Self-Loathing (4)
Chapter 22
“Hmm. It seems there’s been some misunderstanding. I would like to have a little chat with you.”
Davide smiled kindly.
“Since we’re here, the children might wake up. How about we move somewhere else?”
“Alright.”
Ray mimicked an innocent child’s expression in response.
Though both were fully aware of each other’s intentions, they came to an agreement.
Neither wanted to engage in battle at this location, where their possessions could get damaged.
The two walked side by side down the corridor.
The rain was getting heavier. After stepping outside the orphanage, Davide and Ray headed toward the back gate.
Davide considerately erected a barrier to ensure Ray didn’t get wet from the rain.
Most of the vibrations were absorbed by Davide’s barrier, which effectively blocked any sound from escaping.
“I hope you haven’t misunderstood me.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“I didn’t come here intending to harm anyone.”
“But you entered the orphanage without permission.”
“By nature, mages are secretive beings. I hope you can understand that.”
“Why did you come to the orphanage?”
“I saw a truly talented child. I want to meet the one with blue hair.”
“You mean Luna? So, are you going to take Luna as your disciple?”
Past the back gate, an empty field opened up.
Since the orphanage was located on the outskirts of the village, walking in this direction meant it would be difficult to encounter another person until reaching the next village.
Davide slowed his pace.
“Even if a child is born with a powerful Circle, not everyone can reach great heights. No matter how much Mana one possesses, without the intelligence to understand and construct spells, even simple magic cannot be controlled.”
Ray chuckled.
Ray was confident that Luna’s intellect would rival the geniuses he had read about in history books from his past life.
Of course, Ray had no intention of convincing Davide. He simply asked calmly.
“Are you taking her as a disciple then?”
“That child has a far better use than being a disciple. For example…”
Davide pointed to his own chest.
“To extract the heart.”
“The heart?”
“Yes. Once extracted and processed magically, a heart can become an excellent Mana battery capable of storing vast amounts of Mana. A kind of living Artefact. Of course, only a high-ranking Mage can attempt such creation.”
“But extracting the heart will kill the person, right?”
Davide laughed.
“What does that matter?”
Ray, scratching the back of his head, asked.
“Master Davide.”
“Yes?”
“Are all Mages like this?”
“Walking the Demon Path makes humanity unnecessary.”
“I see.”
Ray drew his sword.
*
Ray knew Davide would come but made no preparations whatsoever.
He neither sought help from others nor increased the orphanage’s security, set traps, or prepared expensive and powerful weapons.
Instead, Ray meticulously maintained the appearance of normalcy to avoid raising any suspicion from Davide.
As a result, Davide believed entirely that today’s meeting with Ray was purely coincidental.
Davide carefully analyzed the situation.
A few missing children wouldn’t matter.
However, there must be no signs of force or struggle left behind.
Only then would everything remain clean.
Thus, Davide did everything possible to prevent Ray from creating further variables.
He kept Ray close by.
Even though killing Ray from hundreds of meters away would be easy, Davide feared Ray might scream or flee, alerting others to the situation.
To ensure no external interference, Davide closed the distance between them.
He cast numerous spells around them, ensuring Ray couldn’t escape or make noise.
Using all his abilities, Davide wove a magical net around the area.
When Ray drew his sword, Davide felt genuinely pleased.
Being cautious, Davide wanted to finish off Ray while keeping him within reach.
Ray swung his sword.
*
Having reached his second ninth birthday, Ray now understood something clearly.
Nine years old was an age lacking in concept.
In his previous life, at nine years old, Ray genuinely believed that fighting seriously could defeat an adult.
It may seem like a foolish thought, but at nine years old, the lack of experience prevented proper self-assessment and understanding of the gap between oneself and others.
Observing the actions of the children at the orphanage recently made this realization crystal clear.
Nine-year-olds lacked concepts.
Therefore, Ray thoroughly mimicked a nine-year-old.
He pretended to believe that fighting seriously could defeat adults, just like an inexperienced child.
Moreover, Ray had awakened Mana and successfully defeated several adults.
His confidence soared so high it seemed natural for his eyes to roll back.
Never having experienced the fear of a high-ranked Mage, Ray believed he could defeat one if he fought seriously.
Ray ensured Davide thought exactly that.
The speed at which he drew and swung his sword was deliberately slowed down, matching that of a novice who had just awakened his Mana.
Davide cast auxiliary spells in all directions.
Most of these spells aimed to block external interference and observation.
Unaware of his own complacency, Davide never allowed someone to stay so close for such a long time since mastering detection magic.
Through abandoning all defensive measures, Ray managed to secure a single opportunity.
The sword moved toward Davide.
Although Davide did not cast a defensive spell, an automatic Mana shield activated from his Artefact.
Ray’s heart twisted.
Ignoring the strain on his body, his Core surged uncontrollably, releasing an overwhelming amount of Mana.
A blue light surged through the sword.
The swinging blade suddenly accelerated.
“Is this Sword Aura?”
Facing this surreal scene, Davide instinctively stretched out his arm before scoffing.
The shield generated by the Artefact was sturdy enough to counteract most types of Sword Aura multiple times.
The Sword Aura collided with the shield.
Crrreak!
Space distorted.
The shape of the shield touched by the Sword Aura bent strangely.
The disrupted Sword Aura re-condensed, supported by the metallic sword.
Crack!
The shield was pierced.
Davide’s extended left arm was severed first.
The Sword Aura, evaporating blood, descended to bisect Davide’s chest.
Uuung!
All of Davide’s Artefacts reacted simultaneously.
A powerful Mana shield unfolded around his heart, and compressed Mana shot toward Ray to intercept him.
Despite his skin burning, Ray pushed against the shielded sword with his entire body.
Desperately trying to embed the Sword Aura into Davide’s heart, Ray exerted all his weight.
Davide grew enraged.
“How dare you…!!”
Flames erupted in Davide’s grasp.
Due to the Artefact’s interception, Ray’s limbs were already turning red.
Ray grinned despite the pain.
The bizarre Sword Aura, capable of distorting space, broke through the shield.
At the same moment, Davide’s fireball struck Ray.
KABOOM!!
With an explosion, Ray was thrown dozens of meters away.
The power was terrifying.
Originally, Davide intended to vaporize Ray, regardless of turning the surrounding area into a sea of flames.
Yet, all of Ray’s limbs remained intact.
Davide spat blood.
“Khrek!! Cough! Cough!”
An indentation from the Sword Aura piercing Davide’s chest remained.
Two out of the six split Circles suffered severe damage, and the remaining Circles were also compromised.
Ray stood up.
His body covered in burns, but the inflamed skin cooled quickly under the heavy rain.
Wobbling, Ray touched his chest and smirked.
“My Core is unharmed, but I wonder about your Circles.”
“You, you… you…”
“Let’s continue, hoping the balance holds.”
Ray pushed off the ground.
Focusing, Davide steadied his blurred vision.
Confused by what kind of monsters this orphanage was producing, he realized he needed composure now.
By allowing the ambush, Davide’s strength dropped to nearly that of a 4-Circle Mage.
Still, he retained the upper hand.
Since the surroundings were filled with water, though not his forte, he employed freezing magic.
The ground froze, and massive icicles shot toward Ray.
Dodging the icicles coming from the corner, Ray rolled as lightning fell from the sky.
Kzzzgak!!
“Damn!!”
Escape from electric magic was impossible.
One could only withstand the mana-infused current with their own resistance.
Though the intense mana flowing through Ray provided strong external resistance, his body momentarily stiffened.
Taking advantage of this pause, icicles shot up from all sides.
“Shit.”
Ray grimaced.
“At this age, using this will stunt my growth.”
In his previous life, Ray was short-statured and wanted to grow tall this time.
Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen.
‘What was the name of the technique in the fairy tale book? Overdrive?’
Harshia always wanted to move faster.
Even after achieving mastery and unparalleled agility, she never abandoned her desire for greater speed.
She devised a new approach.
Strengthening muscles with mana had clear limits, so she sought a way to accelerate her body without relying on muscles.
After contemplating, Harshia condensed and detonated mana in her joints, utilizing its explosive force to forcibly increase the rotational speed of her joints.
As long as her limbs didn’t fall off, the effect was reliable. As long as they didn’t fall off.
“Damn, calling this a special skill is ridiculous.”
Thanks to the Transcendent One, Ray understood the principle of Overdrive.
Given the unbearable strain on his body, he never considered using it, but circumstances left him no choice.
Ray gave up on growing tall.
BOOM!
The mana condensed in his joints exploded.
His twisted joints lashed out like whips, and in an instant, Ray burst through the icicles.
Screaming, unable to control his speed, Ray tumbled across the ground before accelerating toward Davide again.
Feeling the pain of his growth plates being destroyed, Ray muttered.
“This life won’t likely exceed 170 cm either.”
Already lightweight, Ray’s speed skyrocketed when employing Harshia’s special skill, approaching that of a seasoned graduate-level warrior.
Startled, Davide unleashed countless spells over a wide area.
Zzzzzzzt!!
Innumerable wounds carved into Ray’s body.
However, the dispersed magic lacked the power to stop him.
Even if his tendons were severed, Harshia’s special skill allowed movement as long as his limbs remained attached.
At least a 4-Circle magic strike was needed to halt him.
Davide’s face contorted like a demon.
He now had to admit:
To triumph over this child, he’d have to risk his life.
The six damaged Circles lit up simultaneously.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Four spells began unfolding at once.
In that instant, Ray caught up with Davide, who was stepping backward.
Cutting through an ice spike aimed at his waist with Sword Aura, Ray vanished, leaving behind an afterimage.
Davide didn’t track Ray with his eyes. He trusted magic more.
The detection magic he deployed earlier pinpointed Ray’s position behind him.
Linked to the detection magic, the fireball aimed at Ray exploded.
KA-BANG!!
“Ghh…!!”
Caught in the explosion, Ray was pushed backward, noticing a red magic circle forming on Davide’s remaining arm.
Danger.
Preparing to evade, Ray also drew a second sword for a worst-case scenario, ready to attempt mutual destruction.
The moment the magic fired, Ray intended to roll across the ground, but he stopped moving.
“…”
“…”
A brief silence hung between them.
4-Circle combined magic ‘Red Ray’.
This annihilation magic radiates superheated heat beams, incinerating everything along its path.
But Davide aimed the magic not at Ray, but toward the orphanage.
Stopping in place, Ray watched Davide smile.
“I can’t tell if you’re stupid or smart. Is the orphanage more precious than your life?”
“If you shoot there, you’ll perish too.”
“It would be better to end this with just your life, wouldn’t it?”
“…”
CRACK!
Ray swung both swords in the air.
Davide braced for a Sword Aura attack, but instead, the aura cleanly evaporated from Ray’s swords.
Ray threw his swords toward Davide.
Watching the swords roll on the ground, Davide sneered.
“Idiot.”
Davide aimed the Red Ray at Ray.
Drawing a deep breath, Ray shook his head, staring above Davide’s head.
“Why didn’t you just shoot directly at me instead of messing around?”
Before Davide could ponder this,
Two thin cracks appeared in the air.
Tombstone
