35 – Truth

“W-wait! Spare me, and I’ll tell you about a secret passage to the inner sanctum!”

The one who had been brazen behind the gate now desperately begged for his life as I approached.

But having smashed my way through the main entrance, obliterating everything in sight, I hardly needed a secret passage.

Besides, if I were a black mage, I wouldn’t create a secret passage in a place with such rigorous security. That didn’t sit right with me.

Recognizing the lie, I promptly swung the mace, ending his existence.

Blue blood.

The one I killed must not have been a normal human; his blood was cerulean.

Finding it somewhat peculiar, I slowly scanned the surroundings, and an unusual sight greeted me.

‘Black mages surrounding me, and two men, seemingly in charge.’

One was lounging on a sofa, leisurely puffing on a cigarette. The other, cloaked in black robes, was tapping his foot impatiently.

Instinct told me that eliminating those two would end this. As I moved forward,

the man in the black robes stepped forward, radiating hostility.

“Why is a young master from the Carsaril family here?”

Did my reputation precede me? Or had I unknowingly become entangled in some incident that made him aware of me?

In truth, there were far too many possibilities, making it difficult to pinpoint the correct one.

I decided to act rather than think for once, answering casually.

“Looking for cooperation.”

“…Ha. Is it trendy these days to burn everything down, slaughter everyone, and *then* talk about cooperation?”

“Seems like it, no?”

“You’ve got screws loose.”

He lowered the robe he was wearing, revealing his face, and took out a black potion from within.

Judging by the intense mana I felt, it wasn’t any ordinary potion.

I tensed, ready to swing my mace at a moment’s notice, but he addressed me curtly.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Get lost. Then I’ll spare your life.”

At that offer, I chuckled, lifting Daisy.

“Really? But I don’t think Daisy feels that way, eh? Daisy, bite!”

“Myaaang!”

I issued the command somewhat playfully, but the force of the flames Daisy unleashed was anything but.

Daisy greedily sucked in the mana from the surrounding area, taking it all, then converted it into flames and spewed it at the figure before us.

“Crazy b*stard.”

He must have been quick, because even though it was fast, he managed to dodge Daisy’s attack, saying to me.

“I’ll turn you into something that can’t die, even if it wants to.”

With those last words, he downed the black potion, hissing and groaning.

“Keuh… keuheuk, gueeeeeck.”

He contorted his body, expressing immense pain as if a terrible agony was washing over him, and then he suddenly went limp, like a marionette with cut strings, ceasing all movement.

I decided there was no need to watch any longer, and was about to tell Daisy to attack it, when:

Crackle, *creaaak*.

The skin that composed him peeled away, and suddenly, a grotesque figure resembling a shadow monster burst forth from within.

‘Looks like something out of a ghost story.’

I was thinking that this must be what it would look like if you turned a human into a spider when:

Suddenly, a dozen hands and feet sprouted from the monster’s torso.

The sight of this creature, obviously far from ordinary, made me wonder what to do, when suddenly Daisy, perched on my shoulder, started meowing and hissing in utter fury.

‘She doesn’t like it.’

Come to think of it, Daisy had always hated black magic.

With that thought, I calmed Daisy and infused my mace with fire.

Suddenly, a black fluid began to drip, *thuk, thuk,* from the shadow monster’s hands and feet.

*Chii-ik.*

The liquid that fell below melted the floor, then formed small, black arms within, flailing haphazardly around.

It was quite the spectacle, and as I watched, the monster began to charge at me without restraint.

‘Right, what to do.’

Seeing how the places that black liquid touched had melted away, I definitely shouldn’t let it touch me.

Which meant I should probably avoid striking it with the mace in a way that would cause the liquid to splash, I thought, narrowing my eyes.

‘How do I break down a technique that leaves behind black liquid wherever it goes, tormenting the opponent?’

While pondering that, I dodged the rapidly approaching enemy and imbued my mace with fire.

After a moment of contemplation, I watched the brute approaching and a rather interesting idea surfaced.

‘I’ll just do the same thing.’

Using Daisy’s power, I could keep the fire burning continuously, so I swung the blazing mace, flinging fire everywhere.

*Hwa-reu-reuk!*

The fire, upon hitting the ground, devoured the surrounding black liquid, swelling in size.

I watched the spreading flames with satisfaction.

The enemy, apparently realizing this wouldn’t do, charged straight at me, desperately trying to grab me.

“Kueeee-ek!”

A grotesque shriek that could no longer be considered human.

Hearing that shriek, I channeled mana into my mace and took a stance to use the Origin Explosion that I had previously learned.

If I could strike the opponent using the Origin Explosion technique, it would likely inflict immense damage, finishing it off in one blow.

I channeled my strength while thinking that, and the shadow monster, melting everything around it, approached.

Toward that, I took my stance and swung the mace toward its head.

*Kwaaang!*

A massive shockwave erupted, causing everything around me to shake violently.

Watching the shadow monster with its head completely obliterated, I thought it was a pretty useful skill and stretched my shoulders.

Then, I approached the shadow monster collapsed on the floor and raised my mace.

‘A finishing blow, for certain.’

If I skipped the finishing blow, it would needlessly create a deadly threat, so this act was quite important.

I hammered at the shadow monster with the mace until its entire body was crushed.

Then, from far away, I felt a massive wave of mana emanating outwards.

‘Looks like that’s what was holding us up, after all.’

Seeing the surroundings shaking as if an earthquake had struck, due to the intense mana, I chuckled dryly and glanced to the side.

The man lounging on the sofa stubbed out his cigarette and spoke to me.

“What’s being done here is for the greater good. So, be on your way.”

“Huh?”

“Exactly as I said. To you, in your ignorance, what we’re doing might seem evil, but in truth, we’re undertaking a task that will save countless lives.”

Listening to his tedious, pedantic, and likely contentious words, I retorted curtly.

“Then die.”

The details could be learned through torture or interrogation anyway.

There was no need to be swayed by the enemy’s words, so I disregarded him and was about to move forward when…

Daisy, looking uneasy, began to bark, *myaeng myaeng*, at something black in front of us.

It was the first time Daisy had seemed so agitated, so I stopped in my tracks and gazed ahead.

What on earth could be making her so uneasy?

As I eyed the black object, shaped like a heart, and fidgeted with my mace…

He stroked the black heart and said to me.

“You are ignorant and benighted. Your habit of seeing only the tree, and not the forest, will one day bring regret…”

I didn’t quite understand, but it didn’t seem important enough, so to cut him off, I infused my hammer with Daisy’s fire and hurled it forward.

Judging that the power of Daisy would at least silence him, I threw it, but…

Contrary to my expectations, an enormous surge of flame erupted from the black heart beside the man.

It melted my hammer completely and erased it from existence.

‘It overcame Daisy’s flame?’

I had no idea what the identity of that black heart could possibly be.

Frowning, I stared at it, and he paused his speech, reached out to me and spoke.

“Then let us begin.”

With those words, suddenly everything around us was dyed in darkness, and a massive surge of mana began to swirl.

An overwhelming sea of mana, beyond the scope of what a human could wield.

An absurdly massive mana pressed down on me, making it difficult not only to move but even to breathe.

It wasn’t just a difference between strong and weak, but an overwhelming power that felt like a difference in dimension.

Gritting my teeth against such a disparity…

Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind lashed out, instantly vaporizing the mana that had been pressing down on me.

“Little Master, I’ll handle this one.”

Lorraine, donning her helmet low over her brow for the first time in ages, stepped forward, drawing her sword.

Lorraine, usually so playful, serious enough to pull her helmet down tight – the foe before us must be one even she couldn’t take lightly.

I nodded my understanding to Lorraine and turned back. Just then, I saw Liana waving frantically to me from ahead.

A wave of tension washed over me as I approached, Liana speaking urgently.

“While Sir Lorraine draws their attention, we should search this place.”

“…Fine.”

With nothing else to be done, exploring this place was probably for the best.

Still, just in case, I decided against approaching too close to the two of them, intent on investigating what we were doing here.

That’s when Siren pointed, telling us, “…This way.”

She must have sensed something we hadn’t.

I ruffled Siren’s hair in acknowledgement and stepped forward, my gaze drawn to a bookshelf.

Knowing full well there was a high probability a path was hidden behind it, I was about to smash it with my mace when Siren shook her head, telling me,

“If you do that, it’ll explode.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Let me try.”

Then, she reached out, beginning to rearrange the mana floating in the air.

Even I, ignorant as I was to the ways of magic, knew how utterly ridiculous what she was doing was. I could only watch in awe.

In no time at all, Siren completed the mana array with perfect precision and told me,

“It’s done.”

“…Already?”

“Yes.”

I gazed at Siren, who seemed to think she’d done something entirely ordinary. I tousled her hair in praise and slowly reached for the bookshelf.

Then, I put my strength into pushing it to the side.

The bookshelf crumbled to dust, as though it had been nothing more than an illusion from the start.

Nodding to myself, I told them we should head inside.

*

What greeted us inside was a massive labyrinth.

Entering the laboratory, a labyrinth unfolded. I knew, with certainty, that something here was meant to remain hidden, and I steeled myself to break through.

Cillen shook his head, guiding the way.

“We should follow the flow of mana. Every living thing leaves a trace, you see?”

“…Is that even possible?”

We heard Lianna’s horrified whisper as we navigated the maze.

At its end, we discovered a single book, meticulously secured, and a report.

Both drew the eye, but the report held a greater allure. Upon reading it, a shocking sentence was revealed:

*

[Creation of an Artificial Sun]

– A joint study by the Wintraven family, the Order, and Kirnesis (The Black Mages’ Tower).

Goal: To convert and synthesize living organisms into energy, then use it to power an artificial sun.

Current Completion Rate: 87%

– Note: A singularity occurred while attempting to create the sun’s core, resulting in a fissure.

*