Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 407

Episode 407 Isabella (3)

“……Why aren’t you coming?”

Isabella muttered, looking at the clock tower in the nearby town.

Even though the appointment time had already passed, Croden hadn't even bothered to show up. Considering he had arrived early, he had already been waiting for three hours.

Did you get the date wrong? Or did you mishear the meeting place?

Maybe something happened along the way.

I couldn't hide my impatience and was lost in thought, but nothing changed.

There was no sign of Croden coming, and time continued to pass.

Soon enough, the sun began to set in the distance.

The sunset was overcast.

Isabella, who had been staring at the sky for a moment, stood up from her seat.

'Let's go back first.'

Staying any longer would be a waste of time.

If something really unavoidable had happened, I would have contacted the mansion.

Isabella, having decided so, left the town and cast <Flight>.

Since I wasn't used to flying in the sky yet, I lowered my altitude and adjusted my speed just in case.

Fortunately, there were no mistakes.

Thanks to the knowledge and experience accumulated at the academy.

Isabella was different from the sorcerers who had risen through the ranks without any training.

'I wish Xenia had gone to the academy too.'

The younger sister firmly refused to enroll, saying, "You can learn from your older sister!"

In the past, I used to push Isabella's back, telling her to go to the academy and learn everything she wanted to learn.

He was very self-willed and stubborn.

'I have no choice but to teach Xenia… … but I have to make sure Kael gets accepted.'

Kael is about to enter the academy. He's such a smart kid, so it'll be a good experience.

I couldn't help but smile when I imagined what kind of great people my two precious younger brothers would become in the future.

It doesn't matter what your goals are in life. I just want you to be happy, no matter what.

But was that too much to ask?

Isabella returned home.

A blazing fire.

The smell of blood mixed with acrid smoke.

A sight I've never seen before.

The mansion was on fire.

* * *

They say that if you're too surprised, your voice won't come out properly.

I was embarrassed.

Isabella opened her eyes wide as if they were going to burst, and stared blankly at the mansion. The unfamiliar heat carried by the wind touched her skin.

I hurried down and landed in the front yard.

The first one to greet her was the gardener, Carver.

Carver was staring into space with his neck pierced by his favorite pair of garden shears.

“Cover… Cover…?”

I shook my body, but the cover didn't respond.

That was only natural.

What could a dead person hear or feel? All he had left was a faint warmth that was cooling away.

The cover is dead.

Isabella took a deep breath, her fingertips trembling, and slowly turned her head.

“……Marienne.”

Not far away, the head maid, Marianne, is leaning against the wall of the mansion.

She, who had cared for her family warmly like a mother, was engulfed in flames.

Marianne is dead.

'Is this… a dream?'

Of course it would be so.

If not, there's no way two people could die so suddenly and pointlessly.

It was clear that this was a terrible nightmare.

When you wake up, Carver and Marianne, as well as Kael and Xenia, will greet you in the morning as they always did.

Kururur… … .

The entrance to the mansion collapses.

Three people appeared in a house bathed in bright yellow light.

A crying Kael, a wounded Xenia, and a man holding the necks of the two.

“……Croden?”

Xenia was thrown into the yard.

“Isabella, sister.”

“Sister……!”

A painful groan pierces my ears.

Croden, who had his fingers on Kael's neck, met Isabella's eyes.

The same gaze that tried to kill the student who had disparaged Croden as a failure in the past.

There was no way I didn't know who killed Carver and Marianne.

Isabella was confused.

“Ugh, Croden, why are you…….”

“Isabella.”

Croden frowned and washed his face.

“Why on earth did you keep the heirlooms separate instead of together? If you had just left them all together, we wouldn’t have encountered each other.”

"……what?"

“Tell me. Where are the rest of the Gabos?”

Croden, who murdered Carver and Marienne and is holding Kael and Xenia hostage, wants the heirlooms of the Deiros family.

Only then did I realize.

Why did Croden raid the mansion, and why did he trick her into leaving the mansion?

There was only one reason.

Isabella's voice wavered.

“Everyone, everyone has been nice to you. And for something like that…….”

“I didn’t want to do this. Seriously. But I can’t help it───”

“Call that a word right now!!!!!”

Isabella was furious.

I wanted to use magic right now and tear Croden apart to death.

Then, the bastard focused his magical power on his fingertips while using Kael as a shield.

“Calm down, Isabella. I don’t want to kill you either… Just hand over the [Reviving Blood] and I’ll leave without doing anything. I promise.”

I know the exact names of the heirlooms and materials that were not revealed to me. I am certain that I have dug into all the details about the situation of the Magic Kingdom and the Deiros family.

The [Replicating Eye] and [Proliferating Core] hidden in a secret space in the mansion must have already fallen into Croden's hands…

Isabella was conflicted.

The material of a special object is nothing more than trash compared to the lives of a family.

But will Croden really spare the hostage just because he is offered [Reviving Blood]? Will the disciple of Bohemian Tower insist on leaving behind a witness to the atrocities he has committed?

That can't be true.

The [reviving blood] in his arms was like a lifeline to his younger siblings.

The standoff continued.

There was one or two things that people were overlooking.

“Isabella, sister. Sister Xenia…….”

Kael licking his lips.

Although he was young, he was smart enough to understand the current situation.

And sadly, he was brave and had a platform.

Sling.

Kael pulled out a small dagger he had been hiding inside his body.

It was a self-defense weapon that Isabella had once given him as a gift. Kael ran around the yard shouting that he would protect his family with it.

Of course, there was no way to defeat Croden with such an ordinary iron dagger.

Kael knows too.

So I stabbed myself in the chest. I didn't want to hold my two older sisters hostage any longer.

"sorry."

Kael vomited blood.

The fragile body could not overcome the fatal wound and collapsed.

My heart stopped beating.

Kael is dead.

Croden hesitated in surprise.

“This is crazy…….”

“Kael!!!”

Jenny, who had been leaning forward, raised her hands and screamed.

<Ice Arrow>

A first-tier elemental magic learned from Isabella.

A cold arrow formed by magic struck Croden, but failed to penetrate the robe's resistance and shattered into pieces.

Kael's suicide and Xenia's counterattack.

Croden looked visibly flustered at the unexpected situation, and as a result, he responded reflexively without realizing it.

<Earth Sphere>

Kwajijijik!

The spear of the earth pierced Xenia's side.

The blood that poured out soaked the yard.

Xenia, with difficulty turning her gaze, whispered to Isabella.

“Sister, run away……”

Xenia lowered her head helplessly.

I called my sister's name, but there was no answer.

Instead, a sigh was heard.

“You know it’s useless to resist anyway. Why would I come here alone? I said I’d spare your life if you just gave me [Revival Blood]. It’s so frustrating…….”

<Ice Spear>

A spear of ice passed through Croden and crashed into the mansion.

Isabella stood up unsteadily.

“Shut up.”

Kwaaaaang! Pfft!

As soon as the operation was completed, he poured out magic one after another, not caring about the consumption of magic power.

If only he could kill Croden, that would be all. Excessive magical power usage and calculations caused his blood vessels to burst, and tears and blood mixed together and flowed down his cheeks.

However, Croden at that time was a third-ranking lieutenant wizard who had received professional instruction at the Bohemian Tower.

Isabella, on the other hand, was just a recently promoted third-tier sorceress who had taught herself alchemy.

There is no way they can be a match.

Especially when you have lost your sense of reason.

<Storm of Blades>

After several minutes of magical combat, deep scars appeared on his limbs, gushing blood.

A shard of earth that struck the temple.

A dull pain spread throughout his body, paralyzing his nerves and magical circuits.

“……!!!”

Isabella screamed silently.

Her body could no longer hold out, despite her will. Her eyes lost their strength and she fell forward.

Thud, thud.

Croden approached.

Isabella, who was bitten by this, desperately grabbed the bastard's ankle.

The nail broke because it could not penetrate the defense of the magic item.

“You should have come to the Bohemian Tower with me… This is all your fault, Isabella. You brought it upon yourself.”

Croden ran his fingers through his hair nervously, then grew furious.

“I promised you a long time ago that I would help you achieve your dreams. But you were the one who refused. You were the one who rejected my help. You were the one who broke your promise first! If only you had just done as I said……!! I would have been favored by the Master, and you would have been able to conduct research through the Magic Tower’s facilities! If you had, Xenia, Kael, Carver, and Marienne would all be alive!!”

Croden, who had trashed the mansion, expressed his anger and frustration.

It's sophistry. It's absurd self-justification.

Hana Croden was sincere. She could tell because she was his friend Isabella. That was why it was so disgusting that I couldn't bear it.

“Cro, Deun……!!!”

“But it’ll be okay now. I earnestly asked you, Master, and I borrowed your strength. Now we can study together like before. I’ll help you. Just like we promised.”

Croden rolled up the sleeves of his space bag and showed off a stylish bracelet.

One of Baloch's collections.

Several of Baloch's own magic circles are stored inside it.

“Forced magic circle, call.”

As I recited the name of the magic circle, the bracelet flickered. The light shone on Isabella's back.

I felt something seeping into my body along with the burning pain.

“Just bear with it. It’ll only be for a little while.”

Isabella felt it instinctively.

The moment that mysterious magic circle is completed, it seems like everything will go according to Croden's will.

He twisted his body and put his arms inside his bosom.

Through my numb fingertips, I could feel the touch of the vial containing [Reviving Blood].

'If I have no choice but to hand it over to Croden.'

I'd rather just get rid of it.

Isabella bent her head down as if her neck was about to break, and finally chewed on the glass bottle.

Sharp shards of glass lodged in my mouth, and an indescribable taste enveloped my tongue. The heirloom of the Deiros family flowed down my throat.

“Isabella, what are you───”

The material of the special object is absorbed into the body.

Soon Isabella's body will disintegrate, and her [reviving blood] will be mixed with her melted traces, never to be found again.

That was Isabella's last act of resistance and revenge.

That moment.

Each of the forced magic circles, calls, and foreign substances that had seeped in from the outside collided violently. The blood, organs, and muscles boiled due to the repulsive force.

A reaction no one expected.

A strange scream echoed throughout the area.

"……what's this."

Croden's voice came softly.

With that, Isabella's vision went black with a feeling as if something was about to burst out.

* * *

“……When I came to my senses later, I was in an unfamiliar place.”

Isabella stared blankly at the wall.

“And I just ran. I still don’t know if I was running away or trying to go home. I just didn’t think about anything. And when I looked in the mirror later, my appearance had changed. My hair, my eyes….”

After wandering the world for a while, Isabella gradually regained her senses.

And then I realized the reality and despaired.

He lost the will to live because he lost his entire family before his eyes.

“So I committed suicide.”

Isabella smiled faintly.

“But he didn’t die?”

Even after falling from the roof of a decent building and breaking his head and neck, and throwing himself off a high cliff and completely losing his human form, he was regenerated.

Even while she was willingly being eaten by the demon, her poisonous blood killed the demon instantly.

“In the end, I had no choice but to choose revenge. I couldn’t die, and there was no other purpose to living.”

Isabella decided to start making money.

If you don't have anything like this, you can't even dream of revenge.

The alchemy I've learned so far has served me well as a useful tool.

“After living like that for several years, I later met a woman and a child who had been attacked by a bug-like alien species. They were poisoned by a rare venom, and I had to seek treatment from the bishop of the Luas Church, but I didn’t have enough time. The big city was too far away. The amount of money needed for donations was no joke.”

Luckily, Isabella had some knowledge about it.

After making a special potion and taking care of them for a few days, the mother and daughter recovered completely without any aftereffects, and the man who was their husband and father treated Isabella with respect as a benefactor, expressing his gratitude.

Verden asked.

“So when did you become a musician?”

“Oh, that. I was singing a song for fun to the kid I was talking about earlier… and his father overheard me and asked if I wanted to become a musician. He said he knew a lot about that field, so he could help me arrange performances and even be my coachman.”

Isabella didn't refuse, because she needed the money a lot.

On the one hand, Xenia also wanted to leave behind the music that her family loved.

“I made money as a musician, hiding my identity, and focused on magic the rest of the time.”

Isabella's driving force is revenge.

Ignoring the pain caused by the forced magic circle, I forced myself to use my magic power.

To further elevate the level.

Years later, Isabella finally ascended to the fifth rank.

Even two years later, he pioneered the magic island.

But then a problem arose.

The magic has been corrupted due to a rejection reaction from [Reviving Blood].

Magic <Erosion>.

The ability to weaken and ultimately eliminate the magical resistance of objects.

Simply put, it was a power that could separate human bones and organs using only <telekinesis>.

“It was a different magic, but… it wasn’t bad. I thought that maybe this would help me close the gap and kill Croden.”

but.

“Later, as I was called the Lucky Melody, I gradually became comfortable with the present. As time went by, more and more… Honestly, even leaving aside Croden, it was impossible to break through the Bohemian Tower’s guard. I even began to doubt my ability to take revenge. Then one day, the compulsory magic circle started to react.”

He sensed that none other than the Bohemian Tower was tracking him.

At first I ran away.

But soon he stopped walking and stood still. He dreamed of revenge, and was chased again by the men who killed his family.

Isabella laughed at herself.

───Instead of trying to prolong my life, I'd rather just die.

So, with the wealth I had accumulated so far, I prepared two artifacts and, after tracking down my opponent in reverse, I arrived at Gargant, a large city where the Scales of Ignacia were opened.

“Since I was going to die anyway, I wanted to take the guys sent by Bohemian Tower as my companions. I had hoped it would be Croden… But when I looked it up, it was Rayshen Taillord. The rest is as you know.”

Isabella let out a small breath.

“Anyway, that’s the end of my story. I hope you didn’t get bored. Then I’ll ask again. So what do you want from me? Are you looking for a partner to take revenge with?”

"okay."

“I see. Well… with your ability, you could probably remove the call to arms engraved on my body. Just like you did with Rayshen.”

Isabella took the table.

“But you know that too.”

Kuuung!

She threw the heavy table aside.

With pure muscle power, not strengthened by any magic or skill.

“As you can see, I am not human. I am more like a monster, like a heteromorph.”

Isabella showed off her newly grown left arm, along with her highly toxic blood.

The torn heart has regenerated, and even the vitality that was forcibly depleted using the artifact [Screamer] is resurrecting.

As a human being, it is natural that I cannot help but feel disgusted.

Even Isabella herself is like that.

“And if the compulsory magic circle is removed, [the reviving blood] will be directly absorbed into my body. If that happens, I will die. Or I will become a monster. No one can save me.”

“If possible?”

"……what?"

Verden manipulated magic.

A blue circle floating in the air… … Inside it, a magic circle of a distant level appeared, filled with large and small circles, spells, and shapes.

A part of the magic circle of reversal.

This is Verden's life's work and the foundation of his talent.

“A magic circle that reconstructs the body. If you engrave this directly into the center of your body and precisely adjust only the parts that oppose [Reviving Blood]… you will neither die nor become a monster. Instead, you will be reborn as a new being.”

“New, existence?”

“I can’t say for sure what will happen in the end. This is the first time I’ve used this magic circle on someone other than myself.”

Verden continued.

“It is your choice whether to try or to live with it, Isabella Deiros.”

Chances of survival.

Isabella, who had been chewing on him, hesitated.

“……Why are you doing that? You don’t necessarily need my strength, do you?”

“Let me ask you the opposite. Why do you refuse to help me while making excuses like that?”

Isabella was momentarily speechless.

“I don’t care if you’re a monster. And I have no intention of taking on any comrades in return. Even if the outcome is successful, you don’t have to help me. I will respect whatever life you lead from now on.”

For now, it was just words.

It was fundamentally different from Croden, who had made a promise to each other by talking about their dreams.

She swallowed her breath without realizing it.

A settled silence.

Isabella carefully parted her lips.

“Then, promise me one thing.”

He clenched his fists and raised his voice.

“No matter what happens, don’t betray me. If you’re going to betray, just kill me without hesitation. Don’t even know I’ve been betrayed.”

“No matter what happens, I won’t betray you. I promise.”

The wall and the gold eyes intersected.

“Okay, then…… I will live for you from now on.”

“I told you I didn’t expect anything in return.”

“You said you respected my choice? Then respect it as you see fit.”

Isabella crossed her arms.

The atmosphere has relaxed.

It seems like he's made up his mind.

Verden nodded and gestured toward the bed.

Since the work takes a long time, it would be burdensome for Isabella to stand up and do it.

“If I were to ‘directly’ engrave that magic circle into the center of my body… I think it would be a hindrance.”

Isabella sat up and lifted her clothes.

She lay still on the bed, pushing her dark green hair to the side.

A pure white back was revealed.

Verden said.

“Lower your resistance as much as possible. So that my magic can intervene by force.”

“Okay. But Verden, what should I call you from now on? Can I also call you my lord?”

“Whatever you want. As long as it’s not weird, I don’t mind.”

“Really? Then…….”

Isabella whispered.

“Head of the household. I want you to call me head of the household.”

What is the meaning behind the title ‘Gaju’?

After hearing her story, Verden knew without even saying it. It was Isabella's spirit.

'Similar to Adrian, yet different.'

Verden laid his hand on Isabella.

Just as the power source of the magic tower was used when first activating the reverse sky, the magic circle of the reverse sky itself requires an unusually large amount of magical power.

Even if it's only some, not all, it's the same.

Of course, there is no power source here, but that is not a problem at all.

'The magic power in my heart will replace him.'

The preparations are complete.

“It will hurt a lot.”

“I’m used to that kind of thing, so don’t bother trying to be considerate. I’m not going to die anyway.”

Verden, who heeded Isabella's advice, activated the magic circuit with full power.

Before removing the call, it was a priority to create a foundation for the reversal. She forcibly suppressed the resistance that she was endlessly lowering.

At the same time, he pulled out the black dagger on his waist and began to pierce his skin, carving a magic circle as a wound and a scar.

Blood, groans, and screams running rampant in the room.

The pain of today will be passed on to the Bohemian Tower in the future.

certainly.