Dark Moon
It was still the dead of night, before the sun had risen.
Standing watch atop the manor, I narrowed my eyes and stared straight ahead. Far in the distance, a cluster of lights was racing toward us at considerable speed.
Telescope
I reinforced my vision with magic and identified the lights closing in so fast.
Bicycles.
More than thirty people were pedaling furiously, bearing down on us at nearly three hundred kilometers an hour. The bikes had clearly been illegally modified.
I tapped my mask and opened a radio channel.
"No. 212! No. 31! Enemy attack!!"
"This is No. 212. Enemy identity and position?!"
"About thirty hostiles. All on illegally modified bicycles. They'll hit the front gate in roughly three minutes. Looks like they're armed with firearms."
"Illegally modified bikes...? Are they wearing masks with angry expressions, by any chance?"
"I'll check."
I focused mana into my eyes. My vision sharpened, and the enemies came into clearer focus.
"No. 212. You're right — every last one of them is wearing an angry-faced mask."
"Angry Cycle, then."
"Angry Cycle?"
"A biker gang that operates around here. I heard online they'd gone underground after losing a turf war... My guess is they took a job from the workers' side. One last score before they leave the city for good."
"Well, you can't exactly stick around after picking a fight with a noble..."
The grounds below the manor had erupted into activity. Looking down, I saw the bodyguards who'd spotted Angry Cycle already forming up for combat.
"No. 212. Even for a biker gang, this is way too loud. Could be a diversion to draw attention. Check the barrier on the baron's room and prepare for anything. Throw some support magic on the bodyguards while you're at it."
"Leave it to me. That's my job."
"No. 31. What about you? Want in on this?"
"I'll follow orders."
No. 31's voice was calm and even. She had a battle-junkie streak, so I'd asked — but a bunch of bikers apparently didn't interest her.
"Stay with No. 212 and protect Baron Ptelgar."
"Understood."
With No. 31's reply, Angry Cycle slammed into the front gate. Guns blazed. Bombs flew. The bodyguards answered with the latest gear Baron Ptelgar had issued them.
Even for a biker gang, they're fighting way too recklessly. No fear of death at all. There's even a hint of madness. Only one explanation for that: drugs.
I opened my Astral.
I could feel the mana around me, and the Mana Road activated. Careful not to use anything 4-Class or higher, I calculated spell formulas while modulating even 3-Class magic for controlled power. Mana raced along the Mana Road, transforming into formulas, becoming magic.
Fire Rain
I activated 3-Class fire magic.
Flames formed in midair and rained down on the ground. Startled enemies fell back. No matter how high combat drugs had jacked up their fighting spirit, nobody wanted to throw their life away like a moth diving into flame.
Still weaker than Fireball, as expected.
But Fire Rain's purpose was area control. I'd bought the bodyguards a moment to catch their breath.
"Appreciate the support. Those lunatics' morale just took a hit thanks to you."
Radio from the head of security, Lakemak.
"Just doing my job."
"These bastards are on combat drugs. They're not easy to handle. Can you keep providing magical support?"
"I already told you. I do what needs doing."
Fire support was a Battle Mage's role. Stepping out front to fight personally was rare — mages themselves were high-value assets.
...Though as long as you're in the military, you're still just high-grade consumables.
I clicked my tongue and cleared my head. We were in the middle of a fight.
"Yaaaaahoooo!"
One of the Angry Cycle bikers howled. It spread like a plague.
"Yaaaaahoo!"
"Yahoo!!!"
"Yahoooooo!!"
The bikers pedaled like madmen. But the wheels weren't moving. They just sat there, building power like coiled springs.
"Yaaaaahoooooo!!"
They screamed. Loud enough to hurt my ears even from the rooftop.
Looking at them, they've decided to become moths to the flame... no — kamikaze bikes.
The moment their wheels scraped the ground and they launched forward, I cast as well.
Stone Wall
Multiple walls erupted from the earth, angled slightly. The charging kamikaze riders couldn't dodge — they rode straight up the walls and launched into the sky. They pedaled frantically in midair. Bicycles don't fly. They plummeted.
From a full ten meters up. Even with combat drugs boosting their physical abilities, that height meant injuries on impact.
Thud! Crack! Thud!
The bikers crashed down uselessly. The bodyguards showed no mercy, finishing them off with gunfire.
About half of them dead. Bodyguard casualties are minimal. This fight's almost over.
I was considering my next move when No. 212 came over the radio.
"No. 211! No. 31 is in combat!"
"In combat? Nobody from outside made it inside the manor! Where the hell did they come from?!"
"I asked Baron Ptelgar — apparently there's a secret passage he never told us about!"
"...Fuck."
The curse slipped out on its own.
We were risking our lives protecting Baron Ptelgar, and the man we were protecting didn't trust us at all.
I swallowed hard and steadied myself. I'd already known Baron Ptelgar didn't trust us, hadn't I?
"What's the enemy's level?"
"Looks like a 3-Class warrior. No. 31 is engaging. Doesn't feel dangerous."
"So No. 31 is winning. Need my help?"
"No. We're fine. Focus on the outside."
"Got it."
I cut the transmission.
This kind of thing happened often. And in these situations, you had to stay cold. You couldn't abandon your own post just because a comrade was in danger. That led to irreversible catastrophe. Right now, I needed to deal with the kamikaze bikes in front of me.
Hummm.
Mana stirred.
I drew a pure white magic circle in the air. Slower to cast than immediate manifestation, but it boosted the spell's power.
Ice Spear
An ice spear shot from the center of the circle. Its tip wasn't aimed at the bikers — it was aimed at the head of security, Lakemak. He'd been watching me warily, and he flipped backward without panicking, dodging the Ice Spear.
The spear embedded in the ground and exploded, cold air whipping in every direction. The icy blue chill froze everything around it. It froze Lakemak's body too, but he shook himself free of the ice shards. He hadn't escaped unscathed. His movements had slowed. The cold had seeped into his body.
"...What the hell is this. Are you betraying us?"
"You're the traitor. I just got a report that enemies entered the manor through a secret passage. You already knew about that passage, didn't you?"
Lakemak was the head of security in name. Baron Ptelgar wouldn't have put just anyone in that position. He'd worked under the baron for years, and he would have known about the secret passage.
"You're calling me a traitor over that alone? Ridiculous."
"So you're saying you're not?"
"No. I am."
Lakemak kicked off the ground. He smashed the skulls of the nearby bodyguards with his fists and charged at me.
I shouted to the panicking guards.
"I'll handle the traitor Lakemak. You stop Angry Cycle."
The bodyguards resumed fire on Angry Cycle. They looked like they'd been trained by soldiers.
I narrowed my eyes at Lakemak.
3-Class warrior at this level. He'd been hiding his strength.
He scrambled up onto the manor roof in an instant, like a monkey had possessed him. The way he used his body was almost awe-inspiring. With my complete lack of athletic talent, I could never do that with pure physical ability alone.
"Resistance Echoes?"
"Why would you think that? Shouldn't you be suspecting Bill Clackson?"
"Living Bomb magic has limits. You can control small animals like rats, but people are a different story. Humans have mana resistance and a sense of self. A black mage can't puppet a human who's been turned into a Living Bomb."
"So what's your point?"
"The critical part is the timing of the detonation. Someone inside the manor has to signal the timing for the plan to succeed perfectly."
"...Well, you're right. It was a perfect plan. If you hadn't gone around needlessly suspecting the prostitutes, that is."
"Did you hire Angry Cycle too?"
"Yes. Bill Clackson doesn't have the money to hire them. The moment the plan fell apart, I brought them in. Here's a proposal — look the other way, won't you?"
"Why?"
"Baron Ptelgar needs to die here. It's for world peace. As long as that bastard lives, countless commoners will keep being exploited and toyed with by him."
"Not my problem. I carry out my mission."
"...This is why I hate military types. You're not human — you're machines."
Lakemak charged. I backstepped, opening distance. At the same time, I activated the magic I'd prepared during our conversation.
Torrent
Water jets erupted from beneath Lakemak's feet. Blade-sharp streams of water sliced into his body. For an ordinary person, a 3-Class water-attribute attack spell like this would have diced them to pieces — but for Lakemak, it only cut skin-deep.
Ice
The water froze.
Including the water soaking his body. He was forced into ice restraints.
"Haaaah!"
He roared and unleashed his aura. Transparent heat haze rose from his body. Bloodshot eyes flashing, he lunged at me.
I used telekinesis to attack him with the shattering ice fragments. Useless. The shards couldn't pierce the aura wrapping his body.
I retreated. Nowhere to plant my feet. My body fell helplessly from the roof.
"This is the end!"
Certain of victory, Lakemak raised his fist and leaped after me.
And both of us stopped dead in midair.
I rolled my eyes toward a manor window. My gaze met No. 212's. She stuck her tongue out slightly, then playfully squeezed her right breast with one hand. Sexual harassment in the middle of this? I was almost speechless.
"W-what magic is this?!"
"Not mine. My comrade's."