HTNSA 116

Chapter 116

The realization made Darian’s chest tighten.

‘Eila… No, innocent students might get hurt.’

Perhaps it was due to this ominous premonition, but his reason grew strangely clouded, and anger surged within him.

Growing more desperate, he urged his horse to go even faster.

They traveled for a while in this manner. Before long, just as Ruban had said, they sensed the presence of numerous monsters ahead.

But the darkness made it impossible to see clearly. Sensing this, Seran, the Mage Tower Master, quietly chanted a spell.

“Light.”

In an instant, the darkness was swept away, revealing the standoff before them.

“This is…”

“How could something like this happen?”

Just as Ruban had said, there was a massive horde of monsters, both mid-tier and high-tier, crowding the entire area.

It was as if every monster in the Litsia Forest had gathered here.

Darian’s eyes darted around frantically, searching for the students. At that moment—

he felt a powerful surge of mana from somewhere.

Even Darian, who was not particularly sensitive to mana, could tell that something abnormal was occurring due to the sheer strength of the force.

Seran’s gaze, sensing the anomaly, also fixed on a single point, and he muttered softly in awe.

“Unbelievable…”

At the center of the monsters’ encirclement, condensed mana was steadily consuming the surrounding darkness and growing in size.

“–.”

Riding on the wave of mana, a low voice echoed.

As if energy were exploding outward, a massive pillar of light split the sky. At the same time, a brilliant light flashed, and a gigantic blaze engulfed the surroundings.

The heat from it reached even Darian and his party, who were a considerable distance away.

If Seran had not quickly chanted a defensive spell, they too might have been swallowed by the flames.

Fortunately, the flame, conjured from mana, disappeared swiftly after consuming everything within a certain range.

The horde of monsters, which had been swarming moments before, was already more than half wiped out.

Snapping out of his daze, Darian quickly shouted:

“Wipe out the remaining monsters! At the same time, move toward the students!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

With the encirclement broken, the monsters fell helplessly under the knights’ blades.

Soon, Darian spotted the students not far away, still fending off the attacking monsters.

Felix and the young lord of the Blanche family were demonstrating considerable swordsmanship, but Eila’s magic was truly impressive.

She alternated between using attack magic, assisting her sword-wielding companions, and casting shields when necessary.

‘She cast that massive spell just moments ago…’

Ordinary mages would typically collapse from exhaustion after expending that much mana.

Yet she fought tirelessly against the swarming monsters as if she had no limits to her stamina.

Darian found himself unable to take his eyes off her.

“Eila! Cedric, Felix!”

Once they were close enough, Ruban dismounted and ran toward his friends.

Seeing that the rescue party had arrived, the students’ faces brightened with relief.

“Ruban!”

Amid them, Eila’s gaze briefly met Darian’s.

Her eyes widened slightly, then, without any hesitation, she began walking toward him.

As her face drew closer, Darian’s heart pounded inappropriately for the situation.

‘What’s wrong with me…’

While Darian licked his dry lips nervously, Eila stopped in front of him and bowed her head.

“Your Highness.”

“Miss Eila, are your companions all safe?”

“Thanks to your prompt arrival, everyone is unharmed. But if I may, I have a request.”

“A request?”

Darian looked puzzled, and Eila lowered her voice to a whisper.

Hearing her words, Darian let out a small groan.

“Understood. I will inform my subordinates.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Having finished her business, Eila bowed politely and stepped back.

Darian stood there, staring after her, when he suddenly noticed Felix approaching her, snapping him out of it.

‘Why am I looking at her like I’m longing for something? Get it together, Darian.’

Strangely, whenever he faced her, he felt himself becoming irrational. To desire someone who already had a lover—

Besides, she was a commoner, making any relationship between them nearly impossible.

Darian tried hard to tear his gaze away from her and gave his subordinates a cold command:

“Get all the students mounted. We’re leaving this place immediately!”

The knights promptly followed his orders.

Once preparations were complete, Darian pulled on his reins, watching the darkness ahead. Yet his mind remained focused behind him.

* * *

Meanwhile, night had fallen completely, and darkness enveloped the forest.

However, the area around the tent where the reconnaissance party was to return remained brightly lit, as if it were still midday.

“What on earth is going on? Did something bad happen in there?”

“I asked the kids returning from subjugation, but they said they didn’t know either.”

“Then why did His Highness leave so urgently?”

As the students murmured anxiously, the professors tried to usher them back inside.

“It’s very late! We will tell you what happened tomorrow, so everyone, go back inside.”

It was then.

“Ah! They’re back!”

At a student’s shout, everyone turned their heads.

They soon saw the imperial knights returning with the missing students mounted on their horses.

Their appearances were disheveled, but thankfully, they all seemed safe.

‘Eila is safe too, isn’t she?’

Freya, who had been waiting anxiously among the students, clenched her teeth the moment she confirmed Eila’s unharmed state.

She turned to Rosia with a look demanding an explanation.

But Rosia only stood there frozen, her face pale.

To anyone looking, Eila, aside from her wrinkled clothes and the dust covering her, appeared perfectly fine.

‘How… how can she come back this unharmed after fighting against that horde of monsters? It should have been a force even the reconnaissance unit would have struggled to extract her from.’

Freya and Rosia had spent over a month preparing for this incident.

Freya had obtained forbidden black magic for Rosia’s sake and provided materials for the spell.

Rosia, with that support, had drawn a complex magic circle to complete the forbidden spell.

And yet, Eila had returned with all limbs intact.

‘Did she get even stronger in that short time?’

It was an impossible thought, but there was no other explanation for this situation.

Soon, the sound of hooves quieted as the knights stopped in front of the tent. Eila and the three students staggered down from their horses.

As Eila walked slowly, following Darian and the knights, she suddenly turned back.

Her gaze fell precisely upon Rosia and Freya.

“…”

It was as if she knew exactly what they had done.

Although all traces of the magic had been thoroughly erased, an inexplicable sense of unease settled within them.

Rosia bit her lip gently as she watched them enter the tent, following behind Prince Darian.

* * *

“Prince Darian! Are you alright?”

“Brother, what on earth happened in there?”

The moment Prince Darian stepped into the tent, the people who had been anxiously waiting inside jumped to their feet.

Soon, Princess Peony’s gaze fell on her friends behind him.

“All of you… you’re safe. Thank goodness. I can’t tell you how worried I was when I heard you were surrounded by monsters.”

Tears welled up in Peony’s eyes as she rushed to Eila and embraced her tightly.

Eila, understanding her feelings completely, smiled and gently patted the princess’s back.

“We were able to survive thanks to the reconnaissance team arriving quickly.”

“Are you hurt anywhere? I’ll call for the physician right away.”

“No, there’s something more important right now.”

Eila shook her head and gently pulled away from the sobbing Peony.

Then she turned to the dean and Prince Darian.

“Professor, and Your Highness. I have something urgent to report regarding what just occurred.”

“Yes, please, go ahead.”

The dean glanced at the prince beside him before speaking.

In front of them, Eila began explaining what they had just experienced.

Once her explanation ended, the dean and most of the professors wore expressions of disbelief.

“What? Is that even possible?”

“That is completely contrary to typical monster behavior.”

However, there was someone beside them who had witnessed everything firsthand—a person whose testimony was beyond question.

It was Prince Darian.

“What Miss Eila said is true. I, along with the Mage Tower Master and the knights, witnessed it ourselves.”