The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

33 – 9. The Witch’s Curse (6)

1.

It was noisy.

“….Hoo.”

The woman let out a cold breath.

“…It’s noisy.”

The darkness was quiet.

When the woman rose, only the faint rustling of the moving blanket could be heard.

However, the woman, with a stern expression, covered her ears.

Mana’s voice could be heard.

A low, heavy sound echoed in the head.

It seems a guest has arrived.

What are the Black Knights doing?

Regardless of who it is, they were told to chase away any guests who come.

In the darkness, a violet light faintly emerged.

The woman swept back the hair that flowed down to her chest and rose from the bed.

The blanket flowed smoothly along the curves of the graceful woman.

Mana’s voice was getting closer.

-Thud

The woman lightly flicked her finger.

At that moment, black fabric rose like a serpent over the woman’s body, transforming into a set of dresses.

The owner of the dungeon.

The witch of dreams, Aurora.

“Yaaawn….”

Aurora yawned, rubbing her drowsy eyes.

It’s difficult to fall asleep again after waking up.

And since she’s a bit hungry, she might as well greet the guest while filling her stomach.

To collect the price for disturbing her short nap.

2.

Walking along the corridor, Evan entered the common area.

It was a massive dome-shaped common area.

Once again marveling at the construction of such a building underground, Evan stepped inside.

“What is this place used for?”

Other than seeing a passage leading to the next location on the opposite side, there was nothing particularly remarkable.

It was an empty space, not even showing signs of a boss monster or magic circle to annihilate intruders.

It seemed like an entirely vacant place.

After taking a brief breath, it was time to proceed.

However, the more it’s like this, the more cautious and suspicious one must be.

Being safe inside the dungeon means you need to be even more careful.

Evan glanced behind him.

A start.

Leuwen, following Evan from a distance, was surprised and bowed his head in embarrassment. Evan turned his head, and as their eyes met, Leuwen quickly lowered his head again.

“Stop acting like that, it’s annoying because I’m worried.”

Continuously reacting like this made it impossible to forget the old days, even if Evan wanted to.

“Yeah…!”

Evan thought that Leuwen’s reason for behaving this way was due to guilt towards him.

It’s not entirely wrong.

Guilt is there, but its origin is different.

Leuwen is feeling guilty about entertaining inappropriate thoughts about Evan.

Should he apologize for this too?

While Leuwen was contemplating, the iron bars came down, blocking the passage.

“Of course, it’s not a resting place.”

Evan immediately prepared for battle.

-Kugugugung

The ground shook, and a wall opened.

Through the opened wall, hundreds of dark knights were visible.

No life force could be felt.

It seems they are undead this time, not demons.

“No wonder nothing was felt.”

The dark knights, who had their eyes closed, all opened them simultaneously, emitting a gleam.

This time, it seems a bit challenging.

“Now it feels like we’ve entered the dungeon.”

Up until now, it had been too mundane.

Evan raised his mana.

Since he doesn’t know how many floors the dungeon has, he can’t use large-scale magic recklessly. Mana is limited.

“Yeah.”

Evan smiled broadly.

“Is this an opportunity to try using this guy?”

He extended his hand forward.

Summon Berserker

As the magic circle appeared, a girl was summoned from there.

The girl, armored like a knight paying respects to the emperor, kneeled in front of Evan.

“Uh…?”

Leuen widened his eyes at the summoned girl.

“Master, give me your command.”

The girl’s identity was a reliable guardian spirit that Evan obtained while researching summoning magic. There hadn’t been a need to summon her until now.

“M-Master?”

It was a shocking word for Leuen.

“Sweep them away.”

Evan pointed to the dark knights who were entering the courtyard.

“I will handle it.”

The girl nodded.

However, she didn’t move.

“Ha… is this enough?”

Evan sighed and patted the girl’s head. In response, she stood up with a satisfied smile.

“Uh, uh…!”

It was also a shocking sight for Leuen.

The girl easily obtained what Leuen desired the most.

After receiving enough head pats from her master, the girl stood up with a satisfied expression.

Reaching out into the empty space,

A gap appeared, and she pulled out a greatsword from within.

Kicking the ground, the girl leaped forward.

Creating a gust of wind, she charged at the dark knights.

Swinging the massive greatsword once, the blade created waves, engulfing the dark knights.

Leuen couldn’t just stand there and watch.

His eyes became stern.

“…Hup!”

Immediately diving into the midst of the enemies, they began to tear through them furiously.

Sharp swords left vivid trails wherever agile, narrowed eyes passed.

Jealousy.

Intense emotions further fueled Leuen’s rampage.

Transformed into an avenging spirit, they ruthlessly swept aside the Black Knights.

Their presence was enough to render the nearby spirits restless.

“…A monster indeed.”

Evan marveled genuinely.

The Berserker was a summoned spirit of the 10th tier magic.

Leuen, preceding with a spirit possessing power that could be deemed a guardian of the heavens, swiftly overwhelmed the enemies with terrifying speed.

It seemed as if they were competing with the Berserker, yet why they engaged in competition was unclear.

The Berserker was astonished by Leuen’s swordsmanship.

Encountering a human who surpassed their own skill was a first in centuries of existence.

The Berserker became intrigued by Leuen.

Given the chance, they wanted to engage in combat.

“Undead, that explains their tenacity.”

They rise again despite considerable damage.

-Boom!

Evan casually swung his fist, decapitating an undead Black Knight with a single blow. Then, he thrust the other fist through its torso, shattering it.

Undead may be tenacious, but without their physical form, they are useless.

Some possess incredible regeneration, returning to their original state upon explosion, but these ones here did not. Once their body, especially their head, was lost, their tenacious life force vanished.

“Is it fair to talk about life force with the undead?”

Muttering to himself, he punched another approaching assailant in the abdomen, creating a hole in its belly. Nonetheless, it kept advancing with a spear.

“Feeling the breeze in your gut? That’s what breathing feels like.”

Smashing the spear of an undead Black Knight, Evan kindly patted its shoulder. Then, he promptly snapped its neck.

“And this is what dying feels like.”

From Noble mtl dot com

Evan yawned.

Boring.

Despite the hundreds of enemies, the two swordsmen were sweeping them away effortlessly.

The Berserker’s black sword was a clean blade for executing their commands.

On the other hand, it was a brutal sword for Leuen’s black slaughter.

When each of them looked at the corpses of the enemies they had defeated, the difference was clear.

If a Berserker tried to finish off one enemy at a time, in Leuen’s case, even after killing, he would stab once more to confirm the kill. And the corpse was messy, as if a beast had torn it apart.

“Mana consumption is indeed severe.”

Even 10th-grade magic, summoning spells belong to the category of spells with relatively low mana consumption. However, mana is rapidly sucked away to maintain the form after summoning.

This was even more pronounced for the Berserker as mana consumption increased with each use of the sword.

Still, whether it was thinking of the owner or not, it tried to minimize the use of the sword and knock down the enemy with regular sword strikes. The spirit thinking of its owner was truly a noble one.

It was in stark contrast to anyone in the Philosopher’s Tower.

No, it was more than that.

Dedicated to its own owner.

3.

Although it took time due to the number of enemies, ultimately, it slaughtered all the hundreds of dark knights.

Having completed the mission, the Berserker nodded at Evan.

“Good job.”

Satisfied as it received a head pat as a reward, it disappeared.

“Haah… Haah… Huh… “

Leuen exhaled rough breaths.

Since the Berserker was a spirit, it could continue to fight as long as the owner’s mana was continuously supplied. However, Leuen, being human, had physical limits.

No matter how skilled he was at handling a multitude of enemies, facing over a hundred dark knights was a reckless fight.

He somehow managed to bring them all down…

But it was his limit.

He couldn’t move anymore.

Not only his stamina but also the mana needed to use the sword was completely exhausted.

-♪♬

As Leuen, catching his breath while listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart, was gasping for air, the sound of a humming voice reached his nostrils.

A calm and comfortable singing voice.

Did he hear it wrong?

Leuen held his breath and tilted his ear.

The humming sound was getting closer.

Leuen lifted his head.

“Hmm~ Hm~”

Evan approached, humming a tune.

“You did well.”

Evan grinned.

The recipient of his praise was Leuen.

“Huh…? What…?”

Leuen blinked as he looked at Evan.

“As expected, Leuen. Amazing. You were impressive.”

Complimenting him, Evan placed his hand on Leuen’s head. He gently stroked his hair with great kindness.

Leuen was momentarily touched.

Even without understanding English, the fact that Evan was stroking his head stirred Leuen’s emotions.

“…Pathetic.”

A woman in a black dress looked down at the peacefully sleeping Leuen.

“It’s all a dream.”

Evan and Leuen, both collapsed on the floor, slept without knowing when they fell asleep.

-♪♬

The Witch of Dreams, Aurora, sang a gentle lullaby to the two who had departed to the sweet dreamland.