Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Rift (1)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

As the incantation faded, a peculiar sound echoed alongside it. The space itself seemed to shudder, distorting the surrounding area. Some of the weaker ones instinctively covered their ears, but the sound persisted.

 

Covering one’s ears could not block out this kind of noise. It was a sound that traveled through magical energy, not air.

 

Whir-r-r-r-r-r!

 

After a moment that felt like an eternity, a crack appeared in the center of the magic circle. A vertical tear in the very fabric of reality quickly grew wider and taller, revealing a circular glow within.

 

A bright source of light hung in the center of the elongated tear, like an eye opened in the void. Every shaman and warrior present fell to their knees, their foreheads pressed against the dirt.

 

They displayed a level of reverence that surpassed that of their chieftain, Kelpag. But it was only natural, considering the beings they were now gazing upon within that rift.

 

“M, Master.”

 

Kelpag knelt; his staff lay across his lap as he prostrated himself. His aged body trembled.

 

The light from the rift turned towards Kelpag.

 

━Speak.

 

“The plan. . . . . .has gone awry.”

 

━. . .

 

“Yes, due to an unforeseen variable. A warrior wielding a black axe and a black greatsword with black hair, he’s the one who threw everything off track. Fortunately, the insurance I had in place, Lashe, is currently engaging him. Just a little more patience on our part will soon restore the balance. If you could just grant me a little more time and power,

 

━It has been decided.

 

“Yes?”

 

Kelpag looked up, his eyes widening as the light within the rift grew brighter.

 

━I had seen that man before, briefly. Even then, I could not see him clearly. Could Lashe truly be capable of defeating him?

 

“Yes? Ah, the battle is not yet. . . . . .”

 

Kelpag turned his head abruptly, his gaze catching the attention of several orc shamans. When he nodded, they raised magical mirrors, revealing a distant scene.

 

A blinding flash of light and a deafening boom erupted from the mirrors, followed by a faint vibration that reached even their location.

 

Kelpag and his shamans had erected layers of wards and barriers to conceal their magic circle, but the shockwave was so powerful that it could feel through them.

 

Countless hardened gazes were fixed on the large mirror.

 

There, amidst a gigantic crater, an Ogre was being blown away by dust. And the figure of a man looking down at the Ogre.

 

His hair and coat danced wildly in the wind, but his body remained motionless as he stared down at the disintegrating ogre.

 

Kelpag felt a chill run down his spine. He saw in that unknown figure a reflection of his own master.

 

The same aura of arrogant, world-conquering madness. The same presence commanded and crushed the flow of power around him.

 

At the moment that man’s gaze turned and met the direction of the magic mirror.

 

Pachik!

 

The mirrors, which had been projecting the distant scene through a far-sight spell, shattered into a thousand pieces.

 

It happened so fast that the orc shamans barely had time to react. The last thing they saw was a single flash of azure eyes.

 

“. . . . . .”

 

The stunned shamans looked at each other. The far-sight spell that had been observing the man was located at least fifty meters away, if not more.

 

On top of that, the atmosphere and mana flow were raging wildly due to the havoc he had wreaked while fighting Lashe, but to have destroyed the far-sight spell from such a distance was unprecedented. They struggled to understand the method behind it.

 

━It seems the battle has concluded. I can’t sense Lashe’s life reaction anymore.

 

“T, Then. . .”

 

Kelpag’s expression became overwhelmed with despair.

 

“M, Master! Please help! I, I can still fight!”

 

━. . .

 

A moment of silence passed before the rift spoke again, its voice tinged with a sense of power.

 

━Are you willing to pay any price?

 

As viscous magical energy poured from the rift and touched the ground, the magic circle and stone towers began to tremble.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

The plains had taken on an ominous appearance. Clouds had overtaken the once-clear sky, casting the landscape in shades of gray, white, and everything in between.

 

A damp chill hung in the air, hinting at rain.

 

“Torches! Bring some torches!”

 

“We have a wounded man here! Wizards, priests, anyone!”

 

Despite the fact that it was now broad daylight, it felt as if the light was somehow growing dimmer. Soldiers carrying torches rushed about, while others tended to be fallen comrades who cried out in pain.

 

A man clad in white armor and a blood-soaked cape, his sweat-matted hair pulled haphazardly back, ran past.

 

“Wounded man, you say? Let me see.”

 

“S, Sir?”

 

“He appears to have sustained a piercing in his side. Let me heal you up, so just bear with me for a moment.”

 

Divine energy burst forth, knitting the flesh on his punctured side back together. The process was painful, as evidenced by how the wounded man’s face contorted and sweat poured down his face.

 

Nearby, the druid Sarannen extended her hands, green light spilling from her palms. Unlike Jess, she remained unstained by blood or filth.

 

Her hands hovered over the ground, and her eyes narrowed in concentration as she seemed to be searching for something.

 

Moving about were the surviving Lathamian soldiers, mercenaries, and converted orcs. They had either slain the remaining monsters or scattered them into the surrounding forest.

 

The ground was slick with moisture. Mud squelched beneath their feet, thick enough to impede their progress.

 

Pools of untended blood had formed, attracting flies. At the command of their knights and officers, soldiers worked diligently to gather the corpses and set them ablaze.

 

Lord Tatiana stood over the body of a fallen soldier. Removing his broad-brimmed helmet, she revealed the face of a young man.

 

His mouth was slightly open, his features frozen in a grimace of pain. His eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to see something more, and the blue sky was reflected in his pupils that no longer contracted.

 

Her hand brushed against his face, closing his eyelids. However, there were still numerous corpses in need of attention.

 

Not only humans, but also Orcs. That was because during the fight against Heson, Chenpa had called upon the warriors of his tribe.

 

Of the orcs who had sided with humans and the orcs who wielded the power of the devils, it was naturally the orcs of Chenpa’s tribe who had suffered the greatest losses.

 

In truth, the orcs who wielded dark magic were neither numerous nor particularly skilled. But even so, the difference between being able to wield magic and not being able to wield magic was vast. This is particularly true when the magic could enhance one’s already powerful physical strength.

 

If not for Kai’s timely intervention, Chenpa himself would likely have perished as well. As it was, Kai was currently conversing with the few surviving orcs, reassuring them that their god had returned.

 

Tatiana rose to her feet. Kai and the white-haired girl, Aellasis, approached her, and their conversation concluded.

 

“Are you alright, lord?”

 

Tatiana smiled faintly at the orc.

 

“You were a comrade of Russell’s, weren’t you? Your name is Kai, is it?”

 

“Yes, lord.”

 

His skin still bore a faint red glow, as he had yet to fully suppress the power of Vulcan.

 

Behind him, the orcs, recently freed from their uruk state, shuffled. Despite the heavy losses they had suffered during the battle, their numbers were still considerable.

 

Kai glanced at Chenpa, who stood sullenly to one side, before turning back to Tatiana.

 

“Estate Lord, we must move immediately to defeat the shaman group. Specifically, we need to capture or slay Kelpag. He is the one who made the pact with the devil and rallied the orc tribes to this place. Until we deal with Kelpag, the battle remains unfinished. We must move. . .”

 

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

 

The ground shook, and Sarannen, who had been holding her hands over the ground, jumped to her feet.

 

“Everyone, stand back!”

 

The blood that had been covering the battlefield began to rise, defying gravity.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

After his battle with the ogre, Lashe, Russell remained where he was.

 

“Nosy bastards.”

 

For some time, he had been aware of the eyes watching him. However, it was challenging to pinpoint their location due to the wind and other monsters swirling around the battlefield and the mana flowing in all directions.

 

Even now, the aftershocks of his fierce battle with Lashe are still creating whirlwinds and small tornadoes here and there.

 

But after a moment’s respite, Russell’s mana sight was able to pinpoint the location of the curious observer and destroy it with ease. It was a feat that required both the sensitivity to see mana with the naked eye and the control to destroy a remote observation spell.

 

Grumbling to himself, Russell collapsed to the ground. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

 

Sitting alone in the center of the deep crater he had created, he appeared relaxed. But in truth, he was using this time to dispel the shock he had just experienced and cool the overheated magical circuits in his body, circulating the mana within him.

 

Even for Russell, it was impossible to completely dispel the force of the punch that Lashe had unleashed, fueled by the remainder of his life force. After fighting for over three hours without rest, he needed to check on his overworked magical circuits.

 

“Phoo-hoo.”

 

A hot breath escaped his lips, carrying with it the impurities that had built up during the battle. It was not enough to dispel all of his fatigue, but it was good to get rid of what he could while he had a moment. The difference between life and death often came down to the slightest of imbalances.

 

There was almost no mana left in his body. Russell had to counter the attack that had turned the surrounding landscape into a scene of utter destruction with an equally powerful amount of mana. This had left him nearly depleted.

 

Even so, he did not feel a sense of crisis because his mana was regenerating faster than ever before.

 

Similar to steel, a person forges their mana’s strength by repeatedly purging impurities and tempering it with the appropriate force and heat.

 

A naturally talented body, if not used properly, will rust. In that sense, Russell had honed himself through his relentless pursuit of battle.

 

Through countless battles, Russell had never retreated or surrendered. Russell had confronted each challenge head-on, and he remained unbroken. That would not change now.

 

Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, his mana sight observed his inner workings with unparalleled clarity. The area around him was still swirling with mana, distorted by the aftershocks of Lashe’s punch.

 

A spherical barrier was erected around Russell, and it gradually began to expand. As the domain expanded, his sensitivity and manipulation abilities also expanded along with it.

 

His sensitivity detected the flow of mana, while his control guided it. As the swirling currents twisted and turned, pure mana poured into Russell’s empty body, connecting to him like a funnel.

 

The mana quickly transformed into magical energy, circulating through his veins and arteries. A single current raced through Russell’s body, tracing a circle. It began at the crown of his head, traveled down his spine, and then ascended to his chakra(TL: Not a Naruto definition).

 

Suddenly, Russell extended his hand forward. With a surge of magical energy and intent, Nahilnir and Final Frost flew towards him, hovering in front of him before slowly settling into his hand.

 

He had infused these weapons with his magical energy and wielded them for an extended period, transforming them into extensions of himself. Russell had now gained enough control to recall Final Frost and Nahilnir, even if he had only a sliver of magical energy left.

 

As long as they weren’t out of his sight, he could now bring them back to his hand at any time, even without incantations, within the range of his magic detection.

 

The spell that had originally been embedded in Final Frost was also almost fully restored, but it was the fact that he had gained the ability to recall them without the need for a spell that was truly significant.

 

Russell sheathed Final Frost and Nahilnir beneath his coat and stood up.

 

The end of the orc war was near. Once he had dealt with the devil’s minions, who had instigated this conflict, he would find a way to reach the one behind them.

 

Kuung━.

 

At that moment, a vibration that had echoed from afar reached Russell. He was several kilometers away from the Latham Estate, so the vibration that reached him was in a weakened state, having traveled a great distance.

 

Even so, Russell’s brow furrowed because, despite the weakened signal, he could sense within it a sinister intent and a surge of powerful magical energy.

 

With a surge of energy, Russell’s mana sight transcended distance. His peripheral vision stretched out like a thin line, and the scene he sought rapidly approached.

 

And what he saw was a barrier covered in black magical energy. Magi’s crystal was so dense and concentrated that even his mana sight could not penetrate it.

 

“Finally decided to show your ass, huh?”

 

Russell muttered to himself, stretching his neck and shoulders. A series of cracks echoed through the air.

 

His restored magical energy was less than half of what it had been. However, judging by the fact that the intensity of the signal he was receiving was increasing, he did not have time to waste.

 

In truth, the reason he had been able to recover this much magical energy was due to his increased control over his domain and the fact that his heightened spirit and soul were now capable of resonating with the world to a greater extent.

 

Whiiing!

 

The activated magical energy within his body surged and twisted at his will. Purplish-blue magical energy materialized around Russell’s entire body, creating a shimmering aura.

 

His figure, which had been walking at a steady pace, suddenly vanished with a whoosh. And through the verdant forest, a figure of purple light raced at an incredible speed.

 

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