Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: The Enigma Auction Scramble (8)
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To be honest, I was incredibly thankful I didn't need to use the restroom.
The moment Morte pointed his finger at me, I'd inadvertently lost all strength in my body.
What Morte had just done was likely his signature move for killing the weak: Death Finger.
A technique where he shoots out a blast of mana filled with malevolent thoughts, making the target's heart burst.
Of course, in principle, it wasn't really magic or anything.
It was just a lump of mana being fired, but its speed was supersonic, faster than sound.
If Raven hadn't intervened, I would have died instantly without even having time to close my eyes.
I never imagined I'd feel my life threatened like this just for making eye contact with him.
First Akashumir, and now him. These Seven Extremes are all unbelievably dangerous.
‘In the other world, necromancers were just punching bags for the church. I get why he hates me so much, but still.’
Even so, trying to blow up someone's heart without a second thought is just too much!
I wiped my sweaty palms, which had become thoroughly damp, on my thighs.
Then, I stealthily hid myself behind Raven so Morte couldn't see me.
He was the only one in this space who could stand up to Morte.
My survival instincts, sharpened since becoming a demi-human, had naturally led me here.
Do something about that dangerous guy! You're the protagonist, you can do it!
Hugging my tail, which had puffed up to nearly twice its normal size in shock, I cheered Raven on with all my heart.
“Hmm… so this is what's been happening down here. Was the plan to cause chaos at the auction, where there are many Fixers, to divide their forces?”
Raven frowned slightly as he surveyed the surroundings, never taking his eyes off Morte.
It seemed he had grasped the gist of what had happened here just by taking in the chaotic scene.
After all, even a stranger could see this was a deliberate attack on the auction.
There was no way someone as experienced and knowledgeable as him wouldn't figure out what was going on.
Perhaps because Raven's question hit the nail on the head.
He spoke with a listless air, as if ready to return to his grave at any moment, readily admitting to it.
“Yes…. I didn't bring many corpses with me, so I was planning to replenish my soldiers…. I never expected my masterpieces, Vita and Verita, to be held up, however….”
Hearing his story, I got a rough idea of what Morte had been planning.
He probably planned to release the Rage Gas at the crowded auction, then mix his corpse soldiers in with the infected people.
The undead, being already dead, would be unaffected by the Rage Gas.
If it were only the undead, one could attack them mercilessly, but the gas-infected were still living citizens who could be saved.
In that situation, any delay to protect the citizens would cause the Fixers themselves to turn into victims of the Rage Gas.
Then Morte could completely take over the hotel by overwhelming everyone with the sheer numbers of infected Fixers and corpse soldiers.
If Tamamo hadn't been inside, tenaciously holding off the Vita sisters' coordinated attack, or if Alice hadn't quickly controlled the situation and evacuated the civilians…
Well, it would have been the worst-case scenario.
‘We were lucky in many ways. The fact that I suppressed the Rage Gas was a big help, too. If even one thing hadn't gone right, we all would've died, wouldn't we?’
Just as expected of the necromancer Morte, said to be the trickiest of the Metahuman Liberation Army's Seven Extremes to deal with.
We should consider it a great feat that we escaped his threat without any major casualties.
Well, if he had been at the auction from the start, we wouldn't have stood a chance at our level.
I guess I should be truly grateful for that part.
Raven, perhaps having assessed the situation similarly, aimed his gun at Morte and said with a scoff.
“Hmph, must be a headache when things don't go as planned. The world doesn't always work the way you want it to.”
“Yes, I suppose so….”
But he seemed unfazed by Raven's taunt, calmly taking something out from his robe as he replied.
“However, I have already achieved half of my objective. It is a pity I couldn't bring despair upon the humans… but this is a sufficient step toward our great cause.”
“Great cause…?”
*Ssk.*
Something was draped over Morte's arm, which was as withered as a dead tree.
It was an exceptionally beautiful crown, studded with two red and two blue gems.
I would have been better off not knowing what it was.
Coincidentally, it was an item that existed in my knowledge of the original story.
It was probably one of the items scheduled to be sold at this Enigma Auction.
The name of that beautiful crown was the Queen's Unholy Tiara.
A very dangerous artifact… created by a queen from the other world.
‘That thing… Don't tell me he left the Vita sisters and moved separately through the hotel just to get his hands on that?’
That thing was dangerous. No, to be precise, it would be extremely dangerous if the Metahuman Liberation Army got it.
Therefore, the moment I recognized it, I immediately gathered my holy power into the shape of a spear and hurled it at Morte with all my might!
“Such useless tricks…! Lenta Depositio Putredinis….”
But the spear I threw was futilely blocked by a black mass that materialized around him.
Even with a direct counter, does it mean nothing when the level difference is this great?
I desperately missed the immense power I had when I'd used the Tesseract to become an adult.
Of course, my current form was purely for efficiency.
Even if I could have transformed into an adult, the effect would have worn off long before Morte arrived.
“Tch! Alice! And you, with the purple hair! Get back, now!”
“Ah, yes!”
“Hieeek!”
*Bang! Bang!*
Raven fired wildly at the black mass spreading out in all directions.
Naturally, mere bullets couldn't possibly inflict any significant damage on Morte's magic.
But surprisingly, his bullets seemed to physically push back the black mass, impeding its advance.
The secret was simple.
The bullets Raven used were custom-made, containing a substance that suppressed mana.
Each and every one was an expensive item worth thousands of credits.
It was similar to coating bullet tips with silver to hunt vampires.
For him, who couldn't wield mana and whose pure physical specs were about on par with an orc's, this was his only way to break through.
‘But Raven is strong. His true nature isn't that of a fair fighter, but a tenacious and clever hunter. If his opponent has a weakness… he will never lose!’
Had Raven also instinctively become wary of the tiara artifact Morte had taken out?
Gripping a jet-black gun, he slid forward and unloaded on Morte, preventing him from trying anything funny.
Of course, the aura of decay, spreading like a thick fog, stopped the bullets, causing them to halt uselessly in mid-air before reaching him.
No, they only *appeared* to stop.
*Thwip! Pshuk!*
Just then, bullets that had suddenly pierced through the barrier-like aura of decay sharply penetrated Morte's body!
“Kuh?! You, you bastard…! How did you get through my magic…!”
“Idiot. You think a spell you've already shown me would work a second time? I already finished analyzing that magic you spread from upstairs!”
Logically, it was impossible.
As far as I knew, the spell Morte just used released a cloud of decay in all directions, causing any attack to rot away….
It was an all-in-one offensive and defensive corpse magic that was impossible to counter; you could only dodge it.
Given the nature of gunfire, which strikes a single point, it should have been nearly impossible to pierce Morte's magic and deal damage.
Because of its multi-layered nature, a bullet traveling in a straight line couldn't penetrate the cloud.
However, Raven had just ricocheted two bullets off each other, bizarrely twisting their trajectory to forcibly pierce through a gap!
It was a feat of marksmanship that no one else could ever hope to match, nothing short of a miracle.
“Kuh, he got my organs…. To think this was possible….”
“Lord Morte!”
*Drip, drip.*
Blood gushed from Morte's withered, tree-like body.
Had the ricocheting, fragmented bullets torn his insides to shreds?
Black blood dripped ominously from his collarbone and abdomen where the bullets had struck.
In the end, his weakness—that for all his power, his physical body was frail like any other mage's—had been perfectly exploited.
Of course, Morte himself was an Elder Lich possessing a dead corpse. The damage wasn't as severe as it looked, but…
in the end, a damaged body meant a slight loss of control over his mana. If this damage accumulated, it could become a real problem.
Raven wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip by.
He aimed his gun at Morte and shouted with a serious expression.
“Necromancer Morte, your reign of infamy ends here.”
“Khuhuhu, interesting…. Let's continue this conversation next time.”
What's this about a next time?
Raven scowled as if Morte was spouting nonsense.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a desperate moment from which Morte couldn't possibly escape.
His danger lay in his ability to easily create undead like the Vita sisters, as long as he had corpses.
And in his use of all-in-one area-of-effect magic and other unpredictable, troublesome spells.
But right now, it was difficult for him to leverage those strengths.
He had no corpses to create new soldiers, and no guards to protect his body.
And Raven, who could pierce the gaps in his magic, was standing right in front of him. How could he possibly escape?
It was a moment where even the great Morte couldn't change the situation.
If it weren't for the tiara-shaped artifact in his hand, that is.
“I will remember this. Black-haired human. And… the Saintess of Earth.”
“…”
“What…! Space is…!”
*Kwwwaaaaa.*
With a sound like something being violently torn, a rift opened in the air amidst the hazy smoke of decay.
The Queen's Unholy Tiara.
Its effect was to create a passage to any desired location.
Morte, who had been staring intently this way, soon disappeared through the open passage with Verita.
And just like that, the smoke of decay vanished, as if melting into thin air.
I doubt we could have blocked the enemy's attack more perfectly than this.
Yet it felt like we had suffered a tremendous loss.