'It might be someone from the Forging Association or one of the five major clans. Other than them, there's hardly anyone with such a level of barrier-making skills. It might be a talisman master.'
The black-robed leader judged keenly as the array behind him pulsed more terribly. He took out a talisman from his pocket.
The talisman was made out of black paper; it had something written on it with red ink, which was not really ink but blood!
"It's time we claim what belongs to us. May there be eternal glory for demons!" His eyes turned maniacal as he incited the espera into action, activating the black talisman.
The talisman trembled violently before an eerie espera leaked out from it like black ink from a fountain pen. The talisman vibrated and instantly headed toward the direction of the barrier.
The air around the leader seemed to shimmer with dark energy, his expression growing more twisted with anticipation.
All the while, the leader's eyes did not waver as he looked at the flying talisman with sinister eyes.
"It's been a while since I killed a high-ranking exorcist. My hands thirst for your potent blood," he said in a monotonic voice as he watched the scene.
"Are you kidding me, you old ma—I mean elder, I clearly scored the victory here!"
Daniel said disdainfully as he was declared the loser again. They had been gathered together and were playing chess; however, Sigfor had declared his move foul and directly eliminated him.
Not only had Daniel moved his king piece despite it being under check, but he had also been trying to draw out a stalemate against his opponent.
"You brat! Today, I will teach you a lesson and correct your foul tongue!"
Sigfor also rolled up his sleeves as he was ready to teach this cheating little brat a lesson for good.
Daniel clearly did not know how to play chess and yet dared to question him, who knew all the rules?
"Ah, elder, please calm down. D-Daniel, quick! Apologize!"
Alphonso tried to soothe things out as he panicked at the situation.
"Humph! What did I do wrong!? If a king can be stopped like this, then how is it still a king? It's so useless. You tell me, why is that? Also, isn't this pawn behind another pawn practically useless too? Always getting sacrificed for his comrade?"
"Get aside, or else I will beat you too!"
"No, please, elder! Calm your anger. Daniel is just ignorant!"
"What!? Why am I being called ignorant!? Who even made this game?" Daniel frowned and pestered Alphonso.
Oliver was watching the drama unfold while chewing on a piece of apple. However, his expression was not too good. The bad feeling in his chest had intensified a lot, but he could not point it out. Everything was going so smoothly, so why was he feeling this way?
The laughter and chatter around him felt distant, like an echo from another world, as his instincts screamed of impending danger.
The girls were also watching with interest.
"As I keep saying, you brats are—"
Sigfor suddenly paused in the middle of what he was speaking. He turned his head abruptly in the direction of the mountain hall.
His expression changed drastically.
A terrifying aura emerged from his body, stunning everyone in the group.
"Get back to your dorms. There's someone attacking the barrier."
His extremely serious words rang in the ears of the shocked group.
They watched with confused and shocked gazes as Sigfor disappeared from his spot after leaving them with his serious words.
Just a moment ago, they were playing peacefully, and all of a sudden, he became serious and left.
Oliver, who heard this, had a heavy frown on his forehead.
'As I thought, that ominous feeling was not for nothing.'
He knew it was serious just by looking at Sigfor's attitude.
Not only that, he was also aware of how isolated this mountain was and how hidden they were from the world.
For someone to locate this place and launch an attack, what did this mean?
Even a child could understand the situation.
But what was nagging him the most was the thought of who could be the attacker.
For Sigfor to personally leave them alone and go outside to deal with it simply meant that the attacker was a dangerous element that could or held the means to bypass the strong barrier placed on the entire mountain.
And for someone to deliberately target the mountain with such a strong barrier at this time when Alison was away meant that they had planned this thoroughly.
'Is it a coincidence that the attack happened while we were here or…' Oliver thought deeply.
'Or is this a plot to eliminate the potential heirs of the five major clans at once?'
Oliver's mind raced wildly as he considered many possibilities.
'Did someone in the clan do this? Was there a traitor among the elders who gave away the information?' he thought with a frown.
The bad feeling inside his chest was his instincts warning him repeatedly of the danger. That only meant that this matter was not so simple.
'Why would someone attack from the front so openly if they wanted to assassinate us?'
'Sigfor immediately went outside, then it could only mean they had done something huge that drew his attention to the extent that he was forced to leave personally rather than ensuring our safety first.'
'And that's probably what the enemy wanted as well,' he thought deeply.
All his conclusions and deductions so far pointed to one thing only.
'The enemies have already infiltrated inside through the barrier!'
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