The ground that Jenas was on shot up into the air. If we hadn't dodged, we would have both been hurt.
'Someone other than Jenas used magic.'
Then I remembered Ruzef in hindsight and hurried to him.
"Archbishop! Archbishop......!"
Luckily, I saw Yuanna and Anata picking up Ruzef who had fallen on the ground.
Behind them, Kayden ran toward me, his face full of urgency.
"Margaret!"
Running toward me, Kayden reached out and cast a magic circle. It was Kayden who had used magic earlier.
I widened my eyes as I saw yellow sparks like lightning coming from Enoch's sword. It must be a magic-based sword.
"Hah, finally, the mana seal is broken."
Only then did I understand what Jenas had said: the reason he had taken the form of an adult was because he had regained his mana completely.
I struggled out of his arms and pointed the flare gun at him again.
Jenas let go of me calmly and said, "You must have noticed. The seal has been broken, and the structure of this island is all organically connected. The mother of monsters was also created on this island, so it has become one of the elements that build it."
He continued excitedly, "And now that one of those interconnected structures is gone, there's a crack in the island's rules that my sister and I have worked so hard to create. Now that's interesting, isn't it?"
'What......?'
Was that why he wanted me to get rid of the mother of monsters?
In other words, I've been in the palm of Jenas' hand all this time.
I'd suspected he was up to something ever since he told me to get rid of the mother of monsters. But I never realized it was true.
Right. It was a subject and experimenter conversation from the beginning. With us, the subjects, are at an absolute disadvantage.
"Actually, I didn't expect that priest to seal those spirits. That was completely unexpected. Using his own body as a vessel to seal them. This is why the priests were and still are......"
Tsk. Jenas clicked his tongue, narrowly avoiding Enoch and Kayden's attacks, and continued his explanation leisurely.
"I thought you might be able to get rid of them, Margaret. That would have broken the mana seal right on the spot."
"And if I couldn't get rid of them, and the Archbishop couldn't seal them, then I would have died without breaking the seal?"
"That's not such a bad ending, is it? Hahaha," Jenas laughed as if having fun.
'Ah...... What a crazy bastard.'
His words caught me off guard, and he pulled me back into his arms, sweeping me up in a quick hug and leaping into the air.
A magic circle formed in front of us. As it activated, the ground rose up and exploded.
-bam!
"Put Margaret down." Kayden's silver hair whipped around in the gust of wind as he looked at us.
Jenas said without erasing his displeasure, "Hey, my descendant, if you do that, you're going to hurt Margaret. But is it just a matter of returning Margaret, no matter what the conditions?"
Kayden looked at me after hearing Jenas' words, and his eyes shook fiercely.
Jenas chuckled in amusement. I pushed him away and tried to slip out of his arms.
I clawed at his shoulders, pinched his arms, and punched him, but he didn't budge. Even Eunji on my shoulder helped me by spitting fire, but his skin must have been enchanted with some sort of enhancement spell because he was unscathed.
'Oh, shit, if I'd known this would happen, I'd have learned Taekwondo or Hapkido.'
Jenas sighed, looking down at me as I struggled wildly. At the same time, something like a pure white rope is formed and wrapped tightly around my body.
Shit!
Jenas looked at me as if observing a strange creature.
"I was hoping to have a little chat with you in my true form, but the situation is not good. Should we go somewhere private? I have a lot of things I want to ask you."
That sounded like a senior in a college membership training giving a junior some old-fashioned work advice.
I tried to use my mana to attack him as I learned from Arthdal, but to no avail. Yeah, there is no way I can match him.
I didn't survive this long to see such a hollow ending.
Jenas cast a magic circle at his feet once more. It was a magic circle that radiated so much mana that no one seemed to be able to pass through it.
Those standing in the distance screamed my name, but there was nothing I could do.
'No, was there anything I could do in the first place?'
I glanced at Enoch and Kayden. They were running towards me with faces that looked as if they were about to go mad.
-blink, blink.
In my flickering vision, Enoch and Kayden were watching me disappear, looking as hopeless as if their world had fallen apart.
I have now been captured by the legendary Archmage Jenas, and it must be difficult for anyone to save me. It would be difficult even for Enoch and Kayden to do so.
At least we got Anata out safely, so they'll find a way to escape.
'I've made my mind up, it doesn't have to be me who gets off the island.'
It would be a little sad to be left alone on this island. However, let's not have unnecessary expectations.
In the end, my vision went completely black.
***
The mansion of the Duke of Floné, Langridge Empire.
Rosemary, the youngest of the Floné family, has been busy since morning.
Because someone who seemed to know something about the disappearance of her beloved second sister, Margaret, was coming to the mansion early in the morning.
Rosemary stared at Bella, the maid who had been in charge of Margaret until last year.
"Bella, you said you were from the Bilterheim[1] family, right?" asked Rosemary.
[1] Diego's family.
Bella nodded calmly. "That's right. Miss Innis is waiting, would you like to go now?"
My eldest sister is diligent anyway.
Rosemary nodded vigorously, opened the door, and walked out, moving at a brisk pace. She couldn't run or she would be scolded by Innis.
With that thought in mind, she was moving quickly.
-flash, boom, bang!
Dozens of bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, as if it were a divine punishment.
I've never seen anything like that.
Rosemary stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the hallway and looked out the window.
In a world that was already chaotic, the sky was even more so.
"I don't think that was just thunder and lightning," Rosemary muttered.
Bella replied, "With the seven missing people, the world war, and the chaos in the world... I wonder if it's really going to destroy the entire continent."
The Seven Missing People case.
Arthdal, Crown Prince of the Hestia Kingdom, and Enoch, Crown Prince of the Langridge Empire. The disappearance of the heirs to two mighty nations has caused great turmoil in the world.
Not only that, but all major figures, such as the Saintess who appeared after 100 years, and the Lord of the Magic Tower of the Langridge Empire, all disappeared at the same time. Rumors of political intrigue abounded, but there was no evidence.
In the absence of such powerful figures, political forces fluctuated, and the movements of Temple and Tower continued to cause conflict, leading to the Continental War.
Any war requires a long period of preparation, including ultimatums and other diplomatic formalities, but as if all nations had waited, they skipped even such a process and started a fierce war.
It is a war that hyenas aiming for a vacancy caused to create their own place.
There is no sign of an end to this turbulent situation until the missing people return, their bodies are found, or the truth of the case is revealed.
-flash, boom, bang!
Rosemary gasped in surprise as thunder rumbled once more.
"Look over there. Maybe the world is really ending."
Rosemary pointed out the window.
The clouds in the sky were strange. It was as if a rift was forming in the world.
Could it be that the dimensional door has opened?
Rosemary bit her bottom lip lightly at the thought of such a ridiculous idea.
Maybe this world really is headed for destruction.
"I don't care if the world ends, I just want to see Margaret's face for once."
Because of their similar personalities, they never lost, and as a result, there was never a day that went by when Margaret and Rosemary didn't fight.
However, it was a fight that was possible because of the assumption that Margaret would always be by her side. If she had known that Margaret would disappear from her life without warning, she would have gotten along better.
Rosemary swallowed hard, clamping her mouth shut to keep from crying. After a moment, she turned to Bella with a look of determination on her face.
"Let's go, Innis Unnie will be waiting."[2]
[2] Unnie = older sister.
My second sister must be alive. I will find her, I will find out the truth, and I will tear her captors to shreds.
***
"Margaret! Damn it, wait!"
After witnessing Margaret's abduction by Jenas, Kayden immediately cast a tracking spell.
But even with all the formulas in place, he couldn't quite get the spell to work, as the earring dangling from his right ear suddenly felt as hot as if it were on fire.
At the same time, a throbbing headache hit him, and he pressed his forehead. A trickle of blood ran down his nose.
[Play is over.]
An unpleasant male voice echoed in his head.
Kayden knew who it belonged to.
Jenas Igran Rohade, his ancestor and the one responsible for the creation of this damn island.
'Shit. What have you done to my body?'
"Hey, Lord, are you okay? Dammit, what happened to Lady Floné......!" Arthdal shouted, rushing over to check Kayden's complexion.
But Kayden was too drained to answer. His body was suddenly paralyzed. Not even his fingertips moved at his will.
"Damn it, my body isn't listening to me. Damn earring!"
The earring that had been so hot was now glowing.
The earring he was wearing had originally been a magic aid to control the rampaging mana within his body, but now that he was able to do it on his own without the aid, it was causing his stabilized mana to become dizzyingly erratic.
Kayden staggered and moved his body, but not of his own free will.
Then, at some point, he lost consciousness.
The last thing he saw was Enoch sending a sword blast into the cabin and a circle of purple poison gas suddenly forming around it.
When he opened his eyes again, Kayden was standing in the living room on the first floor of Jenas' cabin.
He looked around the cabin with a furrowed brow.
I don't know how the hell I got here.
"Ah, there you are."
Just then, a man came down the stairs to the first floor.