Chapter 323 – Side Story One. Collapse (Seven)

“Pyoel.”

A cold gaze pierced Pyoel as Ray turned his body.

“You’re the leader of the Purists?”

“…Since when did you know?”

“That you were a Purist, from the moment you first spoke to me at the academic conference. That you were the highest-ranking commander, I became certain just a while ago.”

The tension was palpable.

Pyoel swallowed dryly.

“Did you know I was going to ambush you? The blood droplets I scattered on the ground were surely scentless and odorless.”

“I didn’t know about the blood droplets.”

But.

“People who intend to express malice inevitably reveal their anxiety, whether through their expressions, voice, or actions.”

“…….”

Impossible.

My act was perfect.

Pyoel thought to himself.

Perhaps the other party possessed a wealth of worldly experience far beyond what he had gleaned from their brief time together.

‘Even so, nothing changes. The initiative in this situation lies with us.’

Pyoel took a deep breath.

He tried to calm his tension.

Meanwhile, the sound of ten pairs of footsteps circled around them and stopped.

“The prey is already outside.”

“Saves us the trouble of searching the camp.”

“Pyoel, have you already begun the execution?”

Hooded, masked, and cloaked in black.

Combined with the dim visibility, their appearances were barely discernible.

Whoosh—!

Mana emanating from their hands began to envelop the area.

Soundproofing Magic and Distortion Magic.

Ray deliberately did not intervene.

There was no need to wake the already distressed refugees in the camp and amplify their anxiety.

Instead, he observed the malice contained within the vessels of the hooded figures.

One by one, he scrutinized their forms.

“Durnail.”

He called a name.

“Redmold, Zakan, School Master Helena.”

With each call, the hooded figures flinched.

A small ripple of agitation spread among them.

“…He knows our identities precisely.”

“There shouldn’t have been any publicly available information.”

“He might have recognized our voices.”

“But we’re using voice modulation magic right now. Hearing a presentation from afar at the academic conference was his only interaction with us.”

It didn’t take long for their scattered opinions to unify.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“He’s going to die here today.”

Instantly, multicolored mana erupted.

Along with a dense killing intent, the mana concentration in the area skyrocketed.

“Pyoel, why are you standing so stiffly?”

“Did we arrive in the middle of your hunt? Don’t worry. The right to deliver the final judgment to the muddy loach that has clouded the city’s waters naturally belongs to you.”

Listening to his comrades, Pyoel felt his confidence revive.

Yes, no need to be tense.

It’s an 11-to-1 fight, after all.

School Master Ray’s level wasn’t publicly known, but no matter how high, it shouldn’t exceed the 5th Circle.

While imagination, the power of the unknown, was a variable, his combat experience would inevitably be limited due to his youth.

‘No wizard, no matter who, could escape this situation.’

Not against eleven 5th Circle wizards.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

A vile smile spread.

Stepping back to join his comrades, Pyoel discarded the mask of the Bloody School’s School Master he had worn until now.

“School Master Ray, you lowly creature with filthy blood flowing in your veins. You ignored our warnings to stop the wall’s demolition and pursued your own arrogance and greed. Ultimately, this disaster is one you brought upon yourself.”

A threatening situation, trapped in the center of the encirclement.

Yet, Ray merely observed the other side’s emotions with a calm gaze.

Contempt, disdain, jealousy, hatred…

The coexisting superiority and inferiority complexes were most noticeable.

He had gained many insights during the long journey ascending the Sectors.

But his questions and curiosity about emotions hadn’t diminished.

Rather, they had amplified.

Ever since meeting the Doctor.

“I will make you know emotion.”

He had stopped the Doctor, whose goal was to erase emotion from the world.

It was akin to fulfilling the will of the Rainbow, which had scattered emotion across the world.

‘As the Doctor said, it’s an undeniable fact that the world experienced ruin due to negative emotions.’

But filling the world with only positive emotions is impossible.

Emotions always have two sides, like a coin, and their boundaries are ambiguously intertwined.

Ultimately.

The duty left to him was clear.

To persistently observe, never looking away from everything that happens in the world.

To analyze all emotions, regardless of type, and find a way to fully govern them.

So that in the end, all living beings could become masters of their emotions.

That was the boy’s duty and goal.

Emerging from his thoughts, Ray continued observing emotions and asked quietly.

“Do you intend to kill me?”

“Haha, scared? Did you think that even if those from Beyond the Wall were attacked, you would be an exception?”

Pyoel sneered, perhaps thinking Ray was frightened.

“What an arrogant thought. There are no exceptions. You, too, are merely a filthy bloodline unworthy of setting foot in the city. Well, don’t worry about being lonely. Those over there will all follow you soon.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll kill everyone in the camp too.”

“Stating the obvious, I see.”

Pyoel chuckled.

“When I heard you were gathering refugees to form a camp, I frowned at first. You dared to steal away prey on whom we could vent our anger in the city. But upon reflection, I realized it wasn’t that.”

His arms spread wide, as if to show off the camp.

“Rather, you gathered the prey for us in one place! So we wouldn’t have to painstakingly roam the city to weed out the filthy breeds!”

Pyoel burst into laughter.

His comrades followed suit.

Dark-colored emotions surged like sewage backflowing from a drain, rippling along their shaking shoulders.

“Can you handle it?”

At Ray’s words, the laughter abruptly ceased.

“Even if the targets are people from Beyond the Wall, slaughtering nearly 300 individuals would be impossible to avoid condemnation.”

“…….”

“Moreover, there are quite a few disciples from other Schools dispatched from other Mage Towers currently in the camp.”

It was a question of whether they could include city-born wizards in the scope of the massacre.

A brief silence flowed.

Pfft.

“Even if one is born of good blood, if they harbor foolish ideologies, they deserve to be weeded out. And do you think we’d dirty our hands directly with your filthy, vile blood?”

“…….”

“Ha, absolutely not. Out of generosity, I’ll answer your trivial curiosity.”

Pyoel scoffed, looking into Ray’s eyes, and answered clearly.

“Everything that happens here tonight will be treated as an unfortunate accident.”

“…An unfortunate accident.”

“Yes, the kind of unfortunate accident that happens anywhere in the world. Kehehe.”

His excited gaze turned toward the wilderness beyond the camp.

“Kehehe, can you feel it? This vibration?”

A seemingly abrupt line.

The surroundings were quiet.

But those with keen senses could feel a faint tremor transmitted through the ground when they focused.

Gooooooo.

Far away, it felt as if something massive was racing underground.

A phenomenon Ray had been aware of long before the conversation began.

“Sandworms.”

“Hooh, so your senses are quite useful, I see. You don’t seem to be using any particular detection magic. That’s right, dozens of Sandworms are currently converging on this camp. Lured by the vibrations emitted into the ground by devices I secretly installed in various places.”

It was another fact Ray was already aware of.

Unaware, Pyoel continued triumphantly.

Sandworms, whose vision had degenerated, were magical beasts with highly developed other senses.

“The most developed among them is the sense of touch.”

Vibrations resonating on a quiet night when all creatures are asleep would draw them from dozens of kilometers away.

“Well, actually, Sandworms aren’t as ferocious as commonly believed. We wouldn’t normally attract them like this without excessive stimulation. Most accidents in the wilderness occur due to arrogance or ignorance, invading their habitats.”

Hoo, so.

“Just like you lot, daring to flow into the City of Wizards, reeking of filthy blood.”

Pyoel’s gaze suddenly changed.

Killing intent gushed out in streams.

…Although his emotions had swelled, their core wasn’t much different from before.

Judging that further observation held little meaning for now, Ray decided to advance the situation.

Rustle.

“This is what you want, right?”

“……!”

The moment an object was drawn from his chest.

A small disturbance arose in everyone’s vessels.

A red button encased in a glass cover.

The detonation switch that could simultaneously activate all the explosives installed along the city’s walls.

Pyoel’s eyes gleamed.

“No matter how much we searched, we couldn’t find it. So you had it after all. Hand it over. Then I promise to send you off with as little pain as possible.”

“If you want this—.”

Ray pulled his arm back.

The tension instantly tightened.

“—try taking it.”

Swish!

The switch, thrown with all his might, flew fiercely into the sky beyond the encirclement.

If it hit the ground, the cover might shatter, potentially pressing the button.

“Such petty tricks…!”

“Chase it! Catch the switch!”

The enemy’s judgment was swift.

Half accelerated their physical movements with magic and pursued the switch, while the other half immediately launched attacks.

Crunch!

The ground twisted and rose like vines, binding Ray’s feet.

A barrage of projectiles, including Fireballs, lightning nets, and whirlwinds of wind, surged forth.

Although they weren’t those who had bloomed imagination, as School Masters representing their respective Schools, their spellcasting speed and completion were flawless.

But that was all.

──────.

With a single glance from Ray, all those spells vanished into thin air.

Dispel.

A technique that dismantles the combination of elements, returning the magic itself to nothingness.

It had the condition of requiring a significant level gap with the target, and its difficulty was extreme, making it nearly unusable in actual combat.

Yet, it was cast against multiple School Masters who had reached the 5th Circle.

“Someone who has pierced the 5th Circle barrier…!”

“That’s utterly absurd…!”

In an instant, the natural flow of thought led to a conclusion that sent shivers down their spines.

It was incomprehensible.

And they didn’t want to comprehend it.

Currently, no one in the city had pierced the 5th Circle barrier, and realms beyond that were legends found only in history books.

But there was no time for such shock to last.

The mana concentration in the area suddenly skyrocketed, crushing their breath.

“Kgh…!”

“Cough!”

They knelt, coughing up blood.

Ray’s mana, released into the atmosphere and materialized, rippled through the surroundings like a brilliantly colored aurora.

Within it, Ray stared.

With shining, piercing Eye Light, at one particular spot.

“Grr…! Impossible…! This can’t be…!”

Pyoel gritted his teeth, enduring.

Dark-colored emotions, writhing like monsters, supported their owner to prevent him from collapsing.

Ray could see reflected in him.

The image of Indiago, who had lived his entire life consumed by superiority and hatred toward the world, especially the weak.

Step.

“I’ve seen many people like you.”

Ray took a step forward.