Ch.140140. Savior

I couldn’t quite tell what it was, but I strongly felt something breaking inside me.

Perhaps that’s why.

The aversion I had felt until now when handling souls had completely disappeared.

[AAAAARGH!]

[STOOOOOP!]

[AAAAAAGH!]

Perhaps that’s why.

The pitiful screams of souls, the souls writhing in agony caught in my magic.

I felt nothing at all.

Perhaps that’s why.

Against the Great Warrior and Horua, who had given even Knight Commander Gloria and Findenai, the head of the scrapyard, a difficult time.

I was maintaining quite an advantageous position.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The souls that continued to pour out were each a fatal strike, giving everything they had.

The Marias Great Forest is a place with deep history and tradition, a kind of massive jungle.

Naturally, there had been many unfortunate victims, and because of that, I had plenty of ammunition in my hands.

The Great Warrior staggered.

In desperation, he released flames from his body to protect himself.

Even souls imbued with my mana and the power of Lemegeton couldn’t easily cling to the flames of Horua, who was called the forest god.

In that case.

Whoosh.

I changed the direction of my hand.

At its end, beyond the Great Warrior, was a member of the Marias tribe trembling violently.

Men, women, old, and young.

I fired souls filled with resentment toward the quite diversely gathered tribe members.

“KYAAAAH!”

“Please spare us!”

“Great Warrior!”

The tribe members screamed.

Startled, Balkzar urgently withdrew his flames and lunged toward his people.

“Kugh!”

Blocking the incoming souls with his body, he exhaled a faint breath but straightened his posture and glared at me.

His eyes held various emotions, but he didn’t voice them.

It was an act that felt repulsive.

Indeed, if I were my former self.

This was something I would never have done.

If I closed my eyes even for a moment.

I saw Illuania’s face, who had been kidnapped.

When I opened my eyes, I glimpsed Findenai looking up at me while wounded.

And when I closed my eyes again, I felt as if I could hear the Dark Spiritmaster’s voice, worrying about me despite her own ruined state.

And every time I thought of them.

My actions became increasingly rough.

A spiritmaster is fundamentally skilled at wielding offensive magic.

They handle souls and, through their mana, display various feats impossible for ordinary mages.

The greatest weakness for such spiritmasters.

Is souls.

They need to handle souls, but finding those souls in the first place isn’t easy.

While some have talent in soul sight, they can’t see all souls.

Most can only see evil spirits that have taken form due to deep resentment.

Yes.

I’m different.

What would be a weakness for spiritmasters is not a problem for me at all.

I have Lemegeton, which can awaken the dead, and eyes that can see them all.

The moment the limitations of being a spiritmaster are broken through.

I stretched my hand upward.

The scattered souls began to condense into my palm, and they soon forcibly distorted to form the shape of a great sword.

The soul greatsword grew increasingly massive, large enough to swallow not only Balkzar but also the numerous tribespeople behind him.

“…!”

Realizing that if he couldn’t block this, it would be dangerous, Balkzar widened his eyes, gripped his spear, and charged toward me.

Wheeek!

A whistle blown while charging.

At the sound of the whistle, numerous magical beasts leaped out from the undergrowth as if they had been waiting.

They were loyal magical beasts who had come to aid Horua, the master of the forest.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

Semi-transparent beast forms rose from the ground and simultaneously bit the necks of the magical beasts charging toward me.

As I had shown when facing Dina before, souls aren’t just human.

The souls of magical beasts were also abundant, and handling them wasn’t difficult if pain was involved.

Rather, the charging magical beasts died by my hand and transformed into souls that followed me, charging back toward Balkzar.

“Kugh!”

He tried to fend them off with his spear, but unable to overcome their numbers, Balkzar’s shoulder and thigh were bitten.

But his wings of flame didn’t stop, bringing him before me.

As his spear, extended far behind him, was thrust forward again aiming for my heart.

CRUNCH!

A massive mouth blocked the spear.

It was a woman.

With a huge mouth near her chest, and both hands in the form of beast jaws making chilling teeth sounds.

Her identity was revealed by a limbless Dante faction shaman watching from behind.

“D-Dina!”

The first Dante faction beast master I killed, Dina.

I still possessed her soul, so I could forcibly control her.

Of course, even she couldn’t completely block the flame spear.

After blocking it momentarily, I indifferently watched her soul gradually burn away and lowered my hand holding the greatsword.

Simultaneously, Great Warrior Balkzar urgently spread his wings and soared upward.

BOOM!

“NNNNGH!”

Balkzar blocked the soul greatsword that was about to strike down the entire village with just his thin spear.

Blood vessels bulged all over his body, his face reddened, and he let out quite a strained groan.

“AAAAARGH!”

His determination to protect his tribespeople at all costs was truly pitiful, but.

It was the expected flow.

One of the basics of spiritmastery that the Dark Spiritmaster taught me was.

Since spiritmasters handle souls, one shouldn’t judge a spell solely by its external appearance.

Like this.

Though it had the form of a greatsword.

In reality, it was nothing more than a collection of souls.

The greatsword’s form gradually began to collapse, and the souls contained within began to pour into the Great Warrior along the spear.

It felt like watching a swarm of insects.

“Gu-AAAAGAGAGH!”

With a grotesque scream, the Great Warrior dropped his spear and fell to the ground.

A dull thud was heard, but the souls continued to force their way into the Great Warrior under my command.

Souls repeatedly entering and exiting through every orifice—eyes, nose, ears.

I stood before Balkzar, who was writhing in agony no differently than when I first arrived.

I protected my hand with mana.

Then I thrust it into the area near his heart.

SQUELCH.

Whether it was because Balkzar was muscular from extensive training or not.

Since I had never pierced through a person’s body while enhanced, it was quite a difficult task.

I grabbed and pulled something hot near his heart.

SPLASH!

Blood sprayed, but the pouring rain naturally washed it away.

What I held in my hand, shining like the sun, was none other than the guardian deity Horua.

[Hu…man!]

CRUNCH!

I slammed Horua, who was trying to say something, to the ground. Then I summoned the souls of magical beasts.

They began to tear apart the guardian deity rolling on the ground, making beast-like cries.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

Similarly collapsed and breathing heavily, Balkzar. Only fear resided in his eyes, and he slowly opened his trembling lips.

“Th-th-the tribespeople at least… among them… innocent…”

CRUNCH!

His words could not continue.

My mana precisely shattered his head, leaving only a disgusting trace as he died.

It was quite mysterious that he could speak despite having his heart area pierced.

CRUNCH.

My hand stretched into the air, grabbing something.

It was Balkzar’s soul.

[Ah.]

Though his appearance was intact, his eyes were filled with unparalleled terror.

“Your death is not peace.”

Realizing there was no escape in death, he began to tremble and tried to plead with me.

But not wanting to hear even his voice, I bound his entire body with chains of mana extending from my palm.

The pain was not over yet.

“Look at them.”

His eyes widened as I pointed to the Marias tribe members who were kneeling and pleading with tears.

“They will all die.”

Despite the Great Warrior’s desperate struggles and pleas at my resolute declaration.

There was no hesitation anymore.

A price had to be paid.

He had already slaughtered countless kingdom citizens under the name of Great Warrior.

So.

‘To fight monsters, please don’t become a monster.’

I too.

‘Master, just stay put for now. I’ll handle this…!’

Similarly.

‘Deus, keep your convictions. You mustn’t become like Dante or other Black Mages like me.’

I will kill them.

[The night is dark.]

“…!”

Suddenly, my eyes trembled at a familiar voice I hadn’t heard for a long time.

I unconsciously looked around, but of course, nothing was visible.

[Is it a new moon today?]

Because the voice came from within me.

I wanted to hear her voice again, but it didn’t resound anymore.

Did I wake her from her sleep?

A chill ran up my spine as the question arose.

But that wasn’t reason enough to stop my actions.

A moment of hesitation.

Just that much.

A moment that awakened my dulled senses.

But because of that, I heard the loud crying sound I had been missing.

Turning my gaze.

At its end was a woman and a small child wrapped in swaddling clothes in her arms.

Illuania, holding the baby tightly to keep it from the cold rain, was looking at me with a haggard appearance.

Splash.

I stepped on the puddle-covered ground.

My footsteps were already heading toward the child, away from the trembling tribespeople.

Loud crying.

The pulse of life.

Illuania, who carefully handed the child to me as I approached, smiled with difficulty.

“It’s a girl.”

“…”

A warm sensation touched my palm and spread throughout my body.

Though not my child.

A child I had decided to take responsibility for.

A life that Deus Verdi entrusted to me, even giving up his own body.

“Would you like to name the child?”

With trembling hands, I carefully held the baby.

Though I am not your blood.

Because I will be your family.

I slowly turned my gaze.

Looking at those who were still staring at me with terrified eyes, there was still a boiling emotion, but.

As I gently stroked the child’s forehead with my hand.

The baby, who had capriciously stopped crying, was staring at me intently.

“You have saved many.”

Because I couldn’t stain your birth day with blood, screams, and massacre.

Because I didn’t want to ruin your first encounter with the world.

“Saviour.”

You, who have already saved many lives just by being born, will surely become a great person in the future.

“Sevia, that’s your name.”

As if understanding my words, the child made a gurgling laugh.

And the falling rain gradually began to subside.