Chapter 8 The Fear of the White (T/n:the actual title was a bit different but this sounded cooler and the actual translation sounded weird and stupid in English, though this one doesn’t make much sense either lol)
“Shit! Where is the exit…?”
Although I kind of knew it, but this facility is really excessively big. On top it, everything looks the same. There is no way I could not get lost.
Earlier, I kicked apart a white-coloured light armour wearing group but now I am regretting not letting one of them live and getting the info about the exit. Well, it couldn’t be helped. They came out of nowhere at me while brandishing their swords after all!
Counter attacking instantly and killing them all is kind of a habit from those maneuvering experiments.
Incidentally, I also took 2 of those double-edged swords from them as well. I don’t really have any experience in using swords but my use for them is a bit different. The next time I find someone I’ll use the sword to threaten them into telling me the location of the exit.
As I ran through the passage while thinking this, I arrived at a spacious room.
“Stairs!”
Stairs lay on the opposite side of the room leading to the upper floor.
Finally finding a thread of hope in getting out of this place, I ran towards the stairs but stopped as I sensed something coming down those stairs. Under the various experiments, along with the 5 senses, even my 6th sense had been strengthened so this wasn’t just my imagination.
As I took a fighting stance, the sound of footsteps resounded.
Soon, the owner of the footsteps came to into view from beyond the dark stairs.
“A girl?”
My expectation of it being masked men or armoured ones was instantly betrayed.
The one who appeared was a completely white girl except for her burning red eyes. She had a young yet beautiful face. And the overly white skin made me think for a moment that she might be another light golem, but the girl in front of me clearly possessed a life force.
Not a doll, but a real albino.
“Stop!”
Although she doesn’t match this place, the white clothes and the cross emblem clearly means that she is related to those masked men.
Without letting down my guard, I first tried to speak words to stop her.
“……”
The girl stopped moving.
“Who are you?”
Maybe because I didn’t expect it to suddenly turn into a battle, as I hesitated over what I should say, I ended up asking about her identity.
Although as I was sure that she wasn’t an ally I didn’t really expect her to answer but.
“7th Apostle, Sariel.”
Strangely, she properly answered.
Although I had no idea what kind of meaning the title of an Apostle meant, I came to know that her name was Sariel.
“My name is Kurono Maou, I want to leave this place so can you tell me where the exit is?”
“I cannot.”
“Is that so—-“
Well, I didn’t really expect her to tell me. Although I was a bit curious as to who this girl was, but I didn’t really have the time to care or inquire about it.
If I was against a masked man I would have kicked till he told me but I can’t really do that to a girl against whom I don’t have any grudges. Although I may have lost my humanity, I still haven’t gone that mad.
Therefore, I decide to ignore her and move forward.
Instantly focusing magic in my legs and strengthening them, I take a rocket start towards the stairs.
An ordinary man or a weak monster would barely be able to keep up with such speed. For that it might have been like I instantly disappeared—–
“ugaah!?!”
The moment I suddenly accelerated, a shock ran through my left leg.
Losing control over my left leg momentarily, I fell to the hard floor at high speed.
“Wh..at……”
I found that on my left thigh, a white stake was sticking in very deep.
“You will stop here.”
As I heard Sariel’s muttering voice, a chill ran down my spine.
“Are you kidding me……….”
From that girl, I felt an intense magical power, at a level incomparable to any monster, surge from within her. The silver aura enveloping her body, even in a gas-like state, had more density than my pile bunker.
Even if I didn’t have any 6th sense I would have realized that she was an unbelievable monster.
“Buckshot!!”
Pulling out the white stake, I fired a buckshot towards her.
The scattering black bullets rush towards the defenceless girl.
Without even a slight reaction, Sariel took on the hail of bullets with her body directly without any problems.
“Shit, without even a shield?!”
The bullets disappeared the moment they touched the white aura.
Her aura is far stronger than the shield used by me or any other experiments. For her it was nothing more than releasing magical energy and was not even actual magic.
Even I have magical energy that is released like that as a part of regeneration, but it holds nowhere near the ability to block a bullet made of black magical energy.
If she can black without doing anything, buckshot cannot be used as a method of restraining the opponent either. It would be a waste of magical energy.
Still, the white magical energy that is the source of the aura is completely different from the one I know.
If using black magical energy results in black magic, then is that white magic?
Frankly, I really don’t want to fight something that dangerous but my body has already started moving towards the direction of fighting.
“Blackening.”
In my both hands I have the 2 swords I took earlier. The simple longswords were wrapped by my black magical energy and turned completely black from the grip to the tip of the sword. I simply named this condition as [blackening].
The weapons that undergo blackening don’t just get stronger but also become able to be used without even moving my hands.
“Automatic Fencing(sword fighting lit.).”
The two blackened swords leave my hand and start floating in the air. The tip of the swords automatically turns towards my opponent.
Fighting while controlling from afar, that is Automatic Fencing.
When using existing weapons as the base for this, the strength is higher than bullets made purely of magical energy. If it’s this, it should be able to surpass that aura.
“Pierce through!!”
With my voice, the swords fly like arrows.
Sariel stood there as usual but in front of her white magic started concentrating. And what appeared was a white shield in the shape of an inverted triangle.
“ Rifle!”
I fired the pseudo full metal jacket bullet, and at the same time the swords struck Sariel’s shield.
Both of the swords were easily deflected without even scratching the shield. But without minding it, I kept firing the Rifle. The strength was lower than Anti-material but instead rapid-fire was possible.
But, it’s a shield that didn’t take a scratch from the blackened swords, it wouldn’t have any effect no matter how many bullets I fire.
Even when the point of impact was exactly the same, no effect could be seen. Zero plus zero will always be zero after all.
But, I didn’t mind that.
The Rifle was just a diversion to keep her focus her. The main intention lied in the two previously deflected swords.
Sariel put up a shield to counter those swords meant that it would have dangerous for her without it. Buckshot could be stopped with just the aura but the swords could not be.
I start controlling the swords that had fallen behind her again.
Aim is obviously the currently undefended Sariel’s back.
The attack power is enough to cause instant death but she is also a magician, she might be able to get out alive. Apologising inside my thoughts, I make the swords fly at her at maximum speed.
Sariel doesn’t turn back—–a certain hit.
“—-Wha?”
The moment the swords were about to pierce through that small back of hers, Sariel didn’t move at all.
But, right now Sariel somehow held the two swords between the fingers of her right hand.
With just her bare hands?
Just how?
“……….”
Stuck between Sariel’s thin fingers, the black swords instantly turned white and disappeared like ash.
“u,a……”
Can’t win.
Instinct, intuition, reasoning, logic, all of them are giving the same conclusion- I cannot win.
I made the wrong choice. I should have never challenged her to a fight.
I should turned and run away at full speed the moment I felt that insane magical energy.
In actuality, there was no need for her to use a shield. No matter how much magic I used, she could have easily overwhelmed it with just her body.
The moment I had entered her line of sight, I could have been killed anytime. I was just left alive because of a simple whim of hers.
In my mind, I had a vision of disappearing like ash similar to the blackened swords.
“……..”
Sariel deactivated her shield.
—–Run, my instincts called.
—–Run, I can still make it, my reasoning tried to encourage me.
Don’t give up just yet! There should be a way to get out of here alive. First of all, I should run. I have to get away from that insane monster no matter how otherwise I don’t have a free tomorrow.
“Black smoke—-guah!?”
I tried to use a concealment technique derived from the black flames used by the experiment I fought before.
By spraying out the black magic I could activate the magic without any gaps, but finding that small gap, my right shoulder and abdomen were pierced by white stakes.
Still, the magic itself was activated, and the surroundings were instantly covered in black smoke. Inside the black smoke I run back towards the way I came from. It’s regretful, but the stairs are too far away.
The first wound I took on my leg was covered with jelly like magical energy. For the time being the bleeding can be stopped, and by body is weak enough to be bothered by pain of this level.
Once again strengthening my legs, I decide to run as far away from her as possible.
The stakes stuck in my shoulder and abdomen comes later.
“Anti-material.”
Without turning around I consecutively fired three high calibre bullets towards her. I am well aware that it won’t work but at least it could help gain me some time. The moment the third bullet was fired, 5 stakes instantly pierced my back. I had actually deployed a shield just in case but the stakes completely passed through it.
“Guhoooo!?”
I almost fell over but was somehow able to manage to continue running through the passage.
The ones that struck my back were thinner than the previous ones so I was able to handle the shock. And, without looking back, crazily running, I rolled inside a random room.
“haa…..haa…”
For the time being I think I was able to run away from her. The sound of footsteps or the feeling of her presence is not coming.
I don’t think I was able to completely run away from her, so in this time I should treat my wounds as much as possible.
“Guu,ugh, it hurts……”
Can’t say I have gotten used to pain, only my ability to handle it has increased. What’s painful will always be painful.
I pulled out the stakes in my shoulder and abdomen and although it was difficult to reach I was somehow able to pull out the stakes in my back as well.
“I’ll be fine as long as my internal organs have not been damaged as well…”
The jelly like magic covering the wounds, if given enough time, will assimilate with the flesh and heal. I wondered whether I needed to disinfect it, but since it makes a complete recovery, it’s fine I guess? Thanks to this magic, I was able to treat most of my wounds by myself.
But internal organs with complex functions were unable to be perfectly healed.
Once, when my stomach was completely torn apart by a dinosaur like thing, I was unable to perfectly regenerate my intestines and in the end had to depend on the masked men‘s magic for complete recovery.
Just how much can be accomplished through magic is still a doubt but I don’t have the methods necessary to find out. For now I should think about what I should do from here.
That super dangerous magician girl called Sariel wouldn’t let me get away that easily after all.
Sariel’s five senses should be much better than mine so she could find me simply through scent. In the worst case she might just ‘somehow’ figure it out through her sixth sense.
So, I can’t really hide here for too long. The risk is too high.
*—-kotsun*
I heard the slight sound of footsteps.
Similar to the time she first came, she is walking calmly and slowly.
Still, the fact that there is no carelessness in her was clearly seen in the previous fight.
Gradually the sound of footsteps is increasing; she is definitely coming straight towards this room.
“Sh, shit! What should I do……?”
This is not at a level like those previous monsters where I could win if I tried hard.
In front of an absolute gap in ability, it’s hard to say that I am able to keep composure.
But I still realized that there was another door in this room different from the one I came in from.
Can’t say that I had any plan, I just felt that rather than going outside, it might be better to go further inside.
Although it will be checkmate there and then if it was a simple room beyond that door,.
“—–this is!!”
The moment I opened the door, I felt that I was too lucky today.
What lied beyond the door was not another white room, but a long spiral staircase leading downwards.
On looking, it was pitch black there. I didn’t know where it would connect to but if I am able to take even a little distance from Sariel, it felt extremely attractive. Without any hesitation, I ran down at full speed.
Sariel was walking through the passage at her usual speed.
She was not walking like this just to induce fear in the weak magician known as No.49—-no, Kurono Maou, a foreigner who had a name similar to the Devil King. (T/N: In case you didn’t know Maou is the pronunciation for Devil King in Japanese.)
To sense and perfectly track a user of black magic, this was the suitable speed. That is why she did not run. And also because she was clearly showing sympathy towards Kurono.
If she was serious she could have put all those 8 stakes inside of his head instead. Of course, even before Kurono could start attacking.
But she let the opponent, who she could kill in an instant, run away from her.
From here if she were to end up cornering him and he surrendered, she was ready to take that surrender. Although her true feelings were that it would be good if he could run away from her.
“……..”
Still, Sariel thought. Kurono’s black magic was not at the level as she had assumed.
Under the effect of many experiments, his body had surpassed the level of ordinary man even without strengthening, but he did not possess the basic fundamental skill or basis required for magic.
At the current stage of the project, the main objective was to create a body holding high aptitude for magic. And the practical and technical knowledge of combat and magic was to be taught from here on. So it was only natural that it was so.
The amount of magical energy is high but circulation, compression, emission and other magical energy control techniques are all rough. The releasing of compressed magic one shot at a time with a single action in itself wasted a lot of magical energy.
The weapon enchantment was extremely irregular, but the precision of remote control and concealment of presence was good. To be able to perceive things outside the view was also done easily. But, to be able to give off attack power equal to an ordinary magician without the minimum required fundamental skill was due to the benefits of body modifications after all.
But, what actually surprised Sariel was not the strength attained due to the experiments but the scheme behind the fired magic.
[Buckshot], [Rifle], [Anti-material] magic fired by chanting it, all had substance in the shape of clear, streamlined cones, and were rotating at high speed as it approached.
Magic is made through images so all magicians, when performing single action, take the shape of orbs, arrows, sword, throwing spear. In Sariel’s case it is Stakes.
But in terms of piercing power, Sariel had never seen anything like that rotating cone ever before.
Once properly understood, it can be done by anyone, but where did the idea behind such structure came from?
If her opinion, it might be because he was a natural genius.
But he was a ‘foreigner’ brought from a different world where magic does not exist. The Church treats those unable to use magic on the same level as monsters.
But don’t ‘foreigners’ also have knowledge as per their own foreign world? No, they definitely possess it.
And, if that cone was created by that foreigner, then Kurono had applied it into his magic aware of the fact that it possessed high piercing power.
Sariel thought that her theory was probably correct. And if it is correct, then they should possess knowledge not known to us as well.
She was a bit curious about it, and if he were to be caught again, he would not be allowed to live, in the worst case she would have to kill him here. She felt it was a bit regrettable.
“………”
Sariel suddenly stopped moving.
She had no doubt that the door in front of her was passed by Kurono. For a second, Sariel hesitates over whether she should enter or not.
But, now that she was here, she felt would have to make sure and defencelessly opened the door.
There was no ambush or signs of a trap.
Well he didn’t really have time to set something like this up so it’s only obvious. She thought as she moved towards the different exit inside the room.
Opening the door, what entered her view was a dim spiral staircase leading downwards.
Without descending through the stairs, Sariel threw her body in the space in the centre of the stairs and fell straight towards the unseen hell below.
*dozunn!!*
Without strengthening her body with magic she landed just like that.
She stood up as she felt almost no shock on landing, but the tiles near her foot had been smashed to pieces.
“…….Ran away.”
She verified in a single look that he was not here. That is because, at the end of the staircase lay a small well directly connected to an underground water channel. And the remains of black magic could be seen continuing inside that well.
This place is meant for the clergy to cleanse themselves and the only place leading out of the laboratory aside from the main entrance.
It must have been a coincidence that he entered the room leading here but thanks to it he was able to get away from here.
“……that’s good.”
Moving towards the well, Sariel quietly said.
From the perspective of a girl who was indifferent towards humans and completely expressionless, it was remark that can be considered extremely rare.
As to why she showed such sympathy towards Kurono, that was because his circumstances were extremely similar to hers in the past.