LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 4
EP.4 What’s going on? Give it back (3)
“Khuhk…”
Thud, with a sound, the hulking figure of the black knight Daike topples over. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Daike bows his head.
His once-proud black armor is now caved in. His great sword is broken in half and stuck in the ground. It was a clear sign of Daike’s utter defeat.
“A…”
Refe blinks, dazed.
Just one strike. All of this was the result of Raniel releasing a spell from his arm and executing it in just one strike.
Did he unleash all the spells on his arm? No, if he had, it would at least be somewhat justifiable.
Refe clearly saw it.
Raniel only activated three spells.
Double-Spell. Spell-reinforce. Smash.
Three spells. One spell enhanced by two others.
The first hit shattered the sword Daike was holding. The follow-up second strike crushed his armor and struck his bare skin. And that was the end of it.
No flashy magic, no fancy techniques were needed.
Daike, pushed back by the impact, crashed into the wall and hasn’t moved since. It’s uncertain if he’s even alive.
Gulp.
Refe swallows hard and slowly turns her eyes.
There stands Raniel. The monster, showing no signs of exhaustion, is staring at Refe.
“……”
His narrow, blue eyes.
Facing those eyes, Refe instinctively realizes.
There’s nowhere left to run. She might really die.
Thud, thud.
With each light step that thunders against the ground, Refe’s heart races wildly. Gritting her teeth, she thinks of ways to escape this place.
‘The orb.’
The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, ‘the orb.’ The item entrusted to her by the Grand Commander, the ‘Undying Knight.’
– “Absorb the energy you’ve gathered into it.”
– “Don’t question what’s inside. All that a shallow girl like you has to do is pour your energy into that orb.”
Refe, too, doesn’t know what is contained within the orb.
All she knows for sure is that the orb holds the energy she has accumulated over the past several years. And for a succubus, energy means mana.
‘Maybe…’
If it’s mana worth decades, could it stop that monster-like mage? Thinking so, Refe reaches into the air, gripping the orb she had hidden deep inside.
The dark energy roils within the orb.
Refe grips the orb tightly.
Crack.
The orb cracks. As it fractures, Refe draws in energy. She feels her mana filling up.
“Ah?”
However, that feeling is fleeting.
“Ahhhhhh!”
The black fog seeping from the orb engulfs Refe.
*
‘Black fog?’
Seeing the black fog that swallowed Refe, Raniel narrows his eyes. It was an unfamiliar form of magic.
‘There are fog-inducing spells, but…’
That fog was strange.
Rather than obscuring vision or releasing toxic fumes, it moved as if it were alive.
‘I feel like I’ve seen that somewhere…’
But he couldn’t remember exactly where.
Sighing, Raniel extends his left arm forward.
“First, I have to do something.”
Spells stockpiled at the tips of his index and thumb.
Spell-Capture. Smite.
Raniel snaps his fingers, rubbing the spells together. The two spells merge into one, creating a Double Spell.
Spell-Smite.
With a snap, gray mana spreads from the snapped fingers. However, nothing happens. The gray mana scatters in the air, unable to find a target.
Raniel frowns.
‘Not a spell?’
Meanwhile, the black fog is swirling and swallowing Refe. It seeps out from the gap in her rolled-back eyes and slightly parted lips.
“…”
The black fog thickens. It doesn’t rise but crawls on the ground instead. It looked like something creeping like an insect. Raniel follows the source of the fog.
At its origin stands Refe.
Completely consumed by the fog, she raises her arm, making a thud sound, like a puppet with its strings cut. The fog rises along with her arm.
It was a chilling sight.
“This is ridiculous.”
Raniel lets out a long sigh.
Whatever the situation, it was certainly not good.
“■■.”
Swallowed by fog, Refe murmurs in an unknown language. It might sound like a spell, but the tone is different.
“■■-■■(■■■■-■■■■).”
“What the hell is she babbling about? Crazy girl.”
Raniel braces himself. Something in him instinctively feels that he must not let her finish that incantation.
‘Getting close is dangerous.’
Not knowing what the black fog is, running in recklessly is madness. There was no need to approach anyway. He wasn’t particularly a warrior; if he could avoid wastefulness, engaging in close combat wasn’t necessary.
Raniel stretches his arms out in front.
The spells stockpiled on his arms begin to glow.
Whatever it is, he has plenty of spells to counter it. If one spell doesn’t work, he’ll try ten. If ten don’t work, he’ll use a hundred.
‘Spell str—..’
Just as Raniel was about to unleash his spells.
“Cough.”
A dry cough sound.
Raniel, clutching his heart, kneels down.
Thud.
A handful of blood spills from his mouth. The blood is a dark red, a thick mass. At that moment, Raniel realizes.
‘What the hell.’
That black fog.
‘What the hell is that crazy girl carrying?’
He remembers the true nature of that black mist. Naturally, it was something he would have forgotten. Originally, it wasn’t supposed to take that form.
Three years ago, a monster he confronted on the black plains.
The decisive trigger that caused the fallout with Kyle.
The embodiment of a curse, the Demon Lord.
That black mist resembled the flesh of that monster. Despite the difference in shape, there was reason enough for Raniel to be sure.
“Cough, cough. Huff…”
The curse trapped in Raniel’s heart.
That left by the Demon Lord was reacting to the mist. His heart feels constricted and bloodshot. He feels like his blood is boiling.
“Huff, phew…”
Raniel exhales rapidly and grits his teeth.
“■■···”
Refe’s incantation is on the verge of completion.
However, her body is also not in a good state. At best, just once. Once she finishes the incantation she’s reciting, she won’t be able to move anymore.
‘Once.’
He just needs to stop it once.
Raniel bites the tip of his tongue, holding onto his consciousness.
“■.”
Finally, the completed spell emerges from Refe’s hand, spreading through the fog. With bloodshot eyes, Raniel glares at it. He reads the spell contained in the mana.
Body mutation. Mind corruption. And one unknown element.
Of course, there are plenty of spells to counter this. Just the stockpiled spells alone count in the dozens. However, the problem is that black fog.
The fog cannot be countered by ordinary spells.
All spells lose their light before that black mist.
He had already experienced this once.
Raniel does not waste spells needlessly.
“Huff, spit.”
Spitting out the clot of blood stuck in his mouth, he wipes the blood from his mouth and extends his arm. He then slams his palms together.
Smack.
The spells engraved on his fingertips, joints, and palms collide with each other in sequence. They rub against each other. The gray mana begins to seethe with energy.
‘I didn’t waste three years for nothing.’
Three years ago, when he faced the Demon Lord.
Raniel’s life was denied. He was trampled into the ground. The magic he built up crumbled before the curse. The spells he boasted about, couldn’t even scratch the darkness the Demon Lord enveloped.
Three years since that defeat.
While some wasted those years in despair, Raniel spent those years sharpening his teeth and searching for answers.
And now, it was time to show that answer.
Swirl.
The gray mana that rose from the clashing palms engulfs all stockpiled spells. Mimicking the black fog, it moves as if alive.
“Spell with a spell.”
Raniel smiles with a pale face.
“Curse with a curse.”
Cursed Mana.
The black fog swirls with the gray mana. The gray mana isn’t intact. The fog that the gray missed seeps into Raniel’s body. However, what it misses is less than what it consumes.
Swirl.
The gray consumes the fog lying on the ground ravenously. The solidified fog is clawed and torn apart. Like a predator tearing its prey apart, the mist seeks to devour it.
Moonlight filters through the broken window.
Under the bluish moonlight, the ash bites into the darkness.
2.
Blink.
“Ugh!”
As soon as she opens her eyes, she feels a burning pain all over her body. Refe furrows her brow and looks down at herself.
Her arm is broken.
Her skin is charred black.
Breathing properly is difficult.
‘What… is happening?’
Her memory isn’t clear. She remembers breaking the orb filled with energy. But then, she has no recollection of what happened next.
“Ugh, ugh!”
At the sound of someone’s voice, Refe turns her head.
There, she sees Daike, the black knight, hunched over and trembling, as if he had just regained consciousness.
“What’s going on, Daike? Are you okay?”
“Hii, hiiik!”
He doesn’t look okay.
With eyes like he’s seen a monster, he stares at something. Following his gaze, Refe turns her head.
“……”
And then, Refe swallows hard.
Something ashen is staring at her. Something unnameable, something that can only be described with the word ‘something.’
It moves in tandem with Refe’s actions.
Refe belatedly surveys the inside of the building. It looks as if a giant beast has clawed through. It’s a miracle it hasn’t collapsed.
Gulp.
Refe swallows hard and searches for the figure of the man who must have caused this devastation. Soon, she spots him.
A pale face drained of color.
A robe soaked in blood.
In a state that wouldn’t be surprising if he dropped dead at any moment, leaning against the wall, Raniel blinks at Refe.
‘…What the hell?’
She couldn’t understand.
‘He doesn’t seem dead, though.’
But thinking of finishing him off, the ashen figure blocking the path made her uneasy. It felt like she shouldn’t get too close.
“Daike.”
“Hii, hiiik!”
“Enough whining; get up. We need to escape while we can.”
The ashen creature only glares at Refe but does not pursue her. Refe wakes Daike and throws him over her shoulder.
‘I don’t know what it is but…’
Refe feels she can’t stay here any longer.