SWMD 96

~Chapter 96~

The unconscious Diana landed directly in Eclipse’s arms. He caught her lightly and teleported somewhere.

He laid her down on the floor, which was covered by only a thin cloth, and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

The curse that had enveloped Diana was gradually weakening.

“This… makes no sense.”

No matter how much magical power a human had, it was impossible to break a curse born from a demon’s power. Yet her curse was fading.

Eclipse clenched and opened his palm.

It felt as if his own power was weakening.

Is it because she’s in the same space as me?

To figure out what was happening, he left the room, leaving Diana behind.

* * *

“What do I do…!”

Aisel panicked, pacing in distress. She had watched her mother disappear before her very eyes, yet she couldn’t save her.

She began biting her nails—a habit she had whenever Catherine beat her and forced her to hide in the bookshelf.

But ever since meeting Diana, she had never once bitten her nails… until now.

Aisel abruptly dropped her hands.

I’m not that servant girl hiding in a bookshelf anymore. I’m Diana El Peresche’s daughter… the Lady of this mansion.

Taking a deep breath, Aisel forced herself to calm down. She needed to stay rational now more than ever.

As her breathing steadied, she carefully retraced the events.

The dark energy that had engulfed her mother felt ominous—like a demon’s aura.

There was only one person she could ask for help.

Rueiri.

She hurried into the postal room, grabbed a quill, and began to write, pouring all her desperation into calling his name.

“Please… Rueiri…”

At that moment, a man surrounded by light appeared in front of her.

Rueiri, with his red hair fluttering, had come.

“H-How…?”

Rueiri smiled faintly and tapped the necklace Aisel wore—the badge of a junior mage.

“I put a spell on it.”

Before the Magic Festival, he had enchanted the necklace so he could immediately sense if something happened to Diana or Aisel.

Aisel blinked in surprise but quickly explained everything.

“Mother and I were talking in her room when suddenly she was swallowed by black smoke and disappeared…!”

Rueiri knelt where Diana had vanished, brushing his hand along the floor.

Even magic left traces. Red mana flowed from his hand until he found a residue of black dust.

“Eclipse…”

Black magic always left these traces. Rueiri’s teeth clenched, but something felt wrong.

Until now, Eclipse had never appeared directly—he only aided Catherine from the shadows.

But now he had shown himself and taken Diana.

“Aisel,” Rueiri said, meeting her eyes.

“Yes.”

“It’s certain that Eclipse took Diana.”

“E-Eclipse…?”

Rueiri’s expression hardened as he recalled everything that had happened since he and Diana had been separated.

* * *

“I can feel it here…”

When Amadeus’s interference magic had vanished, Rueiri immediately set out to find the hidden temple of the High Priest.

Unlike normal temples run by mid-level priests, the temple with the High Priest was heavily hidden and protected by holy barriers.

Ordinary people couldn’t sense its divine power, but a great mage like Rueiri could.

Following the faint trace of holy energy, Rueiri reached Mount Alberto, a volcano known for its desolate, rocky terrain.

“There’s already heat rising…”

There were no trees, no grass, no sign of life on the basalt and granite mountain. Yet, strangely, he felt a trace of divine energy.

He advanced until he found a massive cave.

“The holy power is stronger here…”

As he stepped into the dark cave, he raised his index finger, conjuring a small flame to light the pitch-black interior.

Suddenly, a golden glow surged from the ground. Two men in white priest’s robes appeared, pointing maces infused with divine power at him.

“What business does a mage of the Magic Tower have here!”

“So the rumors were true—the Tower Master dispelled our interference magic!”

They looked at Rueiri warily.

He raised his arms to show he had no hostile intent.

“I came to see the High Priest,” he said politely.

Rueiri almost never used honorifics with nobles, let alone priests. It showed how desperate he was.

But the priests only looked at him incredulously.

Everyone knew the Temple and the Magic Tower were on bad terms. And the emblem around Rueiri’s neck marked him as a Great Mage—a figure far above them.

“You know the bad blood between the Tower and Temple is the fault of the Tower’s old fool!” one priest spat.

Rueiri’s brow furrowed at the insult to Amadeus, the man who was like a father to him.

He clenched his fist, trying to suppress his anger.

The priests flinched. Rueiri could easily overpower them if he wanted to.

But instead of lashing out, he bowed deeply.

“Please. I’m begging you.”

He couldn’t let his pride get in the way. Diana mattered more.

“If you’re worried, I’ll even seal my own magic.”

The priests felt ashamed. They served the goddess; they weren’t supposed to judge or discriminate based on status. Yet they had threatened someone who was bowing so sincerely.

They lowered their weapons.

“There’s no need. The High Priest wouldn’t be defeated by a Great Mage’s power anyway,” one priest said curtly, then gestured behind him.

Golden light poured from their palms, rolling like clouds before dispersing with the wind.

Before Rueiri’s eyes, a stunning temple of white marble appeared from within the mist.

“Enter.”

“Thank you…” Rueiri said and followed them inside.

Other priests glanced at him in shock, surprised to see a mage’s robe in their temple. Rueiri ignored their stares and kept walking.

At last, he reached a huge statue of the goddess made from ivory and pearls. Behind it was a hidden chamber.

“This is the place,” the priest said, knocking on the door.

“Come in,” a deep, commanding voice replied.

Rueiri thanked his guides and opened the door.

The High Priest’s room was surprisingly simple, filled only with towering bookshelves stuffed with books.

At the desk sat the High Priest himself, an elderly man with a snow-white beard, reading a thick tome of runes.

“And you are…?”

He peered over his glasses at Rueiri with sharp eyes.

“Greetings—”

Rueiri barely had time to bow when the High Priest suddenly stood.

“You insolent fool!”

His voice was thunderous. In an instant, he was right in front of Rueiri—impossibly fast for an old man.

Rueiri’s eyes widened in shock.

The High Priest’s face was full of wrath as he thrust out his palm.

A surge of golden divine energy struck Rueiri with tremendous force.

“Ugh!”

Rueiri was lifted into the air and slammed hard into the marble wall. Pain exploded in his ribs as if a few had cracked.

He struggled to stand, clutching his side, while the High Priest glared at him with blazing eyes.