"Arghhhhhh!"
Basilud collapsed to the ground, his leg broken. Yulian, who had been about to behead the dark mage, halted his sword at the last moment.
Drip.
A thin red line appeared on Basilud's neck, and blood began to flow. Yulian had stopped his blade just short of severing it.
"Huff, huff!"
Basilud panted heavily, consumed by fear. He didn't know why, but his opponent had spared him.
Ghislain placed his staff over Basilud's head and spoke.
"Looks like it's over."
"P-please spare me. I'm a 6th-circle dark mage. If you keep me alive, I'll surely be of use to you."
"For a 6th-circle, you're awfully weak."
Ghislain's observation was brutally honest. When Vanessa was at the 6th circle, she was influential enough to decide the outcome of wars.
Even considering that knights protected her, her combat instincts were on another level.
Vanessa never flinched in the face of attacks and always found the most efficient countermeasures.
In comparison, Basilud's magic performance was utterly abysmal.
However, Basilud protested with a look of indignation.
"T-that's because your fighting style is too bizarre…"
From afar, he bombarded him with spells so relentlessly that he couldn't even focus, and up close, he struck wildly with his staff.
Where else in the world would you find a mage who fought like that?
For someone like Basilud, who had never exercised a day in his life, it was an incomprehensible style.
Ghislain chuckled and continued speaking.
"First, take care of the undead."
"A-all right."
There weren't many left anyway. Thanks to Deneb, Kyle, and the knights of Nordhill, the undead had been drastically reduced.
Without support from the dark mage, the undead, who were weaker than the knights, had reached their limit.
When Basilud commanded them through his soul link, all the undead collapsed to the ground. They wouldn't move again unless he injected them with black energy.
With the undead defeated, Deneb and Kyle finally slumped to the ground.
Fighting hundreds of undead while surrounded by enemies had drained them completely.
The soldiers, who had been driving the undead toward the center, soon realized the situation.
"Yeahhhh!"
"The dark mage has been captured!"
"We won!"
Everyone lowered their weapons and cheered. Not a single person had died—an astonishing achievement.
Andrew's joy, in particular, was beyond words.
After failing twice to subjugate the enemy, they had won so easily this time!
This proved just how powerful the Yulian mercenary corps was.
Hearing the soldiers' cheers, Basilud spoke hastily.
"N-now let me go. I swear never to return to this territory. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you."
Ghislain smirked and asked,
"You said you have magic tomes, right?"
"Q-quite a lot. I've collected them over time… You want the tomes, don't you? Fine, I'll give them all to you. I-I'll even teach you magic!"
Basilud thought it was a good offer. Opportunities to learn from higher-circle mages—especially one at the 6th circle—were rare.
For any mage, it was a dream come true.
'That's it! That's why they spared me!'
Basilud smiled with relief. He saw a chance to survive.
But Ghislain responded indifferently.
"I don't learn from someone weaker than me."
"No! That's just because of your fighting style! I'm in a higher circle than you! I know more advanced magic than you do!"
Basilud thought Ghislain was just playing hard to get. Otherwise, there was no reason to spare him.
But Ghislain ignored his pleas and asked another question.
"Why would a dark mage try to seize this territory?"
"T-to do as I please with it."
"To do what, exactly?"
"I-I'm a dark mage. To grow stronger quickly, I need lots of test subjects."
The difference between dark mages and other mages was that they could sacrifice others to grow stronger faster.
Without that, they'd have to train for years like other mages. That temptation was hard for dark mages to resist.
Ghislain, already aware of this, pressed further.
"So you wanted to take over the territory to gather test subjects more easily? That's it?"
"Y-yeah. What other reason could there be?"
"Ziko told me. Someone came to you a year ago, and you started planning this then. Who was it? What did they say?"
"Ziko told you that too?"
"Yeah. Are you going to talk, or should Yulian cut you down?"
Yulian raised his sword immediately, and Basilud shut his eyes tightly, shouting, "I-I don't know exactly who they were! But I have a guess!"
"What is it?"
"I think… it was a priest from the Demon Realm."
"What? The Salvation Church?"
Everyone around them gasped in shock. The priests of the Demon Realm—the Salvation Church—were terrifying figures even to them.
This continent had been plagued by constant wars because of them. Humanity had fought them for ages, and everyone knew it.
Basilud quickly explained.
"They claimed to be a dark mage like me, but something felt off. I'm no fool. The energy they wielded was similar to dark magic but definitely not the same."
"Hmm…"
"I sensed an overwhelming aura from them. If I had refused, they would have killed me on the spot. So I accepted their offer. It wasn't a bad deal for me anyway."
"What did they want?"
"Chaos."
"Chaos?"
"Yes. They said they just wanted to sow chaos. Dark mages also benefit from chaos, so it wasn't a bad proposal."
"What did you get?"
"Various tomes, rune stones, gold coins, jewels—rare items that helped me grow stronger quickly."
Ghislain frowned. No matter how desperate a dark mage was, allying with the Demon Realm was crossing a line.
"Don't you know what the Salvation Church's goal is? If they win, all humans will die. Do you think you'll be an exception?"
"I-I know. But taking over a small barony won't affect the bigger picture, right? If a real war broke out with the Demon Realm, I planned to retreat."
Ghislain clicked his tongue and shook his head. That was the problem.
Just like Basilud, countless others probably thought, "It's just me."
Not only dark mages but also bandits and greedy nobles were everywhere.
They were all likely thinking, "What harm could I do alone?"
The Salvation Church was clearly exploiting that mindset. The more chaos before war, the better for them.
Basilud, pale-faced, spoke urgently.
"L-let's talk more later. Please, treat me first."
He had lost an arm and shattered a leg, and the pain was unbearable.
When his mana was intact, he could suppress the pain, but now it was overwhelming.
Trembling and drenched in sweat, Basilud pleaded.
Ghislain raised his staff and struck Basilud's remaining shoulder.
Crack!
"Arghhhh!"
Ghislain grabbed the writhing Basilud by the jaw.
"Look into my eyes."
Zing—!
In an instant, both of their eyes turned purple. Basilud's expression went blank for a moment but quickly returned to normal.
"Ugh, argh…"
Basilud grimaced, as though struck by a splitting headache.
Ghislain clicked his tongue again.
"As expected, it doesn't work."
He was different from Ziko. Mind control didn't work on Basilud.
It made sense. Reaching the 6th circle required more than just talent—it demanded immense effort and enlightenment.
Basilud, despite everything, had achieved such a level. That was undeniably impressive.
Although he had spilled information due to pain, it was simply because of his weak will and temperament. The subconscious defenses he had built over years of training were naturally strong.
Ghislain gave up on mind control. It didn't matter—he had interrogation techniques just as effective as mind control.
Crash!
Ghislain grabbed a knight's sword, just as he had done before, and shattered it into fragments.
Coincidentally, it was the same knight's sword as last time.
The knight thought to himself,
'...Please, stop breaking my sword!'
Weapons were incredibly expensive in these chaotic times. For someone with a low salary, it was enough to make him cry.
Andrew placed a hand on the knight's shoulder, wearing a sympathetic expression.
"I'll get you a new, better one. Just follow the mage's lead for now."
Andrew looked as though he'd believe it if Ghislain promised to pluck stars from the sky.
"...Thank you."
Relieved, the knight responded with a brightened face. If he could get a new sword, he didn't care what happened to the old one.
Ghislain finished his preparations and began driving the shards into Basilud's body.
"Aaaaargh!"
"So? Still hiding something?"
"No! I swear, I'm not!"
"Think carefully. You can tell me anything."
"W-what do you mean it's okay?!"
"You're sure there's no plan to meet again?"
"He, he said he'd come back after I took over the territory! He promised more support!"
"In what form?"
"I don't know! That's all he said! Aaaargh! I swear that's it!"
Ghislain continued interrogating him for a while longer. However, Basilud kept repeating the same answers.
At this point, even if he was hiding something, it was reasonable to take his word for it. Ghislain finally stepped back and signaled Yulian with a glance.
Slice!
Yulian, acting on Ghislain's cue, beheaded Basilud in one swift motion.
Basilud, caught off guard, didn't even have time to react before he died.
As planned, Yulian spoke in a solemn voice.
"The dark mage… is dead."
"Waaaaah!"
The soldiers erupted into cheers once more. Andrew's face shone with emotion.
Though the ending had been abrupt, the dark mage who had terrorized the territory was gone. Everyone celebrated, chanting Yulian's mercenary group's name repeatedly.
"Yulian mercenary corps is the best!"
"They're unbelievably strong!"
"Just four people took down a 6th-circle dark mage and hundreds of undead!"
The more they thought about it, the more incredible it seemed. All the soldiers had done was surround the undead and push them toward the center.
Hiring such a powerful mercenary corps was the best decision the new lord had ever made.
Kyle, sitting exhausted on the ground, grumbled with dissatisfaction.
"It feels like… we worked harder, but all the praise is going to two of them."
"I know, but at least we won without casualties."
Deneb smiled brightly. She didn't care who got the credit.
What mattered was that evil had been defeated and lives were saved.
Yulian looked slightly embarrassed by all the attention, but he maintained a composed demeanor, thanks to Ghislain's strict coaching on maintaining authority.
Ghislain glanced at Yulian and reflected.
'No matter how many times I see it… it's still surprising.'
When helping others, Yulian was gentle and often too soft-hearted. He seemed kind and perhaps a bit naïve.
But in battle, he transformed completely, never hesitating to cut down his enemies.
Ghislain had never seen Yulian falter or hesitate during a fight.
'That's… not an easy thing to do.'
It wasn't something that could be attributed to Ghislain's teaching. From their first meeting, Yulian had effortlessly cut down bandits.
People with such a balance of skill and experience at Yulian's level were rare.
'Hmm… well, I suppose it's a good thing I don't need to teach him that.'
Ghislain didn't worry too much. Not many could fight like Yulian, but there were a few exceptions.
In fact, Ghislain felt Yulian's decisiveness in battle was praiseworthy and something to be encouraged.
He also had no intention of leaving Yulian to his own devices. Ghislain planned to keep guiding and observing him closely.
'He's going to be the Hero, after all.'
Yes. The Hero who would save the world alongside the Saintess. He had to keep a watchful eye on him.
So far, there haven't been any problems. Yulian had endured rigorous training and worked hard to improve himself.
His temperament hadn't shown any flaws either. Ghislain was certain of Yulian's potential—not just because he knew the future, but because he truly believed Yulian was someone capable of saving the world.
'But then why…?'
Why, in the future, had Erenes and Artherion referred to that face—
Why had they called Yulian the Adversary?
That question weighed heavily in Ghislain's heart every time he thought about it.
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