The Ambush (2)
Professor Lim Sol's laboratory.
"If I just... do this."
Mana surged from her hands in a cascading rush, and in the same breath the entire laboratory filled with magic circles.
"It's finished."
Thanks to Lee Ho-yeon's help, she had been able to complete it right away. She sat down, freely transmuting the mana that flowed from her fingertips, and a little chuckle slipped from her lips as she looked over the completed documents.
That rush of accomplishment that arrived the moment you finished researching a new spell — the moment you realized your skill had taken another step forward. The joy of being Mage Lim Sol.
This was why she was obsessed with magic.
"Hahh... huh?"
But something was off. She had spent months on this research, and yet the usual ecstasy never came. No — more precisely, it felt good, it did, but...
It was the feeling of wondering how she had ever been satisfied with this level of accomplishment. This wasn't enough. It was far more than not enough. A corner of her chest still sat empty, unfilled.
It had always been enough before. So why was it like this now?
Lim Sol frowned, turning the problem over in her mind. But of course she couldn't find the cause. She had researched magic her entire life. That had been the driving force of her existence.
She took a sip of the instant coffee on her desk, and then it struck her.
"...Was it always this bland?"
It was fine. She always kept chocolate cookies stocked. She took a bite.
"..."
Lim Sol understood. The clean, refreshing relief that used to unknot her chest with every sip of coffee. The sweet energy that used to bloom on her tongue with every bite of cookie. Both were gone.
"...Tch."
She clicked her tongue. At least this one, she knew the reason for immediately.
Lee Ho-yeon.
Because his semen had tasted so good. Sweeter than instant coffee. Sweeter than chocolate cookies. Sweeter, even, than magic research.
A snort of laughter escaped her.
To think that the instant she finished her magic research, she would start craving the taste of a man's semen. I've changed a lot, haven't I.
No. Maybe it wasn't the semen. It was because it was Lee Ho-yeon. Because researching magic with him had been fun. Whether they were debating theory, or he was giving her his semen as a so-called "reward" — it had been enjoyable. A joy different from magic research. A joy she had never felt before in her life.
"...He's a good student."
Giving this kind of happiness to his teacher, too. Hehe.
Now that she had identified the cause of her restless heart, that was enough. Lim Sol dropped two more sugar cubes into her instant coffee and stirred. This should make it a little sweeter.
Then her thoughts turned to the Magic Exposition next week.
"...I wonder if it'll be fun?"
Honestly, she wasn't that interested. She was only going because her student had asked her to — like giving a pat on the head to a student who'd scored perfectly on an exam. After all, Lim Sol and Lee Ho-yeon. There was no magic in the world of a higher caliber than theirs.
But... if she enjoyed it together with her student — no, if she was simply together with him... she thought she might actually look forward to the Magic Exposition.
"Ah, wait a second. I just had an epiphany."
"That's enough. Let me bear your child!"
Rebecca had been clinging to me ever since we left the training ground. I wanted to extract more from her and then have sex... I wanted to pull more possibilities out of the Rune Barrier.
I was still hungry.
"Good genes. Handsome face. The perfect baby daddy. Our kids would be blessed. To think I'd actually meet someone like this!"
Rebecca shoved her face toward mine, flushed with excitement.
"We haven't even made them yet..."
"If I have twins first, they'll be able to play catch, right? In my old age, I want to watch my kids play soccer with each other. Inside the Rune Barrier, of course."
"..."
So she was already thinking about grandchildren before we'd even held hands? Seeing it in person was actually terrifying.
My smartwatch erupted in a frantic, continuous vibration.
"Huh?"
This alert was from the magic circle I'd installed in the dorm. The original magic stone had been garbage, so I'd swapped it out for a proper one.
It's never gone off before...
And this circle didn't trigger for petty thieves. It activated when unregistered mana of S-class or higher was detected.
"...I have to go. Now."
I moved immediately. There was no time to linger here.
"What's that? A phone call?"
"Excuse me a moment, Rebecca. Something serious seems to have happened at my place. I need to go check."
"You're just trying to run away."
Rebecca caught my arm, her expression faintly sulky. A face that said, I even taught you magic and you're leaving?
"No, this is genuinely important. This is a defensive magic circle. One that only triggers for S-class and above."
"...Is it that bad?"
"Yes. I need to get there immediately."
"Hmm... then I'm coming with you."
"Uh..."
Not a bad idea, actually. Liliana and Nam Da-eun wouldn't care even if another woman showed up. And if the enemy was too strong, it'd be easier to handle...
Shit. This wasn't the time to be thinking about that.
"Alright. Let's go — as fast as we can."
"Okay. We'll be there in a flash."
"This the place?"
Victoria Academy's men's dormitory. A Fiend wearing a skull mask melted into the shadow of a tree.
His current target, Lee Ho-yeon, was out. He wanted to wrap this up quickly and go hold a woman, but he had no choice. He'd already taken the payment. This job had to be completed properly.
Waiting here until Ho-yeon arrived, then ambushing him at home — that was the safest, quietest way to handle it.
This is boring as hell. Tch.
But the instant the thought of boredom crossed his mind, he sensed something off.
A delivery had arrived at the target's door. Since Lee Ho-yeon currently lived alone in the men's dorm, a package showing up was perfectly plausible. The problem was that the door of the supposedly empty dormitory cracked open.
The target lives alone, doesn't he?
The skull-masked man frowned and concentrated mana into his hearing. Young women's voices drifted through the gap in the door.
"Oh, it's finally here. I ordered this, you know? It's so good—"
"Liliana. Ho-yeon told us not to open the door until he gets back—"
"It's fine, it's fine. I've already done it a few times—"
Who the hell?
The skull-masked man focused even harder on the door. A moment later, a woman poked her head out, carefully scanned the surroundings to confirm no one was there, and pulled the package inside.
Someone he hadn't been briefed on. The correct move would be to abort the mission immediately and gather information again... but even from that brief glimpse, the woman's appearance had awakened the Fiend's instincts.
"...Brat's still wet behind the ears and he's already shacking up with women?"
Son of a bitch. Meanwhile I have to wait hours in the blazing sun.
Wait a second.
Since they were already inside, those women were also targets he needed to kill. To assassinate Lee Ho-yeon, he had to deal with them too. So wouldn't it be better to take care of them in advance? They could interfere with the assassination. Interference should be minimized.
And most importantly—
...If they're going to die soon anyway, I might as well have a taste first.
He could satisfy his desires. Having finished his deliberation, the skull-masked man rode the shadows into the dormitory.
Meanwhile, Liliana hummed a little tune as she tore open the package. Inside the box were snacks and frozen foods, and they definitely looked delicious.
"This is gonna be good, right? Huh? I'm right, aren't I."
"Yes, it does look good. Still, Liliana...?"
Nam Da-eun, who had been playing along with Liliana's excitement, suddenly felt something wrong. Lately, through repeated training, she had felt her level rising. As a natural result, the space she dominated had expanded. And from the direction of the window, she felt an unfamiliar hostility.
"..."
"Unnie, unnie. Look at this, look."
"Daehee."
Nam Da-eun smiled as she spoke to Nam Daehee, who was approaching with a bag of potato chips in her hands.
"Huh?"
"Want to wash up before we eat?"
"All of a sudden?"
"Yeah. We should eat clean. Unnie will get things ready, so you go wash first."
"Hmm, okay!"
"Wash thoroughly, okay?"
"Okay, okay!"
After Nam Daehee disappeared into the bathroom, Nam Da-eun picked up the sword that had been sitting in the living room. The sword Lee Ho-yeon had prepared for her when he was discharged from the hospital.
"...Liliana. You didn't happen to have plans to meet anyone, did you?"
Liliana, who had been delighted over the snacks, had already changed her expression. She scratched her head as if annoyed and raised her mana.
"The owner of this house has a lot of enemies, you know. If you're gonna live here, you gotta understand that."
"If it's Ho-yeon, I can live with that much."
"Right? Someone at Lee Ho-yeon's level needs a lot of enemies for the balance to work out."
The two women smiled faintly, then turned their eyes toward the window.
"It can't be helped. Butterflies gather around flowers."
"Tch. I wanted to eat my snacks, though."
The instant Liliana clicked her tongue and set down the delivery box, mana flooded into the dormitory.
The windows exploded under a waterfall of tremendous mana, and shards of glass rained down on Liliana and Nam Da-eun.
"No!"
"It's fine."
Nam Da-eun swept the incoming glass shards aside with a light horizontal cut.
"If that breaks, it's gonna be cold!"
"Won't Ho-yeon just make a new one?"
Footsteps crunched over the debris. A man wearing a skull mask walked in through the shattered window.
"...Who are you?"
"Sorry, ladies. Someone wants your boyfriend dead."
The skull-masked man made no effort to hide his excitement as he drank in Liliana and Nam Da-eun's faces.
"Ah, I've put up a barrier, so even if you scream, nobody's coming~."
"I knew it. Lee Ho-yeon's the problem. Who'd he piss off this time."
"That's why you should've picked the right side, miss. Wanna come over to me even now? I'll spare whoever's good at sucking dick."
"...Filthy mana. You're a Fiend."
"Heh. If you've figured it out, oh well."
The skull-masked man was at ease. The fact that they'd identified him as a Fiend, the fact that they'd blocked his opening attack — they seemed to have some skill, but it still wouldn't reach him. Not an S-class Fiend. The expressionless woman's mana was weak, and the woman beside her with the swaying tail had almost none at all.
"Hsss. Pretty. Heh. I wonder if your moans will be just as pretty? Hmm? I hope you'll last a long time. It's been a while since I've had premium goods like you."
"Hmm..."
Nam Da-eun watched the skull-masked man in silence, searching for an opening.
"Hmm? What's wrong. Don't like me? Then you'll have to die."
"My body isn't mine anymore..."
Nam Da-eun swung her sword through empty air.
"What do you mean... huh?"
At the same instant, the skull-masked man heard the wet slap of something hitting the floor like a lump of clay. He followed the sound downward — and found his torn-off shoulder, and his left arm lying apart from his body.
"...Huh?"
A slash that leaps through space itself — bypassing all physical defense.
Nam Da-eun's Authority
"Ghhhkkk?!"
The moment he registered that his arm was gone, the pain crashed in. The skull-masked man clutched the gushing stump of his shoulder with his remaining hand.
"Wow, you're actually strong."
Liliana gave two bright, completely inappropriate claps, praising Nam Da-eun.
"I'd like your support, Liliana. Please keep the damage from going outside the room."
"Okay."
She could do at least that much. She didn't want anyone finding out she was here yet, either.
"Y-you fucking bitches... kh?!"
Liliana's black mana coiled around the skull-masked man's feet.
"Who're you calling a fucking bitch, you ugly bastard. The only one allowed to do dirty talk is Lee Ho-yeon, got it?"
Due to Hell's Contract, Liliana's mana was maintained at a level slightly below Lee Ho-yeon's. Conversely, that meant as Ho-yeon grew stronger, the mana Liliana could use also increased. That was why she grew stronger as Ho-yeon's level rose.
"Wait, why am I this strong?"
Liliana felt a rush of pleasure watching a seemingly powerful opponent flustered by a spell she'd thrown out just to vent.
"What the hell... you whores..."
The skull-masked man looked around in bewilderment. He, an S-class Fiend, was being pushed back by just two women.
"Being called a whore... hearing it like this, it's not so bad."
"In our industry, 'whore' is a compliment~."
Nam Da-eun's blade whispered as she raised it.
"I'll finish this quickly, Liliana."
A low hum filled the air. Her sword, saturated with mana, prepared to cleave through space.
"I have to finish before Daehee comes out."