Chapter 87. Interference (4)
Jjeojeojeok. Jjeojeojeojeok.
In an instant, the cavern split into several branches, shifting from moment to moment, as though the entire cave itself were alive and moving. No one could properly respond and they were swept away.
The world they were standing in itself was turning upside down, how could they possibly resist?
The Transplant realized immediately.
This absurd situation was all the doing of the Mage clad in a green robe.
"Kill himmm...!"
The Transplant.
The one who had transplanted a part of Red Hat's head commanded the Red Hats. And the other Gluttonies followed behind them.
But before they even reached near Verden, the ground moved.
All directions were blocked, up and down turned over, and they rolled on the ground, unable to keep their balance.
Terrain Manipulation, actively utilized by Verden's own senses.
It was similar to when he had faced the Wailing Knight, but the gap between Verden then and Verden now was overwhelming. Naturally, it was far more refined and faster than before.
He separated the entire chamber, where the unconscious ones were, away from the Gluttonies, and sealed them off. Then, he aligned the terrain.
Thus a vast circular chamber was created.
The entrance had vanished, and in the corner a stone coffin rested. At the center stood Verden. Still, overwhelming numbers of Red Hats and Gluttonies surrounded him.
The Transplant tilted his head.
What was that magic just now? No, more than that, wasn't he supposed to be using magic to escape? Yet the situation had hardly changed.
It was an action that made no rational sense.
"Whaat. Is thiis. Supposed. To beee?"
"This way, it's easier to deal with."
He could have collapsed the cavern to crush them to death, but that wasn't certain. Gluttonies in particular had notoriously tenacious vitality.
So Verden intended to sever their lifelines for sure. And to ensure that whatever happened here would not escape outside.
Magic power overflowed through his entire body.
Verden, wrapped in a blue light, flashed his eyes.
Thunder roared, echoing through the cavern.
***
Gluttony was impatient. This much was undeniable.
Originally, a total of ten red shards should have been completed and delivered to Gluttony's Fang.
But the heart of the Salamander, and three red shards that were to serve as materials, had been stolen. The culprit was undoubtedly the Ark.
The plan had gone awry.
But there was still a way to procure the missing quantity.
Count Dabirk.
The accessory he always wore around his neck, carved from a werewolf's heart. The life force contained in it far surpassed that of hundreds of humans.
So they stole it.
And to gather the rest of the materials, they used Count Dabirk's death as bait, to lure out nutrient-rich soldiers.
Gluttonies had hidden among the Royal Knights and soldiers, and the plan had gone smoothly.
Before the Ark could react, the original plan had been to finish everything tonight, to complete the red shards.
But something had gone wrong.
Kwa-gwagwagwagwang!
A massive rock crushed Red Hats. Spikes of earth erupted from the ground, crisscrossing and piercing through their torsos. Then Verden, staff imbued with earth attribute, swung it down violently.
Unable to endure that heavy strike, a Red Hat's neck was torn away and it collapsed immediately.
Without rest, spells poured forth, without the slightest delay.
He had only closed half the distance, and already nearly half of them lay dead.
At this rate, it was dangerous.
The Transplant commanded the dark crimson Red Hat beside him, the "Black Hat."
"Kill himmm...!"
Only then did the Black Hat move.
It possessed the typical traits of a Red Hat, yet was something different. Its body, which should have been red, was a dark crimson, and its size nearly twice that of a normal Red Hat.
The Black Hat fixed its gaze on Verden.
A powerful mental manipulation, overwhelming even Luke, who specialized in psychic magic. But, naturally, it could not penetrate Verden's mind at all.
[....]
In the end, the Black Hat changed its hunting method.
Kwaang! The Black Hat's arm, swung like a whip, collided in an instant with Verden's staff. Verden was flung back, but slammed his staff into the ground, enduring the shock.
'This one is different.'
The Black Hat drew closer and closer.
He responded at once, but its physical durability and movement were distinctly different from the Red Hats. Including the attempt at mental manipulation against him.
As Verden's attention was drawn to the Black Hat, the Red Hats and Gluttonies targeted his back.
At that moment, the airflow twisted.
A 5th-tier elemental magic. A cloak of wind that physically sealed off both inside and out.
In an instant, fierce winds swept around him. Even the Black Hat could not withstand the pressure, crashing into a far wall. The others too were blown away.
The distance he had barely closed was reset back to the start.
'Good enough for a one-time use. The flaw is being unable to cast other magic in the meantime.'
It was a magic that enveloped him in fierce winds, meaning Verden's spells could not pass outside.
A simple wind-element spell, one a Mage would use in emergencies to defend themselves. For a robe-embedded spell, it was perfectly suited.
Verden dispelled the Mantle of the Whirlwind.
Then he drew up his magic power further. The temperature inside the cavern steadily dropped, white breaths spilling from his mouth.
From Verden's center, frost spread in a circle.
It was no mere ice magic, but the chilling cold altered by the Ring of Permafrost (replica). The Gluttonies drew out their aura, but even that aura was swallowed by the chill.
Their bodies dulled, helplessly, without resistance.
Kwaduk!
In that moment, Verden manipulated the terrain, skewering them one by one. Dodging was impossible. Their movements were so sluggish now, he could predict them with his eyes closed.
Even if by some chance they managed to avoid it, another blade of earth awaited.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Only the Black Hat charged at Verden.
Its two arms sharpened into blades. But its movements were slower than before.
Verden did not lower his guard, not conceding a single step of distance.
And he focused his mind.
With three motions the calculation was complete, with two motions the magic power was prepared, in an instant he closed the gap and lightly tapped the Black Hat's arm with his staff.
A high-difficulty spell, among the 4th-tier, counted within the top five.
From the point of contact, cold spread through the Black Hat's entire body, soon freezing it solid, with a light swing of the staff it shattered to pieces.
Thus ended the aberrant species that had slaughtered the count's knights along with the Red Hats.
Now the only one left, was the Transplant who had been controlling the Red Hats.
Verden took a step forward.
The Transplant, shivering from the cold, resisted, but the result was as clear as day.
Kwa-jik.
***
With that, all the Gluttonies and Red Hats were annihilated.
He hid the corpses deep beneath the ground with Terrain Manipulation, and restored the cavern to its original state, the people still unconscious, unaware that they had almost died.
And Luke as well, he looked weakened, but it seemed he had not died.
'Fortunate.'
Verden approached Count Dabirk.
His body was already shriveled, as though his life force had drained away, Verden pulled back his collar near the neck.
'So the necklace was their aim.'
A necklace made from a werewolf's heart.
As expected, they had stolen it for its life force, that must have been why they targeted Count Dabirk.
He bragged about it so much.
Well, even he wouldn't have thought, that a count under knightly protection would be slaughtered so miserably.
'Well, in any case.'
He had ruined almost all of Gluttony's plan, so now it was time to finish, from an unconscious Royal Knight he took a signal flare from their bag.
And approached the stone coffin.
Kwaaang!
With a strong impact the coffin shattered, the long groove erased completely, this way at least in this area, they would not be able to produce any red shards.
Stepping outside, Verden fired red and yellow signal flares into the sky.
***
The second squad witnessed the signal flare.
The squad led by Rupel hurried toward the location.
People were emerging one by one from the cliffside cave.
A Royal Knight, clutching his throbbing head, saw Rupel and rushed toward him.
"Lord Rupel!"
"What on earth happened here?"
"Well..."
During their search, they had been ambushed by Red Hats.
They had barely managed to endure, but were utterly subdued by the dark crimson Red Hat.
"Then we awoke inside this cave."
"Then who fired the signal flare?"
"Pardon? Signal flare?"
Only then did he realize the signal flare from his bag was missing.
Sensing something was wrong, Rupel entered the cave, its inside quiet, torches hanging sparsely lit the cavern, at the center remained only a shattered stone coffin, destroyed before they could act.
"This is..."
"Lord Rupel, Sir Dukel has arrived."
Rupel met Dukel outside.
His clothes were stained with blood in parts, his expression grave.
"...So you too were attacked?"
"Attacked, if it can be called that... I was struck by Jeron, and then Merck and some soldiers suddenly turned on me, I was caught off guard and couldn't do anything, we were all taken down."
But no one had died.
When he woke, his wounds were already healing with potions, and his body had been buried beneath the earth, with air holes left open.
The traitors, Jeron's group, had vanished without a trace.
"What of Harold?"
"When I arrived, he was already dead, and even the Shadow of the Reverse had disappeared, Jeron must have taken it."
Dukel shook his head.
"I don't understand what's going on, why Jeron suddenly betrayed us, why he didn't kill me... Then I saw the signal flare here, on the way I already sent someone ahead to call for reinforcements."
"Reinforcements..."
Rupel stroked the hilt of his sword.
At that moment, a strange atmosphere lingered, Rupel met the eyes of several soldiers, knights, and subordinates one by one.
"Rupel?"
Dukel's voice broke the silence.
Rupel, his expression hardened, finally let go of his sword.
"The original objective, Count Dabirk's corpse, has been secured, so for now the search ends here, we will return to the city immediately and report to the lords what has transpired, yes... that is best."
Rupel's group soon withdrew from the site.
And watching them from afar, Verden also vanished without a trace.
***
He had smoothly wrecked Gluttony's plan and returned to Cohen.
At early dawn he passed through the city gates and returned to the inn to sleep, when he awoke past noon, Listener came to find him.
Disguised as an inn worker, the Listener spoke.
"You've worked hard, Sir Asher, I'm glad to see you safe."
"How is Theon?"
"He infiltrated without trouble and came out alive, it seems he has yet to see who Gluttony's Fang is, but he succeeded in arranging a meeting with the Fang."
Gluttony's Incisor, the Doctor's Mark.
Within Gluttony, the Doctor was a singular existence, so of course all eyes would be on him.
No matter how cautious, it was useless.
They could not imagine that the Doctor was already dead, reduced to ashes, Verden himself, in Gluttony's place, would not have expected it either.
That suddenly, not by the Ark, but by an unrelated Mage, he had been killed, unthinkable.
"The location?"
"Three days from now, a hut near the 'Dark Lake.'"
"Dark Lake?"
"A large lake in Marquis Gardran's territory, always shrouded in mist, the lakebed nearly black, hence its name, though in truth the water is clear, it seems they plan to meet at the hut first, then lead him to the Fang."
With this, all preparations were complete.
Now, once Gluttony's Fang was identified and eliminated, those loathsome and disgusting creatures would no longer be seen in the principality.
The prey had bitten the bait, now it was time to pull the line.
That role, belonged entirely to Verden.