Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Playing the Villain (2)

Lloyd, unable to watch any longer, ground his teeth.

“I do not care what happens to this Holy Knight, but do you think I will just let you, who fled the Dark Empire, go?”

THUD!

Lloyd stomped once to summon his undead, but his actions were hasty.

Do you know where you are standing right now?

“What? What in the world is this…….”

THUD. THUD.

Try casting Black Magic there for a hundred days. 

Let us see if it activates.

It was the effect of Simplified Holy Ground, a High-Rank Holy Magic.

The moment one entered the range of Simplified Holy Ground, most Black Magic was canceled before it could even be cast.

Yulia, who had activated such powerful Holy Magic by herself, was simply impressive.

Of course, as certain as its effect was, the price was no small matter either.

I knew it consumed a truly massive amount of Holy Power to activate that.

She must have exhausted almost all the Holy Power she had refined inside her body.

At Yulia’s current level… she probably had to draw out every last bit of the Holy Power embedded in her Sacred Mark as well.

WOOONG… WOOONG…….

Look at that. 

Even the Sacred Mark engraved on the back of Yulia’s right hand had lost its original light and was flickering faintly.

“Ugh…….”

On top of that, she was only twisting her lips while keeping watch over me and was not recklessly trying to come outside Simplified Holy Ground. 

That was proof that my guess was correct.

Well… honestly, I was also cutting it close with how long I could maintain this Black Magic Barrier.

Based on the price I had given to Valak, the maximum duration of the barrier was ten minutes. 

There were already less than five minutes left.

In other words, we were both in a lull.

“Was your name Yulia? I was originally watching for an opening to kill you once you were moderately worn out……. I did not expect you to activate this kind of Holy Magic.”

Shadow Dagger, ten consecutive forging.

PIPIPING!

I threw several Shadow Daggers toward Simplified Holy Ground, and just as I had expected, the Shadow Daggers crumbled instantly the moment they entered the range of the holy ground.

“Tch, if I had walked in thoughtlessly, I would have died on the spot. How dare you create a zone where Black Magic itself cannot activate?”

Even at my provocation, Yulia did not shrink back and aimed her sword at me.

“Instead of getting so angry, why not come inside? If you are willing to say that you will kill me, then an opportunity like this should be rare, should it not?”

“I would be offended if I looked that stupid to you. I can tell when something is possible and when it is not.”

“Is that so?”

Gripping the hilt of her sword firmly, she took a step to approach me.

“Good. If killing me is your wish, then come at me. As long as God’s Grace is with me, I will not lose to a mad dog like you.”

This was unexpected.

Was she trying to come out of Simplified Holy Ground to catch me even though she was not in perfect condition?

This was a little troublesome.

“A mad dog, huh…….”

I chewed over the word she had spat out.

Even in the previous round, when my name had become fairly famous, other people had called me that.

Rabid Dog, Aron Bayonel.

Did my current personality suit that title of Rabid Dog?

Heh.

I let out a faint laugh and lowered my body.

It was not a matter of whether it suited me or not.

If I was going to play the villain, then I had to become at least a Rabid Dog.

“That has a nice ring to it.”

Sorry, Yulia, but I have no intention of fighting you until we both crack each other’s skulls open right now.

It seemed I needed to pressure her so that she would not even think of approaching me.

In order to do that.

Undead Serpent, summon.

KIIIIII…….

The Undead Serpent that appeared from within the black mist lowered its head according to my command and opened its mouth wide.

Two fangs, one of the characteristics of a venomous snake, flashed before my eyes.

They were large, about the length of a forearm.

CRACK! POP!

After covering my right arm in Demonic Armament, I stretched out my right hand and pulled out one of its fangs.

Shadow Spear, single forging.

I created a Shadow Spear while holding the fang in my hand.

Grip.

The fang fused with the Shadow Spear emitted an ominous purple light from the spearhead.

Mid-Rank Black Magic, Deadly Poison Curse.

A Black Magic that used an object containing deadly poison as a medium to increase the poison’s range and destructive power.

Depending on the medium, the power of Deadly Poison Curse varied greatly.

However, when a body part of an undead containing poison was used as the medium, the power of this curse rose by one stage.

Because the body of an undead revived through Black Magic had good compatibility with Deadly Poison Curse, which was also Black Magic.

HISSSSS…….

Taking a throwing stance, I aimed the spearhead at Yulia inside Simplified Holy Ground.

At the same time that the muscles of my right arm, strengthened by Demonic Armament, creaked.

BOOOOM!

The Shadow Spear left my hand, tearing through the air and letting out a blast.

“Mad… that is……!”

Lloyd’s eyes shot open when he confirmed that the Shadow Spear I had created was no ordinary thing.

“Hey, holy fanatic! Stop walking!”

“What? Even so, it is only Black Magic…….”

BANG!

The Shadow Spear that cut through the air collided with the holy ground.

Yulia’s shoulder flinched.

Because the spearhead that had been aimed at her had embedded itself in the boundary separating the inside and outside of the holy ground and was fixed in midair.

“…Huh?”

Yulia’s face stiffened.

Yes. 

It must be bewildering.

The moment all Black Magic entered Simplified Holy Ground’s area of effect, it would be canceled immediately.

That was probably what she had been complacently thinking.

Simplified Holy Ground was a concept that purified Black Magic and returned it to nothingness.

The denser the concentration of the curse, the more the holy ground’s purification speed failed to keep up.

In other words, if a high-intensity curse was concentrated on a single point and driven into it, Simplified Holy Ground could be broken through, if only for a brief moment.

It will take some effort to purify all that deadly poison.

RUMBLEEEEE!

The Deadly Poison Curse contained in the spearhead exploded, violently scattering poisonous mist inside Simplified Holy Ground.

“This is……!”

Yulia, who had stopped walking, stretched out her hand and purified the poisonous mist trying to spread toward her.

HISSSSS……!

Judging that I had bought enough time with this, I widened the distance between myself and them.

When Yulia saw me shrug my shoulders and turn my back, her eyes sharpened.

“Well… see you next time. There will be plenty of chances to kill you.”

“Wait, Aron……!”

Before she could continue speaking, I left Black Magic Barrier alone.

After two minutes passed, I released Black Magic Barrier.

***

SWISH…….

The thick purple mist cleared.

FAAAADE…….

The ground that had been glowing gold because of Simplified Holy Ground also returned to normal.

Even though the Black Magic Barrier Aron had spread had been released, the three of them remained silent for several seconds as they looked in the direction where Aron had disappeared.

They needed time to organize what had just happened.

The first one to speak was Lloyd.

“What kind of mess is this because of you?”

He frowned deeply and pointed at the ground where Simplified Holy Ground had been active.

“We lost Aron because of this damned Holy Magic, did we not?”

“That is funny. Could you have caught him by summoning undead?”

“I could have at least tried. What did you do so well, holy fanatic? You used up all your Holy Power and could not do anything properly.”

“Ugh……. Did I know things would turn out like this……?”

The two of them, who had been baring their edges at each other, soon lowered their heads and let out worried breaths.

“To think that bastard Aron is aiming for your life, Holy Knight. This is absurd.”

“I do not have anything in particular that comes to mind as to why he is targeting me, but…….”

Yulia, who had been pressing a hand to her forehead, continued calmly.

“…If he made a contract with a powerful demon he cannot control, then acting like that would actually be natural.”

“Did the Holy Order side figure out even that much?”

“It was only an inference based on the materials our Order provided. Though this has made it certain.”

There were quite a few cases where contractors who made contracts with powerful demons without considering their own capacity had their minds broken.

And those who fell into madness like this had a high chance of developing hostility close to hatred toward priests who possessed the power to oppose demons.

Just like Aron, who had appeared before their eyes and vanished a moment ago.

“Hah……. This has become troublesome.”

Lloyd pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.

Mad Dog Aron.

He had wondered where Aron was and what he was doing, but had he been waiting for a chance to kill Yulia, the Valedictorian of Saengterminum and a Holy Knight?

Things had become quite tangled.

“Mad Dog Aron…….”

Yulia, who had been chewing over his name, spoke in a low voice.

“Lloyd, there is something I would like to propose.”

“A proposal?”

“…How about we keep the fact that Aron is in Saengterminum only between us?”

“……?”

Lloyd glanced sideways at Yulia.

This was quite unexpected.

Given this woman’s personality, he had thought she would report it to the professors immediately.

When he expressed his question with his gaze, Yulia placed a hand over her chest.

“Aron is aiming for my life. Mine, as someone who holds a Grade 1 License and comes from the Holy Order.”

A strange light settled in Yulia’s eyes.

“If that is the case, I think it would be better for me to personally punish Aron Bayonel with these hands.”

At Yulia’s completely unexpected attitude, Lloyd opened his mouth.

“If it becomes known that Aron is hiding in Saengterminum, the consequences will be quite large. A large-scale search operation will certainly be conducted to find Aron.”

“That is true.”

“The Black Magic Aron cast… you said it was Black Magic Barrier, correct?”

Yulia slowly looked around and smiled bitterly.

“He spread a barrier like that, yet the professors did not come here… which means he must have found a way to avoid being caught by Saengterminum’s Security Formula. If Aron notices that security has been raised and flees outside Saengterminum, it will become even harder to catch him.”

At her considerable level of judgment, Lloyd swallowed a groan.

Were all people from the Holy Order like this? 

It seemed they were not called an elite group for nothing.

“You are saying you will become bait yourself?”

“It is not as though you want Aron to flee outside Saengterminum either, is it?”

“Hmm.”

It was not a bad proposal.

After all, Instructor Dave, who had been invited to Saengterminum as a professor, was already in the middle of creating a curse here to place on Aron.

‘Instructor said that the closer the distance between the curse and Aron, the stronger the curse’s power would become…….’

Since it had been confirmed that Aron was hiding in Saengterminum, once the curse was complete, it would be able to affect Aron even more effectively.

And this holy fanatic was volunteering to become bait to keep Aron in Saengterminum?

From his perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

“Not bad.”

Lloyd nodded and accepted Yulia’s proposal.

The problem was that the two of them were not the only ones who had learned this fact.

Lloyd and Yulia turned to Lucia, who was silently standing behind them.

“So, about that… may I ask you for a favor?”

“Is there something you want in exchange for keeping quiet? If there is, I would like to grant it as much as I can.”

“Um…….”

Receiving both of their gazes at the same time, Lucia moved her lips in confusion.

“Ah, and I am sorry for suspecting you of being a Black Sorcerer. I am a little serious about these things……. Y-you are not angry, are you?”

Yulia, who had returned to her original gentle atmosphere, hesitantly bowed her head to Lucia over and over.