Illusion Sword Master

＜ Inspecting Officer Watches Over Us (6) ﹥

We arrived at the end of the narrow cave, just as Edgar’s information had indicated. The orcs were preparing for a dark ritual.

I couldn’t help but curse the Imperial Army’s intelligence unit.

“What the hell? What have these orc bastards been doing while we’re stuck here?”

On the ground, dozens of intricate magic circles were drawn, overlapping each other. Such complex magic required a tremendous amount of power and couldn’t be completed in a short period.

Orc dark mages, clad in robes, knelt on top of the circles.

About a dozen warriors, armed to the teeth, stood guard around them. Although there was no high-ranking orc, each one was undoubtedly an elite.

Judging by their build, even if I underestimated, there were at least 3000 of them – monsters worthy of a warm-up.

“Intruders!”

One of them spotted us and let out a battle cry. Dozens of sinister gazes fell upon us.

The battle was about to begin.

“Wait!”

Someone’s voice halted the orcs, who were about to charge at us, and they turned to gaze at a single point.

Their gaze fell on the innermost part of the cave.

A lavishly dressed orc glared at us.

It was the sorcerer, Maktobre.

“This is a sacred place where we seek the power of the great ancient gods. It is not a place for unauthorized visitors.”

Maktobre spoke in a refined tone, reminiscent of the upper class, despite his orcish facial structure.

It was an unsettling, unfamiliar moment.

“I have enlightened a few humans, but you are not among them. You must be here to disrupt our ritual.”

He pointed his staff at me, and although he didn’t seem to be exerting much force, a crimson aura swirled around him.

He was clearly a being of a different caliber than the dark mages I had encountered so far.

“Damn. It seems we still have a long wait before reinforcements arrive.”

Belam drew his bowstring taut, and Olek prepared to charge, tensing his legs.

The air was thick with tension.

I stuck close to Olek’s back, ready to use him as a shield to protect myself at any moment.

“It seems we’ve made a mistake. We’re just hikers who lost our way in the middle of the night and stumbled upon your ceremony. You seem busy, so we’ll just leave. Farewell.”

I spouted a blatant lie.

The opponent was an orc, but as a high-ranking officer, I didn’t expect them to fall for such a deception.

At a glance, the difference in power was overwhelming.

Before we were wiped out, I wanted to stall their ritual and buy time for our reinforcements to arrive.

“You think you can deceive us with your petty lies?”

As expected, Maktobre didn’t pretend to be fooled.

“I’ve heard that there’s a human warrior who wields multiple swords. You must be the notorious ‘Ethan, the Corpse Collector’.”

It seemed he already knew my true identity.

My reputation had apparently spread even among the orcs.

“You’re a collector of ears? How disgusting.”

The hero of the Western Front, the recipient of the Mu Gong Honorary Medal, the empire’s loyal subject, the Orc slayer…

Among the many nicknames I’ve had, this one is undoubtedly the worst.

“You always appear just before my plans come to fruition and sabotage them. You killed my beloved Grola and Bushaku, and even cut off their ears.”

No, that wasn’t something I did.

I listened to his words quietly.

Time kept passing even as I stood there.

If possible, I’d like to stall for about three more hours…

“Now, you’re going to appear before me and humiliate me?”

Maktobre’s anger suddenly flared, and he slammed his staff onto the ground.

─ Thud.

The ground cracked, and a fissure opened up.

“Although it’s regrettable that we can’t hold a perfect ritual, if we can eliminate you, who threaten us, it won’t be a loss! My disciples! I won’t forget your sacrifices!”

Maktobre’s shout awakened the black magicians who had been quietly standing by, and they suddenly drew their daggers and stabbed their own chests.

What are they doing?

“■■■! ■■■■─!”

As he chanted, the magic circle on the ground glowed red.

The ominous energy that rose from the fallen black magicians converged into a single point, gathering around the gray gemstone embedded in Maktobre’s staff.

It was an enormous vortex of power unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

─ Ku ku ku ku kung!

The surroundings shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

This isn’t good.

It’s very bad.

“Damn it! Run…”

─ Kwa kwa kwa kwaang!

The situation was already too late.

Behind me, the ceiling that couldn’t withstand the vibrations came crashing down, burying me under a pile of rubble.

The escape route was blocked.

I belatedly realized that my idea of observing and waiting for an opportunity to escape was arrogant.

“Don’t even think about running! I’ll offer your life as a sacrifice to appease the wrath of the warriors and secure the future of our kind!”

To the Orcs, I had already become an enemy who needed to be eliminated.

“That idiotic Orc still doesn’t understand the situation. It’s not that the inspector is trapped here, but that he’s trapped together with the inspector.”

Olek spoke with an air of superiority.

He seemed to think he had made a clever remark, and his smug expression infuriated me.

“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand the situation.”

“What do you mean? What’s the situation now?”

What a ridiculous situation this is.

I didn’t have the luxury to explain it kindly to Olek, who thought I was some kind of invincible, all-powerful being.

“Get out of the way!”

The orc warriors let out a battle cry, and Belram released the drawn bowstring.

─ Shurik!

The arrow shot out, piercing the eye of an orc charging towards us, marking the start of the battle.

I reflexively pushed Olec back.

Just then, the orcs’ attack poured down on Olec, who had stumbled backward.

“What?”

Olec’s body flew up like a puppet on a string.

To be precise, his entire body was floating in mid-air, with Olec being dragged along.

Inside the bundle were dozens of swords gathered from the 8th Division.

I had come to a realization during the previous battle.

‘There’s no point in exhausting ourselves against enemies supported by the Dark Mage.’

We had to end it quickly, leaving no room for revival.

─ Hududududu!

Puuk!

The swords burst out of the bundle, flying like arrows and covering the orc warriors.

Although I could perfectly control only four swords with my swordsmanship, it was possible to shoot them in one direction.

“What?”

“That’s…! He’s using a cowardly technique!”

The orcs, pierced by swords all over their bodies, let out a scream of pain and rage as they fell to the ground, with Olec hovering above them like an aerial fortress.

“That flying human! Get him first!”

The orc warriors threw their weapons at Olec, but the swords that hit his body couldn’t pierce through and bounced off powerlessly.

“Huk!”

Despite being hit by the swords, Olec only let out a slight groan.

Meanwhile, another batch of swords was launched from the bundle, turning an orc into a beehive.

“What… How did that human’s body…?”

Belram exclaimed in a dazed voice, meanwhile quickly shooting an arrow that blinded an orc.

“That’s right.”

The bundle was now completely empty, and Olec’s body fell to the ground. The orcs, enraged and drugged, tried to turn him into a punching bag.

I targeted the swords stuck in their bodies and cast a powerful magic.

─ Jiriririt!

─ Whirruruk!

Flames and electricity erupted simultaneously, followed by the orcs’ screams.

The smell of gunpowder filled the air, and smoke blocked our vision.

“Did we get them?”

Belram asked with a sinister tone.

When the smoke cleared, we saw the orc warriors, now reduced to charred remains.

“We got them.”

I replied.

However, the situation was still far from good.

The enemy’s main force, Maktober, had yet to participate in the battle.

“Indeed, it’s an incredible ability.”

The guy pulled out the staff stuck in the ground.

The magical power that had been swirling fiercely just a moment ago had subsided.

“It seems the great ancient god is pleased with the ritual. He has bestowed his power within, it seems.”

It was clear that the ritual Maktobre had prepared was to create a powerful artifact imbued with the devil’s power.

“It’s still incomplete, but if you offer your life as a sacrifice, it will soon become a perfect artifact.”

The guy lightly lifted the staff and slammed it into the ground.

─ Boom!

A powerful shockwave radiated outward.

I hastily threw myself in front of Belram, gathering the scattered swords and deploying a defensive formation.

Kuung! A heavy impact was transmitted.

“Kuaaah!”

Olek’s body, which had failed to enter the defensive range, was sent flying.

The only way to counter the black magician’s powerful magic was to use swift and fierce attacks.

There was no room to spare any energy for defense.

“Belram! From now on, focus only on surviving!”

I stomped the ground and jumped up. Shhik. A sword lying on the ground flew towards my feet.

I unfolded my sword dance, approaching Maktobre while scattering swords with my swordsmanship.

“Khahahaha! That’s not enough!”

The guy burst into laughter, swinging his staff wildly.

A crimson barrier enveloped him, deflecting the swords.

This was a kind of smoke screen.

I waited for the moment when he would lift the barrier to counterattack, then jumped onto the sword he was riding and pulled out the sword at my waist.

This was my original finishing move, which had helped me defeat many strong enemies in the past.

I swung the sword with all my might.

The unexpected blow was blocked.

In that instant, a burst of energy erupted from the guy’s chest, entwining the sword. This was also the power of that incredible staff. It was overwhelming.

I poured more mana into the sword.

─ Chiiiing!

Ugh. As usual, the backlash of mana overuse caused my blood to flow backward.

I couldn’t stop attacking here.

It was a matter of life and death.

The intense battle continued.

─ Tiek.

The sword couldn’t withstand the mana and broke.

The black magician’s energy enveloped my vision.

I wanted to see Black Thunder.

#

How much time had passed?

My body has no sensation, and my consciousness is hazy.

It seems that my physical training has paid off, and I’m still alive.

I struggled to open my eyelids, but unfortunately, the unfamiliar ceiling was not what I saw.

The ceiling was the same cave I had seen until now.

“[You’ve awakened, Inspector! Your incredible feat is truly remarkable!]”

There’s no one to praise me like that.

“Ugh!”

Ollek was wrapped in tentacles, his body crumbling. Even with good stamina, he would suffocate if he continued like that.

In the midst of this, he bit the tentacles with his teeth, trying to counterattack.

“You bastard! Let’s play, you stinky brat!”

Belam used the orc’s corpse as a shield and shot his bow to grab Maktovre’s attention, but he was swept away with the shield by a shockwave as swift as catching a fly.

Luckily, he landed safely with his acrobatic skills, avoiding instant death, but he repeated the same action after reviving.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Even in a dazed state, it was painful to watch this absurd scene. I knew I had no chance of winning, but I thought of continuing to fight.

“Inspector! Hold on a bit longer! We have to hold out until the reinforcements arrive. You have to survive, Inspector!”

Belam shouted.

Ollek struggled to respond.

“Ugh… that’s… right… Inspector will… soon… get up…”

One of them was trying to save me somehow.

The other believed I would do something about it.

They’re just trying to hold on.

“Ugh.”

What am I doing in this precarious situation, following them enthusiastically and suffering?

I just wanted to live peacefully.

Most of my achievements were due to misunderstandings and good luck anyway.

Look at this. Even now, I’m barely holding on, and it’s still not going well.

“Yes, yes. It’s like this again.”

It seems like I’m stuck in a similar situation.

This wretched fantasy life is forcing me to undergo unbearable trials.

It’s already hard enough, but the world’s cruelty is excessive.

For someone who’s already struggling to breathe under the weight of their own life, they’re adding the burden of those foolish people’s lives on top of that.

Their lives, which I believe are worth protecting and following, are pitiful.

“Damn it. I don’t think I’ll die helplessly like this.”

I used my remaining strength to lift my body, which had lost its sensations, into the air. It’s fortunate that I don’t feel any pain. If I did, my entire body would be twisted in agony, and I wouldn’t be able to speak properly.

“Ah, Inspector?”

“Inspector!”

Ollek and Belam looked at me and shouted.

Even Maktovre, who had been playing with them like a toy, turned his head towards me.

“Guys, Collector Edan! You’re not the type to die so easily.”

I got up, not wanting to see those fools die…

I hadn’t decided what I could do or what I should say.

I swallowed the blood rushing up and adjusted my voice. If I opened my mouth right away, I would’ve made a pathetic sound.

“From now on, I’ll take you on with my real skills.”

Those were the words I spat out after much deliberation.

I didn’t want to make a weak sound, unsure if it would be my last words.

＜ The Inspector Is Watching (6) ﹥ End