Three Days After the Chainsaw's Echo
Three days after the decisive battle between Undead Woo Suho and Jason, Sunflower Town was in complete chaos.
“They say Jason slaughtered the manager along with every spectator and staff member.”
“I barely managed to escape the arena. The sight of Jason swinging that massive saw and butchering people was truly grotesque and terrifying……”
“Getting out of the arena alive still feels like a miracle. Maybe it was the blessing of Saintess Lutea from the Holy Light Church. From now on, I’ll offer even more donations and prayers to prove my devotion……”
Jason had tried to kill everyone in the arena. Countless mages had hurled spells at him, yet their refined magic proved utterly useless against the slasher. A monster that defied common sense. The mages were slaughtered like sacrificial lambs. Even the manager they had been protecting lost his head.
Jason’s strength far exceeded what people had assumed about a mere gladiator. And amid the uproar over his massacre, a new figure emerged—the gladiator who had pointed out Jason: the so-called “Undead.”
“That guy said he came to avenge Jason’s mother. Weird fellow. Looked like he wasn’t in his right mind.”
“He used some kind of unknown magic. Bang!! Bang!! There was this enormous sound, and the opposing gladiator just dropped dead.”
“His eyes changed in an instant, he snapped someone’s neck, and let out this bizarre noise. You know how your legs go weak when you hear a wild beast growl? It felt exactly like that.”
While everyone else fled, one figure had calmly walked into the arena. Libertas, Master of the Clocktower, gazed at the rows of corpses with a troubled expression.
“What in the world happened here……”
The Clocktower—the dream workplace of every mage in the Solis Kingdom and the organization with the highest concentration of mages. It was said that any mage hoping to survive in this world had no choice but to join the Clocktower. It was the most authoritative institution regarding magic, handling security, magical security, magical research, artifact development, and the designation of forbidden spells. In short, it was the largest magical organization in the Solis Kingdom, overseeing everything related to magic.
The witch who had risen to its leadership at the young age of twenty-five—the unparalleled genius, Libertas. People were born with something called magic circuits. The number and type of spells one could use were limited by the circuits they possessed. Ordinary people typically had three to five circuits, but Libertas had hundreds. She was the witch closest to true mystery in this world. As long as her mana allowed, the variety of spells she could cast was nearly infinite. She let out a sigh.
Countless corpses lay before her. The bodies were so mutilated they were barely recognizable; “chunks of flesh” would have been a fitting description. She had never imagined so many victims would come from the arena. Libertas bowed her head in mourning for the nameless dead.
“No one else came.”
The so-called “big spenders” of the arena: Libertas, Master of the Clocktower; Gwangho Sarteon; Diane, priest of the Holy Light Church; and Clare, daughter of the Lord of Sayang. They had all stopped attending.
“I, the busiest one, still made the trip…… I suppose it’s not entirely incomprehensible.”
Each had their own reasons for staying away, but they shared one common factor: they had grown tired of Jason’s one-sided matches. A fighter against whom magic had no effect, wielding an unidentified weapon to carve through gladiators—Jason’s bouts had certainly been intriguing at first. Even one of the Sword Saint’s seven disciples, the Sword Tiger, had fought in a similar manner, and magic nullification was not something one saw every day. But as the pattern repeated, the tension drained away. Matches that once had everyone on edge became predictable one-sided slaughters. Naturally, their interest waned.
Then one day, the manager had sent word that a gladiator capable of rivaling Jason had appeared and invited them to an event, asking them to set aside their busy schedules. “The manager is dead, most of the gladiators who fought are dead, and if this was meant to be a surprise…… well, it certainly was.”
Libertas shook her head. She had never been fond of fighting to begin with. She found the arena barbaric and despised a place that treated human lives as expendable. Her reason for becoming a big spender had been purely professional. Gwangho Sarteon was moving under his master’s orders to kill the Sword Tiger. To secure a deal for the armor and greatsword the Sword Tiger used, Libertas had continued visiting the arena she loathed. Only by discussing topics of mutual interest could she hope to earn even a shred of goodwill from the taciturn man. Her gambling on life-and-death matches had never been for entertainment. That was why she had become known as one of the arena’s big spenders.
“This is giving me a headache.”
All the effort she had poured in had collapsed in an instant. The arena lay in ruins thanks to Jason, and countless people had become corpses. On top of this incident, she still had mountains of work to handle……
Strange phenomena were currently occurring throughout the Solis Kingdom.
“A mysterious woman wearing a red cloth mask has been appearing on the capital’s night streets and tearing people’s mouths open! We need to investigate immediately……!”
“Hey, have you heard? There’s a ghost in the main building’s bathroom that whispers and asks you to choose between red or blue toilet paper!”
“You’ll die if you fall asleep with a wind artifact running? What nonsense are you spouting?”
These bizarre occurrences. Even in a world where magic could easily produce miracles, phenomena and entities that magic could not explain had begun to disturb the world. The Clocktower had classified these anomalies as top secret and was diligently investigating them with elite mages at the forefront. Already, dozens of reports had reached the Clocktower. As if that weren’t enough, the Sun King and the nobles were in an uproar, sending lengthy 5,700-character letters demanding that these suspicious phenomena be resolved somehow…… Libertas, who had to give final approval on artifact development, magical research, security maintenance, and countless other duties, could only watch her dark circles deepen.
“Ugh.”
These magical incidents should have fallen under the Clocktower’s jurisdiction. However, in Libertas’s view, this felt like something beyond ordinary magical events.
“Undead.”
Undead—literally, one who does not die. Rumors claimed he possessed a mysterious voice that allowed him to speak in another language while still being understood. “He doesn’t die even when killed. There are absurd stories about resurrection going around, but no human capable of such a feat exists in this world.”
The arena had been the god of virality. They must have exaggerated their promotions to draw attention. Still, the claim that he possessed a mysterious voice did not seem to be false information.
“Reports of people witnessing individuals using mysterious languages have been coming in from across the kingdom.”
Along with the anomalies, sightings of people using mysterious languages were also increasing. The Undead and Jason had vanished from the arena. Or perhaps he was simply hidden among the countless corpses. Identifying the Undead among the mangled bodies was nearly impossible.
“I suppose I’ll have to send someone personally for this matter.”
Libertas decided to dispatch someone to locate the individual operating under the peculiar name “Kwak Dupal.” He was said to be foul-tempered, poorly behaved, and hiding many secrets, yet he too occasionally used a mysterious voice like the Undead. She gathered the corpses with magic, burned them in one place, and quietly disappeared.
▶ Jason (New!)
“Suho, are you okay?”
“Suho, does it hurt?”
“Suho, are you having a hard time?”
Ever since the fight with Jason in the arena, Kang Naram’s concern for me had increased dramatically. She seemed to have been quite shocked by my merciless battle with Jason. She must have been very worried about me. She kept asking if I was all right, even while I was in the bathroom relieving myself. I wanted to cut off communication, but she insisted she was worried and asked me to keep the line open except when sleeping, so I had no choice.
“Suho, are you—”
“That’s enough.”
I was really going to develop a neurosis. Someone save me.
Still, there had been gains.
▶ Jason (New!)
Well then, time to check it out. I touched the newly updated hologram window.