The Genius Mage 4
Werner chanted the incantation, his voice cold and precise. "Frost of the bitter cold, devour my enemies."
The Black Round Table grunts froze solid in an instant. The moment Werner's hand brushed against them, they shattered into glittering ice dust and scattered into the air.
He had been smiling the whole time, but beneath it, Werner was furious. These bastards had dared to kidnap Zeke's and Media's daughter. They had dared to ruin the first proper reunion he'd had with his brothers and sisters in ages. And worst of all, they had dared to make tears fall down Media's cheek.
In Werner's eyes, each of those sins was a grave offense worthy of the harshest punishment. His verdict was simple: death for every single one of the fuckers involved in this.
Even so, those who had frozen and died instantly could be considered lucky. It was far better than having their life force drained by roots sprouting from the ground until they withered into mummies, or being impaled from the soles of their feet to their mouths on iron spikes that suddenly burst from the earth. Better than being roasted alive by lightning or sliced into pieces by blades of wind.
Werner grabbed one of the grunts blocking his path by the throat and began another chant.
"Serpent of lightning, crawl across the ground."
The grunt Werner held convulsed violently as high-voltage current surged through him, dying with a scream. The thick layer of black soot covering his entire body suggested Werner had kept the electricity flowing long after the man should have died, torturing him until the very end.
Without hesitation, Werner moved to the next grunt, who was bound by tree roots, and seized him by the neck.
"Hey, did you know?"
"W-what are you talking about...?"
The arrogant attitude the man had shown earlier—mocking the "reckless little brat" who had charged in alone—was gone. Now he looked utterly pathetic, even servile. Werner let out a derisive snort.
"I'm not great with the whole family thing, but... I hear family is incredibly precious. And honestly, my brothers and sisters really are that precious to me."
"Huh...?"
"But you touched the family of my brother Zeke and sister Media. Zeke might not show it, but he's probably suffering like hell. And Media even cried."
"If my own brothers and sisters disappeared, my heart would drop too... Yet you made them feel that kind of pain..."
"And this was supposed to be a long-awaited reunion with my family. I had so many things I wanted to brag about, but you bastards ruined everything."
Werner's grip tightened around the grunt's throat.
"So you agree that it's perfectly fine for me to kill you all, right? If you have any objections, feel free to appeal. I'll listen."
It was absurd. He was squeezing the man's throat so hard that not even a proper scream could escape, yet he was telling him to "appeal" if he had objections. It was pure malicious torment. Still, the grunt—who valued his life above all else—desperately tried to beg for mercy, making strange gurgling noises.
"Kek... krrrk... krrraaaagh..."
"I can't hear you very well. I'll take that as agreement."
"Krrraaaagh! Krrraaak! Krrreeee..."
"Can't pronounce properly? Should I roast you with lightning? Freeze you? Skewer you? Or drain every last drop of your life force? Or... maybe all of the above?"
The grunt flailed desperately in protest, but Werner apparently found the choking sounds extremely irritating. With a flick of his will, an iron spike shot up and pierced straight through the man's tongue.
"Since I've already skewered you, I'd love to turn you into grilled meat on a stick, but that might cause problems... Fine. I'll make your stomach burst instead."
In truth, he wanted to burn the man alive, but the cave's structure made that dangerous. One wrong move and the fire could spread and put Airi at risk. That was why Werner had been deliberately avoiding fire-based magic this entire time. For the same reason, he had sealed off any wide-area spells that couldn't distinguish between friend and foe.
Even so, these pathetic grunts who could only imbue their weapons with a bit of mana had no chance against a Grand Mage. From a Grand Mage's perspective, it was merely a minor annoyance to have his area-of-effect abilities restricted.
Werner brought his finger to the grunt's mouth.
"O earth, spew forth sand through my finger."
A massive amount of sand poured into the man's mouth. Before long, his lungs and internal organs were completely filled with it. Of all the grunts who had died that day, this one suffered the most agonizing death.
Still, Werner thought to himself that since the man's stomach had burst in the end, at least one of the beggars' wishes had been granted. He must have died happy.
While he always acted like the pure, innocent youngest brother in front of his siblings, the cruelty lurking inside him never truly disappeared. The only person who knew about this side of him was Rorsha—his close friend and the only one who truly understood him.
Stepping through a puddle of blood, Werner let out a deeply irritated sigh.
"But where the fuck is it... This goddamn place is so annoyingly complicated."
The cave had an anthill-like structure, far more complex than it appeared. Choosing one fork in the path would eventually lead to three-way splits, then four, then five. If not for Airi, Werner would have simply flooded the entire place with water to drown them all or set it ablaze for a proper barbecue. But because Airi had been taken hostage, he was forced to hold back far too much.
As a result, his robe and hair were soaked in blood, and his body had begun to reek of the damp, musty odor of the cave.
"Ugh, I've checked pretty much every path already, but I still can't find it. Goddamn these bastards."
Now half-mad, he muttered to himself while marking another X on the blood-drawn map on his robe. It was his way of marking paths he had already confirmed as dead ends.
It had already been two full days since he entered the cave. He hadn't slept a wink, wandering through this massive anthill, and his stamina was finally reaching its limit. In fact, he hadn't slept for three days even before entering the cave, meaning he had been continuously casting magic without rest for nearly five days straight.
Even a Grand Mage had physical limits.
Bringing his companions would have made things easier, but he didn't want to explain how he knew about this symbol. His brothers and sisters still thought of him as nothing more than a simple orphan. He didn't want to worry them, and he had believed he could handle it alone. But it turned out to be far from easy.
Werner made tree roots sprout from the ground and sat down on them. He needed to catch his breath, even if only for a moment.
"Haa..."
Lately, Werner had been feeling a sense of disconnection.
Camelia had gone off to search for her recently missing father, so they could only communicate through letters. The other brothers and sisters were busy taking care of their own families or handling their duties. Heavenly Demon Grandfather would play with him often enough, but he frequently vanished without warning to train. And now even Zeke and Media had become busy after Airi's birth.
He understood that it was only natural since she was their child. That was why he had been spending most of his time with his friend lately. It was during that period of growing awkwardness and distance that Media had told him he would always be her youngest brother.
Only then did Werner realize—despite the slight awkwardness—that they truly were family forever. His brothers and sisters might have rough words or actions sometimes, but they all genuinely cared about him. The same went for that old Heavenly Demon geezer.
After resting for about ten minutes, Werner stood up and quickened his pace. Not for his comrades who were like family, but for his actual family.
How much farther did he walk? Eventually, a door with a completely different design appeared before him. The ornate skull-shaped decorations made it practically scream that something important was inside.
"What a pathetic display. These bastards really haven't changed at all."
Werner turned the doorknob and stepped inside. In the center of the room sat a cradle, and inside it, Airi was smiling brightly.
The relief that washed over Werner vanished the moment he saw the masked figures in robes surrounding the cradle. Whatever they were planning, it was clearly nothing good.
"O trees, I have prepared sustenance for you. Do not hesitate—drink deeply."
Roots burst from the floor and wrapped around the masked men, greedily sucking away their life force. The men screamed, but the roots did not stop. Soon, several mummified corpses fell to the ground.
Werner approached the cradle and carefully examined Airi's condition. Fortunately, she showed no signs of curses or strange magic, and her physical state was perfectly healthy. Seeing her smile brightly at him, Werner couldn't help but chuckle.
His blood-soaked appearance bothered him a little, but there was no time to clean up. He gently lifted Airi into his arms.
He had learned proper baby-holding technique from Media. Although at first he had been so scared of holding her that he trembled like a leaf.
"Let's go home, Airi. Your brother and sister have been so worried about you that they probably couldn't even eat properly, you know?"
He cracked a joke to a baby who couldn't even understand words yet.
If he had simply taken Airi and left, everything might have ended well. But as always, reality was cruel.
Someone stepped forward to block Werner's path as he tried to leave with Airi. The faint smile on Werner's face vanished instantly. His voice dripped with killing intent as he spoke.
"Who the hell are you?"
The man drew his sword and answered.
"It's an honor to meet you. I am but a humble man who holds the seat of Gaheris within the Black Round Table."
The moment Werner saw the crimson sword the man had drawn, his instincts screamed at him.
That thing is dangerous.