Chapter 119 – A Flower Blooming in the Mud (Eight)

Beherat chased the boy.

There were enemies positioned inside wards on the upper floors as well, but he ignored them completely.

Ratatatatat—!

Amidst the hail of bullets.

The man’s fervent eyes pursued only the boy’s retreating back.

Yet, the distance between him and the boy did not close.

Despite clearly giving it his all, he couldn’t even step on his shadow.

Thud!

Each time the man ascended one floor.

Thud!

Far ahead, the boy also ascended one floor.

With each floor climbed, the man’s anxiety, impatience, and rage amplified.

And then.

────.

His vision brightened.

It was the rooftop.

Strictly speaking, the view outside the building couldn’t be called bright.

Rumble.

The black cloud covering the sky overhead.

Even though it was daytime, the surroundings were gloomy.

However, the reason he felt his vision had momentarily brightened was because of the massive, brilliant white ward encircling the entire rooftop.

In the corner of the rooftop.

A small utility building.

In front of it stood three men who appeared to be operatives of the Loyalist Faction.

And inside the building, through the window, he could see the figures of a brown-haired boy and a red-haired girl.

‘That girl.’

The numerous wards installed on the lower floors.

And now.

Kwaang—! Kwaaaang—!

The owner of the massive ward currently blocking the external attacks.

Currently, allied Wizards were clinging to the railings on the rooftops of surrounding buildings, encircling this place as if laying siege.

They couldn’t cross over due to the ward.

Kwaaaaang——!!

However, they ceaselessly launched Fireballs.

There was another high-level Magic being prepared jointly, so not all personnel were participating in the attack, but…

Kwaaang——!! Kwaang—!!

It was a sufficient barrage to overwhelm an opponent.

Any ward of a decent level should have been destroyed and shattered to pieces long ago.

“…….”

But the girl’s ward endured, endlessly repeating destruction and restoration.

Beherat knew the order given to his subordinates by Him.

‘To deliberately control the intensity of the attack and shatter the ward at the final moment.’

To make the boy hold onto hope until the very end, to deliver greater despair and frustration at the climax.

But Beherat, present at the scene, could feel it in his bones.

The fact that his subordinates, now with their fighting spirit activated, were pouring out attacks with all their malice.

The story that the situation was not under perfect control.

“…….”

The unease that bloomed anew.

The moment the man felt it.

Rumble——!

The sky revealed its displeased mood.

Thick raindrops began to fall one by two onto the ward.

Sticky air. Explosive sounds.

Dim vision. Shouts.

Again, unease.

At the center of it all.

In the middle of the rooftop.

Rumble——!

There was the boy.

The boy with an expressionless face was not looking this way.

He was slowly turning his head toward beyond the railing, and each time he did, Fireballs were erased from the scenery.

As if subjects in a painting were cleanly removed with a special solvent.

The number of Fireballs hitting the ward was instantly reduced to less than half.

Then, His voice pierced and entered Beherat’s ear.

“…Yes, understood.”

The unease that had bloomed in the man’s chest quickly subsided.

Right.

He was watching all of this anyway.

The story was that He was also aware of all the unforeseen variables.

That was the meaning.

He himself should harbor no doubts whatsoever.

The story was that he only needed to faithfully follow His instructions.

“Yes. Everything is proceeding according to plan.”

As he relaxed the strength in his arm, Brook, who had been tucked under his armpit, fell with a groan.

“Boy.”

Ray turned his body and met Beherat’s gaze.

“Hand over the gem. If you do, you alone might preserve your life here.”

“I do have a gem. But I don’t understand the reason for your obsession with it.”

The boy slowly shifted his gaze.

Even during the conversation, he did not stop erasing the Fireballs.

A demeanor that exuded composure.

Beherat’s eyebrow twitched.

“A lowly thing like you has no need to know.”

“You’re not very talented at persuasion. I have no intention of taking out the gem.”

“Then the answer is decided.”

Taang—!

At that moment, the man and the boy simultaneously left their positions.

Chang! Chae-chaeng!

Sharp metallic sounds and sparks from friction instantly began to embroider the air.

“Mr. Colin, Brook is—.”

The boy’s voice that rang out during the fight.

Colin had already dashed out a little ahead of him.

“Bruuuuk——!”

He clearly understood what his role was.

“How dare you betray Hyung——!! You ungrateful beast-like bastard——!!”

However, separate from his assigned mission.

The rage madly surging in his Vessel was clearly a genuine emotion.

“Colin! My key! Give me my key!”

Brook’s eyes, who had spotted Colin running toward him, also gleamed fiercely.

Anger and greed rapidly soared.

Taang——!

He drew his pistol and fired.

However, due to unstable emotions and a body not yet fully recovered, his aim was wretched.

The bullet that grazed Colin’s right side flew on and embedded itself in the railing.

In the meantime.

That!

Colin lunged, pouncing on Brook.

“Brook! I didn’t know you’d cross the line! Even if you were a guy who always acted recklessly!”

“Fuck! What bullshit are you talking! Just give me my key!”

The two men tumbled over each other on the floor.

Ping-geu-reu-reu!

During this, Brook’s pistol slid across the floor and was pushed into a corner of the rooftop.

Ratatatatat——!

The remaining two Loyalist Faction operatives, who had run to the rooftop entrance, bought time by firing down the stairs to prevent enemies from coming up.

“Brook! You bastard worse than a beast!”

“You little shit who was just Niles’ lackey! How dare you overstep!”

The physical struggle was almost evenly matched.

The two extremely agitated men poured out every possible attack from their tangled posture.

Puh-eok—!

“Keuh-eok!”

A fist slammed into a face.

Puk—!

“Uup!”

An elbow drove into an abdomen.

A fighting style befitting only street orphans.

But there was no one present to mind or point out such things.

The only things present were violent breaths, sweat, blood, and…

Shoaaaaaa——!

The black raindrops.

To reduce Mana consumption, Veronica had risked danger and dispelled the ceiling of the ward.

“Even if you do that! Even if you make Nisowa your own!”

Colin shouted with a snarl.

Emotions, body.

Both had become filthy like mud, to the point where one couldn’t tell what was what.

“Do you think you can even follow in Niles Hyung’s footsteps——!”

Whether the words he was spilling now were sincere.

Or due to thoughts about the operation.

Or perhaps both were turbidly mixed, he couldn’t tell precisely.

“You fucking bastard—! Do you think you can earn everyone’s respect like Niles Hyung just by doing that——!”

However, all the words he had held in his chest gushed out like reverse-flowing vomit, surge after surge.

And as a result.

After continued provocation.

“Fuuuuuuuuck——!! Can’t you shut that mouth——!!”

Brook’s inferiority complex exploded.

“I’m worse than Niles? Don’t make me laugh! If that were true, I wouldn’t have succeeded in eliminating that bastard either!”

That resonant voice clearly pierced and entered Ray’s ears as well.

‘I need to use voice amplification Magic.’

But it was impossible.

The voice amplification Magic Circle drawn over the entire building was also being restricted by an unknown external force.

—27 seconds until Magic Circle normalization!

The briefing from Veronica that reached his ear.

‘No time to wait until then.’

About 30 seconds.

More than enough time for Brook’s accumulated and exploded inferiority complex to be largely resolved.

Chang! Chae-chang!

While continuously receiving the enemy’s attacks, he quickly scanned the surroundings with a sidelong glance.

The moment he spotted Brook’s radio fallen on the floor.

Taat!

He rolled his body.

Sswae-ae-ae-aek——!

The Jangdo sword swung wide horizontally barely grazed above his waist.

Thud!

Ray grabbed the radio and pushed it with all his might toward Colin and Brook.

“How dare you! Take your eyes off the fight! And against me at that!”

Chang!

He adjusted his posture and defended against the attack.

The boy had been distributing his attention to multiple places throughout the fight.

Whenever a gap appeared, he cast his gaze outside the rooftop and erased Fireballs.

He adjusted the flow of combat to prevent the man from approaching the utility building.

And this time, he pushed the radio toward Colin and Brook, whom he had been watching all along.

“You maggot-like bastard! How dare you ignore me!”

A viscous, bloody-red Mana surged in the man’s Vessel.

Vicious anger.

Killing intent toward the opponent.

It seemed the effect of the red gem he had ingested on the lower floor was now fully circulating.

Sswae-ae-ae-aek——!

Accordingly, his offensive became even more rough and fierce.

However, the boy drew on the Mana from the Ring and, without overexerting, calmly focused on defense and evasion.

While doing so, he constantly gauged all surrounding elements.

The amount of Mana remaining in the enemy Wizards’ Rings and the number of incoming Fireballs.

The amount of White Mana remaining in Veronica’s Ring, visible Beyond the Wall.

—Now 15 seconds!

And the remaining time until the Magic Circle’s normalization.

‘Now 13 seconds.’

The Mana contained in the Ring and Walter’s ring was gradually showing its bottom.

Also, his spirit was extremely exhausted.

He had raised extreme anger to enhance the power of the Red Mana.

He ceaselessly decomposed enemy Fireballs.

And he was maintaining multiple Enhancement Magics at their limits.

‘…If I didn’t know how to maintain composure, I might have been devoured by emotions long ago.’

The emotion the boy was currently raising was vicious anger.

Red Mana corresponding to it was flowing into the boy’s Vessel.

However, the large amount of Red Mana, due to the mass of Gray Mana positioned at the center of the Vessel, could not run wild violently as before.

It was composure.

Therefore, the anger still amplified the power of all the Red Mana the boy used.

But it no longer greatly shook the boy’s emotional state as it had before.

Of course, who knows what would happen as time passed.

But it didn’t matter.

‘Because the situation will end before that.’

Chae-aeng!

At the same moment Ray struck away Beherat’s sword to create distance.

Paji-jik——!

Veronica’s ward also could no longer endure and was destroyed.

‘3 seconds.’

3 seconds until the Magic Circle’s normalization.

‘2 seconds.’

If right now.

All the enemies surrounding him, including the man before him, attacked simultaneously.

Then, safety could not be guaranteed.

‘1 second.’

But the enemies did not do so.

Shoaaaaa——!

The pouring, fierce rain began.

“Keuheuheuheu…….”

“Keuhihihihihi……!”

Within it, they only spilled laughter soaked in madness.

The only moment the enemy could harbor even a sliver of possibility of victory.

Had just vanished.

Ttu-duk! Ttu-du-duk!

He turned his head at the sound of something breaking.

He could see one enemy whose limbs were twisted like a wooden puppet.

Ttu-duk!

Then, as if reversing the movement, the bones seemed to snap back into place quickly.

Kul-leuk!

He vomited a few mouthfuls of blood from his mouth.

Raising his head, he looked this way with eyes whose focus had disappeared.

—Long time no see. Are we having a conversation again after 4 days?

A voice laden with Mana.

It was clear even amidst the rain.

As the boy remained silent, the other continued to move his lips.

—I declared that you would be the one to win, how about it? Is the situation you see now?

The boy also imbued his voice with Mana.

“I won. Perfectly.”

The other burst into laughter.

—Funny. Looking at this situation now, no one would say you’re in an advantageous position, right? Ah, perhaps you have something to rely on?

Beneath the boy’s feet.

Following the geometric lines of the Magic Circle, Mana began to race across the rooftop floor.

—That very Magic Circle you’ve been struggling to prepare for days?

“…….”

—You didn’t think I was unaware, did you? I told you. I’ve been watching all your movements from above.

“…….”

—But what to do. The weather doesn’t seem to be on your side. The Magic Circle you prepared is Fire-type, right?

The other looked up with a smile.

Rumble!

It flashed here and there.

The rain was gradually intensifying.

—You’re not unaware of the fact that the power of Magic can vary depending on the climate, are you?

That statement was true.

Wind, rain, snow, etc.

What changes according to such climatic factors is the distribution of elements in the atmosphere.

Magic manifested externally could have its power increased or decreased depending on the distribution of elements in the atmosphere.

That influence isn’t absolute.

But it can never be ignored.

—You didn’t know? Such basic knowledge? Didn’t you think the Fireballs my subordinates are launching suddenly weakened?

“…….”

—Haha, seems I overestimated you too much. Or perhaps you thought your meticulously prepared Magic Circle wouldn’t care about something like the weather.

“…….”

—But you know. Even if your Magic Circle is enough to ignore the weather’s influence, it doesn’t matter. Know why?

Tak!

The other flicked his finger.

Then, the Wizards who had not been participating in the attack until now stepped forward.

Uuuuuuung——!

As they stretched their hands into the air.

Massive masses of water bloomed between the railings of each building and the spaces between them.

Shoaaaaaaa——!

Dozens of streams of water fired from there in all directions coiled up around the entire bodies of the Mercread operatives.

And when all the water masses shrank and disappeared.

All of Mercread’s Wizards were clad from head to toe in thick suits made of water.

—How is it? A kind of armor made of water. Compared to a ward, its durability and versatility are inferior, but when it comes to defending against Fire-type Magic, it’s almost the strongest.

“…….”

—Breathing is comfortable, and movement is free. Thanks to the rain, its power is also amplified.

The other began to laugh, shaking his body.

All of Mercread’s personnel followed suit, and soon the surroundings were filled only with the sound of rain and laughter.

Ahahahahahaha——!

Euhahahahahaha——!

The color of Mana reflected in their Vessels was a viscous, deep indigo.

Mockery. Ridicule. Contempt.

—Now, use it. Activate that splendid Fire-type Magic Circle you prepared with such care! Come on!

Everyone was hoping for the boy’s despair and frustration.

They were waiting for the moment his cherished hope and expectation would plunge headlong over the cliff.

“…….”

All the Mana that had been racing through the Magic Circle began to climb up the boy’s legs, firmly planted on the ground.

Amidst the laughter that still spread and echoed.

“Who said.”

The boy’s lips, which had remained silent until now, twisted.

“That the Magic Circle we prepared was Fire-type.”

That was the moment.

Everyone’s laughter ceased.

And with a roar, the world was dyed in light.