Chapter 80
Boooooooooom.
An explosion went off.
Helen immediately put up a shield for cover.
Ashvin gritted her teeth.
Behind the shield she continued manipulating mana.
When the smoke cleared, a grotesque creature came into sight.
There, only the legs remained of a young man.
The torso had blown up and a half-monster creature was trying to emerge, but black vines bound it, trying to chain it down.
Helen watched quietly.
"You should start decreasing the circumference. Otherwise a monster will come out soon."
She said this after watching for a bit.
Ashvile was struggling to bind it.
And now she had to completely overcome it and reduce it to cinders.
Mmmm.
She felt a different taste in her mouth and
blood started dripping down her lips.
I have to disrupt its path.
Black mana continued surging.
Monster limbs were starting to form and trying to rip the thorns that bound him.
Hmmmm?
Disrupt?
Should I disrupt it?
She thought with a hazy mind.
A light started flickering in her head.
Like a light at the end of a tunnel.
Although she had provided the idea to deal with black mages,
she was behind Serbian and Helen in terms of putting it into practice,
and there was that student as well
who had originally provided the concept of a different mana command.
Limbs continued to rip apart thorny vines.
Ashvile concentrated on the flicker of light she found.
Mana started following.
Vines started generating incredibly fast.
It didn't have to be fancy.
It didn't have to be extravagant.
Just enough to disrupt the mana flow.
Vines gathered and a sphere completely surrounded the monster.
Ashvile closed her eyes.
Inside the sphere the monster was thrashing.
The thorns started elongating and pierced the monster everywhere.
They came from everywhere, ripping holes through the torso.
"Good."
Helen watched with fascination.
"Now look."
She put a hand on Ashvile's hand and started channeling mana.
Blue fire erupted on the thorns.
"Ashvile, watch closely and learn. This is how you excite mana."
A single particle of mana flowed in a thorn.
It started moving faster and faster, emitting a light.
A bright fire burned at the tip of the thorn and incinerated the monster's skin.
"No need to complicate. Just make it spin and that should work."
"Make it spin, but how?"
Ashvile blurted out the question.
"That is for you to find out."
Helen said mischievously, and blue fire erupted inside the sphere, burning the monster's body to the core.
Only ashes remained, which were collected by a mage.
"Master Helen."
Another mage came running.
Crash.
Boom.
The fight was ongoing in full swing.
The Soran family had quite a number of magic knights and monsters hidden.
And now they were going wild in their last struggle to escape.
Helen listened to the urgent communication crystal message and nodded.
Boooom.
Another explosion went off.
Helen looked in the direction and her expression contorted.
She shot into the air and leapt towards the main building, but it was already too late.
The main residence was engulfed in fire, burning everything.
"Summon all water mages immediately."
She shouted.
Water started pouring everywhere, but the explosions continued.
By the time the fire died, it was already dawn.
Crunch.
Something got crushed under Helen's feet.
Anger was boiling inside her.
"These bastards."
They didn't deserve to die so easily, but they had been prepared for the worst-case scenario.
All members directly related to the bloodline had committed suicide and set the whole mansion on fire.
Everything was smooth, like a premeditated plan.
And all the monster corpses showed that they had been involved with black magic for quite some time.
Theodore had arrived at the scene by the time the sun had come up.
Everything burned down completely despite their effort.
Srrrrrrrr.
Mana covered the remains that had been assembled.
Selvian started his investigation without delay after arriving.
Mages had dug up everything, but anything significant had already been taken care of by the fire.
"They knew that there was no escape for them."
Theodore said.
Helen nodded her head.
"And I am suspecting that they found out by the time the black mage had been captured."
"I am of the same opinion."
Theodore said in a serious tone.
"We have to find out how they were able to do it."
"What is the condition of the black mage captured in Solar City?" Helen asked while walking through the rubble.
They were heading to a hidden chamber discovered during the investigation.
"According to the latest report, his mind has collapsed beyond redemption. So he will be dealt with later today." They had arrived at the area what would have been a library in the mansion.
Not a single document made it past the fire.
Only ashes remained, and after the rubble was cleared a hidden door was discovered.
Helen pointed to the door.
"What are your thoughts on it?"
She asked Theodore, who was looking at the door seriously.
"If they had gone so far as to lace it with black magic, then there must be something behind it."
"Mmmm." Helen groaned.
The whole door was covered with black magic circles with dried blood smeared on them.
And on the edges, indiscriminate monster flesh was jumbled together, which gave off a horrid stench.
"A mage almost got infected while examining it. Thankfully he was rescued quickly. We could only bind it for now."
Vines covered the whole area and thorns lodged into the flesh, holding it in place. Ashvin had completely overwhelmed it.
"Did you try the modified command?"
Helen shook her head.
"I made no progress."
She said. A small fire erupted at the edge of the door which burned through the flesh and went out.
A charred mass remained, which slowly, after a minute, started regenerating and completely recovered itself in some time.
"I guess only Willowheart will be able to do it."
"Mmmmm."
Helen looked away at the distant horizon.
He still hadn't woken up.