How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Night of the Corpses (5)

‘Somewhere in this place, there are Black Mages.’

It wasn’t a difficult guess.

Awakening a single corpse isn’t that hard. Even a low-level Black Mage, just starting to learn magic, could easily raise an ordinary corpse with a little training.

If it were a slightly higher-level Black Mage, they could probably raise and control dozens of ordinary corpses alone.

However, if the number of corpses exceeds hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands, the story changes a bit.

The magical power required for the spell, the mental strength needed to control the corpses, and the sacrifices necessary to maintain the spell… It wouldn’t be easy to satisfy all these conditions.

Therefore, the fact that tens of thousands of corpses had risen meant that there was definitely a large magic circle and several Black Mages operating it somewhere in the city.

And not just any riffraff, but those who had been quite systematically trained.

‘Vision Field.’

Crack.

The space above my head distorted, and a crimson one-eyed being blinked into existence. The large pupil began to rotate, scattering an ominous green light.

My current location was atop the bell tower. Thanks to the unobstructed view, it was a place where I could see far into the distance.

I didn’t need to worry about being seen while using Magi.

I had left the royal palace and come to a place a little further away, with the intention of tracking down the traces of the Black Mages.

While others expressed some concern at my decision to pursue them alone, my reasoning was sound: protecting the royal palace was the priority, and naturally, more people needed to remain there.

Unlike Daena and Jerit, who showed worried reactions, Hanek readily agreed with my opinion.

‘Don’t even think about coming back until you’ve purified those damned heretics, Brother.’

Unlike Daena and Jerit, who urged me to return before nightfall, Hanek spoke to me with a hint of amusement.

‘Half a day will be enough.’

I shook off my thoughts and poured in more Magi.

Fizzle.

Vision Field, activated not by the Holy Power that didn’t quite perfectly match the original spell, but by the overflowing, dark Magi, scanned every corner of the city.

If what I was looking for was Demonic Energy itself, I wouldn’t have had to go far.

The city was filled with the faint Demonic Energy emanating from the dead.

But what I sought was not something so insignificant, but a more powerful energy. To be precise, it was the presence of a magic circle cast by at least five or six Black Mages working together.

Of course, it wasn’t a simple task.

Perhaps an ordinary Inquisitor with little experience would have struggled to explore a wider area due to the Demonic Energy filling the city.

But I, who was now flashing an evil magical eye in the city of corpses turned to ruins, was no ordinary Inquisitor.

“……”

How much time had passed since I began my search from the half-collapsed, tall bell tower?

“Found it.”

On the opposite outskirts of the city. To be precise, near the coastline where few people came and went.

At the back of the city, filled with rough waves and sharp reefs.

I felt a large energy emanating from that place.

I briefly lifted my head and looked up at the sky. Behind the half-collapsed bell tower, the sun was slowly setting. The red handprint, belonging to who knows who, on the bronze bell was being obscured by the blazing red sunset.

The days were short in winter, but there was still a little time left before nightfall. Enough time to break the magic circle and return.

‘Shall we go?’

Turning my gaze back to the front, towards the direction the energy was emanating from, I started to move towards where the Black Mages were.

🔹🔹🔹

Groups with long histories mostly value their own traditions, but this tendency is especially strong in places where mages gather.

This could be easily understood just by looking at the various Magic Towers located throughout the continent.

Blue, White, Red, and so on. It was a well-known fact that the Magic Towers, each distinguished by their colors, had immense pride in their own unique schools of magic.

And that characteristic of mages also applied to Black Mages, who used magic based on the demonic energy of the 음 dimension, not the mana of the atmosphere.

The distinctly different magical reverberations of each Catacomb.

‘As expected.’

A mere few hundred years was not enough time to completely alter the magical structure of a Catacomb that serves a Great Demon.

Seven Catacombs.

Those who serve the Seven Great Demons, the beings who gaze upon the highest from the lowest.

The demonic energy felt from the front contained a faint scent of one of them, distinct enough for anyone who had experienced it before to recognize.

I could immediately discern where they came from.

‘Caridad Catacomb.’

It was the identity of the bastards who had plunged the Ashitan Kingdom into terror by raising countless corpses. They were also the ones who summoned the Mongma that I dealt with in Browell village before.

I find a clue to their scheme here once again. I took a step forward with a bit of curiosity and satisfaction.

A moment later.

“……Heresy Inquisitor of Hesterica.”

I could feel the clear hostility and wariness in the Black Mages who were looking at me as I walked towards them, quite boldly.

Inquisitor and Black Mage.

There is no cleaner relationship than this on the continent, where various factions and races become allies today after being enemies yesterday, depending on their interests.

A truly primal adversarial relationship, where compromise and mercy are nonexistent between them.

The one who seemed to be their leader muttered in a low voice as he saw me confidently emerge from between the sharp, wave-battered reefs.

“You found us well. As expected of a dog of the Church, you have a damn good nose.”

Instead of responding to his provocative words, I looked at the symbol engraved on his black robe. An upside-down cross with blood vessels intertwined like black vines.

The reason I didn’t immediately ambush them was not only because I was confident in fighting them but also because there was something I wanted to confirm.

I gripped my staff tightly and threw words mixed with a bit of mockery at the Black Mage glaring at me.

“By the looks of it, you’re apprentices of the Caridad Catacomb. Have you finished cleaning up the red fertilizer in the ‘Corpse Garden’?”

A simple question. But I could feel their faces stiffen at my words.

“……!”

The Black Mages were flustered. However, proving that they weren’t just any ordinary riffraff, they didn’t utter a single word that could give me more information, despite my confident statement.

“I see.”

But their reaction was already a sufficient answer for me.

‘Their headquarters hasn’t changed.’

I smiled slightly as I looked at the Black Mages. It was as I expected.

The High Priests of the Catacombs were more conservative than the stuffy Masters of the Magic Towers. While I didn’t know about other places, at least the headquarters of the Caridad Catacomb was definitely still the same as before.

In fact, my leading question wasn’t meant to dig up something new, but rather to confirm what I was already sure of.

Seven Catacombs that exist for the Great Demons. And five Sanctuaries that exist for God.

Places meant for connection with transcendental beings were inherently irreplaceable by anything else.

The important thing was that the Caridad Catacomb was busy plotting something. Enough to send even these low-level Black Mages to a small kingdom in the east.

In other words, now was the best opportunity to head to their hideout.

‘The first one is the Caridad Catacomb.’

Having confirmed the direction of the first step towards my goal, I slowly raised my head.

The Black Mage, clad in a dark robe with the symbol engraved on it, glared at me, gripping his staff tightly, as I stood there, appearing almost defenselessly composed.

“……That’s not information a dog of the Church should know. Who are you?”

I could feel demonic energy gathering and swirling at the tip of his staff as he asked, still with a hostile expression. Quite a cute preparation.

The other Black Mages also stepped back from the magic circle, overflowing with wicked energy, seemingly waiting for their leader’s command.

I looked at them with an indifferent expression.

My business was done. There was no reason to converse further with these small fry.

What remained was the judgment of heresy.

“Think about that when you’re in hell.”

I answered curtly and swung my hand down in the air.

“……!”

A movement that didn’t even come close to the sword at my waist. The fact that the Black Mages couldn’t react properly could be understood just by looking at their positions.

A formation to keep distance and prepare for ranged attacks, a formation to deal with a swordsman.

They naturally assumed I was a Heresy Inquisitor who mainly used a sword. Perhaps if they knew I was a mage, and a considerably skilled one at that, their response might have been a little different.

But the result wouldn’t have changed.

Crack!

The necks of three or four Black Mages snapped at unnatural angles in an instant. And then, with a chilling sound, red blood splattered into the air.

Magic composed of demonic energy, which I could use as skillfully as my own limbs, instead of the Holy Power that I wasn’t yet fully proficient in casting.

Beurehatan’s Fang.

“Kuhuk—!”

As if an invisible, giant magical beast had mercilessly bitten into the Black Mage’s neck. It was an instant death, with nothing to see.

“Wh, what the……!”

The Black Mages were bewildered by the unexpected, sudden attack.

Before they could properly regroup, I swung my hand down once more.

Crack!

Another gesture. And once again, blood splattered red in the air.

Intangible fangs made of black demonic energy mercilessly ravaged the Black Mages.

“Lo, load spells!”

“Damn it, he’s a mage!”

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered an ambush at all. The magic I just used was already cast and completed before I revealed myself from between the reefs.

The final gesture was merely the last act of projecting the already completed spell into the material world.

A technique commonly known as ‘Spell Loading.’

Holding a nearly completed spell in a state just before activation was a considerable feat.

It was a technique often used only by high-level battle mages who were proficient in practical magic application and had spent a long time on the battlefield, as there was a significant risk of the loaded spell going haywire and causing great harm to the caster.

Of course, currently, my limit was loading one or two spells of a not-so-high level, but that alone was more than effective enough.

I could see the looks of astonishment on the faces of the few remaining Black Mages. The ominous aura emanating from the magic that had just ambushed them.

The part that surprised them the most was none other than the type of magic.

Realizing that what had struck them was the effect of a cursed spell made of black mana, expressions of disbelief surfaced on their faces.

“H-huh, Black Magic……!”

The leader of the Black Mages, who barely managed to save his life by throwing himself aside, glanced at my cloak once more with a look of disbelief.

The clearly engraved symbol of the Heresy Inquisitor.

“Damn it, what the hell is this……!”

Unlike his previous expressions of strange leisure or hostility, now clearly a look of confusion, the guy’s hands were already forming complex hand signs.

So, he’s the leader of this group, trained in the Caridad Catacomb. He’s quite quick to regain his composure.

I observed his movements with a slightly intrigued expression.

As if to prove that a long time had indeed passed, it was a type of spell I didn’t recognize. Well, it would be difficult to create new high-level magic, but lower-level spells would have changed quite a bit.

“Die, you damn─”

Darkness like a shadow flickered and gathered at the tip of his staff. A nearly completed spell.

But of course, I had no intention of gentlemanly receiving his spell, whose effects I didn’t even know.

Not even a little bit.

Wheeik!

It was a close call, but my spell, completed just a moment before his, sharply sliced through the air.

Although I felt a bit dizzy due to casting the spell somewhat forcefully compared to my current level, where the dissociation between body and mind wasn’t completely resolved, the spell was completed without a single flaw.

In almost an instant. The sphere of darkness that rapidly traversed the air vibrated fiercely near the leader, clad in a black robe with the Caridad Catacomb’s symbol, and the few remaining Black Mages.

Whooong!

The uniquely intertwined demonic energy drew in the surrounding air in an instant, forming a complex pattern, and soon after, a powerful shockwave engulfed the area.

A spell I had devised myself long ago, known as ‘Black Explosion.’

It wasn’t a spell I used very often due to the considerable amount of demonic energy it required, but it was quite effective when dealing with enemies below a certain level, like now.

Although the explosion wasn’t that wide in range, it was enough to engulf the leader and the few Black Mages who had survived the first two surprise attacks.

Kwaaaang!

Red blood and fragments of the Black Mages’ bodies were scattered across the sharp reefs below.

But soon, the usual waves and white foam washed over the reefs, and when the reefs reappeared a moment later, the bloodstains had vanished without a trace.

“Kuh-huhu……”

Laughter coming from where the explosion had subsided.

The battle was over. But that didn’t mean the complete death of all the Black Mages.

“……”

I slowly walked towards where the laughter was coming from.

There, lying on the ground with a half-shattered body, was the leader, letting out a laugh mixed with pain, rage, and despair.

Right. Among the disgusting secret arts of the Caridad Catacomb, there was also this. Quite effective, but not enviable. This kind of procedure would naturally come with side effects.

The guy’s body, now revealed with his black robe torn, was quite grotesque.

Multiple organs that seemed to have been taken from the bodies of at least a few humans, and layers of thick skin that looked to be several layers deep.

I glanced down at the guy’s lungs, which were attached here and there to his large upper body, seemingly numbering at least three or four. A disgusting body that couldn’t possibly be considered that of an ordinary human.

It was a repulsive secret art that I would never have accepted.

“Kuh, kuhuhu.”

He wasn’t in any condition to continue fighting, but he was still alive despite the explosion that shattered the bodies of the other Black Mages.

Enough to be in a relatively sound state of mind to speak.

“……”

“The, the magic is already complete.”

He muttered, glaring at me with a ferocious smile. Quite a coherent tone of voice considering half of his body was blown away.

It was thanks to his upper body, particularly his head and chest, remaining relatively intact compared to his shattered lower half.

“It seems so.”

I looked at the magic circle, where no one was standing anymore. Judging from the fact that it didn’t disappear even though the casters were all dead, it seemed that, as he said, the spell was already complete. To be precise, it was in a state where the preparation stages were all finished and the magic was being activated.

I watched as a murky energy flowed out from the magic circle, emanating an unsettling aura.

A dark red light dimly illuminating the surroundings, which had grown dark. It was a magic circle operated by a considerable amount of demonic energy.

“Now, an innumerable amount of corpses, incomparable to before, will engulf the city……”

The guy’s rambling words were cut short.

Because the black orb hovering above my head began to tremble slowly as I reached out my hand towards the magic circle.

The surrounding air began to vibrate. A look of horror began to appear on the guy’s face as he realized what the ominous sign meant.

“N-no way─”

Crack.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t finish his last words.

Tap, tap.

After completing the simple gestures, I lifted my foot and brushed off the blood from my heavy boots with iron studs. Then, I slowly closed my eyes and approached the front of the red-glowing magic circle.

I had depleted a significant portion of the demonic energy I had stored while fighting the Black Mages.

As I had no intention of making a foolish contract with a demon and shackling myself, I had to steal from other Black Mages to replenish my demonic energy.

“……”

I slowly took a step forward.

The magic circle emanating a wicked aura, leading to the sea behind Luoisen, the capital of the Ashitan Kingdom.

Woo-oo-oong.

The form imbued with evil magic, deserving of a curse, began to vibrate slowly at my touch.

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