Ch.42Mansion of the Sorcerer (3)

The blackout in my vision cleared, revealing a completely different landscape than before.

The process of the blurred and distorted world returning to a concrete form was dreamlike. It was as if time had been rewound.

‘Where am I?’

Though aware it was impolite, I couldn’t help thinking that the designer of this space I’d been transported to was rather gloomy. The dark, damp environment created a muggy atmosphere, and the smell of decaying paper tickled the bridge of my nose.

‘Judging by the circumstances, I must have been caught in some spatial magic.’

Despite following Parlo’s instructions faithfully, the trigger that activated the spatial magic remained unknown. Thinking about my companions who might be in trouble because the operation went awry due to me, guilt welled up inside.

The noble lady and Luca might not mind, but Serin would probably be angry. After all, she was the type to look after me, saying I was one of her people.

‘Since I’ve already been caught up in this, following the plan would be the best course of action.’

Though the timing had been drastically accelerated, what needed to be done remained unchanged. I slowly began to move my feet that had been planted on the ground.

It was a strange place.

No matter how long I walked, the corridor seemed endless.

Looking to the side, I saw creatures I had never seen or heard of before, breathing inside viscous liquid. One had a goat’s head with predatory bird wings on both sides of its body, and at the end of its lower body, a tail reminiscent of a centipede swayed gently.

Sensing my presence, the strange creature opened its eyes. Green eyes emitting a faint glow like fireflies met mine. At that moment, it thrashed violently.

Crack, crack!

The liquid container that held the unidentified beast slowly began to crack. Eventually, the creature shattered its prison with tremendous force.

Crash! Swoosh…

Foul-smelling liquid rushed out like a torrent. The contents that had been trapped inside made a sound like metal being scratched as it dripped viscous material. Though we couldn’t communicate, it was clear that this was the creature’s way of threatening me.

“This can’t be…”

I covered the mouth area of my mask. This experience, which would be foreign to any ordinary person, gave me a kind of emotional impact.

“It doesn’t run away even when seeing me up close…?”

This was a first for me.

Whether dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, or anything else—any animal with keen senses would avoid me. They wouldn’t even try to threaten or chase me away. They would just flee in panic.

That’s why I don’t go to stables. I’ve experienced cases where horses, upon recognizing me, repeatedly rammed into stable walls until they died.

So even when boarding carriages, I would take a wide detour around the horse’s line of sight before getting on.

If horseback riding was necessary, I would mount from behind a trained horse. Even then, the horse becoming frightened was unavoidable.

Even when I brought back the kidnapped Serin, I tended to position myself subtly behind her.

‘What a shame…’

It was unfortunate that the aura emitted by this unknown creature was hostile. Still, unable to let go of my lingering interest, I reached out my hand, but the creature mistook it for a serious threat and lunged at me nimbly.

“Oh my.”

It had extraordinary angular momentum. I let out a soft exclamation at the movement of this beast that couldn’t be found in the natural world.

Boom!

The creature charged at me again with killing intent.

A murderous charge.

With no sign of negotiation possible, it forced me to make a cruel decision.

“I’m sorry…”

I brought my fist down hard on the crown of the creature’s head as it charged toward me.

Crunch, crash!

With the sound of bone collapsing, the creature’s head was driven into the floor like a nail. I believe the pain lasted only a moment.

Even though life had clearly left it, its entire body still twitched slightly. It was a sight too distressing to look at.

‘This isn’t the kind of creature an ordinary magician would study.’

Though magicians as a group tend to have sinister aspects, they rarely go beyond certain boundaries. After all, they too mingle in society and eventually marry to form families.

In other words, magicians also share common sensibilities with the rest of humanity.

That is, as long as they haven’t corrupted their minds with magic.

Just as I was about to turn away from the creature’s corpse:

Thud… thud.

Footsteps approached. The irregular gait betrayed the person’s abnormal state.

The person who finally appeared was a woman. She wandered aimlessly with drool dripping from her mouth and a vacant, unfocused gaze.

“Ah… ugh…”

“…”

Our eyes met directly. The woman then screamed and ran away.

“Aaaaaahhh!”

I immediately guessed what situation she was in.

‘The mainstream of black magic is mental corruption and brainwashing… That would explain her bizarre behavior.’

From her actions, I also drew another conclusion.

‘She had no mark but moved freely around here. And I’ve been walking around without being ejected by spatial magic.’

This meant I could safely assume I was outside the influence of spatial magic. If so, the place I had fallen into must be somewhere that those without marks shouldn’t casually enter through bent space.

‘An abnormal synthetic creature… and ordinary people wandering around with corrupted minds…’

It would be troublesome if evidence were unexpectedly leaked due to spatial magic. It would be like completely exposing themselves as black magicians.

Ironically, my falling here due to that very spatial magic could only be described as an incredible coincidence.

‘So even if someone falls here, they figure they can just silence them by corrupting their mind?’

A reasonable approach. After all, the kingdom’s black magicians had already taken control of more than half of the country’s leadership through black magic.

The disappearance of one or two people would be easy to cover up.

That’s when it happened.

Click, click.

Unlike the woman I had just encountered, these footsteps were regular. Shortly after, another woman appeared. However, unlike the previous one, she had a clear smile and intelligence in her eyes.

She spoke:

“My, my, I wondered why the test subject was causing a commotion… but it seems you’re lost? Such a suspicious gentleman…”

“A black magician, I presume.”

“If you know that and still say it out loud, I’m afraid I can’t send you back…”

From the beginning, she likely had no intention whatsoever of sending me back. She seemed to believe without a doubt that she had the upper hand.

“Let’s see… shall I start by removing that mask?”

She took something out from her bosom.

It looked like a large magnifying glass.

When she peered at me through the magnifying glass, she staggered back and her face turned bright red.

“My goodness, my goodness, my goodness…! How can such a man exist? That’s not human beauty…!”

I had a terrible suspicion. If it had the function I imagined, it was an item that should never exist. I asked the woman who was jumping up and down frantically:

“That magnifying glass, is it a magical tool capable of seeing through things?”

“You recognize it? It’s a masterpiece I’ve never shown to anyone. My pride and joy.”

“I see…”

“Anyway, what luck! What would it feel like to preserve such a person’s mind with magic and make him my lover who desires only me… Forget research, I could just lock myself away all day… hehe…”

While her lecherous desires were none of my business, the magical tool she possessed was a different matter. If by any chance that fell into Serin’s hands, it was clear that an unmanageable disaster would follow.

So, with the gravity of a life-threatening situation, I resolved to destroy it.

I immediately put this into action.

“You said you couldn’t send me back if I knew and spoke about it.”

“Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll cherish you for life.”

“…To quote your words, now that I’ve heard this, I’m afraid I can’t let you go either.”

“What?”

While the woman was uttering her dumbfounded response, I charged at her with all my might.

Boom!

A single powerful step created a crack in the floor. The woman, whose physical abilities were merely those of an ordinary person, lost her balance and fell backward before she could even be surprised.

“Ugh…?!”

Taking advantage of the opening, I successfully crushed the magnifying glass in her hand. But that wasn’t the end of the matter.

“This magical tool, you didn’t make just one, did you? Where are the rest?”

“Well, I’ll tell you if you kiss me.”

“…”

They say that when you dabble in black magic, your own mind gets corrupted first, and the woman before me was living proof. In this situation, the mentally ill woman demanding a kiss was steadily reaching for my mask.

“Just once is enough. One deep kiss. Hmm? Or shall we switch roles? I could be your slave, serving in your bedroom. That would be fine too…”

The woman’s face, as she rambled on, showed lust that had reached its limit of endurance. By this point, I was the one who felt awkward despite having subdued her. She showed no signs of willingly confessing.

“Haah… mmm… what should I do… But I’m a high-quality woman, aren’t I? I’m still a virgin. The men at the mansion are all wimpy and don’t have the perverted taste for test subjects… Ah, but you’re an exception, right?”

Until then, I had only felt that dealing with her was difficult.

Until she uttered her next words.

“Hmm, perhaps you have another woman? For a man like you, that’s fine. Then… forget about being the legal wife, how about I become your concubine?”

“…”

Snap.

The sound of something breaking echoed.

Concubine.

The moment she uttered that concept with her vulgar face and words, the blue sky I had witnessed at age five overlapped with the present.

The image of my mother’s corpse—who had been boasting about her thin purse while trying to buy me skewers, only to end up being crushed head-first under carriage wheels—filled my vision vividly.

That day when I still didn’t know what normalcy was.

That day when I didn’t know Rodrick and Eshtiel.

When the scenery of that day faded after a long time, I finally properly saw the dimly lit corridor spread out before me.

I lowered my gaze.

The woman who had been craving lust just moments ago was pinned beneath me.

It was the corpse of the black magician who had died instantly with a broken neck.

Only then did I realize.

The snapping sound I had heard was the evidence that the woman’s neck had broken.

“Haah…”

I slowly composed myself and stood up.

I felt no guilt for the killing.

But because I had momentarily lost my reason, remorse washed over me.

“My mother was a villain hated by everyone…”

She had slaughtered countless people.

All for the power to manipulate the empire.

Thus, she met a fitting end for her evil deeds, losing her life pushed by numerous malicious intentions.

The same applied to me, her child.

Living as a rat in the slums, Eshtiel being born as an outcast at the cold washing place—all of it was the punishment inscribed in our bloodline.

“So the child of the deposed emperor shouldn’t be like this…”

I shouldn’t be angry about the death of my blood relative.

I have no right to be sad about it.

If the world laughs, I should laugh along.

That must be the minimum atonement I should fulfill as I live.

“Huh…!”

Just as I was closing the eyelids of the lifeless woman.

Several black magicians discovered me and let out exclamations.

“Are you taking advantage of Lord Rastali’s absence?!”

Rastali.

The name of the magician who had reached the pinnacle at the mansion of magicians located in the kingdom. I remembered him because I had been briefly introduced at the banquet that was interrupted thanks to the noble lady.

“Yes… that will do…”

There was no need to submit evidence about black magicians to the royal palace.

First, I would annihilate them all, and later, the kingdom’s investigators could search the magician’s mansion.

After all, this space and the evidence they left behind couldn’t grow legs and run away.

“What is… that?!”

“Smoke…? Fog…?”

“Counter-attack for now!”

Dark clouds rose from around me.

As the cool dark clouds embraced me and infiltrated the corridor, they deployed magical formations.

Though they were black magicians, they had plenty of useful magic besides mental manipulation. For instance, creating huge fireballs or controlling the ground.

Drip. Drip drip. Pitter-patter.

Raindrops fell unexpectedly in the enclosed corridor.

The thin streams of rain multiplied into a downpour.

Rumble… CRASH!

In an instant, the corridor that had been covered in darkness flashed with bright light.

The lives of the collective that had been manipulating people’s minds faded away in that manner.

◇

Boom, CRASH!

A thunderous sound reverberated throughout the magician’s mansion.

Parlo, whose face had been caved in like minced meat in a short time, twitched his limbs. Despite only letting out small screams when attacked by Serin, his face now showed clear dismay.

Beep.

At that moment, Kanarin’s eyes focused on the empty air. She had heard a familiar sound effect.

[System restoration complete.]

[Update in progress.]

[30%… 70%… 100%]

Ding!

[User: Kanarin Rupenter’s system establishment complete.]

[Loading current main quest.]

Crackle!

[Loading failed.]

“…What?”

Kanarin groaned in disbelief. The status window, which had supposedly been perfectly restored, had encountered an error within 3 seconds.

[Causality is being adjusted.]

[Emergency notice: Main quest changed.]

“What on earth is happening…?!”

Kanarin muttered in astonishment at this unprecedented phenomenon.

Main quests were typically structured in a way that allowed for multiple paths to the same goal.

For example, if the quest was to maintain 10 cows on a farm where 10 cows were dying, then whether Kanarin treated the cows or bought 10 new ones, the result would be the same—quest cleared.

No matter what events occurred during the process, the main quest had never changed before.

“This can’t be…”

Ding!

[Main Quest Alert!]

[Main Quest: Search for Black Magician’s Clues -> Main Quest: Royal Palace Battle]

[Existing main quest route deleted.]

[400,000pt awarded as compensation.]

[Final quest has been moved up.]

Crack, rumble…

Cracking walls and falling pieces of asbestos signaled impending collapse. Additionally, a faint smell of burning wafted through the air. It seemed that flames were blazing somewhere inside the mansion.

As a result, numerous black magicians rushed out from the opposite side. If they engaged in a war of attrition now, they would be buried under the collapsing mansion.

Kanarin’s decision was swift.

“Open point shop. Sort parallel ability list!”

[Loading information from parallel worlds.]

[What would you like to purchase?]

“Saint Yashasmisha’s one-time portal creation ability. With a 200-meter range!”

[Calculating points based on distance.]

…

[2,000pt will be deducted.]

After the system’s notification appeared in the air.

Particles of light gathered from the void onto Kanarin’s palm. The light particles carved the shape of a small cube. Then Kanarin broke it and scattered it like powder.

Swoosh.

The air rippled.

Beyond the circular ripple, like a serene pond, a new landscape appeared. It was the dense forest surrounding the magician’s mansion.

“Luca! Serin! Jump in quickly!”

“But Rahilt is still…!”

“You know better than anyone that he’ll be fine!?”

“…”

Serin trembled as she clenched her fist tightly.

Her nails dug into her skin, drawing blood.

Kanarin was right. Knowing this, but still finding the black magicians detestable and worried about Rahilt, she found it hard to move her feet.

“Hurry, Serin!”

“Ugh…!”

Now was the time to follow Kanarin’s directive. Having made this final decision, Serin jumped into the rippling space with the others.

But halfway through the portal, Serin paused and roared:

“I sincerely hope you can kill me today.”

Then. The pronouncement from her twisted lips was raw anger itself.

“If you can’t, I will surely kill every last one of you!!!”

At her thunderous voice that echoed throughout the entire mansion, pure fear settled in the eyes of the black magicians.