Chapter 27: That Day, at the Cemetery (2)

“How did we manage to sneak out of the Academy? But will we even get into the cemetery?”

At Ivan’s question, Karina tilted her chin up proudly.

“Hey. Who do you think I am?”

“You’re Karina.”

“Exactly. I’m Karina. Karina Zain. The noble gem of the Zain Duke and a genius of fire magic. Did you think I’d pick that place for a bet without a plan?”

“So?”

“Of course, I talked to my family and got all the obstacles out of the way. There’s this old guy, Roitz, practically half-dead, working as the caretaker. They say his only joy in life is drinking.”

At Karina’s brazen tone, Ivan and Yuria furrowed their brows, but Gwyn, as if used to it, asked casually.

“Drinking?”

“Yeah. A few bottles of expensive liquor were enough to lure him to the mansion. So, right now, there’s no one at the cemetery.”

“Oh. Got it.”

Karina shot Ivan a sulky glare.

“What’s that? That’s it?”

“Huh? What else?”

“Your reaction! ‘Got it’ is all you’ve got?”

“What else? You proposed the bet, so naturally, you’d handle the location, right?”

Karina, at a loss for words, stared at Ivan with a dumbfounded expression.

Then, she scrunched up her face in irritation.

“Ugh. Fine. I shouldn’t have expected more.”

Ivan scratched his cheek, watching her storm ahead.

They were climbing over the Academy’s outer wall and heading along the mountain path to the cemetery.

They chatted lightly about the bet.

Even then, they had no idea that something far more dangerous than a bet was about to unfold.

The situation at the cemetery was exactly as Karina described.

The building that seemed to be the caretaker’s residence was dark.

A sign on the door reading “On Patrol” was the only thing greeting them.

“Even though we caused this, it’s still disappointing. To think a once-proud knight has fallen to alcoholism and neglected his duties.”

“What’s that? Stop spouting nonsense and hurry up, Gwyn.”

Led by Karina, Gwyn, Ivan, and finally Yuria entered the cemetery.

Gwyn looked around at the rows of tombstones and thick fog with interest.

“Pretty eerie.”

“Yeah. Feels like something could pop out any second.”

“If you’re scared, we can change the bet’s rules. I don’t mind.”

At Yuria’s words, Karina scoffed.

“Ha! You’re the one who’s scared.”

Yuria shrugged and walked ahead.

Karina bit her lip and quickened her pace to overtake her again.

They were engaged in a subtle battle of nerves.

Then, the fog grew thicker.

Only then did Karina sense something off and slowed her pace, worried about losing her group.

A breeze blew.

The wind passing between them whispered incessantly.

They felt countless gazes from all around.

If they so much as glanced that way, it seemed a hand might shoot out from the fog and grab them.

Before they knew it, their chatter had stopped.

Their faces were stiff with tension.

The invisible pressure, laced with faint hostility, was now palpable to everyone.

‘This isn’t some absurd urban legend. There’s something real up ahead.’

Yuria tightly gripped the hilt of her sword at her waist.

Her eyes, filled with tension, scanned the surroundings cautiously.

Thoughts of the bet with Karina had vanished.

The air around them clung to their bodies unpleasantly.

It was air brimming with malevolent energy.

“This fog… it’s not natural.”

Sensitive to mana, she muttered softly.

But by then, the group had already stepped onto ground littered with broken tombstones.

A land of death where even weeds couldn’t grow.

Every sense in their bodies screamed.

Danger.

Something that any living creature would instinctively fear.

This place was filled with death.

“Karina.”

“What!”

“You feel it too, don’t you?”

Karina bit her lip without responding.

Of course, she knew.

Her ability to sense mana was unmatched.

She had felt the ominous energy in this place from the start.

She had already pulled a long silver staff from inside her coat, fully prepared.

“So what? We’ve come this far, and you want to turn back?”

“My gut’s telling me something’s wrong.”

“Are you kidding? Have you forgotten we’re in the middle of a bet?”

Exactly.

Her pride wouldn’t allow her to retreat.

“Forget it. We end this today. The bet is who catches the ghost knight first. Don’t tell me you came without that much resolve?”

Turning to Yuria, Karina threw her earlier words back at her.

“If you don’t like it, run away. Gwyn and I will take care of the ghost knight.”

Yuria didn’t like that either.

“No. I’m in.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Just then.

Gwyn suddenly grabbed the collar of Karina’s coat as she walked ahead and yanked her back.

“Kyaa!”

“Ugh.”

The two tumbled onto the dirt.

Karina glared at Gwyn, her face full of irritation at his sudden action.

But she couldn’t lash out.

Shockingly, Gwyn was clutching his bloodied right arm, groaning in pain.

“Ugh.”

A red line ran vividly from his shoulder down to his forearm.

It was clearly a wound from something sharp.

“Gwyn!”

Karina shouted in alarm, moving toward him.

But Gwyn, now with his sword drawn, held her back and yelled.

“Be careful! There’s something in the fog!”

“Ah!”

Only then did Karina belatedly start watching for the attacker.

Her talent for magic might be exceptional, but her lack of real combat experience showed in moments like this.

Fortunately, the attacker didn’t target Karina.

Behind.

It was where Yuria and Ivan stood.

Shwick!

Ivan, with his senses heightened to the max, didn’t dodge.

He met the attack head-on with his sword.

His goal was to draw out the identity of the enemy hiding in the fog.

But Ivan quickly withdrew his swing and threw himself to the side in a hurry.

Skrrt!

A dark sword aura swept through where he had been.

Crack.

A tombstone split in half like tofu.

The thought that it could’ve been him made Ivan break out in a cold sweat.

“…No substance.”

An enemy without substance.

There was only one possible identity for such an attacker.

“It’s the ghost knight!”

At that moment, the fog parted, and something black stepped out.

It was a dark shadow in human form.

Or perhaps like the hazy smoke flickering above a candle.

But the black blade in its hand gleamed sharply.

Two red dots on what seemed to be its face told of its past as an exceptional swordsman in life.

An undead.

A product of death that despised the living.

The ghost knight charged again.

Its target was Ivan once more.

Realizing physical attacks wouldn’t work, Ivan gave up on fighting back.

He dodged, sometimes rolling on the ground, buying time.

“Run for now! I’ll try to hold it off!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

In a flash, five beams of light shot toward the ghost knight.

It dodged three, but the remaining two hit, causing the ghost knight to stagger back.

Kiii…

Its red eyes glared at where the beams came from.

Karina, now standing atop a tombstone, glared back at the ghost knight.

Her eyes blazed with fury.

Behind her, three crimson fireballs flickered, ready to strike.

She launched the fireballs immediately.

“I’m not running away! Die!”

The fireballs hit the ghost knight’s body precisely, exploding.

Boom!

Karina swung her arm, cheering triumphantly.

“Got it!”

But as the smoke cleared, her expression froze.

Despite taking the fireballs head-on, the ghost knight’s body was unscathed.

“What… why isn’t it dead?”

The Vision she just used, [Splitting Explosion Sphere], was the most destructive fire magic she could wield.

Perhaps because she was so confident in her abilities.

The unexpected result threw her into a panic.

And that panic soon turned into a massive crisis.

The ghost knight immediately charged at Karina.

And the one who stood in its way was none other than Yuria.

Clang!

Sword met sword head-on.

The impact sent a gust of wind swirling around, and Karina, still in a panic, fell backward.

“Kyaa!”

Karina scrambled to her feet.

She stared ahead with wide, shocked eyes.

Yuria was holding her own against the ghost knight’s sword without giving an inch.

Her blade perfectly blocked the intangible sword of the ghost knight.

Boom! Bang!

“What… what is that?”

As a mage, Karina realized instantly.

What Vision Yuria was using and where its power came from.

“[Storm Blade]…”

[Storm Blade]

It was magic.

It imbued the target with the power of a storm.

‘But how is she…’

There was no time to think.

Yuria’s voice rang in her ears.

“Karina! Use [Guardian of Fire]!”

“Ah!”

[Guardian of Fire] was a reinforcement magic like [Storm Blade], enveloping weapons in flames.

It was more of a supporting Vision, so she didn’t use it often, but she certainly knew how to cast it.

Karina quickly wove the spell.

Following Yuria’s orders didn’t sit well with her, but she knew now wasn’t the time for pride.

Soon, the mana extending from Karina turned into flames, wrapping around three swords.

Ivan and Gwyn.

And Yuria.

Yuria’s sword, in particular, burned with flames so vivid and massive that merely swinging it cleared the surrounding fog.

Thus began the trio’s coordinated attack.

The ghost knight was relentlessly pushed back.

Kiii…

With Karina’s magic joining in intermittently, the ghost knight’s body began to tear and scatter.

“The core! We need to find and destroy the core!”

Gwyn shouted.

The head.

Or the chest.

Gwyn recalled reading in a book that the core was in one of those places.

At that moment, three swords stabbed toward a single point simultaneously.

The converging blades.

And at their center was the ghost knight.

Pierced through the chest by the three swords, the ghost knight collapsed to its knees without a sound.

“Is it over?”

Ivan muttered.

The red glow in the ghost knight’s eyes was slowly fading.

“It’s over! We destroyed the core! We won!”

Gwyn shouted, looking at Ivan.

It was a rare, excited expression for him.

Yuria and Ivan gave faint smiles.

A sound came from behind.

It was Karina, who had been lagging behind, collapsing as her tension released.

“Karina.”

Yuria hurried to her side.

She might dislike and resent her rival, but the joy of fighting together and winning, however briefly, made her forget those feelings.

But soon, Yuria felt a sharp pain.

The wound on her right shoulder throbbed with every step.

It was the injury from the swamp orc.

…

That’s strange.

It should’ve been fully healed long ago with Professor Ilai’s intensive treatment.

At the same time, for some reason, a voice echoed in her mind.

It was Gerard’s teaching about the mindset for facing battle.

‘Remember. A battle isn’t over until it’s over.’

So, never let your guard down until the very end.

Check thoroughly.

Only when the enemy’s life is extinguished and your safety is confirmed—only then is it time to savor victory.

Got it?

Sss…

The fog began to swirl again.

A piercing wail echoed.

The scream was so loud it completely drowned out the shocked gasps of Gwyn and Ivan behind her.

Be carefuuul—!

Yuria turned around.

The ghost knight, its chest gaping open, was charging at her.

She swung her sword in a hurry.

The ghost knight’s body partially scattered under the Storm Blade.

But the undead, incapable of feeling pain, passed right by Yuria. Its target was never Yuria to begin with.

Karina Zain.

Yuria gritted her teeth and ran with all her might.

But the ghost knight, having passed her, was already in front of Karina. She saw Karina desperately swinging her staff.

…It’s useless.

The staff did no damage to the ghost knight’s body. Tragically.

The ghost knight, gripping its sword in a reverse hold, thrust downward.

The blade’s tip aimed precisely at Karina’s forehead.

In that instant, Yuria felt as if time itself had slowed.

“—!”

The shouts of Gwyn and Ivan came through distorted.

Her heart pounded.

Karina’s trembling eyes, watching the ghost knight, shifted to Yuria.

Help me.

Her eyes were pleading. Yuria reached out, shouting.

“Nooo!”

At that moment,

Boom!

A massive pillar of fire erupted from the ground, swallowing the ghost knight.

“Ugh!”

Yuria quickly raised her arm to shield her face.

A blinding flash exploded right in front of her.

Scorching heat filled the air ahead.

Soon, the pillar of fire that had devoured the ghost knight faded, as if its task was done.

Behind it, Karina lay sprawled, her expression blank.

“Karina!”

Yuria rushed to her side.

Thankfully, her body showed no wounds.

Ivan and Gwyn, arriving late, frantically checked Karina’s condition.

“Karina! Are you okay?”

“She doesn’t seem injured.”

“But why’s she like this? Snap out of it, Karina!”

Even then, Karina stared somewhere with a dazed expression.

“…Ah.”

One by one, the group, sensing something off, followed Karina’s gaze.

And they saw it.

On the hill, silhouetted against the moon, stood a man in a black mask.

“Get lost.”

A grim voice echoed through the area.

“Unless you want to die here.”

The thick, murderous intent in his voice made all four of them tremble as if struck by lightning.

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