The Blockhead Became an Overpowered Magician

10 – To Kagon (4)

Eve anxiously sat inside the carriage. She wanted to go out and lend her strength right away, but she knew that doing so would only be a nuisance.

She put her face against the gap in the specially made carriage and looked outside.

‘That man…’

The magician introduced earlier got off the carriage.

She didn’t know his name. She thought they were only going to be traveling together for a short while and would part ways upon arrival at Kagon. So she hadn’t paid attention to him.

“!”

But when the battle began in earnest, Eve had no choice but to change her mind.

Although she had only just begun to walk the path of magic, she had a fundamental understanding. Therefore, she was aware of how absurd the scene that Ern was showing her was.

‘Incredible…’

Eve watched the battle unfold for a while.

Unceasing optimal judgments, flowing attack combinations. That magician was showing her the ideal form of a battle mage that she aimed for.

The number of enemies decreased, and the knights began to advance. Still, her anxiety remained.

‘What exactly is his identity?’

They attacked the Duke’s procession. There was no way they didn’t know. The symbol of Eisenbern was engraved on the carriage and the flags carried by the knights.

The enemies were also a problem. Monstrous creatures with a terrible form, oozing and groaning. She had never heard of such a thing before. It was even doubtful whether they were monsters at all.

Eve was in a position where she had more to worry about. As a member of the Eisenbern, she had to accurately understand the before and after of this ambush incident.

-Dudududu

The ground began to tremble.

‘What’s going on?!’

The momentum of this attack was different from the previous ones.

‘Monster? Magic?’

There was no way to identify its nature. And the fear stemming from ignorance affected Eve.

Eve decided to stay where she was. The carriage had been safe until now, so she thought it would continue to be that way.

– Kwa-kwa-kwa

The tremors grew stronger.

It was a bad feeling. Cold sweat ran down her face. The knights were running towards her.

“Eve! Come out!”

The magician shouted. Confused by his urgent voice, Eve quickly unlocked the door. The door swung open.

“Huh…?”

She was pulled. Embraced. Falling.

Before she knew it, she was lying on the ground. It happened in an instant.

– ■■■!

A huge something let out a scream and sprang out of the ground.

‘Worm? Snake? What is that!’

The monster had a long, connected body. Its black skin had a chaotic form, as if muscles were tangled together. Dozens of eyes on its head were disorderly stuck, like a child’s scribbles.

Boulders were thrown like volcanic lava. But the magician’s Earth Wall prevented the falling fragments.

‘Sure enough, it’s a ‘Devil Worm.”

Eren barely turned his head to confirm the enemy’s identity. Fortunately, his intuition that the devil’s minion would ambush Eve from the ground proved correct.

The carriage that Eve had just been in floated in midair. The monster swallowed the carriage, which fell due to gravity, in one bite.

But it hesitated for a moment, as if something was missing.

Dozens of eyeballs stared at Eve nearby.

“…!”

It was all too obvious what that gaze meant.

“You won’t go on like this!”

Baltez shouted.

The wind began to blow. The air grew colder, and branches swayed. Snowflakes suddenly appeared. Small snowflakes swirled around the monster’s head.

And when Baltez stretched out his hand, the wind quickly intensified, and the snowflakes grew into sharp ice shards.

– ■■■■!!!

A storm was born. As their flesh began to be torn by ice, the Devil Worm tried to dodge the magic by twisting its body.

However, Baltez manipulated the sphere’s path to continue the attack. The magical calculation was accurate. It was the result of countless training sessions.

As time passed, the number of ice shards increased. Spinning fiercely, they now hid the Devil Worm’s head trapped within the sphere.

‘But anyhow, I don’t feel any strength in this.’

Eren was still slumped down. It seemed to take longer for him to recover, as he had pushed himself harder than during the Mountain Turtle incident. The warmth and softness were nice, but… it was time to move his body.

It was a good time to run away while the Devil Worm was distracted by the ＜Blizzard Orb＞.

“We need to run away.”

Eve was staring blankly at the Devil Worm. It was because she had just narrowly escaped death.

In Eve’s head, which had fallen into a state of panic, the scene of being swallowed at any moment, as they were, flicked like a kaleidoscope.

“Ah, sorry. Yes.”

At Eren’s voice, Eve came to her senses. And she wriggled and fumbled to get up.

“Ugh…”

‘… That’s right. Her magic stats are all-in but she’s weak.’

Fortunately, the knights arrived just in time.

“Princess! Are you all right?!”

One by one, they picked up Eren and Eve and quickly distanced themselves. Eren was able to watch the battle from a safe place.

“Charge!”

As the ＜Blizzard Orb＞ waned, Baltez signaled. The knights, who had been waiting, immediately rushed towards the enemy.

The Devil Worm’s head was in tatters. Its skin was all peeled off, with some eyeballs dangled here and there.

“15 seconds!”

Baltez began casting. Several large ice spears began to form above his head.

Meanwhile, the knights skillfully climbed onto the enemy’s body and attacked. And exactly 15 seconds later, they swiftly retreated.

The ice spears flew all at once. It was an area attack spell that hit everywhere from head to tail.

“Charge!”

The knights’ combination continued.

“Ugh! This can’t be! This can’t be happening!!!”

Rak, who had been suppressed by Sermei, cried out in despair.

“It’s over.”

“With just that…!”

Rak lamented while watching the falling Devil Worm.

‘I dedicated even my soul to it, but it’s so weak! What on earth was the power I felt earlier!?’

-Conjurer.

The demon whispered. It was a sound only Rak could hear.

“Something! Something went wrong! My, my soul is!”

Sermey kept an eye on the surroundings as Raku spoke nonsense, but there was nothing around.

– You did not offer your soul. You only caught the pawn.

“But you said you’d give me power…!”

– There is always a price for the contract. I gave you the power equal to the price.

“What did I feel then?! Something obviously went wrong!”

– Humans are often a race prone to illusions.

“…!”

Although there was no change in the devil’s tone, Raku clearly felt it. It was a voice mocking and sneering at him.

‘I was deceived!’

Raku recalled all the contracts and conversations so far. And he realized, belatedly, that capturing his soul was not an act of mercy but a trap.

There is a price that comes with the contract. But just now, he didn’t pay any price. Yet, he borrowed the devil’s power and summoned a Devil Worm.

It was a weak minion that had been exterminated quickly, but it was indeed more than what he had prepared in offerings.

‘No, maybe they never intended to succeed in the raid from the beginning…!’

– Fulfill the contract.

It was time to pay the price.

“Hold on! I wanted to have Aizenburn’s woman-“

– It was enjoyable.

Raku realized. To the devil, this raid was nothing more than entertainment. And while enjoying it, he managed to obtain several souls, including his own.

“Uaahahahahahah!”

He had been intoxicated by battle, power, and delusions of becoming even stronger. It was all the devil’s scheme.

Raku’s body began to crumble into black dust.

Startled, Sermey looked around. Other mages, hideous monsters, and even the giant worm were disappearing.

“No… it can’t be… Damn that demon…”

It was a belated regret.

[Quest Complete: Devil’s Plot]

[Reward: 8000P, Fragment of Memory, Unlocking 2nd Circle]

[Completion of Monster Kill Contribution]

[+520P]

‘Come to think of it, there was a Fragment of Memory in the rewards.’

Last time, memories poured into him with a headache. Eirn was inhaling deeply, preparing himself for the impending pain.

‘This time… what will it be like…’

But what he was struck with was not pain, but a terrible drowsiness.

-Thud!

“Magician sir!?”

***

‘What is this?’

When he came to his senses, he was in a cabin in the north. He tried to move his body, but it did not obey his will.

“Master, what are you doing?”

Against his will, his mouth moved on its own, and his voice sprang out.

‘Is this how I watch memories?’

It was an odd sensation. If he were to look at the situation alone, he would be trapped in a stranger’s eyes. But it was not at all uncomfortable. It even felt strangely relaxing.

“I am writing a letter to send to Rozera. It’s to let her know I’m leaving my son in her care.”

“You have a son?!”

“Ern.”

“…?”

Agnes spoke with a gentle smile.

“Ern Sencia. That’s going to be your name from now on.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to take you as my adopted son. I will pass on everything I have accomplished under my name. Well, I’ve already handed my tower over to Rozera, so I’ll have to ask for her to accept it as well.”

“Why are you saying all this out of the blue?”

“It all came rather suddenly, but Rozera said that such things had to be dealt with quickly… It’s too bad that paperwork isn’t as easy as casting a spell.”

‘He included me in his records…?’

“No, Master, that’s not what I meant.”

“The time is drawing near.”

Agnes’ eyes were firm.

“You might not understand now… I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me to explain in detail at the moment. The only thing for sure is that everything will eventually help you.”

“…Yes.”

***

‘Ah, my head.’

His head felt numb and dull, as if it had been struck on the ground when he fell.

‘He wasn’t just a mere disciple, he was a foster child… And it seems his administrative registration has been completed as well.’

It was unexpected good news. It felt like things would be resolved easily.

“…?”

As he opened his eyes, he saw Eve tightly clutching her hands and sobbing. Her eyes were red and swollen, and tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving wet trails behind.

“…Huh?”

“Hmm?”