An absurd scene unfolded before his eyes, and an involuntary laugh escaped his lips.
“Ha ha, damn….”
In the midst of blood spurting, and limbs being severed, a teddy bear that seemed like it would delight young girls was brutally slicing its companions to death with a knife.
Screams and moans echoed, mixed with the choking sounds of blood clogging throats, and the wet splattering of blood on the floor, creating a cacophony of horror. Standing amidst this chaos were a small teddy bear and a girl.
It was a scenario that could only belong in a cheap horror movie, yet it was happening right before him.
“This is a dream.”
He muttered, trying to escape reality, but there was no way it could be.
The acrid scent of blood and the damp feel, along with the chilling touch of a knife now aimed at his throat, were vivid reminders that this was not a dream.
“Stop, don’t kill that one.”
The girl said.
Then she began to slowly approach him.
-Tap, tap. Tap.
Evidently not wanting to step in the pool of blood, the girl cautiously moved her feet, looking down as she walked like a cat.
Sometimes just on her toes, sometimes with short strides, other times wide, and occasionally jumping to avoid puddles of blood, it resembled a strange dance that sent chills down his spine.
With her surreal appearance, she looked almost like a puppet dancing from the depths of hell.
‘Could it be that the ‘puppeteer’ he mentioned refers to this girl?’
He shouted out at the girl approaching him.
“Who are you? Who ordered this? What do you want?”
However, the girl tilted her head slightly in response.
“From the looks of it, you don’t seem to be in a position to ask questions, do you?”
“……!”
She was right. There was no reason for her to answer his question.
For her, his inquiries were merely noise reverberating in emptiness.
The girl straightened her head again after tilting it and asked.
“Then let me ask, what is there here that might pique my interest? If it satisfies me, I might let you go.”
“……How can I trust that?”
It was such an enticing proposition that she would let him go if he told her.
But there was no guarantee that the girl would keep her promise.
With those thoughts causing him to go silent, the girl continued.
“I cannot lie. Once I say something, I must keep it. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t speak; eventually, as I walk and clean up this place, I’m sure I’ll come across what I want. What I desire is just a bit of time savings.”
He slowly met the girl’s gaze.
Her expression was smiling.
A smile so natural it almost gave the illusion that they were having a casual conversation, it eased the tension of those looking at her.
“Time is a very precious resource to me.”
“……”
He contemplated her words.
There was nothing wrong in what she said.
As long as that monstrous doll existed, this facility could not halt her footsteps.
But it was also a fact that consuming time exploring the entire facility on foot was inefficient.
And the girl placed great importance on time, as much as on a person’s life.
If he saved the girl’s time, he would save his own life.
No matter how he thought about it, it was a deal that would be anything but bad for him.
“Say it quickly; don’t waste my time. Time is still flowing.”
The girl began to urge him.
“……Ah, I will guide you.”
——-
Luke could then lead him away.
“Here.”
“Hmm, indeed.”
The place he arrived at, following a somewhat complicated path, was in front of a large door of what appeared to be a storage facility.
And the strange magical energy felt from beyond the door certainly caught Luke’s interest.
“Interesting. Where’s the key?”
“I don’t have one. I don’t have the authority.”
“Oh dear, that’s a pity.”
The girl clicked her tongue in disappointment.
“Then, I suppose I’ll be let go?”
“Ah, of course. Liv?”
At his question, Luke nodded and commanded the doll, Liv, who was pointing a knife at his neck from his shoulder.
“Free him from life.”
“What? Wait a minute, that’s not what we agreed—!”
-Swish.
Before he could protest any further, the sharp blade grazed his neck deeply.
He grasped his neck tightly as blood gushed out and glared at the girl with eyes full of resentment.
“I said I’d let you go, but I never said I’d spare your life.”
“Gurgle, urgh…”
He wanted to shout, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” but his vocal cords were already failing him.
He felt the impulsive urge to twist the girl’s delicate white neck, but Luke swatted his hand away as if he were brushing aside a pest, uttering in a voice filled with disdain.
“How dare a dark mage reach out to me.”
In truth, Luke never intended to spare him from the beginning.
How could he possibly let a person exuding such a horrific scent of dark magic live?
Moreover, the entire facility reeked of dark magic.
The earlier massacre was precisely because of that.
If he hadn’t felt the lingering traces of dark magic from them, he wouldn’t have killed them.
Luke did not derive pleasure from murder or violence; he merely wielded it out of necessity.
However, if the other party was a dark mage, the story changed.
The only reason he had kept him around was that he seemed the most communicable, nothing more and nothing less.
“Filthy dark mage.”
Of course, Luke knew there were correct ways to use dark magic in this era.
Dark magic could be employed benevolently depending on its application.
Resurrecting bones for studying fossils and using blood to extract information for crime scene investigation.
Dark magic used in that way would indeed be quite commendable.
But the dark magic they employed was different.
He sensed a magical energy similar to a lich emanating from them.
“What filthy creatures, to reek so unpleasantly.”
How many sacrifices had there been, and how many wicked deeds had been committed?
It was a thought that was unpleasant to even imagine.
“…….”
Liv quietly gazed at him from atop Luke’s shoulder as he was slowly collapsing.
Noticing the meaning in her gaze, Luke shook his head.
“No, there’s no need to sever arms. That would only cause blood to spill.”
He brushed off the shoulder he nearly touched.
Though the shield wrapped around him would have prevented even a speck of dust from touching him, the very idea of his essence touching her magic was repulsive.
-Thud.
After he collapsed, Luke knocked on the door a few times like a polite visitor.
“Hm, it seems quite thick.”
The heavy weight and sound transferred through his hands suggested it wouldn’t be easy to open.
Magical protection was also meticulous, and it appeared it would take time to open it without leaving a trace.
What could be on the other side that warranted such thorough sealing?
Luke felt anxious, accompanied by curiosity.
Luke observed Liv as she wiped the blood from her knife next to the fallen dark mage’s corpse.
Sometimes, it is necessary to cut boldly to untie a knot that is hard to unravel.
“Liv, I grant permission to lift the three-tier restriction placed on you from now on.”
“……?”
The limit was the three-stage restriction that Luke had placed on Liv’s body to conserve her mana in everyday life.
It laid down restrictions such as 1st stage: overall output reduction, 2nd stage: reduced movement speed, and 3rd stage: mana operation limitations.
However, until now, the release of only the 2nd stage had sufficiently demonstrated her capabilities, making the 3rd stage essentially meaningless.
Yet now he was unbinding that restriction, piquing Liv’s curiosity as she listened closely to his next command.
“Cut this door.”
“…….”
At Luke’s command, Liv swiftly raised her sword to her chest in a knightly salute before stepping forward.
Then, holding the knife with both hands, she pressed the back of the blade to her forehead as if concentrating.
Watching Liv as the blue manifestation began to form on her sword, Luke took exactly one step back to prepare for the destruction that was about to ensue.
There was more dust around than he had anticipated.
–Swoosh–!!
As Liv leaped and initiated a quick and precise cut, it looked as though the motion crossed twice in one, slicing through the air.
Even the sound could not keep up with the trajectory of the blade, and sharp rays of light erupted as though the very space was cleaved apart.
In the face of such an overwhelming phenomenon, the thick protective door became as helpless as a cake placed before a knife.
-Krggg!!!
As the light dissipated, the illusion of the severed space rejoining followed, and fragments of the door began to noisily rain down.
Luke closed his eyes, listening to the noise and considered.
Indeed, nothing compared to a swordmaster’s swordplay when smashing through magic head-on, but nonetheless, this was far too noisy.
