IDEFYEM - Chapter 90
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
Sarah, who met my agitated eyes, did not stop and began to persuade me further.
"I have used black magic many times. The amount of magical power and earnestness for the Young Lady are sufficient. It's not difficult to help with casting."
"Even if you take less risk than I do, it's still risky."
"I think there might be a way to reduce that risk."
Sarah, whose eyes brightened for the first time in a while, opened the black magic book in my hand.
"You tried to revive the Grand Duke's heart by referring to this part, right?"
"Uh, huh."
Why did Enrica go back to being a Young Lady again?
Even during this time, I had some silly questions, but I kept my mouth shut for now.
"Theoretically it is possible, but the probability of success is very low. I'll get the Duke's magic tools someday, so isn't it enough to buy time now?"
I felt like my vision, which had been narrowed due to excessive pressure, was opened.
Sarah suggested extending Raphael's life for a few years without casting a large-scale spell right away.
The number of years was also less than I had considered, and the weight of the price I had to pay would be correspondingly smaller.
"But the price is not something you can decide. You may have to pay something bigger or something smaller, depending on the devil's whim."
"...I am prepared."
I thought all that was left was to decide on a time, but that time came faster than I thought.
As soon as we left the library after making a rough plan with Sarah. Melua found us.
***
"His Highness the Grand Duke has not been able to wake up since he fell asleep earlier. Seeing no reaction, I think he fainted."
Melua said as he rushed over.
It was the same symptom I experienced after the hunting banquet.
"Just a few hours ago, he said his condition had improved and asked for documents, but when I went to his room, he didn't open his eyes."
I, who had experience waking him up by infusing him with magical energy, answered without difficulty.
"I'll go."
I walked quickly across the hallway and looked resentfully at the window.
After going to the library, it started raining again. I don't know when It started.
'Damn the weather, it hasn't helped me once since I'm in the Nort.'
It was fortunate that it didn't rain on Sarah's way.
Even though it is not a season where the rain is this frequent, it does not stop.
"..."
I soon arrived and took a deep breath after seeing Raphael's face sleeping as if he were dead.
As I learned from Vermont in the past, I moved a small amount of magic as if rotating it.
I applied steady pressure to his chest, but his sleeping face remained the same.
'I think I woke up coughing around this time last time.'
Vermont said that my magical power was not compatible with Raphael and that even a small amount could cause a deep shock.
But this time, no matter how many times I channeled my magical power, Raphael showed no sign of opening his eyes.
As I overexerted myself several times and used my magical powers, I began to sweat even in the cold weather.
'His sleeping face was so peaceful that I thought it was no big deal.'
The thought that Raphael might not wake up again gave me a chill from the back of my neck.
I, who was sitting on the bed where he was lying, opened the door and went out.
As if she had been waiting for me, Sarah was standing right in front of the door with a nervous look on her face.
"Is he awake?"
I shook my head and said.
"For the method I mentioned earlier, how much preparation is needed?"
"It's possible right now."
There is only about a month left. But I didn't know how Raphael would be alive during that month.
Since I was dealing with a curse rather than a common disease, I had to keep all possibilities open.
"If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow night, is it okay if we do it right away?"
Sarah nodded, looking more determined than me.
I felt uncomfortable as I owed her a great deal of debt.
I couldn't sleep all night and stayed by Rafael's side.
Until the sun rises in the morning and the sun sets again in the evening.
I had hoped that his eyelids might open until the very end.
He might wake up at any moment and surprise me again.
But there was no such miracle.
***
A place where you won't be noticed by others even if you succeed or fail. A closed place where no light enters. The secret space of the library filled with black magic books had just the right conditions for casting black magic.
Could it be that Raphael designed this space with this in mind?
After seeing his peacefully sleeping face one last time, I headed to the library with Sarah.
If Raphael were awake now, he would probably be against this.
It was my first time doing this. I didn't know what we would be like a little later. There were so many variables that it was difficult to make a rough estimate.
Sarah and I each took a piece of chalk and started drawing a large magic circle all over the floor.
Yes, it was only the size of an attic, but it required elaborate work and had already taken several hours.
After everything was ready, Sarah opened her mouth with a trembling voice.
"I don't know how the magic will come true. The essence of black magic is ultimately chaos...."
I nodded, trying my best to concentrate on the explanation that didn't make sense.
"When you're ready, place eight drops of blood in the center."
"Thank you so much, Sarah."
I hugged her tightly without saying much.
"Take anything. Instead, extend Raphael's life just a little bit more."
I muttered earnestly to the wind that might reach me and drew blood with the knife I had brought.
Sarah began to recite a spell I could barely understand.
I could feel the air in the room becoming heavier.
'Ugh...'
The books of black magic that surrounded us were turned over by themselves. A strong wind blew like a gust of wind in the windowless room.
A ray of cold sweat ran down Sarah's cheek as she chanted the spell.
Tensions reached a peak as if something great was about to appear at any moment.
At that time, the spell flowing from Sarah's mouth gradually stopped. The wind that had been blowing had weakened to the point where it was difficult to open my eyes.
'Nothing has happened yet, so am I going to fail like this?'
I pursed my lips and hoped something would happen.
"Take as much as you want in return! Why...."
Sarah's spell completely stopped, and the airflow also stabilized. I exchanged confused looks with Sarah, who soon opened her eyes.
It was then.
The magic circle flashed a dazzling light once, but then faded away. In the middle of it all, I heard the sound of something falling.
'An ordinary book... ?'
My heart was pounding like crazy at the strange sight.
It was a book that felt nothing special at the moment.
As I waited with bated breath, the pages of the book began to turn by themselves. There was nothing written in it, making it more like a diary than a book.
"Ahh!"
At that moment, a scream came out of my mouth without me knowing. My thighs felt hot like they were on fire.
'What? What happened?'
With trembling hands, I lifted the hem of my clothes. The hot flames grazed my skin, leaving marks on me.
Sarah was looking at me and the book alternately with startled eyes.
"Book?"
[Stupid.]
[You're repeating your mistakes.]
New writing appeared in a book that clearly had nothing written on it.
A flame burns on my thigh, following the shape of the letter, and then dies out.
Is it the nature of black magic?
The burn is obviously not that severe, but the pain I feel is strangely strong.
"Ugh."
I crushed my lip in great pain. As new letters were written in the book, another scar appeared on m y thigh.
'I can endure as much pain as this. If only you could save him....'
But what followed was a revelation.
[Rule: You cannot use the same spell twice. Go back.]
What do you mean, you can't use it twice?
Sarah said it was her first time using magic to extend someone's life.
I made eye contact with her, but she looked just as confused as I was.
'What does that mean? Are you repeating your mistakes? I don't know anything.'
I waited for something more understandable to be written, but the magic circle glowed and blinked once more. A gust of wind began to blow.
Things that happened before the book appeared were being carried out in reverse.
"If things continue like this, the book will disappear..."
No, it can't end like this.
Because of the wound on my thigh, it was not easy for me to stand up on my two legs.
I hurriedly limped and crawled toward the center of the magic circle.
I grabbed the book before it closed completely.
"Miss!"
I heard Sarah's high-pitched screams.
I thought the book wouldn't close if I held it with my hand. But I was the one caught.
'My body... Sucked in?'
Something unbelievable was happening. My hands, body, and head were being swallowed up by the paper.
Suddenly I noticed. Before I knew it, the book had grown big enough to swallow me up.
There was a thud, the same sound as when the book first fell. My vision went dark.
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