Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 219

Team Play (4)

Clang!

The head of the bound and kneeling prisoner flew off.

The mages of the Executioners, who were maintaining the barrier around the magic circle, were subdued by Aile, who had suddenly burst in.

The captured Executioners were, of course, all executed.

The area was covered in sticky bloodstains, and the final step was to destroy the magic circle that formed the barrier.

‘That’s the end.’

With the cleanup done, Aile turned his gaze.

Among the Executioners lying on the floor, there was a man dressed slightly differently.

Just by looking at the guild mark on his shoulder, it was clear that he was a member of Apollyon.

He was a quasi-ranker [a player close to achieving a ranked position] who had not been well-known despite his skills, but he was good enough to aim for the rankings.

But his opponent was not good. [Aile’s strength was far superior]

Aile’s ranking had already reached 74th.

After the battle with Yuron, his ranking rose, reflecting his movements and decisions at the time.

He was not even a ranker, let alone a high-ranker in the top 100, so he could not stop Aile alone.

‘Even so, I didn’t expect so many to have infiltrated…….’

Aile frowned as he looked down at the corpse.

In the ruined streets of Belhaven, there were many hostile rankers in addition to the rampaging minions of demons.

Clearly, the Iron Cross had tried to prevent this situation by strengthening the city’s defenses after the princess arrived.

However, Apollyon had somehow managed to infiltrate a considerable number of rankers.

Rankers who had been hiding and concealing themselves were appearing one by one, and the difference in power was gradually becoming apparent.

‘Even if I estimate, the forces within the city alone are absolutely not enough to handle it. But it’s not all bad news. The barrier is almost completely解除 [released/dismantled].’

They had scattered to dismantle the barrier and succeeded in destroying several magic circles.

There were places where they failed because rankers were guarding them, but they were able to achieve more than that.

Just looking at the barrier visible through the window, the cracks here and there were noticeably larger.

Now, once Sir, who had found and entered another ritual site in the east, finished, the barrier would collapse.

Kugugugung!

At that moment, a violent tremor shook the entire city.

Looking outside, they could see the barrier shaking greatly.

It seemed that Sir had suppressed and neutralized the last target point.

As the magic circles needed for maintenance were destroyed, the large-scale barrier began to collapse rapidly.

The cracks splitting in all directions made the barrier even more precarious, as if it would break at any moment.

But then, a huge black magic soared high from the center of the city.

The black magic that reached the center of the barrier wrapped around the entire barrier once.

“As expected… they weren’t going to let go easily.”

Aile, who was looking outside, muttered as if he knew it would happen.

Judging from their actions so far, Apollyon would not let go so easily.

He thought that they had put in place some other double measures, and he even checked for the existence of forbidden magic that could be used in this situation.

Originally, information about forbidden magic was extremely scarce and difficult to obtain, but fortunately, magic related to barriers had been exposed several times, so he was able to find it.

‘Magic that temporarily delays the collapse of the barrier. That was probably a kind of insurance.’

The city’s barrier, which seemed as if it would falter and collapse at any moment, was now standing still.

The cracks had not disappeared, but it was certain that the collapse process had stopped.

The reason for this was simple.

By injecting magic power into the large barrier that had lost its supports, they were temporarily supplying magic power to maintain it from collapsing.

Due to the instability of the structure, it would eventually collapse, but it had a sufficient effect in terms of buying time.

“Goddess, how long will that last?”

“At that rate… it looks like it will last about an hour.”

Lou, who had been watching intently, answered Aile’s question.

It would take about an hour for the barrier to collapse on its own.

In fact, considering the size of the barrier, it was a longer time than expected.

But that didn’t mean it was a good situation.

‘If we succeed in holding out for that hour, it’s a short enough time.’

If they succeeded in holding out for that time, they could safely evacuate from the city.

Of course, Apollyon, having confirmed that something was wrong, would rush to end it within that time.

Now they had to prepare for a fight with the rankers who would be pouring in from all directions.

‘What is it?’

But Aile, who had cleared the scene and came out onto the street, felt a sense of bewilderment.

Contrary to expectations, Apollyon’s reaction was strangely quiet.

Except for the minions of demons attacking and rampaging people, it seemed even quieter than before.

‘If we let the princess go here, even Apollyon wouldn’t have an answer… what are they up to?’

Ding!

At that moment, the message that had arrived from Rhoden earlier reappeared on the screen.

The notification rang again because he had not checked it.

It had arrived while he was in the midst of a fierce battle with the Executioners, and he had not been able to check it.

‘Could something have happened?’

Aile, having confirmed the sender, quickly reached out to check the message.

Rhoden should be being chased by pursuers in the underground waterway, and that was the most 불안한 [anxious/unstable] part.

Even if Rhoden and Lia were strong enough, there was no way they could stand up to Apollyon’s top rankers.

If they were discovered by the pursuers, they would lose not only the lives of their two companions but also the princess, on whom the success or failure of this mission depended.

But the message that opened contained something completely unexpected.

* * *

A large-scale annihilation magic being prepared in the inner castle of the city.

A terrifying 광역 [wide-area] instant death magic that would take the lives of all the citizens and users trapped inside.

Even Sir briefly closed his eyes and reopened them at the shocking news brought by the message.

“I knew their movements were strange…….”

After a large crack appeared in the barrier, all of Apollyon’s guild members moved towards the inner castle.

There were many questions about Apollyon’s movements, who had given up chasing the princess and settled in the inner castle, but there was a reason for their actions.

“If Rhoden sent it, it can’t be nonsense. It’s going to be activated no matter what within the time the barrier is maintained, so waiting alone won’t work. It means we have to step forward and suppress them.”

“I guess so.”

If they didn’t stop the annihilation magic circle in time, everyone would die.

They thought they just had to withstand Apollyon’s offensive, but instead, they were in the opposite position and were being chased by time.

“They wouldn’t have set up the magic to engulf themselves as well, so the only safe area would be the inner castle.”

Aile nodded silently at Sir’s words.

There would also be the purpose of defense to prevent the annihilation magic from being interfered with, but there was a reason why they had gathered in one place.

Whatever happened, they had to head to the center to survive.

“But the chances of winning if we fight with our current forces are slim.”

“Yeah, it’s a difficult situation.”

Even if they brought all the remaining Iron Cross guild members, including their allied rankers, it was another question whether they could push back Apollyon, who was sitting in the inner castle for defense.

Even now, the difference in power was absolutely in Apollyon’s favor.

Even if they gathered all the forces in the city, including the guild NPCs, they would still be at a disadvantage in terms of power.

‘What should I do…….’

* * *

Clatter!

In front of the metropolis of Belhaven.

A large force dressed in splendid heavy armor was encamped.

The royal knights who came out of the capital were controlling the surroundings of the city, blocking them all off.

As the royal order to control the city had been issued, no one could disobey it.

“Those bastards are really annoying. I want to wipe them out if I could.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. It’s just a bad move.”

Two executives of the Iron Cross exchanged words.

The Iron Cross guild members who had gathered after hearing the news of the attack were currently in a tense standoff with the knights blocking the city.

The guild’s main stronghold, the metropolis, had been completely ambushed, and even the guild leader was in a dangerous state.

A murderous atmosphere was being created to the point where they would draw their swords against the knights right away, whether they were directly under the royal family or not.

But even the Iron Cross in this situation could not easily touch them.

The influence of the royal family was absolute, and if they moved recklessly without any evidence, more troublesome things would happen.

In the first place, even if they forcibly removed the knights, it was questionable whether they could break through the barrier.

In their position, they had no choice but to wait for the barrier surrounding the city to disappear.

But in the meantime.

There was a group that secretly approached the city, avoiding the gaze of the royal knights.

‘The place with the biggest crack… it’s right here.’

Alisa, who had come out of the bushes, looked at the huge barrier blocking her way.

Taking advantage of the knights’ eyes being focused on the Iron Cross forces in the standoff, she sneaked around to the opposite side and reached the front of the barrier.

Pajik!

But entry was still impossible due to the still solid barrier.

It had been shaking as if it would break just a moment ago, but it quickly returned to its original state and blocked 접근 [access].

Sueuk.

Then, Alisa, with a calm expression, took out an unidentified black stone.

It was the item she had 미리 구해 둔 [obtained in advance] as soon as she left Eltris after grasping the situation.

She had not been negligent in collecting information, and because she was once from the same guild, she could roughly guess what kind of measures they would take.

Tsutsutsutsuut!

When she brought the item close, a strong reaction erupted from the barrier.

It was impossible to completely destroy this huge barrier itself, but it was possible to temporarily weaken a part of the solid barrier wall.

Paat!

A small hole was 뚫린 [pierced/made] in the barrier.

It was only big enough for one person to barely pass through, and even that hole would soon close again.

Alisa quickly gestured towards the forest.

Then, many users who had followed her revealed themselves.

They were the guild members of the Six Great Guilds, Nightmare and Dawn.

“I said it before, but once you go in…….”

“I don’t care about that.”

“We have to pay back our debts. Don’t we?”