Pissed Off - 1
A massive mushroom cloud billowed into the sky.
“Oh my god.”
Someone was watching it from afar. It was Nine of the Purple faction. He had clamped a magic stone bracelet onto his wrist, swallowed the organization’s drug that suppressed the body’s natural magic power to erase every last trace of it, and was now peering through a device called a telescope—glass meticulously processed into lenses. A disbelieving laugh slipped from his lips.
“A noble title… and he’s walking around with a magic stone that carries unique power?”
Nine ran a hand through his disheveled hair. The shockwave had reached even this far. Violent winds had torn through the entire area, leaving chaos behind.
“…Is that magic specialized for explosions? Or maybe…”
An explosion packed with that much raw power was not something even he witnessed every day. After observing the blast one more time, he abruptly concealed himself.
-WHOOSH!
The sky was beginning to brighten.
“Leoric Franz, Lord of Muller…”
It had been midnight when he appeared. Now dawn had broken.
“That damn monster…!”
My dulled senses picked it up a beat too late—the lingering traces of magic power from the blast and the person responsible for it. Though that wasn’t the only thing that made me curse.
“Oh my god.”
Isabel’s voice trembled with panic. Following her gaze, I saw a crater large enough to suggest several buildings had been completely obliterated.
“Casualties?”
“Th-there don’t appear to be any seriously injured people aside from a few nearby.”
I scanned the area myself. No commoners seemed to have suffered major injuries. That, at least, was a relief.
My eyes settled on the reddish sphere at the crater’s center. It was a magical construct formed from translucent orange bubbles, glowing with inner light. Inside it was Sasha.
“…Whew.”
I exhaled in relief. She didn’t appear to have any serious wounds. It looked like she had simply lost consciousness from the sudden shock. No other visible damage.
“Right, then.”
My gaze shifted to the final object of interest.
“Grk… glurk!”
A grotesque mass of flesh writhed on the ground, emitting only wet, choking groans. I couldn’t tell what it had looked like originally, but its entire body was charred black as if burned by intense flames, smoke still curling upward. Most of its torso had burst open like it had taken a direct hit from a cannon.
“Let’s clean this up first.”
I snapped my fingers.
Magic power erupted from my whole body and shot skyward. The sphere I created swelled instantly into a colossal orb, flooding the area with brilliant light. Moonlight became irrelevant. The sky brightened as if it were midday, and gentle rays began to shower down.
“Ah… ah…?”
The people who had been covering their ears in pain now felt sunlight wash over them. Their twisted expressions slowly relaxed as the warmth touched their skin.
“No major injuries. No deaths. That’s something, at least.”
“Glurk… glk!”
The writhing lump of flesh was dying. Its groans and movements grew weaker by the second. As for its magic power…
“What the hell is this disgusting energy?”
It didn’t feel like unique magic tainted with negative emotions such as death, resentment, or curses. From its appearance alone, it was clearly not something that had occurred naturally.
“Might as well capture it for now.”
I extended magic power from my hand to restrain its movements. Could this thing even be healed using normal treatment methods? It seemed to be the root cause of this whole mess. I’d have to transport it to the castle.
I shaped the magic into chains and tried to lift the creature by wrapping them around its body.
“Hm?”
The moment I attempted to hoist its thick torso, I felt a subtle resistance within the magical shackles. This wasn’t…
“It doesn’t feel like simple resistance.”
Though I couldn’t sense it clearly, something about the shackles directly touching its body kept irritating me. It didn’t seem to be actively fighting my magic. The sensation was fundamentally different.
“Ah.”
I understood now. I deliberately weakened the binding force of the chains. The magical links around the monster’s torso began to tremble, threatening to collapse.
“Magic nullification, huh.”
An impressive ability, and one that tended to show up in fantasy worlds eventually. This was my first time actually seeing it, though. I reinforced the binding once more. Whether the creature had grown weaker or this was its normal state, the resistance was now barely more than a mild annoyance.
“Leoric-nim!”
“Ninya?”
While I was examining the creature, the first to arrive—before any soldiers or knights—was Ninya. The entertainment district was nearby, so her proximity made sense, but her speed was still impressive.
“Kyaaak! Sasha…!”
Ninya took in the devastated surroundings with wide eyes, then screamed when she spotted Sasha floating inside the reddish sphere.
“She’s fine. No injuries.”
“I-I see…”
Ninya let out a sigh of relief, but her face hardened the moment her eyes landed on the monster I had bound.
“Even if you were close, arriving this quickly suggests you already know something about this.”
“Yes. A report should have already reached the castle by now…”
“Ah, we must have crossed paths. Fine. Tell me what you know right away.”
Ninya nodded and immediately began to speak.
“As expected.”
They had located the traces of the man I mentioned earlier. While confirming the final lead, they had even caught the rat sneaking in from outside the castle walls. By the time Ninya finished explaining, Chloe and the rest of the castle’s soldiers had all arrived.
“Seal off the area and evacuate the civilians.”
“Understood.”
Chloe nodded and began directing the soldiers into position. I watched her for a moment before turning back to Ninya.
“What about that rat?”
“He’s being held at an inn. We’re keeping constant surveillance in case there are others.”
“Assign some men and bring him in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Her slightly haggard face and messy hair suggested she had rushed here straight from bed. Sorry about that, Triana. I confirmed she immediately gathered knights and departed.
“And where exactly was that building?”
“…It’s difficult to identify now that it’s collapsed, but from what I know, it was the one in the center over there.”
I looked toward where Ninya pointed. The structure had been some distance from the blast, yet the sheer force had reduced it to rubble. Still, not every clue could have been destroyed.
I gestured, lifting the scattered debris into the air and clearing it away.
“Hmm.”
The place was an absolute wreck. I’d need to have subordinates investigate properly later. Given the nature of these people, however, I doubted any crucial evidence remained. Once the rubble was removed, a staircase leading underground came into view.
I illuminated the passage with light and descended slowly. The others remained on guard against potential threats, so only Ninya followed cautiously behind me.
“What a mess.”
“Yeah. Doesn’t look like we’ll find anything useful.”
It seemed a violent struggle had taken place. Nothing remained intact. The impact from the explosion above had clearly affected this area too. The scattered tools suggested some kind of work had been done here, but most were smashed—physically broken rather than destroyed by magic. Worst of all, there were no documents.
But one thing stood out as strange.
That monster. There was no way it had appeared out of nowhere. If it had been here for a long time, there should have been some kind of containment facility. The absence of one meant—
“Ninya. After making contact, did the target remain inside this building the entire time?”
“Yes. A few subordinates came and went, but the primary target never left the premises.”
In that case.
I spread my magic power throughout the area. No hidden passages. Which meant—
I shot straight up into the sky.
Below me, the district glowed as brightly as noon beneath my artificial sun. Soldiers and knights maintaining the perimeter looked startled by my sudden appearance. Even civilians watching from a distance turned their eyes toward me. Some dropped to their knees in prayer at the sight.
“Hmm.”
I hadn’t sensed any magical presence when I checked earlier, but there were still suspicious traces. The target’s sudden disappearance was odd. It wouldn’t even be strange if that monster had originally been the target. After all, those bastards were infamous for their human experiments.
Magic power surged from my body. I poured it into the massive sun overhead. The healing and illuminating power I had been radiating was pulled back as I focused. My senses had grown dull because it was night and the moon was out. But against a monster that could nullify magic, the principle remained the same: overwhelming force rendered its ability meaningless.
I pointed at the sun with one finger.
Following my gesture, the enormous sun—now like a living heart—began to pulse. Its light had already spread beyond the immediate area, turning the entire city as bright as daytime. Beams scattered across every street and alley.
“Let there be light.”
The method was identical to when I had countered the Mucker’s stealth ability. Where there is light, nothing can remain hidden. No creature can conceal itself before the sun.
The rays pouring from it became extensions of my own senses—new arms, new ears, new eyes. My perception expanded rapidly.
And then—
“Found you.”
My gaze locked onto him. The man whose eyes met mine. A tiny, almost imperceptible trace of magic power he had left on a building. So faint that I would have missed it without intense concentration, even in broad daylight. This was far beyond the level of an ordinary adventurer. It was a skill honed through relentless training rather than natural talent. I could respect the effort.
“But first, suffer until you’re begging for death.”
A colossal pillar of light slammed down from above, crushing him.