Chapter 120 – A Flower Blooming in the Mud (Nine)
Chapter 120 – A Flower Blooming in the Mud (Nine)
The boy’s world was different from others.
The ability to see mana.
To discern colors with his eyes, grasp the principles of magic manifestation, and read the emotions of others.
Yet, ironically, he himself could not feel emotions, possessing values and behavioral patterns unlike the ordinary.
But it went beyond simply those dimensions.
It meant the very world he perceived was different.
Kwa-rung—!
For instance, all natural phenomena like thunder or rain were results of mana’s chemical reactions and could be considered elemental composites.
Essentially no different from magic.
And the boy could see mana.
That meant, in other words.
Kwa-rreung——!
He could observe the intimate landscapes of the world that were not permitted to humans.
The sky flickered everywhere.
His vision flashed intermittently.
Lightning clawed through the void, repeatedly dyeing the world bright before yielding its place to darkness and vanishing.
…….
The boy’s emotionless eyes chased the distant void.
The massive, root-shaped mana stems stretching out beneath the clouds.
The remnants of mana left behind as lightning thrashed and tore through the sky.
From those branching, bright yellow mana stems, countless elements spread into the surrounding atmosphere.
Faintly, and slowly.
Like blood spreading from a burst blood vessel in the sky.
The boy knew which element constituted the largest proportion of that yellow mana.
The Electric Element.
For a Natural Element, its destructive power wasn’t particularly high.
However, its flexibility allowing fast fusion with any other element and its uniquely high elemental density.
An element evaluated as having unparalleled potential and applicability among the Natural Elements.
That very Electric Element was pushing its own body throughout the atmosphere.
[You…don’t…know…that…magic’s…power…varies…depending…on…weather…conditions…?]
The enemy’s voice, sounding as if submerged in water.
He glances up briefly.
Right above his head.
A massive amount of Electric Element was coalescing into a single point.
He looks down at his feet.
The boy’s world, unseen by others.
There, the entire Magic Circle on the rooftop was glowing along complex lines.
A dazzling yellow light, blindingly bright.
Oooong——!
The boy whispers to the elements.
Come here.
He exerts his will.
The Elemental Composites of the Magic Circle, answering the call, race along the lines, climbing up the boy’s legs.
Oooooong——!
Spreading throughout his body.
Instantly covering his entire form.
If he could have viewed himself from the outside with his own sight, he might have discovered a luminous body brightly shining in human shape.
But that too was an extremely fleeting moment.
All the mana that had filled his entire body began to be sucked towards his fingertips.
The mana, having reached its destination, transforms into a phenomenon upon the boy’s palm.
Pajik.
The world skipped.
From the polychromatic world visible only to the boy.
To the monochromatic world shadowed by the Black Cloud.
And also into a form and appearance that everyone could clearly discern.
Sswaaah——
The boy’s consciousness also returns to reality, and the sound of rain and laughter pierce his ears sharply.
…It doesn’t matter.
For that moment, completing this felt more important to the boy than anything else.
Pajik.
At first, a small dot.
Pajijik.
But in the blink of an eye.
To the size of a human head.
The moment they witnessed what the boy held in his hand.
Sswaaaaah——
The laughter in the area ceased.
It was a bright yellow sphere.
Having no chiaroscuro, it looked merely like a two-dimensional shape floating in the void.
Its tremendous luminosity tore through and banished the surrounding darkness.
The high-concentration sparks scattering around it sufficiently hinted at the sphere’s identity and danger.
“Who said—.”
Even without an order.
Everyone present simultaneously kicked off from their positions, leaping over the space between the railings.
Casting Enhancement Magic on themselves.
Drawing blades, they desperately charged at the boy.
Their entire bodies were drenched in cold sweat.
It was the sensing ability for danger and survival instinct inherent to a biological organism before being human.
Should they at least fire a Fireball to disrupt the magic casting?
The Water Membrane they thought would protect them was instead restricting their use of magic.
A mere few seconds.
The instant dozens of blades that had surged forth were about to touch the boy’s body.
“—Did you think the Magic Circle we prepared was fire-attribute?”
Within time that felt as if it flowed infinitely slowly.
The boy’s lips twist.
While caressing the statue of sorrow engraved in his heart, he draws up all the remaining mana.
Its color is a vivid light pink.
The scattered Weakening Element presses down on all the enemies’ bodies, creating a sufficient gap in time to perform the remaining action.
Jiik—
His right leg, pushed back, supports his posture to prevent his body from collapsing.
His tilted upper body, along with his right palm, presses down on the sphere on his left palm as if popping a balloon.
Kwa-gwa-gwang──────!
A single streak of lightning, as predicted by the boy, leaves a long scar in the void and plunges into the rooftop floor.
The moment the world is dyed with light.
Jjeo-jeok───!
The mana sphere splits apart.
The bright yellow bundles of current, swirling inside like Threads, scatter in all directions.
Pajik!
Once through the Magic Circle.
Pajijik!
Once more through the boy’s talent.
Pajijijik!
And yet again once more due to the change in atmospheric elemental density.
The current, its power amplified hundreds of times over through several processes.
Stretches out, leaving thousands of scars in the white space made of light.
────.
The enemies who had been closest to the boy were the first to melt into black ashes.
──────.
Enemies in other positions also vanished, their charging postures frozen.
No one there was granted the luxury of recognizing their own death.
Time accelerates again.
The light disappears and vision returns.
Sswaaaaah───
The sound of rain reaches his ears.
──────────!
The echo of the thunderous roar left by the lightning.
Everything that happened in less than a second.
Puddles filled with fiercely flowing currents covered the rooftop everywhere, as if they hadn’t yet had their fill of devouring.
Not a single Mercread operative was visible.
In that place.
The one standing on two legs.
Sswaaaaah───
“…….”
Was only the boy.
A droplet of moisture was flowing down the expressionless boy’s cheek.
Jjaeng!
The glass window streaming with rainwater was shattered by a rifle butt and an iron pipe.
The enemy poured in through the abandoned building’s main entrance and windows on all sides.
“Fuck! Find Colin! The bounty is a whole million!”
“More than that, the Executive position is the real deal! Think how much money we’ll rake in from now on!”
Their pupils glistened with greed.
The enemy ran up the floors, heading for the rooftop.
Tu-du-du-du-du───!
Ignoring the pouring bullets.
Pushing forward recklessly with numbers.
It was madness.
A kind of collective madness.
The excitement and exhilaration from combat.
The anticipation of being able to end the war.
The confidence that victory was theirs.
Greed and competitiveness for the reward.
And the sense of superiority over the Loyalist Faction.
All those emotions, mixed together and surging like muddy water, were enough to paralyze reason like a drug.
“Go uuup─! Push forwaaard─!”
“They have no intention of coming out beyond their Ward anyway! We can’t even break through!”
The neutral faction quietly followed behind the Opposition Faction, who were shouting themselves hoarse.
“…….”
Not a few showed hesitation in their expressions and steps.
Currently, the neutral faction was largely divided into two groups.
Those who had completely assimilated with the Opposition Faction and decided to follow Brook.
Those who still felt pangs of conscience towards the Loyalist Faction.
One operative belonging to the latter bit his lip tightly.
‘What should I do now…?’
His stomach churned with guilt.
The second-generation operatives, who made up the absolute majority of the current neutral faction, were mostly those who had been influenced by Nisowa’s ideology and joined.
Become the greatest violence in the Sector and uproot all other violence.
He was one of those who had benefited the most from that ideology, having been a street orphan in the past.
It was the desire to give back to the streets what he had received from Nisowa.
‘But if the war ends like this….’
It was almost certain Brook would become Nisowa’s leader.
…Nisowa would become a group with a completely different character than before.
Because the violence Brook would wield wouldn’t be limited to just other violence within the Sector.
That would no longer be Nisowa.
It would just be a gangster group, the kind you could see sickeningly often on any street, merely borrowing the name Nisowa.
‘I have to stop it.’
They too had a star in their vessel.
A small but brightly shining star they had come to hold in their hearts by following a man named Niles.
‘But… how can I…?’
But now it did not shine.
With Niles gone.
The starlight had also faded.
The schism of Nisowa.
The massive violence called Mercread.
Before that, the star grew small.
And could shine no more.
Like a flower bowing its head under contaminated raindrops, their convictions were broken at an irresistible speed.
Only the fact that there had been a star in their vessel remained.
Above all.
‘Even if I step forward alone….’
He didn’t know how many within the neutral faction felt the same guilt and conflict.
To be precise.
Their numbers were greater than the Opposition Faction and those assimilated with them combined.
But they themselves did not know this fact.
Fearing they might lose their lives if they revealed impure intentions, they only endlessly gauged the mood.
‘If I just stay still, I can at least save my life, right?’
The moment he bit his lip and tried to rationalize.
[That’s right! I killed him! I shot him on the bridge! I pushed that bastard’s back!]
A voice came through the receiver.
[Drifting down the river with that stupid face! That I’m worse than that bastard! What a ridiculous joke! If he really was, he wouldn’t have lost to me!]
At first, he thought he misheard.
But the continued, agitated shouts made him realize it was no mistake.
“Huh… what is this?”
“Captain… sounds like his voice…?”
Those climbing the stairs halted and looked at each other.
A faint voice mixed with static.
But the owner of the voice was clear enough.
[I am the master of Nisowa! I’m above that bastard Niles! Far superior!]
The Opposition Faction was bewildered.
‘What the hell? Has the Captain gone mad? Why is he broadcasting that…?’
‘Fuck, something serious must have happened up there, no matter what.’
They already knew about Brook’s betrayal, and not a few had been directly involved in the incident.
But now Brook was blabbing a secret he should have taken to the grave over the comms.
“…….”
“…….”
The Opposition Faction exchanged glances.
Confused, but what they had to do now was clear.
Chlek.
They turned their bodies, subtly aiming their gun muzzles at the neutral faction behind them.
‘They don’t have the guts anyway.’
‘If they try anything, it’ll be a headache.’
Currently, the largest group within Brook’s camp were those among the neutral faction who hadn’t yet firmly decided their course of action.
With Mercread here, the outcome of the war wouldn’t change.
But if these guys took unexpected action, it would clearly become quite troublesome.
‘The reason Hyung Niles passed away… was because of Brook…?’
As the Opposition Faction expected, the neutral faction operatives were swept up in an indescribable storm of emotions.
Distrust. Confusion. Shock.
Anger. Sorrow. Betrayal.
All sorts of emotions tangled inside their vessels, stirring up a fierce vortex.
The moment the lightless star seemed to show a trembling movement.
Chlek.
In the pupils of the neutral faction.
The gun muzzles aimed at them were reflected.
Not an overt aim.
But sufficient to convey what it meant.
The star’s trembling instantly began to subside.
‘R-right. I must have misheard. Even if I step forward, nothing would change the situation any….’
That was the moment.
Kwa-aaaaaang─────!!*
With a roar, the world was dyed with light.
For an instant, he saw clearly.
A single streak of lightning piercing through and falling down the entire building.
Within the distant world of light.
His mind cleared sharply, as if from a terrible hangover.
His heart began to pound in sync with the roaring echo of the lightning resonating throughout his body.
It was as if his stopped heart had regained life from the shock.
───────!
The echoing roar felt like it was scolding the thought he had held for that moment.
One emotion began to push aside all others and swell.
It was shame.
The moment he became aware of that emotion, the star regained its light.
He looked to the side.
Their gazes met.
The star was there too.
1 Comment
Login Required
You must be logged in to comment on this chapter and rate the novel.
Login to rate this novel
Peak