Chapter 154
The ominous magic power felt distinct even through his drunkenness.
That sticky, unpleasant sensation made goosebumps erupt all over his body.
It was a feeling as if his body was physiologically rejecting it.
“I just wanted to spend one day relaxing…”
Franz kept his gaze out the window and drew up his divine power.
As pure white light began to flow from Franz’s body, the darkness that had filled the room shrank back and hid behind the furniture.
His hazy mind slowly returned, and the heat of his flushed body faded away.
He couldn’t handle divine power perfectly yet, but driving away the effects of alcohol was entirely possible.
“It would be best to take care of them before they come this way.”
According to his magic detection, they were quite far from the villa.
Since they were heading exactly this way rather than just passing by, their purpose was obvious without even asking.
“Well, they have been too quiet lately.”
Hadn’t he been hunting the Seven Great Evils almost blatantly?
No matter how stupid the cult was, it was time for them to grasp the situation and make a move.
He had expected this to happen, but he couldn’t erase the thought that it was annoying.
“I should quickly take care of them and go to sleep.”
Having driven for quite a long time, he was full of fatigue.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, a magic circle was drawn beneath his feet.
Soon the magic circle began to shine, and the figure disappeared without a trace.
* * *
About ten people, their bodies covered in black cloaks, were advancing through the field while hiding in the darkness of the night.
They were those who served the evil god and were known to the world as Cultists.
“Can we really kill them just by ourselves?”
“The watcher said he saw them drinking heavily and getting drunk. They’re probably all asleep by now.”
“If the watcher said so…”
“If we bring back their heads, one of us might become one of the Seven Great Evils.”
The fact that several of the Seven Great Evils had died at the hands of Magic Tower lord Franz was already widespread information within the cult, to the point that even low-level believers like them knew it.
So if they brought back the head of their sworn enemy, the leader might gladly reward their devotion by granting them a seat among the Seven Great Evils.
“Everyone, hide your presence from here on out. If it’s he, he might notice our presence even from this distance.”
The Cultists began to hide their presence in their own ways.
Some used magic tools to conceal their magic power, while others altered the nature of their magic power to disguise themselves as ordinary civilians.
It meant they were not ordinary Cultists.
An organization specialized in assassination even within the cult. Its true identity was a group of experts who had already taken countless lives.
On a night that felt almost dreary, those who had silenced their footsteps and presence advanced through the field.
The moon floating in the sky was hidden by clouds, casting a shadow below.
Eventually, when the clouds parted, a single person’s shadow revealed its presence on the field.
“This is…?”
“Why is there a person’s shadow…”
Feeling puzzled, the Cultists slowly turned their gazes toward the sky.
There stood a man with his back to the moon.
Because of the shadows, they couldn’t see him clearly, but they could definitely feel his gaze looking coldly down at the world.
It was an overwhelming presence that naturally made them realize who the absolute ruler of this space was.
The certainty that they would die if they moved hastily - in that tension, they couldn’t even breathe or swallow their saliva.
In the quiet silence where only the sound of the wind could be heard, Franz spoke.
“Whose head did you say you were taking?”
Gulp.
The Cultists swallowed hard.
The killing intent emitted by the Mage in front of them was not that of some scholar who only devoted himself to research at a desk.
It belonged to someone who had crossed the threshold of death countless times, stained with the blood of many.
Naturally, their hands trembled and their bodies stiffened.
The Cultists had also killed many people, but this was their first time facing such killing intent.
“You don’t seem to have any intention of answering. Well, don’t worry. You’ll spill it soon.”
Snap-.
As he snapped his fingers, a head separated from its body and fell to the ground.
Blood spurted like a fountain from the clean cut, as if it had been sliced by a blade.
Even though everyone present was a skilled assassin, they couldn’t do a single thing until one of them died.
However, his hot blood was enough to awaken the frozen minds of the Cultists.
“Kill him!”
The fact that a loud shout came from an assassin who specialized in ambushes meant the situation was just that urgent.
A cultist holding two daggers in a reverse grip kicked off the ground and leaped up.
His aura-enhanced body emitted explosive power, and a mere fraction of a second was enough for him to reach Franz’s immediate vicinity.
Slash-!
The dagger, sparkling in the moonlight, was swung, but Franz was not one to allow such a simple attack.
Spatial Movement Magic activated in a split second without a chant or a trigger.
With a flash of light, Franz stepped onto the ground.
At the same time, a magic circle was completed in midair, and a tiny fireball shot out toward the man.
BOOM-!
With an ear-splitting roar, the man’s head exploded and vanished.
“Y-You monster…!”
Another man holding a strange sword with an invisible blade rushed at Franz.
Based on the unique magic power emanating from the sword, it seemed to be some sort of ancient relic.
Being able to operate as an assassin while wielding such a longsword was likely all thanks to the sword’s ability.
However, it was all useless against Franz, who could see magic power itself with his naked eye.
Swoosh!
Franz used telekinesis to compensate for his lack of physical abilities, twisting his body so the invisible sword narrowly missed him.
At the same time, he activated his magic. A magic circle formed beneath the man’s feet, and solid rock spikes shot out.
RUMBLE-!
As the spikes pierced through his body, the man’s breath stopped before he could even let out a scream.
“H-How on earth is a mage capable of this?!”
“It’s hard to even see him as a fellow human…”
The Cultists began to falter at the fact that despite two of them launching consecutive attacks, they hadn’t managed to touch a single hair on his head, let alone leave a scratch.
Of course, just as they said, a mage’s usual role in battle was to provide fire support from the rear.
While magic took time to activate, it boasted overwhelming power.
But that was only the conventional norm, and there were always exceptions.
“Because battles never flow the way you want them to.”
During his days in the Hero’s Party, he had been through a lot.
There were times when they were ambushed and he was separated from his comrades, and times when the comrades holding the frontline fell first.
Whenever that happened, he had to fight off the demon army alone, and he had proudly survived through it all.
Surviving in a world governed by the law of the jungle, where you would die if you couldn’t kill, was proof of his strength.
A mage who displayed strength even in close combat - the very origin of the combat mages who would one day become a major military force for every nation - was none other than Franz.
The battle continued after that, but it was no different from a one-sided massacre by Franz.
Step, step…
Franz approached the man who, with a look of despair, was slumped on the ground.
Since he had killed all the others, this was the last one left.
“Tell me whom you got your information from.”
“T-The watcher…! There’s a black mage who can see across vast distances through spells…!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, blood began to pour from the man’s mouth, nose, and ears.
Gasping for breath and spewing blood, the man met his death on the spot.
“Is it some kind of curse…”
It must be the same kind of curse that was on Seri-ah and Zeni-ah’s bodies.
He hadn’t managed to extract much information, but it didn’t really matter.
It wasn’t likely that a low-level grunt like him would know much anyway.
Phew-.
Letting out a sigh to organize his thoughts, Franz raised his head and stared into the empty air.
“I don’t care if you’re the cult or whatever, but try pulling a stunt like this one more time, and I’ll make sure you can’t even set foot in this world again.”
It was a warning directed at the watcher, who was likely observing the situation from somewhere.
* * *
“G-Gah-!”
A woman’s scream echoed through the interior of a luxurious mansion.
Red blood flowed down the cheeks of the woman, who was clutching both her eyes in agony.
It was the price she paid for looking at Franz’s mighty magic power, brimming with killing intent, through her clairvoyance.
“Watcher.”
“L-Leader…”
“Do not speak, just stay still. It will ease the pain.”
As the white-haired man placed his hand on the watcher’s forehead, the blood flowing from her eyes stopped like magic, and her ragged breathing slowly steadied.
“Thank you…”
“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you.”
“…No. It was simply what I had to do. But what will you do about him? At this rate, another one of the Seven Great Evils will die.”
Tap, tap-.
The leader’s fingers tapped against the table.
When his fingers finally stopped, the leader was smiling.
“It can’t be helped. It doesn’t seem like we can stop him now anyway.”
“Will that be alright…?”
“Yes, it is fine. The plan is already on the verge of completion.”
A golden chalice sat behind him as he spoke, from which a red liquid flowed endlessly.
It was the key to their plan - the plan to manifest the Demon God into this world.