Chapter 20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 020
Chapter Title: Thieves and Relief Crusaders (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As I arrived at the scene where my master was battling the leader of the black mages, a breathtaking spectacle unfolded before my eyes.
'Whoa, it's like a whole different genre here.'
If my one-on-one duel with the black mage had been like a documentary film, then the clash between my master and their leader was more like a blockbuster commercial movie with a massive budget.
That was how packed it was with jaw-dropping sights.
Boom!
My master, for starters.
He churned up the earth, turning the whole area into a wasteland, or hurled man-sized boulders at the black mage leader.
His magic was so overwhelmingly powerful that every time he launched an attack, it looked like a natural disaster had struck.
Whoosh!
The black mage countered.
Flames seemed to be his specialty; he unleashed fire-based assaults, probing for openings in my master's defenses.
Of course, every counterattack was swiftly blocked.
The leader's hood had come off during the fight, revealing a face covered in burn scars. Sweat beaded up on that twisted skin.
From the looks of it, my master had the upper hand.
"Why would a mage of your caliber care about something so trivial?"
After several exchanges of blows...
The black mage panted as he asked the question.
His voice dripped with indignation.
"I was just passing by."
My master replied flatly.
"Hah...!"
Was it the unexpected answer?
The black mage let out a hollow laugh.
In that instant...
Rumble!
A thunderous roar shook the heavens and earth.
Then, atop a dense thicket not far from the battlefield, a colossal skeletal form suddenly emerged.
Countless human bones had clumped together to form a massive skull, and one of its eye sockets was large enough to swallow a grown man whole.
It felt utterly surreal.
'Whoa...'
Overwhelmed by its sheer size, an exclamation slipped from my lips before I knew it.
It had to be a familiar summoned by the black mages.
They must have blocked the road and attacked people to gather materials for this thing.
"You've ruined everything! Our plan was to create perfect undead, not this incomplete abomination! I will never forgive you!"
The black mage bellowed at my master.
Having summoned the giant skull, a newfound confidence crept into his expression, unlike before.
'That's the incomplete one?'
The skull the black mage called incomplete lacked a spine below, propping itself up with its two arms.
Even so, it towered over 10 meters tall.
Like a three-story building standing upright.
The intimidation factor was immense.
"Mid-tier undead, I'd say. And on the stronger side at that. Perfect for mass slaughter. Were you summoning monsters like this to escalate the eastern rebellion?"
Even with the massive skull right in front of him, my master remained composed.
Arms crossed, he scanned it appraisingly.
He seemed to be pondering why the black mages had created such undead and assessing their level of proficiency.
"Die!"
Infuriated by the sight, perhaps?
The black mage hurled a fireball at my master.
And at the same moment, the giant skull moved.
Whoosh!
The skull raised its clenched right fist high, then slammed it down with ferocious force toward where my master stood.
It was a monstrous attack.
I worried for his safety.
But I had no time to check on him.
I needed to survive first.
'Gah!'
After the skull's fist smashed into the ground, the earth trembled violently.
The shockwave sent a torrent of dirt and debris cascading from behind.
I was hiding behind a tree on a slope and couldn't dodge it, tumbling head over heels down the incline.
Thankfully, it wasn't life-threatening. I quickly regained my balance and stood up, but in the process, I lost the shirt I'd been clutching over my stomach.
'Ah, but that's not the priority right now.'
The thought of covering my navel was fleeting.
I hurriedly turned back to the battlefield.
There stood my master, tall amid the dust cloud.
He'd apparently raised the ground beneath his feet into a towering pillar to evade the attack.
'How tough is that stone pillar that he's unscathed?'
The pillar my master perched on.
Apart from faint cracks where the fist had struck, it showed no damage.
Either the spell itself was exceptionally potent, or my master's caliber amplified its power.
Otherwise, it would've shattered under that colossal blow.
Probably the latter.
"Impressive, but not worth the hundreds of corpses it took. In a word, inefficient."
My master offered a curt critique of the skull.
Right after...
Rumble...!
The ground beneath the skull began to quake, and soon an enormous mass of earth and sand erupted from below.
My surroundings plunged into sudden darkness.
The sunlight-blocking cascade of soil formed a wave rivaling the skull's height and crashed over it.
It was like a natural disaster.
Boom!
The oncoming brown tidal wave.
The skull, facing it head-on, couldn't even react before toppling backward, buried under the deluge.
That was it.
The ground heaved a few times where it lay entombed, but the thing never resurfaced.
'This is what a mage can do?'
My heart pounded.
It felt like I'd witnessed the pinnacle of the mage profession.
My master had said my talent surpassed his, so someday, wouldn't I be able to stage an even more overwhelming display?
It was impossible not to get excited.
"Ha, haha...!"
The black mage, staring blankly at where the skull was buried.
He suddenly burst into laughter.
"We never stood a chance from the start. And to think our luck was this rotten...!"
A bitter expression crossed the black mage's face.
As I watched, our eyes met by chance.
His scarred, twisted visage.
A swirl of emotions flickered there.
Then, his gaze drifted downward briefly.
And suddenly, his eyes went wide.
'What's that about?'
The moment I wondered if he'd seen something he shouldn't...
"A child without a navel...!"
No sooner had the black mage shouted that than he vanished.
The ground caved in beneath him, swallowing him whole.
My master's doing, no doubt.
'Is not having a navel really that shocking?'
For his dying words to be "A child without a navel...!"
What a pathetic end.
"Heros!"
Having finished off the black mage, my master rushed toward me.
His face was rigidly stern.
'What did I do wrong?'
My original plan had been to boast.
The moment we reunited, I'd brag about beating a black mage one-on-one.
But judging by the mood, that wasn't happening.
"Cover yourself with this for now."
Reaching me, my master removed his own hood and handed it over.
Then he turned his head, scanning the surroundings.
As if checking for anyone else nearby.
Once he confirmed we were alone...
My master asked me,
"Heros, show me your stomach."
"Yes."
I replied, letting go of the hand covering my belly.
Smooth abs came into view.
No navel anywhere, of course. Seeing that, my master's face grew even graver.
"You really don't have a navel..."
"Yes. That's why the villagers called me 'the kid without a navel.' They all said I was cursed."
"I see. They called you an impure child, so I thought they were shunning you as an orphan. But it wasn't that. There was a real reason."
A sigh escaped my master's lips.
'Why's he reacting like this?'
Honestly, it was frustrating.
I couldn't fathom why he was so rattled.
Not even a guess.
"What's the big deal about not having a navel? Is something wrong?"
I asked cautiously, and my master shook his head.
Looking at me, he replied,
"I'll explain later."
No sooner had my master finished speaking than I heard footsteps nearby.
Bernard emerged from that direction.
He was covered in wounds.
His chainmail was in tatters.
But his eyes still burned with fierce intensity.
Our gazes met, and chills ran down my spine.
"I've dealt with the remaining black mages."
Spotting us, Bernard raised the item in his left hand.
Three heads.
He'd twisted their hair together as a makeshift handle.
'Must be the black mages who summoned that giant skull.'
As if they'd foreseen their own deaths before decapitation, all three stared wide-eyed in death.
Seeing them sparked a sudden question.
'He didn't seem able to move before, so how's he up and about like this?'
After the black mage's suicide blast, Bernard had looked in rough shape.
Unable to even stand.
Yet now he walked fine and had even beheaded those mages.
Was it his recovery ability or exceptional physical durability? I couldn't tell.
But one thing was clear.
His physical prowess exceeded my expectations.
'Are all knights like this?'
I recalled Bernard charging at the black mages.
Dodging or batting away incoming spells with his sword, closing the distance swiftly.
Could I beat him in a fight?
I pondered briefly. The answer: no.
'He'd probably dodge or parry Lightning Bolt too.'
The black mages had reacted to it.
Unlikely a knight had worse dynamic vision, so he'd handle it.
Meaning no way to stop him from closing in.
My throat would be slit.
'Until I feel confident beating a knight, I should play it safe.'
Knights might be more dangerous to me than mages, come to think of it.
"My apologies. My carelessness ruined everything. Many brothers fell because of it... and you two were put in a tough spot."
As I raised my wariness toward knights...
Bernard apologized to us.
He seemed to think he'd failed to shine in this battle.
He wasn't wrong.
Without my master, that relief crusader squad would've been wiped out here.
And turned into materials for giant skulls.
"It wasn't particularly troublesome."
My master answered with a blank expression.
Perhaps finding the reply amusing, Bernard chuckled.
"Digori the Burier of the Living. Your reputation is well-earned. The greatest mage I've ever met."
"It's all hype."
"Well... if you say so."
My master's rebuttal.
Bernard shrugged and turned to me.
"Heros, was it?"
"Yes, Sir Bernard."
I answered crisply, and he flashed a grin.
"I want to thank you too. My brothers said you took down a black mage single-handedly."
"He was nothing special. You'd have beheaded him in one stroke, Sir Bernard."
"You can be proud. Without you, more brothers would've died. Truly, thank you."
Hard to refuse thanks.
At a loss for words, I nodded silently.
Wrapping up with me, he looked back at my master.
"I'll pay the promised reward later. Still much to do. We'll search their lair for stragglers, clean up the battlefield. Departing soon, so see you then."
With that, Bernard left.
I waited until he was gone before asking my master,
"Master, why were you so shocked earlier? Is not having a navel really that big a deal?"
Hearing my question, my master replied with utmost seriousness.
"Heros. You might be the hero of the prophecy."
"Pardon?"
The hero of the prophecy?
Totally out of left field.