Chapter 151: Curtail of Darkness
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Edelweiss requested the soldiers to bring her four stakes to seal the leakage. Once again, she took out her round device and infused it with mana. The mana transformed into a small glow resembling a firefly, which flew down into the earth, marking the location of the leakage. After confirming the exact spot, she directed the soldiers to place the stakes.
"I didn't notice any difference," Lily muttered.
"Yeah, me neither," I agreed.
"The mana felt slightly unstable there, but I might have missed it if she hadn't pointed it out," I added. "It's only noticeable on the scale of when people were engaged in intense magical battles, like when I used dragon flame magic or when Edelweiss healed numerous people. Other than that, there was no discernible difference."
"Well, the difference is subtle. That's why it's called a leakage. However, if creatures that thrive on mana, such as undead and monsters, were to inhabit this area, they would essentially gain unlimited experience as long as they remained here. That's why we must close it now," Edelweiss explained.
"How did she know? Isn't she a doctor? Is mana research her specialty?" Lily asked Alistar, but he shrugged his shoulders.
"Edelweiss graduated with Summa cum Laude in magic research. She only became a doctor because she was granted a blessing."
"Ehh... so she still got bullied despite having the highest honor in magic?" Lily widened her eyes.
"Well, anyone jealous of her would pick on her weaknesses."
"You guys, I can still hear you," Edelweiss commented while she continued instructing the soldiers to place the stakes. The soldiers returned to their horses and retrieved the four stakes as requested by Edelweiss.
"Alright, with this, the preparations are finished. Anyone who can use magic, come with me. I need to guide you on how to use the stakes."
Edelweiss proceeded to teach us, along with two other mages. Lily stood before her designated pillar on the ground and began channeling her mana into it. There, she felt a connection to the mithail stakes, and her vision briefly shifted to black and white. Like an x-ray machine, she saw the ground beneath her vanish, revealing various lines made of light that shone beneath her before disappearing into a dark netherworld. Among the lines directly beneath her, she observed glowing motes of light leaking from them.
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"So, that's the leakage," I whispered.
"Lily, did you see the leakage?" Edelweiss inquired.
"Yes, ma'am."
"What about the others?" Edelweiss turned to the other two elven mages, who used their feystones to channel mana into the stakes, but they shook their heads.
"Use more feystones, then. We need to finish this as soon as possible. Lily, once you get the hang of it, you'll need to manipulate the stake's mana and guide it to the stakes. Just try to mimic what I'm doing," Edelweiss instructed.
In the gray world beneath the earth, our stakes stood out like stars above the lines of light. Then, another star appeared right above Edelweiss's location. From the stars at Edelweiss's feet, thin lines of mana extended, undulating as they approached the motes of light leaking from the visible leylines below.
I then maneuvered my tail towards the mithail stakes and infused them with more mana. The mana coursed through the stakes, extending the lines and causing them to undulate like strands of thread in the fierce wind. As the lines, fueled by our mana, drew closer together, Edelweiss's line collided with mine, and the two lines connected.
Suddenly, a roar broke my concentration, and I shifted my focus from the underground to my surroundings. Four Vargmuth were now engaging Alistar, and his ten knights rushed in to assist him. Although they were still some distance away, it was close enough to make me restless, tempted to sever my connection with the mithail stakes. However, Edelweiss scolded me before I could do so.
"Don't break the connection! We must succeed. Alistar can handle that much. If the mission were to be aborted, he would inform us! Trust him!" Edelweiss shouted while the other two mages worked harder, their foreheads drenched in sweat. Finally, their efforts bore fruit as two more stars lit up beneath them. They extended their lines, though they appeared jittery, and switched their empty feystones, stretching their lines further.
I glanced outside and witnessed a horseman impaling a Vargmuth with his lance while Alistar held it at bay with his shield. Their coordination was impeccable, despite having only fifty soldiers and not utilizing the usual phalanx formation. The soldiers instinctively knew their roles without needing to be told, and they eliminated another five Vargmuth that had come with thirty skeletons.
"Edel, how much longer?" I asked.
"Ten! No, twenty minutes. Lily! More mana!" Edelweiss shouted, and I complied.
"I will handle any incoming enemies. You focus on the stakes, Shiro!" Lily whispered in my mind, and I followed her instructions. I exerted my mana, and our intertwined lines connected with the two remaining free lines from the soldiers. Edelweiss extended her mana, binding the lines together when the four lines met the motes of light from the leakage. The motes were absorbed into the lines, causing them to grow longer and entwine around the thick lines where the leakage had occurred. Once all the motes of light were absorbed and no more leaked from the thick lines, the leakage was finally closed.
"Alright, we're done! We simply had to drive these stakes into the ground to make them harder to remove!" Edelweiss declared, removing her hand from the stakes. Even after she did so, her lines remained.
"I see. She was utilizing the leylines' leakage to power the mithail stakes and close the leakage. So that's how you seal the leakage, by redirecting it into the stakes and then channeling it back into the leylines while absorbing what is necessary for the stakes," I murmured, retracting my tail from the stakes.
One of the leylines had finally been closed. Now it was time to deal with the undead that Alistar was valiantly holding off.