CHAPTER 46: NO TIME LEFT

Then came a loud clang!—the sound of dishes falling. Dominic turned around while still laughing, to see what had happened.

One of the house attendants had just brought in tea.

The servant stood there with their eyes wide open completely frozen.

The pot had tipped over, spilling the fragrant tea all over the carpet.

A large dark stain was spreading across it. But the attendant didn’t even try to clean it up.

He just stood there in shock while staring at Dominic, who was still laughing out loud.

It made sense.

This was probably the very first time Dominic’s laughter had ever echoed through this house.

After getting Shiao Yi’s report, Dominic headed straight back to the royal castle. There was no longer time to wait for the reinforcements scheduled to depart tomorrow.

Dominic barged into the office of the Supreme Commander of Military Forces, Quintus van Cinna and demanded that the President of the Central Magic Association be summoned immediately.

For someone like him—a mere captain of the knight order—to do such a thing was incredibly presumptuous. But Dominic had no time for worrying about proper ranks or manners. He couldn’t afford to waste precious time and energy going through the usual slow, formal procedures.

He was prepared to face scolding or punishment. But still, he pushed through forcefully. It seemed the effect of his title as the Iron Knight had worked to full effect—because the guards and aides, who should have stopped him, turned pale and trembled as they opened the doors without a word.

Right behind Dominic followed Shiao Yi who is cradling a bundle of clothes Dominic had bought for him.

He held it close almost protectively.

Everyone seemed to think Shiao Yi was just Dominic’s page, so no one stopped him or questioned his presence.

"Captain Dominic? I thought we already settled things earlier. Why are you back?"

The president of the Central Magic Association, Mr. Vundo, glared at him while trying to catch his breath.

There was a faint blue glow in his usually gray eyes.

His shoulder length white hair, which was normally neat is like has been blown away by the wind and quiet messy.

Even though the Central Magic Association building was located next to the royal castle, both areas were vast.

If Mr. Vundo had rushed over quickly, it made sense that he’d be out of breath.

Mr. Vundo was usually calm and composed—he was 72 years old, after all, and known as a wise elder among mages.

For him to show this level of urgency, the reason could only be the diagram Dominic had shown him earlier—the visual layout of a deployed magical circle.

When Mr. Vundo first saw the diagram, he stared at it for a full twenty minutes, completely still, forgetting even to move.

Then, when Dominic explained that the magic circle had spiraled out of control, the old man let out a strange cry and nearly collapsed.

His face had gone so pale that Dominic feared he might actually faint on the spot.

The truth was, Mr. Vundo had been the one to finally convince Supreme Commander Quintus—who had been reluctant to send troops—to take action. Without him, nothing would have moved forward.

"According to you, the Dalmasca Army has already passed through the second-to-last town and is expected to arrive at the site as early as tomorrow," Quintus said while looking over at Mr. Vundo with his amber-colored eyes.

But Quintus himself didn’t seem fully convinced. After all, how could Dominic—who had been in the capital this entire time—possibly know such a thing?

Clearly, Mr. Vundo had the same question. He turned to Dominic with a suspicious look.

"His name is Shiao Yi, he teleported from the fort and gave me the information directly," Dominic said, introducing Shiao Yi.

Mr. Vundo looked surprised and stared intently at Shiao Yi.

"Did you just say he used teleportation magic? But that boy—is he even human? Or is he some kind of automaton? I don’t feel any magical power from him at all. Is he a corpse? Even in necromancy, there’s always a trace of the caster’s magic left behind."

"Shiao Yi is very much a living, breathing human being," Dominic answered firmly. "He just has a unique body type. Because of that, he can use a special kind of teleportation magic that no one else can."

"A unique body, hmm? Could I examine him later?"

"No, absolutely not!" Dominic refused immediately, without even letting him finish. Even if it was his teacher asking, Dominic wasn’t going to hand Shiao Yi over to anyone.

"More important right now is the Dalmasca Army. We have to stop them from supplying the magic circle with new magical power. That must not happen under any circumstance."

"But we haven’t even finished preparing the army we’re going to send," said Quintus, clearly worried. "And the selection of mages hasn’t even started. Even if we move quickly, it will take at least five days."

Mr. Vundo, who was already looking uneasy, nodded in agreement at that.

"Besides," Quintus added, "there’s no guarantee the enemy troops will all be wiped out. They might manage to destroy the magic circle."

"Do you really believe they’d try to destroy something they worked so hard to build?" Dominic shot back. "That magic circle—they will almost certainly defend it. And unless someone goes in with full determination to destroy it completely, they will only be consumed by it and destroyed. That magic circle isn’t something you can deal with half-heartedly. I saw it with my own eyes, and I felt its energy with my own magic. It’s incredibly dangerous."

Dominic crushed even the faint hope Quintus had. What he had felt through the barrier wasn’t something weak or tame. It was terrifying—something that made his heart shudder with fear.

"But it’s impossible to destroy that thing before the Dalmasca Army arrives," Quintus said in frustration. "There’s no way we’ll make it in time!"

With a loud bang, Quintus slammed his fist on the desk, his frustration clear.