Taming the Evil Saintess

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“Is this the place?”

“Ah, no.”

“Then let’s move on to the next one.”

“….”

Wuzmund had never seen such a foolish method in his life.

He was reading remnants of dark magic through a spirit. This method was one often used by elf sorcerers. It wasn’t strange. What was strange, though, was that Elliot had chosen this method to locate dark magic itself rather than reading remnants of it.

Reading the traces of dark magic already found and reading traces to discover dark magic were two tasks that required vastly different efforts.

Therefore, for over five days already, Wuzmund had been forced to read the movements of spirits without a proper night’s sleep.

He had wandered so much that he could hardly move his legs anymore, and to assist him, Elliot had to carry Wuzmund on his shoulders.

“This is…”

“No. It’s more than average, but within the margin of error.”

“Tch. For a dowsing machine, its performance is pretty lousy.”

“What exactly does that dowsing machine do?”

“It exists, okay?”

Wuzmund glared at him in indignation, but Elliot didn’t spare him a glance.

“Doing something this insane doesn’t make any sense. Do you realize? We’ve searched for five days and have only covered half of Nua Diel’s northern area.”

“Then if we spend another five days, we should be able to search the entire north.”

“And what about the other directions?”

“We can invest another month.”

“….”

Wuzmund felt darkness creeping into his vision!

“Hey, Sir Elliot. As someone forcibly employed here, let me add a piece of advice… this foolish method is unlikely to yield good results.”

“Then just carry on mindlessly until we get good results. If the body suffers, the head will have a hard time.”

“Usually it’s the opposite.”

“Well then, do you want to try making your body suffer?”

“…No.”

Ultimately, Wuzmund had to change his approach to persuasion, but Elliot’s attitude remained ironclad.

In the end, he had no choice but to constantly check the spirits again.

His eyes throbbed painfully, and being carried by Elliot’s strong arms made it feel like his waist was about to snap. But if he dared to complain here, the other side would definitely suffer a kick. Although elves have low reproductive urges, that doesn’t mean their reproductive ability is not precious.

So, Wuzmund could do nothing but glare broad-eyed at the wicked spirits.

“…I found it.”

“See? I told you it could be found.”

Five days later, by some miracle, Wuzmund was able to locate a place densely populated with wicked spirits.

“…It’s really happening.”

Not believing it, he muttered those words.

Before his eyes lay a cave. There were bound to be dozens of these caves near Nua Diel.

However, the dark red energy flowing from the cave looked ominous even to an elf who was unfamiliar with magic.

“Dark Magic.”

“Dark magic, you say?”

Before long, Elliot set Wuzmund down gently and muttered in a calm voice.

“It’s a power akin to the mana used by the Demon King’s minions. It’s sinister and has a cruel disposition. Even monsters, albeit weakly, possess dark magic.”

“How do you know that?”

“I clashed blades with them at a distance where I could see the Demon King’s army.”

“…Huh?”

“That’s an old story.”

Elliot wrinkled his nose as if displeased.

The Demon King’s army is situated above the Ice Palace, the northernmost nation. With a massive barrier preventing the southward advance of the Demon King’s army, it’s safe to say that civilians wouldn’t usually encounter them.

A Knight of the Saint would encounter them even less.

Wuzmund opened his mouth with a question, but before he could, Elliot strode forward.

“Are you leaving already? To seek help…?”

“Come on, asking a Dark Elf for help? What do you think would happen if I asked Titania to help in subduing a dark mage?”

“…”

“You can go back. The reason I’ve held you until now is that I needed you. Tell your chief, Archery Master Erwin, I’m sorry. This is compensation for him.”

With those words, Elliot tossed a pouch.

Inside were a few valuable jewels.

Certainly, it must have been an item so valuable that even an elf, who lacked material desire, would catch their breath.

But Wuzmund looked back and forth between Elliot and the jewels, sighed softly, and finally stood up. His legs were shaky, but he could still walk.

“I’ll follow you.”

“You could die trying to act tough.”

“I know. But knowing the Demon King’s army has reached the Great Forest, I cannot turn my back on it while I carry Vinheim’s name.”

High Elves are the architects of the forest and guardians preserving its balance.

With a dark mage’s den starkly visible before them, his pride wouldn’t allow him to send a foreigner alone.

The very foreigner, Elliot, scoffed.

“Do as you wish. I won’t care if you die.”

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

Thus, the two entered deeper into the cave.

As they ventured inside, the ominous dark magic intensified.

Above all.

“Kyyaaa!”

Monsters appeared.

While Wuzmund panicked and nocked an arrow, Elliot had already unsheathed the sword at his waist, dancing with lethal grace.

Swish! The monster was swiftly cut in half, spilling blood on the cave floor like a puppet with severed strings.

“…”

Wuzmund couldn’t believe his eyes.

He had encountered monsters dozens of times already. Sometimes there were groups, sometimes individuals. Monsters of all sizes and types.

Yet, every confrontation ended with a single strike from Elliot.

Wuzmund didn’t even get a chance to take action.

He even didn’t need to unleash sword energy; with just the physical capabilities augmented by mana, he sliced through the beast.

“Sir Elliot, have you really fought a monster, I mean, the Demon King’s army before?”

“Way too many times.”

His eyes looked tired to the bone.

Wuzmund suddenly realized that the skill he had shown just a while ago when suppressing his ranger squad wasn’t even close to being his true self.

At least, it seemed unlikely that such miscellaneous monsters could force his genuine skill out.

“This must be it.”

After walking for about another hour, they arrived in a space where dark magic became incredibly dense. A stone door blocked the way, but Elliot split it apart with a sword crackling with energy, revealing what lay inside.

Wuzmund instinctively clenched his fists.

The dark mage’s workshop. From the stories he had heard, he understood enough about its horror.

But now, seeing it with his own eyes, Wuzmund could only acknowledge that the storyteller was a simpleton.

It was so hellish.

The corpses of various races hung like butchered beasts from hooks, and human organs floated in jars set against the wall of the cave.

The floor was naturally painted in blood, forming a magic circle, and atop the altar was the still-beating heart of a living human.

Finally, standing at the center was a bleak-looking man.

“…How did you get in here?”

The man, no, the dark mage glared at the split stone door and asked.

Before Wuzmund could even yell, Elliot took a step forward.

“We walked in, you idiot.”

Elliot’s face was filled with displeasure, something he had never seen before.

The dark mage was a traitor serving the Demon King’s army.

Murder, abduction, cannibalism, human experimentation, human sacrifice, and so on. They committed every act reviled as the worst crime in any culture.

They were the ones responsible for creating monsters, mixing humans and beasts.

“Welcome, you bastard.”

And for me, he was the scoundrel that killed the hero of Lauren Village.

It was impossible to think of him positively.

Sure, there are good dark mages in games, but seeing the state of this workshop, this guy was nothing but a target for extermination.

“…You are, no. This isn’t a situation for introductions.”

He hesitated to ask for the identity.

Instead, he took a step forward, splattering the blood on his sword.

“Anyway, you’ll soon be talking.”

“Gah! Kill him!”

As the dark mage waved his large sleeves, chains flowed from his wrists. Simultaneously, the magic circle inscribed in blood glowed brightly, and the monsters hanging from the ceiling descended with horrifying wails.

I raised my sword to deflect the incoming chains, then plunged my sword into an attacking monster.

The beast died before it could even scream.

Next, another monster charged at me, but without even needing to swing my sword, Wuzmund shot it down with an arrow.

“What!”

It would be unfortunate if he thought he could block this pathetic chimera with such tricks.

The dark mage’s face turned pale with surprise.

From the look on his face, he clearly wasn’t a high-ranking member. If he had the power to establish a workshop here, below the barrier and even to descend into the Great Forest, it was certain he wasn’t a formidable dark mage.

No matter what, I was resolved to take him down and interrogate him.

Thus, I set the tone and rushed forward, swinging my sword at him.

Clang! The chains that had flowed from the dark mage’s wrist formed a shield.

I withdrew my sword and gathered mana in my other hand to strike the shield. While it might not break through, the recoil would definitely daze him. Had the shock truly hit him? The dark mage’s face went pale.

“This, this madman!”

Ultimately, he waved his other hand to cast spell, and a massive black thorn erupted from beneath my feet. I leaped high, but I couldn’t evade the chain he swung.

In that fleeting moment, I raised the sword to block it, but the force was so strong it stole my breath.

I staggered back a few steps, shaking my numbed hand.

“Die!”

The black thorns erupted repeatedly.

The spikes filled my view. I couldn’t block them all. If that was the case, I would dodge what I could and cleave away those I couldn’t dodge. And if I couldn’t do that? I’d pray not to get hit.

With those thoughts concluded, I flailed my sword wildly.

There was no art or finesse in my sword. How grand could a swordsmanship learned for survival truly be?

Yet, in its singular ambition to survive, it proved more effective than any swordsmanship.

“…What.”

The dark mage’s eyes widened in disbelief as he saw me emerge unscathed.

Of course, I was equally astonished.

Black thorns. Wasn’t that a spell used by high-ranking demons in the Demon King’s army?

Naturally, I thought him to be a fool, but it appeared he belonged to the upper echelon of dark mages. After all, it wouldn’t be possible for him to invade an imperial territory otherwise.

Was that why Titania of Nua Diel hadn’t managed to expel this scumbag, even knowing of his existence?

“Golden mana, golden hair. I know you.”

Breathlessly, the dark mage spoke.

“Mercenary Elliot. The mad dog of the Black Eagle Mercenary Company! The Slave Knight who has taken down hundreds of the Demon King’s army! Countless demons have designs on you!”

“Glad that you recognize me. Hmph.”

I spat out a clump of blood that had risen in my throat.

A slave acknowledged by demons, huh?

How’s that for an honor?

Of course, I never came here seeking honor.

“So, why has such a strong one come all the way to the Great Forest?”

The dark mage looked genuinely aggrieved.

“What do you mean! Who leaked the information?”

Hearing that, I raised my middle finger at him.

“Lauren Village.”

“Lauren…Village?”

“That’s the village you razed. I came here for revenge, and you’ve messed up my plans for a blissful retirement. So I’m going to ruin your life too.”

At my words, the dark mage’s expression turned to one of alarm.

“…Could it be, you too….”

Before he could finish that thought, I swung my sword.