Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Signal
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“What?! Why, why are you leaving me out?!”
Upon hearing that Damian was excluding her from the battle with Elgana, Paruzan’s old self resurfaced after a long time.
She could understand Damian preparing a separate strategy without informing her.
It was fine for someone whose true identity was unknown to join the hunt.
But she couldn’t comprehend being left out herself.
She had believed this was finally her chance to show her true skills. To think she’d get stabbed in the back like this.
“I have a separate task for you. Something only you can do, Paruzan.”
“What is it? What?”
But at Damian’s words, Paruzan’s expression softened. They weren’t empty words.
Damian was skilled at manipulating others, separate from his own strength.
She had never seen it, but somehow Agnes seemed talented in that area too.
It didn’t feel particularly bad.
It was a skill in itself, and there was no reason for a hunter to hold back on means or methods when targeting prey.
But Damian’s words at that moment weren’t just to soothe Paruzan.
They weren’t deception—they were sincere. He said it because it truly was something only Paruzan could do.
‘This time, I’ll show you for sure.’
Whoooosh. Atop a tall tower overlooking the capital’s scenery.
After Damian entered Enricasil, Paruzan activated all her senses to their maximum.
Even standing still, sweat poured from her entire body.
This was the first time in her life she had maintained “Pursuit” so intensely for such a prolonged period.
The voices of children chattering in alleys, the movements of rats scurrying inside the tower, the smell of food just served to a customer, the wingbeats of birds soaring through the clear sky, and the mana emanating from people.
Essentially, the entire capital lay beneath Paruzan’s feet. Every piece of information from there tickled her senses.
In truth, there was nothing she could do with just this information.
Paradoxically, there was too much information for her brain to process.
But if an artificial change occurred here, she could pinpoint its exact location.
That was what Damian wanted from Paruzan.
“Haa. Haa. Haa.”
Drip. Drip. Drip. Sweat droplets pooled on the floor, her breathing growing increasingly ragged.
But she couldn’t let go of the tension.
If she lost the flow here, it would take several minutes to recover it.
If the change Damian mentioned happened in the meantime, she wouldn’t fulfill his request.
And just as she forgot she was even breathing—
‘It’s here!’
She sensed the change Damian had described.
It was a very subtle difference, but unmistakably artificial mana.
“Northern Uncle! The signal Damian mentioned is here. Follow me as best you can.”
Paruzan waved to Shakiya waiting below, then threw herself off the spire.
Thud. She fell from a considerable height, but made no sound.
It was the mana control of a monster hunter—even sand left no footprints.
Tatatak. Paruzan dashed across rooftops like a nimble beast. She had locked onto the target’s position.
The flow of mana invisible to the eye reached her like scent.
Once she set her prey, Paruzan’s “Pursuit” never let it go.
‘Here it is!’
She arrived at a shabby building on the capital’s outskirts.
It looked ordinary on the outside, but something unimaginable to the passing citizens was happening in its basement.
“Oh, Northern Uncle!”
In her frenzy, she had forgotten about Shakiya.
He was skilled, but keeping up with Paruzan’s speed wasn’t easy.
Was he following properly? If he was too late, it wouldn’t be a big problem for Paruzan to infiltrate alone. As she turned her head—
“Desert. Paruzan. Fast. Faster. Than. Thought. Skilled. Good.”
The sunlight glinted off his shiny bald head, dazzling her eyes.
Contrary to her worries, Shakiya was keeping up well behind her.
“Damian. Trusts. Paruzan. Shakiya. Trusts. Paruzan.”
“Of course.”
He even grinned, showing his teeth like it was praise.
At first glance, his intimidating presence had made her hairs stand on end, but he had his amusing side.
Creak. The two entered the building, devoid of any signs of life.
It was so neglected that dust blanketed everything. Each step made the wooden floor groan.
But Paruzan’s “Pursuit” clearly detected people underground.
There was also a complex flow of mana. They must have stacked magical devices.
However, there was no visible path downward. As she pondered how to break through—
Kwachik! Shakiya smashed the floor with his massive fist. The translucent energy rippled, and the wooden planks shattered helplessly.
Beneath was a stone wall. But Shakiya didn’t care and kept swinging his fist.
“…….”
It was a brutish method matching his appearance.
By now, those underground must have noticed the intrusion and prepared countermeasures.
‘Is this okay?’
In Paruzan’s view, it wasn’t ideal.
Her perfect hunt involved securing maximum information on the prey while giving away almost none of her own.
“Phew.”
But it was already too late. Stopping Shakiya now wouldn’t change anything.
So Paruzan drew a massive blunt weapon from her subspace cloak.
Boom! Boom! Boom! After smashing the stone wall for dozens of minutes, a massive entrance leading down formed.
It was dark, but not without light. Paruzan and Shakiya leaped through the hole and landed lightly at their destination.
“““…….”””
Behind magical devices spewing smoke as they operated, she heard the breathing of enemies aiming at them.
“No plans to surrender?”
They were prey, but still human.
According to a book she’d seen at the annex, it was etiquette to ask for surrender intent before full combat.
Bang! Instead of an answer, a mana bolt flew. Paruzan tilted her head slightly, dodging as if she’d anticipated it.
“Y-y-you lot! Turn back now, and we won’t make an issue of it. Y-y-your comrades are facing our master right now, and b-b-before that one, there’s only d-d-death.”
His voice trembled uncontrollably. Not at Paruzan and Shakiya, but at that “master.”
The mage Elgana.
Infamous as the empire’s worst criminal. He had massacred countless people in the past.
“Damian’s there.”
“What?”
“Damian’s fighting. Against that Elgana or whatever. So no need to hold back.”
Paruzan said as she nocked an arrow to her bow in demonstration.
Since the day Damian saved her, she hadn’t doubted him for a single moment.
Damian said he would win. So it would happen.
All Paruzan had to do was fulfill her role here. That was the arrow’s duty.
* * *
Shraaaak! A blade of ultra-compressed air sliced through the undead horde.
Flesh and blood sprayed everywhere, but the gap was soon filled by other undead.
Moreover, in just a few minutes, the mangled flesh would regroup into new undead.
“Begone!”
At Elgana’s shout, another horde of undead exploded.
Clang. This time, jet-black armor filled the gap.
Crunch. As the Death Knight blocked with its sword, Elgana twisted the ground to raise a wall.
But the enemy’s assault didn’t end there.
Roar. Green flames surged like waves from both ends of Elgana’s barrier.
But these flames were different in intensity from the previous ones. More precisely, two flames of different intensities were mixed.
The green flames, one of Damian’s aliases.
Until now, he had used them through small familiars, but this time, Damian’s own firepower was added.
Simply deploying a mana barrier to defend would be the worst option.
Fire with fire. The flames gathered in Elgana’s hands merged into one, taking the form of a massive bird as it clashed with the green inferno.
‘Damn it… When will that guy contact me?’
Elgana had taken no direct damage yet.
He had focused solely on reading the enemy’s intent and countering efficiently, rather than attacking.
But he was being pushed back. Damian had seized control of the battlefield long ago.
The backlash from Surtr’s destruction. Plus, the connection to Enricasil had been severed midway, causing significant damage.
Elgana wasn’t at full strength now. If he loosened his tension even slightly, Damian’s sword would sever his neck.
[Lord Elgana? Is there a problem?]
Contact finally came through the magical device.
‘You damned bastard.’
But he suppressed his anger as much as possible. He had no choice but to trust him now.
[Damian and Kallag have infiltrated. We moved the key devices to the hideout, but there’s trouble. Go handle it.]
[That’s not part of our contract.]
[Our contract isn’t what matters now. If my business goes well, yours will too.]
[…Are you being overwhelmed by chance?]
Grit. He nearly spat curses aloud.
But he didn’t act on it.
Provoking him wouldn’t help, and he needed to focus on Damian’s incoming sword strikes.
Shraaaak! Defending with a mana barrier was no longer feasible.
Even if he blocked the sword strike itself, he’d be fully exposed to the following green flames.
Thus, Elgana twisted space itself to deflect Damian’s attack.
Cough! The impact made him spit blood. Compared to that attack, it was minor damage.
‘Paradoxical….’
Damian was a mage. Yet among Damian’s attacks, the one Elgana struggled most with was swordsmanship.
He had never yielded this distance to a knight-like foe before.
Knights who had foolishly charged at him in the past vanished into dust before swinging their swords properly.
And Damian’s sword was more vicious than imagined.
It was purely physical strength without aura, yet felt more powerful than average aura.
[…You seem to be struggling indeed.]
[It’s just a minor setback. But with your help, I can resolve it faster. Then, I’ll grant what you asked for last time.]
[…Don’t go back on your word later.]
[Of course. Have I ever broken a promise?]
Good. Once the connection to Enricasil was restored, he could reverse this situation in an instant. All he had to do was buy time until then.
‘Enjoy it while it lasts.’
Elgana smirked bitterly at the charging Damian.
Seeing that confident expression drown in despair would be quite the sight.
* * *
‘Gain or loss, I wonder.’
The man rose from the shadows. It was the site where Elgana had sent the key magical devices.
Not his main body. This was reconnaissance to assess the situation and plan the attack.
“Hey, you lot. Any way to destroy this?”
“Device. Tough. Shakiya’s. Fist. Hurts.”
He saw the giant and the little girl. Shakiya and Paruzan.
Elgana’s slaves trembled before them.
“W-we stopped the devices as ordered. It must’ve dealt significant damage even to that madman Elgana. So please spare our lives.”
“So tell me a surefire way to wreck it. This thing’s too sturdy.”
“W-we don’t really kn-know…. We just follow orders.”
“…Lies. Sniff sniff. You’re hiding something. Northern Uncle, break one of this guy’s legs.”
The pitiful slaves were still concealing how to destroy the magical devices.
Not out of loyalty, but fear of Elgana.
“W-wait a moment. I-I might remember something….”
But how long they’d hold out was unknown. He needed to act quickly.
‘Two opponents. Take them out one by one….’
The moment he tried to enter the hideout interior, the man felt a subtle incongruity. The street ahead was too deserted.
“If you have no special business, turn back.”
The voice came from above. A mage. And a strong one.
“You’re…”
“I have no intention of going easy just because we share blood or whatever. I don’t want unnecessary commotion. Why not just vanish?”
Same hair color as the man. The mark of the traitor’s descendants.
Yet a mage of that caliber in the empire—only one existed.
“Guardian Dennis.”
“Hah. You know me? Sorry, but I don’t know you.”
“Why are you blocking me?”
“They’re Damian’s people. Don’t interfere.”
“What’s your relation to him?”
Dennis stroked his chin at the man’s question.
His relation to Damian… He owed him a great debt, and he was one of the few Dennis could trust.
“As you know, I’m Guardian Dennis. But I’m not serving the Magic Tower now. So…”
Dennis smirked.
“Consider me Damian’s close friend.”
A few years ago, no one would have believed him saying that.
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