74. Rumors about an unknown adventurer (2)

3 months ago. Right after the battle with Behemoth.

My legs were heavy. It felt like the rain was weighing down on my whole body.

Maxim was walking along the muddy road with a clicking sound.

“no.”

Enfolded in both arms, she was barely holding on to a life that looked like it would die out at any moment. How much time do you have? one hour? 30 minutes? No, maybe I’m holding on to something hopeless. Maxim’s head was burning white with a series of such thoughts.

“no.”

Christine’s last breath of strength was pushing Maxim forward. My body was in better shape than before, but my mind was more confused than ever.

Maxim had taken off his armor altogether. I couldn’t let the rain take away any more heat from her. Maxim wrapped a cloth over Christine’s body and moved as closely as possible to Christine’s body, but Christine’s warmth was only slowly fading away.

please.

Maxim gritted it. It was the first time I had ever felt resentful of the meager amount of mana. The mana pumped up by his pounding and aching heart was at least keeping him warm. I felt that if the mana were to break, something truly irreversible would happen.

“ah.”

Her flowing blonde hair seemed to be losing color. Raindrops trickle down on the precariously closed eyes. Her face, originally white as milk, lost a lot of blood and became as pale as white paper.

“Hold on…for a little while…”

Inaudible words hover in the air. It was said to Christine, and it was also said to Maxim himself.

snap.

How long has it been since the muddy road turned into a level ground? The boots are already muddy and messy. Maxim raised his head and looked at the changed scenery around him.

“…!”

And, what came into sight was a private house in the field. Maxim’s steps became busy.

little bit more.

Maxim murmured as he held Christine tighter in his arms. I lost my balance and stumbled, then got back up and ran. Ten steps forward, only five steps.

thump thump thump.

“Are you here…!”

Maxim’s locked voice burst out. The time is late afternoon. A time when people may not be there. Maxim waited for an answer with a burning heart, but couldn’t stand it and knocked on the door more.

thump thump thump.

There was no answer. Maxim stepped back slightly.

“Damn it…!”

bang-!

You should think about it later.

The broken door made a loud noise and crashed into the living room of the private house. After entering the private house with staggered steps, Maxim looked for a place to lay Christine down.

‘…Sofa.’

Maxim laid Christine down on the sofa. Maxim approached the fireplace, surrounded by pitch black darkness, and leaned in to light a fire. The firewood that had turned into charcoal was wet and damp.

‘Wet?’

Maxim’s face hardened. Then, as it were, it slowly raised its body.

Maxim looked at his body.

‘It hardened.’

A chunk of shining magic that Christine gave herself just before she lost consciousness. The power he could still be conscious of wrapped around Maxim’s heart and prevented the magic from leaking out.

‘It is possible to circulate mana within the body, but…’

Did you make it impossible to discharge it outside? Maxim raised his hand to his chest. The beat of the heart beat faster than usual. The heart, which had been out of sync with the curse, was finally beating in its own beat. It was literally impossible to use aura, but at least it seemed that the curse would not turn him into a crippled person just by turning mana.

Maxim looked down at Christine and bit his lip.

‘thanks.’

The presence was not felt. However, he could see that there were enemies all around him.

Little by little, reminding himself of the approaching death, Maxim wrapped the hilt of his sword.

I glanced at Christine lying on the sofa near the fireplace.

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No, I can’t die quietly in a place like this. Life was imbued with Maxim’s exhaled energy.

“I found out quickly.”

The magicians’ hideout was broken. The first thing that appeared before my eyes was a witch wearing a dark green hood. Maxim counted signs that were appearing all over the house.

‘Eleven…twelve.’

Power went into his hands. Maxim put Christine behind his back and drew his sword. Well, you mobilized as much as I did. Maxim gritted it.

“How did you know?”

As if really curious, the witch tilted her head and asked Maxim.

“There was moisture on the fireplace.”

“Ah, I can’t think of the time for the water to dry…”

Maxim laughed, cutting off the witch’s words.

“What kind of idiot sprinkles water on the fireplace to put it out?”

Maxim answered, being in a position where he could definitely protect Christine. The witch exclaimed as if she didn’t know, “Hmm.”

“Reference.”

And, the witch’s eyes turned to the wizards following her. A wizard mixed in with the crowd waved his hand and spoke as if to excuse himself at the witch’s gaze.

“I should have turned off the fireplace with my own hands.”

can i do it

While the wizards mumbled, Maxim rolled his eyes and was constantly thinking about his next move.

This woman in front of you. If I could kill him in one shot before he reacted, the next one would be easy. And,

The witch’s eyes that were shining from under the hood met Maxim’s.

“You’re fine with fine hair…”

exit (exit).

“uh?”

squeak.

There was a cracking sound. The wizards in the field did not see the sword cutting through the air. The witch’s neck rose very slowly into the sky, then began to fall to the ground.

The moment was still. The moment the witch’s neck spins in the air and lands on the ground. The stiffness of the wizards made Maxim’s feet loosen up. Once more, the tip of Maxim’s sword pierced the magician’s uvula.

“catch!”

A belated cry rang through the empty house. Mana rises from under the feet of the wizards, and mana interlocks with Jin’s form to try to restrain Maxim.

Maxim leaned back. Glancing at it, I checked again to see if Christine was lying down, then twisted my ankle to condense my strength.

“Stop it!”

bang-!

Mana’s barrier and Maxim’s sword collided. Behind the wizards in charge of the vanguard, a different kind of magic was about to unfold. Maxim applied force to the hand holding the hilt.

Pudeuk.

“What kind of power…!”

The barrier is pushed back. The imbalance of power causes a backflow of mana, vibrates the barrier, and at the same time as the completed magic rushes to Maxim.

visor-!

The barrier has been lifted.

“-!”

The flying magic

“…chain…?”

It was a chain wrapped in pitch black darkness.

okay.

Maxim’s shoulders and legs are tied. At the same time, the sword danced, and the magician’s neck that was blocking the way flew through the air.

“Catch it, grab it by any means.”

Even though the chief figure died, the wizards moved organically. The chains tightened. Maxim was struggling to move his limbs, and the wizards were trying to keep the chains somehow.

And, Maxim froze at the presence he felt behind his back.

“…I was surprised.”

The voice of the witch, who must have been decapitated by Maxim, was heard. The floor, which should have been soaked in blood under Maxim’s feet, was clean.

“Even though it was recovered, it was no different from a dying body… I wonder if the talent recognized by the Count is a talent.”

Maxim’s breathing became rough. The blood, like a dark shadow, was slowly being sucked into the witch’s body.

black magic.

Realizing the identity of the magic, Maxim’s voice was hard.

“…Were you researching all those things in the Mage Tower?”

“The curse on your body right now is also a type of black magic, well. To do so all of a sudden.”

The witch smirked and waved her hands.

Christine’s body, lying on the sofa, floated into the air.

“Let go.”

Maxim said in a terrifyingly subdued voice. The witch’s gaze was on the floating Christine.

“I see. It might not be enough even if I tear this bitch to pieces and kill him for betraying and running away from the Mage Tower…”

A shadow crawled over Christine’s body.

“It’s a body that has no choice but to follow orders.”

Chunk.

Maxim, chained, resisted.

“Oh, yes, that applies to you too, this. Don’t lose your strength…”

Chunk!

“…I want you to catch me.”

The witch flicked her fingers. A wizard who was confronting Maxim walked past Maxim.

“Move it. so as not to be noticed.”

The wizard who received Christine nodded and walked away.

Kang!

“Huh!”

The wizard fell forward with a panicked sound. Maxim’s sword stopped right behind his back.

“Because you have to be quiet…”

Bloodstained in Maxim’s eyes. Chains made of magic were rubbing dangerously.

“Shouldn’t I be thanking you? He saved the dying people, but his attitude is a bit impure.”

The witch nodded, and the wizard hurriedly led Christine through the open door. The witch waved her hand roughly, and the door closed. The witch slowly approached Maxim. Layers of chains were now wrapped around Maxim’s body. The witch’s fingers rested on Maxim’s face, who was restrained so that he could not move his joints.

“It’s really nice to have eyes that don’t break.”

A chain dug between Maxim’s mouth and gagged him. As if the sight was ridiculous, a leaking sound came from the witch’s mouth.

“I wanted to say that villainous line at least once.”

Giggling, the witch groped Maxim’s face. The long, unique nails of witches circle Maxim’s eyelids.

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No more rattling noises were heard. Maxim was glaring at the witch with red-stained eyes. The witch’s purple iris was shining in Maxim’s eyes.

“Not really nice, your eyes. Do you think it looks like you want to pull it out?”

The witch was talking as if she were listening to Maxim.

“I said it would be fine as long as I could breathe, so you wouldn’t say anything if I plucked out at least one eye in exchange for cutting my throat, right?”

Maxim’s eyes closed. The corner of the witch’s mouth went up even more.

“It’s scary.”

The witch ran a hand through Maxim’s hair. It was a hand gesture full of ridicule.

Deuk.

An ominous sound came straight away. The chains covering Maxim’s body slightly swelled. The witch’s eyes are furrowed,

Pachang-!

The chain crumbled without any other sign. The magic was reconciled with fragments of mana and scattered. Between Maxim’s tightly meshed teeth, the ring of a shining chain brushes past.

You said you broke it with brute force?

There was a look of bewilderment at the witch’s behavior. Before the black shadow rises from beneath your feet,

bang!

The breaking of the chain and the shooting of Maxim’s elbow were almost simultaneous. Maxim’s attack flies without any error and gets stuck in the witch’s neck-

“-!”

The witch broke her neck and flew away without even screaming. A sword was already in Maxim’s hand.

“Cheuk…”

The magicians who maintained the chain’s mana vomited blood as the mana flowed backwards with recoil. Maxim’s sword passed by the scruff of a sorcerer’s neck. Blood splattered like muddy water splashing on horses hooves.

Maxim rushed straight to the door. A distance that can still be pursued. Maxim made that decision and ignoring the wizards, kicked out the door.

Heat rushed behind Maxim’s back. Just like that, the wall of the house explodes and throws Maxim into a field where heavy rain pours.

“I’m annoyed.”

The witch turned her bent neck around and walked toward Maxim. Maxim stumbled and stood up.

“I don’t think you can do it with just one eye.”

Darkness gathered at the witch’s fingertips.

“I’ll have to take one leg.”

Maxim’s eyes were staring at something other than the witch. I want to look at the place where Christine was taken. The witch’s darkness kept changing its form. From the sword to the scythe, from the scythe to the spear, from the spear to the beast’s grip.

“It’s a pity that you don’t pay attention when you talk so hard.”

swish

As the witch’s hand stirred the air, Maxim swung his sword to block the incoming attack. Wizards gathered behind the witch. Blocking Maxim’s path, they formed their own magic in their hands.

Maxim grabbed his sword and took a jockeying ceremony. Eight wizards remain. Maxim’s eyes flashed.

Swords and magic filled with mana collided in the air. Maxim twisted his body and swung his gun to block all attacks from eight directions.

“Just stop moving. I do the rest.”

Following the witch’s instructions, the mages’ attacks relentlessly aimed at Maxim’s mobility. Through that gap, the witch’s attack aims at Maxim.

squeak.

A pitch-black blade grazed Maxim’s neck.

pick.

A stab wound appeared on Maxim’s back.

The witch swung the ever-rising darkness toward Maxim. While avoiding direct hits, little by little, little by little, Maxim’s stamina and life were being eaten away.

visor. visor.

Maxim’s movements become impatient. The presence was so far away that it could not be caught. one. The sorceress fell into Maxim’s hands. The magic drew out Maxim’s desire to move forward. one more. The tip of Maxim’s sword pierced the wizard’s chest.

“Caught.”

A tingling sensation spread through Maxim’s left thigh. Black thorns had sprouted through his legs. The numb left leg was no different from a lump of meat. Maxim forced himself to hold on only with his right leg and swung his sword.

hooked

Under the shoulders, abdomen, hamstrings, elbows.

It exquisitely avoided vital points, and thorns penetrated its body. Maxim was suspended in the air, fixed to the thorns, like a puppet whose thread had been cut. the pain is far Even at this moment, the heart that squeezed out the missing mana maintained Maxim’s consciousness.

“I’ve felt it since the fight, but your body is harder than I thought, you.”

don’t let go of the sword

Maxim kept repeating.

Consciousness was the sword. Maxim instinctively felt that if he let go of the sword, he would lose consciousness. My hands are shaking. The rain-soaked hilt kept slipping from my hand.

“You just need to close your eyes.”

The witch’s voice was strangely clear.

“It was just unavoidable. I cut down hundreds of monsters, killed Behemoth, and fell down with all my might, but because of Christine, I had to forcefully drag a body that didn’t listen well.”

Like ants eating sweets, the witch’s voice began to erode Maxim’s mind. Maxim fixed his neck as he struggled to turn and looked at the witch.

“…f*ck it.”

The witch’s mouth opens as if it would tear.

“I knew it.”

Even in the midst of that, the witch was displeased with Maxim’s gaze, who was elsewhere.

‘…Well?’

Sight.

Those gazes were staring straight at something. Before the witch felt that something was strange, she questioned the overturned gaze.

‘Vision?’

Maxim’s body turned over and his head fell to the ground. no, it’s falling

is it my head

Took.

The witch dies for the third time, and all the wizards behind her are dead. Maxim stared at the approaching woman with dull eyes.

“The way the world goes around these days is unusual, but,”

The corner of the mouth of the woman with the long sword hanging down was hard.

“Your appearance makes no sense.”

“…S…Master.”

A trickle of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth as he spat out the words with difficulty. The elf sighed as he saw the remains of the witch who had melted away like melted snow.