I Already Know My Magic Power Is Ridiculously High! Now I Just Need a Cute Wife... - Episode 72

“Ughhh! Glory to Naiaaa!”

The man who shouted this had his magic gate terribly corrupted, losing its radiance.

From it, a pitch-black magic, thick and viscous like mud, gushed out.

The man was swallowed by the torrent of that evil magic.

*(What is that magic…!?)*

Just looking at it made my skin crawl. It was repulsively grotesque.

A shiver ran down my spine as a physiological reaction.

“You all, step back. Something is off.”

I ordered Nicolette and the others.

Magic swelling up so suddenly—this was far from normal.

It felt eerily similar to when we fought Aquila.

“But Lord Shalka, that is clearly dangerous.”

“Calm yourself, Nicolette.”

Nicolette, unusually, spoke in a shaken voice.

She must have sensed something fundamentally incompatible with that sludgy magic.

It seemed that, since ancient times, our genes had been programmed to instinctively feel fear and disgust toward that black magic.

“But this feeling… it’s just like six years ago…!”

“Yeah, it does feel somewhat similar.”

It was like the ominous sensation that had grown stronger by the day in the lead-up to the war with Naia.

The overflowing magic took on a physical form, dripping onto the ground in a sticky mess.

“What happens if you touch that black sludge?”

“Absolutely do not! It’s obviously toxic!”

“I know, I was joking.”

“Please, don’t joke at a time like this!”

Nicolette sharply scolded me.

She was as serious as ever, like a class representative.

Normally, she’d recognize it as a joke, but she seemed more on edge than usual.

She was probably even more afraid of that sludge than I was.

“In terms of magic power, it’s just shy of Stellar-class. But how is he increasing his magic so drastically?”

“It’s likely one of Naia’s secret technologies. How horrifying…”

As Nicolette suggested, he had probably undergone some kind of body modification or used forbidden drugs to enter a berserk state.

Just how deep had Naia delved into forbidden arts?

And just how much had they invested in this man?

The thought of there being multiple beings with near-Stellar-class magic was unsettling.

As Nicolette and I discussed the assassin-like man, another person joined the conversation.

“That is the *Cursed Demon’s Assassin*, one of the forbidden spells from ancient times.”

The one who spoke was a sister, with an enchanting figure.

Seeing her up close, her presence was even more striking.

The way her habit struggled to contain her *impressive* curves was overwhelming.

She didn’t seem hostile, nor did she appear to be affiliated with Naia.

“And you are?”

“I am Evelyn, of the East Star Church’s Ballista Cathedral.”

“East Star Church, huh…”

I had heard they were in Ortenos, but I hadn’t expected them to be in Bangwall as well.

“You seem to know something. What exactly is that?”

“Yes, that man has absorbed the power of a magical beast through the forbidden spell known as *Cursed Demon’s Assassin*.”

“…Absorbed a magical beast’s power?”

“Indeed. Those who do so can temporarily unleash explosive magic power. However, controlling it is difficult, and in most cases, their magic runs rampant.”

Evelyn seemed to know things we didn’t.

But the idea of absorbing a magical beast’s power was beyond absurd.

Wasn’t the bodily fluid of magical beasts said to be a poison deadly enough to kill even a Stellar-class?

How could someone possibly absorb such a force?

There were countless questions I wanted to ask, but there was no time for that.

“Grraaaahhh!”

The man let out an agonized scream as his body began to deform with sickening cracks.

His flesh swelled to several times its size, completely shredding his black cloak.

His upper body had developed abnormally, throwing his entire balance off.

He was no longer even human—just a grotesque monster.

*(His body is starting to break down… so there is a cost after all.)*

And on his abdomen—a jet-black mark shaped like a handprint had appeared.

It closely resembled the two-armed curse mark that had been engraved on Aquila.

But this man’s mark only had one arm.

“So that’s the *Cursed Demon’s Assassin*…”

“Yes.”

The man’s role was clear—distraction.

It was almost certain that another force was moving elsewhere while we were occupied here.

There was only one possible objective they could have.

I should confirm it.

“Hey, what’s your goal? What are you trying to do in Bangwall?”

When I questioned him, the monster snapped his eyes toward me.

“OoOORTENOS!? ORTENOS… KILL!!”

The transformed man ignored my words completely and charged.

His form was like that of a massive boar rampaging while spewing sludge.

“Tch, he’s lost his ability to speak. No use trying to talk.”

“Is now really the time to say that!? He’s coming right at us!”

“It’s fine. If he’s coming straight at us, there are plenty of ways to deal with him.”

Nicolette, though outwardly composed, sounded slightly flustered.

I could sense the urgency in her voice.

“Evelyn, what happens if his magic runs wild?”

“Most likely, his body won’t withstand it and he will explode.”

I stiffened at Evelyn’s words.

“Explode!?”

“Yes. The magic of a magical beast will be scattered, causing massive destruction in the area.”

“That’s… not good.”

“Umm… Saint, shouldn’t you retreat? Even for someone at Stellar-class like you, magical beast magic is poisonous.”

S-Saint…?

…No, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of him here.”

I couldn’t allow him to explode.

I had to eliminate him swiftly with overwhelming firepower.

That said, I couldn’t use flashy magic.

I already had a record of blowing up part of the castle wall with the gold coin bomb incident.

*(…I guess I’ll use that.)*

I pulled out a pipe I had embedded in the ground and held it in a middle stance, like in kendo.

Slowly, I took a deep breath and focused.

I imagined drawing magic from the innermost door of my magic gate, condensing it.

“This will be the second time I’ve used it in battle.”

The first time had been an accident, but now I had mastered it.

I could reproduce it at will.

I poured the immense magic I had drawn from deep within into the pipe.

Azure streaks of light coursed through it, as if it had come alive.

*”Shimmer.”*

In response to my words, magic light poured out from the pipe’s tip, like a nebula, drifting and flickering like a living entity—mystical and ethereal.