Chapter 71 – A Young Man Paying Respect (Two)

Tap! Thud! Thud!

Footsteps ringing across the plaza at extremely short intervals.

Three hawks relentlessly pursued, tracing unpredictable lines of straight and curved trajectories.

Crack! Crash!

A collapsing streetlamp.

Fragments of the ground scattering in all directions.

Ray got the impression that the familiars moved like freely controlled projectiles.

“We were watching for an opportunity to kidnap John, but it wasn’t easy. Not only was he holed up in the hotel with no intention of coming out, but also because of that young wizard…”

He could understand why Skyle, even with many subordinates, couldn’t easily touch John.

“A wizard should be dealt with by a wizard.”

That statement also made sense.

If the hawks closed in and stirred up the space between, guns and knives would be useless.

They likely couldn’t fire properly for fear of hitting their own comrades.

‘No, even if they did manage to hit accurately, they probably couldn’t inflict significant damage.’

The hawks’ bodies were enveloped in a thick membrane-like ward.

And the ward was also encircling Michael, who was rooted in one spot while controlling the familiars.

‘That needs to be broken first.’

Destroying the ward itself didn’t seem too difficult.

Among Natural Magic, known for its high destructive power, Fire-type Magic boasts the greatest force.

If he drew a large amount of Red Mana from the ring and threw a Fireball, he could easily shatter Michael’s ward.

After all, the amount of White Mana contained in Michael’s ring wasn’t that substantial from the start.

However, doing so would mean…

‘Michael might get hurt.’

A troublesome situation.

He couldn’t precisely understand the point of Michael’s anger.

But for now, he still had many things to ask the other party.

Whether he knew about the Rainbow.

If he had ever been to the City of Wizards.

If he could use magic schools other than the Enthrallment School.

The questions piled up like a mountain, and therefore, the opponent must not fall until all his doubts were resolved.

‘I need to subdue the familiars.’

But they were too fast; a Fireball wouldn’t hit them.

Then.

Whoosh—

White Mana, attuned to his will, gathered from his forearm into his palm.

Thud!

He stopped fleeing and spun his body around.

‘One on the left, two on the right.’

Three hawks were circling the air, swooping fiercely towards him.

The closest was one flying in from the left.

In the air before Ray’s palm, which was turned towards the creature, white membranes began to layer.

Dozens of thin white membranes.

In a narrow range, square-shaped.

Instead of spreading the ward widely as usual, he concentrated the magic on a point to increase its defensive strength.

Crash—!

The creature, unable to adjust its trajectory, flew in instantly and collided with the ward.

Swoosh—!

Ray’s other hand, clad in Metallization, moved in front of the ward to seize the creature’s neck.

But nothing was caught.

The creature that had collided with the ward had already used the recoil to create distance, now far away in the air.

And seemingly with little damage.

Ray immediately pushed off the spot, evading the consecutive attacks of the other two hawks.

Bang! Crash!

‘This method won’t work.’

His outstretched hand hadn’t even grazed the hawk’s feathers.

Truly a reaction speed beyond imagination.

Well.

Perhaps it was only natural that a human couldn’t match the reflexes of an animal like a hawk.

Unless only he was under the effect of Enhancement Magic.

Especially now, when both sides were benefiting from it.

‘What other methods are there?’

The hawks seemed to move under Michael’s control rather than having free will.

Fierce, savage, and sharp.

Attacks that were hard to withstand even for a few seconds.

But that was only by general standards.

From Ray’s perspective, accustomed to the chaos of close-quarters combat where all sorts of irregularities ran rampant, the hawks’ attack patterns were on the monotonous side.

Their flight paths gradually became familiar, and evading attacks actually became easier over time.

“How long do you think you can keep this up! You must pay for insulting the President!”

Michael’s angry shout.

As if resonating with his emotions, the light of the mana strands binding the hawks’ legs intensified.

Three purple mana strands, all connected at the end to Michael’s hand.

Seeing this, Ray’s eyes gleamed with interest.

‘If I sever those…’

Wouldn’t the control over the familiars disappear?

Thud! Tap-tap! Thud-thud! Bang!

While continuing to evade, Ray concentrated his mind.

Simultaneously, each mana strand shook violently left and right as if struck by a strong wind.

And like strands of a rope fraying, they gradually thinned and their light weakened.

“What are you doing now…!”

Michael, realizing the situation, poured purple mana into each strand.

Whoosh!

The mana strands repeatedly strengthened and weakened according to the tug-of-war between the two wizards.

Squeak—

Screech—

Ray confirmed that the hawks’ attacks had stopped.

They were only circling overhead in arcs, likely because Michael could no longer focus on controlling them.

“Kgh…!”

The seemingly taut tug-of-war began to tilt sharply from a certain moment.

‘How… how… is this possible…!’

Feeling the connection with the familiars weakening, Michael couldn’t hide his astonishment.

Familiar Magic belonged to the category of sustained magic that required concentration during use.

Therefore, the usual method of countering it was to attack the caster and break their concentration.

While a few other countermeasures existed, the main principle of disrupting concentration remained unchanged.

That was why.

The reason for Michael’s panic was…

‘Attacking… the magic itself…? How could that be possible… Kgh!’

He had never heard of or seen such a countermethod.

No, considering the common sense in the study of magic, it was a method impossible to execute from the start.

Magic already manifested and transformed into a phenomenon could not be reverted to nothing.

That applied to sustained magic as well, not just single-cast spells.

Because the elements composing the magic were already firmly bonded, they could not be separated by any means.

That was common sense and an absolute law known to any wizard.

But.

But how?

Michael could not comprehend the situation unfolding before his eyes at all.

The elements composing the magic were being torn away.

‘This is absurd…’

Even if the person standing here were not him but the Chancellor of the Mage Tower, the reaction wouldn’t have been different.

The skill of freely using atmospheric mana to create sparks.

Was the current skill an extension of that?

The opponent’s interference with the magic was both violent and precise.

Two words with completely opposite natures, but there was truly no other way to describe it.

“Take back… kgh! The insult… immediately…!”

Michael shouted with difficulty towards Ray, who was closing the distance.

The mana in his Circle was rapidly depleting.

He couldn’t win.

The feeling of facing an insurmountable wall.

Since he had used lethal force first, he would have no right to complain even if he lost his life to the opponent.

“Kgh! I said take it back…! The insult towards the President… right now…!”

But he didn’t want to beg for forgiveness.

He would rather die than beg for his life from someone who had insulted the person he respected.

Thud.

Ray stopped a few steps before Michael.

Tilting his head, he spoke.

“I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“What do you know about the President… you of all people…!”

“It’s actually people like you who don’t know John well.”

“I…! Have served the President… for a long time! There’s no one… who knows the President better… than me…!”

Michael shouted, panting heavily.

The mana strands, from which elements were continuously being torn away, had become extremely thin at their midsections.

Tick! Ti-tick!

Like ropes on the verge of snapping.

‘If the connection is severed like this…’

It would be the worst situation.

He would lose the familiars he had invested so much time and effort into training.

They would fly high into the sky.

Never to return.

“Uwaaah—!!”

With a roar, Michael squeezed out the last of his mana.

Squeak—!

Screech—!

The hawks circling high in the air changed direction, descending diagonally towards Michael.

“……”

Ray didn’t react.

It wasn’t an attack aimed at him.

The familiars, set as allies, passed straight through Michael’s ward.

They then reached inside Michael’s coat, spread open on both sides, and their bodies were enveloped in purple mana before disappearing completely.

As if summoned somewhere.

In the same flying posture.

‘That is…’

Ray’s pupils shone.

The moment the hawks disappeared, he felt a Flicker of mana in that spot.

It seemed some special magic was cast on the coat.

Whoosh—

At that moment, as the ward disappeared, Michael knelt and collapsed.

Not even a handful of mana remained in his ring.

“Haa… haa…”

A body drenched in sweat.

Disrupted breathing and blurred vision.

Even in near-exhaustion, Michael hadn’t lost the sharpness in his gaze.

He simply stared at Ray in silence.

As if ready to accept any punishment.

“……”

Ray looked at Michael’s Vessel.

Respect for John filled a space that could now be considered the entire Vessel.

In between, glimpses of anger towards him were visible.

‘Amazing.’

That a naturally occurring emotion could grow so large without any external manipulation.

It might be proof that he was a person with strong personal convictions and beliefs.

He also felt he understood.

The difference between people for whom emotions could be artificially implanted into the Vessel and those for whom it was impossible.

Not certain, but perhaps, vaguely.

After gazing intently at Michael for a while, Ray lowered his eyes to check his watch and parted his lips.

“I’ll ask the remaining questions later. I don’t have time now.”

Then he turned and quickly disappeared towards the outskirts of the sector.

“……”

Silence lingered in the spot for a long while.

The cool morning breeze.

Dust rising.

Michael, with a bewildered and perplexed expression, remained in place for a long time.

A jeep running through the Wasteland.

On its roof rack.

Skyle, looking at the distant scenery, asked Ray.

“It’s over there. Can you see it?”

“Yes. I can see it.”

At the edge of the horizon, countless gray dots, presumed to be a herd of Rockdeer, were visible.

‘Just as Skyle said.’

They hadn’t driven for very long before reaching the location of the Rockdeer.

It was evidence that the Rockdeer’s great migration was indeed proceeding in a direction approaching Sector 48.

Looking at the gradually approaching gray dots, Ray spoke.

“Their movement speed is tremendous. Seeing they’ve reached here overnight.”

“During the great migration period, they hardly sleep and keep moving. It’s a struggle to quickly reach areas with remaining vegetation to fill their bellies.”

“Do you have any guesses as to why the great migration is happening earlier than usual?”

“I do think it might be because the food in their original habitat has run out.”

Ray gazed intently down at the ground below the vehicle.

Black circles embedded here and there in the earth swiftly passed by behind the running vehicle.

Areas discolored by the Black Rain.

He knew that vegetation generally could no longer grow there.

Screech—

While exchanging various conversations, the vehicle came to a stop.

It was a location quite far from the Rockdeer herd.

“Can’t we get a closer look?”

“It’s impossible. They’re creatures with such strong wariness towards people that if we get even a little closer, they’ll immediately resume moving.”

The Rockdeer, numbering at least two thousand, seemed exhausted by the sun’s heat and were resting, sitting down on the spot.

Far on the other side, dozens of vehicles and people were also visible, keeping their distance from the Rockdeer herd.

Noticing Ray’s gaze, Skyle spoke.

“They’re my subordinates. They’re tracking the Rockdeer herd while maintaining distance. If they take their eyes off even for a moment, they might lose the location.”

His tone carried pride, implying that thanks to him, they could find the Rockdeer herd this quickly.

And that was indeed true.

“You’ve worked hard.”

After a dry remark, Ray jumped down from the roof.

Thud.

Despite the considerable height, only a soft landing sound came from the impact point.

He had created wind beneath his feet to cushion the impact.

Skyle, momentarily with a surprised expression, collected himself and followed Ray down via the ladder.

“If you could tell me exactly what you’re looking for—!”

“There’s something I want to check.”

Ignoring the voice coming from behind, Ray strode forward with large steps.

Gurgle—

Grrr—*

The sound of footsteps.

The gray beasts raised their heads.

It didn’t take long.

Hundreds of pairs of pitch-black eyes.

There, the figure of a boy with pure white hair was reflected.