Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Storm (2)
----------------------------------------------------------------- Oliver moved to the back of the factory along the alley with Andrew's group. Even while they were on the move, blue flashes flickered in the distance from the front gate with a sharp zap-zap—! Screams rang out alongside a growing barrage of gunshots. Someone said, "They said there was a wizard, and it looks like it's true. Trap magic... They're really thorough."
"Doesn't matter. It's actually convenient for us if they're drawing all that attention. They won't have eyes on the rear."
"What if they've set traps back here too?"
Andrew halted for a moment at those words. It was a perfectly reasonable point. They'd almost certainly planted traps in the more carelessly guarded spots. Pondering briefly, Andrew whipped his head around to stare at Oliver.
"Oliver, you take point."
"Pardon?"
"You've got sharp instincts, so you can dodge any traps, right? That's why. Take point."
It was utter nonsense. But Oliver had no choice but to nod. He'd instinctively sensed that refusing the order would spell big trouble. Something had felt off ever since Andrew first singled him out. Now, looking around, he saw nothing but hostile faces. The kind who'd turn on him in an instant if given the slightest excuse. Without realizing it, Oliver had stumbled into a meticulously laid trap.
"Let's move out again."
With Oliver reluctantly up front, Andrew spoke from behind. Oliver obeyed the command and started moving again, though he could feel Andrew's killing intent boring into his back even without seeing it. Right now, Andrew was treating him like just another enemy. Oliver couldn't fathom why. What on earth had he done? But that curiosity swiftly vanished, quashed by his innate survival instincts. The why behind Andrew's behavior wasn't important right now. Escaping this situation was. If his senses were on point, sticking around meant a very high chance of ending up in serious danger. Still, Oliver betrayed nothing on the surface as he dashed forward. Letting on that he knew would only make things worse. How could he slip out of this crisis? As he mulled it over, the sporadically lit streetlights around them suddenly winked out with a sharp pop.
"Huh?"
"What the—?"
Darkness swallowed the area in an instant. At the same time, several glowing orbs arced toward them from the upper floors of the factory building.
Andrew's group, navigating the narrow alley, were like rats in a trap—they couldn't dodge and could only stand there dumbfounded.
That's when Andrew bellowed.
"Everyone, defend! Black Shield!"
They snapped to attention and unfurled black barriers toward the source of the incoming Magic Missiles.
Pop-pop!Pababang!!Bang!Bang—!!
The swiftly flying Magic Missiles slammed into the black barriers, bursting like fireworks in midair.
The area flashed with colorful lights for a split second. Perfectly timed, enemy gangsters hiding behind the walls leaped out and unleashed a volley of gunfire.
"Mow 'em down! Mow 'em down! Kill every last one!"
"Uwaaaah! Die, all of you!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!
Muzzle flashes blazed amid the deafening roar.
The Black Shields deployed to block the missiles from above struggled against the frontal bullet storm, and the darkness only delayed their reactions further.
In a normal scenario, their frontline black magicians would've crumpled under the blazing muzzles.
But that didn't happen.
Because Oliver, who spotted them first, had thrown up a massive Black Shield straight ahead.
Ting!Tak!Clang-clang-clang—!Tak—!Tat-tak—!
A dull symphony as every bullet ricocheted off the black wall.
But Oliver wasn't satisfied with mere defense.
He swiftly expelled his emotions and slapped targeting markers onto the gangsters bursting into view.
The expelled emotions wafted like smoke before manifesting as markers on their bodies.
The moment he confirmed the markers, Oliver unleashed Hate Bullets.
"Urk-!"
"Wha—?!"
"Guhk!"
The bullets of pure hatred struck the markers dead-on. Multiple gangsters dropped at once, prompting their apparent leader to yell.
"Damn it! They're counterattacking! Fall back for now!"
Far from a successful ambush, they'd been hit with a counterstrike. The gangsters bolted without a backward glance.
Right then, Andrew shouted.
"Nice! The enemies are running. Chase them down! You lot, charge! The rest of you, support the mages! Don't let a single one escape!"
Half the black magicians surged forward in pursuit, blasting the fleeing gangsters, while the other half covered them by peppering the upper-floor mages with Hate Bullets.
"Da-damn!"
"Son of a—!"
"Argh-!"
The gangsters, fleeing with their backs exposed, fell one by one to the Hate Bullets.
Everyone was hyped up from the sudden skirmish, but Oliver alone hung back, melting into the shadows and calmly scanning his surroundings.
Though darkness blinded normal vision, his third eye—the black magician's eye that perceived emotions—was fully operational, making it easy to grasp the situation.
"Hm... Huh?"
Oliver sensed something off.
The gangsters had clearly panicked and fled, but the mage up top exchanging blows with the black magicians remained utterly composed.
As if waiting for something.
He couldn't pinpoint what, but the vibe was bad. Oliver expanded his Black Shield, wrapping it around his body like armor.
Just in case.
That's when an ominous aura erupted from the front gate.
A blue flash like before, then a massive lightning bolt spiked from the ground skyward like a barbed spear, illuminating everything.
Rumble—!!!
"...!!!"
Everyone froze in shock at the menacing, alien spectacle, heads whipping toward the front gate. A blatant mistake.
They should've braced themselves, not gawked.
"Hey, what's going on? What the hell's happening?!"
Andrew pressed a hand to his ear, querying the front-gate team, but blinding blue lightning answered instead.
It streaked from the gate to them in mere seconds,
Detonating on impact and sweeping the area clean in a flash.
Indiscriminate against black magicians and gangsters alike.
Area-wide devastation
No mercy for friend or foe
Zzzzzzap—!!!
"Grahk...!"
"...!!!"
"Kyaak...!"
Oliver was caught in it too, wracked by pain so intense it was like nothing he'd ever felt—jolting straight up his spine to his brain.
His mind went blank white.
Thank goodness for the Black Shield; without it, he'd be crisped alongside the scattered corpses at this range.
Even so, he'd only barely avoided instant death.
Half by choice, half not, Oliver slumped among the bodies, playing dead.
He dimly understood now why everyone feared the tales of mages.
Then a man descended to the carnage, unwrapping lightning from his body.
Seemed like a mage.
"Hmph! Thought these fake-ass mages charging in so boldly might have something going for them, but nah. Total letdown."
"Told you, right? No way anyone's a match for you. Doesn't even make sense. You're the genius the Tower itself hails."
The mage who'd been holding off the black magicians from upstairs glided down on a breeze.
The lightning mage spoke again.
"Still, I figured there'd be something. They said he was a big shot around here... Way too lame for a first clash with the Tower."
"That's just to you... Anyway, what now? We've lost a bunch of our guys."
The mage gestured to his subordinates, fried and sprawled around.
The lightning mage remained unfazed.
"Whatever. They're just bodies to fill ranks. Once word of our win spreads, fresh meat'll swarm in from everywhere. Might as well cycle 'em out now."
Oliver could tell he meant every word.
He didn't fully grasp what mages were yet, but their thinking clearly ran on a different track from normal folks.
A touch of megalomania, maybe?
"Anyway, looks good here. Let's head to the front gate and mop—"
Swoooosh—!Pababam!
A black projectile streaked in suddenly. The mage cut off mid-sentence, surging mana into a defensive barrier.
Tracing it back, there stood Andrew, shrouded in black curtains on all sides.
Not for nothing was he second-in-command; while everyone else got fried by the lightning, he'd uniquely shielded himself. And now he was attacking too...
But it didn't faze the mages. The lightning mage smirked.
"Heh... Guess one survived the shield? Thinks he's a mage?"
"Want backup?"
"Nah. Curious about these black mage punks' skills anyway. Front's mostly handled, so no biggie if I sit this out."
With that, the lightning mage gathered mana once more.
A clear blue glow built up visibly. Andrew wasn't an idiot; he struck first.
Hate Bullets, Wrath Booms, and Black Javelins hurtled toward the lightning mage in a rush.
Regrettably, instead of shielding, the mage wrapped himself in lightning again and dodged nimbly.
An efficient tactic to avoid pointless mana drain.
He retaliated with a bolt.
"Black Shield!"
Zzzzzap—!
The ear-splitting crackle launched a blue current, but the black barrier held.
Not perfectly, though. Electricity's volatile, independent nature let it arc around, inflicting indirect damage despite the block.
Andrew endured non-lethal but persistent agony, eventually expanding his Black Shield into a full spherical barrier.
"Black Marble!"
That was the cue. As if waiting, the mage closed the gap in a flash, slamming his mana-charged fist into the barrier.
Another colossal lightning blast erupted, bathing everything in blinding light.
When the glare faded, Andrew lay there—body covered in burns, one arm blown clean off.
"Ha... So this is the limit of fake-mage tier, huh?"
The lightning mage sneered down at him.
His face screamed disappointment, but inside, he brimmed with smug superiority, utterly pleased with his victory.
His fellow mage had let his guard down too.
In that instant, Oliver—who'd been playing dead—sprang up and fired Hate Bullets from both hands.
The perfectly timed strike caught the nearby mage flat-footed; his body was pierced clean through, pathetically.
"Collin...?"
The trickiest one, the lightning mage, dodged swiftly. Unfortunately.
He rushed to the fallen mage's side to check him over.
Shock and grief roiled in his emotions. Meanwhile, Oliver conjured a small orb called a 'Minion' and quietly slipped away.
Handling that mage solo would've been too much right now. But in that split second, the mage called out.
"Stop."
Oliver halted and turned.
The mage, mana and emotions churning wildly, fixed Oliver with a blazing glare.
"You... I'll kill you."
"Hm... Pass on that."
Oliver replied as he scattered the Minion into the air unnoticed.