Gaston.
He was the instructor at the training camp.
A knight who pulled petty tricks targeting Dillon and me under Balak’s orders.
Is this during the group mock war?
I got chased after being caught by Eliya.
Salaman.
The instigator who bullied Dillon after trading knighthood with Gaston.
He was also chased away together with Gaston.
That’s what I’ve heard.
I haven’t heard any details about whether he’s dead or not.
But…
“Gaston, and Salaman… right?”
The Underground City, where I came to track the Dark Wizard.
There, I found Gaston and Salaman.
Pale skin.
Droopy eyes.
Moves creaking unnaturally.
Ghouls.
Born from the Dark Wizard’s curse.
“Something is coming!”
The sound of running feet, echoing like a drum.
It fills the ant-hole-like underground city.
They’re crowding in from all directions except the entrance.
At the dim edge lit by torches.
Enemies swarmed in like a tide.
A horde of red orcs.
They look a bit different from the ones outside.
Their eyes are unfocused.
Their movements are also sluggish.
“They’re all ghouls… How many ghouls are there?!”
“Stay calm! Form ranks! Let’s retreat for now…”
Dillon, who was talking, went silent.
Everyone glanced back.
The entrance was closed.
A large stone that hadn’t been there earlier blocked the stairs.
“A trap…?”
“It’s too narrow for them to rush us all at once! It’s to our advantage!”
Even amidst the chaos, Dillon’s commands were calm and precise.
The strongest among us stood at the front, holding shields.
I was one of them.
With six standing, the hallway was packed.
Behind were five archers. And Dillon, the commander.
As he said, the corridor was in our favor.
“But ghouls are much stronger than they were when they were alive. They feel no pain and won’t hesitate. This won’t be easy.”
One downside of ghouls exists.
While their physical abilities skyrocket, their intelligence deteriorates.
But we can’t let our guard down.
A Dark Wizard who can turn this many into ghouls.
Without seeing him directly, he must be quite formidable.
A powerful Dark Wizard can control his ghouls.
Or create individuals capable of commanding the whole horde of ghouls.
“But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to win.”
Dillon urgently commanded.
“Use only one torch!”
I almost forgot for a moment.
This is a closed space.
If it fills with toxic fumes from the torch, we’re in danger.
We extinguished all torches at once, leaving just one.
The light dimmed, and darkness deepened.
Salaman and Gaston raised their swords, pointing at our group.
“They’re coming! Prepare for battle!”
*
Leading the charge was Judas, who first raised his shield.
In a group battle, maintaining formation and cooperation is essential.
I couldn’t act rashly.
I needed to assess the situation and could act later.
The sluggish orcs suddenly accelerated.
They charged bizarrely, flailing their arms and legs.
In ridiculously awkward stances, not having proper posture as warriors.
But.
BAM-!
The force hitting my shield was no joke.
“Even enhanced, this is pretty severe…”
I glanced to the side.
My comrades were stabbing through the shield to fend off the orcs.
Arrows zipped by dangerously close.
It was a pretty risky strategy.
“Even though we’re synced up well, there are just too many enemies.”
Judas asked without targeting anyone.
“How long can we hold out?”
“We can manage!”
“Bring it on!”
Even in the face of unexpected foes, Room 13 did not back down.
Judas made up his mind.
“I have to step up.”
Ghouls lack intelligence.
Yet, these ones move as if they have some.
When one gets injured, a fresh orc steps forward.
“They’re not thinking. There’s a commanding entity. That would be… those two.”
The first ghouls to appear.
Gaston and Salaman.
They haven’t approached.
They merely watched from the light’s edge.
“I’ll jump into the middle of the enemies!”
A task only I could perform.
Dillon replied.
“Please do!”
Hador shouted.
“I’ll lead in your place!”
While Hador’s shield pushed me back, I naturally moved forward.
The transition was as smooth as water flowing.
I immediately infused magic into the Moon’s Orb.
Light filled the dark blade.
It shone with a bright ivory hue.
[Magic Release (Lv.42)]
I had been robbed by Eliya and kept replenishing, but my magic stats actually dropped.
It was because the rate of magic absorption was faster than before.
But it was enough to fight in this situation.
A bunch of orcs dashed towards Judas, who stood alone.
He didn’t move in haste.
The magic running through him cooled his mind.
He simply took a step forward and drew his sword.
He swiftly evaded the erratic trajectories of the axes swinging at him.
Like the timing was off, the consequences of his actions followed a beat later.
When Judas took his next step, the axes shattered.
And when he stepped again, the heads rolled away.
Blood gushed out of the orc’s neck like a fountain.
The others, excluding Judas, were momentarily dumbfounded by the sight.
When we fought against the bandits attacking the train.
Seeing that scene for the first time was astonishing.
Even now, it’s equally shocking.
It felt surreal.
A fire ignited in everyone’s heart.
How could it not?
That reassuring figure was one of their comrades.
Sharing blood and sweat for five years, a family who laughed and fought together.
Dillon shouted.
“Everyone, take one step forward! Close the distance to support Judas as best you can!”
Leaving his comrades behind, Judas moved ahead.
Trustworthy allies to lean on are rare.
The target is Gaston and Salaman.
I cut through the small fry as I passed.
“…”
The ghouled orcs swung their axes without a sound.
The bizarre, flailing movements of the orcs.
In just a few exchanges, I broke through and reached Gaston.
I made a big slash downward.
Gaston raised his sword to block it.
CLANG! Upon impact, Judas felt a jolt in his arm.
“He blocked it…?”
The Moon’s Orb.
It can shatter a granite sword head-on.
The ghoul, Gaston, managed to stop that attack.
‘It’s not just equipment. This is… an enchantment.’
Strengthening weapons with magic is something wizards can naturally do.
They infuse their weapons with attributes that align with their specialties.
This is called enchantment.
And a Dark Wizard can mimic that.
‘An enchantment powerful enough to withstand the Moon’s Orb… The level is much higher than expected. Who exactly is this Dark Wizard?’
Besides, Gaston was a knight.
Ghouls use a portion of the strength and skills they had while they were alive.
Their movements are wobbly.
In between them, their swordplay mixes horrifically.
And there are two opponents.
When I deal with Gaston, Salaman jumps in.
Twisting my body, I barely blocked it with my shield.
After kicking him away, I tried to stab with my sword, but Gaston interfered again.
I couldn’t retreat.
Orcs were behind me.
I was in a surrounded situation.
But.
“Keep pushing forward!”
Our allies quickly pushed back into position.
Richard leaped forward.
“Need a hand?”
Judas smiled wryly.
“I was almost dead. Sure, it’d be great if you could help.”
“Stop with the dramatics.”
Richard took on Salaman.
Judas faced Gaston.
Other comrades dealt with the orcs.
The tide of battle shifted rapidly.
*
Meanwhile, the Dark Wizard, Turbo, raised his head from writing a letter.
The entrance to his lair had closed.
That meant the trap he set off was activated.
“I didn’t receive any news of a visitor… Could it be a beggar?”
Or perhaps just a monster that stumbled in while searching for shade.
This wasn’t the first or second occurrence.
Turbo shrugged it off.
His ghouls, stationed for defense, would handle it.
He resumed writing his letter.
[…When I tried to implant hypnosis and conditioning again, the Thorned Crown appeared and my plan failed. I have questions about how the void was sensed. After escaping with the Sun’s help, I’m currently residing in the laboratory. The goal is closer to the Thorned Crown and I will spend more time with it, rendering the previous plan completely invalid. Awaiting the next instructions….]
He abruptly raised his head, interrupting his writing.
‘Still alive?’
The sounds of the ghouls and the intruders fighting reached him here.
Faintly, but still.
He had thought it would end early.
Ghouls of his caliber could wipe out an ordinary scoundrel within seconds.
The same went for anyone impressive.
None of the monsters around could change that.
‘…Strange. Are the opponents numerous or strong? If so, the temporary sacrificial orcs I had stationed outside would’ve stopped them earlier.’
The stationed orcs reacted to somewhat strong enemies.
While their individual strength was low, they fought through numbers.
Any decent opponent that ventured into this canyon would be cut down by those orcs.
If they die, they could be used as sacrifices, so they were expendable.
‘Does that mean they managed to get past them unharmed?’
Turbo put down his pen and stood up.
He grabbed a staff made of human bones and moved toward the source of the commotion.
He didn’t light a fire to avoid detection.
After all, he was accustomed to darkness.
The sounds of battle continued to reach his ears.
CLANG, THUD, BOOM.
Heavy weapons collided.
THUMP, THUMP. Arrows were fired.
They tore through skin, cutting bone.
In the distance, two lights appeared.
A single person holding a torch, surrounded by many others making a formation.
And a young man swinging a moonlit sword.
Turbo found this reality to be a cruel joke.
‘Why is the target here…?!’
It was fortuitous, yet puzzling.
‘How did they know to come here?’
A force with power and numbers like that couldn’t just coincidentally show up.
‘Could it be her…? No, no. That doesn’t make sense.’
He didn’t know who all of them were.
But he recognized one.
The designated target from his orders.
The child he had hypnotized ten years ago.
A sacrificial pawn to become a spear for the empire’s everlasting prosperity.
‘For reasons unknown, this is working out well. After subduing them here, I shall fulfill my objective. Writing that letter might have been pointless.’
He focused, concealed in the darkness.
Common magic would emit light, so he prepared dark magic.
It was still far to cast mental magic, and the enemy was still intact.
‘First, I need to subdue them.’
Black energy swirled from the bone staff.
Plenty of corpses to use as sacrifices surrounded them.
‘They look sturdy. I don’t have to worry much about adjusting the power level, making it easier for me.’
Finally, the magic was complete.
‘Corpse Condensation.’
All the scattered remains around flew towards Judas.
Like they were pulled by a magnet, they huddled together around him.
His form was hidden, but they kept piling on, pressing against him with weight.
Blood spurted and joined the mass.
Crushed under the corpses, he began to lose his breath.
‘This alone shouldn’t kill him.’
From the bone staff, a black flame burst forth.
It hurtled rapidly towards Judas.
At the moment of collision with the pile of corpses.
BOOM-!
The corpses surrounding Judas exploded.
Shattered flesh filled the narrow tunnel along with blood.
As if a dense mist of blood had settled.
It was so thick that the enemy wasn’t visible, yet the Dark Wizard smirked.
“There’s no way anyone would survive that. The rest should be dealt with like minor pests….”
Suddenly, a gust swept through.
And his sight tilted downward.
‘…Huh?’
Slowly, the floor approached, and his vision flipped rapidly.
He rolled and came to a stop, instantly spotting one face.
The target, Judas.
He looked down at Turbo with indifferent eyes, shaking off his sword.
Right before being trapped in the corpses.
He’d noticed the black flames flickering at the end of the tunnel.
And when the corpses exploded…
[Temporary Magic Immunity Activated.]
[For 3 seconds, immune to all magical damage.]
With Magic Immunity, he survived the explosion without a scratch.
Turbo’s consciousness faded completely.
The remaining ghouls fell all at once.
It was because their central figure, the Dark Wizard, had perished.
Thanks to everyone’s extraordinary skills, few ghouls remained.
Then, someone shouted.
“Judas has caught the Dark Wizard!”
The members of Room 13 erupted into cheers.
I was worried the Underground City would collapse under their excitement.
“Yeah-!”
Looking at my comrades who had now become guards, I simply smiled lightly.
Then I glanced at the fallen head of the Dark Wizard.
Lying on the ground, facing the sky.
For some reason, it felt familiar.
‘Who is this person…?’
It wasn’t just because I met him during the Installation Ceremony.
It was even longer ago…
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