Chapter 80
Grrr-
“Aunt!”
“Hah.”
Yuria let out an annoyed sigh as she surveyed her surroundings.
The undead emerging from all directions were no longer skeletons or Death Knights like before.
They were Ghouls.
‘Of all things, Ghouls.’
Clutch-
Emily instinctively grabbed Yuria’s skirt tightly and pressed closer to her.
Yuria understood all too well why Emily was so tense.
Over a decade ago, the event that led Yuria to leave the family, and the trauma that haunted Emily, had undead at its core.
Not just any undead, but Ghouls—just like the ones now standing before them.
“Khuhuhu.”
Yuria wanted to immediately attack Nigel, who was floating in the air and laughing ominously, but she couldn’t.
She felt Emily’s trembling hands gripping her clothes even harder from behind.
If she had been alone, she would have ignored the Ghouls and gone straight for Nigel.
“A-Aunt!”
“It’s okay. Stay calm.”
Yuria forcibly turned her gaze away from Nigel, who was slowly moving farther away.
If she kept looking, she feared she might abandon Emily and rush toward Nigel.
Hwaak-
Instead, she raised her hand, summoning mana.
Just pulling mana up after having used large-scale spells in quick succession made her feel dizzy.
It seemed unlikely she could handle both the Ghouls and Nigel simultaneously.
Grrr-
As she watched the Ghouls approaching from all around the forest, Yuria clenched her fist.
Shk-sssk-chikk-
The frost that started from Yuria’s fist instantly spread out, freezing everything around her.
The Ghouls walking toward Yuria and Emily froze in place.
Emily collapsed to the ground in shock.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes…”
Yuria hugged Emily while glancing in the direction Nigel had disappeared.
The man who called himself Nigel had vanished as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
Although Yuria froze the Ghouls in an instant, any mage of a certain caliber could do a lot during such a brief opening.
Just like Nigel had made a clean escape.
This wasn’t a situation to lose him over mere Ghouls.
‘Sigh, I can only hope the Captain finds something useful.’
Yuria let out a small sigh internally as she patted Emily’s back.
She hoped the Captain would uncover clues related to Randgar.
***
Three accessories lay neatly on the table.
A ring, a bracelet, and earrings.
“The necklace is late.”
“…”
At the low voice of the man cloaked in black robes, no one dared to respond hastily.
It was no surprise.
The Founder of the Nameless Organization, who rarely showed any emotion, was now displaying anger.
Even the usually talkative Second Elder remained silent.
“We’re past the agreed time.”
Shiver-
The First and Second Elders standing near the Founder felt chills run down their spines and trembled slightly.
It had been a long time since either of them had felt this way.
The title of Elder within the organization was not one given lightly.
Including the Third Elder, Randgar, both the First and Second Elders were among the most powerful figures on the continent.
For such strong individuals to feel chills merely from someone’s voice was extraordinary.
The Second Elder bowed his head even lower and finally opened his mouth.
“I will go and check.”
“No.”
The Founder stopped the Second Elder’s words.
For a brief moment, the air was stiflingly still.
“I will go myself. You are all dismissed.”
“Yes.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the First and Second Elders disappeared, as though they’d been waiting for his order.
The Founder stared at the three accessories on the table for a while.
Woong-
Moments later, the black-robed Founder disappeared from the spot.
***
KWAANG-!
‘What the hell.’
The curse escaped involuntarily.
KWAANG- KWAANG-
After pulling out and consuming the drug from his pocket, Randgar launched attacks on an entirely different level than before.
In truth, only one thing had changed.
The black aura of dark magic surrounding Randgar remained the same, as did the mana tentacles.
The only difference was the size of the tentacles.
KWAANG-
“You slippery bastard!”
‘This is overkill.’
The tentacles, which had been about as thick as sturdy tree branches, had now grown to the size of a massive tree trunk.
No matter how I looked at it, they weren’t something I could deflect with my fists anymore.
Though I was quickly evading by jumping through space, there were far too many tentacles.
Just like before, dozens of them flew toward me as if they were dancing.
I had thought a mage would use some stylish magic to attack, but this was incredibly simple.
‘But it’s extremely effective.’
Woong-
No matter how high I teleported into the air, it was useless.
It was as if I had some kind of tracking device attached to me, as the tentacles followed me wherever I moved.
Swiish-
Even now, tentacles were shooting up toward me from below.
It felt like enormous octopus legs were writhing and flying toward me.
It was far from pleasant.
“Die!”
“Haaah.”
Woong-
As I moved toward the ground again, I thought about how I could eliminate Randgar while expending the least amount of effort.
Killing him wasn’t an option.
I needed to capture him alive, extract evidence, and uncover the forces behind him.
If killing him were allowed, this could all end much more easily.
As someone once said, sparing lives is harder than taking them.
‘For wide-range magic like this, I have to take out the caster first.’
The problem was that Randgar, knowing I would go for him, had been meticulously preparing for this.
He knew I could teleport freely, so he had surrounded himself with multiple layers of black mana.
Even though my gloves could penetrate that mana, it was limited to the hand wearing the glove.
Moreover, the coordinates around Randgar were obscured by the black mana, making them impossible to see clearly.
This meant I couldn’t just teleport and attack him with a simple reach of my hand.
“Are you trembling in fear?”
“You… you brat!!”
I deliberately provoked Randgar to stoke his anger, but he didn’t overstep his bounds.
Prioritizing defense, he kept just enough mana in reserve while focusing on his attacks.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
‘Damn, this mana is a real nuisance.’
In my time with the Black Shadow Corps, I had encountered all kinds of incidents and abilities, but this was my first experience with dark magic.
Until I faced Randgar properly, I had assumed it was just another type of magic, but I was wrong.
This unsettling, sticky mana, along with the magic it enabled, was extraordinarily troublesome.
BOOM- BOOM-
The standoff continued.
Randgar relentlessly launched tentacles, whether they hit or missed, while I searched for an opening and weighed my options.
Neither of us was making any progress.
At this point, you’d think someone from the academy would have arrived, but there was still no one.
The barrier Erica mentioned must be working perfectly.
‘This is getting ridiculous.’
Thanks to the black mana, even Randgar himself seemed to be turning a shade of black.
From a distance, his eyes gleamed as he glared at me.
The rage in his eyes was almost terrifying.
“Looks like I’ve got no choice.”
“Hmph. Don’t think you’ll escape here alive. I’ve made up my mind too.”
I couldn’t help but scoff at Randgar’s words.
If I had planned to run, I would’ve done so long ago.
The only reason I was still here was to capture him.
“That’s my line.”
“How arrogant. So arrogant. This is why the younger generation these days—”
“How do you know how old I am?”
“…Shut up.”
Randgar’s remark was something an old-timer would say, and with it, even darker mana surged from him.
I hadn’t expected him to still have the energy to emit such power—this was a bit surprising.
I thought he’d start losing stamina by now.
“I can’t waste any more time.”
“That’s my line, thief.”
“Ugh.”
Randgar had far more to say than I expected.
Since the moment we met, he had been chattering to himself and responding to my every word.
“This is the end!!”
Even now, he was shouting unnecessarily as he unleashed another attack.
Black tentacles stretched toward me from all directions, attacking with staggered timing.
I closed my eyes as I watched the approaching tentacles.
With both eyes shut, I took a deep breath.
To an observer, it might look like I was in a dire situation, but I wasn’t.
Closing my eyes and slowly inhaling helped me feel calm.
It also steadied my focus.
Woong-
I could clearly hear the sound of space distorting in response to my will.
The aggressive noise of the black mana attacking me no longer reached my ears.
It couldn’t, because it couldn’t get close enough to be heard.
Woong- Woong-
As the sound of the spatial distortion grew louder, I opened my eyes.
As expected, countless black mana tentacles were before me.
They were filled with killing intent, flying toward me to pierce my body.
Woong- Woong-
“What… what the…?”
The countless attacks vanished before they reached me.
They weren’t deflected or dispelled—they simply ceased to exist.
Randgar’s face twisted in shock—for the second time today.
Woong- Clench-
“Guh, guhah—!!”
Concentrating deeply, I clenched Randgar’s neck once again, his face distorted in pain.
—
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