It was exceedingly common for people to hate one another. Perhaps even more common than people liking others.

When hating one’s fellow man was common, the services he provided would inevitably be in high demand.

High demand also meant it could make money.

In that sense, the man was a merchant.

He provided a service—resolving someone’s hatred for a price.

People usually called those in such professions hitmen, but the man belonged to a somewhat unusual category among hitmen.

Unlike the usual sword-for-hire, the man had the sophisticated means of curses.

In the man’s opinion, there were few methods as useful as curses when it came to harming someone.

Once a few conditions were met, one could target the person no matter where they were, and no matter how strong the opponent was, if they didn’t have the exact countermeasure, they had no choice but to suffer helplessly, and above all, it was possible to attack unilaterally from a safe place.

There was the constraint that the preparation process was difficult due to the need for large amounts of offerings and catalysts, but such things could be resolved easily by siding with those in power.

Ignorant novice necromancers foolishly robbed graves or lurked around battlefields trying to obtain negative mana, only to lose their lives at the hands of guards or bandits, but in the man’s view, that was utterly idiotic.

It was a world where one could get as many corpses as one wanted if they had the funds and power.

Well, it might be unavoidable. They probably can’t learn it properly in the first place.

Knowledge was supposed to form a great tower by sharing, discussing, and complementing each other.

But in the case of necromancers, even sharing knowledge was a big hurdle to begin with.

If several alchemists gathered, it became a laboratory, and if several enchanters gathered, it became a workshop, but if several necromancers gathered, it became a group of wickedness trying to overthrow the world.

Unlike other schools where one could go around revealing one’s identity without issue, for necromancers, hiding their identity was a daily routine, so it was difficult to even meet each other in the first place. Not only did one need to know the locations of those to meet, if they met the wrong person, things could go poorly.

The way to become a necromancer was either a necromancer bringing in an orphan or something similar and raising them as their disciple, or someone discovering books or relics left behind by a necromancer and learning on their own, and in these situations, knowledge inevitably became fragmented.

The widespread perception that necromancers were “wicked but weak guys” was also partly due to these half-baked individuals, who hadn’t learned properly, running amok and being quickly subdued.

Of course, the man didn’t think this was such a bad thing.

Having many competent and powerful necromancers around wouldn’t particularly benefit him.

Not only would it increase competition, but those who took the threat of necromancers seriously might research efficient defense measures.

Honey pot commissions like this one would naturally decrease as well.

Thinking this, the man finished up the curse work.

A pure white doll with tousled golden hair wearing a bright dress.

He strengthened the magic similarity by inserting the hair received from the youth into the medium that closely resembled the target.

The man, who placed the doll on a suspicious altar, drew up mana and put it into the bronze skull that was also on the altar, along with the doll.

The bronze skull clattered and began to sing.

《Let’s start the hunt! Let’s start the hunt! Let’s start the joyful, sad, happy, and sorrowful hunt!》

“Hehe, yes, let’s begin.”

The man grabbed a prepared corpse and drove a large iron nail into its instep.

Crack.

A sound too light and empty for piercing human skin rang out.

Instead of blood, something like black smoke flowed from the pierced instep and stained the golden-haired doll’s legs.

However, it wasn’t that severe.

At most, it was like a slight soot stain.

The man clicked his tongue, “Tsk, as expected, the efficiency is poor with just hair.”

The man pulled out the nail without hesitation. Then, the corpse crumbled into powder with a puff.

The man didn’t mind and brought another corpse, repeating the process of driving nails into the instep.

Driving in nails, pulling them out, driving them in, pulling them out.

After consuming about a dozen corpses, the doll’s legs were finally stained black.

The bronze skull sang.

《The poor prey’s legs are lame. It can’t take even a single step on its own, just staying still will make its legs rot. Oh, how pitiful!》

The man took out a new corpse, and this time drove nails into the arms.

《The poor prey has lost its arms. It will hurt as if cut by a blade just by touching something. Now, it can’t grab anything. Oh, how sad!》

Next was the neck.

《The poor prey has lost its neck. Sounds scatter like bubbles, no matter how much water it drinks, the thirst won’t go away. Oh, how grievous!》

And finally, the heart.

《The poor prey has lost its heart. The blood circulating in the vessels becomes poison, endless fever and chills will never leave the body. Oh, how terrible!》

Amidst the piled-up black powder, the man sighed.

The golden-haired doll on the altar had long since been stained black.

“Tsk, if I had a bit more time, I wouldn’t have wasted offerings like this.”

The corpses consumed by the man were over fifty. It was very inefficient considering it was used just to curse one person.

Moreover, the effect wasn’t immediate, so it would take another day for proper results to show.

It was magic with no practical use in combat or such, but the man didn’t mind.

He wasn’t the one who would cross blades with the curse target anyway, and he just needed to make their condition worse, the rest would be handled by the client’s side.

It was then, as the man was massaging his arms and shoulders, stiff from repeated nail-driving, that something strange caught his eye.

The doll, which had been blackened and dirty just a moment ago, returned to pure white in an instant.

“What?”

The man unconsciously let out a dumbfounded sound.

It wasn’t just because of the emptiness of seeing hours of hard work go to waste in an instant.

No, while that feeling wasn’t absent, the bigger problem was that the doll was too clean.

“Dispelled by holy magic? No, even so, this is…!”

When explaining to the youth, he had said that curses were nothing if there was holy magic, but this was somewhat distorted information.

If he didn’t implant the perception that “high-ranking people are safe” in this way, he might lose his life at the hands of the nobles who were his main customer base.

It was true that holy magic could repel curses.

But it was similar to washing off greasy dirt stuck on the human body with water.

If one just poured water, the oily dirt of the curse didn’t wash off completely and traces remain, and conversely, if one poured water hot enough to melt the oil or shoot it with strong pressure, then the flesh and soul covered in oil also got injured.

But to dispel a curse prepared with this much effort in the blink of an eye, without causing any injury to the target?

“U-uh, conceal, no, I need to escape!”

The man’s judgment was quick.

He prepared to hurriedly flee, abandoning most of the various materials and catalysts left in his workshop, taking only the bronze skull.

The man had experience of failing a commission due to a cleric when he mistakenly touched high-ranking people in his passionate youth.

However, while the clerics he had faced used methods of slowly washing away the curse over a long time, or healing it in one go even at the cost of leaving scars, this was the first time he encountered an opponent who could realize the monstrous feat of dispelling in a single moment without causing injury.

He couldn’t even guess what kind of big shot was involved.

Damn it, I should have investigated the target more thoroughly! If only that pampered brat weren’t so pushy…

The man tried hard to suppress his heart that felt like it would burst.

The man was a skilled necromancer.

Not just in magical prowess, but also in the art of survival.

It’s okay, I’ve done this several times before. The stand-in is already prepared, so faking death isn’t difficult. Just take funds and materials to an extent that won’t be noticeable, and if I slip out right away—

The necromancer’s urgent thoughts stopped.

He felt gazes—staring right at him.

The necromancer unconsciously turned his head towards the direction he felt the gazes from.

“Eek…!”

A man had his foot pierced.

A woman had her palm pierced.

A child had a large hole in their neck.

An old man had black fluid flowing from his heart.

They were looking at the man.

The offerings the man had made were staring at the man.

Clunk! Clunk clunk!

The man quickly tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge.

They reached out their hands towards the man.

White, pale hands began to grab and twist the man’s body.

The man felt his legs stiffen. Then a maddening itching sensation rushed in.

He reflexively tried to scratch his legs, but the moment his fingers touched his legs, he felt a terrible pain.

The scream couldn’t escape as sound, and dizziness and chills that made him want to vomit enveloped his body.

The skull in the man’s arms clattered as if speaking for the man who couldn’t make a sound.

《I’m sorry, Witch! I was wrong, Witch! Please spare me, Witch! I won’t do it again! I won’t do it again! Mercy! Please, mercy!》

The bronze skull screamed with a squeak, then split in two with a cracking sound.

Fallen on the floor, the man gasped, unable to breathe properly.

The vengeful spirits surrounded him in a circle.

Between their heads, a small window was visible and outside the window, someone glaring at him.

Ah, there at the window! The window!

***

“Hey, Adel.”

“Yes, Miss Witch. What is it?”

“What have you been up to? Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble?”

“Huh?”

“Haa, I thought it was strange that the tin can was behaving, now it’s this one.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ defends that children are supposed to cause trouble!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ assures he’ll properly guide Adel well until she matures!]

“You heard that? When you hear such words from this guy, it’s a danger signal as a human. Be careful from now on. Don’t get involved with strange guys for no reason.”

“Huh? Uh, yes?”

After unilaterally pouring out only what she wanted to say, Dorothea went back into the room.

If it were the usual Dorothea, she would have guessed the situation by looking at Adelaide’s expression and reaction, but with dark circles under her eyes, she didn’t have the capacity for that.

It was the sorrow of a necromancer who couldn’t even receive Sophia’s holy magic care properly during magic use.

In the end, all that was left was a little lion with many question marks floating above her head.

Thus, the evil scheme was crushed.

After all, minor evil couldn’t defeat great evil.

***

On the day of the decisive battle, Adelaide thought.

What was that all about in the end?

Dorothea’s incomprehensible words were strange, and it was also odd how Sophia stroked her head unusually often that day.

Lost in such thoughts, she didn’t notice the expression of her opponent, that was, Maximilian, who seemed shocked looking at her.

“Miss Lennart, are you ready?”

It was after hearing the referee’s words that she came to her senses.

Reminding herself that stray thoughts weren’t allowed before an important fight, Adelaide opened her mouth, “Yes, I’m ready.”

“…Ahem, ahem! Ready.”

After the referee went down below the stage to avoid getting caught in the battle, Maximilian opened his mouth.

It was a voice slightly suppressed so that those around couldn’t hear.

“Think carefully, girl. I am of the house of Haidern. Besides mere force, I hold immense authority. I’m not keen on seriously fighting someone like you, so be wise and—“

Adelaide was barely listening to whatever Maximilian was blabbering about.

This time he’s wearing a proper helmet. The armor is thicker than when we fought in the street, too. In this case, hmm.

In this tournament, the Tin Knight hadn’t given Adelaide much advice.

There was advice during daily life or training, but he hadn’t instructed her on how to act during matches or how to fight.

The reason was that finding attack methods while thinking for oneself was also experience.

Therefore, she thought.

I’m inferior in terms of strength and the opponent also has more mana. While I may have an advantage in speed, surprise attacks or blows directed at vital points are meaningless in the face of the opponent’s defense.

This is difficult.

Adelaide racked her brains.

Battles where the Tin Knight didn’t tell her the answer were very difficult.

To begin with, Adelaide wasn’t particularly good at tactics or strategy.

So, she thought as simply as possible.

If I hit the same place many times, wouldn’t it hurt?

“Match start!”

Whoosh!

Simultaneously, with the start signal, Adelaide’s body shot out like an arrow.

Maximilian momentarily showed a bewildered expression, but soon gritted his teeth and drew up his sword energy.

“You insist on asking for punishment to the end!”

The imperial court swordsmanship revealed itself once more.

A sword of authority that was precise, dignified, and didn’t allow even the tiniest of gaps.

Perhaps because it wasn’t on unstable ground like before, the sword strikes that had become even more thorough covered Adelaide like a net.

With wide-open eyes, Adelaide narrowly avoided the swing of the sword, adjusted her stance, and delivered a merciless counterattack to Maximillian’s helmet.

Clang!

The full-power strike bounced off with a light metallic sound.

At that sight, sighs leaked from among the spectators, but Adelaide herself didn’t mind.

His body flinched a little. Whether it’s because of the sound or the impact, it means he’s affected somehow.

Dodge and hit, dodge and hit, dodge and hit.

It was like a simple repetitive task, but its difficulty was by no means easy.

Adelaide’s opponent was superior to her in many aspects including attack power, defense, physique, and swordsmanship.

Whatever his personality might be, the skill Maximilian had in his body was not something to be taken lightly.

With each narrow evasion and counterattack, minor wounds accumulated on Adelaide’s body.

But that was all.

He was an opponent she had already fought.

It was swordsmanship she had already experienced.

It was a little stronger, a little more precise, a little faster than before, but there was no comparison in difficulty between facing something completely new and facing something already seen once.

If she had to fight Maximilian without knowing anything, she might have been defeated, but that was already a non variable.

The price of giving EXP to the little lion was terrifying.

Clang! Clang clang! Clang clang clang clang!

Powerful attacks followed stable evasion.

Ironically, or perhaps inevitably, it resembled the Tin Knight’s method of creating gaps through excellent defensive techniques.

“You, this wench…!”

Maximilian gritted his teeth as if indignant at the situation of being one-sidedly beaten, but no matter how hard he tried, his sword couldn’t reach Adelaide.

The abundant mana raised by elixirs and the swordsmanship learned from excellent instructors were of no help at this moment.

Even the equipment that had been supporting him to the end gradually reached its limit.

No matter how high-quality Maximilian’s helmet was, it was impossible to endure indefinitely against the heavy blows of a two-handed sword, especially attacks imbued with sword energy.

The surface of the helmet grew increasingly scratched, and the magic for shock absorption gradually lost its function.

Due to the continuous impacts and noise, Maximilian felt a sensation of his vision spinning.

Even while staggering from dizziness, he desperately swung his sword.

“I am, I am the Empress’, I am the Crown Prince’s…!”

The pride of believing himself to be a chosen one began to crumble.

The disgraceful behavior he had repeatedly shown in this city crushed his self-esteem.

He tried to deny reality, saying this couldn’t be happening, wasn’t this tournament supposed to be one of the many achievements that would illuminate his brilliant journey?

In Maximilian’s eyes, Adelaide’s figure was reflected.

The image of a small warrior who continued fighting with unwavering eyes, despite being covered in blood and wounds all over her body.

Maximilian came to a realization.

It was a realization that came from the realm of instinct, not reason.

He was by no means better than an ordinary person, and the hero’s destiny he so craved never lied with him, but with the girl that stood before him.

“You weeench!”

In the final moment, throwing away all arrogance, prejudice, and inflated ego, Maximilian swung his sword with only the thought that he couldn’t lose.

Even if the motivation was jealousy, this strike, putting his all into it for the first time in his life, sharply cut into Adelaide’s shoulder more than anything else.

Blood spurted, but even then, his final gambit was not met without response. A single blow once again struck his helmet.

The helmet, which had already reached its limit, somehow managed to protect its user, but the fastener connecting the armor and helmet couldn’t.

As the dented helmet flew into the air, the defenseless head was exposed.

Adelaide readjusted her grip on the handle.

Even if someone might point fingers, saying it was a frustrating and foolish act, she acted according to the righteousness and immaturity in her heart.

Thud!

The flat of her two-handed sword came crashing down into Maximilian’s crown.

The body of the villain who, for the first time in his life, became aware of his own limitations and contradictions, crumbled silently.

Amidst the referee’s victory declaration and the audience’s cheers, Adelaide smiled and muttered, “Hehe, whack-a-mole, I won.”

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken