Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Black Mage (2)
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Demian Haksen followed the tracking spell in pursuit of the black mage.
The spell led to the forest adjacent to the territory.
It was a place the territory's residents usually visited to gather mushrooms and herbs.
"It's farther than I thought."
Curse-type black magic had a lower success rate the greater the distance.
The fact that the black mage had set up base this far from the mansion meant he was that confident in his abilities.
"He might be a dangerous one."
With those words, Demian Haksen stepped deeper into the forest.
It happened when he reached the heart of the woods.
The tracking spell suddenly cut off.
"He's nearby, but..."
The spot where Demian Haksen stopped was empty.
The ground was covered in a bit of fallen leaves, with nothing but trees nearby.
"He must be hiding somewhere."
Black mages, called servants of demons, were hunted by the Church.
As such, most hid themselves or their lairs out of habit.
"Let's see..."
Demian Haksen began searching the surroundings, checking tree trunks and unremarkable rocks thoroughly.
After wandering for a while, Demian Haksen's body froze.
The feel of the dirt under his foot was off somehow. He examined the ground.
"It's an illusion?"
Surprisingly, it wasn't an ordinary illusion. It was one with a degree of physical substance.
"He really is a dangerous one."
Demian Haksen examined the illusion closely.
The black magic knowledge implanted by Dorgo was not only vast but incredibly detailed.
Thanks to that, he quickly grasped the structure of the spell.
"Found it."
He thrust his longsword toward the core maintaining the spell.
The core shattered, dispelling the magic. The illusion vanished, revealing a staircase.
Demian descended the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, a vast cavern came into view.
"Fuhuhuhu."
An eerie laugh echoed as well. Demian Haksen immediately ducked behind a wall.
"That fool, the Black Snake boss or whatever. He actually brought everything I asked for."
A small-statured man was brimming with delight.
* * *
Demian Haksen observed the man.
Barely over 150cm tall. Scrawny limbs without a trace of muscle.
The typical mage build.
'Strange. He doesn't look that dangerous.'
Unlike what Demian Haksen had expected, he didn't sense any overwhelming presence from the black mage.
'Is he hiding his power? No, even then, I should be able to tell.'
Demian Haksen's perceptiveness transcended the realm of masters.
Even if the black mage was concealing his strength, he wouldn't miss it.
'I need to watch a bit longer.'
Demian Haksen observed the black mage while suppressing his presence.
"With this much, I won't have to worry about experiment materials for a while."
The black mage spoke while gazing at the items scattered around the cavern.
Jars filled with animal entrails and blood, all sorts of herbs—such things littered the space.
"Still, I've fallen on hard times. Reduced to taking low-level commissions like this."
The black mage grumbled discontentedly.
"If the Church wasn't after me, I wouldn't need to take bothersome jobs like this... Damn it all."
He picked up a bottle of wine from the table.
Without even pouring it into a glass, he chugged straight from the bottle.
"Kuh, it might get boring, but it's not bad. Dodging the Church's eyes, and I can finally run those experiments I've only planned till now."
He had a solid tolerance, downing a whole bottle in no time.
"Even so, being alone is lonely."
The black mage looked around the cave, lost in thought.
"Come to think of it, that noble family's eldest daughter was quite the beauty."
For some reason, he sat stroking his chin.
"No, not quite. A beauty like that is rare even in the capital. Who would've thought such a gem was in this backwater."
Suddenly, the black mage grinned creepily.
His eyes gleamed with something sinister.
"It's a doomed house anyway. Might as well kidnap her early and have some fun."
Perhaps because no one was around to hear, the black mage spewed all sorts of lewd remarks about Luise Haksen.
'What nonsense is that idiot spouting?'
The problem was that, contrary to his assumption, there was one more person present.
'My sister... what?'
In his previous life, Luise Haksen had worried about Demian Haksen until her dying breath.
She was the family member he most needed to atone to.
Hearing such drivel in this situation ignited his rage.
Demian Haksen deliberately made his footsteps loud as he entered the cavern.
"Who's there!"
The black mage whipped around toward Demian Haksen.
Upon recognizing his face, his eyes widened as if they might pop out.
"You're... that guy. The eldest son of Viscount Haksen."
The black mage's eyes narrowed.
"The Black Snake warned to be cautious since you killed dozens alone... but how did you find this place?"
"Why does a man about to die have so many questions?"
"Die? Who? Me?"
Demian Haksen drew the longsword his father had given him.
"You know well enough. If you do, obediently stick your neck out and wait."
"What a cocky bastard."
The black mage's lips twisted.
"I've decided. I'll turn you into an experiment subject and torment you endlessly."
As the black mage raised his hand, black mana began gathering in the air.
It soon formed dozens of projectiles that shot toward Demian Haksen.
* * *
The moment the black bolts launched, hundreds of ways to kill the black mage flashed through Demian Haksen's mind.
He could slash all the incoming bolts and stab the mage's heart, or deflect them back at the caster.
But a sudden anomaly made him forget all those plans.
A red light emanated from the back of Demian Haksen's left hand.
"This can't be...?"
Startled, Demian Haksen looked at his hand.
Bright letters glowed on the back of his hand.
His eyes widened massively upon seeing them.
"An authority...?"
As Demian Haksen cried out in shock, the black bolts engulfed him.
But not a single one touched him.
They dissipated into black mana beforehand.
"...Huh?"
Seeing this, a question mark appeared on the black mage's face.
He stared at his palm.
"Did I get drunk in the meantime? A complete miss."
The black mage generated more black bolts and fired them again.
Twice as many as before rushed at Demian Haksen.
Demian Haksen extended his hand toward them.
This time, they vanished before even getting close.
"You... What are you! How dare you interfere with my magic!"
The black mage shouted in alarm.
Demian Haksen had no spare breath to answer.
'How is an authority still here?'
Dorgo had sought to make Demian Haksen the ultimate weapon.
Even after granting him the strongest body and implanting the finest magics, he wasn't satisfied.
So he transferred the powers from ancient divine relics he had collected into Demian's body.
Thus, Demian gained seven authorities in total.
Each was so potent that even Dorgo struggled to control them.
The one Demian Haksen had just used was the Authority of Greed.
'No way. Authorities shouldn't have remained.'
Demian Haksen didn't know their true nature.
But in regressing, he had lost his Death Knight body and black mana, so he assumed the authorities were gone too.
'Is it really the Authority of Greed?'
The Authority of Greed could dismantle anything made of mana and seize its power.
If this was indeed it, he shouldn't just stop at dissipating the bolts—he could claim the black mana.
Demian Haksen reached toward the air. The black mana from the dissipated bolts gathered entirely.
'My god...'
He had doubted, but it was real. All seven authorities remained intact in his body.
"I get it! You're a black mage too! That's how you killed dozens alone!"
The black mage sighed in relief.
"To meet a fellow practitioner in a place like this... Rare for a noble to be one. Who taught you? Impressive skill."
Demian Haksen shot him a look of utter disbelief.
Instead of replying, he used the gathered black mana from the Authority of Greed to form his own black bolts.
"What are you trying to—"
Demian Haksen fired them at the black mage.
The black mage hastily conjured a shield of black magic to block them.
"What the hell! Why attack me!"
"Why did I attack?"
Demian Haksen said with a look of exasperation.
"You took the Black Snake's commission and cursed our family's territory. Isn't that reason enough to die?"
"We're both black mages!"
"Who said we're the same?"
Demian Haksen furrowed his brow.
"Black mages are what I hate most in this world. I want to tear them apart on sight."
Dorgo, who ruined Demian Haksen's life, was a black mage.
There was no reason he'd feel fondly toward them.
"What? But just now, you clearly..."
"Enough nonsense. Prepare to die."
Demian Haksen drew his longsword. His curiosity sated, it was time to end it.
"...I don't know what you are exactly."
Black mana began surging from the black mage's entire body.
"But if you want to kill me, I won't forgive you—even if you're a fellow black mage!"
"I already told you, we're not."
The black mage formed hand seals with both hands.
"I'll teach you that standing before a curse-school black mage is suicide."
In an instant, the black mana vanished.
Not truly gone—it had been consumed for the spell.
Gray smoke erupted from beneath the black mage's feet.
Bizarrely, the gray smoke bore mouths lined with sharp teeth.
"Rot at every joint until you die."
The gray smoke enveloped Demian Haksen. Pointed teeth gnawed at his body.
No pain was felt. But something was flowing in through the teeth.
'A corrosion curse.'
As a Death Knight, Demian Haksen had often used curses himself.
Nothing beat them against large groups.
Even armies of tens of thousands crumbled instantly to curses.
'High-level curse. If it weren't me, it'd have worked well.'
Demian Haksen invoked the Authority of Greed.
The gray smoke decomposed in a flash.
The decomposed spell converted to black mana.
Demian absorbed it all.
"..."
The black mage's face stiffened as his spell was undone.
"...What the hell are you, really?"
"Demian Haksen."
"I mean your 'real' identity! Who are you pretending to be Demian Haksen!"
Another novel bit of nonsense.
"Now you're calling me a fake. I am the real Demian Haksen."
"What bullshit...! You undid my black magic and claimed my black mana as your own! Only a high-ranking black mage could do that!"
The black mage yelled irritably.
After fuming for a while, he calmed slightly.
"...Fine."
He gnashed his teeth.
"If you won't reveal yourself... I'll force it out."
The black mage removed the bracelet he wore.
In that moment, the entire cavern turned pitch black.