A Terrifying Talent
It was unbelievable.
Staring at the domain of shadows with trembling eyes, the necromancer desperately denied reality. He had to, or else his mind would shatter. A despairing certainty pierced his chest—the agonizing realization that he would not be taking a single soul to the grave with him.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..."
His trump card was a calamity-class anomaly. When he had first discovered by chance that such a monster lay dormant within the grimoire he obtained, he had been ecstatic.
His daily life was filled with mages hunting him down. He had survived this long purely out of luck, but if he ever encountered a higher-grade mage, his end would be inevitable.
But with this grimoire, he believed he could bring despair to anyone who came to take his life.
Yet, this situation was entirely beyond his expectations.
A mage capable of deploying a domain had come for him?
He had never once imagined that one of those rare, powerful beings would actually bother to drag themselves out here just to catch a small fry like him.
In his overheated mind, the raspy voice of the old man who had handed him the grimoire long ago echoed like an auditory hallucination.
"Do not forget. Sealed within this grimoire is an entity that once brought chaos to the world. If word of this grimoire ever leaks out, the Management Bureau will stop at nothing to kill you."
Hey, old man, you were dead wrong. If it's an entity the Bureau fears, an anomaly capable of bringing about the end of the world, it shouldn't be slaughtered so helplessly like this.
Panting heavily, the necromancer stared blankly at the monster whose limbs were being torn to shreds beneath the pouring rain of shadow clouds.
"GRAAAAAAH!!!"
The Mad King glared, maintaining a miraculous rate of regeneration even amidst the brutal hacking that had lasted for several minutes.
His eyes were fixed on Lee Siwoo.
The beast crawled forward, clawing at the blood-soaked ground with its newly regenerated fingertips, desperate to get even a fraction of an inch closer.
But the darkness that comprised the domain had no intention of tolerating such a pathetic rebellion.
Rip! Tear!
"GRAAAAAAH!!"
Shadow blades erupted from all directions, relentlessly dismembering his body. It was faster than the King could regenerate, executed with absolute precision to ensure their master's satisfaction.
Bob, bob.
The Lantern in Siwoo's hand swayed from side to side, transmitting its will to its master.
"What? Praise?"
Bob, bob.
"You're doing well."
Buzzzzz—!
Upon receiving Siwoo's approval, the Lantern vibrated intensely, expressing its joy.
As if inspired by their master's praise, the shadows exuded a bizarre ecstasy, tearing the King's body apart even more brutally.
"GRAAAAAAH!!"
His marvelous regenerative power continuously stitched the torn flesh back together, but it was not enough to keep up with the onslaught of hundreds of shadow blades. As the rate of destruction outpaced his recovery, the King's massive form was gradually whittled down, losing his limbs and shrinking pitifully.
Ju Harin's eyes sparkled as she watched the spectacle.
Overwhelming magical firepower. It's an incredibly high-level domain.
A domain was a secret technique that could only be deployed by a mage who had fully mastered their innate magic. Since it was the minimum requirement for a 7th-class mage, whether or not one could deploy a domain was a crucial benchmark of their skill.
There were many mages, and no shortage of talented ones. Yet, no matter how gifted they were, the vast majority spent their entire lives stuck at the 6th-class.
However, the Lee Siwoo before her eyes shattered those brutal statistics and common sense in an instant. A boy she had believed to be of a similar age and level was casually wielding magic that was considered the pinnacle of a mage's power.
"Beautiful..."
With dazed eyes, she stared at the pure darkness swallowing everything. Her shimmering blue-green eyes, empowered by her Heavenly Eye, projected the intricate spell lattices hidden beyond the dark. They were arrays of magnificent, brilliant spells, every single one far beyond her current level of comprehension.
The arrays of mana, embroidered like constellations, maintained perfect order, each carrying a deadly beauty.
As she indulged in the wondrous sight, a single question reared its head from the depths of her heart.
Why had he been hiding his true strength?
I want to know.
A small desire bloomed in Ju Harin's chest. It was the moment an arrogant young lady, who had spent her entire life indifferent to others and believing only in her own nobility, finally took an interest in someone else.
Meanwhile, Siwoo was staring at the anomaly with surprised eyes.
Overwhelming.
Witnessing the ruthless violence unfolding within the domain, the thoughts passing through Siwoo's mind were short and clear.
The anomaly, which had boasted incredible regeneration, crawled on the ground, unable to mount any resistance. It was still restoring its body at a bizarrely fast speed, but before its newly grown limbs could even touch the ground, they were instantly torn away by the shadows.
Is this the power of a domain?
Siwoo himself had done absolutely nothing.
He slowly stroked the Lantern in his hand. Feeling its master's touch, the Lantern trembled as if in ecstasy, emitting a pleasant resonance.
This domain was deployed by the Lantern.
Though Siwoo, who barely understood the concept of a domain, didn't fully realize it, this was by no means a normal occurrence.
If one were to tell others that a magical tool could deploy a domain, they would surely be laughed out of the room.
After all, a domain was the hardest condition to meet to be called a great mage. So, logically, how could a mere tool deploy a domain?
But if that tool was a magical artifact created in ancient times and possessed its own ego, then it wasn't impossible.
Of course, this was only possible in theory.
Such a magnificent magical tool would be well aware of its own worth. To borrow the power of such an artifact, one would have to pay an astronomical price.
But for Siwoo, no such restrictions existed. The Lantern demanded no price, no sacrifice. It did it solely to be loved by Siwoo.
Buzzz—
Drunk on Siwoo's touch, the Lantern stealthily shifted its gaze to look at the Grimoire floating neglected in the air.
Flutter, flutter—
The Lantern blatantly showed off to the floating Grimoire that it was being cradled and caressed in their master's palm. The haughty Grimoire flipped its pages in annoyance, ignoring the Lantern's childish boasting.
Flutter, flutter—
It scolded the Lantern, asking if it really liked the touch of a vulgar human that much, and if it had completely abandoned its past dignity.
Yet, even as it snapped, the Grimoire's gaze kept stealing glances at Siwoo's hand as it gently stroked the Lantern.
The Lantern smirked, mocking the Grimoire's hypocritical attitude.
Didn't you enjoy it earlier too? I saw you practically swoon at Master's touch.
Startled, the Grimoire practically jumped, vehemently denying it.
You lewd book. Hypocrites like you who pretend to be pure but crave it the most are the most pathetic.
As the Lantern snickered, the Grimoire crumpled its pages as if scowling.
Then, as if refusing to speak to the Lantern any further, it slammed its wide-open pages shut with a loud snap. It had gone into a complete sulk.
But that didn't last long.
"What are you doing? Come here. We're preparing the next attack."
At Siwoo's low call, the Grimoire flew over instantly, as if it had never been sulking, and nestled snugly into Siwoo's other hand.
Buzzzzz—
The Lantern sneered at the sight. It thought that the Grimoire, held in the grasp of the "vulgar human" it claimed to look down on with its pages spread wide, looked no different from a common streetwalker.
"Stop shaking and focus. Bind him tightly."
Of course, in the Grimoire's eyes, the Lantern was equally pathetic. The moment Siwoo's command fell, it scrambled to whip the shadows into action while constantly reading its master's expression. To see the only entity that had once matched its own stature reduced to such a childish sycophant was truly mind-boggling.
But there was no way Siwoo knew about this fierce and embarrassing war of nerves between his tools. He was too focused on the monster in front of him to spare any attention for their bickering.
"Charge."
At Siwoo's quiet command, the Grimoire shuddered. A massive, high-density energy began to gather in front of the Grimoire as it glowed with a golden light.
The anomaly was still breathing. Despite being hacked thousands of times within the wave of shadows, it held on with a beastly survival instinct, glaring at Siwoo with bloodshot eyes.
However, its physical condition was far from normal. Siwoo judged that he could finish it off with a pillar of light now.
"Get ready."
Siwoo gave the order, lightly shaking the Lantern in his other hand. As the Lantern's core throbbed, the shadows floating within the domain aligned in unison, blocking the beast's escape routes.
"GRAAAAAAH—!"
The anomaly roared loudly as it saw the immense golden energy gathering in front of Siwoo. Having experienced it twice with its own body, it knew exactly how dangerous that attack was.
Fwoooosh—!
In an instant, the anomaly's body restored itself at an incredible speed. It was still under attack by the shadows. Was this one of the trump cards it had been hiding?
The sight of wounds vanishing and limbs growing back looked less like regeneration and more like the time of its body was being reversed.
"GRAAAAAAH!!"
Boom!
Having regained a perfect body, the anomaly leaped, shattering the ground beneath its feet. Having learned that a brief preparation time was required before the pillar of light could be fired, the beast lunged like a bullet, aiming to pierce Siwoo's heart in that split-second opening.
However, this movement was already anticipated.
"Block it."
At Siwoo's command, a massive shadow blocked the path in front of him.
Thud—!
"GRAAAAAAH!"
Blocked by the barrier, the anomaly swung its arms in a frenzy.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Sharp claws carved and tore through the physical shadow. Under the beast's desperate hacking, the massive wall of darkness blocking Siwoo's front was instantly shredded into tatters and dispersed.
Through the gap left by the vanished obstacle, Siwoo's indifferent face came into the anomaly's view. Convinced of its victory, the beast extended its elongated arm to rip open Siwoo's abdomen and tear out his entrails.
But it was too late.
"Fire."
Before the anomaly's hand could reach Siwoo, a massive pillar of light engulfed it.