novelraw Chapter 38 : Mage Hunting (4)
Chapter 38 : Mage Hunting (4)
Chapter 38: Mage Hunting (4)
Even monsters under mind control know when their lives are on the line. It was pretty damn obvious what would happen if they kept fighting like this.
—Kiik, kieeeek!
—Kuwooooo!
The horde of creatures retreated toward the rocky mountain all at once. The moment the fortress entrance cracked open, they shoved their way inside, trampling over each other in their desperation. They didn't even slow down as the entrance started closing back up. In the end, one slow-footed goblin got caught in the gap between the rocks and was crushed to death.
"..."
Kadim slowly relaxed his body.
After going wild for a bit, the bloodlust coursing through him was finally settling down. There was no need to rush as he knew the password to the fortress. He decided to retrieve his weapons, reapply his buffs, and then make his way into the underground fortress.
He pulled out the vial that had contained the Pureblood-type's blood. He'd expected the decay to have weakened its effects significantly, but the Agility Enhancement Buff kicked in just as strong as when he'd first obtained it. Or maybe it was because his body had grown stronger through the constant fighting, allowing even a weaker buff to produce this level of power.
Only one piece of the Pureblood-type's blood remained. He endured the disgusting stench and chewed it thoroughly. Feeling the bloodlust surge through his nerves once again, he approached the fortress entrance.
But when he actually got there, he couldn't help but be confused.
"Orgo. Al. Meserric."
The entrance didn't open despite him speaking the correct password.
Kadim frowned.
There was no way his memory was wrong. Although it had been 300 years since he had last been here, but from Kadim's perspective, it hadn't even been a few years yet.
'What the hell? Don't tell me they changed the password?'
The gang of ignorant bandits who'd occupied this place before couldn't have touched anything.
But now it was different.
The opponent was a mage.
They might have been able to change the password on the entrance.
But thinking about it, it wasn't really a big deal. Kadim knew another password that worked every single time.
'The troll's iron mace... was over there.'
He dragged over the iron mace that had belonged to the troll whose skull had been smashed in by an axe. The mace head alone weighed well over several dozen kilograms, but the strength amplified by the demon's blood made it easy enough to wield.
―Bang! Bang! Bang!
He brought the mace down with all his strength in rapid succession, producing thunderous booms and tremors...
―Bang! Bang! Bang!
Without any magical intervention whatsoever, cracks slowly began to spread through the rock...
―Bang! Bang! Bang!
...until it finally shattered completely, revealing the hidden fortress entrance.
'Yeah, there's no password more reliable than this.'
Kadim gave a crooked smile and tossed the club to the ground. The remains of the Goblin that got crushed earlier were stretched across the entrance like gross spiderwebs. He swiped his sword to clear the mess and walked into the dark tunnel.
Every problem can be solved with force. And if there's a problem that can't be solved with force, it just means you don't have enough of it. It was a simple and useful piece of wisdom he'd learned in his first life.
Now it was time to teach the mage this lesson.
***
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!! What the hell is that bastard?!"
Remtana's Advisor, a high-ranking mage of the Mage Tower and master of mind control magic, Ymir Demir, was unusually agitated right now. His pale skin had flushed bright red, and wrinkles creased his normally gentle eyes behind his glasses.
He knew from his scouts that this barbarian was the one who killed the Troll at Twin Gorges. He also knew he was working with the Consul.
Through reconnaissance, he'd discovered that this barbarian was the one who'd killed the troll at Twin Gorge. He'd also found out the man was working with the Consul. He'd been looking for an opportunity to eliminate him quietly when the idiot came all the way here on his own, which had been cause for celebration. When he let the monsters loose, he expected the barbarian would get ripped to shreds.
But his expectations had been shattered, spectacularly so.
It hadn't even been close to an even fight.
The monsters he'd sent out had been mercilessly slaughtered without inflicting a single wound on the barbarian.
That horde was big enough to wipe out a small city overnight!
He watched the candles in the cabinet extinguish one by one with heartache.
The barbarian had even smashed through the rock with brute force and invaded the fortress.
Ymir no longer saw him as human. He looked more like divine punishment or a natural disaster wearing human skin.
'Damn it, you don't just find a monster like that on the street... The Consul must have finally asked the Councils for help. Those sons of bitches. They praised the Mage Tower to our faces, saying we were the only shield to protect the alliance, but they were raising a crazy weapon like that behind our back...”
Kadim's martial prowess was far too overwhelming to be the power of an individual belonging to no faction.
As a result, Ymir mistakenly assumed he was some kind of secret weapon hidden away by the Delutana Council or the Consul.
The assumption was wrong, but he'd guessed the objective correctly.
That is the extermination of the monsters and his own neck.
And with that, what Ymir needed to do became clear.
'If the existence of this place is revealed, the Mage Tower's position will become extremely difficult. I have to kill that bastard to shut him up. Even if it means using every last monster locked up underground...'
Fortunately, this fortress was an excellent location for annihilating intruders.
The passages were dark and tangled like an ant's nest. Anyone entering for the first time would have no idea where to go or what they'd encounter. Wandering aimlessly would easily lead them to dead ends. Plus, there were traps and hidden passages everywhere.
With ambushes, traps, lures, and overwhelming numbers, even the most skilled warrior wouldn't be able to hold out.
"Lerian. En. Sadiun. Gordos..."
He concentrated and chanted the spell. The candles in the cabinet flickered, a heavy sensation rose from his chest, and his mind connected with the monsters imprisoned underground.
Ymir summoned all the remaining creatures to this location.
—Squeak, squeak...
—Krrrrrrr...
—Guuk, guuk...
Ratmen, Blade Wolves with shining blue eyes, Owlbears with their neck feathers bristling...
Creatures with sharp night vision and agile bodies climbed up the steep stairs. It was an army strong enough to kill even the strongest and fastest enemy.
Ymir confidently unleashed the monsters into the fortress.
And once again, he faced a completely unexpected result.
"...Hm?"
As soon as he deployed them, the monsters started getting picked off one by one.
The Blade Wolves that rushed head-on were cut down, and the Owlbears that flanked from the sides were slaughtered. The Ratmen who tried to ambush through secret passages were counter-ambushed through other secret passages. The connected minds were severed in droves, and the candles in the cabinet were snuffed out as if caught in a storm.
The barbarian artfully avoided traps, moved freely through secret passages, and butchered the monsters. Then he went around finding the fortress's key locations one by one, stirring everything up like a beehive.
It's as if... he had a map of this fortress in his head.
"Heh, heheh, hehehe..."
Faced with this unbelievable reality, Ymir let out a hollow laugh of despair.
***
Mosquito's blade sank into the Ratman's abdominal cavity. The vampiric sword greedily devoured the blood and healed its master's wounds and the pain in his overworked muscles subsided somewhat. Minor scratches on his skin from claws and teeth also disappeared.
Kadim silently shook the blood droplets from the blade and pulled the axe from the Ratman’s forehead.
Then he entered the room before him.
What he saw was rotting chunks of meat piled up like compost.
Some parts had turned blackish while others still retained their crimson color. Mixed in with the terrible stench was a smell that wasn't unfamiliar.
Kadim's brow furrowed slightly.
He approached and examined the chunks of meat more closely.
There, mixed in between the chunks of meat were long strands of hair and fingers. There are also torn scraps of clothing and tanned facial skin with crushed teeth, bone fragments, and mangled ear lobes with earrings.
"..."
It looked like dozens of people had been killed at the very least. Some died a long time ago, some were of recent times.
From long enough ago for the corpses to rot thoroughly, up until quite recently. The scribe who went missing after leaving that letter was probably in this mess too.
'I thought he was just collecting monsters, but why kill humans? Experimental materials? Magical sacrifices?'
Mages usually drew circles and offered sacrifices when casting spells too big for them to handle. But Kadim had never seen humans used as sacrifices before. Burning life force to boost mana definitely wasn't how the Spirits did things but rather more like...
"...!"
There was no time to be lost in thought. The moment he sensed movement behind him, Kadim immediately hurled his axe.
Thwack—!
"Hieek!"
Ymir Demir gasped in shock.
Blood and brain matter splattered across his face, but he'd barely managed to avoid being torn apart by the razor-sharp axe. It was all thanks to the Owlbear he had set up in advance as a meat shield.
Kadim clicked his tongue.
Damn, he should've subdued the mage before he could open his mouth.
—Guung, guung...
—Guuuung...
Beyond another wave of approaching Owlbears, he could see the mage's form. He wore thick glasses and a crimson robe, with a coil of iron chains draped over his shoulder.
His appearance was ordinary, but he gave off a somehow alien vibe. Something was definitely different from the mages of 300 years ago.
In any case, the mage decided to come in person since he deemed the monsters alone weren’t enough.
The mage wiped the blood from his face and snapped.
"You rude bastard! Attacking me when I haven't even finished talking!”
"I wasn't trying to kill you. Just thought I'd blow off your lower jaw so you couldn't run that mouth carelessly."
"..."
The mage glared back with pure rage.
Kadim tapped the handle of his dagger, then let go.
He'd considered throwing the dagger since the axe had missed, but concluded that having a productive conversation with someone being roasted in hellfire would be difficult.
The mage barely managed to control his emotions. Only after he cleaned his glasses and fixed his clothes did he finally speak.
"As you probably already know, I am Ymir Demir, Advisor to Remtana and a Conjurer-rank mage of the Mage Tower. What is your name, barbarian?"
"..."
"...You won't speak? Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway... I think both you and I have much to say and much to ask. So how about this? We take turns asking and answering one question each. We'll swear by Remilion to speak only the truth in response to the questions asked."
“I pass. I like the plan where I cut out your tongue and I’m the only one asking questions.”
The buff from the demon's blood was fading moment by moment. There was no reason to play along with these delaying tactics.
Kadim raised Mosquito and charged ferociously.
"N-no, damn it! Block him!"
—Guung, guung...
—Guuuung...
The Owlbears puffed up their neck ruffs and blocked his path. They were notorious monsters with excellent dynamic vision and strength, but it had already been proven that they were no match for the barbarian.
Crunch!
Using his running momentum, Kadim skewered an Owlbear's eye socket. A scream burst out as the sclera of the ruptured eyeball squeezed out through the hole in the back of its skull. Meanwhile, as another creature dug in from his flank, he smashed his elbow upward into its chest. The stone-like pectoral muscles caved in and all the ribs beneath were crushed.
—Guuuuuung!
He ducked low to the left to dodge the sharp claws, thrust his blade through the creature's abdomen, and kept running while impaling it. The weight pushed back the Owlbears behind it like dominoes. He cleared away the body of the one in front and swept his blade like a gale. Thick neck muscles sliced like tofu, soaking their fluffy feathers in blood.
"Mensai. Elfirio. En. Sadiun, Gordos..."
In the distance, he could see the mage chanting a spell. He had to stop that even if it meant making productive conversation more difficult.
Kadim trampled on an Owlbear's shoulder and leaped up acrobatically before throwing his dagger. But then, the chains draped over the mage's shoulders unwound on their own and deflected the flaming projectile.
KWANG—!
Damn, that chain’s a magic item.
Ymir seemed startled by the fire for a moment, but soon smiled triumphantly and finished his spell.
"...Rondone. Oltisiaren!"
Dark shadows bloomed from his fingertips. They rippled like smoke rising from a chimney, then shot through the Owlbears straight at Kadim.
But Kadim didn't bother trying to avoid it.
He'd realized what this magic was by now and let it hit his body.
As expected, it didn't last long.
The moment it took root, it surged back out and vanished into thin air like morning mist. The magic didn't do a damn thing to him.
Ymir's eyes widened and the corners of his eyes twitched violently.
“Wh-What? Why...? How can mind control magic not work at all...?”
"..."
Kadim curled up the corner of his mouth into a sneer.
Because right now, he had the Mental Attack Immunity Buff active.
He tossed aside the empty vial that had contained the Possession-type demon's blood and charged toward the mage once more.
(TL Note: Origin-type > Pureblood-type)