Chapter 4
Crack!
A white light stretched out violently, aiming for Gerbil's head. Despite the sudden attack, Gerbil formed a hand seal with a slight smile.
[Cadaver Paries]
With a crunch, a wall of corpses rose from the ground. A flesh wall covered with distorted human faces, with a beating heart embedded in the center, spraying blood around. The lightning struck the center, and with a loud noise, the wall shattered.
Blood, pus, and gore dripped from between the collapsed wall. Gerbil watched these filthy substances being washed away by the rain, then raised his head to look at the owner of the lightning.
Though her face was hidden in the darkness of the alley, her blue eyes shone clearly. This alone revealed the mage's identity.
Even without the glowing eyes, Gerbil would have immediately recognized the owner of the lightning. After all, any mage in this field would know the name of the continent's only lightning mage. Especially one who had reached the level of an archmage.
"It's been a while, New Dawn. Have you been well?"
Gerbil said this, slightly bowing his upper body and placing his hand on his chest. It was noble etiquette.
Familiar formality flowed through his gestures. However, the voice from the alley wasn't so formal.
"Continental extermination target."
A woman's characteristically high voice carried through the air. With just that, the thunder in the surroundings intensified. Violent and brutal mana began to slowly occupy the space.
"Corpse mage Gerbil. Given the alias 'Corpse Lord'."
"My, my. To have an archmage personally call out my alias. I'm honored."
"Single-handedly annihilated the Berom Kingdom, built a fortress by piling up corpses. Assassinated envoys from the Holy Kingdom and the Empire who came. Declared a domain around the ruined kingdom, creating a land inaccessible to the living. Then suddenly disappeared."
"I had my reasons," Gerbil said, shrugging his shoulders.
Corpse heads slowly rose from beneath his feet.
They were grotesquely twisted corpses. Sharp teeth where eyes should be, and from mouths extending from jaw to abdomen, pointed tongues flicker out.
"I've been researching ways to refine corpses recently. This is the result. But I used up almost all the kingdom's citizens in the process, so I'm wandering around to replenish my corpse supply."
Ignoring Gerbil's words, the woman slowly walked towards him. As she did, her appearance was fully revealed.
A youthful appearance more fitting to be called a girl than a woman. But the pressure emanating from her body was far from that of a girl. The air around her felt heavy, and static electricity mixed with moisture tingled the skin.
It felt like facing an insurmountable monster. Just looking at her gave a crushing pressure that made one feel like they'd be crushed to death.
But Acel couldn't take his eyes off her. Or rather, he couldn't. Unlike Gerbil's death energy, Acel felt something tickling in his chest from the violent mana with lightning properties.
A strange feeling as if the sensation in his arms, which he had forgotten he had, was reviving. Acel stared at the girl with wide eyes, engraving this newly blooming sixth sense in his mind.
At that moment, with a crackling sound, lightning sparked around her.
"The mass slaughter in the Empire's slums a year ago. Was that your doing too?"
"It's tiring to say it twice. But since I did it without taking drugs, I don't remember much except the prostitutes screaming for their lives."
"I see," the girl answered, closing her eyes.
Gradually, the number of lightning branches rising around her increased. At the same time, death energy began to flow profusely from the bodies of the corpses standing near Gerbil. The corpses trembled at the energy exceeding their limits, but Gerbil paid no mind. Instead, he spoke with a bitter smile, "More importantly, the Magic Alliance is impressive. Even if I'm designated as an extermination target, to assign an archmage as the hunter? Are they that short on people?"
"I had a previous contract. I just wanted to clear it all out with this opportunity. And..."
The girl said with a small smile, "Rather than sending another hunter and risking giving you high-quality corpses, they needed someone who could deal with you definitively."
"This is troublesome. If I had known it would come to this, I would have faked my death at the hands of the previous hunter."
Gerbil sighed deeply and stretched his hand to the side. A great sword rose from the ground and was grasped in his hand.
A sword forged from flesh and bone. Its flesh-colored blade was covered in sticky death energy. A demonic blade that rotted whatever it touched. Gerbil twirled the sword and smiled at the girl.
"I suppose you have no intention of letting me live?"
"Can a corpse mage survive with just the brain intact? If so, I might consider sparing you."
That was answer enough. Gerbil handed the sword he was holding to a corpse that looked like a knight, and began to form a spell with both hands. Incomprehensible words spewed from his mouth, and the corpses guarding him gathered around.
The girl, Ena, looked at the scene with disapproval, but seeing Acel's blood-covered face, she gave up on killing Gerbil. She recalled all her dispersed mana and clicked her tongue, watching Gerbil's magic.
"Teleportation magic. You learned that too?"
"Haha, it's just a parlor trick. A few months ago, I devoured a teleportation mage who knew a decent spell. I've modified it a bit."
"You answer well when asked."
"Could I hide the spell formula while openly using magic against a mage like you? It's easier for me to just explain directly rather than have it deciphered... There, it's done."
Gerbil finished forming the hand seal and condensed death energy in his hand. Then he struck down hard on one of the corpses sprawled on the ground.
With a ripping sound, the corpse's body split vertically, revealing a darkness full of stench beyond. Gerbil nodded with a satisfied expression.
"...A portal that can only be used with corpses. It really is just a parlor trick."
"Isn't it? But it's quite useful for me. Especially for a mage like me who has modified their body to be close to a corpse."
Saying this, Gerbil tossed Acel in front of the portal.
But he didn't let go completely. He gently gripped Acel's nape and bowed his head towards Ena.
"Well then, I'll be going. I hope we don't meet again."
"We'll see. The Alliance's request to track you down once ends here, but personally, I don't have good feelings towards you."
Ena tilted her head with a slight smile.
"I hope you have a good hostage next time we meet, too."
"Thank you for the advice."
As soon as Gerbil finished speaking, he threw himself into the portal. His figure disappeared into the darkness, and only after the arm holding Acel's neck was sucked into the portal did the teleportation magic break.
Only then did Acel grasp his neck, now marked with bright red, and breathe heavily.
Intense pain surged from his torn scalp. Thanks to the falling rain, most of the blood on his face had been washed away, but the wound had actually worsened. Every time the heavy raindrops hit the wound directly, he felt pain that made his body tremble.
But, at least he survived. Torn skin? Considering he encountered a crazy mage, this was getting off lightly. Acel slowly steadied his rough breathing and exhaled deeply towards the sky.
"Kid."
As he did so, Ena, who had been standing still, approached Acel. Acel uttered a single "Ah," then quickly stood up and bowed to Ena.
"Thank you, Mage. Thanks to you, I was able to survive. If you had been a little later, I would have been tortured alive."
He was sincere. If Ena had arrived a little later, Acel would have been slowly dismembered by Gerbil.
Also, when Gerbil used Acel as a hostage to escape. If Ena had wanted to, she could have killed both Gerbil and Acel simultaneously. But Ena didn't, and thanks to that, Acel was able to survive. It was natural to feel genuine gratitude towards such a person.
Ena noticed this sincerity and nodded with a faint smile.
"Mm, yes, yes. I'm glad you're safe. I'll heal your torn scalp."
"Eh? There's no need for that..."
"No, stay still."
Ignoring Acel's refusal, Ena took out a red potion from her pocket and poured it over his head.
Immediately, Acel's wound began to heal. The pain also started to fade gradually, and in just a few seconds, the wound disappeared completely. Acel marveled at his head, which no longer hurt even in the rain, and bowed at a right angle once again.
"Thank you!"
"Your cheek... just a moment."
Ena placed her hand on Acel's cheek where the flesh had rotted. With a crackling sound, mana shot out from her palm. The mana gently probed Acel's wound, extracting and destroying the remaining death energy.
It was a delicate operation that even a fairly skilled mage couldn't attempt, but for an archmage like her, it wasn't particularly difficult.
Ena then poured the potion once more over the now clean wound. The rotting flesh slowly healed and soon returned to its original state. Acel expressed his gratitude again for his cheek, which no longer felt any pain.
"Thank you so much!"
"Mm."
Ena looked down at Acel with a gentle smile. As she did so, something flickering caught Ena's eye.
It was mana. She tilted her head and slightly drew up her mana. In her eyes, now glowing with a blue light, she clearly saw mana surging around Acel.
"...Oh."
Ena couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. She couldn't help it.
While it was common for archmages of a certain rank or accomplished masters to be loved by mana, even Ena had never seen so much mana swirling around a child who hadn't even learned magic yet. It was that rare, a talent hard to find even if one searched the entire continent.
I thought Gerbil was just spouting nonsense when he openly praised him. But it was true.
Though she had lived a long life as a long-lived species, life was still hard to predict. Who would have thought of finding someone with talent surpassing the mages of the fallen magic kingdom in the slums of a corrupt kingdom? Ena thought as she swirled her hand through the mana circling around Acel.
Exceptional talent? Understood. But is it right to leave such talent here?
Is it right to let such brilliant talent that could bloom rapidly with someone's help rot in the slums? Wouldn't it be better for the continent if she took him in and raised him as a mage?
And what if he's picked up by some weird people and raised as a devil worshipper? Wouldn't that invite disaster?
Moreover, subjects with exceptional talent for mana have extremely high value as sacrifices. If this child were used as a sacrifice to summon a devil, wouldn't a dominant entity emerge?
These thoughts continued. Ena narrowed her eyes and sighed.
Should I just take him with me?
She hadn't really thought about taking on a disciple, but faced with such talent, she couldn't help but feel tempted.
Come to think of it, wasn't the reason she hadn't taken on a disciple until now because no one caught her eye? Someone this loved by mana was more than sufficient to be a disciple, even overqualified.
Other mages would be falling over themselves if they saw this, wouldn't they?
She could easily imagine it. A mage who, like her, accidentally discovered Acel, took him as a disciple, and a few years later appeared at the Alliance boasting of their disciple's achievements.
Then other mages would feel envy and jealousy for not having taken Acel as their disciple, and that master would snicker at their reactions.
Surely, she, too, would be grinding her teeth in regret and disappointment for not having taken him as a disciple. Rather than that, it seemed more beneficial to take him herself and take the position of master.
Unlike other mages, Ena had no intention of boasting excessively about her disciple's excellence. She had no reason to, and nothing to gain from it. It was enough if he grew well and became a strong mage.
In that respect, Ena had no doubt that she could be a better master than other mages. She nodded, imagining Acel under her tutelage, freely wielding lightning instead of fire and ice.
Yes, it's decided.
"Child, what's your name?" Ena asked with a kind smile.
Acel answered without hesitation, "I'm called Acel. I don't have a family name."
"I see. I'm Ena Renatus."
Ena introduced herself and gently stroked Acel's head. Then, clearing her throat with a "hem-hem," she spoke in a serious voice, "Um... Acel? May I make a proposal?"
"A proposal?" Acel asked back.
Ena nodded and answered, "Would you like to become my disciple?"
This time, too, Acel's answer was immediate.
"That seems difficult."
Ena's smile cracked.