Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Chimera (1)
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Dark Dimension was a space magic spell that amplified the power of black sorcery. On top of that, it came equipped with a powerful barrier that prevented mana from leaking to the outside.
A 6th-class spell, but with a perfect magic circle, a completed incantation, and Black's assistance, he had succeeded in memorizing it.
'Even so, it's still quite a burdensome spell for me right now.'
To prepare for any potential intrusion by Count Welton, this much was necessary.
"Kill...... you."
In the space swirling with darkness, the paladin kicked off and charged forward.
The divine power gathered at the sword tip tore through the darkness, emitting light.
Jamie extended his hand forward, folding only his index and thumb fingers. Before arriving here, he had memorized not just Dark Dimension but countless other spells.
His mental strength was considerably depleted, but precisely because of that, he was now in peak condition.
[Gravity]
5th-class space magic
The 5th-class space magic Gravity bore down heavily on the paladin.
At the same time—
[Hands of the Departed]
Necromantic grasp
Countless souls dormant in this land burst from the darkness and clung to the paladin.
[Sacrifice]
Self-detonation of souls
The clinging souls glowed ominously.
The paladin hunched his body.
Boom!!!
Innumerable souls sacrificed themselves, triggering a powerful explosion.
A heinous black sorcery that forcibly commanded souls unable to ascend, dooming them to wander neither in the heavens nor the earth.
That was Sacrifice.
It was the epitome of black sorcery—utterly unscrupulous, sparing no means or methods.
The paladin's armor was tattered.
However, the divine power had not died; it swirled fiercely around him.
"Expert level, huh?"
5th-class spells couldn't easily pierce an expert knight's defenses. Moreover, this foe was a paladin, even if a chimera.
Normally, before such a situation could unfold, it would have severed Jamie's neck with a powerful sword aura.
But.
That was only against a 5th-class sorcerer with no preparations.
"Too bad you picked the wrong opponent."
A fully prepared sorcerer was a different story.
No matter how much of a Sword Master, even they couldn't guarantee victory against a pre-prepared 8th-class sorcerer.
Let alone against a Sword Expert paladin.
And Jamie was the progenitor of black sorcery.
He had lost much power, but that experience didn't vanish.
"Come on, then."
"Kill you!"
For the first time, the paladin spoke without dragging his words.
The paladin exploded the divine power around his sword and charged forward.
The blade drew afterimages, splitting into dozens of slashes that flew forth. Floors, pillars, ceilings—nothing was spared as terrifying cuts marred everything.
Jamie flicked his fingers at the barrage of slashes.
In that instant, faint darkness began to flow from the gaps in the paladin's armor.
[Marionette]
Puppet control
The slashes veered off course.
The paladin had no idea what had happened to him.
Something was wrong with his leg joints.
His waist, both arms—something was gravely amiss.
There was no pain. His body was made that way. But he couldn't help feeling flustered. Fluster was inherent to any intelligent being.
Thud!!
The paladin tumbled to the floor.
Had he missed a step?
The possibility of such a basic mistake was near zero. Had the enemy launched an invisible attack?
Unfortunate for the foe, but these eyes could see almost anything. They were designed that way. Even if he couldn't dodge magic, failing to see it was impossible.
'What is it?'
A mechanical impression.
As the paladin tried to rise, his body wouldn't obey.
"The souls sacrificed themselves, embedding their fragments into your crevices."
Jamie wiggled all ten fingers.
"And all of that is mine."
His purple eyes gleamed ominously.
Hidden by Black's mask, but his lips curled up long.
"You can do nothing."
Innumerable threads dangled from his ten fingertips.
And all those threads connected to none other than the paladin's body.
To think such a type of magic was possible.
The paladin wasn't surprised by the opponent's ability. He merely analyzed coldly.
'An opponent I cannot defeat.'
He could fight more, but the foe's stats were unknown.
Seeing the leisure, it seemed capable of even stronger magic.
A decisive defeat.
'But why?'
Doubt arose.
The opponent was a black sorcerer. Strong, yes, but should be powerless against a paladin's divine power.
'A gap too wide even for a superior force?'
Unknown stats, but not overwhelmingly so.
His mind whirred complexly, then stopped abruptly.
'Survival.'
Nothing else mattered.
Against an unbeatable foe, priority was survival.
Escaping this place.
Fortunately, the paladin had an implanted method to overcome such situations.
'Sever it.'
Divine power was the ultimate counter to black sorcery.
The 'core' embedded in his body began extracting divine power to its limit.
The paladin's entire body began to glow white.
"Planning to self-destruct?"
He couldn't allow that.
Jamie released the threads from his left hand and forcibly raised the paladin with his right alone.
Simultaneously manipulating it to approach while leaping toward it himself.
'Didn't want to damage it, but...'
Better than it vanishing without a trace in self-destruction.
Jamie's hand turned pitch black.
[Dark Hand]
Paralytic venom grasp
Stab!
The black hand pierced the dragged, unresisting paladin's chest.
From the punctured spot, veins bulged and turned pitch black.
Dark Hand was a hand coated in 'poison.'
That poison paralyzed everything it touched.
"Guh!"
Pain wasn't the issue.
The paladin felt his entire body stiffen rigidly.
Different from the prior manipulation.
This was truly dangerous, he judged.
'Not perfect, but...'
This would suffice.
The resolute paladin detonated without hesitation.
Flash—!!
The light enveloping his body erupted as a blaze in all directions.
Jamie stared calmly at the oncoming light. He had no choice. In his past life, perhaps, but now he couldn't react to 'light speed.'
Squeak!
Fortunately, Dark Dimension affected Black as well.
The moment something odd was sensed, Black fully enveloped its master's body, eyes included.
The darkness ballooned like a bubble.
Light began slowly seeping through the breached Dark Dimension.
Jamie reflected on the entire situation. He hadn't been careless; merely, the opponent's variables were astonishingly potent.
'Additional damage?'
An explosion after the light?
Fortunately, no secondary damage.
Likely, it had expelled divine power to its limit for escape.
If only that much.
"You won't escape."
The sensation still lingered in his right hand.
Even so, half-escaped meant it had partially neutralized Dark Hand's paralytic poison.
The Marionette threads were all severed too.
'My 'black sorcery.'
Divine power was the natural predator of black sorcerers. It held supremacy over all, and against equals, black sorcery could never prevail.
'At least, current black sorcery.'
'Can't do anything about that?'
It was the foe's all-out burst of light.
Consider it fortunate that only the threads were severed.
'Black. Clear the light.'
Kieek!!
Pitch-black membranous wings unfurled from Jamie's back.
The inky darkness spread rapidly like ink dropped on water.
His left hand was free. The paladin had fully withdrawn.
He clenched his fist. With the eye cover gone, his vision cleared.
Within the lingering light, the paladin's retreating figure flickered.
"Dark Dimension!"
The darkness torn by light was neatly refilled with incoming mana.
[Dark Spear of Curse]
Cursed projectile
A sinister spear formed in the air.
Jamie hurled it with will alone.
Whoosh—!
A gale whipped up as the spear flew.
The paladin turned.
Having assumed unknown stats, he predicted quick vision recovery from the divine light.
But not this fast.
'It's fine......'
Still within assumptions.
He inhaled deeply. His chest swelled enormously. His neck twisted grotesquely backward.
"Hoo!!"
As his chest contracted, a massive blaze spewed from his mouth.
Simultaneously, his boot soles tore, revealing hideous feet. Not just feet—the armor above split too.
What emerged were legs of an unfamiliar creature.
The paladin's speed surged dramatically.
"Chimera......!"
He had anticipated it, but seeing it with his own eyes was striking.
Jamie grinned delightedly and spread his palm wide.
[Chain Area]
Binding chains
Countless chains erupted from beneath the paladin.
"......!"
Caught off guard by this magic, he couldn't hide his fluster.
Instantly bound.
The paladin struggled to break free, but
Thud!
The cursed black spear pierced his back.
Jamie approached within inches, eyes gleaming wildly.
He clasped both hands.
Black mana roiled and converged.
[Death Boom]!
Cataclysmic darkness explosion
The darkness exploded.
The paladin hardened his skin, but the darkness blast shattered full plate armor effortlessly and crushed even the toughened hide.
He envisioned countless survival methods.
But all were crossed out.
No, one remained.
Using it guaranteed survival, but at the cost of losing himself.
'Execute.'
The paladin harbored no hesitation.
Losing himself meant nothing to him.
That was what a 'puppet' was.
Something small protruded from the back of the paladin's neck.
In that instant, Jamie's acute senses caught a faint microorganism-like presence.
'The core!'
Even his sharp senses struggled to detect that dim presence.
He lost track immediately.
The paladin's body went limp and collapsed.
The flesh abandoned by the core was mere shell.
[Coordinate Tracking]
Spatial grid scan
A small hand touched the floor, and countless green lines crisscrossed, covering the space.
Blue mana rippled over them like waves.
"Hm."
Nothing.
He had expected it would be hard to track once it escaped. At his current level, there was no way to grasp such an extremely faint presence.
"Master!"
Raiza, who had watched from afar, approached.
One arm and his side were badly damaged. Holy power attacks left him in critical condition.
His already pale face grew paler, yet he spoke steadily without apparent pain.
"Well done."
"It got away."
"Pardon?!"
Raiza's eyes widened at the words.
Unlike Azad, he showed little emotion, making his surprise noteworthy.
He eyed his seemingly nonchalant master quizzically.
"Sh-shouldn't we track it quickly?"
"Normally, yes."
"What does that mean?"
"Letting it escape is regrettable, but it doesn't matter much."
Raiza couldn't comprehend Jamie's words.
Letting an enemy escape in a situation that could spiral badly?
Unable to grasp it, he ventured a discourteous question.
"I know it's rude, but could you explain why it doesn't matter?"
"It's nothing major."
Jamie replied to his much larger subordinate.
"The afterglow of black mana isn't something you can easily erase."
The moment Dark Hand pierced its vitals, thick black mana had permeated its body.
No matter how small, traces would remain inside.
"If the enemy side realizes a black sorcerer intervened..."
"No need to worry."
Raiza was puzzled again.
A regular priest might miss it, but high-ranking clergy could detect even faint black mana traces.
"I know what you're thinking. Still, they absolutely won't find out."
"Why..."
"My black sorcery is completely different from the current black sorcery to begin with."
Current black sorcery was infinitely vulnerable to divine power.
Jamie couldn't understand.
Since when did black sorcery become so weak to divine power?
"My power is black sorcery devised from the start for 'God-Slaying.'"
Hence, it was sometimes at a disadvantage.
"God-Slaying Magic. That's the black sorcery I wield."
Thus, those wielding divine power could never detect it, no matter what.
Never.