Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 123
Kyle and the others arrived at the barrier set up by the forest fairies. Kakaros found the magic circle engraved on the ground and showed it to Kyle.
“They placed this barrier magic densely throughout their entire territory, that’s why it couldn’t be detected with magic.”
Kyle examined the magic circle with a frown, but since he didn’t know much about magic, he couldn’t figure anything out even after looking at it.
“It’s written in an ancient language. It’s a difficult casting method and not commonly used these days, but that also makes it very powerful.”
Gerard looked at the barrier magic with interest and spoke with admiration. Listening to his explanation was fairly interesting, but for Kyle, rescuing Lysian was more urgent.
“Can we break through it?”
That was the only thing that mattered to him. Without answering, Gerard tapped the ground near the magic circle with his staff. The earth began to hum and tremble.
“It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible. Give me half a day.”
Gerard took several magic books out of his subspace and sat down beside the circle. While he concentrated on analyzing the barrier, Kyle began making a plan with the others.
“Should we strike first? The priority in any negotiation is to secure the advantage.”
“Hm, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. We should prioritize defense against their attacks and try to persuade them first.”
Elonen preferred to avoid fights whenever possible. It wasn’t because he was some great pacifist, but because he didn’t want to waste time.
They didn’t know how many life-or-death battles lay ahead, and he didn’t want to exhaust their strength over something minor.
“What if they attack first?”
“Then we’ll have to fight back with everything we have.”
Normally, Kyle would have agreed with Elonen. But right now, he seemed almost restless, as if he wanted to fight.
It was probably because he wanted to rescue Lysian as soon as possible. Elonen understood that, but it was the first time he had seen Kyle this anxious.
“Are you very worried about Lysian?”
“Of course I’m worried. He doesn’t even know how to fight properly, and now he’s been captured alone. He must be terrified.”
Normally Gerard would have made a sarcastic remark at Kyle’s concern, but surprisingly, he remained silent.
Elonen found it strange how much everyone had come to worry about Lysian, and at the same time, he realized once again how important Lysian had become to the group.
“We’ll do everything we can to rescue him too, so please don’t worry too much.”
Elonen also wanted to bring Lysian back safely. Kyle nodded firmly and quietly drew his sword.
“Alright. But if anything has happened to Lysian, I won’t let them get away with it.”
Kyle’s voice carried a rare sharpness and coldness, like a blade honed to its edge.
* * *
The Fairy King led me through the tangled paths of the forest. As a swamp thick with mangrove trees came into view, a hazy mist slowly began to obscure the surroundings.
The gray fog, like drifting smoke, grew thicker until it was impossible to see even a step ahead. One wrong step and it would be easy to trip over a rock or root and fall into the swamp.
“Where are we going?”
The Fairy King had told me to follow, so I did quietly, but we had already been walking for nearly two hours. Now that we were wandering through a swamp covered in fog, I started to wonder if we were lost.
“You lack patience. Just wait a little longer.”
The Fairy King answered curtly without even looking back. Just as I began to suspect he might be dragging me into the swamp to kill me where no one would find me, they finally stopped.
“This is the place.”
At the Fairy King’s gesture, the soldiers dragged me forward.
“Ugh, the smell…”
I had noticed something strange earlier, but now a foul stench stabbed into my nose, making it hard to breathe.
The lich’s dungeon had also been filled with suspicious fog, and with the added stench, it felt eerily similar.
“Don’t tell me a lich lives here too?”
“A lich? What is that?”
I had guessed casually, but the Fairy King looked at me as if I were talking nonsense. Feeling awkward, I pointed toward the fog and asked,
“Is this fog what you wanted to show me?”
The Fairy King stared into the mist with a grave expression. I also strained my eyes to see where he was looking, but nothing was visible.
“Have you ever heard of dark elves?”
