[V12C32] Power Over Death

Glenn’s doubly-reinforced fireball erupted with a deafening explosion, gouging the ground and sending steam billowing into the air.

Cyril could tell that Monica was startled by the noise. She had flinched and let out a “Wah!” from behind him.

“U-Um… I-Is G-Glenn-san going to be o-okay…?” Monica asked.

To be honest, Cyril was not entirely confident either.

Glenn’s magic had exceeded Cyril’s expectations, resulting in a much larger explosion than an advanced mage performing the same spell.

Cyril did not know if Glenn accomplished his mission successfully, or ended up catching himself in the blast. Even so, Cyril stared straight ahead and gave a strong reassurance.

“He’ll be fine. I believe in my juniors.”

“R-R-Right…!”

Monica was still stammering, but her response possessed a decent amount of strength as well.

Cyril turned toward Monica and put on a slight smile.

“Good answer.”

After losing her memory and becoming scared of people, Monica had slowly regained her ability to speak. This was thanks to the dedicated efforts of Lana and Karina, but Cyril believed Glenn played a significant role as well.

Monica had been particularly afraid of large and noisy men——a description which matched Glenn to the letter.

That’s why she was constantly anxious around Glenn after leaving her room. However, Glenn’s innate friendliness gradually helped her overcome this fear.

In the end, she even allowed Glenn to carry her with flight magic.

(I am blessed with talented juniors.)

…However, Cyril started getting more concerned the longer Glenn remained out of sight.

Had the explosion left him with severe burns? Perhaps it would be better for Cyril to head in, rescue him, and cool him down with ice magic?

The area surrounding Theodore was in a terrible state, covered with steam, dust, and black mist, making it impossible for Cyril to make out anything.

As Cyril waited anxiously, he noticed a small figure emerging from the mist and running towards them. It was the white weasel, Thule.

At the same time, Pikeh, who had been holding the water dragons at the shore, returned as well.

Thule hopped onto Cyril’s shoulder and whispered into his ear.

“I’m back, Cyril.”

“Sorry for pushing you so hard. Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry, everything is fine. Look, Glenn is coming too.”

Thule gestured forward with his short front leg.

Soon enough, Glenn burst out of the cloud of steam and dust, approaching Cyril at a low altitude flight.

He had a triumphant look on his face, and there was a wrapped bundle in his right hand.

“Vice President, I got it!”

This bundle was the Fairy Handkerchief made by Karina.

Karina had created two magical tools. One was the Fairy Handkerchief, which possessed the ability to seal an object for as long as it was supplied with mana. The other was the Makeshift Gembox, which was an imitation of Gluttonous Zoe.

After casting the doubly-reinforced fireball, Glenn had wrapped the Fairy Handkerchief around the real Gluttonous Zoe, then dropped the Makeshift Gembox at Theodore’s feet.

Of course, the Makeshift Gembox was not just a childish prank. It contained a nasty trap where opening the lid triggers a powerful lightning spell. By now, Theodore was probably paralyzed and unable to move.

“Well done, Glenn Dudley!”

From underneath the handkerchief, Gluttonous Zoe was mumbling, “HUNGRY, HUNGRY,” in a muffled tone.

“Gluttonous Zoe, you will return what you have stolen…” Cyril said. “Starting with Monica’s memories.”

——”NO, NO, NO, NO!”

The childish voice threw a tantrum.

Cyril raised an eyebrow and glared at the bundle in Glenn’s hands.

“Your actions are no different from theft! That is a crime!”

——”NO, NO, NO, NO!”

But before Cyril could continue his lecture, Pikeh reached out and lifted a part of the handkerchief. This exposed the green gem embedded on the keyhole portion, which she promptly stabbed with an ice dagger.

All of this was done within the span of a few seconds, giving Cyril no time to react.

“Stab.”

——”AAAAAGHH!! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS!”

Gluttonous Zoe let out a high-pitched scream.

Meanwhile, Pikeh preempted Cyril’s scolding by saying, “Your lectures are too long,” in a her usual monotone.

“Mrgh…”

Cyril could only purse his lips and fall silent.

Meanwhile, Glenn looked at the bundle in his hands and let out a gasp. The artifact seemed to be quivering slightly.

He tried opening the lid of the box, making sure that it was still firmly wrapped in the handkerchief. Something spilled out through the tiny gap. It looked like a small black sphere about the size of a thumbnail, resembling a piece of candy.

This sphere hit the ground with the sound of cracking glass, melting into a black mist and dissipating into the air.

At the same time, Monica slumped over. Cyril hastily caught her before she hit the ground.

“Monica!?”

“Monica, are you okay!?”

Cyril and Glenn called out to her, but Monica gave no response. She was groaning with her eyes firmly shut, as if suppressing a headache.

Did this mean that her memories were returning? Had they accomplished their goal?

There was no precedent to refer to, so Cyril could not be sure either way.

As Cyril trembled in impatience, Sophocles spoke to reassure him.

“Perhaps it requires time for the restored memories to settle. Let us observe the situation for a while.”

In that case, maybe it was better to move Monica to a safer location? As Cyril began considering the option, Glenn let out a mutter.

“Vice President… I think I just realized something pretty bad…”

“Go on.”

“We’ve managed to seal Gluttonous Zoe… So why there is so much mist still?”

The black mist covering the harbor originated from Gluttonous Zoe. In which case, two possible answers came to mind.

Either the Fairy Handkerchief was not strong enough to seal Gluttonous Zoe completely, or the black mist had already become independent from artifact.

While still holding Monica, Cyril knelt on the ground and glared at the wrapped Gluttonous Zoe in Glenn’s hands.

“Sophocles, do it!”

“Very well.”

The ring on Cyril’s right middle finger began radiating a golden light. Cyril raised his right hand and drew a glowing magical formula in the air.

These magical symbols transformed into a band of light that wrapped itself around Gluttonous Zoe.

“In the name of the Key of Knowledge Sophocles, you shall be sealed away!”

Right as Sophocles said those words, Glenn quickly pulled out the Fairy Handkerchief to prevent it from interfering with the seal.

The golden band of light covered Gluttonous Zoe completely. In other words, the seal seemed to be perfect.

And yet, the black mist still refused to disappear.

(This means Miss Barr’s Fairy Handkerchief was functioning properly. In which case, the mist lingers because of…)

Before Cyril could finish that thought, the black mist covering the ground began moving in the opposite direction of the wind.

It was gathering where Theodore had been, as if it had a will of its own.

＊　＊　＊

Isaac and Silas had slit Theodore’s throat and pierced his heart, but they remained vigilant. Both held their respective weapons at the ready.

(Nero said that he could be inflicted with a fatal wound in cat form… But he has no means of confirming that.)

Isaac’s worries were very reasonable, since humans and dragons possessed very different vital points. There was also the possibility of Theodore returning to dragon form just before death.

As a precaution, Isaac knelt beside the face-down Theodore and checked for a pulse. There was none, so he was undeniably dead.

Apparently, a greater dragon dying in human form did not transform back after death. That would explain why the carcasses of greater dragons were so rare.

(…But why does this black mist remain after the death of the contractor? Is Gluttonous Zoe responsible? Can the artifact continue operating with its contractor dead?)

Cyril should be able to seal Gluttonous Zoe with Sophocles. That seemed to be their first priority.

Isaac stood up in the cloud of steam and dust, then turned toward Cyril’s direction. But suddenly, Silas grabbed Isaac by the scruff of his neck and shouted, “Get back!”

Silas pushed Isaac away from Theodore and swung his lightning spear. However, his weapon was quickly entangled by a black shadow.

The shadow had appeared from the fallen Theodore’s neck, as if spilling out in place of his blood, and wrapped itself around Silas’s staff like a snake.

Eventually, it reached Silas’s right arm and began crawling up his body.

“Silas-niisan!?”

“Ugh… Dammit!”

The shadow was already at his shoulder. It was only a matter of time before it consumed the rest of his body.

Silas dropped his staff and performed a rapid incantation. He pressed down on the shadow with his left hand, unleashing a lightning spell that hit both the encroaching shadow and himself.

“Gah…! You bastard…! How are you still alive…?!”

Silas grunted in pain as the fallen Theodore stood back up.

Black shadows clung like scabs to the supposedly fatal wounds on his neck and chest.

Theodore lowered his eyebrows and put on a weak smile, just as he did during his conversation with Isaac… Except this time, his face was stained red with fresh blood.

There was no hatred or anger visible on his face. Theodore answered in a casual tone, as if discussing a trivial topic.

“Dark magic is the power over death itself. That’s why it can induce a state of pseudo-death and temporarily stall one’s death… Gluttonous Zoe taught me that.”

According to the information Isaac received from Melissa, Theodore had been seen implanting one of Gluttonous Zoe’s shadows onto his own body.

This was probably the same thing, but on a much larger scale. Over half of his body was covered in shadows.

“Cyril! Seal Gluttonous Zoe!” Isaac shouted at the distant Cyril.

“I already did! This is not the artifact’s power…!” Cyril replied in a panicked scream.

Isaac swiftly considered their situation.

The seal over Gluttonous Zoe was already complete. And yet, Theodore retained a massive amount of shadows on his own body, and possessed the ability to manipulate them.

(He has taken Gluttonous Zoe’s power for himself…!)

If Theodore had been human, his body would have long since eroded to the point of collapse. However, the high magic resistance of a black dragon made it possible.

What stood before them was a monster wearing the skin of a human. Theodore now held the vast power of both a black dragon and an ancient artifact. He was no longer an entity that could be defeated by ordinary means.

Isaac could only stare as the whites of Theodore’s eyes were slowly stained black.

But in the center of those blackened eyes, the golden color indicating his draconic nature still shined bright.

Despite the blood dripping from his mouth, Theodore put on a smile of relief.

“Good thing I made it in time. That was pretty nerve-wracking, wondering when you’d notice…”

“What?”

Only then did Isaac notice how the black mist was moving against the sea breeze. It’s as if something was drawing it towards the center of the harbor.

Isaac glanced into the depths of swirling mist to find a purple glow. There was something glowing on the ground.

He recognized that shape, as he had witnessed a similar one in the sky before.

“The summoning gate…!”

It was a shining gate built from particles of purple light, comparable in size to the gate of a castle.

The gate for summoning the Spirit King was generally deployed in midair, so Isaac never imagined that it would be on the ground like this.

(So the mist had been hiding the gate the entire time?!)

“Oh right. Zoe taught me what I’m supposed to say next.”

The black dragon who absorbed Gluttonous Zoe’s power began singing an incantation.

“In the name of the Black Dragon, Theodore… Open the gate.”

The shining gate on the ground swung open its doors.

A dense cloud of darkness flooded out, polluting not just the land, but also the surrounding air. This was on a completely different scale compared to the black mist from earlier.

Nausea and an intense headache assaulted Isaac, distorting his vision. The world was being repainted in black.

From the other side of the dense haze blocking out the sunlight, Theodore uttered the final verse.

“Reach out from the depths of slumber and bring forth the eternal night… Spirit King of Darkness, Eldiora!”

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