Chapter 39 : Clean

Spirit Arts and Shamanism.

If I were to list the reasons I hate them, it would be endless, but the biggest reason is that they rely

on ‘borrowed power,’ not my own.

What’s the point of struggling to contract a high-level spirit?

What use is it to diligently make offerings and build altars?

Skills whose effectiveness changes based on weather, divination results, or a summoned creature’s

mood cannot be called my own power.

What good are they if you can’t use them when you truly need them?

Therefore, when I was first transmigrated into this world, there were only two choices laid before

me.

Mage and Aura User.

Unlike warriors whose combat power plummets drastically if they unluckily lose limbs, mages fight

from a relatively safer position in the

rear.

Being naturally clumsy was a bonus.

Thus, from that day on, I walked the path of a mage.

If I had known I possessed such a lack of aptitude for magic, I might have reconsidered.

Anyway, the point about not being one’s own power also applied to artifacts.

The saying ‘Gear defines skill’ holds true in this world too.

It’s natural that having more money allows one to buy more expensive and better equipment.

Isn’t it common sense that steel armor is better than leather armor?

However, that applies only to warriors who fight physically; it’s not something a mage, who feels

mana with their entire being and wields magic, should say.

A staff that doubles your attack power just by holding it?

If I put it down, does that mean I become twice as weak?

Such accessories can only become chains that bind me, which is why I have never worn artifacts in

my daily life until now.

‘Items bought with money are ultimately not your own skill.’

What I desired wasn’t to get stronger quickly through such shortcuts, but to increase my own

permanent skill.

Even if the tracks are different, the starting line should be fair for everyone.

While others used various pieces of equipment to hunt monsters, I grew stronger solely through my

own power, however slow it might be.

At first glance, it seems like a very foolish and ignorant method.

But it was a vow I made to myself.

And today, I broke that vow.

“Consider it an honor.”

I don’t mean to disregard commoners, but a noble’s vow is exceptionally special.

A promise made staking one’s family and name holds power, even if it’s just a spoken pledge, and

breaking it means tarnishing one’s own

honor.

And I traded my honor for my friend.

“Flare.”

After putting on the ring and necklace, black blood started pouring from my mouth.

My insides felt like they were being stabbed repeatedly, and my vision blurred.

But the effect was immediate; the mana that had been nearly depleted moments ago surged in an

instant.

Snap, as I flicked my fingers, the clumps of black mana gathered together, forming a black flame.

No, could that even be called mana?

‘Flames…!’

Orquiel is an adult dragon.

This means he has lived for hundreds of years, crossing the threshold of death multiple times, and

surviving to adulthood proves he hasn’t aged idly.

The origin of all magic is the dragon.

Although it’s now a rumor few believe, it shows how long dragons have been closely associated with

magic.

Therefore, Orquiel was careless.

Before a dragon, the supposed masters of magic, what Treah had shown was mere desperation.

A defective product unable to properly handle even attributes.

It was nothing more than the fierce struggle of that insignificant talent flailing desperately.

Remembering Treah was merely a pleasant memory for him.

A piece of memory kept in a frame, taken out occasionally to reminisce, ‘Ah, such things happened.’

But what about now?

‘Black mana!’

Mana possesses its own color.

While mana changes depending on the environment and the caster’s capabilities, the black mana

she displayed was not something commonly

seen.

The jet-black mana she was emitting was a color Orquiel had seen only once in his hundreds of years

of life.

‘Isn’t this remarkably similar to Magi?’

It was slightly different from pure Magi, but that hideous aura undoubtedly contained a power

similar to Magi.

Desire.

The emotion that is the source and fuel of Magi.

The power to devour others.

Although it has side effects, Magi is the optimal means to fulfill a user’s desires.

Dangerous; the dragon’s wariness spiked.

Its burnt scales puffed up slightly.

Even while the dragon was thinking, the black flame continued its relentless charge towards him.

‘I must dodge…!’

Orquiel quickly tried to evade by wrapping his body with his hideous wings.

His body wasn’t intact, but his speed was still considerable.

However, the black flame did not lose sight of him and fiercely engulfed him.

The giant Gold Dragon roared.

Unlike ordinary flames, Flare did not extinguish, continuously burning the flesh and spreading its

area.

Its appearance, craving life and gnawing away at the flesh, could only be described as voracious.

“As expected, it doesn’t suit me well.”

Even amidst the terrible pain, Orquiel could hear the girl’s mutter.

Her tone, as if half-mad, was completely different from the arrogant and foul-mouthed manner she

displayed just moments ago.

Crackle… The black flames tormenting Orquiel’s body slowly began to fade.

‘Has her mana run out?’

It wasn’t unreasonable to think so.

After all, the girl who was struggling just before had suddenly used such a powerful spell.

I have to escape.

It was an act devoid of face or dignity, but nothing was more important than his life right now.

The longer one lives for hundreds of years, the stronger the attachment to life becomes.

The miserably burnt and torn wings unfolded.

Even torn, their span easily exceeded 10 meters.

The girl watched him flee without any particular reaction.

Whatever she was plotting, this was his chance.

If he escaped, an opportunity would surely come someday.

As soon as his body recovered, he could tear them limb from limb.

The Gold Dragon ground his teeth and began to beat his wings.

His body had just lifted into the air.

“Different Space.”

Clenching the hand she had held open, she muttered a single spell.

Seeing that the chant wasn’t long, he assumed it was merely a spell to restrict movement at best.

But that judgment was mistaken.

A different dimension opened.

A black hole opened, belonging neither to the Demon World, the Spirit World, nor any other

dimension.

Beyond the neither-too-large-nor-too-small black hole, only an empty void could be seen.

The space that instantly ripped open resembled the maw of a starving demon.

-Clean.

At the girl’s mutter, the space that had been stationary twisted and began to suck in everything

around it.

The dragon was no exception.

Gritting his teeth and desperately flapping his wings to avoid being sucked in, the dragon strained

and shouted.

“D-Do you even know what you are doing right now!

Opening a dimension causes such immense side effects on this world…!”

“Swallow.”

Not even a single scream was heard.

Swept away in an instant as if sucked into a vacuum cleaner, the dragon vanished beyond the

different dimension, making the name of the supposedly wisest Gold Dragon seem meaningless.

It was truly a futile end.

Having finished its task, the black hole slowly closed and finally disappeared from the world as if it

had never been there.

[Treah!]

Before she knew it, Teperi had approached her side and spoke.

However, the girl’s appearance seemed wrong somehow.

Her eyes, seemingly devoid of reason and focus, were astonishingly cold.

As Teperi possessed the unique ability to convey emotions to others, she could also quickly perceive

changes in those around her.

In her eyes, Treah was currently in a state like a berserker who had lost control and was running

wild.

Blood was still endlessly trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Amiteh had calmed down somewhat but was still unconscious.

She was the only one who could resolve this situation.

[I’ll save you now…!]

Teperi slowly approached her, one step at a time.

The fierce flow of mana pushed her back, slowing her steps, but she nonetheless pressed forward

steadily.

Finally reaching the center, Teperi’s appearance was ragged.

Torn by blade-like winds, her outer clothes were already tattered.

However, the center was calm, like the eye of a storm.

It felt as if they were the only two left in the world.

Treah still had a blank expression, her mind seemingly absent.

The necklace around her neck, which hadn’t been there moments ago.

As Teperi had always kept an eye on her nape, she quickly noticed the change.

Being mute, Teperi’s words amounted to nothing more than muffled utterances.

But the meaning she conveyed was more earnest than ever.

Snap, as the necklace broke and came undone, the surrounding mana subsided.

The two collapsed together, falling in the same direction.

It was quite an indecent position, half-undressed and overlapping each other, but there was no one

around to point it out.