Hahoe Mask (3)
“Hmm?”
Archbishop Latinus, who was concentrating, suddenly lifted his head and glanced around.
He felt a faint energy…
“Archbishop? Is something wrong?”
A knight, who was guarding him, asked cautiously.
It seemed he did not sense anything unusual.
“No, no. Keep going.”
He was currently engaged in an important task.
Maintaining the large-scale Holy Law of concealment until the combat team ready to fight the Undead King’s descendant approached him.
And preparing for the possibility that the foe might escape using Spatial Dimension.
He had no time to be distracted by other matters.
The encirclement was perfect, and they were prepared for Spatial Dimension.
If they could succeed in the ambush now, their chances would increase even further.
*
He received information from Familiars but couldn’t identify his opponent.
It made sense, as the enemy was invisible.
The trigger that activated “when faced with a human” seemed to be purely instinctual of the animals.
The opponent was human.
“I can conceal all personnel approaching from all directions? While hiding the energy so it doesn’t fall into detection magic?”
His opponent had come thoroughly prepared to catch him.
“Who could it be? Brokoslac? Or the Oath of Reversal? How did they find out I was here?”
Understanding the situation was urgent.
In fact, he could always escape if he wanted, but merely dodging wouldn’t solve the problem.
“I need to find out who pinpointed my location and how. I need to know the cause to prepare.”
This time, he was fortunate to notice first; if interference occurred while he was doing something important in another situation, it could become much more troublesome.
“Let’s gather information while stalling for time.”
He hurried back into the cave.
It wasn’t too deep, but the entrance was restricted, so it would be better than being ambushed from all directions.
And just a moment later.
Crackle—
All the various barriers he had set up around him shattered in an instant.
Simultaneously, he felt the presence of those who had abandoned their concealment.
“Huh? This energy…?”
It felt not just hot but painfully prickly.
The opposing force clashed against Hans’s Black Magic.
“They’re neither Black Mages nor Vampires, right? Could this be Holy Power?”
Clank, clank
While he was flustered, knights clad in pure white armor entered the cave entrance.
“Finally got you! Undead King’s descendant, Hans! You can’t escape any longer!”
A middle-aged knight at the forefront shouted while pointing his sword at him.
“That insignia… Holy Church Order? Are those the Church’s knights?”
It was the insignia he learned while training under Heinz II at the clan.
He was warned to be cautious of the Church’s Holy Power and the opposing force.
In particular, the energy emanating from the knight at the forefront was no less than that of a Trueblood Vampire he had encountered just recently.
Considering the opposing attributes, it was going to be an even more trickier foe.
[Are they the Church’s lackeys? How did they know where I was?]
With his line, he gathered good information right from the start.
The Church had been tracking him, aiming for the power of the Undead King, and had thoroughly investigated him to the point of knowing his name.
He needed to gather information while stalling for time as much as possible.
“No evil can escape the gaze of the Holy!”
But the leading knight unsheathed his sword of light and charged at him.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
“Tch, in this case, I guess it’s time to gather combat data for fighting against Holy Power.”
*
Boom!
An explosion rang out as an Archlich, Hans, burst forth from the pile of collapsed stones.
Fwoosh—!
Immediately, a Paladin radiating pure white energy followed and attacked him.
The opposing Holy Power was more troublesome than he had anticipated.
“Ugh, this guy won’t let go!”
The fight caused the cave to nearly collapse, but the Paladin relentlessly pursued without missing a beat.
Around them, other knights who had retreated from the cave had already surrounded the area, and beyond them were soldiers and priests bearing the insignia of the Holy Church Order.
Sacred hymns resounded from all directions, and the holy light illuminating the surroundings incinerated the Black Magic cloaking him.
The knights, empowered by all kinds of beneficial Holy Law, pressed on, emitting holy light from their entire bodies.
A beautiful wave of light adorned the surroundings.
The flow of Holy Power filling the space and gathering for a single goal was even awe-inspiring.
If that goal were not to annihilate him at the center, it would have been even better.
“They really prepared thoroughly! What have I done wrong?”
Hans had only punished the bad guys so far.
He had merely done what they were supposed to do for them, yet he was treated like this…!
He protested based on that, but the response was firm.
“No being can fully accept the power of the Undead King. From the moment you accepted that power, your mind becomes tainted, and your soul begins to rot! And it will lead the continent to destruction!”
A voice filled with conviction and belief.
“You, the evil Black Mage who has touched the forbidden power! If you truly still have a human heart, surrender peacefully and accept purification! I promise a tranquil rest!”
Thinking back to when he absorbed the Fragment’s Power, it was understandable why they would think that way.
But how could he prove that he was an exception here?
[Hoo, I have no choice. I shouldn’t retreat for now.]
He could feel his body starting to creak.
His heart continued to circulate powerful Black Magic, but his skills in handling it were insufficient to perfectly resist Holy Power.
Since it was a power he had gained suddenly, he needed a bit more time to use it efficiently.
“However, if I used all my strength, I’m confident I could inflict fatal damage on them…”
He still had many cards he hadn’t played yet.
If he summoned his Undead army to stall for time and dealt with the soldiers and priests building a large Holy Shrine surrounding him first…
The damage he would suffer in the process could be withstood to some extent with the ever-supplying Black Magic and the synergy from “Undead”.
“No, it’s probably best to just let it go. It would be a waste to expend my strength on such a meaningless fight.”
Moreover, he felt uneasy about the Church not being the bad guys.
Despite being at odds due to their differing positions, they were people who had gathered with a noble belief.
As he too operated under the criteria of punishing only the wicked, he was reluctant to just massacre them.
Even if he could annihilate them here, an enraged Church would come at him even more aggressively.
They were definitely one of the most powerful factions on the continent.
There was no gain to fighting any further.
He had gained enough experience with Holy Power and recognized his shortcomings, so that was enough.
“Do you think you can escape?”
Rumble—
Did they notice his intent?
The sacred light that began on one side connected to the bodies of those encircled and filled the space.
“What kind of Holy Law is this?”
It didn’t seem to impose restrictions on power.
It was somewhat unsettling, but this much could easily be ignored.
[Got it, distortion and separation. A Holy Law to hinder my escape? I suspected from the start that someone had been quietly preparing to intervene.]
He had already detected the presence of another person equal to the Paladin.
He had been monitoring for an opportunity to strike, and it seemed he was preparing to block his escape.
Taking advantage of a brief lull, he looked around.
Knights and Paladins surrounding him.
Priests and combatants sealing off the area.
“It’s formidable. Had I not been an avatar, I would not have been able to escape easily.”
The Holy Church Order, whose Holy Power strengthened according to belief in the Holy.
They also seemed to have a method to track Magic.
“I’ll likely have trouble in the future. I need to devise a plan.”
Both Hans and Heinz II were targets for their elimination.
Having grasped the situation, there was a need to respond.
Though for now…
[So, they put in quite an effort to catch me.]
“Have you finally considered accepting purification?”
[Not a chance.]
As he lightly shrugged his shoulders, they tensed up and readied their weapons again.
[We are in completely opposing positions; I’m well aware there’s no room for dialogue. But continuing to fight here yields no further benefit.]
“…?”
What were they looking at him for as if to say “So what?”
Seeing their expressions made him chuckle as he added.
[Kukuku… This is where we part ways. Good luck catching me, Church’s lackeys.]
“Ha! Do you think you can get away from here…?”
He didn’t wait for him to finish.
Summoning Release.
He had already gained everything he needed.
*
“Hmmm, this has become a nuisance. There are too many enemies now.”
The Oath of Reversal, an underground force, and the Vampire Clan, Brokoslac.
Unlike them, the Holy Church Order was undeniably one of the greatest factions on the continent.
They did not impose their faith and did not suppress smaller sects.
Yet they were nearly a practical single religion with shrines spread throughout the world.
“Even combined, all other religions wouldn’t match a fraction of the Holy Church Order.”
That such power would target Hans and even operate a troop against him.
“…Could it be that Karma has been so favorable all this time…?”
Only now could he understand.
He had unknowingly drawn continental attention.
He rubbed his head in thought and then suddenly lifted it.
“Let’s think about that later. For now, there is an issue to resolve first.”
In an instant, darkness settled on the ground, and Hans rose silently from it.
[Kukuku… It’s time to showcase the fruits of my research.]
It was finally time to display the “Final Version of Infectious Familiar Magic_Revision_2nd_FINAL(3)_ReallyLastOne.”
“And enhancing the Concealment Magic with the research results I gained this time should also help in hiding Hans’s presence.”
It was a crucial moment that would assist him in multiple ways.
*
Hans wandered around the city, implanting Familiar Magic in one or two animals within a certain range.
After the numbers increased by infectious effects later, periodic adjustments would be necessary.
While busy scurrying about, the first signal came quickly.
Beep—
A cat from a considerable distance sent the information.
[“P-Please save me! Is anyone there?! Please help!”]
The voice of a woman gripped with fear.
He immediately switched Spatial Dimensions into the shadows where the cat was.
“Kikikiki, scream louder. You think that’ll help?”
“W-Why isn’t anyone coming? Please save me! C-Call for help!”
“Hmm~ That desperate scream is delightful.”
The scene he arrived at resembled a thriller movie.
In an empty park, a woman was curled up on the ground crying, while a crazy man stood over her with a dagger and a recorder in both hands.
“Hmm, good. The recording went well. This should rank among my top 3 collections!”
“Someone save me! Help! AAAH—!”
“Kikikiki, scream all you want. Outside, no one will hear a thing.”
The killer edged closer with a knife while the woman screamed pathetically.
It was clearly a moment just before murder.
‘Indeed, there’s a strange barrier around him as he said. Is this his ability?’
An energy enveloping the area around the murderer.
It definitely blocked sound, kept the inside from being observed from the outside, and seemed to deter anyone from unconsciously approaching.
The cat that had signaled him was within the barrier from the beginning and therefore likely unaffected.
‘Interesting ability. But it seems he’s done this more than once given his dialogue.’
There was no point in watching any longer.
He slid out behind the murderer.
“AAAH! Ah, huh? Aah…”
The woman, whose gaze met his for a moment, froze instead of screaming.
‘Even after hiding my presence, it still turned out like this…’
While being an ordinary person, it was an inevitable outcome.
He immediately reached out and knocked her out.
“Wha?! Who are you! How did y-you…?!”
Surprised by his presence, the murderer spun around, pointing the dagger, but halted.
He lightly extended his hand and used magic.
Swish—
Black shadows rose from the ground, binding his entire body and gagging his mouth.
“Ugh! Mmm—!”
[Just to be safe, I’ll conduct a final confirmation. No need for answers. I’ll take care of that myself.]
He reached out a gloved hand and grabbed the murderer’s head.
Then he cast the necromancy spell, “Last Words of the Dead.”
[“Please sav—cough! ”]
[“P-Please, sir…*.”]
[“AAAH—!”]
The last words left by the murderer’s victims echoed back.
There were not just a few.
This could be a surprise or a hidden camera scenario, so he thought about checking, but it turned out just as expected.
[No need to say more. You’re sentenced to death.]
A serial killer. A pleasure killer deserves no mercy.
“Ugh! Ughugh!”
As he writhed in resistance, his eyes blazed with madness.
Well, you’re probably thinking who am I to judge you, right?
‘What do I care?’
I poured Black Magic through the hand gripping his head.
“Kugh… Kugh!”
The eyes that glared at him turned wild, and he writhed in convulsions, blood oozing from seven orifices.
Blood dripped from his mouth, which was gagged by shadows.
‘For such a guy, even a peaceful death is a luxury. Besides, I need an Undead to command on Earth; I’ll make him into something usable.’
Finally, as Black Magic suffused every cell, his convulsing body went limp.
The ground was already soaked with blood he had spilled.
[Arise. You shall become my servant and pay for your sins for eternity.]
Using Black Magic on the corpse, it jerked and began to move again.
Wiggle wiggle…
[Hehehe…*]
A gloomy laugh mixed with a face twisted in agony, and blood continuously flowed from the seven orifices, revealing the pale skin.
Through “Forbidden Knowledge,” he had created a mid-level Undead, a Ghast.
He hadn’t anticipated it would be like this since it required a significantly high-quality offering and the making process was cruel…
[A fitting punishment perhaps. It might come in handy.]
He was in a position to volunteer; it shouldn’t be too much to ask for this.
He tucked the Ghast into the Spatial Dimension and observed the fallen woman.
‘It would be considerate to provide after-service.’
A smartphone that seemed to have been dropped in the struggle lay nearby.
He picked it up, called 911, and placed the items the murderer had with it on the ground.
After a moment of thought, he left a message in the blood pooled on the floor using Black Magic.
-Execution complete
Next to it, he drew a somewhat awkward smiling Hahoe Mask.
‘Since I’m taking the corpse, I should at least let them know.’
There’s no need to waste police resources chasing down a dead guy.
He nodded to himself and concealed his body in the shadows.
Moments later, hearing the sirens approaching, he slipped away.
