Whispers broke out imdiately in the entrance line. The terrified silence lasted barely a few seconds before a collective paranoia seized everyone present.
"He can’t be evaluated even by an S-rank scroll?"
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"Never in my life have I heard of an S-rank who can’t be inspected... so, what’s going on with him?"
"Hey, and that giant weapon he wears on his back, isn’t that exactly the sa one that the holy knights of the sixth division were attacked with in Varvylom?"
"What? No... Could that guy be the heretic who freed the demon from prison?"
Ryan let out a long sigh laden with annoyance as he listened to the crowd putting the pieces together.
’I knew perfectly well that sothing like this would happen. Although, being totally honest, I was partly the one who provoked this situation. If I had wanted to leave without drawing attention, I would have already done so.’
He looked at all the people around him. Adventurers, rcenaries, and guards watched him expectantly, their hands trembling near the hilts of their weapons, waiting to see what the monster standing in front of them would do.
’I guess deep down, I was hoping so S-rank or higher knight would show up at the gate, just so I could asure my new power. It would be best if I stop causing unnecessary trouble now.’
Ryan fixed his gaze on the guard in front of him, who was still holding the useless scroll with trembling hands.
"Hey, are you going to let leave now?"
"But sir... you can’t just leave like this. It... it is a strict protocol that anyone, regardless of their rank or status."
At that mont, the other guard who was inside the checkpoint booth rushed out.
He carried a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. Ryan quickly identified that the yellowish color and the ink’s hue were exactly the sa as those used for the ’Wanted’ posters he had just torn down in the alleyway.
So he didn’t have to think too much. It was obvious what was happening.
That second guard approached his partner from behind, whispered sothing hurried into his ear, and both of them nodded, their skin pale with sheer terror.
"Please wait here for a mont," said one of the guards, trying to sound authoritative even though his voice was cracking.
Then, the other one hurriedly ran back inside the booth. He opened a reinforced wooden box, pulled out a strange glowing stone with runes carved onto its surface, and began to speak into it with desperation.
"South checkpoint here! Do we have people from the inquisition available? We have a person at the gate who cannot be evaluated by S-rank scrolls and matches the description of the Varvylom target."
’Is that perhaps... a long-distance communication relic?’
Ryan looked at the stone with genuine curiosity and took a step forward, approaching the booth with the simple intention of asking the guard about the relic.
But the guard outside, his nerves completely shattered, interpreted the step forward as if Ryan were about to massacre them all.
The soldier went into a total panic. He extended both hands forward, channeled all of his mana into a single burst, and cast a containnt spell directly on Ryan.
Thick bars of solid light sprouted from the stone ground, forming a cubic cell of magical energy that trapped Ryan inside.
"A cage?" Ryan murmured to himself, raising an eyebrow as he observed the magical bars surrounding him.
Ryan looked at the guard. The man was sweating profusely, keeping his hands extended while energy flowed from his palms, giving shape and stability to the cage.
"Hey, I don’t intend to cause any trouble here," Ryan said in a bored tone, slipping his hands into his pants pockets. "I just wanted to ask about that communication relic."
The guard who was inside the booth rushed out abruptly upon seeing the magic activated.
"Hold him back with everything you have! I’ve already requested reinforcents from high command, the paladins are on their way!"
’I don’t bla them for panicking,’ Ryan thought, feeling a bit of pity for the poor soldiers who were only trying to do their jobs.
A few ters away, the group of adventurers that had been arguing began to go into a crisis.
"Hey, we should get out of here right now..." said the woman from before, tugging on her companion’s sleeve.
"Are you crazy? They’re offering a multi-million reward for that guy’s head," replied the man who had mocked Ryan’s boorang, unsheathing his sword with sheer greed.
"Let’s stay and help the guards. If we hold him off until the S-rank paladins arrive, they’ll give us a share of the gold."
"But... do you seriously want to face him? Not even the scrolls can asure him!"
At the woman’s desperate question, Ryan slowly turned his head and looked directly at the man who was about to answer.
It was just a single glance.
But Ryan’s eyes, backed by that monstrous pressure, weighed down on the adventurer as if a mountain had been dropped right onto his shoulders.
When the man locked eyes with Ryan, he didn’t say another word. The sword in his hand began to tremble.
He swallowed hard with so much difficulty that he felt like he was choking, and he fell completely silent, frozen by a primal fear that scread at him that if he took a single step, he would die.
"Don’t try to run away. We already know perfectly well that you are the one who attacked the holy knights."
Said the guard who was maintaining the cage, trying to instill courage within himself upon seeing that the magical cell seed to hold up.
Ryan sighed with annoyance once again, realizing that the dialogue had co to an end.
"It’s not like this cage is going to hold ," Ryan said, taking a couple of steps forward toward the magical bars of light. "Anyway, I don’t intend to kill you guys for doing your jobs either."
Ryan didn’t even bother to take out his boorang or use his imnse physical strength. He simply extended his right hand toward the guard channeling the spell.
"Debt Seal."
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