The Black Hand's Domain
“Did no one ever teach you it’s rude to interrupt someone else’s conversation?”
The Black Hand snatched Theo’s Ice Spear out of the air with her bare hand. With a casual squeeze, the spear shattered into glittering fragments that dissolved back into raw mana. Between the scattering motes of light, her hand glowed with the murky, pitch-black aura unique to black magic. That same aura was what let her catch the spear unharmed. It didn’t stop at merely covering her skin; it swelled outward, ballooning until each hand was three times its original size.
A heartbeat later, I arrived.
“Hah!”
My first strike was a front kick, all my momentum and body weight behind it. The shortest path between attacker and target is always the fastest, and among kicks, the front kick travels the shortest distance. I drove my thigh up and snapped my knee straight, channeling every muscle in my leg into a whip-like blow that cracked against the Black Hand’s enlarged palms.
“Oh?”
A spark of interest flashed in her eyes. She blocked the kick with both oversized hands and was sent skidding backward across the floor. I hadn’t meant to launch her; I’d deliberately pulled the power so the impact wouldn’t be lethal. She knew how to move her body, at least.
The Black Hand flexed her fingers a few times, then looked at me and grinned in that repulsive way of hers.
“That solid impact… Ahh. This is why I like beastmen. So full of life force.”
Her gaze slid over my body—the same hungry look I’d seen from drunk men at the inn. Only this time it made my skin crawl.
“I wonder how much life force you’ll give me?”
Being admired by a beautiful woman isn’t the worst feeling in the world, but not when the woman in question is Deacon. She might look thirty, but she’s well past sixty. She isn’t some long-lived elf, either; she’s using life-drain magic to hold back the years, and even that only works as long as she keeps draining. The moment she stops, she’ll wither into a husk within a day.
I deliberately curled my lip in disgust.
“Grandma, I can tolerate the whole same-sex thing, but going after girls young enough to be your granddaughter? That’s just gross. You’re old enough to have grandkids my age.”
“…You little brat! Who are you calling grandma?!”
Oh, that worked beautifully. Blood rushed to her head. While she was distracted, a cold metallic gleam flashed beside her. Faye had circled around and swung at her from the flank.
“Don’t get excited, you stupid woman.”
The Black Hand jerked her head aside at the last instant. A man standing nearby had grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and yanked her out of the sword’s path. The blade missed her throat by a hair’s breadth.
She touched her neck with trembling fingers. “Th-thank you.”
“These brats aren’t just running on righteous indignation. I’ll lend a hand.”
“N-no need! You don’t have to step in, Deacon! I can handle this myself!”
“Do I look like I’m asking your permission?”
“……!”
The man who had silenced Deacon turned his gaze past me and fixed on Theo.
“And there’s an interesting fellow over there as well. Might as well play with him. Demon Calling.”
He swept his hand outward. Several corpses scattered across the floor ignited in sickly black flames and vanished. In their place appeared hunched, pale-skinned monsters with long, dagger-like claws that clicked together as they giggled.
I recognized them from the game. Mad Evils. Mid-tier demons, on the lower end of that spectrum, but still far stronger than the lesser ones. The three newly summoned Mad Evils immediately lunged at us in a frenzy.
“These look like fun!”
Faye charged out to meet them, blades flashing. Steel rang against claws as she danced between all three without giving ground. She was clearly working hard, but she didn’t look like she was losing.
Above us, Theo and the man traded spells.
“Burn everything that blocks my path! Flame Cannon!”
“Demon of the covenant, lend me your power as promised.”
Their magic duel looked intense, but our side wasn’t being pushed back too badly. I confirmed that neither Faye nor Theo was in immediate danger, then turned my full attention back to the Black Hand. The plan had changed a little, but I’d always intended to handle her alone anyway.
I pressed forward step by step, pouring real intent into every kick. She fought back with her oversized hands, and it was obvious she had experience in hand-to-hand combat. For a while we traded blows evenly, but as time dragged on the advantage shifted to me. After all, she was still a black mage. Time to make her taste what it’s like for a beastman who can only earn a living with her fists.
She blocked and countered at first, but soon she was purely on the defensive, stumbling backward. Her teeth ground together.
“Tch, you’re annoying! But don’t forget—this is my domain!”
She chanted. The entire room shuddered. Paint and plaster peeled away, revealing a hidden magic circle carved into the floor and walls.
“Curse your foolishness for stepping into a mage’s territory! Drain Hand!”
At the activation word she stomped the ground. A colossal black arm erupted from the circle and swiped at me.
Too bad for her.
“What exactly are you aiming at? That’s just my afterimage.”
I’d already moved out of range before the arm even appeared. The Black Hand’s eyes widened.
“Wha—?!”
My clean hit landed first. She cried out in pain, clutching her side.
“How…?!”
How? Transmigrator privilege, obviously. I already knew this exact pattern from the game—hidden magic circles activating in the second phase. The circle’s location hadn’t changed just because this was reality now. All I had to do was step outside its range ahead of time.
No need to explain any of that. I just taunted her again.
“It’s so obvious! How ancient is this trap? Oh, was it cutting-edge fifty years ago?”
“How many times do you think I’ll fall for the same provocation? I’m going to live forever! Sixty years is nothing to me!”
She was rattled, but not enough to lose control completely. Her swings grew wilder, though. I’d pushed her buttons a little too hard. Pity.
The giant arm didn’t vanish after its first swing. It stayed manifested, continuing to lash at me.
“Whoa.”
I ducked on pure rabbit instinct. The massive forearm whistled over my head and tore the air apart.
“Your life force! Give me that youth!”
“Weren’t you just saying you don’t care about age?”
I knocked aside another of her strikes. For a few frantic seconds our limbs blurred together.
Then my kick sank deep into her stomach.
“Guh—!”
The Black Hand went tumbling across the floor. The impact had definitely cracked at least two or three ribs. I wasn’t completely unscathed either; my boots sizzled where they’d touched her black-magic aura.
“Agh, damn it. These were hard to make, too.”
The leather was already starting to dissolve. Beast hide could only take so much. Still, a quick check told me they’d last through the rest of the fight. Once this was over, I’d have to drop by Sepia’s and see if she’d found decent replacements.
The Black Hand wheezed on the ground, one arm wrapped around her chest. Broken ribs had probably punctured something. At this point the fight was basically over.
I used the brief opening to glance at the others. Faye was steadily carving through the Mad Evils. Theo’s side… not so good. Even with Claire shielding him, he was clearly on the back foot. I needed to finish here and go help.
“Hmm. Is that all? He looked promising, but even my eyes can be wrong sometimes.”
The man’s leisurely tone made Theo grit his teeth. None of his spells were landing. Flames hot enough to melt stone fizzled in midair. Ice spears shattered before they could connect. Even with Claire dedicated entirely to defense, Theo could feel himself being worn down. The only times his attacks had any real effect were when he layered Hypnosis on top of them, and even that had stopped working after the first few tries.
“Damn it, damn it…!”
He knew he was getting impatient, but he couldn’t stop. He’d trained relentlessly for revenge. After entering the academy he’d tried to pace himself, but ever since he started running the Goddess Dungeon his growth had skyrocketed. He’d worked so hard. Yet he still couldn’t reach this man.
Should I have pushed even harder? But how?
The stray thought cost him. Black magic surged through the opening and slammed into him.
“Theo!”
Claire threw herself in the way. She managed to block it, but the force sent her flying. Theo snapped back to focus too late; even with Claire’s help he’d been losing. Without her, the tide turned completely. He was forced to swing his staff directly to deflect spells, each impact making his body heavier and heavier.
Still… until the very end…!
Theo tightened his grip on the staff, resolve hardening—
“Stop bullying Theo!”
“You didn’t forget about us, did you?”
Faye and I had finished our fights. We hit the man from both sides at once.