Chapter 133
When the spirit disappeared, I counted to five in my head, then muttered with a scowl.
“Maybe I expected too much from something called an ‘ancient spirit.’ It’s so slow…”
Winter put his cold hand on my forehead.
“Izana, getting angry isn’t good for your health. Especially after you’ve forced your magic circle to work like this.”
His hand was almost ice-cold, and the heat in my head cooled a little.
From the bracelet on my wrist came loud laughter:
[Hahaha! I knew it—spirits are all the same! Their skills are all for show! It’s like when kings announce they’re giving leftover food to the commoners during a festival, and all you get is plain bread. They were like this in the past, and they’re still like this now!]
Then, to my surprise, the spirit reappeared—only its head floating in the air—yelling loudly.
[Do you even know how far it is from here to the opposite side of the continent? What kind of crazy master are you?!]
I replied dryly:
“Save your energy instead of wasting it on talking.”
The spirit’s mouth hung open in disbelief, and veins bulged on its forehead. Its pale-blue eyes turned yellow with anger.
[You’ll regret this.]
The moment the spirit vanished again, a burning sensation rose from my stomach. I coughed up a lump of dark blood, the pain ripping through my insides. My body collapsed, and Winter caught me in his arms.
Right then, everything around us began to shake violently—like being caught inside a massive tornado. Even Agrisen, lying unconscious in the corner of the cell, shook helplessly.
Winter, however, walked through the shaking prison as calmly as if he were strolling through a park. On the way, he “accidentally” kicked Agrisen a few times.
Thankfully, the shaking didn’t last long. It wasn’t as short as a blink, but by the time I blinked three times, the violent vibrations had calmed to a gentle rocking—like floating on water.
Winter placed his hand on one wall of the cell.
“We haven’t landed yet, but it should be safe enough to jump now.”
…What? Who’s jumping? From where?
Before I could protest, Winter kicked the wall hard.
The prison wall crumbled—yet instead of dirt behind it (since we were underground), there was sky.
“Please don’t say we’re jumping from here.”
We were flying. And not at airplane speed—much, much faster.
We had come all the way to the far eastern sea because that’s where Huerion slept beneath the waves. If Agrisen’s self-destruct magic damaged Huerion’s seal—or the underwater volcano near it—Huerion might awaken, just like what happened in Rohia.
Winter struck Agrisen’s stomach again.
“If he’s faking unconsciousness, this should wake him up.”
He then smashed Agrisen’s magic restraints, tied his arms tightly with the broken chains, and dragged him to the open wall.
I panicked.
“Do we really have to jump? Please don’t!”
“Your body is already at its limit. You won’t last until we land and move you again.”
Before I could argue, I saw the spirit’s face appear again—well, only its eyes and mouth.
“Ah! You scared me!”
It smirked.
[We’ll arrive soon. Impressive speed, right? Even a dragon’s wings would take a week to get here.]
Still, I couldn’t ignore how weird it looked, just eyes and mouth floating.
“Why only show parts of yourself now?”
[I’m doing it to save your magic power, you fool!]
Oh. So it was for me. And yes—my magic circle was about to reach its limit. If it broke, I’d die.
I gave the spirit a thumbs-up.
“Good job.”
[Hmph! I’ll let your earlier rudeness slide just this once—because we’re bound by a contract now.]
“Alright, then send the tower back to its original place.”
[Eh…?]
But before the spirit could respond, Winter jumped.
“Kyaaaaa!”
The spirit’s full body reappeared, clutching its head in shock, but soon the massive tower vanished from sight.
Winter held me in one arm and the chain with Agrisen in the other. Agrisen struggled helplessly as we fell.
Once the tower disappeared, Winter spread his wings.
But my vision began to narrow, like looking through a tunnel.
“Grand Duke, I’m sleepy…”
Winter said nothing, only sped up. I thought I saw the sea far below—then my vision went black.
…I dreamed.
Or maybe it wasn’t a dream. It was like running across a film reel of all my past lives. Which means… this was probably my life flashing before my eyes.
When I woke, my head throbbed as if it were splitting in two. I was lying in a soft-smelling bed, but from the cramped space and creaky sounds, I guessed it was an inn.
“What happened…?”
A familiar voice answered:
“It’s all my fault.”
Winter sat beside the bed, opening a bottle of purple liquid and handing it to me.
“Drink this headache medicine first.”
“Ugh, it tastes awful…”
“And this, too.”
He gave me a glass of green juice.
“What’s this?”
“Juice made from five kinds of vegetables. You haven’t eaten for three days—I can’t give you bread right away.”
I gritted my teeth. Wait—three days?
“What do you mean I haven’t eaten for three days?”
Winter’s face darkened.
“You’ve been unconscious for three days.”
My mind froze. I’d spent countless loops saving every single day, but now I’d lost three whole days?
And then came the worse news.
“While you were unconscious, I dropped Agrisen into the sea and watched in case he resurfaced… but he didn’t. And the expected explosion never happened.”
