NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
EP.6 What the Heck, Give It Back (5)
– Mages are beings who deal with the world, that is, with stars.
– They pay the ‘price’ commensurate with the phenomenon they wish to invoke and obtain the right to distort the world from the stars.
Master’s words linger in my ears.
– Everyone forgets because they’ve become so used to this transaction.
– However, Raniel, you who can handle Balance must remember.
– Mana is ultimately a resource for trading with the stars.
Resource.
– Do not take Mana lightly.
– Mana is both paid and traded.
A resource for trading with the stars.
I open my mouth, recalling that.
“Balance.”
– State your wish.
“The curses that have consumed me. The spells that were stocked in my body.”
– Pay the price.
I utter the name of the weight attached to the opposite end of the scale.
“My 90% Mana.”
– The price paid is insufficient. There are constraints.
I naturally understand what those constraints are.
I nod.
“I don’t care.”
– The transaction has been established.
I feel something slipping out of my body. A headache overwhelms me along with fatigue.
– Siiiiiiih.
As the sound of my skin sizzling fills the air, a spell appears on my forearm. I check the type of the spell and click my tongue.
‘This is why I didn’t want to do this.’
The cost-effectiveness is horrendously bad.
The spells returned, compared to the Mana that slipped away, are mediocre. Despite the constraint of being ‘temporary’, I only get a triad spell. There was no spell that could turn this situation around in one go.
‘If I had inscribed it with 90% Mana, I would have been able to wrap spells all over my body instead of just my forearm… damn star brats.’
They’re still annoyingly petty.
What can I do, though? A needy guy has to endure it.
Holding back a sigh, I estimate the number of stocked spells.
One for each finger, totaling 10.
One each on both palms and forearms, making 4.
In total, 14 spells.
Multi-Casting.
Magic Boost.
Haste.
Enhance-Strength.
I release the most basic of these spells.
A surge of energy flows through my body.
’10.’
I clench and unclench my hand a few times and then place my hand on the wall. I sense a presence beyond the wall. The sound of footsteps surrounding the wall reaches my ears.
‘About here.’
Finding a suitable position, I press my palm against the wall.
“Hoo.”
Exhaling softly, I narrow my eyes.
I feel the flow of Mana crawling along the palm pressed against the wall. After giving that flow a direction, I release the stocked spell in my forearm.
Smash.
Ashen Mana radiates light.
2.
The White Sword Captain, Odiren, ponders.
How this situation went wrong from the very beginning.
‘I was definitely carrying out the orders.’
It wasn’t a hard order.
It was a command to retrieve a black orb from the ruins of a collapsed building. Accompanied by a dozen of his cherished soldiers, Odiren set out on his mission.
There was no reason to hesitate.
After all, it was the barrier set up personally by a Heavenly King, wasn’t it?
There was no way lowly humans could breach it.
Odiren had been so convinced.
Until he encountered a single human before breaching the barrier.
Odiren looks at the soldiers gathered, his eyes trembling.
“Ugh, ugh! Align the ranks!”
“Captain! Stay back!”
“I-I’m coming!”
“Ugh!”
One soldier screams.
He collapses, spitting blood. As one soldier falls, another beside him has his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
In the blink of an eye, two soldiers drop dead.
‘What the hell is this?’
Odiren feels darkness closing in on him.
He sees no answer.
“Cough!”
“Captain…!”
His cherished soldiers are falling one by one.
The once over ten soldiers have already dwindled to three. Odiren gazes beyond his men. He looks at where their spears and swords are aimed.
“…”
There stands the ashen-haired girl.
The girl, who has taken down several soldiers, wears an expressionless face.
She rolls up the sleeves of her robe that doesn’t quite fit and casually dusts herself off. Then, with a splat, a heap of flesh falls to the ground. It isn’t her blood.
It’s the blood and flesh of the soldiers.
“Hoo…”
With that, the girl exhales and raises her head.
Odiren’s eyes meet hers. Her narrow open eyes. Those half-open blue eyes are chilling.
– Gulp.
Swallowing dryly, Odiren involuntarily takes a step back. Realizing that, he stiffens. Fortunately, none of the soldiers noticed him retreating.
‘What the hell is this…’
Odiren feels fear towards the girl.
That fear comes from the unknown. He cannot grasp the girl’s identity. He can’t even guess what kind of skill she is using.
Since he can’t even guess, he can’t approach carelessly.
All he can do is watch the hapless soldiers.
‘Can’t make sense of it…’
It drives him to madness.
Whenever her finger touches a soldier, they bend as if hit by something. Spitting blood, they collapse.
‘Though I lost four in the initial explosion…’
Even if those four were there, the outcome wouldn’t have changed.
“…”
Odiren bites his lip in silence.
At first, he thought she was a mage, but it seems that’s not the case either.
Amidst a situation where nothing could be understood, the soldiers could only throw themselves at the girl helplessly.
“Ough!”
“Cough, cough…”
“Ugh!”
The result is catastrophic.
Even the remaining three soldiers fall.
One has his neck broken, another clutches at his chest, and the last one brings up blood before collapsing. Their fates differ, but the cause is the same.
Her finger touched them.
The soldiers’ spears and swords never touched the girl, but her finger touched the soldiers. That was all.
‘Martial Artist? Ki Master? Do Eastern sorcerers use such…’
Various conjectures swirl in his mind.
But Odiren cannot come to a concrete conclusion.
Without arriving at one,
“Oy.”
Odiren allows the girl to approach.
“Ugh, ugh!”
In the blink of an eye, the girl is right in front of him, and Odiren panics, swinging his sword. Yet, the sword does not reach her.
Crack.
She catches the blade bare-handed.
It seems she didn’t even exert much strength, but the sword snaps in two.
“You’re swinging swords while someone is talking.”
“W-What do you mean?!”
“What do you mean, you jerk. Open your ears and listen.”
The girl, lifting her chin and glaring at Odiren, scowls, visibly displeased, and grabs his collar.
“What are you looking down on? It’s annoying.”
“Ough!”
Something flashes in front of him, and an unknown shock shakes Odiren’s head. Overwhelmed by the pain that feels as if his eyes might pop out, Odiren kneels.
“You guys prance around with your armor, flaunting your lineage and rank. You surely are lucky.”
The girl looks down at Odiren, who is on his knees, and chuckles.
“The Captain of the White Sword Battalion of the Fourth Legion.”
“…”
“Fourth Legion, huh… Is your superior Daike, that guy?”
“…!”
“From your expression, it seems that’s right.”
The girl sighs, brushing her hair back.
While doing so, she pulls something out from within her robe.
“You know what this is.”
A black orb.
Odiren’s eyes widen. It was exactly the orb he was ordered to retrieve by his superior, Daike.
“What is it that you’d go so far as to cast a barrier just to enter the city?”
The girl speaks in a chilling tone.
“I need you to explain it in an understandable manner.”
“I-I’m not going to-”
“No, since you seem reluctant, I’m going to make you do it from now on.”
As if expecting that reaction. Without hesitation, the girl stretches out her arm and grabs Odiren’s chin.
“Now, close your eyes. If you don’t, they’ll pop out.”
“Wugh, Uggh! L-Let go of me!”
“Shh, stay still.”
Holding Odiren’s chin, the girl shuts his eyes. Then she presses down on his eyelids, preventing him from opening them.
“Think carefully.”
One of the girl’s fingers slowly trails away from Odiren’s chin. At a reasonable speed—not too fast, not too slow—it returns to rest on his chin.
Tap.
A light touch.
At that moment.
“Ough!”
Odiren screams.
Bang!
“Do you want to talk?”
“Huff, huff. W-What is this…!”
“Seems like you don’t.”
Thud.
“Ugh!”
Tap.
“Huck, cough!”
Unknown shocks continuously rattle Odiren’s brain.
With each tap of the girl’s finger, the pressure upon him escalates.
– Drip.
Blood flows from Odiren’s nose. Saliva dribbles from his lips, and tears mix with the blood streaming down from his closed eyelids.
“Okay, it’s over.”
“Huff, huff, whaaah!”
As soon as the girl releases his chin, Odiren’s body tilts. He lands on both hands, gasping for breath.
Tears, snot, and drool don’t stop.
His vision continues to sway.
“If you still don’t feel like talking after this, then so be it.”
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll spill everything I know right now!”
Odiren bows his head to the girl’s feet. Seeing his desperate demeanor, the girl smiles faintly. She then stretches out her hand, brushing aside Odiren’s sweaty hair.
“Then tell me when I ask you to.”
Her finger, still moist with sweat, lightly taps Odiren’s forehead.
“Explain. Don’t think about pulling any tricks.”
3.
“So, you’ve got nothing straight to say and just came looking, huh?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Geez, still…”
“Really, I swear! I heard nothing specific! Daike just ordered me to retrieve the orb he left there!”
I rub my jaw.
“Why didn’t he come himself? Who cast this barrier then?”
“I-I only heard that a Heavenly King set up the barrier. They said it wouldn’t last long with the Knights nearby, just hiding their presence…”
If a Heavenly King can set up a barrier like this…
‘Must be that bastard, the Skull-Hat Mage.’
I’m sure he could indeed set such a barrier. However, questions remain.
“You only sent guys like you to challenge such a barrier?”
“I-I don’t know the reason either.”
“Tsk.”
I click my tongue briefly.
A mere afterthought.
It’s good if they can retrieve it; if not, they won’t care anymore. I check the knight kneeling before me.
False Detection.
The floating emblem is blue.
It implies no lies were told.
‘But things still don’t align.’
Questions remain.
However, there’s no more information to extract.
“One last thing.”
“W-What is it?”
“Do you know where the Succubus Queen is?”
“As for her… I think she’s at Daike’s side.”
“Where’s that?”
“1st Army Headquarters.”
The 1st Army Headquarters, huh?
That’s going to be tough. It’s deep within the demon realm.
“Well, you did well.”
I pat the knight’s shoulder a couple of times.
“The guards will be flocking soon; just get interrogated by them. Good luck.”
“W-What! Isn’t the agreement that you’d let me go if I answer faithfully…!”
The knight hurriedly grabs my leg.
I frown at the sight.
“Hey.”
“Huff, huff…!”
“You aren’t letting go of this?”
I kick his hands off and crouch down. Crouching, I meet the eyes of the knight lying face down.
“Did you think you’d waltz into a human city with your kind acting like this without consequences?”
“Th-That’s…”
“You demon scum also like to display the humans who entered the demon realm as trophies, right? Well, our Knights are soft. They don’t even turn them into trophies.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah. They’ll just submerge you in holy water after some decent interrogation.”
“…”
The knight’s complexion pales.
“W-What’s the difference between that and being turned into a trophy…!”
“It’s different. Repent and go to heaven.”
I push his forehead lightly.
Originally, I intended to land a smack as a farewell gift, but just then, the time for the transaction with the stars ends.
The temporarily inscribed spell vanishes.
As a result, my hand merely pats the knight’s forehead gently, but…
“Cough, cough…”
The knight falls, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back.
“…What’s wrong with him?”
What a drama queen.
Author’s Note:
Dunking them in holy water makes them nice.