Chapter 54 : Chapter 54

Chapter 54. Damned Annoying (1)

“What is the item?”

“Ugh… uuuugh….”

“You’re the black mage, right?”

“…N-no.”

“Do you think I’d believe you if you said no, looking like that?”

“……”

He was currently wrapped in a black robe and holding a staff made of a skull in one hand.

The black mage's face turned red.

Indeed, no one would believe him if he said, ‘I am not a black mage,’ while looking like this.

Patrick looked at him and smirked.

‘Tracking him is easy since he's fleeing while leaking magi all over the place.’

He had expected it to some extent, but the mana these beings called black mages handled was similar to, no, exactly the same as the demonic energy emitted by the demonic practitioners of the Jianghu.

Although the method of operation was different, the feeling of the energy was unmistakably demonic energy.

As long as he couldn't hide that aura, he couldn't escape Patrick’s sensory perception.

Patrick looked at him with cold eyes.

This disgusting feeling.

A muddled energy that felt like a mixture of sticky mud and filth.

It was undoubtedly demonic energy.

Yes. This was the energy Patrick knew.

Facing the black mage before him, Patrick hesitated for a moment, which was unlike him.

Then, letting out a small sigh, he difficultly opened his mouth.

“Hey.”

“Wh… what is it?”

“Do you know the Heavenly Demon?”

“…Huh?”

“Or what about the Blood Demon?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Patrick stared at his opponent.

Even after hearing the names of the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Demon, the black mage wore an expression that said, ‘What kind of bullshit is that?’

It didn’t look like an act.

It was a face of genuine ignorance.

‘So it’s completely unrelated. It was completely unrelated.’

Patrick let out a deep sigh.

A complex mix of emotions was tangled within that sigh.

At least in this world, there were no terrifying existences like the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or the Blood Cult.

The demonic energy they emitted was similar to that of the demonic practitioners of the Jianghu, but that was all.

That fact brought a sense of relief, and at the same time….

‘Disappointment….’

Patrick himself was quite surprised by the emotion that arose from within him.

The black mage before him was not a demonic practitioner.

He was an existence completely unrelated to the demonic practitioners of the Jianghu.

The only existence in this world with a connection to the Jianghu was Patrick Schneider himself. That fact….

‘Is disappointing?’

“Ha…”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

It had been a really long time since he had felt so pathetic.

“Did I still have lingering feelings? Still?”

He thought he had cut them off.

He thought he had sorted everything out.

He thought he could leave the connections of the past as mere memories.

But every time the soldiers wielded the swords of the Twin Dragon Sect that he had taught them….

Every time he found a clumsy trace of his sworn brother in the saber arts wielded by the Orcs….

Every time he saw the shadow of his Master in his father’s words and actions….

“Damned annoying.”

Irritation surged up.

Not at anyone else, but at himself.

A thick killing intent flowed from Patrick’s body. So much so that the black mage before him flinched.

And Patrick said.

“What was it you said you were going to retrieve earlier?”

“What are you talking about…”

Thud.

There was the sound of something falling to the ground.

When the black mage inadvertently looked down, a human ear was lying there. And….

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

The black mage rolled on the ground from the intense pain he felt in his right ear.

He didn't even know when he had been cut.

Only after his mind registered the fact that his ear had been cut off did the intense pain rush in.

“Uuuuuuuugh…”

Watching the black mage groaning in pain with tears and snot running down his face, Patrick said indifferently.

“It seems you have no tolerance for pain. Your physical abilities are just those of a weakling.”

“You… you dare…”

“I’ll ask again. What was it you said you were going to retrieve earlier?”

“I won’t tell you…”

Thud.

Something fell again.

This time, he realized it much faster.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

His nose was severed and fell to the ground, and the black mage rolled on the floor.

And Patrick said.

“Next is your eye.”

“Ugh… uuuuugh… You devil-like bastard.”

“For a guy leaking demonic energy all over to say that, how does your conscience handle it?”

The common knowledge Patrick had about black mages was that they were just evil and dirty humans.

He had only learned of them as losers who had tried to overthrow the world by bringing in demons in the past, only to be utterly ruined.

He had never seen one in person, so he just took it as it was. But seeing one in person….

“How much blood must you have shed to gather that much demonic energy? What kind of filthy things did you have to do?”

“Kuuuhk…”

Basically, demonic energy is not an energy that is accumulated normally.

Demonic energy is created by gathering and refining the evil energy emitted when humans die tragically.

In other words, the energy within that bastard’s body was an energy obtained by sacrificing countless lives. The fight he started against the punitive force here was probably for a similar reason.

“The thing you’re hiding. Shall I guess what it is?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

The black mage shouted, but Patrick said with a sneer.

“It's probably people's life force, or the evil energy generated when they die in agony, gathered in some form. Isn't that right?”

“……!”

There was no answer, but the black mage’s body stiffened for a moment.

“You were going to take that something, where the energy is gathered, before you retreated. Am I wrong?”

“Who… who are you? How…”

“How do I know?”

Patrick said with a cold smile.

“I know because you act similarly.”

“What… Kuaaaaargh!”

As promised, this time, one of his eyes was gouged out.

Patrick said to the black mage, who was writhing in pain.

“If you don’t want to talk, then don’t. Now that I know what to look for, I can find it on my own even if you don’t tell me.”

“Lies… kuaaaargh…”

“If you think it’s a lie, then think so. Instead…”

Patrick continued, his words filled with a cold killing intent, as if pronouncing a sentence.

“Don’t expect to die comfortably.”

“……”

The black mage trembled.

This guy was the real deal.

“W-wait, I can’t tell you. It’s not that I won’t, I can’t speak. So… kuaaaargh!”

“It seems you’re under some kind of binding spell.”

“…Kuuuuh… y-yes. That’s right. So…”

“So what?”

“Aaaaaargh!”

Patrick’s sword carved out only the flesh from the most painful parts of the black mage’s body.

Ears, nose, eyes, lips….

Swordsmanship aside, it would be difficult for an ordinary human to do such a thing to another human unless they were exceptionally cruel.

At Patrick’s actions, carving out human flesh without a moment’s hesitation, the black mage felt a fear greater than pain.

“Whether you can’t speak? Or won’t?”

“Ugh… uuuuuuuugh….”

“If the result is the same, the process should be the same too. Don't you agree?”

“De… devil-like bastard.”

“Take it sweetly. Think of it as slightly alleviating the evil deeds you have committed.”

“N-no. If you kill me, you won’t get away unscathed. This is for real!”

“That’s too obvious of a bluff.”

And Patrick’s twin swords mercilessly rained down on the screaming black mage’s entire body.

‘I need to deal with guys like this thoroughly.’

They were the kind of guys who might come back to life if dealt with sloppily.

In fact, among the demonic practitioners, there was a guy with strong life force who had fought for nearly half a shichen even after his waist was cut in half.

So, he intended to mince the body into dozens of pieces to not even give him a chance for any tricks.

“Well, this should be enough.”

Patrick, who had indiscriminately butchered the enemy without distinguishing between head and torso, sheathed his sword.

If he still pulled some trick after this, he would have to acknowledge him as being on par with, or even greater than, the monsters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or the Blood Cult….

“Hmm?”

In an instant, Patrick took a step back and drew his sword again.

The black mage was dead.

No life could be felt from his corpse anymore. However….

‘The demonic energy grew stronger?’

On the contrary, the demonic energy grew stronger after he died.

And as the demonic energy grew, a single red line appeared above the black mage’s corpse.

At first, it was a single line in the empty air. However….

Creeeak.

A black hand shot out, prying open that red line.

And as if pushing its way out of a closed gap, it spread its hands wide to the left and right, and then….

“Gwooooooooargh!”

A disgusting, monstrous scream began to emerge from within that gap.

Seeing that unbelievable sight, Patrick recalled what the black mage had said just a moment ago.

[N-no. If you kill me, you won’t get away unscathed. This is for real!]

Ah… right, he definitely said that.

Patrick said to the corpse of the black mage lying on the ground.

“Sorry for not believing you.”

And what finally burst out from the widened gap was an unidentified knight, wrapped in black armor, who appeared while exuding demonic energy.

The knight looked at Patrick, his eyes flashing with a red, ominous light, and shouted.

“Gwoooooargh!”

“Are you an Orc too?”

Anyway, in this neighborhood, they all just go ‘Uwoooargh’ at the drop of a hat.

* * *

“Hmm?”

“What is it, Condor?”

Count Parmas asked his magician, Condor.

It was because his expression, standing next to him, had turned serious.

“For a moment, I felt a powerful black magic. As if a gate to the demon world had opened…”

“Hahaha. You must be joking…”

“……”

“It’s not a joke?”

Seeing the magician’s serious expression, Count Parmas' face also hardened.

His magician was an excellent magician who had reached the 4th floor in the Tower of Truth.

To be honest, if they didn't have a personal connection, he was an excellent magician that would have been difficult for him to hire.

For such a person to make such a serious face, he couldn't help but worry as well.

“I am not exactly sure.”

“Not sure? How does that make sense?”

“I felt a vast amount of black magic fluctuating for a moment, but it disappeared quickly. It is possible that the black mage tried to do something and failed.”

“That’s a hopeful observation. Can you make a pessimistic one too?”

“Must I?”

“It is my job to assume the worst-case scenario.”

At those words, Condor shrugged and said.

“It is possible that the black mage summoned an existence he shouldn't have been able to, using his own life as bait. An existence from the demon world, like a succubus or a cerberus.”

“What happens if that’s the case?”

“…We would have to run.”

“What did you say?”

“If a race from the demon world was truly summoned, it would be difficult to face them with just the forces here. We would have to flee and ask for help from the Tower of Truth or the temple.”

“Ummm…”

To the serious-looking Count Parmas, Condor said with a smile.

“Please do not worry too much. I was just speaking of the worst-case scenario. I doubt such an existence has actually appeared.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. What I was referring to is a case where a black mage summons an existence from the demon world by offering his own soul as a sacrifice. Black mages, who know well the meaning of offering their soul to the demon world, would not easily commit such a crazy act. Unless someone forced them to.”

“Then there is nothing to worry about.”

“Yes. Please rest assured.”

Only after hearing Condor’s explanation did Count Parmas feel a bit more at ease. And while they were doing this…

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