Chapter 10: The Black Mage (3)

As soon as the black mage took off the bracelet, the entire cave was enveloped in black magic.

The floor, ceiling, and walls were all pitch black, as if wrapped in the night sky.

"Damn it."

Even after releasing such a massive amount of black magic, the black mage's expression was far from pleased.

"It was supposed to be my trump card against the cult."

Grinding his teeth, the black mage glared at Damian Hassen.

"Now that it's come to this, don't even think about dying easily! I'll make you beg for death!"

Damian Hassen paid no attention to the black mage's warning.

His focus was entirely on the bracelet the black mage had taken off.

'How could I not notice that it contained so much black magic?'

The more magic power stored, the harder it is to hide.

The more it accumulates, the stronger its presence becomes. This is true for black magic as well.

Yet, the bracelet concealed its magic power so perfectly that even Damian Hassen couldn't detect it.

'Could it be an artifact?'

An artifact, or a relic.

A rare treasure found only in the ruins of ancient civilizations that existed in the distant past, created with technology far superior to the present, each one possessing remarkable functions.

"Seeing you carry something like that, you're not just any black mage. Who are you, really?"

"There's nothing to say to someone who won't reveal their own identity."

Once again, the black mage refused to answer.

"…I wish I could say that, but I'm not as rude as you."

The black mage rolled up his sleeve.

A white flower was tattooed on his forearm.

"My name is Agito, a cadre of Yulan (Yulan)."

* * *

Black mages are targets for extermination.

Their use of black magic manipulates human souls and corpses, and the Holy Cult does not turn a blind eye to such behavior.

They label black mages as heretics and conduct purges several times a year to eliminate them.

However, the black mages do not sit idly by.

To resist the Holy Cult, they exchange information, help each other, and form organizations.

Occasionally, these organizations gain a notorious reputation and grow to a point where even the Holy Cult finds it difficult to deal with them.

"Yulan's cadre?"

'Yulan' was one of those black mage organizations.

It was also famous enough for Damian Hassen to know about it.

A relatively recent organization, it specialized in contract killings using black magic.

Despite being involved in numerous cases, the Holy Cult has never been able to purge it.

This was due to the high combat power of its members.

Given that Agito belonged to such a formidable group, there was no need to gauge his skills.

"Why would someone like you be hired by a lowlife like the Black Snake?"

"I only sought refuge temporarily to hide. I was never hired!"

"Hiding… Ah, because of the Holy Cult."

A cadre of a group like Yulan would only need to hide so secretly when the Holy Cult was on the move.

"I've heard that the Holy Cult has been purging black mages recently. You were pretending to be a low-level black mage to avoid them."

Agito ground his teeth.

"Yeah, you're right. Damn it, I never thought I'd meet someone like you while trying to earn some pocket money."

Agito spat out curses and asked.

"Even after hearing my name, you still plan to hide your identity?"

"I've never hidden it."

"Hah, you still think I'm an idiot."

Agito's face turned red with anger, and his black magic began to surge in response to his emotions.

"It doesn't matter if you can't hear it now."

Without casting a spell, the black magic took form.

Thick tentacles, like logs, sprouted from the ground.

"Die, crushed to pieces."

The tentacles wrapped around Damian Hassen.

A formidable force squeezed Damian Hassen.

"Scum. Regret it in hell."

Even in victory, Agito did not rejoice.

From the moment he revealed his true strength as a cadre of Yulan, victory was inevitable.

While not comparable to the massive black mage organization 'Manma Jeon' that operates covertly in the empire, Yulan was still quite formidable...

At that moment.

Cracks began to appear on the surface of the tentacles. The cracks quickly spread throughout the tentacles.

With a sound like shattering glass, the tentacles broke into pieces.

As the black magic dissipated, a storm of black magic began to rage.

"What a great black magic you were using, I thought."

From the center, Damian Hassen spoke in a nonchalant voice.

"It's not as impressive as I thought."

* * *

"This... This is impossible!"

Agito screamed.

"I've been improving this magic all my life! No one else in this world can use it! How... How can you...!"

As long as Damian Hassen had the power of Greed, no black magic Agito used would be effective.

"All your life? For something so crude, you need to work harder."

Of course, Damian Hassen did not tell him this. Instead, he provoked Agito.

"You... I will never let you live. I will definitely kill you...!"

Agito's face was a mix of shame and anger.

Agito began to absorb all the black magic that had been released from the bracelet.

A massive amount of black magic was injected into his body.

"Gah, gah."

It seemed to be a difficult task, as Agito's face turned pale, as if he were about to vomit.

"If it's too hard, just stop."

Agito did not respond. Or rather, he seemed to lack the strength to respond.

Black lines began to appear on the skin exposed outside his robe.

"Magic circle?"

Damian Hassen immediately recognized the nature of these lines.

Agito was using black magic to draw a magic circle on his body.

Agito did not stop there. He pulled out a dagger from his robes.

"Damn it, I never thought I'd have to use this magic!"

Agito cut his wrist with the dagger. Blood gushed from the wound.

The blood turned to ash and scattered as soon as it touched the ground.

Immediately after, green flames rose above Agito's head.

The green flames stretched out like a snake, floating around Agito.

Damian Hassen immediately recognized the nature of these flames.

"You've borrowed the power of a demon."

Skilled black mages can borrow the power of a demon by offering them treasures.

Agito had borrowed the demon's flames using black magic and his own blood as offerings.

"Right! As you said, this is the power of a demon! The flames of hell!"

The green flames were terrifying.

Even a slight touch could melt the earth, turning it into lava that flowed like a stream.

"You won't be able to dispel this! This is not black magic but the power of a demon!"

Agito extended his hand toward Damian Hassen.

"Go! Burn that guy to ashes!"

The demon's flames engulfed Damian Hassen.

It was as if a wave, not a flame, was surging.

'Something is seriously wrong here.'

Contrary to Agito's thoughts, the power of Greed could dispel even the power of a demon.

Just as Damian Hassen was about to exert his power against the flames, a thought crossed his mind.

'...I don't necessarily need to use the power.'

Despite having the power of black magic, Damian Hassen was originally a swordsman.

Even as a Death Knight, he always wielded a sword when facing strong opponents.

'With this amount of black magic, I can use the sword techniques from my Death Knight days.'

In his previous life, Damian Hassen integrated the techniques he learned from fighting strong opponents and created a single sword technique.

He named it 'Soul-Cutting Sword' (絶魂劍), imbuing it with his aspirations.

Thanks to the Soul-Cutting Sword, Damian Hassen reached the realm of 'Divine Sword' (神劍).

However, in this life, he had to abandon the Soul-Cutting Sword because it was based on black magic.

'Without black magic in my body, I can't use the Soul-Cutting Sword.'

Black magic and magic power are fundamentally different and cannot replace each other.

He had no intention of gathering black magic to use the Soul-Cutting Sword.

Black magic can only be obtained through death and corpses. Black mages don't commit horrific crimes for no reason.

Damian Hassen had no intention of acting like a black mage.

'I'm curious. How much of the Soul-Cutting Sword can I manifest with a human body, not a Death Knight?'

Damian Hassen absorbed the black magic into his body.

The black magic fused with his body as if it belonged there.

A jet-black aura shot up from the blade of the longsword.

Agito's face stiffened when he saw the aura.

"Aura? You... You're not a black mage...?"

The aura, which had been burning like smoke and flames, began to gather around the blade.

Eventually, the aura formed a complete shape, creating a pitch-black blade that seemed to absorb all light.

Aurablade.

A technique that only those who have reached the Master level can use.

An invincible weapon capable of slaying even dragons, the pinnacle of living beings.

The absolute power was manifested in Damian Hassen's hands.

"Wait, just a moment!"

Damian Hassen raised his sword.

The air around the Aurablade began to distort.

"Stop! I, I'll surrender!"

Damian Hassen swung his sword.

A single black line split the world in two.

The green flames were sucked into the line.

In no time, the cave was free of any embers.

"Hah! Hah! Help! Help me!"

Agito turned to run.

Despite the only exit being blocked by Damian Hassen, he still tried to escape.

At that moment, Agito's upper body slid off and fell to the ground.

Agito turned around in shock.

His legs, severed without his notice, stood on the ground.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Agito clutched his severed thighs and screamed.

"Shut up."

Damian Hassen, who had approached silently, kicked Agito's face.

Agito's screams were abruptly cut off.

"My... My legs... My legs are... gone..."

"Quite a shock, I see. But now isn't the time to worry about that."

Damian Hassen placed the blade of the longsword against Agito's neck. Agito's face lost all color.

"Please, spare me. I, I don't want to die."

"Do you want to live?"

Damian Hassen smiled and said.

"Then you'll have to pay with something else instead of your life."

* * *

"These are all the things I have."

Agito laid out the items in front of Damian Hassen.

Damian Hassen examined the items with a look of annoyance.

"Just these?"

A book containing curse-based black magic.

The artifact bracelet Agito had been wearing.

A bag containing gold coins.

The materials Agito had obtained from the Black Snake were destroyed during the battle.

"You're a cadre of Yulan, yet why are you so poor?"

"Escaping from the cult... I had to run..."

"You're useless. You should have brought more."

Damian Hassen tapped Agito's head with the longsword.

Agito's face turned bright red.

The black magic book was of no interest. Damian Hassen immediately picked up the bracelet.

In fact, this bracelet alone was of immense value.

"What is this bracelet? An artifact?"

"Yes."

As Damian Hassen had suspected, the bracelet was no ordinary item.

"What are its exact abilities?"

"It can store any kind of energy. Whether it's magic power or black magic, it doesn't matter. And it has a concealment function, so it can never be detected."

"Are you sure?"

"My survival until now is proof."

Damian Hassen examined the bracelet with a satisfied look.

The function was simple but appealing.

'I can store black magic here.'

As proven today, using black magic allowed him to recreate his past sword techniques.

While he couldn't unleash their full power, it was sufficient as a trump card.

However, black magic is a dangerous force that could get him pursued by the cult if discovered.

With this bracelet, he could avoid such worries.

'If I do it right, I might even be able to manifest a Divine Sword.'

After fighting strong opponents, Damian Hassen absorbed their techniques and reached the realm of Divine Sword.

This was why he could kill Dorgo in his previous life.

"But is this really the end? You have nothing else?"

"No, really! I swear! Please, put the sword down!"

Damian Hassen raised the longsword and said.

"No, there must be something. Try to squeeze it out."

"How can I squeeze out something that doesn't exist...?"

At that moment, hope spread across Agito's face.

Agito rummaged through his pocket and handed over a notebook.

"What's this?"

"It's a record of the items the Black Snake's boss bought for me! If you go to the shops listed here, you can verify it!"

"Really?"

Damian Hassen opened the notebook and examined its contents.

The pages were filled with records of material transactions.

"With this, you can prove the transactions. As you know, dealing with them is a serious crime. You might be able to link the cult and the Black Snake!"

"Then I can purge the Black Snake without lifting a finger."

"You're pretty smart, I see."

The two laughed loudly. Agito cautiously asked.

"Will you spare me now?"

"No."

Damian Hassen swung the longsword and beheaded Agito.

"I don't forgive those who harm my family."

Damian Hassen picked up Agito's head and placed it in a nearby sack.

"And I need a heavy-lipped piece of evidence."

What good would the notebook be on its own?

He needed real evidence that a black mage was involved.

If he let Agito live, there was a risk he would spread rumors about Damian Hassen.

"Now, I'll go and give the Black Snake some trouble."

With that, Damian Hassen left the cave.