Chapter 52: How Did You Get Here……?

“Kkeu…….”

Karin forcibly suppressed the groan that was about to escape her lips.

‘I can’t be any more embarrassed.’

To have failed to capture a mere experiment, and to have run away using a series of emergency escape spells.

Her pride was already as damaged as it could be, but she wanted to preserve what little of it remained.

However.

Click.

“Are you alright, Master?!”

She could not avoid the notice of her disciples, who were always listening for any sound from within the room.

“……I’m fine.”

Karin forcibly straightened her chest as she looked at her middle-aged disciple, Rasmun, who now looked much older than her.

However.

Grrrr.

At that moment, she couldn't control the sound rumbling from her stomach.

Fortunately, before her face could turn red, Rasmun quickly bowed his head.

“I will bring some soup.”

“……Alright.”

She was reminded of what a quick-witted fellow he was.

‘That’s why I keep him around.’

It was also his idea to have her send a signal to her disciples when the emergency escape spell, Meteor Cloud , was activated, so they could gather.

Tap.

As soon as her disciple withdrew, the two bastards who had brought her this humiliation came to mind again, and anger boiled up.

‘That damn lump!

That experiment bastard I could chew up and spit out! Both of you, I will surely show you hell.’

She felt a little better after imagining capturing them, torturing their bodies to shreds with all sorts of experiments, and then slowly grinding them to death from their fingertips and toes.

And as her body felt a little better and her appetite returned, her mind finally started working, and a question arose.

A question about the situation that had led her to this state.

That ignorant lump of muscle, he was a high-level Corporeal Arts user, the type of opponent magicians had the most difficulty with, so that could be understood.

‘But that experiment……?’

According to the information, he was a fellow who had awakened just a few months ago at most.

It was surprising that he could even handle Spirit Arts, but even that was at the level of barely creating a greatsword out of metal. Normally, that sword, which was at the level of the lowest-grade artifact, shouldn't have been able to even scratch her protective shield.

But.

‘That chain…….’

It had activated her protective shield, which only deployed in life-threatening situations.

A 6th Circle magic, the Bloody Barrier, created by grinding up 100 humans.

Moreover.

“I think I weakened it too…….”

She muttered to herself in a low voice, then was startled and shook her head.

That couldn't be.

Even if that chain was a terrifying artifact for hunting magicians, it had to be of a comparable level to be effective.

How could a chain that only emanated faint mana threaten her life and weaken the Bloody Barrier, which was one of the higher-level 6th Circle spells?

“It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t. But…….”

Moreover, the Bloody Barrier was not a magic that only functioned as a protective shield.

It was set to explode and blow away everything in the vicinity if an attack that the shield could not withstand approached.

And it responded strictly to a pre-set energy value, regardless of the sense of crisis she felt.

But it had exploded just from(?) the pincer attack of that muscle pig and the experiment, and even though she had squeezed out her magic, its destructive power was much weaker than she had thought.

‘A magic that caused serious internal injuries.’

Of course, she hadn't used the Bloody Barrier, which required a large number of sacrifices, many times.

‘Strange…….’

It was as if that chain had absorbed some of the magic’s power…….

Smirk.

“……What a ridiculous thought. Ha…….”

It seemed she was having delusions because of how absurdly she had been defeated.

That was how shameful it was.

‘No matter what happens between Aslan and Trian, he’ll go to Drasen anyway.

If so, I’ll go there in advance…….’

Now that her internal injuries had mostly subsided, she organized her revenge plan for after her body had recovered.

‘Baron Drasen. The Knight of Gluttony, was it?

The country knight with that ridiculous name. Well, that sword called Slayer is a bit of a concern, but I just have to avoid facing him head-on…….’

Just a few methods that came to mind seemed sufficient to drive that experiment bastard to despair.

A smile naturally formed.

Grrrr.

Her stomach rumbled again, and irritation surged.

“……Are they late?”

Normally, her disciples were not this slow.

‘These things…….’

It seemed they were looking down on her because she had shown a slightly embarrassing side.

“It seems they’ve forgotten my temper because they haven’t seen me in a few years.”

Swoooosh.

She gathered a small amount of magic so as not to strain her body and was about to chant a ‘punishment’ spell.

At that moment, she couldn't help but feel something strange.

She had a total of four disciples, but now only three targets with the ‘punishment’ spell engraved on them were detected.

‘Don’t tell me…….’

Her expression hardened, and a powerful demonic energy began to gather from her body, slowly at first, but then faster and faster.

* * *

“Kkeu……?”

It was luck.

Looking at the bandit-like magician who was meeting his end wrapped in chains, Muno thought so.

‘Why did he wander off alone?’

He couldn't understand it, but it was a good thing for them.

“You okay?”

“Yes.”

“Your expression is a bit…….”

“It’s because I’m in good condition.”

Their voices, as they entered the lower passage of the cave, were much quieter than before, so they had to concentrate especially hard to hear each other.

But now, even that concentration was not difficult.

‘As expected, it’s thrilling.’

The level of skill increase from absorbing a 3rd Circle magician was minimal, but in other words, it meant that it increased, albeit minimally.

It felt like leveling up just by defeating enemies, like in a game.

Moreover, in that he could feel the elation of becoming stronger in real time, the sense of accomplishment was incomparable to a game.

Of course, there was the drawback of having to risk his real life for it.

Just that thought alone started to instantly calm his boiling emotions.

“We have to be careful from here on.”

“Again, location check.”

At Chloe’s words, Muno once again traced the demonic energy the magicians had carelessly left behind and explored the terrain ahead.

In the process, he could even identify the owners of the demonic energy.

“After one turn this way, there’s only a straight passage for about 50m.

There’s a slightly wider plaza in front of it, and a 4th Circle magician and two 3rd Circle magicians are taking turns moving back and forth there.

And deep in the front, there’s the presence of that witch.”

“The exact locations of the magicians?”

“The 4th Circle magician is at the entrance of the room opposite the passage, and the two 3rd Circle magicians are taking turns resting in another room on the left.”

“Good. Any other changes?”

“None.”

“Good.”

“Pardon?”

Just as he was about to frown slightly at the incomprehensible answer.

With the small sound of pattering footsteps, he saw Chloe, who had already run into the turned passage.

And at the same time, her drawing the bow and arrow from her back.

‘Huh……!’

The moment he thought he knew what she was about to do.

The Demon Devourer suddenly perceived a change in the flow of demonic energy.

The three magicians in the plaza at the end of the passage had started to cast magic simultaneously.

‘Don’t tell me, the magician?’

Did they perceive Chloe’s movements, which were barely visible to me?

He was flustered, but he couldn't just stand still.

Boom.

Ignoring the echoing noise, he ran into the passage.

In the distance, he saw a black mist that had swallowed Chloe’s arrow.

“We’re discovered……!”

The moment he was about to shout, Chloe was moving through the darkness, out of reach of the torchlight, by kicking off the walls.

A feat of acrobatics, almost as if she were running on the walls and ceiling.

And in the midst of it, she even aimed her bow at the magicians again while upside down.

‘Monster…….’

The movements of the 4-Star knight, which he couldn't even dream of imitating yet, naturally made him clench his teeth.

‘Who am I to worry about others…….’

Instead of shouting any further, Muno kicked off the ground with that strength.

Pabak.

And.

- Aaaah!

Hearing the scream that erupted from the left direction beyond the black mist, he jumped into the mist.

‘I can’t see. But I can see.’

It sounded like nonsense, but that was exactly Muno’s situation as he jumped into the mist.

The mist, which disturbed all senses, including sight, and even contained a faint poison, was also made of demonic energy.

Through the power of the Demon Devourer, he could grasp the situation inside as accurately as if he were touching and feeling it directly.

In the meantime, the 4th Circle magician seemed to have deflected the arrow Chloe had shot with a protective shield.

But the 3rd Circle magician on the left did not.

‘One dead.’

He could see a magician of the same class in the room where the dead one was, deploying some kind of magic.

But by all accounts, the one to deal with first was the one in front.

Because in this brief moment, he could vividly feel a firebolt shooting out from the man’s hand.

Charrreuk.

Four chains shot out from his charging limbs, whipping through the darkness.

Pabak.

Two of the chains from his legs planted themselves in the ground and pushed his body up.

Paaaaang.

The moment he felt the full force of the massive explosion of flames that passed by the spot where he had been and struck the passage directly.

Kwwaaaaaaang!

As an explosion erupted in the distance, the two chains that had extended from his arms wrapped around the man’s neck and arms.

More accurately, the protective shield that enveloped his body.

“No!?”

It was a mistake to create a mist that obscured vision, magician.

The moment the chains instantly weakened the protective shield.

Puuuuk.

Muno’s ‘Blade’ pierced the magician’s body.

“Kkeuk!?”

Simultaneously, the demonic energy that had lost its control began to be sucked into his body through the chains.

Vrrrrrr.

“Kuh…….”

A thrilling sensation, on a different level from when he had devoured the 3rd Circle magician, flowed through his entire body.

A feeling that was similar in total amount of demonic energy absorbed when he had caught that Collid, but much purer.

‘As expected…….’

He thought he now knew for certain why magicians had a more thrilling ‘taste’ than monsters of the same class or higher-class Magic Knights.

The Demon Devourer was running wild with joy in his head, and he was filled with the desire to savor that feeling right away.

‘I shouldn’t do that.’

He had already made a fatal mistake, and if he did it again, he wouldn’t be human.

Muno ground his teeth and bit his lip to clear his head.

And while absorbing the demonic energy that made up the black mist to clear Chloe’s vision.

Crackle.

Krrrrrr.

He absorbed and pulverized the entire lightning magic of a ‘mere’ 3rd Circle that struck the plaza in time.

‘Right, this is the taste.’

It wasn't an appreciation for the magic, which wouldn't be converted into the power of life anyway.

The pleasure of easily crushing magicians who were considered one or two ranks above him and neutralizing their magic.

It felt as if the unpleasant memories of Trian, where he had been pushed around and barely survived with the help of others, were being completely washed away.

“Not bad!”

Pabak.

The moment the black mist cleared, Chloe, who had run in from a distance, shot her bow as it was.

The 3rd Circle magician, who was coughing up blood in front of his colleague’s corpse after his magic was pulverized, died with his heart and neck pierced.

He felt a slight sense of waste, but he was in a state of ‘overeating’ right now…….

‘Ah, am I getting excited now too?’

That won’t do.

As he struggled to manage the not-yet-fully-digested demonic energy of the 4th Circle magician and swung his sword towards the door in front of him where the biggest prey was.

‘Huh?’

He felt something strange from the moment he swung.

And.

Kwwaaaaang!

The sight of the empty room, visible through the broken door, confirmed his uneasy premonition.

“Don’t tell me she ran away……!?”

As the excitement from the battle and the absorption of demonic energy cooled down, irritation surged in its place.

Craaaack.

At that moment, a cold energy shot up from under his feet.

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