131
My Villains Chapter 131
34. Soul Sorcerer (3)
......This seems to be a mess.
I swallowed my dry saliva and examined the equipment Karamek had put on.
The white cloak with stars and bones was 'Ruin of the Angel', the square bone earrings were 'Scar', the shimmering pendant was 'Rainbow of Distortion', and the stone tablet in his left hand was 'Gravestone'. They were all unique items.
Seeing those strange equipment, I finally remembered the sub-character I had raised about 8 or 9 years ago......
"Gitgula Ti Akanku! Dorwa orrei do darade girma'ute!"
Utequais shouted something, but Karamek was still smiling.
"It's been a long time, warrior of Likuwa. I remember your coming-of-age ceremony."
"I remember the day you were banished, sorcerer! How dare you laugh against your mother's will, I'll rip your neck off!"
Oops, that's not good..... Just as I was about to stop Utequais, Druid Zhanabas raised his voice.
"Urti darran-lann'ne zola^mon!"
At Zhanabas' words, Karamek’ smile deepened.
"Many do not understand the language of the prairie. Speak the language of the kingdom."
"Hugaw qun! Urwha,"
"Enough."
Rumble-!
At Karamek' words, the surface trembled and the sky rippled. As if the sky and the sea were about to flip over, Zhanabas' face turned pale.
"A, agdatae,"
"My sorcery is already prepared. No matter how much you whine like a kitten, low-level druid, shut your mouth."
The other party members were also overwhelmed. Since they all had expertise in magic, they realized that this man was dominating this space.
......What level was that character again?
I don't remember exactly, but he must have mastered 'Surge' and 'Ruin'. So he's at least over level 50. Damn.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Was it you who created this rift?"
"......Hmm, you are."
Karamek' completely black eyes turned to me. The smile on his face gradually faded.
"Indeed, a strange soul."
......Strange soul?
"As the heir of the serpent, how do you have a foreign (external) soul?"
"Fo, foreign? What do you mean by that." Suddenly, a light of realization flashed across Karamek' face.
"Foreign, a world where completely different laws exist......Indeed, that was it."
An unknown energy was flowing out of Karamek' black eyes. It's an eye that makes the one facing it feel naked.
What the hell is this guy babbling about? Could it be that he's realized that I'm an existence from another world?
Karamek, who had been staring at me intently, gave a deep smile.
"My guide, let me answer your question."
Guide? What the hell is this nonsense?
Before I could open my mouth, Karamek' explanation continued.
"I both did and did not create this rift."
"......What do you mean by that?"
"The rift originally existed here. This is a place where human hands have not reached, where the golden is asleep. It is natural for the spirits to covet it."
Around that time, water sprang up near Karamek. As he naturally sat down on it, the water solidified into a large box shape.
"I clearly did the act of expanding the size of that rift and placing it under my control."
"What, you can control a space with such tremendous power? Bullshit, don't give me that."
Grinding her teeth, Ellen sharply retorted.
"This space, the balance has already been broken. It has gone beyond the level that an individual, a person can control."
"You are right, noble soul."
Karamek continued in a relaxed tone.
"But I have already transcended the realm of humans."
"Transcended the realm of humans?"
"Yes. Just like your ancestor."
"I, who do you think I am...?"
"Who are you? Aren't you the descendant of the demon god?"
"......Demon god?"
As Ellen furrowed her brows, Karamek clicked his tongue softly.
"Ah, that must have been a premonition. Pretend you didn't hear it."
"What are you talking about now?"
While I was embracing the confused Ellen's shoulders, Utequais shouted.
"Arrogant talk! The one who bound his dead wife and meddled with excessive power, how dare you!"
For a moment, Karamek' thick eyebrows seemed to twitch.
"Warrior, I am the great sorcerer. Show some manners."
"You were once! Not anymore!"
"No. In the embrace of my mother, I am still the great sorcerer. Thanks to that, I need a cause to use my power."
"Erpe Th-ral! Destroying the world to save your wife is not a cause!"
At Utequais's roar, Karamek carefully chose his words for a moment.
"......I did not take control of the rift for the sake of love."
"Siwha?"
"It's for the balance of dimensions."
As Utequais narrowed his brows, Karamek' explanation continued.
"The dimensional boundaries are thinning, and the dimensions of evil are descending upon the present world. I don't know what the cause and what the result is. But the calamity is slowly and clearly approaching."
The party fell silent. Karamek' eyes flickered with a dizzying or insane light.
"The seal of the imperial capital is cracked, the messengers of death roam the earth, the territory of the crows is stained with nightmares. The gods are indifferent, the celestials are arrogant, and the elves are irresolute. If I don't even draw in the spirit realm, the present world will be swallowed by the dimensions of evil."
......This seems to be the story of Chapter 7, where the seal of the imperial capital is cracked. I have no idea what he's talking about with the messengers of death and nightmares.
While repeating Karamek' words, Ellen, who was hugging me and tightly clutching my clothes, whispered something.
"Phoenix."
"What?"
"Get ready to fight."
"......Don't you feel his magic power?"
"Of course I do. But he's not normal."
As Karamek' gaze turned towards us, Ellen lifted her head with a dignified expression.
"The balance of dimensions cannot be restored so easily."
"What do you know."
"Even if you're lucky enough to restore the balance, if you pull the dimensions like this, the whole world will turn into hell."
"If it collides with the dark realm, the entire dimension will turn to dust. It's better to have the laws twisted by overlapping with multiple dimensions than to turn to dust."
"Nonsense."
"I have witnessed countless scenes that my mother has allowed, and I have gained knowledge of dimensions. How dare you dismiss my words as lies."
Grrrrr-
At Karamek' soft-spoken words, the spirit world trembled.
"....Phew."
Ellen, who had been trembling, took a small deep breath and left my embrace. Then, floating on the surface, she gave a cynical smile.
"No. The talk of dimensional balance was nonsense from the beginning."
Locking eyes with Ellen, Karamek remained silent.
"Controlling a rift is several times more difficult than opening and closing it."
"With your foresight and magic power, closing the rift shouldn't be too difficult. You're worried about the balance of dimensions? Then why don't you just go around and close all the rifts?"
Cracks appeared on Karamek' face. The spirit world was violently shaking, but Ellen persisted.
"Moreover, with the underworld grafted onto this complex rift, what? The balance of good and evil? That's just nonsense. You're trying to mix the underworld and the spirit realm to somehow revive your wife, aren't you?"
As Karamek' face distorted, Utequais raised his voice again.
"Akanku, who was respected in the prairie, is deceiving himself with false excuses. How disgraceful!"
Karamek remained silent. Then, "Kuhak!"
Suddenly, he vomited blood.
At the same time, far in the distance, the horizon was torn lengthwise up and down.
Shhhhh.
Through that huge gap, another world was visible. A desolate gray world in contrast to the beautiful spirit world we were standing on. It was the underworld.
"......The great sorcerer follows the cause."
Karamek, who had vomited a bowlful of black blood, wiped the corners of his mouth and continued.
"But if I have lost the incentive and driving force to follow the cause, what should I do?"
Countless souls poured out from the gray world. The souls in human form flew towards us, letting out horrifying screams.
Eeeee-!
"I have lived my whole life for the cause. And I will continue to do so."
Karamek, who had risen into the air, was surrounded by some hazy silhouettes that gradually became clearer.
"After I regain my life, my love."
What appeared were the souls of various beasts such as eagles, wolves, bears, leopards, and tigers. Dyed in azure, they were all monstrous in size, the size of a house. They were 'Soul Beasts'.
"We have to kill them!"
Due to the shaking of the world, someone's scream was delayed. Ice spears and purple spears rushed towards Karamek, but were blocked by the powerful Soul Beasts.
Grrrr.
The Soul Beasts bared their fangs. Each and every one of them was a powerful monster that I couldn't even dare to compete against.
Just as the beasts were about to pounce, I frantically racked my brain and shouted.
"Wait, stop!"
At the same time, I stepped forward, and the beasts lunged towards me. Just as the tiger soul was about to devour my upper body, "Stop!"
At Karamek' urgent voice, the Soul Beasts came to a halt. I swallowed a sigh of relief and quickly shouted.
"I'll let you meet your wife!"
"......What did you say?"
"I said I'll let you meet your wife."
Facing Karamek' expressionless face, I started blabbering.
"As you said, I am an existence from another world. I came from a place called Earth."
"Earth?"
"I was invited by the Demon god. I fell for the promise that I would receive a gift if I accomplished something in this world."
Karamek' black eyes flickered strangely.
In the Dark World game, the sorcerer had a very unique skill called 'Clairvoyance'.
It's a kind of divination that can discern truth from falsehood, and in the game it was used to detect transformations or traps. It was a trivial skill, but I remembered the 'flavor text' written on that skill.
-Sorcerers with Clairvoyance can instantly detect your lies!
"Ugh..."
Karamek, who had been tightly closing his mouth, slightly drooled.
"Meet my wife, you say?"
"Didn't you say that I'm your guide? I'll guide you to your wife."
"......How can that be possible?"
Controlling the reddening of my face with blood control, I answered calmly.
"On Earth, there is something like a prophecy of this world."
"Prophecy?"
"Uh, to be precise, it's not so much a prophecy as a kind of game."
Shimmering eyes with magic power. It's like walking on thin ice.
"In it, you can also play the role of Karamek."
"My, role?"
"I hope you don't mind, but it's part of the game to become Karamek."
"Through that, I was able to learn how to save the dimensions and how to meet your wife."
"......I can't believe it."
Contrary to his words, Karamek' pupils were in turmoil. I carefully took a step forward.
"If you wish, I can let you meet your wife right now."
"......How?"
Another step forward.
"I have the knowledge of Earth. The people of Middleworld can't even imagine the countless bizarre knowledge I have."
"What kind of place is this Earth, exactly."
Another step forward.
"It's a place you can't even imagine. A place where you can fly to the moon at night, face the people across the sea, and build iron towers up to the clouds."
Another step forward.
"Using that knowledge, I'll let you meet your wife. Right now."
The image of Karamek floating in the air slowly descended to the surface. He stared at my eyes intently.
"Wait."
Thump, thump, thump, bang.
My heart is pounding.
"Ailisha."
At Karamek' murmur, a pale figure emerged from the stone tablet 'Gravestone' he was holding.
Eeeeeek-!
The deranged ghost let out a scream. Karamek, with a sorrowful expression, grasped that ghost in his hand and looked back at me.
"I'm still meeting my wife even now."
"...I see."
"In your method, can I hear my wife's voice?"
As I kept my mouth shut, Karamek asked again.
"Can I feel her warmth by caressing her face, feeling her breath, and embracing her shoulders?"
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
It felt like my heart was about to burst out of my throat. I tried to control it with blood control, but it just wouldn't listen.
"Yes."
I gave a sly smile.
"You can converse with your wife, kiss her, and embrace her."
I looked up at the black eyes emitting magic power. The inhuman gaze made it impossible for me to read the emotions within.
Karamek descended to the surface.
"What do I need to do?"
"Just stay still. You don't have to do anything."
Smiling, I pulled out Hrunting and,
Swish!
I sliced off Karamek' neck.