Dark Moon

The water shuriken the female ninja threw never reached Philip's body. A blue barrier was protecting him. The instant the water shuriken touched the barrier, it vanished as if evaporating.

Zzzzt.

Current crackled along the barrier.

I thought he'd imbued the barrier with a lightning attribute… but looking closer, it isn't magic.

I recalled the information Rose had given me beforehand.

The Jupiterain family.

Until five generations ago, the Jupiterains had been a storied noble house in Neo London—one renowned for its psychic powers. The abilities that typically ran in the bloodline were telekinesis, lightning manipulation, and telepathy. But five generations back, the psychic powers passed down through the blood vanished. After that the family gradually declined, and about a hundred years ago they were stripped of their noble title.

There was no precise information about the reason… but it was probably because the blood had thinned.

Managing a bloodline is difficult work. It inevitably dilutes with each generation. Atavism would be worth looking into… yet nowhere was there any information that Philip Jupiterain was a psychic who had awakened through atavism.

Either he was hiding his powers, or he awakened them recently. My money's on the latter. Probably related to this laboratory.

It looked like a mage's laboratory, yet Philip himself was a psychic, not a mage. So what was the purpose of this lab? Curiosity as a mage stirred in me.

"Hey. Since you're here, how about you stop just watching and help out a little?"

Invisible Blade called out to me. She was speaking so casually while continuously dodging the pouring lightning bolts. My eyes went to her swaying, ample breasts. The cyber suit didn't show the shape of her nipples, but the swell of her breasts was unmistakable.

No. This isn't the time for that.

I cast support magic on her.

The same three support spells I had cast on Mons. They should have helped someone who fought with her body. But the three support spells failed to take hold in her flesh and simply vanished.

"Ah? Did you just try to cast support magic on me?"

"…You didn't deliberately reject it?"

"Sorry. My suit's a bit special. It's good at blocking curse-type magic and hexes. On the flip side… it also repels blessings, which is a problem."

So the suit wasn't merely lewd-looking. It seemed to have other functions as well. I suppressed the rising curiosity. She probably wouldn't tell me even if I asked.

"One moment."

She spoke. My gaze turned to her. Gripping the ninjato at her waist in a reverse grip, she drew a long line across the floor. With her other hand she formed hand seals. After the gestures representing each formula finished, a pillar of water surged up from the floor and blocked the pouring lightning.

"One moment is all I need. Just deal with that barrier somehow. I'll handle the rest."

"I'll give it a shot."

I stepped forward. Philip's eyes turned toward me.

"Mage. Don't interfere. Get lost."

"How do you think I got here? I killed your little brother on the way. And you're still telling me to get lost…?"

I couldn't finish the sentence. Philip swung his arm and hurled lightning.

I chanted the prepared spell and launched a spear of lightning. Lightning and the lightning spear collided in midair. I had hoped for at least a cancellation, but the result wasn't cancellation—it was absorption. His lightning swallowed my Lightning Spear, grew larger, and hammered the barrier surrounding my body.

Three barriers vanished in an instant.

"Heh. Lightning affinity, huh? Unlucky bastard. Lightning magic doesn't work on me."

"The unlucky one is your little brother who just died a minute ago."

The face of the man who had been sneering at me went completely stiff.

"…I'll avenge my brother. I'll capture you and slowly break you down, starting from every single cell."

The moment Philip was about to spread both hands toward me, the female ninja appeared behind him and swung her blade. The sword tore through part of the barrier, but her body was immediately flung back by magnetic force. Lightning chased after her as she was repelled. But she had already dodged to the side.

"…You scurry around well for a cockroach."

"Where do you get off calling a pretty thing like me a cockroach? How about fox for the metaphor? Calling a woman a cockroach—what's wrong with you?"

I didn't miss the momentary opening she had created. I pulled a short sword from inside my coat. A 4-Class artifact—an elemental blade. I hurled the elemental blade at Philip.

Philip didn't take the elemental blade seriously. The throwing force was weak, and the barrier protecting him would clearly deflect it.

I imbued the flying elemental blade with my will. The blade's attribute changed to ice. Pale blue cold air flowed from the blade like smoke.

In this world, attributes have affinities. The affinity of lightning is ice.

Crack!

The ice blade sank into the lightning barrier.

"Too bad. Something like this won't smash my barrier."

"It cracked. That's enough."

A mass of ice fell from the air. It looked like it weighed a good five tons. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A cracked psychic barrier wouldn't be able to stop it.

"With just this much…!"

Philip responded by raising the barrier's output. I would have countered with another opposing magic, but Philip was a psychic, not a mage like me.

Zzzzzzzzzzt!

The barrier grew larger, and residual current from it sprayed in all directions. The barrier supported the falling ice mass from below.

So there was a reason for his confidence.

My gaze went to the elemental blade. It was still stuck in the barrier. The momentary opening Invisible Blade had asked for—that had already been more than fulfilled.

Invisible Blade appeared silently behind Philip, inside the barrier.

The cold air from the elemental blade melted into water as it mixed with the barrier's current. That woman emerged from the puddle of water inside the barrier. A kind of spatial transfer magic. Or in this case, ninjutsu?

Philip, concentrating his power on the barrier, didn't notice the invisible blade. Her ninjato moved. The blade cut deep into Philip's back. In a situation where she just needed to finish by slicing through his chest and neck… an explosion erupted from Philip's body.

A wave of lightning swept through the laboratory.

Its power was no joke. The barriers protecting my body shattered in an instant, and the current tried to electrocute my fallen body.

It happened so suddenly I couldn't respond.

…Wait. I don't need to respond.

The current that entered my body immediately calmed and obeyed my will. It stung a little, but that was all. I planted my palm on the floor and pushed myself up.

At the center of the ruined laboratory stood Philip, his body formed of lightning. He had cast off human form. Floating in the air, he worked his mouth. No voice came out. All that could be heard was the crackle of electricity.

"Hey, do you know what that is?"

Invisible Blade, who had appeared beside me at some point, asked. She hadn't come through unscathed either. Part of her fox mask was broken, and her once-clean silver cyber suit had turned black and was torn in places. Blood flowed from the torn spots.

"Is there any answer besides rampage? He can't control his power. Think about the way he uses his power. Simple. Defend with a barrier, attack by shooting lightning."

"You're right. It was simple. Lightning psychics aren't common, but I heard their application ability is incredible…"

"He probably hasn't had the power for long."

Philip fired lightning. A massive lightning bolt swept in all directions as it approached us. There was far too much unnecessary movement. Proof that Philip couldn't perfectly control the energy.

I raised a massive ice pillar in front and blocked the lightning. The lightning continued without pause, eating away at the ice pillar.

The ice is melting. Won't last thirty seconds.

Maintaining that lightning continuously with a human body doesn't make sense. There's some secret. Moving only my eyes, I surveyed the surroundings. The inside of a broken wall was visible. Dark, but something was inside.

The secret's in there.

Having made my judgment, I spoke to Invisible Blade.

"Can you hold out alone? I'm going to smash the source of that guy's power and come back."

"Hmm. Holding out isn't really my style. Why don't you do it? You're holding out fine right now."

"I don't have much mana to spare."

"…Guess I have no choice. I'll hold. Instead, can you cast some support magic? My suit's broken, so your magic should work now."

"That's fine."

"Not bad. I can hold for about three minutes."

Listening to Invisible Blade's words, I activated one more spell.

I sent my illusion to the side. It usually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doesn't work well, but the opponent was in a rampaging state. The direction of the lightning shifted to the illusion. Invisible Blade and I moved at the same time. She toward Philip, I toward the broken wall.

I entered the wall.

I floated a sphere of light in the air to illuminate the dark interior.

Tubes made of reinforced glass were lined up. Naked humans were inside the tubes—young men and women. There were easily two hundred of them.

1-Class and 2-Class mana awakeners.

I focused more on the walls than on them. Whirrr. The machines installed on the walls were spinning as if running wild. Black mana could be felt from these complex machines.

…Magitech using black magic? This was giving Philip his power. Did Philip install this? Or…

Black magic is still magic.

I suppressed the urge to investigate. There was no time for that now.

Zzzzt.

Massive lightning bloomed like a flower in my grip.

I grabbed the machine. Current scattered in all directions and smashed the machine. The machine had decent durability, but the lightning I was putting out was no joke either.

If it were before, I'd have needed more mana… but for some reason, my lightning magic has gotten stronger recently.

Boom! Bang! Kaaang!

The machine exploded. The spinning machine stopped. I looked back. The people in the tubes—whether they were dead or alive I didn't know, but they didn't look like they'd be getting up anytime soon.

"KRAAAAAAAAH!"

Philip's death scream rang out. When I went outside the wall, Philip was dead with his lower and upper body separated. Blood and entrails fouled the floor.

In front of him, the female ninja holding her ninjato was wiping the blood from her blade with her hand.

"He suddenly went back to normal. What was inside the wall?"

"Go look for yourself."

I headed for a door. Not the exit. The door Philip had been standing with his back to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whole time. I opened the door and went inside. Another secret room appeared. It was like an office. Three thick books were on the bookshelf.

Books in a secret room. Unlikely to be novels… ledgers or experiment logs? I'd prefer the latter.

I reached toward the bookshelf.

A hand shot out from behind. That slender hand, moving faster than mine, took all three books.

I glared at Invisible Blade.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm doing my job. I'll deliver these ledgers to my client. I'll report your exploits properly too, so don't worry."

"…Hand just one over to me. There's something I need to check."

"I don't see why you need to check the ledgers."

"That's my line. Your actions right now don't make sense."

She shrugged her shoulders.

Without taking my eyes off her, I walked toward the desk. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I irritably opened the drawer beside the desk. Paper documents were inside. I checked the documents and curled up the corner of my mouth.

"Jackpot. You report those ledgers. I'll report these documents to the client."

The moment the words left my mouth, she snatched the documents from my hand.

"……"

After checking the documents, she said nothing. Of course—the documents were the casino's sales figures. Sales figures from a year ago that Philip had checked and casually stuffed in the desk drawer.

Wooooong.

Three magic circles appeared in midair and aimed at Invisible Blade.

"You took a double commission. The commission content is to bring the ledgers… and the client is probably a councilor opposing our client. Am I right?"