Old Memories Come to Mind (11)
It hurtled toward him at an insane speed, slamming hard into the Holy Sword's protective barrier. It was so fast that even the slightest delay in erecting the shield would have meant certain death.
Sparks flew in every direction as it collided with the barrier, briefly turning the dark forest into broad daylight. In that split-second flash, I caught a glimpse of its form. How to describe it? A ragged, rotting corpse in tattered rags fit perfectly. Its face was completely decayed, reeking of putridity just from the sight. Where its nose should have been was just a gaping hole, and its lips had rotted away, exposing yellowed, worn teeth. But its eyes—those were still intact, gleaming with an eerie light. Not figuratively, but literally pulsing with a grotesque purple glow.
Bounced back by the Holy Sword's barrier, it hovered in midair for a moment, seemingly stunned by the unexpected interference.
"A real lich...?"
Brione groaned, conjuring storms of mana in both hands.
"If living forever means looking like that, I'd rather die."
"Think it'll talk?"
"We have to try. It might actually listen."
"Scary... Bertrand... look at that face..."
With the lich and the barrier between us, we quickly exchanged opinions while facing off. The shield blocked us from attacking anyway.
"I'll give it a shot."
Brione stepped forward, dispelling the mana from her hands. The lich just floated there, glaring at us with its blazing eyes.
"I am Brione, royal mage of the Verabche Kingdom's capital. Might you be Mideronde?"
"Mideronde...?"
Surprisingly, the lich spoke clearly from its rotten maw—raspy like scraping rusted iron, but intelligible. This was more than expected.
"Yes. Do you recall anything about this orb?"
Brione took the black orb from me and held it high for the lich to see. It stared for a moment before responding.
"Black orb...?"
"It's an orb you created, found in Blue Dragon Lurtjog's nest. It's enchanted with a shrinking spell."
"Dragon...? Shrinking spell...?"
Listening quietly, I felt something off. The lich wasn't conversing—it was just parroting fragments of Brione's words. Idwild, huddled beside me to stay out of the barrier's range, seemed to sense it too.
"Bertrand... this feels weird, right...?"
"Yeah. Doesn't look like it'll chat."
Sure enough, the lich suddenly emitted a grotesque noise from between its exposed teeth.
"Kikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikik!!!"
The sound was so horrific that Idwild screamed and clamped her hands over her ears, while Brione flinched and stepped back.
"Kikikik... hungry... kikiki... thirsty..."
The lich extended its skeletal hand toward us. A sinister green mist rose from it, then erupted into a blinding ray shooting straight at us.
"Life drain...!"
As Idwild shouted, the ray hit the Holy Sword's barrier, sparking wildly. The friction was so intense we all had to shield our eyes with our hands.
"Die! Die! Give it! Life force! Thirsty! Don't wanna die! Human life force! Kill! Rip you apart!"
The lich circled us frantically, seeking gaps in the barrier, scorching its surface with drain rays.
"Wh-what do we do...? It won't talk..."
Idwild shrank further as a drain ray grazed past, sparking nearby.
Dialogue had failed. We'd need to capture it alive and torture answers out of it. But Idwild and Brione couldn't attack inside the barrier. Only one option left.
I gripped the Holy Sword's hilt, carefully aiming at it. A pure white lightning bolt pierced the canopy of ancient trees and struck the lich. I'd toned it down to avoid instant death, but it still cratered the ground and vaporized part of a massive trunk. Yet the lich dodged with blinding speed in a split second. More bolts followed, but it evaded every one.
Observing closely, Brione spoke up.
"Acceleration magic, Bertrand. You can't track it visually—it'll never work!"
"Then what? If I spam lightning randomly, I might kill it."
"I'll try slow magic. Drop the barrier on my signal."
Her plan was reckless beyond belief. The moment the shield vanished, that drain ray would fly again. No matter how chantless and gestureless her casting, nothing beat light speed.
"It dispelled my trap magic, so attacks might not stick. Slow it down, then stun it with lightning in the gap."
Killing it would be easy, but capture complicated everything.
"On three, then. You signal."
I hammered random lightning to keep the drain rays at bay. The lich darted erratically, and the instant its ray stopped, Brione yelled.
"Now!"
The barrier dropped. Brione cast slow magic on the lich. A blue mana field enveloped it, slowing its movements just a fraction... or so it seemed.
The field shattered, and a green ray blasted toward Brione before she could react. She triggered a defense spell, but the drain ray pulverized it effortlessly. I couldn't tell if mana outmatched black magic, but the lich's power clearly dwarfed Brione's. Centuries of undeath had honed its magic to perfection.
Just as the ray neared Brione, a massive black glass-like wall erupted before her—dozens of layers of Idwild's curse barriers. The ray shattered them like glass but couldn't reach Brione, as new layers reformed to maintain thickness. It veered off, grazing Idwild's wrist.
"Ugh...!"
Idwild clutched her wrist and collapsed. The Holy Sword's barrier reactivated, blocking the lich's second ray.
"Idi! You okay?"
"Fine... just... a bit hot..."
Her wrist was blackened where the ray grazed.
"Fuck..."
"I'm... okay..."
Idwild forced a smile through cold sweat. But she couldn't be healed. Only holy magic cured black magic, and she couldn't accept holy power. That wrist...
Rage blanked my mind. The Holy Sword's blade glowed white-hot. Brione panicked.
"Bertrand... no... kill it and you can't undo your spell...!"
Her hair stood on end from static as she cried out in terror.
"Don't, Bertrand! You might be stuck like that forever!"
But I heard nothing—only Idwild's pained groans. Dozens of lightning bolts rained randomly around us. Day and night flipped every second; Brione's face went pale. The lich blinked away like teleporting, dodging. Futile. After two evasions, a thick bolt struck its head, obliterating its upper body.
"No!"
Brione screamed in despair as the lich crumpled. She rushed to it as the barrier faded; I knelt by Idwild.
"Bertrand... killing the lich... your spell..."
"Forget that. Let me see your wrist."
It resembled the hunter's from that morning.
"Damn... it won't spread past the wrist?"
"Dunno..."
Idwild's face was ashen, lips nearly gray—clearly enduring agony. I wiped the sweat from her forehead with my sleeve.
"Idi. Hang on. I'll figure something out."
"Hehe... okay..."
I rushed to the hell horse, rummaging my bag for painkillers.
Rushing to the lich, Brione despaired. Its upper half was gone—only bony legs sprawled pitifully. The spell on Bertrand could only be undone by the caster, now lightning-fried to death.
What now...? He'd brought me as the mage... I failed to stop it, survived only thanks to the black mage... How to prove I wasn't useless? Find a solution... make him see value in me... but how?
Biting her thumbnail, Brione glanced back—and saw Bertrand gently wiping Idwild's forehead with his sleeve. The tender sight hit like a blow. Hero-era Bertrand was stoic, speaking only when needed. Even their first night together, he'd left immediately after... Never shown her that side, despite years together.
If I'd approached without ulterior motives... would he have done this for me? Hugged me that inn night, whispered he loved me...?
Forgetting her nail, she stared at their soft whispers. Then a chill—she sensed someone behind her. She spun, casting a spell.