121. Tracking the Necromancer (4)
"Next."
Whoooong.
"Next."
Whoooong.
"Next."
"Ugh…."
"Eunhyeon, let's take a short break. The lady seems unwell."
Based on the map in his head, he provided coordinates, Illyana used teleportation to move them to nearby villages, and there Eunhyeon deployed detection spells to check for suspicious activity.
If nothing was found, they set up barriers around the village and provided new coordinates for another teleport, repeating the process. On the sixth iteration, frequent teleports and changing environments caused Elenoa to feel nauseous, her stomach churning as she dry-heaved.
"S-sorry…."
Realizing she was the only one feeling poorly, Elenoa apologized in embarrassment.
"It's fine. Let's rest for 10 minutes. How are the barriers Illyana set?"
"No issues yet."
"How about you?"
"Hmm, about three-quarters left? Still plenty of room. I brought mana stones, so I'll use them once it's down to half."
"Teleporting all four of us at once—and repeatedly…? Do all high-digit mages have such absurd abilities?"
Elenoa muttered in a complicated expression, having witnessed the stark difference between general-digit and high-digit mages firsthand.
Teleportation was one of the upper-tier spatial magics.
Spatial interference to manipulate objects like psychokinesis, or summoning and dropping meteors from beyond the skies with Meteor Strike—both were spatial magics as well.
There was a vast gap between summoning a meteor to one's location with Meteor Strike and reverse-summoning oneself to a specific spot with teleport.
Elenoa, whose magic knowledge came only from liberal arts classes at Aiter, didn't know the detailed theories, but she was aware that teleportation's mana cost varied greatly with the number of targets and distance traveled.
"Illyana's a special case. Other high-digit mages can't spam teleports like she does."
"A special… case?"
"Lady, do you know why Illyana's epithet is the Black Witch?"
"Uh… no? Why?"
Elenoa shook her head and asked back.
Come to think of it, she had no idea why Illyana was called the Black Witch.
She'd never been particularly curious, figuring it had nothing to do with her.
As the daughter of a ducal house, the Black Witch—who was also Riod Olivion's friend—gave off the impression of Pernias Kingdom's most wanted criminal. Elenoa knew nothing of her backstory.
Suddenly curious, Elenoa perked up her ears.
"Illyana's a witch by birth, plain and simple."
"A witch…?"
Elenoa tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.
"Witch means… literally that? Like, the ones who seduce people and cause harm…? Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to insult Lady Illyana—I just thought of witches from books or legends…."
"No, it's fine."
Illyana nodded calmly, accepting the apology without offense. She seemed utterly indifferent to such treatment.
Now that she, a world-saving hero, bore the epithet Black Witch, one could argue it had erased all the negative connotations of "witch."
"'Witches' were humans born with innately superior mana among humans. It's similar to how Pernias nobles have a sense of privilege, believing themselves chosen for their innate superior mana."
"…Don't mock me. I'm a Pernias noble daughter too, you know."
"Not mocking. As I told you before about the former Pernias Divine Tree, their superior mana was artificially induced postnatally by the tree. But witches are different. Their superiority is congenital, not environmental. See the difference?"
"Born with natural talent from birth?"
"Yeah, pretty much. And it's not just mana. What do you think when you look at Illyana, Lady?"
"Hmm…?"
Elenoa couldn't grasp the intent.
She tilted her head, glanced at Eunhyeon, then back at Illyana, saying nothing.
Illyana's youthful, elastic skin and wrinkle-free face and body—seemingly the same age as Elenoa—were enviably beautiful even to her.
"Hard to believe she's over forty, right?"
"Th-that…."
"…Hey."
At Illyana's growling glare when Eunhyeon specified her age, Elenoa startled and checked her expression.
"Women who inherit witch blood stop aging once their bodies reach a certain maturity. Cells degrade over time due to aging, but witch mana prevents cellular damage, halting physical aging."
"That's…."
"That's why witches were seen as seducing men and causing harm. Their eternally youthful, long-lived beauty was alluring even to other women. Despite no intent, countless men fell irrationally in love, causing tons of problems back then."
Moreover, rumors were forcibly spread by nations as excuses to capture witches for research on their traits.
Elenoa glanced at Eunhyeon.
Besides Illyana, another being immune to physical aging existed: Eunhyeon himself.
Riod, a legend from the same era, maintained youth through rigorous training, but time's marks were evident on his body.
Not so for Eunhyeon and Illyana.
It felt like time had frozen for them.
"Are you… descended from witch blood too?"
"No. I'm male, so I can't inherit witch traits. Mine's a different case."
As the Norns' apostle bearing divine power, Eunhyeon's body retained the early twenties physique from his appointment.
Illyana's innate trait and his divine authority were fundamentally distinct.
"Anyway, the point is Illyana's birthright and magic aptitude are unparalleled among mages, making her special. Other high-digits can't spam high or upper-digit spells like her."
"Impressive…."
'Come to think of it, back in the dungeon, the doll analyzed her combat power at 77,000.'
Elenoa recalled the dungeon analysis.
Comparing Illyana to others then, and hearing Eunhyeon's explanation now, made her realize just how off-the-charts she was.
"…Eunhyeon. They're here."
Illyana spoke with a hardened expression. Eunhyeon tensed, and Riod, who had been listening silently, stood.
"Location?"
"The third village we hit."
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Whoooong.
They teleported to the village—and chaos erupted instantly.
Boom!
Suddenly, massive magical beasts materialized in the air, crashing to the ground with earth-shaking thuds.
Rooooar!
A Minotaur wielding a giant axe in one hand pounded its chest and bellowed. An Ogre swung a club like a baseball bat, smashing buildings. Trolls, orcs, and other hulking beasts capable of crushing humans effortlessly swarmed, ravaging the small village.
"No way…."
Even expecting it, witnessing the carnage left Elenoa muttering blankly.
"No time to gawk. Riod, Illyana—protect the lady, subjugate the beasts, rescue the villagers."
"And you?"
"I'll hunt the alchemist and necromancer behind this. With spatial movement, they'll flee the moment they sense the anomaly. Gotta end them before that."
"You won't lose, but… be careful. Any scratches before the wedding, and I won't hold back."
"Worrying over nothing."
Eunhyeon chuckled and nodded at Illyana's concern.
"Let's move."
Riod led, followed by Illyana and Elenoa. Eunhyeon headed off to find the culprits.
He spread mana across the village for detection and activated his authority to process the influx of information.
Eunhyeon Exclusive
Thought Acceleration
Beast rampages, Riod's group's movements, villagers' screams—information flooded his mind, sorted rapidly via accelerated thought.
Then, detection relayed a scene: a woman clutching a man's trouser leg amid rubble, another woman—his companion—standing nearby.
He couldn't hear words, but it was clear she was begging them. Eunhyeon rushed there without hesitation.
Eunhyeon Exclusive
Time Acceleration
Body accelerated, he sped toward them—and voices reached him.
"Please, spare me. Please, spare me. I beg you."
"Heh heh, why should I?"
"Marius, time's wasting. Finish it."
"Aww, fine. I wanted some fun, but you're rushing me…."
The black-haired man sneered at the woman begging at his feet.
He kicked her face away from his pants—simultaneously, Eunhyeon flickered into view behind him via body substitution.
"Huh?"
The brown-haired woman, who had been sullenly urging the man, stared blankly at Eunhyeon.
Spotting the swords in his hands, she urgently called out.
"Marius!"
Too late. Eunhyeon's blades met the man's body.
Ciete Sword Saint Art
⟨ Imae Nando (Demon Chaos Blade) ⟩
With dual swords: right arm, left leg, left arm, right leg—severed in under two seconds.
"Wha…?"
Balance lost, his limbless torso hit the ground. Called Marius, he hadn't grasped what happened until staring blankly at the sky, emptiness in his missing limbs dawning—his face paled.
"A-Argh!"
Torso-only, he thrashed in panic, a pathetic sight.
"Wh-what… are you…."
The brown-haired woman glared in shock and fear. When Eunhyeon met her eyes, she backed away.
He ignored her, thrusting his sword into the limbless man's shoulder with fierce eyes.
Recalling bandit intel, matching appearances: black-haired man was Marius Holten, brown-haired woman Renat—confirmed. Action initiated.
"Gaaaaah!"
Twisting the hilt churned the blade in his shoulder, eliciting screams.
"Finally met you."
"Grk!"
Eunhyeon's lethal glare promised death for no answer.
"Who… taught you necromancy?"