Chapter 127: Dark Explosion

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Chapter 127: Dark Explosion

Parin gave a hollow laugh.

"You're spirited for your young age."

"You're energetic for your old age."

"Haha."

Parin smiled with a benevolent face, but to me, it looked like a salivating grin.

Thinking I was injured, Parin no longer hid his true intentions.

His eyes, approaching through the heavy rain, gleamed with a predatory killing intent.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It'll be hard to deal with the aftermath if you kill me."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of killing you."

"It'll be just as hard to deal with the aftermath if you kidnap me. Surely you're not underestimating Ardehain, old man. What are you thinking? Are you out of your mind? Do you have dementia?"

"Don't be afraid. I'll just ask you a few questions quietly."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Hehe."

This old man was serious.

His smile wasn't a bluff.

He wasn't intimidated at all, even after I mentioned Ardehain.

I nodded and said,

"Well, I guess you wouldn't have started this in the first place if you were worried about the consequences. Shall we have a chat?"

"You talk too much."

The situation wasn't good.

Parin was in front of me, and the masked figures were surrounding me from behind.

Suddenly, Parin nodded once.

What did that mean?

It could be a meaningless gesture, but in moments like this, every action had meaning.

Sure enough, as if waiting for a signal, the masked figures behind me threw hidden weapons and charged.

Clang—

When fighting multiple opponents like this, escaping the encirclement was the top priority.

I kicked off the ground with all my might and used levitation magic. The masked figures also kicked off the ground, following me.

"Point Gravity."

"Memorize, Gravity Bind."

The magic Parin cast focused on me.

4-star, Point Gravity.

5-star, Gravity Bind.

The two magic spells reached me with a split second's difference.

One of them was a 5-star magic that Parin had prepared in advance using Memorize.

I felt as if someone was pulling my feet, and at the same time, whip-like vines sprouted from the ground and flew towards me.

Rumble—

It was clear that if I stayed like this, the masked figures would catch up to me.

Instead of dodging, I chanted a short incantation towards myself.

'Weight, Point Gravity.'

Parin's magic and mine overlapped, accelerating gravity several times over.

The moment I felt my body stretching downwards, I surrendered to the acceleration.

At a moment the opponent didn't expect, I landed hard on the ground.

Thud—

I rolled on the muddy ground to absorb the impact, then immediately ran in the opposite direction.

"Catch him!"

The wind and rain blowing fiercely in the opposite direction stung my eyes.

Wheeing—

I stopped running and looked back.

The masked figures, having just landed, were charging towards me.

I focused on their faces.

I glared at their eyes through the masks.

They were all squinting because of the strong wind.

Every fight is about timing.

Four circles rotating as if burning.

Wind Spear.

Three wind spears, cast without incantation, shot towards the enemies simultaneously.

Wheeing—

Normally, it wouldn't be such a threatening attack, but...

Due to the strong wind, the power of the wind spears was amplified.

The moment I saw one of the masked figures in the front close his eyes, I threw the Red Dagger in my hand.

Whoosh— Thud!

The dagger lodged itself between his eyebrows, killing him instantly.

"...!"

They had no camaraderie.

The rest of them didn't care if their comrade died or not, and continued to charge at me.

Shwaaaaa—

The heavy rain continued to pour.

I repeatedly stopped and moved, looking for an opening, but it wasn't easy to find one anymore.

Parin was keeping a close eye on me, and the masked figures were more skilled than I thought.

Above all, these guys had no fear.

Even if it meant their death, they charged at me, taking the hits.

I deflected the masked figures' attacks and said,

"Am I your sworn enemy?"

"..."

Still no answer.

Thud—

I blew another one's head off, and at the same time, blood spurted from my shoulder.

The attack of the masked figure, who didn't fear death, finally reached me.

A throbbing pain shot up my nerves to my brain.

Blood flowed back, and a bloody smell rose.

I felt thirsty and stuck out my tongue to lick it.

The taste of rain felt like the taste of blood.

"You leeches."

As time passed, the tide of the battle gradually turned against me.

I couldn't attack properly because I was wary of Parin.

I looked around, but there was still no sign of any allies.

They probably didn't anticipate this situation.

"Damn it."

"Haha."

The moment I heard Parin's laughter, I changed my mind.

I lured the masked figures away, creating distance, and then immediately flew towards Parin at full speed.

I opened four of the circles in my heart and launched wind spears.

Fwoom—

At the same time, I opened the last circle and was about to continue the incantation...

A tremendous tearing sound came from the left.

Drowned out by the rain, I realized it too late.

I forcefully twisted my waist to avoid the path of the attack, but I couldn't completely evade it.

Fwoosh—

A barrage of hidden weapons grazed my waist, and pain surged once again.

A paralysis poison-coated weapon.

As soon as I saw the thick smoke rising from my waist, I reached out and tore off the flesh.

"You've fallen for it."

It was then that more masked figures appeared from the left.

"...Just how many people did you bring, Parin?"

This time, I detected another movement from the right.

Someone was watching me.

It seemed Parin had come prepared.

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I laughed.

This wasn't a situation that would end easily.

The world doesn't always go as planned. There's nothing easy in this world.

The allies I called for didn't appear, and there were only enemies all around.

Was it because of all the distracting thoughts? I couldn't hear the rain anymore.

Maybe it was because I had lost too much blood.

It was then, as I reached out towards Parin through my reddened vision...

Crackle—

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and sparks in front of me.

A bolt of lightning, shot from the fingertips of a figure who appeared from the right, blocked the enemies from the left who were charging at me.

"What are you doing there all alone? You're such a stubborn fool."

The voice was familiar.

Where had I seen that lightning before?

A woman and two men.

Looking closely, it was the Three Musketeers.

The movement detected from the right wasn't an enemy after all.

"Ah, when did you get here?"

"We came to see what kind of pathetic act you were putting on alone."

I nodded and looked at Taylor.

"You came at the right time. And relax your eyes. I almost mistook you for an enemy."

Shwaaa—

The heavy rain started pouring down again.

"This damn rain keeps stopping and starting. What crazy weather."

"You're spouting nonsense again."

Taylor glared at me with a dumbfounded look, then turned to face the enemies.

"I'll hear the details later. We'll take care of those guys, you take care of Parin."

Blair and Arin also opened their energy channels and positioned themselves on either side of Taylor.

I advised the Three Musketeers,

"They're like moths drawn to a flame, charging without any regard for their lives. Only strike when you're absolutely sure."

The three nodded in unison.

As soon as the masked figure at the front signaled with his eyes, they all charged, and the Three Musketeers also ran towards the enemies.

Arin disrupted the enemy ranks at the forefront, and Taylor calmly aimed for the weaknesses of the scattered enemies.

Blair supported the two by deploying defensive magic.

They worked well together. They weren't at a level to be easily defeated by the masked figures.

Finally, I faced Parin, who was left alone.

"One-on-one now, huh?"

"Child of Samael, how about you follow me now?"

Parin was still composed.

Suddenly, Parin assumed a stance as if to attack me, then abruptly looked up at the sky.

His expression was so strange that I followed his gaze, and saw that the night sky was turning red.

The night sky turning red?

That didn't make sense.

The moment Parin turned his back and started running with a whoosh— sound...

* * *

Running is important.

It's one of the most crucial elements in a fight.

Knights who realized this early on honed techniques specifically for running.

Techniques known as footwork.

We mages didn't practice footwork separately.

Because it wasn't necessary.

By appropriately combining acceleration spells like Haste, we could boast speeds incomparable to footwork.

Although it wasn't easy magic, any proper mage should steadily practice it.

Of course, even among proper mages, I was considered quite fast.

Even though I was running at a considerable speed, I couldn't catch up to Parin.

It seemed like he was using an artifact.

The back of Parin's head looked somewhat urgent.

He didn't look back even once while running. He truly ran without rest.

Why was he suddenly running away?

Was this another trick?

Actually, there was also the option of not chasing the old man and going to Lauren instead.

But that wasn't my style.

If that old man had used this method anticipating my personality, he had read me well.

"Old man, why did you try to kill the Third Military Commander?"

I asked what I wanted to know while chasing him.

Actually, that was partly why I was keeping a certain distance.

"Do you have a grudge against Ardehain?"

"..."

"Why did you try to frame us?"

"..."

"Do you have some resentment towards Samael, old man?"

"..."

I bombarded him with questions like a rapid-fire cannon.

There was no answer, but asking what I wanted to ask cleared my mind a little.

Some things started to fall into place.

It occurred to me that there might be someone behind Urgon, who had attacked Samael in the past.

If there was someone behind Urgon...

A strange intuition ran down my spine.

"Hey, old man."

I asked as I increased my speed.

"What did you do to the Third Military Commander? Even if Balkan was in charge of the Demonic Bloom, that's not the end of it, is it?"

Parin, who was running away, looked up at the sky.

"Old man, Demonic Bloom can't do that much."

Suddenly, Parin stopped in his tracks.

Turning to face me, Parin narrowed his eyes and asked,

"Do you really know what you're talking about?"

I threw out a bait that Parin couldn't help but bite at this point.

"Demonic Bloom can't cause that much coldness."

Parin's pupils dilated.

It was a tremor stemming from his inability to comprehend the current situation.

"Child of Samael."

"Yes."

"It seems we have a lot to talk about."

"Good. Shall we take it one question at a time?"

Parin shook his head.

"There's no need for that. You just need to surrender yourself to me."

"I have no interest in being held by an old man."

Instead of answering, Parin drew his magic.

A chill began to swirl.

The same fluctuation I felt during the duel.

6-star magic.

Death of Ice.

As the pouring rain slowed and the surrounding atmosphere froze,

I also opened five circles and chanted the incantation of fire explosion.

Fwooom—

A small spark exploded, shattering the frozen atmosphere.

I slipped through the gap and leaped towards Parin.

The difference from the duel was...

Neither Parin nor I had any intention of stopping.

We both had our trump cards prepared.

Parin, visible through the pouring rain, was smiling as if he had anticipated this situation.

I also smiled and charged towards Parin.

I thrust my fist towards the barrier that appeared in front of Parin.

"Unwavering determination towards the unbreakable rock wall..."

5-circle earth attribute, shock-type incantation.

"Shock Wave."

The intense wave condensed in my fist struck Parin's barrier, sending a shockwave through it.

Fwaaaang—!

Even as I extended my fist, I didn't take my eyes off Parin's movements.

Parin continued to grin, baring his teeth.

It was at that moment.

Parin's teeth turned black, and with a chilling feeling, a powerful surge erupted from his front.

"This is the end, child."

A sharp awl suddenly appeared in Parin's right hand.

The wave emanating from that intense awl pushed against the shockwave as if to break it.

I immediately reversed the rotation of the circles in my heart and released mana.

Dark lightning was added to the shockwave surrounding my fist.

Dark Thunder.

"...This is?"

Parin's eyes were filled with shock.

At the same time, I felt an unpleasant energy from the weapon Parin was holding.

"...!"

That feeling I could never forget.

Instinctively, I reversed the rotation of all possible circles.

The moment four circles rotated in reverse,

I spread my fist wide near Parin's chest.

Darkness erupted.

Mana from the Yin dimension.

4-circle Reverse Incantation.

Dark Explosion.

The entire area was dyed in complete darkness.

Raindrops, wind, waves, everything disappeared without a trace.

"Cough..."

As if everything had returned to nothingness.

Parin's mana core vanished without a trace.

Clang— Parin's entire body, flung back, was melting away from the aftermath of the Dark Explosion.

I approached Parin, suppressing my pounding heart, and asked,

"What are you?"

Parin, having lost his reason, chattered his teeth in fear.

"...W-what..."

"What are you, you bastard?"

I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, meeting his eyes.

"You bastard, where did you get this? How did you release demonic energy?"

"H-how is this possible?"

"Who gave this to you?"

"H-how..."

"Is there someone else behind this? Tell me."

"...This can't be. The Demon Realm hasn't opened yet, so how... Oh no. The call. Why here..."

Parin was dying, having lost his mind.

His pupils were dilated, and he kept repeating strange words.

Damn it.

He didn't have much time left, exposed to the Dark Explosion.

"This damn bastard."

I frantically searched Parin's chest.

This was beyond my expectations.

I knew there would be direct evidence, worse than the Demonic Bloom, but I didn't expect him to release demonic energy directly.

I instinctively ended up using Dark Explosion.

I had no choice.

This was a completely different issue than the mere remnants of Demonic Bloom in the Land of Death.

"..."

Vivid memories, as if branded into my bones.

Soon, I found the worst possible evidence I had been fearing.

Their evidence.

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