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Chapter 31 – Evil Rising in the Darkness (3)

Chapter 31 – Evil Rising in the Darkness (3)

Humans are beings driven by emotions.

Even if they are adults, there are inevitably negative emotions deep within their hearts.

Even a superhuman, when hit by his magic, could be shaken.

The only response was to fortify the mind like a fortress with mystery.

Barbarians who couldn’t comprehend mystery had to be completely swallowed up as they couldn’t even defend themselves.

But Ketal remained unchanged.

He only looked at the lich with a puzzled expression.

‘That’s impossible!’

Of course, he wasn’t in perfect condition either.

Having been resurrected as a lich after defeat, his abilities were only a fraction of what they once were.

He also relied on artifacts for mana.

However, even so, a barbarian who couldn’t handle mystery had to be easily dominated.

Such was the norm.

[What?!]

With a mix of negativity, the magic manifested again.

The invisible flow of mana stirred Ketal’s mind.

A magic that could shatter the mind and plunge one into despair, even if they were a skilled warrior.

But Ketal just looked at the lich with disappointment creeping slowly on his face.

“What have you done?”

Only then did Ketal realize that the lich wasn’t just swinging his staff, but was casting something on him.

But it didn’t make sense.

Since he couldn’t feel anything, it just seemed like the lich was waving his staff aimlessly.

Slowly, disappointment settled on Ketal’s face.

“I wish it were some easier magic. Like fireball or magic missile. Can’t you use those?”

[What, what?]

Fireball?

Magic missile?

The lich felt an unbearable sense of insult.

[How dare you! Compare my magic to such inferior spells!]

He had developed magic specialized in emotions himself.

He had devoted his whole life to the magic he created, and its structure was something only he could handle.

Yet, now he was compared to spells even lower-level mages could use.

The lich trembled with a mixture of humiliation and shame.

He swung his staff again to cast the magic.

“You seem to have done something, but… I don’t know.”

But this time, nothing changed either.

The lich burst into laughter, beyond disbelief.

Even the hero who defeated him came prepared against his magic.

A magic that could manipulate emotions was so terrifying.

But it had no effect on this barbarian.

Such an opponent was unprecedented.

[…]

The blue flames of despair gradually subsided.

Nevertheless, he was a mage.

One who had reached the pinnacle with great magic.

He began to calmly assess the situation.

‘It doesn’t work.’

This barbarian couldn’t handle mystery.

That was certain.

A mage’s eyes couldn’t be avoided.

But his magic didn’t affect the barbarian’s emotions.

In that case…

His mind, which had been spinning rapidly, finally reached a conclusion.

[…I see.]

The lich clicked his tongue.

[You knew about me coming here.]

“Huh?”

[Yes. That must be it. Hahaha! The Empire! Are they still afraid of me? Your ability to gather information is admirable! To find my location so quickly!]

The lich shouted roughly.

[But I will resurrect again. I will break the blades for me and dominate the world once more!]

“…What are you talking about?”

Ketal scratched his head.

He had been thinking alone, and now he was babbling alone.

The lich opened his mouth wide.

He didn’t look down on him anymore.

This barbarian was an assassin sent by the Empire to kill him after his resurrection.

He claimed to have hidden himself, but the Empire’s intelligence network was extensive and deep.

It seemed impossible to completely evade them.

Come to think of it, he had heard.

Deep within the Empire, there was a human breeding ground, where many special individuals were raised.

That barbarian was one such being raised there.

A blade trained solely to kill him.

[Don’t pity your life! Barbarian! You who have been raised by humans to be used as a blade! Ridiculous! If you defeat me, your existence will also be extinguished! We can consider ourselves comrades!]

“But that’s not what it is.”

[Be that as it may! I am Karthos Branius Kesiensis!]

The lich swung his staff violently.

[I will kill you and overturn the Empire!]

***

“The beings in this world are not very good at communicating.”

Ketal muttered.

He had come to a conclusion after thinking alone and spoke it out loud.

Elves were like that, and so was this lich.

“But is it the Empire?”

The lich believed that if it were the Empire, they could find him.

In other words, it meant that the Empire had that much power.

“I’d like to visit even as a tourist.”

An inappropriate calm dialogue flowed out.

[Come forth!]

The lich raised his staff.

Mana began to gather massively in the cube.

Even if his resurrection was delayed by a hundred years with this blow, it didn’t matter.

The cube absorbed all the mana it had.

It was an amount of mana that could become tangible in the world.

A dark and dense energy began to gather at the tip of the staff.

It shimmered in Ketal’s eyes.

It was the first time he saw visible magic.

The lich swung his staff roughly at Ketal.

[Gather! O waves! Become tangible but not material! Swirl the world and confuse the unseen!]

And the dark and dense mass turned into waves.

It filled the room and surged wildly.

Though clearly tangible, the dark and dense waves were not material.

They had no effect on this world.

The only thing they influenced were intangible emotions.

“Wow!”

Ketal exclaimed.

The dark and dense waves rose as if to engulf the world.

It was truly magnificent.

This was real magic!

Ketal stared blankly at the waves.

Eventually, the black waves swallowed him.

[Ha, hahaha!]

The lich burst into laughter.

He had won!

It seemed that this barbarian had some special effect on his mind.

But ultimately, he couldn’t handle mystery.

So, if he simply crushed him with mana, it was over.

He forcibly crushed and swirled the barbarian’s mind.

The lich was confident of victory.

Soon, his body collapsed roughly.

[Huff, huff.]

The blue flames of his pupils flickered as if about to go out.

He couldn’t use the magic available to him now.

Except for the mana to move his skeletal remains, he had used everything.

But even so, he had defeated his blade.

He had outwitted the Empire’s ace.

The lich chuckled.

The waves gradually subsided.

And the ever-growing pupils stopped growing.

Ketal remained there, unchanged.

“Impressive.”

Pure admiration flowed out.

“But is this the end?”

It was impressive, but there was still no feeling.

At that voice, the lich felt a moment of fear.

‘T-This doesn’t work either?’

“If this is the end, then it’s my turn now.”

Ketal raised his axe.

The lich screamed.

[…What are you saying!]

And then his body collapsed.

The lich’s soul flew rapidly towards Ketal.

He tried to invade Ketal’s mind, devour his emotions, and make them his own.

But as he rushed, the lich realized something.

[…Huh?]

Something was wrong.

He had seen others’ emotions plenty of times before, but he had never seen anything like this.

[W-What is this?]

It was a sight he had never seen before.

It couldn’t be expressed in words.

Just by perceiving this place, his mind was contaminated and on the verge of collapse.

‘T-The Empire.’

It wasn’t the Empire.

The Empire couldn’t create such beings.

[Uh, ah, ah.]

The fortunate thing for the lich was that he was the one who dominated the mind.

With his superior mental strength, he was able to hold out a little longer.

And the unfortunate thing was that he was the one who dominated the mind.

As much as he could hold out a little longer, he had to be more aware of it.

[…Uh.]

That was the lich’s testament.

His soul slowly dissipated within Ketal’s body.

And it had no effect on Ketal whatsoever.

“What?”

Ketal frowned.

There were shattered bone fragments in front of him.

After doing something alone, it suddenly collapsed.

The dark and dense surge was somewhat impressive, but that was about it.

It didn’t seem significant.

“The liches in this world aren’t that impressive.”

The lich.

He had very high expectations.

Isn’t it the ultimate form of a wizard?

So, he was very much looking forward to what kind of magic it would use, but it didn’t show anything particularly impressive.

The deep disappointment he felt was as much as he had anticipated.

“I guess Goblin Dungeons were more fun after all.”

Ketal took out a notebook from his pocket, ready to vent his frustration if the vanished lich could hear.

He took out a pen and started writing slowly.

[The lich. I thought it was the ultimate form of a wizard, but it doesn’t seem like that remarkable of a being. It’s strange to think that a being reduced to mere bone fragments is considered impressive. Perhaps those who failed to become wizards couldn’t give up on their dream of becoming one and became liches instead.]

He wrote down what he had seen and felt step by step.

It was a compilation of information he had seen and felt in the fantasy world.

It was a notebook he had purchased for that purpose.

He roughly noted down information about the lich and put the notebook back.

Whatever the case, since he cleared it, he should take the rewards.

There probably wouldn’t be anything impressive, considering it was a dungeon of a lich, but he still should take what he can get.

First, he picked up the staff the lich had been using.

Upon examining the inside, he found a jar resembling a Life Vessel.

“Does this mean it can resurrect?”

Although he thought about destroying it since it could potentially resurrect, it wouldn’t be a problem at this level, so he took the Life Vessel as well.

And there was something else to take.

“This glowed when magic was used.”

On top of the staff that the lich had been handling, there was a translucent gray cube.

Whenever the lich used magic, a strange light flowed from the cube.

It seemed like the cube was assisting in casting magic.

‘Does this help in using magic?’

An artifact of magic?

If so, could he also use magic with it?

Ketal chuckled to himself as he took the artifact.

And upon exploring its interior, he found a hidden room.

Ketal tapped his finger, and the stone wall crumbled to dust.

“Huh.”

And Ketal could see it.

Nine people standing there absentmindedly.

“Hello?”

Ketal said, but they didn’t react.

It seemed like they were out of it.

“What should I do?”

The lich had sealed their minds with magic.

Since the lich had vanished, they would regain their senses in a few hours, but Ketal didn’t know that fact.

“Hmm.”

For now, let’s go back to the territory.

Since the lich is gone anyway, if he explained the situation, they’ll bring them back themselves.

Ketal returned to the territory and explained.

There was some lich or something named Kartoos or whatever next to the territory.

And the territory was flipped upside down.