Ch.3737. The Sewers (2)

Here, in the depths of the sewers, there writhes a hideous group.

“G-Great Dark Mage… there’s an alligator ahead.”

“…Tch. Move aside.”

About a dozen vagabond-looking fellows wearing shabby dark brown robes with hoods, and one evil mage dressed in a black robe emblazoned with an inverted pentagram.

[■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■!!!]

The one who utters a language composed of evil characters beyond human comprehension, shooting dark red arrows to vanquish the ‘sewer alligator,’ appears to anyone as a dark mage… and indeed, he truly is one.

Dark mage. If one were to describe this type of cultist—absolute evil unwelcome anywhere in this world—in a single phrase, it would naturally be “demon worshipper.”

One who serves or worships demons from the demon realm, borrows power from its mysteries, or makes contracts with powerful demons to use evil dark magic.

That is the true identity of these demon worshippers.

They summon demons from the demon realm into reality, or use the power of evil dark magic woven from mysteries originating in the demon realm to twist souls and extort life.

Of course, all power comes with a price.

Once one dips even a toe into dark magic, the very foundation of their soul crosses over to the demon realm, making it impossible to ever return to what they once were….

The demons that demon worshippers contract with or worship never engage in losing transactions, extracting payment commensurate with the power they bestow.

Simply selling one’s soul only to have it devoured and the body seized is the bare minimum; in severe cases, the soul is held as collateral, tortured for nearly an eternity as payment for briefly enjoying power during life.

Of course, despite these risks, there are plenty of madmen blinded by immediate power and authority.

Such types typically become cultists known as demon worshippers.

Anyway, these demon worshippers centered around the dark mage are returning after briefly checking the slums of the capital Frank for vagrants suitable as sacrifices.

The underground sewer they’ve settled in allows them to avoid external crackdowns thanks to its secretive concealment, making it sufficient for their activities as long as they remain inconspicuous.

And… about a dozen demon worshippers returned to their hideout.

“Grrrrrr…”

“…Kekekeke!!”

Lesser demons like imps with twisted maws resembling flying goblins, or hellhounds that look like hunting dogs with molten lava exposed in their chests.

These lesser demons were bound by the dark mage, summoned using sacrifices to guard his base. Having fully crossed over into this world, they were in a position of forced subservience.

Anyway, after returning to the hideout, the dark mage, secluded in his room filled with various objects needed for evil rituals, lamented his situation.

‘…Why, after becoming a dark mage, am I in such a pathetic state?’

Once a student of magic at a magic tower, the dark mage had been filled with pride upon discovering his magical talent, only to despair when that talent proved mediocre. Craving power to dominate others, he turned to dark magic.

The third-rate mage whose life goals were self-aggrandizement, pretension, and hollow confidence died that day.

What emerged in his place was merely an evil fugitive dark mage who had barely reached intermediate level despite countless victims.

A fool who lords over the thugs he once extorted money with before entering the magic tower, producing innocent victims by offering all sorts of sacrifices.

Moreover, the current situation was the worst.

Wanted as a dark mage, he couldn’t freely leave the sewer, and recently, with the prosperity of the Healing God’s order, even the slums had begun to establish some semblance of security.

Unable to obtain sacrifices to advance his dark magic, the dark mage was grumbling and blaming others like the scum of the world he was—at that very moment.

-KWAAAAAANG!!!

With a thunderous noise, suddenly and out of nowhere, a massive reptilian monster broke through the wall and invaded the demon worshippers’ hideout.

The identity of the lizard monster resembling an alligator with eight legs was a ferocious intermediate-level magical beast well known to the dark mage—the basilisk, somewhat exaggeratedly called the king of reptiles by enthusiasts.

…At the same time, this was a magical beast that had no reason to appear in an underground sewer through normal means.

‘…Those crazy mages!’

Therefore, while resisting the petrifying magical power trying to infiltrate his body, the dark mage immediately concluded that the basilisk’s appearance was due to one of the lunatic mages from the tower, and accelerated his thoughts.

First, he couldn’t expect help from his subordinates.

The dark mage’s subordinates had received a portion of demonic power through his mediation, and in this process, their souls and bodies had undergone changes due to the influence of mysteries flowing from the demon realm.

Minor improvements like enhanced strength or endurance, or trivial magical abilities, had made them strong enough for neighborhood thugs to hold their own against regular soldiers… but trash was still trash.

Since lesser demons or mere followers couldn’t possibly defeat a basilisk, the dark mage ultimately lamented his fate while chanting evil spells to resonate with the magic circle in the hideout.

The floor of the dark mage’s hideout was inscribed with an inverted pentagram magic circle drawn with the blood of ground-up kidnapped children.

Like the petty villain he was, this inverted pentagram magic circle drawn by the dark mage was insurance prepared in case his hideout was discovered.

It was also the trump card of a coward who trusted only himself.

[Come forth! ■■■!]

Thus, using this insurance, he attempted to summon the strongest demon he could currently bring into this world—an intermediate-level demon he had bound by learning its true name through deception…

[Return to your rightful place, defiled one!]

Just before the demon’s form appeared, a mage who emerged behind the basilisk chanted an incantation in Elvish, causing magical power to intervene in the summoning process and forcibly twist the connection.

The words imbued with formless power forcibly severed the connection, and the intermediate demon, trying to appear in the real world due to the binding of its true name, suffered considerable damage to its soul before being driven back to the demon realm.

“Wh-What…?!!”

Faced with the reality that the magic circle he had created by pouring all his available resources into what he considered his trump card had instantly evaporated, the evil dark mage couldn’t hide his bewilderment as he glared at the mage who had banished the demon.

[…■■■.]

The female mage with long white hair that had a slightly bluish tint rather than being bleached left traces of magical power above her bare hands, and as the dark mage felt rage rising at the sight of this mage and began to utter an evil spell…

[───■■■■■■!!]

The dark mage, focusing all his attention on the mage who had thwarted his trump card, completely forgot about the basilisk charging with its jaws wide open.

-CHOMP!

“──────!!”

By crudely expelling the magical power within his body to turn himself into a human rocket, he managed to escape with just the loss of one arm, but the real problem was the basilisk’s infamous deadly poison.

The venom dripping from its poison sac through its teeth dissolves and necroses proteins in living beings, capable of instantly poisoning and killing even healthy humans with its terrible neurotoxin.

However… it wasn’t a major problem for the dark mage.

-Hissssss…

The dark mage, whose blood had been replaced by something else in the process of accepting demonic power and mysteries, unlike some foolish demon worshippers, possessed strong resistance to most toxic substances.

“…Damn beast!”

Therefore, despite having his left arm cleanly severed, the dark mage didn’t lose his fighting spirit. He muttered evil spells to suppress the excruciating pain and bleeding while devising a means of counterattack.

Using the residual effects of the magic circle on the floor as material, he instantly formed magic centered on demonic mysteries.

He burned with determination to summon magical flames glowing with ominous colors to incinerate the basilisk, but…

-CRACKLE!!!

“Guh, guaaaargh!!!”

In what seemed like barely 10 seconds, after the female mage shot forth blue-white lightning that was nothing short of a crystallization of mystery.

-THUD!

The dark mage, his entire body crispy-fried by the powerful electric shock, soon collapsed with a flop, exhaling smoke from his mouth.

It was the end of the evil dark mage who had sought personal glory while taking countless innocent lives.