Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Steel Resolve
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"I'm truly glad we didn't let the citizens see this battle carelessly."
Orpheus, watching the battle between Necromancer Deus Verdi and Magic Judge Tairn All Bellocus, voiced his honest feelings.
If the public had seen it, it would have only heightened their fear of black magic.
Lightning and storms raged together, while explosive flames and freezing cold coexisted. He had known necromancers as those who simply infused mana with grudges to unleash destructive spells.
But the spectacle before his eyes was no different from a natural disaster.
The grand magicians and their disciples had already jumped to their feet from their seats, analyzing the barrage of countless spells pouring down.
"Prophet Benton's unique magic, Wave of Explosive Flames, and Silence Grahan's Blade Storm seem to be the main ones for now."
"They're all unique magics from past sinners. Is this truly the work of a single person?"
"M-Master."
"......"
Seeing firsthand how many had died in this place stirred incredibly complex emotions.
The powerhouses who had vanished into the annals of history were now manifesting as their own great magics, overwhelming Tairn the Magic Judge.
It was a grand sight that even a grand magician couldn't replicate similarly.
And amid it all, Tairn, still enduring with his body curled up, was undoubtedly a remarkable man.
But.
In the end, it was a battle of endurance, and he would lose.
Simply holding out wouldn't bring victory. Countless people had died in this execution ground.
No matter how still Tairn stayed, defeat would only loom heavier.
And he knew that.
Thud!
Amid the fierce magical bombardment, he took a heavy step forward.
* * *
For a grudge spirit to use its own mana, it needed a strong will.
Typically, that was resentment.
Only with resentment thick enough to substitute for a body could a grudge spirit wield its mana even in spirit form.
For example, the woman whose face was half-burned, now with Iluania.
Otherwise, it was no different from the mana drifting in the atmosphere—just a bit more clumped together.
That was why he was surprised.
Surprisingly, the many lost souls in the execution ground had left the world without lingering attachments, sinking into repose.
He learned they had closed their eyes in their own realizations.
Some, with regret, entrusted their lingering feelings to posterity before passing.
Others, who had lived for quick gains, laughed it off, saying they'd had a good run.
Some welcomed death, saying they could finally return to the gods' embrace.
Without the Remegaton, called the Spirit Stone, he would have failed even to awaken the spirits.
[My head feels like it's going to explode!]
"You won't die."
The Black Necromancer possessing me was converting the mana of countless souls into magic alongside me.
I wasn't fighting.
I awakened the souls, transformed those left as mere mana clumps due to lack of grudges into magic, and they charged out to battle on their own.
Great Chieftain Katorre became a violent thunderbolt, striking down on Tairn from above.
Pirate King Owlman turned himself into a single pistol bullet and shot forward.
Prophet Benton swept across the earth as a massive wave of flames.
Strategist Poltman pierced Tairn's blind spots as an ice spear.
Silence Grahan blocked Tairn from taking steps as a storm of blades.
[Truly... impressive.]
"......"
With some leeway now, the Black Necromancer gaped at the spectacle before her.
[You've already far surpassed the boundaries of what a necromancer should be.]
"It's thanks to the Remegaton, and the location's advantage played a huge role."
Honestly and coldly evaluating myself, the Black Necromancer pursed her lips, not denying it greatly.
In the end, the execution ground's advantage had produced this result, and they had chosen this place in the form of an execution, knowing my edge.
And they were paying the price dearly.
[Did it feel good when you severed my neck!]
[Judge! Raise your head once more! Why is that staff silent!]
[Kekekeke! You bastard! You're damn good at taking a beating!]
Tairn, body greatly curled, didn't twitch.
The massive mana that had torn through the sky now hung endlessly quiet.
Tairn's magic armor was already beginning to twist. Scratches and scorch marks spread across the armor he thought impenetrable.
Then, Tairn's head, curled like a hedgehog, lifted slightly.
Countless spells blocked his view, but by chance and fate, our eyes met exactly.
I raised my hand.
"It's coming."
Thud!
A giant's footfall struck the ground heavily.
From that point, a vast mana gale began carving a path.
Compressed mana spread wildly, creating a transparent tunnel-like passage.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As if declaring this the turning point, Tairn straightened his waist and charged forward.
[Block him! Block that bastard!]
[Where do you think you're goingggg!]
[Tairn! Look into my eyes!]
Countless evil spirits rushed at Tairn again.
Tairn's compressed mana tunnel had certainly played a big role. Staying put might have buried him alive right there.
It allowed him to escape the encirclement, at least.
But it couldn't do more than that.
The passage carved by the mana gale began crumbling under the torrent of assaults.
He couldn't even take a few steps before the magical bombardments poured down again.
"Go, damn it!"
Enduring it all on his broad back, Tairn didn't collapse.
His thick legs trembled but showed no sign of stopping.
"You think this will stop the execution!"
Boom!
Mana surged so fiercely that each step cratered the ground, even shoving back incoming spells.
It was no longer mere mana.
It was something sweat-drenched, mixed with tenacity and conviction.
A will transcending reality, like that seen in the dead, burned fiercely in Tairn's eyes.
"Is this all! The weight of the deaths I've borne!"
Boom!
The staff stabbed forward, and Tairn pulled himself ahead with force.
"Is this all! The karma for taking countless lives to protect the kingdom!"
The protective magic guarding his armor was already in tatters, failing its role.
The mantle's hem burned away, shoulder pauldrons cracked and fell to the ground.
"Light as a feather!"
He had no strength left to wipe the blood from his forehead. His vision seemed dyed crimson-black, barely seeing ahead.
"Infinitely! Utterly light!"
The Magic Judge's steps maintained steady pace forward.
Steps infused with conviction advanced unhesitatingly toward me.
To protect the Griffin Kingdom, to uphold the justice he believed in.
Tairn All Bellocus was a man who embodied righteousness to the point of seeming rigid.
"With a hundred grudges received, a thousand saved! Departed souls! How dare you block my path!"
[Where do you think you're goingggg!]
[I will kill you! I will block you!]
[Your karma is not yet cleared!]
Grudge spirits' mana wasn't infinite.
As their firepower weakened, the spirits stopped unleashing grand magics and clung directly to Tairn.
Grabbing his legs, hanging on shoulders, wrapping arms around waist, choking neck.
It was as if countless evil spirits dragged him to hell, but Tairn resisted.
As judge, he had executed countless.
Some unjust, some deserved.
Not just criminals violating kingdom law, but enemy generals or tribal chieftains whose convictions clashed, defeated.
Each with their stories, surely.
But I wasn't doing this to resolve those grudge spirits' resentments now.
I was simply unleashing my full necromantic prowess to defeat the man Tairn.
"Impressive."
Thus, I couldn't help but admire honestly.
The sight of him receiving countless dead's grudges bodily to protect the Griffin Kingdom.
It evoked Atlas, the giant god holding up the heavens in myths.
Boom.
Before he knew it.
His footsteps reached the distant end.
Standing blankly before me, his form was utterly wretched.
Armor and staff shattered, mana focused on defense now empty.
Sweat and blood stained, scorched body in perfect rags.
"For the... kingdom."
His thick fist, trembling hand raised, lightly touched my chest.
With a throat hoarse as if dust-choked, he forced out words.
"The execution... will be... carried out..."
Stains spread on my clothes, blood soaking in.
Thud.
That was the end.
In the end, once.
Just once touching me, he knelt and bowed his head deeply.
Faint breaths alone signaled he still lived.
But his limp body announced he had fainted.
Silence enveloped in quiet stillness.
The Magic Inquisitors, judge's subordinates watching the execution, rushed out en masse.
Awe and respect filled their faces, some shedding tears profusely.
Even against the mighty black mage called the kingdom's evil, their leader hadn't yielded an inch, stirring their emotions deeply.
Snap.
One saluted the judge.
Snap snap snap.
Others followed, saluting with reverence.
Even in crisis, never forgetting his position, upholding his believed conviction and justice—his figure deserved to be called noble.
I too placed hand on chest in salute.
"I saw your conviction well."