Of course, experiencing it like that didn’t mean he could wield his power without limits.
Crossing the line like just now had been truly dangerous.
However, the time it took for him to recover his mental strength had significantly decreased.
On top of that, he couldn’t overlook the contributions of his companions.
At the moment Sergey’s breath was pushed back thanks to the efforts of Aiden and Eleanor, Jun seized control of the mana he had been gathering all at once.
Sergey’s magic of [Volcanic Volcano], which could have devastated the entire area in an instant was being consumed by Jun’s mana.
[So this is how I face death once again……]
The mana he had used to build his domain in the area faded helplessly under the pressure of that power.
No—more precisely, it was being devoured.
Sergey accepted his death.
If he had a soul, he might have struggled somehow, but he felt that all of it would be meaningless.
A being without a soul had no desire to survive.
He had simply moved with the “knowledge” of survival, and now that death was certain, he had no intention of resisting any further.
Instead—
[That foolish Enverman once said, as long as memory itself continues, life does not end.]
If that was true, then a way to survive existed for him as well.
He then controlled his rapidly collapsing body to the very end, gathering pure fire-attribute mana.
Eventually, he compressed it within his circle and fused it.
Fwoosh—!
“……What are you doing?”
As Jun raised his mana in tension at the bizarre sight of Sergey pulling out his own heart with his own hands—
[Take it, mage.]
“……?”
[These are the memories I leave behind in this world……]
The memories of one’s entire life couldn’t be transferred unless the entire brain was moved.
So, Sergey chose instead to leave behind a magical vision into which he had poured the entirety of his life.
That was the final choice the chimera wearing Sergey’s face could make.
And with those final words, his body completely disintegrated, leaving only a crimson orb suspended in the air.
A moment later, a breeze scattered the dust that had once been Sergey.
“That bastard…”
Jun stared at the crimson orb Sergey had left behind.
To his eyes, it was an utterly pure manifestation of fire-attribute energy.
However, it wasn’t merely a cluster of fire mana.
“Did he imprint his mental image into this tiny space…?”
Looking closer, he saw an entire universe unfolding within the orb.
It was a miniature version of Sergey’s mental image: [Active Volcano].
Truly, it was a magical legacy left behind by a mage who had accepted death.
“Huff, huff… Senior!”
“……!”
Jun was snapped back to reality by Aiden’s voice calling from behind. He quickly stored the orb into his dimensional bracelet.
“Is he… dead?”
“Yeah. Good job. Thanks to you, I made it. But what about over there… ah.”
The battle on the side of the Blackguard knights was also gradually drawing to a close.
***
The fight between Blackguard Captain Tairdin and Enverman had been a fierce slugfest.
Though both were Level 7, there were still levels within levels.
Tairdin was among the stronger ones even within Level 7, and before Enverman had injected the serum, he had been overpowering him.
However, once Enverman took the Butcher Monk’s serum, he became something else entirely.
Even a casual punch made Tairdin’s sword arm go numb.
Every heavy blow, even when blocked, sent him flying back and caused internal injuries.
And it didn’t stop there. Enverman’s speed had increased far beyond before, to the point where Tairdin was barely able to block his attacks.
Several times, the knights tried to assist by charging at him, but each time, they were either gravely injured or knocked out with broken bones.
“Don’t engage! He gets stronger every time someone dies!”
After yet another knight was killed, Enverman’s power grew even further, and Tairdin was forced to pull his remaining men back.
Just as Tairdin found himself once more on the defensive—
Flick!
A dagger shot out from the shadows beneath a streetlamp where Enverman had just retreated.
Sensing the faintest hint of killing intent, Enverman dodged the strike.
As he simultaneously began to gather mana under his feet to crush the area where the shadow had been, Maya sprang out from within it.
She had used one of Basai’s secret techniques, [Shadow Step].
Leaping out again, Maya hurled three more daggers.
It created an opening in Enverman’s stance as he stomped the ground.
At that moment, Tairdin charged in from the front, and one of the daggers sank into Enverman’s thigh.
“Grr…!!”
Enverman staggered back, bracing his thigh muscles to force the blade out.
However, from the wound it left behind, a black aura surged and rooted his leg to the ground.
“……!”
Sensing the strange energy, he tried to dispel it by channeling mana through his leg again, scattering the black aura—
But Tairdin swung his sword in a wide arc.
Clang—! Crack!
Enverman tried to block it by crossing his fists, but it was no use.
Tairdin’s strike, refined through a lifetime of honing his mana, was not something that could be blocked so easily.
“Ggh…!”
Enverman’s wrist was severed and sent flying.
I can’t win like this.
Even though he had enhanced his body with the Butcher Monk’s serum and invoked his [Blood Mountain Reincarnation], it wasn’t permanent.
It was only a temporary effect and now that the killing had stopped, he could feel the power slowly fading.
He had no choice but to break through the encirclement by force.
If I can just make it outside…
There were plenty of people in the Black Market. If he killed them, he could extend the duration of [Blood Mountain Reincarnation] and regain explosive strength.
As Enverman slowly began to adjust his stance—
“He’s trying to escape! Tighten the formation!”
Tairdin who was quick to catch on immediately moved to cut off his retreat.
There would be sacrifices among the knights, but if they let him escape now, they might lose him for good.
At the same time, Enverman charged toward the weakest point in the formation.
It was where a knight already injured in earlier clashes stood.
In a split second, his blood-stained fist shot toward the knight’s heart.
Swish—
With a faint sound, another dagger flew toward his temple.
Forced to break his stance to block the dagger, he threw a follow-up punch at the knight, but though the impact sent the man flying, it didn’t kill him.
Whoom—
His stance wavered from the exchange, and the knight beside him swung a massive war hammer.
“Die!”
“Tch!”
Clicking his tongue, Enverman retreated and turned his gaze toward the female warrior who had been irritating him from the start.
But even in the direction the dagger had come from, all he could see was the mansion’s looming shadow.
She must have hidden in the subdimension.
No matter how powerful he was even a level 7, finding Maya hidden in a subdimension was impossible.
“Where do you think you’re looking, bastard?!”
He dodged Tairdin’s relentless sword strikes after deflecting the war hammer, then pulled out another vial of serum from his coat.
I’ll have to take the risk.
Just as he was about to inject the serum again—
Swish.
“There you are!”
The moment he heard the dagger’s flight, Enverman lunged toward the shadow.
“You’re dead wrong, idiot.”
From right behind, a chilling voice rang out, followed by an overwhelming killing intent.
He had been fooled by the “Recall” function of Basai’s secret weapon, the Dagger of Vengeance, given to Maya by Jun.
A dagger from the front. Maya from behind.
And from the right Tairdin charging in.
He blocked the dagger with his already severed left arm and deflected Maya’s sword with his right hand.
But he couldn’t stop Tairdin’s descending blade.
That cold edge falling straight toward him was the last thing Enverman ever saw in his life.
Sssk—
Enverman’s body was split cleanly from the crown of his head down in a straight line and collapsed as the halves fell apart.
For someone who had dreamed of immortality, his death was surprisingly empty.
***
“Ugh…”
After being tossed across the ground multiple times by Enverman’s final attack, Maya stared up at the Black Market’s sky.
“You okay?”
“…Leader.”
A black-haired mage peeked over her and looked down.
“If you say the next mission’s going to be easy again… I’m going to sew your mouth shut…”
“Still, it was good real combat experience, right?”
“I’ll kill y—pfft.”
Before she could finish her threat, Jun poured a recovery potion into Maya’s mouth.
“Hey now, don’t shoot death glares at me.”
Looking equally exhausted, Jun slumped down beside her head.
The unexpected battle had finally come to an end.
***
“Do you, by any chance, have a thing for stirring up trouble?”
“Haha… Of course not, sir.”
Jun who was already receiving sharp glares all day from his teammates, especially Maya and Eleanor, forced a smile as he responded to Count Mordenain.
“Still, shaking up the entire Black Market like that…”
“I sincerely apologize.”
It felt deeply unfair, and Jun had plenty he could say in his defense…
But he chose to keep it brief, not wanting the conversation to drag on.
There was little benefit in talking too long with the count.
Still, Count Mordenain’s expression wasn’t as displeased as Jun had expected.
“You did well. I never imagined you’d actually manage to bring down Enverman.”
“……?”
For a moment, Jun tilted his head in confusion.
Enverman hadn’t yet revealed himself to the world. How did the count know of him?
“Ah, you wouldn’t know. He used to be a researcher at one of the Empire’s old laboratories.”
“Is that so?”
“He was involved in the chimera cultivation project initiated by the previous Emperor.”
Back then, human rights were virtually nonexistent compared to now, and criminals sentenced to death were used in chimera experiments.
As time passed, the number of death row inmates gradually declined.
This created setbacks in the research, and Enverman began secretly conducting experiments using illegally acquired slaves and orphans.
“According to the records from that time, when his experiments were exposed, he killed several researchers and fled.”
“Is that when chimera research came to a halt?”
“Exactly. Not only were chimeras difficult to control, but a single scholar had managed to destroy an entire facility.”
Even after that, the Empire persistently searched for any trace of Enverman, but in the end, they failed to catch him.
“So that’s how he managed to avoid the eyes of the Imperial family… He’d joined the Heavenly Church.”
The count spoke with an expression as if a long-standing toothache had finally been relieved.
“Still, thanks to you, we didn’t walk away empty-handed. Several ledgers were found in the ruins of his lab.”
Fortunately, some of the documents in his underground lab had survived the explosion. Among them, Jun and the count were able to find information on the Black Flower they had been tracking.
“I’ve already reported that part to His Majesty. The Order has been mobilized, so it’s only a matter of time before we catch them all.”
“But even then, they’re all just puppets, aren’t they?”
“That’s true. Still, there were quite a few names listed in those records. If it’s spread that wide, eventually someone’s going to slip up.”
It would take time, but the count had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
And more than anything…
“At the very least, we may be able to calm Lady Beneth’s fury.”
“Ah…”
At that, Jun nodded in understanding.
Come to think of it, the primary objective of this mission had been to win over the Third Prince who was rumored to have survived an assassination attempt and his mother, Lady Beneth.
“This should help Lady Beneth identify exactly who poses a threat to Prince Javier.”
“That alone makes this a major success.”
“Indeed.”
Though the count responded calmly, his true feelings were far from composed.
Part of him wanted to go straight to the Emperor and demand that this mage in front of him be granted access to imperial intelligence…
But too many opportunities have already gone to that mercenary group.
If they gained any more power, it would start to tip the political balance.
It went without saying for the Noble Faction, but even among the nobles supporting the First Prince or First Princess, whispers could begin to spread.
After all, that mercenary group had a forsaken prince in their ranks.
And Jun was well aware of that fact.
Instead of seeking material rewards, Jun had chosen to align himself with the power of the Imperial Family or more precisely, the Emperor’s authority.
“As long as things continue the way they are now, that’s more than enough for me.”
“…You truly are a wise man.”
If trouble arose, the Imperial Family would lend its power.
That alone would serve as a breakwater against the accusations and interference from various factions.
Of course, it wouldn’t solve every single problem. But it would be enough to suppress the movements of any large organization that posed a genuine threat to Jun and his mercenary group.
“Hoo… Then I suppose most of the heavy lifting is done.”
“You’ve done well. Are you planning to head back down now?”
“Yes. You must be busy with matters on your end as well, Count.”
“That’s true. This whole incident has dragged on for far too long.”
Their true stage, Blackout.
And now, the Gate of the Abyss leading there had once again reopened.
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