Gunmage-Chapter 274: Elves, ink and inquiries

Something similar had happened hadn’t it?

The collapse of Drakensmar.

He’d botched a spell, but where did the mana for such catastrophic destruction come from?

It shouldn’t have been possible.

It was more than absurd, even.

Lugh was far clearer on this point than anyone else could be, because when he had stepped in to save Lyra, he had made a deliberate point not to use the Ring of Nyx—not even once.

Not when he activated the circle, not when he cast the spell.

He’d done that for one reason: in case any hidden figures were observing the match.

Which is to say—the entire attack had been done using Lugh’s mana and Lugh’s mana alone.

Zhou nodded sympathetically, her eyes studying Lugh’s confused expression.

He turned his head to her, still visibly trying to process the weight of it all.

She spoke.

"I have no idea how you have that amount of mana, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen such in a human."

Lugh inhaled deeply.

There had to be a reasonable explanation for this. There must be.

He had, after all, been thrust into a terrible trial—in the depths of the Devil Sea, no less.

Such an environment was bound to change him. Right?

He was already beginning to feel somewhat relieved at having stumbled across a possible explanation, when the elf’s next words hit like a stone to the skull.

"With such a large mana well in you"

Zhou said,

"I honestly wonder how you survived the Devil Sea at all."

Lugh froze.

His gaze snapped to her, sharp.

"What do you mean by that?"

She hummed softly, placing a finger to her lips as she tried to think of the best way to explain.

"Hmm... You see, the Devil Sea is a unique place."

Lugh’s eyes narrowed.

This was an unexpected lead—one he hadn’t anticipated.

He spoke, voice cold and low.

"What do you know about the Devil Sea?"

The intensity in his tone was unmistakable. It pressed in on the room, a low pressure that made even the elves take note.

He inhaled to calm himself, but Zhou’s response arrived before he could.

"I’m not really sure about the true nature of the place,"

She admitted.

"All I know is... people with vast quantities of mana tend to cause certain dangerous changes."

"...Dangerous changes?"

"Yes."

"What kind of changes?"

"Like I said,"

She replied, raising her hands slightly,

"I’m not sure. I haven’t been to the Devil Sea. But what kind of changes did you notice?"

Lugh didn’t respond immediately.

He simply stared at her, locking eyes with a quiet intensity.

Suspicion flickered behind his gaze. Then, with practiced calm, he changed the topic.

"So... the Devil Sea is dangerous to higher-ranking, stronger mages. People with a lot of mana."

"Yes,"

Zhou confirmed without hesitation.

"Conversely, anyone with too little or no magic wouldn’t even survive the bare minimum disasters conjured by that dreadful place."

She sighed, tone flattening.

"It’s an infuriating paradox. One that’s claimed far too many lives. People gave up trying to understand its secrets long ago."

A faint twinge of disappointment crept into Lugh’s voice.

"So... there’s no knowledge about the Sea? No one knows its secrets?"

Zhou’s gaze lingered on him for a moment, as if trying to place something that wasn’t quite adding up. She finally responded.

"No. There isn’t. At least not from my sources."

She tilted her head slightly.

"Who knows? Perhaps you can find some ancient elf who was still alive during the Exploration Era. Such people would be mind-bogglingly powerful. You’d only get answers if they chose to share them."

Lugh nodded hastily, mind turning over the information like a machine.

Elves.

Elves, huh.

The only place he could think of that could possibly house someone like that was the elven kingdom of Jazeer.

It seemed he had a fate with that place.

He ignored that thought for now, forcing his focus back onto the matter at hand.

He spoke again.

"During my time in the Devil Sea, I was attacked. Swarms of monsters. They came for me personally."

"You were attacked?"

Zhou leaned forward slightly, intrigued.

"Yes. They seemed to home in on me. Just me."

He didn’t know how—he hadn’t even seen her move—but somehow, Zhou was now seated with a notebook and pen resting on her lap. The pen scratched rapidly against the page.

She looked up and asked,

"Any other strange events?"

"Yes. The sea turned red."

"Hmm. The sea turned red."

She scribbled faster.

"Anything else?"

Lugh hesitated. He didn’t want to share more. Not now.

But she quickly picked up on his reluctance, pausing her pen and glancing at Selaphiel instead.

"We’ll continue this later,"

She said.

"I think it’s time Selaphiel explained the new developments in your scheme."

"Right."

He turned to Selaphiel.

"I might have used way more power than humans generally have,"

He began,

"but that doesn’t stop my cover from being blown."

"Yes, it does."

She stared at him simply before continuing.

"Think of it this way. Instead of a poor man pretending to be rich, you’re now a rich man... acting rich."

Everyone in the room turned to her in mild confusion.

"Okay... that might not be the best metaphor,"

She added quickly.

"What I mean is—before, we were trying to sell the idea of a regular person acting as Lugh. Now all we have to do is make it seem like a strong person is acting as Lugh. An elf, to be precise."

"Ah. I see,"

Lugh said, nodding.

"And why exactly will that work?"

He asked, dubious.

Selaphiel replied smoothly.

"Because no one wants to believe a human has that much mana. Their eyes witness something, but their minds will reject it."

She folded her arms.

"It’ll take some work on my part to sell the ruse, but you don’t have to worry about that."

"I see,"

Lugh murmured.

And then, as if the full picture had finally settled in, he spoke again—softly.

"I wasn’t supposed to shine at all. But once I did, I shone so bright... they became blind."

Everyone turned to him.

Selaphiel spoke first.

"That was a terrible metaphor."

"You’re one to talk,"

He shot back dryly.

Zhou interrupted, voice returning to its earlier focus.

"Since you have the strength to bicker, mind adding some more details about your expedition to the Devil Sea?"

Lugh frowned, but then a thought struck him.

He spoke.

"Now that I think about it, there was another elf there. Why wasn’t she targeted?"

He paused.

"I might have a lot of mana, but it’s not enough to compete against an established elf... is it?"

"No. It’s not,"

Zhou answered, already scribbling again. Somehow, she now wore reading glasses—though once again, he hadn’t seen her put them on.

She explained, eyes glued to her pages.

"The elf probably had her mana sealed. A curious decision. Did you meet this elf? Do you know who she is?"

Lugh hesitated.

He was apprehensive about revealing the connection between himself and Vaelith. But he answered anyway.

"I don’t know much about her. Just her name. And the fact that she’s a member of the Royal Guard."

The room went still.

Zhou’s pen froze in her grasp.

Selaphiel’s body stiffened.

The atmosphere suddenly grew... tense.

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