#274

The corridor in front of the guest accommodation of Rosellia Temple.

Snap—

The sound echoed softly in the air.

The imperial delegation, who had been waiting in silence like mice, simultaneously swallowed dryly.

Dozens of people stood frozen in the middle of the corridor, unable to move, merely eyeing one person’s reactions.

‘What is it? Did someone make a mistake?’

‘I can’t breathe…’

There had been no problems until the group arrived through the gate of the shrine to the holy land and finished greetings with the church’s seniors.

The sudden change occurred just after that.

“…Your Highness? Are you alright?”

It all started when Princess Riley, the representative leading them, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

For a moment, she frowned with a serious expression, then radiated a palpable sense of displeasure along with a murderous aura.

“…”

A palace knight, unable to hold back any longer, carefully spoke to Riley, but she ignored the reactions around her and simply glared at the air with a face as cold as ice.

Silently chewing on her boiling rage.

‘So, this is how it’s going to be?’

If things had gone according to their plan, they would have only learned what was really happening after the situation had resolved in some fashion.

However, thanks to the “Chain of Pact,” she was receiving real-time updates, and she was already sure of who was behind the ambush on Hesperon.

‘Duke Hermanhart.’

The maternal family of the former crown prince and the current empress.

If it weren’t for her biggest political rival, the Hermanhart family, no one else in the empire would have the audacity to pull such a stunt.

‘I was trying to show mercy.’

Of course, that mercy was only based on her subjective judgment.

What she considered a significant compromise was, to them, an absolutely unacceptable form of subjugation.

At this rate, her honor, title, lands, and property would be devoured from all sides, so it was only natural that the Hermanhart family, who claimed to be the number one nobility of the Azerion Empire, would not stay quiet.

Perhaps this entire scheme was part of their ploy to twist the negotiations in their favor somehow.

‘They must have looked down on us quite a bit.’

But she couldn’t care less about their circumstances.

She was already frustrated because she was trying to minimize the chaos in the empire, and now she had an excuse to escalate things!

“Count Philteim.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As Riley’s cold voice flowed through the quiet corridor, the great wizard, who had been quietly following her, respectfully lowered his head.

He was undeniably still a mere girl in age, but the weight of her authority weighed heavily on the surrounding air.

“I have a message to send to Marquis Lawrence right now.”

Though there were two peak-level superhumans in this delegation, she couldn’t use them for personal matters out of respect for the empire’s prestige.

However, many had already come under her command due to the current circumstances.

‘If they choose resistance instead of obedience.’

It wouldn’t be difficult to gather those who would move at her one word of “request.”

Even if they were the strong ones known as superhumans.

‘I’ll have to forcibly twist that stubborn neck.’

In the suffocating air, Riley’s eyes glinted coldly.

*

Stav was annoyed.

That was the sensation he felt after missing Hesperon again right in front of him.

“Damn, that little rat knows how to run!”

Crack—

He swung his sword, engulfed in dark energy, to swat away the sudden onslaught of black threads.

The attack wasn’t incredibly threatening to him, but it was annoying that it had formed and flown at him out of nowhere.

Whoooosh—

With each pounding of his heart, black magic swirled around his entire body.

This felt different from when he was always using energy through the aura hall.

But it was also a sensation he had to get used to.

For him, who had lost everything he had built, this was his only lifeline now.

To take revenge on those who had turned him into this state.

‘What the hell is that guy? It hasn’t been long since then!’

However, right from the first stage, he encountered unexpected difficulties.

Unlike before, now that he could wield black magic, Stav could feel the reasons more vividly.

‘His magic usage is impressive, and his physical skills are top-notch, but that doesn’t matter. The problem is those bizarre magical equipment and his right arm. The magical equipment I saw last time was one thing…’

When the people who had rescued him from that hell suggested revenge, he willingly accepted their hand and embraced black magic.

After regaining some power as a dark knight, he confidently stepped into this affair.

It shouldn’t be that hard to kidnap just a mere lover, not even the princess herself being under heavy guard.

Of course, things spiraled out of control because of him, but he thought that if he just prepared a bit better, it would work out.

Having experienced it directly, that guy’s prowess seemed only at the level of small fry.

Yes, that’s right.

That’s what he thought…

“Hmm! What the hell is that? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

The space blockade he prepared was at a level that could give even a grand wizard a hard time to escape, specifically timed for this very moment.

All that was left was to cut the resisting guy’s limbs and leave without a trace.

Shhhh—

Slash!

Another masked man vanished into a mist of blood.

They weren’t supposed to be that easily killed, but the solidified curses manipulated by Hesperon had an immense killing power.

In certain conditions, it was a killer move.

Thankfully, the cooldown time was quite long, and the masked men who could use magic began to prep magical defenses against it, so that helped to slow down the disaster.

If not, they would have nearly been wiped out and foolishly let him slip away.

‘But that’s over now!’

However, immediately after Hesperon’s attack ended, a glint sparked in Stav’s eyes.

Simultaneously, the black magic emanating from his body began to burn the surrounding atmosphere.

Boom—!

Then, he charged towards Hesperon at a terrifying speed, driving his feet into the ground.

Both Stav and the masked men were veterans who had been through countless battles.

Naturally, they already had a rough understanding of how Hesperon’s abilities worked.

To perform that unique 3D maneuver, they needed scattered curses around, and for every ultimate attack he had used earlier, those would be consumed in large amounts. By dissipating the energy to burn away those curses in the atmosphere, they could suppress the spread to some extent.

‘I have to make sure to catch him here! No matter if I have to kill him!’

For that reason, right now, being forced back to the ground was an excellent opportunity to deal with him.

‘If I miss this chance, who knows how much stronger he’ll get! He can’t be left alone!’

It was imperative to give it everything he had.

Even though he had reluctantly accepted black magic, Stav was well aware of its dangers.

He had obtained power but had always been cautious and kept it suppressed.

‘A little won’t hurt.’

He would soon regret his arrogance.

Thump—

His darkened heart thumped, unleashing black magic throughout his body.

That destructive energy settled into every cell, shattering his physical limits and starting to rampage uncontrollably.

Thump—

It was a different sensation than when he managed aura.

Unlike the aura, which solidly supported the body to contain stronger strength, the destructive black magic didn’t care for the user’s safety at all.

It pursued only stronger power, more destructive power.

Thump—

That unruly power finally surged to the very top of his head.

He managed to stave off being fully engulfed by the extreme enlightenment but couldn’t prevent parts of his mind from getting tainted.

Violence and bloodlust rampaged in his head, along with vanity and obsession.

But Stav didn’t mind.

He tore through the atmosphere, crossing space—.

“Pffft—!”

“Hu?!”

In the blink of an eye, he reached right in front of Hesperon.

Boom—!

A single strike ripped apart the surrounding black threads.

Clash, the barrier between them shattered amid a thunderous sound.

Crash, the collision between his outstretched hand and sword made the surrounding area tremble.

“Ugh, somehow that ‘peak’ seemed too easy!”

Hesperon, who was flung back, was bleeding from his mouth as he desperately waved his right arm.

Dozens of black threads bound Stav’s legs, offsetting his charge, but that didn’t last long.

Those threads surrounding Hesperon’s black magic couldn’t hold on for long, shattering and disappearing in an instant.

‘Still, if I’ve bought this much time!’

Hesperon quickly regained his balance using “Martial Arts” and calmly responded to Stav’s follow-up attacks.

He stubbornly held out using magic, magical equipment, martial arts, curses, and every means at his disposal amidst that raging onslaught.

Five, six, seven…

However, when Stav’s strike finally reached the ninth blow.

‘Ah, this really feels dangerous.’

He felt he had reached his limit.

Though he had managed to endure for quite a while, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the tenth.

Having revealed all of his unconventional options while stalling for time, the dark knight was charging head-on to prevent any gaps.

Having assassins among the masked figures block the escape routes and mages in the back preparing something was closing in around him.

‘Things have gone south.’

He had no choice but to prepare for a summoning release.

‘Tsk, well, I did get considerable gains from going through the actual battle, so it’s not all bad.’

Looking back, disappearing for a day and a half wasn’t that long at all.

Though, he would need to let Riley know in advance…

Just as he was thinking that and about to leave a word for her, suddenly.

‘Huh?’

He felt a sudden sensation and immediately leapt back.

“Ugh, what is this?”

The same intuition sparked in the fiercely charging Stav as well.

A chilling premonition that further intensified the heightened instincts he had acquired.

He barely halted his body moving forward and immediately threw himself back, unleashing black magic all over.

The moment after.

Boom—!

A fierce column of fire erupted from the very spot he had been charging toward.

Not just ordinary flames, but a superheated blaze blended with thick magic that instantly incinerated anyone caught in it.

“Damn it! What’s happening suddenly?!”

That unexpected attack wasn’t directed at him alone.

Whoosh—

All the masked figures in the space around, including Stav, faced a high-tier spell simultaneously and, aside from a few with exceptional intuition or luck who managed to avoid it, everyone else was turned to ashes in an instant without even a scream.

“Whoa, it looks like a bunch of gutsy bastards. How dare you pull a stunt like this in Jeron?”

As everyone heightened their guard after that sudden change, a voice laced with immense magical power boomed overhead.

At the same time, an overwhelming presence could be felt.

Grinding his teeth, Stav looked up at the sky.

“Marquis Lawrence?! How did you get here?!”

Floating gracefully in the air was the head of the Magic Tower, Grand Wizard Marquis Lawrence, who should have been settled safely within the Imperial Palace.

He had burst in, tearing apart the thoroughly prepared space-blocking barrier made in anticipation of this situation.

‘No matter how great a wizard he is, he shouldn’t have been able to notice us from this distance!’

Stav grimaced, recalling the briefing he received from the mission planner.

Every time they got involved, things turned out wrong.

“Ha! Is that really you, Sir Stav? But you look quite worn out.”

The elderly Lawrence, wearing a classic robe and holding an ancient staff, furrowed his brows solemnly as he looked down.

Seeing Stav’s body, which was damaged all over, he seemed to have quickly pieced things together.

“…I see. So, it has come to this. But black magic, huh.”

Yet, the brief flash of sympathy quickly turned into a displeased expression as he tilted his head slightly.

“I can’t refuse your request, so I was forced to step into this, but… Well, it seems that even without that, I can’t ignore it any longer.”

Black magic and the black wizard and dark knight wielding it were all taboos in their current society, and especially now, with tensions high from the war with the Undead King, they had to be exterminated on sight as societal evils.

But these people had infiltrated the empire’s capital, pushing forth their dark schemes?

And one of them was a noble of the empire who even served as the captain of the royal guard?

‘I almost had to face public disgrace again.’

It turned out that he should be grateful to the princess for this.

This was tantamount to saying there was a hole in the palace’s defense handling some of the city’s security.

Additionally, it meant there were still strands of external influence affecting the Magic Tower from within.

Just like the princess’s ambush incident from before.

“And speaking of that, I still owe you a debt. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?”

With a voice mixed with annoyance, Lawrence’s atmosphere began to quake as his magic surged.

Magic circles manifested instantly, intertwining and realizing their unique mysteries.

Whoooosh—

Of course, while he hadn’t experienced direct disadvantages, it was undeniable that the burgeoning prestige of the Magic Tower was hindered and its standing diminished.

During that process, he had to keep several things in mind to restore his relationship with Princess Riley, who was likely to be the next empress.

“…Wow, that was close.”

And amidst the rising tension in the imminent situation.

Hesperon casually wiped the blood from his mouth, pulling back slightly.

Stav, who was not in a normal state, and Lawrence, who was already valued higher, not to mention the battle wizards from the Magic Tower beginning to encircle everyone one by one.

At this point, the situation was practically over.

—Hesperon, are you okay? I urged you to leave as soon as possible, but please tell me you aren’t hurt.

At that moment, the cautious voice of Riley echoed again.

Fearing she might interfere at a crucial moment, she spoke barely above a whisper.

—Oh! I’m fine.

Then came an exhilarating system message popping up right as if it was perfectly timed.

《The entity has achieved the conditions and gained enlightenment. The “Right Arm of Desire” has grown, having swallowed the “Hatred.”》

《The entity has gained enlightenment through repeated real combat. The skills “Introduction to Magic” and “Martial Arts” have fused and evolved into “Magic Martial Arts.”》

—Hmm, really.

Though he was now far from being a true wizard, it didn’t matter since he had never been one to begin with.

…No, more than that, now that he thought about it, Hesperon’s greatest ability was, of course…

Boom—!

“Kugh… Lawrence!”

Thud—

Looks like he had run into old acquaintances.