Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey
Chapter 299: The Masquerade Party [3]

Lucas watched from the distant hill, his heart pounding with adrenaline as he clutched the wire-like object in his hand. He had been monitoring the situation from afar, waiting for the opportune moment to intervene and retrieve the ring.

With a quick flick of his wrist, Lucas retracted the wire, pulling the ring towards him with practised precision. As it neared, he reached out and caught it deftly in his hand, his fingers closing around the ancient artefact with a sense of triumph.

The fallen human, Jain, let out a furious roar as he realized what had happened, his blood-red eyes narrowing in anger as he turned his gaze towards Lucas.

***

There was not much time after I snatched the ring artefact from Fallen human.

With my [mana eyes] I could see the anger within fallen human eyes.

So without missing a moment I run.

I began to run using the escape route I prepared beforehand.

"OY!"

When I was hurriedly ploughing through tall grass, someone shot down from the sky in front of me. It was a fallen human who looked like a Caucasian man. Blocking the path in front of me, he glared with killing intent.

"You see this, right?"

He tapped on his waist, where a bladeless hilt of a dagger was hanging.

I knew what it was – a magic sword.

It was a weapon created using state-of-the-art magic engineering techniques. This weapon was often used by people who were confident in their magic power. As long as one's magic power capacity was large enough, it would display greater power than most low-rankartefactss.

"If you know what this is, you better hand that thing over.

At best the magic sword of his at [ A] rank artifact.

I don't have to fear to him because I have artefacts more powerful than his.

[Nightshadow bow] and [Sinister Of Sword]

That's the most powerful weapon I had for now.

That's why there is no need to fear him however there is one thing that putting me in trouble.

It's Fallen human rank, he is at [D+] rank.

If he started to fight seriously, I had to use all the cards I had to defeat him.

...And even so, the fight would be a long one.

"Um, why don't we talk it out? I can just give it to you."

"Why should I? I can just kill you and take it."

"But weren't you talking like you wanted to negotiate just now?"

"Was I?"

The fallen human sneered and imbued his magic sword with magic power.

WWiring

Just like a lightsaber, a blade of magic power shot up from the hilt. But that only lasted for a second. The sword's blade flickered, then disappeared.

"...What?"

Confused, he imbued his magic power again, but nothing changed. Just like a lightbulb that exhausted its energy, the magic power blade flickered and disappeared.

I immediately realized what was going on.

"Hahaha. Hahaha."

With a hearty laugh, I took out a Nightshadow bow and an arrow from my AI bracelet.

It's been so long since I used Nightshadow bow.

At the same time, I pulled out a low-level light magic scroll and infused the light magic into my arrow.

-Shing!

My arrow started to glow in the light colour light colour.

I pulled the arrow in strings and aimed at the Fallen human.

With this, he would die or be seriously hurt enough to not move.

Meanwhile, Fallen human was still flustered as he tried to use a magic sword.

"W-What's wrong with this thing...!"

The fallen human swung his sword hilt aimlessly, but there was no way that a state-of-the-art weapon would fix itself by being swung.

"Well, you see, that weapon won't work today."

"Because I'm very lucky."

"...Shut it! Even without a weapon—"

-Swoosh!!!

I let go of the string of my bow as a light magic arrow hit the centre of a fallen human.

-BOOOM!

The light magic arrow struck the fallen human squarely in the chest, exploding upon impact and sending him hurtling backwards with a deafening boom. He crashed into the ground with a thud, his body skidding across the grass before coming to a halt in a crumpled heap.

For a moment, there was silence as dust and debris filled the air, obscuring the fallen human from view. I cautiously approached, my bow still at the ready as I scanned the area for any signs of movement.

As the dust settled, only ashes of fallen humans lay remains on the ground.

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the immediate threat had been neutralized. However, I couldn't afford to let my guard down just yet. There could be more fallen humans lurking nearby, waiting to ambush me.

With that thought in mind, I quickly retrieved the ring artefact from where I had stashed it in my pocket, ensuring that it was safe and secure. Then, without wasting any time, I continued on my escape route.

***

On the other hand, Evelyn was sitting on a bench near the travelling crew's meeting place.

She had long since given up on replaceing the masquerade party. It was already 7 P.M., but Emma and Adrian were nowhere to be seen.

"...Tsk."

She wasn't bothered that they were missing, but for some reason, she felt anxious. But because she didn't know why she was feeling anxious, she was killing time playing a game.

She had tried to contact every one of them, Emma, Adrian and Lucas.

But no one is picking up her phone and replying to her messages.

"...Where are all these hero police going?"

Because siren noises constantly rang out, she couldn't focus on the game either.

In the end, Evelyn turned it off and checked her messenger app. No new messages had arrived.

"Haa."

'I'm upset, but why am I upset?'

When Evelyn was sighing in annoyance, someone sat down next to her.

Evelyn turned her head in that direction.

"...What's up with you?"

It was Lucas, but his face was pale and he was covered in cold sweat. Clearly, he was exhausted.

"Are you sick?"

Evelyn asked, her voice filled with familiar concern. Then, Lucas stared at her silently.

There was silence as Lucas was staring at Evelyn's green eyes.

Suddenly Evelyn both cheeks flushed as Lucas was intensely staring at her.

"...W-What? Answer me."

"I'm a bit tired."

"What?"

"Well... I can't move my body."

Lucas smirked. Then, he suddenly closed his eyes and leaned on Evelyn.

"Whoa!"

Out of instinct Evelyn quickly moved out of the way. Consequently, Lucas fell down on the bench.

He was unconscious.

Evelyn came near Lucas's face, and she could see that there was sweat on Lucas's face, His breathing was also rough.

She lightly touches Lucas's forehead with her hand as she moves away from his silky golden hair.

"...He has a very high fever."

But how could he have a fever? A few hours earlier he was fine.

As Evelyn pondered over Lucas's sudden fever, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that settled in her chest. Something wasn't right, and she needed to figure out what was happening.

With gentle care, she adjusted Lucas's position on the bench, making sure he was comfortable before reaching for her phone. She dialled Adrian's number once more, hoping for a response this time. But just like before, there was no answer.

Frustration mingled with concern as Evelyn realized that something serious must have happened at the masquerade party. She glanced around, searching for any signs of the rest of their group, but the area remained deserted except for the occasional passerby.

"Ah, Evelyn. You're here."

At that moment, Joy arrived with his girlfriend. His face was grim.

"Crew leader? Why are you so late?"

"So you didn't know. Something happened nearby. Adrian and Emma are being questioned."

"Eh?"

Evelyn's jaws dropped. She thought, 'Just what the hell happened while I was gone?'

"Ah, it's nothing serious. They weren't injured, and since their identities are clear, they'll be released soon."

With that, Joy glanced at the bench, where Lucas was unconscious on a bench.

"...What happened to him?"

"He has a very high fever."

"Hmm."

Joy approached him and placed his hand on his forehead.

It was hot.

"Babe, can you take a look at him?"

"...Babe?"

Evelyn grimaced. Joy smiled somewhat embarrassedly, and then the 'babe' standing next to him stepped up.

"I introduced her before, right? She's my girlfriend, Lily."

"Ah... Yeah, um, that's a pretty name."

As Lily stepped forward to examine Lucas, her expression grew more serious. She gently checked his pulse and temperature, her brow furrowing with concern.

"He's burning up," Lily remarked, her voice soft but tinged with worry.

Evelyn nodded, her own concern deepening at the gravity of the situation. Lucas's sudden illness was alarming, especially considering the events unfolding around them.

'Just what the hell happened to him?'

Evelyn couldn't think as she looked at the unconscious figure of Lucas.

Evelyn was worried, very worried about Lucas.