Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 103 Moon

Just as Stars Boa was about to reach the backs of the two men who were in no position to defend themselves, his eyes narrowed slightly as he heard the voice of the boy he thought he had finished off!

But he cared not and pressed on, knowing that he held the absolute advantage at this moment!

And once these two Grandmasters were eliminated, there would be nothing standing in his way to slowly cut off all of the boy's limbs, ears, nose, tongue...

Though nothing changed on his exterior, Stars Boa was thrilled deep within him at the prospect of subjecting the handsome and slim youth to a lifetime of torture!

"Level 1 spell: Blur!"

"...? Futile." Stars Boa ignored the buff spell that slightly blurred the image of Byrus and Susano. To a seasoned veteran like himself, that spell was literally child's play!

But if that were the extent of Lars' actions, he wouldn't even have bothered, right...?

"Mirror Image! Blindness! Chromatic Spray! Magic Missile! Flash of Light! Torchlight! Web! Conjure Paper! Conjure Cloth! Darkness! Lesser Colour Spray! Minor..."

To Stars Boa's amusement, the boy spat out spell names like a bullet train.

'As if he could really cast that many--?????!!!!' He began to mock Lars, but his mockery soon turned to amazement.

And shock.

To his horror, an amalgamation of more than 15 spells burst forth practically at the same time, flooding his vision and obscuring the area between himself and his targets.

"Even if one is ineffective, how about 3? How about 5 spells? What about 10? And if 10 were not enough, what about 15? Was 15 f***ing enough to satisfy you???" Lars roared defiantly as he grinned in delight.

Despite Boa's sharp senses and countless years of experience on the battlefield, it was no longer a question of abilities but of common sense. Bursts of light, colour, sparkling spells, flashes of brightness, darkness beyond that and all kinds of obstructions poured forth from Lars faster than the eye could keep track of. It was so bad that Boa felt as if he had stepped into a convenience store - the boy had dumped on him everything but the kitchen sink!

And despite his World-class capabilities, the myriad hindrances were still too much for him to overcome!

Could you fight in the dark?

How about if you were in the dark and placed in a spinning room?

How about if you were in the above situation, placed underwater with dozens of distractions swimming around you?

In such a situation, even a great expert such as himself could not help but be distracted and lose his aim!

And what more when trying to pin down two slippery Grandmaster class who were also doing their best to avoid him!

As a result, Boa could only fire off as many blind slashes and stabs as he could, pouring forth his mana to extend his range and the area of his attacks - hoping to catch the two men in their moment's opening!

Alas, it was not to be so.

The smokescreen of almost 20 spells was not just for defence or a distraction...!

"By the power of the Moon, you shall be punished, evildoer~!" A whiny falsetto but vastly deep voice groaned out, chilling even the stoic Stars Boa and making his hairs stand on end.

Not from the power emitted, but from discomfort!

Then he heard a snippet of sound, as if a voice announcing to everyone that he... She was about to launch his... Her finishing move...

"MOON! SPIRAL! HEART!...."

"ATTACK!!!!"

The roaring scream echoed forth, bursting out in a flash of grey and yellowish-brown mana that did not suit at all the concepts of the Moon or the Heart and Love. The strong glow of concentrated mana surrounded the gargantuan form of a man bursting through the void to crash straight into Boa!

By the time he saw it, it was already too late!

But he was still in time to exclaim in exasperation and anger.

"T-that's just a body slam...!"

Everything turned black for the man who claimed stars as his moniker, and all he saw left were stars swimming in the darkness.

"...That'll teach you to look down on the power of the Moon~!" The maid who looked much more like a contestant for Mr Universe flexed her muscles menacingly as she did a "bishoujo" pose and pointed at the fallen leader of the Celestial Shadows, "Stars" Boa.

"...." And whether it was Lars, Byrus, Susano or the rest, they were all rendered speechless by the terribly incongruous antics of a muscle man in the lacey orange maid's outfit.

* * * * *

[3 hours later, near midnight]

"Haha. I'd rather die than tell you."

A bloody and battered Boa with multiple broken bone and a swelling face was now tied up on a chair with his hands and legs bound by heavy chains infused with thick bonds of mana. Lars had helped to inscribe the formations for multiple restraint spells which were then being powered up by Sharon, Byrus, Susano or the other Sand Crab raiders in turn.

Right now, a bandaged-up Susano was questioning the impassive assassin, trying to get him to confess his allegiance and get dirt on the Trenel family. However, thus far their efforts at forcing him to speak went fruitless. The man, despite the tortuous pain they put him through, did not bat a lid nor did his voice waver in the least!

After taking off his mask, it was revealed that Stars Boa was just as average as his voice. A normal slightly squaring nose set on a pleasant face, one that was almost a caricature of "Townsperson #1" from some movie or book. He had short and straight black hair and a normal build, standing at a height of roughly 175 centimetres tall.

Once disarmed, his weapon was found to be just regular steel wires, albeit hardened by perhaps dozens or nearly a hundred temperings. It was not discovered yet if his use of the formidable Level 8 spell: Starfall had been from his own talents (which Lars and his party felt was unlikely based on him only using magic once in the entire fight) or from some artefact or rune secreted away on his body. Even after searching, they had not found anything that could have been the catalyst for such a powerful spell!

All in all, if they had one thing to say about him, it was just the single word: Normal!

...Except for the fact that this nondescript completely unremarkable man - Townsperson #1 - was barely past 35 years of age but had already crossed the boundary to enter the ranks of the true powerhouses of the land - the World-class realm!

Susano wiped away his sweat with his remaining good arm, his other bound up in a cast and immobile. He sighed and shook his head slightly. They had been taking turns in this interrogation held in the cellar of another inn somewhere else in town, one which his team the Swords of the Four Paths had setup long ago. However, this was not a hideout known even to the others in the criminal organisation; it was meant as a last resort in the event there was a fallout with the other Paths of the Underworld!

And that was important... For by now his actions would have marked him as one who had already gone rogue and broken away from the rule of the Laughing Man, choosing to ally instead with the Demon Maid and Duke Silvan's mole, Seline.

Susano then shrugged. As per their earlier discussion, if the man held strong and his will did not waver even after a few hours of being tortured, they would not be able to maintain humane methods anymore.

It was already decided that they would have to resort to vile and cruel means that even they themselves could not bear to imagine, much less witness!

Hence Susano quickly withdrew from the room where Boa was held, leaving the man surprised as he was left alone with no one in front of him. He tried his bonds and found, to his amazement, that the chains fell off easily!

'What's going on. Are they planning to set me loose so I'll lead them back to my goddess...? That's impossible. So what is their--'

His thoughts were interrupted as he realised that, yes, there was no one in front of him.

But there *WAS* one person above him...

One hulking, looming shadow that emitted a sweet fragrance of perfume...

That laid a large hand on his shoulder, one so big that it was larger than his entire head...

One that overwhelmed his full power struggles to resist even when the owner of the hand did not channel the slightest bit of mana...

The one hand was quickly joined by another hand that turned him around ever so slowly to face the owner of the gigantic pair of hands and the one who cast such a great shadow over him even in this dark room...

An owner that smiled sweetly and fetchingly and leaned in close to his ear to whisper 4 chilling words that shattered his consciousness and swept away the last vestiges of his willpower.

"Starlight... Honeymoon... Therapy..."

"KISS!!!"

* * * * *

"AAARRGHHHMMMMFHFPHMM!!!!!"

What started out as an intense scream that would chill even seasoned killers and hardened warriors soon began to be muffled and drowned out by the sound of something wet and sloppy covering the owner's mouth.

Lars and co refused to think about it and continued playing cards as if though nothing had happened.

Especially Byrus and Susano who were playing cards in a daze.

"Huh? Are you sure you want to fold...? What?!? Byrus! Why are you folding with a four of a kind!?? Oh well, no problem with me ^_^" Lars was super happy as this time round his gambling felt like he was taking candy from a baby!

And as the sounds of a struggle in the cellar ceased slowly and only the sounds of silence reigned from the underground room, the party of men and women gathered in that inn felt deeply guilty and uncomfortable at the atrocity they had condoned happening...

ESPECIALLY so Byrus and Susano...

Chapter end