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Chapter 702
Chapter 702
This Bastard Is a Black Mage! (4)
The knight was none other than Gasco. The man who had died fighting Ghislain had now returned as a Death Knight.
At first, Gasco couldn’t grasp the situation. Only after checking his body and surroundings did he realize what had happened.
“This power of darkness… have you… turned me into a Death Knight…?”
His voice, now clearer than before, rang out. The burning look in his eyes laid bare his immense rage.
Ё n̄ ům̆_а̊
“So, you really were a Black Mage… You used that energy you forced into my body at the last moment… I wasn’t wrong…”
Rumble…
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Gasco drew upon his power. Even in life, he had reached the highest rank as a knight. Now, wielding dark energy, his presence was even more overwhelming than when he was alive.
He let out a furious roar.
“How dare you turn me into such a cursed existence! Unforgivable!”
Kwaaaah!
Еn ū mа̃
Gasco unleashed his energy in a violent burst and swung his sword. The dark blade formed by his will threatened to slice the world in two.
Clang!
Blocking Gasco’s sword with his staff, Ghislain opened his mouth.
“Just hear me out for a second.”
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“I’ve nothing to say to the likes of a Black Mage!”
Gasco clearly had no intention of talking. Understandably so, killing the Black Mage was the only way to break the curse.
W ӗ b̂n̈ о̊ v̆el Еn.u̇ m а
Seeing Gasco pressing his attack, Ghislain hastily spoke again.
“Hey! Don’t you think it’s strange that you can move on your own without my command?”
“What?”
“If I intended to use you like a slave, why would I leave your mind intact?”
“That’s just so you could draw out my full power! You think I wouldn’t see through that!?”
A Death Knight’s prowess mirrors their strength in life. The problem is that unleashing that strength requires meeting extremely complex conditions.
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To fight properly, a Death Knight must retain the same consciousness they had in life. Naturally, this leads to greater free will and rebellion against the Black Mage.
After all, no soul wants to remain bound. Unless someone willingly became a Death Knight, they would always seek to kill the Black Mage to reclaim their freedom.
That’s why Black Mages usually suppress a Death Knight’s will, turning them into mere puppets.
Their combat ability might drop, but at least they would obey commands. The mage’s own mana would make up for the lack in strength.
Ghislain emphasized the point again.
“What’s the use if someone like you just lashes out at me like this? I’d be better off without you, right? Especially since you could even attack those around me.”
Еńüm а́.іď
“What are you trying to say!”
“You were a bad guy anyway. I doubt you were heading anywhere nice in the afterlife, so how about working off some of that karma at my side?”
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“What?”
“I mean, you might as well do some good in the world before you go. Who knows? Maybe then you’ll get a better afterlife.”
“Because of you, my soul is already steeped in darkness! The more you use me for evil, the heavier my sins will become!”
“I’ll use you for good. I swear I’ll never make you do anything evil.”
Ẽǹu̇ mă
“…?”
Gasco stared intently at Ghislain. His red eyes blinked in the darkness. It was clear from his expression that he thought this was complete madness.
“A Black Mage… using a Death Knight for good? And you expect me to believe that?”
“Demonic Abyss.”
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“Demonic Abyss…?”
“Yeah. I’m going to use you to fight against the Demonic Abyss. My goal is to completely wipe out the Salvation Church.”
Ёňũma
“…”
Gasco’s red eyes blinked. Though his face was hidden in darkness, it was obvious he was deeply confused.
After a long moment of exhaling black breath, he finally asked,
“Why… would a Black Mage do something like that? Aren’t Black Mages the ones who crave the world’s ruin? But you’re saying you’ll fight the Demonic Abyss to save the world?”
“Don’t lump me in with other Black Mages. I only use black magic as a supplement. I use whatever I need, that’s all.”
“…”
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“And I’m not particularly interested in saving the world. But to protect what’s precious to me, the Salvation Church needs to be destroyed.”
Ghislain didn’t bother explaining he had come from the future. At this point, that would only confuse his opponent even more.
But his resolve to annihilate the Salvation Church was genuine. When he returned to reality, he would have to deal with Ernhardt, Gartros, and the Adversary who would appear someday.
The threat of the Riftspawn still loomed in reality, and no one knew when it would erupt again.
By coming to the past with Dark, Ghislain had learned that beings connected to his soul could also travel through time. Death Knights were likely the same.
In the battles to come, having an immortal Death Knight at his side would be a massive advantage, especially one who had been a powerful warrior in life.
W̄ е̃ḃ ṅ о̆.v̈ e l̊ Е ñu m̀.å
And even here, Death Knights would clearly be valuable allies.
Seeing the skepticism still lingering in Gasco’s eyes, Ghislain said,
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“If you really hate it, I won’t force you. If you want, I can release your soul right now.”
“...You mean that?”
“Yeah. I’ve got no interest in troops that can’t fight properly. That’s why I left your mind intact.”
“…”
Ẅ е bnо v́ ė ľ Е̇ nùm а
Gasco lowered his sword. Without a word, he stared at Ghislain for a long time.
After a prolonged silence, a low voice slowly emerged from him.
“I… wanted to become an honorable knight. That was my dream as a child…”
Gasco began recounting his past life, speaking as if confessing to a priest.
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“But somewhere along the way… that dream disappeared from within me. All I wanted was to become stronger, chasing fame and riches… That’s how I ended up committing countless atrocities under Marquis Falkenheim…”
“There were times when regret overwhelmed me… when I thought, this isn’t the path of a knight… But every time, I’d steel my resolve again… telling myself, once the Demonic Abyss rises, I’ll fight hard… that’ll wash away my sins… I made excuses like that…”
Ẃѐb̂.n о̃ v̌ è ľ Е̄ n̈ǔ.ḿа̃_
“If the Demonic Abyss didn’t rise while I was alive… then fine, I’d do good after retirement… That would make up for it… Just a little longer, let me live the way I want… That’s all I thought…”
“But now, I don’t even have that chance… Now that I’m dead, I get it. Like you said, my soul is soaked in filth from all the sins I’ve accumulated… If my soul were truly noble, you would’ve never been able to make me into a Death Knight…”
Gasco muttered to himself in a tone full of self-derision, then fell silent again.
Ghislain waited patiently. The regrets and lingering attachments of the dead weren’t so easily dismissed. He knew that all too well, he had died once himself.
Suddenly, Gasco looked around at his own body with a sense of wonder and murmured,
“Amazing… It’s almost no different from my prime. No, in some ways it’s even more comfortable… Maybe because I’ve let go of my attachment to life…”
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It was only possible because Ghislain hadn’t bound him and had allowed him full free will. Gasco had become someone who could think and make decisions for himself.
Of course, the thread of his soul was still connected to Ghislain. If that were severed, Gasco would vanish from the world.
After examining his body, Gasco asked again.
“You really did give a Death Knight complete will… it doesn’t seem like a lie after all… You said you’re fighting the Salvation Church?”
“That’s right. I don’t need slaves forced into servitude, I need comrades who can fight by my side… except Claude and Alfoi.”
“And… who are they?”
Еñ u m̌ а̀.і̃ d
“…You don’t need to know just yet.”
Gasco hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously,
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“Then… do you think I could wash away the karma clinging to my soul… and reclaim my honor as a true knight?”
“There’s no one greater than a knight who saves the world. I’ll make sure your name goes down in history. I’ll even carve it into a massive stone monument.”
When Ghislain spoke with a sly grin, Gasco’s body trembled as if it, too, were smiling.
Then, in a serious tone, Gasco said,
Е n̆ ü m̌ â
“Promise me you won’t use me for evil like Marquis Falkenheim did.”
“I promise. From now on, we’ll only go after bad guys.”
“How long do I have to stay with you?”
“Until the Salvation Church is completely destroyed. When that day comes… I’ll release your soul. And when that happens… you’ll be able to go to the paradise ruled by the Goddess of War.”
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For warriors, that was the highest honor. And for the already-dead Gasco, it was a long-cherished hope.
Gasco slowly raised his arm. Before they knew it, he was offering the formal salute of a knight.
Ẃe̊ bṅ оv̊ е̊ľ Ӗ ǹũ m̈а̃
“Thank you for giving me a chance to atone for my sins… My sword will now be at your side… I’ll be counting on you… Astion… no…”
Gasco’s red eyes curved as if he were smiling.
“Ghislain Ferdium.”
Ghislain was slightly surprised to hear his name, but he soon understood how Gasco had come to know it.
Gasco’s soul was connected to his own. That bond allowed him to see into Ghislain’s essence.
Though he couldn’t read memories and didn’t know all of Ghislain’s secrets, he could at least perceive the truth in him.
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Smiling in return, Ghislain said,
“Yeah, I’ll be counting on you too. It’ll be boring, but hang out alone in subspace for now. I’ll introduce you to some new friends soon.”
“By the way, it’s strange… How can a Black Mage hide his energy like that? I got humiliated and killed because of you.”
“Well, it’s not that hard for me. Just think of me as having an unusual constitution.”
Ghislain used magic differently than other mages. He made up for what he lacked with the Power of Will, forcefully activating magic.
Because of that, he could even change his magical attribute if necessary. Creating new spells at will was something he did regularly, modifying his aura wasn’t particularly difficult.
W.e b̈ ń о̄ v̆ е l̈ Е̃nǔm̃а
But it was such an unconventional method that others found it hard to understand.
Gasco simply let it go, not knowing much about magic anyway.
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Having secured Gasco, Ghislain got back to work to create more Death Knights.
Creating a Death Knight was no easy task. It was even more difficult to make one who retained their full strength from life, as Ghislain intended.
On top of that, Ghislain, unlike other Black Mages, didn’t commit evil acts to harvest dark energy. He used only his pure mana.
Naturally, that made the process longer.
Е n ü m а̃
But it wasn’t without its advantages. By not using tainted energy, he could create even stronger Death Knights.
The power of darkness originally came from the Goddess of Death, Seraana, so the black magic Ghislain used was actually closer to the “real deal.”
“Hm… at this rate, it’ll take a few months. I need to find a way to speed this up.”
Of the knights he had ambushed, about thirty had died. Turning them all into Death Knights was bound to take a long time.
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They were weaker than Gasco, sure but they were still all high-ranking knights.
“A Dragon Heart or something like that would be great… I need to find some materials to support my mana.”
Ěn̄ ùmă_
Ghislain intended to create many more Death Knights and eventually form an entire Undying Army.
As for the knights, all they needed was a chance at redemption by taking down villains. Most of them would, like Gasco, want to seize that final opportunity.
The problem was that it consumed an enormous amount of mana. That was the biggest obstacle at the moment.
Getting Rune Stones from Rio wasn’t easy, either. The amount of mana needed was so vast that even selling off an entire gold mine wouldn’t be enough.
Ghislain needed to find a material even more potent than Rune Stones. Until then, all he could do was gather mana over time.
While Ghislain focused on creating Death Knights, Astion was off making a fuss every day, caught up in something else entirely.
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— So, you're saying that by using that Mana Refinement Technique, you can amplify your mana like that?
“I’m telling you, yes.”
— Incredible! You can draw out power beyond your natural mana capacity!
Astion had seen Ghislain amplify his mana for the first time during the last battle. Deeply impressed by the spectacle, he had been pestering Ghislain to teach him ever since he entered the storage room.
Ghislain casually taught him the Mana Refinement Technique.
But Astion was nowhere near the level required to use the Power of Will. So even after being shown the method, he couldn’t amplify his mana. In fact, he couldn’t even grasp the concept properly.
Ѐn ŭ ḿ а
— Aaargh! Why can’t I do it!
“…You never properly learned the Mana Refinement Technique in the first place. In your current body, you can’t learn my technique. It’ll clash with the mana already accumulated in you.”
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— But you can do it! You’re using the mana stored in my heart like it’s a Mana Refinement Technique!
“That’s because I’m controlling it with the Power of Will.”
— And what even is that! I have willpower too! Why doesn’t mine work?
“You have to break through wall after wall.”
Ёǹu m̄ а
— What wall! There is no wall!
Astion hadn’t even reached the level of a Transcendent yet. It was only natural that he couldn’t comprehend the realm Ghislain had already surpassed.
Ghislain clicked his tongue and said,
“Don’t rush it. You’ve got your own path ahead of you. You could even reach the 9th Circle. You’ll just end up a reclusive shut-in, that’s all.”
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— Shut up! I can do it too!
Even when Ghislain said it wouldn’t work right now, Astion didn’t give up. He was completely obsessed with mastering the technique.
Ĕ ñu̇_m̄_a . і̄ď
Amplifying mana instantly would allow him to manipulate high-circle spells in far more versatile ways.
Even without that reason, mages were naturally curious beings. True to form, Astion began his own research into mana amplification.
— Ugh… Just wait. I’ll find a way to amplify mana, no matter how long it takes!
“…Right. I’m rooting for you.”
Andrew and Rio had yet to fully take control of the territory. Until then, Ghislain and Astion were able to dedicate themselves entirely to their respective research.
But Astion didn’t know.
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He had no idea what kind of impact the research he had just begun would have on the future.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Jerome…
Had found a grimoire by visiting the place Ghislain had once told him about.
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