Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Counterattack
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Heh heh ha! I like cocky bastards like you. Killing them is the most fun……!”
The Redhead sneered for a while before mentioning the one-week deadline and leaving the prison.
Only after he was gone did Kayla speak up.
“……What the hell is going on here?”
She still hadn’t grasped the situation.
Well, he had explained it all too haphazardly.
“He’s telling us to learn magic. For one week.”
“What? Magic? Why?”
“So he can raise us up and then eat us. That way, he can absorb more mana.”
“……Ha!”
Kayla glanced at the spellbook and scowled.
“What a twisted fuck. If he’s gonna kill us, just do it instead of dangling this impossible crap like it’s some opportunity!”
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s right. He knows we can’t beat him even if we learn this, so he’s just toying with us!”
“Toiling with us…….”
Well, it wasn’t wrong. That was probably the guy’s intention.
But from my perspective…… who knows.
Wasn’t she seeing it too narrowly?
“Why do you think we can’t win?”
“……What?”
“I have no intention of losing.”
“……You’re really going to catch that monster?”
Shruk-!
Instead of answering, I opened the spellbook.
Seeing it for herself would be faster than explaining.
***
It was day three of poring over the spellbook by the light of a single lantern in the pitch-black darkness.
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
The spellbook he’d brought wasn’t just some ordinary tome.
It covered mana control—manipulation, compression, release—and even delved into attribute magic, albeit briefly. A high-quality book through and through.
The bastard was brimming with overconfidence.
Thanks to that.
“You, you……!”
In just three days, I had mastered three attribute magics.
Water, earth, and lightning.
Combined with the flame magic I’d already acquired, that made four attributes unlocked.
Of course, they were still basic, but that alone was an astonishing feat.
Naturally, Kayla was flabbergasted.
“Th-this makes no sense! How in three days?!”
“It’s a good thing. Why act so surprised?”
“No, it is, but…… it doesn’t make sense! How do you learn three magics in three days?! Attribute magics, no less!”
“Effort makes it possible.”
“……What? Effort? Are you mocking me right now?”
Every time I achieved a new milestone, Kayla would huff and grill me.
Even in a life-or-death situation, she was like this—must have some serious competitive spirit.
It was a bit tiring making excuses, but in the end, her drive worked in our favor.
She’d only been able to manipulate mana before, but in three days, she’d conquered mana control and stepped into attribute magic.
She didn’t seem to realize it, but that was incredible progress too.
It just got overshadowed by me, with my mythic trait.
In any case, watching her grow let me guess at her trait.
Heroic trait.
‘Desperate Wish.’
In short, it blooms toward whatever she desperately desires at a crucial moment, granting rapid acquisition in that field.
It could activate in swordsmanship, archery, spirit arts—anything—but it went toward magic this time.
Lucky break.
Objectively, magic was the most efficient direction.
That’s why I’d built my new character as a mage too.
Anyway.
“Did you, did you see that? The flame blooming in my palm just now?”
“Good job.”
This was enough.
Time for the next step.
“Ehehe! I, I did attribute magic……! This is real, right? Not a dream?”
Sorry, Kayla, but it was too early to celebrate.
I cast a water spell to quench my parched throat, then spoke.
“Kayla, this is the spellbook that bastard gave us.”
“Huh? What’s that out of nowhere?”
“Even if we master every spell in here, it’s still just what he expects.”
“…….”
Kayla’s face darkened.
She understood what I meant.
“So…… this isn’t enough to kill him?”
“Right.”
“……Then what do we do?”
Her eyes were filled with worry as she asked.
Of course, pointless fretting.
If I planned to stop here, I wouldn’t have started.
“Naturally, we exceed his expectations.”
“……Exceed his expectations? How?”
“We’re going to modify the magic from now on. And once that’s done…….”
Shhk.
I pulled something from my pocket.
A gray stone etched with bizarre patterns.
“We’ll use this.”
“……Blink Stone?”
“I know a place with something useful for me.”
Four days left.
Not much time.
Until I see that twisted mug again.
***
Damp air, dust, and swarms of bugs filled the underground prison.
“Hoo…… hoo…….”
Kayla took deep breaths in the spot barely lit by a single lantern.
But perhaps because she knew the fight was coming soon.
Or because she had to face it alone.
She couldn’t calm down.
She comforted herself by recalling the past week.
“It’s okay……. It’s okay. You prepared hard, didn’t you?”
As she said, she’d grown unrecognizably in nearly a week.
Fluent mana control, flame attribute magic, and even that notoriously difficult magic modification.
She could now proudly call herself a proper mage anywhere.
“……Thanks to that guy’s help, though.”
Her thoughts naturally drifted to ‘that guy.’
“……Crazy bastard.”
Crazy bastard!
That was Kayla’s honest assessment of him.
And for good reason—he’d fully mastered a spellbook in just a week.
But that wasn’t all.
He’d devised bizarre ways to modify magic, helped with her training, and even planned today’s battle.
Achievements impossible in a mere week.
“Is this even possible……?”
Kayla shook her head at the doubt.
It was a meaningless question from the start.
Hadn’t she seen it with her own eyes?
Him accomplishing all of it.
“Hoo…….”
Judging from the spellbook, Kayla’s magic talent was decent.
No, quite exceptional.
What took three days for her, she did in one; what took a month, she nailed in a week.
But that guy…… was on another level.
If she was a magic genius, then he was……
‘Prodigy.’
A prodigy of magic.
That was the fitting term.
‘Genius’ wasn’t enough to capture his talent.
She wasn’t thrilled someone outshone her, but Kayla felt relieved anyway.
That lunatic…… no, that prodigy was on her side.
“Let’s do this for real.”
All her tension melted away.
Confidence in victory surged.
And in that confidence.
The bastard finally appeared.
Thud, thud-.
Each step heavy.
Her body stiffened again, as if her earlier calm had been a lie.
Fear.
Every time she got close to the Redhead, Kayla felt terror.
The scene of him tearing into hearts haunted her mind.
The Redhead, locking eyes with Kayla, spoke leisurely.
“Long time no see? Prepared well?”
“……You’ll see.”
“Hahaha! So cocky? Looks like you worked hard?”
Kayla ignored him and assumed a battle stance.
“Oh, ready to fight?”
He chuckled lightly, scanned the surroundings, and tilted his head.
“But where’s the other one?”
“Who knows.”
“…….”
A brief silence.
The bastard’s face hardened coldly.
The atmosphere shifted completely.
“Where is he, I said?”
Just those words, but the killing intent made her body tingle.
Kayla overcame her fear with effort and extended her hand.
Fwoosh!
Mana rushed to her in an instant.
It formed characters, took shape, and finally drew a circle.
The end was a desperate shout.
“Die!!”
Boom!
The flames launched from the magic circle caused a massive explosion.
She’d poured everything into that blast.
But to her dismay.
“……Well, well?”
The bastard stood unharmed.
The explosion had detonated to his side.
The magic’s trajectory had been altered entirely.
Just as he’d predicted.
-He’ll probably use spatial magic. He’ll twist your spell’s path with it.
How the hell did he know that?
No time to ponder.
Whoosh!
Kayla gathered the surrounding mana again.
She unleashed a barrage of mana orbs infused with flame attribute.
“Uwaaa!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Chain flame magic through the magic circles.
The air heated up, dust and explosion smoke obscured vision.
Flames erupted from the ground.
Roar!
The lantern shattered in the aftermath.
Crash!
Only the flames illuminated the area now.
With vision blocked by smoke, she couldn’t tell if her spells hit.
Kayla didn’t care—she just kept firing, firing again.
Boom! Boom! Boom……!
How much time passed?
“Hah! Hah……!”
Excessive mana drain left her gasping.
That’s when it happened.
Bang!
Ominous mana pierced through the flames in a flash.
It manifested as magic from her right side.
Space warped.
She screamed.
“Kya aaa……!”
In the blink of an eye, the skin of her right hand was shredded.
She’d reacted quickly; a direct hit would’ve torn the arm clean off.
Red blood dripped from her hand.
Kayla bit her lip.
“……You fucker.”
She clung to consciousness and looked up.
The blocking flames had been pushed aside.
In the cleared path, he approached slowly.
Step, step.
Their eyes met.
He smirked as if realizing something.
Still dripping with leisure.
“Ahh, I get it! That fucker ran away? No wonder the Blink Stone from the vault was gone!”
“…….”
“……Ha! This damn bastard. All that cockiness, and he just bails?”
His face twisted in irritation as he closed in.
But Kayla didn’t budge.
Not even as he came right up to her.
Crunch!
He grabbed her throat with one hand, grinning viciously.
“Hn, hngh!”
Her airway blocked, breath constricted.
But despite the groan, Kayla’s eyes remained utterly calm.
Because this was the moment she’d been waiting for.
‘Modification.’
With time short, she’d focused solely on one modification over four days.
One that triggered an instant explosion around her.
The issue: short range.
To land the modified spell, she needed to close the distance to him.
And when the chance came.
Squeeze every drop of mana into the modified spell.
So……
Right now!
“……D-die.”
“……!!”
Kwaaaang!
A deafening roar.
An explosion erupted around Kayla without warning.
His pupils dilated instantly.
The blast engulfed him completely.
At such close range—her throat in his grip—it was certain.
Roarrr!
“Uwaaaak!”
A scream for the first time.
The Redhead, covered in black soot from the blast, staggered back.
But had he reacted in time?
The damage wasn’t as bad as hoped.
Just peeled skin on both arms.
Staring at his burned arms, veins bulging in his neck.
“……This fucking bitch!”
Crunch!
He strode forward and seized her throat again.
His bloodshot eyes fixed solely on Kayla.
This time, he meant to kill.
Blood rushed to her head, breath cut off.
Kayla felt her mind fading.
“……Hah!”
The flames had long died.
Pitch darkness where she couldn’t see an inch ahead.
From that darkness came a sinister voice.
“You’re pathetic, really. Seems like you’ve got talent, but why’d you have to team up with that loser……? Might’ve been different if you fought together. Right?”
“……Sh-ut…… up.”
“Whoa, calm down. You won’t have to listen much longer anyway.”
Shhhh!
Mana surged from all directions, reeking of malice.
The sharpened tips of mana all aimed at Kayla.
In that dizzying moment, Kayla forgot everything but one word.
Death.
‘……It’s over.’
That’s when it happened.
Crackle!
A streak of light bloomed from the stairs.
Kwaaang!
The yellow light struck the Redhead’s body dead-on.
He flew and crashed into the wall.
Rumble!
“Ah…….”
Kayla slumped weakly and looked up.
Crackle! Crackle-!
Vision lit by intermittent flashes.
There stood a man cloaked in lightning magic, back turned to her.
She couldn’t see well, but she didn’t need to guess.
‘It’s that guy.’
“Why’d you take so long, you bastard…….”
“Sorry, they hid it deep. Took a while to find.”
“……What the hell did you find?”
Drip, drip.
He’d been tossing something back and forth; now he smirked.
“Something demon bastards go crazy for.”
“……Go crazy for?”
“Holy Water.”
As he answered, he raised mana and swung his right arm wide.
Whoosh-!
Something flew at light speed.
Toward where the Redhead had been.
Crash!
Glass shattered where the Redhead was, followed by a scream of agony.
“Kya aaak!”
A calm voice rang out amid the horrific cry.
“You held out well. Rest now—I’ll take over.”
“…….”
An inexplicable surge of emotion welled up.
Kayla suppressed it with effort, unable to tear her eyes away.
What she saw was a back too shabby and unheroic to call heroic.
But for some reason.
It looked utterly reliable.