Chapter 22: The Lost Smeraldo (5)

“What’s wrong?”

Rosaria shook her head and replied, “I felt someone’s gaze. Maybe it was just my imagination.”

Annamaria also quickly looked around. 

Galileo sniffed the air but said there was no unfamiliar or suspicious scent.

‘Even so, if Rosaria sensed something, it’s better to be cautious. There could be ruffians trying to rob two women, or perhaps a bloodthirsty magic beast.’

As they walked, Annamaria cast several illusion spells around them. 

If there were any unsavory people or magic beasts tracking them, they would lose sight of the group.

After climbing for a while, the forest thinned out, and they came upon an area piled with large boulders. 

Passing through the gaps between the rocks, they reached a small clearing on the edge of a cliff. 

A vertical fissure split the cliff, darkness stretching deep inside.

“Let’s do it here.”

With the crack at her back, Annamaria stood in the middle of the rock-ringed clearing and scanned the area.

“What are you planning to do?”

Rosaria, who had been curiously running her hands over the rocks, tilted her head.

“I’m going to use this to catch Bruno Stecchi.”

From her pocket, she produced a small bottle, about the length of a finger. 

Inside were some whitish fragments.

“What is that?”

“Bruno’s nail clippings.”

She smiled at the startled Rosaria.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t rip them off him. I made him hand them over after he trimmed them.”

“Still, why would you have something like that?”

Galileo answered her question.

“Anyone joining the Magic Academy, the Magic Army, or the Magic Association is required to submit part of themselves—hair or nails, for example—to the organization. It’s for situations like this. Using that, you can track and capture fugitives. It’s like how dogs track people by scent. As long as you have a part of their body, you can trace them with magic. The Duke of Karana brought this from the Magic Army.”

“That’s quite a convenient method.”

“It is, but the tracking range isn’t very wide. At best, you can search within a single town. If the target flees beyond that, it’s hopeless.”

“Then isn’t it impossible in such a vast mountain range?”

As Rosaria looked around, Annamaria grinned.

“That’s why I’m going to do something out of the ordinary. I’ll pour all my magic into it and expand the tracking range to cover the entire Padova Mountains.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to use all my strength except for what’s needed to keep my heart beating, and expand the search radius. But that means I’ll become a puppet who can’t do anything else. That’s why I want to ask you for an important favor. I’ll track Bruno, find him, and force him to appear here.”

“Force him to appear… You mean he’ll come out here?”

“Exactly, I’ll make him appear right here. I’ll drag him out by the scruff of his neck. But while I’m focusing all my magic on pulling him here, I’ll be a puppet and unable to use any other spells or even move. If Bruno appears and fights back, I’ll be completely defenseless.”

“I see.”

Rosaria’s eyes glinted.

“So, all I have to do is capture Bruno before he has a chance to retaliate, once you drag him out?”

“That’s exactly it.”

As expected of Rosaria, her perception was sharp. 

It was no coincidence she was captain of the Knight Order.

Annamaria handed Rosaria the rope from her waist.

“This is a magic-suppressing rope, the Fūmajō. Tie him up with this, and he won’t be able to fight back with magic. Attack Bruno from behind as soon as he appears.”

The Fūmajō was a tangled rope of thousands of brightly colored silk threads, glistening with a chaotic sheen. 

It took a whole month to twist a single lume of it—a lume being a unit about the length of an adult’s arm.

Rosaria accepted the Fūmajō and nodded seriously, “Understood. I’ll capture whoever you drag out.”

“Thank you. That’s exactly why I made this pact with you.”

With Annamaria’s magic, locating Bruno Stecchi would be easy.

But capturing him alone would be exhausting. 

Since he had absorbed Jeremiah’s magic, it was safe to assume Bruno was now Annamaria’s equal.

If the opponent was their equal, the only way was to surpass them with even greater force.

Rosaria’s abilities were perfect for a surprise attack.

Even magic optimal for subduing humans could hardly restrain her immense strength and leaping ability.

Human-focused spells were almost laughable against the direct bloodline of the Romano Family. 

To face a Romano, you needed magic on par with slaying a giant dragon.

“Now then. Let’s begin. Hide behind those rocks, and close your eyes. Don’t open them until I say he has appeared. The light is intense enough to burn your eyes.”

With a glance from Annamaria, Rosaria nodded and retreated, closing her eyes.

Galileo stood by Annamaria’s side, his silver tail erect.

“I’m going to draw a double magic circle for Summoning and Clairvoyance. Help me.”

With that, Annamaria pointed both index fingers at the ground and spun around once in place. 

A clean white circle appeared where her fingertips passed over the earth. 

She continued, spinning and twirling as if dancing, subtly moving her fingers.

A magic circle spread out from Annamaria at the center, weaving across the ground like a spider’s web.

Galileo leapt lightly and began running in a large circle around Annamaria. 

As he did, the outer circle of the magic array formed, encasing her. 

Drawing ever closer to the center, Galileo’s path caused the inner circles to appear in succession.

When the magic array spreading from the center and the one closing in from the outer edge overlapped near the middle, the whole formation suddenly shone with white light.

Galileo jumped high out of the circle, his fur bristling.

Annamaria, meanwhile, stopped moving, arms at her sides, and steadied her breath.

“Don’t overdo it, Annamaria.”

Rosaria, eyes still shut, anxiously asked at Galileo’s words, “Is she doing something so dangerous, Galileo?”

“No.” Annamaria replied calmly, “This is as easy as beating you, Rosaria.”

“What!?” Rosaria bristled, and Annamaria replied with a laugh in her voice.

“Keep your eyes closed, please.”

Despite her flippant words, cold sweat trickled down Annamaria’s back. 

Using all her strength except for her heartbeat was indeed a dangerous technique. 

She would become completely defenseless.

‘But unless I do this, I won’t find him.’

Very few magicians could pull off such a feat.

Clutching the small bottle with Bruno’s nail, she closed her eyes and began her chant.

“Fly, I command you. Higher.”

She felt as if her body floated, though she hadn’t physically moved. 

Only Annamaria’s consciousness shifted.

Suddenly, a panoramic view of the Padova Mountains unfolded behind her closed eyelids.

The wind roared past her ears, and clouds rushed by. 

Her palm began to feel hot.

She saw the towering, jagged ridges stabbing into the sky, clouds torn as they flowed over the peaks, and the deep green slopes stretching below. 

Everything in her sight was mountains. 

That was how vast this range was.

She sensed a point of heat below.

‘That must be it.’

Annamaria dove straight toward that spot. 

Rapidly approaching was a lump of heat with the same texture as what she felt in her palm—a large mass. She shouted at it.

“Summoning!”

The heat mass writhed, starting to float upward.

‘It’s coming!’

Annamaria opened her tightly shut eyes. 

Her heart pounded, and she saw Galileo and Rosaria before her.

A fierce wind roared up from the magic circle. 

The air grew hot, and a shadow fell overhead. 

Looking up, she saw a warped patch of space above them, swirling with heat. 

At its center, the distortion deepened, and a shadowy figure began to appear.

‘Got him! I’ve dragged him out.’

She chanted again.

“Appear! That which I have called!”

She focused all her will on the magic circle, trying to pull whatever was manifesting in the air down to them.

‘So stubborn…’

It was like trying to drag a boulder from between rocks. 

She gritted her teeth, recognizing the power of someone who had stolen Jeremiah’s magic, and gave it everything she had.

“Appear, that which I seek and desire!”

A shrill, tearing sound split the air, and the resistance vanished.

‘It’s coming!’

Sensing this, she shouted, “Rosaria! He’s coming! Prepare to bind him!”

Rosaria, eyes still squeezed shut against the raging wind, snapped them open at Annamaria’s call, the Fūmajō ready in her hands.

The warped space above them filled with an ever-growing shadow.

The shadow grew larger and larger—far too big for a person.

Something felt off.

‘What is this?’

Galileo cried out, “Get back, Annamaria! That’s not human!”