Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Enverman (5)
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Of course, gaining that experience didn't mean he could unleash his power without limits.
Cross the line like he just had, and it really became dangerous.
But the time needed to recover his mental strength had shortened dramatically.
And he couldn't overlook his comrades' contributions either.
The moment Sergei’s breath was pushed back by Aiden and Eleanor's prowess, Jun manipulated the gathered mana all at once.
Sergei’s spell, powerful enough to devastate the area in an instant—[Volcanic Volcano]—was encroached upon by Jun’s mana.
[Am I to meet death once more like this...]
Through that mana, the mana Sergei had constructed as his domain across the area endlessly dissipated.
No, more accurately, it was being devoured.
Sergei accepted his death.
If he had a soul, he might have thrashed about somehow, but he felt it was all futile.
Without a soul, he harbored no craving for survival.
He had only moved based on the 'knowledge' of staying alive; he had no intention of struggling right up to the confirmed moment of death.
Instead...
[That foolish Enverman said that as long as memories persist, life does not end...]
Then, there was a way for him to survive as well.
He swiftly controlled his crumbling body to the very end, gathering pure fire-attribute mana.
He then compressed and fused it into his circle.
Puuk—!
"...What are you doing?"
As Jun tensed and drew up his mana at Sergei's bizarre act of ripping out his own heart with his hand...
[Take it, mage.]
"...?"
[This is the memory I leave in this world...]
A life's memories, containing everything about oneself, couldn't be transferred without moving the entire brain.
So instead, he would leave behind a magic vision infused with his entire life.
That was the final choice the chimera wearing Sergei's guise could make.
With those words, it left a crimson orb floating in the air, and its body shattered completely.
A single gust of wind soon scattered the remnants that had turned to powder.
"That bastard..."
Jun stared at the crimson orb the creature had left behind.
Even to his eyes, it was an orb of the purest fire attribute.
But it wasn't just a simple aggregation of fire mana.
"Did it leave its own mental image sealed in this tiny space...?"
Looking closer, a universe unfolded within the orb.
It was Sergei's mental image—a miniature version of [Active Volcano].
A true magic vision left by a mage who had steeled himself for death.
"Huff, huff... Senior!"
"...!"
Jun snapped to attention at Aiden's voice from behind and stored the orb in his dimensional bracelet.
"Is it... dead?"
"Yeah. Good work. We survived thanks to you guys. But over there... ah."
The battle was winding down on the side where the Blackguard Knights were as well.
The clash between Blackguard Knight Captain Terdin and Enverman had been a brutal slugfest.
Though both were level 7, there were still tiers among them.
Terdin was among the stronger level 7s, and he had been overwhelming Enverman before the serum injection.
But after injecting the Slaughter Saint's serum, Enverman became an entirely different being.
A casual punch made his sword hand go numb.
A straight punch launched by stomping the ground sent him flying back, suffering internal injuries even if blocked.
Not stopping there, Enverman's speed had increased dramatically, leaving Terdin struggling just to defend.
Several knights charged at him midway, but each time they ended up critically wounded or with broken bones, collapsing.
"Don't rush in! It'll only get stronger!"
As another knight fell dead, Terdin pulled back his men at Enverman's even more empowered movements.
Just as Terdin fell into a defensive posture again...
—Pht.
A dagger shot out from the shadow of the streetlamp where Enverman had retreated.
Reacting to the faint killing intent, Enverman dodged the attack.
As he compressed mana underfoot to stomp the shadow's location, Maya burst out from within.
She had used one of Basai's secret arts, [Shadow Step].
Leaping out again, Maya hurled three more daggers.
The opening created mid-stomp.
With Terdin charging right in front, one dagger embedded in Enverman's thigh.
"Urgh...!!"
Enverman distanced himself from Terdin and tensed his thigh muscles, forcing the dagger out.
But black energy rippled from the wound, anchoring his leg to the ground.
"...!"
Bursting mana through his leg to dispel the black energy, Terdin swung his sword in a wide arc.
Kagagak, claang!
He desperately crossed his fists to block.
But a lifetime of mana-honed power from Terdin was not something to be blocked at will.
"Grk!"
Enverman's left wrist flew off.
'No chance of winning like this.'
He had strengthened his body with [Blood Cycle Reincarnation] via the Slaughter Saint's serum, but it wasn't permanent.
Merely temporary, and with the killing stopped, the power was already fading.
He had to break through the encirclement by force!
'If I can just get outside somehow...'
Slaughtering the humans abound in the Black Market would extend [Blood Cycle Reincarnation]'s duration and unleash explosive power.
As Enverman slowly assumed a stance...
"It's trying to escape! Tighten the encirclement!"
Quick-witted Terdin blocked his retreat once more.
Sacrifices among the knights were inevitable, but letting him flee meant losing him entirely.
At the same time, Enverman bolted toward the largest gap.
Where a wounded knight from prior exchanges stood.
In that split second, his blood-red fist aimed for the knight's heart...
Pht—!
Another small sound, and a dagger flew toward his temple.
Releasing his stance to block the dagger, he punched the knight as a follow-up, but the knight only flew back from the impact, not dying.
Whoosh—
With his posture broken from the strike, a nearby knight swung a massive warhammer.
"Die!"
"Tch!"
Clicking his tongue and retreating, Enverman turned his gaze to the female warrior who had been grating on his nerves.
But looking toward the dagger's path revealed only the mansion's massive shadow.
'Hid in the shadow dimension.'
No matter his level 7 prowess, finding Maya in the shadow dimension was impossible.
"You bastard, where are you looking?!"
Deflecting the warhammer once and leaping over Terdin's ensuing barrage, he drew another serum vial from his pocket.
'Gotta risk it.'
The moment he tried injecting again...
Pht.
"There you are!"
Hearing the dagger's approach, Enverman charged toward the shadow.
"Wrong, idiot."
A chilling voice from directly behind, accompanied by an immense wave of killing intent.
He had fallen for the 'retrieval' function on the Revenge Daggers, a secret weapon from Basai via Jun.
A dagger in front, Maya behind.
And Terdin charging from the right.
He blocked the dagger with his now-wristless left arm and deflected Maya's sword with his right.
But he couldn't block Terdin's sword plummeting straight down.
The cold blade falling precisely toward him was the last sight Enverman beheld in life.
Slaash—!
From crown to groin, Enverman's body split straight down the middle, collapsing open on both sides.
For one who dreamed of eternal life, it was an utterly pathetic end.
"Urgh..."
Maya, who had rolled across the ground several times from Enverman's final attack, gazed up at the Black Market sky.
"You okay?"
"...Leader."
A black-haired mage poked his head over her, looking down.
"Seriously, if the next mission is 'easy' too... I'll sew your mouth shut with my sword..."
"Still, it was good real combat experience, right?"
"I'll kill you... Pfft."
Before her harsh words could land, Jun poured a recovery potion into Maya's mouth.
"Hey now. Don't glare like that."
Exhausted himself, Jun collapsed beside her head.
The unexpected battle was finally over.
"Do you have a hobby of stirring up trouble, by any chance?"
"Haha... As if."
Already on the receiving end of sharp glares from his team—especially Maya and Eleanor—all day, Jun forced a smile as he replied to Count Mordenaen.
"Even so, wreaking havoc through the Black Market like that..."
"My apologies."
It was truly unjust, and Jun had plenty to say...
But fearing it might drag on, he kept it short.
There was no benefit in chatting long with the count before him.
Still, the count's expression wasn't as bad as expected.
"Well done regardless. I never imagined we'd catch Enverman."
"...?"
Jun tilted his head in puzzlement for a moment.
How did the count know about Enverman, who hadn't fully revealed himself to the world?
"Ah, you wouldn't know. He was a scholar who once worked in the Empire's research institute."
"Is that so?"
"He participated in the previous emperor's chimera breeding project."
Back then, with human rights at rock bottom, condemned criminals were used in chimera experiments.
But over time, the number of death row inmates dwindled.
This hampered research, so Enverman illegally brought in slaves and orphans for secret tests.
"Records show that when his experiments were exposed, he killed several researchers and fled."
"Did chimera research stop after that?"
"Yes. Not only was control difficult, but one scholar half-destroyed an entire facility."
The Empire persistently hunted Enverman's traces afterward but ultimately failed.
"I wondered how he evaded the Imperial Family's eyes... Turns out he joined the Heavenly Sky Church."
In that regard, the count looked relieved, like a chronic pain had eased.
"Still, we've gained quite a bit thanks to you. Ledgers were found in the exploded lab."
Fortunately, some ledgers survived the underground lab's blast, including info on the black flowers Jun and the count had pursued.
"I've already reported that to His Majesty. With the knights mobilized, we'll round them up soon enough."
"But aren't they all just puppets?"
"True. Still, the ledgers list plenty of names. That widespread, tails will get stepped on somewhere."
It would take time, but the count had no intention of letting the opportunity slip.
And above all...
"We can somewhat soothe Lady Venes's wrath."
"Ah..."
Jun nodded, the thought dawning on him.
Come to think of it, the primary goal was to convince the Third Prince—who was targeted in an assassination attempt—and his mother, Venes.
"Now Lady Venes will know exactly who threatens Prince Javier."
"A major harvest in itself."
"Indeed."
The count replied calmly, but his true feelings differed vastly.
He wanted to urge the emperor to open the palace records to this mage, but...
'Too many opportunities have already gone to that mercenary group.'
Any more power lent to them could disrupt politics.
The nobles aside, supporters of the First Prince or First Princess might complain.
That group harbored a discarded imperial child, after all.
And Jun knew it well.
Instead, he opted to align with the emperor's authority over material rewards.
"Just your support as is suffices for me."
"...You're wise, as expected."
If trouble arises here, the Imperial Family lends power.
That alone would serve as a breakwater against challenges from various groups.
Not resolving every petty issue, but it would check truly threatening moves by major organizations.
"Phew... Then we've handled the big stuff."
"Good work. Heading back down now?"
"Yes. Aren't you busy with follow-ups too, Count?"
"Quite. This dragged on too long."
Their main stage, Blackout.
The Abyss Gate leading there reopened.
Living as the Mage of the Hero Party
Chapter 133