episode_0010

“Wow, it’s bright! I never knew a cave could be this well-lit.”

After sending the village chief back, Arina and Marin ventured deeper into the cave where the succubus was said to reside.

While Marin marveled at the surprisingly comfortable atmosphere—something a brawler like her rarely experienced—Arina illuminated their surroundings with a light spell while simultaneously sensing the flow of mana. She was detecting enemies through both sight and mana, a dual-layered approach.

“We’ve gone pretty deep, but I still don’t sense anything. I’m starting to doubt if there’s really anything here. Maybe your intuition was wrong this time.”

“Hmm~ I can’t say my gut’s always right, but if anything, this feels even more suspicious to me.”

“This empty cave is suspicious? It looks like a perfectly ordinary cave to me.”

“You just don’t get it. The more a place screams ‘There’s nothing here~’ the more likely danger’s lurking.”

Arina felt irked as Marin clicked her tongue and wagged her finger. Not only was her behavior annoying, but it also felt like her experience as a mage in the Hero’s party was being dismissed—something that still made her bristle whenever it came up.

Of course, Marin didn’t know she was Riel Frost, so she was just running her mouth as usual…

“And which dungeon manual did you read that from? I’ve never seen a trap this devoid of traces. If someone actually wrote that nonsense, they must be a third-rate theorist with no real experience.”

Arina’s words came out faster than usual, her tone uncharacteristically heated. Oblivious, Marin replied breezily.

“Not a manual—common sense. Or in other words, a cliché. Got it?”

“You’ve read too many novels. Then again, I shouldn’t expect you to study.”

“Heh. See, you know me so well. That just proves how much you lo—”

Marin cut herself off, her body tensing as she glared into the darkness. There was no one around to ask, What’s wrong? like some clueless side character. The person beside her was, after all, the world’s greatest mage.

Arina had already sensed the enemy’s presence and was preparing for battle. Both of them stared into the same darkness. Arina conjured a new photon and sent it flying ahead, illuminating the unexplored depths of the cave.

The photon shot forward at high speed, revealing the cave’s interior before shattering against something in the distance. Though it was quickly extinguished, their superhuman eyes caught a glimpse of the figure at the far end.

“Arina, did you see that?”

“Yeah. If that’s a succubus, I must be blind. That old man was lying after all.”

“I’ll go first.”

As Marin crouched, ready to charge, Arina stopped her.

“Wait. I’ll handle this.”

At the same time, a spear of magical energy formed above Arina’s shoulder. It shot forward at a speed incomparable to the photon, embedding itself into the darkness with a sharp thud.

The sound of shattering glass echoed as the spear collided with armor. The darkness obscured the result, but neither of them believed their opponent would go down that easily.

Clank.

With the creaking of metal and heavy footsteps, the presence in the darkness advanced. Without hesitation, it stepped into the illuminated area, revealing itself.

Emerging from the shadows was a puppet clad in full armor, wielding a greatsword. Its attire resembled that of a kingdom’s knight, but the empty space above its shoulders made it immediately clear—this was no human.

“A Dullahan?”

“Indeed. You… Hmm, have we met before?”

The headless knight, Dullahan, examined Arina’s face through the head it held in its left hand. It seemed surprised that a woman it didn’t recognize knew its identity.

Meanwhile, Arina tensed at the encounter with an enemy she had faced during her active years.

Of all people, it had to be him.

Dullahan, captain of the undead forces and one of the Demon King’s high-ranking officers. A veteran who had held his position since the era of the First Hero.

What made Dullahan dangerous was his combat prowess, rivaling that of a hero chosen by the Holy Sword, and his ability to raise corpses into an instant undead army.

But the most terrifying aspect of him—and undead in general—was that they couldn’t be killed without the power of a holy sword or divine energy. If they had a priest, things might be different, but right now, all they had was a mage and a brawler.

“Marin, we need to retreat. Against the undead, the two of us can’t do anything.”

Deciding the fight was pointless, Arina deployed a magic circle to block Dullahan’s advance.

“Apologies, but I can’t let you leave. It would be troublesome if this place were exposed.”

The moment Dullahan raised his greatsword, Arina cast her spell. Boom! A surge of mana exploded, freezing the cave’s interior in an instant. As the icy mist cleared, Dullahan stood encased in frost.

“Oh.”

Suppressing the urge to punch Marin for her casual admiration, Arina grabbed her sleeve and yanked her back.

“That won’t hold him long—let’s go!”

Arina was frantic. She knew from bitter experience how exhausting it was to get caught in a fight with Dullahan. And right now, they had neither a holy sword nor a saintess.

Crack.

The ice trembled and split. As shards flew off his upper body, Dullahan muttered,

“This magic…”

Unconsciously reminded of someone, Dullahan swung his greatsword with force—not at the fleeing duo, but at the ground. The blade, infused with death, struck the earth.

KABOOOOOM!

The cave floor collapsed entirely. The ground beneath their feet vanished, and the sensation of weightlessness preceded their fall.

“WAAAH!”

Marin, bizarrely enjoying the thrill of freefall, threw her hands up and cheered.

“Is this really the time for that?!”

The cave was far deeper than Arina had imagined. At this speed, hitting the bottom would mean instant death—or at least being crippled. She poured every ounce of her mana into conjuring water below them.

The water Arina created filled the crater-like floor, forming a makeshift lake. Adjusting her posture to brace for impact, she—

SPLASH.

Two shadows plunged into the instant lake. The surface bubbled violently before Marin’s head popped up moments later.

“Pwah!”

After catching her breath, Marin scanned their surroundings. Beside her, Arina—walking on the water’s surface—reached out a hand.

“Get out. We need to leave before Dullahan catches up.”

“Achoo!”

Sniff. The cave’s silence made Marin’s nose-blowing especially loud. The two of them, now completely soaked, were drying their clothes by a campfire.

Finding usable kindling and lighting the fire had both been Arina’s doing.

“Man, magic’s so convenient. Maybe I should learn it too! You can just whip out whatever you need, whenever you need it.”

“Don’t bother. The fact that you’d say something so thoughtlessly proves you’ve got no talent for it—thankfully.”

“Ehh~ What’s the big deal? Wouldn’t it be super handy to know magic?”

“Don’t you use mana when you fight?”

“Yeah?”

Arina massaged her temples, exasperated that Marin had taken her rhetorical question literally. Had this girl never heard of sarcasm?

Meanwhile, Marin stifled a laugh, amused by how easily Arina rose to the bait. Any random comment could set her off, and once riled, Arina would talk more than usual—a pattern Marin had picked up after traveling with her.

Sure enough, Arina—who usually ignored casual conversation—bit the bait. Marin hated silence, especially in situations like this.

“Every combat-trained human manipulates mana. You could call that magic in a broad sense, but real magic—the kind mages use—is more specialized. It’s not just about enhancing the body; it’s converting mana into other forms of energy.”

Like how Arina turned mana into light or fire, the fundamental premise of magic was transforming mana into other energies—light, heat, etc. The power of a spell depended on the amount of mana used.

But the conversion process itself consumed mana, meaning even a single lethal spell required a surprisingly large amount.

That’s why mages had to study countless theories, master rapid mental calculations, and train relentlessly to increase their mana reserves. On top of that, real combat demanded distance control, close-quarters skills, and lightning-fast reflexes.

No wonder magic was considered a discipline for geniuses, occupying its own unique niche. Even among those with exceptional intellect and innate mana, only the stubborn few who insisted on mastering magic ever pursued it.

“So, for non-mages, learning magic is pointless. Even if you struggle to cast a spell, you’d just end up with less mana for actual combat. Those self-proclaimed ‘magic swordsmen’ are just show-offs with parlor tricks. Got it?”

“Uh, yeah. At least I got that you’re really proud of your magic.”

“I went through all that trouble to explain, and you didn’t absorb a thing. Let me say it again—”

“No! No! I’m good.”

Marin waved her hands frantically, her brain overloaded. After a pause, Arina spoke again.

“Now for the main point—I used up a lot of mana earlier. Dullahan will send his undead army after us.”

Somewhere in the world, war still raged, so Dullahan likely hadn’t brought higher undead with wills of their own.

The undead forces he raised on the spot weren’t particularly threatening, but the real problem was that the two of them couldn’t kill undead. If they kept running only to get surrounded, even weak undead would become dangerous.

“In the end, we’ll probably have to fight Dullahan. With that in mind, wasting more mana here would be a mistake.”

Naturally, handling the undead would fall to Marin.

“Leave it to me! No matter how many undead come, or even Dullahan himself—I’ll blow them all away with these fists!”

Flexing her arms to emphasize her muscles, Marin flashed a spirited grin. Then, with confidence, she marched ahead.

“Let’s go, onward!”

All enthusiasm, no substance. She probably hadn’t put much thought into it. But despite that, her brimming confidence reminded Arina of fond memories with people she now despised—making her laugh despite herself.

And because she knew those times would never return, the aftertaste was bitter.