Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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“Ugh…!”

– Wh-what the hell!

– Ugh!

The fleeing Dark Mage skillfully wove through the crowd. People were getting knocked aside by the gigantic bones of a horse, and in severe cases, some were trampled to death by its massive hooves.

I felt so close yet so far. At the speed of the Nightmare, I should have easily caught up, but its constant maneuvering through the crowd made it hard to do anything.

“Damn…”

Frowning, I pulled the short bow off my shoulder. If this continued, the damage would only escalate. While I wouldn’t miss it, innocent civilians dying was something I needed to prevent at all costs.

Ideally, I wanted to capture it alive…

Gently tugging at the mane of the Nightmare, solid crystal stones formed and detached. I placed the completed Crystal Stone Arrow onto my bow and instantly fired.

Piiing-!

The arrow, released from the bowstring, darted towards a single target. It flew quickly along the fleeing path of the Dark Mage, curving erratically. Just before the sharp tip of the Crystal Stone Arrow pierced the Dark Mage’s body, a thin Mana Barrier formed around him.

Bang-!

The arrow rebounded with a strong force upon hitting the barrier. I frowned again and sent another arrow flying.

Ping-! Piiing-!

A flurry of shots. In a brief moment, I shot a total of ten arrows. As the arrows rained upon the Mana Barrier, it was ceaselessly struck, shattering into purple shards.

I watched the Dark Mage spewing red blood and sent my final arrow flying. With the shock of the magic being forcefully broken, he couldn’t continue casting spells.

Piiing-!

The last arrow flew quickly. The sparkling Crystal Stone Arrow curved at an impossible angle and pierced the back of the Dark Mage.

Pooop-!

The true terror of the Crystal Stone Arrow was after it hit. The moment the arrow struck the Dark Mage and he fell from his horse, a crunching noise erupted as shining crystals began to grow over his body.

“Gah…!”

Screaming in agony, the Dark Mage began to freeze in a pose of pain. Eventually, he was completely covered by the crystal and met his end. As if acknowledging the certainty of his death, the skeleton horse, which had been running amok without a rider, also disappeared.

I sighed and jumped down from the Nightmare. I had managed to capture the perpetrator responsible for placing magic circles all over the Capital City, but the ominous Mana covering this place hadn’t vanished completely.

Scanning the flow of Mana roughly, it seemed there were still two or three locations where magic circles had been installed.

Just then, soldiers clad in shining armor began to approach through the murmur of the citizens. The guards had been dispatched in response to the citizens’ reports.

Before they could speak, I opened my mouth.

“I am Seris, affiliated with the Tower of Dawn. There was a commotion while pursuing a… criminal on the run.”

I deliberately refrained from mentioning the word Dark Mage. I wasn’t sure if ordinary citizens understood the danger of a Dark Mage, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. Since I had resolved the situation, there was no need to instill unnecessary anxiety.

“A criminal…? That thing?”

The guards, with stiff expressions, examined the Dark Mage’s corpse. Covered in sparkling crystals and missing limbs, the body was certainly not in a normal state.

Afterward, I moved with the guards for a brief investigation. The guards didn’t seem to have a problem with my actions since it appeared some instructions had come down from above.

“So, is everything resolved now?”

I tilted my head at the captain’s words. While I had dealt with the Dark Mage who had likely set up the magic circles, it felt too ambiguous to say everything was over. To truly consider the matter concluded, I needed to erase all the remaining magic circles in the city and completely obliterate any traces of dark magic.

Who knows? There might be another Dark Mage hiding somewhere in this castle.

“Well…”

The captain frowned at my vague response. I detailed the locations of the magic circles I had discovered and departed from the guards.

There were a total of seven magic circles installed within the Capital City of the Karma Empire. Rain, who had finished her research at the Mage Tower, had gathered all the wizards on duty in the vicinity to begin erasing the traces of dark magic.

The ominous Mana that blanketed the city vanished entirely a full day later. The Dark Mage’s corpse and the magic book he had been holding were burnt away in a roaring fire. After that, Rain and I went to find the Safe House to report back to the Mage Tower.

“I’m glad it ended quickly. It’s all thanks to you.”

“If it were you, Rain, you would have solved the problem just as quickly even without me.”

Light-hearted compliments exchanged between us. The mood was good. Rain began to write up the report with a light smile. This report would soon be sent directly to the upper ranks of the Mage Tower via a special flow of Mana.

“It appears that all problems have been resolved… I will hasten preparations for our return…”

Holding a thin quill, Rain gracefully wrote down the words. As the report was completed in her hands, the letters slowly started to disappear with a small glow.

“Is the report finished?”

“Yeah. Now we can go back.”

“I was just feeling a bit peckish, so let’s grab a bite before we go.”

It was just at that moment I was about to leave the Safe House with Rain when the small stone tablet on which she had been writing suddenly flashed with bright light, and letters began to appear.

“Oh…?”

< b >< i >[Traces of Dark Magic discovered near the border, additional investigation requested.]< /i >< b >

< b >< i >Written by: Vice Tower Master Haiven< /i >< b >

< b >< i >Reports have come in regarding traces of Dark Magic found in the border area between the Karma Empire and the Burning Road, prompting the dispatch of the wizard ‘Leonis’ for investigation.< /i >< b >

< b >< i >Later, confirmed traces of Dark Magic were found, and the last report indicated that Leonis had lost contact while heading towards the Burning Road to gather more details.< /i >< b >

< b >< i >Wizards ‘Seris’ and ‘Rain’ requested to search for missing Leonis and pursue the Dark Mage.< /i >< b >

“Haiven has given us a designated mission…”

I tilted my head as I read the letters that had appeared on the tablet.

“Rain.”

“Yeah?”

“Do Dark Mages usually appear this frequently?”

“No, this is the first time it has happened.”

Moreover, Leonis has lost contact? From my direct experience, he was at least a Gold rated Adventurer. He wasn’t someone who could be easily defeated, so if he lost contact, there must be a good reason.

“What should we do?”

Rain looked at the tablet and asked me. I tilted my head back, responding.

“Huh? Shouldn’t we go?”

“It’s fine if we don’t. We just handled a task. We can refuse a consecutive mission. It’s a valid reason… Of course, if we refuse, another wizard will be assigned to the task.”

“Hmm…”

I stroked my smooth jawline, lost in thought. Normally, I would have just rejected it outright. But now, I couldn’t do that.

Memories from the Lower Realm rose vividly in my mind. Skasha’s voice, asking to see me again, echoed in my ears.

Perhaps…

I shook off the ominous thought and spoke.

“Let’s go.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

It seemed I would have to delay my promise with Su and Shu a bit longer. Though the distance between the Karma Empire and the Burning Road was quite substantial, it wouldn’t be a significant problem. Now, I was no longer bound by restrictions on distance. I had the massive airship, Gold Return Ship.

Haiven assigning us a designated mission must be related to this as well.

Exiting the Safe House, I set off with Rain on the Ice Dragon Sword and Fire Dragon Sword towards the Gold Return Ship. The enormous airship, which had been left unattended for about a day, exuded massive Mana while maintaining its place.

“I’ll move to the border area first.”

“Sure.”

With the place where Leonis lost contact being the border, it seemed I should initiate a search from there. Boarding the Gold Return Ship with Rain, I snapped my fingers lightly.

Snap-!

With a cheerful sound, the Starlight Mana burst forth. A star, emerging and swirling around me, radiated bright light.

In my mind, determining where to go, the star began to move swiftly. The clear starlight pointed toward the border area between the Karma Empire and the Burning Road.

It’s hard to go wrong if you’ve been somewhere once. Just as I drew my Golden Sword to launch the Gold Return Ship, my eyes met Rain’s.

“Gulp…!”

It seems the experience of rolling around inside the cabin of the Mage Tower heading to the Karma Empire flashed back to her. Rain curled up on the floor, tightly shutting her eyes.

The moment I plunged the Golden Sword into the ground, the massive hull began to shake. Through the power of the Golden Fragrance of Greed, the internal machinery activated. Rapidly rotating gears sent Blue Mana racing in their direction.

As numerous spells activated while receiving the Mana needed for our movement, a colossal roar erupted.

Boom!

A sonic boom was generated the moment we surpassed the speed of sound. Lying flat on the ground, Rain screamed as she started rolling around again.

Kuwagawa-!

The surrounding scenery turned into lines, and all clouds blocking our path exploded away. We arrived at the border area in no time.

“Ugh…”

The moment the Gold Return Ship came to a halt, Rain, with a pale face, clutched her mouth. Leaving Rain behind, I began to inspect beneath the airship.

With sharp eyes, the Mana concentrated, revealing things that weren’t visible before. As if to indicate we were near a desert, the flow of Mana rippled like flames. In that instant, I detected the ominous Mana hiding among the ordinary Mana.

I frowned. The traces of dark magic found this time were faint. Rather than currently activated magic, it was closer to remnants of magic that had been triggered.

“D-did you find something…?”

“Not sure…”

I trailed off, gripping Rain’s arm. In that moment, I locked eyes with her anxious expression. Giving her a light smile, I jumped outside.

“Eek…!”