Chapter 338: Episode 338

Atop the wall, the werewolf Canis and Dick faced off. She glared at him, her body coiled in a combat stance.

’My opponent is from Kizen, just like me. Should I just retreat and slaughter the regular soldiers?’

The thought was fleeting. Canis quickly dismissed it. The outcome of this war depended on the thirty necromancers who wielded Jet-Black. Wasting energy on grunts was pointless when she could take down an enemy commander.

’Besides, that smirking guy knows my identity.’ If she let him go, her cover would be blown, and all her strategies would be revealed to the defenders. She had to fight.

’…But what is that?’

She couldn’t just charge in blindly. The two metal cases flanking Dick were deeply unsettling. They were made of a sleek, heavy-looking metal that had cracked the stone floor beneath them. Canis had no idea what they were; she’d never seen a necromancer use such equipment.

“Well then,” Dick said, seeing her hesitation as he placed his palms on the cases. “I’ll make the first move!”

<Enchant>

As Dick’s Jet-Black flowed into the metal cases, they lit up as if coming to life. The hum of an engine filled the air as the devices activated.

She instinctively tilted her head back. Something had grazed her face. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a small spark streaking away like a flash of light.

“Oh, you reacted to that! Is it some kind of wild instinct?” Dick taunted, pouring more Jet-Black into the cases. With a series of clanking sounds, vents opened on their surfaces, and a barrage of light beams shot out.

[Ugh!]

Canis spun and sprinted along the wall, the beams of light nipping at her heels.

’What is that? A curse?’ She didn’t know what the technique was, but she had no desire to find out by getting hit. Dodging with her natural werewolf agility, she infused her claws with Jet-Black and swiped at an incoming beam.

’Clang!’

The beam deflected off her claw with a sharp sound.

’Good. I can counter it with Jet-Black.’

“Hmm.” Dick grimaced, looking slightly strained as he fired an even denser volley from the cases. The pattern continued—Dick attacking, Canis evading. The beastman soldiers could only watch in awe, not daring to interfere in the spectacular battle between the two necromancers.

’Good.’ As time passed, the tide began to turn. Canis was dodging so skillfully that Dick, the attacker, was now panting for breath. Such a relentless assault was naturally consuming a vast amount of his Jet-Black.

With more room to breathe, Canis began drawing a curse magic circle on her palm.

’I’ll hit him with the Howling and finish him in one blow.’

She quickly completed the curse. Shifting from defense to offense, she charged toward Dick, bringing the glowing magic circle on her palm to her mouth.

-Awoooooooooo!

She howled. The area-of-effect curse, <Wolf Howling>, washed over the battlefield.

“Hngh!”

“Kgh!”

The soldiers who had been moving to help Dick froze, their faces turning pale as they stumbled back or collapsed, their legs giving out. Dick’s face also went white, his pupils trembling.

It was the perfect chance. Moving with blinding speed, Canis got behind him and lunged.

’I’ve won!’

Just as her claws were about to pierce his back—

Dick twisted with preternatural speed, dodging the attack. The man who should have been paralyzed by the curse stepped aside with ease. Thrown off balance, Canis staggered forward.

A high-pitched whine filled the air, and with a loud ’click’, the sword-like claws on her hands locked magnetically to the metal cases.

[W-What is this!]

She tried to pull her arms free, but they wouldn’t budge. The cases were too heavy; the more she struggled, the more it felt like her claws would be torn from her hands.

“Whew.” Dick grinned and stood up, looking perfectly fine.

[H-How did you dodge that? You should have been caught in the Howling!]

“Huh? What are you saying?” Dick asked, casually pulling two earplug-like objects from his ears. “You were probably wondering why the curse didn’t work, right?”

Her jaw dropped.

[How did you manage that…?! I’m positive I never saw you put in any earplugs!]

“Ah, of course. I had them in from the very beginning.” Dick had done his homework. He knew about her Metamorphosis and the Howling technique that came with it. “You didn’t really think I’d pick a fight with you without being prepared for your signature move, did you?”

[…Damn it!]

Dick tucked the earplugs away. “Most of the items I use in battle are activated by ‘Enchantment’. These earplugs are no different. All I have to do is channel a little Jet-Black into them, and they become perfectly soundproof.”

She growled in frustration, still trying to wrench her arms free, but her claws remained fused to the metal cases. They were a part of her body in this form, and she couldn’t retract them—a fact Dick was well aware of.

“And,” Dick said, holding up a finger with a flourish. “That stuff that flew at you like a curse just now? It was completely harmless.”

[…What?]

“It was just a bluff,” Dick said with a triumphant smirk.

“Everyone got burned by curses during the duel evaluations, so they shudder and get on guard at the mere sight of something similar, right?” Dick explained with a sly grin. “I decided to use that psychology to my advantage. In reality, this metal case is like a magnet that operates on jet-black.”

A lie. A thorough deception. That was Dick’s way of surviving in Kizen.

[So what.]

Canis trembled with rage at the thought of being tricked, her eyes blazing as she glared at him.

[What are you going to do now?]

Dick’s goal was to force her out of her transformation. Her arms were useless, but she still had her legs. She had fangs and a tail, too. She was confident she could tear him apart if he dared come closer with that knife. The muscles in her legs coiled like powerful springs.

[Come on if you dare!]

“Going in is scary,” Dick cooed, feigning fear. “I’m a coward, you see.”

He pulled several potion bottles from his subspace and began tossing them at her. Her entire body was quickly drenched in a viscous, sticky liquid that gave off a cloyingly sweet smell. It was likely a poison or paralysis potion, but Canis had taken Professor Byulya’s class and was confident in her resistance. More importantly, her claws were starting to loosen. She could feel the magnetic force weakening. It would probably only last another minute. ’You’re the one who’s going to get it for letting your guard down,’ she snarled to herself.

The last thing Dick dropped at her feet was a hornet’s nest. Her expression froze.

[A hornet’s nest? You think you can catch a necromancer with something like this?]

Dick turned his back, already walking away. “Those hornets are a monster crossbreed,” he called over his shoulder. “Their stingers will pierce right through your jet-black.”

He raised both arms behind his head and snapped his fingers.

’Dispel Enchantment.’

“Bye-bye.”

A horrifying buzz filled the air as swarms of hornets erupted from the three nests. Almost simultaneously, the magnetic grip on her claws weakened and released.

’It worked!’

Freed, she tried to leap away on a platform of jet-black, but the hornets were faster. They swarmed her honey-coated body in an instant.

’Awooooooooooo!’

The pain was blinding, a torment that felt as if every cell in her body was being stabbed by a million microscopic needles. Canis let out a raw howl and broke into a desperate run. But no matter how fast she fled, the hornets clung to her, their venomous stingers digging through her jet-black hide and into her skin.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaah—!]

Driven mad by the agony, she stumbled and fell from the castle wall. She hit the ground with a sickening thud, her barrier gauge instantly depleted.

[Canis McGrory has been eliminated.]

[Defense Team (15/15)]

[Siege Team (14/15)]

Her body dissipated, scattering like dust on the battlefield.

“Hahaha! The first kill is mine!” Dick roared, throwing his arms in the air in triumph.

—

After Dick took down Canis, the chaos on the castle wall was finally brought under control, like a raging fire being smothered.

“Alright, let’s go!” Dick bellowed.

With him in the lead, the soldiers rallied, pushing back the Khan Kingdom forces that had scaled the wall. When Dick enchanted their armor and weapons, every soldier fought with the ferocity of an elite warrior.

But then…

A series of loud clatters echoed from the front lines as soldiers were struck down by an unseen force. Dick stood on his tiptoes, craning his neck to see what was happening. A single siege ladder was hovering in mid-air, bludgeoning his men.

“Huh?”

Before he could process it, the other ladders resting against the wall began to float into the air as well.

“Hmph! What is this now?”

The ladders ignored the other soldiers and converged on him. Dick dropped his sword and bolted.

’P-Psychokinesis? Is there a student at Kizen who can use psychokinesis at this level?’ he wondered frantically.

He leaped into the air to dodge a flying ladder, then slapped his palm against its wooden frame as it passed.

’Enchant!’

The moment the spell took hold, the force moving the ladder vanished, and it crashed to the ground. That confirmed it for Dick. This wasn’t psychokinesis.

’Step. Step.’

“They said all I had to do was shuttle ladders.”

A girl was approaching him. She had a short bob and a charming puffiness under her eyes, and she was wearing a Kizen uniform. Despite being deep in enemy territory, she strolled along the rampart with an air of complete leisure. The ladders she controlled moved around her like silent bodyguards, knocking down any beast-kin soldiers that got too close.

“It’s strange,” she mused, tilting her head. “How did a fool like you manage to catch Canis?”

“Th-That’s a trade secret,” Dick stammered, trying to sound nonchalant despite having used up most of his jet-black on the werewolf. He recognized her at a glance. “Milena Hartz. Is it time for you to make a personal appearance?”

“You recognized me right away,” she sighed dramatically. “Being famous is getting a little old.”

Milena raised a single finger. The siege ladders clattered to the ground, and in their place, the stone tiles of the castle wall began to rise into the air.

’I’m screwed.’

For Dick, an opponent who could hurl multiple non-metallic projectiles was the worst possible matchup. He scrambled to his feet and ran as the bricks began to whistle through the air toward him.

’Whack! Thwack!’

Even a grazing blow was incredibly painful. He staggered but forced himself to run at full speed.

“You’re fast at running away.”

The voice was right beside him. Dick’s heart leaped into his throat. He whipped his head around to see Milena keeping pace with him effortlessly.

’Whoosh!’

He threw himself backward, narrowly dodging her kick. The recoil sent him off balance, and a cloud of black smoke shot toward him.

’Exhaust.’

The curse hit him a split second too soon. His body instantly felt as heavy as lead.

’I-I’m screwed! If I don’t dispel this quickly…!’

A second and third strike were coming. He frantically spread a magic circle on his palm, preparing the dispelling curse, ’Cancellation’. But it was too late.

’Fwoosh! Fwoosh!’

Two more blasts of ’Exhaust’ shot from Milena’s fingers, passing through his body before he could react. A full three stacks. Dick’s body trembled violently as he fought to endure it, but his strength failed, and he collapsed to his knees. His ’Cancellation’ spell fizzled out, and his heavy hand dropped to the ground.

“Clear,” Milena chirped, lowering her finger.

“Ugh, seriously,” Dick grumbled. “This is why I hate Cursology majors. Their one-on-one combat ability is just too broken.”

“Sorry about that,” she said with a smile that was anything but apologetic. She gestured with her hand, and the wall bricks around them floated into the air. “Bye-bye.”

The bricks hurtled toward him. Just as he let his arms hang limp in resignation…

A solid wall of ice erupted from the ground in front of him, blocking the assault. The bricks shattered against its surface and fell uselessly to the side.

“You dummy!” a sharp voice cut through the air. “Are you really struggling against just one opponent?”

Dick’s head snapped up in surprise.

Somehow, a girl with sky-blue hair had appeared behind Milena.

’Frost Nova.’

’Krrrrrumble!’ A massive flower of ice bloomed from her palm, instantly flash-freezing and swallowing everything around it.

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