The Black Mage and the Hero (2)
The rusty hand axe and the grimy club felt awkward in her grip. Maria frowned as she gave them a few experimental swings.
Beside her, Cardnios was lashing a dagger to a wooden rod to make a crude spear while prying a door panel off its hinges to fashion a makeshift shield.
“Can’t be helped,” he said. “What do you expect from street thugs? They’re not exactly carrying top-shelf gear.”
“Ugh… I really should have brought my spatial bag.”
Maria let out a long sigh and began lashing wooden planks together to form her own shield, grumbling the whole time.
She deeply regretted letting her guard down just because they were in the Margrave’s territory.
“Anyway, our goal isn’t to stop them ourselves. We just need to disrupt the ritual as much as possible and leave the rest to the Margrave’s army.”
“I know. But what about these guys?”
Maria jerked her chin toward the battered thugs sprawled on the ground—the same ones they had beaten senseless moments earlier.
“If they were innocent, I’d leave them be, but…”
“They don’t exactly look innocent, do they?”
These were the bastards who had ambushed them the moment they followed the trail of dark magic. Even if they had nothing to do with the black mage, their crimes were obvious. And if they were connected, there was no reason to let them live.
Their souls were closer to black than gray. No risk in cleaning them up.
Maria seemed to share the same thought. She swung her hand axe without hesitation, ending their lives with clean strikes to the throat.
“Let’s leave the bodies where they can be found. Let the authorities deal with them.”
“Got it.”
“Hoo… Let’s go. Don’t get hurt.”
“Worry about yourself.”
With their preparations complete, the two of them dashed toward the place where the dark magic emanated from.
“Hmph…!”
Cardnios thrust his makeshift spear forward.
The blade sank into the chest of the ragged thug blocking his path with a wet thunk. The weapon creaked ominously. Judging that a full swing would snap the edge, Cardnios simply kicked the man sideways, sending him flying.
At the same moment, Maria’s club shattered with a loud crack and went spinning through the air. She immediately drew her hand axe and buried it deep into the thigh of the hulking brute who had broken her weapon.
“Aaaargh!!”
The giant screamed, leaving an opening. Maria drove her foot straight into his groin, snatched his mace, and smashed it down on his skull.
Not to be outdone, Cardnios drew his arm back and hurled his spear like a javelin.
His target was the black mage snickering at them from the rear.
The spear shot forward with a sharp whoosh.
The black mage sneered, grabbed the nearest thug by the scruff, and shoved him forward as a human shield.
The thug’s head exploded with a sickening crunch.
Cardnios clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. There’s no end to them.”
“Hoo… No kidding.”
“At least there aren’t any Experts. That’s something.”
“Yeah. Not many Users either. Their gear is pathetic.”
“Were we the real target all along?”
Cardnios kicked a rusty sword off the ground, caught it, and took a deep breath.
They had already killed more than ten the moment they arrived, yet over thirty remained. He swept his bangs back with a tired hand.
Only now did he remember that he hadn’t sensed any dark magic when they first entered the city.
This had been a trap from the beginning.
Their casual conversation seemed to irritate the enemy. Three black spears flew toward them from a distance.
Almost simultaneously, Maria and Cardnios raised their crude wooden shields.
A brilliant light like captured sunlight bloomed across the shields’ surfaces. The black spears collided with them, shoving both of them backward as the shields disintegrated.
“Tsk. The great Cassius said the Hero and Saintess were still green, but they’re holding up better than expected.”
Maria glanced regretfully at her destroyed shield, then completely ignored the black mage and spoke to Cardnios.
“How strong do you think he is?”
“That one’s an Expert.”
“A bit troublesome, then.”
“No. It actually made things easier.”
“You bastards! How dare you ignore me?!”
Maria, who had been paying the black mage zero attention, tilted her head slightly at Cardnios’s answer.
Understanding her confusion, he continued.
“The dark magic they used to lure us here was just a decoy with an exaggerated presence. I can break it right now.”
“And?”
“Ever heard of Maria Sabotage?”
At the unfamiliar term, Maria tilted her head the other way. Cardnios gave a small chuckle, then swung his sword wrapped in holy light and shattered an incoming black spear.
“Insignificant slaves of a worthless goddess, daring to ignore me… Kill the man. Do whatever you want with the woman.”
A sharp crack rang out as the cheap sword in his hand splintered. At the same time, the slum thugs who had been watching surged forward in a wave.
“Maria. Can you hold them off alone for a bit?”
“Yeah. Just don’t take too long.”
“Got it.”
He hurled the cracked sword at the head of a presumed User, then dropped to one knee and began to pray.
“Ugh?!”
Crack.
The User who had blocked the flying sword doubled over as Maria’s mace slammed into his waist.
“Everyone, look at me!”
Mid-grade Holy Spell: Sacrifice Rite
Brilliant radiance exploded from Maria’s mace. Every enemy surrounding her was suddenly consumed by overwhelming greed and lust.
Gripping the mace tightly with both hands, Maria swallowed hard and forced a stiff smile.
“Kyle, don’t be late.”
With that quiet murmur no one else could hear, she was instantly swallowed by the charging horde of thugs.
She crushed the arm of one reaching for her with a downward smash, grabbed the hand trying to seize her from behind and broke it, then braced her legs against those trying to drag her down. She hammered her fist into the arms wrapping around her waist to break their grip.
But numbers were power.
Her legs were pulled backward. Her body staggered.
Hands grabbed her top and tore it open. Three men latched onto the hand holding her mace, preventing her from swinging it.
“Ugh…”
She closed her eyes once more and invoked another holy spell.
High-grade Holy Spell: Black Sun Explosion
A storm of light erupted from her body. The hands clinging to her burned away in an instant.
“Haa… haa…”
The sudden drain of holy power left her drenched in cold sweat. Her strength was fading fast.
In that brief opening, two black spears slammed into her shoulders with heavy thuds.
Thanks to her protective blessing, they didn’t pierce through, but she couldn’t stop herself from falling backward.
“Ugh—get off me!”
The thugs swarmed the fallen Maria once again. They kicked her mace away and tore at her skirt.
They grabbed her flailing legs. Her bra was ripped off and tossed aside.
That was when a massive pillar of light, reaching toward the heavens, erupted from behind them.
“Aaaaaargh!!”
The black mage’s agonized scream tore through the air as the light touched him.
The Sacrifice Rite was forcibly canceled. The thugs surrounding Maria froze for a split second. She broke free, grabbed the nearest one, and slammed him into the ground.
“Sorry. The declaration took longer than I thought.”
“It’s fine. Let’s finish this quickly.”
Cardnios watched for a moment as Maria covered her chest with one hand and picked up a fallen weapon. Then he grabbed her ponytail and yanked it.
“Stay back.”
“No.”
“You don’t have to push yourself anymore.”
“Why?”
Instead of answering, Cardnios pointed behind them with his free left hand.
The sound of countless running footsteps echoed—tap tap tap tap.
“Either way, it’s over.”
“Then we should fight even harder.”
“I said cover yourself, you idiot.”
He lightly bonked her on the head for refusing to listen, then pulled off his own top and threw it to her.
“Put it on. We need to run.”
“What about the black mage?”
“It’s too risky right now. If it were the lord’s troops, we could keep fighting, but if it’s another slum organization, things will get messy. We have to retreat.”
Maria bit her lower lip for a moment, thinking, then slipped on Cardnios’s shirt and turned around.
“You pathetic black mage bastard! This isn’t over!”
The black mage, Abrada Shirobe, who had been struck by the Hero’s skill Declaration: Victoria, ground his teeth in fury.
The humiliation of being hit by these wet-behind-the-ears brats, and—
“Told you to just hire them. Look at the state you’re in.”
The mocking voice of the Mad Dog—one of the bosses of the Botis underworld—grated on his nerves.
“Shut your mouth, you mutt.”
“What’re you gonna do about it? Gonna let me go?”
“No. We’re moving to the next location. This is a divine decree given to me by the great Cassius. Failure is not an option.”
“Hah, I really don’t get it. Why not just hire them like I said?”
“Because the oracle commanded me to tear those two apart with my own hands.”
Even without that, after the humiliation he had suffered today, Abrada swore he would repay them in full.
“Those two seemed pretty close. I’ll capture them alive, then fuck the Saintess right in front of that gigolo Hero.”
“Khehehe, quite the taste you’ve got. So, got a next plan?”
“Since we’ve entered Direz, to reach the Empire we must pass through Caulose. I’ll prepare more thoroughly there and take my revenge.”
“Hmm… Need any help?”
“No. I can’t afford to lose the foundation in Botis. I’ll handle it alone.”
The Mad Dog watched Abrada drape a black robe over his burned body and walk away, then let out a small, amused laugh.
“If that guy dies, who’s gonna pay us?”
When they had entered the city, Maria had carried Cardnios while running. Now the roles were reversed—he was carrying her.
“I’m fine now. Put me down.”
“No.”
“I said I’m okay.”
Cardnios chuckled and kept running.
“Hey!”
“You did it to me earlier. Why can’t I do it to you?”
Maria narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then smiled.
“Are you feeling better now?”
At the same question he had asked her earlier, Cardnios laughed brightly.
This time had truly been dangerous. Yet somehow, they had pulled through.
He was still anxious and tense about the main story beginning, but—
“We’ll just have to face it head-on.”
It wasn’t the answer she had expected, but Maria seemed to read something in his words.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll help you.”
“Thanks.”
