Chapter 84: Black Magic Power

「It’s within our sights!」 「What the heck…」

As we arrived at the mansion, what came to view was a crowd of people scrambling up not only the gates, but the fences and the walls as well. The mansion itself wasn’t untouched, there are holes here and there, and the windows are broken all over.

The “Thunder Balls”1 fried the people approaching nearby, but there were so many people that it could barely keep them at bay. The guards usually watching the gates, as well the servants patrolling around, have joined along the crowd.

「They’re being controlled…?」 「Controlled?」 「Yeah, I see some sort of magic power. Some black magic power.」

I switch on my magic eyes and examine the horde of people.2 With my eyes accidentally unsealed, I can now see the flow of mana, which I could only feel before, and the color of magic power. I deliberately turned that effect off since it’s too much information for everyday use. If I wasn’t capable of doing that, just living normally day to day might have been questionable.

What reflected on my eyes was a black magic power that seemed to coil around the heads of the swarm. An awfully unpleasant, pulsating magic power.

「It’s a spell, no, magic? It’s a magic I don’t know.」 「Magic even you don’t know?」 「Yeah.」

Considering that it uses magic power, I’m certain that it’s either some magecraft or magic. Judging from its scope and the amount of magic power it uses, it should be magic. However, I have no idea about what it does. Since it’s coiling around the head, it’s probably brainwashing or mind control magic. However, there’s nothing like that among my magic.

Since I’m a succubus, I should have at least Charm magic but when I checked, it was a Skill, not magic. It uses life essence, not magic power.

Even I have a few magic that I would never use.3 However, magic that I have absolutely no knowledge of is pretty rare.

「For now, let’s hurry to the mansion! Urania, use this! Hans, head to a safe place!」 「Nn.」 「… Understood.」

I gave Urana a ball with the magic “Bind” loaded into it. It’s a magical item that, when thrown, activates “Bind” and restrains the target it hits.4 Since I imagine that Urania’s Grimoire still doesn’t have “Bind” magic recorded on it yet, she might need it to capture and incapacitate the enemies.

I had Hans evacuate. While the enemy is a complete mystery, from the fact that the servants of the Iglesio mansion are with them, there’s a possibility that, in the worst case scenario, it can also assimilate other people. In that case, it’d be safer to have him evacuate. Although he seemed displeased about it, understanding that he’ll be a burden, Hans backed down and agreed.

「Well, everything in sight is going to be swept clean, so staying around here should be good enough.」 「Ha? Just now, what?」 「Showing it would be faster.」

I’ve already gathered my magic power. We don’t have any time to handle them one by one, but with the servants mixed in with the swarm, I can’t just use combat magic in a wide area. Rather, it’s probably made up of regular people. I don’t know if they’re brainwashed or mind controlled, but they’re innocent.

「Now, let’s do this. “Water” then “Bind”!」

The magic I’m using is “Water”. However, I charged it with ten times more magic power than necessary. And to each drop of this, I loaded “Bind” magic. Let’s see, if I had to name it……

「”Bind Rain” should work for now, I guess.」

The rain of magic power pouring from the sky changes its form as it touches the mob crowding the mansion, restraining them one by one. Similar to fire, water has no fixed shape. Unless it touches a living creature, this water just stays as regular water. I won’t let the mansion, as well as its beautiful courtyard, get damaged any more than it already is.

「It’s nothing but numbers, huh. Let’s go, Urania!」 「Nn, going ahead!」

The mob outside should be fine with just being restrained by “Bind Rain”. Luckily, these people don’t seem to have enough strength to break out of my “Bind”.

Leaving the firmly closed doors as it is, we enter through the broken window. Crackle. The sensation of glass breaking under my feet feels gross.

「AaAaah, UuUggh…」 「Uwah, so they really did end up getting inside.」

The place we entered was the corridor area on the first floor. It’s the corridor connecting the dining hall to the entrance hall, but there were five men inside…. How should I describe it? I guess hopping corpses?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangshi">5 Zombies? Or maybe ghouls fit them closest? I lightly used 【Lewd Dream】 on them, but it seems like they’re devoid of reason, so it doesn’t take effect.6

「Well, who cares about names right now. “Bind”.」

With only five people, there’s no need to use magic fusion. I simultaneously cast multiple “Binds” and restrained them. This much is no match for me, but it was probably too much for old man Kent and Adan to handle. The difference in numbers alone is troublesome. Naturally, if they didn’t take these people’s life in consideration, then this shouldn’t be any actual problem for the two of them, but with the servants and regular people mixed into the crowd, that likely made things complicated.

「The fact that I don’t see the enemy caster7 is bothering me. Did they go inside or are they watching from a safe distance? 」

I tried coming into contact with the magic power on one of them. Since the caster is controlling them, there should be a magic power path connecting them. If I can trace it backwards, I should be able to figure out where the caster is.

「Tsk…. What’s this, some sick joke?」

I swiftly swing my arm to shake the magic power away.

「This damned magic power, it was trying to eat me.8」

The instant I came in contact with the black magic power, it absorbed my magic power while trying to encroach me. From how it moved, it was likely aiming for the brain. This magic power probably infects people through touch, taking hold of the brain and brainwashing or controlling them.

The problem about this is that it absorbs the magic power it needs from the person it infected. With magic power from a regular person, it can probably dominate about five people. If this magic ever spreads out, the number of victims would increase like multiplying rats. Moreover, this magic works fine even without the presence of the caster. At worst, even if the caster dies, this magic would remain, continuing to infect more and more people.

「Damned cheeky magic.」

A magic that isn’t controlled by people, but one that controls people instead. If this isn’t cheeky, then I don’t know what to call it. Knowing how it works, I’m not just slightly irritated, I’m absolutely pissed.9

「You’re magic, so just obediently, let people control you!」

I poured my own magic power into the black magic power. It tried absorbing my magic power, but in the end, it’s just some magic power acting in some fixed way. There’s absolutely no way it can go against my level of magic power control. Using my magic power, I devour the magic power attempting to encroach me.10 Considering the large number of victims outside, there’s barely any meaning in me saving the five men here.

It’s just for my own self-satisfaction but for some reason, I couldn’t stay calm enough to just leave this magic power as it is.