LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Shark couldn’t close his mouth at the spectacle unfolding before him.
“Th-they…”
The special task force, compared to the knightly orders of high nobility, may rank lower in brute strength.
Yet, if commanded to annihilate a knightly order, they would complete the mission with ease.
Their strength lay not in force, but elsewhere.
Hostages meant nothing to them, as they disregarded their own comrades’ lives. They wouldn’t hesitate to use forbidden items like poison gas to target their prey.
In essence, the task force’s might was rooted in their venomous hearts and the element of surprise.
But then…
“Arrghhh!”
“Die! Just dieee!”
The young man, seemingly not even twenty, was toying with the task force members.
He was like a wolf among sheep.
Not only was he brutal, but his actions were cunning beyond measure.
‘Such a man can’t possibly be a spirit summoner!’
The fundamental requirement to become a summoner is a pure heart.
Spirits don’t approach the tainted.
Thus, most summoners prefer seclusion in the mountains, living quietly with nature.
Those who’ve contracted with spirits, nature’s fragments, abhor conflict.
But look at this man.
Even now, he skillfully uses the body of a task force member he just killed as a shield against hidden weapons.
How could such a merciless man be a spirit summoner, using even the dead for his gain?
Grind.
Shark clenched his teeth, chanting the incantation of Dark Sky Art, gathering mana.
‘I must find an opening!’
He executed his most confident stealth technique.
Dark Sky Art – Shadow’s Embrace
Whoosh.
His form melted into the battlefield.
As the unique aura of Dark Sky Art faded, Yan, who was battling the task force, turned his head.
Seizing the moment, two task force members lunged at Yan from behind.
“Where do you think you’re looking!”
“Die!”
Woosh.
But their swords failed to pierce Yan, swirling through empty air instead.
“Wh-what?”
Ducking to dodge the swords, Yan spun around, wielding his Ascalon.
A bright blue trail sliced through a task force member.
Splash!
In an instant, the member’s upper and lower halves separated, a scream escaping his lips.
Blood splattered into the eyes of another member behind him.
He hurried to wipe it away, but…
Thud.
Yan’s Ascalon was quicker, piercing the heart of the task force member, who crumbled.
At that moment…
Clunk.
A grenade rolled to his feet.
“Tch.”
There wasn’t enough time to invoke water magic to produce cold.
But it didn’t matter.
‘There’s plenty to cover.’
Yan calmly grabbed the floating upper half of the task force member and slammed it down onto the grenade.
Splat! Boom!
The body convulsed violently, flesh and blood scattering across the room from the explosion.
Thanks to his quick reaction, Yan was unharmed.
He pulled a dagger from his cloak and threw it in the direction the grenade had come from.
Zing!
“Aargh!”
A task force member hiding behind furniture screamed as the dagger embedded in his hand.
Poison coursed through his veins, rapidly spreading through his body.
“Gurgle…”
Thump.
The poisoned member clutched his throat and collapsed, foam forming at his mouth.
“Heave, heave.”
Yan breathed heavily, then dropped to one knee, his eyes clouded with fatigue.
Clearly, he was overwhelmed.
Shark’s eyes gleamed from the shadows.
Even for a monster like him, facing sixteen task force members alone was a feat.
Not to mention the mental strain from the grenades and hidden weapons.
‘He’s not superhuman; he should be collapsing.’
‘Now’s my chance!’
Shark drew the ‘Twin-Headed Serpent’s Fang,’ an artifact dagger from his cloak.
A mere scratch from its embedded poison could reduce an enemy to a puddle of blood.
An artifact personally bestowed by the task force leader for a successful mission.
‘He’s exhausted to this extent, and he can’t even scratch me?’
Shark crept silently towards the struggling Yan, who seemed unaware of his approach.
‘Foolish man. You’ve overestimated yourself.’
Had it been Shark, he would have dealt with them one by one. But Yan, instead of conserving his strength, had taken on the group, depleting his energy.
And now, he lay vulnerable, exhausted.
A wicked smile crossed Shark’s lips.
‘Die!’
Three steps away from Yan, Shark raised the ‘Twin-Headed Serpent’s Fang’ with gleeful eyes and brought it down towards Yan’s back.
Slash!
The man was oblivious to the attack even at this moment.
‘I’ve killed…!’
Shark’s face, certain of his victory, turned blank.
Chime!
With a clear, ringing sound, the dagger bounced off Yan’s back.
To accomplish such a feat without touching…
“Magic?”
“Yeah, magic.”
“Were you not exhausted just now?! Wait, were you a mage all along?”
Yan chuckled as he rose to his feet.
Moments ago, he was gasping for air, but now, there was no sign of fatigue.
“If you hadn’t shown an opening, I would’ve stayed hidden or fled.”
Yan grinned and swung his Ascalon.
Swish
“Aaaargh! My hand, my soooon!”
In an instant, Shark’s wrist was severed, and he screamed, crawling on the ground.
Yan picked up the dagger from Shark’s fallen hand.
“Oh, the ‘Hydra’s Fang’? Quite the trophy.”
Yan smiled in satisfaction, looking at the snake-shaped carving on the dagger.
Then, he pulled out a subspace pocket, stored the dagger inside, and turned his gaze back to Shark.
Shark, crouching, trembled as he locked eyes with Yan.
He was different from the other special task force members; he had entered through a noble’s recommendation.
As such, he lacked the endurance to withstand torture.
“Pl-please, spare me.”
Shark knelt, begging with both hands as he looked up at Yan.
“I’ll give you any information you want. Just please…!”
A despicably groveling attitude.
A flicker of contempt crossed Yan’s eyes, too quick for Shark to notice.
Yan, with a smirk, asked, “The task force leader’s daughter. Where is she?”
“What, the task force leader’s daughter?”
Shark’s eyes widened as if he didn’t understand the question.
“…There’s only an ‘experiment’ here.”
“Experiment?”
“The Emperor’s de… Kekekeck!”
Shark’s words were cut off as he clutched his throat, letting out a ghastly scream.
His face began to melt slowly, and in a short time, it turned into a steaming flesh-colored liquid.
Yan frowned.
He had intended to cut Shark’s throat himself, but the man melted before he had the chance.
And yet…
There’s a project so secret that even a high-ranking officer would take such a golden opportunity?
“It’s better to find out for myself.”
Yan turned away without regret.
There was no need to listen to where the so-called experiment was.
[I sense something strange over there.]
There was a carriage parked in a place suitable for a stable.
“Let’s see if she’s the task force leader’s daughter or what.”
Yan rubbed his hands together and walked towards the carriage.
“Ugh…”
From within the carriage, a child’s groan seeped out.
Yan’s eyes flashed with intensity.
He pressed his face against the bars on one side of the carriage, peering inside.
[Oh… To bind a child like that. There’s no excuse for such cruelty.]
Momon clicked his tongue in disgust at the sight inside the carriage.
Yan couldn’t help but agree with Momon’s sentiment.
“Uh… Ugh…”
Inside, a girl with white hair was bound from head to toe in leather restraints, connected to the carriage.
“What in the world has this gentleman done with his own daughter?”
Yan clicked his tongue, gathering mana.
Crack!
With that, he ripped off the carriage door.
Inside, there was nothing but what he had seen before.
“Hold on.”
Yan hesitated, sensing something odd.
He examined the door he had torn off.
The outside was a wooden panel, but the inside was lined with a peculiar metal.
“It feels like I should remember this.”
But the memory wouldn’t come easily.
Yan finally entered the carriage interior.
“Ugh.”
The white-haired girl seemed to sense his presence and struggled.
Yan approached the restrained child.
Her eyes and face were covered, making it impossible to confirm if she was the task force leader’s daughter.
“I’ll release you, just wait.”
Yan drew a dagger and began to slice through the restraints binding the girl’s entire body.
Sssshhh. Sssh.
Freed from her bonds, the white-haired girl stared blankly at Yan.
Yan frowned at the child’s silent gaze.
“Your face seems familiar…”
Still, the child remained silent.
Yan crouched down to her eye level and asked.
“Now that you’re free, say something. Are you the task force leader’s daughter?”
“Hmmphmhm?”
“Your mouth must be stiff from not speaking for so long. Let’s get out of here…”
While he was speaking, the white-haired girl suddenly clenched her eyes shut.
As if in pain.
“Ugh.”
Yan reached out to check the girl’s forehead.
At that moment.
Boom!
An immense force sent Yan flying across the carriage as if caught in a typhoon.
Bang!
Yan hit the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He had collided with an unknown force without any chance to brace himself.
Inside his head, Momon exclaimed without any concern for Yan’s pain.
[Not mana, but a different ability (異能)?! So it does exist!]
“…What, a different ability? What are you talking about?”
Yan groaned as he got up.
[Did you feel even a hint of mana from that child?]
“No.”
If he had, he would have been prepared.
Momon spoke as if amazed.
[Yet that child just unleashed a force strong enough to send you flying. What principle allows that? What kind of power is it?]
Yan tried to ignore Momon’s words.
If it weren’t for what he said next.
[Telekinesis (念動力)?]
Yan, heading back to the carriage, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Something had brushed his mind.
Usually calm and collected, Yan couldn’t maintain his composure at this moment.
Telekinesis.
Pure white hair.
A familiar face.
Yan’s eyes widened, and his pupils shook violently.
He opened his mouth without realizing it.
A being that no one in the future could stop or seal, only to be called a disaster.
A monster that one of the empire’s dukes had curiously challenged but, after a week of fierce battle, ultimately decided to leave alone.
One of the three calamities of the continent.
“…The Witch of Suppression?”
The portrait of the calamity, the Witch of Suppression, in Yan’s memory.
It was strikingly similar to the white-haired girl before him.
As if she was the calamity in her younger days.