Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 030
Chapter Title: Mana Drain
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"No..."
Suddenly hit by a headache, he pressed a hand to his forehead.
Even back at their first meeting, she'd started right off with stalking, so he'd figured she wasn't all there mentally. But he hadn't expected her to be this far gone.
At that moment, Kyle looked down at Gibson—who was left with just his head and torso after his limb implants had been blown clean off.
"......"
"...?"
Mari stared back at him, as if wondering what the problem was.
Kyle asked with a subtle expression.
"Not expecting anything, just curious... but how long exactly have you been watching?"
"...? Uh... from when you slapped that guy's face clean off?"
In other words, she'd seen pretty much everything from the very start.
Kyle put on an exasperated look, and she chimed in with unnecessarily chipper enthusiasm.
"It's fine! I'm not interested in your private life at all!"
"......"
That wasn't the issue at all, was it?
As the throbbing pain continued, he massaged his temples. She watched him cautiously for a moment before nodding as if she got it.
"Ah! Of course, today's little incident stays our secret. Honestly, I'm already kind of an accomplice anyway."
"Accomplice?"
At that word, Kyle suddenly recalled the dark clouds that had rolled in out of nowhere, followed by a bolt of lightning that had obliterated the airships' engines.
"Don't tell me you were the one behind that lightning magic?"
"Haha, yep. You looked like you were in a bind, so I just... gave it a tiny nudge."
Huh.
As expected of someone from the Magic Tower.
Not content with conjuring artificial thunder from a clear sky, she'd precisely sniped only the engines. That skill was undeniably impressive.
Come to think of it, the spell in the magic artifact she gave me before was the same type too.
Though that one had been on another level entirely, completely leveling the alchemists' hideout.
Still, Kyle let out a small groan.
But seriously, how the hell did she track me here?
He wasn't being arrogant, but the speed of Wereking Step was no slouch by any means.
To keep up with that.
And she was in a dress, no less.
Did she use some kind of magic?
There were rumors that the Magic Tower's spellcasting system far surpassed anything in the mundane world. Maybe that was true after all.
"So, what'll it be? This magic artifact is really well-crafted with high purity. It'll definitely come in handy! Oh, and could I maybe get your contact info? I totally spaced on asking last time, hehe..."
"No contact info."
"...?"
She stared at him blankly for a second before speaking up again.
"...J-Just so you know."
She held up a finger.
"I'm not trying to rope you into any jobs or anything right now, okay?"
"...Never thought you were."
"Then what's this about no contact? Even in this day and age, saying you don't even have a phone feels like a pretty weak brush-off..."
"I'm a criminal."
"Huh?"
"I'm currently serving in a penal unit."
At the abrupt coming-out, Mari blinked a few times and tilted her head.
"...Why are you in a place like that?"
"...You're seriously asking me that now?"
"Ahem..."
She let out an awkward little cough and held out the magic artifact again.
"So, what's the plan? Wanna trade it for a magic demo like last time?"
Kyle gave her a strange look.
"Hate to say it, but... you don't care? I just told you I'm a criminal."
"...? Why would I? Being a criminal doesn't make your magic wear out any faster."
"......"
At that utterly outlandish response, Kyle finally realized it.
Ah, this woman's way of thinking is just fundamentally different from a normal person's.
He'd seen plenty of crazies in the 8th Special District, but the one in front of him was clearly no lightweight either.
Mari let out a small groan of her own.
"But if you're in a penal unit, scheduling meetups must be tricky."
That seemed to be the real issue for her.
Suddenly sensing something off, she looked at him.
"Wait, how are you even out right now?"
"...Too complicated to explain. You wouldn't get it anyway."
"Aha!"
"This Sunday, 5 p.m."
"Huh?"
"You know that bar from last time? Head up from there and you'll hit the slums. Meet at number 126."
"!!"
With that, Kyle pushed away the hand holding the magic artifact.
"We'll do the trade then. Not the time for magic shows right now."
Her face lit up, and she nodded vigorously.
"Got it! See you then!"
"But..."
Kyle glanced at his hovertrain speeding away and asked.
"How are you planning to get back from here? You'll end up in the 12th Administrative District at this rate."
Of course, it was the complete opposite direction from the Magic Tower, which wasn't far from Central Admin.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Getting back won't be hard."
At the same moment, a pure white glow rose around her body.
It was a different energy from lightning mana. Kyle's eyes went wide.
"...You're not a lightning mage?"
"...? Oh."
At the question, Mari scratched her cheek sheepishly.
"Well, actually... I can use light magic a little too."
Kyle was stunned.
Dual element...!
And light attribute, no less.
That was even rarer than lightning magic.
A sudden thought struck him, and he quickly asked.
"So, can you craft light-attribute magic artifacts too?"
She made a troubled face.
"W-Well, it's not impossible... but light magic is way harder to refine than lightning..."
Noticing his potential disappointment, she hurriedly added.
"But if you need one, I'll give it a shot! Promise!"
He mulled it over briefly and decided to dangle some bait.
"If you manage to craft a light one, I'll show you some other magic too."
"Other magic?"
"Yeah. Like fire magic and stuff..."
"!!"
Her eyes sparkled like stars.
"I had my suspicions... so you really are a multi-element mage?!"
And then, as if on reflex, her head started inching closer.
"So besides fire, what other magic can you...!"
"Calm down."
Kyle pushed her back right away.
"We'll talk the rest then. Then."
"Ah..."
She looked disappointed for a split second, but quickly perked up, clenching her fist.
"I'll do my best!"
Seeing that, Kyle felt a slight pang of conscience.
Truth is, aside from lightning, the only magic I've learned so far is fire...
Though he'd just been offed by the security team's wind magic today, so maybe it balanced out.
Meanwhile, Mari Fleetwood could barely contain her excitement.
Just as I thought—he really is a successor to the Origin Mage!
The Origin Mage had been a once-in-a-millennium genius who mastered every element.
She'd suspected his successor might be multi-element too.
And it turns out I was right...!
As far as she knew, magical talent—especially multi-element—was incredibly rare, even if inherited by blood. Dual-element mages were few and far between even in the Tower, so for a non-magic family kid to be multi-element?
There's no explanation unless he's a descendant of the Origin Mage who left the Tower 300 years ago...!
Her heart swelling with anticipation, Mari said.
"Sunday it is, then! You better be there!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now go already."
"Right!"
With that reply, she transformed into light in an instant.
"No ghosting this time!"
Leaving those words behind, she rocketed into the sky like a shooting star.
Kyle watched her figure quickly vanish into the distance.
And thought.
What the—no, seriously, she's flying through the sky...
Was that what light magic looked like?
He could only gape at the bizarre sight in bewilderment.
An hour later.
I arrived in the 12th Administrative District and opened the door to the beat-up trailer.
There was a chair inside, set up as if someone had prepared it in advance.
I dragged the still-unconscious Gibson over, plopped him in it, and picked up the restraints hanging on the wall nearby.
"No limbs, so..."
I secured his body to the chair with sturdy leather belts.
"Ugh..."
Someone had welded the chair legs to the trailer floor, so even if he woke up, escape wasn't an option.
I slammed the trailer door shut, grabbed the phone sitting on a nearby drum barrel, and hit 1.
"Mission complete. Target's in the agreed trailer."
The voice that responded was unexpected.
[Good work. Kyle Clark.]
"...Councilor Rockton?"
I'd assumed it would be someone from Intel.
[Surprised it's me?]
"A bit, yeah."
[Hahaha. It's my request, so it's only right I handle the wrap-up.]
The click of a Zippo lighter echoed through the speaker.
[Head two blocks north; a purple sedan should be waiting. It's set to auto-drive, so just hop in the back and it'll take off on its own.]
"Understood."
[Oh, and I've just wired 100 million credits to your account. Check it later. Your weekend pass will be issued as promised, so no worries.]
Rockton let out a small sigh.
[Still, I half-expected someone to try silencing him. Looks like this runs deeper than I thought.]
Using an insurance company's security team for private work, no less.
From what Kyle knew, most insurance firms were majority-owned by the Dun City Safety Insurance Corporation.
In other words, someone high up in the city was meddling.
"But isn't the 8th District development plan spearheaded by Mayor Luther? Blocking it would mean..."
[...whether it's simple corruption or political sabotage.]
No one knew yet.
He let out a hearty laugh.
[Anyway, you did great today. I'll reach out again soon through Captain Joseph. Get home safe.]
"Yes, sir."
I ended the call and used Lowest Bolt to smash the phone right there.
+ All Stats +3
+ Reinforcement Skill Points +5
+ High Achievement Rank Bonus Stats
Of course, I couldn't help blinking at those messages.
'Huh?'
Not wind mana, but ancient elves' what now?
Right then—ding!—an unexpected message popped up before my eyes.
I stared at it in a daze.
No way—that security team...
What the hell had they hit me with?
The next day, at dawn.
Somewhere in the 8th Special District.
Slipping into an old warehouse through the chill pre-dawn air, a mafia member removed his hat and spoke.
"Linus. Orders have come down."
As he peered into the warehouse's shadows, a bowl-cut man suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"...!"
Startled by the speed he couldn't even track with his eyes, the mafia instinctively stumbled back.
But Linus—the man with the bowl cut—couldn't care less, compulsively flicking his lighter on and off with a sharp click-click.
His sunken eyes bored into the mafia member.
"A job?"
Steadying his pounding heart, the man nodded.
"Y-Yeah. It's that thing I mentioned last time."
"Heh, heh, heh."
Linus chuckled darkly and brought his lighter to the concrete wall.
Scraps of news articles and photos plastered across it came into view.
[Rorione Family Annihilated...]
[Al Kimia Alliance Underground Hideout Destroyed...]
[Lightning Spear Tears Through 5th District's Skies...]
Amid them, his gaze settled on a blurry figure in black tactical gear from one of the photos.
"The Mafia Butcher... I take it."
"...Yeah."
The mafia member nodded and pulled a photo from his pocket, handing it over.
It clearly showed Lena Clark's red hair alongside Kyle's face.
"According to intel from a mole in the pigs' ranks, he's getting a weekend pass this Sunday. Should be the perfect window to strike."
"Weekend pass...? Heh."
Linus curled his lips into a smirk.
"Lucky bastard, for a convict."
"Means he's a special kind of problem for them."
In other words, their biggest obstacle.
"Boss has high hopes for you on this one, Linus."
"Heh heh, no doubt."
He shifted the lighter's flame sideways.
Dozens of photos on the wall emerged from the darkness.
Every one showed corpses shriveled down to skin and bones.
All victims of Linus's superpower: Mana Drain.
He giggled.
"Nothing beats sucking the mana out of those arrogant, annoying mages down to their marrow."
Superior spellcasting? Dual elements? Massive mana reserves?
None of it meant a damn thing to him.
"Wonder what it'll be like..."
He wondered what face the mighty Mafia Butcher would make upon realizing his strongest weapon—magic—was utterly useless.
What despair he'd show when all that mana he'd prided himself on his whole life got drained away, not even a scrap left behind.
"I'm curious. So damn curious."
"Doesn't mean you can get cocky, Linus. Lots of eyes on this op. We have to succeed."
"Heh, no worries."
He smirked again.
Unless the guy's mana was infinite.
"A puny little mage has no way to beat me."