Ch.119The Black Mage and the Black Knight (7)

[Play Time: 9,778 hours]

“You’ve arrived.”

The words were polite, but the attitude was not. Given the circumstances, it was understandable.

This was a land filled with writhing shadow-like entities everywhere. The city that once housed prosperity and order had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only remnants of death and former glory.

Even ruins typically suggest life once existed, but what remained here only revealed death.

A cold, inorganic death.

In this land, among the few who managed to maintain their safety, the most prominent figure greeted someone at the entrance.

Though “greeting” might be an overstatement, as his eyes were filled with hostility.

Naturally, the welcomed man stopped in his tracks. At this abrupt halt, the one who had completed the research spell that devoured the city once called Servan smiled.

“Wise decision. Had you come any closer, you would have been torn to shreds.”

The death that filled this area possessed enough power to tear apart even the mightiest beings.

It was thanks to this power that the city had been destroyed, people killed, and survivors driven to ossuaries where they could only await their deaths.

That’s why untrained black mages had occupied the castle, holding out while waiting for their magic to be completed.

“In truth, I was hoping you’d foolishly approach and be torn apart.”

Now that the spell was complete, the tables had turned.

The pseudo-transcendent, the devouring shadow, was untouchable even for a rogue who had repeatedly crushed his mother’s schemes.

It possessed power and strength incomparable to the pseudo-transcendent that his kinsman had been preparing in this city in the past.

So he smiled leisurely, hands clasped behind his back.

“So, how does it feel? The city you so diligently protected has been reduced to ruins, and all your efforts have been in vain.”

The man, Llewellyn, did not respond to those words.

Though his expression remained blank, the mage believed he was barely containing his rage.

Well, what could he do even if he was angry?

‘At best, he’d charge in and meet a dog’s death, and he knows it. Just look at him.’

It was satisfying to see him trembling like a rain-soaked dog. The mage raised the corners of his mouth in a pleased smile.

“But what gave you the confidence to come without the Black Knights? Did you think you could stop this level of spell on your own?”

The man was alone. There was no sign of the magical storm or repulsion that typically accompanied the Black Knights’ anti-magic power.

In other words, the man had to be alone. Black Knights couldn’t use magical stealth items due to their unique anti-magic properties.

This made the mage bold. If Black Knights had swarmed in, he would have gathered all the black mages cautiously to weave spells, but that wasn’t the case.

“If you want to save the people in the ossuary below, why don’t you try—”

That’s when it happened. Suddenly, the man sighed.

The mage’s words stopped, and his gaze fixed blankly on the man.

‘What? Why did he suddenly…’

It didn’t seem like a sigh of despair given the hopeless situation.

Rather, it was closer to a sigh of relief.

‘Why relief? Did he actually want Servan destroyed? That can’t be right.’

The Black Knights hadn’t arrived either. There was no magical storm generated by their unique anti-magic power.

No reinforcements were visible. The man was alone. Even if reinforcements came, they couldn’t survive here unless they were black mages.

“Don’t worry. I was planning to save them even without you saying so.”

The mage looked at him suspiciously.

For some reason, it didn’t sound like he was agreeing to follow instructions.

“Are you stupid? Do you think you can break through this alone? I need to show you the difference in our power—”

“You didn’t notice, I see. That’s fortunate. Thanks for letting your guard down.”

At this, the mage stiffened, and the man drew the sword from the scabbard at his waist.

It was a blade burning with stellar flames.

Otherwise known as the Star Blade, it fundamentally contained stellar flames, making it clearly visible even from high above.

As its overwhelming light created layers in the shadows, the mage tensed, thinking the man wanted to fight, and began to draw up magical power.

But the magical power he summoned also developed shadows.

Like wind brushing against skin, something brushed against his magical power, making it waver like hair blown in the breeze.

The spell wavered. He froze. Captured by that sensation, the mage instinctively looked up.

And he recalled what black mages across the continent had feared for a very long time.

Divine punishment descending from the heavens.

Something that black mages who had lived since the time when gods still existed had described as such.

Anti-magic power and the exceptional skill to wield it, safety mechanisms through repulsion emitted via armor.

And above all, the spearhead with the combined force of speed and mass.

Ancient knights were said to ride horses and thrust spears.

Then Black Knights could be said to ride the world itself as they thrust their spears.

This was lance charging, a method permitted only in this Netel.

The last thing the black mage saw was an overwhelming presence falling at ultra-high speed, distorted magical power, and a massive black meteorite at its center.

“Def—!”

Before his cry could fully form, it accelerated further. The sonic boom shook the surroundings, and massive shockwaves spread in all directions like an earthquake.

The magical storm created by magical power pushed away by anti-magic power.

The heterogeneous force that repelled all humanity capable of sensing and using magical power.

Moreover, a toxin like radiation that permeated the mage’s body.

As the black mage coughed up blood—

The sonic boom ceased.

What remained were finely ground flesh and traces of what was once human.

From the crater covered with such remains emerged a large Black Knight.

Along the path where he had fallen, tentacles made of shadow shattered and dispersed as magical power.

It was something quite different from what Llewellyn had seen in the game.

As far as he knew, the “lance charging” that Black Knights used in the game wasn’t as powerful as this meteor-like attack.

It was strong, but it required preparation time. There were many stronger techniques to use if one could fully commit the first six seconds.

But he didn’t dwell on that discrepancy.

As far as he knew, the gap between game and reality was considerable.

The numerous skills and items he possessed were described as using dice in their explanations, but in reality, dice didn’t roll.

It was simply a matter of determining how much stronger and more accurate something was.

So it would be problematic to expect the exact performance seen in the game.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would have acted the same way when fighting this monster in the game.

He couldn’t know. Llewellyn watched as the Black Knight walked out of the crater toward him.

The strongest Black Knight.

Slaughterer and survivor.

Valterok.

He spoke.

“A miserable sight. We should hurry.”

Llewellyn nodded.

*

[Play Time: 9,776 hours]

“Your company alone will suffice.”

When they first tried to form a party and prepare for the expedition, Valterok stopped them with those words.

“What? But the pseudo-transcendent has been completed, how can you and Llewellyn alone…?”

Melody naturally objected, and Llewellyn also seemed uncomfortable.

However.

“Others would only be a hindrance. The anti-magic power surrounding my body is itself a magical storm, and if I don’t suppress it, even the magical power you carry within you would scatter.”

Melody couldn’t argue with his statement that beings who use magical power would be useless in this situation.

In this world, few beings don’t use magical power. Besides Black Knights, only pure homunculi like Llewellyn and Mourners exist.

Even Llewellyn’s sister Lucilla, a warrior with powerful magical power and magical eyes, wouldn’t be helpful in this situation.

“What about Isla and the Mourner companions?”

“Those two cannot follow in the battle ahead.”

“…I see.”

“Indeed. If there are no objections, I wish to depart now.”

He had specifically chosen only Llewellyn.

He said only Llewellyn could accompany him in his battle.

Though Llewellyn was speechless at his firm attitude…

Now, Llewellyn knew there wasn’t a shred of falsehood in those words.

Shadows tearing through the void and surging forward. Seeing those massive shadows, Llewellyn swung the axe in his grip.

The pressure transmitted to his hand was considerable. His grip tore and regenerated repeatedly. Amidst this, Llewellyn imbued the vibrating axe with mortality and even coated it with sacred blood.

He used the sacred blood covering his body to create repulsion to prevent being pushed back, and used it like a propellant to drive the axe forward.

Only then did the shadow split. His misaligned elbow rattled, and torn muscles and bones protruded from his arm before being caught by sacred blood, returning to their place and regenerating.

[Temporary Health: 1]

[Temporary Health: 11]

[Remaining Duration: 66 seconds]

As soon as pain arrived, repeated commemorations granted him temporary health, which then decreased again.

The frantically blinking window. Eventually, Llewellyn squinted and closed the status window, gritting his teeth.

With a shout, he moved the Star Blade in his right hand.

A message appeared in the corner of his vision. Explosive leap.

KWAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAK!

His body accelerated. He drew a circle with his foot planted on the ground. At the end of it unfolded the Blood Knight vision, Moonshade, tracing a scarlet trajectory.

As the sliced shadow tilted, Llewellyn used the repulsion on his body to swing himself widely like a dragon swinging its tail, and kicked.

With a tearing sound, another tentacle was cut. The thudding sound resulted in the tentacle transforming into magical power. Llewellyn, covered in blood, gasped for breath.

Even dealing with just two tentacles was this difficult.

He definitely couldn’t have won alone.

This wasn’t something designed for humans to defeat in the first place.

It’s more like the result of a quest failure in an event. It doesn’t even give experience points when defeated.

It’s nothing but loss. So it must be killed. Not because there are people to save, but because if left unchecked, it would advance and grind down the mountain where the pantheon stands.

Then it’s better to deal with it from a safe distance.

And it’s right to deal with it when help is available.

“AAAAARGH!”

A scream echoed. Turning his head, he saw a black trajectory appropriately utilizing anti-magic power to accelerate through the bursting tentacles, piercing through a black mage’s torso.

The horseback spear he thrust shredded the black mage’s entire intestines from the navel, crushing the spine and exiting through the back. Instant death.

One cannot survive when all internal organs are simultaneously destroyed and torn into a handful of bloody pulp.

Only a few mages from the Research School could manage such a feat, and there were no such mages here now.

Even if there were, they would have fled.

Valterok was one of the continent’s greatest powers, unrivaled in certain fields.

He was a monster more capable than anyone on the continent when it came to killing mages.

Any mage, no matter how powerful, was like a terminally ill patient before him.

The more powerful their magical power, the more fatal it was. Llewellyn watched the giant lowering his horseback spear as he reduced his acceleration.

“Most have been cleared. I sense no magical power.”

He had many talents. Anti-magic power is the opposite of magical power, meaning it can mimic what magical power does.

He could detect the level and location of magical power through the repulsion transmitted to his anti-magic power, and he could accelerate or push away enemies by pushing magical power with anti-magic power.

He could also project it onto his body to float, or minimize the recoil of wielded weapons through the repulsion between anti-magic power and magical power to deliver continuous attacks.

But among his talents, one of the few that Llewellyn surpassed him in was sensory perception.

Llewellyn couldn’t sense things like magical power. He had no anti-magic power either. But his hearing far exceeded that of humans.

He listened to the sounds coming from the direction of the ossuary.

With just a glance in that direction, Valterok understood his intention and walked, and Llewellyn followed him, observing the writhing tentacles.

They weren’t completely dead but no longer showed hostility. Because all the mages controlling them had died.

So it’s fine for now. Llewellyn looked at the ossuary blocked by debris and stepped forward to clear it.

When all the debris was cleared and the entrance revealed…

Llewellyn unconsciously hunched his shoulders.

There was a person there.

A soldier with his back against the heavy stone door of the ossuary, standing on trembling legs.

He held a spear in one hand and an axe in the other.

Weapons covered in his own blood and that of his enemies.

At his feet lay a black mage who had been brutally killed.

Standing over the black mage, the soldier said:

“…Can’t… pass… through.”

His nose was cut off, and one eye had been gouged out.

His body was battered and torn in various places, still bleeding.

Barely alive. Though Llewellyn was speechless at the pitiful sight, Valterok was different.

He approached the soldier one step and embraced his shoulders.

“Your duty is done. You have succeeded, so rest now.”

The soldier’s blank gaze looked up at Valterok. He blinked his eyes for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.

“Thank… goodness.”

Closing his eyes, the soldier’s knees touched the ground.

The soldier who collapsed forward would never rise again, but…

He was smiling. Knowing he had succeeded, satisfied.

Llewellyn stared at the soldier for a long time before opening the stone door.

The moment the door opened, dozens of frightened gazes fixed on him and Valterok.

They were the last people of Servan.