Chapter 415: Bipolun (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 415: Bipolun (4)
If there was anyone who hated black mages as much as clerics, it was, without a doubt, mages.
This had nothing to do with personal beliefs or ideologies.
The power of a black mage instinctively repulsed a regular mage.
Unlike mages, who gathered mana from nature to build their magic power, black mages gained their dark magic through contracts with demons.
Of course, most black mages avoided this method, as contracting with a demon drastically shortened one's lifespan.
The most common way for them to gain power was none other than human sacrifice.
According to a black mage interrogation log I found in the Magic Tower’s library, it was by far the most efficient method.
Though, under the word "interrogation," it looked suspiciously like the word "torture" had been written first.
In any case, there was also a method of torturing kidnapped humans to extract negative emotions and convert them into dark magic.
Due to such cruel practices, back when the distinction between mages and black mages was still unclear, some regions saw the persecution of all mages.
This was the origin of the witch hunts that were rampant in medieval Europe.
Thanks to that, several ordinary mages were tragically hunted down after being falsely accused of being witches.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”
Sefran, pinned under my foot, raised his voice and started playing dumb.
But he was a terrible actor; his eyes and voice were trembling.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be shouting like that. Are you trying to summon all the servants in the mansion for a hearing? Well, if you want to get beaten up by them and dragged to the church, I won’t stop you.”
“...”
Only then did Sefran’s face turn pale as he shut his mouth. He seemed to realize that feigning ignorance was useless.
But in that instant, I felt a strange energy from the tip of my foot.
It was dark magic.
CRASH!!
“Keuk?!”
“Don’t try anything funny.”
I glared at Sefran, my eyes filled with killing intent.
Rumble—
I had drawn out a bit too much power, and the entire office began to shake as if it would collapse. The barrier I had hastily erected was on the verge of shattering.
I forced myself to suppress the murderous impulse welling up from my instincts.
Sefran being a black mage was certainly unexpected.
But that wasn't a reason for me to be wary of him.
At best, Sefran was barely a 4th Circle mage.
“Try another stupid trick, and I’ll cut off your fingers. So stop trying to be clever and just answer my questions with sincerity. Where did you learn black magic?”
“...”
Sefran’s trembling eyes darted back and forth.
I could practically hear the gears turning in his head.
Crack!
“Aaargh!!!”
Sefran’s left index finger bent in an unnatural direction.
“I forgot to mention I’d cut it off if you took too long to answer. As an apology, I only broke it. You should be grateful for my mercy.”
“You… you crazy bastard…”
Ignoring Sefran as he writhed in pain, I reached into the inner pocket of his coat.
Just as I expected, there was something inside.
“Hiding it in here, were you?”
“N-No, you can’t!!”
I subdued the frantically struggling Sefran and checked the item from his pocket.
It was a pocket watch.
To anyone else, it would have looked like an ordinary watch with no special features, but I knew better.
‘Check item information.’
Ting—
[Malvator's Talisman
Grade: Rare
Conceals all energy related to the demonic (魔).
※When equipped, all energy related to the demonic (魔) is restricted.]
Just as I thought.
Long ago, in a city called Wavel that I reached after leaving the Great Forest, I had encountered a black mage.
Her name was Melissa, a woman with memorable moles on her inner thigh and below her right breast.
She was definitely a black mage, yet she was a strange woman from whom I couldn't feel any dark magic.
The peculiar artifact I took from her was Malvator's Talisman.
I’d since given it to Cheon Yeo-hwa as a gift, but it had the ability to almost perfectly conceal dark and demonic energy below a certain level.
Although the form was different, this was clearly the same type of artifact.
The fact that the app displayed the exact same information was basically a guarantee.
‘Don’t tell me… it can be mass-produced?’
Malvator's Talisman was a Rare-grade item.
Strictly speaking, it was closer to a magic tool than an artifact, so mass production wasn't entirely out of the question.
It would be difficult with this world's current technology, but if it was a relic from the Age of Myths, that was a different story.
“I need to change the question. This pocket watch, where did you get it?”
“I-I don’t know! I don’t know!”
“Is it because you have ten fingers? You don’t seem to value them.”
Shiiing—
Aura gathered at my fingertip.
A dagger was completed, boasting a cutting edge sharper than most famous swords.
“W-Wait!!”
“Stay still. Or I might just cut off your whole wrist.”
“I want to tell you!! But I can’t!!”
“…What?”
At Sefran’s words, I retracted my Aura.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Ugh…”
He was too terrified to speak carelessly.
Seeing him, I understood.
‘Is there some kind of prohibition spell on him?’
Now that I had taken Malvator's Talisman, it was certain.
A residual curse, built on dense dark magic, was leaking from Sefran.
And it was a high-level curse at that.
I didn't know the exact spell formula, but the moment he revealed any information, the curse would spread through his body and kill him painfully.
It was a truly malicious curse.
‘Malefis?’
The moment I got my hands on Malvator's Talisman, I had a good idea of where Sefran had learned black magic.
Malefis.
A group formed by the followers of an evil god who sought to destroy this world.
For reference, Melissa had been a subordinate of one of their executives, a woman named Lavinia.
If I had my way, I’d deal with him right now and absorb his memories, but I couldn't kill Sefran, a nobleman.
A low-ranking noble from the countryside might be one thing, but he was the heir to the Bipolun barony, one of the most distinguished families in the Orsia Duchy.
Even if Sefran was a black mage, I couldn't just kill him on my own authority without a proper trial.
Besides, there was also the problem that Tam's memory absorption wasn't perfect.
“I-If you keep this quiet, I’ll give you ownership of the gold mine…”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Gak?!”
‘I guess there’s no other way.’
Sighing at the complicated situation, I took a familiar book out of my inventory.
Ting—
[Lelia's Little Key
Grade: Epic
A magic book containing all the knowledge of Lelia, the Witch of Curses.
Increases the power of curses.
Increases understanding of curses.
Increases resistance to curses.]
“Wh-What are you trying to do?!”
“Didn’t I just tell you to shut your mouth? Does learning black magic make you stupid?”
“Keuk?!”
Fliiiip—
Pinning Sefran’s solar plexus with my foot, I opened Lelia's Little Key.
I was going to dispel the curse on him.
*
Lelia's Little Key.
The author was an unidentified curse-caster named Lelia.
Iris was convinced that the author of this book was an 8th Circle Archmage, just like herself.
As if to prove her point, Lelia's Little Key, despite being only an Epic-grade artifact, had not only blocked a Constellation's curse but had also allowed me to learn it instantly.
The Curse of Corruption, the Curse of Erosion, the Curse of the Soul, and the Curse of Chaos, all obtained from the ‘First Tempter,’ the serpent of Eden.
And the Curse of the Desert, from the Sphinx, the ‘Mysterious Beast.’
They were all powerful curses, but I had never once used them in a real fight.
I figured it was far more effective to just swing my sword one more time or cast a spell.
‘…This is going to be tougher than I thought.’
Szzzz—
“Kngh…!!”
Sefran groaned as the sound of sizzling flesh filled the air.
It was a necessary step to analyze the structure of the curse sigil carved into him.
‘Still, even with Lelia’s Little Key and Weakness Insight, I can’t find a single flaw in the spell formula…’
This confirmed that the curse had been personally cast by a high-level black mage.
It was only natural for a mage to take security precautions against reverse-engineering, but the security on Sefran’s curse was so excessive that ‘overkill’ was the perfect word for it.
It was enough to make me frown involuntarily. It also offered a glimpse into the obsession of the caster.
Realistically, the fastest way to deal with this kind of curse was with a cleric's help, but if I took Sefran to a church, he’d be sent straight to a religious tribunal.
Then I wouldn't be able to get the information I wanted.
Of course, I had divine power too.
Limited to this world, the divine power of the World Tree resided in my body, and the Black Flame was, technically, a flame made of divine power.
But the World Tree’s divine power was just a handful, making it practically impossible to dispel a high-level curse.
The Black Flame, on the other hand, had more than enough power.
It would burn away most curses without a trace.
The problem was that it would also burn the cursed target along with it.
‘Sefran would turn to ash faster than the curse disappears.’
In the end, by process of elimination, the only option left was to dispel it myself.
“Haaah…”
A sigh escaped me as I stared at the curse sigil, which showed no openings.
It would have been much easier if Sefran's curse was the type that could spread to others.
Lelia's Little Key allowed me to automatically learn any curse I successfully resisted.
But perhaps due to the limits of an Epic-grade artifact, it was impossible to acquire a curse cast on someone else.
Of course, that didn't mean dispelling it was impossible.
‘…I don’t need to dispel it completely. For now, it’s enough to just loosen it so he can speak more freely.’
Whether Sefran died from the curse someday was none of my business.
I planned to toss him aside once I got the information anyway.
SZZZZZ!!
“Kuaaack…!!”
As I began to pick apart the external spell formula that made up the curse, like untangling a knotted thread one strand at a time, Sefran writhed in agony.
I had no desire to listen to a man’s pained cries, so I gagged him.
I’d originally bought it to use on Sylvia, but I guess I’ll have to throw it away now.
After dozens of minutes of painstaking work in the now much quieter office, sweating profusely…
Click—
“…Done.”
With the sound of something clicking into place, the light from the curse sigil faded noticeably.
I collapsed onto a sofa in the corner of the office, pulled a bottle of water from my inventory, and chugged it down.
“Khah…”
This experience taught me a valuable lesson.
Personally dispelling a high-level curse was not something I ever wanted to do again.
The drain on my stamina and mental energy was no joke.
I rarely ever sweat unless I was in a life-or-death battle, but right now, I was completely drenched.
“Stop pretending to be unconscious. Get up before I cut both your hands off.”
“...”
Only then did Sefran get up and immediately sit down opposite me.
Thwack.
I threw the empty plastic bottle at him.
“A black mage dares to sit at the same table as me? You wanna die?”
“…My apologies.”
“Kneel.”
Thud.
He immediately dropped to his knees on the floor.
Thanks to the torture-like dispelling process, Sefran had become a quick-witted, well-behaved boy, unlike before.
“I’m going to ask you some questions now. If I judge your attitude to be insincere, you’ll be having a chat with a Heretic Inquisitor instead of me.”
Nod, nod!
Sefran, his face pale, nodded his head frantically.
As expected, no matter the world, there was no job more effective at scaring villains than a Heretic Inquisitor.
For reference, on Earth, there was a rumor on the internet that if you were dragged away by an inquisitor, waterboarding was just the beginning; they’d pull out all your fingernails and toenails and then pour salt on the wounds.
I used to think it was just an urban legend, but after asking a saintess I met at a British royal party, I found out it was partially true.
The reality was even more brutal.
“Answer well, and I promise to give you a painless death.”
“…Is there no option where you let me live?”
“No.”
“...”
