Chapter 320
The snowy land outside the city...
the other side.
Staring at the invisible place, I recalled what he had said.
“…Ready.”
I have no intention of doing anything to bother you.
Still, it\'s the advice he gave himself.
Should I remember
‘It was a thousand years ago...
I just muttered it inwardly without saying it out of my mouth.
It\'s already the second time I\'ve heard that.
The first one was just bullshit, so I brushed it off, but not the second one.
‘Let\'s find out the information for now.\'
Well, that\'s not the case right now.
Because that\'s why the word sincerity doesn\'t fit me.
For now, let\'s just remember.
* * *
Warlock.
Unlike wizards who use raw mana, evil energy.
In other words, a word that refers to those who use demonic energy as a source.
Looking a little broader, this includes those who study and abuse secret arts banned by the Mage Tower of each country.
In other words, it means ‘an evil wizard who has touched an affair\'.
They are recognized as fearful and evil beings that even children tremble.
It is known that the general impression of a black magician is that he radiates evil spirits and covers his entire body with a black robe and staff.
The black magician who has been seen and subjugated several times so far has a similar appearance.
Why do they prefer black clothes and gear? Aren\'t you wearing other clothes?
No one takes the matter seriously.
Because it\'s a black magician.
After all, it\'s a black magician.
In the first place, there is usually no chance of encountering them unless you are extremely unlucky.
Because they are always hiding.
This is because it is not guilty even if it is killed on the spot as soon as it is discovered because it has been designated as an achievement of the continent by repeating all kinds of evil experiments over the past long years.
There is also a bounty on it, so there are those who specialize in tracking down and defeating warlocks.
That\'s why they always hide from the light.
One Mage Tower lord even compared them to cockroaches.
They live only in dark places. When you meet, you have no luck. He said he felt the same way.
That is why this scene is quite heterogeneous.
It was because there were close to 1,000 black magicians gathered here.
This is one of the secret gathering places known only within the Dark Church for generations.
Only the comrades of the same church knew the location of this place.
The sight of thousands of warlocks in black robes gathering was, in a sense, quite heterogeneous.
However, their conversations were surprisingly normal.
The warlocks gathered here were talking about their research or asking each other about their current status.
It was similar to the feeling of interacting with a neighbor whom I hadn\'t seen in a long time.
“...Come to think of it, is the recent research on how to collect magic energy going well?”
“Even otherwise, it was embarrassing. Last time I set the output of the device incorrectly, so I emitted a large amount of demonic energy, and I was almost chased by the magicians of the Ernesia Magic Tower.”
“...That\'s a big deal. Aren’t those guys really bloody lately?”
“Tsk tsk, just like me, collect grudges from the corpses of creatures and replenish your demonic energy.”
“Have you forgotten what happened to Nelphran the other day when he did that outright?
Didn’t you know that the technique I used at that time was dangerous because Ernesia mages basically detect it?”
“Don\'t worry. It’s to the point of being carefully collected in a cemetery without anyone noticing.”
“That\'s just plain ugly.”
“What?! So what do you mean!”
They boast of their own research, sometimes listen to and criticize the other\'s research, or discuss their personal current situation.
Except for the fact that their field of research is undesirable, it is a sight no different from other ordinary wizards.
But don\'t be mistaken.
What they study is evil black magic.
They are the ones who stretch out their hands without hesitation to things they shouldn\'t touch as human beings and even abandon their duty for the sake of their desire for knowledge.
That\'s why the reputation of these black magicians will not improve.
“by the way. The number of comrades has decreased compared to last time....
As we were talking, a black magician looked around with his face covered and said calmly.
As he pointed out, the black magicians gathered here are not even half of those who responded to the previous summons.
not absent
Those who joined the Dark Church as warlocks in the first place have to respond to the Church\'s call on a regular basis.
Otherwise, you will pay a heavy price.
Still, not even half of it came.
A black magician bit her lip in anger.
“Recently, the kingdom\'s knights and wizards have been raiding frequently, starting with the Ernesia Tower. That must be the influence.”
“I guess so. How many were sacrificed?”
A bitter tone came out of the warlock\'s words as if he agreed.
It\'s not like they have camaraderie.
However, as people walking the same path, there is a level of respect we show each other.
On top of that, the excellent black magician\'s research sometimes gives an important inspiration as a comrade.
It is not very desirable for them to have fewer comrades.
Especially if it is due to an enemy attack.
“As expected, Nelfran... It seems that his failure was the trigger.”
“It looks like that.”
A large-scale undead situation that the black magician Nelphran staged in the past.
It seemed that he was going to use it to conquer the neighboring countries including the kingdom of Ernesia and achieve his long-cherished wish.
In the end, it failed and only the result of raising the morale of the wizards of the Mage Tower remained.
In addition, each kingdom has been actively cooperating with the search for black magicians since then.
In the last thousand years since the establishment of the Dark Church, there will be no more difficult times to live in.
“If he wants to fail, he will take it on himself....
Of course, the warlocks who knew him, when they get together from time to time, call him Nelf, that stupid bastard! I had to drink while swearing.
After that incident, the warlocks were decreasing one by one due to the continued subjugation campaign, so there was no choice but to refrain from cursing.
“Shouldn’t we all work together to fight against this?”
u. Let’s talk nonsense.”
Of course, they are not weak as individual wizards.
However, it is true that there are risks involved in fighting against the Wizards of the Tower and the Master of the Tower, who have become one.
“Is that even possible?”
“Indeed, it is.”
Above all, they do not trust each other.
It is nonsense to fight together in unison - how can we unite when it is obvious that each will abandon the other in the event of a dangerous situation?
“I don\'t know if the church\'s executives and the young schoolmaster step out directly, but home.”
“....hmm. Well, if he comes forward, I don\'t know.”
“indeed??????
Still, that doesn\'t mean they don\'t have a corner to believe in.
The second-in-command of the Dark Church.
A black magician who leads the church from generation to generation in place of the leader.
Appointed with the duty of protecting the position from generation to generation, the skills of the minor masters dare not compare with those of ordinary black magicians.
The young master of this generation is also known for his outstanding skills.
“If only the leader were to be resurrected
.
If only he was resurrected, there would be no reason to be afraid of the wizards of the Mage Tower or the knights of the kingdom.
Everyone believed that without exception.
However, the black magician who knows the true identity of the leader no longer remains in the world.
The continent\'s first black magician.
The last time the leader of the dark church was active was about 500 years ago.
After that, the cult leader never showed up to the world.
For 500 years, it\'s just been sleeping in the deepest and most serious place of our school.
Because of that, even now, there are no people who directly remember the appearance of the leader.
However, only the handed down legend is constantly being talked about from master to disciple through their mouths.
If the cult leader ever descends into the world again, he will remove the offending sun and create their world.
That\'s what I undoubtedly believe.
That\'s why they were looking forward to this convening.
The Dark Church exists only to hide in the world and fulfill the secret wishes of its leader.
In a situation where generation after generation is being persecuted like this time, the life and death of the church is also at stake.
In this situation, you believe that you will lift a heavy cane.
More than anything else, there were also rumors that the Dark Church would finally make a crucial decision at this meeting.
The time has come.
I won\'t live in hiding, avoiding the wizards of the Mage Tower and the kingdom forever.
They hoped so much and waited for the master of the church to lead them to appear.
Above all, if they have come to this point and still do not show any movement in the church, they can no longer trust the church.
No matter how much he acts on the order of the religious leader, there is a degree to that.
“???? Are you here?”
When someone muttered that, the other warlocks also stopped their chatter as if they sensed something.
It feels like a heterogeneous gicheok.
The black magicians gathered here also have a different kind of magic, but the senses they feel now are fundamentally different from theirs.
Compared to him, even the demonic spirit, which is originally evil, is so terrifying that it does not inspire anything.
A person with overwhelming demonic energy that makes one wonder if he is really human.
“Little Master...
The one who leads the Dark Church.
An agent who leads the current church from generation to generation according to the will of the religious leader.
Young Master Letelneas had appeared.
“…everyone has gathered.”
No matter how much you look at his youthful appearance with his fair blonde hair and distinct blue eyes, it is hard to believe that he is the acting chief of the warlocks.
However, it is only an outward impression.
Inside the youthful appearance, there is an endless evil spirit.
That\'s why all the black magicians gathered here kept their mouths shut and quietly waited for the young master to speak.
The atmosphere of the convening meeting was always like this.
An announcement of the teachings or important events of the religious leader with the appearance of a minor religious leader or an official of the religious order.
The meaning is spread unilaterally and that is the end.
it\'s such a place
But this time, someone who broke the usual atmosphere appeared.
“Small schoolmaster! Letelneas!! How long will you insist on silence!!”
Shouts tore apart the quiet atmosphere.
As if they had promised each other, the warlocks looked back in the direction the voice came from and moved away.
Eventually, only the black magician who removed his robe and revealed his face was left there.
An old man with white hair.
However, he glared at the young master with sharp eyes that did not match his senile face.
“…You?”
The young master asked the identity of the black magician who quietly pointed at him.
“It\'s called Gelfendil. I, too, seek the abyss. I\'ve been following the teachings of the church all my life, pursuing true abyssal sorcery.”
“Yes, Gelfendil. What is it?”
“What is it?”
He gnashed his teeth and built a vein in his neck.