Reminiscing Old Times (10)
"Bertrand..."
Idwild stammered to her feet, conjuring shards of curse magic as she rose unsteadily. Brione shot up too, hurling glowing orbs in that direction. But the trees blocked their view, and even the lights soon vanished from sight.
"Kikikikikikik!"
The scream had twisted into something eerily grotesque, like chilling laughter.
"That doesn't sound like any monster I've heard," Brione said, her face tense with strain.
"Let's check it out. Could be whatever attacked those hunters." We hurried toward the trap site.
"Huh...? What the hell...?"
Idwild muttered in disappointment as we rounded the massive trunks and arrived. The trap area was a total wreck. The ground was deeply gouged, surrounding trees snapped like a giant boulder had barreled through.
I knelt on one knee, inspecting a fallen branch. Some were as thick and sturdy as a man's waist. Had it thrashed that hard just from getting caught? Was it a monster... or that thing the hunters mentioned?
Brione and Idwild were checking their own trap remnants.
"All the spells are forcibly dispelled. This is... dispel magic...? What the...?"
"Bertrand... all the Beldra's Curse Ropes are cut..."
Idwild called me over, brushing a tree blackened by black magic.
"Beldra's Curse Ropes can't be broken by force..." Like the Hell Horse, they ignored this world's laws—no one could sever them. Except black mages who wielded black magic power.
"Looks like there is a black mage around."
"Yeah... that life force drain earlier, and now this... explains everything if it's a black mage."
"A black mage... who also casts dispel magic, huh."
I paused, then turned to Brione. "Can a mage handle black magic power?"
"Impossible."
"The other way around?"
"That's impossible too. Mages and black mages are basically born that way."
Idwild hesitated at Brione's firm declaration, then chimed in. "It's not... totally impossible..."
"What?"
Brione glared murderously at the 'audacious' black mage daring to contradict her.
Idwild shrank behind my back under that stare, but pressed on. "If they get a specific curse... even a mage can become a black mage..."
Brione sneered, lips curling. "What bullshit is that? Make sense. Black magic power pollutes everything. Unless you're born with a body that can handle it, exposure kills you—that's common knowledge."
"But... if you alter the body to accept black magic power... it's possible... Black magic power and mana are just different in nature... the control method's the same..."
"As if that exists. I know black magic too—magic academy teaches it for dealing with scum like you. Body modification to handle black magic power? Hilarious. You think Bertrand and I don't know, so you're spouting crap?"
Brione pressed Idwild way too aggressively. No need to go that hard—probably because she felt outshone, always lagging behind this black mage. She'd dismissed Idwild as filthy trash beneath her heel. People rage when the ones they scorn surpass them. Especially haughty palace mage Brione, who couldn't stand it. She just wanted to prove her worth.
But right now, debating superiority was pointless. We needed to hurry to Mideronde's lab—and figure out this mystery thing we might encounter.
"Brione. Quiet. Idwild's a black mage. She knows stuff we don't." I raised a hand, and Brione shut up. But her cold eyes stayed fixed on Idwild.
"Idwild. Explain that curse."
"Uh... okay, so..."
Idwild's explanation went like this: Black magic's scope dwarfed conventional systems—most hidden as illegal. Among those secrets, the cruelest was body modification. Humans can't handle black magic power naturally, but this forcibly rewired traits to accept it. Who'd volunteer for that madness? Demand exists, so supply does too. But most fail to master wielding it, meeting grim ends. Talent for mana or black magic power is innate—not a skill learned through effort.
"So, to sum up: that curse lets you handle black magic power, and for mages, wield black magic too?"
"Yeah..."
"And whatever escaped uses both black magic and regular magic."
"Seems like... probably..."
Brione, silent till now, jumped in again. "But that's weird. Why would a fine mage turn black mage? What's the gain?"
"It's... because that curse remodels the body... so you don't die..."
"Ha? Don't die? What the—"
"Shut it, Brione." I silenced her and turned to Idwild.
Idwild glanced nervously at Brione before continuing. "I don't know details... too dangerous a curse... only read about it... It substitutes your life force... to endure black magic power..."
"But how's that eternal life? Life force keeps draining, right?"
"Yeah... but if you keep replenishing it... you could live forever..."
I recalled the hunter drained by that 'life force exploitation' black magic. A chill silence enveloped us.
So... to recap: Normal(?) black mages are born with compatible bodies—no life force drain. But curse-induced ones sacrifice life force to wield it, needing constant replenishment.
Why bother? Immortality, obviously.
"Mideronde... became a lich?"
My icy words made Brione flinch. "No way..."
"Logical guess. A mage's forest base, activity from an eternal being wielding both magics."
Idwild scratched her head, bowing it. Brione shook hers, struggling to accept a renowned mage might be a lich.
This... unlucky or lucky? Mideronde alive was encouraging—the shrinking spell needed her to undo. But as a lich obsessed with life force? Capturing it with the Holy Sword's holy power—antithetical to black magic—was tricky. One slip, and instant death. No traps or ambushes since it dispelled everything...
Well... not no options.
"Let's keep moving. Grab it if we run into her—beatdown or whatever."
"Wish we had a spirit mage now... wind spirits could scout... warn of approaching threats..."
"Yeah. Brione, no such spell?"
Brione flustered slightly. "Detection magic exists, but... hold on." She conjured a blue orb on her palm—like a creepy human eyeball.
As it formed, one of her eyes turned matching blue. Like it linked to her gaze.
"What's that?"
"Legion mages' scout spell. Send it ahead to check enemy positions."
"Nice. But only one?"
I said it casually, but Brione stiffened like I'd scolded her. Made sense—after mocking Idwild, her words panned out. She liked me; that's why she tagged along. And now, the 'inferior' Idwild outshone her...
But oh well. No feelings for Brione. Arrogant, haughty—followed me as apprentice, even offered her body for advancement. Ghosted back to the palace post-term. Now? Just regret and obsession.
Still, grateful she came. "Thanks anyway, Brione. For joining."
"Wha...? Huh...? O-oh... of course... old comrades, right...?"
She stammered unusually flustered. As if mirroring her, the magic eye wobbled into the trees.
─────
The forest was dark, trees ominous—like ancient monsters turned woody, glaring sinisterly. Faint, tangled light beams like evening haze eroded our sense of direction. Some spots probably never saw sunlight since the world's birth.
Overwhelmed, we trudged silently. Even whispers felt overheard by the trees.
"Another corpse like that..."
Idwild pointed. A massive mid-sized monster—first I'd seen—lay withered black. Fifth such corpse.
"Lich must be hunting forest monsters for life force."
"Keep going..."
Suddenly, Brione gripped my shoulder. Her eyes were back to normal.
"Scout spell broke!"
I gripped the Holy Sword's hilt, erecting a barrier around us.
"Eek...!"
Idwild huddled to avoid it. Simultaneously, massive trees toppled left and right as something charged toward us.