Chapter 9: The Black Mage (2)

Damián Hassen followed the tracking spell, chasing the black mage.

The place indicated by the black magic was a forest next to the estate.

It was usually a place where the villagers would go to gather mushrooms and herbs.

"Farther than I thought."

Cursing spells had a lower success rate the farther the distance.

The fact that the black mage had set up camp so far from the mansion meant he was confident in his abilities.

"He might be dangerous."

With that, Damián Hassen moved deeper into the forest.

When he reached the center of the forest, the tracking spell suddenly cut off.

"Seems to be around here..."

There was nothing where Damián Hassen stopped. The ground was covered with fallen leaves, and only trees grew nearby.

"Looks like he's hiding somewhere."

Black mages, being considered servants of demons, were hunted by the church.

Thus, most black mages were accustomed to hiding themselves or their residences.

"Let's see..."

Damián Hassen began to search the surroundings, thoroughly examining the bases of trees and even common rocks.

After wandering for a while, Damián Hassen stopped.

The sensation of the soil under his feet felt strange. Damián Hassen examined the ground.

"It's an illusion."

Surprisingly, it wasn't an ordinary illusion. It was one that possessed a certain degree of physical force.

"Indeed, he is dangerous."

Damián Hassen carefully examined the illusion.

The knowledge of black magic he had received from Dorgo was not only extensive but also detailed.

Thanks to this, Damián Hassen quickly grasped the incantation forming the magic.

"Found it."

He thrust his longsword into the core maintaining the magic.

The core broke, and the magic was dispelled. The illusion vanished, revealing a staircase.

Damián descended the stairs. When he reached the bottom, a wide underground chamber appeared.

"Kukukuku."

A strange laugh echoed. Damián Hassen immediately hid behind a wall.

"Is that the boss of the Black Snakes or something? That idiot really brought all the items I asked for."

A small man was overjoyed.

* * *

Damián Hassen observed the man.

He was barely over 150 cm tall, with a thin, emaciated build and no visible muscles.

A typical mage physique.

'Strange. He doesn't seem very dangerous.'

Contrary to Damián Hassen's expectations, he didn't sense any overwhelming aura from the black mage.

'Is he hiding his power? No, I should be able to tell if he is.'

Damián Hassen's observational skills were beyond the realm of a master.

Even if the black mage was hiding his power, he wouldn't have missed it.

'I need to observe a bit more.'

Damián Hassen continued to watch the black mage, concealing his presence.

"With this amount, I won't have to worry about experimental materials for a while."

The black mage looked at the items scattered in the chamber.

Jars filled with the organs and blood of various animals, and all sorts of herbs were spread out.

"Still, I must be getting old. To take on such a low-level commission..."

The black mage spoke with dissatisfaction.

"If I weren't being hunted by the church, I wouldn't have to take on such annoying tasks... Damn it."

The black mage picked up a bottle of wine from the table.

He drank directly from the bottle without pouring it into a glass.

"Ugh, it might be a bit boring, but it's not bad. I can avoid the church's attention and conduct the experiments I've only been planning so far."

The black mage quickly finished the bottle of wine, indicating a strong tolerance.

"Still, it's lonely being alone."

The black mage looked around the cave, lost in thought.

"Come to think of it, the eldest daughter of that noble family was quite a beauty."

The black mage sat quietly, stroking his chin.

"No, not just quite. A beauty like that is hard to find even in the capital. I never thought such a gem would be in this rural area."

Suddenly, the black mage smiled wickedly.

His eyes were filled with a disturbing glint.

"Since the family is doomed anyway, I might as well kidnap her and have some fun."

Since there was no one to hear him, the black mage spewed all sorts of lewd remarks about Louise Hassen.

'What the hell is this lunatic saying?'

The problem was that, contrary to his thoughts, there was one more person in the room.

'Sister... what?'

In his previous life, Louise Hassen worried about Damián Hassen until the very end.

Damián Hassen's family, whom he needed to atone for the most, was Louise Hassen.

Hearing such words made his anger boil.

Damián Hassen deliberately made loud footsteps as he entered the chamber.

"Who are you?!"

The black mage immediately turned to look at Damián Hassen.

His eyes widened in shock when he saw Damián Hassen's face.

"You... You're that guy. The eldest son of the Hassen family."

The black mage's eyes became bloodshot.

"You were warned by the Black Snakes to be careful because you killed dozens of people alone... How did you find this place?"

"Why are you so curious about a man who's about to die?"

"Die? Who? Me?"

Damián Hassen drew the longsword he received from his father.

"You know well. If you know, then gracefully offer your neck and wait."

"You're a pain in the ass."

The black mage's lips twisted.

"I've decided. I'll make you an experimental subject and torment you for a long time."

As the black mage raised his hand, black magic began to gather in the air.

The black magic soon formed into dozens of bullets, which were fired at Damián Hassen.

* * *

The moment the black bullets were fired, hundreds of ways to kill the black mage flashed through Damián Hassen's mind.

He could have sliced through all the black bullets and stabbed the black mage's heart, or let the bullets pass and return them all to the black mage.

However, the sudden change made him forget all those plans.

A red light emitted from the back of Damián Hassen's left hand.

"Could it be...?"

Damián Hassen, startled, looked at his hand.

Bright letters appeared on the back of his hand.

Damián Hassen's eyes widened in shock.

"It's a power...?"

As he exclaimed in shock, the black bullets hit Damián Hassen.

But not a single bullet reached him.

They dispersed into black magic before they could.

"...What?"

The black mage's face was filled with confusion at the sight.

The black mage looked at his palm.

"Did I get drunk in between? I'm making a mess of things."

The black mage created more black bullets and fired them.

This time, the number of black bullets doubled and rushed towards Damián Hassen.

Damián Hassen extended his hand towards the black bullets.

They vanished before they could even get close.

"Who... Who are you? What are you doing, interfering with my magic?!"

The black mage shouted in shock.

Damián Hassen didn't have the time to answer.

'How is the power still here?'

Dorgo had intended to make Damián Hassen an ultimate weapon.

He gave him the strongest body and infused him with the highest-level magic, but he was still unsatisfied.

So, he transferred the power contained in the ancient divine artifacts he had collected into Damián's body.

This way, Damián obtained a total of seven powers.

Each power was so strong that even Dorgo found it difficult to control them.

The power Damián Hassen had just used was the Power of Greed.

'Unbelievable. The power shouldn't still be here.'

Damián Hassen didn't know the true nature of the powers.

But since he had lost his body and black magic as a Death Knight during the regression, he thought the powers would have disappeared as well.

'Is this really the Power of Greed?'

The Power of Greed had the ability to destroy everything made of magic and absorb its power.

If this was indeed the Power of Greed, it wouldn't just stop at dispelling the black bullets; it could also absorb the black magic.

Damián Hassen extended his hand towards the air. The black magic that had dispersed when the black bullets vanished gathered again.

'Unbelievable...'

He had thought it was impossible, but it was true. All seven powers remained intact in Damián Hassen's body.

"I get it! You're a black mage too! Killing dozens of people alone was only possible because of black magic!"

The black mage let out a sigh of relief.

"To meet someone from the same field in such a place... It's rare for a noble to be a black mage. Who did you learn from? Your skills are impressive."

Damián Hassen looked at the black mage as if he were speaking nonsense.

Instead of answering, he used the black magic he had gathered with the Power of Greed to create black bullets.

"What are you trying to do...?"

Damián Hassen fired the black bullets at the black mage.

The black mage hastily created a shield with black magic to block the bullets.

"What the hell are you doing! Why are you attacking me?!"

"Why am I attacking you?"

Damián Hassen said with a look of disbelief.

"You cast a curse on our family's estate at the behest of the Black Snakes. Isn't that reason enough to kill you?"

"But we're both black mages!"

"Who said we're both black mages?"

Damián Hassen frowned.

"The thing I hate the most in this world is black mages. I want to tear them apart the moment I see them."

Dorgo, who had ruined Damián Hassen's life, was a black mage.

There was no way he could have a good feeling towards black mages.

"What? But you clearly... just now..."

"Stop talking nonsense and prepare to die."

Damián Hassen drew his longsword. He had satisfied his curiosity; it was time to finish this.

"...I don't know who you are, but..."

Black magic began to flow from the black mage's entire body.

"If you're going to kill me, I won't forgive you, even if you're a black mage!"

"I already said we're not the same."

The black mage formed a seal with both hands.

"I'll show you that standing before a black mage of the Cursing School is like committing suicide."

The black magic disappeared in an instant.

It hadn't really disappeared; it had been consumed to cast a spell.

Gray smoke rose from the black mage's feet.

Strangely, the gray smoke had a mouth with sharp teeth.

"Your joints will rot and die."

The gray smoke enveloped Damián Hassen. The sharp teeth bit into various parts of his body.

He didn't feel any pain, but something was flowing into him through the teeth.

'A curse of the corruption type.'

During his time as a Death Knight, Damián Hassen often used curses.

They were invaluable when fighting multiple enemies.

Even a large army of tens of thousands would crumble instantly when hit by a curse.

'This is a high-level curse. If it weren't for me, it would have been effective.'

Damián Hassen used the Power of Greed.

The gray smoke disintegrated instantly.

The disintegrated black magic converted into black magic.

Damián absorbed all the black magic.

"..."

The black mage's face hardened as he watched his magic being dispelled.

"Who are you really?"

"Damián Hassen."

"I mean, who are you really! Why are you pretending to be Damián Hassen?!"

This was also a novel kind of nonsense.

"Now you're treating me like a fake. I am the real Damián Hassen."

"What nonsense...! Not only did you dispel my black magic, but you also absorbed my black magic! Only a high-level black mage could do that!"

The black mage shouted in frustration.

After a while, he calmed down a bit.

"...Fine."

The black mage gritted his teeth.

"If you won't reveal your true identity... I'll force you to."

The black mage removed the bracelet he was wearing.

At that moment, the entire cave turned pitch black.