Chapter Thirty-Three: Taste My Forbidden Spell

"Archmage? Gale, Blaze, get ready to move."

The one-eyed man immediately sensed something amiss upon spotting Mayuna floating in the sky. Anyone capable of flight had to be at least archmage-level, a detail never mentioned in the mission briefing. Still, he remained unflustered. With his defenses, an ordinary archmage could not kill him. He only needed to wait for the enemy to attack his two companions, and then he’d have the chance to counter.

"One-Eye, your hand..."

Gale and Blaze, just about to act, were struck speechless by a shocking sight. One-Eye’s arm, which had completely turned to stone, began to grow transparent, then liquefy, until finally it dripped to the ground as water. The horror of the scene was unbearable. One-Eye, too, stared in disbelief as his right arm melted away bit by bit. Then, filled with terror, he lifted his gaze to the sky, where a young girl was reciting an incantation. Her appearance, so similar to the one in legends, became his final memory.

"Goddess Aqua, who nourishes all life and brings forth countless beings, hear my wish—let all before me be utterly destroyed!"

Mayuna herself did not know what she felt as she invoked the forbidden spell. After seeing what had happened to Ruby, she lost all control. She even forgot to check if he was alive; her only thought was vengeance.

Seeing those three men who had kidnapped Ruby, she was consumed by guilt. She had encountered them before—during that first stroll through Delis with Ruby, when she’d sensed malicious eyes upon them. She’d secretly made note of their faces, intending to deal with them someday. But her remarkable memory now made it clear: they hadn’t been targeting her, but Ruby at her side. If only she had realized sooner, none of this would have happened.

Now Ruby was dead (or so she believed). She couldn’t help wondering if she was some kind of jinx, a bringer of misfortune—everyone who got close to her seemed doomed. This thought awakened her most painful memories.

"Nana, your father and I have to travel far away. Be good and listen to the priest. We'll bring you a gift when we return."

She remembered her mother reluctantly leaving her at the church, her father by her side. They never came back. That was the first time Mayuna tasted the agony of losing her dearest loved ones.

"Little Mayuna, teacher needs to visit the Demon Realm. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon."

Yura kept her promise, but the one who returned was a cold corpse. Mayuna was nineteen that year, newly ascended to the rank of Archmage. She had wanted to destroy the Demon Realm in revenge, but ultimately honored her teacher’s last wish and refrained.

She had endured too much suffering. Now, after so much hardship, she had finally found someone willing to cherish her, to let her act as she pleased. But now, he too was leaving, and she would be alone once more. These overwhelming emotions consumed her mind, making the situation spiral out of control.

The forbidden water spell Mayuna cast was called "Aqua's Lament." Compared to its counterpart, "Aqua's Wrath," its destructive power was slightly less, but still formidable enough to be considered a forbidden art. Legend had it that Aqua once unleashed a forbidden spell in a fit of rage, causing a tsunami that nearly overturned the continent. Though her enemies were vanquished, when Aqua looked back at her own people, she was dumbfounded. Fish flopped helplessly on the shores, while higher-level sea creatures were swept all the way to the snowy peaks of Mount Alps. In the end, her own side suffered more losses than the enemy.

After much reflection, Aqua devised a new forbidden spell: instead of using her own water, she would use water from elsewhere. The caster would gather water elements with immense magical power to form a massive sphere of water. Anything within the sphere would be unreasonably transformed into water. The size of the sphere depended entirely on the caster’s strength. With Mayuna’s reserves, it would not be difficult to engulf the entire Holy Empire.

“Damn, damn, damn, damn! She’s lost her mind! That woman’s completely crazy!"

Draggon, perched on his branch, was a nervous wreck. Using a forbidden spell against these mere lackeys? Had he heard this before, he might have laughed his head off. But now that it was happening, there was nothing funny about it. He could only curse as he dove into the forming water sphere to save his partner.

As one of the Seven Deadly Sins—Lust—Draggon could just barely resist the power of a forbidden spell, but only just. Watching half his branch dissolve into liquid, panic gnawed at him. Soon, however, he noticed a patch of dry land within the water sphere. He was right—Mayuna, though berserk, still cared about Ruby, leaving him an untouched space.

"Partner, wake up! This is no time to sleep—go stop that crazy woman!"

Draggon swam over and rapped Ruby several times, then cast a rejuvenation spell to rouse him. Grabbing Ruby by the collar with his transformed hands, he shouted urgently.

"What’s going on?"

"Just get over there, now!"

With Ruby still dazed, Draggon had no time for explanations. He cast a protection spell on Ruby, hauled him out of the water sphere, and with all his strength, hurled him at Mayuna, who was still floating in the sky.

Ruby’s body collided with Mayuna’s, swatting her from the air as if she were a fly. The two of them tumbled across the ground, locked in a tight embrace, rolling several times. Ruby’s injuries worsened further.

“Mayuna?”

Ruby patted her gently as she lay sprawled across his chest. They had been lying this way for quite some time, yet Mayuna showed no sign of letting go.

"Ruby, please… Don’t ever leave me again without a word..."

Her hands clutched his clothes tightly. The overwhelming sense of loss and unexpected recovery left her helpless; all she could do was awkwardly plead.

Hearing her trembling voice, Ruby suddenly became aware of his own heartbeat. He’d never cared much for those around him, but at that moment, something inside him shifted. He murmured a gentle "mm" in response.

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PS: I’m a bit busy today. I was planning to post an extra chapter this afternoon, but it looks like it’ll be later tonight, around midnight. If not, I’ll add an extra one tomorrow.