The Basement Mage’s Chaotic Practice Sessions - Chapter 2

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※ This work contains high-intensity, hardcore elements and scenes that may polarize readers. Please be advised before reading.

Ronius rested a hand on his hip.

Shiiing— Schk!

A harsh gale tore through the silent space, and in the blink of an eye, a massive yet sleek bastard sword gleamed in his grasp. In perfect unison, the knights behind him fell into combat stances.

Flicking a drop of old blood from the finely honed silver blade, he finally spoke, his voice cutting through the tension.

“All escape routes are sealed. Abandon any foolish hopes.”

A collective gasp rippled through the priests, who could do nothing but cower under the chilling intent that rolled off him with those words.

“Surrender peacefully, and your lives will be spared.”

“Is this…!” a voice choked out. “Is this the peace the Empire promised!? How dare you…! Do you know where you are?!”

Just then, a cardinal adorned with silver embroidery and red trim was shoved forward, stumbling into the space before Ronius. It was Cardinal Benedetto, one of the Pope’s right-hand men.

He flinched violently before the intimidating blade wreathed in an aura of deep blue light, but he managed to force his eyes wide open, putting on a brave face.

Not that the sword’s owner seemed to pay him any mind. When Ronius glanced down, the Cardinal flinched, his voluminous robes fluttering.

“Good. Then you can tell me where the Pope is.”

“Wh-What…! What blasphemy is this?!”

Whether offended by the disrespectful tone or angered that anyone would speak of their leader so carelessly even now, the Cardinal’s already wide eyes became bloodshot.

“How insolent! You will address His Holiness with the proper respect!”

So it was the latter.

“A mere human dares to have His name on your—”

“So you don’t know either.”

Ronius completely ignored the Cardinal’s sputtering and scanned their surroundings.

“Hey. Looks like you still haven’t grasped the situation… While you’ve all been flailing around here without a single soldier to your name, acting pathetic… where is this ‘His Holiness’ of yours? What is he doing?”

“Th-That is…!”

“Hm?”

“Hey, now that you mention it… I don’t see His Holiness…”

“What’s going to happen to us? I told you we should have left earlier! This was no time for feasting and idleness…”

“He must have a plan… Let us pray. If we pray…”

As panicked whispers spread among the priests, the Cardinal’s face turned a mottled red and purple. He shouted furiously.

“Brothers! Maintain your composure! What is this reckless behavior? To disgrace His Holiness is to defile God Himself! I will not tolerate any further disrespect toward him. How dare you speak of God’s proxy—”

“The Pope is gone.”

Ronius cut him off sharply and issued his command without hesitation.

“From this moment, all efforts are dedicated to finding the Pope.”

His heavy voice, laden with threat, echoed through the temple. A grim sense of purpose settled once more over the faces of his knights.

“Sir Ronius!”

But Cardinal Benedetto was the one who refused to give up. He dared to interject again, struggling against the oppressive killing intent with his meager divine power, throwing a fit unbecoming of his station.

This time, he had a trailing entourage of several annoying figures in tow.

As multiple pairs of eyes, which still seemed utterly clueless about the situation, fixed on him simultaneously, a vein throbbed visibly on Ronius’s forehead.

“Haah…”

Did they gain some confidence from that? The Cardinal puffed up even more.

“How dare you! To even think of pointing a sword against a represen— Gak!”

Unfortunately, the act of bravery he might have dreamed of was nothing but sheer recklessness.

The overwhelmingly large greatsword shattered his holy barrier in an instant and came to a rest pointed directly under his chin. His lips, which still held a shred of defiant will, twitched and spasmed uselessly, but no sound could escape.

Ronius pressed down relentlessly on the trapped vocal cords, not hesitating in the slightest, and let out a scornful laugh.

“God is b******t.”

“Ggrk…”

As the Cardinal’s Adam’s apple struggled, a trickle of warm blood seeped onto the chillingly sharp blade.

Simultaneously, the rain that had seemed to stop began to pour down once more.

Whoosh—

As if preparing for an even greater deluge, the intensifying downpour swept over the blood, washing away the diluted crimson stains that had seeped into the ground.

At Ronius’s feet, the thinned blood and rainwater slowly began to pool.