Solar Mage

Chapter 32: Unexpected Events

I walk quickly and carelessly, all over the place, after we pass the first trap in the corridor.

"Um– nameless, don't you think we should still be careful of traps? It's not like that could be the only trap."

Oh my smart smart Tin, your reasoning makes sense but unfortunately for you, anything can be hypothetical, but all that is hypothetical disappears when all that is certain is revealed.

"Fret not Tin, there will be no traps for a while."

"But how are you that confident about it?"

He screams from behind as I continue to prance around the corridor before abruptly stopping and striking a pose toward his direction.

"Just trust me T–"

"Click"

My sentence is cut short as I hear the sound of a button being pressed.

What was that?

I look down at my foot and see that a stone that my right foot is standing on has been lowered. As I do this, I hear contraption sounds and stones moving.

I look up and see a rectangular crack appear in the ceiling.

Fuck–

A giant axe that swings down from the ceiling. Immediately, my heightened senses activate and I quickly move backwards, but the axe was quicker. There was but a single centimeter of space between me and the axe and my money bag was cut at the opening to the bag. The coins flew everywhere.

My money!!! Ugh... to think someone like me would be worrying about a few gold coins– I truly have the adventurer mindset now!

From the speed at which I moved back, I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

.

.

.

I breathe heavily, in terror as the axe swings back into the ceiling, and back down. Back and forth, somehow not losing any momentum.

After catching my breath, I crawl backwards and move away from the axe.

That was close! If I had dodged even a fraction of a second later, I would've been cut in half by that! That crazy Zinc Zidden bastard lied to me! Was he planning on killing his successor from the start?

Tin rushes to my side and swiftly, but gently lays Rachel down.

Then he looks down at me, on the floor.

"What did you say about there being no traps?"

This old man acts nothing like an old man other than that night he told me about his dreams.

I grab his reached out hand and he pulls me up.

"I think we should be careful around traps now."

I say while trying to act like nothing happened.

"The axe is still swinging, how are we going to get past this? Do you have any ideas?"

I examine the swinging axe.

The axe blade is made of black iron and is clearly extremely sharp. I could slice it in half with Breaker of Dawn but it would probably just use up all of my mana like the last time I used it.

I look up from the blade, to the opening where the axe dropped from.

That could work.

"Nameless? Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah, with your shield, do you think you would be able to block that axe for a second?"

"Who do you think I am? I'm a veteran at this. I will be able to block that axe for at least two seconds. It might not look like it but this shield has a coating of black iron as well."

"Great, let's do this then."

I begin marching, with confidence, to the axe to challenge it once again. Tin doesn't move and asks with a worried face.

"But what about Rachel? Even if I block the axe for two seconds for us to get past, Rachel is still unconscious and won't be able to get past. I'm not certain that I will be able to stop the axe while also carrying her."

He seems to think I was going to leave Rachel behind doubt is a bad feeling for a subordinate of mine to have toward me.

"I wasn't planning on leaving her behind though?"

"Then how will the plan work? Are you going to carry her? I don't think a mage will be able to move fast enough while also carrying another person."

"Again with the running past? We aren't going to just be running past the axe, we're going to be destroying it."

"Uh– nameless, you might not know this since you're not a swordsman , but that entire axe is made of black iron, unlike my tower shield that's just plated with a single layer of it."

I don't know what black iron is? Hahaha, I've gotten my bones broken by master's multiple black iron weapons more times than I've seen regular iron, yet that master of mine hasn't given me a single one of them!

"I know what black iron is. And you're right, I am not confident I will be able to cut it easily. But the blade is not the part of the axe that I'm aiming for. The axe is the most dangerous part, but it will stop swinging if we get rid of what it's attached to."

"You mean the shaft? That's genius!"

"Thank you for your kind words."

Tin takes a closer look at the axe's shaft.

"Wait– but isn't that also made of black iron?"

I walk up beside him and seem to be examining the axe with him.

"It's true that it's not made of wood. The creator of this dungeon was very careful with his design, but the shaft is not made of black iron. It is only regular iron."

"Just regular iron?"

He looks at me with a strict face.

"You say that as if it's easy to cut regular iron when neither of us are swordsmen!"

"Calm down Tin, just trust me."

"Calm down? Calm down!?! You were the one who almost got killed by that thing just a minute ago because you were so confident that there would be no more traps around!"

"I'll admit, I was being too careless to just trust some engraving on the wall that any random person could have carved, but no one was hurt."

"You risked our lives by believing some random engraving on a wall!?!?"

Lecturing me is something you can only do when you are on equal or higher terms to me. Yet, after witnessing my power he continues to scream at me!?! Should I just kill him now?

I think about using Dawn to shoot him through the brain and clench my fist.

Abruptly, Arthur's hand releases and punches himself.

What the hell was I thinking? This evil inside me just made me want to kill Tin! Could this all just be an illusion? Tin just suffered through the pain of his legs being turned to mush and losing two of his old friends! What's happening to me!?!?

Suddenly, the axe stops swinging and is seemingly stuck in place.

It stopped? Ha, I knew the trap mechanism was too old for it to work.

"Alright Tin, let's go."

I say as I begin to walk past toward the axe.

There is no response.

Why isn't he saying anything?

"Tin?"

I turn back and see his motionless body with his hand reached out and him making a terrified face.

"What is this?"

It seems like time has stopped throughout this entire room. Is this another trap? No, it couldn't be– this type of magic that stops is purely theoretical and impossible in practice. Only a transcendental being could replicate such a feat...

A low, terrifying voice booms from a being behind the axe as he cackles sinisterly

"Well done boy, you pass! Kekeke"

I immediately try to turn to see the figure but my body abruptly stops halfway.

Ugh– why can't I move?

A thick fog of purple and crimson flows across the floor coming from the direction of the cackling figure.

This smell, it's blood! He's a demon!

The demon's laugh becomes louder before he begins to clap his hands.

"Kakaka! Another great guess from the boy!"

This filthy demon humiliating me and covering me in his fog? If I get out of this, I swear I'll kill you!

I struggle, opening my mouth to speak and he notices.

"If you have something to say then just say it"

I can't you idiotic demon!

My struggles and shaking increases.

"Oh right– I stopped your body. Here, I'll free your mouth now."

My mouth releases from his control and I can move my tongue as well.

I can speak now!

"Hurry up with what you're going to ask."

"Were you– were you the one who took control of my thoughts and body and caused me to kill those bandits and Han without hesitation?"

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"Don't lie to me you filthy demon! Now release me right now so I can kill you for making me kill those people."

"Did you just call me a filthy demon?"

If I'm going to die anyway, I'll at least make filthy demons angry before I die.

"Looks like I struck a nerve there, huh?"

"I was trying to hold myself back and be nice for this conversation because this is the first time I get to meet you since your birth because of the barrier that bastard court mage put up over the Ventrike county and the Imperial Capital but it looks like you need a little bit of discipline before we continue.

"What–"

He disappears one moment and appears within the very same moment in front of me with his fist getting ready to strike.

Shit–

Heightened Senses activate but the speed of the punch is only reduced to the speed of a Royal Rank Swordsman's punch.

Iron Body–

One moment, I was standing. Next, I am inside a crater in the stone wall that was formed by my body with debris and blood covering the entirety of my body.

What happened? Am I alive? I felt the punch in its entirety without Iron Body, but it looks like it activated before I hit the wall at least, or I would have died.

I look up and see the demon. He is a skinny humanoid with red skin. There seems to be no muscles between his skin and his bones. He stares at his fist, covered in a blue flame and then stares back at me.

Damn it, I can't move again!

"Looks like that court mage planted another barrier on you that I didn't even notice. No matter, I wasn't planning on killing you anyway. However, if you died to such an attack, you wouldn't be fit to be heir anyway."

He cuts off his burning hand without hesitation and continues talking.

What nonsense is he spouting as I'm about to die?

"Don't get the wrong idea though, that punch was not even one percent of my power. Before I leave, let me introduce myself; I am the Sin of Wrath. So never call me a filthy human ever again you disgusting half blood. If you manage to survive from the blood loss, then I will officially recognize you. If not then, oh well."

"Goodbye, and I hope we never meet again."

A purple triangular shaped portal opens and he walks through. Then, it closes inwards and disappears. A second later, the axe starts swinging again and Tin charges before stopping.

"He just disappeared... Where did he go?"

Need to let him know I'm here...

I summon a bright orb of Dawn.

"What's that light?"

He turns and sees me in the wall.

"Nameless!"

Thank god, I can finally sleep now...