STM 85

Solongo received the news while she was still staying at the lodging. Two people had disappeared, and she planned to stay one more day to avoid drawing suspicion from the watcher. She planned not to go outside if possible and not to give anyone a reason to nitpick. But now she didn’t need to pay attention to Zav’s mood.

“Lady Solongo, it was delivered through the merchant group’s portal.”

The branch manager brought the letter in person because the lodging Solongo stayed in was located right next to the merchant group’s building. Of course, this lodging also belonged to Adeye, so it was connected to the merchant group and let her avoid the watcher’s eyes. But right now something else bothered her more than that surveillance.

‘Damn it. Why are we even staying one more day here?’

From earlier, Enya was shouting and complaining from the next room. If she continued making noise like that, Solongo would need to put her to sleep entirely. Solongo unfolded the letter while thinking of a plan that would make Enya lose her mind if she heard it. And her eyes widened after she read the contents.

What was this all of a sudden?

The moment she put the letter down, she immediately changed her plans. She changed them in a way that would wipe out all of Enya’s complaints.

“We need to go to Borhumi Sacred City right now. Where is the nearest portal that leads straight there?”

The branch manager looked startled and mentioned a large city nearby.

“You will arrive in half a day and you will be able to use the portal right away. But Borhumi will not allow portal use from their side.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Solongo stood up and gripped the letter tightly.

“You will find out soon, but right now Grand Duke Borhumi can’t care even if we attack Borhumi Castle.”

If the contents of the letter were true, then Zav had lost the power of the divine beast. A contractor losing the power of the divine beast was something that had never happened since the divine beast descended upon this land.

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The sound of the monster never became familiar no matter how long I listened to it. The bigger problem was that even when I heard it, it was hard to figure out the monster’s direction. A monster’s voice didn’t travel through the ears but rang inside the head.

But I could tell the distance. And right now the sound pointed to somewhere close. However, even though I hurried and looked around, I didn’t see the monster.

Something else caught my eye instead.

Huh? The fog disappeared? That meant the black magic that hid the lake dissipated.

Since there were no places where the ground was dug up or collapsed, it seemed like Dorgo lifted the magic on his own. But I didn’t have time to question the reason. Because right in front of my eyes, Tairok and Dorgo were facing each other.

Tairok bled all over his body and looked like he could faint any moment. His condition was the worst because he forced himself to pull up strength he couldn’t normally use. That was why I couldn’t help but gasp when I saw him.

How did he even fight Dolgo?

He couldn’t use aura, so all he could do was swing a sword. I wanted to praise his determination to attack the enemy. And that admiration grew even bigger when I checked Dorgo’s condition. One of his arms was cut off.

Wow, he landed a hit with that body?

But the enemy wasn’t weak. Dolgo raised his remaining arm with an expressionless face. A magic circle rose at his fingertips.

“Grand Duke!!!!!”

Haas shouted and ran forward. Haas also stretched out his hand like he was reciting some kind of chant. A moment later, the sound of force slamming against force exploded and a strong wind blew.

Whooong

Fragments flew at the same time, and I reflexively ducked to avoid them. I didn’t even have time to come to my senses before dirt and stones rained down on my body.

Tudududut.

When the debris that fell like rain finally stopped, I could check the situation.

Nothing had changed much in Tairok and Dorgo’s fight. They still faced each other, but the one who suddenly got involved in the fight was different. Haas had fainted near Tairok. Maybe the shield he threw up in a hurry wasn’t complete, or maybe he got hurt because he protected only Tairok. I didn’t know the reason. He didn’t move, but he seemed to be breathing.

But the relief didn’t last. Tairok dragged his sword across the ground and took a step toward Dorgo. He looked like a walking corpse. I panicked and ran to grab his hand.

“Please calm down. If you keep fighting, you might die first.”

But he didn’t hear me at all and continued looking ahead as he walked. I held his hand tighter and whispered.

“Do you want to use the power of the Borhumi divine beast?”

He shook my hand off without even one second of hesitation.

“I don’t need it.”

Then he ran toward Dorgo again.

Wow, that stubbornness. He couldn’t even properly hold his sword, so how did he think he was going to win?

But I didn’t have time to feel frustrated behind him. Dorgo staggered from the impact of the earlier attack but started to recover.

I hurriedly looked for something to use instead of a stone and pulled out a black magic stone from my pocket, then threw it into the air.

Tak.

The black magic stone, hit by the club, flew toward Dolgo’s head. But Dolgo didn’t get hit by the same attack twice.

He waved the hand he aimed at Tairok.

Thunk.

The black magic stone stopped in midair like it hit a magical barrier.

Fuck, did it fail?

It felt like all my attacks were getting blocked. But a black magic stone wasn’t the same as an ordinary rock. Instead of falling to the ground, it exploded right there.

Boom!

A loud sound burst out like fireworks and a strong flash spread.

What was that all of a sudden?

I was shocked stepped back when I saw Dorgo’s condition. Blood dripped from the fingertips of the hand he had lifted into the air.

Several joints of his fingers were cut off.

He must not have expected to take this kind of hit. He stared at his own fingers like he couldn’t believe it, then turned his eyes toward me. His glare made me grin without thinking.

So I guess I can get rid of him with black magic stones.

I was proud like my attack power just upgraded, and I pulled out another black magic stone.

Dorgo stepped far back to avoid Tairok who came right up to him, but he looked at me while he moved. It seemed like I bothered him now.

Then I just had to meet that expectation.

I took out another black magic stone and threw it at Dolgo. Hitting something that moved was hard, but I had Mo.

[Considering the target’s movement and strength, I will show the predicted trajectory of the black magic stone.]

Mo drew a line showing where the stone would travel based on my movement and strength.

Whooong

The black magic stone flew again and dropped right above Dorgo’s head. He looked startled and waved his hand again. But the black magic stone wasn’t his only enemy.

Tairok reached him and brought his sword down.

Boom!

Slash!

The sound of the stone exploding was followed by an even louder blast.

What happened?

My feet froze when I moved forward and saw the scene ahead. Dorgo had fallen to the ground. A blade had pierced through his shoulder.

We finally caught Dorgo. I was relieved at first but then became confused.

Huh? Why isn’t he finishing him?

Tairok could split him in half, but he stood still and looked down at Dorgo from above.

And the loser of this fight, Dorgo, still looked expressionless like a doll. It was strange enough to make me wonder if he had taken no damage at all.

Only Tairok struggled as he panted. Drops of blood fell from him and dripped on Dorgo.

“Kun is under a curse. You did that?”

A cold voice reached my ears. I couldn’t see Tairok’s face, but the anger in his voice was so intense that it made me freeze.

But Dorgo bared his teeth and laughed at Tairok. It was the first time he showed an expression, and it felt unpleasant like watching a robot laugh. An unexpected answer came from him.

“Yes, we did it.”

We? But Tairok had no time to ask who that meant. Dorgo muttered something under his breath, and his body instantly turned red and swelled. Wait, he looked like he was going to explode.

“Move!”

I shouted, and Tairok stepped back, but Dorgo’s body exploded first. It was a large blast, and it sent me rolling across the ground several times. Damn bastard.

“Ugh, shit.”

I got up while swearing without meaning to. But unlike me, who barely managed to stand, Tairok lay on the ground and didn’t move at all. Oh… he was dead.

“That’s impossible!!! How can my hope die?!!”