"Rudy, have you been well all this time?"

"Why don't you show your face more often? What have you been up to recently?"

"I've just been training alone."

10 minutes before Jefrin arrived.

I met with Astina.

It was a bit late for our meeting, but since there wasn't anything to prepare beforehand, it didn't really matter.

We hid atop a tree and chatted.

"You've heard about the plan, right?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like much of a plan, actually."

Astina was right.

The real issue was luring the rebels here, not handling them, unless Aryandor himself showed up.

This place was a city right in front of the academy.

There were more than enough people to call for help.

So, having successfully drawn in the enemy, it was as if everything was already over.

"But lately, you seem a bit off."

"Me?"

"Yes, I've been wanting to ask you"

Boom

That's when a massive explosion occurred.

I abruptly stood up from my seat.

The explosion had happened at the cabin where Evan and the rebels were supposed to meet.

This was no time for idle chat.

"Astina!"

"I know. Gravity."

Astina immediately manipulated her mana to lift both herself and me into the air, speeding towards the location.

Arriving near the cabin, all we saw were its charred remains.

"What happened here?"

"I'm not sure, but let's see."

I looked towards the forest.

It couldn't have been Evan who caused the explosion.

Knowing we were at a distance, he wouldn't do something so reckless.

Especially since he was already injured.

"Did the rebels attack first?"

I couldn't be sure of the reason, but looking towards the front of the forest, I could guess who had come.

There lay a magical device.

Its appearance was similar to the devices used by the rebels when they attacked the academy.

So, the visitor's identity was somewhat apparent.

"Jefrin?"

Such stationary magical devices needed precise coordinates to be set up, not something just anyone could do.

Of the rebel leaders we knew, only Jefrin had the capability to use such devices.

Unless they had recruited new members, Jefrin was the only one who came to mind.

"We should look for Evan first."

Astina said so, ready to enter the forest.

I grabbed her arm.

"We can't. We don't know what might happen in the forest."

If there were already devices set up, it meant illusion magic was in play.

Entering recklessly could lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Let's look for Evan from the sky."

"From the sky?"

Astina tilted her head at my suggestion.

Searching for someone on the ground from above the trees seemed like a nonsensical idea.

I was well aware of that.

But that was when searching with the naked eye.

I had another method.

"There's no time to explain."

"Understood."

Astina lifted me into the air again.

At the same time, I closed my eyes.

What I had practiced most was sensing the flow of mana.

When returning from the Railer family to the academy, Robert taught me to sense the flow of mana to overcome necromancy spells.

Robert never teaches anything frivolously.

He is a mentor who imparts truly necessary skills at the right time.

So, he must have believed this ability was crucial for me and taught it accordingly.

Since returning to the academy, I hadn't slacked off a single day and had honed this skill.

I read the overall flow of mana.

I couldn't discern distant spaces, but I could check for people under the trees.

Without hearing any sound.

Without seeing anything.

Mana moves.

I read its movement.

There were people there.

As I read the mana, something strange happened.

A strong mana reaction emerged from the west.

It wasn't coming from a person.

The trees were moving the mana.

Evan's magic.

A technique that draws mana from trees.

I quickly caught on.

I opened my eyes, which had been shut, and looked in the direction where I had sensed the mana.

Normally, Evan's power would have made the trees glow brilliantly, but there was no such sight.

I couldn't see it with the naked eye, but I definitely felt the movement of mana there.

"Astina. Could you head west?"

"West?"

Astina changed her flying direction to the west.

Arriving where the mana had moved, I looked at Astina.

"I'll go down."

"What? I'll come down too."

"No, you can't. Just in case, it's better for Astina to stay outside. There's no benefit in us all entering an illusion spell together."

Although Astina was stronger and it might be better for her to go down, I couldn't stay in the air forever.

Astina staying behind to keep watch from above was the better option.

"Then, I'll be back."

"Rudy Astria."

Astina suddenly grabbed my arm.

Then she bit her lower lip.

"No, never mind. Take care and don't get hurt."

Holding onto me and not saying much, I tilted my head in confusion.

But it wasn't the time to pry, so I just nodded.

"I'll go."

Astina released the magic that was lifting me, and I fell downwards.

Entering the forest, I saw Evan surrounded by people.

"Hm?"

The people surrounding Evan all had my face.

"What's that about? It's unsettling."

I frowned and looked at Evan.

He seemed resigned, staring up at the sky.

"Evan."

I called out to him, then chuckled.

"You've held up well."

I moved my mana.

First, I needed to distract their attention.

"Finger of the Demon."

Black pillars fell from the sky.

The people below, hearing my voice, scattered around.

But spreading out didn't mean they could avoid all my magic.

Several of them, bearing my appearance, were hit directly by my magic and vanished like smoke.

"An illusion?"

That meant among those who dodged, there were illusions too.

It would have been more troublesome if all those below had been real people, but knowing they were illusions, there was less to fear.

"Rudy Astria...!"

"Stay hidden and don't move."

I barked at Evan and took a deep breath.

I focused.

I needed to distinguish between illusion and reality.

Perfect illusion magic is said to be indistinguishable from reality, but there was a crucial difference.

Among the visible people, the illusions had a faint flow of mana.

Illusions couldn't have the same mana as humans.

For an illusion to have as much mana as a human, the amount allocated would need to be immense.

Creating so many illusions was impossible.

"Two on the right... three on the left, one above."

I read the flow, pinpointed the number of people, and moved.

I didn't give away the fact that I could discern illusions.

I would take them all down before the enemy grasped the situation.

I dashed off the ground.

My movements were concise.

Only as much as needed.

Minimizing the number of attacks.

Thump

I kicked off the ground.

"Ah."

"One down."

I struck one in the stomach, then moved my legs again.

"Two, three, four."

The enemies had no time to react.

No matter how much they relied on illusion magic, they were mere assassins.

Ordinary-level assassins.

Their way of fighting always involved exploiting gaps from outside their target's line of sight, so they couldn't grasp my direct movements.

"Last one."

"Ugh...!"

I took down the last one and stared at them intently.

Seeing them collapsed with my face was unsettling.

"I need to dispel this quickly."

I pulled out a small box from my pocket.

A magical device prepared by McGuire.

It was designed to dispel illusion magic.

McGuire, unable to help directly, had prepared devices to counter such situations.

A device to dispel illusions.

It was prepared to counter Jefrin.

I pushed the device towards them.

Their appearances began reverting back to normal.

I examined their faces.

"None here."

Jefrin was not among them.

I narrowed my brows and looked around.

There was no one who could be Jefrin in the vicinity.

Did he really just send these assassins?

It was unlikely that anyone other than Jefrin could cast such an illusion spell.

I looked at Evan.

"Evan, were these the only ones who came?"

Evan, gasping for breath, shook his head.

"No! Jefrin is still out there."

I nodded and immediately looked up to the sky.

"Astina! Look for any horses or carriages nearby!"

"Got it. I'll check."

"Evan, rest here. Priscilla."

I summoned Priscilla and spoke.

"I'm going after Jefrin."

Jefrin was hiding in one part of the forest.

"Ha... Ha..."

She could feel that the illusion spell she had cast on the assassins was being dispelled.

Jefrin realized that Rudy Astria and Astina had arrived near the cabin.

She had deliberately left the magical device there to find out if they were coming.

But it wasn't as if Jefrin could simply escape.

She looked at her hands.

They were becoming wrinkled and shriveled.

The spell Aryandor had cast on her was wearing off.

Aryandor had cast a time spell on Jefrin, but it was Jefrin's mana that maintained it.

As Jefrin's mana gradually depleted, her body returned to its original state.

Jefrin slumped to the ground.

Her physical strength was depleted, and her mana was unstable.

It was only a matter of time before she was captured.

"Ha... That was foolish."

Jefrin lamented.

It wasn't worth coming all this way just to bring back one person with whom she felt a sense of kinship.

With her physical condition already not good, she should have taken better care of himself.

'Regretting now won't change anything.'

Jefrin gritted her teeth.

Even if she had remained with the rebels, there wouldn't have been much she could do.

There's no reason to live if it's just about barely clinging to life.

'Better a meaningful death than such a worthless life.'

Jefrin pulled out a potion from her pocket and swallowed it.

Her hand returned to its original state.

With a fierce killing intent, Jefrin rose to her feet.

"I'll need at least one companion for the road."

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