Chapter 68: Bound to Die

“Where did you come from?”

“I told you! North of here!”

Crack—

“Aaaaagh!”

The man who identified himself as Aribi was a curious existence.

‘He isn’t a Black Mage. But he isn’t a Necromancer, either.’

I had absorbed a Black Mage’s memories in the Dungeon.

I knew better than anyone how Demonic Mana functioned, having absorbed the knowledge of a Black Mage powerful enough to dream of resurrection after death.

Demonic Mana was the energy of death.

It was a power that could be obtained from death itself.

‘It exists within natural energy, but only in minute amounts.’

One could only use Demonic Mana by absorbing it from places like graves filled with corpses or locations overflowing with malice.

Its destructive power was immense, and once one began to acquire it, their strength could increase in an instant.

Because of that, those who wielded Demonic Mana were dangerous.

Even a small number of them could exert overwhelming power.

‘And they are cruel.’

Death is required to grow that power.

Those fascinated by the overwhelming strength of Demonic Mana seek to enhance it even by causing the deaths of others.

For that reason, Black Mages and Necromancers were hunted down long ago.

‘It’s different from the Demonic Cult.’

The Cult occasionally gathered their forces to start a great war, but they were always the side that failed.

To think I would encounter someone with such Demonic Mana here.

Furthermore…

‘He was targeting me from the start.’

He had set a trap that played on my reputation as a Mage.

Currently, my fame had spread quite widely throughout Earl Ofern’s Territory.

The fact that I had belatedly begun to show talent as a Mage, defeated a Goblin Shaman, and achieved results as an Agriculture Official had been effective.

There were even those who claimed a genius had appeared.

He targeted me, knowing that.

This was quite a significant matter.

“I’ll ask again. Where did you come from?”

“The north! That’s all I know!”

“…… You’re an idiot.”

Crunch—

“Aargh!”

The problem was that Aribi, the one who needed to provide this important information, was a fool.

‘Well, it’s obvious what happens to someone consumed by Demonic Mana.’

There was clearly someone powerful who could manipulate Demonic Mana behind this.

They had used that power to plant it within Aribi.

‘The Demonic Cult used this method often as well.’

It was the same in the Demonic Cult.

They spread Demonic Qi, an energy that could easily inflate one’s power, to many people.

Sometimes they disguised it as a medicinal elixir, and other times they tricked people into thinking it was an ultimate martial art.

Some even passed the power down directly.

They didn’t even need much Demonic Qi.

Even a tiny amount could completely corrupt a person’s body.

From what I could see, Aribi had been contaminated in that manner.

The interesting part was that the method used here seemed different from the Demonic Cult’s.

“I wonder if you were modified. Hmm… an experiment, perhaps?”

“Shut up!”

Bingo.

Aribi’s body trembled at the mention of an experiment.

‘I was right.’

He was a being created through a Black Mage’s experiment.

His strength wasn’t something he achieved through his own effort; it was supplemented with artificial techniques.

‘To think they can do it this way. It’s fascinating.’

In this world without martial arts, magic had developed to an extreme instead.

They were clearly able to handle Demonic Qi in a way I didn’t know.

‘There was nothing like this in the memories of the Black Mage I absorbed. They must have used a newly developed type of magic.’

It was clear that the Black Mages were doing something to survive.

“Then, shall we see where the source of your power lies?”

“…… Urgh. Stop! Stop it!”

Vrooooom—

I injected my energy to examine the man’s condition.

His insides were filled with Demonic Mana, and a magic circle that triggered that mana was hidden inside his heart.

‘And a Binding, too.’

The engraved Binding was a device to control those possessed by Demonic Qi.

If even a little more stimulation was added, Aribi’s body would explode right then and there.

“I thought it might be Dark Moon or the foxes of the Marquisate, but it’s another faction entirely. Things have escalated.”

It was difficult to look any closer.

Whirrrrr—

Even now, the Binding on Aribi’s heart was constantly seizing.

‘It’s telling him to die immediately.’

Just as Shawn had caused an explosion, Aribi was also being forced toward a detonation.

He was slowly reaching his limit.

‘Still, I’ve secured the information.’

Aribi wasn’t the end of it.

“Why would you be associated with him? No, I’m not even sure if he’s the real one.”

“I… I only know that much! I don’t know anything else!”

While interrogating Aribi, a name I hadn’t expected popped up.

‘I only intended to normalize the administration, but things get bigger every time I move.’

Follen Castle.

Then Maim Castle.

I had planned to clean up a few other castles and then strike further up.

But looking at the current situation, there was no need to move that far.

‘I need to move quickly. Let’s see.’

Once the calculations were done, it was time to move.

Seeing that there was nothing more to get from Aribi, I proceeded to the next step.

Hummmm—

I pulled a crystal ball from my robe.

It was a crystal ball infused with video storage magic.

“Let’s review one more time.”

“Shut up!”

Crack.

“Wouldn’t it be better to cooperate? Now, let’s start. Who sent you?”

“I… I am…… Urgh……”

Excluding the information only I needed to know, I began recording everything else.

And then…

“That’s enough.”

“N-now, let me go……”

I had squeezed everything I could out of Aribi.

I had even figured out the way he used Demonic Qi by applying the absorbed memories of the Black Mage.

There was truly nothing left to gain from him.

“Well, if you can survive, I’ll let you go.”

“As long as you don’t kill me, I……”

Tap. Tap.

I released all the blood points in his body.

“Gasp……”

In an instant, all his blood points were freed.

At the very least, he had gained freedom from me.

However…

‘You would have been better off remaining bound by me.’

Without even knowing it, Aribi had already mortgaged everything.

He had been sold to an unnamed Black Mage.

“Hehe……”

Regaining his mobility, he stood up unsteadily.

“Y-you, wash your neck and wait……”

Just as he was about to leave while venting his venomous spite toward me…

“Huh? Uh? Why is this…… Huh? Why is this happening!”

Fwaaaaaaaa—!

All the Demonic Qi inside his body began to erupt.

The mana that had been moving freely and bulging through his body suddenly surged.

“N-no! This can’t be! No! Aaaaagh!”

The moment it reached its peak…

BOOOOOOM—!

Just as Shawn had, Aribi served as a sacrifice for a massive explosion.

‘…… See. I told you it would have been better to stay captured.’

Patter—

Having prepared in advance, I had already retreated far back.

I merely watched the scene without missing a single detail.

Demonic Qi.

There was someone in this world who commanded Demonic Mana.

That person was moving—or perhaps a group of them was moving.

‘My memory is of a similar type.’

The memories I absorbed were the same.

They belonged to a Black Mage.

Though it had now been converted into my internal energy, he had also used Demonic Mana.

“Enemies everywhere, even if I stay still.”

At least one, and possibly more, were roaming within the Earl’s Territory.

It might not just be the Earl’s Territory, but the entire kingdom.

“Black Mages always have such unnecessarily large scales. Tsk.”

The nature of Black Mages and Necromancers had always been like that.

They were certainly strong, and they often overcompensated for that strength.

If they had carried out their work quietly, one or two kingdoms might have already fallen into their hands.

‘Necromancers are even worse.’

Using the undead, they could have raised an army of the dead and raised it again to build a massive empire.

But they always tried to do things on a grand scale.

Against the continent.

Or against the strongest empire.

There were several precedents.

Perhaps it was because the Demonic Mana ate away at their brains.

“I thought they had been quiet lately…… but it seems they’ve grown their power quite a bit.”

The problem was that they seemed to be moving now.

‘I don’t know their goal. No, is it obvious?’

Actually, their reasons for moving seemed predictable.

They probably wanted to swallow the continent once more or cause death to vent the grudges they had suffered until now.

“Those people never tire.”

I usually avoided things that weren’t my business, but no matter how I looked at it, this was related to me.

The moment they touched me, it became my business.

‘I’ll have to move alone again.’

Through experience, I knew that matters like this had to be handled with a swift strike.

For that…

Swish!

I kicked off the ground.

My destination wasn’t Hebeseop Village, where Esty was waiting.

It was the opposite direction—the place where I first began my journey.

At the same time, situations were unfolding in various places.

The game of cat and mouse between the Crows and the Foxes continued.

Sometimes one side fled, while the other launched a counterattack to break the pursuit.

The Crows had stepped into the Foxes’ territory.

Despite being at a disadvantage, the Crows fought hard.

Even at this very moment.

“Catch them! Don’t let them escape!”

“Over there!”

Those evading capture were on the outskirts of the Marquis of Owen’s territory.

They had infiltrated Bimo Castle, which was prepared to point its blade at the Earl’s Household.

Inside, those who faced the Foxes employed various tactics.

They engaged in fierce battles for information and sometimes bribed one of the Foxes.

But today seemed to be the day the Foxes would pluck the Crows.

Before Ident could move personally, the Foxes had laid a trap.

However, the Foxes didn’t know one thing.

‘Crows are naturally smarter than foxes.’

Even falling into that trap could sometimes become a trap in itself.

“Phew……”

Having barely escaped the trap, Ident looked at the Crows who were waiting for him.

They were all waiting for Ident alone.

“…… You’ve arrived. The preparations?”

“Are complete!”

“Good. They’re coming soon.”

“They’re here!”

“Now! Attack!”

It was now.

They were launching a counterattack against the wolves.

The Marquisate of Gisert.

Inside a very small, shabby liquor storehouse, treasures that the Duke’s Household of Jiseoteu had cherished for generations were hidden.

It was one of the many greedy treasure vaults of the Marquis of Gisert.

The Duke likely thought this storehouse would serve its purpose, but…

“The situation?”

“It is going well.”

It was the exact opposite.

The storehouse had been transformed into a space for someone other than the Duke.

Gisert, who enjoyed collecting treasures but didn’t know how to guard them, wouldn’t have known in his wildest dreams.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. We failed by about ten percent…… but that was within the expected range.”

“Ten percent, I see. Hmm……”

The inside was filled with people instead of treasure.

At least more than twenty individuals were moving about.

Those who originally guarded the treasure had long since been sent to the afterlife.

Those who had conquered the interior moved restlessly, tuning their mana.

Communications went back and forth, and occasionally, those inside began to head out.

“Hmm? …… It went out. This is unexpected.”

And even within that place, something unexpected was happening.

Flicker—

A candle that was supposed to never go out.

Candles infused with their mana for special roles began to extinguish one by one.

The flame of a candle represented their survival.

Extinguishing meant someone had died.

Even if a mission failed, now was not the time to be losing their comrades.

“……!”

The eyes of those occupying the interior widened.

Their complexions turned ashen.

“Find the cause. Find out who it is! Who on earth died!”

The inside became even more frantic.

And while they moved busily…

“I guess I’ve arrived.”

Rayrn had already reached his destination.