Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 367 (Part 1):

The library was silent, save for the faint rustle of pages. A desk in one corner was piled high with scattered magic tomes, their pages left open as if someone had been reading them just moments ago. But the mage who had been there was nowhere to be seen.

The moment they discovered this, a single hypothesis formed:

A mage was here, and he’s aiding the Crown Prince.

“If he was permitted to enter the library, he must be a mage of considerable skill. He’s undoubtedly hiding somewhere.”

“Our magic tools can’t detect him. If he manages to slip out…”

“It’s better if he has. Outside, he won’t be able to use magic anyway.”

The masked man who appeared to be the leader spoke with a chilling tone, his eyes glinting ominously.

Sian, who had been contemplating sneaking out with the Crown Prince, flinched at the words.

If he couldn’t use magic outside, protecting the Crown Prince—let alone himself—would be impossible.

‘What kind of mess is this? I really got hit with some serious bad luck.’

“We don’t have much time. Let’s use this.”

The masked man pulled something from his robe. The moment Sian saw what it was, his eyes widened in shock.

He nudged the Crown Prince, who had been listening intently beside him.

“Hurry! Hide over there!”

As soon as they ducked into a corner of the second-floor stacks, a wave of holy energy surged through the library.

Magic couldn’t be used within the imperial palace. The palace’s barrier was designed to restrict magic from the start—its purpose was to prevent rogue mages, dark mages, or enemies wielding magical artifacts from threatening the imperial family.

The divine barrier had been established long ago, during the early days of the Deus Empire, when the empire was still solidifying its foundation. Its core purpose was to protect the emperor.

Back then, no one had anticipated a scenario where the temple would become hostile to the imperial family.

Even though the barrier had been reinforced over the years, its suppression of holy power remained relatively weak. After all, the barrier wasn’t designed to block holy power in the first place.

What the masked man held in his hand was a sacred artifact. Sian recognized it immediately—it was brimming with immense holy energy.

Sacred artifacts were similar to magical tools, allowing the wielder to harness vast amounts of holy energy. This one even rivaled the power of a high priest. Such artifacts were kept deep within the temple, inaccessible to most and unusable by anyone without permission.

Its mere presence was proof that the temple was involved in this affair.

‘But to use it as evidence, we’d have to survive this first.’

Sweat beaded on Sian’s forehead.

“What’s happening?”

The Crown Prince muttered, sensing the strange shift in the air. Sian quickly raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

It was all he could do to react in time.

The holy energy flooding the library was disrupting his magic. Sian strained to maintain the summoning of the spirit that was creating the barrier.

A nauseating force of resistance welled up from within him.

His Light Spirit flickered in and out of existence, repeatedly unsummoning and resummoning. As a Spirit Mage, his mana (magical energy) differed slightly from that of a typical mage.

Spirit magic sits halfway between holy magic and conventional magic.

That was the only reason he could hold on at all. Sian was nowhere near the level of a mage who could resist a High Priest’s level of power.

‘If it were Alea, it would’ve been different. What would she have done in this situation?’

The Crown Prince had doubted Sian’s abilities, and not without reason. Alea was a mage on the verge of reaching the level of an archmage.

The difference between first and second place might seem minor, but in reality, it was vast.

Sian took a deep breath.

‘Impressive. They’ve even brought out a sacred artifact. No wonder things felt off from the moment I could use magic.’

These people knew the layout of the imperial palace library. They undoubtedly knew about the library’s barrier as well—not just the library’s, but the entire palace’s internal geography and barriers. They had used the sacred artifact to disrupt the barrier’s core, temporarily neutralizing it.

And now, they were using the artifact to scatter the magical wavelengths in this area, effectively disabling magic.

Resisting the flow of holy energy felt similar to passing through a sacred barrier.

Though the resistance was much weaker than that of a sacred barrier, it was still overwhelming for Sian, who had to maintain his magic.

“Your Highness… please carry me. We need to get further away.”

He didn’t even have the strength to walk. It was clear that the closer they were to the sacred artifact, the harder it would be to endure.

If they could maintain some distance from the artifact’s wielder, they might be able to avoid detection and hold out.

The Crown Prince, who had never carried anyone—especially another man—on his back, grimaced.

But there was no choice. Quickly grasping the situation, he carefully hoisted Sian onto his back.

Sian, enjoying the luxury of being carried by the Crown Prince, focused on maintaining his spirit summoning.

Though the Crown Prince had spent most of his time seated at a desk handling paperwork since ascending to his position, he still had enough stamina to carry someone as light as Sian for a short while.

The Crown Prince moved slowly, heading deeper into the stacks toward a less visible spot.

But their enemies were no fools.

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