Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: An Adventurer's Private Tutoring for Her -12-
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A dark yet vivid crimson.
Zigzagging cracks writhed across the wolf's body.
The body, having swallowed the aura, ballooned like a puffball for an instant before shriveling up.
Crack!
Poof—
'Got it!'
Beneath the wolf crumbling into dust while frozen in place.
I picked up the item dropped by the monster and stowed it in my inventory for now.
It had been worth holding back from decapitating the black mage right from the start and waiting for his preparations.
'A black mage's home turf really is cheat-level.'
Once Rike's business was done, I felt the need to check all the hidden pieces that used to be empty in the old days.
I had to verify the meteor shower that rained down before the entrance ceremony.
I'd been too busy afterward to make time, but I had to go somehow.
The extreme matchup dependency made it desperately clear I needed to balance my abilities a bit.
Plop—
As I chugged a potion, Rike came rushing over in a panic.
Her face was pale, sweat beading coldly on her skin.
"...A-Are you okay?"
I waved to Rike that I was fine and pointed at the building encased in a ribcage.
"No problem. Now let's go."
Inside the skull wall, the Groto who had met his end lay spurting blood from every orifice, and with his black magic dispelled, the bones that had imprisoned the house lost their power.
We cleared out all the bones stuck to the building's entrance and opened the door.
Hell Broom had been racking his brain on how to survive ever since Groto sealed him with black magic and began exerting his power.
Even as a Black Circle alum, he hadn't expected that level of combat prowess.
'Just how many sacrifices did he...'
How many humans had been siphoned off here?
To think he'd summoned a familiar with such insane power—it made him break into cold sweats recalling how he'd treated Groto until now.
And the even more chilling fact was Groto's defeat.
A high-level black mage—at that, in his own domain, with time to prepare.
Hell Broom had just watched blankly, assuming it was a suicidal fool.
The outcome he'd taken for granted flipped on him.
One human life devouring hundreds of others.
'Escape... too late.'
With those two heading into this building, there was only one way out.
And seeing them approach, the man's face looked familiar.
Mind reeling, he fell back on his usual routine.
Stab!
He killed one of the girls he'd been toying with using his dagger and propped her in a chair.
Then he transformed the corpse into his own likeness and turned himself into the dead girl's appearance.
He'd slip into the crowd of selected sacrifices and bide his time for escape.
Bringing us this far while risking danger didn't stem from cheap pity for the sacrificial humans.
It would have been far easier if I'd cleaned them all up.
Even so, the reason I chose the inefficient path.
By leaving the broken group of humans, I figured it would pin Hell Broom in this area.
But what do you know.
Groto acted strangely unlike in the game, blocking off the building where Hell Broom was, making things way too easy.
In the original, Robert inevitably lets Hell Broom slip away at the incinerator.
From there begins the tedious mini-game of chasing him around the map with Rike.
—
Creeeak—
The inside of the building was quiet.
Stairs led upward, and the space we'd entered held no people.
The faint scent of coffee lingered, as if he'd been sipping it right before things blew up.
A refined hobby for a black mage.
"Let's head up."
I took the lead up the stairs, Rike gripping her sword and following behind.
The moment we reached the top, we saw Hell Broom's corpse slumped in a chair, bleeding out.
'No need for items here.'
I said nothing and stepped aside so Rike could see.
"..."
(Hell Broom's likely moves in a situation like this—keep these in mind.)
I'd heard it drilled into me several times before coming here.
What that old man would do in a pinch like this.
I knew the instant we climbed the stairs.
The corpse in the chair wasn't Hell Broom.
Release the skill, and Hell Broom's form appeared briefly; infuse mana into my eyes, and a vacant-eyed woman's corpse came into focus.
It matched the sensation I'd felt perfectly on 'that day'.
Strength flowed instinctively into my sword hand.
(That power isn't simple. It holds limitless potential beyond what you're using it for now.)
Whether the speaker harbored a big circle, a small one, or a giant X inside.
I'd only observed emotional fluctuations.
I'd settled for seeing what others couldn't and called it a day.
But he said what I was doing was mere one-dimensional skill-wasting.
'Piercing and seeing through—that's not it.'
To achieve my goal, I could never settle.
My own weapon, wielded more freely, more perfectly.
See it properly.
"...Hoo."
In the corner of the room, where dazed women huddled together.
The old man watching us was crystal clear.
The old man with half his face a different color.
Hell Broom.
That repulsive face he never forgot even in sleep or while eating.
The moment I saw it, rage nearly burst my head. I wanted to charge, jam my blade into his throat, and twist.
'Hold... hold it...'
There were mountains of things to wrench out of him first.
I flicked my gaze, spotting Roman blocking the stairs.
The instant I saw him, my breathing miraculously steadied.
"Haa—"
Now my head was clearing.
Step by step—
I gripped the sword in a reverse hold and headed to the corner where the people clustered.
Even as I approached, Hell Broom's face held a relaxed air.
Click.
As I raised my sword, Hell Broom's expression twisted grotesquely.
I wanted to sever his neck and carve out his heart right then, but I reined in my impatience and aimed the blade at his leg instead.
Whing!
The single stroke he'd been waiting for whipped out from the dark room.
The jet-black trajectory sliced cleanly through one leg and into the floor without a waver.
"Graaaah!!!"
A wretched scream erupted from his parched vocal cords, echoing through the room.
In the game too, but Hell Broom might as well have zero combat ability despite being a black mage.
No matter his life story, he'd survived to this age on a single black magic: changing his appearance.
If asked whether a mere shape-shifting spell counted as true black magic.
The process left no doubt, even if the results were ambiguous.
The transformed appearance followed that of his sacrifice.
"Quiet."
"Grrk..."
I pinned Hell Broom with my foot and poured a potion over the severed leg.
Couldn't have him bleed out and die prematurely.
"A platinum adventurer like you... why do this to me...?"
"Oh? So you know me?"
The old man was well-informed, as expected from his notoriety outside.
Not even having heard my name, he recognized me at a glance from my face.
"Of course... Your fame has rung in my ears endlessly! If this is a commission, I'll pay double—no, five times over! Just say the word if you need more!"
"You lunatic... You know what I'd demand and still make that nauseating offer?"
Five trash old men in place of Rike? I'd rip him apart on the spot.
Shh—
Rike, who had stood silently before, removed her hood.
Hell Broom looked up from his prone position, saw her face, and nodded as if it all made sense now.
"Ha—! Haha... So that's how it is."
Rike stepped forward, sword in hand, right up to Hell Broom.
"...You know who I am, right?"
"Heh heh— How could I not? If you've come this far, it's too late to back out anyway."
"Tell me everything that happened that day. Then I'll toy with you a little before killing you."
Hell Broom's resigned expression shifted upon seeing Rike's face.
"...Strange. How did you get here without knowing that?"
As I'd predicted, our path with Rike defied all logic.
We'd skipped all the mid-story intel and arrived straight at the conclusion.
"Tell me. Tell me, I said."
Stab— Stab— Stab—
"Guhk...!"
Rike repeatedly plunged her sword into Hell Broom's shoulder and pulled it out.
"Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me."
Thud! Thud! Stab! Slash!
"Kaaak...! W-Wait! Guh! Agh!! Aaaah!!"
She poured the potions I'd given her over him while stabbing and withdrawing the blade over and over.
'Something... feels off from the game vibe.'
I was a little startled watching her impassively stab and pull.
"From now on, I'll change methods, so if you want to talk..."
Rike moved to his leg area and raised her sword high.
Hell Broom saw her murderous glare and paled to an ashen hue.
"W-Wait!! If I tell you everything, can you even accept the truth? Kahk...!"
I felt Hell Broom trembling beneath my foot from pain and terror.
Sensing things dragging on, I grabbed his hair and forced his head up.
"Make it easy to understand—pull out the contract. I told you."
"H-How would an adventurer like you...?!"
"It's not my first rodeo with black mages like you. Nematos stirring things up without a contract? No way."
In truth, I only knew because of the story.
Black mages fundamentally skipped standard mana contracts.
They drafted them with demons as enforcers.
Not leaking to outsiders was the bare-minimum clause.
The moment he showed us the contract, Hell Broom risked whatever befell him.
"From my experience, you don't die. How about surviving this crisis first?"
"...I'll do it. You'll want to pull it all out soon enough."
Rike, who'd waited for my cue, raised her sword again and sliced deeper into Hell Broom's already severed leg.
"Gaaaaah!!!!"
His leg shortened further, and Hell Broom flopped like a fish dragged onto dry land.
Rike poured potion on the leg without changing expression and raised her sword once more.
Slice!
After three potions ran dry, Hell Broom finally opened his mouth.
"I-I'll pull it out! Just kill me already!!!"