I'm Neither the Mastermind nor the Villain

Chapter 16

-KWAANG!

Mana filled the entire space and exploded.

The explosion that began from the blade of the sword finally reverberated throughout the entire space, turning into a massive blast.

'Krr, now this is dark magic.'

This dark magic is one of the spells I learned from Marbas.

It was the last dark magic I learned, but somehow, it ended up being the first one I used.

A variant of the corpse explosion spell that detonates monsters saturated with dark mana, just like blowing up a corpse filled with dark mana.

Just like how the corpse has to stay still to be blown up, the monster also needs to remain motionless for the spell to activate, and it still requires Marbas's help, which is a drawback.

Still, if I can land a heavy blow with this spell right from the start, it's definitely a profitable trade.

The ground collapsed, revealing an enormous space.

The sight I witnessed with my own eyes was truly spectacular.

Inside the massive space, a tremendous number of monsters were packed tightly together.

Moreover, some of those monsters were wriggling and trying to get up.

"I need to hurry."

It feels like about 80% of my mana was drained by that single spell.

Even with Marbas's assistance, it took this much; if I had tried it alone, I probably would have been completely exhausted before even getting started.

Thinking that, I quickly leapt into the vast space.

Most of the monsters were probably killed in the explosion, but since some survived like that-

I have to kill them as quickly as possible to prevent any unexpected accidents.

*

Every monster that twitched or showed any sign of life was struck by my sword without exception.

The monsters I killed were then drained of dark mana by Mio, who was trailing behind me.

In that way, I finished off all the monsters.

Mio also absorbed all the dark mana.

'Originally, I planned to process these monsters myself for later use.'

But because Mio sucked out all the dark mana, the monsters' condition deteriorated badly.

Well, whatever. If I keep raising Mio like this, who knows what might happen.

Maybe she'll even grow multiple tails.

I gazed quietly at the monster corpses.

Monster corpses piled up like a mountain in the spacious area.

There were monsters as big as elephants with huge horns on their foreheads,

monsters whose entire bodies were covered in spikes as if they were wearing spiked armor,

monsters with long snouts like crocodiles, and many other varieties.

Seeing it all like this was truly a spectacle.

If I hadn't killed most of them with the explosion, the fight might have been much tougher than expected.

Even as corpses, some monsters still had quite an imposing presence.

I erased my traces to a reasonable extent and prepared to descend the mountain.

My bag... is strapped to my back, and my sword is in my hand.

"Alright, then shall we get going?"

There's no need to bother cleaning up further.

Anyway, Mio has already sucked up all the leftover dark mana at the scene.

And hardly anyone ever comes this deep into the mountains.

There were still quite a few traces of mana left, but I figured I just needed to tidy those up a bit.

'Ah, since I came all the way to the mountain, I should bring back something valuable.'

I took a rat doll out of my bag.

The rat doll I pulled out shivered finely as if it felt refreshed by the outside air.

"Where are you, wandering spirits who died in the mountains, vengeful ghosts who died unjustly? Where are you?"

As I softly chanted with a voice imbued with dark mana while looking at the doll, the rat doll trembled violently.

Then, the doll was pulled in a certain direction.

"Aha, so you're over there."

While walking toward the direction the rat doll was drawn to, I continued chanting.

"Evil spirits harboring malice and venom, ghosts, come here. Hurry and come."

The more I chanted, the more the rat doll trembled, and the stronger the force pulling it became.

"Evil spirits who drowned, evil spirits who died by slipping and falling, come here."

Before I knew it, the rat doll was emitting a faint light and exuding an ominous aura.

Along with a sensation as if the surrounding temperature was dropping, I sensed multiple presences.

Alright, I caught them.

I could see the evil spirits mesmerized by the glowing rat doll.

These evil spirits, who should be luring and harming people, were instead drawn to the doll like moths to a flame.

Well, that works out well for me.

"Come, come. Hurry and come. Devour this rat, bolster your strength, kill people, and grow stronger."

At my mana-infused incantation, the evil spirits approached the rat doll.

-No wait is that you boss why are you here no way did I embezzle no that's impossible impossible something's wrong boss who are you people what did I do wrong this can't be after all I've done for this company I can't believe I'm being treated like this no way no way no way no way no way no way no way.

-I was pushed off the slope and died today and today I pushed another person off the slope and killed-

-Grrr I can't hold back Robin.

"There sure are a lot."

The dark mage was here just a few days ago, yet there are still this many ghosts?

Who are dark mages anyway.

Aren't they the ones scrambling because they lack sacrifices?

Long ago, people could go missing without anyone knowing, so it was a good time for dark mages,

but in this era where supernatural abilities are widespread, the dark mage's territory has become a red ocean crowded with competitors.

Most of the ghosts that could serve as sacrifices for dark magic are swept up by dark mages or shamans, leaving very few ghosts in Korea, so it was odd that there were so many ghosts in a mountain near the academy.

[It seems they were artificially stationed here to guard the monsters.]

"Indeed."

Just as Marbas said, it seems the dark mage deliberately placed them here.

Perhaps to keep the hiding place of the monsters from being discovered.

Anyway.

When the evil spirits slowly, slowly approached the doll close enough,

I activated the spell cast on the doll.

The rat doll, now activated, shone brightly and enveloped the evil spirits in light.

-No boss why are you here this can't be nice to see you boss you came again where is this place where am I it's so cold boss.

-Grrr I can't hold back Robin.

The evil spirits wrapped in light were sucked into the doll without being able to do anything.

The evil spirits themselves were fine, but their incessant muttering was really annoying.

When I was learning dark magic in the training hall, I heard about evil spirits from Marbas through books.

When a person dies with lingering attachments or grudges, a ghost remains.

The body dies, but the soul cannot follow it to the afterlife and remains in this world.

A ghost is merely a corrupted remnant of a soul.

It doesn't harm people at all.

Evil spirits are different.

An evil spirit is either a ghost that has gained power through grudges or one that died harboring tremendous resentment from the start.

Evil spirits can directly harm humans.

They can lure people into drowning, make them fall from heights, or possess dolls to cause physical harm.

However, such terrifying evil spirits are actually quite rare.

Even on a mountain, there are usually fewer than ten evil spirits at most.

The conditions to become an evil spirit aren't that easy either.

Yet despite that, since evil spirits are heavily used in dark magic and shamanism, dark mages and shamans constantly lament the shortage.

High demand but low supply, you could say?

Perhaps because of the negative image tied to the word 'evil spirit,' you can't find them openly on public sites or in stores.

So dark mages and shamans usually just go out to gather them themselves.

Even then, it was not enough, so some truly vile individuals would kidnap people and create evil spirits themselves.

But isn't creating evil spirits directly just too ethically wrong?

You have to kill a person while making them harbor immense resentment.

They are complete psychopaths.

How could humans do that to other humans?

Anyway, the evil spirits placed inside the rat dolls were unable to resist and ended up trapped inside.

They would not be able to escape on their own.

If a contractor who made a pact with Marbas managed to break through the spell personally cast and escape, that bastard would be an Archdemon.

*

After that, I kept wandering around the mountain looking for evil spirits, but only managed to catch a few ghosts.

So I just bought some dolls from the mart and came home.

As soon as I got home, I took out one of the rat dolls from my bag.

Then I settled down in the living room and sat.

Sitting down, I picked up a rabbit doll.

Hmm... maybe I should make this one for security purposes.

I took a ghost out of the rat doll.

"From now on, you will become a watchdog protecting me."

I inserted the ghost into the rabbit doll as it was.

"Observe the surroundings carefully, and if a stranger approaches, keep watch."

I placed my hand on the rabbit doll sealed with the ghost and chanted a spell.

Good, now this rabbit doll is a surveillance camera guarding the house.

Using ghosts as CCTV to enhance surveillance efficiency-what a great dark mage strategy!

You could say it's a CCTV I can access directly in my mind.

I picked up the rabbit doll and focused my mind.

While I was looking at the rabbit doll, what actually appeared in my vision was my own image.

"Very nice."

The experiment was a success.

Just like the method that villain used to control dolls as familiars,

I tried inserting a soul into a doll and controlling it with dark magic, and fortunately, it worked.

"Instead of stopping here, I should make a few more."

This time, maybe I should try making a bomb.

I put a ghost into a doll smaller than the rabbit doll and engraved a corpse explosion variant spell.

Then I infused it with my dark mana.

This ghost and dark mana would serve as the medium to become an excellent bomb.

I installed these ghost bombs all around my house.

Just in case an intruder comes, I need to subdue them.

Maybe I should even put an evil spirit in one....

A human-shaped doll caught my eye.

A good idea came to mind.

"You are my bodyguard. If I am in danger, you will bravely wield your sword and defeat the enemy."

-I can't stand it, Robin.......

I put an evil spirit into the human-shaped doll.

I placed this doll against the wall in the room where the daggers were hanging.

This doll would become a combatant who fights for me.

It reminds me of a certain orange-haired doll that kills people with a knife.

It would definitely be intimidating as well.

A human-shaped doll wielding a sword-how terrifying.

[Your dark magic skills have become quite proficient now.]

Look, even Marbas is complimenting my skills.

"Ehehe, it's all thanks to Lady Marbas teaching me so well, isn't it? Hahaha!"

[Wahaha! That's exactly right!]

For a while, I laughed together with Marbas.

"Kyeng."

In the middle, Mio cried out in displeasure, but neither Marbas nor I paid any attention.