The Day of Magic (2)

"Damn it, has he gone mad?" A curse slipped out right from the start. And who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could blame me? Just look at the sheer size of that absurd spell formula. It was like someone had gone and drawn a Nazca Lines geoglyph across the entire sky. Figuring out its shape alone took ages. Still, the two days I'd spent holed up in the library studying hadn't been for nothing—I identified the spell type almost immediately.

Flame-based. Segmented formula.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a standard explosion spell split into a detonation segment and a trigger segment. At least that was something. Disabling either one would render the whole thing inert.

What the hell...?

I poured every ounce of my stat-18 computational power—twice that of an ordinary person—into cracking the trigger segment. Yet every time I neared a vulnerability, my attempt collapsed. The encryption was to blame. This monstrosity rotated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its key code every ten seconds. That meant I had to complete the entire reverse-engineering process to extract the key within those ten seconds, before it changed again.

Argh!

It was always just a hair's breadth away. A single hair. A few seconds short, and the formula remained unbreakable. It wasn't as complex as Alexia's barrier, but that damned encryption kept dooming me at the final step. Fine. No choice left. I'd wanted to save my ability, but there was no other way.

Selection and Concentration. One second on computational power.

The moment I activated it, my mind splintered into thousands of threads. Geometric patterns in every color of the rainbow bloomed inside my head. Three seconds until the key reset. A faintly glowing point among the patterns. I touched it—

The trigger segment's control transferred to me.

"Haaaah..."

I opened my eyes as the tension drained away. Sight and sound, which I'd blocked out, came rushing back.

"Next, we have an address from the Empire's 3rd Division Commander, Lieutenant General Roman von Bayern."

"Whew. That was close..."

The intelligence agents were probably panicking right about now. Their spell refused to detonate because the key code no longer worked. They must have realized by now that the trigger segment had completely slipped from their grasp. Time to drive the final nail in.

I looked up at the sky and connected to the spell's core—not to activate it, but to dismantle it. With a single gesture, the core collapsed, and the entire formula shattered into pieces.

"Done."

It was over. The spell had poured every last drop of mana into activation, concealment, and encryption. It had nothing left to redeploy. Even if it tried again, I'd just break it once more. By now they were probably retreating in a hurry, convinced the Empire's police had intercepted them.

"Wait a second."

Really? Would the Kingdom's intelligence bureau give up that easily? According to the setting, Roman's assassination was directly tied to the Kingdom's survival, and the bureau believed that without question. So would they abandon everything just because one spell had been dismantled? The other agents might, but not Hurtlocker. He would come for Roman himself. Since the spell had failed, he'd do it in person. And the one who had to stop him was—

"Shit."

Me again, of course.

I sighed and opened the shop. A fight was coming—one against the protagonist, Hurtlocker. I'd have to spend every coin I'd saved. Even then, survival was far from guaranteed.

I bought three Forbidden Elixirs without hesitation. As expected, the price rose by one coin each time. After the last purchase it had reached five coins. One coin remained. I popped the caps and chugged them straight down my throat.

"Ughhh..."

No matter how many times I drank it, the taste was vile. Like swallowing harmless filth. Fighting back the urge to retch, I forced all three bottles into my stomach without spilling a drop. I immediately called up the status window to check the effects.

"What the hell?!"

Another curse burst out the moment I saw it. Every combat-relevant stat had stayed exactly the same. Only computational power had jumped another thirty points. I'd drunk four bottles so far, and every single one had gone into computational power? Was this rigged? Was the probability manipulated?

"Damn it..."

No time to complain. I swallowed my anger and climbed down from the roof. Hurtlocker was already on his way to kill Roman. I had to reach him first and stop it.

The moment I stepped into the corridor through the window, I turned the corner—and froze. Hurtlocker, sprinting from the far end, came face to face with me.

"......"

"......"

We both stopped dead, staring at each other in silence. The one who broke it was—

"Well, we meet again."

Hurtlocker's warm greeting. That made sense. We were just two strangers who'd crossed paths once in a café; we didn't even know each other's names.

"Yeah. Somehow I knew we'd run into each other again."

"Enjoying the event?"

"Absolutely. It's been wonderful. How about you?"

"Haha. Work isn't going so well. Can't really enjoy myself."

Of course not. The bureau's meticulously planned operation had just failed. An awkward silence settled between us once more. The only sound was Roman's speech drifting through the windows.

"Where are you headed? The viewing stands are that way."

"Ah, I need to speak with the organizers."

"I see. Well, I hope it goes smoothly for you."

"Haha. Thank you."

We exchanged stiff smiles and started walking again—toward each other. Naturally. Silently. As we drew closer, I wondered if I should strike at his back after passing. The moment we crossed paths, a sense of wrongness crept over me. Now.

Selection and Concentration. Three seconds on Mana Adaptation.

Instantly, I converted every bit of Mana Energy generated by my internal circuits into mana. That should give me five minutes of fighting strength. Feeling power surge through my body, I—

Crack!

"Guh!"

I twisted aside and kicked at Hurtlocker's head. His arm shot up with terrifying speed to block, and he rolled backward. A dagger appeared in his hand as he slid. How the hell had he smuggled that in...?

"So it was you. The one who dismantled the spell."

"Maybe. What are you talking about?"

"The guards are quiet, so you're not with the Empire's police. Planning to stop me alone?"

"......"

Hurtlocker lifted the curtain and glanced outside, then chuckled. This crazy bastard. If I wanted, I could alert the Empire's police right now, have the venue surrounded, and have him arrested. I hadn't because he was still one of the characters needed for the ending. He didn't appreciate the mercy.

"Get through me. If you can."

"I will."

Hurtlocker gripped the dagger in a forward hold and lunged. My only goal was to make him abandon the assassination and flee. Roman couldn't die, and Hurtlocker couldn't be captured by the police. It looked impossible, but I had no choice. I'd do what I could.

Whoosh!

Hurtlocker's figure shot toward me. I ducked under the flashing blade—

"You son of a—"

His shin slammed into my face and sent me flying. I crashed through the window, felt myself falling, and grabbed whatever I could reach.

"This bastard...!"

It was the hem of Hurtlocker's pants. We tumbled out the window together, locked in a grapple—

"Kuh!"

"Guh!"

We hit the ground and rolled. My ribs felt cracked. Two of them, maybe. At least we were outside the plaza. Since we'd been thrown clear of the building, Hurtlocker would probably give up on the assassination and run. The Empire's police would arrive in three minutes—maybe two. That should be enough for him to escape.

"What the hell are you doing...!"

But my expectations shattered. Hurtlocker raised his dagger and dropped back into a fighting stance. Why the hell wasn't he running? Was he insane?

"The police are surrounding the area. Not going to run?"

"I have plenty of time to slit your throat first."

"You crazy—"

Hurtlocker charged again, faster than my eyes could track. I barely dodged the blade, and flashes of light erupted from every direction. He was trying to cast magic while fighting hand-to-hand?

"What?!"

But my computational power dismantled the spells before the flashes could reach me. With five times an ordinary person's processing speed, these minor spells were nothing. No matter how many there were.

Hurtlocker's expression shifted when his magic suddenly failed. I thought he might finally get scared and run, but—

"You've got quite a few tricks!"

"Just leave already..."

Our protagonist wasn't going to be discouraged by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something like this. Hurtlocker abandoned magic entirely and charged with nothing but his body. Even though I'd reinforced myself with internal circuits, his speed was impossible to react to.

Shit!

The blade aimed for my eye. His knee drove toward my solar plexus. I was surrounded on all sides. No escape. No matter which way I moved, I'd take a fatal wound. So I had to struggle. With the last second of Selection and Concentration.

Selection and Concentration. All on agility!

The blade's trajectory, which had been nothing but an afterimage, suddenly became visible. I slipped between the sword and the shin, then drove my foot up toward Hurtlocker's neck. It all happened in less than a second.

Smack!

"Ugh?!"

My ankle was blocked by his arm. This lunatic. He blocked that...? Still, his left arm hung limp—probably broken—and he backed off slightly, wary now that I'd suddenly sped up. I understood now. Hurtlocker was trying so desperately to kill me because he saw me as a greater threat than Roman. Someone who could dismantle the bureau's masterpiece spell alone and still match the Kingdom's strongest fighter. Of course he'd want to eliminate that person by any means necessary.

But he was mistaken. I'd only fought evenly by throwing every broken ability I had at him. Now that Selection and Concentration was spent, I had nothing left. Even the mana I'd stockpiled from Mana Energy was nearly gone. It was time to end this. Otherwise, I was dead.

"Run. Last warning."

"Who said you get to decide when I run?!"

He lunged again. He was determined to take me down with him if necessary. That made the blade's path painfully obvious. But obvious didn't mean avoidable.

Thud!

"Urgh!"

The tip sank into my chest just below the solar plexus. Unbearable pain flooded in. Hurtlocker looked surprised that I'd finally taken a hit after dodging so well. Then his face went pale. His right arm, trying to pull the blade free, was now gripped in both of my hands. His left was already broken. What would happen if the right one broke too?

Crack!

"Aaaagh!"

A clean twist, and a bright scream rang out. Both arms were now sealed. At this range, kicks were difficult too. I clamped my hand over Hurtlocker's face. If I squeezed, I could crush it. He'd die or be left a cripple. Fear filled his eyes between my fingers as he realized his fate.

"Huuuh...!"

But I decided to let him go. I shoved him away. Hurtlocker staggered to his feet, arms dangling—

"Surround him! Intruder in the building!"

"Block the rear exit! Hurry!"

Shouts erupted from every direction. He fled at once. Good. Run. Far away.

"Ugh... ugh... shit..."

The moment the tension vanished, pain I'd forgotten came crashing back. During the fight the dagger must have been pulled out; blood now gushed from the hole in my abdomen like a fountain. Damn it. Same spot Marie had been stabbed. I'd be dead in a minute too.

Shop...!

I needed a healing potion. I still had one coin left. I opened the shop window. A low-grade potion should cost one coin. People would stare if a potion suddenly appeared in midair, but that didn't matter. I was dying.

Problem. It required two coins. What about the quest? The reward for stopping the terror attack was ten coins. When would that be given?

The quest window appeared as if answering my question. The condition was that no one in the venue dies.

"Ha..."

That included me. If I died, the quest failed. This was insane.

"Ah... ugh..."

A chill spread through my body. I'd been burning up moments ago, but now I was shivering, my skin turning pale. I'd saved Roman. Saved thousands of lives. Even spared Hurtlocker. And now I was the one dying. My consciousness was fading when—

"...I knew this would happen."

A warm touch brushed my fingertips.