Chapter 60: Dark mana
The market was busier than usual, filled with people preparing for some local festival Jorghan hadn’t paid attention to.
He moved through the crowds efficiently, purchasing bread, dried meat, fruit, and some herbs that would help with healing. The vendors knew him by sight now—the quiet foreigner who always paid fair prices and never haggled.
He was back within twenty minutes, his arms full of supplies.
He thought about the young man and his uncle. During his youth in the previous world, he hadn’t met his uncle’s family even once. He didn’t remember his father mentioning them, so he wasn’t aware of the cousins he now met.
Obviously, they wouldn’t know him. But it was kind of new, these emotions he was feeling; he can’t help it.
His mind was already making plans to make use of the cousin at his disposal to make his uncle’s life hell as much as possible.
As he approached his house, something felt wrong.
His gaze was quickly drawn to the main entrance.
The door was slightly ajar, hanging on its hinges at an odd angle. The lock had been broken, the wood splintered as if something had struck it with tremendous force.
Jorghan dropped the supplies and rushed inside.
The house was a mess.
Furniture overturned, the couch torn, as if there had been a struggle.
And Scarlett was gone.
"No," Jorghan breathed, his eyes scanning the room for clues.
A presence behind him.
Jorghan spun, but he was too late.
A man stood in the doorway—late twenties, with sharp aristocratic features and perfectly styled blonde hair. He wore expensive clothes that marked him as nobility, a long coat that probably cost more than this entire house. His bearing was regal and imposing, the stance of someone accustomed to power and obedience.
In his arms, unconscious or sedated, was Scarlett.
That man was around the same rank as him.
"You must be the troublemaker," the man said, his voice smooth and cultured.
"The duke was most displeased to hear his future daughter-in-law had been abducted."
"I didn’t abduct her," Jorghan said, his voice low and dangerous.
"She came here for protection."
"Protection from her arranged marriage?" The man smiled coldly.
"How noble. How misguided. She belongs to House Harrington now. The contracts are signed."
"She’s not property," Jorghan growled.
"In the Holy Empire, everything is property. Especially pretty young girls with powerful fathers." The man shifted his grip on Scarlett, preparing to leave.
"Don’t worry. She’ll be treated well, as befits her station. You, however, have caused significant problems."
The man didn’t give Jorghan time to respond.
His free hand moved with practiced speed, drawing a weapon from inside his coat—not a traditional gun, but something that hummed with energy.
An advanced weapon from Earth’s new technology, powered by the same energy that fueled abilities.
He fired.
The shot was nearly silent, just a sharp crack of displaced air.
Suddenly, Scarlett yelled, her eyes still closed. She had a troubled expression on her face, which made Jorghan turn his gaze towards her.
And it caught him off guard as the bullet of energy struck him. It was fast and very swift with its movement, so Jorghan barely had time to react. His focus was on the girl, so he didn’t really pay attention to the weapon.
The blast caught him in the left shoulder, spinning him around with its force.
Pain exploded through his body, white-hot and all-consuming. The energy didn’t just pierce his flesh—it burned, searing through muscle and bone with terrible efficiency.
Jorghan crashed against the wall, sliding down to his knees.
The man was already moving, heading for the door with Scarlett in his arms.
Energy crackled around him, and he lifted into the air with casual grace, preparing to fly away.
Jorghan’s vision was blurring, darkness creeping in at the edges.
But he had one chance.
With his good arm, he reached into his consciousness, calling on the system with desperate urgency.
[Critical Injury Detected]
[Host Status: Severely Compromised]
[Malicious mana detected]
Jorghan gasped through the pain, blood running down his chest and pooling on the floor. "Leave... a mana print... on the girl. Track her. Now."
[Command Acknowledged]
[Initiating Mana Print Protocol]
[Warning: This will consume significant resources.
[Proceed?]
"Do it!" Jorghan commanded.
The red dot in his consciousness blazed to life, sending out a pulse of energy that was invisible to normal eyes. It reached across the distance to where the man was flying away, touching Scarlett’s unconscious form and leaving an imperceptible mark—a thread of mana that would allow Jorghan to track her anywhere in the world.
[Mana Print: Successful]
[Target Marked]
[Warning: Host consciousness fading]
[Malicious mana attacking the host]
[Healing will ensue after analysing the dark mana]
The last thing Jorghan saw before darkness took him was the man disappearing into the sky, carrying Scarlett away.
Then the world went black, and he fell forward onto the floor, blood spreading around him in a growing pool.
The gun that man wielded seemed to take mana from the user and power the energy bullet in the gun’s barrel. That bullet had the energy of a nine-star mage and contained the dark mana, which was like a vile version of the mana. It completely caught Jorghan off guard, poisoning him, making him unable to move.
-
Consciousness returned slowly, painfully.
Jorghan’s first awareness was of softness beneath him—a bed, much more comfortable than his own. The second was the smell of herbs and medicine, strong and sharp. The third was the dull, throbbing ache in his shoulder where he had been shot.
He opened his eyes to see a ceiling he didn’t recognize, wooden beams crossed with intricate carvings. Turning his head carefully, he found himself in a room that was warm and lived-in, decorated with an eclectic mix of items that spoke of a life well-traveled.
And sitting in a chair beside the bed, watching him with concerned dark eyes, was Grisha.
"You’re awake," Grisha said, relief evident in her deep voice. "Good. You had me worried there for a while, Jor."
Jorghan tried to sit up, but pain lanced through his shoulder, forcing him back down with a groan.
"Easy," Grisha said, standing and placing a large hand on his uninjured shoulder to keep him down.