Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Turan, who had detected the commotion above with his magical power sensing ability, unknowingly gulped.
There was a small hope that something else might be happening, but this hope disappeared with the subsequent movements.
The hundreds of mages above were clearly creating a large encirclement targeting this prison.
‘We’ve been discovered.’
Reviewing his memories again, he couldn’t recall triggering any barriers or other magical devices on their way here.
So how had they detected the intrusion?
The first suspects that came to mind were the couple right in front of them—Godis and Romi, Solif’s parents.
Of course, he had just confirmed that they truly loved Solif as their son.
But separately, they might have cooperated with this trap hoping to restore their child as Baraha’s rightful heir.
The upper echelons might have promised them one more chance if they could somehow persuade and bring him back.
“Get ready to leave.”
“What?”
“They’re forming an encirclement to capture us up above.”
Everyone’s faces showed signs of confusion.
Seizing this moment, Turan looked sharply at Solif’s parents and questioned them:
“Since we’re short on time, I’ll ask quickly. Did either of you use some kind of device to call someone?”
“What? That’s not—”
“No, we didn’t!”
The middle-aged couple answered with startled expressions.
Given the urgency, Turan abandoned even minimal courtesy and brought his nose close to their ears, inhaling deeply.
While strong emotional scents could be detected from a distance, a closer examination allowed for more detailed analysis.
Confusion, fear, indignation…
The types of smells were quite similar and difficult to distinguish, but they seemed closer to the emotions of someone unjustly accused rather than someone whose hidden truth had been exposed.
“I apologize for my rudeness.”
Having judged the couple innocent, Turan quickly apologized and surveyed the surroundings.
Understanding how they had been discovered was more important than fleeing immediately.
Without knowing this, they might continue to be pursued even after escaping.
However, nothing in the prison—from the bodies of the two people to be rescued, to the furniture and decorations—showed traces of magical power.
At that moment, Meisa, who had also been examining the surroundings after hearing Turan, suddenly exclaimed:
“Look over there!”
“Hmm?”
What she pointed to was an ordinary ventilation duct, typically found in underground rooms for air circulation.
However, Turan soon realized that two ventilation ducts were placed unusually close together.
When he sent a breeze through to explore the interior, he discovered something strange.
‘This is…’
One hole connected to the outside as a normal ventilation duct should, but the other led to the first floor where a knight, presumably a guard, was stationed.
The end of the passage was blocked by what appeared to be some kind of magical device.
Seeing the guard with his ear pressed right against it, its purpose became clear.
‘Quite clever.’
A magical device that amplified sounds coming through the ventilation duct while blocking sounds going down from the first floor.
This was a perfect means of surveillance, leaving no traces in the prison itself.
The guard on the first floor must have heard their voices and reported the intrusion.
Considering that he had stayed at his post while alerting others, there must be a separate signaling device.
Whoever designed this prison was clearly a meticulous individual.
Turan immediately took a handful of Fire Soul from his pocket, sent it into the ventilation duct, and detonated it.
“Ugh!?”
“What—”
Even though Turan had used wind magic to block the returning blast, tremendous noise and some heat still flowed through the duct.
The first floor where the explosion occurred would be in complete disarray.
After eliminating the eavesdropper, Turan immediately formulated a plan.
Having determined that Solif’s parents were innocent and discovered how their intrusion had been detected, the next step was escape.
Despite the unexpected situation, it took less than three seconds for the plan to form.
“This way.”
Turan led everyone as he rose from his seat, reviewing the conversation they had had in the cell.
He needed to check what information they might have leaked and to what extent.
From what he could sense, the magical device was destroyed, and the guard seemed dead as well, but he had to consider the possibility that their conversation had been recorded or transmitted somewhere.
‘Solif’s identity was certainly exposed. There would be no one else likely to infiltrate this place… Other than that, we didn’t discuss anything particularly noteworthy.’
Ironically, their information security had been preserved due to his lack of trust in Solif’s parents.
Upon reaching the tunnel, Turan immediately instructed Meisa:
“Escape first with these two, ride Bije, and fly to a safe place. We’ll buy time and escape separately before joining you.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if we all went together?”
“We can’t move quickly that way.”
Though Solif’s parents were mid-level nobles and fairly capable among mages, they were still extremely weak compared to Turan’s group.
Even a small mistake could cost them their lives.
Considering that defense was more difficult than attack and evasion, it made more sense for one person to take charge of getting them far away while the others drew attention.
“Don’t worry. The Baraha family head is definitely not here, so we’re unlikely to die under these circumstances.”
Based on the situation, they weren’t facing an elaborate trap set in anticipation of their intrusion, but rather an emergency system activated as a precaution.
With the family head and many elites absent, there was little chance they would face real danger.
The only variable would be if some of the fallen gods revealed their true power.
But even they would be constrained by watching eyes.
After hearing the explanation, Meisa nodded gravely and pulled the hands of the middle-aged couple.
“Wait! My son—”
“Go ahead and wait for us, Mom, Dad! We’ll follow soon!”
Solif’s face bore an innocent smile as he spoke in a childlike tone, waving his hand.
Though his face, now unmasked, appeared to be in his late twenties matching his actual age, he somehow looked boyish, just as he had when disguised.
“You must stay safe…”
After a moment’s hesitation, the two seemed to understand that complying would increase their only child’s chances of survival and obediently moved forward.
Leaving behind only one heartfelt plea—please survive.
* * *
“Oh, they’re coming!”
With a loud bang, as the passage connected to the surface exploded, the Baraha mages tensed and shouted.
They already had a good idea who they were facing.
Solif Baraha.
Despite his relatively ordinary birth, he had risen to become heir through exceptional talent and character, earning overwhelming support from Baraha nobles of similar origins.
But now he was merely a criminal among criminals, having thrown away all the grace bestowed upon him by the family, slaughtering his kinsmen who had come to retrieve him, and fleeing.
Those who had once admired him felt disappointment equal to their former admiration, which was why they had stood by while Solif’s parents were confined.
After all, it was natural for parents to bear responsibility for their child’s crimes.
But regardless of their disappointment, everyone acknowledged his abilities.
This was evident in the tense faces of those who had surrounded him.
As the smoke cleared, dispersed by someone’s wind magic, a figure emerged walking from the ruined prison building.
A young man with short silver hair and broad shoulders.
Solif looked around and whistled casually.
“My, my, so many familiar faces.”
“Surrender immediately, you disgusting criminal!”
“To infiltrate while the family head is absent—how despicable!”
With these shouts, fire and light, along with a golden radiance combining the two, rose from all directions.
The Light of Judgment.
A secret technique that could only be used by those with both the Sun bloodline and exceptional magical talent.
Nineteen people capable of wielding it, thirty-one others with noble-level magical power who couldn’t, and over five hundred knights.
Even for someone like Solif, surviving such numbers would be nearly impossible.
That is, if he still possessed the ordinary top-tier magical power they remembered.
Facing this formidable army, Solif raised his hands as if surrendering and shouted:
“First, I apologize for fleeing the family! But I had my reasons, so if you would listen—”
“He’s stalling for time! He’s clearly trying to help his parents escape!”
“Damn, how did you know?”
Hearing someone’s shout, Solif clicked his tongue and immediately manifested a massive light halo behind him.
The Baraha mages’ faces hardened as they sensed its speed, size, and the heat radiating from it.
They instinctively realized that his magical power had increased significantly from before.
Though still inferior to the Baraha family head, he now seemed difficult to match even for some elders who had previously been his equals.
“This is…”
“Attack with everything you have! If we don’t kill him, we’ll die!”
With someone’s shout, hundreds of spells poured into the encirclement.
A display of overwhelming numbers that no top-tier mage could survive unscathed.
It was clearly an attack intended to kill, not capture.
“Hmm.”
However, Solif successfully blocked everything by creating a circular ring of light to envelop his body.
Such an attack would have been difficult to handle before, but for him now—having absorbed the Giant Sea Serpent’s power and awakened the Guardian bloodline—it wasn’t particularly challenging.
“What…”
“He’s unharmed?”
As they watched in astonishment, Solif reached into the pouch at his waist and pulled out his hand.
The moment he scattered the black powder it contained, a tremendous explosion erupted in front of the prison.
Its destructive power seemed disproportionate to the small amount of magical power used—the Fire Soul demonstrating its potency for the first time in Solif’s hands.
“AAAAAHHH-!”
“My arm, my arm…!”
“Wounded, fall back and receive treatment!”
The Baraha nobles maintained cool command despite their shock at what had just occurred.
As those most skilled at handling flame magic in the world, they recognized how bizarre this magic truly was.
To cause such destructive explosions without any warning signs?
At that moment, one of the elders watching from behind shouted loudly:
“If he tries to scatter the black powder, set it on fire! It will explode!”
Seeing how quickly they identified and countered the Fire Soul’s properties, Solif memorized the elder’s face.
Soon after, those relatively unaffected by the explosion launched more spells at Solif.
These attacks were aimed less at killing him and more at depleting his magical power during defense.
A strategy befitting those skilled at coordinated attacks against stronger opponents.
“Tsk.”
No matter how powerful Solif had become, competing in magical power against hundreds was foolish.
He immediately abandoned his position and sprinted toward the thinnest part of the encirclement.
As a noble with the Guardian bloodline and quasi-family-head-level magical power exerted his full strength, the solid stone ground cracked and collapsed with a thunderous sound.
“Huh…”
“Stop him!”
Two nobles in his escape path forged swords and spears from the Light of Judgment and swung them at Solif, but he created a whip of the same light to block them.
This resulted in a pure physical collision.
With a tremendous crash, dozens of bodies flew comically through the air.
Just brushing against his running form was enough to snap limbs like twigs, and those unfortunate enough to collide head-on had their bodies practically pulverized.
It resembled the sight of ordinary humans being charged by a massive magical beast.
“W-what is this? How…?”
“This isn’t even the History bloodline…”
His feral appearance reminded them of nobles from the great family Luban who possessed the History and Guardian bloodlines by birth.
As someone muttered in disbelief, one of the Baraha elders commanded resolutely:
“Everyone, pursue him!”
“What about the other criminals?”
“Ignore them! We only need to capture him!”
When someone questioned whether they should pursue Solif’s parents, the elder dismissed it, and after a moment’s hesitation, the Baraha mages began chasing Solif.
The elder, who had paused to catch his breath before following, murmured quietly:
“Alma.”
“Yes.”
A woman standing silently beside the elder.
Her voice showed no respect for him—it was more like she was addressing someone completely irrelevant.
The elder requested politely:
“I would like you to go underground and pursue those who have escaped.”
“Don’t you need help with that side? He seems beyond the level of an ordinary heir, contrary to what I heard. I wonder if you’ll all be crushed.”
Despite her mocking tone causing blood vessels to bulge on the elder’s face, his years of experience helped him quickly regain composure.
“You people can’t even hide properly in this temple anyway. You’d be more useful helping on that side.”
“Well, fine. The family head ordered me to cooperate with you as much as possible.”
With her words, Alma gestured, and four figures mixed among the knights headed toward the prison.
As their presence disappeared into the building, the elder snorted dismissively.
Five Zahar nobles whom the family head had brought to prevent a power vacuum during his urgent departure.
Though treacherous and untrustworthy, their help would certainly ensure Solif’s capture.
After all, Zahar nobles were like nightmares when pursuing someone.
Especially when one of them was a candidate to become heir.
* * *
“This is obviously the place.”
Alma Zahar, who had descended to the prison’s underground level, laughed derisively at the tunnel in one of the walls.
Creating a tunnel to bypass the ground-level security system.
Judging by the scale of this earth manipulation magic, one of the intruders clearly possessed the Earth Guardian bloodline.
Nobles without that bloodline wouldn’t be skilled enough to use earth manipulation magic on such a large scale.
“First, pursue this one. Rad.”
“Yes, Lady Alma.”
Alma, a fifth cousin of the Zahar family head, was one of three candidates to become the family’s heir.
With Ferga, the weakest, now eliminated, she was one of only two remaining candidates.
As such, the Zahar nobles accompanying her showed extreme deference to Alma.
Shortly after, the one called Rad swept the area with tracking magic and pointed forward.
“It’s that way.”
“Any traces?”
“We should find some if we go a little further.”
“Let’s go.”
Naturally, Alma was the most skilled tracker among them, but to minimize magical power consumption, one of her subordinates handled the tracking magic.
The five Zahar nobles entered the tunnel, each carrying their weapon of choice.
None created light, but since all could pierce through darkness, they moved without hesitation.
“Here, I think we can use this as a medium—”
As the tracker at the front bent down to pick up a silver hair from the floor, a thunderous boom engulfed all five nobles in its impact.
Recognizing it as the same type of explosion that had occurred above ground, Alma urgently shouted:
“Everyone, hide!”
Whether Solif had somehow returned underground or not, considering the power he had displayed earlier, a direct confrontation would be suicide.
Using invisibility magic and pressing against a corner for safety, Alma first checked her own condition.
Thanks to her defensive magical device, the actual damage was minimal.
Her face felt hot, suggesting a mild burn.
This would heal naturally given a little time, so it could be ignored.
Having secured her own safety, she needed to identify the enemy next.
Her vision that could pierce darkness swept the surroundings.
‘The tunnel has collapsed, and there’s no one in sight… More importantly, how did they attack? I couldn’t smell anything. A barrier?’
Whatever the nature of the explosion magic, if it had been deployed using barrier magic rather than cast directly by a person, that would make sense.
Using tracking magic focused on humans, she confirmed her suspicion.
The only scent discernible was the faint trace left by people passing through.
This meant either no one was around, or only invisible Zahar nobles were present.
‘The couple has the Sun bloodline, so there must be at least two collaborators—one with Earth Guardian and one with Barrier bloodlines.’
Realizing she had frightened herself unnecessarily, Alma clicked her tongue, deactivated her invisibility, and was about to order the collapsed tunnel to be excavated.
At that moment,
“Uh—”
A sensation like something invisible grabbing her throat.
Before her brain could even process what this unfamiliar feeling meant, Alma’s vision turned completely black.