Chapter 13 – Let’s Go to Radellia (4)

Ｒｅ​ａ​ｄ ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅａｄ​ｉｎｇＣａｆｅ

When Linda screamed in panic, everyone tensed up and looked around. The branches of the trees shook, and faint shadows moved through the darkness of the forest. An eerie, indescribable energy grew thicker in the air.

“What’s that sound?” Claire asked, drawing her sword.

“Something’s here.” Sion said, raising his shield and staying alert. “Eli, Claire, get ready.”

“Got it.” I replied, focusing holy energy at my fingertips and scanning our surroundings. Ruan stepped back, holding the spirit tightly. The spirit glowed faintly, reacting to the energy.

Linda flailed her arms and hid behind Sion. “Sion, I… I’m really scared! Is this… something bad?”

“Don’t make too much noise. If we give away our position, it could get worse.” Sion tried to calm her, but Linda was still trembling and muttering.

“Ugh… I don’t even know why I came along. You guys were talking about forbidden magic, and I was feeling uneasy… What if this gets dangerous?”

At that moment, the shadows in front of us coalesced and took shape. It was a massive, black beast-like figure made of pure mana. Its glowing red eyes flashed as it glared at us.

“It’s a monster!” Claire shouted. “What the hell…?”

I quickly assessed the situation and gave orders. “Claire and Sion, take the front. I’ll support from the rear with holy magic. Ruan, protect Linda.”

As soon as I said that, Linda raised her hand and shouted, “Wait, hold on! I’m a mage too! I can’t just stand around doing nothing!”

“Then use your magic to find its weak point.” Sion said firmly. “We don’t have time to chat.”

Linda flinched for a moment, then pouted and said, “Fine… I’ll give it a try.”

She raised her hand and began casting a spell. “Mana Scan! I’ll expose everything about this thing!”

At that moment, the mana radiating from her hand began to scan and analyze the black beast. She narrowed her eyes, examining the results, then closed her mouth.

“Well? Did you find anything?” I asked, and Linda replied with an awkward expression.

“Uh, well… I think I did… It looks like it was completely created using forbidden magic. It’s a monster made by sacrificing souls.”

“Sacrificing souls?” Sion said in shock. “Does that mean whoever made it is nearby?”

Linda nodded and continued, “Yeah. This isn’t a naturally occurring monster—it was created through a ritual… So the person who made it might still be around here somewhere.”

“Which means… this isn’t just a problem we can solve here and now.” Claire said through gritted teeth.

“Everyone, focus. We need to take down this monster and then find whoever created it.” I said, preparing my holy magic. “Linda, keep looking for its weak point while we attack.”

“Got it!” Linda replied in a trembling voice, preparing her magic again.

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The forest was filled with tension as the battle began. The monster roared at us, its black, swirling mist-like body undulating. Its red eyes glowed brightly, as if promising death. I gathered holy energy at my fingertips and shouted to the party.

“Everyone, focus! Claire, attack its flank! Sion, hold the defensive line! Linda, find its weak point!”

“Got it!” Claire dashed to the side of the monster with agile movements. Her sword glowed as it struck the monster’s hide, but it bounced off its tough exterior.

“Damn, what is this? Are we supposed to chip away at a rock or something?” she growled.

Sion raised his shield and blocked the monster’s massive claws. The impact reverberated through the shield, and Sion gritted his teeth, holding his ground. “Eli, it’s tougher than I thought! Don’t you have a stronger holy spell?”

“Just hold on a little longer!” I created a glowing spear at my fingertips. “Spear of Radiance!”

The radiant spear flew and struck the monster’s body, but it didn’t even flinch. Instead, it roared even louder, threatening us.

Linda was preparing something in the back. A magic circle spread from her fingertips, scanning the monster’s energy. But at that moment, the monster’s gaze turned to her.

It twisted its massive body and charged at Linda.

“Linda, watch out!” I shouted, but the monster was already closing in on her. Its claws came down, slicing through the air.

“Damn it!” Sion threw his shield and leaped forward. The shield deflected the claw, but it couldn’t absorb all the force. Linda fell to the ground, and Sion was sent flying, bleeding from the impact.

“Sion!” I tried to check on him, but in that moment, Linda slowly got up on her own. Her face, once filled with fear, now showed a madness I had never seen before.

“F*ck…” she muttered under her breath. “This is… so f*cking annoying!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the air changed. A cold, sharp killing intent filled the surroundings. Red mana exploded from her fingertips, and a new magic circle formed.

“Linda…?” I tried to call out to her, but she was already different.

“Get back. Everyone, step aside.” she said in a cold, sharp voice.

Linda swept her hair back with one hand and whispered, “Blood Rage.”

A red, mist-like mana enveloped her body. She charged straight at the monster. (T/N: IS THAT THE RED MI—SLAM!!!!)

The monster swung its claws at her, but she caught them with her bare hands and snapped them off.

Crash!

The massive claws flew into the air. Linda let out a crazed laugh and said, “You little sh*t, acting all tough. You’re nothing!”

The monster let out a painful scream, trying to shake her off, but she was already something else. She leaped onto its head and condensed mana into her hand.

“Ready to die?”

Linda grabbed the monster’s head and poured her mana into it.

Boom!

A massive explosion erupted, and the monster’s body was torn to pieces. Red blood and black energy scattered, leaving no trace of it behind.

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Linda walked back slowly, fixing her hair. Her eyes had returned to their usual calm, but the remnants of that madness still lingered.

“It’s over.” she said calmly.

I was at a loss for words. I couldn’t find the right way to explain what had just happened. Beside me, Claire spoke in a trembling voice.

“Wow… is that even possible? Are you even human?”

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The tension in the forest didn’t dissipate as we gathered around Linda, unable to speak for a while. The image of her tearing the monster apart was still vivid in our minds. Her red mana had settled, but her cold gaze still overwhelmed us.

“Linda… what was that just now?” I finally managed to ask.

Linda plopped down on the ground and let out a sigh. Her voice returned to its usual lazy tone. 

“What do you mean? I just took care of the monster. Don’t ask too much. I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”

“You didn’t do it because you wanted to?” Claire said, disbelief in her voice. “You just ripped that monster apart with your bare hands while radiating madness! Do you think that’s normal?”

“If you’re asking if it’s normal…” Linda paused, then chuckled. “Since when have I ever been normal?”

“But, that’s…” Claire tried to continue, but Sion raised his hand to stop her.

“That’s enough, Claire.” Sion said quietly. He looked at Linda and smiled. “Linda, you’re still our Linda. You did well.”

Linda turned her head away, looking slightly embarrassed at Sion’s words. “Oh, come on… Sion, stop it. You’re going to make me like you or something.”

Sion scratched his head and burst out laughing. “I already like you, so it’s fine.”

At that moment, Ruan slowly approached us. His face was pale as he held the small spirit in his arms, and his eyes looked troubled. He stared at Linda and suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.

“Sister… Linda…” His voice trembled slightly. “Sister… are you really okay right now?”

Linda froze at his words. She didn’t respond for a while, then let out a small sigh and said, “Yeah, Ruan. I’m fine. Sorry for showing you such a scary side.”

But Ruan shook his head and muttered softly, “That’s not it… Sister, what’s that behind you…?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to where Ruan was pointing. Behind Linda, a faint, flickering black shadow clung to her. It seemed to be intertwined with her body, as if it were a part of her.

“What the hell is that?” Claire asked, gripping her sword in caution.

Linda turned her head to look behind her and was momentarily speechless. Her expression was complicated and sad. Then she muttered softly, “Ah, really… I didn’t want to talk about this…”

I looked straight at her and asked, “Linda, explain. What is that?”

Linda slowly turned her body to face us. Her eyes were calm, but deep within them, there was a strange sadness.

“That… is proof that I’ve done something wrong.” she said with a small smile. “And… it’s also the reason I can survive in this world.”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
After a (not so long) bit of thinking, I have decided to no longer think!

Thinking is too hard and this story is too fast!! So your local brainless translator is here!

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