The Wandering Priest in Dark Fantasy

-

[Translator - Peptobismal]

[Proofreader - Max]

Chapter 49: Dancing with the Puppet (4)

Hamel staggered to his feet.

His mind was blank.

Nevertheless, he walked out of the Magic Tower.

Because he hadn't finished what he needed to do.

Thud, thud!

The scales on his body fell off.

The effects of the dragon blood seemed to have worn off, and his eyes, which had been glowing blue, returned to their normal color.

His steps were heavy.

No, it felt like he would collapse at any moment.

'What was I doing?'

Hamel took a step forward, his mind blank.

The smell of blood stung his nose.

No matter how far he walked, the smell didn't fade.

There was red blood on his sleeve.

Looking closely, it wasn't just his sleeve; his whole body was covered in blood.

Whose blood was it?

His own?

Or the students whose necks he had personally snapped?

Perhaps it was Ono's, who had collapsed bleeding.

"Ugh."

He suddenly felt nauseous.

His throat burned with the rising stomach acid.

His head was spinning.

Another comrade had died.

But there was only one reason why Hamel continued to walk.

Because this couldn't happen again.

"..."

Hamel stopped abruptly.

He saw his target fleeing in the distance.

Arachne, her spider-like legs moving busily, was getting further away in real-time.

Looking closely, she was a little different from a real Arachne.

She was smaller, and the exoskeleton covering her body seemed somewhat clumsy.

If she were closer, it wouldn't be that difficult to cut her down.

But she had already run too far.

About 200 meters away?

Chasing after her in his current state was impossible.

It was clear that the distance would only widen if he tried.

Then there was only one option.

Hamel gripped his sword tightly.

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

It was an absurd distance to throw and hit a target with a sword.

Anyone who saw him would have shaken their head and called him crazy.

But Hamel's mind was calmer than ever.

'The demonic energy that suppresses the dragon's madness. That energy definitely exists within my body.'

Hamel remembered the mark he had obtained on the back of his hand when he fought the Laughing Fox of the Pale Cord, the mark from capturing Riteil.

He needed that power.

Hamel calmly looked inward.

Hamel's body, which had just been consumed by the dragon's power, felt emptier than ever.

His insides felt hollow, as if all his strength had been drained.

But something still remained.

It was demonic energy, the familiar energy that Hamel had chased all his life.

He hadn't noticed it before when it was mixed with divine power, mana, and even the dragon's power.

He could only sense it now, after expending all his strength.

'Move.'

Hamel slowly gathered the energy in his hand.

The sticky, concentrated demonic energy started to gather in his sword through his hand.

The sword gradually became stained with black light.

He didn't question why he could handle demonic energy.

Everything felt so natural.

Hamel drew out the energy accumulated in the talisman to its fullest.

The talisman, which had been in the form of a sword, grew in size, eventually scattering black light large enough to engulf even Hamel.

'Gather all the power into one point.'

Compress.

And compress again.

The giant black form gradually shrunk.

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

'It seems like it will work.'

Exorcists could absorb the demonic energy of the demons they defeated into their talisman and use it.

But... how could he handle it so naturally, as if it were his own power?

'No, this is not the time to doubt.'

Hamel slowly opened his eyes.

It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, it wasn't that long.

Hamel looked at Arachne's back as she continued to flee.

The distance was 450 meters.

There was no wind.

Hamel took a step.

His foot, planted on the ground, stopped firmly like a rock.

He twisted his body forcefully towards his spear-holding hand, his hips rotating.

Power surged into Hamel's hand gripping the dark spear.

The power that started from his toes amplified through his body and exploded from his fingertips.

Hamel poured all that explosive power into the spear and launched it.

Bang!

The air exploded with a roar.

Black lightning streaked across the ground.

And then,

Crack!

It pierced a large hole through the target's body with ease.

Arachne stumbled and collapsed face-first onto the ground.

He couldn't see clearly from the distance, but at least that's what it looked like to Hamel.

Talisman Control Technique, Release Form 2.

He would name it Shadow Lightning... that seemed fitting.

It was a technique he had only thought about and couldn't use before due to a lack of demonic energy.

"...Is it over?"

Hamel murmured weakly.

He didn't even have the strength to blink.

Hamel slowly closed his eyes.

***

"... la."

A familiar voice was heard.

A voice he missed but would no longer be able to hear.

"...still."

It was Ono's voice.

Hamel squeezed his eyes shut.

Afraid that the voice would disappear if he opened his eyes,

He couldn't open them.

What was Ono trying to say to him?

Even if he didn't know if this was an illusion, Hamel had an obligation to listen to his words.

As he was concentrating on the voice,

Slap!

A sharp pain resonated on Hamel's cheek.

Hamel opened his eyes wide in surprise.

And there...

"Hey, wake up, will you? I saw your eyelids twitching, stop pretending to be asleep."

Ono, with bandages wrapped around his stomach, was sitting with a frown on his face.

"...?"

"What are you staring at?"

"...Am I dead too?"

"What nonsense are you spouting after waking up from a good sleep?"

Ono's expression hardened even more.

Hamel looked down at his body.

His body, wrapped in bandages just like Ono, came into view.

'There's no way I'd be wrapped in bandages in the afterlife...'

His cheek stung, so it wasn't a dream either.

Just as Hamel tilted his head in confusion,

"Someone gets stabbed three times in the stomach and is walking around like this, and you're lying in bed all day because of a few scratches on your arm?"

Ono grumbled.

Hamel blinked and called out to Ono.

"Master Ono."

"What?"

"You were clearly dead, weren't you?"

At Hamel's question, Ono rolled his eyes and yelled,

"How many times do I have to tell you I have a technique called 'dormancy'!"

"Ah... Is that the 'playing dead' technique you mentioned before?"

"'Playing dead'? You seem to want to die..."

"Anyway, I'm glad you're alive."

"...Anyway? No, before that, you just walked past me after seeing me collapse from a sword wound? Are you going to use your Azure Flame to make soup?"

"It would only burn a corpse. I didn't know you were in dormancy."

"It's not playing dead, it's dormancy, how many times... Ugh."

Ono, who had been yelling, suddenly turned pale, clutched his neck, and collapsed onto the bed.

Fortunately, he was still breathing normally.

It seemed he had fainted.

Hamel chuckled, watching Ono collapse.

It was obvious that Ono was seriously injured, but he had clearly forced himself to stay by Hamel's side to check on him.

Hamel got up, lifted Ono, and laid him on the bed next to him.

Then he looked around.

"Ah, Hamel, you're awake."

Just then, Daniel walked in through the rattling door.

Seeing that everyone was safe, he finally felt relieved.

Hamel nodded calmly in greeting.

"Where are we?"

"We're in the infirmary of the Magic Tower. Professor Agnes assigned us to a good room despite the chaos."

"Professor Agnes... It seems the vice-principal is alright."

Hamel said as he sat down on the bed.

Daniel nodded vigorously, his red helmet plume swaying.

"I heard it's all thanks to you. Professor Agnes said she owes you her life."

"It was nothing."

"It's not nothing... It's no small feat to subdue that professor without killing her."

There was a hint of dejection in Daniel's voice.

He was probably blaming himself for not being of help in this situation.

Hamel shook his head and said,

"I was just lucky. It would have been much easier if you had been by my side, Sir Daniel."

"...Really?"

"Yes. And if you hadn't taken care of the students, I would have missed her."

Daniel immediately understood what Hamel meant and nodded.

"You mean that Arachne monster who was impersonating the Tower Master."

"Yes."

"I heard a bit from Professor Agnes. Anyway, I'm glad you said that. Get some rest for now."

"Thank you."

Hamel slowly nodded.

Thanks to Ono, he had woken up early, but he wasn't in good shape yet.

The backlash from using the dragon's power was significant.

He was especially exhausted this time, and it would probably take two or three days for him to fully recover.

Daniel settled down in front of the door, saying he would stand guard.

Hamel didn't think it was necessary, but it still made him feel more at ease as he lay down on the bed.

Being able to recover like this, trusting someone, was a truly joyful thing.

If he had lost Ono in this fight...

Hamel would have had a very hard time.

This wasn't the first time he had lost a comrade, and he knew it would happen again, but it was always difficult to endure.

Especially these days, when he had realized the importance of his comrades.

Hamel smiled bitterly and tossed and turned.

He couldn't fall asleep.

Hamel had become even stronger through this incident.

He was able to complete the second form of the Talisman Control Technique by utilizing demonic energy, and he had become more accustomed to handling the dragonkin power.

But even so, he almost lost a comrade.

No matter how strong he became, this kind of thing would happen again.

Hamel was afraid of that.

And there was one more thing that bothered him.

That Arachne woman had introduced herself as David's comrade.

It was the first time he had heard that David had any companions.

What was he aiming for in the first place?

It would have been better if they could have captured her alive.

'Well, I think it was the best I could do in that situation...'

He couldn't help but feel regret.

If only he could have captured her alive, he was confident he could have extracted a confession.

Lost in thought, Hamel took a slow, deep breath.

He didn't think he could fall asleep if he kept having negative thoughts.

Come to think of it, it wasn't a complete failure.

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

He hadn't recognized it at the time, but thinking about it now, it was the same mark as the one he had seen on Lady Irene of the Lengbaster territory.

It meant that she was connected to David, and to the group he belonged to.

This was information worth investigating.

More importantly, Hamel had done the Magic Tower a great favor through this incident.

It wasn't intentional, but there was nothing more reassuring than having the Magic Tower, which held a firm grip on the eastern part of the Empire, as his backer.

Moreover, the Magic Tower's information network was one of the best in the world.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He might be able to ask Professor Agnes for various information later.

'...Come to think of it, this is not bad.'

He wasn't sure if it was enough to repay them for saving his life, but this was just another day for Hamel.

For Hamel, who had always been hitting dead ends, this level of progress was almost dizzying.

Thinking that way made him feel more at ease.

Hamel finally surrendered to the drowsiness that was slowly washing over him.

His sleep was sweeter than ever.

[Translator - Peptobismal]

[Proofreader - Max]