Chapter 24
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 024
Chapter Title: Mist Forest and Standing Alone (2)
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Digori looked straight ahead.
A tall, thick earthen wall he had raised stood there.
But he didn't think for a second that it would hold back the knights of the Silent Compliance Society.
And sure enough, his prediction hit the mark.
The knight in the center of the trio.
He burst through the earthen wall with his body and charged straight at Digori.
But Digori had already seen this coming.
He unleashed the spell he had prepared in advance.
A conical rock suddenly erupted from the ground.
It shot toward the knight.
The moment he broke through the wall and appeared, Digori struck with a surprise attack.
"Tch!"
Despite the sudden assault, the knight managed to block Digori's attack with his sword.
But he couldn't withstand the impact and was pushed back.
And a follow-up strike came right at him.
The ground suddenly surged up and smashed the knight away.
But Digori had no time to relax.
Knights had appeared on both sides of the earthen wall.
Unlike the man who had broken through the front, these two had circled around to attack from his flanks.
'Fast.'
Digori gauged the speed of the two charging from both sides.
He waited until they were close, then raised walls on either side to temporarily block their view.
And with that, he sank into the earth.
The knights arrived late and shattered the walls blocking their path, but Digori was already gone.
They quickly pinpointed the enemy's position and thrust their swords toward the ground.
But Digori moved even faster.
Slither...
Digori rose up far from the knights.
The ground had turned to muck like a swamp, grabbing the two knights' feet and dragging them down.
They tried to pull free, but the spell's power was too strong even for them.
In that moment when their feet were stuck...
Digori didn't miss the chance.
Thud!
Two stone pillars erupted from behind the knights.
They struck at the pair.
With their ankles trapped, unable to move, the knights took the hits head-on.
"Gah!"
"Argh!"
The knights groaned in pain from the blows.
"You bastard!"
At that moment, the knight who had been flung far away roared and reentered the fray.
The man charged without hesitation.
Digori saw him coming and raised an earthen wall in his path to block his approach.
It was a clear sign he was wary of the knight closing in.
"Tch."
When the wall appeared before him, the knight didn't push recklessly after Digori.
Instead, he went to rescue his trapped comrades.
That had been his main goal from the start, after all.
"Impressive, Digori."
As the battle ground into a brief lull...
The knight spoke to him.
His eyes were still fierce, and his aura was even wilder than before the fight.
"Not exactly a compliment I appreciate."
Digori shrugged in response.
Since the enemy had started with the insults, his tone had shifted too.
"Have you fought many knights before?"
"At least three digits' worth."
"Oh..."
The man's eyes widened.
A genuine look of surprise.
But his face soon turned expressionless, and the mood grew somber.
"That many victims, then."
"Victims? They were all scum who attacked me to fill their own greedy desires. You're romanticizing it."
"Killing mages is justice."
"How about dealing with the riots first, then spouting that nonsense? Is ignoring people who actually need help to hunt mages what you call justice?"
"......Shut your mouth!"
"No comeback, so you get mad."
The man scowled as the conversation continued.
The more they talked, the more it felt like Digori was cornering him.
He let out a deep sigh to steady himself.
Then he pulled something from his pocket.
"I'll admit it. You're an exceptional mage. I've beheaded countless mages, but never one as strong as you. It's a shame to waste that talent. Why did it have to go to a vile necromancer?"
The item was a rolled-up red parchment.
He held it above his head.
And tore it without hesitation.
Immediately, a red light shot into the sky with a sound like a signal flare.
Undoubtedly calling in nearby allies.
"You hate mages, yet you use their inventions just fine."
"The end justifies the means."
With reinforcements on the way, had he gained some leisure?
The man brushed off Digori's sarcasm.
'This isn't good.'
Digori glanced around sidelong.
The three knights had him surrounded, tightening their encirclement like they had no intention of letting him go easily.
If this dragged on, backup would arrive.
And then his chances would drop even further.
'Might have to resort to my last option.'
Digori recalled what Rozanna had told him.
When he'd visited before, she'd checked his capacity and flatly told him not to read any more grimoires.
It was full.
To put it simply, his current state was like a cup brimming with water.
Add even a drop more?
It would overflow.
Normally, something to avoid at all costs—but in this situation, deliberately causing an overflow might be a way out.
'Is this part of fate's flow too? Maybe my role was just to draw Heros out into the world...'
Digori thought of the grimoire in his pocket.
The Gravekeeper Grimoire.
It still demanded food, so feeding it a strip of jerky like before would unlock a new spell.
And if he acquired that new magic...
'I'll become a spirit.'
With that in mind, Digori prepared for the fight.
He planned to hold out until his disciple found the grimoire and escaped the Mist Forest safely.
'Heros, survive no matter what.'
That was all he wished for as his master.
'Where the hell is it?'
I glared ahead, but saw nothing.
The fog had thickened to the point where I couldn't even tell what was in front of me.
When I focused my mind, I could clearly sense mana evenly spread throughout the area—but nothing that screamed "grimoire."
Slash!
While I was paused to detect mana, Gilbert sliced off the limbs of an approaching undead.
If Master hadn't assigned him to me, I'd already be one of them by now.
There were that many undead.
'Focus! I need to find the grimoire as fast as possible.'
Was it from concentrating so long?
My head throbbed.
But I couldn't stop here.
Master was out there fighting tooth and nail against the Silent Compliance Society right now.
The occasional booms from behind told me just how fierce the battle was.
"Huff... huff..."
I ran deeper into the forest, panting heavily.
Of course, I kept sensing for mana the whole time.
Desperately searching for any anomaly.
'Huh?'
How long had I been running?
Something odd caught my sense.
It was ever so slightly different from the fog's mana—so faint that even with my sharp detection, I'd nearly missed it.
'That must be it.'
Once I noticed the anomaly, the difference stood out more clearly.
The fog and the grimoire.
The mana density was subtly different.
Really, really subtle.
That's why I hadn't spotted it right away.
If even I with my superior senses was stumbling around like this, no wonder no other mage had found it.
'At least I found it.'
Now that I'd locked onto the grimoire, I could hear what it had to say.
I sprinted toward it while listening.
《Worship me. For I am your death.》
A solemn voice.
The grimoire's attitude was arrogant, but it suited the tone perfectly—felt natural, even.
'Worship you?'
The grimoire demanded worship.
But I had no reason to oblige right now.
Not when I needed to grab the book and bolt.
Who had time to bow?
So I ignored it.
But it clearly didn't like that.
《Child, if you value the thing atop your neck, you'd best obey me.》
The moment I heard that, chills ran down my spine.
It felt like the temperature around me had plummeted.
"Gilbert, get down!"
I shouted to him, then dropped flat and pressed my face to the dirt.
In my inverted view, I spotted something standing behind me.
Definitely not Gilbert.
He'd followed my order and was prone on the ground.
A figure draped in a tattered cloak.
My instincts screamed it wasn't human.
I could see it with my own eyes, yet it gave off no presence at all.
Thankfully, it vanished like a mirage moments later.
And the grimoire's voice returned.
《Now, approach on your knees.》
Man, so many demands.
I wanted to grumble, but clamped my mouth shut.
That unknown thing behind me earlier had been terrifying.
Creep...
Crawling forward on my knees was frustrating.
Way too slow.
And my knees hurt.
But I couldn't stop.
The moment I defied the grimoire's warning, I had a strong feeling I'd cease to be part of this world.
'Is that it?'
About ten minutes later?
I spotted a book lying on the ground.
A black cover with a key emblem in the center: the Underground Manager Grimoire.
Had to be the one I was after.
《You've arrived. Here, a gift.》
Right after the grimoire's voice...
Its cover flipped open on its own.
The pages flipped rapidly, then stopped.
About a fifth of the book.
Meaning it held five spells total—but no time to celebrate.
Time to run.
《Now, save a hundred lives, and slay a hundred more. Then shall you know one facet of death...》
I ignored the grimoire's weighty words and looked around.
'The fog's already thinning.'
From the moment the grimoire opened, the fog blanketing the forest had started to dissipate.
Meaning I'd soon be exposed.
The Silent Compliance Society would spot me from afar.
Had to leave before it cleared completely.
"Gilbert! You're good to stand!"
Time to run again.
I jumped up and glanced back.
And spotted a pile of bones.
"Huh?"
The sight made my mind go blank.