Chapter 35

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Chapter 35

Celine blinked her eyes. Leonhard’s stern gaze was staring at her.

“Remember one thing. Do not fall for it.”

“Yes.”

They didn’t say a word in case she became a warlock for different reasons. Celine herself was sure she wouldn’t be a warlock. He knew what he had to do if she became a warlock.

Kill her, kill her before she comes back to life, kill her again…

Leonhard clenched his teeth tightly. For now, he had no choice but to trust her.

‘Even if we get past the present, we will become a target in the future.’

His heart ached at the fact that information must have spread all over the world. It was all his fault. It was the result of her jumping on Agathirsus without even knowing it.

“Ack!”

A scream escaped Celine’s mouth.

Something hot and squishy was trampled under her feet. Before she could react any other way, a blue light flashed before her eyes, and black blood dripped down her ankles.

Leonhard sighed and put Rashir into the sheath.

“…As expected.”

“What?”

“He’ll keep sending these things to test your abilities. And, to induce your magic.”

He spouted bitterly.

“You remember that day? The day you saw the monster for the first time.”

“Yes.”

“Though I don’t like it, I guess we’ll have to do it like that day. Just to stick to my back like back then. Never use magic.”

“It comes up from your feet, too.”

“I can kill it before it does any harm. Trust me.”

Celine nodded her head at his words.

She didn’t want to hide behind Leonhard, but even more so, she didn’t want to do what the warlock wanted. Eventually, she clung to his sturdy back. His back was a little tense, and Leonhard’s neck was burning red.

Blinking her eyes, she thought that he was weaker than he looked. It would be a big deal if he had a sudden fever.

“Are you sick?”

“No.”

“I think you have a fever…”

“Not at all.”

She couldn’t even look at his forehead as Leonhard resolutely answered and sneaked away from her.

‘Well, even if you’re sick, there’s nothing we can do here.’

The healing potion healed the wounds all over his body, though there was no guarantee that it would work on viral diseases. Although she still tried to think of another way, she didn’t have time.

—Kuweeek!

Suddenly, a massive monster fell from the open ceiling and ran towards them. Celine frowned at the foul-smelling ooze dripping from among the sharp teeth of the giant worm. But, she couldn’t just rely on Leonhard with her eyes closed, as on the day she felt so long ago.

It was true that she wasn’t supposed to use magic.

Still, even without her magic, she was never the helpless and ignorant woman of that time. Celine leaped and stepped back behind her back.

‘…When I go back, I have to learn the sword.’

Besides the warlock, there would come a situation where she would not be able to use magic. Every time it did, she couldn’t be behind Leonhard’s back as she was now.

—Shuuuuk.

A goosebumps ran down her spine. From somewhere, she could hear a heavy creature dragging itself on the dirt floor and approaching them.

‘The head monster…!’

A head monster that looked very similar to the one she saw that day was approaching them.

As Celine got a little closer, she could tell that she was wrong. It was the head ‘monsters,’ tangled together like one. The giant worm came, biting each other, wriggling towards them. She barely endured her rising nausea.

She must not disturb Leonhard with nausea or anything like that.

Nonetheless, she couldn’t just hide behind Leonhard as gracefully as they planned. It was because the maggots attacked, aiming only for her.

“Ack…!”

Even though she tried to hold back her scream, Celine couldn’t help the groan that leaked out of her mouth, which kept opening. In the next moment, Rashir flashed brighter than ever. All the worm monsters fell to the floor, showing split cross-sections.

“Only the shape imitates the head monster. It seems that he too has a lower base than expected.”

Unfortunately, Leonhard’s guess was wrong. The monsters in the shape that she never seen appeared endlessly, and they rushed toward only Celine.

How long had it been…?

They stood leaning on each other, covered in foul-smelling black blood. Although no more monsters appeared, the space continued to vibrate, making them a bit dizzy.

Celine asked, panting.

“Maybe, he wants us to die of starvation after draining all our power?”

Leonhard’s small laugh was heard.

“Some people have tried that.”

“What…?”

“Of course, it failed. Even the meat of a monster is edible if it is thoroughly roasted.”

“Le, Leonhard…”

Celine stammered his name.

The stench and hideous flesh of the monster would not turn into an appetizing one by roasting it. As expected, his taste was on the tricky side. When she thought of Leonhard, who must have put disgusting meat in his mouth after enduring hunger in solitude, her eyes lit up with tears.

On the other hand, Leonhard seemed to have misunderstood her reaction.

“No worries. They share information, so they won’t do it again for a wast.”

“That’s a relief.”

Celine muttered helplessly. She didn’t have to show pity to Leonhard.

“Yes, if I hadn’t starved for a week…”

Leonhard paused his words. It was because the whole ground on which they stood was not at a vibrating level, but began to rise toward the ground vertically.

Celine grabbed his hand by surprise.

Leonhard’s body was tense and ready to cut down the enemy at any moment. The ground rose at such a speed that she felt a sense of speed, but no fear. Suddenly, a familiar word came out of her mouth that should have been unfamiliar to the locals.

“El, elevator…?”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

As soon as she answered quickly, the movements stopped, and they landed on the ground where the warlock awaited.

‘Where…?’

This was not the tunnel they fell into. It was in a cave where stalactites and stalagmites came into contact with each other to form a straight column.

Celine trembled as she clasped her body behind Leonhard’s back. It seemed that all the evil energy that had not been felt for a while was concentrated here. The stench was also getting worse, making it difficult for her to breathe.

In the middle of the cave, a huge red pole made of stalactites and stalagmites stuck together caught her eye.

A warlock with a beard was staring at them right in front of a blood-red pillar.

‘…No.’

Shaking her body, the warlock’s bloodshot eyes stared only at her.

His wrinkled mouth moved slowly.

“Don’t you feel powerless? Even though you have power, you don’t use it…”

Celine wanted to cover her ears. From the first words, she was afraid of the words from those who saw her through.

Leonhard opened his mouth coldly.

“Your jokes are useless.”

“Ha! Wolf cub, with what confidence do you say that? A wizard would know. The joy that power gives…!”

The warlock’s eyes gleamed strangely.

“Young wizard, I do not wish to kill my people. Try the magic. Then, I will get you out safely.”

Celine did not respond.

Meanwhile, Leonhard also stiffened his body for a while but didn’t say a word.

Silence engulfed the entire cave. They stared at each other and didn’t do anything or say anything. It continued for a while until the whole cave in which they were standing shook.

“….!”

The one who was astonished was the warlock.

“This is…!”

Leonhard did not miss the moment when the warlock’s tight concentration was cut off. He shouted at Celine to get away from him, and threw his body forward, swinging Rashir.

—Kuaduduk!

The warlock was nowhere to be seen, and a gray bat flapped its wings and plunged into his arms.

Leonhard immediately turned Rashir into a dagger and struck the bat. The moment Rashir touched the gray bat, the bat turned into a giant snake and wrapped around him. His right arm, which had grabbed Rashir, twisted under the pressure. Still, he did not let Rashir go until the end.

—Hurr!

Blue flames flowed through Leonhard’s whole body. The body of the serpent that imprisoned him did not move, but the red eyes shrank as if in agony.

He then transformed Rashir into a great sword and pierced it into the snake’s body. The snake’s body, cut in half, fell to the floor. However, this was only a tail cut. The next moment, a huge gray wolf appeared in the place where the snake’s head was.

It was only slightly similar in shape to the wolf commonly seen in the north.

Instead of soft fur, it had thorns that were sharp enough to tear the skin just by rubbing it. The wolf, which showed its monstrous teeth in a vicious manner, rushed toward him. Leonhard avoided the wolf’s attack with his smooth movements while aiming at its red eyes with Rashir.

Nonetheless, it was not easy to poke the eye while avoiding the thorns, teeth and claws.

His left arm, which had already been studded with thorns, was numb and dangled helplessly below his shoulders.

Leonhard made a cold judgment while the heavy body of the wolf pressed him down.

The drug that Celine had discovered seemed to be able to heal any wound easily. Regardless, his left arm was difficult to use in battle, so if he gave up his left shoulder and used a dagger to transform Rashir and stab its eyes…

He was not a hesitant person. At that, Leonhard immediately moved boldly and aimed at the wolf’s head. Naturally, there was a loophole in his left arm, which could not move, and the wolf rushed to bite the joint where the left shoulder and neck were connected.

He was concerned about the coming pain and side effects and erased it from his mind and aimed only at the wolf’s eyes.

There was not even the thought that Celine would grieve over his injury left in his mind.

—Bang!

An explosion sounded.

The stalactites on the ceiling shattered and began to fall towards them, flashing flashes of light in the dim cave. The wolf turned its head slightly to avoid the enormous blood-colored stalactites falling on its head.

It was as short as the flapping of a hummingbird’s wings, though it was enough for Leonhard.

Rashir turned into a rapier and pierced the wolf’s left and right eyes. In the next moment, the eerie wolf disappeared.

Only the old man who had been pierced by Rashir and vomited black blood was wriggling on the floor.

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