“Ha-Yan,” I called out.

“Ah… O-Oppa, you’re here,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

She turned her head quickly and ran toward me. Her expression was the same as always; no, it was kind of different because she looked like an anxious puppy who had to go poop. I saw an unknown sense of guilt, but it lasted only for a moment. Right now, Jung Ha-Yan looked like her usual self.

“Ha-Yan, did you—” I paused.

When I started talking, she closed her mouth. She seemed like she was preparing herself to answer me, and she was definitely worried as well because I saw her take a deep breath. Jung Ha-Yan had no talent for lying, and it was especially noticeable whenever she had to lie to me. If Jung Ha-Yan really were planning on lying, then I would understand why she was preparing herself.

Naturally, I looked around as I was about to ask her because I was worried that she would start her answer with, “T-To be honest…”

This was the wrong place to ask her something like that.

“Yes?” she asked.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s talk later,” I told her.

There were too many people watching, and if Jung Ha-Yan were truly the culprit behind this incident, then it was better if fewer people knew about it. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the members of the Red Mercenary and the Yozora Guild, but something unexpected could happen, so I had to be careful. Taking Jung Ha-Yan away right now could seem suspicious, and I started thinking that she might not be the culprit.

‘I don’t see any signs that she used her mana.’

I could tell just by looking at her. I didn’t know just how strong a mage with 99 points in the magic stat could be, but the caster should be exhausted after using a spell like that. But Jung Ha-Yan looked so normal I even thought she might not be the culprit, but…

‘She could have used other methods…’

No matter how crazy she was, she wouldn’t do something without thinking about the consequences, and if she really were the culprit, I assumed she had a plan after throwing that orb. As such, she had definitely erased any traces and evidence.

To avoid suspicion falling on the Sacred Democratic Country, smaller orbs were thrown at other areas as well, and there had to be some connection between the caster’s exhaustion and those orbs.

When I turned my head, I immediately called for Park Deok-Gu.

“Deok-Gu.”

“Yes?” he responded.

“Go outside with Ha-Yan,” I ordered him.

“Why are you… asking me to do that at a time like this?” he asked.

“I’m sure there are denizens and other people who got caught up in all this. Don’t do anything else and just focus on helping with the repair work. Do you understand what I’m saying?” I asked.

“Ah…” he commented.

“I’m asking you to help the denizens of the neutral nation using magic. I also think it won’t be a bad idea to donate the items we have as relief goods. Anyway, magic is the main part. Help them as much as you can. I’m leaving this task to you,” I explained.

“Ahh! Oh! So, that’s what you meant! As expected from hyung-nim!” he exclaimed.

“What…”

“You’re definitely different… Trying to help others in a situation like this. You’re a righteous person indeed! You always seem indifferent, but you’re considerate more than other people! The righteous Lee Ki-Young! It even sounds unique,” he said.

“Stop talking nonsense and get going,” I told him.

“Of course, we have to hurry. Leave it to me! I’ll make sure this is handled perfectly,” he shouted.

“Take some of the mages from the Yozora Guild as well. And Ha-Yan, let’s talk after you have walked around the city,” I suggested.

“Okay, Oppa,” she answered.

Her calm expression was starting to change from the anxiety, and she looked as if she really needed to pee. When I kept looking into her eyes, she quietly avoided my gaze. When I realized that she hadn’t stuttered, I felt like she was more aware than usual.

‘You did do it. Shit…’

I became somewhat confident of it when I saw Jung Ha-Yan’s face, but I didn’t know exactly what she did…

‘She’s the one that did it.’

It was highly likely that Jung Ha-Yan was the one behind this incident, and even if she weren’t the perpetrator, I had to move while thinking that she was the culprit. Naturally, I wanted to send her away from here as soon as possible. People might become suspicious that she was the one who threw that spell, so she had to show people that her mana wasn’t exhausted.

Volunteer work was always a plus. If we were lucky, we might make a good impression on Laios, so it was the right decision to send Jung Ha-Yan out right away.

Anyway, Park Deok-Gu, Jung Ha-Yan, and a few mages from the Yozora Guild quickly left because I rushed them and because it hadn’t been that long since the incident happened, it was the perfect time for them to go out.

“We’re heading out, so be careful, hyung-nim. There’s no guarantee that another one of those won’t fall,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“There’s just a small chance of that happening, so just go. We’re going to start reconstructing the shield magic,” I told him.

“Got it,” he answered.

When I could no longer see Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan, I started moving as well. If Jung Ha-Yan hid the evidence, I had to see it for myself, and even if she didn’t do it, I had to find out where that type of magic came from.

I observed the reactions of the mages from the Sacred Democratic Country who had already arrived. They had just collected samples with Kasugano Yuno. When I approached them, they looked at me as if they were welcoming me.

I wasn’t that knowledgeable when it came to magic, but alchemy came in handy in situations like this. I even had Mind’s Eye, so I would be a lot more helpful than the other mages.

[??? Scattered Magic Crystal - Legendary Rank]

[A crystal influenced by ???’s Semi-Mythic Ranked magic. It can be used as a high-grade catalyst.]

When I started focusing my Mind’s Eye on it, I started seeing different information.

[??? Residual Mana - Legendary Rank]

[Due to the influence of Semi-Mythic Ranked magic ???, it is residual mana floating around and will scatter in seven hours.]

‘Semi-Mythic rank…’

The magic rank ended up being Semi-Mythic. Basically, it was a type of spell someone with a magic stat above 99 points could cast.

There were many things I couldn’t see with Mind’s Eye, and since the eye determined it was a semi-mythic ranked magic, I knew I wouldn’t be able to see some of its information. In fact, while the orb was falling, what I saw with Mind’s Eye was…

‘Nothing.’

I had a lot on my mind, but I immediately opened a flask and gathered the things worth researching. Magic crystal, fragments, and the residual mana were things others couldn’t see, so it would be faster if I gathered them on my own. It was a bit surprising that the other mages were picking up useless stones imbued with magic as samples, but even with my eyes, it was actually difficult to tell the difference.

‘Nice one.’

It was only possible because the traces had been wholly devoured. When I looked closely at the swallowed section, it was difficult to say that it was cleanly swallowed. In the majority of the places where I saw traces, there were fragments that had fallen off, but other than that, I couldn’t see any other traces. Seeing this, I thought it wouldn’t be easy to find the location where the spell was channeled, and since the residual mana would disappear in seven hours, it would become even more difficult to find traces.

The interesting part was that these fragments influenced by the spell could be used as catalysts. I still had no idea of their exact uses, but since they were legendary-ranked catalysts, I was sure I could use them in various ways. The magic itself was really interesting as well.

‘It looks as if an entire area was swallowed whole.’

When I recalled how Valentin’s arm was twisted and deformed rather than severed, he had surely managed to pull his arm out before it could be swallowed. He resisted the force pulling him using his own strength, and even though his arm was broken, he didn’t completely lose it. If he had been pulled deep within the orb, or if he couldn’t resist it, I was sure that his shoulders or even his entire body would have been severed. Someone dodging too late or being too weak to resist its pulling force would have their entire body sucked into the orb, and they would die without leaving even traces of their blood. They would disappear as if they had never even existed in the first place.

‘No… they didn’t disappear…’

When I found a small substance, I came to the conclusion that the people didn’t get swallowed up by space. The substance I found was a small stone fragment as big as a grain of dust. I could guarantee that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to see it with their own eyes. It was so small it would be difficult to grab the fragment with tweezers that were way smaller than normal tweezers. Moreover, I couldn’t see any information about it. In some ways, it was no different from a normal stone, but…

‘Something’s strange...’

I soon realized what it was…

‘That’s crazy. They didn’t disappear. They got compressed.’

The location the spell had affected and swallowed whole actually compressed everything in its range into a small stone fragment.

‘Crazy… crazy… shit…’

Anyway, the victims had truly died. However, when I thought about how the victims from the Republic’s side got forcibly compressed into this small stone fragment, cold sweat started to form all over my body. This was a type of spell that would instantly compress everything around it into a grain of dust as soon as it exploded. In that instant, the victims’ bones and blood were crushed, and they would turn into something similar to nothingness.

It was a shocking revelation, and the fragment became heavy as if I were holding a boulder. The item I was holding contained the ground of the spell’s ground zero. I thought about the possibility of compressing one’s mana or something similar to it into this form and using it as an energy source, but…

‘The thought is really scary…’

At first, I was praying that the culprit wouldn’t end up being Jung Ha-Yan, but the more I learned about this magic, the more I hoped that the perpetrator would end up being Jung Ha-Yan, which put me in a conflicting situation.

‘An unknown enemy used this kind of magic?’

The level of magic felt like it was a natural disaster, similar to a meteorite falling from the sky, and if Jung Ha-Yan really did this, then I could fix it. However, if an unknown enemy were the perpetrator behind this disaster, then I would run fast instead of dealing with it. As always, changing my mind depending on the situation was the wisest thing to do.

‘Please let the culprit be Jung Ha-Yan… Please…’

During all of this, the fact that I kept seeing an unfamiliar black smoke coming from this small substance was making me anxious. I didn’t notice it at first because it was so small, and there were many different types of residual mana within the fragment. Among them was a residual mana I assumed was black magic, and the sight of it kept bothering me. Naturally, I recalled one person I had been keeping in my mind.

‘Where’s Han Sora?’

I felt like the puzzle pieces were falling into place.

‘Where is she? Shit…’