Episode 8: The Dark Sorcerer (1)
Landwalk City.
A bustling hub founded by merchants and artisans, this city never runs out of money or people. It shines brightly and is unmatched in its splendor, yet even here, shadows lurk.
Those who couldn’t adapt to the city’s pace found themselves pushed to its outskirts, forming the city’s slums. Dirty, smelly, and dangerous, the slums were a place city dwellers avoided at all costs. As a result, they were usually eerily quiet.
“Ahhh!”
“What on earth is going on here?!”
But today, the slums were unusually noisy. Dozens of men suddenly stormed in, searching through shanties and dragging out the residents.
“How dare you filthy beggars raise your voices!”
“Shut up and stay down!”
The slum dwellers tried to resist, but it was futile. A few punches to their faces and stomachs quickly silenced them.
“Find that bastard, now!”
“The boss promised ten gold coins to whoever finds him first!”
The men began moving through the crowd, holding up a portrait and scrutinizing each face.
“Is this the guy?”
“No, he doesn’t have the mole on his forehead. It’s not him.”
Just then, one of the slum dwellers sprang up and punched two of the men in the jaw before making a run for it.
“Hey! He’s getting away!”
“Catch him! If we lose him, the boss will kill us instead!”
The men chased after him, and it wasn’t long before they caught up and subdued him.
“You snakes! How dare you lay a hand on me! Let go!”
The man struggled, but he was no match for their strength. They pinned him to the ground, holding him firmly.
“Boss! We’ve caught the leader of the Sewer Rats!”
“Please come and confirm!”
The men called for someone, and soon, a rotund man waddled over.
“Smack, smack.”
He was clutching a large sugar bun in his hand.
“Smack, smack, caught quicker than I thought.”
“All thanks to your brilliance, boss. Competent subordinates gather under a competent leader.”
The subordinate beside him rubbed his hands together, flattering him. The boss seemed pleased, nodding with satisfaction.
“Smack, smack, hiding in such a filthy place, of all places.”
The man devoured the sugar bun in one bite, and his subordinate quickly handed him another.
“Smack, smack, the smell ruins the taste. I can’t stand this guy.”
“Indeed, he has no sense at all.”
As the smacking sounds continued, the man on the ground grimaced. Unable to hold back any longer, he shouted.
“You pig! Stop stuffing your face!”
“Smack, smack, pig? Is he talking to me?”
“It seems so. How could he call your muscular body a pig’s?”
“Smack, smack, with eyes like that, no wonder he ran his organization into the ground.”
The rotund man didn’t get angry. He simply tore into a third sugar bun.
“Hey, Sewer Rat.”
The man licked the sugar off his fingers as he spoke.
“I warned you, didn’t I? I told you to give up your organization and join me while you still could.”
Sewer Rat. That was the name of the organization that once held a tight grip on Landwalk’s underworld. Its power was so formidable that only a coalition of other groups could stand against it. Yet, it crumbled overnight.
And it wasn’t just the Sewer Rats. Every other organization fell, too, all because of this man, Cedric Walker.
“See? In the end, rats are just food for snakes.”
Cedric Walker’s organization, the Black Snake, swiftly took control of Landwalk’s underworld with its fearsome aggression. With the Sewer Rats gone, no one was left to oppose the Black Snake.
“Smack, smack, now that we’ve caught this one, it’s all over. Dispose of him and bury the body wherever.”
“Yes, boss.”
Cedric Walker turned away, losing interest. The leader of the Sewer Rats tried to curse him.
“You filthy… mmm! Mmmph!”
But the Black Snake members gagged him before he could finish.
Cedric Walker climbed into a carriage and asked his subordinate, “No remnants left, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
In recent days, Cedric Walker had been busy wiping out the remnants of the shattered organizations.
“Then it’s time to deal with that noble.”
“The noble… ah, you mean Damian Haxen, the one who attacked the tavern.”
Cedric Walker’s cheek twitched slightly at the mention. About a week ago, a tavern under his protection was attacked. The attackers slaughtered the guards and even the hired apprentice knights, a shocking incident that severely damaged Cedric Walker’s and the Black Snake’s reputation. It was enough to embolden the remnants to rise against him.
“Should we send the boys to handle it?”
Cedric Walker smacked the back of his subordinate’s head.
“Are you an idiot? You want to kill a noble in his own territory?”
Even a minor noble family could be dealt with in a day. But a noble is still a noble. If a noble residing in his territory were suddenly killed, the royal court wouldn’t stand idly by.
“I’m the fool for having an idiot like you as a subordinate!”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, give me another bun.”
The subordinate quickly handed over a sugar bun. Cedric Walker took a big bite.
“Smack, smack, getting directly involved would be a hassle. It’s best to leave such matters to a specialist.”
“You’re right, boss! But who is this specialist?”
“A dark sorcerer.”
“What?”
“I’m hiring a dark sorcerer. In fact, I’ve already hired one.”
A sly grin spread across Cedric Walker’s face.
“With just a little trickery from a dark sorcerer, that small territory will crumble in no time. No need for bloodshed.”
Despite Cedric Walker’s words, his subordinate’s face remained uneasy.
“Aren’t dark sorcerers dangerous? I’ve heard they can enslave their employers with a mere whim.”
“Do you think dark sorcery is that easy? Only high-level dark sorcerers can do that, and they’re hard to come by.”
“That’s true, but…”
“And right now, the church is cracking down hard on dark sorcerers. The high-level ones are too busy avoiding them.”
The carriage came to a stop. Cedric Walker led his subordinates into a shabby house on the city’s outskirts.
“Ah, you’re here.”
Inside, a scruffy man awaited Cedric Walker.
“You’re Faekley, right?”
“Y-yes, that’s me.”
Faekley stammered, looking as scruffy as he sounded. He didn’t inspire much confidence.
“You know the job, right? The more damage you inflict on the Haxen estate with your dark magic, the more you’ll be paid.”
“Y-yes, I understand!”
“I’ll provide whatever materials you need for the magic. Just say the word.”
“Really? Th-thank you!”
Faekley bowed repeatedly. Most sorcerers were known for their arrogance, given their mastery of supernatural powers. Dark sorcerers were no exception. Yet Faekley seemed overly servile.
“But if you get caught by the church, remember, we don’t know each other.”
“I’ll remember, I promise.”
Faekley bowed again, his head nearly touching the floor.
Breakfast time.
The Haxen family gathered around the table, but no conversation filled the air. Only the clinking of cutlery could be heard. Occasionally, as if on cue, the family members glanced at one spot—Damian Haxen, the eldest son.
Whether he noticed or not, Damian focused solely on his meal. Once he finished, he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“I’ll be excusing myself.”
“V-very well.”
With his father’s permission, Damian rose from his seat. Outside, he scratched his cheek.
“I must seem quite awkward.”
He wasn’t upset. It was only natural for his family to find him unfamiliar, given how he’d changed overnight from a reckless son.
“Time will smooth things over.”
With that thought, Damian walked down the corridor, ready to start his morning training. Just then, a maid approached him.
“Is there something you need?”
“The young lady asked me to give you these.”
The maid handed him a canteen and some snacks. Damian stared at them, momentarily dazed.
”…My sister asked you to give these to me?”
“Yes, she said to tell you she’s always cheering for you.”
Damian gave a bittersweet smile. Despite the trouble he almost caused her, she was still encouraging him.
“Please convey my thanks.”
The maid nodded slightly and stepped back.
Demian Haxen stepped outside, carrying the items he needed for training.
In addition to the water and food his sister had packed for him, he brought a towel to wipe away sweat and one last, rather special item.
“I should thank Father for this.”
It was a longsword.
The very same longsword that had nearly split his head open on the first day of his return.
He had decided to start sword training today, so he had asked his father for it last night.
“It’s not the best sword, but… it’ll do for training.”
The blacksmith who made it wasn’t particularly skilled, and the metal used was of poor quality. Still, considering the financial state of the Haxen estate, even a sword like this had to be used sparingly.
“Maybe I should have taken Erwin Lionbloom’s weapon.”
As befitting the young lord of a marquisate, Erwin Lionbloom possessed a magnificent sword that even Demian found tempting.
“I’ll have to get my hands on a better sword when I get the chance.”
He had long since moved past being overly concerned with weapons. Yet, swordsmen are always drawn to fine blades.
As Demian Haxen pondered these thoughts and stepped out of the manor, he heard a lament from the direction of the stables.
“Oh no, what are we going to do?”
Curious, Demian walked over to the stables.
There, he saw a group of servants gathered, looking distressed.
Wondering what was going on, he peered through the crowd into the stable.
“A horse is dead?”
One of the three horses owned by the estate lay dead. Its eyes were half-open, and its tongue lolled out.
“It was perfectly fine just yesterday…”
“How could it just die like that?”
“I don’t know, and it’s driving me crazy.”
The servants scratched their heads in frustration.
“The lord is going to be furious…”
“Furious? If only it were just that. What if he makes us pay for it?”
Given the expense and value of a horse, it was no wonder the servants were worried.
Though it was just an animal that had died, Demian Haxen couldn’t tear his eyes away.
There was something familiar about the aura surrounding the dead horse.
A complex, acrid sensation, like burnt ashes mixed with the metallic tang of blood.
”…Black magic?”
To investigate further, Demian pushed through the servants and approached the horse.
“Who’s pushing? Oh, young master?”
“The young master is here?”
The moment they recognized Demian Haxen, the servants’ faces turned pale with fear.
They had caused significant damage to the estate’s property, and now the infamous Demian Haxen had shown up. Their reaction was understandable.
But Demian paid them no mind. He was focused solely on examining the horse’s corpse for traces of black magic.
“Just as I thought.”
As he ran his fingers over the horse’s hide, a faint trace of dark energy clung to his fingertips.
It was a small amount, but unmistakably black magic.
“Someone used black magic to kill this horse.”
In truth, Demian Haxen was well-versed in black magic.
During his time as a death knight, Dorgo had sought to make him even more powerful.
He had infused Demian with all the black magic he knew.
As a result, Demian had become a fearsome figure, wielding both sword and black magic.
“Who would do such a thing?”
The only ones who might harbor such animosity towards him were Erwin Lionbloom and the Black Serpent.
But Erwin Lionbloom had left yesterday and wouldn’t have reached the marquisate yet.
“That leaves the Black Serpent.”
It seemed they were trying to harass him by hiring a black magician, as killing a noble outright was too risky.
“This is going to be a headache.”
If livestock continued to die like this in a poor estate like the Haxen’s, it would be a huge loss.
“I need to deal with the black magician as soon as possible…”
The problem was how to find the black magician.
If he were still the Demian Haxen of his death knight days, he could have extended his senses to locate them, but that was no longer possible.
”…Should I try tracking with black magic?”
To be honest, Demian Haxen despised black magic.
His life had been ruined by Dorgo, so it was only natural.
But if it could help, he was willing to use it.
What mattered most to Demian was the safety and happiness of his family.
“First, I need to get the servants out of here.”
He couldn’t use black magic in front of them.
Demian turned to the servants and said, “It seems this horse died of an infectious disease.”
“What? An infectious disease…?”
The servant quickly covered his mouth, eyes wide with fear.
He must have thought he’d be severely reprimanded for questioning Demian.
“To prevent it from spreading, keep people away from the stables. Gather some people and burn the horse’s body.”
“Understood.”
At Demian Haxen’s command, the servants dispersed.
The area around the stables soon fell silent.
Once everyone was gone, Demian gathered all the remaining dark energy from the corpse.
Black magic couldn’t be collected by ordinary means.
So he had no choice but to recycle the dark energy from the corpse.
Though it wasn’t much, it was enough to cast a tracking spell.
“If I do it like this…”
Demian Haxen crafted and activated the spell.
A wave of darkness spread out from him in all directions. Moments later, a smirk appeared on his lips.
“There it is.”
Demian’s gaze turned westward.