The grassy smell had stopped.
The birds had fallen silent.
No... it wasn't that. The wind was still blowing. She could smell the grass through the tip of her nose, and the birds were still chirping.
It was just slow.
Everything was just slower.
Navia looked at Wood with wide-open eyes.
His eyes glittered with a murderous intent, and he wore a vicious expression.
His upper body was thrown back. His elbow pulled back tightly, ready to crush her nose with his clenched fist.
Gradually, his upper body curled inwards. Like an arrow released from its bow, his fist flew forward.
'Slow.'
The entire scene seemed slower than the time it takes for floating dust to settle on the ground.
Wood's hateful gaze pierced clearly into her view.
Had she ever looked so long and closely at these eyes that looked at me with such disdain and disgust? Wood had always swung his fist at her with those eyes, with that expression.
In this slowed-down world, Navia alone lived in real time.
She grabbed Wood's arm with her full speed and followed her instincts.
Black Moon greedily sapped the opponent's magical power.
She could feel the abundant power. The rich power of water flowed into her.
Now she was certain.
'I can steal the opponent's magic.'
Not only the manifested magic but also by mere contact, she could drain the opponent's abilities.
What a nightmarish power. Wood's expression slowly contorted in agony.
Crackle!
A bright blue spark flared between Wood and Navia.
It was a precursor to a magic overload.
This was Wood's limit. The end of his potential. Navia had siphoned it all away.
Normally, the body would split and bleed, but that did not apply to Navia.
The phenomenon occurred. Lightning sparked. However, Navia was not a magician who conjured magic with inherent power.
Black Moon was an extraordinary power.
Fizz!
Navia was engulfed in sparks.
Wood withdrew his fist. He let go of the collar and hastily retreated.
His face was pale with fear.
In that moment, the world's speed around them aligned.
Through the gaps in the blue sparks covering Navia's body, her red eyes shone brightly. That red gaze met Wood's.
Navia returned Wood's words with a smile in her voice.
"You should have run away earlier, you fool."
Crash!
Silver hair fluttered like a storm in the water spray.
* * *
Nikan brushed his slightly frostbitten skin in the late autumn cold.
His movement was laden with undeniable fatigue.
It was understandable. Since the disturbance that began the previous morning, he had immediately gone to the palace to confront the Empress and then returned.
But upon returning, his foster daughter had disappeared.
The recent days had been the worst, as if a streak of bad luck had firmly taken hold.
"Where's Navia?"
"...We haven't found her yet."
Every time Nikan received such inept responses from his subordinates, he was tempted to strangle them.
A dignified leader. A generous leader.
He struggled on the brink between these personas, his rationality nearly snapping under the intense stress.
He calculated the astronomical amount needed to compensate if he failed to find Navia and had to retract his words to the Empress.
'Where will I find another foster daughter?'
A sense of defeat, typically felt by those whose lives are mired in misery, gnawed at Nikan.
He had never faced such a significant failure in his life.
'No. It's not a failure yet.'
The night had passed.
Torches were extinguished one by one, and dawn approached.
The time for the scout teams to report back was nearing.
"Uh... there, over there...!"
Just then, an aide by his side pointed to the sky, mouth agape as if he had witnessed the heavens turn upside down.
'Why is he reacting like that?'
Nikan frowned in confusion and turned his head in the direction pointed by the finger.
Zap!
In an instant, a tingling sensation spread from his left cheek, across the bridge of his nose, to his right earlobe. Precisely, it was the immense energy emanating from the direction the aide had pointed to, causing the hairs on his entire body to stand on end sharply.
"......!"
He turned his head in disbelief.
And then he saw it.
"......A water spout?"
No, no, that couldn't be.
This wasn't the middle of the ocean, but solid ground.
But what he saw was unmistakably a massive water storm.
And it was a storm with a particularly eerie aura.
"How could such a phenomenon......"
Nikan felt as if his heart was splitting in two. He was familiar with this intense magical aura.
It was his son's.
"Wood......"
His son couldn't have such abilities.
"Wood!"
Nikan ran towards the direction of the surging water spout. It was far. Running like this wouldn't be enough.
He hurried to the stables and mounted a horse.
He spurred the horse on, racing straight towards the towering column of water that seemed to pierce the sky. Any obstacles in his way were cleared with magic.
The dense magical energy wrapped around Nikan like fog on a lakeshore.
It was the aftermath of a rampage.
By the time he arrived, the water spout had vanished without a trace. But the aftermath was clear.
The area was completely devastated.
Nikan's face turned pale. Or more precisely, he was overwhelmed.
The area was filled with such a thick concentration of magical energy that it was hard to breathe.
It was clear in Nikan's mind what had happened here.
Such a rampage would surely have depleted all life force! He then saw his son Wood, lying on the ground.
"Wood!"
Nikan dismounted and embraced his son.
Wood was soaked as if swept away by the water, but there was a distinct bloodstain on his mouth.
He had internal injuries and had vomited blood.
But his body was still warm. He was breathing sufficiently.
Nikan thanked the gods.
"Master!"
Many who had witnessed the water column soon followed.
"What in the world..."
Almost every building in sight was nearly destroyed, and broken tree branches were everywhere.
The ground looked as if a giant had clawed through it, pocked and scarred.
Could this disaster have been caused by human hands!
Wood was indeed a talented magician of noble blood.
But everyone knew that he was not capable of such power.
Not even Nikan himself could wield such power.
"Take Wood to the doctor for examination. Hurry!"
"Yes, Master!"
At that moment, someone shouted from a distance.
"We've found Miss Navia!"
Nikan clenched his eyes shut.
This trouble had ultimately been caused by Wood.
But the important thing was Wood.
Navia was just property.
A valuable property meant to become the empress, bear heirs, and place the empire under the Agnes family's control.
Even if Wood had killed Navia, it would be a nuisance, but she could be replaced.
Nikan sent Wood to the main house and then approached Navia.
He hoped the child was unharmed.
"How is she?"
"She's unconscious."
Navia's clothes were a mess, as if they had been soaked and wrung out in muddy water.
There were minor wounds here and there, but nothing seemed broken; she appeared relatively unscathed.
'That's somewhat fortunate...'
The water spout incident would surely spread throughout the capital.
Thinking of the hyenas curious about every move of the Agnes, Nikan already felt irritated.
'Especially the empress.'
Tomorrow's royal audience could be postponed using today's events as an excuse.
However, the water spout's cause would obviously lead to a summons to the palace under the pretext of investigation.
'A scapegoat will be needed for this incident.'
Nikan was lost in thought with a ruthless expression when suddenly...
Sparkle!
"Hmm?"
Nikan reflexively picked up something that sparkled on the ground.
It was Navia's hairpin that she had brought to Vivian's bedroom the day before.
However, there was blood on the opposite end from where the pearl was attached.
He turned his gaze towards Navia.
There were visible scratches, but could a hairpin have blood on it?
