Chapter 616: Time to Die

Even though Oriole and the rest planned on finding this place first, it was hard to summon the two masters from inside a battle to save a stranger. Alexie was not a part of Runera, and the two powerful monsters wouldn't hand over these ruins for the sake of saving him.

"Therefore," continued Julia as she pointed up there, "we can tell them that the mastermind behind the attack is there. Grandmaster Casca's... murderer is also there."

Oriole had heard about this tragedy from the knights outside the ruins, but he didn't believe that a reverse family member could die. Furthermore, it was none other than the head which dealt a heavy blow to the rest.

"Runemasters are logical before anything else. Even if we tell them that the murderer is here, they will choose to salvage what is left over to pursue vengeance," interjected Maryam. "We need to do this on our own."

"You are all forgetting my master, who is the sole reason I came up with this plan," sighed Oriole. "I don't have a lot of hope for such favoring, but I am her disciple after all."

"And how will you convince her that you are not a trap laid for her in these ruins?" Julia raised her brows. "I think we need to find a different way to disturb the space."

"I second that."

"...I third that," the spirit raised a hand. "I don't want to go near that battle! It is heated!"

Oriole ruffled his hair as he heard their opinions. It might genuinely be hopeless to seek their help, but none of those present had the capabilities to disturb an illusion created by a vessel.

"Then, we go into the illusion," said Oriole. "A teleportation from inside the illusion can be hard because Alexie has no sense of orientation or spatial awareness. This might also be why, as Julia said, he was holding back. This is why we need a navigation card for the teleportation."

"And why would go into the illusion?"

"Someone needs to get the teleportation card to Alexie. This is the only method to get him out of there and away from the illusionist."

"This still requires you to send a card into the illusion, thus endangering our lives."

"Not our lives, just mine," said Oriole while pointing to himself. "I would never let anyone else do this job. I will take the card into the illusion and bring Alexie out there."

"And what if you die?" asked Maryam with a raised brow. "I don't want you to tell me that you won't die. I just want to know how you feel about dying at the moment."

"Dying... is possible. It has always been possible. However, dying for the right cause is a rarity that warriors seek. We are science nerds, but I still want to die for the right cause if I had no choice."

Maryam stared at him with her big, judgmental eyes before snorting away while muttering the word 'stupid.' Oriole smiled despite the morbidity of their topic before he began to take out his items.

"I have a runic teleportation card, so we just have to link it to a spatial-navigation card. This way, we can create a direct tunnel between the two points. Julia, I would need your help."

"I understand," nodded the runemaster before walking and pausing beside Maryam. "I understand that you don't want to help because he might die, but this is his conviction. A chance to die is better than a lifetime of regret."

"Then, how about you go into the illusion?" rebuked Maryam with a twitching smile. "You were all worried about Alexie, but now you are happy to throw Oriole under the bus for it."

"I am..." the genius blanked out.

"This is not her fight," Oriole interrupted. "I will never let anyone else do that for Alexie. I owe this to him, even if I die. Julia has been a good friend to be here so far."

"As far as I know, she was here with Grandmaster Casca. It seems Alexie saved her by attacking the illusionist and making him focus the attacks on him."

"You are right. I am a coward who doesn't want to go inside, but that doesn't mean I don't want to save him. I have been there, helpless against that illusion, so I never want to go back there."

"There is no need for you to explain this, Julia," said Oriole as he kept taking out the needed items and laying them atop the road. "I was the one to propose this plan. Maryam, stop attacking her for not wanting to die. None of us want that."

"I doubt that about you," mutter Maryam as she crouched beside him. "Move away and give me the brush. I studied linking for a whole year in the academy."

"I owe you," said Oriole with a grateful smile, but Maryam simply mocked and pushed him aside. Oriole watched the runemaster focus on the runes before her as he fell on his lower back. Julia offered him a hand.

"You might not know her for a long time, but she is a known case of being cold on the outside, sweet on the inside. I know she was lashing out because she cares about you, but her words are truthful."

"Alexie knows what kind of relationship he has with you and what I have with him," smiled Oriole while taking her hand. "I know that he would do the same for me."

"And probably the same for me," sighed Julia. "I am the adult one here, but I'm so useless. I cared for so long about titles that I forgot that nothing matters other than strength."

"Shut up and start decoding the teleportation array for me to insert this rune," said Maryam at them, and Julia smiled helplessly before nodding. "As for you, find a way to fix your eyes," she said to Oriole.

After a momentary confusion, Oriole understood what she meant. A smile appeared on his face as he nodded and walked to the other side of the road. After going into one of the houses, Oriole found a table that he could use to work.

Maryam meant he should think about how to counter the illusion when she asked him to fix his eyes. Oriole didn't have much to work with, but he could think of a few potions that could help him see through the deception.

As a former Devils Hunter, Oriole had to find ways to see through disguise and lies. A breakthrough in their work happened when Oriole invented a potion that he named Mana Vision. It allowed him to see nothing but mana, which also meant he would be blind to physical attacks.

This was given to one of the party members responsible for pinpointing the 'mana vacuums,' which was a phenomenon accompanying the fallen beings and their devouring nature.

"That potion might work," nodded Oriole as he took out his items from the storage ring. "I happened to have some of those items for a different project of Hidden Gem, but I'm sure this is an emergency."

Oriole smiled as he thought about Hidden Gems and how Arthur would have to work alone after this. His hands danced around as he brought countless ingredients together, forming a harmonious mix under the blazing flame.

A hum escaped his throat without realizing it as he thought of all the time he spent with Arthur in both timelines. But unfortunately, it would have to end again, and he would have to join the enemy that Arthur is currently fighting.

The Omniscient Vessel sought to kidnap Oriole as a hostage against Arthur, but Oriole would never allow that. Instead, he would do everything to make Arthur save his family without knowing that he was kidnapped.

It might be hard to achieve as he fights against the vessel himself, as that man would know how the cat made a contract with Oriole. However, that didn't matter now. As long as the cat disables the space arrays, Oriole would have to join them.

"A Mana Vision at last," said Oriole as the fluid in the cauldron turned transparent. "It's time to join the battle above."

After pouring the potion into a vial, Oriole cleaned up and went outside. Julia and Maryam were waiting for him with the runic cards ready to be activated. Their face was sweaty after rushing against time to finish a delicate job.

"Are we ready?" asked Oriole as he waved his vial. "I have everything I need right here."

"The runic cards are linked, thanks to Maryam," said Julia while turning toward the runemaster. "Is that potion going to help you against the illusion?"

"It will," nodded Oriole before turning toward Maryam, looking at him with a cold face. "Thank you, dear friend. I won't forget this when I get famous."

"You will be famous for being the most idiotic man to have lived," said Maryam as she threw the teleportation rune at him. "Use this when you are inside the illusion. You have to find Alexie first because the range is limited. 

"Then, you would activate the card on your end, and space will be compressed between us, and a portal will form between the two points. Then, even without spatial awareness, we can get out."

"If that fails, we will contact Grandmaster Jumana and Captain Velos through the spirits, pleading them to come here. This plan should work. If it does not, it's because it's a darn stupid one," said Maryam. "It's time to die, Oriole."

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