Let You Down (10)
I monitored the enemies' approach through the drones and detonated the explosives from a distance. The gunpowder, combined with my spell formulas, dealt significant damage to them.
Their numbers were reduced by about forty percent. It wasn't quite as much as I had hoped. I had expected at least fifty, maybe even sixty percent.
No matter.
I infused the remaining steel plates with my spellcraft. *Creak. Creak.* The steel folded once more. This time, I manufactured over a dozen mass-produced drones and packed them with explosives.
As long as I didn't link the drones to my Sequence, there would be no load on my nervous system, allowing me to operate dozens of them simultaneously. This meant I could utilize the drones themselves like guided missiles.
In addition, I laid the groundwork for sniping.
Limping along, dragging my bad leg, I carved defensive spell formulas into the rocky mountain to ensure my safety. I poured my mana into each and every stroke with meticulous care.
"...This is going to kill me."
A sharp, twisting pain throbbed in my temples, but I brushed it off with a quiet grumble.
Every preparation was complete.
Now, all that was left was to wait for him to arrive.
"Phew..."
I sat down on the chair I had brought along. As I brewed a cup of black tea, I looked up at the night sky.
The sky was thick with stars. Battlefields always seemed to be that way. Whether on the desolate sands of a desert or beneath the cliffs of a crashing sea, it always felt as though the stars in the heavens were watching over us.
With a battle looming, many memories drifted to the surface of my mind, but I chose to bury them.
A battlefield where men kill and are killed can never truly become a fond memory.
Kang Hyun reached his first destination. He gazed at the mining site from a close distance. There were unmanned combat helicopters, turrets, searchlights, and roughly a hundred rangers keeping a vigilant watch over the perimeter.
It was Shindra's radio transmission. Kang Hyun checked his allies' positions on his GPS. Although their numbers had been cut nearly in half since they set out, several hundred men still surrounded the stronghold.
Their overall combat power was still superior.
"Hyun. Over there," Kim Dong-ha said, gesturing with his chin.
Nestled in the brush was a giant of a man, easily over two meters tall, whose entire body below the neck had been replaced with machinery.
"Doesn't he look reliable?"
"...I suppose."
Kim Dong-ha seemed to view him as some sort of RoboCop. Sensing Kim Dong-ha's admiration, the cyborg let out a smirk. He appeared to take immense pride in his half-machine body.
There was no reason to waste time.
"Let's go."
Shindra's forces advanced toward the mining site. Since this was never meant to be a stealth operation, they were detected almost instantly, and the clash quickly devolved into urban warfare.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Rangers stationed on the rooftops unleashed a barrage of machine-gun fire.
*Whoosh!* Kang Hyun whipped up a gust of sword wind, deflecting the incoming bullets. Meanwhile, Kim Dong-ha channeled mana into the shield on his left arm.
"Hup!"
Deflecting the bullets, he hurled the warhammer in his right hand like a shot put. The heavy blunt weapon hurtled forward with crushing force, smashing into the rooftop where the rangers were positioned and half-demolishing the building.
It was a display of strength worthy of an A-Tier.
*Crackle.*
In an instant, static electricity surged through the air.
It was the spark that preceded a concentrated strike of mana.
Kang Hyun immediately lunged to the side, while Kim Dong-ha slid behind a wall.
*Screeech!*
It was Kate's spear. A deadly weapon forged entirely of pure mana hurtled through the air.
"Agh...!"
The spear pierced straight through the core of the two-meter-tall cyborg.
"Gurgle... cough..."
He clutched the spear, convulsing violently before his body went completely limp.
It wasn't a bad thing. If anything, it was a valuable sacrifice.
Thanks to him, Kate's position had been revealed.
The moment Kang Hyun calculated the trajectory of the thrown spear and prepared to dash in her direction—
*Whoosh.*
An ominous sound sliced through the wind. His instincts screamed in alarm. A chilling shiver ran down his spine.
Kang Hyun, using the sheer strength of his toes, twisted his planted foot and threw his body to the side.
*Crack—*
A blue magic bullet pierced the ground. Had he not changed his trajectory, it would have struck him dead in the heart. It was easy to guess who the attacker was.
Seol Ha-woon. The moment Kate threw her spear, he had anticipated Kang Hyun's reaction and pulled the trigger.
*Screeech—*
Next came a metallic screech. Steel tore through the air as it plunged downward. Kang Hyun looked up, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.
An airstrike.
Unidentified flying objects were plummeting from the heavens.
*Boom!*
The drones detonated in midair.
It was a spellcraft designed to effectively shatter their formation without damaging the underground mining site.
*Crash! Boom! Bang!*
Upon detonation, the steel shattered into flying shrapnel, and blue flames erupted, consuming the limbs of the cyborgs. Amidst the acrid smoke, bullets and spears flew from the enemy lines.
Kang Hyun had to make a choice.
Just now, Kate's spear and Seol Ha-woon's sniper shot had come from completely different trajectories.
This meant Seol Ha-woon was not with the main force.
Kate, however, was.
Kang Hyun looked up toward a specific spot.
Standing at the peak of the rocky mountain, leaning on a cane, was the spellcaster. His long hair fluttered in the dark wind. It was Seol Ha-woon.
Taking a deep breath...
Kang Hyun braced himself to leap toward him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
From my years of experience, if I had to name the single most terrifying thing on a battlefield, it would be a bombardment. Whether it's a muscle-bound warrior boasting of his strength or a martial artist who has mastered protective Qi, everyone dies equally when struck directly by a hypersonic missile. Their mana and their bodies simply burst apart at the same time.
Of course, my current abilities weren't anywhere near capable of manifesting a missile of that scale.
But I could mimic it.
A self-destruct Sequence utilizing over a dozen drones. To enemies who had completely lost control of the airspace, it was a literal disaster.
*Snap.*
I snapped my fingers. The drones hovering in the darkness of the night sky froze in place. Their razor-sharp steel blades gleamed, looking down upon the enemies below.
And then.
*Screeech—*
They plummeted at near-supersonic speeds, bombarding the target. Explosions of mana incinerated the air.
*Boom! Crash! Bang!*
The simultaneous airstrikes threw the enemies into utter chaos, and Kate did not miss the opportunity.
Her thrown spears pierced through the heavily disrupted enemy ranks. Kim Du-gyeom's sword knocked the enemies unconscious.
For the record, Kim Du-gyeom was using a reverse-blade sword. I don't know what kind of manga he'd been reading, but he claimed he wouldn't kill even a single Labyrinthin.
Honestly, he was a dumbass with a dumbass concept.
"..."
I looked down at the battlefield alone. Suddenly, I felt a gaze on me.
Down below, someone was staring directly at me.
The distance was immense.
Absurdly far, yet we were undoubtedly locking eyes.
Kang Hyun.
He crouched low, taking a sprinter's stance. Mana billowed from his entire body like steam.
Dangerous.
I aimed my sniper rifle at him and immediately pulled the trigger. The entire sequence of actions flowed as naturally as water.
*Bang!*
A bullet packed with the maximum amount of mana was discharged. At that exact moment, Kang Hyun launched himself forward.
His speed was that of a bullet.
A mere human was running like a bullet. Enveloped in a blue barrier, he flew toward me like a flash of light, like a falling meteor.
*Whoosh...*
Kang Hyun brushed past my bullet, crossing paths with it.
I had expected as much. When dealing with an excessively fast opponent, large-caliber rounds were highly likely to miss, so I had added an extra option.
*Boom!*
The bullet detonated right next to Kang Hyun's flank. He faltered for a fraction of a second, but that was all. His speed didn't drop in the slightest.
In the blink of an eye.
He was right in front of my nose.
The broadsword gripped in both of his hands lunged toward me. *Screeech.* The blade, spinning in reverse as it swept down, was vividly imprinted on my retinas.
I looked at Kang Hyun past the edge of his blade.
There was still one last thing.
Because I knew you would make it this far. Because I trusted you.
*Stop.*
The sword sweeping in from a diagonal path ground to a halt right at my waist. The wind pressure riding the tip of the blade shattered my ribs. A mouthful of blood spilled from my lips.
A distance where our noses could touch.
A single step. A distance where our noses could touch.
Standing with only that tiny gap between us, Kang Hyun stared at me. I met his gaze with an indifferent expression. His eyes were thick with suspicion and wariness.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
"...You actually managed to stop."
People don't realize that deceleration is a far more important force than acceleration.
How fast you can go doesn't matter. The key is whether you can control that speed.
In that regard, Kang Hyun had maintained his sanity perfectly. He hadn't ignored the warning of his instincts, and he had forced his sword to a halt.
I suddenly grew curious.
If Kang Hyun had sliced through my waist just now, my body would have undoubtedly been cut in two.
Would I have died right then and there, or would the Labyrinth Exploration NaN system have reacted in that split second near zero, triggering a Forced Recall to save my life?
"You linked a spell formula," Kang Hyun said.
"Yeah. I set up a Flame of Cognition. It will trigger the moment I take critical damage."
The spell formula layered across this entire rocky mountain was connected to my Sequence. The moment my nervous system detected pain exceeding its limits—a danger close to death—the mountain would detonate.
"The power of a spell that uses the caster's life as collateral is quite immense."
Spellcraft roughly follows the principle of equivalent exchange. In the end, it was the power of the Flame of Cognition.
A human's emotions grow stronger when they are sad rather than happy, and even stronger when they are in pain. The same applied to a spellcaster. Thus, a spell that held my own body hostage was more than capable of swallowing Kang Hyun whole.
"It's already too late. The moment you chose to target me, it was over."
The enemy's main force was already half-annihilated. Such was Kate's capability.
Kang Hyun's only path to victory was to cut me down in a single blow, rush back without wasting a single second, and subdue Kate as well.
That must have been his plan from the start. However, to achieve that, he couldn't afford to let me drag things out for even a single minute.
"..."
Kang Hyun quietly stared at me. His eyes were clear. There wasn't a single speck of dust on his skin.
In contrast, my reflection in his eyes was rather pathetic. Blood pooled in my mouth, and I was covered in dirt and dust.
*Sheathe.*
Kang Hyun sheathed his sword. Then, without a word, he turned around.
*Crunch, crunch.* His footsteps as he descended the rocky mountain were slow.
Was he refusing to engage in a fight he couldn't win?
It was a cold decision, yet strangely, it didn't feel purely calculated.
"...Ah. This hurts like hell."
Once Kang Hyun had completely vanished from sight, I clutched my side. Judging by the intensity of the pain, it felt like three or four of my ribs were broken.
To be reduced to this state by mere wind pressure from a sword... Just how fragile had this body of mine become?
"Ah..."
I quietly looked up at the sky.
In one star, a memory,
In another star, love,
In another star, solitude...
I counted the stars, then picked myself up.
"Now..."
I have to go back.
I have to go back, but...
"...Tsk."
I thought about the man named Seer.
If I returned like this, the mission would be complete, and I would earn my WP.
Yet, I found it hard to trust him. An uneasy feeling, like an occupational hazard, and a persistent suspicion kept gnawing at the back of my mind.
...Nothing for it, then.
I pulled out my military dagger and sliced into the skin of my forearm. *Drip, drip, drip.* Blood began to flow.
Once a decent amount had pooled on the ground, I activated my Blood Magic. The blood bubbled and boiled, deepening into a dark puddle.
It was my alibi.
I had been defeated by Kang Hyun, and Kang Hyun had escaped.
It was essentially playing dead... but well.
It should be convincing enough.
After stanching the bleeding of my wound, I limped my way down the rocky mountain.