Circle

He had effortlessly defeated Azagoth, and as soon as he had done so, Vania had disappeared. "It is unfortunate that even a Necromancer fears death, but I cannot blame her. I represent all that is righteous and great, her impure power never stood a chance," he sighed.

Greerheart was as proud as ever. He sensed Yugta and Beltin attempting to conceal themselves, and even saw Berla attending to Lync and Dvena, who were in critical condition due to the attacks from the now-deceased Azagoth.

The gentleman in question refrained from taking any action and instead chose to disregard the situation. His weapon, a battle axe, disappeared in a magnificent display of shimmering golden light.

As he had accomplished his objective of providing the humans with a chance to defend themselves, it was appropriate for him to depart.

Despite his aversion to Dragons, Greerheart could not find it within himself to harbor any ill will towards Zaratros, as they shared a significant history.

Regarding the matter of humans, providing them with an opportunity for survival was the most favorable decision.

It is worth noting that Greerheart, being a product of the Dragon God and a human, possessed human qualities. However, there were certain humans who were deemed unworthy of salvation.

While humans regarded Greerheart as a deity, dragons perceived him as an abomination, an anomaly, and an indecent creation. It is regrettable to consider the hardships that Greerheart had to endure during his formative years.

He strolled out of the vicinity, and as he approached Berla, it immediately put her on the defensive.

She was afraid they were going to perish. "No! This man, he'll murder us!" she dreaded.

However, after Greerheart walked past her as if she didn't exist, her fear turned into astonishment. 'Why didn't he assault us? Was he genuinely aiding us?' she pondered.

"Berla?" Beltin called out her name as he weakly walked out of the bushes.

"Are you okay?" Yugta asked.

"Umh, Yug, she's over here.." Beltin pointed at Berla, comically, Yugta was talking to a tree which he thought looked like her.

He didn't have his spectacles so seeing was a problem. "Huh? Where?" he asked.

Short bursts of laughter upsurged from Beltin's mouth, he couldn't control himself "Dude your eyes look like raisins.."

"Idiot! Now's not the time!"

Yugta's assertion is indeed correct.

Dvena and Lync are still in a state of poor health, and the surviving knights within the army require assistance.

While he may sometimes exhibit an overly serious demeanor, on this occasion, his gravity was entirely justified.

"Yeah, you're right... sorry about that." Beltin was quick to apologize, he laughed without noticing the distraught look on Berla's countenance.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.." he pointed at Berla.

In respect to Yugta's words, Beltin relayed his sincerest apologies to her "I'm sorry, Berla... how are they doing?" he showed concern for his wounded party members.

"For now they're not so good, but I th--" she paused.

"What's wrong?" neither Beltin nor Yugta noticed it.

Upon observation of their surroundings, Berla detected a change that may be of concern. As a religious Mage, she was able to easily pick up on such things.

She identified a destructive magic circle embedded into the ground, it was quite large and posed a significant threat. Unfortunately, this circle I was also connected to several other magic circles of similar characteristics within Rivendell City.

"But how could this happen?! When?! How?!" Beltin spoke as he frantically waved his hands. Panic. Unlike him, who was trying to be less sadistic and more focused and taciturn.

"Correction. You already asked how.." Yugta mentioned.

"Not the point!" both Beltin and Berla uttered.

"This is Vania's doing without a doubt.." Berla declared.

Clearing the throat, Yugta equally agreed "Ahem. I suppose you're right, it'd explain why she came out here in the first place.."

"Its our fault damn it. We gave her the luxury of time!" frustratedly balling his fist Beltin clicked his tongue. This invited the utterance of a "Tch" sound.

"And as a result... the city will be blown sky high." but what did she hope to gain from this Berla thought.

The extermination of a large number of individuals would undoubtedly result in the addition of numerous souls to her collection. This is what makes Vania an exceptionally potent entity.

She feeds on souls and employs them to summon powerful beings from the depths of the Underworld.

"Wait, it's a magic circle right?" Yugta inquired.

"No duh." Beltin used a sneering tone to reply.

Sigh. Was but all Yugta could do in reference to such a sarcastic response, "Level with me here, since they weren't all activated at the same time, one particular magic circle would have to be what prompts the detonation of all circles.."

Berla and Beltin were pleasantly surprised when they realized Yugta's genius. The Law of Magical Energy Conduits states that a superior magic circle can connect multiple inferior magic circles through channels that transfer magicubes and, in rare cases, mana.

This allows the activation of inferior magic circles with the same power as the superior one.

"In other words, if we deactivate the superior magic circle, then there will be no products to provide energy for the inferior ones to activate. It's just like a chemical compound, remove an element product and the reactants are unresulting.."

"Unresulting?" Beltin was unsure what Yugta meant by that.

"It's a word I made. Basically, it means nothing happens." he replied.

"Then why didn't you just say that?" Berla uttered to which Beltin wholeheartedly supported.

In essence, there was no need for him to be verbose.

"You can't always expect me to entertain mediocrity do you?" he told the two.

"Whatever, That's beside the point." Beltin was relatively calm for someone standing on a city-wide exploding circle. "How do we detect the superior magic circle?" he remained goal-oriented.

"Leave that to me, I'll find it, you guys focus on helping the Captain and Miss Dvena.." he immediately turned in a hurry to get into Rivendell. Unfortunately, he ran into a tree, the same one he spoke to earlier.

Why wouldn't Beltin snicker? It was hilarious.

"Yeah, you're gonna need those spectacles of yours." said Beltin.

"Tell me something I don't know." he responded from the ground where he writhes in pain, his nose suffered the most damage. This made his voice sound like words came out of his nostrils.

"Clear sight?" an attempt to ridicule Yugta.

"You said?" he didn't quite catch his words.

"Forget I said anything.." Beltin cleared his throat and approached Berla who was on her knees and working.

By use of [Mirror Magic] a branch of it at least, Yugta was able to produce a fresh pair with which he bespectacled himself. All this prior to him standing upright.

"I'll head into the City, I'll do my best to stop the circle on time, farewell comrades!"

Something stopped him from leaving.

"Yug? You alright?" naturally Beltin was the one asking.

"Indeed I am friend. But please, in the event that I fail, you both should leave me and ride on.." there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to get there in time or deactivate the circle.

"Don't talk li--"

"No." Yugta didn't let him finish, "Remember, this is my wish. So just do it and leave here with the Captain. I'll contact you guys if things get out of hand, so keep your communication crystals active." he requested it of them.

Sigh. None of them knew that they were in danger of an anti-magic barrier, it was hard to detect it externally, but when inside it was more than easy to. And since they weren't on the other side of Rivendell, they wouldn't see the group of dark mages who poured their power into crafting this esoteric magic repelling barrier.

"Okay, but if you die I swear I'll kill you.." Beltin informed him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way my friend." he smirked.

Out he went, exiting the surrounding area to handle the superior magic circle. He was as studious as Nyx, although he was older.

A magical detonator in the city. Another obstacle to cross.