Chapter 65

EP.65 Epilogue (1)

"There doesn't seem to be any visible Black Bone Plague."

"Have you checked the corners of the building? Just because it rose from the ground doesn't mean it couldn't have been summoned inside the building."

"I'm checking inside the building right now. Should I coordinate with the knights?"

Kalt nodded.

"Coordinate and take care of it. Leaving even one Black Bone Plague behind could cause a big problem. Search thoroughly."

"Yes, I understand."

Kalt flicked his wrist, shaking off the blade. The bone fragments clung to the hilt fell off. As he sheathed the blade, Kalt looked around.

The area was littered with shattered bones. The knights were clearing up the situation, and there seemed to be no issues with the building where the students had evacuated. Finally, Kalt glanced at the Harmain Forest.

The black barrier that had covered the forest was already gone.

The dark mana that had been surging in the forest was also settling down.

'...It seems to have been handled well.'

After all, he had always been skilled with bones. With that thought, Kalt took a deep breath.

The situation was gradually stabilizing.

Even before becoming a Hound, he had participated in countless operations, but it was rare to see an incident resolved this cleanly.

'Especially, for an incident involving the ancient lich Skeval to end this way...'

It was almost a miracle.

"Hmm..."

Kalt let out a short breath.

The sun was beginning to set below the horizon. As he watched the crimson sunset, his gaze naturally turned to the Harmain Forest.

'...Now that I think about it, Kyle went in there.'

The hero had been heading into the forest for some time. By now, he must have encountered something.

'But it should be fine, right? The hero and I had a decent relationship...'

-Hmm.

Kalt stopped his thoughts.

Because of the voice that had brushed past his ear. The words that the Ashen Mage had muttered long ago echoed in his mind.

-He might give you a beating.

"..."

A vague sense of foreboding crept over him.

Kalt shivered.

2.

Ashes to Ashes.

It's a signature spell I created.

Categorized as a fire spell, it is recorded in the topmost floor of the Ashen Tower, but...

'It's not that complicated a spell.'

Surprisingly, the principle of the spell itself is quite simple.

It's a spell that consumes the mana scattered around and then explodes the fire in one go.

'As a trigger spell, it's a bit troublesome to set up beforehand...'

However, due to this restriction, its power is outstanding. Once activated, it can cleanly obliterate almost anything.

"Phew, smoke."

I waved my hand to clear the smoke. There was no trace of the flames from before.

Crackle, crackle.

The fire that had suddenly erupted had died down, leaving only embers. Normally, it would leave only ashes, but...

"Damn, this thing is tough."

This thing must be incredibly tough.

Crackle, crackle.

In the center of the embers lay a Skeval with its skull half-melted. It had lost its arms and legs, leaving only its ribcage, spine, and broken skull.

"...Ashen..."

Despite its state, the Skeval was still alive.

'But it will die soon enough.'

The Life Vessel inside the skull was also melting. Given the time, it would leave only a pile of ashes in a minute at most.

"You... even after consuming the shadow, why...?"

"About that shadow..."

I approached the Skeval.

"Wasn't that black orb the Succubus Queen, that bat, was holding, made by you?"

I placed my foot on the skeletal ribcage.

The ribs crumbled with a crunch. I continued speaking while stepping on the spine.

"What is a curse? What is a shadow?"

"...Don't you know? Not knowing that, you claim to have blocked a curse? What are you...?"

"You really talk like shit."

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of the bones I stepped on breaking could be heard.

"If I had blocked it properly, would I look like this?"

Thinking about it, it was quite ridiculous.

What kind of curse changes your gender?

'The guy who developed this curse isn't normal either.'

And that abnormal guy was lying at my feet. I looked at the lich who had lived for centuries.

"Hey, I heard that living a long time makes you less sensitive to stimuli... Was that why you developed such a perverted spell?"

"...Ha."

The Skeval continued with a sneer.

"Be grateful that the one in there was not a demon but a succubus, Ashen."

His black eyes flashed.

"The curse will consume you. It will eat away at your flesh and make you vomit black blood every night. You may seem fine now, but..."

"Oh, that?"

I clapped my hands in front of the Skeval. Ashen mana rose from my palms. Though in very small amounts, the mana was alien.

Mana that consumes curses.

I pushed the writhing mana in front of the Skeval.

"...What is this?"

The Skeval's black eyes wavered.

"You, who didn't enter the domain of shadows, how can you... use the shadow of the Death Blade...?"

"Hmm."

I curled the corners of my mouth.

"Seems to work, doesn't it?"

"Ah, Ahhhhhh!"

The black eyes burned.

Since there was no more information to extract, I lifted my foot. A shadow fell over the Skeval's head.

Crunch!

The Skeval's skull shattered under my foot.

The sound of the Life Vessel inside bursting could be heard.

"Ugh, disgusting."

Good thing I wore boots.

I dragged my shoe sole on the ground to roughly clean off the oozing slime and glanced around.

"..."

Hmm.

'...Should be fine, right?'

Although I had caused quite a mess, the aftermath didn't seem to be a big problem.

The dark mana was settling down as the Skeval died.

The mana that had been in a state of saturation, ready to explode, had been largely consumed by the fire, so it wouldn't explode.

'Thinking about it, maybe it's not so bad?'

Such a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

There's no cleaner resolution than this.

'The only problem would be... if it affects Apulia, but...'

That doesn't seem likely.

Kalt is a capable knight. He would have handled it well even if I had told him the day before, and since I had informed him much earlier, he must have prepared thoroughly.

'Yeah, I even called for reinforcements.'

At that thought, I paused.

'Reinforcements.'

Who was the person coming with those reinforcements? The only person who came to mind was one.

"Damn."

Muttering that, I tilted my head back.

Footsteps could be heard. They were getting closer.

"..."

It seems I'm too late.

"..."

I slowly lowered my head and looked ahead.

A figure was approaching from beyond the forest. I looked at him, and he looked at me.

Black hair caught my eye.

He wasn't wearing armor. He knew his body was tougher than most armor.

"Shit."

A curse slipped through my lips.

'I didn't want to meet him if I could avoid it.'

I sighed as I looked at the approaching figure. It had been a while since I last saw him, but I couldn't mistake him.

The only survivor from the destroyed village, besides me.

The only friend from my hometown I could call a friend.

'Hero, Kyle Toven.'

The bastard who expelled me from the hero party was approaching me.

3.

The body I received from the stars allows many things.

The expansion of senses, which comes without training, has long surpassed that of a human.

Kyle narrowed his eyes.

At the edge of his expanded vision, something caught his eye. The devastated landscape of the forest.

Trees were uprooted and scattered on the ground.

The ground was indented, and long marks of something being thrown and dragged remained.

There were no traces of cuts from a blade.

It looked like the marks of a giant beast rampaging.

Traces that were neither those of a warrior nor a mage.

The hero, Kyle, recognized these traces at a glance.

'...Sure enough, that guy came.'

Battle Mage.

These were the marks that only that guy could leave. Recognizing them, Kyle frowned.

The situation was already over.

Kyle sheathed his holy sword.

He moved his steps, listening to the remaining sounds in the forest. The first person he encountered was a girl leaning against a tree.

Judging by her school uniform, she seemed to be a student from Apulia. She was likely chosen as a medium.

"..."

Kyle noticed the robe the girl was wearing.

It was the kind of robe that guy often wore. This confirmed his suspicions. Somewhere in this forest, that guy was present.

Kyle entered the forest.

The closer he went, the closer the sounds became.

His steps slowed.

When facing someone he didn't want to see, his steps naturally slowed, but he didn't turn back.

'Because turning back would be even worse.'

Eventually, the view that had been obstructed by trees opened up.

An open clearing in the forest, where no trees were planted.

Across the empty space, Kyle met the gaze of the person standing opposite.

The first thing that caught his eye was the ash-colored hair.

The same ash-colored hair as that guy.

However, the length of the hair was different. The ash-colored hair that reached down to the back was unfamiliar.

Unfamiliarity.

Kyle narrowed his eyes at this unfamiliarity.

The next thing he noticed was the blue eyes.

The pale skin and slender limbs caught his eye. When the gaze landed on his body, Kyle realized.

It wasn't him.

Even after realizing it wasn't him, Kyle didn't stop. He moved his steps as if drawn by something.

Click, thud.

He approached the figure standing opposite in the clearing. Up close, the unfamiliarity turned into certainty.

Click.

Kyle stopped in front of the figure.

The person he looked down at was a woman. She resembled that guy, but her gender was different.

"..."

A woman who could be called a girl.

She looked up at him. Her blue eyes, similar to that guy's, met his gaze.

"You."

Kyle spoke.

"Who are you?"

"..."

The girl didn't answer.

Instead, her brow furrowed. Her eyes narrowed. The emotion she openly displayed was disgust.

A gaze filled with disgust.

This gaze was unfamiliar to Kyle.

Kyle is a hero. A hero is a symbol of light. He is always greeted with cheers and admiring glances wherever he goes. There was only one person who always looked at him with such disdain.

'Raniel.'

For a moment, the girl's image overlapped with his.

But it was only for a moment.

Rustle.

The wind blew, and her hair swayed. The overlapping image also wavered. In the end, only the girl glaring at him remained.

Meeting her gaze, Kyle thought.

'...She looks like him.'

Of course, the build was different.

The only similarity was the color of the eyes and hair. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of resemblance.

"Raniel..."

Just as I was about to say his name.

The girl spoke.

"Move."

Her words were sharp.

Her eyes, which met Kyle's directly, were filled with hostility. They were as sharp as if they contained venom.

"Didn't you hear me? Move."

Kyle silently looked down at her.

Unwarranted disgust was unfamiliar.

In response to her overt hostility, Kyle didn't step aside. Instead, he took another step closer.

"Hmm."

The girl sneered.

Then, she turned and