A long, dark tunnel.
It was surprising that a cave like this existed in the middle of the forest.
The entire place reeked of so unknown rot—whatever the hell had been going on here, it wasn’t anything good.
Thud, thud, thud!
I activated an illusion ward and heightened my alertness as I moved deeper in.
Before long, I ca face to face with a man wearing a completely stunned expression.
“Found you, rat bastard.”
“......”
Luto stared back at .
‘...A mage?’
Not that psycho from Behas, not even another priest—just a fellow mage.
He had no idea what was going on anymore.
‘How did he even take control of my chira? Breaking a ntal link isn’t sothing just anyone can—ah!’
Luto’s gaze dropped to the chira’s pitch-black eyes.
His expression lit up with excitent.
“You—you're a successor of the Gram School, aren’t you?”
The Gram School.
One of the now-exterminated dark mage factions, known for manipulating death and souls.
Eyes dyed black in undead raised through their magic—that was a signature of theirs.
Like he’d just bumped into an old friend, Luto started babbling with overflowing warmth.
“I’m a successor of the Kadiac School! You know, the one that fuses and controls living creatures!”
“......”
“So how’d you get here? Did you find my chira and track down? Ah, no matter. I’m just glad to et a comrade—I never expected to find a brother down here of all places!”
I didn’t respond, just stared straight at him.
He must’ve sensed so kind of hostility in my silence because he waved his hands and kept talking.
“No need to glare at like that. I’ve no intention of opposing you.”
“......”
“We may pursue different disciplines, but in the end, we’re all siblings born from the sa root—the Demon King. We’ve all been unjustly persecuted and driven underground in this cursed world.”
Gram, Kadiac, and the others—
All of these dark mage schools that dabbled in forbidden magic were nothing more than parasites spawned from the Demon King.
I knew that all too well.
Of course, knowing that didn’t change what needed to be done next.
“You can keep the chira too. It’s a sha—it was one of my finest works—but it’s already dead, so what can I do...”
“Why did you kill the villagers?”
I cut him off with a question.
At that, Luto tilted his head, as if I’d just asked sothing ridiculous.
“Why did I kill them? Well, obviously, I needed materials for my experints. What kind of question is that?”
Materials.
To people like him, life was nothing more than disposable fuel.
“I almost got into serious trouble last ti, you know. Kidnapped a few hundred for a bigger experint and nearly got caught. That damned inquisitor from Behas tracked down and wouldn’t let up. I thought I was busted again this ti, so I was just about to run for it. If I’d known it was you, I’d have had tea ready! Hah!”
I felt revulsion bubbling in my throat—but still smiled along with Luto.
【Lightning Bolt】
Zzzzzzt!!
The surprise spell was blocked by a barrier that shimred in front of Luto.
A pre-set defensive ward tied to the cave’s periter.
“W-what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Luto cried out, face pale with panic.
I twisted my mouth into a sneer.
“Just die, maggot.”
BOOOOM!!
Massive fireballs smashed into the barrier without rcy.
Luto turned in a panic.
“All of you—get out here! Now!”
At his shout, grotesque howling echoed from deep inside the cave.
Chiras.
Crash!!
The barrier shattered to pieces.
Screeeeee—!!
And from the inner tunnels, an army of monsters ca pouring out.
A two-headed snake, a lion flapping torn wings, a ball of at rolling like a boulder—
It looked like sothing straight out of a horror film.
“If anything gets through, you deal with it.”
I dismounted from the Krurk chira calmly and began casting.
【Blaze】
FWOOOOSH!!
Flas surged through the narrow passage like a tidal wave.
The increased circle tier from the level-up had made my magic even stronger than before.
When the fire finally died down, nothing was left in the corridor but ash.
None of them had been as strong as the Krurk chira.
Screeech!
One lone survivor barely managed to charge toward —but was intercepted by Krurk, who sank its fangs into the creature’s neck with lightning speed.
“Good job.”
I activated a detection spell and walked deeper into the cave without hesitation.
Midway through, a flash of red light shot toward .
I blocked it with a shield and answered with a volley of electric spells, exchanging fire several tis.
BOOM!!
“Damn it all... Would you give it a rest?!”
Luto appeared again at last, raging at .
“Why are you doing this to ?! I told you—I have no hostility toward you! There’s nothing to gain from fellow successors wiping each other out!”
I ignored him and asked:
“Have you t any other dark mage successors besides ?”
“Of course! We maintain close ties and still help each other out now and then! But you—why are you...!!”
In the middle of speaking, Luto launched a sneak attack.
I blocked it easily with another shield.
‘Fucking hell—how’s his casting speed so fast...’
Luto clicked his tongue in frustration and started preparing his next spell.
‘Still, he must’ve burned through a lot of mana dealing with my chiras. If I can kill the caster, that undead Krurk will fall too. I just need to press the advantage with a war of attrition!’
He figured I was about his level—4-circle.
Luto was confident he could win.
But that confidence ca from ignorance.
Because if we’re talking similar levels... there’s no mage in the world who can beat in a magic duel.
Not in spell variety, not in chaining speed.
Thwip!
“...?!”
A sudden jolt of pain.
Luto looked down.
Before he’d even finished half his casting, spears of light had already pierced through his limbs.
“Gyaaaargh...!!”
I stared coldly at Luto, who writhed on the floor, and then jerked my chin.
Krurk flicked its tongue, then began walking toward him with a predatory glint.
“S-spare !”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Luto scread desperately.
Karl held up a hand to halt Krurk montarily and asked,
“You said you knew other dark mage successors.”
“Y-yes, I do! I really do!”
“Do you know where each of them is hiding? Give the locations, and I’ll let you live.”
It wasn’t part of the quest, but in the end, another great war with dark magic would eventually co to the continent.
There was no harm in gathering so intelligence early.
Luto’s eyes darted around as he stamred out a reply.
“I-I don’t know exactly where they’re hiding... b-but we have a special way of eting! It’s complicated, so it’s useless without ! But if you spare , I’ll help you however I can—w-wait! Please—!”
He was a small fry.
Judging ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) there was nothing worth salvaging, Karl gave the command again.
CRUNCH!!
A spray of blood burst through the air like a firecracker.
Krurk didn’t even bother eating him, just spat the mangled corpse back out.
[Sudden Quest: Hunt the Dark Mage – Complete]
[You have received 20,000 SP as a reward.]
“No level-up, huh.”
Karl clicked his tongue in disappointnt.
Well, killing the Krurk chira had already given a huge boost, and Luto hadn’t been particularly strong.
After completely burning Luto’s shredded remains to ash, Karl continued deeper into the cave.
A fork—left and right.
He headed right first, and the already-strong stench of rot in the cave intensified.
When he reached the end, Karl let out a curse.
“Fucking lunatic...”
Unidentifiable lumps of flesh, and here and there, human limbs poking out from between them.
It was clearly a laboratory for his twisted experints.
Karl incinerated everything and returned to the fork, this ti heading left.
“This must be the living quarters.”
As expected, it was a neatly organized space, with stacks of books piled up against the wall.
Karl examined the books.
[Conversion (15,000 SP)]
[Mind Control (11,000 SP)]
...
Books related to the dark fusion magic used to create chiras.
Karl took them all into his inventory.
He doubted he’d ever actually learn such disgusting spells—but no one could predict the future.
After gathering anything that might be useful, he returned to the outer corridor.
“Ti for you to rest, too.”
He canceled the spell on the undead Krurk.
It was a waste of a good combat asset, but he couldn’t drag that thing around forever.
Thud.
Krurk’s body collapsed to the floor, once again a lifeless corpse.
Karl stepped out of the cave.
* * *
When he returned to the village from the forest, the whole place was in celebration.
Ultern and Jeep, who had returned earlier, had already inford everyone that the monster was dead.
Of course, the real credit belonged to Karl.
Thanks to that, he received a storm of enthusiastic cheers from the villagers—much to his annoyance—and prepared to leave right away.
“It’d be nice if you stayed a few more days...”
“I’ll be fine.”
He hadn’t brought anything to begin with, so it wouldn’t take long to head out.
Leading his horse, Karl began walking toward the village entrance.
Lined up along the path were the villagers, including Jeep and the village chief, there to see him off.
“Thank you so much, Mage!”
“Co back any ti—we’ll treat you to sothing better than Camilla Inn’s potato soup!”
Ultern was among them too.
He was staying behind in the village for a few more days due to his injury.
“It was truly an honor to fight beside you, Sir Karl.”
“Likewise.”
“When I return to the castle, I’ll make sure to tell the Count about you. Don’t worry—I won’t ntion the lightning spell. And if you ever visit the castle, just call for —I’ll co running barefoot to greet you!”
“...Yes. That’s very kind of you.”
Karl looked up at the still-dull sky and mounted his horse.
Ti to move on again.
Toward Gaster City.
* * *
After Karl’s departure, soone appeared in the dark cave he had left behind.
A woman in a snow-white robe, her face half-covered by a mask.
She silently inspected the cave, stopping before Luto’s blackened corpse.
“......”
After gazing at the remains for a while, she crossed herself and walked deeper into the cave.
There, she found the body of the Krurk chira.
As she examined it, her expression hardened.
“...An undead. Gram School?”
Another dark mage’s trace.
The one she’d been chasing was dead—but a new one had appeared.
The continent’s vermin.
Seeds of evil that must never be allowed to live.
Her eyes glead coldly in the darkness, having found a new target.
Reviews
All reviews (0)