Power of Runes-Chapter 84: Source of the Trouble

BROOM!!!!!

An invisible wave of energy began to spread outward, silently covering the entire area surrounding the barrier.

There’s nothing unusual here, Elva thought, her gaze shifting toward Melissia, who stood beside her in silence.

Can I really trust what she said? Doubt lingered in her mind, tightening her chest.

Elva couldn’t shake her suspicion. How had Melissia come across such sensitive information? It didn’t seem like something one could just stumble upon or overhear by chance.

And yet, here they were. Elva didn’t know the truth behind it, and part of her didn’t want to.

Because right now, the source of the information didn’t matter.

What mattered were the lives of the children trapped inside the barrier. That reality pressed down on her like a weight. Whether the information was reliable or not, she had no choice but to act on it.

"I’ve checked the entire area thoroughly," Elva said aloud, turning to Melissia, "and I did another sweep just now. There’s absolutely nothing suspicious around here."

Melissia remained silent, her eyes locked in a deep, focused gaze at the black surface of the barrier beneath their feet.

They were currently standing at the very top of the magical barrier, surveying it from above.

Hearing Elva’s words, Melissia slowly closed her eyes. She began to recall the exact words that Ash had spoken to her earlier.

***

Flashback..

It was just after the banquet had begun. Among the first-year students, Ash had been the first to arrive.

His eyes had immediately caught sight of the Advanced Space Isolation Orb—a rare and dangerous artifact—being held by the demons.

The moment he saw it, Ash’s heart sank. He instantly realized that his original plan was now completely useless.

According to the events described in the novel, once all the students had gathered at the banquet, Elva was supposed to offer her congratulations to the second years.

It was a formal moment, a tradition of sorts. After her short speech, she—along with the other instructors—would leave the banquet site, giving the students time to relax and interact freely without the supervision of teachers.

And it was during that window—when the instructors had stepped away—that the demons in the novel made their move.

That was when they activated the barrier.

Ash had played through many possible scenarios in his mind. In the novel, the demons had used a powerful artifact to trap everyone. But was it necessary for them to follow the same method?

After all the future has changed.

They can change their strategy, Attack at a different time, Use a different tool.

It was all possible.

Ash had considered countless variations of what might happen. He had contingency plans for each. But when he saw the Advanced Space Isolation Orb in the demon’s possession with his own eyes, everything clicked into place.

They were sticking to the original plan from the novel.

Only—this time—it was more advanced.

His strategy up until that point had been relatively straightforward. While Ray and the other students engaged the demons who were trapped inside the barrier, Ash would locate and destroy the source of the barrier itself.

He already knew what it was and where it would be hidden. That knowledge gave him a critical advantage.

And once the barrier was gone, the instructors—who had been outside the barrier—would be able to break through and intervene.

But now that the Advanced Space Isolation Orb was involved, everything changed.

The Advanced Space Isolation Orb worked differently. The source of the barrier wouldn’t be located inside anymore—it would be outside.

This was extremely rare knowledge. The orb was not a common magical item.

It required rare materials found in demon realm, significant power, and a large amount of time to create.

Only a few people would even recognize it, let alone understand its true capabilities.

And even among those few, once someone was trapped inside the barrier, they would be unable to escape—unless they were the creator or the user of the orb.

No ordinary person would know this. But Ash wasn’t an ordinary person. He was a novel reader. He had read about this in the later Chapters of the story.

Realizing this, Ash quickly rearranged his plan. If he couldn’t destroy the source himself, he would have to find someone else to do it.

But who could he trust with such information?

He couldn’t simply walk up to an instructor and tell them. Not only would they never believe a first-year student without proof, but it would also put him in unnecessary danger.

They might grow suspicious and interrogate him—or worse.

He needed someone who wouldn’t be easily doubted or harmed.

Someone untouchable.

Someone born with a golden spoon, he thought to himself.

The reasoning was clear.

If the child of a Saint—or someone from a highly influential background—delivered this information, then even if the instructors became suspicious, they wouldn’t dare act harshly against them.

Ash considered his options and eventually settled on the only person he personally knew who matched this criteria.

Melissia.

Without wasting time, he contacted her and quietly left the banquet hall.

Moving swiftly and carefully, he made his way toward the designated meeting place—thankfully, it wasn’t too far from where the event was being held.

***

When Ash reached the meeting place, he took a deep breath and waited. Only a few minutes passed before Melissia arrived.

She was dressed in a black gown, intricately adorned with the delicate designs of crimson roses. Her hair was tied up neatly, framing her face with an air of elegance.

She looked stunning, radiating a beauty that could have stolen the breath of anyone who saw her.

But Ash did not notice any of it. His mind was too clouded with urgency, the weight of the situation pressing down on him.

"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly," he began, his voice low but firm. "But this is urgent—and it’s something only you can do."

Melissia stood before him, her gaze steady and unblinking. The fiery, temperamental girl he remembered seemed absent, replaced by a more mature, composed version of herself. Yet a faint red hue colored her cheeks, betraying her emotions.

She felt a twinge of sadness that Ash had not even glanced at her appearance — not a single word about how she looked. It had been so long since they last spoke, and part of her had hoped for something... anything.

The last time they had exchanged words was when Ash had come to claim his reward for winning a bet.

"What is it?"

Her voice was calm, soft, without any trace of anger.

Ash didn’t waste time. He explained the situation—the demons, the banquet, and what might soon happen. He didn’t go into the deeper details, only what she needed to know to act.

As she listened, panic flickered across Melissia’s face.

"Shouldn’t we tell the instructors about it?" she asked, her voice rising slightly with worry.

Ash met her gaze seriously, "What will you tell them? How you got the information?"

Melissia opened her mouth to respond, but then hesitated. The weight of his words sank in. After a pause, she asked the inevitable question.

"Then... how do you know this information?"

Ash’s eyes hardened slightly, but his voice remained steady.

"After everything is over, I’ll explain everything. But for now, the most important thing is that you stay outside the banquet hall. When the barrier goes up, you must immediately inform Instructor Elva."

Melissia nodded, the gravity of the situation settling heavily on her shoulders.

"Alright," she said seriously, "I’ll do that."

Ash continued, his tone firmer, "And remember what I told you — that barrier is strong enough to expel even a Mythical Rank person. If they try to investigate the surroundings, they won’t find anything unusual. After all, if the barrier can force them out, how could they possibly detect its source?"

He paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

"I won’t go into the technical details of how the device works — honestly, even I don’t know everything. But," he emphasized,

"Only way to find the source of the barrier is to observe even the tiniest details around it. No matter how normal something looks — a rock, a tree, even a simple flower — it could be anything."

Melissia nodded again, her expression now fully serious, carrying the weight of responsibility Ash had placed in her hands.

***

Opening her eyes, Melissia turned to Elva and repeated Ash’s words, her voice steady but urgent.

"The barrier is strong enough to expel even a Mythical Rank person. If the barrier can force them out, how could they possibly detect its source?"

After hearing those words, Elva was silent for a moment. A flicker of embarrassment appeared on her face, because even though she was extremely powerful and experienced, she had not considered such an obvious fact.

But Melissia didn’t stop there, "The source of the barrier could be anything. It could be a normal-looking rock, a tree, a flower, or something else that looks completely harmless. But finding it will—""

Before Melissia could finish her sentence, Elva interrupted her. Her eyes had sharpened, and there was a sudden light in them, as if she had realized something important.

"You said it could be even the tiniest thing, right?" Elva asked.

Melissia nodded quickly, a little confused about why Elva was asking that so urgently.

"Y-yes," she replied, her voice unsure.

Elva turned her gaze toward the area surrounding the barrier. The surroundings had already been cleared of people, and the guards had made sure no students or staff were nearby.

The empty area was filled with small buildings, patches of trees, colorful flowers, and several scattered rocks.

"If we go about this normally, inspecting every single object one by one, it would take too long," Elva said, her voice growing heavier with each word. "We cannot afford to waste time right now."

"So, let us destroy everything. Buildings can be rebuilt, trees can be replanted — but lives lost won’t ever come back."

Hearing that, Melissia suddenly felt very foolish for not thinking of it herself.

Even Ash hadn’t suggested this to her... but maybe he was counting on Elva to figure it out herself.

In his heart, he must have believed that Elva, with her experience and intelligence, would figure out the best solution on her own.

After making her decision, Elva raised her hand slowly into the air. A deep violet aura burst out around her body, surrounding her like a second skin made of pure power.

The pressure her aura released was so strong that the air itself felt thicker and heavier, but somehow, Melissia remained standing steadily, unaffected by the force.

Even so, she could not help but feel a deep sense of awe sensing Elva’s strength.

Amazing...

There was something different about Elva compared to Nyra, but Melissia couldn’t quite name it.

As Melissia was lost in her thoughts, she saw Elva point her finger forward. A small but extremely complex magic circle appeared in front of Elva’s fingertip, glowing faintly.

With calm and steady movements, Elva pointed the magic circle toward the ground.

The moment her finger dipped, gravity itself began to scream.

At first, the increase in gravity was so slight that it could barely be noticed. However, within seconds, the force grew stronger and stronger, until it felt as though an invisible hand was crushing everything beneath it.

Trees began to snap and crack under the intense weight, their trunks breaking apart like thin sticks.

Rocks shattered into fine dust, and delicate flowers withered instantly, unable to resist even a moment longer.

Buildings collapsed, ground shuddered.

It was pure annihilation.

Amidst all the destruction, there was a tiny tree that remained standing.

Even though the gravity was powerful enough to crush stone, that small tree had not even lost a single leaf. It was standing there, untouched, completely normal-looking but somehow different from everything else.

Elva’s lips curved into a small, confident smile when her eyes landed on it.

Found it.

***