Chapter 103
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Ambush (3)
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Zimazan followed behind Ivan.
There was no way Ivan could have fled far in the brief moment he had been pondering.
If he had escaped the barrier, caution would have been necessary, but at his current speed, Zimazan could have caught up even if he ran farther.
But catching up and actually seizing him were entirely different matters.
Ivan was eerily predicting his movements and dodging Zimazan's attacks.
This went beyond simply knowing him well. The suspicions that had thickened ever since Ivan shattered the barrier and fled had now solidified into certainty.
'A Transcendent.'
The reason he hadn't been fully convinced until the end was how Ivan had hidden it.
He had clearly confirmed that natural mana didn't react to him.
Zimazan was troubled. He needed to capture him immediately and then deal with those inside the barrier.
This drawn-out delay was as good as mission failure.
If this continued, who knew when those human Transcendents might appear.
'Kill him.'
Zimazan changed his objective.
When he learned that Ivan was hiding a fact even "His Lordship" didn't know, he had actually thought it was a good thing.
He hadn't expected to be unable to capture him like this.
It was a disaster. The plan to seize him had already crumbled.
Not knowing when he could catch Ivan, he decided to kill him first. Then quickly return and eliminate those inside the barrier.
That was the only way to salvage the situation.
At that moment, Ivan's figure split into two.
The instant Zimazan resolved to kill him, Ivan seemed to read that determination and deployed another trick.
Definitely a Transcendent. Only they possessed such acute senses.
Zimazan no longer held back and poured his mana forth.
The movements of the roots he controlled changed dramatically.
The roots that had subtly failed to grasp Ivan now pierced straight through him in one go. Both of the split figures simultaneously.
But all that scattered were mere shards of ice.
'No main body?'
Already gone?
When had he...?
I had already reached a conclusion while fleeing from that minority race Transcendent.
The conclusion that I couldn't face him head-on.
Escaping like this was possible.
But with my right arm already broken, I couldn't confront him directly.
Though I was keeping him occupied, my dangling right arm, jostled unavoidably as I fled, was only worsening the situation.
In an unprepared state like this, I was struggling this much. If he had truly intended to kill me from the start, I would have died in that initial ambush. I wouldn't even be able to flee alive like this.
Yet I couldn't just let him go either. If I returned, my identity as a Transcendent would be exposed, and the fates of those left in the banquet hall would be unknown.
There was only one answer.
I had to settle this here. But it was impossible with my own power, so...
'I need to borrow the power of the chatroom.'
Asking Anonymous 4 for help would be problematic because of Rosellin.
It would make them recall the connection between Anonymous 4 and me.
'I have to speak as '0'.'
Even as '0', it would show clear intent...
'Doesn't matter.'
Because I was going to designate them as enemies anyway.
Since they had openly declared they were after me, all that remained was to fight back.
The strongest weapon in my arsenal was ultimately the people in this chatroom. If I couldn't use them, why had I gone to such lengths to act, coax, and deceive them all this time?
'Anonymous 2... or maybe 1?'
For now, speaking to Anonymous 2 would be most effective.
I assumed Anonymous 2 was tracking him. I thought they'd let Ad slip away, but apparently not.
First, get out of the city.
I was confident I wouldn't be caught until then.
Even in my injured state, skillfully manipulating natural mana to hide my body and buying time with clones was more than doable.
The problem was the possibility that he might return to the banquet hall if this dragged on.
It would be trouble if he decided to abandon me and go kill those in the hall instead.
That might even be more important to him.
So I had to maintain a delicate balance—seeming catchable but slipping away.
'Time to step in now.'
If he decided to give up on me, he would judge that I was trying to prevent him from returning to the hall at that very moment. My intent would be blatantly obvious.
While he was pursuing me, I needed to make him even more desperate.
With resolve, I continued multiplying clones and moved toward the city outskirts.
And just as I was about to exit the city, I took a risk and deliberately revealed myself.
I took a deep breath in and out.
It was like baiting him with my body out of necessity.
"Did Ad send you?"
"...!"
The sudden words from an unexpected place halted the footsteps of the guy who had been chasing my clone.
"What did you say?"
He narrowed his eyes at me, then froze solid.
He seemed to have grasped the meaning belatedly.
"...What are you talking about?"
"Or did His Lordship send you? He seemed very interested in me."
"Who the hell... are you?"
His voice mixed suspicion and bewilderment halfway.
But I didn't trust that expression right away.
Having exposed myself at such risk, I couldn't afford even a moment's carelessness. One ambush now, and I'd be dead without a chance.
Yet as time passed, no attack came, only his face wrapped in genuine fluster.
...Was he sincerely shocked?
"His Lordship wanting you... was mentioned once at a regular assembly. Otherwise, only when we were alone..."
"Regular assembly? Is it still happening? Everyone there must be dead by now."
"How... do you know that...?"
His voice trembled.
The instant I confirmed that moment's hesitation, I vanished without giving him a chance.
"Damn it!"
With the enraged pursuer on my tail, I quickly left the city outskirts and plunged into a sparsely populated forest.
'Good.'
I had escaped the city's confines. More importantly, I'd gotten out of a place easily visible to others.
Now, my hiding options were much broader.
As I pulled out the manaphone to bring it up in the chatroom,
the footsteps of the pursuing minority race Transcendent stopped.
Was he finally giving up now?
The thought crossed my mind, but soon I had to halt as well.
Suddenly, another presence that hadn't been detectable at all appeared near the minority race.
It was far too abrupt. As if teleporting.
Either he had moved while perfectly concealing his presence like me and then revealed himself... or it was actual teleportation.
I turned my head. We were definitely apart, but not too far.
I needed to observe his reaction and respond accordingly.
That's when I saw it.
A man with silver hair appearing before the minority race Transcendent chasing me.
Even from his profile, he exuded an intensely mystical aura.
Silver hair faintly reflecting light with every touch, sharp features.
His appearance wasn't rare. My sister's fiancé had silver hair too.
But something about him... his innate presence was different.
To the point where you might doubt he was human.
He floated lightly in the air, while the minority race trembled rigidly before him.
'One of Joat's human Transcendents?'
With an incident of this scale in the city, I had assumed someone from Joat's side would come.
But from my position, I couldn't just wait idly.
As that brief thought flashed through my mind, the situation changed drastically.
With just a small gesture from the mysterious man, the minority race's elongated body was crushed flat.
Boom!
A massive impact shook the ground, cratering it.
'Killed in one blow...?'
The man slowly lowered his hand and turned his expressionless gaze. It headed toward me.
The moment I guessed he was from Joat's side, I had already dropped my stealth.
And with one blink, he was suddenly before me.
Without even a breeze...
"Hello?"
He greeted me in an astonishingly casual voice.
"Who...?"
"A friend of your friend."
"I don't have many friends, so... who exactly are you?"
He lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.
"Shouldn't you know your few friends even better? Or are Joat and Merin not friends?"
As expected, a Transcendent from their side.
But he looked far stronger than Joat or Merin.
Could this be Maron?
Merin had mentioned in passing.
That there was a powerful Transcendent who had rallied them. His name was Maron.
Seeing him in person, he was indeed formidable.
In that short moment he appeared like teleportation and ended it all with one motion, I just felt it. An untouchable strength.
Dragon Rank level? Or... No Rank, like Anonymous 1?
"I was looking for you to see you once, but to think something like this was happening nearby."
"You were looking for me?"
"Yeah. I was curious too."
As I sized him up, he was quietly observing me as well.
I couldn't read the intent in those clear eyes... and that made it all the more burdensome.
It was different from Rosellin's gaze.
If Rosellin's eyes shone with upright, transparent conviction and kindness, this man's eyes were like a deep well, impossible to fathom.
"Is this generation's hero a mage?"
"Hero?"
"Yeah. The hero I've been searching for. I think it might be you."