A Clash of Dark Wills
Katarin was currently overwhelmed by an incomprehensible sensation.
Something impossible had occurred. A phenomenon that should never have happened was unfolding right before her eyes.
"How... why?"
She didn't feel like they were competing with dark energy, nor did she feel that she could suppress him if she just pushed a little harder.
Was that... not dark magic?
Accepting dark energy into one's body was a declaration of submission to the hierarchy it established.
Even if a kingdom's knight grew strong through the kingdom's swordsmanship and soldiers, he could not harm a frail noble lady belonging to that same kingdom.
Once he entered the kingdom's rules, he had no choice. The moment he ran wild without accepting them, the power he possessed would vanish.
That was the fundamental nature of dark magic. Every dark mage drew upon a demon's power, meaning they were bound to be swayed by the demon's hierarchy.
They submitted to whoever was more devoted to evil. They obeyed whoever served a higher demon, or whoever had contracted with a greater entity.
Yet, looking into his eyes, she could not detect even the slightest tremor.
Did he contract with a demon stronger than mine?
Asmodeus was highly ranked even among the Demon Archdukes.
It was nothing short of a miracle that the Erst family had managed to contract with such a demon. And as far as she knew, no one else in this era had achieved such a miracle.
It can't... be.
That wasn't all. To break free from Katarin's dominance, he would have had to commit atrocities on a similar scale to hers.
There's no way he could have...
Those who wielded the power of light grew stronger in a quantifiable way.
A person with a good family, a good master, a good bloodline, and good talent could grow strong through immense effort.
In contrast, dark mages, who grew stronger through hatred, devotion, and blood, had many ways to gain power through methods that were not predetermined at birth.
However, even among those who wielded the power of darkness, nobles still held an advantage.
The scale of the atrocities they could commit was different. The quality of the sacrifices they could offer was on another level.
How many people have I personally killed...?
Countless death row convicts, bandits, criminals, prisoners of war, and enemies she had personally slaughtered.
She had skillfully processed and taken the lives of so many. She had brutally desecrated countless believers and offered their deaths to the Demon Archduke.
No one could surpass her wickedness. Even if he hid a massive malice within him, he could not possibly possess the infrastructure to offer such sacrifices.
Unless, of course, he had the backing of the Empire—
"Ah."
Katarin realized her own foolishness.
Why did I assume the Empire wasn't standing behind him?
A normal dark mage—especially one who had accumulated enough atrocities to stand proudly before Katarin—could never side with the Imperial Princess.
By nature, they committed evil and fled to avoid their crimes being discovered. They could never align themselves with the power of the Empire.
Unless he had been connected to the Empire's authority from the very beginning.
...I've been played.
She couldn't even say he had deceived her. As if he had nothing to hide, he had openly served the Princess and opposed Katarin.
"Is something not going according to plan?"
He looked at Katarin mockingly, a shameless smirk playing on his lips.
Katarin bit her lip hard.
She's flustered.
But I couldn't stop here.
In the opening exchange, it was only natural that I would win. It was as clear as day.
But we're still in the middle of the tournament.
Even if I defeated her right now, I wouldn't gain anything other than a mere "victory."
I couldn't force her to surrender, nor could I strip her of anything important.
So, I need to secure a victory that serves my purpose as much as possible...
Katarin was by no means an easy opponent.
Even if she was suppressed once, she would quickly devise a plan to bring me down.
When that time came, I wouldn't be able to fluster her simply by refusing to submit. It would take far more effort to defeat her.
Therefore, I had to extract as much as I could right now.
"Did you know?"
"...I wonder. I can't say for sure. I can't even begin to imagine how many secrets you're hiding from me."
Her eyes were trembling, but she was still desperately trying to maintain her composure.
"So, shall we test it? I wonder what kind of face you'll make when your cute little Dark Priestess has her arms and legs torn off."
A massive amount of dark energy poured from her body, forming a spell.
The freezing cold carrying the resentment of those who froze to death, the curse containing the agony of those who starved, and the flames bearing the pain of those burned alive swirled chaotically.
And I blocked all of it with a simple spell.
Katarin's face contorted.
"You shouldn't have said that."
"...What?"
Without pausing my spellcasting, I continued to speak.
I wasn't talking to her. I was projecting my presence, establishing my character to everyone watching.
In truth, someone like Katarin shouldn't even be my opponent.
Kazot was an organization far stronger and much larger than she realized.
And it wasn't just them. Katarin wasn't the only human driven by hatred. Even now, somewhere out there, others who wielded the power of light were spreading hatred against dark mages.
That was why I had to become a symbol. I had to clearly define what I wanted and what I desired.
"You must be curious."
I shifted my stance. Here, I had to become the "Wade" that everyone else wanted to see.
"Why I possess this kind of power, and how I could defeat you!"
I glared at Katarin with the most serious expression I could muster, putting on a show of genuine fury.
"If there weren't so many targeting the people around me, if you wretched dark mages hadn't run so rampant! I would never have sacrificed so much!"
Katarin's expression shifted. She realized I was acting.
"Could it be..."
"You of all people should know how valuable a dark mage's emotions are, shouldn't you?"
Anger and hatred were a dark mage's most vital assets.
They served as sacrifices in their own right, and acted as the motivation to offer even more to demons.
"That's impossible...! With just that much..."
Of course it is.
There were limits, after all. It was impossible to emit enough dark energy to overwhelm Katarin with just that.
But the spectators didn't know that.
Only those with deep knowledge of dark magic could verify that vengeance and anger toward warmongers alone couldn't yield this level of achievement.
Most people knew nothing about dark magic. They would simply take it at face value.
"So, please, taste misery."
Pure dark energy cascaded toward her. It was pure mana, devoid of the scent of blood, pain, bone fragments, or screams.
Ordinary people would have assumed I sacrificed countless lives to obtain this dark energy.
But if I claimed with my own mouth that my anger toward people like her was the source of my power, those who wanted to believe me would do so.
"This can't be..."
Even those well-versed in dark magic couldn't deny it one hundred percent.
Some people possessed emotions far stronger than others, some had an uncanny compatibility with specific demons, and some were born with naturally immense dark energy.
While obtaining this level of power was unprecedented, it wasn't entirely impossible.
"Did you think I wouldn't know? What you did to me?"
I was declaring to everyone watching this spectacle that I was a different kind of dark mage from her.
I was desperately arguing that there were no ethical issues with the power I wielded.
I was asserting that I was different from other dark mages, that there could be a "non-evil" existence among us.
Through this, I would gain a voice and minimize the conflict escalating between Katarin and the Princess.
This was the reward I would gain by letting go of the opportunity to kill her.
"Haaaaaaah!"
Endless dark energy poured forth.
The physical limits I had felt when fighting the Behemoth were merely because I had to face a monster on its own terms.
No matter how strong Katarin was, she was ultimately human. No matter how wicked and fierce her spells were, the absolute volume of her dark energy couldn't match even a newborn Behemoth.
Humans could kill monsters because of sharp swords, swordsmanship, arrows, and nets, not because they could win a raw contest of strength.
"How... how is this..."
And I was using dark magic techniques with a monstrous amount of dark energy.
"Are you afraid?"
Furthermore, Katarin's anti-dark mage strategy was nothing special. Not just her, but all dark mages rarely prioritized fighting their own kind.
It was far more important to absorb more dark energy, contract with stronger demons, and prove greater devotion than it was to hone combat techniques.
It might be different if they were learning how to fight those who wielded the power of light, who were free from such shackles.
But for a dark mage to dodge one more spell from another dark mage and cast a slightly more efficient counterspell was a foolish, meaningless endeavor.
"Let's end this here."
With those final words, I raised a black pillar high into the sky.
A massive torrent of dark energy shot straight toward Katarin.