Black Market (4)
There wasn't even the slightest warning. An attack that transcended perception.
With a single gesture of her hand, they were crushed and pulverized like they'd been fed into a hydraulic press.
Saaaaah—
Black undulations surged around the girl like an aura as she properly unleashed her power.
The silence that fell over the surreal scene didn't last long.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
"Fuck, we're under attack!"
"What kind of attack? How the hell did they get into the black market?"
"Didn't you see? The guards and sentries are all wiped out!"
"Request reinforcements! Reinforcements!"
"What the fuck is this shit?!"
The panicked customers began fleeing in droves.
The black market turned into a cauldron of chaos in an instant.
I was just as dumbfounded. What the hell kind of insane situation was this...?
The girl, enveloped in that black aura, began chanting her terrifying incantation.
A spirit word that shook the entire space.
Her voice drilled straight into my brain like telepathy, making my skull throb painfully.
Instinctively, I dove into a corner and went into hiding. Meanwhile, the Management Bureau Executor mercilessly slaughtered the people.
Overwhelming power.
No incantation, no hand seals—just a slight twitch of her fingers.
Kiiiiing—
With a eerie whoosh like a wail from hell, pitch-black amorphous slashes carved through the crowd.
It was a chilling trajectory.
Like meaningless scribbles from a child, or the mad strokes of a lunatic on a sketchbook.
The sheer carelessness—not even putting in real effort—terrified me.
And so, amid the carnage of flesh and blood being torn apart, all I could do was hide in the corner and observe.
"Fuck, why is the Management Bureau here—!! Aaaagh!"
I empathized with the dying scream.
The Management Bureau.
They were nowhere to be seen usually, so why barge into the black market all of a sudden?
I'd heard black markets were held precisely to evade their eyes.
What variable had changed?
Were they after me? Because of the Ether Bio Pharma incident?
But that didn't add up. I couldn't fathom when, where, or how they'd tracked me.
Plus, I'd already altered my appearance with illusion magic. For them to chase me all the way to this corner of I Block defied logic.
"Uwaaaah! Die, you bitch!" "Crazy whore! Do you know where you are?!"
Kwajik!
A few cornered ones drew weapons and charged, but they died pathetically before the Executor.
Paaaaah—
Darkness spread thickly from the girl like night fog.
Into spikes, hooks, blades.
No one could stand against that shapeshifting amorphous shadow.
...How the hell do you fight that?
This place was a special pocket dimension where entry required a ticket; outsiders weren't even allowed.
The space itself was a ritual magic circle binding souls to its 'rules' upon entry.
Yet that Management Bureau Executor rampaged without restraint... clearly a lunatic powerhouse who crushed the rules through sheer tier difference.
With my current magic, confrontation was impossible.
How could a lone human wrestle a natural disaster?
Escape was my only path to survival.
As I racked my brain furiously,
a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"You...! Get out of here now...! Damn it, why of all places the Management Bureau... Sorry, old chap. Looks like this is the end for me."
Mu Dang Geomi.
But he'd been caught in the Executor's brute force, covered in gashes, dying.
"Mu Dang Geomi...!"
The dying man pulled a paper envelope from his bosom.
"When you get back, deliver this letter to the gunslinger. It'll be a satisfactory answer for him too, I wager."
"..."
"I'll buy some time. Escape while you can."
Geeg—
Mu Dang Geomi turned his body.
It trembled all over, but
"Management Bureau dog...! Over here!"
his voice was resolute beyond anyone else's.
Her spirit word echoed from afar, followed by a terrifying, oppressive gaze turning this way.
Right then.
"I'll handle y—"
"...!"
Mu Dang Geomi died.
Sliced vertically by a black slash that tore space at incomprehensible speed.
Pathetic as an insect.
Kiing—!!
So fast the deadly whoosh came a beat late.
"..."
A grotesque, despairing sight.
This wouldn't do.
Shaken by Mu Dang Geomi's death, I quickly pulled myself together and frantically devised countermeasures.
The conclusion I reached:
[If not now, no chance at all.]
[I have to run.]
With trembling hands, I pulled out my Grimoire.
And.
That was my biggest mistake.
Paaaaah—
Unnatural darkness surged toward me like waves.
And amid it, the Executor's gaze—which I'd thought had passed—fell upon me again.
Thud.
Thud.
Miya, the Executor, approached step by step.
No hostility. No killing intent. No malice.
Just pure curiosity.
But that was enough.
The gap between us. That overwhelming difference in mana pressure subdued me.
Just her gaze. Just her interest. That alone sufficed.
Under the reverent pressure, I couldn't even twitch a finger.
All I could do was watch the Management Bureau monster draw near slowly.
The girl, darkness trailing like a cloak to the floor.
Her gleaming golden eyes looked down at me.
They say ultimate terror brings calm.
I felt it acutely now.
With death breathing down my neck, escape plans flooded my mind chaotically.
And at the end, I calmly uttered one line.
"Do you know the witch?"
She didn't know my identity yet. I'd changed my appearance with illusion, plus the black market's barrier added a mask.
Especially, her emotion toward me was curiosity, not hostility.
I'd exploit that—spit out distracting nonsense to buy time.
"Are you going to kill me?"
"I'm not your average genius. Killing me would be a huge loss to academia? You'd be crippling humanity's future."
"Not quick?"
Miya casually dropped the chilling line in a nonchalant tone.
Drudruk—
She was already right in front of me.
I suppressed the rising terror and spoke.
"...What brought you here?"
Unbelievable. Talk about rotten luck.
Apparently, the Bureau had some audit period recently, causing our paths to cross.
"..."
Then came the Executor's spine-chilling remark.
...Busted.
I'd been stalling by talking while locally casting Dig and Earth Wall to etch a magic circle underfoot.
Of course, such a petty trick got seen through instantly.
Kwajik!
Miya stomped lightly.
The magic circle I'd carefully etched tore like paper.
And at that moment.
Pachaaang—!!
A intense explosion and flash erupted.
"You should've checked what kind of magic circle it was before breaking it."
A magic circle is like an electronic device.
Smash one with flowing electricity, and it blows—just like a magic circle with flowing mana overloads if broken carelessly.
What Miya overlooked:
My circle was designed assuming destruction.
Trigger on break: flashbang to blind, smoke screen for cover everywhere.
This would erase her presence sense, creating a brief but solid escape window.
Death's multiple choice. Prisoner's dilemma.
Unreasonable? Mages pursue the unreasonable by nature.
As long as my eyes were open, failure wasn't an option.
The mana smoke from the flash concealed me momentarily.
Her voice echoed from the darkness beyond.
It's fine.
Even if the hiding time is short, it's enough to finish preparations.