CHAPTER14

Forbidden Sorcery (Part 2)

Even though it was late at night, the temple was busy. The noble lady and her son were staying there for a surgery scheduled for the next day.

The child was supposed to fast before the surgery, but he was too hungry and kept crying.
The noble lady was worried he would get too tired before the procedure.

“How about putting the child to sleep until the boy brings the materials?”
“Would that be safe?”
“We promise nothing will harm the young master. Leave it to us.”

At the priest’s words, the noble lady stepped aside reluctantly.

The priest reached out his hand filled with mana. As soon as he touched the cradle, the crying baby calmed down.

This child was the noble’s only heir, born after the lord was badly injured in battle five years ago and became unable to have more children.
Although his head kept growing, the rest of his body stayed small and undeveloped.
He had survived this long only because of the temple’s care.

Suddenly, BOOM!
A loud explosion was heard outside.
The noble lady quickly called a guard to ask what was happening.

“Some of the farm slaves escaped and caused a big mess.”
“The slaves escaped? Does my husband know?”

She heard the sound of horses passing by outside the square.
Looking out the window, she saw her husband arrive on horseback.
He paused briefly and left some guards to protect the temple, then headed toward the farm.

The sky over the rye fields glowed red like a sunset—it was on fire.

“We’ll take the young master to the basement.”
“Good. Move quickly.”

The lady carefully covered the large cradle with two white cloths.
Two followers lifted the cradle and walked ahead.
The priest followed behind them.

Meanwhile, Ernolf had already returned from the farm and arrived at the temple.

He was hiding in the shadows near a chimney on the roof, recovering his mana and watching the building carefully.

‘Guards have increased at the temple entrance.’

After the lord’s visit, more guards were placed around the garden and entrance.

While observing, Ernolf saw people leaving the noble lady’s room and heading underground.
He saw the priest among them and used wind magic to silently float down like a butterfly.

He hid behind the trees in the garden and waited. Soon, the group carrying the cradle came down the stairs to the underground area.

‘They’re carrying the cradle. That must be the noble’s son.’

The lord had ordered goblin parts to be collected—likely for the child’s treatment.

‘If this surgery succeeds, the temple will become a chimera lab. And…’

Ernolf remembered the horrors he saw at the farm. He knew he had to stop this.

When the priest locked the underground door, Ernolf made his move.

Click.

He touched the door, and the lock quietly opened.
For a magic expert like Ernolf, this kind of lock was nothing.

He followed quietly, keeping distance. The underground was made of old stone, unlike the wooden temple above.

‘They built the new temple on top of ancient ruins.’

Small oil lamps lit the narrow hallways. Ernolf felt the bricks and realized this was mid-period Sarafi Empire architecture—about 2,000 years old.

The corridors twisted, narrowed, and branched out.
Ernolf found a hidden spot, spread a weak mana wave, and used a spell like a bat’s sonar to detect rooms, traps, and even hidden monsters.

‘It would be easier with a familiar… but this will do.’

He sensed a large room nearby with five people inside. One of them was a child—he knew it had to be Khazar, the noble’s son.

He also sensed three patients in another room and a person reading books in a different one.

Ernolf moved toward the first room.

Inside, two priests were reading and writing.

‘The public library upstairs was fake. This is the real one.’

The Blue Vine Temple claimed to be open and kind, welcoming children and sharing books.
Ernolf had believed them and even trusted them with Khazar’s treatment—but it was all a lie.

‘I have to pass through here again to escape. I can’t let these priests live.’

He couldn’t let them alert the others, and he had to save mana for a bigger fight.
Thinking about the mother and child he had killed earlier, Ernolf steeled himself.

‘I must break the chain of evil before more people suffer.’

He placed his hand on the door.

Vacuum Shield.

The air pressure changed and the room became completely silent.

One priest sensed mana and tried to defend, but Ernolf acted first.

Ice.

Just like the spell he used to freeze Letchaka’s leg, but stronger. The priests froze instantly.

Ice Slasher.

The frozen bodies shattered silently, thanks to the vacuum spell.
Ernolf absorbed the cold energy, removed the silence field, and moved on.

Though the farm slaves had become dangerous monsters, they were victims.
The true criminals were the temple priests who used forbidden magic.
Ernolf had no guilt for killing them.

In the next room, he found three patients—each had monster body parts grafted onto them.
He knew he had to kill them too.

The underground temple was vast and maze-like. As he carefully explored, he finally found the room where the child and priests were.

“I know I’ve repeated this, but this is the first time we’re replacing an entire body with monster parts—except the heart and brain. Even with the Beast King’s Heart, we must stay alert. First, we’ll block the nerves connected to the brain, and then…”

The fat priest—Irinatol—was reviewing the surgical steps.

“Casting healing magic for three days straight won’t be easy. Be ready.”
“We’ve dedicated everything to this, Irinatol. There won’t be a single mistake.”
“If this surgery succeeds, we’ll begin a new era. No more disabilities, no more death—people will live forever in new bodies.”
“Yes, humanity will be freed from the limits of mortality.”
“Young master, you are the hope of all mankind.”

Four priests looked down at the sleeping child, filled with ambition.
The boy’s head was big, but his body was wrinkled and dry. He sucked on his claw-like fingers as he slept.

‘Beast King’s Heart…?’

Ernolf was shocked.

That was a legendary artifact made from Bestiarius Rex—a beast with a human upper body and snake lower half.
It was said that whoever possessed its heart would inherit its wisdom and strength.

‘It’s been 1600 years, so maybe the legend was exaggerated… but it’s said to hold knowledge of all monsters.’

This artifact seemed to play a key role in the forbidden fusion of human and monster bodies.

‘Damn…’

Ernolf’s forehead was wet with sweat.
He had grown stronger on his journey to Talisa, but this was far more dangerous than he expected.
He wasn’t sure he had enough mana for a long battle.

There were four enemies. Irinatol likely held the artifact.

‘I’ll have to kill some of them first by surprise. Take out the others one by one, then destroy the heart.’

Before he was possessed, Ernolf didn’t have much combat experience.
Most of his enemies were thieves or rival treasure hunters.
He usually won by ambush—not strength.

‘Once again, I’ll rely on surprise.’

If he destroyed the Beast King’s Heart, the forbidden chimera magic would stop here.

Ernolf decided: kill the priests, destroy the artifact.

“Who’s there?!”

Irintol shouted from inside.

‘Damn it.’

Even though he hid his presence, they noticed.
Two priests came toward the door, and the others gathered mana.

There was no time to waste. Ernolf slammed his palm on the ground and shouted:

Stone Pillar!

Four giant stone columns shot up from the floor under the priests’ feet.

“W-what the?!”

BANG! CRASH! BOOM! THUD!

The pillars hit the ceiling fast. One priest was crushed instantly.
The other two dodged, and Irinatol grabbed Khazar from the cradle.

Rock Spear!

Spikes grew from the pillars.

“Argh!”

One priest dodged the pillar but was impaled through the shoulder by a spike.
Ernolf gasped for air—his mana core was burning hot from casting so many spells so fast.