Black Sun Curse!

As Ailin had expected.

The Drowners King, who was inexplicably dragged into this world, was filled with uncontrollable rage and tyranny.

"Crack!"

Amidst the roars.

The Drowners King brandished its enormous webbed claws and lunged at the obese human.

at the same time.

A layer of blue light appeared on his strong and well-developed muscles.

"This is the real Drowners King. Which mage doesn't activate their shield before engaging in battle?"

Ailin made a comment.

The blue pupils were fixed on the claw that was rapidly approaching Haxor's obese body.

"Grandmaster! Grandmaster!"

Under the shadow of death.

King Kedwen desperately summoned the chief witcher of the School of the Wolf.

Upon hearing the shouts, Soyer's left foot involuntarily shifted slightly, as if he were about to turn around and rush to the rescue.

But then...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ailin, covered in blood, in the arena, and his body froze.

The next second.

The Drowners King's massive claws cast a shadow over Haxor, and he swiftly slammed them down.

Ailin's heart leaped into his throat at that moment.

"Bang!"

A loud bang.

A golden shield suddenly appeared above Haxor's head, blocking the attack.

"Haxor, my dear king... sorcerers are still more useful than witchers, aren't they?"

Under the protective shield.

Not far from King Kedwen, Vice Dean Ban Ade, Jens, was pale, with blood still wet at the corner of his mouth.

His left hand was on the ground, while his right hand was tightly gripping a magical ornament.

After making a sarcastic remark about Haxor, Jens didn't expect a reply.

Although he always looked down on this fat pig wearing the king's crown.

But this pig can die in the pigpen, in the slaughterhouse, on the battlefield, but it cannot die in Ban Ade.

This will cause them a lot of trouble.

Suppressing the needle-like pain in his brain, Jens silently moved his lips.

The golden protective shield disappeared, and just as the giant claw, half the size of a human, was about to fall again...

Jens swung his right hand, which was gripping the magical jewelry, suddenly.

"Croak!"

The immense, monstrous strength transformed into a pair of semi-transparent hands, which grabbed the Drowners King's webbed claws and swiftly pulled him to the right.

The Drowners King, who was already on the edge of the main stand, suddenly lost his balance.

After letting out a roar, it fell to the ground.

"Bang!"

Dust flew everywhere.

Having escaped danger, Haxor staggered to his feet, his gaze fixed intently on Soyer.

Although the crisis just happened for a very short time.

But Haxor saw it.

He saw the Grandmaster's hesitation.

Even after Tresius took a step back, no one rushed to his rescue...

Without a doubt...

He already knew.

Having just escaped the threat of death, Haxor suddenly finds himself acting like a court jester, concealing a clumsy scheme from Soyer.

This moment.

The intense shame fueled an even stronger anger, which overwhelmingly suppressed the fear.

He no longer cared about the damage to the nation's reputation and the dignity of the royal family that ordering the killing of the Grandmaster of the School of the Wolf would cause.

"Guard!!!"

He shouted, his index finger instantly pointing at the Witcher who had made Kedwen's master a clown for half a month.

"Kill them all..."

"Boom!"

Suddenly.

Another tremendous roar and explosion shattered the Haxor.

"What happened?"

"What happened now?!"

The Overlord of Kedwen was so frightened that he fell back to the ground with a thud.

Before anyone could react, Jens, who was closing his eyes to make the most of his damaged Divine Power, opened them due to the sudden noise.

Then a huge black shadow suddenly fell down.

"Ugh~"

A scream.

Jens, who was sitting on the bottom of the king, rolled his eyes and fainted instantly.

Ailin watched this scene with a strange expression.

Just as he discovered that the king was still alive thanks to the protection of the pointed-hat wizard, he was anxiously taking out the Rock Troll blood from the reagent kit, wanting to summon the Conjunction of the Spheres once more.

Let's finish them off.

But the Drowners King that pushed him down made him stop moving instantly.

Hearing the cold, mechanical voice in his ear, Ailin's gaze drifted downwards in a daze.

Below the main stands.

Just as the Drowners King struggled to get up, he was so frightened by the sudden explosion that he collapsed to the ground.

Splat!

Beneath its body, a large pool of red, blue, and white flesh and bone splattered out.

[Ding! Hunting Quest Complete: Water Ghost II (500/500 Water Ghosts Killed)]

[Rewards: 100 Experience Orbs, Monster Bestiary - Positioning]

Hunting Mission: Water Ghost III (Kill 2/1000 Water Ghosts)

Yes.

The Drowners King, thrown down by the Pointy-hatted Wizard, sat on and killed the last few Water Demons required for the hunting quest.

but...

"Why is it that the water ghost that the Drowners King killed is being blamed on me?"

Ailin felt a little strange.

[Ding! Planetary Alignment "Water Ghost" Stage 1. Please select a fusion location! (If the host does not select a location, it will be randomly located after 30 seconds.)]

As the mechanical sound rang out, the Conjunction of the Spheres converged once more in Ailin's vision, revealing that emerald green and refreshing doorway.

That explosion just now, doesn't that mean it's not the start yet?

The Conjunction of the Spheres that occurs upon completion of a hunting mission now allows him to choose the location of the conjunction!

Ailin was overjoyed.

The strategic value of this feature is extremely high...

Um?

Etc!

Ailin suddenly realized that something was wrong.

The system notification doesn't seem to indicate Conjunction of the Spheres.

He quickly opened the Witcher's Handbook with his mind.

Planetary Alignment?

Still in Phase One?

What does this mean?

Ailin frowned.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but the numbers flashing in his vision kept decreasing, leaving him no time to hesitate.

then.

Ailin's Mind Control Techniques.

He moved the door onto Haxor's head.

...4, 3, 2, 1

As the countdown ended, Ailin's vision suddenly darkened and turned red.

Although it was nearly noon, the light was dim, making it seem as if it were already dusk.

However, Ailin was not surprised by this.

This is much more palatable than completing "Hunting Mission: Water Ghost I," where everything before your eyes turns into a bloody mess.

therefore.

He forced himself to ignore the growing unease in his heart and stared intently in the direction of Haxor.

until...

Why did it suddenly get dark?

Someone in the stands asked in confusion.

Ailin's keen hearing picked up on the question and paused for a moment.

The next second

The entire arena became even more chaotic and panicked than after the Conjunction of the Spheres earthquake.

"It's... it's getting dark..."

"Look! The sun is gone! It's been eaten!"

"No! This is the Black Sun! The Black Sun! The Black... Black Sun Curse... The Black Sun Curse is real!"

The Witcher looked up in horror.

It's not special effects!

In the world of The Witcher, the sun is indeed blocked by a black, circular celestial body.

Only a dark red halo remained around the edge, glowing.

"This... how is this possible?"

Ailin's mouth dropped open in surprise.

The Black Sun Curse, also known as the Dark Sun Curse.

This is a doomsday prophecy from the mage Etibad.

In the near future, a solar eclipse will announce the resurrection of the Evil God goddess Lilith, and the way to resurrect her is by having sixty girls wearing golden crowns fill the valley with their blood.

The Evil God Lilith will bring curses and destroy human civilization.

In the original work, the Black Sun Curse appears very early on.

However, this prophecy differs from the widely accepted prophecy of the Elven prophet Ithlinne. It is merely a superstitious belief that is not recognized by the protagonist Geralt or other knowledgeable people, and is even derogatoryly referred to as "Etibad Mania."

So Ailin had always thought that the Black Sun Curse was just nonsense.

But now, he's a little uncertain.

Does a solar eclipse really have some kind of mystical significance?

besides...

"What exactly is this Planetary Alignment? Why is the scene so grand!"

Ailin already sensed that the situation was getting out of control, and then the situation changed again.

The wind suddenly stopped.

Under the crimson light of the solar eclipse, countless black dots suddenly appeared in the sky.

Immediately following.

Ailin felt the air around him suddenly become damp.

Before long, layers of dark clouds quickly gathered in the sky.

The sky grew even darker.

The eclipse occurred less than half a minute before the rain began to fall.

The Wolf Emblem's magical perspective automatically switches.

Numerous blue Water Element specks of light surged out from these black holes.

The density of Water Element in the air suddenly increased dramatically.

Then...

"Croak~ Croak~ Croak~"

A strange, chaotic sound suddenly rang out, and water ghosts emerged from the black hole, falling down with the rain.

Drowner Rain began to fall throughout the city.

A flash of lightning, and the world was bathed in light.

"Clang!"

Amidst the booming thunder, Ban Ad's terrified screams rose and fell into the sky.

This is not the end.

A huge black hole, five meters in diameter, appeared one meter above Haxor's head.

King Kedwen, dumbfounded, hadn't even had time to carefully consider the current situation.

Hordes of water ghosts spewed out of the great black hole, crashing directly onto Haxor's fat flesh and drowning him.

Heart-wrenching screams echoed from the mountain piled up by water ghosts.

Immediately afterwards.

"Gurgle!"

"Croak!"

After a Giant Drowner was squeezed out, a Drowners King fell out as well.

When the last Giant Drowner slid out, all the black holes in the sky and on the ground immediately closed.

As for Haxor, who was being pressed down by a swarm of water ghosts, two enormous Giant Drowner, and a Drowners King?

The screams had long since faded away.

Then.

The black hole closed, the black sun disappeared, and the earth regained its light.

Even the layers of dark clouds in the sky vanished completely in an instant.

Aside from the hordes of water ghosts recovering from the dizziness of traversing the world and beginning to open their blood-red mouths to devour people.

Everything seemed as if nothing had happened.

"This... I made this?"

Ailin stared blankly at the mess in the arena before him.

He didn't know the extent of this so-called interdimensional fusion.

However, his keen hearing told him...

At least the most famous city in Kedwen —Ban Aard—has been completely submerged by the horde of water ghosts.

Whether commoners, nobles, or male wizards, the casualties were undoubtedly heavy.

However, Ailin does not intend to take all the moral responsibility upon herself.

The one who pushed the Drowners King away, smashed the Water Demon to death, and caused the hunting mission to be completed and the alien world to suddenly merge was the sorcerer Ban Ad, who wore a pointed hat.

Haxor was the one who used a clever trick, inviting them to the competition in an attempt to weaken the School of the Wolf.

They were forced to come.

Otherwise.

Even if Ailin wanted to complete the mission, he would definitely find a secluded place to keep it a secret.

Therefore, no matter how many people in Ban Ade died due to Planetary Alignment, the responsibility does not lie with him.

We absolutely cannot blame him!

"Absolutely not!" Ailin murmured.

"Ding! The first stage of the 'Water Ghost' Planetary Alignment has been completed. Current fusion progress is 1%."

"Ding! A Main Quest has been detected: Eliminate all monsters that have smuggled in from another world. Accept?"

A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Ailin's reverie.

He had no reason to refuse the newly emerging Main Quest.

After the mind accepts the idea.

A detailed list of Main Quest, unlike anything seen before, appears before your eyes.

[Mission: The Beginning of Planetary Alignment]

[Task Type: Main Quest]

[Mission Description: Eliminate all monsters that have smuggled in from another world]

[Quest Progress: Drowners King 0/2, Giant Drowner 0/2]

Listening to the faint screams coming from all over the city.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gripped Elsa tightly in his hand.

Layer upon layer of monsters pressed down on the main stands.

The leaders of the School of the Cat and School of the Wolf were pushed to the edge of the stands.

Tresius, sword in hand, watched in bewilderment as the Grandmaster of the School of the Wolf turned and slashed at the strange monster with a snake's tail.

Haxor is dead!

With so many monsters pressing down on him, even he couldn't survive.

Besides, a human who has no supernatural abilities and only knows how to eat...

so...

His king, his employer, his future...

Without a doubt.

He died.

Therefore, even though the grandmaster of the School of the Wolf glanced at him expressionlessly and said nothing, he exposed his back to him and slew the demon.

He did not launch a sneak attack.

This is a principle that even a cat-loving witcher knows.

The employer died.

No matter how close the commission was to completion, the commission failed.

Moreover...

Even if the grandmaster of the School of the Wolf exposed his back to him.

He couldn't kill the man known as the "Dragon Slayer."

"Tick-tock~"

"Tick-tock~"

Thin streaks of blood trickled from between the fingers gripping the hilt of the steel sword.

It was shattered by the immense power of the man before them, who resembled a giant dragon.

Looking back now, Tresius even feels that the battle just now was just the Grandmaster of the School of the Wolf playing with him.

Looking once more at the place where Haxor was buried, a sense of helplessness and bewilderment welled up in my heart.

so...

What should I do next?

"Tresius, what do we do next?"

Guksat also emerged from the shadows, looking bewildered.

He originally planned to launch a sneak attack on the School of the Wolf's witchers when they were off guard.

But now, the employer is dead.

A sneak attack would naturally lose its purpose.

Because of this commission.

Brett, Fredika, Binshu, Bindu...

besides...

Guksat stared blankly at the wreckage in the arena.

And there's Baleka, Geoffrey, Agate, Kuro...

They are all dead.

A large part of them were arranged by themselves, directly or indirectly.

Now.

There were only four Witchers left in the caravan; the entire School of the Cat, including the two of them, numbered no more than ten people.

"Can kings die too?"

Guksat asked, looking utterly dejected.

The king would certainly die, so that wasn't a question, and Tresius didn't answer.

"Clang~"

Sheath the sword.

He patted Guksat on the shoulder, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Guksat avoided the awakened water ghost and followed closely behind.

"Why not hunt down the monsters and save the people in this city?"

"Aren't you witchers too?"

The voice of the Grandmaster of the School of the Wolf came from behind.

Neither Tresius nor Guksat turned around.

"We are the Witchers of the School of the Cat!"

"Why work for humanity if there's no reward?"