Unpleasant Echoes of the Past Life
Limbs could regenerate even if they got accidentally blown off, right?
A wave of unpleasant emotion surged from deep in his chest, causing Abel—without realizing it—to grimace and ruffle his hair.
"Ah, damn it..."
Abel didn't harbor any particular ill will toward Karon.
Just something like, He's been a pain, so I'll dump a ton of work on him later. Bury him in jobs. That was the extent of it.
Nothing more.
"..."
Acting all insolent toward him?
He wasn't petty enough to get mad over something like that, especially since he hadn't even been officially named heir yet.
Besides, Abel—having worked as a spy for the duke in his past life—knew better than anyone the value of information.
A master-level operative who could take down a spy like that? A little hassle was worth it.
In fact, he'd overlooked the arrogance because the guy had the skills to back it up.
"..."
That final bomb that shattered his defense?
His own failure to anticipate it.
Abel wasn't so shameless as to scream foul play at someone who'd fought him with full power.
No, he'd probably have been impressed by Karon's resourcefulness—using everything as a decoy for that last move.
That is, if not for the fact that his soul had instinctively unleashed the close-quarters brawling techniques he'd learned to become a spy in his past life.
"..."
Abel began coating his mouth, throat, and lungs entirely with mana.
He inhaled deeply from the lit cigar in his hand, the tip burning rapidly.
It was unpleasant.
Abel couldn't suppress the disgust bubbling up from his chest right now.
He needed the cigar smoke to soothe it, or he wouldn't make it through.
"Fuuuuu..."
He exhaled the smoke filling his mouth and lungs.
Enough to shroud his face completely.
Unpleasant. So damn unpleasant.
Thinking that, Abel crushed the cigar butt tightly in his fist.
Crunch.
Abel hated his past life as a spy.
Of course, the habits of gathering and piecing together intel were too ingrained to shake, so he just lived with it.
No, the thrill of deduction actually dulled the disgust.
But getting physical was different.
He despised himself as a spy.
And now, to use those close-combat brawling skills he'd learned to become one?
After becoming a spy and ruining his parents' lives because of it?
It felt like bugs crawling all over his body. He hated it that much.
He'd rather have his cigar snatched away.
"..."
Abel swept his hair back and stared blankly at the smoke filling the air around him, his focus slightly off.
"This pisses me off."
Muttering dazedly at the smoke, he grumbled in a low voice.
Yeah, he was pissed.
The whole situation—dragging up memories of his past life that he'd deliberately ignored—pissed him off.
Even the bug-crawling sensation all over his body from using those brawling moves after so long.
"Ah, screw it."
Karon had said he'd pledge loyalty if Abel subdued him or left him critically injured.
Too much hassle to use big moves, and if Karon got hurt that way, it'd just be Abel's loss.
So he'd been fighting with the premise of pinning Karon down.
"Even if limbs get blown off by accident, it's just aftereffects, right?"
With holy power and medicine so advanced, even severed limbs left only lingering effects, as he recalled.
No way a member of the duke family's elite [Shadow] couldn't handle some accident.
Abel decided to go with that.
"..."
Abel extended his index finger, gathering the surrounding smoke above it.
Krrrrch.
A chilling sound of something twisting and warping.
As if responding to Abel's foul mood, an unnatural noise echoed unlike before.
. . .
Karon watched the scene from a step back.
"That's..."
Gathering smoke in one spot and unleashing it—that was definitely the technique he'd seen Abel use against both Kaizen and Bella.
But it was different. Something was off.
"Hey."
"..."
The moment Abel's voice rang out, Karon gripped his weapon and charged.
His mana was nearly depleted after his final move missed, but he had no time to think about that.
Pure instinct: attack now or it'd be dangerous.
"Shall we have some quality time?"
Gazing at the charging Karon, Abel flashed a slightly crooked smile and released the maximally compressed smoke.
It wasn't Jupiter.
Right now, Abel didn't need a massive attack to end it in one go.
He wasn't that furious, but he needed an outlet to vent this disgust, even a little.
The technique he'd used to catch that imperial mage Heros in the capital.
————!!!
The ultra-compressed smoke burst forth in an instant, creating a mana vacuum zone once more in the ruined city.
***
From a hill overlooking the devastated city where Abel and Karon clashed.
"..."
Mist watched the fight silently from atop the hill.
She'd been quietly impressed by Abel's smoke clone tactics,
and appreciated Karon's ultra-high-speed strikes, befitting a [Shadow] member.
And finally, Karon's last resort.
"That's..."
A bomb with overwhelming power capable of breaching her master's defense.
But inversely proportional to its might, its range was extremely narrow.
Mist knew of that bomb.
Well, not its exact form, but the type.
Alchemy bombs optimized for max power in minimal range—she knew them.
And among the alchemists she knew, only one could craft something like that.
[Long time no see.]
As Mist pondered the bomb's maker, a clear voice echoed in her mind.
A being who communicated by implanting words directly into the brain, bypassing sound—only one such entity.
Turning around, she saw a robed figure enveloping its entire body, gazing silently without presence or sound.
Noticing it, Mist slowly bowed.
"It's truly been a long time."
She bowed to only three: the head of the Nebula Ducal family, her master Abel, and finally...
"Boss."
The boss of [Shadow].
"I'm glad to see you after so long, but I have one question."
Hummmm.
Straightening up, Mist began to stir her mana.
Karon carrying a bomb made by the boss?
If the boss had given it at Karon's request, that made sense.
But the timing was too coincidental.
The boss appearing right after the bomb detonated?
Step.
"By any chance."
Suspicious. Way too suspicious.
Step.
"Is all this situation right now."
The distance closing between them.
Step.
"Something you orchestrated, Boss?"
If so, even as a [Shadow] member, Mist would act—for her master Abel.
"..."
[...]
A tense standoff.
The first to move was [Shadow]'s boss.
[Ugh. Too close.]
Sending telepathy to Mist, the boss stepped back and shook her head.
[First, the answer to your question: denial.]
"..."
[I did send Karon a bomb I made, yes.]
She kept secret that making it had obliterated a plain near the empire.
"..."
[All this is Karon's solo act. I never gave such an order...]
She couldn't believe it.
The moment that doubt hit, Mist acted.
No hostility toward Abel, so no violence—just words.
Step.
[I said don't come closer!]
Their distance closed in an instant, close enough for their clothes to brush.
Mist leaned in slightly, peering at the boss shrouded in a robe hiding even her face due to special magic, and spoke.
"Is that true?"
[Ugh...]
"If you won't answer..."
Mist spread her arms wide and continued.
"I'll hug you."
[!!!]
She'd discovered the weakness purely by accident.
When Mist, suppressing her presence to pebble-level, had brushed against her.
Seeing the boss flinch and recoil like she'd been shocked, Mist had unwittingly grasped it.
"You dislike people—or rather, people's mana?"
[Ughhh...]
Swish.
With no response, Mist began closing her arms.
"Changed your mind yet?"
[Sigh... Fine. Back off first.]
With the boss's confirmation, Mist relaxed and stepped away.
[Ugh. Never thought you'd pull something like this...]
Gazing at the retreating Mist, the boss grumbled petulantly, as if sulking. She truly hadn't anticipated the girl acting this way and was flustered.
Once her racing heart calmed, the boss maintained distance and began speaking.
[I didn't order Karon to do anything.]
"..."
[He just asked me for a favor. Ever since the duke was poisoned and talk started of naming one of the bastards as next duke.]
She stepped back three paces, settling at what she deemed a safe distance from Mist.
"What was the favor?"
[If a bastard caught the duke's eye, check out his power—that was it.]
"...Why on earth ask that?"
[Sigh... Pure curiosity. No political motives or anything. That's certain.]
From her perspective, she'd half-doubted such a bastard even existed when making the request.
The duke she remembered was a monster among monsters.
For such a being to acknowledge someone of his blood?
[As [Shadow]'s boss, I naturally submit to the Nebula heir, so no chance to satisfy that curiosity.]
Hence the favor.
She figured Karon—the one she'd saved—would gladly help.
For Karon, it was a request from his benefactor who'd pulled him from that plague-ridden city.
And it satisfied his own curiosity.
Two birds with one stone.
[But who knew it'd turn out like this...]
When he'd asked for a bomb with max destructive power, she'd been skeptical.
But her weakness to persistent pleading, plus the perfectly reasonable assumption that he wouldn't actually challenge Abel, led to this mess.
Hearing her full explanation, Mist let out an involuntary sigh.
"Sigh... All this chaos over something so trivial?"
[Ugh...]
"You could've just asked Master Abel directly..."
'Ah, she couldn't.'
The boss froze up near people.
True to that quirk, smooth communication with strangers was virtually impossible for her.
She even resorted to telepathy magic because verbal talk was too burdensome.
The answer was obvious.
"..."
[...]
A cold wind blew between the two, now aware this mess stemmed from something utterly petty.
And then—
————!!!!
They sensed massive mana movement erupting from the city.
Not mana erupting outward.
A bizarre sensation, like the air's mana shifting all at once.
Mist immediately looked toward the city center, where Abel and Karon had been moments ago.
"That's...?"
A sphere?
[Heh...]
As Mist panicked at the sudden sphere in the city center, the boss's voice filled her mind.
[Intriguing?]
A strange glint pierced through the face-obscuring robe.
[Atmospheric mana shifted in an instant... why?]
Her thoughts overflowed via telepathy, but she didn't stop.
[Overwhelming density—smoke—dispersion—?]
Telepathy magic transmitted one's thoughts directly to another.
The stronger the focus, the clearer the transmission, but few mages used it.
Invading another's mind was inherently high-difficulty.
Plus, it demanded mastery; words and writing were far simpler.
Yet [Shadow]'s boss wielded telepathy at conversational fluency.
And kept it active constantly.
What happens when such a being intensely hypothesizes?
"Nngh..."
A torrent of massive inner monologue flooded her mind at once.
[Then this?—No——Ah, yes——This hypothesis———]
As vast info hammered her brain, Mist stared at the muttering boss.
'Should I knock her out...'
Yeah, knock her out.
As Mist raised her hand and approached, the flood intensified with proximity, forcing her to halt.
About five minutes passed like that.
The sphere slowly crumbled.
Revealing...
"Gahk!"
Karon, shoulders pierced by Abel's smoke, vomiting blood while dangling midair.