Madness in the Eyes (7) ─ Crackling Tension
My eyes snapped open at the sudden presence. From the direction of the cave entrance I’d come through, something was approaching. An unidentified pressure filled the air.
—There’s something in the darkness of the cave.
“Fuck. What now?”
Every hair on my body stood on end. The killing intent radiating from it was on a level I hadn’t felt since Nefertiti. It didn’t quite reach the overwhelming power of that Mythril-class monster, but among all the opponents I’d faced so far, this was the strongest pressure yet.
—Thud. Thud.
The source of that pressure stepped out of the shadows and spoke.
“Impressive work.”
—Clank. Clank.
The sound of metal striking metal. I’d assumed it was armor rattling, but it turned out to be applause. The bastard was clapping while wearing gauntlets.
“It looked entertaining, so I watched from the middle.”
The guy kept clapping as he stepped into the light of the cave’s lantern.
“Heh heh heh. But I never imagined you’d put on a show of trash killing each other.”
—Holy shit, he’s huge.
That was my first impression. The man was a giant well over two meters tall. He appeared in the cavern while running his hand along the ceiling as if the space were too cramped for him. He wasn’t just tall vertically; his body was packed with muscle in every direction. Simply standing there made the entire cave feel smaller.
Like me, he was completely covered from head to toe, making it impossible to see his skin color. His pitch-black robe gave off a similar vibe to mine. Even the mask was the same. The outfit Franc made for me was a hundred, no, a thousand times more refined and stylish, but in terms of cloak and robe, we looked alike.
So this was the “buyer” the bandits had mentioned. No wonder they’d mistaken me for him.
“It was more fun than most circus performances. Why don’t you try your hand at being a playwright?”
The man, whose playful tone didn’t match his massive frame, pointed at me while spouting nonsense. I felt an oddly intense disgust at his exaggerated gestures, but I held back with patience and asked,
“Who are you?”
“I’m the client of the trash you killed.”
The client of those bandits? For someone from this world, his answer was surprisingly straightforward and simple. He was the one who’d come to collect the illegal slaves the bandits had captured. A heinous criminal. Just a big thug, huh?
“Are you angry that we wiped out the bandits?”
Even as I said it, I knew that wasn’t the case. The giant bastard had said he’d been watching. If he’d hidden himself from my senses, why would he just stand by until everything was over?
As expected, the giant man waved his hand dismissively.
“Angry? No way. They were going to die by my hand anyway. There are plenty of kidnapping specialists, but I can’t leave any clues that might lead to the ‘offering.’”
—Sniff. Sniff.
The thug said this while sniffing beneath his mask.
“The offering… is over there.”
He turned his gaze toward one side of the cave. It would’ve been easy to treat that as an opening and dash in, but the distance was a bit too far. Charging from here wouldn’t allow for a proper ambush.
I cursed internally more than ten times before speaking.
“If your business is finished, why don’t you head back? I happened to take care of your task for you, but I won’t ask for any compensation.”
“No. That won’t do. The mission I received was ‘total annihilation.’”
The thug maintained the same oppressive aura he’d been emitting since before he appeared.
“The dead don’t talk. Only after killing all of you can I truly say everything has been wiped out.”
“Yeah? I figured you’d say that.”
Fuck. My life really never changes.
I set down the box of potions I’d been holding as the bastard took a combat stance.
—Slide.
Tirsi silently stepped back. Good. It was two against one. We had the numerical advantage.
“Two mages. Normally I’d just shatter your shields and snap your necks, but—”
The giant lowered his stance and declared,
“Let me enjoy this for a little while!!!!”
Boom!!
The thug kicked off the ground and charged with a spirited roar. Fast. But Tirsi’s magic was still active. My speed was far superior!!
Shupapat—!!
“Pray to the Sky God (yáǵeswō deiwōm dyēus)!!”
I forgot about silent casting and chanted the spell. Beast Regression activated, enhancing my physical abilities. I met the charging thug head-on and threw a punch at his torso.
“Not bad!!”
The thug reacted. A massive fist flew toward me. The gauntlet looked like it could deal serious damage. I adjusted my target and slammed my own fist into his.
BOOM!!!!
“Ugh…!!”
“Grr…!!”
The moment our fists collided, a shockwave exploded outward. It was far too powerful to have come from two human fists. Both the thug and I groaned in shock.
‘I’m losing in raw strength?!’
It was the first time I’d felt this since gaining the power of Earth’s hero. Strength that surpassed even the enhancement of Beast Regression! Given his size and weight, it made sense, but I couldn’t believe some random criminal had more power than Earth’s hero.
“Kahahaha!! You!! You’re no ordinary mage!!”
The thug laughed wildly and launched a kick. His leg, perfectly proportioned to his insane size, shot forward like a log fired from a cannon, radiating visual pressure!
Whoosh—!!
“You son of a—!”
I desperately dodged the kick that came from point-blank range. His movements were incredibly disciplined! This bastard had definitely trained in real martial arts!
His thick leg grazed right in front of my nose. It sliced through the mana coating of Beast Regression and left a huge crack in my mask.
Crack!
“Ugh?!”
“Don’t stop your leg after kicking!!”
The thug retracted his kicking leg and stomped down hard. Using that foot as a pivot, his massive body accelerated forward. It was like a bullet sliding through a revolver cylinder—perfect weight transfer!
Because I’d been distracted by my broken mask, my reaction was slow. A heavy blow slammed into me. The gauntlet, which looked like it packed serious power, hammered both arms I’d raised to guard…!!
BOOM—!!
Since I hadn’t planted my feet firmly, the unimaginable force sent me flying like a ragdoll. I flew several meters back and crashed into the cave wall.
THUD!
“—Guhk!”
I must have hit the back of my head wrong because my consciousness blanked out for a second. Fuck, why is this guy so strong?!
I grimaced at the pain I was feeling for the first time in Beast Regression and clenched my fists. I’d worried the technique might have deactivated while I was unconscious, but it remained active regardless. It seemed it only turned off when I canceled it myself or ran out of mana.
—Clatter.
The impact had been so hard that part of the wall crumbled and fell. The thug walked toward me, brushing off his hands.
“Oh? That mana… So you’re also a follower of the Nine Gods?”
“My family has been atheist for generations, you idiot.”
I spat out whatever came to mind while desperately trying to think of a way to win. My combat technique variety was too limited. Now that I was losing in close quarters, I realized just how few cards I had in hand.
“Ice Missile!!”
At that moment, Tirsi’s supporting fire came in. It was the same silent-cast attack magic I’d seen in the sewers. About ten arrows of cold energy shot forward!
“Hmph. How boring.”
The thug glanced in that direction and swung his arm. Several arrows aimed at his face shattered from the gesture, but the rest struck his torso, coating him in frost.
“—Hm? This isn’t ordinary low-level magic. You’ve improved it.”
The thug seemed slightly impressed by the frost forming on his robe. But that admiration lasted only a moment. After shaking off the frost, the criminal roared savagely.
“A mere woman has no right to interfere in a man’s fight—!!”
Spouting sexist garbage, the thug charged at Tirsi and swung his fist.
‘This bastard!’
I tried to rush over and stop him, but he was closer and faster. His vicious straight punch flew straight at Tirsi!
BANG!!
The punch was stopped by a shield before it could reach her. It must have been the mobile shield magic Tirsi had mentioned earlier! I sighed in relief and charged at the thug’s exposed back.
“Hm!”
Maybe because I’d used Wind Step to silence my footsteps? He only noticed my approach when I was less than a meter away and spun around.
“Die!!”
“How dare you!!”
My fist, filled with murderous intent, was caught in his hand. Even my follow-up strike was grabbed.
“Your movements are so obvious, mage!!!”
He squeezed my fists with brutal force, as if trying to crush them!
“Fuck…!!”
When you’re losing in strength, there’s no answer once your hands are caught! I was completely overpowered, my arms pushed all the way back behind my shoulders. Red eyes glowed from the gaps in the thug’s black mask.
My brain, in this desperate crisis, flashed through old memories like a revolving lantern.
“Even if you imitate a warrior, you’re still just a desk-bound weakling!! Challenging a warrior who will one day ascend to Valhalla is a hundred years too—!”
“Fuck off!! Burning Hand!!!”
“What the— AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!”
The thug screamed in sudden agony. Thanks to the Burning Hand I’d activated, the hand gripping mine began to burn.
Fwoooosh—!!!
But the output was far higher than I’d expected. Normally, my Burning Hand would take all day just to burn dry firewood. That was because my magic proficiency was still lacking. It had definitely been that way last time I used it.
‘Why did the output suddenly jump?’
How could a spell that struggled to burn firewood become this powerful? I’d practiced it occasionally, but this was the first time it had shown this kind of output.
Even in the middle of battle, I couldn’t hide my confusion.
—Whoosh!
That was when I noticed the mana of Beast Regression flowing from my hand had turned crimson. Seeing that red light reminded me of what Hotulusil had said.
Combining spells is the foundation of magic. If you understand the principles, it’s not difficult.
Simple spells activated with short chants are especially easy to combine.
‘—Formula combination!’
I realized why the magic’s output had increased. The original Burning Hand had low firepower. Because of my lack of proficiency, only a tiny amount of mana flowed into the spell. It was like trying to drink coffee through a paper straw.
In contrast, Beast Regression was like attaching a huge hose directly to my mana reservoir and sucking it dry! When I cast Burning Hand while under Beast Regression, my mana pool and the spell’s pathway connected directly. That was why the firepower had skyrocketed. The amount of mana available as fuel had multiplied several times over!!
‘This is my chance!!’
Burning Hand radiated extreme heat, burning my mana coating bright red. I grabbed the thug’s hand as he tried to pull away and pushed him back!
“Why the hell do you talk so much, you son of a bitch! I’ll burn your balls off!!”
“Grrrrrrrrrrgh?!!!”
Fwoooooosh!!!
My burning hand at that insane temperature made our strength difference irrelevant. No human could grip burning firewood that hard!!
“You bastard!!!!!”
The iron gauntlet grew scorching hot. The intensifying pain made the thug throw his head back. His hood fell, revealing closely cropped hair.
“Let go of my hand!!!!!”
Whoosh!!
The thug tried to headbutt me. His massive skull, fitting for his size, aimed for the bridge of my masked nose! I tensed my neck and met it with my forehead!
CRACK!!
CRUNCH!!
I wondered if a human head was even capable of making such a sound. My mask shattered and my head rang. As if he’d been waiting for that, he tried to drive his knee into my groin!!
“Fuck!!”
I hurriedly blocked with my leg and retreated. At zero-distance infighting range, his combat technique shone brightest. If the thug started attacking while enduring the burning pain, I’d be the only one getting beaten senseless.
The broken mask dangled from my face covering. ‘This bastard broke the mask Franc made for me?’ The thought that Tirsi might see my face didn’t even cross my mind. I tore it off, stuffed it into my pocket, and glared at the thug.
“You fucking piece of shit. I’m going to kill you no matter what it takes.”
“Grrrr…!!”
Letting out a pained groan, the thug ripped off his glowing red gauntlet. His palm was covered in a hideous burn. Shaking his blistering hand, he roared at me.
“Using magic other than physical enhancement in a sacred warrior’s duel?! How utterly cowardly!!! And you call yourself a follower of the Nine Gods?!”
“I keep telling you I’m atheist, you stupid fuck.”
“You…!!!”
Growling in fury, the thug irritably tore off his half-destroyed mask. I, who had been burning with rage, forgot my anger the moment I saw his revealed face and froze in shock.
“Hey!! What the fuck is wrong with your face?!”
“W-what?!”
The thug was so startled he seemed to forget the pain of his burns. But I had no choice but to ask.
A protruding lower jaw with tusks jutting out from it!! And a black eyepatch covering one eye!!
“Why are you single-handedly rewriting the history of human facial structure?!”
I swear, in all my life I had never once insulted someone’s appearance. Everything I just said was one hundred percent factual. A human lower jaw could not develop that comically, and tusks could not stick out like that over such thick lips.
Had this guy been wearing the mask to hide his ugly face? As I stared in shock at the strangely familiar features, I suddenly realized who he was.
“Wait, fuck— Are you a half-orc or something?”
“What…?”
The thug was rendered speechless by my pinpoint observation. My conclusion had come through logical reasoning. Perhaps this bastard was a new species that had never existed before. Maybe the hybrid of human and orc—supposedly impossible due to genetic incompatibility—had escaped from some laboratory!!
“There’s no other way to explain that ugly face!!”
It was an ugliness that could never be described with the word “ugly” alone!! His skeletal structure and muscle composition were completely different from modern humans—it was a brand new branch in the evolution of humanity!!