In the sky where the battle between the mysterious figure and the Emperor of Humanity was taking place...
The dark sphere that the mysterious figure had sent back toward the Emperor was only moments away from striking him directly.
The sphere was moving at an incredible speed, carrying a terrifying amount of dark energy within it.
But...
The Emperor of Humanity did nothing.
He did not try to block it.
Nor did he attempt to evade it.
Instead, he simply smiled calmly, as if he had been waiting for something else to happen entirely.
Just moments before the black sphere could strike the Emperor...
A white chain shot down from the sky.
The chain was strange in appearance. It moved with astonishing speed before surrounding the entire area.
Suddenly...
The place where the Emperor and the mysterious figure were fighting became completely isolated from the outside world.
A strange circular barrier formed in front of the Emperor.
It was a brilliant white barrier surrounded by intricate magical circles, appearing at precisely the right moment.
And the instant the black sphere touched the white circular barrier...
Something strange happened.
The barrier did not explode.
Nor did the two energies collide violently.
Instead, the barrier completely swallowed the black sphere.
The sphere disappeared inside it as though it had never existed in the first place.
Then, the white barrier quietly vanished.
All of this happened within mere seconds.
But the mysterious figure saw everything.
She froze for a moment, staring in shock at the place where the black sphere had disappeared.
Everything had happened with terrifying speed.
The area where she and the Emperor of Humanity had been fighting was isolated.
Then, almost at the exact same moment, that strange barrier had appeared.
There was only one possibility that came to her mind.
This kind of ability...
Could only be used by an extremely high-level mage.
But she knew something important.
There was no mage of this level within the Human Empire.
Or at least...
There was only one person who could have done something like this.
The Crown Prince of the Empire.
The son of the Emperor of Humanity.
And the moment the mysterious figure thought of this...
Someone actually appeared behind the Emperor.
It was the Crown Prince.
He stood calmly in the sky, as though his sudden appearance was nothing worth paying attention to.
The moment the mysterious figure saw him...
She frowned deeply.
She thought to herself:
"How did he manage to get here?"
Then she narrowed her eyes as she stared at him.
"And how did he manage to do all of this without me sensing his presence?"
His arrival had been completely unexpected.
Even while fighting, she had been keeping a close watch on her surroundings, yet she had not sensed his presence.
She had only noticed his approach after he had already made his move.
As for the Emperor of Humanity...
He looked at his son with clear annoyance.
Then he said:
"Why did you take so long?"
The Crown Prince laughed calmly.
Then he raised his hand toward the sky.
The moment he raised his hand, strange magical circles began forming around him.
The magic circles rotated slowly, emitting a powerful aura that clearly indicated an extremely high level of magical power.
Then he said:
"Your message wasn't clear. I couldn't understand what you meant."
He paused for a moment before adding:
"It was already difficult enough to determine your location in this vast ocean."
The Emperor looked at him with annoyance.
Then he said:
"Enough, enough."
He then turned his attention back toward the mysterious figure.
"Let's deal with this person first."
As soon as the Emperor said that...
He turned his gaze toward the mysterious figure.
Then he said:
"I want to know who this person is and why they hate me so much that they keep chasing me everywhere like this."
The Crown Prince also looked at the mysterious figure.
The moment his eyes fell upon her...
He, too, wanted to know this person's identity.
He was extremely curious, just like his father.
But the moment he used his magical power to determine the identity of this person...
He froze in place.
Shock appeared on his face.
Then he spoke in a trembling voice:
"H-How?"
He continued staring at her in disbelief.
As though something impossible had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
As for the mysterious figure...
She noticed the sudden change in his expression.
And she immediately realized that the Crown Prince had discovered something about her that she had been hiding.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]