Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 176:

Chapter 176 They call them parents. 

As the masked vampire approached, Aurora raised her voice without realizing it.

“How dare you!”

The princess picked up a sword from the floor.

She had a noble bloodline, but also a remarkable talent for magic and swordsmanship. 

Therefore, her high-level sword skills were supposed to protect her body in an emergency.

But the masked vampire only scoffed at that. 

A bizarre voice came from behind the mask.

“What kind of face do you like…”

The owner of the voice that the masked vampire uttered was different for each word. 

An old man, a girl, a man… It was already beyond the common sense that was generally accepted.

“Is this good? This? No, no…”

The masked vampire took off the mask. He tore his face as soon as it was exposed. 

Every time he did that, blood and flesh splattered, but he repeated that action like a madman.

Crunch-

Aurora stared blankly at the sight of his face being torn off whole. She had seen countless cruel scenes since she was young, but this was grotesque in a different way.

“…”

At some point, Aurora’s hand trembled slightly.

It would have been fine if it was just a cruel scene. But every face that was torn off was one that Aurora knew well, so she couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Ah, yes. This is good…”

The masked vampire tore his face one last time. Then, the bones inside his body moved as a whole and reassembled. 

The sound of wood cracking was extremely unpleasant and creepy.

The body that seemed to be rightly called regeneration soon regained its calm.

The masked vampire chose the face of a woman who had both laziness and arrogance. He lifted his chin with confidence and smirked.

“Let’s just go with this face for now.”

It was Aurora’s own face.

It was definitely her face, but not her. 

She felt like she was looking at a strange mirror, and she had no choice but to take a few deep breaths.

The princess asked calmly as possible.

“Where is Ban?”

“I am Ban.”

“You are not my knight.”

The vampire was relaxed even after hearing the princess’s firm voice. His eyes looked like he was dealing with something amusing.

“No. You’re right. But…”

The vampire changed his face every second. 

Among them were the faces of the soldiers who had just died, the court magicians, and Ban.

“…Ban was just one of my faces.”

He acted as if he wanted her to see this. He took the knight’s salute. 

He knelt on one knee and put one hand on his shoulder. 

A greeting like that.

Aurora’s face was more confused as she faced him. Surely, every little part of his movement felt the same as Ban’s.

The vampire nodded his head with satisfaction.

“I’m quite pleased to see your firm attitude shaken. Moments like this are addictive, so I can’t let go of the mask… Don’t you agree?”

The vampire brought his hand to his face.

“Stop talking nonsense. Where is Ban?”

Then, the vampire’s hand that was moving to his face twisted strangely. 

With a crack, Aurora’s head turned to the side.

He slapped her.

“Ugh!”

He was so strong that Aurora lost her balance for a moment. If she hadn’t leaned on the crimson barrier behind her, she would have fallen down.

“…!”

Aurora’s eyes widened a beat late. It was a rare experience for her body to be handled by someone else. 

And even more so if it was a slap.

“You have no ability to accept reality. Well, that’s natural… Let me ask you one thing. Was your life comfortable, always looking at the answer sheet?”

Aurora clenched her teeth at his words.

She put more strength into her hand holding the sword. She shouted in a rare loud voice.

“If only my power was intact! You are nothing but…!”

“It’s a meaningless assumption.”

Aurora’s words were cut off mercilessly. A voice that sounded like the answer came in her own tone.

“Look me in the eye. Can you see the future? I’ll give you as much time as you want.”

The vampire pushed his face close to her as if he was willing to kiss her. It was a provocation that meant he was fine with her observing him as much as she wanted.

Aurora’s pupils shook.

It was a natural course of action. 

Even though she didn’t know why, the result that the future was not visible at all was clear.

“There’s no way. There’s no way… How about you start with your full name. I’ve splattered blood here and there, but I’m very happy to meet you.”

Unlike Aurora, who was becoming more anxious, the vampire’s face became more relaxed. 

After all, it was natural, since there were only two left in this crimson barrier.

The vampire was not only good at disguising his appearance. He was also outstanding in his skills, as he had easily cut down the court magicians.

In other words, it was a confident relaxation.

“Dusk. That’s my name.”

Dusk said that and knelt down. 

He clasped his hands and looked at the sky with a devout expression.

He deliberately acted like this in the face of Aurora, the princess. 

It was to mix his intention of provocation.

“There is a leader for every tribe on the continent, but I am the one who moves as the apex’s limbs. The apex here means…”

Dusk showed his teeth and smiled. He had the same face as Aurora, but the vampire’s fangs were clearly visible.

“…of course, it’s the vampire. Have you heard of the princess? Or do you know anything?”

The princess that the vampires serve.

Aurora knew about that existence.

They loved black magic and life force, and they could do anything they wanted to achieve their goals.

The guy in front of her called himself a ‘limb’, so he must have been at least a commander. The barrier that had stopped the vampires was lifted, so it was not strange to meet these guys.

But Aurora’s question was….

‘Why didn’t I foresee this?’

That was the only thing she wondered.

If she had known this would happen, she would never have sent the knights out of Reheln.

She felt like everything was deceiving her.

“Why, why didn’t I see this coming…. What happened to Ban…. My head….”

As she muttered to herself, Aurora’s gaze eventually turned to Dusk.

She felt like he would know the answer to this situation, so she moved instinctively.

Dusk nodded a few times.

“You still seem to have trouble understanding.”

He changed half of his appearance.

As if to show the level of this body, he examined every corner of himself carefully.

And then he sneered.

“You must have liked this mask a lot. It wasn’t a role I put much effort into…. I guess even I can’t fully understand human psychology.”

Aurora’s eyes widened then.

She was purely shocked this time.

“You’ve been with me since childhood, so it makes sense, right? Indeed, this was the longest role I’ve ever played.”

Ban, the escort knight, was nothing but a role played by a bloodsucker.

That’s what Dusk was spitting out right now.

It was an unbelievable story.

But at the same time, the things unfolding before her eyes were backing up those scenes.

She felt like her head was going to explode. Her temples started to tighten.

Aurora shook her head fiercely.

She didn’t want to be swayed by his words. She had relied on her future vision all her life, so she only intended to trust that.

“Lies, stop lying.”

“But, Your Highness. Don’t you have any other questions? For example, what is my greatest masterpiece?”

Dusk murmured with a wicked smile.

“Masterpiece?”

His smile was so ominous that Aurora asked without knowing.

Dusk still answered with a laugh.

“Yes. My masterpiece. In that case, I have to ask you one more thing.”

Dusk, who had disguised himself as Aurora, took a step closer to the princess.

“Weren’t you unusually unsafe in this battle? You were safe because the royal family members were loyal. You didn’t think that was all, did you?”

She only thought that was all. Aurora looked at Dusk’s face in despair.

“You were born with an outstanding ability, but didn’t you ever doubt your origin? Didn’t you ever wonder where your extraordinaryness came from while you were buried underground?”

“…”

As Aurora’s silence grew longer, Dusk began to laugh as if he was enjoying himself.

“Hahaha!”

His laughter soon turned into a mad cackle, and he didn’t stop until tears formed in his eyes.

“I asked you at first, didn’t I? Do you still think you’re a princess? I guess I have to greet you again.”

Dusk bowed politely once more.

“I am Dusk.”

His secret gaze met Aurora’s.

“I am the one who created the masterpiece called Aurora. Humans call them parents, don’t they?”

Clang─.

The sword that Aurora was holding fell to the ground.