Chapter 294: The Curse

Chapter 294: The Curse

"Are you insane?" Ortenrosse turned pale.

The reason he hadn't guarded against this artifact was twofold: firstly, it wasn't a weapon, making it unsuitable for close combat; secondly, the thunder it carried, though powerful, was indiscriminate and difficult to control. Using it at such close range would mean neither side could escape unscathed.

Shinji still didn't speak. He answered Ortenrosse through his actions.

A mysterious crimson light flowed from his right hand into the golden artifact.

A sudden clap of thunder, the divine thunder of Indra.

In an instant, thunder and lightning manifested, and dark clouds swirled.

Although it was just a small cloud covering the two of them, its momentum was no less than a summer thunderstorm.

Thunder roared and lightning entwined, as if the god Indra himself was shouting in anger.

Ortenrosse looked around. Bolts of lightning sliced through the clouds like golden snakes slithering through the sky. Even a mere graze from one of them caused him a sharp pain.

This was the maximum output of the B+ rank Noble Phantasm, Indra's Thunder, a level of destructive power modern magecraft could hardly reach.

Faced with such a terrifying attack, even the powerful King of Dead Apostles felt a tremendous threat, a mix of shock and anger.

"Do you want to perish together with me?"Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

Perish together?

Behind his cracked mask, Shinji revealed a disdainful smirk.

He could no longer be called the White Wing Lord; a more fitting name would be Bald Wind Lord or Roasted Winged Lord—though this was just a jest and did not change the fact that Trhvmn Ortenrosse had endured the divine punishment of thunder.

It should be over now, right? This must have been the last counterattack from that troublesome magus. Thinking this, the King of Dead Apostles looked in the direction where Shinji had been sent flying.

In the extended line of his sight, there was only a dirt pit about one meter in radius, and nothing else.

Damn, the magus had escaped!

The King of Dead Apostles, whose emotions had not yet settled, felt even more frustrated. Ignoring his severely damaged body, he walked to the edge of the dirt pit that seemed to have been left by Shinji, grabbed a handful of soil, and sniffed it at his nose. He then looked up at the ever-flowing Po River not far away and let out a heavy snort.

"Do you think hiding in the river and evaporating the bloodstains will let you escape? You have truly underestimated me, Trhvmn Ortenrosse."

Without any visible action from him, a mist darker than the night itself suddenly emerged at the edge of the pit destroyed by Shinji's fire magecraft. This mist, unaffected by the night wind, gathered into a long line, one end held by Ortenrosse and the other extending outward, finally flowing into the water.

Almost simultaneously, a black line appeared on Shinji's right wrist as he walked in the middle of the river, relying on Rune Magic.

Sensing something amiss, Shinji hastily pulled up his sleeve, only to see the black line extending up his arm at a visible pace. Wherever it passed, his already swollen, bruised arm began to decay and rot at an observable speed.

"Not good, it's a curse."

Shinji had seen this condition described in the materials Lorelei had left him. It was one of Ortenrosse's abilities, which he had used against several ancestors of the Barthomeloi family.

This was a malevolent curse specifically targeting magus. The black line absorbed the magus' mana, growing stronger while gradually destroying the magus' magic circuits and inflicting physical pain—a dual blow to both mind and body.

In the mere seconds it took to inspect the curse, Shinji could already feel his mana spiraling out of control.

Watching as the black line crept past his elbow, nearing his shoulder, Shinji gritted his teeth and drew the Divine GunBlade, ready to cut it off. According to records, the only conclusion the Barthomeloi family had drawn from studying the sacrificed ancestors' bodies was that severing the black line's connection with the body in time was the only way to halt the curse's spread.

The blade flashed.