Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Countess Bella Sodrus (6)
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"Looks like we've arrived, Lian."
After cutting through several packs of wolves and pressing on with the pursuit, we finally reached the black mage's lair.
Between rocks draped thickly in dark green moss, an ominous, sinister mana pulsed with foreboding energy.
Unlike the dry, cold air outside, a warm, humid breeze blew from the cave entrance.
"Be careful, Mother."
As we ventured deeper into the cave, the ominous mana grew even stronger.
"Lian, what in the world is..."
At the cave entrance, wolves lay sprawled motionless, as if dead, fast asleep. The hides of the slumbering wolves gleamed with glowing mana brands.
Even when prodded, the wolves didn't stir, appearing utterly lifeless. The mana runes etched into their sleeping forms were channeling the wolves' mana toward a point deeper inside the cave.
We followed the flow of mana deeper into the cave.
The wolves we'd glimpsed from outside seemed like mere test subjects; the farther in we went, the larger the slumbering wolves became.
"This number... oh my...!" Bella Sodrus gasped in horror, letting out a deep sigh.
The sheer quantity was staggering enough to draw a groan from her. The wolves gathered orderly in the cave gave the impression of assembled soldiers.
Despite her terror, she clung tightly to my back, her resolve burning as she followed me to the deepest recesses of the cave.
In a spacious cavern that looked artificially widened, traces of human habitation were scattered about.
Discarded clothes, piled-up dishes, experiment tools strewn in disarray...
Following those traces, we finally encountered the black mage.
Atop a magic circle sat an elderly man with a full head of white hair, his bloodshot eyes fixed in a cross-legged pose.
His emaciated frame, likely from overconsuming mana potions, revealed veins faintly glowing green and writhing beneath his skin.
"Ah... you... are the ones... trying to ruin... my plan..." His raspy, grating voice sent chills through us as he addressed us.
Around him, wolf hearts, inverted religious symbols, and other sacrilegious offerings from profane rituals were arranged in a deliberate pattern, amplifying the eerie, grotesque atmosphere.
"Lord of Light..." Bella Sodrus made the sign of the cross, steadying her heart.
"...Did you create these wolves?"
"Why should I... explain... to fools about to die?... Heh heh." He chuckled, pouring mana into the magic circle.
At that instant, a massive eye emerged from the darkness behind him. A gigantic creature moved swiftly from the shadows, positioning itself to shield the black mage.
"Bite those two to death, Fenrir..."
⟨ Speech Magic ⟩
With a voice like nails on a chalkboard, the black mage commanded the horrific creature he had birthed.
As he channeled mana into the circle with his hands, the eyes of the massive wolf named Fenrir tinted purple, and it lunged at us.
"Lian!" Using her telekinesis, Bella pulled us back, dodging the attack, giving us a brief moment to assess the wolf.
The beast, roughly 4 meters long, slammed into the stone wall from our evasion but emerged unscathed.
Myriad mana brands etched across its enormous hide seemed to bolster its power.
"Lian, be careful...!" Thanks to the support spell Bella cast, my movements felt lighter.
Baring its jaws, the wolf charged ferociously once more.
"Eat this!" Bella hurled a massive boulder into its maw, but the monster pulverized the sturdy rock like tofu.
Her face drained of color as she flung a pre-prepared will-o'-the-wisp at its eye and fled. The direct hit to its eyeball halted the wolf momentarily, preventing pursuit.
"Die!"
I struck the wolf while its vision was obscured, barely piercing its thick hide to inflict a wound.
"Ha! Pathetic... efforts." The black mage laughed in choppy, repulsive bursts, healing the wolf in an instant.
'Tricky...'
The wolves slumbering throughout the cave were peacefully supplying mana to their master. The colossal wolf called Fenrir exploited its massive frame to guard its owner perfectly.
Any attack on the wolf was instantly healed by the black mage, and the empowered beast assaulted us relentlessly.
For an ordinary character, it would have been an exceedingly difficult foe to overcome.
But I was no ordinary character.
In this world, speech magic bordered on reality manipulation.
A power to infuse one's will with mana and reshape reality as desired.
Though notoriously difficult to master and inefficient even when partially learned—leading it to fall into disuse—it was immensely useful at mastery.
And I had effortlessly attained mastery in speech magic, thanks to the experience points inherited from the previous world.
I loosed an arrow toward the empty air above the cave ceiling, a spot the monster wolf wouldn't guard.
"Kehng." Unable to comprehend my action, it ignored me and attacked.
"The arrow curves and pierces the black mage."
⟨ Speech Magic ⟩
The arrow's trajectory shifted in an instant, piercing the black mage's shoulder from the air. The sharp arrowhead tore through the old man's flesh.
The advantage of speech magic lay in achieving desired outcomes with minimal mana, so long as a thread of plausibility existed.
A declaration like "The black mage dies suddenly" exceeded my current mana for reality alteration.
But something like "The arrow veers off course and strikes the black mage" was feasible. Redirecting the path of an already-loosed, real arrow was well within my capabilities.
"Gaaahhh!" The elderly black mage, shoulder pierced, glared incredulously at the wolf and bellowed his command.
"Fen...rir! Kill those two now!!!"
The charging wolf tripped over vines Bella suddenly summoned. I swung my greatsword into its soft underbelly, carving a long gash.
"Get up already...!" The black mage poured mana to heal it, but his shoulder wound hampered his focus, slowing recovery far more than before.
As the staggering wolf rose, it caught sight of me nocking another arrow.
"No...! Block it...!"
"The arrow curves and pierces the black mage."
⟨ Speech Magic ⟩
The wolf leaped toward the arrow, blocking it with its body.
"Well done, Fenrir...! Now, those two...!"
The previous arrow had been a normal shot without speech magic.
Falling for my bluff, the black mage sent his guardian wolf leaping into the air. In that moment, with the wolf chasing the arrow high up, nothing stood between me and the black mage.
As he hastily erected a telekinetic barrier, I nocked another arrow and invoked speech magic once more.
"The arrow pierces the black mage's forehead."
⟨ Speech Magic ⟩
"No...!" His face paled as he desperately raised barriers, but Bella's magic demolished them in seconds.
The straight-shot arrow pierced the black mage's forehead, tracing a thin line of blood across his pallid skin.
His body slumped slowly, dead from the head wound.
Perhaps sensing its master's death, the attacking wolf convulsed wildly before going limp and dying.
"...Is it dead?"
Mother cautiously approached the wolf, lifting its eyelid to check.
"Seems the sudden severing of its link to the summoner caused fatal shock."
I'd done it. Taken down the black mage solo.
Tension eased, flooding me with accomplishment and exhilaration.
Setting aside any quest completions or level-ups for now, I searched the black mage's lair.
I transferred the books around the corpse into my bag and groped along the walls, moving deeper.
"Lian, over here...!" Mother, searching the room with me, called out in surprise.
'Jackpot.'
Beneath a table cluttered with tools for mana branding lay sacks brimming with mana stones. Their jewel-like shimmer was utterly captivating.
Having found everything I wanted and achieved all my goals, I could finally relax.
I roughly disposed of the black mage's body and lit a fire in the inner dwelling, warming the space.
Having lived here long, the decrepit, repulsive old mage had crafted a cozy living area within the cave.
During a brief rest, I read the diary I'd found near his desk.
"...Right before being expelled from the Mage Tower for ethics violations, he smuggled out vast quantities of mana stones, fled here to perfect his techniques, and planned to escape..."
The diary's end rambled about building power abroad and returning to topple the Mage Tower that scorned him—a grand delusion.
"All impossible now." I mocked the black mage's dumbstruck corpse in death and tossed the diary into the hearth.
The yellowed pages crackled as they burned, adding warmth to the brazier.
Near the fire sat Bella, still buzzing from the battle, fidgeting her fingers.
She'd been more helpful than expected. Her magical talent seemed exceptional. Though rusty at first from disuse, her combat prowess improved steadily.
In that last skirmish, hadn't she drawn the wolf's attention at the perfect moment? She had an innate knack for magic in battle.
"What are you staring at so intently, Lian?"
Tilting her head to guess my intent, she misinterpreted and flushed, bowing her head.
"...Ugh, Lian..."
"Yes, Mother?"
Her ear tips red as rubies, Mother wore a bashful expression as she slowly removed her outer garments.
Having stripped away the inner fabric covering her breasts, she peeked at my reaction, mortified yet expectant.
"Really, such a naughty boy... Lian... ♥" She welcomed my desirous gaze with pleasure.
Shh, shhh. Mother neatly folded her soft velvet undergarments and approached me slowly, whispering in my ear.
"You really like this so much...? Hehe... ♥"
With most of her breasts exposed in embarrassed display, she permitted my embrace.
"Good job, Lian... Use me as you wish... ♥"
Her delicate fingers kneaded her soft breasts proudly, begging me to claim my "reward."
I'd planned to enjoy her back at the estate, but such delightful detours were always welcome.
"Ugh... ♥ Lian... ♥"
Savoring her adoring gaze as she settled on my lap, I gently caressed her breasts.
For now, relishing the firm, bouncy feel of her ample bosom, I pondered the next suggestion to implant in her.