Chapter 62

Chapter 62: The Path of Magic (1)

-This is Black Magic……? Impossible! Even I, a demon, have never seen… Black Magic like this……?

Of course not. 

I had not known about it either.

-Is this an Authority……? You modified a demon’s Authority into a curse?

Unexpected. 

He noticed that right away?

-Answer me!

Where would I find the time for that?

If I did not dodge that snake head first, I was going to die.

Even based on the amount of Demonic Aura, the castable duration of the ‘Curse of Time’ was not very long.

The castable duration was roughly six seconds.

Six seconds.

I would finish this within that time.

I lifted my left leg.

……!

Pain immediately surged through me.

I had only moved my left leg slightly, yet an agony sharp enough to tear my muscles apart shook my brain.

It was so painful that my head went numb, but I could not scream. 

Right now, even the small muscles used when screaming would become a source of pain.

Grrrr…….

Gulp.

My heartbeat, my breathing, my flowing blood, my shaking pupils, my trembling muscles, the bobbing of my throat as I swallowed, my aching ribs.

Every trivial biological movement necessary for life itself was torture to me right now.

Five seconds.

In this state, I could not cast any other Black Magic at all, aside from the Authority and ‘Full-Body Demonic Armament.’

If I tried to cast more Black Magic, my heart would be strained, and I would either faint on the spot or my heart would fail to endure the overload and burst.

However, I had not failed to anticipate a situation like this either.

I stretched out my right hand.

Then, I flung wide open the Sacred Mark pattern I had firmly sealed with mana.

Sacred Mark, Open.

FLASH!

On the right side of my gray-dyed vision, a brilliant golden light bloomed.

Holy Power and Black Magic could not be used together.

However, that applied only to ordinary cases where Holy Power was stored in the heart.

If I raised it directly from the Sacred Mark without storing Holy Power in my heart, I could handle Holy Magic and Black Magic, two opposing forms of magic, at the same time.

Just like now.

CRACKLE……!

Wow, damn it……!

It felt as if a heated branding iron were searing the back of my hand.

The Holy Power that came into contact with ‘Demonic Armament’ violently repelled it, and a lightning-like pain shot through the back of my right hand and stabbed into my mind.

It seemed that because the ‘Demonic Armament’ had been built with Demonic Aura rather than mana, the Holy Power was rejecting it even more fiercely.

Still, it was better than putting strain on my heart.

Since this was ‘Full-Body Demonic Armament’ strengthened with Demonic Aura, it could endure for a few seconds well enough.

Therefore.

Forced Rampage.

Right now, the best course was to accept the rampage of the Sacred Mark and make the greatest possible use of this Holy Power.

Holy Light Forging.

Holy Light Lance, Single Forging.

Holy Light Lance, Rotation.

WHIRRRRR……!

A cone refined from Holy Power began spinning in the air.

When I grasped the Holy Light Lance with my right hand, Demonic Armament and Holy Power repelled each other, heating my palm.

Four seconds.

CRACKLE!

In the aftermath of the rampage, the Holy Light Lance escaped my control and began increasing its size on its own.

For now, this rampage could not have been more useful.

This lance, forged from Holy Power, was no different from deadly poison to every Corrupted Body ahead.

Now that the ‘Curse of Time’ had been cast, if I could drive this rampaging lance into Lucia, that alone would be enough to take her life.

Three seconds.

I stared at Lucia, who was running slowly toward me from the other side.

Step, step.

Lift the left foot, then lift the right foot.

Thinking only of that, I moved forward.

Splash…….

Soon, the tips of my feet touched the water’s surface.

Valak’s Authority, Reptile Transmutation.

RUMBLE……!

HISSSSS……!

The Earth Snakes rising around me wove their bodies together and made a long bridge over the water.

Using those Earth Snakes as footholds, I stepped onto the surface of the water.

Then, I charged straight toward Lucia, treading across the bodies of the Earth Snakes.

BOOM!

A sound of rupturing air burst out, and the distance between Lucia and me narrowed to roughly two hundred meters.

The snakes rising above the water through ‘Reptile Transmutation’ became footholds for my steps.

Two seconds.

Countless corrupted snakes born from the corrupted domain were blocking the direction I intended to go.

However, to me right now, those things were not even obstacles.

All I had to do was point the tip of the rampaging lance forward.

CRUSH!

The bodies of the corrupted snakes that touched the lance twisted and were swept away like scraps of tissue.

-Th-this contract is invalid……!

Agitation carried through Valak’s Voice Transmission, but the bet based on the contract had begun long ago.

No matter what that bastard said, this contract could not be withdrawn.

-This… this Black Magic… was not part of my plan……!

The distance between Lucia and me was now one hundred meters.

One second.

SSSSHHH…….

The colors that had been dyed gray slowly returned.

The ‘Curse of Time’ was being released, but that was within my expectations.

After all, I had already passed the two Corrupted Bodies that had been in front of Lucia.

Now, the distance between Lucia and me was thirty meters. 

At this range, it was enough to reach her.

I aimed the tip of the lance, which was rampaging and increasing in size, at Lucia’s chest.

Now, zero seconds.

FLASH.

Color returned.

From my eardrums, which had heard nothing but ringing, clear sounds began to reach me.

CREEEAK……. WHOOOOSH……! SPLAAAAASH…….

The twisted air whirled around my body.

The surface of the flowing river shook as though an earthquake had struck.

CRACK… SNAP…….

As the physical laws that had been stiffened by the ‘Curse of Time’ returned, the inertia that began rushing in abruptly started pushing me forward with savage force.

With this, my body became like an arrow pulled taut.

As long as I maintained the formulas, my body and this lance would immediately shoot forward and pierce Lucia in an instant.

-Aron… please let go of that weapon.

Valak, having realized that the curse I had cast was abnormal, went beyond pleading and began begging.

-Do you know how many contracts I have concluded until now……?

-Do you know how much time I spent trying to become a Top-Rank Demon with them……?

-My contracts, which I have built up for years… because of one mere person like you……!

‘Heh, has this moron still not come to his senses?’

I answered Valak’s Voice Transmission with a mocking one of my own.

‘Take this chance to engrave it into yourself properly.’

The price of looking down on the Black Mage once called the Rabid Dog, the man who had once stood at the pinnacle of Black Magic.

‘Prepare to fulfill the price, little brat.’

-No……. This cannot happen……!

GRAAAAAH!

Lucia and the Corrupted Bodies roared in rage and tried to drive black-red snakes down toward me, but I had already finished all preparations.

I entrusted my body to the taut inertia and thrust the lance forward.

I swallowed my breath and braced myself for the impact that would come from the ‘Curse of Time.’

CRUNCH!

The Holy Light Lance pierced Lucia’s chest.

BOOOOOOM!

GRIIIIIND!

KIIIIIK!

KIYAAAAAH!

The surging gale, inertia, and the screams of the snake swarm threw my eyes and ears into chaos.

***

The sky above Saengterminum.

Having reached the outer district of Saengterminum in about three minutes, Levia scraped her vocal cords in displeasure.

In her eyes, the riverside polluted by Demonic Aura drew closer.

In the black-red corrupted area, corrupted snakes were being endlessly created and raising their bodies.

“…Ah.”

Yulia also confirmed the corrupted area and let out a gasp.

They had to sweep away that entire corrupted area to minimize the damage.

Dragon Breath.

WHOOOOO…….

Just as Levia tried to exhale deeply and spew condensed chill downward.

‘…Hm? What is this?’

Levia looked below and felt something out of place.

‘The corrupted area… is not as wide as I expected?’

She had been in a hurry and realized it late, but the corrupted area was expanding only around the riverside.

The people nearby had already noticed the corruption and were evacuating to get away from the corrupted area.

‘…Is that possible?’

Lucia had become a Corrupted Body.

A powerful Corrupted Body who could clash with her, even if only a little.

If she had already been corrupted to that degree, the area below should have been more than corrupted enough by the Demonic Aura spread by the Corrupted Bodies and believers.

‘No way… was someone holding back the Corrupted Bodies and believers?’

Who in the world?

No sooner had Levia stared toward the riverside than an abnormal phenomenon occurred.

SPLAAAAASH!

The river split wide to both sides.

The movements of the corrupted snakes twisted strangely, and they were pushed left and right.

‘…What?’

Every single one of them had a hole pierced somewhere in its body.

The swirling fragments and debris polluted by Demonic Aura tangled together and crashed into the corrupted riverside.

Soon, the enlarged debris pierced through the riverside and even left the corrupted area, gradually slowing before eventually stopping.

From the gouged-out earth, large and small fragments that had been blown away mixed together, sending up a thick cloud of smoke.

Judging by sight alone, the length of the rising dust cloud approached one kilometer, nearly the same as the river’s width.

It had happened in a single second.

It had been too fast for an ordinary person’s eyes to see, but if a dragon made up her mind to look, there was no way she would miss it.

‘Aron……?’

And she soon recognized exactly who had caused this phenomenon.

That was why Levia could not help but flinch and stop the motion she had been making to release her breath.

‘Just now… I could not see it?’

She had to take into account that she was high in the sky and far away while looking down, but even with the eyes of a dragon, she had briefly failed to properly follow his movement.

The fact that he had survived there alone was astonishing enough. How could a child that young produce that kind of power and speed……?

‘No. I can think about that brat later.’

Right now, eliminating the spreading corrupted area came first.

Levia took her gaze off the smoke cloud and turned her face toward the spreading corrupted area in order to release her breath, but…….

Before long, Levia withdrew the chill that had gathered heavily around her mouth.

“Headmaster… what in the world is that?”

“…Indeed.”

At Yulia’s question, which she asked while blankly looking down at the ground, Levia had no choice but to answer with a question of her own.

That was because the Demonic Aura and corrupted snakes that had been greedily expanding as though they would devour the surroundings… were all turning to ash and disappearing, as though they had been nothing more than a brief nightmare.

HAAAAAH……!

“Haaaaah…….”

Levia exhaled deeply, releasing the chill in an empty breath, and turned her head toward the place where the smoke cloud was rising.

‘What in the world are you doing, Aron Bayonel……?’

***

The aftermath of the fierce gale striking my eyes left my vision blurry.

I forced my eyes open wide and struggled to focus.

RUMBLE… RUMBLE……!

THUD!

Dull noises came from all over.

It was the sound of the wreckage and fragments that had surged around me falling downward.

‘Was it still too much, even after using this much Demonic Aura?’

My entire body ached.

Even though I was using the strengthened ‘Full-Body Demonic Armament,’ I had not expected the side effects of the ‘Curse of Time’ to be this severe…….

Fortunately, because I was still in the ‘Full-Body Demonic Armament’ state, I could somehow move my body, but the right hand I had thrust out was lodged firmly in place, making it difficult to pull out right now.

Squish.

…A damp, warm sensation, both familiar and unpleasant, coiled around my right hand.