novelraw Chapter 40 : Mage Hunting (6)
Chapter 40 : Mage Hunting (6)
Chapter 40: Mage Hunting (6)
Thunk!
The blade of Mosquito, etched with crimson letters, pierced through the fallen Owlbear's body. The weapon greedily sucked up the blood and offered it to its master.
—Guung
The Owlbear let out its death throes as wisps of faint smoke rose from Kadim's body. Dozens of monster corpses littered the narrow passage.
Kadim cracked his neck. He was still tired, but his injuries were pretty much gone. Now that he was patched up, it was time to head back.
He reached the heart of the fortress where a room filled with extinguished candles was located. In the center of that room lay a giant figure, collapsed in a miserable heap.
— Ugh, kill me... Just hurry up and kill me...
Every tendon in the creature's limbs had been severed, and the gapping wounds were stuffed full of rocks to keep them from regenerating. The Ogre clung to life thanks to what remained of its heart, but it couldn't regenerate or move. It groaned in agony, begging for death over and over.
Obviously, Kadim had no intention of granting that wish so easily.
"From now on, you'll answer only the questions I ask. Once you've answered everything, then I'll give you a quick death."
—Urgh, guhh...
"But if you lie to me or say anything useless, I'll make your suffering last much, much longer."
The Ogre's twisted eyes scrunched up even tighter. It had already experienced being kept alive through Mosquito's power against its will. It knew damn well that this wasn't an idle threat.
There was no going back to its old life anyway, not after abandoning its human body. And there was no way it could beat this savage warrior who wielded such bizarre powers. Ymir decided to answer whatever questions came as quickly as possible to finally find some peace.
Kadim sat down on a suitable chunk of rubble. He glanced around at the countless extinguished candles lining the shelves, then began his interrogation.
"You put a lot of effort into this setup. What were you doing hoarding all these monsters? There were way too many just to mess with the Consul.”
—Ugh, the monsters have been here for ages. This place was used to breed the ones caught during the last purge... The ‘Plan’ only moved forward after I got here.
"Plan?"
—Yes, a plan to control the minds of monsters on a massive scale and turn them into an army. I was assigned here as an aide specifically to realize that plan. If only it had succeeded, it was a grand design capable of exterminating the rampant demons and subjugating both the other Councils and the Empire... Ugh, but because of you, everything is...
"Then why did you kill people? I saw a room stacked with corpses."
—The more monsters you have, the harder they are to control. But if you use the Soul-Binding Chains to extract human minds and inject them into monster bodies, the human and monster consciousnesses clash violently, creating a void in their sense of self. That makes it much easier to control far greater numbers of them.
"..."
—Of course, in cases like mine, where the human completely took over the monster's body, they had to be disposed of...
Kadim's brow furrowed reflexively.
He wasn't exactly in a position to judge anyone morally. But no matter how he looked at it, this wasn't the thinking of a human; it was closer to a demon's logic. And what came next made it even worse.
—Ugh, it was all for nothing because of you... You made all those human sacrifices pointless... They were noble sacrifices for the Mage Tower's progress, but because of you, they just died like dogs for nothing! I bet even the dead are cursing you from hell right now...
Kadim shoved his axe between the Ogre's toenails and ripped one off.
—KUEEEEAAAGH! KUEEEEAAAGH!!
"I told you not to say useless things."
Just because you'd suffered worse pain didn't mean you became immune to all pain. The Ogre trembled violently and shut its mouth.
"Now let me ask you the question I asked before. Why are you using magic the way demons do? Why are you using diluted Demonic Energy instead of Mana as your source?"
The Ogre flinched at the words "demon" and "Demonic Energy," its expression twisting with confusion.
— ...Demonic Energy? What are you talking about? I have only ever used Mana...
"Cut the bullshit. The Mana I'm talking about is the supernatural energy that floats in the air, the kind that the Spirits use. Not that corrupted demonic shit mixed with all sorts of filth."
—The Spirits... floating in the air... Wait, are you talking about Ancient Mana?
"...What?"
—I don't know what era you're talking about... Ancient Mana ran out completely hundreds of years ago. The Spirits became extinct long before that. Now the only way mages can use magic is by embedding a magic stone in their heart and drawing power from it...
The Ogre let out a wet cough before spitting up blood.
Confusion rippled across the berserker's face. He had no way to verify whether what he was hearing was true or not as he himself couldn't sense even a speck of Mana.
When Kadim spoke again, his voice trembled faintly.
“Why did the Mana... no, why did the Ancient Mana run out?”
—Ugh, I don't know the exact reason... Only the Tower Master and the elders of the Mage Tower have access to that information.
"..."
—But from what I've heard whispered... someone cast a Grand Magic so powerful it drained all the Mana in the world at once. Ugh. A Grand Magic that incredible... it doesn't sound very realistic, but...
"Do not lie to me. Even when Melissa fought the Archdemons and cast Grand Magic countless times, the Mana never ran out."
The air in the room suddenly changed.
Kadim's voice now echoed like it was coming from a bottomless abyss. The sense of wrongness was like his entire personality had shifted in an instant. The Ogre's facial muscles twitched faintly.
—What? Ugh... What does that mean...
“You still have a lying tongue. I warned you not to give me false answers.”
A creeping sensation crawled up the back of its neck. When the Ogre managed to turn its head, the savage's eyes were glowing with an eerie red light.
An unprecedented terror consumed Ymir's mind.
—M-Melissa? You mean the First Tower Master? Ugh, why bring up her name...
"Melissa despised demons more than anything else in this world. And yet her descendants are using Demonic Energy as fuel for magic... Come to think of it, none of this ever made sense from the start."
—What the hell are you talking about?! I didn't lie once! You... you promised to give me a quick death if I—
“Silence, demon. Your pathetic tricks end here. I shall tear your flesh and bone into shreds and drink every drop of your blood.”
Nothing was getting through to him.
The shadow slowly approached, raising his axe with grim finality. Any desire for peace vanished completely from Ymir's mind. All that remained was fear.
Fear of this insane savage and of death itself.
—Guh, gu-uh, gu-uhhh!!
He thrashed around, trying to get away. But he didn't move an inch. The rocks jammed in his cut tendons just dug in deeper.
Slice!
—KWAAAAAAAAAAGH!!
Finally, the cold axe blade cut through the Ogre’s thick neck.
The berserker slashed at the wound even as it regenerated. He turned the skin and muscle into tatters, then grabbed the protruding neck bone and crushed it into pieces. The Ogre's eyes turned bloodshot. Its massive body convulsed so violently that the ceiling and floor shook as if from an earthquake.
—Kweheuk, KWAAAAAAAGH!"
The axe blade dug wider and deeper. The thick artery snapped, and dark blood shot out like a geyser. Seeing that spray, Kadim’s eyes grew even more bizarre.
He licked the blood splattered across his hands.
It had been so long since he'd had the chance to drink fresh demon blood. A few measly drops wouldn't be enough. He bit directly into the artery to drink deeper. After the first bite, he didn't hesitate; he bit again and again, tearing with his hands, slashing with his axe.
Blood sprayed into his eyes, staining his entire vision red. His sight, taste, and smell were all soaked in the stench of blood as he gulped it down frantically. But he didn't stop. His thirst couldn't be quenched, as if his throat had a hole in it.
More blood.
More blood.
More blood...
—...
Only after the Ogre's breath completely stopped did Kadim come back to his senses.
"..."
This wasn't a demon. It was just a monster with a mage inside it.
The last candle went out, and a solemn silence settled over the room. Kadim wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve. He slowly raised his head and locked eyes with the heavy darkness.
‘It was this bad... and I didn't even drink the Hydra blood.’
The lingering effects of the madness did not fade easily, like a parasite burrowing through his brain.
***
Vestana, a metropolis of the Free Cities Alliance.
Officially, the highest authority in this city was the Chairman of the Council. But everyone who lived here knew the truth. The real master of this city was someone else entirely.
It was the master of this giant white tower.
"..."
The Chairman craned his fat neck to look up at the towering Mage Tower. As he stood there with his potbelly jiggling and swallowing nervously, the entrance door opened and a young female mage walked out.
She greeted him in a friendly voice.
"Welcome, Chairman. Please, come this way."
"Ah, thank y—"
Wooooong—
But the moment he stepped through the entrance, the scenery shifted and the woman's figure vanished without a trace. Instead, only a dim corridor filled with heavy air appeared before him.
"..."
Lights flickered on, revealing the path forward. At the end of the corridor stood a stone door carved with mystical symbols and intricate magic circles.
He should have been used to it by now, but he never was. He walked nervously to the end, and the stone door opened to reveal the top floor of the Mage Tower.
"Come in, Chairman. You can sit here."
Five-colored radiance embroidered the empty air in dazzling patterns, and invisible walls were set up so that only those who are inside can see those who are outside.
The clouds beneath their feet created a dreamlike atmosphere. Then there was that voice, full of strange power.
A man wearing a white hood pulled so low that his face was hidden sat in a transparent chair welcomed the Chairman. He spoke to him without hesitation, and the Chairman didn't find it strange at all.
"It's been a while, Tower Master. I hope you've been well?"
"I've had plenty of troubles. That's why I called you here."
"..."
“Let us dispense with the formalities and get straight to the point. There's been a problem at the underground fortress near Remtana. All the monsters inside were slaughtered, and I believe even Ymir Demir is dead."
"What? What do you mean..."
The Chairman's eyes widened.
Ymir was one of the top high-ranking mages in the Tower, someone you could count on one hand. He was powerful enough on his own, but he'd recently succeeded in controlling monsters on a massive scale, thus elevating his status to something like a one-man army.
Who the hell could've killed him?
"Remtana doesn't have that kind of military force... Did a high-ranking demon appear? Or perhaps the Empire’s Archpaladins or the Decagram violated the border...”
"No, none of those. I still don't know the exact identity. Maybe it was some hidden weapon those bastards in Delutana or Galentana kept under wraps. I had high hopes for Ymir... This is unfortunate."
The Tower Master stroked the translucent crystal orb beneath his hand.
The Eye of Callisto. A magical tool that let him survey the entire world from where he sat. The only drawback was that images became blurrier with distance, and it had a fairly long cooldown between uses.
When the Tower Master spoke again, his voice was more grave.
"An unknown enemy has appeared, and we've suffered significant losses. Therefore, I want to expand the Tower's military strength. Increase the Council's support budget for next quarter and secure as many demon byproducts as possible. Between the demons, the Imperial Paladins, and now weapons from other cities... we have many enemies to face in the future.”
"...Understood. I'll persuade the Council members and issue directives to the nearby Council representatives."
Most of the Council's budget was already being poured into the Mage Tower, but the Chairman had no power to refuse. He knew all too well what had happened to previous chairmen who'd rejected the Tower Master's proposals. It was far better to give him what he wanted and try to get something else in return.
"But... Tower Master. The demons infesting the Golden Road are still disrupting trade with other regions. If I may be so bold, could you perhaps dispatch a few more mages...?"
"Haven't we already sent plenty of Invoker-rank mages there? You seem to be under a misconception, but we are not the only ones who hold a stake in the Golden Road. You're not seriously asking me to waste Conjurer-rank personnel or higher on something the other cities will eventually handle themselves, are you?"
"..."
Not long ago, demons had overrun the Golden Road, the trade route connecting the major cities of the Alliance. There were quite a few of them, and the situation didn't look good.
‘My sources say they saw a bunch of two-horned high demons... If that’s true, the other cities’ armies aren't going to stand a chance...’
Still, the Chairman kept his mouth shut.
This information came from a scout who'd gone half-mad after encountering the demons, so its accuracy was questionable. If he passed along unverified information and it turned out to be wrong later, his head might roll next.
But being pushed around like this all the time was grating on his pride. The Chairman shifted the conversation to a topic that wouldn't quite endanger his neck, but one that clearly bothered the Tower Master.
I understand. It’s just a shame the Tower is always short on hands. If a great mage like the First Tower Master were still alive, your burden would be so much lighter, current Tower Master..."
"..."
The Chairman carefully gauged his reaction.
The Tower Master's eyes narrowed.
"The First Tower Master died long ago. Didn't you see her tomb yourself in the lowest level of the Tower?"
"Yes, that's correct, Tower Master. It's just... there have been strange rumors coming from the southern Great Forest lately..."
"Have you already forgotten what happened before, Chairman?"
"..."
A voice laced with frost rang out coldly. A ghostly glint gathered in the eyes beneath the hood.
“Remember this. You only survived because you got on your knees and begged to live like a mute, an idiot, and an obedient dog. Don't try to use your brain when it's not your place. Just do your job like you're told, Conrad.”
"..."
Hearing his real name, the Chairman looked down like a pig kicked by its master. The Tower Master watched him coldly for a moment, then snapped his fingers. A flash of light erupted, and the pot-bellied Chairman vanished from the tower without a trace.
Left alone in the vast space, the Tower Master seemed as lonely as a prophet who'd glimpsed the world's secrets in solitude.
He rose from his seat, chewing on feelings that had piled up over the years. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked across the floor where clouds were visible below.
Gazing far to the south, he muttered with complicated feelings.
“Stop this pointless waiting. The one you're hoping for will never come, Melissa..."