Black Rock Canyon (5)
'Think. I have to think.'
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
I rapidly analyzed the situation.
The total real power I could muster right now was mid-to-high-tier black magic at best.
Even that required Ascaros's assistance to pull off.
But Ascaros was currently buried under a pile of rocks, not twitching a muscle.
Damn it... so realistically, all I can use is...
Mid-tier black magic.
But a mid-tier spell wouldn't even scratch that monster's body.
"Kieeeek!!!"
Time for contemplation was over.
It moved again.
Shiiik—
A twisted arm sliced through the air toward my throat.
I hurriedly wrapped black magic around my body and barely twisted aside.
But—
"Ugh!"
A searing line slashed across my cheek.
The mere wind pressure from the glancing blow had torn my skin.
Warm blood trickled down my jawline.
If I'd been even a fraction slower, my head would've come off.
My trembling hand touched my cheek.
Vivid red stained my fingertips.
This was the first real pain I'd felt since possessing this world.
Until now, things had been different for me.
I'd manipulated opponents' fears with my Supernatural Ability to avoid fights altogether, or reflected attacks with Domain of the Absolute for easy victories.
My body had never taken a hit.
So I'd momentarily forgotten.
That I wasn't a true powerhouse.
I'd worn the mask of the strongest for so long that I'd started mistaking it for my real face.
Like an actor too deep in method acting.
But the monster before me was immune to my performance.
An empty shell that knew no fear.
No matter how overwhelmingly I projected my presence, those dozens of eyes gleamed with hunger only for my flesh.
It hurts... it really hurts.
The gash on my cheek throbbed, blood flowing without stop.
The moment I landed, I gathered black magic and chanted the incantation in a quavering voice.
"Dark Impact!"
Boom!
A black shockwave slammed dead into its chest.
The impact sent the monster's massive body staggering backward.
But that was it.
Tsss—
The flesh around the wound began writhing like living tendrils.
They stretched toward each other, intertwining and knitting the gash shut.
Fuck...
"Grrrrr..."
The monster growled low and lunged again.
Faster this time. More ferociously.
As if the previous strike had been a mere test.
"Ugh... where..."
Bang! Crunch! Boom!
Impact sounds echoed relentlessly.
Crack! Snap!
Stone walls shattered, floors split without end.
Ascaros regained his senses and shoved off the rocks pinning him.
Thud! Thud!
The sight that met his eyes was shocking.
Shiiik—Boom!
His master was barely dodging the monster's attacks, fleeing for his life.
No, "fleeing" was too generous. This was a one-sided hunt.
Grrr—Bang!
The master was the prey, and that grotesque monster was a hunter toying with its quarry.
'Keeek!'
The monster's laughter filled the cave.
The cacophony from dozens of mouths seemed to mock the situation.
Boom! Crunch!
Another crash—the master slammed into a wall and tumbled.
To think... I, Ascaros, felled in one blow by that thing...
Humiliation surged.
A being sealed millennia ago by mages who feared his power.
A grand sorcerer who chose lichdom, transcending even death.
The origin of black magic itself—brought low by such a creature.
Bang! Crack!
If not for his subjugation and power loss, he'd have erased that mongrel with a flick of his finger.
And the same went for his master.
Ascaros analyzed with keen insight.
The master has lost much of his power.
He hid it well, but it was clear.
Converting mana to black magic had exacted an enormous toll.
That's why he couldn't counter this pathetic beast.
Bang! Crunch!
Something boiled in Ascaros's hollow chest.
But why?
This question had gnawed at him since subjugation.
The master had surely reached the pinnacle with mana alone.
The overwhelming presence at their first meeting was the mark of an absolute powerhouse.
Power no one could challenge.
Why crave black magic?
Then, a possibility flashed like lightning.
No way... for me?
To save his pitiful state? To free him from eternal decay?
That mighty being sacrificed most of his power, converting mana to black magic, just to pull him into the world?
No, that can't be...
But what other explanation fit?
Boom!
The master was hurled back by another attack.
Blood soaked his black clothes, breaths ragged, pupils shaking.
At that sight, something writhed violently in Ascaros's core.
Millennia ago, when mages collectively rejected him out of fear.
"Your very existence is a threat."
"For the world's balance, you must vanish."
Sealed under grand pretenses.
And in that endless darkness, rotting for millennia, he'd felt this sporadically.
Disgust.
No, something more.
Boom! Crunch!
The master's body rolled across the floor again.
How dare it...
Red light blazed in Ascaros's empty sockets.
Yes, this wasn't mere disgust.
This was rage.
Pure fury at a worthless monster defiling the one who'd sacrificed everything for him.
But Ascaros wasn't a fool who wasted emotions.
A grand sorcerer of millennia. A lich beyond death. He knew how to forge rage into power.
With cold reason, he assessed.
Subjugated and weakened, but still Ascaros.
Origin of black magic. Ruler of death.
What I can do...
His empty sockets turned toward the cave entrance.
The thousands of skeletons outside.
Mountainous bones in the canyon. Demon remnants. Traces of death piled over centuries, millennia.
A cold smile crept across Ascaros's bony lips.
Yes... if you died so pathetically craving flesh...
Boom! Crunch!
The master hit the wall again. Blood splattered the floor.
His hand rose slowly.
Black energy swirled like a storm from his fingertips.
"With the flesh you once possessed, I shall annihilate your souls."
Boom!
I slammed into the wall again.
Black magic shielded my body, but the shock transmitted fully.
My entire frame screamed.
My clothes were soaked in my own blood, the black fabric turning red.
Damn it... all I can do is dodge lethal blows.
Humiliating.
That's when it happened.
Clatter. Clatter.
What?
At first, a faint sound.
So subtle you'd dismiss it without straining your ears. Like someone rolling pebbles.
But in an instant—
Clatterclatterclatterclatter!
Crack! Snap! Drip drip drip!
It swelled into a deafening roar that shook the entire canyon.
What the—
Rumble rumble rumble!
Not just the cave—the whole canyon vibrated.
As if some colossal entity was awakening from the earth.
Crack! Crunch! Snap!
Bones meshing, joints forming, ribs assembling—like thunder.
And I saw it.
Beyond the cave mouth: a vision of hell.
Hundreds, thousands of skeletons surging like a massive wave.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their footsteps drummed like war beats.
A death march.
"Ha... that lich."
Frost Flower's voice carried awe-tinged admiration.
"Far more impressive than I thought."
I turned toward where Ascaros had flown.
Somehow recovered, black energy roiled endlessly from his hand.
How...? He shouldn't wield that scale alone now...
Then realization struck like lightning.
Ah... I see.
Necromancer. Manipulator of the dead.
And this place—
Mountains of demon corpses, grudges and obsessions thick as air, layers of death's remnants like strata.
No battlefield more perfect for Ascaros.
"Master Astra, prepare your spell while the skeletons buy time!"
A mage's fatal flaw: powerful spells demand long casting.
Ascaros knew and was stalling with thousands of skeletons.
Smart call.
He was drawing immense power through this loophole.
And I, linked by contract—
The Black Hole from the Azellia fight... I can unleash something far stronger.
No time to hesitate.
I surged black magic through my body and charged toward Ascaros.
Blood-slick feet pounded the cave floor.
"Grrrrrr!"
The monster roared instinctively at the threat.
Its massive arm swung at me—but
Crunch!
"Kieeeek!"
Skeletons had swarmed, biting into its arm.
Not one. Dozens, hundreds, frenzied.
Snap! Crack! Crunch!
"Grrrr! Kraaaak!"
The monster howled in agony, thrashing to shake them off—but shattered bones reassembled and lunged anew.
I slipped through the gap and reached Ascaros.
Red light from his empty sockets met my gaze.
"I am prepared."
Ascaros extended a bony hand slowly.
Bones alone. Yet the power emanating from it dwarfed any living being.
I grasped it without hesitation.
In that instant, tremendous force flowed between us.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Black energy whirled like a tempest.
Ascaros's power, mine, and the canyon's death aura merging.
I closed my eyes and drew forth black magic.
I'll show you hell.