When I first saw the brick, I wondered if it was some kind of magical tool, but it turned out to be an ordinary brick.
The label clearly stated “Purple Clover,” so this was clearly a challenge.
“…How dare you mock me.”
Lauro clenched her small fist until it trembled. She inscribed a spell in the air and fixed the coordinates.
Since the warning had been ignored, a fitting punishment would be delivered. She had even sent a mocking gift, so she wasn’t thinking of killing gently.
She had no use for disobedient servants. If she needed Purple Clover, she could have someone else collect it.
Lauro gathered her magical power, planning to destroy the entire village.
The magical tools in the room began to float up as if swept by a gust.
However, the magic circles engraved in the wheat field and village buildings like crop circles did not react.
Lauro’s lips twisted.
“Ha, so you’re an S-class, huh?”
All the magic circles she had set up were destroyed.
He, like Rodon, was a physical fighter, so he probably destroyed each magic circle recklessly.
If he were an ordinary human, just stepping on them would make them explode like mines, but it seemed his skills weren’t just for show.
Lauro adjusted her skull-patterned robe and took out the Scythe of Death, a family treasure.
The Scythe of Death, a top-grade artifact, could turn even immortals into mortals. She planned to harvest the soul of a Death Knight today.
“I’ll see if you can still act so proudly in front of death.”
Would it be fun to take a picture of the Death Knight begging for his life and send it to the newspapers?
It would be quite amusing to see the expression of the insignificant Demon King he serves as well.
A cruel smile spread across Lauro’s face.
When she destroyed one of the magic circles, I was able to gauge Lauro’s abilities.
I also possessed the characteristics of an A-rank “Archmage,” so I had no trouble understanding her spell.
The problem was the overwhelming power contained in that spell.
“If you get swept up in this, you’ll die. Stay far away from the forest.”
“Understood…!”
I moved the battlefield to avoid involving the orc soldiers and villagers.
It was a dense pine forest.
“U-Um… Excuse me…?”
Sofien, who had fallen a little behind, was trembling.
I turned to look at her while adjusting my sword.
“What is it?”
“The two of you, the great ones, are fighting… I just don’t want to get in the way…”
“Don’t even think about running away. If you go back to the village alone, you’ll be burned at the stake again.”
Sofien squeezed her eyes shut, trembling, and muttered as if protesting.
“Ugh… I only tried to help people with a pure heart, so why do I have to be roasted…!”
“If you stay behind me, you won’t die. Don’t worry, just do what I told you to do.”
At that moment, black clouds covered the sky, and Lauro appeared in the center of them.
As she descended to the ground, she released a dark power with every step, like a thick shadow.
Darkness swirled and danced at the end of the scythe she was holding.
Sofien was overwhelmed by the oppressive pressure, almost as if she would burst at any moment, but I had seen all kinds of battles, so I wasn’t fazed.
I stared at her with sharp eyes.
Lauro gently approached me.
“Did you enjoy the gift? It was quite bold.”
“Isn’t that the same for both of us?”
She had also used dark magic to summon black rain, after all.
Lauro narrowed her eyes coldly.
“It seems you didn’t understand my warning properly. Could it be that your skull is empty?”
The forest was the battlefield. Though I was impatient, the title of general wasn’t something that could be swayed by a taunt.
“Well, I’m curious about what you can do without your magic circles. This doesn’t seem like the area you warned me about.”
“…Hey, Death Knight. Do you know what this is?”
Lauro pointed at the scythe she was holding.
A chilling aura, like cold bone, seeped from it, making it clear that it wasn’t an ordinary object.
“It’s the Scythe of Death. It harvests the souls of those struck by it. In other words, even you, an undead, will be erased.”
Lauro swung her arm back as if to strike, her eyes gleaming like a madwoman, and a subtle smile played on her lips.
“I’ll give you one chance. Throw away all your pride and beg. If you want to show sincere repentance, I suppose you should strip off everything you’re wearing first.”
Ordinary skeletons, low-level monsters, don’t wear jewelry or cloaks.
Lauro was telling me to lower my status and acknowledge that I was beneath her.
Instead of kneeling, I took a stance and nodded my skull.
“I’ll think about it after taking one hit.”
“Ah, an S-class pride, or perhaps just arrogance?”
With those words, Lauro swung her scythe. The black afterimages spread out like waves of darkness.
The flow of the afterimages quickly consumed the surroundings, and the trees broke and scattered as if they were reeds swept away by a storm.
The ground seemed to split as though it had been deeply wounded, and even the air grew heavy and descended.
It was a single attack.
At the same time, it led to the development I had wanted.
“…!”
The trees that had been struck screamed as they burst with pine pollen. The powder spread through the air like mist in an instant, covering the surroundings like a blurry curtain that blocked the light.
Lauro hesitated for a moment before launching a barrier. It’s convenient not having eyes at times like this. There’s nothing to obstruct my view.
“Ha! For a skull, you’ve got some brains, huh?”
She created a gust of wind to cleanse the area around the barrier. And then, the moment she gripped her scythe again…
Clang!
I was already inside the barrier.
I swung my sword to knock her scythe away and then kicked her in the abdomen.
“Kehk!?”
Lauro staggered backward, and saliva dripped from her mouth. I wasn’t planning on killing her immediately.
However, within the mist made of powder, I revealed the murderous intent I had been concealing without hesitation.
“Both of us only get one chance. I’ll give you 3 seconds. Kneel.”
Perhaps she didn’t fully sense my genuine murderous intent. Lauro did not kneel.
Instead, she glared at me with a face like a lioness ready to kill and gritted her teeth.
“Kugh… How dare a monster with no lineage… touch me!!”
Her roar, filled with magical power, shook the forest.
The black dusk she released with all her power intertwined like a rope to form a formation, soon taking the shape of a monster.
The summoned monster was a black slime, not just a regular slime, but a massive one with magma-like magical power flowing inside its body.
Where the slime’s bodily fluid splashed, it melted away as if scorched by hot flames, leaving no trace.
The grass and moss on the ground vanished in an instant, leaving only rough, gouged dirt and sticky remnants.
It was as if everything that had existed was erased in the slime’s bodily fluid, with not a single trace remaining.
“This…!”
Naturally, physical attacks didn’t work.
It was a matter of compatibility, like how you can’t drain water.
But I couldn’t cut it down with swordsmanship either. My magic and magical power were clearly inferior to Lauro’s.
What was needed, as before, was ‘compatibility.’
“Ahaha! 3 seconds have passed, what are you doing now? Kneeling won’t help anymore, I’ll melt you until you die if you don’t!”
Lauro laughed like a madwoman behind the slime.
I took a big step back and shouted toward the hidden Saint, Sofien.
“Hey, now’s the time! Start!”
“Re-Really…!?”
“Hurry! If you don’t stop it, we’re dead anyway!”
“Eh, I don’t care anymore…!”
Sofien’s holy magic floated as light. The place it arrived at was my sword.
The moment I accepted her light, the sword’s blade blazed with radiance. At the same time, my entire body began to burn.
I didn’t release the pain. I simply gritted my teeth and fully released it through my sword.
Lauro’s expression froze in an instant.
If she was skilled in magic, she would know exactly what I was doing right now.
“You… you crazy! An undead using holy swordsmanship…!”
Before I became immortal, I was an undefeated warrior.
I was a seasoned veteran whom the gods themselves had broken after refusing to die on the battlefield, a Death Knight who never made it to Valhalla.
I hated losing more than death, so even as an S-rank monster, I wondered who else could possibly have the guts to do this.
Fwooosh—!
I unleashed the full force of the light sword energy.
The brilliant glow soared along the sword’s path, burning the slime. The light spread fiercely as if to tear the world apart, even reaching Lauro’s dark eyes.
As my magic was consumed, the flames clinging to my body vanished, and embers scattered in all directions.
The ash fell like stars. I tightened my grip on the sword and walked through the mist.
Shaking off the embers crackling in my bones, I slowly approached Lauro.
“3 seconds have passed.”
I spoke as I raised my sword.
Lauro had a look of disbelief on her face.
The fact that a monster existed that was above her, the one once called a genius. More than that, the fact that she had lost.
For the first time in her life, fear engraved itself into her.
Death, something she had never once considered, was now looming over her head.
The mask made of cold ice cracked, and she muttered softly.
“…Please…”
My sword stopped abruptly in mid-air.
Lauro’s knees slowly touched the ground.
“Please… let me live. I… I’ve lost…!”
However, it was somewhat ambiguous to say she “touched” the ground, as she merely placed her knees on the earth and kept her body upright.
Her tone and gaze were still not those of someone who had surrendered.
I didn’t answer, but instead channeled magic into my sword.
Lauro let out a high-pitched scream and properly lowered her body, pressing her forehead to the ground.
“Please… let me live! I… I’ve lost…!”
It was a voice that seemed to be forcibly holding back tears.
But this wasn’t enough.
“Do you remember what you said earlier?”
“…Huh?”
“I’m talking about the sincerity of your apology. In my eyes, I can still see the proud lady who hasn’t fully let go of her pride. Is this really the appearance of a loser?”
Lauro’s eyes widened, almost about to burst. However, I had no intention of letting her off the hook.
I had fought with my life on the line and had even lost orcs in the process.
If she wasn’t ready to give up her life, then she had to pay the price.
“Heh…!”
Lauro trembled as she removed the robe with the skull pattern.
Her pale skin, clad in only her undergarments, slowly sank, and her silver hair scattered on the dirt ground.
The tears she had held back were the last traces of pride from a genius who had met her downfall too late.
“The… the girl was foolish… Please, great general, have mercy…”
I sighed inwardly.
Perhaps it was the effect of the Rupia, but my heart softened, and I felt pity for her, even though it was something I had ordered.
My calculations weren’t complete yet, but just as I was about to forgive her and help Lauro up…
I spotted a flapping monster not far away.
Evil Eye, a demon’s eye with bat wings.
The moment it met my gaze, it spun around, as if it had caught fire, and tried to flee.
“Freeze. The moment you try to fly, I’ll cut off your wings and make you watch orcs bathing for the rest of your life.”
“Eek…!”
“Come closer.”
Lauro’s eyes trembled as she saw the Evil Eye.
I knew the purpose of the Evil Eye, used by Demon Lords and monsters.
I grabbed it and released my magic.
“Heh, I see… you’re oddly fixated on my knees…”
The ‘memory’ of the squirming Evil Eye in my hand contained images of the recent battle, including the moment Lauro, dressed in only her undergarments, knelt and surrendered.
“Were you filming…?”
Lauro’s entire body shook now, not just her eyes.