Manhunt (2)
I'd already caught and killed the bastard who dared lay a hand on Shin-nim, and I'd half-beaten his little minions to death. But the job wasn't done yet—there was still the mastermind behind it all lurking out there. That fucker was the root of every problem. Until I slammed him to the bottom of the deep sea, my revenge wouldn't be complete.
[So sad. Hic... sob...]
'Don't worry, Shin-nim. I'll make sure to get revenge for you.'
Which was exactly why this guy's head was so damn important. The identity of the mastermind had to be buried somewhere in his memories. And while I was at it, I'd desecrate the corpse a little more. I grabbed his skull and stared right into it.
"Show me what you saw."
He'd died with his eyes wide open, so I locked gazes with him easily enough. No life left, but the eyeballs were still nice and moist. Perfect for casting a spell. The moment the magic took hold, everything he'd seen over the past month flooded straight into my brain.
"...."
I started sifting through the info at high speed, discarding the useless crap and sorting the meaningful memories one by one.
First off, the organization he belonged to.
"The Truth Research Society again."
It was the same shady group of mages I'd run into during that fishing trip not long ago. Just the name alone screamed sketchy, and sure enough, they were up to all sorts of bullshit.
"My head's itching."
The moment the name Truth Research Society crossed my mind, a sharp pain stabbed through the back of my skull. No surprise—they'd tampered with his memories too. As soon as I started reading them, my brain began to tingle. Some weird mana flow, like they were trying to brainwash me or something. Fat chance.
"Interesting."
Unfortunately, the key info was shrouded in a veil. His superior—the one who'd ordered this whole mess. I could tell he was one of the higher-ups in the Ma Tower, but who exactly? No clue. Parts of the memory were fuzzy, like static noise had corrupted them. Had he known he'd fail and cut off his own tail in advance? Cocky bastard either way.
"What now."
If I came face-to-face with the guy, I'd probably recognize him. But of course, the mastermind was holed up deep inside the Ma Tower. Part of me wanted to storm the place right then...
"Should I just charge in?"
For a split second, thoughts of consequences and odds flickered through my mind, but rage crushed reason flat. My wife got hurt, and I'm supposed to hold back? If I did, I'd be a failure as a husband, forget everything else.
"Let's go."
Sometimes you have to follow your emotions over logic. Overthink it, miss your window, play it safe for the win rate, and you lose what matters most. So yeah—Ma Tower, here we come.
But first, clean-up time. I rounded up the half-dead mages and called Do-cheol to seal them away. Unless someone came to their rescue, they'd be stuck like that for a month straight. Food, water, shitting? Not my problem. If they'd wanted to avoid it, they shouldn't have attacked me.
"Where are you headed...?"
"Got some business. I'll be back at work normally next week, so don't worry."
I also chatted with Kim Gwa-jang, who'd just escaped the anomaly mess. Hard to explain the details, so I kept it simple: something urgent came up, and I'd be busy with it all weekend. Even I knew it was a lame excuse, but he didn't question it. Just nodded with that creepy little smile of his.
"Your tie's crooked... Let me fix it for you..."
"Pardon?"
He suddenly stepped close and straightened my tie. Felt weird. But I got why—he'd attached something to it. Whatever it was, I didn't ask. It wouldn't be anything harmful to me.
"Take care of yourself..."
"Of course I will."
"And spill the story when you get back..."
"You bet."
With that, we parted ways, and he headed back to the dorms. The barrier inside was trashed from the fight, but the real world barely felt it. I'd set it up that way on purpose.
"Yu Hana-ssi?"
"D-Did you call me?"
That left just Yu Hana—the Ma Tower mage squirming in awkward silence as the last one standing.
"You can guess what I need from you, right?"
"You're not seriously thinking of fighting the Ma Tower, are you...?"
She looked like she was praying it wasn't true, but sadly, she nailed it. I nodded, and her face crumpled in the funniest way.
"Maybe reconsider? I know the Witch is strong, but the Ma Tower is too much..."
"Quiet."
"Yes, sir!"
She tried to talk me out of it, but no dice. My mind was made up—she just had to help.
"The sky too is Her domain. O mount of the deep sea, carry me there."
⟨ Deep Sea Mount Summon ⟩
I sliced open both arms again—the monster's regen had stopped the bleeding, but now I let it flow, drawing a magic circle on the ground. A winged fish burst through the crimson array. The thing folks called a "glider."
"What're you waiting for? Get on."
"...Me? On that?"
I hopped aboard and prodded Yu Hana, who was frozen with eyes like saucers. What, go alone? She was a Ma Tower mage—she'd know their defenses and layout. I might be rage-blind, but I wasn't a total idiot. No way was I charging in blind.
"No no no, this feels all wrong? Someone like me won't help at all."
"Beat it or get on."
"I'll get on."
Always knew she had quick instincts. I'd have dragged her tied up if she kept refusing, but she caught on fast. Anyway, with Yu Hana aboard, the glider shot into the sky, piercing the thunderheads and slipping out of my barrier.
"Don't resist even if you feel the mana."
"Cognitive distortion magic? Way better than mine—several times over."
"...."
Obvious, but I had no intention of harming civilians. Last thing I needed was someone freaking out at the glider's sight or spawning a new anomaly. With the distortion field up, we flew a bit, and soon a massive barrier loomed ahead—the one encircling the Ma Tower.
"Can't do anything about this one either."
"Why not?"
"Only pre-registered people can pass."
"Useless."
"I told you I wouldn't be any help!"
I ignored her huffing and stared at the barrier, pondering. Snake eyes showed me the weak points. With time, I could pry a gap—but that'd tip them off.
Speed was key. Smash and grab.
"Gonna break it."
"...Pardon?"
Decision made: shatter the barrier fast, even if it took effort. Bonus—seize the initiative with one big hit.
"O clouds."
The clouds overhead. Not as water-heavy as the thunderheads, but huge—blanketing half the sky. Slam that down, and the barrier's toast.
"Follow my will."
I poured my endless intent into the pristine clouds. They began to resonate, shifting at my command—clumping, swirling into a long serpent shape. Go big or go home, but too fine a control and civilians might notice. Dragon-ish cloud, close enough.
"Tear it apart."
⟨ Deep Sea Cloud Dragon ⟩
[Rumble...]
It was a living hurricane now. Fluffy on the outside, but inside, water droplets spun like a blender. Raw power? Stronger than any spell I'd cast before.
[GRRROOOOAR!!!]
[CRASH!]
The dragon moved slow but closed in fast thanks to its size. Jaws gaping, it chomped the barrier—which shattered in under a second. We slipped through the gap.
"Interceptors too, huh."
About ten seconds later, one reason I'd wrecked the barrier showed itself. Dozens of cannon ports on the outer wall spat massive magic cannons.
[BOOM BOOM BOOM!]
[GRRROOOO...]
They charged briefly, then unleashed barrages of grand magic—each packing mana from dozens of mages. No cloud dragon could tank that. It shredded apart into tiny puffs in seconds.
"Brutal."
"I'm seriously gonna lose it—why'd I follow you into this?!"
Even I'd be in trouble under those cannons. But no sweat now—the recharge time was long enough to reach the wall.
[Just in case, speed up.]
[Chirrrp!]
Insurance: I asked the glider to gun it. Two minutes later, the outer wall appeared below, packed wall-to-wall with about a thousand troops.
'Not human?'
They looked human at a glance, but no—mindless slaughter machines powered by mana. Golems controlled by the mages.
"Magitech Combat Golem A-34s! Ten of those would kill me!"
"Ho ho..."
Yu Hana was Legend Lower tier, so yeah. A thousand golems? Even I wouldn't find it easy. But what could I do? We were already here.
"Hold on tight."
"Wait, you're really going? Surrender now while—"
"One, two, three!"
"KyaAAAAH!"
I piggybacked Yu Hana and leaped off the glider. Dozens of spears and blades targeted me. I grinned wide at the sight.
"Let's throw down!"
Time to test the Ma Tower's strength with my own body.