As one of the most famous cities on the Northern Continent, every mage capable of casting a teleportation portal would imprint a coordinate here in Ban Ard.
Vera was no exception.
Moreover, as a fairly large distribution hub for magic materials, and a production site for semi-finished concoctions—such as chevalier water, universal solvent, elemental essence—many rare alchemy materials existed only in Ban Ard. Vera even had a safe house in the upper district of Ban Ard.
Of course, that was before Ban Ard had been destroyed by the Wild Hunt.
After that, the entire alchemy industry of the Northern Continent suffered a major blow, while Aretuza instead profited greatly, becoming the second-largest magical-materials hub on the continent.
But that was beside the point.
Even though Ban Ard had been destroyed once, and Vera never again purchased property in the rebuilt Ban Ard, she still visited several times afterward, simply setting the portal landing point on a small mountain not far from the city.
A mountain from which one could see the entire city clearly. But now…
Vera looked out from the mountain and could only see the distant rolling ranges, and before them, a barren expanse of open land.
As for the city…
No—forget a city, there wasn't even a small village.
"Mentor," Mary stepped out of the portal, looked around, and gazed doubtfully at the unmoving Vera, reminding her, "Where's the next portal?"
"There is no next portal…" Vera said.
"Mm?"
Vera turned back, her elegant brows tightly furrowed: "This… this is Ban Ard. The Thousand-Towers City, Ban Ard."
"Ah?" Mary looked around again at the primitive, lifeless landscape in utter confusion.
She blinked, then focused. The mountain on that barren plain… it did indeed look like the mountain behind Ban Ard.
Ban Ard had been built against a mountain.
The mountain remained, but the city was gone.
That vast expanse of open land was exactly where the Thousand-Towers City once stood.
But where was the city?
Where was Ban Ard—such a huge city, one of the greatest in the Northern Continent?
Vesemir, Danthe, and Jerome Moreau, who walked out after them, were all stunned.
When everyone recovered from the absurd scene before them, they all turned toward the one person who might know the truth—the hero who had just rescued Hen Gedymdeith from Ban Ard: Vilgefortz.
"I… I don't know either…" The dimeritium shackles on Vilgefortz's wrists reflected the sun's hazy blue light as he stared blankly at everything below the mountain. "When we left, it wasn't like this…"
"It… it was still there…"
"Then Allen…" Mary instantly realized the key problem.
Vilgefortz lowered his head in silence. With an entire city of Ban Ard gone, what was there left to say about a witcher?
This time Mary was truly panicking. On the mountain, she paced back and forth in tiny frantic steps.
She clearly wanted to rush down there, to that barren plain, yet she knew that blindly searching would be pointless. So all she could do was deceive herself with useless movements, pretending she was doing something to find Allen.
"How could a city that big suddenly disappear?" Vesemir felt the utter absurdity of it all—so much so that even the urgency of finding Allen faded slightly.
Perhaps because so many accidents in the past—even the descent of an evil god—had failed to harm Allen, Vesemir subconsciously did not believe that the young witcher he had raised from childhood could be in life-threatening danger.
"But it has disappeared," Danthe shrugged. "Along with those disgusting sorcerers. Sorry, I don't mean you, Vilgefortz. You're a real man…"
Though Vilgefortz had proved surprisingly useless regarding the search for Allen,
The fact that he had voluntarily put on the dimeritium shackles had earned him everyone's respect and a limited amount of trust.
"It's fine," Vilgefortz shook his head, then looked at Vera. "I'm sorry, Lady Vera. Under these circumstances, I probably can't be of much help…"
Vera waved her hand, staring straight at him: "But you still aren't willing to talk about what happened in Ban Ard not long ago, or how you rescued Hen Gedymdeith?"
Vilgefortz met Vera's red eyes, remained silent for a moment, swept his gaze over the others around them, then shook his head: "Sorry."
"But I swear, I truly don't know how to find Allen in a situation like this…"
Silence lingered on the mountain.
The plan to search for Allen seemed to have collapsed as soon as it began.
How do you look for a missing person when the entire city he was in has vanished…
"Do you think he's in danger?" Jerome Moreau suddenly spoke, breaking the quiet.
"No—" Vilgefortz answered instinctively, but his tone paused, and he forced a bitter smile: "At first, I thought Allen definitely wouldn't be in any danger, but now…"
His gaze passed over Vera, falling upon the barren plain at the foot of the Blue Mountains: "I… I'm not sure…"
Vilgefortz was deeply confused.
After he and Lydia van Bredevoort left… what exactly happened in Ban Ard?
A black dragon being summoned was already absurd enough—so why did even the new Ban Ard disappear?
Was it Allen?
Impossible—at least, not just Allen alone.
Otherwise, with that kind of power, why would they have needed to painstakingly infiltrate the Ban Ard academy, go into the underground halls, and rescue Hen Gedymdeith step by step?
If they had even one percent of that power, even Ortolan would respectfully escort Hen Gedymdeith out…
So what happened after he left?
"What should we do now?" Vesemir asked.
"Why don't we go down and take a look first," Danthe suggested. "Find some villagers nearby, or traveling merchants. Something that big couldn't have happened with zero witnesses. At least figure out how Ban Ard disappeared…"
"No." Vera shook her head, suddenly glancing—whether intentionally or not—at the anxious Mary. She spoke thoughtfully: "There is another method that can definitely find Allen, as long as he is still in this world…"
-----------------------------------
"Enid, that over there is Dol Blathanna…"
Kariya pointed at the sunlit blooming city, pulling close Francesca Findabair beside her to keep her from accidentally slipping down the steep slope.
Francesca pushed aside fern leaves that hung before her eyes like feathers and gazed out in fascination.
Flowers blossomed along the mountainside, spreading all the way toward the pure white castle that looked as though it grew out of the snowy peaks.
White waterfalls cascaded from the castle's edges, rising into hazy mist that shrouded the entire valley. The lush greens and tender yellows were half-hidden, half-revealed—like rain, like clouds—making the castle appear like a fairyland floating above the clouds.
It was the elegance and beauty that only the most prosperous Hill Folk could create.
Unfortunately, that elegance and beauty had now changed hands.
"Enid," Kariya hesitated a little, "that Witcher…"
"Kariya!" Francesca frowned, turning back to interrupt her. She rose on her toes and looked around vigilantly for a moment, then stared discontentedly at the elven maid. "You promised me—you would keep it secret!"
"But so many people…"
"No 'but.' You promised. Simlas, Sadia… oh, and Ida—they ask you, you still cannot say a word…"
Under Francesca's utterly harmless stare, Kariya could only nod helplessly: "All right, I won't say it. But—"
"No but!" Francesca stared nervously at her.
"Yes, yes, no 'but.'" Kariya could only shake her head and close her mouth.
But with the Conjunction of the Spheres happening so coincidentally—right when the Free Elves were at their most vulnerable—how could Simlas, Sadia, or Ida not suspect something?
In this world, what could ever be hidden from two Aen Saevhernes, especially once their curiosity was stirred…
She didn't believe Francesca didn't understand this.
And that Witcher… actually went that far. Did he really intend to hide it?
"Is Simlas planning to move the Free Elves' camp into this valley?"
Francesca withdrew her gaze from Dol Blathanna—the Valley of a Hundred Flowers that bloomed year-round—and looked at Kariya, changing the subject.
"Enid, Lord Simlas is still your father. You should show him a little more respect…" Kariya sighed helplessly. But seeing Francesca's impatient expression, she changed her tone, "It's only a temporary settlement. Dol Blathanna is already human territory."
"But thankfully Aedirn has recently fallen into trouble as well. Setting up a temporary camp here shouldn't cause major issues in the short term."
"And the clansfolk just went through a near-death disaster—they need time to rest…"
"How many of our people died?" Francesca fell silent for a moment, then asked.
"Enid…"
"Tell me, Sister Kariya," Francesca pleaded. "Even though Simlas, Sadia, and Ida drove me out of the meeting, I'm not a child anymore…"
"They're protecting—"
"Sister Kariya!"
Francesca's clear blue eyes made Kariya unable to refuse.
She let out a soft sigh and stroked Francesca's smooth golden hair.
"I don't know the exact number either, but the Scoia'tael have withdrawn two entire units…"
At those words, Francesca held back the sting rising in her nose. She lifted her head and closed her eyes.
Two units—that meant nearly two hundred of the most elite Free Elf warriors. The overall casualties of the Free Elves would only be several times that number.
"Sha…sha~"
The mild early autumn breeze stirred the sea of flowers below the mountain, making them sway and rustle.
"They have only returned to the embrace of the White Ship, Enid. We will all board the White Ship in the end, returning home—that is the destined resting place of the People of the Hills…"
Carrying the fragrance of mountain blooms, Kariya held Francesca's slightly trembling body, gently patting her back as if comforting a child awakened from a nightmare.
"After we leave Dol Blathanna, where should we go, Kariya?"
Francesca murmured dreamily in her arms: "In this world… is there still any place where the People of the Hills can settle?"
Kariya's hand froze for a moment, her eyes filled with sorrow, confusion, and struggle.
She opened her mouth…
"There will be. There will always be."
Francesca suddenly bolted out of Kariya's embrace, nearly slipping off the cliff.
Because it wasn't Kariya who had spoken.
"Ida!"
Kariya quickly grabbed Francesca and glared sideways in mild reproach.
"Sorry." Ida Emean brushed aside the thick green ferns and smiled apologetically. "I should've made more noise…"
"Ida, when did you get here?" Francesca steadied herself, didn't have time to scold her, took two breaths, and immediately asked nervously.
"Just now," Ida Emean replied with a gentle smile. "Don't worry, I didn't hear anything."
Francesca frowned suspiciously and looked at Kariya.
Once Kariya gave a slight nod to confirm, Francesca finally let out a breath, pouted, and muttered unhappily: "The meeting is already over. This should be the busiest time, so what are you doing here?"
"Enid, it's Allen," Ida Emean said, her expression turning serious. "Allen has gone missing…"
Francesca stiffened the moment she heard Allen's name. After the rest of the sentence, she froze, suddenly shot to her feet, and her expression changed dramatically: "What?"
"Allen… has gone missing?!!"
-----------------------------------
On the desolate plains of the ruins of Ban Ard.
"Pa~"
A snapping sound.
Vera opened her right palm, and blazing crimson fire ignited from thin air, rising upward, then shifting into ice shards, lightning, and clods of earth…
"The elemental concentration has gotten stronger. Compared to a month ago, it has increased by at least double…"
She closed her right hand. The clods formed by magical energy crumbled into powder and drifted down from her palm.
"Vilgefortz, what do you think?"
"Apologies, Lady Vera, I can't feel it," Vilgefortz lifted the anti-magic shackles on his wrist, "but I imagine it must have changed today—after I left."
"At least for the past month, although the elemental concentration around Ban Ard has been steadily rising, the rate was slowing compared to one or two months ago, and definitely nowhere near doubling."
Vera nodded thoughtfully and looked toward the murky yellow wilderness along the banks of the Lixela River, her mind deep in thought.
Just then—
Vesemir and Danthe walked over from the distance.
When Vesemir approached, he glanced at Vilgefortz with a strange expression: "A supply caravan said that at dawn, just as the sky lightened, the ground began to tremble faintly. Many people fled out of Ban Ard, running desperately…"
"Some said the Wild Hunt had come again, and some said…"
Vesemir paused, unable to continue for a moment.
"What did they say?" Vera frowned.
Vesemir swallowed. "Some said… a black dragon—one that disappeared from this world long ago—was destroying Ban Ard…"
"Black dragon?" Vera's brows tightened further.
"Master, forget black, white, or red dragons," Mary said, gripping her clothes so tightly her knuckles turned white. "What are we supposed to do to find Allen? Who did you just send a magical message to? Why are you hiding it from me?"
Vera didn't react to Mary's sudden outburst. She looked at her for a few seconds, then sighed softly: "You're not going to want to know this so soon…"
"What do you mean? Of course I want to know—"
Before she could finish—
"Boom~"
An orange-red portal opened in front of everyone.
"Where's Allen? How could Allen go missing?!"
A crisp, bell-like voice—sweet but recklessly loud—burst out of the portal before its owner even stepped through.
.......
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