Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 89

89. Angelus’ Temple (3)

The voice echoed from within Angelus’ Temple.

Even before Angel managed to shatter the remaining three stones, the black veil was dissipating.

Woo-oong!

Yet, Angel’s Sand Sphere blazed on.

“Please stop!”

The urgent voice persisted. Soon, a figure dashed out from where the black veil had vanished.

“How did you get that!”

Our gazes turned to a woman, appearing to be around twenty years old, dressed in a pure white dress. Her expression was so innocent that it was hard to believe she was capable of using black magic.

‘She’s the one doing this?’

Naturally, we couldn’t help but scan behind her.

However, the open interior of the temple was empty.

“…You’re behind this?”

Angel’s low voice shot towards her. The summoned Sand Sphere was aimed directly at her.

“Ah, haha…”

The woman offered an awkward smile, raising both hands in surrender.

“Who are you? Why did you attack us?”

Despite Angel’s sharp question, the woman didn’t seem intimidated, wearing a rather blunt expression.

“You folks entered my territory first. The zombie and skeleton summoning you saw earlier were just traps that activate automatically.”

Trap magic that activates when someone approaches.

‘There must have been a magic circle.’

It was a technique to activate magic through a pre-installed magic circle. However, Angel seemed more fixated on something else.

“What? This is your territory?”

“Yes. I live here…? It might sound strange, but…”

It was an answer that couldn’t help but sound strange.

‘Living in the Xylo Mountains?’

Faced with a difficult-to-understand statement, the woman spoke again.

“So, who are you people and what brings you here? What business do you have in these deep mountains…?”

Although she raised her hands to signal surrender, her expression and tone were far too relaxed. This incongruous appearance made it impossible for us to lower our guard.

“This is our property. I don’t know how you found this place, but how dare you do such a thing in this sacred space.”

The black stones that adorned the entrance of the temple. And that wasn’t all. Disgust colored Angel’s eyes as he scanned the interior of the temple.

‘What has she been doing here?’

The interior was filled with all sorts of bizarre contraptions.

From research containers filled with various liquids to…

[Whose corpse is that?]

…Corpses that had been butchered beyond recognition.

A scene that didn’t match the pure white dress and innocent expression she wore at all. Our faces couldn’t help but contort in disgust.

“Your space! I found this place first!”

“This is our temple. A place we manage. This isn’t a place for the likes of you to conduct such heinous experiments. How dare you research black magic in this place.”

“…Temple?”

The woman’s eyes widened as if something had just occurred to her.

“Ah! That pseudo-religion? You were the owners of those strange books!”

“What?”

At that sight, Angel’s hand twitched.

Whoosh!

The Sand Sphere emitted an even greater flame, now flickering near the woman’s neck.

“H-Hik! I, I didn’t do anything wrong! I just took it over because no one was here! I, I’ll leave! Just let me get out of here!”

“That’s a given. Did you just call us a pseudo-religion?”

“T-That’s…! I’m sorry! It’s a misunderstanding! You’re truly wonderful religious people! Popes and priests are the real pseudo ones! Yes, that’s right! Your doctrines are what can change the world! Uniting the world as one? What a wonderful idea!”

The woman spewed out words, saliva flying from her mouth.

“What was that?”

Angel’s eyebrows twitched again.

“Don’t tell me you touched the books too!”

The woman’s tone suggested she knew something about the 원심회’s [Won Sim Hoi, likely a fictional religious group] doctrines. This implied that she had tampered with the books of Angelus that were kept within the temple.

“H-Huh? I, I just found them lying around…”

“This crazy woman!”

Still aiming the Sand Sphere, Angel headed into the temple. As he strode forward.

“…Hey, kids.”

The woman turned her gaze to us.

“Is your group all here?”

We nodded without answering, and the woman smirked. The Sand Sphere was still aimed at her neck, but she was overflowing with composure.

[This witch seems to have a hidden card up her sleeve.]

Oberon suspiciously circled around her.

Woo-ooo…!

Just as we felt a subtle vibration through our feet.

Koo-oooong!

A burst of sound erupted from within the temple.

“Ugh! What is it!”

Drew’s panicked voice burst out at the sudden change.

“What else could it be?”

The woman looked at the interior of the temple, wearing a bright smile.

“You guys are finished!”

Her beaming face couldn’t help but seem out of place.

“Ah! Why, you ask? Because I activated another magic circle!”

Her fingertips pointed to a spot.

Woo-oong!

A dark blue magic circle was activated on the floor of the temple.

“Puhah! Wondering what kind of magic circle that is?”

With those words, the woman brought her hand to the Sand Sphere aimed at her.

“You should know it’s an honor! It’s called, the Area Dispel Magic Circle! Now that guy’s magic won’t work on me!”

She merely flicked the Sand Sphere with her slender finger.

Crackle…

The clods of earth that made up the sphere turned back into dust and scattered.

“Whew. Do you know how scared I was because of this? That damn bastard, pointing something so dangerous at me?”

Smiling, she momentarily glared at Angel with a murderous look.

“I won’t be satisfied until I kill that old man! I’ll spare you kids for a bit, so don’t worry. Because I’ll use you as my test subjects!”

Then, the woman gestured towards the interior of the temple. As her finger beckoned.

Woo-oong!

Another black light bloomed above the magic circle.

“Euhaha!”

The woman laughed loudly, seemingly satisfied with the sight. And behind that laughter followed a grotesque sound.

“Kueaaagh!”

As the black light faded, another being appeared there. A giant knight revealed itself within the temple.

However, the head that should have been on its neck was tucked beside its arm.

“H-Heok!”

Drew took a step back in shock.

‘A Dullahan…’

An undead I had faced before. An existence I had encountered when suppressing a necromancer who had made a name for himself in the past.

[He used to wield a sword with considerable skill.]

‘Even so, he was no match for Gibson.’

Back then, Gibson had easily dealt with him.

[Angel should be able to handle him.]

However, the problem was that Angel couldn’t use magic right now.

“Die! Pseudo-religious bastard!”

The Dullahan took a step forward with the woman’s cry. As it slowly moved, a look of bewilderment crossed Angel’s face.

“That cunning witch is using all sorts of forbidden magic!”

He couldn’t have anticipated that a Dispel magic would appear.

‘She’s more capable than I thought.’

[Indeed. A combination of magic circles and black magic… Unique.]

Each of the magic spells she used was not to be taken lightly. As Angel said, they were forbidden magic. Dispel and black magic were forbidden because of their impact.

‘There must have been a reason why she came all the way to the depths of the Xylo Mountains to research.’

A technique that could momentarily disarm even a mage like Angel. Although the conditions for activating the magic circle must be demanding, it was definitely a powerful blow.

“Ah, right!”

The witch’s gesture didn’t end there. Without even looking at us, she waved her hand in our direction.

Thwack!

Then, rotten hands once again burst through the floor.

Goo-uhhhhh!

Three zombies surrounded us.

“Hey, zombies! Those kids are for experiments, so just subdue them! Don’t kill them stupidly. Ah! It’s okay to tear off an arm or so!”

She didn’t pay any attention to us, only staring at Angel.

“Hahat! Die! I lost a lot of black stones because of you, but I gained three young sacrifices!”

The woman, already convinced of her victory, sneered at Angel. With the Dispel magic activated, there was nothing a mage could do.

“Hey, witch.”

Exceptions always exist, no matter the time or place.

“Just wait quietly! It’s not your turn yet!”

I tapped the shoulder of the woman, who was still only looking at Angel.

“Hey! Can’t you just stay still… Caa…?”

The witch finally sensed something was wrong. Her head slowly turned.

“H-Hik! How!”

The woman was startled. Her eyes reflected a razor-sharp blade, filled with yellow aura. The zombies behind him were already cut in half and collapsed.

[Tsk tsk. The strategy was good, but unfortunately, this guy is a cheat…]

Oberon pitifully watched her trembling pupils. The zombies behind him were already cut in half and collapsed. They were cut down as soon as they appeared.

“Y-You! You were a knight? You were clearly wearing a mage’s robe…? Ah, no! More than that, how can a knight as young as you defeat zombies? Without a sound? No way! A knight?”

The woman rolled her eyes around, rambling.

‘She knows black magic, but doesn’t know about aura [A manifestation of inner energy used by skilled warriors].’

It was a natural reaction for someone who didn’t know the power of aura.

“E-Eek!”

Soon, the woman tried to move her hand again. Just as black mana flickered around her.

“You shouldn’t do that.”

I slightly twisted the sword I had placed around her neck.

Splat!

A crimson blood spurted out slightly.

“U-Ugh!”

In the end, she scattered the mana she had been gathering.

“Get rid of that first.”

I nodded towards the interior of the temple. The Dullahan had already reached Angel. It was raising its sword.

“T-That’s!”

“Or should I make that disappear once?”

“What?”

“If the caster dies, that will disappear too, right? Which will be faster, the Dullahan swinging its sword, or your neck being severed?”

As I put strength into the hand holding the sword again.

“W-Wait a minute! What kind of kid has no blood or tears? Let’s make a deal! If you put away your sword, I’ll spare you. No, I’ll serve you as my boss!”

The woman spouted nonsense. It was the price for only being wary of Angel and ignoring me.

“Boss, huh…”

I smiled at her, just as she had done to us.

“I’m already the boss here?”

“Huh?”

“Stop talking nonsense. If you don’t want to die, get rid of the Dullahan first.”

The murderous intent revealed in my eyes. The gaze I emitted, having cut down hundreds of opponents, was not just a bluff.

‘He’s really going to kill me.’

She must have accepted it at once. Her two hands gathered respectfully.

“A-Ah? Yes! Boss!”

The witch immediately canceled the summoning of the Dullahan.

“Are you going to put away your sword now? Hehe.”

“No.”

“Eh?”

“Now, let’s talk a little?”

“…Talk about?”

“I’ll ask you a few questions in exchange for sparing your life.”

There was another reason why I didn’t strike her neck with a single blow.

‘A black magician.’

It was because of the expectation that I could get information from her.

“Ah, yes! What questions do you have?”

The woman forced a bright smile. However, my gaze was still icy.

“Then stop pretending to be young and take off your mask first. You old hag of a black magician.”

I knew all too well the greed hidden behind her innocent eyes.