Feeling responsible for Rina's life, Yara took her and ran as fast as she could, without looking back to assess the situation, far beyond the perimeter of the explosion's impact. As a result, Lucy had to travel more than five kilometers before finally reuniting with her lovers.
"Well, one could say this mission truly had a grand finale…", Lucy tried not to appear too shaken by what had happened in order to help Rina and Yara calm down.
Perhaps they had considered the possibility of an explosion, but that didn't lessen the impact of witnessing something so destructive. Moreover, none of them had expected the explosion to affect such a vast area.
Of course, the most terrifying realization was understanding the immense danger they had been in near the Marquis's son. If the activation of the tattoo on his back had caught them off guard, the chances of all three escaping alive would have been slim.
"What happened, Lucy? I thought you said everything was fine…," Yara asked. She didn't mean to accuse Lucy, as she was fully aware that Lucy was not the type to treat an emergency lightly. She was simply curious as to why the tattoo on the marquis's son had activated after all.
"Honestly, I don't know. After the marquis's son died, the tattoo on his back remained unchanged for a while, so I assumed it wouldn't activate based on what happened to its host. Well, either I was wrong, or something happened that I didn't see, but suddenly, it emitted a shockwave that destroyed my substitute and the ice I had used to cover the treasures, and shortly after, the explosion occurred. Damn it, I should have moved him further from the treasures first! If they weren't destroyed, they must have been scattered over hundreds of meters…," Lucy explained to Yara and Rina what she had seen, unable to provide an exact explanation for what had happened. Looking back at her actions, she felt frustrated at the thought that she could have handled things better. Of course, she knew there was no point in crying over spilled milk, but knowing something and putting it into practice was not the same.
"Wait a second! How exactly were your substitute and the ice on the treasures destroyed? Did the shockwave make them explode?", Yara was surprised to learn that the explosion wasn't the only effect of the tattoo on the Marquis's son's back. Since its first effect seemed to interfere with skills, she realized the situation had been far more dangerous than she had initially estimated.
Lucy wasn't surprised by Yara's question, as she herself had many uncertainties regarding the shockwave that preceded the explosion. She was probably even more curious than Yara, as, unlike her, who wanted to understand the mechanics behind the shockwave to find a way to counteract its effects in case she encountered a similar ability in the future, Lucy was also interested in replicating its effect. Since the skill that created magical tattoos seemed to have versatility similar to her own skill of creating substitutes, she began considering ways to make her substitutes neutralize the effects of surrounding skills before transforming into an attack, thereby enhancing their destructive power.
For now, however, she didn't know exactly what that shockwave was, so all she could tell Yara were the conclusions she had drawn from what she had seen.
"No, they simply disintegrated. I think the shockwave had a deactivation effect on active skills… Yes, maybe the one who placed the tattoo on the marquis's son's back wanted to ensure that no one could survive the explosion due to being protected by a barrier or having some kind of skill that made them intangible…"
Yara didn't doubt that Lucy had correctly observed what had happened, but she found Lucy's assumption about the tattoo's first effect a bit premature. Just because it nullified Lucy's skills didn't necessarily mean it could negate all skills. Moreover, for the tattoo to have such an effect, the skill that created it would likely have to be at least rank A, if not S. Yara, who was well-versed in mercenary rates, was certain that hiring someone capable of using such a powerful skill would cost a fortune.
"Hmm, your assumption isn't impossible, but I don't see why someone would go to such lengths…", Yara began voicing her thoughts. "The one who ordered the attack would probably have had to pay the tattoo creator ten times more for the explosion to be preceded by such an effect. If someone wanted to ruin the Marquis's plans by preventing him from getting his hands on the lionkins, that alone would have been enough… No, wait a second…", Yara suddenly stopped. Who said the attack was aimed at the Marquis?
"It would make sense if they were targeting me and Silas since we both have the means to protect ourselves from an explosion, even if it caught us off guard...", Yara finally said, unable to find any irrefutable argument to support her earlier assumption that the explosion was the result of a plot orchestrated by one of Marquis Olsen's enemies. If someone wanted to take action against the Marquis, wouldn't it have made more sense to use the explosion to take his life? That way, they could be certain he would never get a chance to retaliate. But if the real targets were her and Silas, then this was the perfect opportunity.
"Huh? So you think one of your enemies is responsible? Who do you suspect?", Rina was the first to react to Yara's words. Judging by her tone, she seemed even angrier than Yara, the potential target of the explosion.
'That's my lioness!', Lucy was once again impressed by Rina's unwavering loyalty to those she considered family. Even though both she and Yara had only recently entered a relationship with Rina, Lucy was certain that Rina wouldn't hesitate to risk her life for either of them.
"…Hmm, I don't know. In my career as a mercenary, I've made plenty of enemies, but I don't think any of them would have invested so much time and money just to see me dead. Yeah, most of them would probably prefer to capture me alive. Honestly, if the tattoo hadn't been on the Marquis's son's back, I would have suspected the Marquis himself was behind this plot. Not only would he have avoided fulfilling his end of the deal he made with me, but he would have also ensured that we'd be silenced forever, making sure his enemies never found out about his actions...", Yara shared her thoughts on the possibility that she had been the true target of the explosion. Unfortunately, even with this shift in perspective, the situation remained just as unclear.
"But what if he wasn't actually the Marquis's son?", Lucy suddenly had an idea. Given how cautious Marquis Olsen seemed, she had considered the possibility that he might plan to get rid of Yara once he no longer needed her. However, because his son had been the source of the explosion, she hadn't initially connected this suspicion to the incident. But if the Marquis had known that his son wasn't truly his, everything started to make sense.
It would also explain how the tattoo had appeared on the young man's back without arousing suspicion. The Marquis could have simply drugged him during dinner to keep him asleep until morning, then handed him over to the creator of the magical tattoo.
"I'm pretty sure he was. I've had the displeasure of meeting him a few times before while I was guarding his father...", Yara didn't understand what Lucy was implying. She thought Lucy was suggesting that the Marquis had sent someone else to replace his son and make her lower her guard.
"No, I mean that it's possible the Marquis found out his wife had cheated on him and that his son wasn't actually his. Or maybe he always knew. Given that the Marquis seems like an ambitious man, isn't it strange that he had no expectations for his son and just let him become a worthless good-for-nothing? Maybe he pretended not to know because he needed the support of his wife's family, and now that he's finally in a position of power, he decided it was time to get rid of him...", Lucy had no trouble weaving a noble family intrigue to make her theory more convincing. Well, besides ninja movies, she had also watched a few soap operas as a child.