Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Hahoe Mask (3)
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"Hm?"
The Archbishop Latios, deep in concentration, suddenly lifted his head and scanned the surroundings.
Something faint had brushed against his senses...
"Your Excellency? Is something wrong?"
The Holy Knight assigned as his escort asked cautiously.
He apparently hadn't sensed anything unusual.
"No, it's nothing. Let's continue."
He was in the middle of something crucial right now.
Maintaining a large-scale concealment holy spell until the combat unit clashed with the Immortal King's successor.
And preparing for the possibility of it escaping via spatial transfer.
He couldn't afford to get distracted by anything else.
The encirclement was perfect, and spatial transfer had been countered.
If the ambush succeeded, their chances of victory would rise even higher.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Even after receiving reports from his familiars, he still couldn't identify the intruder.
Which made sense—they were completely invisible.
The trigger "upon encountering a human" had activated purely on animal instinct.
That the opponent was human.
'They can conceal an entire approaching force from all directions? Hiding their presence so it doesn't trigger detection spells?'
The enemy had come thoroughly prepared to capture him.
'Who is it? Brocoslak Clan? Or Oath of Reverse Heaven? How did they even find out I was here?'
Assessing the situation was urgent.
Truth be told, he could reverse-summon and vanish anytime he wanted, but running away wouldn't solve the problem.
'I need to figure out who pinpointed my location and how. Only then can I prepare countermeasures.'
This time, he'd luckily noticed first, but interruptions during critical tasks in other situations could be disastrous.
'I'll prepare defenses, buy time, and gather intel on them.'
He hurriedly retreated back into the cave.
It wasn't very deep, but with its narrow entrance, it was better than being ambushed from all sides.
And after a very brief moment...
Kwajik—
All the barriers he'd set around the area shattered in an instant.
At the same time, he sensed the presences of those who shed their concealment.
'Huh? This aura...?'
An energy that burned—not just hot, but stinging.
A force diametrically opposed to Hans's black magic power.
'Not black mages or vampires? Could this be divine power?'
Clank, clank.
As he reeled in surprise, knights clad in pristine white armor entered the cave entrance.
"We've finally caught you. Successor of the Immortal King, Hans! You won't escape this time!"
The middle-aged knight at the forefront pointed his sword at me and shouted.
'That emblem... Church of the Main God? Their Holy Knights?'
It was the symbol he'd learned about during Heinz 2nd's training in the clan.
They'd warned him to be cautious of the Church's divine power, as it countered them.
Especially the aura from the lead Holy Knight—it rivaled the True Blood vampire he'd encountered recently.
Considering the clashing attributes, this would be an even trickier foe.
[Minions of the Church, huh. How did you find my location?]
His single remark yielded valuable intel right from the start.
The Church had been relentlessly tracking him ever since he gained the Immortal King's power, investigating thoroughly enough to learn his name.
He needed to drag this out and gather more information.
"No evil can escape the gaze of the Main God!"
But the lead knight drew his blade of light and charged straight at me.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had no intention of talking further.
'Tch, fine. Guess I'll collect combat data on fighting divine power instead.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kwaaaang!
An explosion rocked the area as Hans, the Archlich, burst out from the rubble of the collapsed cave.
Fwhoosh—!
Immediately after, a paladin radiating pure white energy followed and attacked him.
The clashing divine power was even more troublesome than expected.
'Ugh, this guy's persistent!'
The cave was on the verge of total collapse from the battle's aftermath, but the paladin stuck to him without missing a beat.
Holy Knights who'd withdrawn from the cave already surrounded the area, with soldiers and priests bearing the Church of the Main God's emblem encircling beyond them.
Hymns echoed from all directions, and sacred light illuminating the surroundings seared the black magic power cloaking his body.
Holy Knights, buffed by various beneficial spells, pressed in with halos gleaming from their forms.
The beautiful waves of light adorning the scene.
The divine power flowing from every direction converging on a single target was awe-inspiring.
If only that target weren't him, bent on his extermination.
'They really came prepared! What did I even do to deserve this?!'
Hans had only ever punished the wicked up to now.
He'd just done their job for them, yet this was the treatment he got...!
He tried protesting on those grounds, but the response was firm.
"No being can fully embrace the Immortal King's power. The moment you do, your mind becomes corrupted and your soul begins to decay! You'll lead the continent to ruin!"
A voice brimming with conviction and faith.
"Wicked black mage who dared touch forbidden power! If you still cling to any remnant of humanity, surrender and accept purification! We promise you peaceful rest!"
Considering how he'd absorbed the fragment's power, their view wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
But how could he prove he was the exception here?
[Hoo, no helping it. I'll withdraw for now.]
He could feel his body starting to creak.
His heart continuously supplied immense black magic power, but his inexperience handling it left him unable to fully resist the divine power.
Since it was a sudden gain, he'd need more time to wield it efficiently.
'Still, if I go all out, I could inflict serious damage on them...'
He had plenty of unused cards.
Summon an undead horde to buy time, then take out the soldiers and priests maintaining the massive sacred formation...
The damage he'd take could be endured through the synergy of endless black magic supply and "Immortality."
'No, better to bail. Wasting full power on this pointless fight is a shame.'
Besides, the Church folks weren't villains, which left a bad taste.
They were at odds due to differing standpoints, but they were gathered by noble convictions, weren't they?
He operated on the principle of punishing only the wicked, so mindless slaughter felt wrong.
Even if he massacred them here, the enraged Church would pursue even harder.
They were one of the continent's true superpowers, after all.
No point in dragging this out further.
He'd gained experience against divine power and recognized his own shortcomings—that was enough.
"You think you can escape?!"
Whoosh—
As if reading his intent, sacred light from one side connected through the encircling forces, filling the space.
'What's this holy spell now?'
It didn't seem to restrict his power directly.
A bit ominous, but ignorable.
[I see. Distortion and severance. A holy spell to block escape. So that's why that one stayed out of the fight.]
He'd already sensed another presence rivaling the paladin.
Constantly wary during battle, lest they intervene—turns out they were prepping to seal his retreat.
Seizing the lull, he surveyed the surroundings.
Paladins and Holy Knights encircling him.
Priests and combat troops surrounding the area.
'Impressive. If not for the Avatar, I couldn't have broken free easily.'
The Church of the Main God, where divine power grew with faith in their god.
And they apparently had ways to track demons.
'This'll be a recurring problem... Need countermeasures.'
Both Hans and Heinz 2nd were targets for their subjugation.
Now that he understood, it was time to respond.
Of course, for now...
[I see. Quite the effort to catch me.]
"Decided to accept purification after all?"
[As if.]
He shrugged lightly, prompting them to tense and grip their weapons anew.
[Our standpoints are irreconcilable, so no room for talk—I get that. And fighting on won't yield more gains.]
"...?"
They stared, as if to say, "So what?"
Amused by their reactions, he tossed out one last line.
[Kukukuku... Farewell, then. Catch me if you can, Church minions.]
"Ha! You think you can escape from he—"
He didn't let the man finish.
'Summon release.'
He'd gotten everything he needed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ugh, this is a headache. Too many enemies now?"
Oath of Reverse Heaven, a shadowy force, and Brocoslak Clan, a vampire clan.
Unlike them, the Church of the Main God was unequivocally one of the continent's greatest powers.
They didn't force their faith or suppress smaller churches.
But with temples worldwide, they were practically a universal religion.
'Even all other faiths combined wouldn't match a fraction of theirs.'
And such a force had targeted Hans, even deploying a unit.
"...No wonder the karma's been generous lately."
It clicked now.
He'd unwittingly pulled continental-level aggro.
Clutching his head in thought, he suddenly looked up.
"Worry about that later. Got a more pressing issue now."
Darkness pooled on the floor, and Hans slowly rose from it.
[Kukukuku... Time to show the results of my research.]
It was finally time to test the perfected "Contagious Familiar Spell Final Version_Revised_2nd Iteration_Final(3)_ForRealLastTime."
'And with this new research from the encounter, I can enhance concealment magic to better hide Hans's presence.'
All in all, a productive time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hans roamed the city, implanting the familiar spell into one or two visible animals every set distance.
Later, once contagion spread their numbers, he'd need to periodically cull them.
As he busily moved about...
Jiiing—
The first signal came quicker than expected.
Information from a stray cat some distance away.
[“H-Help...! Anyone?! Please, save me!”]
A woman's voice, thick with terror.
He instantly spatial-transferred into the darkness where the cat lurked.
"Hehehe, scream louder. Think anyone'll hear that?"
"Wh-why isn't anyone coming? Help! Someone, call the police!"
"Mmm~ Such desperate cries are music to my ears."
The scene was straight out of a thriller flick.
A woman collapsed and wailing in an empty park, faced by a maniac holding a dagger in one hand and a recorder in the other.
"Perfect. Great recording. This one's top three in my collection for sure."
"Help! Somebody! Kyaaak—!"
"Hehehe, scream all you want. No sound escapes outside."
The man advanced with knife raised; the woman shrieked in abject horror.
Clearly seconds from murder.
'Definitely, just as he said—a strange barrier envelops the area. His ability?'
An aura cloaking the presumed killer.
It blocked sound, obscured the interior from outside view, and subconsciously deterred approach.
The signaling cat had been inside the zone from the start, so unaffected.
'Neat ability. And from his chatter, this isn't his first rodeo.'
No need to watch more.
He materialized silently behind the man.
"Kyaa... Ah, ah? Aah..."
The woman, catching his gaze mid-scream, froze solid.
'Even fully suppressing my aura...'
Nothing to be done for a normal person.
He quickly reached out and knocked her out.
"What?! Who are you?! How'd you get in he—?!"
The killer belatedly noticed, whirling with dagger raised—then froze.
Hans casually extended a hand and cast.
Shuruk—
Black shadows erupted from the ground, binding the man's body and sealing his mouth.
"Mmph! Mmgh—!"
[Just to be thorough, one last check. No need to answer—I'll handle it.]
His black-gloved hand seized the man's head.
Then he invoked the necromantic spell, "Death Rattle of the Departed."
[“Help me... Ghk!”]
[“M-Mister, please...”]
[“Kyaaaaak—!”]
The final words of his victims replayed in his mind.
Not just one or two.
He'd checked in case it was some prank or hidden camera stunt, but no.
[No need for words. You're sentenced to death.]
No mercy for serial killers, especially pleasure killers.
"Mmph! Mmphmph!"
The man thrashed wildly in defiance.
His madness-filled eyes glared daggers.
What gives you the right to judge me?
'Who cares.'
Black magic power poured through his gripping hand.
"Grghhh... Grrk!"
The glaring eyes rolled back; convulsions wracked his body as blood leaked from every orifice.
Foam-tinged blood dripped from his shadow-sealed mouth.
'A peaceful death is too kind for scum like you. Needed more undead for Earth anyway—let's make you useful.'
As black magic permeated every cell, the twitching body went limp.
The ground was soaked in the man's own blood.
[Rise. Become my slave and atone eternally for your sins.]
Applying black magic to the corpse, it jerked back to motion.
Squirm squirm...
[Keehehehe...]
A gloomy cackle, a face twisted in agony, blood endlessly streaming from its orifices, and pallid, bloodless skin.
A mid-to-high grade undead learned from "Forbidden Knowledge": Ghast.
It required high-quality sacrifices and brutal methods—he hadn't expected to make one like this...
[Fitting punishment, though. And useful too.]
Since the guy volunteered, this was fine.
Hans stored the Ghast in his subsapce and checked the fallen woman.
'Might as well provide aftercare.'
Her dropped smartphone lay nearby.
He picked it up, dialed 119, set it down with the killer's items, and pondered briefly.
Then, channeling black magic, he used the pooled blood to write on the ground.
-Execution Complete
Beside it, a crudely grinning Hahoe mask drawing.
'I'm taking the body, so might as well inform them.'
No sense wasting police on a dead man.
He nodded, melting into the shadows.
Moments later, sirens approached—he confirmed and departed.