Ch.96Black Magic Workshop – 5

“Move even a little, and the magic circle binding your mouth will tear your entire body to shreds. Whether you fear death or not matters not. I have no intention of killing you.”

Charlotte’s cold warning to Catherine was followed by her gaze turning toward me.

“I clearly warned you earlier to be careful not to be consumed by emotions. I even embraced you personally to tell you this, yet you forgot it in this fleeting moment.”

I looked back and forth between Charlotte with her hate-filled eyes and Catherine who was growling viciously. My mind struggled to keep up with the situation.

Just moments ago, Catherine had been begging for her life with a dying voice. But now, she had completely transformed into a different person.

Her eyes, which had been brimming with tears, now showed not even a hint of hesitation. Instead, she rolled her eyes around as if disappointed she couldn’t bite my face off.

The magic circle sealing Catherine’s mouth continuously emitted light. She tried to close her mouth, but the muscles around it trembled, seemingly unable to do so because of the magic circle.

Just as I was about to ask Charlotte what was going on, there was a thud, and my vision went dark.

My eyes wouldn’t blink. The world was silent. All five senses were completely blocked. I moved my arm to sweep above my neck but touched nothing.

It meant my head had exploded.

As I was recalling this strangely familiar sensation, I felt my headless body collapse onto the floor, the cold wooden boards pressing against my back.

As my ultra-regeneration ability activated, my body, which had been sprawled on the ground, raised its upper half again. The skull and flesh that had scattered in all directions reformed into a human shape.

Catherine’s eyes were filled with questions as she looked at me after my regeneration was complete. Judging by her reaction, it seemed she wasn’t the one who had blown my head off.

If she had been the one to do such a thing, Charlotte would have literally gone berserk the moment my head exploded.

Moreover, Charlotte wouldn’t have just stood by and watched Catherine use magic.

If she had shown even the slightest sign of doing so, Charlotte would have torn out her tongue or instantly dismantled any magic she tried to cast.

If Catherine wasn’t the one who blew my head off, it obviously meant the other person here had done it.

I turned my head. Charlotte’s expression remained unchanged.

“Why this time?”

Charlotte calmly responded to my question.

“It was meant for you to cool your head.”

“I thought I was acting rationally?”

“Not at all. If you intend to tell such poor lies before me, I advise you to stop immediately. Had I not intervened, would you not have had your face bitten off by that woman?”

“I would have healed anyway. I don’t mind.”

“I’ve been telling you this since before, yet you remain the same. However, if you wish, I will tell you a thousand or ten thousand times. I, Charlotte de Gargantua, will never stand by and watch you get hurt before my eyes.”

“And my head exploding just now wasn’t getting hurt?”

“It is only natural that my direct intervention is an exception. Do not place me on the same level as other people.”

As she said this, Charlotte’s silver hair fluttered gently behind her as she smiled softly. Though her words were incredibly brazen, I decided to let it slide since that was just her personality.

The other two would probably think the same way as Charlotte anyway. What they do is acceptable, but what others do is not.

“I do not understand why you react so strongly to black magic. It is because you have not told me. However, I do know that your current state is not normal. So calm down and face reality. If you need more time to think, I can blow your head off as many times as necessary.”

I rubbed my eyes briefly at Charlotte’s words. Did I really appear that anxious?

Certainly, during the time my head exploded and regenerated, I had a moment to think, and it felt like my emotions had somewhat subsided.

Though it would be a terrifying expression to anyone else who heard it.

I took several deep breaths. Yes, I needed to calm down and act as rationally as possible.

If I provoked Catherine and she decided to unleash black magic in a “you die, I die” manner, it was certain that at least an entire city would be vaporized.

There was a possibility that Charlotte would seal the magic incantation before that happened, but it was just that—a possibility. I didn’t want to gamble with black magic.

While I was trying to calm myself down, Charlotte approached Catherine.

“Were those the teeth that tried to harm my future husband?”

“—!!!!!”

As the blue light of the magic circle intensified, Catherine’s front teeth were suddenly pulled out. They came out so easily that one might have mistaken them for rotten teeth.

Judging by Catherine’s reaction—eyes wide open, barely suppressing the pain—it seemed Charlotte had pulled out perfectly healthy teeth.

Charlotte didn’t stop there. After the front teeth came the canines and molars, and finally, she pulled out the tongue as well. Only then did the blue light of the magic circle dim slightly.

Despite having everything in her mouth pulled out, Catherine’s vicious gaze showed no signs of diminishing.

Blood pooled in her mouth, which remained forcibly open. The inside was completely crimson.

I watched as Charlotte extended her fingers again and then turned my attention to the scroll in my right hand. Charlotte still seemed not fully satisfied with her vengeance.

I unfolded the crumpled scroll. As soon as I saw the faintly glowing black magic circle drawn on it, I forcibly suppressed the nausea rising within me.

‘I need to know what kind of magic circle this is.’

If it was simply a destructive spell using black mana instead of regular mana, it might still be manageable.

Even if the power was amplified with black mana, Charlotte could easily suppress it, and though there might be some destruction in the vicinity, it wouldn’t be unstoppable.

However, if it was a magic circle intended for something beyond that, I would need to extract the memory immediately, regardless of mana contamination.

For example, if it was a wide-area massacre spell targeting humans. Or a magic circle to summon black blood demons.

With trembling hands, I examined the surface of the scroll. I compared each pattern drawn on the paper with the black magic in my memory.

‘This part is still incomplete… and here the mana circuit is broken, so it won’t work… what is this?’

The more I examined the magic circle, the more questions arose in my mind.

This was a magic circle that could never be completed.

I still clearly remembered when I first discovered this scroll. The scroll emitting black light, and me finding it and being severely shocked.

The part about it emitting light was important. When a magic circle starts to glow, it usually means the magic is complete and about to activate.

But this wasn’t the case. Instead, the light was gradually fading.

Black magic might be a forgotten form of magic, but its fundamentals were ultimately no different from regular magic.

The only difference was whether it used mana or black mana as its medium. Naturally, most rules that applied to ordinary magic also applied to black magic.

But this was different. An incompletable, inoperable magic circle was glowing as if it were already complete and functioning.

It was impossible.

I got up and looked for Charlotte. She was still standing right in front of Catherine, wiggling her fingers.

“Charlo—”

I started to call Charlotte’s name but paused momentarily, checking Catherine’s condition behind her.

There wasn’t a single unharmed part on her body. All her joints were twisted in the opposite direction, and every orifice on her body had been widened.

Her mouth, torn up to her ears, dangled with her jaw barely attached to her body. Her eyeballs seemed to have been burst, leaving only black holes where her eyes should have been, weeping blood instead of tears.

There wasn’t a trace of flesh color on her face. When her eye area twitched, it revealed exactly how the facial muscles moved.

It was quite an elaborate display for what was supposed to be just letting off steam.

“Weren’t you the one who said to be careful not to be consumed by emotions?”

“I am being perfectly rational.”

“Looking at her condition, I don’t think so.”

Judging by Catherine’s appearance, it was a wonder she was still alive.

People who knew healing magic would ask not how she was alive, but why she was still alive.

“I would be offended if you considered this as mere revenge carried out in anger. This was done methodically, based on thorough rationality. If you wish, I can explain it to you, but would you like that?”

“No thanks. What’s the point of hearing it?”

“Is that so? How disappointing.”

“Don’t be disappointed about that. Just cast a healing spell on her. I have questions to ask. She needs to be able to answer.”

“Questions… Do you think this woman will speak properly? I am skeptical. It might be better to extract her memories instead.”

I shook my head.

“No. If she had only researched black blood demons, that might be fine, but since it’s related to black magic, it’s dangerous for you too.”

“Then let me change the question. Why am I in danger? What exactly is this black magic?”

Charlotte’s voice carried a resolute determination. A determination to finally get an answer from me.

Until now, I had postponed answering with various excuses, but this time it seemed I couldn’t do that. I let out a deep sigh.

It seemed Charlotte would never accept it unless I told her something about black magic.

“…You know that black mana is the medium for black magic, right?”

“I do. You told me that much.”

“Then, what do you think black mana is made of? It’s a type of mana that can never be obtained naturally.”

Of course, I meant “something.” No matter how much I trusted Charlotte, I had no intention of revealing the whole truth.

“Are you saying the substance that creates black mana is dangerous?”

“No. The substance that can create black mana is already spread all over the continent. There are even three of them right here.”

“Right here…?”

Charlotte briefly wore an unreadable expression, but when I specifically mentioned the number three, she seemed to realize something and looked back and forth between me and Catherine.

“…Humans.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded.

“Black mana, the medium for black magic, is created using humans as ingredients.”