The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 98



Only Noblemtl

Silence fell on the darkness inside the abandoned building. The faint moonlight scattered white light. As the dust settled, the dilapidated interior gradually became brighter.

“… … .”

Enoch let out a puff of white air, his hand gripping his sword tense. His mouth was bitter from the adrenaline from the battle.

“Yes, you.”

Suddenly, an angry voice rang out from the tip of the two-handed sword I was holding. I slowly raised my head.

Faust’s double. The corpse of a former elementalist stared at him with his neck pierced by a sword.

“Why, don’t you finish it… …!”

The bastard’s head was still intact. Faust’s body was still connected to the main body.

However, since half of its upper body had been blown away by the snake of the rock, it seemed to be in a helpless state and all it could do was open its mouth.

“I have something to ask.”

Enoch opened his mouth quietly.

“I already know that the group of black magicians is called Pandemonium. You guys must be the only ones who know.”

Enoch asked slowly, remembering that his face was hidden by the shadow of the hood and the mask.

“I said earlier that a change was coming to the empire.”

[The Magic Empire is already stirring greatly in the darkness.]

[A great storm is approaching the Magic Empire. Freelancer. And to achieve your goals in that storm, you first need capital.]

What he said just now. It was definitely connected to the information from the original story from five years ago that Enoch had to find out. I had that feeling.

“That. Tell me more.”

At that moment, Faust slowly raised his head at his words. The corpse responded with a mean laugh.

“Haha. Me? You want me to beg for your life?”

“Well, I guess so.”

Enoch was also kept alive just to check for a glimmer of possibility. I didn’t think I would hear an answer from someone who used a substitute like a consumable.

Since Pandemonium is a place where black magicians gather, there is a lot of information that is kept secret. It’s just a shame that I can’t reveal it all on the fly.

“Damn, I’m losing.”

Faust’s corpse raised the corners of its mouth as if mockingly.

“I should have not blown off the head of the stealth-type freelancer. He was a useful corpse.”

He sneered as he looked at the corpse of Scia lying on the ground in the distance. His words trampled even the slightest respect on the lion.

Enoch twisted his hand holding the sword expressionlessly.

Kwaaak.

The hilt of the sword rotated along with the blade, and the cold blade of the longsword that had pierced the enemy was instantly twisted around his neck.

“Ugh!!”

Immediately the bastard’s screams of pain rang out.

Faust’s body, which is somewhere, will also be completely ‘sharing’ the sensations and pain of the body double.

One of the unique features of Faust’s magic that Enoch remembered flashed through his mind.

“You can’t immediately release sensory synchronization from the ‘band’ with which you directly share your senses.”

But unfortunately, no matter how much sensory sharing is maintained now, even if you torture him by inflicting pain, it is just a pain without substance to him.

There is no real threat to Faust’s life.

As long as he is aware of it, he will endure the torture and not say anything for a short period of time until the sensory sharing is released.

Because you can’t underestimate the mental power of a 10th-grade wizard.

Then, as if he were breathing, the bastard writhed in pain, groaning and making his throat weep.

“Season, you’re more emotional than I thought. Freelancer?”

The mouth of the corpse that was being controlled was ripped open in an instant.

“I don’t know what the purpose is, but rather than ending me like this, it would have been more reasonable to neutralize me and transport the cargo.”

“… … .”

Enoch stared at him expressionlessly. Faust spat sarcastically through the corpse’s mouth.

“Could it be that you wanted to take revenge by killing that freelancer who used stealth magic?”

That wasn’t a wrong statement.

In the darkness, Enoch exhaled slowly.

Faust’s unique magic was to amplify and manipulate the corpse’s abilities while alive. However, he had no ability to restore damaged corpses.

So, for corpses that will be used for a long time, the power is suppressed and a limit is set so that it can survive.

If we were to consider efficiency as he said, it would have been better to not provoke him into releasing his limit earlier, and to leave him alone after incapacitating him and then leaving him behind.

But Enoch didn’t do that.

“… … Okay. I admit it.”

Enoch, who was looking down at Faust, opened his mouth.

“This might be revenge.”

Staring blankly into the empty eyes of Faust’s substitute, Enoch admitted the fact calmly.

Like gentle ripples on the surface of the water in his mind’s eye, Enoch was quietly shaken by Skia’s death.

Is this also his original feeling?

Honestly, I don’t know.

I didn’t even understand it properly.

Skia is a wizard who did not appear in the original work. He is a freelancer who works in the 37th outsourcing district. He has no relation to Enoch whatsoever, and is just that.

Her death was unfortunate, but there could be no rational reason for Enoch to be so agitated.

It’s been too short a time for Skia and I to bond. So what are these intense feelings?

It wasn’t a problem that needed to be pondered for very long.

Enoch accepted it with calm eyes.

─I’m just scared.

Even Skia, who was clearly strong, dies. That’s what a life-or-death battle is like. I’ve never forgotten that fact for even a moment.

Her death only confirmed it once again.

With the pungent smell of her blood spreading across the cold floor, so vividly clear.

Next time, death may show its teeth towards you, or it may become the guillotine of fate and fall upon those you wish to protect.

So Enoch took up his sword.

‘I don’t think so.’

The fate that awaited me. No matter what the future held, I had no intention of accepting it obediently.

That is precisely why I accepted Elena’s request to secure sponsorship for this company.

Prepare thoroughly and protect what you want to protect.

To survive and move towards the future you want.

Sling.

It was time to end it. Enoch quietly pulled out the sword that had been piercing through the bastard.

Faust looked up at me with his mouth twisted as if he sensed the end.

“Freelancers, remember this!”

He opened his mouth wide as if he was throwing a tantrum.

“I will make you pay for everything you took from me, including this body!”

“No. It’s the opposite.”

Enoch slowly raised the sword he was holding with both hands towards Faust, who continued to make excuses on the subject of everything he had taken.

“If I meet you again, I will definitely steal the information Pandemonium has.”

“Kuuuuu.”

The moment Faust heard those words, the corners of his mouth twisted downwards as if he was disgusted and he smiled.

“You didn’t say a word until the very end!!”

Woof.

The long sword raised by the black hooded figure as if aiming at the night sky cut off his scream with a light cry.

The white moonlight in the darkness shone down on the sword.

Just before swinging it, Enoch calmly resolved.

It will survive in the future.

That’s why he’s been struggling all this time.

Enoch Elseid, a sword that no one recognizes, tries to survive in this cruel world.

From now on, I will definitely open the future with the sword.

***

The transport of the cargo was completed without a hitch.

As Enoch steps out of the building, he sees a car among the abandoned scavenger cars that has just started its engine. Arcto and April wave at him, so he gets in without hesitation.

Arcto stepped on the accelerator so hard that the engine caught fire while crossing the road in the middle of the night. As a result, he safely arrived at his destination and delivered the cargo.

I thought that was enough.

“I need to make sure that the work is done properly. Hey, Mr. Client. Don’t you have a recipient stamp or something?”

“That’s right! I need that!”

After that, thanks to April and Arcto’s flawless work ethic, I was able to get the relevant person to confirm the drawing and even get their approval.

On the way back, no one said anything in the car. Everyone seemed a little tired from the battle.

Squeak.

The car, which was driving on the road outside the outskirts of the city, stopped for a moment near the outskirts of the commercial district.

Arcto, who said he would stop by a rest area for a moment, left the car, leaving only Enoch and April behind.

The front seat of the vehicle the Scavenger was using had melted during the battle earlier, making it impossible for him to sit, so the two were sitting side by side in the back seat.

Before I knew it, the morning sunlight was rising outside the car window, painting the cityscape red.

“Huh, hmm.”

Suddenly, a cough was heard next to Enoch.

Inside the car, April was hugging her rifle, her head resting lightly against the barrel, her bright pink hair flowing down her cheeks.

She glanced over and looked this way.

“Thank you for helping me earlier.”

“… … ?”

Enoch tilted his head for a moment at her unexpected thanks. She smiled slightly.

“I helped you with skiing.”

“Were you close with each other?”

“So-so. We can’t really talk, but we’ve worked together quite a bit. We’ve been good partners.”

After the battle in the abandoned building, just before leaving, Enoch had a brief moment to help April with the simple collection of Skia’s body.

The scavengers carefully wrapped her in a body bag from the trunk of their vehicle. As Arcto had said, it seemed like the special handling team was coming.

Enoch turned his head and spoke calmly.

“It’s a pity.”

“You seemed a bit cold when we first talked, but you’re not actually that cold-blooded, are you?”

“well.”

An ambiguous response came out of my mouth. It wasn’t just an answer to evade the question. It was a really difficult question to answer.

“I still don’t know myself very well.”

Enoch looked down at himself calmly and said:

April glanced over at me with her bright pink eyes in the darkness and shook her head slightly.

“Well. You have your own problems, don’t you?”

“… I can’t deny it.”

“I guess life is complicated for everyone. Ahem.”

April wiped the tears from her cat-like eyes and lightly cleared her throat.

“It seems like you recovered faster than I thought.”

“Well, that happens sometimes when you do this kind of work.”

She said with a sour look on her face.

“I’m a little depressed this time. But if I just stay depressed, it’s just self-satisfaction.”

And then he quickly turned this way.

“You have a terminal, right?”

“It exists, but why all of a sudden?”

“It’s a change of pace. Give it a try.”

She took the terminal from Enoch’s hand as if she was half-snatching it from him, and manipulated the TokTok display.

Then he held it out to Enoch again.

“I added my number here. If you have any work or requests, please contact me here.”

“liaison?”

“If you’re going to do freelance work, the wider your network, the better, because of the nature of the job. You can share information with each other and get to know the contract terms better. And you’ll also get more work.”

Enoch looked at the terminal screen and asked quietly.

“… Are you sure that I won’t abuse it? I don’t know if you’re a freelancer, but you probably have a grudge.”

“Well. Of course, you have a very suspicious identity, with your face wrapped tightly and your unique fighting style, too.”

She glanced this way with a little smile.

“At least he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“… … .”

When there was no answer, April put her hand on my leg and tapped it with a slightly tired look.

“Tch, again you’re embarrassing people by not speaking.”

He was a person who was quite enjoyable to talk to.

And after spending some time with her, I realized that even though April looked pretty and only looked like she was in her early twenties, her way of speaking was quite unique.

“The way he speaks is that of a veteran who has been through everything.”

“Please leave out the old man. He jumped into the front lines of life earlier than others. Isn’t he pitiful?”

“very.”

“Oh, really. How cruel.”

Well, if you only look at his speech, Enoch might not seem like he’s seventeen years old. As I was thinking that, April spoke slyly.

“… … And in the first place, if you don’t have the ability to read people, you can’t do well in this world. So, a woman like me has a pretty accurate intuition?”

“I’m a little jealous of that kind of narcissism.”

“Hehehe. I admit it.”

She leaned her forehead against the barrel of the rifle and turned it slightly to this side, smiling faintly.

“And someone like you would become a star in no time in this industry. It wouldn’t hurt to know those connections.”

Enoch stared at her for a moment.

Elena was like that earlier too. Seeing April do this too, it seems like some people definitely see some potential in this direction.

Surprisingly, it didn’t feel that bad.

Apart from the risk of gaining fame, the fact that you are gradually being recognized by those around you is also proof that you are becoming stronger.

Enoch pushed the terminal inside the robe.

“Then I will accept it gratefully.”

“Okay. Let’s go have a drink at a bar later. Do you want to come if I pay?”

“okay.”

Enoch nodded vaguely at her words.

Anyway, it’s not bad to have contact with freelancers. Of course, you can collect information, and you can also borrow their power through transactions when necessary.

At that moment, April’s serious voice rang in Enoch’s ears as he was lost in thought.

“By the way, I realized one thing after seeing you fighting earlier.”

“what?”

April asked, her eyes shining in the darkness.

“… You. Are you really some kind of genius?”

moment.

At her words, Enoch paused for a moment.