Chapter 38: Night of the Corpses (7)
Spell deployment, activation, realization.
Even if the names representing each stage are different, most magic is manifested through the above process.
“……”
And apart from each stage, all magic is bound to have a fundamental source that constitutes it.
Like mana, holy power, and demonic energy.
Ssst.
The magic circle vibrated, and a wave containing an ominous energy subtly spread around.
The magic circle that the black mages dispatched from the Caridad Catacomb seemed to have prepared for quite a long time to revive the corpses on the coast.
As the black mage who had already become debris and breathed his last at my feet said in the end, the spell was successful.
As if to prove it, I could feel the demonic energy spreading in all directions. Perhaps beyond the reefs in the distance, the corpses would be endlessly pouring towards the city.
I wondered if there might be some among the revived corpses who lived around the same time as me. Of course, there was a high possibility that most of them had already decayed and disappeared into the cold seawater.
I stopped my thoughts and slowly exhaled.
There were two main ways to stop the operation of this magic circle in front of me.
Using a power opposite to demonic energy, that is, using powerful holy power to forcibly destroy this magic circle, or.
‘Or absorbing the demonic energy that makes up the magic circle itself.’
There is no magic that works without fuel. At least as far as I know.
The second method. That is, absorbing the demonic energy that makes up the magic circle was the wisest choice for me at the moment.
Of course, even if it wasn’t a very high ranking, it was a magic circle prepared by those guys who were black mages of the Catacomb for quite a long time. Wasting the demonic energy that makes it up would be a waste in many ways.
Of course, there was also the risk of uncontrolled demonic energy aftermath that would occur if the magic circle was suddenly destroyed.
Wooong.
The demonic energy that made up the magic circle was vibrating fiercely as if swirling.
Crackle.
I felt an intense pain in my fingertips, as if the large amount of swirling demonic energy was burning my flesh with fire.
The reason I can use black magic even with a body filled with holy power is thanks to the existence of the Artifact of the Rift, that is, an object that can store demonic energy separately without being noticed by others.
A little pain in handling two completely opposing forces is something I can endure.
“……”
Of course, apart from my resolve, it was damn painful.
Ssst.
How much time had passed?
I could see the light of the magic circle slowly beginning to fade. It seemed that most of the demonic energy that was maintaining the spell had been sucked into the orb floating in the air above my head.
Ignoring the throbbing pain, I raised my head and looked beyond the reef.
Because of the sound of the crashing waves and the pitch-black surroundings, I couldn’t see or hear anything.
But I could clearly feel it.
The disappearance of magic.
Since the fuel that was moving them suddenly disappeared, they would probably be collapsing like puppets with their strings cut.
‘Hmm.’
I nodded, gauging the considerable amount of newly acquired demonic energy. The small gift from the Caridad Catacomb was quite satisfactory.
‘Wait.’
Suddenly, a thought came to me, and I raised my head to look at the city where faint lights were twinkling.
No matter how small the kingdom was, it would have held out without any problems until this time. Perhaps by now, Inquisitor Hanek, who was the first to feel the disappearance of the demonic energy that filled the city, would be explaining the situation to everyone.
Crack.
After putting the orb containing demonic energy back into the gap in space, I carefully climbed over the faintly visible reefs and moved towards the city shrouded in darkness.
🔹🔹🔹
The appearance of the city revealed in the morning light was devastating.
Of course, it was certain that the fight with the dreadful corpses was all over. However, just because the battle was over didn’t mean that everyday life would return immediately.
“It’s horrible.”
Jerit muttered softly, looking at the corpses filling the streets, having rushed towards the capital and collapsed on the spot.
As if he had never seen such a sight before, he had just been retching several times.
Well, the sight of corpses, from those who had just breathed their last to those who seemed to have been dead for at least a few hundred years, all gathered together and scattered on the street, is not a common sight.
“It’s not a very pleasant sight.”
Jerit looked at me with a slightly disgusted face as I nodded with an indifferent expression and answered calmly.
It was a contrast to the way he had rushed at me last night, making a fuss after confirming that I was the one who ended the curse on the city.
However, I saw a slight worry in his eyes as he looked at the bandage wrapped around my hand, and I smiled slightly and turned my head to the opposite street.
It was fortunate that the current season was winter. If it had been summer, when the decomposition of corpses progresses rapidly, a terrible stench and a plague stemming from the decay might have spread through the city.
“Ah, they’re coming.”
Jerit said, looking at several people approaching us from afar.
It was Inquisitor Hanek, Daena, Prince Capiel, and a few knights.
“Why are you in such a hurry, Brother?”
Hanek, who had said he would stay in the city for a while to help with the aftermath and recovery, unlike me, who had said he would leave immediately, said with a deep smile.
I looked at him and shrugged.
“There are still many heretics outside, aren’t there?”
He chuckled at my words and nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, it’s not right to keep someone with such a great talent like you in one place for a long time. This incident was very impressive.”
Discovering the black mages of the Caridad Catacomb and destroying the magic circle they had prepared, saving the city.
To summarize, it was a simple sentence, but the process was not something an Inquisitor who had just put on a black cloak could easily accomplish.
“……Are you alright?”
Daena asked cautiously, glancing at my face.
As if she had forgotten that she herself had bandages on her shoulder and part of her face, she had a very worried look in her eyes, to which I nodded as if to say I was fine.
It seemed like she wanted to leave this desolate city and follow me and Jerit, but because Hanek, who was traveling with her, had decided to stay in the city for the time being, she looked a little downcast.
“It was help I will never forget. The Ashitan Kingdom will remember you.”
Prince Capiel said, extending his hand to me.
“You’re welcome. I just did what an Inquisitor should do, Your Majesty.”
I replied, shaking his hand, which was full of calluses and scars, unlike a prince’s.
“Ah.”
I added a short word as if I had suddenly remembered something.
“I should call you Your Majesty now.”
“……Indeed, you should.”
The prince, who had been prepared for death with the kingdom on the verge of collapse, now held my hand tightly as the king of the revived nation.
Winter, with the cold air tickling my cheeks. Smelling the acrid smoke rising from burning something here and there in the city, I looked at the vast plains spreading out in the distance.
It was the morning after the third night I had spent in the city.
🔹🔹🔹
Chief Inquisitor Anton looked up at the sky with a seemingly indifferent expression.
Since he was a person with few changes in expression, the Esquires around him did not notice any change in his emotions.
However, if someone who had known Anton for a long time had seen his face now, they would have noticed that his face was mixed with a little bewilderment.
Flutter.
A small bird flapping its wings in the air.
The bird, which seemed to be made of only light, fluttered over Anton’s head for a moment and then turned into a dazzling light and fell down.
Fizz.
Letters formed by the falling light powder. It was magic used by Inquisitors to convey messages to someone far away.
The Esquires standing around Anton, tense, showed no particular reaction to it.
Apart from being a difficult magic, it was a magic they had seen many times before.
However, unlike them, Anton immediately realized who had cast this magic. And that was the reason he was a little bewildered.
‘Luciel Lumineger.’
Since he had seen the young man practicing various kinds of holy magic in the basement of the Inquisition, he could immediately recognize the caster’s unique feeling.
Of course, it was also thanks to the fact that the young man didn’t bother to hide that this was his magic.
Anton Lebecht slowly read the sparkling sentences in front of him.
Although it was much smaller than what he had used before and soon disappeared after delivering the message once, there was no problem in delivering a short message.
Anton’s face twitched slightly as he read the short text summarizing the news of the past three days.
“……”
He hadn’t expected the young man to actually solve the problem in just a few days.
A faint smile appeared on Anton’s face at the sight of the holy one he had brought to the Inquisition, growing at a terrifying pace.
The Esquires, who had been watching him, were startled by the sight, but Anton ignored them and waved his hand, extinguishing the sparkling spell in the air.
The corpses that had filled the major cities of the Ashitan Kingdom, except for the capital Luoisen, had already been purified. Except for the Esquires who played a supporting role, he was the only proper Inquisitor, but that wasn’t a big problem for Anton.
Of course, since Ashitan was a small kingdom, the remaining cities didn’t have as many rampant corpses compared to the capital Luoisen.
‘Caridad Catacomb.’
At the ominous name that followed, Anton, holding the reins of his horse, moved slightly, and the sound of clanging chains was heard.
Seven Catacombs against the five Sanctuaries.
“Let’s depart.”
Anton said briefly to the Esquires, organizing his complex thoughts.
Tada!
Soon, a series of groups consisting of the Inquisitor and the Esquires following him began to run across the field, raising dust.
🔹🔹🔹
Swoooosh.
Rough waves were crashing white against the rocks.
The reef area behind the city of Luoisen, the capital of the Ashitan Kingdom. The place where the magic circle that had threatened the city irrevocably had been.
Even though it had been several days since the fierce battle that had risked the life of the city, or rather, the kingdom, had ended, some soldiers were still patrolling the area.
Thud.
And without any warning, the necks of the two soldiers turned at an unnatural angle.
Thump.
Two men and a woman appeared over the soldiers who had collapsed on the ground without making a sound. They had finally reached this place, chasing the traces from Mount Pehern, and began to carefully examine their surroundings.
Ordinary people wouldn’t feel anything, but there were traces of demonic energy remaining here, however faint.
The man began to keep watch for anyone else approaching, and the woman examined the traces for a long time, exploring the remnants of demonic energy and the traces of battle.
Swipe.
Seeing the woman licking the red marks engraved on the rocks, still faintly visible despite the rough waves, with a serious expression, the man shook his head with a sour look.
“……Even though it’s part of the exploration process, I can’t get used to your filthiness.”
Ignoring the man’s words, the woman, who had been continuing her various actions, tilted her head.
“This is strange.”
“You felt it too?”
In response to the man’s reaction, the woman muttered with a suspicious face.
“I feel a strange familiarity. It’s a feeling that’s hard to put into words.”
Without answering her, the man took something out of his pocket. It was a small sphere made of black crystal.
Whoosh.
Soon after, the faint remnants of demonic energy in the surroundings were cleanly sucked into it. Seeing that, the woman muttered as if in satisfaction.
“Those hunting dogs are going to have a hard time investigating.”
The man, who put the sphere that had absorbed all the faint remnants of magic power left in the place where someone’s powerful black magic had swept through, back into his pocket, said calmly.
“Let’s go. Inquisitors are staying here.”
“What’s the big deal? I can snap their necks in an instant.”
The man continued calmly towards the woman who answered by snorting.
“Well. It seems like the Chief Inquisitor is arriving soon.”
“Anton Lebecht?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. The man’s low voice continued.
“It seems he said he would check it himself. That’s probably why the traces were still preserved here. Of course, not anymore.”
At the man’s words, the woman, called Marchena, caressed the long scar on her face and gently clicked her red nails.
“Lebecht, I have a score to settle with that man.”
“Unfortunately, we’ll have to postpone that, Marchena.”
“I told you not to call my name carelessly.”
The woman, called Marchena, glared at the man fiercely for a moment and then disappeared with a whoosh, along with red smoke.
“Whew.”
The man sighed briefly as he watched her, then lightly pushed the soldiers’ corpses with his foot, dropping them into the sea, before turning around and leaving the reef area.
Swoooosh.
The waves that had swallowed the corpses in an instant crashed against the reef area once again, creating white foam.
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