Legend of the Arch Magus_The Upheaval

by Michael Sisa

  “Now, it’s time to chase those lizard bastards.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  [At the same time when Lark and the Blackstone Soldiers were battling with the Vanguard Army]

  The assassin group from Black Midas, the Blood Tachi, made their way towards Blackstone Town. Above, a sparrow made of light flew, leaving a trail of white behind. There was no tracking magic more reliable than this. As long as this sparrow existed, it would eventually lead them towards the place their target previously visited. They relentlessly moved through the plains, eventually arriving at a forest.

  “Hey, we’re getting farther from the main road,” said one of the assassins.

  Everyone noticed it too, but they continued following the sparrow made of light, regardless. There must have been a reason why it was leading them towards this certain place.

  “Stop.” Alfonse raised his hand and everyone halted. The sparrow seemed to have understood it too, as it simply hovered above, flapping its wings.

  “Leader?” said Seth.

  Alfonse placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. He vigilantly looked around the forest, as though waiting for a monster to pounce at them. He slowly walked towards a nearby tree then touched its bark.

  “This is…” mumbled Alfonse. He knocked on it, creating thud sounds. “It has completely turned into a rock.”

  Seth narrowed her eyes. “Stone Morphosis Spell? But why use it on a tree? That’s a high tier spell that consumes a lot of mana.”

  Alfonse nodded. “Or Petrification Spell. Those two are the only possibilities.”

  Seth and the rest of the assassins understood the implications. They all realized the possibility of encountering a strong magician in this forest. After all, those two spells mentioned by the leader were High Tier Spells. Only those near the rank of Royal Court Magician were capable of using it.

  “Is it Lark Marcus?” Seth giggled. She felt a hot sensation flowing through her skin the moment she realized this possibility. “If he’s the one who turned that large tree into stone, then we’ll definitely have a fun time killing him! I can’t wait!”

  Alfonse sighed. He’d been with her for three years now. He knew that out of all the members of Blood Tachi, Seth was the one who enjoyed slaughter the most. “Enough. Everyone should be on their guard. We might suddenly get attacked by that magician any moment now.”

  The members of Blood Tachi nodded.

  “Seth,” said Alfonse. “Lead us there.”

  “Yes, Yes!” Seth breathed in. She willed the sparrow made of light to move once again.

  After moving through the forest for several hours, they arrived at a village. Everyone was vigilant upon seeing the broken gate, splintered woods, scattered arrows, and the traces of blood on the ground.

  The marks indicated that a battle had taken place here, at least a week ago, maybe even more than that.

  The sparrow of light flew inside the village. Everyone looked at the leader.

  “Be on your guard,” said Alfonse. “We’ll go inside.”

  Upon entering the village, they realized it was abandoned. There was not a single trace of a living being in this place. Several furniture and equipment were left behind, as though everyone were in a hurry to escape the village.

  “What happened here?” said one of the assassins.

  This was the same question that ran through everyone’s mind. The sparrow landed at the door step of a cabin. It indicated that their target, Lark Marcus, once stayed in this particular place.

  Why did he stay here? What made everyone evacuate this place? What kind of battle took place in this village?

  So many questions without an answer.

  Everyone looked around the village.

  “He’s no longer here.” Alfonse arrived at this conclusion.

  Seth clicked her tongue in disappointment.

  “Lead us to the next trail of the target,” said Alfonse.

  “Okay~” Seth opened her palm. The sparrow flapped its wings several times, flew about for a few moments, then landed on her hand. Seconds lingered and it turned into particles of light.

  “Hey, you still have some of those, right?” Seth said to the assassin next to her. “Give it to me.”

  The assassin pulled out a small piece of cloth cut from a tunic provided by the inn. One of the possessions left behind by Lark. An item once used by their target.

  Seth was about to cast her incantations when a hissing sound reverberated in the village. Everyone immediately placed their hands on the hilt of their swords, their eyes vigilantly looking around.

  The hissing sound intensified. Soon, its source made its appearance.

  “What the hell is that?” breathed one of the assassins.

  It was a colossal snake spanning more than fifty meters in length, probably even reaching more than a hundred, they were not sure. Its body was large enough to swallow an entire horse whole, and its scales which glimmered from the sun gave semblance to plate armors.

  But the members of Blood Tachi noticed something peculiar: looking carefully, they could see numerous cut marks covering most of its body. The marks were almost inconspicuous after it healed, but it was there.

  “Great,” sighed Seth. “We’re here trying to find that damn noble, but now we’re supposed to face that monster?”

  “Seth, shut up,” said Alfonse. He unsheathed his sword. “All of you, prepare for battle. Judging by its size, it’ll be hard to escape from it in this forest. We’ll suffer casualties if we let it run behind our backs. We’re killing it here and now.”

  Unsheathing sounds reverberated. The colossal snake hissed. It’s slit-like eyes glared at the humans before it.

  “This should be a piece of cake,” said Seth. “Those cut marks were clearly from a sword. Those scales looked really tough, but it’s not impenetrable.”

  “Scatter!” shouted Alfonse.

  On cue, the members of Blood Tachi scattered. The colossal snake angrily hissed upon seeing this. It swiveled its head left and right, before eventually deciding to attack Alfonse. It lunged at the leader of the assassins, its mouth broadly opened as it attempted to swallow him whole.

  Alfonse jumped to his left and evaded the attack. He gripped the hilt of his sword tight, and after clenching his teeth, struck at the snake’s body.

  To his surprise, he did nothing but scratch its scale.

  The other members of Blood Tachi used this opening. They immediately dashed forward and released a barrage of attacks at the colossal snake. The monster angrily hissed, opened its mouth, then spat out a viscous green fluid.

  One of the assassins failed to evade on time. His left shoulder was struck.

  “Ahhhhh!” he wailed. The part where the green fluid struck sizzled. Slowly, his entire left arm detached itself and fell to the ground. The assassins who saw this were horrified.

  “It’s corrosive!” shouted Alfonse. “Don’t let even a drop of that thing hit you!”

  The assassin whose left arm was severed tried to run away, but the monster noticed him. It lunged at him and opened its mouth wide, swallowing him whole. Everyone heard the man’s muffled shouts as it was swallowed by the snake into its belly. Several seconds lingered and the muffled shouts disappeared completely.

  “Shit! What the hell is that thing?!” one of the assassins spat. “And we can’t even wound it!” He gripped the hilt of his sword and glared at the blade. “This damn, useless sword!”

  “Enough,” said Alfonse. He said to the man next to him, “Oliver. Can you pin him down for us? A few seconds should be enough.”

  The assassin nodded. “Understood!”

  “I don’t know what kind of monster this thing fought before, but those cut marks on its body haven’t completely healed yet,” said Alfonse. He shouted, “Everyone! Once Oliver pins him down with magic, stab the places with cut marks! Those haven’t fully healed yet! We’ll definitely be able to penetrate its scales!”

  Everyone readied their weapons. Oliver sprea
d both his hands wide and channeled his mana through the air. “Oh Goddess Maruna! Struck thy enemy with your wrath! Shackle it with your might!” He roared, “Bind!”

  Chains made of wind magic manifested itself. More than half of Oliver’s mana was used just to cast this single spell. The chains coiled around the colossal snake’s body, then latched itself into the ground. The snake tried to slither, but the chains bound its movements.

  “Now!” snarled Alfonse.

  The assassins immediately leapt into the air and stabbed the body of the colossal snake. Just like their leader predicted, the parts previously wounded before have not completely healed yet. Their swords managed to penetrate it.

  They did not know who managed to cut the scales of this monster before, but thanks to him, they now have a chance of killing this beast. They used this chance to plunge their swords deeper into the wounds, making the snake hiss in agony. It tried moving its head left and right, but the chains held it in place.

  After several seconds, the chains made of wind formed cracks then shattered into numerous pieces. The snake shook its body violently and tried to bite off the assassins clinging on its body. With trained movements, the assassins pulled out their swords and scattered out.

  Blood profusely dripped down the wounds of the colossal snake. The light in its eyes started dimming as it tried to remain standing.

  “This thing’s huge,” chuckled Seth. “But it’s weak.”

  “What do we do next, leader?” said Oliver. “I can’t cast the binding spell again. I’ve used up almost all of my mana.”

  “It’s fine,” said Alfonse. “It’s almost dead. We’ll just wait it out.”

  True to his words, the colossal snake angrily hissed for one last time, before its body fell on the ground. Dust flew upon impact.

  Alfonse slowly walked towards it. Without hesitation, he stabbed both its eyes to make sure it was dead. He flicked his sword, clearing it of blood, and sheathed it.

  Unlike Seth, he did not believe this monster was weak. If not for its previous injuries, they would have probably not beaten it. Or even if they did, they would have suffered more casualties. He felt somehow thankful to the one who wounded this monster.

  “It’s regretful that one of us died, but we still have to complete our mission,” said Alfonse. “Seth, your magic.”

  Seth brushed off the dust that clung to her black clothes. “Yes, yes.”

  She chanted her magic, and another sparrow made of light manifested itself. It flapped its wings as it hovered before its summoner.

  “Lead us to that place,” she said. The sparrow slowly flew towards the northwest.

  “Let’s go,” said their leader.

  Everyone was about to leave the village when another hissing sound echoed. They all reflexively pulled out their weapons then jumped away from the direction of the snake’s corpse. They realized it was not where the hissing sound came from.

  “Another one?” Alfonse was grim.

  Just like he speculated, another colossal snake made its appearance. But unlike the previous one clad in black scales, the color of this new monster was pure white. Moreover, a third eye was seen on its forehead.

  “Damn it! Another one? Is this village a snake’s den or something?!”

  “But look, it’s a lot smaller than the one we’ve fought, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah! Around half the size, I guess?”

  Realizing that it was a lot smaller than the one they’ve killed, everyone felt confident. Moreover, it did not have the same thick scales as the black colossal snake. They were sure that their swords would easily pierce through this snake’s skin.

  Only Seth and Alfonse thought differently. They looked at each other.

  There were very few serpents with the same matching description. If their hunch was correct, then they would soon face a battle of life-or-death. A battle fiercer than the previous one.

  “Leader,” mumbled Seth.

  This was the first time Alfonse saw her afraid.

  He said, “It’s fine. There’s no way a basilisk would appear in this forest. It’s probably just an oversized monster with three eyes. That’s all.”

  Seth nervously swallowed the lump in her throat. “I-I see… That must be true.”

  But they were soon proved incorrect.

  Upon reaching the dead body of the black colossal snake, the white snake hissed violently. Tears were seen at the corner of its eyes at it glared at the humans. Its third eye glowed, and to their utter horror, some of the assassins started turning into stone.

  Alfonse was the quickest to react. He pulled Seth away from the range of the spell. After several seconds, all of the assassins aside from Alfonse and Seth have turned into stone.

  Seth’s eyes were wide as she stared at this in horror. She wailed, “I-It’s a Basilisk! What is a Calamity Class Monster doing in this place?!”

  When she turned to Alfonse, she noticed that his left leg had turned into stone. She knew that this was because of her, because he tried to save her even when he could have escaped by himself.

  “Leader! Y-Your leg!” she was hysterical.

  Alfonse mustered up a smile. “I’m fine.” He looked at the direction of the white basilisk. It started crushing the stone statues of his comrades, one by one. “You should run while it’s busy crushing those guys.”

  “B-But!” Tears started flowing down her eyes. “I can’t leave you here, Leader! What about the mission?! No, that’s no longer important! I can’t let you die here! We’ll escape together!”

  The basilisk finally finished crushing the statues. It slowly turned its head towards them, its three eyes glaring at their direction. Alfonse growled, “Listen, you damn bitch! I told you to run away! Now!”

  Seth also looked at the direction of the white basilisk. Her mind was screaming at her to run, but her entire body remained rooted on the ground. In her heart, she could not bear to leave the leader behind.

  Seconds which seemed like eternity passed. Seth gritted her teeth and pulled out a dagger. “I’ve decided. I’m not leaving you here! We’ll kill Lark Marcus after this – together! You can’t die yet, Leader!”

  Alfonse groaned. He tried to move, but the petrified leg started forming cracks.

  “The third eye’s the source of that damn basilisk’s magic, right?” declared Seth. “As long as I destroy that part, it should be possible to kill that monster!”

  “Wait! That’s not the—”

  But Seth did not listen. She dashed forward and jumped straight towards the basilisk’s head. She gripped her dagger tight and stabbed the third eye of the monster. Blood spurted out.

  “I did it!”

  But her joy was short-lived. The white basilisk hissed and cast its spell. Seth felt her entire body stiffen, she fell down the ground, then turned completely into stone. But peculiarly, she could still clearly see everything. She could still feel the cold, hard ground. She was still alive.

  But she could not move.

  The white basilisk slithered forward, its large body creating a shadow over Seth’s petrified body. Seth heard Alfonse shout, and she heard cracking sounds, quickly followed by a roar. This did not last even a few seconds, before silence once again returned to the forest.

  Alfonse probably tried charging at the white basilisk despite his petrified leg, only to be turned completely into stone by the monster’s magic.

  Seth wanted to cry, to wail, but no tears came out.

  The white basilisk hissed, and with great force, crushed her petrified body.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mikael’s stomach grumbled as he sat cross-legged inside the dungeon. He’d been locked up here for a more than a week already. Every day, he was forced to eat nothing but stale bread and water. Although he was a knight and his body was stronger than most people, he was starting to feel the effects of emaciation. His cheeks had become sunken and dark marks encircled his eyes.

  For the King. I have to endure. Just a bit more.
>
  With his skills, it would have been easy to escape this underground jail, but doing so would blow his cover. Furthermore, the allegations and suspicious cast on him would be solidified once he escaped.

  Mikael breathed in. This place was dark. No windows. The air was humid and stale.

  Metallic sounds echoed, and the iron gate of the dungeon creaked open. Several footsteps reverberated.

  Mikael momentarily squinted his eyes when the light from torches touched his cell. Five people stood outside his jail.

  “Is that him, Sir?” A guard asked the fat man next to him.

  The fat man nodded. “That’s definitely my client.” He glared at the guards and snarled. “He looks famished! You should have at least fed him!”

  The guards jumped from the sudden holler.

  The fat man shouted, “What are you waiting for?! Release him!”

  Immediately, the guards took out the keys and unlocked the cell. They nervously approached Mikael and bowed their heads. “W-We’re sorry, Sir! We had to lock you up make sure that—”

  “—Enough!” the fat man shoved the guards away and approached Mikael. He scrutinized the prisoner from head to toe. He sighed. “I’m sorry. By the time I woke up, it’s been already more than a week since that incident. Who would have thought that these imbeciles will lock you up?”

  With the torches illuminating the entire cell, the fat man’s apologetic face was apparent. Mikael knew this man well. Big Bun, the leader of One Stop Clop. Also the brother of Big Mona, the Head Merchant of the Lion City.

  Almost two weeks ago, hell befell the garrisons stationed next to the Lake of the Full Moon. Despite the presence of a Myonite Stone, monsters still attacked the soldiers, their numbers bordering tens of thousands. It was a number enough to overthrow the entire Capital.

  Luckily, the soldiers had a backup plan in-case the Myonite failed to work during a full moon. The leader of the soldiers quickly ordered his men to retreat back to the Lion City. Dozens of soldiers lost their lives that day, and it was a miracle that Mikael and this fat merchant actually managed to escape and survive.

  Unfortunately, Big Bun was gravely injured during the escape, and it took him several days before he finally woke up after the treatment. Naturally, the suspicious eyes of the soldiers fell on Mikael, a serf. They locked him up to be sure, at least until Big Bun finally woke up.