Chapter 280

Chapter 280

Although he felt that the end was in sight, Roan never let his guard down until the final strand was engraved.

Engraving the Black Mark on the heart was that dangerous of an affair.

Roan was not so foolish as to ruin everything with a fatal mistake at the very end.

Whether from his experience playing [God & Devil], or the experiences he had gone through since entering this body.

Finally, the last head was engraved.

‘……Is this the true finishing touch?’

Roan adjusted the sharply refined dark mana even more finely to dot the eye of the last head.

Stab—!

“Ugh—”

It was a horrific pain that refused to offer even a hint of relief until the very end.

But the end was the end.

Ziiiiing—

The completed black Pandemonium of Ten Thousand Snakes.

Although the Fake Divinity put in all kinds of effort, white was out of the question, and the best it could do was make it look like dark-attributed holy power.

‘That much is plenty.’

……Thanks for saying so.

A strange sense of camaraderie had built up between Roan and the Fake Divinity, who usually bickered whenever they had a chance.

Having overcome even this horrific hell, they would surely be able to live a normal and peaceful life in the future…

Wriggle—

“?”

?

Or so they thought they would be able to live.

For a moment, wondering if he had misseen something, Roan asked the authority lukewarmly.

‘Just now… that head moved, right? Did I see things?’

I-It seems so…

The Fake Divinity was equally flustered.

Neither Roan nor the Fake Divinity had ever heard of an already engraved Black Mark moving on its own.

‘Could this be…?’

Roan couldn’t shake off his uneasy feeling for some reason.

From experience, whenever this kind of anxiety crept in, something even worse always ended up happening.

Thump, thump, thump—

……The suddenly accelerated heartbeat was not because of the Black Mark or Ludiac, but simply because Roan was tense.

Wriggle—

However, the wriggling of the Pandemonium of Ten Thousand Snakes was not merely because the heart repeated contraction and expansion.

The moment Roan’s internal senses and the eyes of the wriggling snakes met awkwardly.

Burst—!!!

“!!!!!!!!”

The tangled snakes of the Black Mark began to rush through the blood vessels into Roan’s entire body like a torrent pouring from a collapsed dam.

“Ugh…… ugh……”

Roan realized at that moment.

Engraving the Black Mark on the heart was actually nothing!

To think that an even worse pain was still left!

Roan spoke to the Fake Divinity to somehow hold onto his consciousness.

‘This authority in name only screwed up again…!’

Grrrk— grk—

Is that something a crazy fellow who engraved the Dark Trace on his heart should say!

The camaraderie they had felt just a moment ago had long vanished cleanly.

The two began to bicker, blaming each other for the cause of this crazy situation like a black mage and a priest meeting on a single-log bridge.

Kugagagak—

Even in the midst of that, the countless snakes swimming along Roan’s blood vessels managed to squeeze their heads even into capillaries where one would wonder if their bodies could fit.

‘This, this is a bit too much!’

Even Roan, who had endured all kinds of nonsensical pain with the sole determination to survive, couldn’t help but grit his teeth at this point.

But fortunately(?), the snakes embedded in every corner of his body floundered for a long time before gradually disappearing as if dissolving into his blood.

Only then did Roan regain his senses.

Although his entire body still throbbed as if pricked by needles, compared to a moment ago, he was in a prime condition where he could practically participate in the Olympics.

Roan scowled fiercely and looked around.

‘It’s a complete mess.’

What on earth had happened outside his body while he was engraving the Black Mark—the entire area was in ruins as if hit by a bombardment.

A crater-like pit was scooped out around where Roan stood up.

Thick dark mana rippled frequently on the boulders and stones, not yet dispersed.

At the very least, it was in a similar state to the debris from when Roan practiced right as he completely finished basic black magic here.

That didn’t matter much.

However.

“……Where did my Black Mark go?”

The Pandemonium of Ten Thousand Snakes that he had engraved stitch by stitch on his heart with mortal effort had vanished somewhere.

Wooong—

You know as well.

The Fake Divinity, perhaps quite in pain itself, spoke with a faint vibration that sounded nearly half-dead.

Naturally, the Black Mark had not vanished as mere wasted effort.

It had simply loosened from the heart and blended into the blood of his entire body.

But even knowing that fact, this was a matter of psychological deprivation.

“My Black Mark…”

He had engraved it while going through mortal agony, yet it was nowhere to be found in his heart.

At this rate, I can’t even boast about having engraved a Black Mark!

‘……Ah, I wouldn’t be able to boast about it anyway.’

Only then did Roan realize his situation late.

Foolish fellow, if it vanished as you say, isn’t that actually a good thing? It’s not like someone will cut open your heart to ask, ‘Aren’t you a black mage?’

The Fake Divinity smirked at Roan.

‘What? Does that even make sense…!’

Surge—

Roan suddenly couldn’t contain his rising anger and pulled out Mosquito from his spatial pouch.

Mosquito, which had drunk plenty of blood when stabbed in his thigh earlier and became Roan’s loyal dog!

Wooong—!

Wh-what are you planning to do by drawing a sword at an authority?!

Realizing Roan was considerably angry, the Fake Divinity vibrated violently.

……No matter if it was the Fake Divinity living in the same body, it couldn’t help but be startled when Roan drew a blade with that look on his face.

But instead of plunging Mosquito into his dantian.

Slice—

He stopped at relatively mildly(?) slicing his palm slightly.

Drip—

Blood flowed from Roan’s wound.

However.

Wooong—!!!?!!

The blood flowing onto the dry ground of the wasteland was completely black, enough to make one wonder if it was ink!

Roan sneered as if to say ‘look at this.’

““Do you still think I won’t get caught?””

……I will definitely get caught at this rate.

The Fake Divinity had no choice but to admit it.

To think I engraved the Black Mark in my heart just to avoid getting caught, yet the Black Mark I suffered to engrave is nowhere to be found,

And black blood flows from my body instead of red blood!

It was surely the result of the snakes released from the heart mixing into the blood.

Of course, it was because it was immediately after engraving the Dark Trace, and perhaps it would return to red normally and only turn black when casting intermediate black magic.

But the world was too harsh for Roan to rely on the possibility of ‘maybe it will be like that.’

……If this kind of blood caught anyone’s eye.

‘I wouldn’t be able to complain even if I were accused of being a demon rather than a black mage.’

Roan scowled deeply, thinking of the absolute worst-case scenario.

Then the Fake Divinity spoke urgently.

Th-there is still a hopeful thing!

‘Hopeful thing? Ah, since I happen to be in the Bell of Eternity, if I just surrender to Professor Kaina like this, there might be some mitigating circumstances.’

And then I’ll receive aggravated punishment for engraving the Black Mark.

……Not that kind of thing.

The Fake Divinity vibrated gloomily as if asking why he said such hurtful things.

The day isn’t fully over yet.

Indeed, about half of the sand in the hourglass Roan had placed at his feet remained.

‘Hmm, to think it’s only been half a day after causing all this fuss. The talent is indeed great, but as expected, surrendering…’

Stop talking weak!

‘Then what method is there?’

It will take some time, but I can change the color of the blood at least.

‘……Really?’

Roan asked skeptically.

If that was possible, why hadn’t it changed it sooner instead of leaving it black.

Wooong—!

Don’t you know I suffered to death as well until now?

The Fake Divinity vibrated resentfully at Roan’s unreasonable demand.

Roan smirked.

‘Of course. What do I need to do?’

First, you have to help.

The method the Fake Divinity explained was—compared to engraving the Black Mark—very simple.

Holding onto the blood passing through the heart one by one and filtering it through the Fake Divinity’s effect.

On Earth, it was a concept similar to dialysis.

‘Estimated time required?’

Well, maybe it will finish around the time all that sand falls.

It wasn’t a short time, but it was well within Roan’s expectations.

Since the time he had to stay inside the Bell of Eternity was a week anyway.

If he could finalize the Black Mark completely within a day of that, it was rather a profitable deal.

Roan smiled calmly as if he had never rolled on the floor in pain, and settled in again.

“Let’s begin.”

Wooong…

This monster of a fellow…

* * *

Meanwhile, Oslo’s gang, who had watched only Roan’s retreating figure while grit-gritting their teeth.

─ Boss, but if he wasn’t captured, why on earth did he enter?

“How should I know…… you worm.”

─ Aren’t your words too harsh considering we’re in the same boat of being captured?

“Y-You bastard!”

Oslo was highly enraged when a subordinate, who wouldn’t have dared to talk back a single word if they were outside, complained.

But no matter how resentful he felt, there was nothing he could do.

Giving them a piece of his mind was only possible with dark mana.

Right now, his situation was barely being slumped after having his entire body’s dark mana sucked dry like a cactus.

‘How on earth does that brat walk around so normally?’

Meanwhile, how long had it been since Roan disappeared beyond?

Rumbleee—!!!!

─ ??!?!?!!??!!

“W-What is it?!”

Suddenly, an impact as if the entire inside of the Bell of Eternity was shaking assailed Oslo’s gang.

……Fortunately, everyone was already lying or crawling on the ground; if they had been standing normally, a few would have collapsed unsightly.

Around the time everyone was rolling their eyes to look for any changes.

─ A-Aren’t they trying to pull us out?

─ Is that why that guy entered?!

─ No! It’s the Demon Inquisitor Kaina!

At the single sentence shrieked by someone in fear, dread spread like an infection among the black mages.

Oslo struck the floor weakly with his fist and said,

“Everyone, shut up!”

─ W-Why is that, Boss?

One of the Pickaxe Brothers asked.

Before they knew it, a speech pattern that was almost semi-polite, unlike usual.

But there was no leisure to pay attention to that.

Although the other lower-level black mages seemed clueless, Oslo could vaguely feel it.

‘In the direction the brat headed…… there is something.’

Oslo concentrated his mind for a moment.

It was a somewhat familiar feeling, but it shimmered like a mirage, making the truth hard to grasp.

He had definitely seen it before, yet it felt so massive that he couldn’t see the whole of it properly.

At that moment.

Roaaaar—!!!

─ L-Look over there, Boss!

A subordinate black mage called Oslo urgently.

Naturally, Oslo had already opened his eyes by then.

What was visible immediately upon opening his eyes was none other than.

─ Is the, the Great Demon King descending?!

─ You idiot, why would the Great Demon King appear in the Bell of Eternity?

─ The Great Demon King must have been locked up by that fellow too!

─ ……I-Is that so?

A colossal pillar connecting the ground and the sky.

A black energy rising roughly and darkly through the sky, like a symbol of a grim disaster.

Oslo unconsciously muttered the identity of the energy he had vaguely felt.

“……Black Mark?”

─ A-A Black Mark, you say?

However, even after saying it with his own mouth, Oslo smirked mockingly at himself.

“Then again, there’s no way…”