The path back to the surface was narrow and treacherous. Especially since this was a place inhabited by fanatics who worshipped demons, Wirn and Kemen needed to move even more discreetly.
‘At least I'm lucky it's Kemen climbing up with me.’
No light entered the narrow passage.
Even so, Wirn didn't have to worry about smashing his head or body against the earthen walls.
That was because Kemen used mana to illuminate the darkness.
‘Never thought I'd live to see the day I'd escape by digging a rat hole.’
Of course, that didn't mean the trip was comfortable.
He had to remain hunched over and painstakingly dig through the earth with mana.
His back began to ache quite badly in the process, but there was nothing he could do about it.
For now, they had to escape this underground temple somehow.
‘And if we just smash through the ceiling, we'll get buried alive.’
If teleportation magic didn't work, there was always the option of solving the problem through brute force.
But doing that risked collapsing the mountain range.
Wirn had no intention of ending his precious second life that way.
‘Looks like that's the outside.’
That was why they had chosen the primitive but reliable method of digging a tunnel.
Fortunately, even that wasn't particularly difficult.
Back when he had been a hound, he had trained for situations exactly like this.
‘Back then, I wondered why the hell I had to learn this.’
If a mage was good at magic, shouldn't that be enough?
Why did he need to practice digging through dirt?
That was the sort of complaint he had harbored at the time.
But looking back now, he was glad he had learned it.
After all, it was proving useful for escaping a place crawling with fanatics.
DIG! DIG!
So Wirn took the lead and opened the path in Kemen's place.
There was no way a butler of the Daylin Family had separately trained in digging through the ground with mana.
Then, after roughly thirty minutes—
“Light!”
Light filtered through the packed earth.
It was proof that their miserable tunnel escape was finally nearing its end.
DIG-DIG-DIG-DIG!
The moment Wirn realized it, he dug through the soil so quickly that even a mole would've been put to shame.
“Pwah!”
The first thing he did after emerging outside was suck in a lungful of air.
Compared to the dust-filled air he had breathed while tunneling, the freshness entering through his mouth and nose was on an entirely different level.
Perhaps because of that, he closed his eyes and repeatedly inhaled and exhaled deeply without even realizing it, as though savoring the air.
“Now I finally feel alive.”
After taking several deep breaths, the corners of his lips naturally lifted.
It was a moment that made him appreciate just how precious fresh air was.
CRUMBLE!
The dirt to his right collapsed.
“Phew!”
Then Kemen stuck his body out in the same mole-like posture as Wirn.
“I thought I was going to suffocate.”
The moment his face emerged through the hole, he too repeatedly drew in deep breaths and exhaled.
“Guess there's something even a 3rd-Circle mage can't do?”
“...Light cannot purify the air.”
Wirn smirked at Kemen's answer.
There was no dignified butler here now.
Only a mage carrying out a mission.
“Good work.”
But Wirn actually preferred it that way.
What he needed during a mission wasn't a butler, but a mage who could fight.
In fact, even when Wirn had told Kemen to crawl like a mole, he hadn't complained.
“Not at all. You worked much harder than I did, Young Master.”
Kemen shook his head.
All he had done was escape the trap.
But what about Wirn beside him?
Wirn had faced one of the Elders who betrayed the family all by himself.
And he had gone one step further and killed the man.
“If the Family Head hears about what happened, he will surely grant you a generous reward.”
Perhaps that was why Kemen's eyes sparkled as he added those words.
It was obvious from his expression that he was looking forward to seeing what the Family Head would give Wirn.
“If he does, that's good for me.”
In truth, Wirn hadn't expected to receive a reward.
Or, more precisely, he hadn't expected a situation where he would deserve one.
The mission hadn't been particularly dangerous in the first place.
Wirn had simply accompanied Began to fulfill the duty assigned to him.
‘I ended up killing a demon and dealing with a traitor without even meaning to.’
Unlike the others, however, Wirn alone had repeatedly been thrown into bizarre situations.
‘I'd be dead if I didn't have my memories from my previous life.’
The trials that had come crashing down on him one after another would have been impossible for the current Wirn alone.
The slightest mistake, and Kemen would've found him as a corpse.
‘I need to get stronger.’
Frankly, this wasn't a result he could simply laugh off.
This incident would only cause more people to covet his power.
And he was certain that demons who wielded Demonic Energy would be especially interested.
‘I also have to keep fighting the Mark for control.’
On top of that, there was something inside him constantly trying to seize his body.
If he grew complacent with his current strength, there wouldn't even be bones left to collect.
“Wirn!”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached Wirn's ears.
“You're alive!”
It was Began, two years older than him.
The moment Began spotted Wirn emerging from underground, he hurried toward the hole.
“Young Master!”
“You're too fast!”
He moved so quickly that he left the other mages following behind him far behind.
“Brother. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your voice down. You're loud.”
“....”
“And obviously I'm alive if I came out like this. How would a dead man knock dirt aside?”
Yet despite having rushed over faster than anyone else, Began received nothing pleasant in return.
“Still, thanks for worrying about me. I thought you'd say, ‘Serves you right, bastard!’ if I died.”
“What the hell do you think I am?”
“A nasty older brother jealous of his little brother who's two years younger—”
“Enough. It was my mistake for asking.”
Began cut Wirn off.
It was obvious that nothing good would come from listening any further.
“Let's just hurry back. The Teleportation Magic Circle is ready.”
Then he smoothly changed the subject.
“All right. I was already sick of this place, so I don't want to stay any longer.”
“Sick of it? We haven't even been here for a full day.”
“Do you really have to nitpick every word I say?”
“....”
At Wirn's remark, Began shut his mouth and closed his eyes.
‘To think Young Master Began could look that helpless.’
‘Now this is a rare sight.’
The mages who had followed Began clicked their tongues in amazement.
This was the first time they had seen Wirn and Began speak to each other.
So naturally, they were surprised.
Normally, the older brother would be expected to take the lead.
Moreover, Began was a 3rd-Circle mage while Wirn was still only at the 1st Circle.
“If you're annoyed, I'll fight you.”
“No. It's my fault. Just please be quiet.”
Yet Wirn was the one acting more like the 3rd-Circle mage.
It was indeed an unusual sight to them.
“Young Master. Would it not be better if we moved first?”
Kemen, who had been silently listening to their exchange, finally spoke.
Unlike the other mages, Kemen's expression remained calm.
This was hardly the first or second time he had heard the two of them talk like this.
“If we continue staying here, others in the mountain range may come to attack us.”
“Yeah. Let's do that.”
Wirn nodded at Kemen's explanation.
It wasn't as though he didn't know.
No.
If anything, he understood it even better than Kemen.
The bastards living in these mountains didn't care whether someone came from a prestigious family or not.
If they saw an opening, they would pounce without hesitation.
—HUM!
Wirn rotated the Circle inside his body.
Darkness poured from his arms and legs.
Sssss.
It swallowed the dirt and caked blood covering his robe.
‘Is that Young Master Wirn's power?’
‘It's definitely different from ordinary Darkness.’
‘So the rumor that he caught the Family Head's eye in the Mana Forest was true.’
The bizarre manifestation of Darkness was enough to send chills down the mages' spines.
“Wirn. This may sound strange, but your Darkness feels even more ominous now.”
And Began, who had seen Wirn's Darkness countless times before, felt the same.
For the first time, merely looking at it gave him goosebumps.
“Does it?”
Wirn grinned as he watched Began subtly put some distance between them.
‘Looks like the devouring really did have an effect.’
Satisfied that the results of consuming the demon and the book were gradually beginning to appear—
Tap.
“Brother. You lead the way.”
Wirn sprang to his feet.
“...Yeah. Fine.”
Began answered in a reluctant voice at Wirn's words and behavior.
‘Still a terrifying bastard.’
Swallowing the rest of his thoughts, Began headed toward the Teleportation Magic Circle.
***
Monsters appeared endlessly there without even a single day's respite.
For reasons different from the mountain range, it was a place no one dared approach.
In the region infamous as the ‘Demon Forest,’ 7th-Circle mage Ganderf appeared.
—SCREEECH!
—GRRRL!
At that moment, the eyes of every monster within Ganderf's sight turned toward him as he floated in the air.
Even the creatures that had been risking their lives trying to kill one another couldn't ignore Ganderf's presence.
An existence capable of stopping even the instincts of monsters that craved battle and blood.
That was Ganderf, the Family Head of the Daylin Family.
“....”
Dozens of monsters froze where they stood.
Ganderf casually looked over the creatures that had become as still as ice.
HUM.
Then he rotated his seven Circles, and golden light, the symbol of the Daylin Family, burst from his body.
FWOOSH!
—SCREEEEEECH!
—GRRRRRRRR!
Flames erupted simultaneously across the bodies of dozens of monsters.
The creatures released as much Demonic Energy as they could in an attempt to withstand the light, but such resistance was meaningless before one who stood at the pinnacle of magic.
Moreover, unlike demons, these monsters were imperfect beings.
There was nothing surprising about them being unable to withstand his light and turning into piles of ash.
“...So it wasn't these either.”
Ganderf clicked his tongue as he looked at the dead creatures.
The true Darkness he had in mind wasn't something like this.
Wirn's Darkness, which had appeared in the Mana Forest sixteen years ago.
That was the existence Ganderf was searching for.
He was just about to fly toward the depths of the forest, where greater numbers of stronger creatures lived—
—...!
Mana brushed against his skin.
It was an amount so faint that one could almost believe it didn't exist at all.
The mana had traveled from such an enormous distance that it had been torn and battered almost beyond recognition.
“Hmm.”
Yet Ganderf knew exactly where this mana had come from.
He even read the lingering intent carried within it.
And as a result—
“Has it been sixteen years?”
Ganderf changed direction instead of heading deeper into the Demon Forest.
“Interesting.”
Toward the family estate where Wirn was.