The Dark Priest's Return
Her movements, which had been frantic attempts to dodge in midair, gradually quickened until she was now weaving between the red birds and Jequirac's attacks.
For a moment I wondered if she might simply flee, but through my connection with the summon I could see a faint black afterimage swirling around her body. As I tried to direct the Quillmos flock while preparing for spell attacks, a sudden shock jolted through them.
The synchronization rate wasn't high, so the pain transmitted wasn't severe, but the result was anything but light. More than half the Quillmos dropped into the sea, coughing in agony.
"Lightning? No, a curse?"
To strike so many targets at once with such speed that I couldn't even detect the spell activation was extraordinary.
A simple curse alone couldn't produce this level of effect. Even the most powerful death spells of the highest-ranking shamans didn't take this form.
Yet if it were a straightforward offensive spell, I would have sensed it. Moreover, Jequirac remained completely unaffected, and the difference between the fallen Quillmos and the unaffected ones felt strange. At first I thought the greater number of falling Quillmos in front was due to distance, but closer inspection revealed healthy ones even nearby while some farther away were plummeting.
If there was a secret, it had to lie in those black afterimages.
I strengthened my link with Jequirac and examined the afterimages more closely through his eyes.
'Interesting.'
It was quite unexpected. I had assumed it was merely mana gathered around her body or the effect of some spell, but it was neither. Though a spell maintained its shape, the afterimage itself was not mana or magic—it was composed of tangible matter.
Black powder. I couldn't identify it precisely, but fine black grains floated around her, forming those afterimages.
"Poison, then."
I couldn't be certain, but it was possible. Normally, smoke or powder-based poisons would be inefficient in the air regardless of potency, yet she had likely reinforced that weakness with spells.
Poison was, fundamentally, an efficient tool. It produced consistent results independent of the user's own strength and achieved outcomes far more easily. Even a powerless woman or child could kill a seasoned knight, and with the right method, timing, and location, it could annihilate a well-trained army.
At the same time, its limitations were glaringly obvious. It had no effect on beings not wholly material—demons, dragons, divine beasts, or spiritual entities—and was easily nullified by spells, auras, holy power, or magic.
Even if one layered spells to amplify its power, mutate it, or make it harder to cure, it only mattered against opponents of a certain level. Against greater beings, the poison's efficacy became meaningless from the start, or the spells binding it proved weaker than the target, rendering the poison ordinary and ultimately useless.
That was precisely why the Basamum bracelet I wore could block all poisons despite being merely one artifact, no matter how renowned.
Of course, if an immensely powerful being infused the poison with overwhelming spells and energy, even the Basamum bracelet might fail. Though I doubted the poison itself could remain intact under such infusion without dissipating.
Even if possible, the sheer scale of spells and energy would transform the poison's aura so dramatically that its stealth vanished entirely. In combat, wielding poison magic at that level would make sticking to the poison method unnecessary.
In such cases, death came not from the poison but from the energy contained within it. A death spell or simple mana attack would be far more effective and potent.
Consequently, after Lauti's arrival during the last great war, I had rarely concerned myself with poison in battle and hadn't considered it—yet in the current situation, poison proved highly effective.
It nullified manifestations of spirits and spiritual entities while handling any summon below a certain threshold with its physical form. Had I been an ordinary summoner incapable of commanding something like Jequirac, I would have been utterly helpless.
"You said you were hunting the dark priests, yet it seems you've researched proper countermeasures."
Viewed from that angle, the opponent's strategy was impressive. It meant she had accurately analyzed her target and already prepared an effective method tailored to it.
"So it wasn't merely overconfidence in her own abilities."
Of course, her immediate display of hostility, threatening words, and refusal to listen stemmed from both that overconfidence and her twisted, ugly nature.
Regardless, Jequirac's existence must have been quite unexpected for her. While Cuttleceus itself ranked among mid-to-high-level magical beasts, Jequirac was among the stronger specimens of its kind, so mediocre poison wouldn't work, and it could fly through the skies. Her original plan had clearly gone awry.
That said, I couldn't leave everything to Jequirac indefinitely. She had been effortlessly evading his attacks from the start and could flee at any moment.
After the battle with the evil dragon Tiamat, I regretted not preparing aerial summons again. I had assumed there would be no more large-scale aerial combat and that dark elementals and other monsters would suffice, yet here they were holding me back.
'If only I could drag her down to the ground.'
But she had no reason to descend deliberately now. I extended my hand and traced a sigil in the air. I intended to summon more dark elementals. They wouldn't help much, but it was the best I could do, and with luck, I might force her to flee.
Of course, giving such a skilled opponent another chance to attack didn't sit well with me, but by then I would be fully prepared, and if my companions were beside me, I wouldn't need to act at all.
I quickly glanced between the sailors and the ship we had arrived on. Once I made up my mind, fleeing myself seemed preferable. Yet I soon shook my head. While departure might be manageable, defending against attacks over the open sea would be extremely difficult.
I couldn't envelop the entire ship in a barrier like Medrup could, and even with Jequirac and the spirits holding her in check, I couldn't block every attack. One strike could punch a hole in the hull or capsize the vessel.
Well, even in the worst case, Denatel's Library offered an escape route, but that would complicate matters enormously. Not only would the sailors discover its existence, but emerging again posed problems. I hadn't tested it yet, so I couldn't be sure, but surfacing over the sea or inside a sunken ship would be truly troublesome.
"……?"
While I pondered these things and summoned the dark elementals, I sensed something from an entirely different direction than where Jequirac and the witch continued their aerial chase. The fact that I hadn't noticed such a potent aura until it drew this close filled me with both bewilderment and unease.
"……!"
At least the witch seemed equally unaware. As she circled widely to evade Jequirac's attacks, she suddenly sensed the unfamiliar aura and sharply turned her broom toward it. She veered hard, ascending to avoid Jequirac, and at the moment he followed upward, her broom glowed faintly red before she began plummeting.
Of course, whether by her spell or not, the fall didn't last long; she soon halted in midair. Yet through Jequirac I could clearly see her panic.
She stood balanced in the air, yet despite Jequirac being poised to strike, she remained motionless, clutching her broom while anxiously repeating a specific hand gesture.
"Selkel! Selkel!"
She shook the broom and shouted what sounded like a spell, but it showed no reaction.
'Wait a moment.'
I halted Jequirac just as he prepared to unleash spells upon her. The identity of the approaching unfamiliar aura had finally revealed itself.
"No matter how much you call, Selkel cannot answer. I put it to sleep for a while with Urshus's power."
A gaunt man with a skeletal face, his body wasted to the bone, riding atop a large blue starfish-like creature with oversized eyes—I already knew him. He was the man I had met at Neiku's cabin while searching for Kainaknus.
"Olsidra……! So you've finally mustered the courage to show that pathetic face!"
Yes, Olsidra. The leader of the dark priests. She openly displayed her fury at his appearance, making it clear that he had been the one she originally sought.
Yet Olsidra ignored her words entirely and instead bowed his head toward me—or more precisely, toward Jequirac connected to me—in greeting.
"It is an honor to see you again, Lord Anak. When we last met, I failed to recognize you and could not offer proper greetings. If you would wait just a moment, I shall descend and pay my respects in person."
Then, as though bearing no hostility toward us whatsoever, he turned his body completely toward her. In that brief instant, he seemed like an entirely different person. Ignoring the rage directed at him, his sunken eyes gleamed coldly with deep-seated hatred and loathing, sharp as a drawn blade.
"Swamp Witch Mering. At last this day has come. Lord Urshus has declared that today marks your end."
"If you can, then try……!"
—…What should I do now, Contractor?
The situation had shifted so abruptly that, though I had stopped Jequirac for now, my mind was in turmoil. To think I would encounter the dark priests again here, at this moment. While Olsidra himself posed no concern, I had to avoid anything that might reach Urshus's influence, just as in El Nergavil.
'Wait a little longer.'
The one silver lining was that we wouldn't face a pincer attack from both sides—for now. Even so, escaping by ship was out of the question, wasn't it?