49

Hamel staggered and got to his feet.

His mind was blank white.

Still, he stepped out of the Magic Tower.

Because there was still work left unfinished.

─tuk tududuk

The scales on his body fell away.

Perhaps the effect of the dragon’s blood had faded; the blue radiance that had scattered from his eyes had already returned to normal.

His steps were heavy.

No, he felt like he could collapse at any moment.

‘What was I doing again.’

Hamel stepped forward, dazed.

A metallic smell of blood brushed his nostrils.

No matter how far he walked, the smell did not fade.

There was red blood on his sleeve.

Looked closely, and not only his sleeve but his whole body was drenched in blood.

Whose blood was it?

His own?

Or the students whose throats he had cut?

Maybe it was Ono, who had fallen bleeding.

“Ugh.”

Sudden nausea surged.

Stomach acid rose to his throat, burning.

His head spun.

A comrade had died again.

Still, there was one reason Hamel kept moving.

So that this would not happen again.

“….”

Hamel’s body came to a sudden stop.

He saw the enemy fleeing in the distance.

The Arachne, its spider-like legs scurrying, was steadily getting away.

Looking closely, it was a little different from a true Arachne.

It was smaller, and the exoskeleton covering its body looked somewhat clumsy.

If it were closer, he could probably cut it down without much difficulty.

But it had already fled too far.

About two hundred meters away, perhaps.

Given his current condition, chasing it was impossible.

It was clear the distance would only increase if he tried to pursue.

Then there was only one way.

Hamel gripped his sword tightly.

Then he lifted it behind his shoulder as if to throw.

It was an absurd distance to hit with a thrown sword.

Anyone watching would have shaken their head, calling him mad.

But Hamel’s mind was colder than ever.

‘A demonic energy that suppresses the dragon’s frenzy. That energy is definitely within me.’

He remembered the mark he received when he held Reteil on the back of his hand while fighting the blue-rope smiling fox.

He needed that power.

Hamel calmly examined his inner self.

After the dragon’s energy had raged, Hamel’s interior felt emptier than ever.

It was as if he had poured out all his strength.

But something still remained.

That energy was demonic energy, the familiar force Hamel had chased his whole life.

When Divine power, mana, and dragon energy were mixed as usual, he hadn’t noticed it.

It was precisely now, after exhausting his strength, that he could sense it.

‘Move.’

Hamel slowly drew that energy into his hand.

Thick, concentrated demonic energy flowed along his hand and began to gather into the sword.

The blade gradually darkened with black light.

He felt no question as to why he could manipulate magi.

Everything simply felt natural.

Hamel drew up the energy stored in the talisman to the fullest.

The talisman, which had taken the shape of a sword, grew in size and scattered black light so intense it could have swallowed Hamel.

‘Focus the power into one point.’

Compression.

And compress again.

The sword form, which had swollen huge, began to shrink.

The black light took the form of a long, black spear.

‘This might work.’

An Exorcist priest can absorb a defeated demon’s demonic energy into a talisman and use it.

But could he really wield it so naturally, as if it were his own energy?

‘No, this is not the time for doubts.’

Hamel slowly opened his eyes.

It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality it hadn’t been that long.

Hamel still watched the Arachne’s retreating back.

The distance: 450 meters.

There was no wind.

Hamel took a step.

The leg he planted into the ground stopped like a rock, steady and unmoving.

His hips turned as he twisted his body fiercely toward the hand holding the spear.

Power surged into Hamel’s hand gripping the dark-hued spear.

Strength started at his toes, amplified through his body, and burst from his fingertips.

Hamel poured the explosive force into the spear and launched it.

─Bang!

Air exploded in midair with a thunderous sound.

A black lightning bolt streaked in a straight line toward the ground.

Then.

─Crack

It pierced a huge hole through the target with terrifying ease.

The staggering Arachne collapsed, face-first into the ground, utterly ruined.

It was too far to see clearly, but at least to Hamel’s eyes that was how it looked.

Talisman control ritual: Opening, Technique 2.

He decided to call it Shadow Thunder… that would suffice.

It had been a technique he always imagined but never tried because he lacked magi.

“…Is it over?”

Hamel muttered weakly.

He didn’t even have the strength to lift an eyelid.

Hamel slowly closed his eyes.

“…I.”

A familiar voice was heard.

A voice he cherished, but one he would not hear again.

“…I am.”

It was Ono’s voice.

Hamel squeezed his eyes shut.

He was afraid the voice would vanish if he opened his eyes.

He couldn’t open them.

What did Ono want to say to him?

Even if it was a hallucination, Hamel felt obliged to hear him out.

He concentrated on the voice.

─Smack!

A sharp pain rang across Hamel’s cheek.

Hamel involuntarily snapped his eyes open.

And there was…

“Good grief, wake up then? I saw your eyelids twitching, so don’t pretend to be asleep.”

Ono, with bandages wrapped around his abdomen, sat there scowling.

“…?”

“What are you glaring at?”

“…Am I dead too?”

“You’re talking nonsense after a good sleep.”

Ono’s expression grew even harsher.

Hamel looked down at his own body.

He saw himself wrapped in bandages almost as much as Ono.

‘You wouldn’t be wrapped in bandages in the afterlife…’

Seeing his stinging cheek, it wasn’t a dream.

Hamel tilted his head in puzzlement.

“Someone gets three swords stuck in their belly and still gets up and walks around, and you’re going to lie in bed all day just because of a scratch on your arm?”

Ono grumbled.

Hamel blinked for a moment and called to Ono.

“Mr. Ono.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You were definitely dead, weren’t you?”

Ono rolled his eyes and snapped at him.

“How many times do I have to tell you I have a skill called Dormancy!”

“Ah… Is that the ‘pretend-to-be-dead’ thing you mentioned before?”

“‘Pretend-to-be-dead’? Seems like you want to die, you fool…?”

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re alive.”

“…Anyway? No, you saw me get stabbed and fall before and just walked past? Are you planning to leave your Azure Flame to boil in a pot?”

“You only use it to burn corpses anyway. I didn’t expect you’d be pretending to be dead.”

“I said it’s Dormancy, not pretending to be dead… ugh.”

Ono, who had been shouting, turned pale, grabbed the back of his neck, and collapsed onto the bed.

Fortunately, he was breathing fine.

He had passed out.

Hamel let out a small laugh as he looked at the fallen Ono.

It was clearly a serious wound, yet he had insisted on staying nearby to check on Hamel.

Hamel rose, lifted the collapsed Ono, and laid him on the adjacent bed.

Then he looked around.

“Ah, Hamel. You’re awake.”

At that moment, Daniel walked in through the creaking door.

Seeing them all safe, he finally relaxed completely.

Hamel simply nodded in greeting.

“Where is this?”

“The Magic Tower’s infirmary. Professor Agnes assigned you a good room even amid the chaos.”

“Professor Agnes… so the vice-principal seems to be alright too.”

Hamel sat on the edge of the bed and said.

Daniel nodded vigorously, making the red helm crest wobble.

“I heard it’s all thanks to you. Agnes said she owes you her life.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing, huh… Subduing that professor without killing her is no small feat.”

There was a hint of dejection in Daniel’s voice as he said that.

He was probably blaming himself for not being more useful in this incident.

Hamel shook his head and said.

“I was just lucky. If Sir Daniel had been by my side it would have been much easier.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. And if Sir Daniel hadn’t taken charge of the students, I would have lost him.”

Daniel, who immediately understood Hamel’s meaning, nodded.

“So it’s that spider creature that imitated the tower lord.”

“Yes.”

“I heard a rough account from Professor Agnes. In any case, hearing it from you makes me feel better. Get some rest for now.”

“Thank you.”

Hamel slowly nodded.

Thanks to Ono he woke early, but his body still wasn’t in good shape.

The backlash from using the dragon’s power had been severe.

He was especially exhausted this time; it would likely take a day or two to fully recover.

Daniel took up a position at the door to stand guard.

Hamel thought it unnecessary, but still felt safer and could lie back on the bed.

Being able to recover like this by trusting someone felt wonderful.

If he had lost Ono in this fight…

Hamel would have been distraught for a long time.

Losing comrades was not new and would happen again, but enduring it was always hard.

Especially now, when he had come to value his comrades more than ever.

Hamel smiled bitterly and shifted his body.

Sleep wouldn’t come easily.

This incident had made Hamel stronger.

He had learned to wield demonic energy, completed the talisman Technique 2, and grown somewhat accustomed to handling dragonian’s power.

Yet he had nearly lost a comrade.

No matter how strong he became, such things would repeat.

Hamel was afraid of that.

And there was one more worry.

The spider woman had introduced herself as David’s comrade.

It was the first he’d heard that David had companions.

What exactly was he after in the first place?

He wished they’d captured them alive if possible.

‘I think it was the best under the circumstances back then, but…’

He couldn’t help feeling regret.

If they’d only captured them alive, he was sure he could have extracted a confession.

While thinking of this and that, Hamel breathed slowly.

If he kept on thinking negatively, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t all for nothing.

Hamel had definitely seen a mark on the nape of the fleeing woman’s neck.

It hadn’t come to him then, but now he realized it was the same branded mark he’d seen on the lady of the Rengbaster domain, Irene.

It meant a connection to David, and the group he belonged to.

This was information worth investigating.

Above all, Hamel had earned a great favor from the Magic Tower through this incident.

He hadn’t intended it, but if the Magic Tower, which firmly controls the eastern reaches of the empire, became his backer, nothing could be more reassuring.

Besides, the Magic Tower’s intelligence network was among the world’s best.

He could ask Professor Agnes for various information in the future.

‘…Now that I think about it, that’s pretty good.’

He wasn’t sure if it was enough repayment for risking lives.

Either way, for Hamel it was almost routine.

For Hamel, who was used to going in circles and failing, this level of progress felt dizzyingly fast.

Thinking that, he felt even more at ease.

Only then did Hamel surrender himself to the wave of sleep rolling in.

Sleep was sweet enough to be gone entirely.