Chapter 2625 – 2625. Dark Moon
“Whose scheme is this?”
“We’re curious too. The client completely hid their identity and hired us. I guess they didn’t trust us much.”
“You accepted a job without knowing who the client is? You, a Triple-rank?”
Even a Triple-rank could get hired by a noble family or a large corporation. The average annual salary is 100 million credits, which is about 3 billion won in the currency of my previous life in Korea.
Executives of large corporations in this world earn much more than that, but even considering that, it’s still a considerable high salary.
And there’s a reason for getting paid so much. The Shea in front of me was once a famous mercenary.
“Well, I’m almost 40, you know? But unlike other maids, all I can do is shoot guns. My skills will decline as I get older, and it’s hard to save money because of the messes I made when I was younger… It’s all pretty hopeless. That’s when the client appeared like a savior. Well, it was the client’s agent, to be exact.”
“A maid and butler who betray once lose their license. Was it that much money to risk your future?”
“Yes. The down payment alone was enough to pay off my debts. And the remaining success fee was enough for my retirement.”
“The employment contract I made with you was top-tier in the industry, and the benefits were pretty good, weren’t they?”
“Ah, I was satisfied with that. But the client’s compensation was more appealing.”
Something invisible flew towards me.
A type of power that interfered with my mind. An attack that was silently launched from outside while we were talking.
‘This is an attack aimed at disrupting my concentration by messing with my mind.’
If my concentration drops, the power of my magic would drastically decrease, or my casting speed would slow down.
“How long have you been preparing?”
“Two months ago. We wouldn’t have executed it so hastily if it weren’t for…”
“…Because of the cherry tree?”
“Yes. The cherry tree that has influence inside the mansion and uses electricity. It wouldn’t work if an electric-type mage was with you. Originally, we were planning to figure out when you would leave the mansion and make a plan.”
“So, you moved hastily, taking advantage of the fact that the cherry tree isn’t doing its job.”
“That’s right. That’s why I’m stalling for time by answering you like this.”
Mercenaries from outside the mansion are installing machines and scattering talismans and cursed objects everywhere.
The mana in the air is fluctuating and becoming polluted.
‘Are they deliberately spreading curses to prevent me from using mana?’
None of those things would be cheap.
“You’re full of killing intent. Did you come to kill me instead of capturing me? If you kill me, you won’t get the recipe for LK-99, will you?”
Most of the attacks I’ve been facing lately aren’t aimed at killing me directly, but at kidnapping me. The kidnappers’ goal was the recipe for LK-99, the superconductor, so it was natural.
“The client wanted your corpse. Well, I don’t know exactly, but maybe they’re going to use black magic? Or use a psychometry-type ability user.”
“Ha. Do you think I wouldn’t have prepared for that?”
“I don’t know. We’re just doing what the client wants.”
Maybe the premise itself was wrong. It might not be about LK-99, but my death itself.
Step, step.
A huge man walks in, exuding his presence.
“Why are you chatting so leisurely? Let’s finish this before the cops show up. Well, I’ve bribed the cops, so they’ll be quiet for a while.”
The bald man had red tattoos all over his body. Magic enhancement surgery. He had permanent magic circles engraved on his body to strengthen his physique. Apart from that, the aura he emitted was that of a Rank 6, like me.
‘One Rank 6, four Rank 5s, seven Rank 4s, and twelve Rank 3s.’
They overinvested to kill one Rank 6 mage. They must have wanted to kill me that badly.
“…Eugene. I’ll buy some time. It’s better to make as much noise as possible here than to fight. Then the police or someone will come, right?”
“Don’t get involved.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a guest. I can’t have a guest do dangerous things.”
I raised my right hand. *Fzzzt*. A current of electricity seemed to wrap around my palm and the back of my hand, flashing once.
“It’s not like I was just talking. The spell is already complete.”
*Click*.
I lowered my palm.
[Thunder Break]
A thick pillar of lightning, as if splitting the sky, fell from the gloomy sky of Neo London. The target was the Rank 6 warrior with tattoos all over his body.
However, Thunder Break flew and struck a nearby five-story building instead of the target.
*Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!!*
With a roar, the building was half-destroyed and collapsed.
At first, I was flustered. I almost never missed anything, whether it was magic or a gun. Especially Thunder Break, a great magic that takes time to prepare. It was a spell that I cast with special care. It wasn’t a spell that I should have missed so absurdly.
‘It’s not my mistake. …Is it an external factor?’
The Rank 6 warrior in front of me burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Did you think we’d come to fight an electric-type mage without any preparation? I knew this would happen, so I prepared a special lightning rod!”
“…You used a whole building as a lightning rod. That’s a luxurious lightning rod that you can’t use twice.”
“Once is enough. You can’t cast a Rank 7 great magic continuously either!”
The man extended his fist towards the barrier. In an instant, the size of his fist grew to almost 1 meter. It grew without any warning. It wasn’t magic or sorcery, but an ability.
[Using Momentary. Remaining stacks: 10]
‘Barrier 5 layers.’
As soon as it touched the fist, the barrier shattered, and the shockwave broke the remaining barriers. It wasn’t just a physical impact. The shockwave from the fist shook and destroyed the magic structure.
[Using Momentary. Remaining stacks: 9]
Using Momentary, I created and used a spell.
[Reverse Gravity]
[Air Strike]
I removed the gravity from me and Aisa and used an impact magic. Aisa and I flew in different directions. I used telekinesis to land on the garden floor a little further away.
Some of the maids, butlers, and mercenaries who were surrounding us aimed their guns at Aisa, but soon turned them towards me.
“Leave the woman alone! The important thing now is to kill Count Eugene Meyer!”
“Time is not on our side!!”
“If it’s a big shot like a Count, there’s a high chance that the Magic Association or the London Knights will move! Concentrate your firepower and kill the Count before they move!!”
Bullets poured down. Missiles and grenades were mixed in.
[Using Momentary. Remaining stacks: 8]
‘Each one is a magic bullet specialized for great magic. Barrier is a bad move in this situation.’
After a quick assessment of the situation, I used a different magic instead of a barrier.
[Ice Wall]
I raised six thick ice pillars to protect my body. The ice pillars were over 50cm thick. They were pillars without impurities, so they were much harder than ordinary ice. Moreover, they were strengthened by mana. They couldn’t be broken by ordinary physical attacks.
The bullets didn’t even get stuck in the ice pillars, they bounced off. But the damage was accumulating little by little.
“Get out of the way!”
The Rank 6 warrior. He was running. He closed the distance in an instant by stepping on some kind of footwork and swung his fist at the pillar.
The ice pillar that had withstood missiles shattered like broken glass. It crumbled absurdly easily.
[Hallucination]
I deceived the enemies’ eyes and retreated. The enemies poured their fists and bullets at the hallucination.
“It’s a fake!”
“Hallucination? He used it without any warning!”
“…Is this what a combat mage is like? I would have been done for if I had come alone.”
I didn’t hide. If I hid, Aisa would be in danger. Aisa was a Rank 5 druid, but her combat abilities were weak.
The Rank 6 warrior immediately identified me and clenched both fists.
“I’ll give you credit for not running away. But what are you going to do after this? You’ve been using magic continuously, and your mana road is overloaded, right? How many mages like you have I killed?”
He smiled leisurely.
Unfortunately, he was right. Starting with the Rank 7 magic Thunder Break, the aftereffects of using magic continuously in a short period of time made my mana road hot. If I used magic like this, my mana road would be damaged in all likelihood.
The man was approaching me. Every time he took a step, his size grew. From 2m to 2.1m… 2.2m…. Of course, his strength was also increasing.
“A fist technique that breaks magic with specific waves. I’ve heard of that school. Was it the Kakusen style?”
“Oh. You’re knowledgeable. That’s right.”
“But it’s not deep enough to be called a fist technique. It’s all about relying on strength and physique and just throwing punches. I see. A style that has rapidly become stronger by using innate abilities and magic enhancement surgery. You’ve completely thrown away the path to Rank 7.”
“Rank 7. It sounds good. If you reach that level, your whole life changes. But if anyone could reach it, would they call it a superhuman? It’s a hundred times better to give up early and enjoy the present than to be obsessed with Rank 7 like you and die!”
[Phase Shift]
I changed the existing astral to phase astral. As it changed to a phase mana road, I no longer needed to worry about the overloaded mana road.
The man charged, and bullets poured down to check me.
[Using Momentary. Remaining stacks: 7]
[Frost Horn]
*Tzzzt!*
A Rank 6 ice-type magic was activated, freezing the space itself for a moment. The pouring bullets, as well as the curses that were bothering my mind. Both tangible and intangible attacks froze and lost their power. The bullets fell, and the steam turned into frost.
The extreme of cold that manifested in a moment shorter than a second.
In the cold silence, the man, who had grown to 5m, was approaching.
‘Normally, that guy should have been frozen too. His magic resistance is abnormally high. Does magic resistance increase when he becomes a giant?’
*Pat pat pat.*
I moved my fingers and made hand seals.
[Using Momentary. Remaining stacks: 6]
At the same time, I used Momentary to calculate the spell in my head.
What was completed was a triple chant consisting of two no-chant spells and one hand seal.
[Chain Lightning]
[Chain Lightning]
[Chain Lightning]
Three lightning bolts surged towards the man. Just because his magic resistance was high didn’t mean he was immune to magic. The man was electrocuted and stopped in his tracks. The lightning bolts that came out of his body flew in different directions. They swept through the maids, butlers, and mercenaries once and returned to the man to electrocute him again.
I watched the dazzling flashes of light while continuing the chant in my mind.
The man, who was electrocuted by three Chain Lightnings, couldn’t move.
“His aura is that of a Rank 6, but his actual combat ability is below Rank 5. He must have only fought mages with good compatibility.”
The mana that started within me headed towards the sky. Thanks to Chain Lightning, the surrounding area was full of lightning-type elemental mana.
The man, who seemed to have recovered from the electric shock, stuttered, trembling.
“Th-that casting speed is, logically, impossible…! An ability! Is it an ability…?!
“You seem to know well since you’re an ability user. I’m using this ability better than others.”
[Thunder Break]
A huge pillar of lightning fell to the ground, scattering blue lightning.
*Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!!*
Where the pillar of lightning had disappeared, a crater with residual high-voltage current was created. In the center was the charred corpse of a human.
‘I can’t believe the corpse is still intact. His body is really sturdy.’
*Dududududududu.*
A large transport helicopter was flying towards us from the sky.
The helicopter had a shield mark with a helmet profile on it.
It was the London Knights.