After 2 weeks of consideration, I decided to translate again. TLDR, Some pages were hit with copyright claims.
Darkness.
In a world that seemed to be completely painted black, the two faced their enemies.
“Yahhhhhh!!”
With a loud shout, he swung his fist. The opponent, lowering his waist, dodged it and slipped into the big man’s arms. Then, using his legs like springs, he unleashed a punch aimed at the big man’s chin.
That movement completely exceeded the perception of an ordinary human.
It was a behavior characteristic of a sorcerer using internal codes.
However, of course, the big man was also a sorcerer. There was no need to think about how to defend against it.
“—Hah.”
The big man scoffed.
He thought the attack was so monotonous, so predictable, that it held no enjoyment, and he swiftly struck the opponent’s arm with a chop.
Fresh blood.
Drip, drip, drip, blood drips to the ground.
The opponent’s arm flew through the air, and the big man immediately grabbed it, throwing it like one would throw a ball.
As the arm soared through the darkness, it cleanly hit the jaw of the opponent, who had a look of agony on his face.
“Ugh… aah… ah…”
Letting out a soundless cry, the opponent collapsed to the ground.
Due to the shock of having his arm severed, he couldn’t react properly.
And pathetically, he lost consciousness right there.
A pool of blood spread out.
The big man, calmly watching this, slowly advanced.
“Hey, Mors, I’m done over here.”
“What about the finishing blow?”
“Not yet.”
“Sounds good. Please leave it as is. I’ll finish up here soon.”
The man called Mors, of medium height with brown hair and a stocky build, was also fighting an enemy. He was facing five opponents.
He was handling them all by himself.
The opponents were also skilled. If ranked among sorcerers, they would be classified as top-tier platinum magicians.
Among them, he overwhelmingly faced off against the five who excelled in combat techniques.
“Guh…!”
“What the hell is going on…!?”
“Why is this guy doing this!?”
The men shouted in confusion.
Why were they saying such things?
It was because every sorcery they believed would surely hit was slipping right past him. Even when they closed in and tried to slash him with knives, the same thing happened.
With a smirk, Mors continued to endure their attacks.
Calmly, he simply continued to take their assaults. Of course, without a scratch.
The men had engaged in sorcery duels many times before.
But this was far too abnormal.
No matter what sorcerer it was, they could usually discern the essence that formed the core of their abilities to some extent.
That confidence was present in these five.
But what about the current situation?
Originally, these two were targeted solely for assassination, and the number of assassins sent exceeded ten. It was just another trivial job as usual.
Kill them, receive the reward, and that would be the end. That was what everyone thought.
They had researched everything about their targets.
It was nothing special, just a couple of sorcerers. However, there was information suggesting they were involved in illegal activities behind the scenes. Both had their hands stained with darkness.
These were sorcerers who did not belong to any magic associations and lived in the underworld.
Even among them, they had never encountered such profound darkness.
“Well then, is the preparation complete?”
With a seemingly kind smile, he gazed at the five men and for the first time, he used sorcery against them.
In an instant, the five men collapsed to the ground as if their strings had been cut.
──What just happened? There were no signs of magic at all. The flow of the Prima Materia… I can’t see it at all… what?
As they lay prostrate, the men thought almost the same thing.
It is a natural phenomenon for the Prima Materia to converge when sorcery is invoked.
A skilled sorcerer can instantly understand the magic being activated from its signs.
However, there were no signs with Mors’s magic.
They were simply dumbfounded, but the outcome had already been decided.
“Well then, Para-san, I’m done here too.”
“I always think your sorcery is creepy.”
“I’m honored to receive such praise.”
“Hah. I’m not praising you. So, is it the usual way?”
“Yes.”
Thirteen men lay sprawled on the ground.
The ones attacked by the large man called Para had lost limbs and suffered bodily damage, but they still barely retained consciousness.
On the other hand, the ones defeated by Mors were still fully conscious.
They could not move their bodies, but their awareness remained intact.
“Are you not going to take a look?”
“I’m not interested. I’m going to have a smoke.”
“Alright. The realm is still deployed, so don’t stray too far.”
“Yeah…”
Para took out a cigar from his pocket, lit it with magic, and walked away.
Meanwhile, Mors pulled out a knife from his pocket. No, it was too short and thin to be called a knife.
In reality, it was a scalpel, a tool used in medical procedures.
Why did Mors take it out?
The moment the other men realized this, they shuddered.
Mors’s ecstatic smile. Caressing the scalpel as if it were a beloved object, he crouched down next to one of the men.
“Well then, fresh things need to be extracted quickly.”
“W-What are you…?”
“Oh! You can still talk after receiving my sorcery! It seems that this time the sorceres are of high quality. I’ll have to thank someone for this.”
Just from the sound of his voice, Mors seemed like an ordinary kind man.
With his sweet face, anyone seeing him for the first time would likely not feel any wariness toward him.
However, those who had touched the essence of sorcery would understand.
This overflowing pitch-black Prima Materia.
It was as if it were the abyss itself.
The men understood once again.
They should not have gotten involved.
“Well then, let’s start with the first one.”
“Ah, ahhhhhh!!”
A resounding scream.
It was a mixture of unimaginable pain.
Indeed. Mors had unhesitatingly opened the man’s head.
With a scalpel magically enhanced, he cut open the head as if slicing through something soft. His movements clearly indicated that he was experienced.
“…Phew. Now, shall we deal with the rest of the humans?”
After that, a hellish tragedy unfolded in this place, that the word “despair” is an understatement.
“Is it over?”
“Yes. All done safely.”
When Para returned after taking a breather, a scene of bloody carnage lay before him. The men were already dead, their faces twisted in expressions of agony.
The blood that poured out was still a burning, fresh red. Blood solidifies and turns black over time. But for now, it was a vividly beautiful shade of red.
The tragedy that occurred in the back alleys of the kingdom.
It was late at night, so visibility was poor, but… ironically, it was a night when the moonlight was particularly beautiful.
And there, illuminated, was the scene of devastation.
Seeing it, Para felt nothing. He simply did his job as usual. That was all.
“So, who are these guys, anyway?”
When Para asked, Mors, who was wiping off the blood with a handkerchief, replied in a gentle voice.
“They’re probably assassins from other factions. As it stands, we’re the most advanced. Well, for me, having secured a new brain like this is a pleasant outcome.”
“…So, the Eugenics Agency isn’t a united front after all.”
“Indeed. But as it stands, there are very few who can stop us with sorcery. The higher-ups are busy with other tasks, and right now, it’s a conflict at the lower levels.”
“Hah. Is that so? Well, as long as I get paid, I don’t care.”
“Of course. I will pay you the promised reward, provided we achieve our objective.”
“…I’ve already received plenty in advance. But in our world, trust is the most important thing. I’ll see the job through to the end.”
“Thank you, Para-san.”
With his body stained in fresh blood, Mors smiled.
It had not been long since the two met. Mors had hired Para for a specific purpose.
In this underground world of sorcery, he was someone who had made a name for himself. It was said that his abilities rivaled those of the Seven Great Sorcerers.
No.
In terms of killing techniques alone, Para would already be counted among the world’s top sorcerers. A technique honed solely for the purpose of killing.
Sorceryis merely a tool, while it enriches people’s lives, it can also become the best tool for killing.
Moreover, the names Mors and Para are both aliases. They are used only for work. Yet for the two of them, names had become mere symbols. They were just convenient labels for calling each other.
Mors only needed to achieve his objective.
Para only needed to complete the tasks assigned to him.
That was what connected the two of them.
“Well then, shall we proceed with the matter of Rebecca Bradley? Before anyone else notices.”
“I’ll leave that to you. I’ll just do my job.”
“Yes. And I will also proceed with revenge.”
“…Can you do it?”
“I have been lurking for several decades just for that purpose. It seems the other party is aware of this and is luring me in.”
“Hah. Is that so? Just do your best.”
“Yes. I will do my best.”
In the shadows of the kingdom, the will of the dark night was surely advancing.
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