Could He Not Be the Child of Miracle?

A forest near Ban Ade.

Have you ever encountered this situation before?

Upon hearing Miguel's question, Vilgefortz ' eyes flickered slightly.

"No," he shook his head without hesitation. "The Stars of Ilar are very complex, and I have only been learning about them for a short time. There are still many things I haven't fully mastered."

Miguel had no doubts and nodded. "Even the Wild Hunt, whose ritual magic is hard to Tracking, cannot hide under the brilliance of the stars."

"Such excellent magic is indeed worth studying carefully."

Vilgefortz nodded, then probed calmly, "Lord Miguel, what do you think..."

He pointed to the crater on the ground where the object had been thrown out.

"Who... uh... who could this 'person' be?"

Miguel sensed the underlying meaning in Vilgefortz's tone. "Don't you think this person exists?"

"It is indeed very suspicious, whether it is the Wild Hunt's madness or this vanished experimental relic..." Vilgefortz shook his head, "But I really find it hard to imagine that even Lord Hen Gedimidis could not leave behind any Wild Hunt corpses, could someone really have beheaded them?"

Miguel fell silent, for this was indeed a problem.

In fact, it was precisely because of this convincing reason that they subconsciously ignored the possibility of someone spying on them while fighting the Wild Hunt.

Otherwise, they would have been more vigilant and wouldn't have lost so badly.

Is there really a human being stronger than Demon Source Heng Gedimidis in this world?

etc...

Humans?

Why does it have to be human?

Miguel had a flash of inspiration.

Smack!

A crisp sound.

He slapped his forehead hard.

"Elf!"

"What?" Vilgefortz was stunned.

"It must be elves!" Miguel grabbed Vilgefortz's shoulder, both excited and furious. "Only those Long-ears hiding in the forest could have fooled us..."

"That's right!"

"Iral is an elf who has been dead for hundreds of years. Wouldn't they have a way to conceal the spell ' Stars of Ilar '?"

"No matter how strong Hen Gedimidis is, all his skills and magic come from his time studying at the Elven Royal Court. Just because the Dean can't do something doesn't mean the elves can't..."

"And... and..."

The joy and anger at discovering the truth made Miguel's face flush red.

"And the news of the Wild Hunt's attack on Ban Ade, which nearly destroyed the academy, certainly wouldn't reach the attention of powerful factions so quickly, except for the elves..."

"The largest hideout of elves on the Northern Continent is deep in the dense forest east of Ban Ade... That's right... Before that Conjunction of the Spheres, Ban Ade captured several elves, but they mysteriously escaped from the dungeon..."

Thinking of this, another flash of inspiration struck Miguel.

"Perhaps... perhaps this is all an elf conspiracy!!!"

"Why?" Vilgefortz was stunned and asked instinctively.

"Smack!"

Miguel slapped Vilgefortz on the shoulder hard, looking at him with exasperation:

"Think about it! Not long before the Conjunction of the Spheres, a group of unidentified elves were captured and taken to Ban Ade, and then mysteriously disappeared..."

"Didn't they do anything, just to see what a human prison looks like?"

"No!" Miguel jerked his right arm. "They must have done something!"

"Tap tap tap~"

"Tap tap tap~"

Miguel paced rapidly beside the pit, his brow furrowed, muttering incantations such as "Conjunction of the Spheres," "Dark Sun Curse," "Elves," and "Wild Hunt"...

Then, at a certain moment, he suddenly stopped, his bloodshot red eyes staring sharply at Vilgefortz, startling him who was already somewhat bewildered.

"How treacherous!" Miguel said bitterly to Vilgefortz, more like he was talking to himself.

"First, seize the opportunity of the ' The Glutton ' participating in the Apprentice Combat Tournament, activate the Conjunction of the Spheres, cause the King of Kedwen to die at Ban Aard, and sow discord between wizards and royalty..."

"They might have colluded with the Witcher to time things so perfectly... No..." Miguel dismissed his own thoughts. "The School of the Cat is ours, School of the Wolf, clinging to neutrality, is just a bunch of pedantic fools. They must have other methods..."

"This shouldn't be too difficult for those ancient races."

"Ban Ade and Ade Kale had a falling out, and Ard just happened to be attacking Kedwen at this time... The Elves also had a branch in Dol Blathanna, Ard..."

"The war between the two countries not only tied up a large number of troops within their own borders, but also forced many powerful male wizards to go to the front lines under the bargaining power between the academy and the new king, thus weakening the academy's strength..."

"The violent fluctuations from the Conjunction of the Spheres awakened the monsters of the Wild Hunt, who, taking advantage of the academy's weakness, severely injured Ban Ad..."

"There's no mistake. Even this strange stone we're chasing now, from the ' Dangerous Experiment Alert Warehouse,' was stolen from the elves by Jens. Perhaps it was those treacherous Long-ears that did it on purpose..."

"What a treacherous and vicious plan!"

"What kind of monster has emerged from among the elves?"

After analyzing the situation clearly, Miguel felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Before Vilgefortz could even sort out his thoughts and express his opinion.

Miguel slapped his forehead again.

"Not good!"

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you think those long-eared people planned so meticulously?" Cold sweat poured down Miguel's forehead.

"The academy was severely damaged, the headmaster was seriously injured and did not concern himself with the affairs of the academy... Kedwen was also engaged in a fierce war with Ard and could not spare any troops... The two disasters not only wiped out the citizens of Ban Ade, but also forced the surrounding villages to flee and stay away from their homes..."

"This is when Ban Ade is at his weakest..."

"What are you trying to do, Long-ears?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Miguel frantically began chanting a spell.

"Bang!"

An orange-red portal, whistling through the forest winds, appeared before the two wizards.

The branches and shrubs shook violently.

"Come back with me right now, Vilgefortz!" Miguel shouted in terror. "Ban Ad, danger!!!"

Then, he rushed toward the portal.

He seemed to have forgotten the shame he felt not long ago when the Wild Hunt had reduced his twelve sorcerers to just two.

While Vilgefortz was momentarily stunned, Miguel ran into the portal.

Instead of rushing to follow, Mo Yuan stirred up a storm of thoughts in his mind.

This is certainly not the first time that the Stars of Ilar have encountered problems; it's the third time.

Vilgefortz had already noticed the strangeness of the illusion back when it was called the place where the wizard Lian escaped.

Bringing up Henry Gedimidis is just a cover-up for the truth.

The Child of Miracle is his, and he has never shared his preferences for the future.

The more Vilgefortz listened to Miguel's analysis, the less he could find any flaws in his logic.

Is it possible that the Stars of Ilar only fail when they encounter the Child of Miracle?

He didn't know.

This spell originated from a stone tablet from the time of the Elven Royal Court. Who knows if the elves had any other spells of concealment... or even more advanced ones...

This is the core reason he deduced that the Child of Miracle was involved, and also the only reliable reason.

In addition, there's the intuition from the source of magic.

A strong intuition!

Otherwise, in just two or three days, how could a witcher in Ard, even if he knew from him about the academy's attack, possibly cross such a vast distance to reach Ban Ade?

Does a child who has just turned fourteen have such a strong motivation?

Wouldn't he have considered this contradiction?

But now, Miguel's every reason is logically clear, well-organized, and extremely persuasive.

The elves also happened to be the biggest beneficiaries of this event.

"Strange..." He walked toward the portal, frowning deeply. "Could all of this really have been done by the elves, and have nothing to do with the Child of Miracle?"

The next day.

Temple of Melitele.

He awoke from his sleep to find soft golden light streaming in through the window and into the room.

"Where am I?" He instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light.

"Hiss~"

His muscles twitched intermittently, as if they hadn't been used in a long time, causing him to let out a low groan of pain.

A tingling sensation came from the side of my face, and a gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of eucalyptus.

He tried to turn his head to see the source of the familiar scent, but the source moved closer to him instead.

Her long, jet-black hair danced in the air, tinged with gold by the sunlight; her snow-white skin was translucent, radiating an alluring glow. And her eyes were as clear as the streams of the On the Blue Mountains in early spring.

In a daze, he seemed to recognize the face, yet it also felt somewhat unfamiliar.

"Ailin, you're awake!" Her delicate lips spoke, like a pink rose swaying in the wind.

"Lay... Sa?"

His slightly unfocused Cat Eyes narrowed slightly, and he finally recognized the girl in front of him.

"It's me!" The girl smiled gently.

Ailin felt her hands being wrapped in soft silk.

"This is the Temple of Melitele. You returned last night... carried back by Master Vesemir... Your injuries are severe..."

The chattering of last night's events drifted through the pink rose petals, a little noisy.

But as he listened, Ailin's muscles relaxed.

Half-awake, his eyelids began to droop again, and sleepiness returned.

Lyra noticed this and softened her voice. "You've lost too much blood and need to rest now... Don't worry about your agreement with Duke Mason. Master Vesemir left the temple early this morning with several other witchers."

"Get some more sleep, Ailin."

"At noon, I will bring you lunch, just like I did before May Festival..."

He felt as if he had nodded, yet it was also as if he hadn't done anything at all.

A deep sleep took hold, and he felt as if a warm cloud had covered his eyes, and he drifted off to sleep again.

But before he fell asleep, he seemed to hear a "thank you" in his ear.

What are you thanking me for?

He wanted to ask, but he closed his eyes.

"... Sera..."

"...disappear..."

Fragmented words flooded his mind, and he opened his eyes, "Waking up."

Despite the absence of any light source, Ailin could see "darkness," and "darkness" took shape before his eyes.

It turned into a dark corridor, spiraling upwards like the steps of the tower on the north side of Kaer Morhen.

Where am I?

He asked the first question he had uttered after waking up, but not only did no one answer, he himself didn't even hear a sound.

He realized something and looked down.

The ground is a staircase of shadows, but the staircase is empty.

There were no dark red boots, greaves, reagent bags... no... nothing that specific... to be honest, there was nothing at all...

It was as if he were merely a soul drifting in this unknown darkness... or rather... he didn't even possess the vibrant sphere he had when he traveled to the realm of Meritellie... it was more like he was just a pair of eyes, floating here from a single perspective...

Where am I?

He felt that his thinking was like a dull gear without lubrication, and every thought was somewhat sluggish.

It felt like a dream, yet I could clearly perceive myself.

[A bizarre lucid dream?]

No one answered.

In this eerie, dark, and infinitely vast place, he should have been afraid, but inexplicably, he felt no emotion whatsoever.

Since no one answered, he decided not to waste his time and began searching for the source of the fragmented sounds that had awakened him.

He tried to change his perspective.

His perspective shifts flexibly with the changes in his thinking.

In this strange place, he could even use "blink" infinitely, leaping to every dark corner within his "gaze," as long as he had a thought.

It was as if he were the one in control, the master of this place.

This boundless, vast darkness was his territory.

What's this all about?

He instinctively shook his head helplessly, and then the viewpoint began to rotate like a spinning camera, making him dizzy.

This dream... was kind of fun.

Just as he was thinking this, through the huge void, in the darkness of the dark staircase below his angle, a bluish-gray light suddenly appeared.

[Um?]

He wanted to get closer, so he instantly pressed himself against the edge of the steps, with a huge void in front of him.

Below and above are endless corridors, both leading to the deepest and densest darkness.

[Wrong!]

He glanced down again, and something seemed to be swirling in the darkness at the very bottom of this enormous space.

The darkness has lessened.

However, before he could get a closer look, the bluish-gray flames rapidly approached.

"Da da da~"

He could hear the sound of horses' hooves, and the echo of those hooves.

Then came a group of knights clad in blood-red armor, riding skeletal horses that emitted eerie blue breath.

Wild Hunt!!!

He suddenly woke up with a start.

Why did the Wild Hunt appear in his dream?

[unless...]

This is not a dream!

Where is this?

Ailin had the same question for the third time.

"Da da da~"

The sound of hooves grew closer, and the Skeleton Knight drew ever closer, now only about two hundred meters away.

His instinct was to find a place to slip away.

But this strange place was just an endless expanse of bizarre staircases, and all they could do was watch helplessly as the Wild Hunt approached.

Two hundred meters, one hundred and fifty meters, one hundred meters...

Ailin seemed to be able to smell the burning aura of the ash-like will-o'-the-wisp.

In his anxiety, he subconsciously looked at the knight leading the Wild Hunt, only to meet his gaze with those unique, blood-red ghost flames.

"Who!" The skeletal horseman with thick bones and pointed head stood up.

"Who's spying on us?!"