Chapter 27
“No way!”
The dark mage could only gape, unable to believe the situation unfolding before him.
What in the world was going on? Just a short while ago, this was merely a frail, weak child. How could they use dark magic? No, was this child actually a dark mage?
“Seeing your eyeballs roll around, it seems you’re turning your stupid head.”
Gah!
The dark mage fell to the floor. Daphne had retracted her shadow.
“Thinking foolish thoughts?”
“Ghk! Keuh!”
The dark mage coughed violently, gasping for air from the aftereffects of having his throat constricted, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You… What are you?”
He asked, his eyes—the only visible part of his face not covered by the mask—wide and blazing. It was an aura that would make even Imperial knights hesitate, but Daphne, facing it, was utterly unperturbed.
“I’ll praise you for trying to gather information even in this situation.”
“What?”
“But you will die here.”
Daphne grinned.
“You won’t be able to go back and talk about me.”
“Eek…! You arrogant brat!”
The dark mage gritted his teeth with a grinding sound and lowered the mask covering his face. Where his nose and mouth should have been was just a gaping hole. The death energy condensed within that hole surged out explosively.
“Vanish!”
Whoosh!
The dark mage unleashed what could be called his ultimate technique: the Annihilation Magic. A spell that causes anything it touches to crumble and disappear instantly.
It possessed immense destructive power, and thus, the backlash upon failure was equally great. Just like his hollowed-out face.
But until now, no one except the leader had ever blocked this spell! There was no way a child like this could avoid my magic!
The dark mage, having launched his trump card, smirked and raised his eyes.
But the sight that met them was unbelievable.
Sssaa—
With a chilling sound that froze the bones, the Annihilation Magic flying towards Daphne began to shatter. It was a scene akin to glass breaking into countless pieces and falling to the ground. The only difference was that the falling shards were not glass, but death energy.
“Tickles.”
Daphne had completely erased the Annihilation Magic.
Fundamentally, dark magic is performed by burning one’s own life force to convert it into death energy.
Because Cellus carries the causality of ‘Calamity,’ all his magic is imbued with death energy.
In other words, Daphne’s magic is fundamentally dark magic, and furthermore, it is a higher-tier version of it.
Within the reach of her power, Daphne could dismantle any dark magic.
“H-how…?”
“Trying to harm me with such shoddy magic? You’re a hundred years too early.”
The dark mage’s pupils shook erratically.
Does this make any sense? Is this really happening?
He wanted to deny the reality before his eyes, but he couldn’t. How could he, when even the magic he desperately mustered and activated was dismantled in the blink of an eye?
‘I must convey this fact to the leader!’
The dark mage quickly made a judgment.
“Kuhk!”
The choice to sacrifice his life.
He gathered the last remnants of death energy left in his body towards his heart.
If he died here, his comrades, sensing his energy, would report to the leader. Then, the leader would realize that there was something about Daphne.
He might not know that Daphne could use dark magic, but it was enough to let them know that Daphne possessed power.
His life wasn’t too precious to lose. If it was for the Wraiths…!
“Hah?”
Daphne let out a hollow laugh, looking at the dark mage trembling as he lay on the floor.
“As expected, guys like you don’t value their lives. Nothing has changed at all.”
Then she spread both hands towards the dark mage. Immediately, the death energy filling the dark mage’s body began to coalesce into her palms.
“Return.”
Instantly, the energy targeting the dark mage’s heart vanished.
Breath seeped back into his body. His fingers twitched and began to move.
“Thi…! Wh-what…! No way!”
“Death is a natural causality for me.”
Daphne trudged step by step until she stood before the dark mage.
I am the great Dragon, the evil Calamity.
Nothing before me can be destroyed recklessly.
“Your life is mine.”
Your death can only be permitted by the Calamity.
“Tell me everything.”
Daphne’s eyes, narrowed like reptilian pupils, flashed.
“Wraiths.”
Daphne muttered, stroking her chin after hearing everything the dark mage knew.
- The leader gathered the surviving dark mages and formed a secret organization. The organization’s name is ‘Wraiths’.
- The leader’s goal is to take control of this world.
- To that end, he plans to kill Heros Akion, the nemesis of dark mages, defeat the Dragons, and steal the Fragments of God.
Trying to dominate the world. How laughable.
To think a mere human attempts to succeed where even a God could not. They have no sense of their own place.
‘That’s precisely what makes them more dangerous.’
Because believing you can do it is the very thing that makes it possible.
‘Now that I think of it, the White Dragon’s death was because of those dark mages, wasn’t it?’
It certainly was a matter worthy of the Great Sage’s warning.
- The reason we tried to kill you, Daphne-nim, was because we needed to take your life before the curse activated to retrieve the death energy…
The source of the Black Butterfly Disease plaguing Daphne was the curse cast by the dying dark mages who burned all their life force. It was a curse so terrible they sacrificed their lives, meaning it contained a correspondingly immense amount of death energy.
Simultaneously with the curse, a vast amount of death energy was housed within Daphne’s body.
The fact they tried to retrieve this meant that the ‘Wraiths’ organization still hadn’t amassed significant power.
‘Then I have some time, I suppose.’
Daphne wiggled her fingers and let out a sigh.
As long as I live in this body, I cannot avoid the Wraiths’ pursuit. They will try to retrieve the death energy by any means necessary.
This time, it was easy to deal with since there was only one dark mage, but if a large number were to attack without warning, it would be quite difficult for the current Daphne.
Therefore, the conclusion is always the same.
‘I just need to become stronger.’
If I become a Transcendent as originally planned, I can get my revenge on the hero, kill the Emperor, blow away the Wraiths, and even lift the curse.
Daphne looked down at the swirling death energy in her palm and grinned.
It was then.
BANG! The door to the room burst open, and Taity appeared, drenched in cold sweat.
“Huff, huff, did you call for me, Daphne-nim? I ran like crazy, I— what’s this! Why is there a corpse here!”
Taity was startled, seeing the collapsed dark mage.
Tsk, tsk. Daphne clicked her tongue. For an Elf, he sure had a small gut.
“He’s not dead yet. He’s someone who mustn’t die here.”
“Huh? No, but he’s on the verge of death, isn’t he? Look, his energy has been sucked dry. You did this, right, Daphne-nim?”
The death energy undulating on Daphne’s palm belonged to the fallen dark mage. Just like when she absorbed the dark magic bomb before, she had drawn out his energy.
“Wow. You sucked him dry, not leaving a single drop. I thought you were a vampire… but it’s just your great skill, Daphne-nim. Absolutely the best.”
Taity laughed awkwardly, avoiding Daphne’s sharp gaze and changing the subject.
“So, is this guy the assassin? The one who killed your body?”
Daphne explained to Taity simply but thoroughly about the Wraiths, the dark mages’ secret organization, what they wanted, and the fact that her life was under threat, etc.
Taity’s expression changed moment by moment, until he finally let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
“Stupid humans. How dare they dream of world conquest? It’s bound to be an impossible fantasy anyway.”
He clicked his tongue and poked the dark mage with the tip of his foot. His attitude was indifferent, as if dealing with an insignificant inanimate object. Daphne frowned slightly.
“Do not forget that those very humans killed the White Dragon. You never know when or how they might target you.”
The reason the dark mages were massacred was precisely because they had annihilated the White Dragon.
No one had ever imagined that humans could kill a Dragon, a being created from a Fragment of God, so many were shocked and became wary of dark mages. Remembering that time, Taity scrunched up one eye.
“Well… So, you’re saying we need to be careful?”
“You need to be careful.”
Daphne pointed a thumb at herself with a puckish smile.
“But not me.”
If Cellus hadn’t entered Daphne’s body, he might have just left the dark mages alone, thinking the humans would handle it themselves.
But the current Cellus is not the Cellus of before.
He is living in Daphne’s body, and thus, his goals are clear.
If there are obstacles on the path to this goal, he will crush them.
“Since they’ve touched me, I won’t let things proceed as they wish.”
Daphne grinned and absorbed the death energy directly into her body.
[Absorbing mana.]
Feeling the energy spreading through her body due to the detection magic, Daphne pointed at the dark mage.
“Take this guy far away and dump him.”
Since he chose suicide, it meant there was a way for the Wraiths or whatever dark mage organization to be notified.
So, she couldn’t just extinguish his energy here.
“Make sure not to leave a single trace that he was here. Make it look like he was attacked on a mountain path or something.”
“Wow. That’s a really difficult request for an Elf, but I’ll give it a try. This is how we grow, right?”
Taity lightly waved his hand, levitating the dark mage’s body into the air.
“Ah, but is it okay not to finish him off?”
Daphne slowly blinked her eyes.
“I erased his memory. This should be sufficient.”
“But…”
Daphne shook her head firmly.
“I do not kill. That is my belief.”
Is beating them up okay, then?
Taity recalled the Elves who had been beaten up by Cellus, then remembered that he himself had never been hit, and let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes. You must hold onto that belief for your whole life. You must never, ever kill me.”
“Get lost.”
“Yep.”
Taity, while levitating the dark mage, started to create a teleportation circle. Then, as if remembering something, he turned back.
“Ah, right. There are sightings of the Great Sage in the western desert. I’m planning to go check it out.”
“Oh? Understood.”
“……”
Taity’s eyes narrowed.
“You know how far the western desert is from here, right? You understand how difficult it is to find out what happened there and then actually go, correct?”
“So, what do you want?”
“Praise.”
“……”
What should I do with this crazy Elf? Daphne felt weariness wash over her and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“Get out.”
“Come on, you could give me one word of praise!”
“Get out.”
“Hmph.”
Taity pouted his lips and activated the teleportation circle. Daphne waited until he had completely disappeared before activating her detection magic.
[Daphne Akion]
Mana: 80
“This method is faster.”
A sinister smile played on Daphne’s lips.
