Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill - Chapter 357:The Dark Mage
Chapter 357:The Dark Mage
BOOM!
SWOOSH!
A terrifying pressure exploded outward from Rathlos’s body. The ground flattened instantly, and the surrounding forest shook violently as a shockwave spread in all directions.
“Grymm!”
“Wha—!”
Joel and Randall were thrown backward, barely managing to keep their footing as the force slammed into them.
Bones rattled across the battlefield.
The corrupted energy resisted desperately, screaming and thrashing, but Rathlos stood firmly. His figure remained unmoving amid the storm of darkness.
“This is not your place,” he said coldly.
The darkness let out one final, piercing scream.
Then it was crushed.
The remaining will was completely subdued, dragged under Rathlos’s control. The black mist collapsed inward, and the staff’s glow dimmed sharply.
Silence followed.
Only broken undead remains and scorched earth were left behind as proof of what had happened.
Rathlos bent down and picked up the scepter and the chest beside it. He looked around and spoke firmly.
“Call the priests and cleanse this area.”
“I need to leave.”
With a loud blast, his figure shot into the sky, leaving behind a dark streak of light.
Randall and Joel stared at the scene, sweating heavily.
“When will the day come,” Randall muttered, “that we can act this badass?”
Noel’s lips twitched, not knowing what to say.
…….
Rathlos returned later and placed the items before Ethan.
“Hiss… I am shivering,” Ethan said, rubbing his arms as he stared at the scepter and chest.
“The atmosphere feels cold.”
“Is that really a dungeon?”
“I checked carefully,” Rathlos replied. “It is not. There was a remnant will of a dark mage sealed inside. I subdued it, but it still needs proper cleansing.”
“A dark mage?” Ethan asked, shocked.
“Yes,” Rathlos said, rubbing his chin. “It seems the mage died, but before that, he cut out and sealed a part of his soul into this.”
“Is that even possible?” Ethan asked.
“For mages, yes,” Rathlos replied calmly. “They do all kinds of nefarious research.”
“Damn…” Ethan cursed softly and reached out, gripping the scepter.
Just then, Rathlos’s voice echoed from outside.
“I have subdued the soul, but I wasn’t able to kill it completely.”
“Yeah, I understood that,” Ethan replied.
The moment Ethan grabbed the scepter, the world around him shattered.
His vision blurred, and in the next instant, he found himself standing in a completely different place. There was no ground, no sky. Only endless darkness, thick and heavy, like fog soaked in oil.
Then a deep, eerie voice rolled across the void, cold enough to crawl under his skin.
[Body… Give that body to me…]
The dark mist surged forward, twisting and writhing as it took on a vague humanoid shape. It lunged toward Ethan, clawing at his presence, trying to crawl its way into his soul.
But to Ethan’s senses, it felt pitiful.
Like a tiny ant trying to shake a towering tree.
Ethan merely straightened his posture.
His body erupted with bright, warm light.
[Ahhhhh… Ahhh?!]
[Stoooop! Stoooop!]
The mist shrieked in pain, recoiling violently. It scrambled backward, dragging itself into the far corner of the void as if burned alive.
Ethan watched it with calm eyes, more curious than alarmed.
From the way the Church had cleansed the remaining intent earlier, he had learned a few things.
First, to clear a will, one had to wash away the negative energy with light. Then, one had to overpower the will or intent itself. Finally, a direct soul attack was needed to truly erase it.
At that moment, he realized something.
“So this is how I killed the soul of that lich,” he murmured to himself.
For beings weaker than him, a single overwhelming strike was enough to do all three steps at once. But for beings stronger, or closer to his level, raw soul power was needed.
He had released the power of light just now. By all logic, the dark mage should have been erased.
Yet it was still here.
Screaming and cursing at him.
Ethan took a step forward.
The soul crawled backward in panic.
[No… don’t come… don’t… Ahhhh!]
Ethan slowly drew back his light and spoke calmly.
“Who are you?”
The trembling soul looked at him. For a brief moment, the hatred faded, replaced by something else.
Sadness and remorse.
[What does it matter…]
[I am going to die after all.]
“Even if you are dying,” Ethan said quietly, “won’t it feel better to talk before death?”
Silence lingered.
Then, a dry, hollow laugh echoed through the void.
[Hahaha… Good. Since you want to listen, then listen.]
[I am Mareti… One of the great dark mages from the Mage Tower.]
[I was hailed as the genius of the century. That praise stirred jealousy in many. However…]
The soul’s shape distorted and the darkness flickered violently.
[Who knew the one who would betray me was my own brother…]
[Not only did he kill me, he extracted my potential and all my knowledge.]
“Wait,” Ethan said sharply. “What did you just say?”
[It seems you don’t know.]
[There are ways to eat a person.]
[Ways that transfer their power, their potential, and even their memories to another.]
Ethan swallowed hard.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
That was horrifying.
Utterly horrifying.
If such things were possible, what else could these people do?
Mage Tower.
He had never heard of it before, but the name burned itself into his mind. He did not seek trouble, but he knew one truth very well.
As one rose higher, trouble would seek them.
And if he truly became one of the youngest to reach the upper stages, who was to say the mages would not target him?
“No,” he thought grimly. “I can’t afford to be unprepared.”
Ethan looked at Mareti again, his expression flat and unreadable.
“How many evil deeds have you committed?”
The soul froze.
[…]
[I don’t know if it can be called evil…]
[I played with corpses.]
[As a mage, research is necessary. People are tortured in research all the time, but my field was corpses. I didn’t need to actively hunt the living.]
[No matter where you go, people are always dying.]
[Aside from that, several knights, priests, nobles, and others died by my hands.]
[If you ask whether I am good or evil…]
[I am definitely evil.]
…….
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