Chapter 84

They reached the lake's edge after cutting through sheets of rain. Mikhail and the four others arrived at the shore.

Mikhail slid off the exhausted warehouse manager's back and moved toward the waterfront.

Crunch. Crunch.

The footsteps of the group trampling through undergrowth trailed close behind.

"Well, well… would you look at that."

Cashion's murmur of dismay faded behind him as Mikhail surveyed the full expanse of the lake.

Days of relentless downpour had swollen the water level dramatically.

At the center, the fountain was spitting metallic screeches and erratic sparks.

And the elemental spirits drifting around it had multiplied until they nearly blanketed the sky.

At least the spirits aren't hostile yet. That much is a mercy.

Mikhail pulled his gaze from the blue and violet spirits and turned to Cashion beside him.

"Let's get ready, Cashion."

"Yes, young lord."

Cashion beckoned Terha to follow and sprinted toward where the boat was moored.

The two of them began loading the repair tools they'd assembled at the warehouse onto the hull.

That was when Edwin's bewildered voice popped up from beside him.

"What's with the 'young lord' stuff all of a sudden?"

"Long story."

Mikhail dismissed it in a single breath and turned to face Edwin.

"Edwin. I need you to protect me and Julien from the spirits. Can you handle that?"

Edwin blinked blankly, then craned his neck toward the sky above the lake.

The dense storm clouds and the swarm of spirits filling the heavens flooded his olive-green eyes.

Edwin stared at the sight in silence.

Then his teeth flashed in a sharp grin, and he squeezed the greatsword tight.

"Ah… so that's what you meant about remembering what we practiced at the training grounds. Fine. I've got this."

Mikhail returned the grin and looked past him.

The rustle of snapping grass stems grew louder, and someone's shout drew steadily closer.

"Mikhail—! Where are—!"

Julien burst through the undergrowth. Mikhail met his eyes and spoke.

"That was fast."

The breezy greeting drew a weak scoff from Julien.

But a surge of frustration flooded his face almost immediately—cheeks flushing red as he closed the distance in long, angry strides.

"What the hell are you doing? You just leave a note and disappear? Do you ever think about how other people—!"

"Julien."

Mikhail cut him off with a glance toward the lakeshore.

Julien clamped his mouth shut mid-tirade and followed the look.

Mikhail turned to face the lake as well.

Pzzt. Pzzt.

The noise and sparks erupting from the malfunctioning fountain had grown far more violent than before.

The main event in Elfensia—about to begin.

Mikhail recalled a scene from the game, then pulled the pair of bracelets from his inner pocket and held them out to Julien.

"Let's deal with what's in front of us first. Will you help?"

Julien glanced down at the bracelets, let out a resigned breath, and swept his wet hair back from his forehead.

He took one bracelet and spoke in a voice that had softened by a measure.

"Okay."

Right then, a shout rang out from Cashion and Terha's direction—the boat repairs were done.

Mikhail looked between Julien and Edwin.

"Let's go. Time to put this to rest."

Mikhail took a step forward, and two sets of footsteps fell in right behind him.

The modified boat sat broadside against the water's surface.

Mikhail approached Cashion with an unhurried stride. The old man stood watching him, a magic tool gripped in one hand.

"Young lord. If I may be so bold as to ask one thing…."

"Going to the center of the lake is out of the question for you. Cashion, I need you to handle things from shore."

Mikhail delivered the words with a calm, level expression, then moved past Cashion toward the boat.

The instant Cashion's stricken face crossed his peripheral vision, a hand clamped around his wrist.

"—Y-young lord!"

Mikhail turned to face the man gripping his arm.

Cashion stood behind him, eyes wide with alarm, shaking his head emphatically.

"You can't go to the center of the lake. Absolutely not. It's far too dangerous right now. I can't let you walk into something like that—!"

"This is an order. Cashion Retri."

Mikhail's voice threaded through the rain with razor clarity. Cashion couldn't find a single word to counter it and froze where he stood.

Mikhail eased his arm free and tipped his chin toward Julien and Edwin.

"Let's go."

The two of them nodded once and boarded the boat alongside him.

The modified vessel was spacious enough for five or six people with room to spare, outfitted with safety devices and magic tools of every kind.

Mikhail checked the equipment inside, then tapped the oar with the tip of his foot.

Clunk.

The oar hummed to life. The bow carved through the water and glided toward the center of the lake.

Shaaaaa—

Mikhail watched the boat cut its steady course, then turned to Julien standing behind him.

Julien was staring up at the spirits overhead, fingers fidgeting against the back of his neck.

The anxiety was plain on his face.

Mikhail took in the sight for a moment, then faced forward again and spoke.

"Julien."

"Yeah?"

"What you lost. I'm going to get it back for you. Soon."

A small, puzzled sound escaped Julien, but Mikhail offered no answer.

He simply watched the fountain draw closer.

Shaaaa….

The boat drifted to a stop in front of the fountain.

Mikhail studied the sparking circuit board, then grabbed a handful of magic tools and adjusted the internal circuits.

The board flickered with erratic red light before steadying into a green glow that spread across its entire surface.

Whiiirrr.

A smooth hum of stable operation filled the air. Mikhail pulled his hands from the board and turned to look at the sky.

Repairing the fountain had extinguished every last spark circling the storm clouds.

But the spirits crowding the air… still numbered in the dozens.

Clink.

Mikhail set down the magic tool in his hand.

He retrieved the bracelets from his inner pocket, fastened one around his wrist, and spoke.

"The spirits are going to attack us any moment now. Edwin—move to the bow and block whatever comes. Julien, you're with me. We're casting wide-area magic."

Julien and Edwin shifted their gazes to Mikhail. They nodded without objection and moved into position.

Tap.

Edwin strode to the bow in a few quick steps.

Julien moved behind Mikhail and placed a hand on his shoulder.

In that instant—

GRRRRRRRR!

A sound like shallow water reaching a boil erupted across the lake. The spirits split apart in unison, blazing with blinding light.

Thunder shook the earth to its bones.

KA-KRAKOOOM!

WHOOSH—!

Edwin, planted at the bow, cleaved through the spirits charging at them in a single sweeping strike.

Fssssh.

The spirits, sliced clean through their cores, burst into dazzling light and vanished.

But the next wave was already surging forward.

WHOOSH!

Edwin swung again to beat back the assault, then rolled his eyes across their surroundings.

Blue and violet spirits swarmed ominously across the lake, their numbers swallowing the shore from edge to edge.

Behind him stood two figures who looked utterly defenseless—motionless and quiet amid the sea of spirits bearing down on them.

Julien, his hand resting on Mikhail's shoulder. Mikhail, one arm stretched toward the sky.

Don't tell me something went wrong….

Edwin's eyes narrowed with a flicker of doubt, and his grip tightened around the sword—

Pzzt!

Blue mana flared to life above Mikhail's hand, raised in silence toward the sky.

It began to gather. To condense.

Crackle. Crackle-crack.

Mikhail lifted his eyelids slowly and fixed his gaze on the blue mana crystal swelling before his outstretched hand.

The crystal pulsed with vivid light, expanding at a steady, controlled rate.

Then fine teal lines began racing across its hardened surface.

Tszzzzz….

The moment a thick line carved through the crystal's center—

Mikhail curled his outstretched fingers inward.

SHATTER!

The mana crystal burst into pieces.

Dozens—hundreds—of fragments erupted outward, blazing with light as they hurtled toward the swarm of spirits.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

A massive chain of explosions ripped through the air, and a brutal shockwave followed. Mikhail braced his buckling knees and held his ground.

Two more rounds of multiplication remained. And—

"……"

Mikhail glanced back.

Julien was staring into the sky, astonishment written across every line of his face.

The mana flowing in through the hand on Mikhail's shoulder told the same story—its pulse growing sharper, more vivid, beat after beat, as though mirroring the rush of exhilaration building inside Julien.

Then the shift he'd been waiting for would come soon.

The restriction magic imposed on Julien.

Whenever Julien's mana exceeded a certain threshold, the curse buried the memories and emotions that had fueled the increase.

Which meant that as long as Julien's mana stayed below that threshold—

The restriction will never activate.

Mikhail allowed himself a smile at the thought of the endgame unfolding exactly as planned.

He turned to face forward again and stretched out his hand.

Pzzt.

Mana gathered with a rising hum, and another crystal formed at his fingertips.

The blue crystal readied itself to scatter once more, hairline cracks already threading across its surface.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The mana shards pierced through the multiplying elemental spirits, and they burst into flame and vanished one after another.

Pzzzzz….

A dazzling spectacle flooded his vision from edge to edge.

Julien, who had been gazing blankly at the sky above, felt his heartbeat growing louder by degrees.

Thump.

A swell of elation rode up his spine along the current of his blood, and a tingling sensation drifted across his chest.

His eyes locked forward as if riveted there, refusing to look away.

Thump. Thump.

The spirit fragments scattered blinding shards of light as they surged from every blind spot.

—But projectiles, launched as though their trajectories had been predicted to the inch, intercepted and ignited them mid-flight.

The fragments split and spread and multiplied at a terrifying pace.

—But a wave of mana so vast it dwarfed their momentum swallowed them whole and crushed them in a heartbeat.

CRASH! KA-BOOM!

Golden double-petaled blooms burst open across the ashen sky, again and again, only to vanish.

Julien felt the current of mana coursing through his body amplify with every passing second.

And the more he chased the creeping sense of déjà vu surfacing alongside it—

A swelling pressure built in the fingertips resting on Mikhail's shoulder. A slow, mounting heat.

"……"

His consciousness, spiraling backward, reached the source of that déjà vu at last.

The moments he'd traded magic with Mikhail. Watching Edwin's training from the sidelines. The loud, lively chaos after their sessions ended.

Beneath memories etched in nothing but shades of gray, something kept crying out—over and over, desperate to be heard.

"—Remember, Julien."

A single command cut through his consciousness without warning.

And with it, the fierce emotion surging through their joined hands sliced through the pale, filmy membrane draped over his memories.