Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Ruins (5)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

Koodooood━

 

Suddenly, violent tremors and quakes shook the entire city of Hedilund. Buildings collapsed here and there, causing chaos as people were crushed under the rubble.

 

“Agh!”

 

“S, Save me!”

 

“Mom! Mommm!”

 

Those who had never experienced an earthquake before were running around like headless chickens. The cries of children who had been buried under collapsed walls or rocks, or those who had lost their parents to falling roofs, contributed to the pandemonium.

 

At that moment, a cheerful voice rang out along with a surge of blue magical energy. Immediately, the collapsing buildings floated against gravity, gently gathering the people who had been trapped beneath them into one place.

 

Everyone looked toward the voice’s source. A silver-haired girl was floating in the air, her eyes shining. Small but sharp horns protruded from the gaps in her white hair, and her pupils, drawn vertically, shimmered sharply.

 

The horned girl’s blue surge of magical energy persisted.

 

“W, What is that, a dragonkin?”

 

“Is that draconian?”

 

The girl shouted to the people who were staring blankly at her.

 

“What are you all looking at? Hurry up and get out of here! Run to the outskirts of the city!”

 

The people who had finally come to their senses began to get up and run. Parents who had found their children nodded hurriedly, then disappeared down the street.

 

As she watched them leave, Aellasis suddenly turned her head. She could sense an ominous surge of magical energy from the city’s center. Russell, her guardian, and Irrucil, her older sister, were probably fighting.

 

However, Aellasis did not rush to their aid. She instinctively guessed that there was a reason why Russell had left her with Farrells and the Lord.

 

“Aellasis! The evacuation of the western district is complete!”

 

Just then, she heard a voice calling out to her from below. Farrells, riding on a horse, was using both hands to form a megaphone shape while shouting.

 

“Now you can go up! The northern district!”

 

He sent the remaining soldiers west to evacuate the people. Rather than dividing the soldiers into four groups and sending them to the east, west, south, and north, he split the work by assigning the remaining sectors to Aellasis and Calia. As a result, the evacuation of the citizens proceeded more quickly.

 

Aellasis nodded from above.

 

“Got it.”

 

Farrells immediately spurred his horse towards the southern district. As soon as they escaped from the inner city, Lord Gellerd and Farrell urged the citizens who were bewildered by the earthquake to leave the city and mobilized the soldiers to get them out.

 

They did not know what was happening at the moment, but they realized that the first priority was to get away from the center of the city. Calia, transformed into a bat, flew quickly towards the eastern district. In the distance, she could see waves of shadow rising and supporting the collapsing buildings, rescuing the people.

 

The materialized shadows rose high like waves, carrying the people away. The people who had screamed at the sight of the unidentified black liquid flooding in realized that it was not trying to harm them and looked around in bewilderment.

 

From her high vantage point, Aellasis looked over the city with her dragon’s eyes and saw other wizards and warriors emerging.

 

They looked like people who had been exploring the ruins. Some of them were rushing towards the earthquake’s epicenter. They must have sensed something strange happening in the ruins and were going to investigate the secret.

 

“Ah, hey. . .”

 

The girl reached out to them, but she gave up when she saw that they were already too far and fast for her to catch. It couldn’t be helped.

 

“Tsk, they don’t know the value of their lives.”

 

Aellasis clicked her tongue and flew north, where she was supposed to go. The city was vast, and there were still many people who had not evacuated. Those who had awakened their magical powers and learned to use them could escape unharmed from the earthquake, but there were many more who could not.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Grrk, Keek…”

 

Deckers gasped for air as one of his hands wrapped around his throat. The height difference between him and Russell was significant, leaving him hanging further from the ground. Deckers kicked Russell and stomped on his feet. However, the kicks only resulted in pain shooting through his legs, as if he had kicked a wall.

 

Despite the excruciating pain, the wizard’s hands, which were scratching and clawing at Russell’s arm, did nothing to him as he was protected by the black coat. Chanting spells and forming hand signs were out of the question.

 

Numerous spikes of mana pierced through Russell’s left hand, which was still wrapped around Deckers’ throat, blocking his circuits and tearing them apart, destroying his source of magic. However, the process was controlled in such a way that it had no direct effect on his life. This was a level of magical manipulation that could only be described as masterful.

 

“Show me.”

 

Deckers’s face, turning white from pain, was close to Russell’s eerie face. One eye flipped over into the form of a reverse eye, and Deckers’s face was reflected in Russell’s pupil.

 

Deckers felt his mind swim away from the horrific sight. Then, a sense of deja vu washed over him, as if he had met those eyes before.

 

When and where had he seen eyes like these? He was unable to recollect any such memories. At that moment, as if a forgotten curtain were being drawn back, a door that someone had shut was opened. Deckers had been under a spell that prevented him from being aware of it, and if he tried to, his attention would be diverted elsewhere.

 

━Go to Hedilund.

 

‘Hedilund? Where is that?

 

━You will find the ancient relic you desire there. Go and claim it. Incite a civil war. Your target provinces are Citrus, Asov, and Nestoko. With the ancient relic, conquering them will be easy.

 

‘Citrus. . . Asov. . . Nestoko. . .’

 

━Go.

 

And so Deckers arrived at Hedilund. He followed the clues left behind by the unknown voice, which he had now forgotten, and excavated the ruins together with Lord Gellerd.

 

As if it was a lie that it had never been discovered before, the interior of the ruins easily opened before Deckers’s eyes. And the golems from thousands of years ago,

 

“Uugh, uaagh. . . . . .”

 

Deckers’s eyeballs darted around as he let out an involuntary groan. His forgotten memories and the life he had lived were being stripped away, read, and analyzed. Yet, he could do nothing. It was like watching the pages of a book being turned at the reader’s will.

 

All the magic and spells he had learned throughout his life failed to come to mind. And Russell’s magic eye pierced through Deckers’s mental barriers.

 

‘He’s strange’. Russell thought. Whether they are magic users or warriors, when they surpass their limits, they build a special domain in their own body.

 

For wizards, it could be an attribute they frequently utilize, or a spell world specific to their school of magic. If they establish a strong foundation, it becomes challenging to overcome their mental barriers. Of course, Russell’s unique eye, which he had from birth, enabled him to overcome these mental barriers.

 

In any case, Deckers’s spell world was flimsy and disorganized, as if several cloths had been forcibly sewn together.

 

It was completely different from when he had opened the mind of the former Orc Great Shaman. The Orc Shaman, who had made a deal with the devil Geliotos had just finished performing a shamanic ritual to take revenge on Russell by sacrificing the entire orc members he had. That was why Russell’s magic eye was able to easily penetrate his mind.

 

On the other hand, Deckers’s spell world was a chaotic mixture of mismatched spells. Some were related to golems, some to alchemy, others to the creation and refinement of magical tools, and some to black magic’s life force absorption. . .

 

It’s not a problem for a wizard to know so many spells. However, knowing them is not enough to build a world.

 

Magic is about finding a gap in the world and rearranging the rules, with mana as the material. It’s like incorporating your own small world into a larger one. If that process is not done properly, the magic is canceled, and it takes a hit.

 

“Groan, grooowl. . . .”

 

In that sense, Deckers’s spells and magic were incompatible and forcibly connected. In the first place, even the mana in his body was not his own.

 

‘It was as if someone had artificially created a wizard to be used. . .’

 

Russell’s eyes narrowed as Deckers’s limp body suddenly twitched as if having a seizure.

 

“G, Guh, aaah!”

 

At the same time, an ominous wave of spells erupted from within his chest. Russell released his grip on his throat and took a step back.

 

Even though he had let go, Deckers’s body remained floating about ten centimeters off the ground. However, he didn’t seem to have regained consciousness as he continued to convulse, his eyes rolling white.

 

Crack, crackle. . .

 

At that moment, dozens of golems that hadn’t been neutralized yet rose their heavy bodies and approached. They seemed to have sensed their master’s distress and were approaching with their weapons pointed at Russell.

 

From one side, Irrucil appeared, smashing the golems and sometimes restraining their limbs to knock them to the ground. Even she wouldn’t be able to defeat all of these golems.

 

“Wh. What are these?”

 

“Golems?”

 

“What kind of golems are these? When were they made? Are they relics?”

 

A group of people began to arrive one after another at the ruins’ entrance. They were adventurers who roamed the city’s ruins and dungeons.

 

Each of them had a considerable amount of mana, and they were all dressed in robes, carrying magical tools, or wearing armor as they made their way to the earthquake’s source.

 

At that moment, Deckers’s hands and arms moved at a rapid speed. Russell’s eyes widened at the sight of the precise, seemingly unbelievable movements emanating from the body that had been flailing around until just now.

 

Before Russell knew it, Deckers had escaped from his left hand. And instead of retreating, he rushed closer and threw a punch at Russell. Russell raised his forearm to block the punch’s ominous force.

 

With a thud, Russell’s body was pushed back. It was an unnatural amount of strength for a skinny wizard who didn’t look like he trained. Russell stared at Deckers, his eyes wide with shock as the impact pierced through the coat’s defenses.

 

Another being was now in control of Deckers’s body.

 

“Oh dear. His functions as a terminal shouldn’t be showing up yet.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

Ignoring Russell’s question, Deckers’s body kicked off the ground and charged at him. Russell stood still, watching him approach at a rapid speed.

 

The one controlling Deckers’s body attacked first. Black mana gathered in his hand, and in an instant, it took the shape of a beast’s claws, aiming for Russell’s neck and stomach.

 

The air screamed as the hardened mana claws tore through. However, they failed to cut through Russell’s stomach and neck.

 

Russell’s two hands, which had anticipated the attack’s trajectory, moved slowly. They definitely moved slower than Deckers’ claws, but Russell’s hands preempted the path the claws were taking and pushed the attack outward.

 

Pushing the two crossed arms outward, Russell’s fist flew into Deckers’s wide-open chest. The powerful fist looked as if it would burst through Deckers’s chest and leave a gaping hole.

 

Sensing the danger, Deckers’s body moved in a way that defied common sense. Even more intense mana burst out of his skin and muscles, forcibly pulling his pushed-out arms back in.

 

Deckers, who had grabbed Russell’s right wrist, immediately tried to pull Russell closer. The immense black mana momentarily brought Russell’s body closer to Deckers. Deckers’ other hand shot up sharply, its tip aimed at Russell’s heart.

 

The mana, which protruded from his fingertips like a blade, shot forward, closing the distance. To Russell’s surprise, his coat was cut, and the shirt and skin underneath were also cut by the mana blade, causing blood to splatter.

 

A brief silence fell around them. Deckers, who had been exerting so much force that his body was trembling, raised his head.

 

“This is. . . incredible power.”

 

Deckers’ appearance was clearly different from before, when he gave so much force that his words came out intermittently.

 

The skin all over his body was pale, but the blue veins were prominent and swollen, and black blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and ears. The boundary between the whites and blacks of his eyes had disappeared, leaving only a dull gray.

 

Deckers, who was exerting his strength with such difficulty, had only managed to tear through Russell’s coat and cut his skin on his chest. This was because Russell’s left hand firmly gripped Deckers’ right wrist.

 

With a snap, the bones in Deckers’s right wrist were crushed, and his muscles and nerves were squeezed. Yet Deckers did not let out a groan. Russell had already realized that the original owner of the body was dead, and that he had used up all of the remaining life force.

 

“Kraaagh!”

 

At that moment, Deckers’s lowered head lifted up, and as his mouth opened wide, he spewed out a swarm of insects. The buzzing of countless wings filled the air as the insects, larger than thumbs, flew towards Russell’s face, their sharp mandibles and poisonous stingers bared.

 

Russell ignored them and swung his right wrist around, grabbing Deckers’s left wrist in return. In an instant, Deckers found both of his wrists caught by Russell, leaving him unable to move. And as Deckers stood there, a knee flew towards him.

 

With a sound of tearing leather, Deckers’s body rolled across the floor, spewing black blood like ink. Blood gushed out of both of his arms, which had been torn apart at the elbows.

 

Deckers, who had been rolling around, suddenly sprang to his feet, stretching out his legs. However, Deckers staggered as his two torn-off arms threw off his balance.

 

“Kukukuk, You’ve been hit directly by Abaddon’s insects, so no matter how strong you are… Huh?”

 

Deckers’s blue-veined face, which was now only filled with white pupils, tilted in confusion. This was because Russell, who should have been left with only his bones showing after taking a direct hit from the swarm of insects to the face, remained standing.

 

“What are these insects. .?”

 

Furthermore, when he flicked his hand as if they were bothersome, the devil’s insects fell to the ground with a thud and died without even twitching.

 

“Is that all? You just pull out some strange claws, wave them around, and then vomit up insects?”

 

Russell said as he approached him. Deckers, who had both of his arms torn off, squirmed and laughed.

 

“Do you want to know more? Then. . . . .”

 

As he attempted to continue speaking, a thudding object abruptly lodged itself in his skull. It was Russell’s axe, Final Frost.

 

Deckers’s body, with an axe blade embedded in half of his head, staggered for a moment before suddenly dropping to the ground on all fours. The black mana was then gathered and formed into arms and hands from the torn cross-section.

 

Then it kicked off the ground and ran in the opposite direction of Russell. The direction it ran at an astonishing speed was towards the city’s adventurers, who had noticed the ruins were the cause of the strange phenomenon and had come running.

 

“W, What?”

 

“What the hell! Why is that monster coming this way?!”

 

Russell, who had been momentarily stunned by the sight of him running with a large axe embedded in his head, reached out and called for the axe. He planned to pull both the axe and Deckers towards him.

 

However, things did not go as he had intended. The mana from Deckers’s body, which had started to move on all fours, severed the connection between Russell’s mana and the axe and charged towards the people with the axe still embedded in its head.

 

“Eek! What is that?!”

 

The sudden turn of events caused the people to either scream or attempt to flee. However, Deckers’s body was faster. The adventurers’ bodies were on the verge of being torn apart by the claw-like shape of the black mana, which had risen once again.

 

A chain flies through the air, wrapping around Deckers’ wrist. On the other side, Irrucil had formed a chain with both hands and was holding Deckers back.

 

“Hmph. . .”

 

Deckers tried to move forward, ignoring Irrucil and pulling him back from behind. His immense strength caused Irrucil’s feet to dig into the ground, creating deep ruts.

 

At that moment, Russell’s new form appeared in the air, right above Deckers. He then threw his shoulders back and thrust them forward. His fist crashed into Deckers’s skull, and the impact sent the axe flying into the air.

 

Thud!

 

The ground where Deckers’s body hit cracked and caved in with a loud noise. Russell, who had covered a great distance in an instant, dusted off his hands and straightened his back.

 

“You little shit, you’re a pain in the ass.”

 

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