Chapter 58 : Dayle (4)

“Are you the one? The artifact thief.”

“Haha. Wh-what are you talking about? Thief?”

Dayle put on a brazen expression and denied it for now.

“I’m just an ordinary traveler.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Yes, elder. Hehe.”

His heart pounded madly.

There was no way these people would believe his words.

They had already come knowing that he was the artifact thief.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have suddenly appeared in this rural forest on the outskirts.

‘If I fight back, I’ll definitely die. I have to escape.’

They were being cautious to capture him perfectly.

Therefore, the opportunity was only once.

Dayle waited for that opportunity to come.

“The one we’re looking for is missing one eye.”

“Is that so? Then it’s not me. As you can see, both of my eyes are fine.”

“It appears so on the outside. But I heard that the thief can disguise himself with a special vision. So we need to check your face.”

Dayle’s expression hardened stiffly.

“My face?”

“That’s right.”

The opportunity was bullshit; it was a crisis.

‘In that case, I have no choice but to gamble.’

Dayle drew up his mana.

“Hoo. Then it can’t be helped. This is the first time I’m allowing a man to touch my face, but I’ll cooperate this time for your sake.”

“Thank you. I won’t forget this favor.”

“When nothing is found, you must apologize politely.”

“Of course? I promise.”

At Narsi’s signal, the hunter extended his hand toward Dayle.

The massive hand gradually approached his face.

Dayle pretended to obediently offer his face while hiding his hand behind his back.

‘Cold Punk.’

Cold metal was gripped in his hand.

One Hand Musket, Cold Punk.

Just then, the hunter bent down to touch his face, and Dayle pulled out Cold Punk and aimed it at his stomach.

The process was extremely swift and natural.

By the time the hunter noticed, it was already too late.

Taang!

The bullet containing cold air exploded upon firing, freezing the surroundings.

Crackle!

Now was the time.

Dayle didn’t miss the gap and escaped the spot.

Crackle──!

And then he was electrocuted and fell over.

“Keuugh!”

Dayle flew, leaving a long scratch on the ground.

He got up right away, but perhaps due to the aftereffects of the electrocution.

His mind was hazy.

“Oh dear. Are you okay?”

Narsi asked.

“……Damn it. Does this look okay to you?”

“Huhu. Then why try to escape? This entire clearing is my domain. As long as my gaze reaches, you can never escape.”

Normally, he wouldn’t have fallen for it.

It was just that he couldn’t notice because the lenses were covering both eyes due to the disguise technique.

“I promised to take responsibility and apologize with compensation. Or, should I take it as you admitting yourself that you’re the artifact thief?”

Narsi smiled leisurely.

Before he knew it, the hunter also stood beside him, looking unharmed.

Grit, Dayle ground his teeth.

Now that it had come to this, it was all or nothing.

Rip!

Dayle tore off the Face Mask and threw it away.

His bare face was revealed.

The gem embedded in his eye shone blue like that of a beast.

“Yeah. I’m the artifact thief you guys are looking for.”

At the same time, energies that were invisible to Dayle’s eyes began to appear.

Narsi’s mana, and the magic field created by that mana.

It wasn’t a lie.

Narsi’s magic field was now dominating the entire clearing.

‘He had already cast the spell before waking me up. I should have taken it off earlier.’

Tsk, Dayle clicked his tongue and gripped his weapons.

One hand held the Arming Sword, the other Cold Punk.

At that moment, something no one expected happened.

“……Evil Eye?”

It was Narsi.

He looked at Dayle with a quite surprised face.

Seeing that, Dayle inwardly cheered.

‘Right. That bastard was a mage!’

In the Frey Empire, the existence of Evil Eye to mages was equivalent to the grim reaper.

Recalling that fact, Dayle instantly switched his stance.

“Yeah. I’m Evil Eye. What? Surprised?”

“…….”

“You must know well that Evil Eye has an advantage in compatibility over mages. But don’t worry too much. I’ve decided not to kill for a while. You’re very lucky.”

Dayle folded his arms and shouted triumphantly.

“Get lost! If you turn back like this, I’ll specially not hold you accountable.”

There was no answer.

Narsi still remained silent, and the hunter was the same.

Dayle was flustered.

‘What? Too shocked to remember how to speak?’

It was a misunderstanding.

Soon after, Narsi’s mouth opened.

And the words that came out surprised Dayle instead.

“To meet the escaped Evil Eye here. As you said, I’m really lucky.”

Boom, lightning struck in Dayle’s mind.

Evil Eye was a secret special unit of the Naimus Empire.

Knowing that he had escaped from there meant that Narsi was affiliated with the Naimus Empire.

‘Shit. Now I see, the Naimus and the cult bastards are all in cahoots!’

It was a terrifying secret.

The leader of the largest adventurer guild in Frey was from an enemy nation!

But even if he learned it now, there was nothing Dayle could do.

“I know well that you’re a half-baked failure. Huhu. After finishing my business, I can hand you over to the empire. Ah. How can things go so smoothly?”

Snap, when Narsi’s fingers collided, the hunter strode toward Dayle.

Dayle tried to escape.

But it was futile.

Narsi’s magic blocked his path every time, and he fought the hunter but had to greet the ground in just 5 seconds.

Boom!

“……Keuk!”

The hunter took out a rope, bound Dayle’s body, and slung him over his shoulder.

“It’s done.”

“Yeah. Let’s return to headquarters.”

Thus, Dayle ended up returning to Icata less than an hour after leaving it.

Dayle struggled.

But every time, what came flying was the hunter’s fist pummeling.

He couldn’t take out a sword from subspace, nor could he break the rope with strength.

It was a rope for hunting beasts, so it was impossible for Dayle to untie it on his own.

It was dismal.

‘If I had Daybreak…….’

No.

‘What if I had just listened to them.’

Only then did Dayle regret leaving Shadow’s side.

Of course, Shadow was also in league with the cult.

Like Narsi here.

They probably planned to sell him to the cult after getting the secret tome from him.

But this was all his own speculation and suspicion, wasn’t it?

He didn’t know.

Shadow might have been sincere.

‘Bullshit. Because the situation is like this, I’m having pathetic regrets.’

It was when Dayle was smirking at his own cunning.

Narsi and the hunter suddenly stopped walking.

Thick darkness.

Within it, two figures blocked their way.

The untimely appearance of uninvited guests.

The hunter hardened his expression and blocked the front, but Narsi grabbed his arm.

Narsi’s expression as he looked at them was filled with delight.

“Oh? You?”

The darkness lifted, revealing a pure white skull mask.

“Have you been well.”

“Haha. I’ve been well. But what brings you here?”

“I came to check if things were resolved well.”

“I see. As you can see, it’s resolved well. Thanks to you.”

Narsi laughed heartily.

“Telling me about the chemical smell of the Face Mask in advance was brilliant. If not for that, I would have missed him.”

“I’m glad.”

Gerard and Luis, wearing skull masks, approached them.

“But you never know. He’s a sly guy, so he might be hiding some trick. May we check one last time.”

“Huhu. You really don’t let anything pass. Go ahead.”

Narsi nodded readily and stepped aside.

The two stood in front of the hunter.

“So this is the guy. The reliable friend.”

“He’s the most useful except for five others. Especially skilled in slicing people alive.”

“Ah.”

Suddenly, a blinding flash gleamed.

“Like this?”

A bright red blood streak soared into the air.

“Keuaaaaah!”

The hunter’s scream shook the forest.

He instinctively swung his arm at the sudden situation.

But one of his arms was already gone.

It had been cut off from the shoulder by Luis’s sword and flown away.

The ambush didn’t end there.

Luis and Gerard persistently followed the staggering hunter and swung their swords.

Slash! Slash!

Thanks to that, Dayle on the hunter’s shoulder was disoriented.

The atmosphere suddenly reversed.

The scenes before his eyes flipped rapidly, the ground and trees, the night sky turning upside down.

Soon, the everything stopped in the world.

In the midst of it, a man looking down at him stood tall.

Dayle looked up at him.

And asked.

“Why. Why me…….”

It was a question filled with many doubts and confusions.

But the answer was calm and obvious.

“You’re our customer.”

“……!”

“A thief doesn’t break a promise. The request is still ongoing.”

Dayle’s eyes widened greatly.

His pupils shook madly, and a hazy film began to form at the edges.

Before his eyes, the past and present were mixing.

─‘You promised, punk. As fellow fugitives, we’d help each other when in trouble.’

─‘Punk. This is what a thief is.’

At the same time, all the ropes binding Dayle were undone.

The man’s necklace was glowing softly.

“Watch from there. I’ll show you what a real thief is.”

He grinned and turned his body.

At that, Dayle felt something hot surging up from his chest.

It seemed like he might pour out teardrops in a flood at any moment.

But he held back.

Because he had to watch the fight that would soon unfold with wide eyes clearly.

‘My fate is there.’

Dayle struggled to raise his upper body and cast his gaze toward the two people in standoff.

There, a suffocating tension like suffocation flowed heavily.

* * *

Narsi lowered his head.

At his feet, before him, the hunter covered in blood lay fallen.

One arm cut off, with fatal wounds on his stomach and chest respectively.

It was the injury sustained from two people in that short time.

“Sor, sorry. Narsi-sama.”

The hunter uttered with difficulty.

Narsi shook his head and smiled kindly.

“No. It’s my mistake for misjudging. I thought you were useful.”

Narsi patted his shoulder.

“You were trash.”

“……!”

Crackle, an intense electric shock cleaved the darkness.

Before long, a pitch-black charred lump of meat lay at Narsi’s feet.

Thud, Narsi pushed the meat lump with his shoe and raised his eyes to look at Gerard.

“Now, will you explain? I don’t understand the current situation.”

“It’s as you see.”

“So. You’re betraying?”

“That’s not it. To begin with, you and I have no relation at all.”

Narsi stroked his beard and nodded his head.

“I see. You’re right. Since you gave up on our request last time, this is now just between you and me; the cult is separate. But…… why? Personal grudge? Or is my guild the goal? I liked you, so what’s the reason for this foolish choice.”

Gerard replied indifferently.

“It’s simple. We don’t associate with scum like drug dealers or human hunters.”

“……Drug dealers? Did you just say drug dealers?”

“Yeah. Drug dealers.”

“Huhuh.”

Narsi burst into empty laughter.

“You’re begging to be killed quickly. Fine. I’ll grant your wish.”

At the same time, Narsi’s hem fluttered madly.

An unusual airflow flowed centered on him.

To the point that the skin tingled with magical power, Gerard stepped back one step while gripping Raven’s handle.

Crackle, blue current flowed along Narsi’s body.

Then, a single light source formed above his head.

[Baltharga’s Blessing]

The rising vision that represented the person Narsi, and the technique that gave Narsi the moniker Thunder Dragon.

The light source orbited around Narsi, intercepting and blocking all approaching enemies, objects, and attacks.

‘Full power from the start.’

Gerard raised the corner of his mouth.

A flow different from expected.

But nothing changed.

Gerard shook his head slightly.

That was the signal.

Tat!

Luis, who had been watching him, kicked the ground.

Gerard also ran.

Thus, the two people rushed in from both sides and threw daggers.

Swish──

The number was six.

Among them, the daggers Gerard launched were all given variations with [Telekinesis], so they surged in with different directions and time differences.

But.

Boom!

The lightning streaks emitted by the light source bounced off all the flying daggers without a single error.

“Flanking tactics don’t work on me. No matter how many come, it doesn’t matt……!”

Narsi couldn’t finish his words.

Because a sudden flash gleamed right before his eyes.

Keeing!

Narsi quickly summoned his staff to block it.

But he couldn’t block the impact.

Slide, the pushed Narsi trembled his body.

It was literally a hair’s breadth.

If he had been a bit slower, his head would have split.

Thinking that, the smile disappeared from his lips, and his facial muscles stiffened.

“What a shame. I could have ended it in one go.”

The skull mask, who had already distanced himself, was smacking his lips.

‘……What? Was it spatial leap?’

Narsi shook his head.

No. That was the exclusive domain of grand mages.

Similar but different, a thief’s vision.

“Hmm. Now I see you had a hidden card.”

Narsi bared his teeth and growled.

“Then I must respond accordingly. Come forth, Berga.”

In an instant, a spell was drawn, and a black beast sprang out from within.

Grade 2 beast, Berga.

At Narsi’s signal, Berga pounced on Luis, who was dodging lightning madly and drawing the attention of the light source.

“Now there’s no interferer.”

Instead of an answer, a dagger flew.

Flash──!

The dagger was bounced by the beam shot by the light source.

In the meantime, Narsi completed one magic.

[Thunderbolt].

Boom!

A deep pit was dug where Gerard had been.

But Gerard was already not there.

He was moving through [Dagger Shift], avoiding the light source and Narsi’s magic.

Besides that.

Boom!

He counterattacked with [Flame Surge] and [Blade Wind], which had fast spell deployment.

“You can’t even scratch my body with such low-level magic.”

But it didn’t work on Narsi.

To begin with, damaging him with the magics Gerard had learned was impossible.

Nevertheless, the reason Gerard kept dodging and using only magic was.

To wait for the opportunity.

‘The only way to catch Narsi is this.’

The opportunity was only once.

Boom!

The moment Narsi’s vision was obscured by [Flame Surge].

Gerard summoned Sylph and sent it flying upward.

“I see! I wondered how you were dodging my lightning; you were moving through the thrown daggers!”

Narsi quickly figured out the weakness of [Dagger Shift] and switched his attack method.

Instead of Gerard, he showered lightning on the spots where daggers were embedded.

Rumble!

“Keuk.”

Gerard, who barely avoided the thunderbolt, finally intuited that the time had come.

The decisive move to end this battle.

“Phase Shift.”

The view before Gerard’s eyes reversed.

Whooosh──

The fierce wind blowing.

The floating sensation enveloping his entire body.

Looking down, he saw the ground tumbling here and there, pitted, and the ruined forest.

This was the sky where Sylph had been just moments ago.

At the same time, above Narsi’s head.

Then, his body free-fell downward.

Narsi, who looked like a black dot, gradually grew larger.

Toward him, Gerard extended Raven.

Crack- The night raven opened its maw.

“Steal and devour, Raven.”

With the activation, the light of authority shot out.

Caw──!

[Baltharga’s Protection] shot lightning to protect Narsi, but.

The authority flying toward Narsi pierced through the lightning indifferently and penetrated Narsi’s head.

At the same time, numerous copied lightning attribute visions were listed before Gerard’s eyes.

Among them, he could choose only one.

The decision was made along with the activation of authority.

“You were hiding there!”

Narsi, who discovered Gerard late, raised his finger.

With a flash, the bundle of electricity shot toward Gerard.

Crackle!

But even though hit directly by the electric bundle, Gerard was unharmed.

Because the vision was already complete.

The trump card planned from the time of preparing this fight.

Every time his heart pounded, the hot energy flowing through his veins was a destructive and ferocious aggregate of power.

Before he knew it, the same light source as Narsi’s was in Gerard’s hand.

His falling body had already stopped.

The one who first noticed its presence was its owner, Narsi.

“……How do you have [Baltharga’s Blessing]?”

Narsi asked with a face full of shock.

But.

“Who said that?”

Gerard bared his teeth and smiled.

“That this is [Baltharga’s Blessing].”

Since when.

The night sky cast over Gerard was unusually black and dark compared to other places.

It was dark clouds.

The dark clouds that had gathered at some point swirled around him, sucking in even the surrounding darkness.

If someone asked a ‘Frey’ player what representative vision comes to mind when thinking of Narsi, he would choose [Baltharga’s Blessing] without any hesitation.

But.

If asked to pick only one most powerful ultimate vision among Narsi’s visions, he would choose this without hesitation.

[Baltharga’s Advent].

The forbidden technique left in the world by the ancient evil dragon Baltharga.

Also, a supreme vision that the current Narsi had learned but couldn’t use due to lack of mana.

It was the reason Narsi was obsessed with the elixir ‘Fierce Conviction’.

Also, his desperate wish.

The one that the Narsi of this world couldn’t achieve.

And.

The technique that he would never achieve.

Before Narsi’s eyes as he looked up, Gerard offered all his mana as sacrifice and summoned it here.

Crackle!

The light source that sucked mana like a leech soared into the sky.

Toward the center where black dark clouds were swirling.

Goooooo…….

Heavy silence.

Afterward.

A massive lightning split the world in half.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep