Chapter 1926 – 1926. Dark Moon
He was a soldier carrying a bag. I reflexively checked his rank. One five-pointed star. He was a Major, same as me. There was also a mark indicating his affiliation. 6th Corps. Even though we were the same rank, he was higher up.
I felt something was off.
‘He came alone?’
Having worked in the military, I knew. Smuggling military secrets isn’t something you can do alone. Especially not something worth 200 million credits.
‘Does he know something might happen at the exchange and that’s why he came alone?’
I barely resisted the urge to use detection magic. Using it now could ruin the deal itself. At least I needed to get my hands on the item. Even if it was fake, the chance of it being real couldn’t be ignored.
‘In situations like this, assume the enemy is hiding.’
I finished preparing to use Barrier and Flash at any moment.
“Can I see the item?”
I asked the soldier, keeping a certain distance.
“I need to check this first. Do you have the 200 million credits ready?”
I tossed the bag into the air. Using telekinesis, I levitated the bag and unlocked it. The bag opened, revealing the cash inside.
The soldier nodded. He opened his magically treated bag. A potion bottle fell out with a gust of cold air.
“This is Flash, a memory recovery potion. It’s a potion that risks degradation if the temperature rises, so it needs to be kept at sub-zero temperatures.”
The bottle contained an orange liquid. It didn’t seem to freeze despite the sub-zero temperature.
‘Is it real? It’s the first time I’ve seen it, so it’s hard to tell if it’s real with the naked eye.’
Was it a real deal and not a trap?
‘Still, I’ll kill Kevin. Kevin is more useful dead than alive.’
My relationship with Kevin was already broken. Even if this deal went smoothly, I had no intention of improving my relationship with Kevin. I had already promised the Deputy Warden position to Anchae.
‘As soon as I get my hands on Flash, I’ll kill the man in front of me and Kevin.’
I handed over the money bag with telekinesis and reached for Flash. A cold chill seeped through my hand. My fingers touched the potion bottle.
Zzzzzzzzz!
“……!”
A sensation of something seeping through my fingers.
‘Dark mana?’
As soon as I felt the anomaly, I grabbed Flash and stepped back.
“I’ve been waiting for this! Die, Leon Schneider!!!”
Kevin shouted, aiming a pistol at my back and pulling the trigger.
[Barrier]
A shield enveloped my body, protecting me from the bullet. A level 5 barrier I had prepared in advance.
Crack!
The shield, which shouldn’t have been scratched by a bullet, cracked.
‘He’s disrupting the barrier’s formula. Is that a magic bullet with a dispel effect?’
If it hadn’t been a level 5 barrier, it would have definitely been pierced.
I lifted my right foot and stomped hard on the ground. A magic circle flashed on the floor and disappeared.
[Spike]
Spikes shot up from the ground around me, targeting both Kevin and the man. The man dodged backward as if he had been waiting for it, and Kevin also quickly retreated.
‘He has basic skills, as befitting someone who became Deputy Warden.’
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 11]
Flash accelerates my thought process. I reconfirm the enemy’s position and calculate the formulas. There was no reason to drag out the fight.
I’ll finish them with Thunder Bolt, my most confident level 5 lightning magic.
The calculation of the formula is complete, and I move my mana. I cast using 52 mana rods simultaneously.
“Cough!”
I coughed up blood. Seven mana rods backfired, causing internal injuries. I wiped the blood from my mouth and stood up. It would take about three minutes to readjust the seven mana rods. In other words, I had to redo the Thunder Bolt formula I had just created.
“It’s surprising that an alchemist tried to use elemental attack magic… and that you suppressed the mana backflow in less than 10 seconds…. Your mana manipulation alone doesn’t make sense. What’s your mana affinity?”
I myself didn’t know exactly how much mana affinity I had. It felt like it was growing. And even if I did know, I had no intention of answering honestly.
“What kind of curse did you put on the potion?”
“You noticed that too. But you’re wrong. The curse was placed a week ago. You must have felt unwell. Isn’t that right?”
A curse.
It seemed that my recent poor condition was due to his curse. But that wasn’t the shocking part.
“…I didn’t know I was cursed?”
Curses are usually subtle. Depending on the type, the target often doesn’t notice the curse until they die. In a way, it’s the perfect assassination method.
“I admit you’re a skilled magician. But that’s all. There are plenty of magicians like you. Don’t be arrogant.”
It was clear that he was a dark magician. He was openly emitting dark mana, so there was no way I couldn’t tell. The important thing was which type he was.
“What’s your name?”
“Do you need to know my name?”
“I was impressed that you ignored my senses and placed a curse. I’ll acknowledge you too. What’s your name?”
“Niklas Kuster.”
“Okay, Niklas. What kind of curse did you place? Besides the mana backflow curse. I’ve already reverse-engineered and undone that. What I’m curious about is the curse that’s still causing fatigue. I’ve been tired for the past week because of it.”
I was really curious about the curse. I needed to know so I wouldn’t fall for it again.
‘Curses need a medium. He must have used my hair. Kevin must have gotten my hair and given it to him.’
What I was curious about was the type of curse.
“Ha. You’re quite the showman. You’ve been tired? Do you think I don’t know that your mind is already worn down?”
“What are you talking about? Did you put a mental curse on me too?”
“Nonsense. That place is a prison. It was filled with hatred and resentment towards you. Countless vengeful spirits must have appeared in your dreams and tormented you. I know better than anyone that your insides are rotting.”
Vengeful spirits.
I realized.
“So you’re a necromancer. You used vengeful spirits to curse me. But I haven’t had a single nightmare.”
“Still denying it to the end. Can you really say that after seeing the vengeful spirits clinging to your body?”
Black dark mana spread out from Niklas’s body.
I narrowed my eyes. Things that shouldn’t be visible began to appear.
Souls that hadn’t found peace, wraiths. The wraiths, in gruesome forms that were close to but not quite human, all stared at me.
“They are the ones who resent you. Those who were killed by you and couldn’t find peace because of their deep resentment. They are the ones who want your death and willingly offered their souls to me!”
“……Indeed. There are quite a few familiar faces.”
A child and a woman were clinging to my body. I had seen those faces before. I couldn’t forget them even if I wanted to. It hadn’t even been a month since they died. The woman and child were the wraiths of Matthias. In addition, the prisoners I had executed were also hating me.
“Now.”
Niklas’s voice echoed. The wraiths reacted in unison.
“Wraiths, unleash your resentment! Make the sinner pay for his sins!”
Hundreds of wraiths rushed at me. I calmly deployed a barrier. It was useless. The incorporeal beings passed through the barrier and clung to my body.
“…….”
My body felt heavy.
That was all.
Niklas was flustered. He pointed his finger at me, sweating.
“W-Why can’t the wraiths enter you?!?”
“Why are you asking me? You’re the expert.”
“…You, by any chance. You don’t have any guilt about those you killed…. Not even a shred of concern?”
“They’re already dead. Why should I care about them?”
“Among those you killed, there are those who didn’t commit any crimes!”
“I don’t kill people without a reason.”
“What? Can’t you see the wraiths here?! They are the proof of your sins! Many of them were unjustly killed by you! Look at that man! That man was mistaken for a member of the Cabrahim gang and killed by you!”
The battle with the Cabrahim gang. I remembered. I personally stepped in and killed the remnants because they were annoying. I also found and killed their families.
“Ah, I remember. I knew that man wasn’t a gang member.”
“You’re finally being honest. That man is the innocent person you killed without a reason!”
“There was a reason for killing him.”
“I’m curious what kind of excuse you’ll make. What’s the reason?”
“He was an eyesore.”
He frowned at my answer. He looked at me as if he couldn’t understand.
“…You killed an innocent person for such a reason?”
“An ant is passing by at my feet. I stepped on it because I didn’t like the way it was moving. It’s the same thing. I killed him because he was an eyesore. Ah, of course, I killed him because I was sure there would be no repercussions. To the public, he’s just a poor citizen who got caught up in the process of suppressing a gang. But what does it matter?”
“…I see that you’re even more trash than I imagined.”
“It’s refreshing to hear that from a necromancer.”
I took out a level 3 Dark Hole from my pocket. An organ extracted from a dark magician’s body. I used all the stored dark mana to cast a spell.
[Dark Flame]
Black flames rose and clung to the wraiths.
“Kieeeeeeeeeeek!”
The wraiths screamed and fell off my body. More than half of them were annihilated in the process.
‘As expected, they’re vulnerable to the same dark magic.’
Niklas hurriedly gathered the wraiths near him. He looked at me with shocked eyes.
“Alchemy, elemental magic, and now dark magic…! How are you using them all?!”
“I just practiced a little and it worked. Alchemy and dark magic are both in the category of magic, after all.”
“…….”
Niklas frowned.
He made hand seals with both hands. Each time he made a seal, the surrounding wraiths distorted.
Necromancy I had never seen before.
I was curious, but this wasn’t a situation where I could afford to leisurely observe.
Crack!
It was the moment I was about to cast lightning magic.
Bang!
As soon as I heard the gunshot from afar, I reflexively used Flash. A bullet was flying towards me. The point of impact was my forehead. The bullet was too big to ignore, even if I trusted my barrier. Anti-tank. And it was a magic bullet. I threw my body to the side to avoid the sniper shot.
