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Chapter 97
Defeat
Sennelia swallowed down the metallic taste rising in her throat.
For a brief moment, a terrifying fear of death washed over her.
And yet, to live on in a state worse than death—that was far more horrifying.
She thought she could finally see the end of it all. She couldn’t collapse here.
When she finally spoke, her voice trembled faintly.
“《Purify.》”
At that command, the mana in nature began to converge toward Venelucia’s heart, following Sennelia’s will.
Forced Awakening.
It was a technique in which the caster infused the awakening target with pure, colorless natural mana, expelling every trace of impure mana remaining within them until only the purest essence remained.
There was one reason the caster had to risk their life to perform it—
The caster’s body had to become the conduit through which all that mana flowed between nature and the awakening target.
In other words, the caster had to endure both the polluted mana expelled from the target and the pure mana drawn from nature.
“Ah—!”
The moment she uttered the incantation, Sennelia’s body staggered violently.
Mana of all kinds surged into her, forcing its way through her flesh until she felt as though she might burst.
Her lungs clenched, and it felt as if someone had reached inside her chest to stir her organs with their bare hands.
A thick gush of blood burst from her lips, staining the front of her dress deep red.
“Lady Daphnen!”
Seeing that, Lucalina froze, ready to rush toward her after cutting down the surrounding monsters.
Their eyes met for a fleeting second—Sennelia shook her head frantically.
If her concentration faltered now, everything would truly be over.
“Ugh… nghh… aagh…”
Sennelia bit down on her cries of agony, forcing them back into her throat.
She could feel the pure, transparent mana flowing from her fingertips into Venelucia’s heart.
At the same time, she could clearly see the tainted mana and corrupted aura being forced out.
“Ahhhh—!!!”
A scream tore from her lips as searing pain struck her heart.
The tremendous amount of mana flowing through her pressed down from all directions, threatening to crush her chest.
Her vision began to blur.
The strength left her hand, the one resting on Venelucia’s heart.
“Lady Daphnen! Stay with me!”
Lucalina’s sharp cry jolted Sennelia’s fading consciousness.
Half-conscious, her head drooping, Sennelia raised it again.
She could see that there was barely any corrupted mana left around Venelucia.
Clenching her lips, she pressed her trembling hand harder against his chest.
Gathering every last bit of mana she could control, she poured it into Venelucia’s heart.
Because of how fiercely she handled the mana, torrents of it rushed through her like raging rapids, tearing through her body as if to rip her apart.
It felt as if thousands of needles were stabbing through her skin. Her breath came out ragged and broken.
Beeeeeeep—
Her vision flashed black, and a sharp ringing filled her ears.
Then—someone caught her collapsing body in their arms.
“Selie! Stay with me!”
It was Venelucia’s voice.
And with that, Sennelia’s consciousness, swallowed by pain, slipped away.
* * *
The darkness lifted.
The first thing Venelucia became aware of when his mind cleared—was that fact itself.
Before him lay Sennelia, collapsed and drenched in blood.
“Selie…!”
Venelucia shouted her name, his voice breaking as he gathered her into his arms.
Her body burned with fever, yet her heart beat weakly, as if it could stop at any moment.
She coughed—
Cough, cough! Blood spilled from her lips again.
Venelucia’s face went pale as death.
There was only one thought left in his mind—he had to save her.
He needed to take her to the Imperial Magic Commander immediately.
Normally, there was no cure for mana overload.
The only thing one could do was wait for the excessive mana to leave the body on its own.
But he knew—she wouldn’t last that long. Her heart would stop first.
If anyone could save her, it would be the commander of the Imperial Magicians, a 9th Circle Mage.
So Venelucia cut down every monster that dared block his path.
Then, he realized something—
His aura had become transparent, colorless.
Until now, he had been too focused on Sennelia to notice.
He had awakened.
And because of that, he was no longer in a berserk state.
Those two realizations struck him at once.
And the reason Sennelia was like this—
—it was entirely because she had done it to save him.
Venelucia clenched his teeth.
He pressed his lips to Sennelia’s forehead and whispered hoarsely:
“I’ll save you. No matter what it takes… even if I have to defy every law, I’ll bring you back.”
Even if it meant breaking every taboo, he was prepared.
His eyes gleamed coldly as he looked toward the monsters blocking his way.
* * *
Bang!
Lucalina stared in shock at Venelucia, whose sword aura swept across the battlefield with terrifying range.
Natural mana was far wilder and more violent than refined aura or magic power.
Most newly awakened could barely control it for some time.
But Venelucia—was not one of them.
He wielded the transparent aura as if it had been his own from birth.
His blade, charged with pure mana, sliced through swarms of monsters before they could even approach.
The difference between an awakened and an unawakened was already vast—
but even Sword Master Lucalina found herself speechless before the unreal sight.
When they finally emerged from the hunting ground’s barrier, Lucalina witnessed something she had never seen before—
Emperor Clifft’s face, utterly stiff and unreadable.
It was as though he had never expected Venelucia to return alive.
This was the same emperor who had watched them enter the barrier earlier, looking relaxed and confident.
“…Ben, you made it back alive.”
But as Venelucia approached, Clifft put on his familiar mask of brotherly warmth.
Venelucia stepped forward and threw down a severed head—the head of the monster’s mother, taken from his subspace pouch.
The emperor’s brow twitched slightly at the disrespectful act.
“That’s the cause of this incident. Someone deliberately released a mother beast into the hunting grounds.”
Ignoring the emperor’s reaction, Venelucia continued coldly.
He made it clear that none of this had been Sennelia’s fault.
Even if she had organized the hunting festival, there was no way she could have known someone would plant the core of a demonic beast—something that should only exist deep within the Monster Forest—into the hunting grounds.
With that, Sennelia would be free from any blame.
“As you can see, I dealt with the mother beast, and most of the first-class monsters were destroyed on the way out.”
The more Venelucia spoke, the more Clifft’s faint smile stiffened.
Even for a Sword Master, what Venelucia described bordered on the impossible.
The emperor studied his brother.
Something had clearly changed.
He sensed it instinctively—Venelucia had crossed a threshold.
“The remaining monsters outside the barrier can be handled by the knights and magicians stationed here. The Imperial Mages should focus on repairing the breach.”
Venelucia calmly issued orders to the gathered soldiers, his tone confident and commanding.
It was a flawless assessment—precise, efficient, leaving no room for waste.
Clifft’s expression darkened further.
Ordinarily, Venelucia would never have acted so decisively in front of him. He had always made a point of showing he had no interest in power.
“Therefore, Your Majesty, I must see the Imperial Magic Commander—immediately.”
Before the emperor could issue any order, Venelucia demanded, firm and unyielding.
“Please have the Imperial Magicians prepare a teleportation spell at once.”
“You’re asking me to pull half of the court magicians from the field?” Clifft asked, his tone flat.
Venelucia did not back down.
“I subdued the mother beast alone. Selie became like this trying to save me.”
He didn’t need to say more. The unspoken message was clear—and yet you can’t grant even this much?
Normally, slaying a mother beast required at least two Sword Masters, and even then, success was uncertain.
Judging from the size of the one Venelucia brought back, two wouldn’t have been enough.
If he hadn’t acted, countless people here—and perhaps even in the capital—would have perished.
He had earned the right to make this demand.
Besides, not every mage was needed now that the main threat was gone.
His request was perfectly reasonable.
But Clifft could feel it—Venelucia had changed.
And not in a way that favored him.
His expression turned icy.
“Your Majesty, time is of the essence,” Venelucia pressed, his voice calm but unwavering.
He knew Clifft couldn’t refuse him now.
And indeed—
“…Imperial Magicians! Prepare the teleportation spell!”
Clifft gave the order, eyes fixed coldly on his brother.
