My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 49Vol 2.

The underground chamber was so dark that I couldn’t see a step ahead.

I infused aura into my dagger, casting a coral-colored glow that faintly illuminated the space around us.

"Ugh...."

I sighed deeply as I took in my surroundings.

‘This is just a storage room!’

The place was packed with junk, cluttered from floor to ceiling. Finding the mirror in this mess was going to be impossible in a short amount of time.

"We have to search through all of this?"

At this rate, my comrades would be captured and executed before we even found the artifact. Maybe I should have brought more people.

As I debated my options, Victim stepped forward.

"I believe I can locate it."

"You? Really?"

"Yes. I can sense a powerful magical flow."

He closed his eyes tightly, concentrating as he muttered under his breath.

"This is... undoubtedly a triple-rotation magic technique...! A method of magical reinforcement so intricate that only a highly skilled expert could perform it. The Imperial black magicians are... truly remarkable."

"Wait, that technique actually exists?"

I had heard of it before. Back when that black magician had tried to escape from Karon and me, he had boasted about being able to use the triple-rotation magic technique.

I had assumed he was bluffing, but it turned out he had been telling the truth. Huh. That guy was more honest than I gave him credit for.

While I was silently marveling at the unexpected integrity of that black magician, Victim maintained his magical attunement and slowly began to walk forward.

"This way...."

I followed behind him, remaining on guard for any potential enemies.

As we navigated through the dark hallway, Victim suddenly halted.

"This is it...."

He was staring at a massive pile of junk.

"What? Is the artifact in there?"

"Yes. I can feel an incredibly strong magical resonance...."

The moment he said that, I rushed toward the pile and started digging through it.

‘Mirror, mirror!’

The emperor had said the artifact was a mirror.

But with so much junk stacked up, finding it wasn’t going to be easy.

I kept searching, sifting through the debris for what felt like an eternity. Then, suddenly, an idea struck me.

‘If it’s a mirror, it’ll reflect light!’

I could use my aura to create a glow and see where the reflection bounced.

I immediately infused my dagger with aura and shined it over the pile. As expected, a blinding coral light reflected back at me.

"Argh!"

Somewhere in the mess, something had caught and reflected the glow.

"I found it!"

Following the trail of light, I finally uncovered an old mirror. Upon closer inspection, it looked like—

‘A... a bronze mirror?’

It resembled an artifact from a museum, an ancient relic from another era. Had they used something this old because the contract magic was established long ago?

As I turned the mirror over in my hands, inspecting it, Victim’s face turned pale.

"That’s it. The magical energy radiating from that spot is immense."

"Really?"

"Yes. Hundreds—no, thousands—of magic signatures are intertwined within it...."

Hundreds. He must have meant all the souls still bound by contract magic or those who had never been freed from its grasp even after being discharged.

I stared at the mirror in silence.

This small, unassuming object held the very magic that had tormented us for so long.

How many Arkons had suffered because of this? How many had died? And how many more would be forced to endure it if I didn’t destroy it?

It was time to end this cruel cycle.

I placed the mirror on the ground and raised my sword high.

"It won’t break just by striking it, will it?"

"No. It likely has multiple magical reinforcements," Victim warned.

Then, with a grave expression, he added,

"The triple-rotation magic technique means this artifact isn’t just protected by one spell—it has three. It’s a complex layering of magic. One of them is contract magic, but the other two... they’ll likely activate if you try to break it."

"So if I shatter the mirror, the other two spells might attack me?"

"Exactly."

I frowned, deep in thought. If Victim was right, then I had no way of knowing what kind of black magic would be unleashed.

"Victim, is there any way for you to identify the other two spells? Even if you bet on Benny?"

"The imperial magicians are far beyond my skill level. I don’t think I can...."

"I see. Then...."

I tightened my grip on my dagger, glaring at the mirror.

I had no idea what kind of black magic would be unleashed when I broke it.

But there was only one course of action.

I had always done what needed to be done. This was no different.

Once again, I infused my blade with aura. The coral light gleamed brilliantly against the mirror’s surface.

And then—

Crack!

I struck the mirror with all my strength.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

But instead of shattering, the mirror emitted a strange noise.

"Ah...!"

A blinding light erupted, engulfing my entire vision. Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut.

When I opened them again—

I was somewhere unfamiliar.

"...Where am I?"

There was no answer. I looked around, but Victim was nowhere to be seen.

It felt like I had been swallowed into the mirror.

All around me, an endless labyrinth of mirrors stretched out. My own reflection appeared everywhere, staring back at me with a blank expression. The sheer number of reflections was overwhelming.

‘How do I get out of here?’

This must have been one of the hidden spells—some kind of mirror maze illusion.

But something was strange.

"This isn’t a real space...."

My vision felt hazy, and rather than standing firmly on the ground, I felt as if I were floating.

It was... similar to dreaming.

That meant I hadn’t actually been transported elsewhere—I was trapped inside the illusion of the mirror maze.

At that moment, the reflections in the mirrors started shifting.

Instead of my own face, I saw someone else.

Aquila.

"Aquila...?"

I whispered his name in confusion.

And then, right before my eyes—

"Aquila!"

Aquila collapsed to the ground, stabbed by the very dagger in my hand.

His body convulsed in silent agony, and blood pooled beneath him, reflected endlessly in the surrounding mirrors until the entire space was dyed red.

It was just an illusion, a hallucination created by the mirror. I knew that. But despite that, I couldn't stop the trembling in my hands as I stared at his blood-soaked form.

And the reason for my shaking was—

"You insane bastard of an emperor!"

—pure, unfiltered rage.

To be forced to witness Aquila being torn apart over and over again in the endless reflections, to have to endure this cruel spectacle—if only that damn emperor hadn’t placed such magic on this mirror, I wouldn’t be seeing this nightmare at all.

It was a spell meant to shake the minds of intruders. But instead of despair, all it did was fuel my fury against the Adolph Empire.

It was that anger that kept me from being swallowed by the horror of the illusion.

‘How do I destroy these insane bastards?’

I glanced down at my trembling hand, still clutching the dagger.

The blade was soaked in Aquila’s blood.

But right now, this dagger was all I had.

That meant—

"Hah!"

I swung it again, stabbing the nearest mirror.

Instantly, the illusion flickered.

"Oh...."

My vision blurred once more.

And when I opened my eyes again, I was standing in a forest.

Not an unfamiliar one.

No, it was eerily familiar—too familiar.

"Wait a minute."

The moment I recognized it, my face went pale.

I knew where I was. I knew exactly what was about to happen.

The third black magic spell had activated.

And if my guess was right, then—

"Kyaaaaah!"

The second I laid eyes on the monster before me, a scream ripped from my throat.

I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t think.

Because standing before me was Ghostgroom—the very monster that had nearly killed me in the past.

The same one that had killed the original Salvia in the novel.

I never thought I’d see this thing again, not in a place like this!

The moment it detected me, Ghostgroom began to move, slowly creeping forward.

I paled further, my body frozen in sheer horror.

***

"Lady Salvia! Lady Salvia!"

The instant her sword struck the mirror, it didn’t shatter.

Instead, Salvia collapsed.

Victim frantically shook her limp body, trying to wake her up, but she didn’t so much as flinch.

It was clear—her soul had been dragged into another realm by black magic.

"This is bad...."

Victim muttered anxiously. He had the perfect chance to run, yet he couldn’t bring himself to abandon her.

At first, he had only joined the revolution because of Salvia’s threats.

But now, he genuinely supported her.

Because he had seen it.

He had witnessed just how much Salvia and her comrades truly believed in this revolution.

Even if they were weak, they were desperate to change the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) world.

And after watching Aquila fight for his life back at the palace, Victim couldn’t turn away anymore.

Because if Salvia remained trapped in this world for too long—

"She may never escape...."

***

"Mommyyyyy!"

Ghostgroom chased after me as I ran for my life, my lungs burning from the sheer effort.

XX, I swear I’ve been through this exact situation before.

That terrifying memory clawed at my brain, making it even harder to react properly.

Back then, I had at least someone to help me.

Now, I was completely alone.

I wasn’t even armed properly—I didn’t have a gun. Just this tiny dagger.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

And worst of all—I had no idea how to escape this illusion.

There was no mirror to shatter, no clear exit.

Only an endless, pitch-black forest stretching before me.

I glanced over my shoulder as I sprinted.

Ghostgroom was still there, its gaping maw wide open, sprinting after me at full speed.

"Holy—!"

I barely managed to curse before turning my head forward again.

Then, something caught my eye.

Just for a moment—beyond the beast’s open jaws—I saw something.

A different space.

It was subtle, but it was there.

It didn’t look like the inside of Ghostgroom’s mouth at all.

It looked like... an entrance to somewhere else.

‘Wait... could that be...?’

Could that be the exit from this nightmare?

But if that was true... then that meant I had to jump into its mouth.

Just thinking about it made my entire body recoil in horror.

What if I was wrong?

What if I wasn’t swallowed into an exit but just got eaten instead? What if I died inside this illusion, never escaping?

So, naturally, I kept running.

But I couldn’t stop looking back at that impossible space.

‘What do I do?’

Then, an idea struck me.

I veered sharply to the side, crouched down, and scooped up a heavy rock.

It was big—barely small enough to fit in one hand.

Then, I pivoted sharply and stopped running.

And—

"Yaaah!"

I hurled the rock straight into Ghostgroom’s mouth.

I watched as the stone vanished into the black abyss.

‘Is that really the exit?’

Ghostgroom swallowed the rock whole.

But nothing happened.

The beast didn’t react.

It was too dark to see clearly, but from what I could tell, the rock had disappeared—as if it had gone somewhere else entirely.

"...It’ll be fine, Salvia."

I muttered to myself, as if saying it out loud would make it true.

And then—

I ran straight toward Ghostgroom’s mouth.