factly, "Though a pacifist who likes to fight, that's all."

"Besides," she added, shaking the empty crystal bottle, "I don't care about this little injury. I'm using this only to avoid more troublesome consequences."

"More troublesome consequences?"

"Hmm." Ubel nodded. "Lowell and the others have already arrived in the Imperial Capital. Didn't you notice?"

Lanto frowned, focused his senses for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Absolutely not."

"Okay," Ubel shrugged. "He is indeed hiding his magic; perhaps it's because I'm more familiar with it. Anyway, he is."

Lanto straightened the hem of his tattered dress. He seemed thoughtful upon hearing Lowell's name.

"So what? He's in the Imperial Capital, isn't that great? I remember he even knows Goddess Magic, why not just have him heal him? Why waste such precious healing potions?"

"Ah, yes, that's how it is theoretically." Ubel agreed, but then a smile appeared on her face, a smile that was a mixture of reminiscence and subtle emotion, a smile that didn't have much warmth, but rather carried a hint of "you're too naive."

"But... have you heard of the 'Kid Pirates'?"

Lanto thought for a moment. As a First-Class Mage loved reading, he had some knowledge of information from all over the continent.

"The pirates entrenched in the Southern Islands have a terrible reputation, notorious for plundering and massacring coastal civilians," he stated. "Because their activities are mainly at sea, the Kingdom's Knights have difficulty effectively suppressing them. Moreover, it is said that there are corrupt monks within the order skilled in Concealment magic, capable of perfectly hiding an entire ship in a short time, making them extremely elusive. Rumor has it that the Great Mage Minusi personally went to suppress them, but without success. They are very powerful."

"Hmm." Ubel leaned against the wall, his voice calm as if telling someone else's story. "It's not a rumor, it's true. I was still very young back then, and I went with Minusi. During the battle, I was accidentally injured by that pirate crew. The wound was a bit troublesome, so Minusi took me and we retreated temporarily."

Lanto listened quietly, waiting for what would happen next. He had a vague idea of what was going on.

"So?" he asked.

"My master, Lowell, somehow heard about this later." Ubel turned to look at Lanto, the smile in his purple eyes becoming somewhat unpredictable. "Hmm... what happened next was quite frightening."

Her tone remained understated, but her words carried weight.

"He went alone, muttering something like, 'What kind of king do you want to be again?' and ripped off both of Captain Kid's arms. The scene... wasn't pretty. He killed every single ordinary crew member on board. He even used Mental Magic to turn their first mate into a drooling idiot."

"They could have just killed them all, that would have been quicker," Ubel shook his head, a hint of something unspeakable in his voice, "But he spared Captain Kid and that stupid first mate. He said... he wanted them to 'feel the pain'? Tsk tsk, thinking about it now, it really gives me the creeps."

The alleyway quieted down. Faint celebratory music drifted from afar, making the place seem even more tranquil.

Lanto was silent for a few seconds. He could easily imagine the scene and understand the "horrifying" feeling Ubel had given him. The usually gentle, averse to trouble, and lazy Lowell revealed a cold and cruel side belonging to the former Demon King when it came to the injury of someone close to him.

"... That's more like something Demon King would do," Lanto finally commented, adjusting his glasses. "He's definitely different from usual. So protective of his own."

He looked up at Ubel and understood her intention.

So, you are...

Ubel's smile returned to its bright state.

"Of course, we need to heal the injury first." She patted the skin on her arm that had just healed, leaving only faint red marks. "I don't want this little injury to upset him, and then, by accident... he might tear down an empire that has lasted for a thousand years. Although that might be quite interesting," she blinked, "But forget it, I'm a pacifist."

After she finished speaking, she straightened up and patted the dust off her dress, which was already torn in several places and looked somewhat disheveled.

"Let's go, Glasses Guy. The mission is complete; it's time to go back and report."