Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Place Where Trespassers Die (1)
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Kain, the second strongest sorcerer in the Black Tower.
He knew Myoran well.
The monstrous sight of her taking on two knight commanders at once, even without borrowing the power of the Heavenly Jade.
No one could subdue her one-on-one.
That's why he'd prepared the black magic mirror, forcing her to fight reflected clones of herself.
No matter how strong you are, battling enemies that mimic you perfectly is an incredibly tough feat.
However, this spell was so cheat-like that it required extensive preparation.
Mirrors had to be installed around the target to cast the illusion, and no one could touch them.
So he'd assigned three elite knights to the warden and even laid down trap spells... yet somehow...
How the hell did that damn commoner break through?
"No, that's not it. Now's not the time to think about that spoiled young master."
The black sorcerer muttered to himself.
Clutching his forehead, he focused on the catastrophe before him.
The Sword Sage, Myoran.
The woman known as the supreme sword of the Central Plains.
"......"
Having bound her once before, he'd planned to step up alone this time and claim the bounty for himself.
And now he realized just how idiotic that idea had been.
"Fine. I'll fight you with my life on the line too."
The middle-aged black sorcerer raised his staff high.
His temples throbbed as he began shaving away at his own lifespan.
"I'll face you today with the resolve that one of us dies."
The lanterns in the solitary cell flickered.
Each time they dimmed and brightened, something began to rise slowly behind Kain.
The shadow of a massive, pitch-black dragon.
"This sorcery can only be wielded by those at the pinnacle of black magic."
Quite confident, the corners of his mouth twitched.
Having offered half his remaining life, he had no room to retreat.
The dragon-shaped shadow filled the underground solitary cell.
Mouth agape, it charged up a black breath attack.
Even in past playthroughs, this was a rare display of overwhelming firepower.
But instead of facing the flashy strike head-on, Myoran glanced at me.
"You. You said you wanted to learn iaijutsu, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I did."
Myoran spoke with her dark jade eyes.
"The Central Plains has similar techniques, so I'll show you something special."
Myoran sheathed her black sword back into its scabbard.
Hand resting on the hilt, she waited for the shadow dragon's black breath.
Kwaaaang---!!
A beam of light erupted with enough force to shake the entire underground.
True to its reputation for leveling a whole village.
But.
Myoran didn't budge against the oncoming beam.
As if calmly waiting for an opening.
This wasn't the her who always swung wildly, consumed by madness.
If even a mere spoiled young master could pierce the black sorcerer's illusions to reach her,
then it would be laughable if she, the Sword Sage, couldn't surpass it.
Green glint in her eyes, she drew her black sword.
And unleashed a single strike in a perfect straight line.
"......!!"
The sword aura sliced the beam in half.
The split streams ricocheted, slamming into the walls on either side.
Kwarrr---!!
The magically reinforced sturdy walls crumbled.
Dense dust filled the solitary cell.
"Kuhk...!!"
I grimaced and looked straight ahead again.
A single iaijutsu strike.
That one blow cleaved not just the breath, but the black dragon itself in two.
Kain's face went slack at the overwhelming difference.
Mine too.
But I wasn't admiring her strike.
The reason I was shocked was...
Myoran's technique had shattered not only the black dragon, but the back wall too.
The wall was gone, and even the corridor beyond was wrecked.
Just thinking about the horrific repair costs made my lips tremble.
Oblivious to my feelings, Myoran turned away cynically, assuming I was impressed.
'Don't show off—tell everyone to charge in and fight...!!'
"It's not over yet!!"
The damn black sorcerer unleashed spells without pause.
In an instant, he turned the solitary cell floor into a black swamp.
But Myoran traversed it with graceful movements, swift as a dancer.
She had reached the realm of walking on water.
Flabbergasted, Kain gathered the scattered fragments of the black dragon.
Transforming them into hundreds of arrows, he rained them down on the charging Sword Sage.
Myoran smirked at the volley tearing through the air toward her.
She plunged her sword into the swampy ground...
And swept it wide while lowering her body.
A beautiful scene unfolded, like a full moon floating on a black lake.
Heavy streams of water surged into the air.
The arrows tangled in the viscous waves and all tumbled down.
Shwaaa---.
Amid the black rain, Myoran gazed indifferently at the black sorcerer.
The eyes of an absolute powerhouse who relied on no one's strength.
The Black Tower sorcerer shrank back involuntarily.
Only now did he realize how insane it was to face her alone.
After that, he tried to pull himself together for a counterattack, but...
The woman bearing the moon's yin energy showed no mercy.
In the pouring rain, she pierced his heart in one breath.
"Kuaaaak...!!"
The member of that group he'd so desperately wanted to kill.
Black blood bubbled from his mouth.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance. Pathetic lot."
The Eastern Sword Sage looked coldly down at Kain on his knees.
The black sorcerer trembled violently and collapsed to the floor.
Then fled into the swampy ground.
"Looks like he's escaping."
"Doesn't matter. He'll die soon anyway."
His heart was already pierced.
No matter how vicious the black magic, a sorcerer could last only minutes.
Myoran had gifted him the agony of a slow death.
"My head feels clearer now. Feels better."
She tilted her head toward the ceiling.
Her black cheongsam and hair damp with sweat.
It was as if one of the chains binding her had been undone.
"Hey."
With some mental leeway, Myoran turned to me slowly.
I rolled my sly, weasel-like eyes nonchalantly.
"Planning to slip away like a fox again?"
"I was going to retrieve the corpse before it died fleeing."
"I've got a question before you go."
"......?"
Myoran approached me slowly.
Breathing hot breath indifferently.
Her hand on my shoulder.
She pulled me in with her distant eyes.
Rich, fragrant body scent and breath tickled my nose.
"How did you get in here? Surely enemies went after you too."
"If you're suspecting I allied with them, relax. I handled them all myself."
I looked leisurely down at the exhilarated 19-year-old woman.
With the arrogant expression everyone called villainous.
"They're all sipping my special brew coffee and marveling at it right now."
"Special brew coffee...?"
The more we talked, the more he tilted her head—this odd man.
Myoran looked up at me blankly, then let out a deep sigh.
"So you poisoned them with the coffee. Fitting for your infamous ruthless family."
'I didn't kill them...'
As I made a sullen face, she released her grip.
Then turned away firmly, crossing her arms alone.
"Go on. Weren't you retrieving the body?"
"I'll be right back, so clean up a bit. I asked you to kill cleanly for once..."
Myoran stared fixedly at me grumbling up the stairs.
After I vanished completely.
She awkwardly fiddled with her braided hair and muttered.
"To draw inspiration from a fool like that. I've gotten weak too."
A guy who could barely hold a sword properly had come all this way for his prisoner.
Defeating three knights far stronger than him and breaking through the black sorcerer's trap that had beaten her once.
Watching that, Myoran resolved she could win without the Heavenly Jade's power.
Unconsciously, she stroked her long hair like a snake.
"Still, he's definitely different from those past wardens."
Myoran let out a short sigh.
She scanned her surroundings quietly...
And timidly picked up a fallen stone, nudging it aside.
***
"Hurk... Hurk...!!"
A man clutching his pierced chest staggered through the dark forest.
He barely made it to the rendezvous point with his subordinates.
"No wonder the pay was so high. Damn it...!!"
Normally, to capture a beast like Myoran, they'd assign at least three on his level.
But everyone was busy, and though Tutton Grand Duke suggested waiting,
tempted by the chance to claim all three knights' bounties, Kain had pushed ahead.
'It's fine. Just in case, I can eat those three knights' hearts I brought along to extend my life...!!'
He arrived at the promised wild mountain, laughing maniacally.
Sure enough, three former imperial knights awaited him.
"You bastards couldn't even stop one warden and ruined everything...!!"
He coughed, blaming the mercenaries.
"......"
They hung their heads silently.
His anger boiling over, he approached with magic crackling in his grip.
Ready to rip out all their hearts at once.
"Because of you, look at me!! Line up single file!!"
Fortunately, they obeyed their superior's order mutely.
Thinking knights were easy to handle after all, he smirked as he neared.
"Hm?"
But his smile vanished completely.
His mind blanked, just like when the spell on Myoran broke.
"W-What...?"
Their eyes meeting his were all wrong.
The mercenaries stared at their superior with lifeless red eyes.
They all drew their weapons.
Before Kain could finish, an axe buried in his throat.
A bullet lodged in his forehead, a sword plunged into his opposite chest.
"Kuhhek...!!"
The black blood he'd spilled killing countless humans poured out.
The brainwashed knights stabbed and slashed until he was thoroughly dead.
"What kind of prison has monsters like this..."
Those were the last words of the Black Tower's respected second-in-command.
His breath cut off, he sprawled namelessly on the wild mountain.
Anje watched from the first-floor solitary cell.
At the dirt smell wafting to her room, she fanned herself regally.
The brainwashed mercenaries nodded in unison.
They bundled the corpse in a sack and loaded it onto the cart prepared for Myoran.
"......"
The cart descended the mountain toward the incinerator.
Knights were patrolling the busy road at that hour.
"What's this in the dead of night?"
"We have something urgent to dispose of."
The northern knights eyed the mercenaries suspiciously.
Bloody clothes and a cart.
Obviously a corpse dumping in progress.
"No matter how you look at it, this seems like a crime scene..."
"Hold on. Are you from Berryhill Prison by any chance?"
At the high-ranking knight's question, the mercenaries answered promptly.
"In that case, go ahead."
"Pardon? It doesn't look normal at all."
The soldier's query drew a solemn reply from the knight.
"Grand Elder said not to meddle in Berryhill Prison affairs."
"Ah, if it's his word..."
"Yeah. It's all orders from above, so we just follow."
"Understood. Must be part of some plan."
The knights politely stepped aside and even opened the gate.
They courteously escorted them into the incinerator.
Thus, the Black Tower's second-in-command, who'd entered the prison, was neatly disposed of.
Saintess Anje lay on her pristine bed, murmuring contentedly.
"These sorts of things are best handled by underworld types."
Grand Elder Dark adjusted his glasses on his nose bridge solemnly.
Freshly awakened, he smoked a cigar while reading the newspaper.
The two prisoners had decisively punished the one who disturbed their sleep.
Meanwhile, I arrived at their rendezvous to retrieve the corpse and blinked in surprise.
"What the? Where's the body?"
The black sorcerer's corpse needed to be buried in corrupted soil for perfect disposal.
But the rag that was him was nowhere to be found.