How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Snake Hunt (3)

Chiiik.

A wide cavern was filled with rising smoke. It wasn’t from flames.

The source of the smoke was the Basilisk’s corpse. Collapsed in a gruesome state, its body was undergoing self-decomposition due to its own potent venom.

Having been drained of all the immense energy it had accumulated over a long period within the catacomb’s tunnels, the Basilisk’s body was collapsing in on itself.

“What are you taking?”

Marchena asked me, looking bewildered. She was standing far away from the Basilisk’s corpse, avoiding the smoke that would undoubtedly have unpleasant consequences if inhaled.

“The eyes. The Basilisk’s eyeballs.”

Since it had been drained of all its magical power, the creature’s horns, bones, and flesh held no particular value. But the story was a little different when it came to its two large eyes.

The Basilisk’s eyes were more than just rare body parts of a creature; they were akin to artifacts imbued with a powerful curse that could bring death simply by meeting someone’s gaze.

Of course, now that the original owner was dead, they would be weaker than before, but it seemed a shame to just leave them behind. There was also the reason for preventing anyone else from retrieving them.

I drew the sword from my waist and carefully began to extract the Basilisk’s eyeballs. The creature’s head, lying on the ground, was not much different in size from my height, so there was no discomfort in my posture.

While I wasn’t a surgeon who wielded a heated knife on a chaotic battlefield, tearing through the pus of mercenaries, extracting a creature’s eyeballs without significant damage wasn’t a difficult task for me.

No, thanks to their disgustingly large size, it was actually easier.

Jurook. As I cut the central vein behind the retina, something jet black gushed out. The surgery, performed with the church’s longsword instead of a small scalpel, was successful.

“……”

After sheathing my sword, I briefly examined the two large eyeballs. A potent curse could be felt. Of course, now that they were devoid of any will, nothing happened when I looked at them, but with a little research, it seemed like they could be easily utilized.

After finishing my rough analysis, I turned around slowly, holding the two dripping eyeballs.

Ugh. I saw Marchena, who had been squinting from behind, take a step back with a disgusted expression.

Perhaps for an ordinary human, but as a vampire whose diet consisted of human blood, it wasn’t a particularly relatable reaction.

“……”

Turning her head slightly away from me as I stared at her intently, she said defensively,

“I’m a vampire with refined eating habits. I don’t blow things up or gouge out eyes.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I unfurled my cloak and carefully wrapped the two large eyeballs. Only then did the rest of the party breathe a sigh of relief and look at me properly.

Of course, now that the caster’s will was gone, there wouldn’t be any particular problem even if they looked directly at them, but they probably didn’t want to test that out.

“……You seem to be capable of everything.”

Dark Elf Sienna said with a dubious expression, watching me cleanly and quickly secure the eyes.

“Isn’t that a basic qualification for an Inquisitor?”

“……Ha.”

She let out a bewildered breath at my shameless reply.

“Let’s go.”

Having secured the eyes imbued with a powerful curse and a few additional venom-filled teeth, I said without hesitation.

At my words, the party, who had been taking a short break after the battle, once again became tense.

“……”

A dark cavern with collapsed sections. We moved quickly towards the faint flicker of darkness visible at its end.

🔹🔹🔹

The heart of the Modesta Catacomb. The central part of all the tunnels that make up the catacomb.

The atmosphere of Harnhell, thick with viscous demonic energy, evoked an instinctive aversion in those who were not black mages.

However, the four members of my party, excluding myself, were not the kind to be overwhelmed by it.

Shhh!

With a sharp sound that sliced through the air, two black mages lurking near the entrance of the cavern collapsed.

“Unpleasant air.”

Sienna, retrieving her arrow with an outstretched arm, muttered as she spat on the cavern floor. Kazan, after meticulously confirming that the black mages were completely dead, lightly lifted their bodies and tossed them into the depths of the cavern behind.

“Quite a scale.”

Pekilla murmured softly, looking up at the massive cliff and the hollow space.

The passage we had exited was just one of many entrances to the tunnels. Countless cave openings filled the cliffs, stretching out extensively.

And in the center of the vast hollow surrounded by the cliff riddled with numerous holes, a large rock rose high. The top of the rock, closer in size to a hill than a large boulder, was shrouded in a black fog.

“That’s the place.”

Kazan muttered with a cautious expression, seemingly sensing the energy emanating from the Great Demon’s altar.

An ominous silence still pervaded the surroundings. Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for the Pain Kingdom.

Interrupting their almost-ready feast seemed to have considerably agitated them. This level of emptiness suggested they were practically prepared for an all-out war.

Quite an appropriate infiltration time. It seemed the various conditions we had prepared had aligned well.

Of course, even then, we had moved to a location slightly away from the altar in preparation for unforeseen circumstances.

Fortunately, climbing to the top of that towering rock, which was likely riddled with black mages and catacomb traps, wasn’t a major problem.

“Step back.”

Pekilla said, scattering something on the ground.

Srrrk.

As we stepped back, thick roots wriggled and sprouted from the ground.

The rapidly growing roots, in response to Pekilla’s humming, which resembled a song, began to grow at a tremendous speed as if they were alive.

Dddddd.

We immediately climbed atop the roots that were shooting skyward. Whooong. Following the will of Pekilla, who was humming her incantation like a song, the roots carrying us began to grow at an incredible speed towards the top of the towering black rock.

The speed was as if we were riding something flying. The surrounding scenery whizzed past, and the rock that had been visible in the distance quickly approached, looming large before our eyes.

Wheeing. Pekilla’s shout could be heard amidst the strong wind that whipped past our ears.

“Leader! There’s a catacomb spell barrier ahead!”

The witch’s urgent voice. But I was already chanting a spell before her words even finished.

Before the roots, hurtling through the air at tremendous speed, collided with the catacomb’s magic spread like an ominous fog.

Hwaak! As if an invisible giant had exhaled, something black spewed into the air.

Cormeld’s Rotten Breath.

The black fog, spreading out with a whoosh as if unaffected by the strong winds blowing from all directions, came into contact with the catacomb’s barrier.

The spell barrier began to melt where it met my spell. Although it was only a small portion compared to the barrier that enveloped the entire massive rock, it was more than enough for the plant carrying us to pass through.

“……!”

I could see the roots, unable to withstand the powerful demonic energy pervading the surroundings and the force emanating from the barrier, withering as if rotting.

Whooong!

A close call. Before the plant, its middle section severed, plummeted downward.

The front part, carrying us, barely passed through the hole in the barrier and fell.

“Careful!”

Although the connection to the lower part had been severed, we had been moving at quite a speed, so our bodies momentarily lurched forward.

However, no one plummeted to the ground.

Kazan and I landed on our feet, maintaining our balance in a somewhat clumsy but stable manner, and Sienna nimbly rotated her body in mid-air to slow down before landing softly on the ground.

To the side, I saw Marchena, momentarily extending one arm into a red mist, grab the body of the witch Pekilla, who had comparatively weaker physical abilities.

Her youthful face was somewhat pale, but it seemed she hadn’t suffered any significant impact.

“That was close. We were lucky. If we had been a little late, we would have all been smashed to pieces.”

Marchena, retracting the red mist back into her arm, smiled wryly. I dusted off my cloak and replied nonchalantly.

“Of course, I calculated the distance. It’s more surprising that you believe this perfectly timed arrival was just luck.”

“……”

I immediately shut her up and looked ahead. The demonic energy was incomparably thicker than before.

The fight in the tunnel and the commotion just now were certainly not quiet. It was likely that black mages or catacomb minions would soon swarm in.

No matter how much of their forces had been drawn away, spending a long time in the catacomb wasn’t a wise choice.

“Let’s hurry.”

Sienna, seemingly sharing my thoughts, said with a hardened expression. But unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, there was no need to rush towards the altar located ahead.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone penetrate the barrier so easily.”

“……!”

A low voice echoed. The faces of the four, excluding me, were filled with surprise at the voice that had arrived without any warning.

And along with the sound of footsteps on the smooth stone floor, the chilling voice of the man continued, as if mixed with the hissing of a snake.

“How did you get in? The entrance to the catacomb is closed.”

An overwhelming presence. I looked at the black mage who was slowly revealing himself, approaching us.

Although I hadn’t met him before, I knew his name. The man with the pale complexion was one of the seven villains of Hesterica, and further, of the Herentica Church.

“Well, let’s ask that after we kill you.”

The man with the pale face, as if cold blood flowed through him. Black energy coiled around his body like a snake.

“Damn it……”

A desperate curse slipped from Kazan’s lips, who rarely showed agitation. The other three, including Marchena, also tightened their expressions, drawing upon their respective powers.

“Heh.”

The man let out a low chuckle as he looked at us.

He was the High Priest of the catacomb and the first servant of the Demon of Modesty, Modesta, Benesus de Anguis.

🔹🔹🔹

Kwaang!

With a tremendous roar, a powerful shockwave erupted and instantly engulfed us. It was an immediate preemptive attack, not the foolish act of giving the first move like a third-rate villain consumed by arrogance.

It was truly in the blink of an eye. It was far too powerful to be considered magic cast without a lengthy incantation.

But he wasn’t the only one capable of using effective spells without long incantations.

Before the shockwave, which instantly heated the air as it flew towards us, could blow us away, a black curtain descended smoothly from the air, blocking my front.

Pertamun’s Unfeeling Curtain. It was the defensive spell that had easily blocked the Basilisk’s attack earlier.

─!

A silent vibration spread through the air as the two spells collided. My defensive spell, spread out like black velvet, withstood the attack launched by the catacomb’s High Priest.

“……Oh.”

Beyond the dust and dirt that slowly billowed due to the energy, I could see the man with a surprised expression.

It seemed he hadn’t expected his sudden preemptive attack to be blocked like this.

“……”

I slowly withdrew the curtain, which was now torn in several places.

While it had successfully defended once, it seemed unlikely to be effective any further. The spell, activated with minimal demonic energy, had diminished power.

“Quite a fascinating spell. I’ll have to specifically capture you, stuff you, and crack open your brain.”

I faced the High Priest, who was muttering horrifying words. The man’s eyes, slit vertically like those of a reptile, gleamed with dangerous interest.

He had grasped that my abilities were beyond his expectations, but it seemed he didn’t believe he would lose.

“I don’t understand.”

The man flicked his long tongue as if a snake smelling a delicious prey, and said in a roundabout way,

“You don’t seem like a fool with reckless bravado. I don’t know why you crawled here. What purpose and hope do you have?”

I didn’t immediately answer the High Priest’s question and instead examined his hand. A dark red orb gleamed dangerously in the man’s hand.

“……”

As expected, it’s there.

Well, it’s practically the symbol of the Modesta Catacomb, so it couldn’t have disappeared. I twisted my lips into a smile, looking at the High Priest who was staring at me with a mixture of mockery and curiosity.

“Why did I come? What a disappointing question. My purpose is, of course─”

“……?”

The High Priest’s smile faded slightly at my relaxed response. I looked at his faint smile and said curtly,

“Snake hunting, isn’t it?”

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