Chapter 21: Management Bureau-Architect 『Lord of Infinite Castles』
Chapter 21: Management Bureau-Architect 『Lord of Infinite Castles』
An explosion roared from beneath my feet, and I lunged forward, kicking off the ground. The last thing I saw was a square crack forming in the hallway.
Boom!
A massive sound erupted from behind. I realized the hallway had buckled upward, but the sounds of impact didn't stop there.
The ceiling slammed into the floor.
Stone pillars erupting from the walls pulverized the structure.
It was a continuous, primal display of concrete violence.
Is he trying to kill me?
That geezer didn't even seem interested in capturing me anymore. He had started using the building itself as a blatant weapon.
"Surrender now, and I might leave your bones intact."
The calm voice, like a grandfather telling a story to his grandson, was gone. In its place was a voice dripping with immense bloodlust.
Naturally, I had no intention of surrendering. I threw myself forward, but—
Creeeak. Screeech. Grrrind.
Accompanied by an ominous screeching in my ears, concrete walls surged up from all directions.
This is bad.
It seemed the Lord of Infinite Castles was beginning to take total control of the building.
As I performed a series of acrobatic maneuvers to narrowly dodge the shifting concrete, I spotted cracks in the surface. They weren't the result of poor construction; they were clean, intentional fissures.
"Tsk."
Clicking my tongue, I twisted my body toward a spot I predicted would be safe. I knew exactly what kind of attack was coming.
Black rods erupted from the cracks. They probably didn't look like that originally, but their ends had been sheared off to turn them into spears.
Rebar spears flew toward me.
I kicked off a wall that had just formed behind me and used the Pry Bar in my right hand to parry the dangerous steel.
One. Two. Three.
The rebar kept coming in an endless stream. I swung my arm to deal with them all, but even so, I couldn't deflect every single one.
The rebar grazed my body, tearing my clothes and leaving shallow cuts. If these were ordinary rebar, they wouldn't even be able to scratch me no matter how they surged, but these had been reinforced by the Lord of Infinite Castles as he took control of the building.
Compared to the speed at which the walls were generated, the attacks were quite slow, but he made up for it with an overwhelming abundance of material.
A war of attrition using a building as a weapon.
That damn geezer. He doesn't care what kind of damage he causes as long as he catches me, does he?
"Tsk."
How many times had I clicked my tongue today? I wanted to open my mouth and hurl a few insults, but a man like that geezer might be able to deduce the Black Marauder’s identity through my speech patterns and vocabulary.
I suppressed the urge to speak with another click of my tongue and sprinted down the narrowing corridor.
Should I change tactics now, knock the Old Man out, and make a run for it?
The Lord of Infinite Castles' power is specialized in rear support and Space Control. If I targeted his Main Body, there were plenty of ways to knock him out. It would be a simple matter of pulverizing the building he used as a weapon and burying my Pry Bar in his head.
The Lord of Infinite Castles knew his physical body was vulnerable, so he would use every means at his disposal to stop me from attacking him directly. However, given the nature of his ability—which required the building to manifest—I would eventually emerge victorious.
The problem was that the Management Bureau building would have to collapse in the process. No matter how reckless I might be, I didn't want to go that far.
Regardless of my consideration, the Lord of Infinite Castles continued to attack me, gleefully consuming the Bureau’s infrastructure.
He probably thought he could just restore it later, but it was clear the geezer wasn't doing any actual cost-benefit analysis right now.
"Where do you think you're going! You damn brat! Just stay still and let yourself be crushed!"
Has he caught up already?
There was no way he could have gotten here this fast. Had he been spinning his wheelchair wheels like a madman?
With that thought, I turned my head toward the source of the voice.
An endless number of humanoid stone figures were charging toward me, making the ground tremble.
A stampede of concrete golems, modeled after the Lord of Infinite Castles in his youth.
Is this geezer actually insane? If I leave him be, he's going to ruin the Management Bureau himself, not me.
As if to confirm my suspicion, golems continued to rise from the walls.
Every concrete wall turned into a golem, and the rebar that had served as the building's skeleton turned into spears and took to the air.
As this process repeated, the surrounding area lost its identity as a building. Only the floors and steel frames remained, looking like a desolate construction site.
"You damn black-haired beast who doesn't know the first thing about respecting your elders!"
The culprit behind this catastrophe began to hurl curses at me through the mouths of the golems.
He was clearly beyond just being angry; he was intent on turning me into a bloody pulp.
The thought of capturing me alive had undoubtedly vanished from the Lord of Infinite Castles' mind. All that remained was the urge to crush me in accordance with his fiery temper.
I had briefly considered how to knock him out, but I erased those thoughts. If I fought someone that heated, the Management Bureau would surely be leveled.
It wouldn't be destroyed because of me; the Lord of Infinite Castles would ruin the entire Bureau by using it all as raw material.
I should just run.
If I could just get out of this space somehow, even he would have to give up.
Changing my strategy, I sprinted down the hallway, dodging the endless rebar spears and smashing the rising concrete golems with my Pry Bar. I wondered how long I had been running.
"Just like a clone of that Hammer brat, even the clone has a rotten personality!"
It wasn't the dull voice of a Concrete Golem; the geezer's actual voice rang in my ears.
I turned toward the sound and saw the Lord of Infinite Castles rolling his wheelchair with his left hand while swinging a staff with his right.
What is that geezer thinking? Why did he come to the middle of the battlefield with that old body? What is he trying to achieve?
"Good! Dance more! I'm ending this today!"
It seemed he just wanted to fight. I thought his old temper had cooled, but it turns out he just hadn't had the chance to vent his emotions like I had.
The jagged grin on the Old Man's face was proof of that.
In the heat of battle, an Architect was revealing his true self.
Instead of the old Awakened comrades he once ran with, concrete golems became the Architect's companions on the battlefield. Instead of the short club made from monster bone that used to be his weapon, a wooden staff had become his tool.
We were in similar positions.
Fading Heroes of the past. Two Heroes who couldn't retire and leave the fight behind.
Old Heroes who couldn't integrate into society, unable to retire whether by choice or by force.
When such a Hero meets an opponent of equal caliber, their emotions catch fire even in an era of peace.
As that thought crossed my mind, I felt even less like fighting.
If the two of us fought in earnest, it would inevitably end with someone getting hurt. Even if we tried to control our power, at his age, you never knew what might go wrong.
That just didn't feel right. Burying a comrade with my own hands wasn't my style—even though it was something I'd already done more than enough.
Contrary to my feelings, the heat of battle only intensified. Even if I had no desire to fight, my opponent had no intention of stopping.
"Are you just going to keep running? Then take this too!"
As the Lord of Infinite Castles shouted, the ground shook violently. It was a tremor massive enough to be mistaken for an earthquake.
Then, a colossal figure emerged from behind him.
A concrete giant. The Lord of Infinite Castles' masterpiece.
That thing is hard to handle even if I give it my all. What should I do? Should I go back to the original plan and knock him out?
While I was thinking—
Tack.
I felt something touch my Pry Bar. It looked like nothing was there, but it felt as if something existed.
Found it.
"Everyone, get lost."
I finally opened my mouth, which had been itching to speak, and swung the Pry Bar in a wide arc.
The large motion swept away the surrounding golems, but it also created a massive opening.
Thud. Thud. Bang. Bang.
Rebar spears pierced my flesh, and the fists of concrete golems slammed into my body.
It was an opening created because I wasn't used to the Pry Bar. If it had been my hammer, which I could manipulate freely, I never would have left such a gap.
"What?"
Seeing this, the Lord of Infinite Castles let out a confused cry, sensing something was off.
I had bought time at the cost of a few minor wounds.
I pulled the Pry Bar back far behind my body and channeled all my mana into my right arm.
I didn't have time to strike at space multiple times... I had to end this in one go.
Thump. My heart thundered from within.
Voom. A shockwave rippled outward.
Mana reinforced my physical form, and all my strength began to gather in the Pry Bar.
The golems nearby were swept away by the shockwave and reverted to concrete fragments, while the incoming rebar lost its momentum and clattered to the floor.
"Block him!"
Perhaps realizing what I was about to do, he shouted in a panicked voice.
The concrete giant swung its fist following the Lord's command, but—
My Pry Bar reached the boundary of space first.
There was no sound.
There was no sensation of impact.
And yet, the Pry Bar, imbued with immense power, pierced through space.
The Pry Bar punctured the void, and I twisted it like I was picking a lock.
A small crack appeared. A tiny, minuscule gap that seemed impossible to have been created by such massive force.
However, the phenomenon triggered by that gap was anything but small.
The restoration of the world began.
Like a dam bursting from a small leak, power surged in from the world on the other side. The Pseudo-Otherworld under the Lord's control was absorbed by the original world and vanished instantly.
As I returned to the original world, a bright flash blinded my eyes.
A brilliant light was erupting from the Management Bureau building.
Well, that was fun.
It bothered me a bit that I couldn't catch Kim Tae-jun, but this was a pretty good stress reliever, so I guess I'll be satisfied.
Having made up my mind, I leaped toward the nearest building and glanced back for a moment. I saw the Lord of Infinite Castles' face.
He looked dazed, like someone who had been hit with cold water in the middle of intense exercise.
A vague expression, as if the heat hadn't fully dissipated, lingered on his face, but in time, he would regain his reason and cool down.
Since things had turned into such a mess, he probably wouldn't go on a rampage trying to catch the Black Marauder. He'd likely have to spend the next few months focusing on restoring the Bureau building...
"...Where do you think you're running off to after doing this, you damn brat?"
A flat voice, laced with fury, drifted into my ears. An ominous premonition washed over me.
As if to fulfill that premonition, the concrete giant behind the Lord of Infinite Castles grabbed another Management Bureau building.
Wait. No way. That crazy geezer.
Crunch.
With a sound like breaking crackers, the building was torn away. The structure held in the giant's hand transformed into a massive concrete sphere under the Lord's control.
"Raaaaagh!"
Along with the giant's roar, the massive concrete ball was hurled toward me.
You crazy geezer! This is a civilian area! If I could have spoken, I would have screamed those curses at him.
I gathered strength in my right hand holding the Pry Bar.
The shockwave from gathering my power caused cracks to form in the surrounding buildings, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to that concrete ball falling.
A ball large enough to blot out the sun flew through the sky.
A simple attack wouldn't be enough to prevent collateral damage. It needed to be evaporated, or destroyed so thoroughly that not even a fragment remained.
Wishing for such an outcome, I swung my Pry Bar toward the concrete.
* * *
"That was the worst night ever."
Because the concrete ball had exploded in mid-air, I had to keep jumping around to clean up the fragments.
Caring about preventing damage to the surroundings isn't really my thing.
To think the end of a battle that had my blood pumping would turn into such a chore.
I returned home and dusted off my body, which was a mess of stone dust, but I couldn't sleep after such a chaotic fight.
After a night of tossing and turning.
"Hwaaaa-am."
I let out a weary yawn and walked into the living room, scratching my stomach.
"Master. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah."
After responding to Baek Si-hyun, who was lying on the sofa watching TV, I walked past the living room toward the kitchen.
I pulled a beer out of a refrigerator that was far too large for a house of three and threw myself onto the living room sofa.
"What are you doing watching TV so early in the morning?"
"And you, Master, are you okay drinking alcohol first thing in the morning?"
"I don't get drunk anyway."
To me, it's just bitter water. Even I know that's a ridiculous excuse.
Feeling the sting of the cold beer as it went down my throat, I turned my head toward the TV. I saw the battered Management Bureau building on the screen.
—It has been reported that the Black Marauder infiltrated the Management Bureau...
—Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the property damage sustained by the Bureau is...
...
That is absolutely not my fault.
That geezer lost his mind and smashed it with his own hands.
I tried to end it peacefully.
"What do you think the Black Marauder was thinking? Infiltrating the Management Bureau like that."
"How should I know?"
"He's your clone Mutant, Master. Wouldn't you know?"
Even if there's a Mutant with the same thought process as me, I don't think there's any reason to raid the Management Bureau.
"If I had to guess, he probably just didn't like the Management Bureau."
"For example, what part of it?"
Why is she asking me?
Does this Baek Si-hyun think I know everything?
"...Maybe he didn't like the photo that came out during the press conference?"
It was a half-hearted excuse, but it was a decent story.
Not liking a photo that made him look like a wicked villain. If I were the person in question, I would definitely have been angry.
"Do Mutants care about things like that?"
"There was once a Mutant who got caught because he brought his own photo to the Bureau, complaining that his wanted poster didn't look cool enough."
I caught him myself while I was hanging out at the Bureau’s convenience store on a day off, so it really happened.
"Mutants care about that?"
"Mutants have personalities and thoughts too. Maybe not the ones who just crossed over from the Otherworld, but the ones who've been here a long time adapt to human society."
Not that it stops them from being destructive or villainous.
Even those idiots in the Purification Volunteer Corps beyond the Great Barrier are just a bunch of A-Rank Mutants acting like thugs.
"That's surprising. I was taught that Otherworldly beings only engage in invasion activities."
"Most of them are eliminated as soon as they appear, and only a tiny fraction of those who aren't eliminated adapt to society."
Even so, if you actually count them, there's quite a population, but there's no need to tell her that.
"Good morning..."
Over the excited voice of the news anchor, Han A-bin’s drowsy voice drifted into the living room.
She looked bleary-eyed, clearly not a morning person. Despite her short hair, it was sticking out in every direction, looking like a messy bird's nest.
"Sleep well?"
"Yeees..."
Han A-bin gave a non-answer and headed toward the bathroom.
She was stumbling so much it looked like she might lean against something and fall back asleep.
I tossed a gray rod toward her.
"Han A-bin. Catch."
"Huh...?"
Even in her daze, she had enough consciousness to react to my words. She reached out and caught the rod flying through the air.
"What is this...?"
Han A-bin stared blankly at the rod.
What she held was a crude gray rod made of stone.
"It's your new Magic Staff. Infuse it with mana before training."
"How do I infuse it with mana?"
Her consciousness finally seemed to return. I gave the now-alert Han A-bin an answer.
"Just hold it and keep focusing. Your mana output is barely there anyway, so that should be enough."
Since the material was concrete ripped from the Lord of Infinite Castles' Pseudo-Otherworld, its value was beyond measure.
My craftsmanship was a bit lacking, so it was a little crude, but since the material was so good, it was more than sufficient as a Magic Staff.
I was sure Han A-bin would be satisfied.
"A Magic Staff?"
However, the response I got was completely unexpected. She sounded bewildered, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.
Don't tell me...
"Baek Si-hyun, didn't you explain it to her?"
"I forgot!"
Dammit.