Imprinted with the Obsessive Male Lead - Chapter 5

“Uh…?”

I had been continuing forward when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. An alien darkness lay spread out before my eyes. I turned my head and looked back at the path I had already passed. It was a secluded forest road, but sunlight was pouring through the trees, so it wasn’t dark enough to feel like night.

I turned my head back properly and looked ahead again. Something like a jet-black fog, as if darkness had been drawn out of an endless deep pit, was wavering there. This is…

“Are you kidding me…! That’s mana!”

I instinctively stepped back. Then I lifted my gaze and looked toward the mountain peak visible beyond the black fog.

A mountain covered in pure white snow. The Grand Duke’s castle is ahead. Even if I turned back to find another route, my physical condition was at its worst, and there was no telling how much farther I could walk.

Hesitating, I planted my feet and stopped.

“This works out better.”

This was a chance to adapt to Nita’s power. I stepped closer toward the mana. Then I reached out my hand toward the black mass. There was no need for any special method. Since my body itself was a magic circle, all I had to do, just like the original Nita, was to wish.

For the mana to disappear.

As if responding to my will, my hand began to glow with a bright light. It was a faint golden hue. The light that started in my palm gradually spread to cover my entire body, and the black mana before me began to tremble.

The mana swirled in midair, then in an instant began to be sucked into my body. If someone else saw this, it might look terrifying, but I myself felt perfectly fine.

“Amazing…”

It’s an incredible power. In the original story, there were only scenes where mana was forcibly injected into her after she was captured by Michael and she suffered in pain, so I never really felt it…!

While I stood there, surprised and admiring it myself, the unrefined mana that had covered the road vanished in the blink of an eye. The purified mana from my body scattered in all directions as sparkling particles of light.

But then, people wearing black masks appeared ahead on the path that had been hidden by the mana. Everyone was staring at me with dumbfounded expressions. But the one who was truly shocked was me.

There’s no way there would be people on the other side… wait a second. What is that…?

At a glance, there were well over twenty men, and in their hands were long swords. From the tips, an unknown black liquid was dripping down.

A chill ran through my entire body, and I staggered back. That was the moment. A tall man standing at the very front rushed at me, his sharp sword gleaming as he charged.

W-What is this?! This kind of death flag wasn’t anywhere in the story!

“Kyahhh! P-Please, save me!”

I didn’t even know what was happening, but screaming instinctively, I collapsed to the ground. Without the slightest hesitation, the man swung his long sword toward me. Then, thud. I heard the sound of something collapsing behind me.

It was so sudden that I couldn’t even close my eyes. Watching the situation unfold, my body trembled violently. My entire body stiffened, and I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

It was only after I saw the man’s cloak flutter in the wind and brush against my dress that I snapped back to my senses. In a state as if a screw had come loose and I was malfunctioning, I barely turned my head. The first thing that came into view was the tip of the man’s sword. A black liquid, as if freshly smeared, was dripping clearly onto the ground.

My breath caught in my throat, but I gathered my courage and turned around. A chilling shiver ran through me.

“Th-This is…”

I know what this is. A human who had become a monster. No, to be precise, a contaminated monster that could no longer be called human.

Rough, black skin with gaping holes where eyes, nose, and mouth should be. Grotesquely long fingers and body. Sharp spikes jutting out here and there.

The monster had fallen, split cleanly in two. From the severed parts, black liquid was flowing out. The shock made my mouth fall open without me realizing it.

“Stop screaming. It’s annoying.”

I hadn’t planned to scream, but at the intimidatingly low voice, I held my breath completely. Quickly looking up, a large man silhouetted against the sun spoke in an irritated voice. Looking down at me.