Chapter 82
Chapter 82
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 082
Chapter Title: Countdown
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Aaaaaaaargh!!"
Black demonic energy scattered in all directions, as if shaking the very foundation of this 'nightmare'.
In its midst, the demon's scream gradually twisted into something grotesque.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!"
Its body crumbled like melting mud.
In this 'nightmare' where it was forced to endlessly drink poison, Kyle Clark was its true natural predator.
A voice laced with static echoed toward him.
"This can't...! No way...!"
Its eyes glared at the human before it.
"You bastard...!"
The demon reached out toward Kyle and cried out.
"You bastard...! Are you the reincarnation of a Holy Knight or something?!"
"Shut up already."
With a swish! Kyle spun his body and lightly swung the greatsword slung over his shoulder.
"Get lost and go back to hell."
At that moment, clang! The demon's head went flying.
"■■■■■■■-!!!"
Kyle turned his back without even looking at the hideous form collapsing and losing its shape.
Behind him erupted a storm of magic power oxidizing in a brilliant blaze.
With Malphas's control gone, the magic it had absorbed until now began rampaging wildly.
Kaboom-!!
Shocks rippling through the nightmare itself shot out in all directions.
The mages bound by curses gazed up at the scene in dazed silence.
In the midst of black magic fragments falling like snow stood a lone man who had slain the demon.
Their voices trembled as they took in the unbelievable sight.
"He really... slew a demon...?"
"How in the world...?"
"I... told you, didn't I?"
Liz murmured in relief, clinging to her fading vision.
"He'd definitely... come save us."
"!!"
Colin Kemston let out a hollow chuckle upon seeing hope in her words.
"I see."
He closed his eyes.
"So the Mage of Beginnings hasn't abandoned this tower... or us."
But it wasn't fully over yet.
Kyle's gaze turned to Walter Leverk and the massive 'egg' forming above his head.
Only by severing those too would the tower be truly freed from the demon.
His footsteps halted before Walter, whose flesh had fused with the mass of meat.
"......"
Walter's remaining eye stared at him.
"S-save... me..."
Kyle raised his sword with practiced ease.
"Please... spare me."
To that, he replied.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of killing you here."
"...!"
Witnessing this horrific 'nightmare', such a thought had inexplicably crossed his mind.
Of course, Walter Leverk was someone with deep enmity toward him.
But at the same time, he was the one who had driven countless mages into this nightmare and subjected them to unspeakable torment.
"Of course."
Thus, Kyle added.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to save you or anything."
"!!"
"Walter Leverk."
With Malphas's presence fading, he could feel his magic power gradually returning.
Along with it, holy flames reignited around him.
"This is the nightmare you created."
So.
"You'll carry it to the end."
Walter's eye widened in understanding of those words.
"Ah, aaaaaaah!! Aaaah!!"
The Ludicium holy sword began charging at a rapid pace.
Soon, its blade aimed at the massive 'egg' pulsed with pure white light.
A sacred strike shot from the tip of the holy sword, literally cleaving the nightmare before him in two.
Kaboom-!!
[■■■■■■■■■-!!!]
Strange fleshy tendrils poured from the 'egg' amid grotesque shrieks.
Kyle spoke toward Walter, who was being buried and sinking amid them.
"Sometimes, living is a worse hell than dying."
"Aah!! Aaaargh!! Please!!"
What echoed was Walter Leverk's scream of despair.
"Please spare me! Spaaare meee..."
But even that soon faded, trapped among the fleshy mass, unheard.
For the head of the prestigious Leverk mage family, it was an utterly pathetic end.
On top of that, Kyle could feel the 'descent ritual' collapsing rapidly.
Rumble-!!
With the nightmare shaking, the mages began liberating themselves from this world one by one, as if they'd been waiting.
Those still suffering in horrific dreams until now.
Even those Malphas had briefly awakened to show a hopeless reality.
As they gradually returned to reality, Liz choked up at the sight of Kyle.
"Mr. Clark...!"
Kyle smirked as their eyes met.
"See you later when you wake up."
What had happened today was like a single night's nightmare.
By then, everything would be back to normal.
"...Yes!"
Leaving Liz's smiling, vanishing form behind, Kyle checked the time.
"Time remaining..."
Just 10 minutes left.
Meanwhile, at Dun City's Tactical Strike Command.
Weeeoooong-!!
Amid blaring alarms, those in dark green military uniforms scurried about.
"Everyone, move it!!"
"Incineration procedure starting soon!!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
At the center, in the command and control room.
Amid the administrative soldiers' tense gazes, the unit commander, Commander Jared Carter, let out a heavy groan while holding the red receiver.
"...Are you serious?"
He nodded and tightly shut his eyes.
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Commander Carter checked his wristwatch.
Dawn would break soon.
"...Confirmed. Yes. We'll prepare the procedure."
Click. As he hung up, Major Steve Corell standing beside him cautiously asked.
"Commander, that call just now..."
"The Luthers."
"!!"
Shocked, Major Corell swallowed hard.
"Then, surely..."
"Yes."
Commander Carter narrowed his eyes.
"Looks like... there are no other options."
"No way...!"
"Deputy Commander."
The commander said in a solemn voice.
"Assume your position."
"?!"
Major Corell's eyes widened at the words.
But only briefly—he nodded and saluted Commander Carter.
"Sir!"
Returning to his spot, the commander took a deep breath and spoke as Corell stood ready.
"Men. We are now initiating the startup procedure for the plasma incineration weapon, 'Judgment'."
"?!"
His subordinates froze in place.
Major Corell immediately echoed the command.
"From now on! Initiating startup procedure for plasma incineration weapon, 'Judgment'!"
The now-alert warrant officer followed suit.
"Initiating startup procedure for plasma incineration weapon!"
"Yes! Initiating startup procedure for plasma incineration weapon!!"
Commander Carter addressed the suddenly bustling room.
"Strike target!"
Closing his eyes briefly and swallowing, he shouted.
"Mage Tower! Sapientia!"
The startled deputy commander echoed.
"Strike target! Mage Tower! Sapientia!"
"Confirmed! Plasma incineration weapon strike target: Mage Tower Sapientia!"
At that moment, massive currents crackled across the enormous 20-meter stele hovering before the command room's front window.
The plasma incineration weapon 'Judgment'.
Hundreds of years ago.
It was the name of an unknown magic weapon discovered during the excavation of ancient human ruins.
In this era where strategic weapons had lost meaning, 'Judgment' was one of the few relics rivaling ancient strategic arms in power.
The reason modern nations like Dun City struggled to use strategic weapons predated the Age of Chaos.
It was due to the ark ancient humanity had launched into the sky, fearing some catastrophe.
This sky relic, equipped with powerful anti-air defenses, still floated in the stratosphere, shooting down anything above a certain altitude.
Every nation's attempts to down this ancient ark had failed.
Long-range ballistic missiles had thus become nearly obsolete.
Even low-altitude short-range missiles were mostly neutralized by each nation's integrated missile defense system 'Dome'.
In such an era, Dun City's discovery of a magic weapon like 'Judgment' was a stroke of luck.
Thanks to it, hostile neighbors eyeing their land were limited to localized conflicts.
"...To think we'd use this weapon on the Mage Tower."
It required long recharging after one use, so it wasn't meant to be fired lightly.
This underscored how dire the Mage Tower's situation was.
"Incineration weapon aligning firing point with target!"
"Output adjustment! Limiting strike radius!"
"Confirmed! Limiting strike radius!"
"Weather observation: All clear! No issues for incineration weapon operation!"
"Creating artificial weather phenomenon above target for thunderbolt drop!"
Hum-! As the massive stele began glowing, enormous thunderclouds suddenly gathered over Mage Tower Sapientia.
On the ground, people could only gape in horror.
"This...!"
Investigation Bureau agents preparing to withdraw trembled helplessly.
"I-incineration procedure...!"
"It's starting!"
Special Forces Captain Yakob Schnell shouted upon seeing it.
"Damn it all, if you don't want to get caught in it, everyone to the vehicles!! Evacuate this place now!"
"Yes!!"
Gazing at the still-silent Mage Tower, he muttered.
"Goddamn it, this wasn't part of the deal! What the hell is going on?!"
Jim Gordon of the Intelligence Bureau bit his lip anxiously, watching the evacuating Investigation Bureau forces.
"Why... why is it still so quiet?"
He checked the time.
'Damn...!'
Less than 5 minutes left.
'It should've been over by now, one way or another!'
Cash's voice rang in his ear.
[What are you doing, senior?! Get out of there!!]
"I know! I know!"
A support team agent shouted from the revving stealth helicopter.
"Team leader! Get on board!!"
"Shit...!"
Reluctantly boarding, Gordon muttered while staring at the white tower.
"Kyle...!"
Meanwhile, inside the holy relic's barrier, Rebecca looked up while tending the wounded.
"What is it? Suddenly thunderclouds..."
Bowen, wearing glasses, murmured.
"Don't tell me."
His face grew grave.
"Incineration procedure?"
"!!"
Quickly checking the time, her face paled.
"Mr. Clark...!"
At that moment.
"?!"
"Huh?"
Rebecca and Bowen exchanged glances, sensing something.
"Just now..."
Simultaneously, the magic that had been steadily eroding stabilized rapidly.
The two swallowed at the familiar sensation returning.
It wasn't just them.
The labored breaths of the weakened, suffering mages eased dramatically.
The other mages tending them noticed the change and looked at each other.
"Wha... what?!"
"W-wait."
"This, this has gotta be!!"
Rebecca sprang to her feet, instantly grasping the meaning.
Her eyes trembled with a different emotion as she stared at the tower.
"No way...!"
And at the Mage Tower's summit.
Boom-!! Kyle burst from the room, dragging the bloodied sage, laid him down, and said.
"...Stay here for a bit."
Dragon aura surged through his body.
He charged down the tower stairs at full speed.
Whoosh-!!
Backgrounds blurred past in an instant.
Kyle quickly pulled a green signal flare from his pocket and bit down hard with his teeth.
Flash! A blue flame ignited, illuminating the darkness.
'Time remaining...!'
Leaping over the landing in one bound, he unleashed the dragon aura again.
'3 minutes...!!'
Kaboom-!!
His afterimage trailed as he shot like a bullet.
"Damn it, you can do it, right?!"
Rain from the response team muttered anxiously through the sniper rifle's scope, fixed on the beacon rising from the Mage Tower.
"You can make it, Butcher...!"
Then, rumble! An ominous roar echoed from the massive thundercloud.
"!!"
He bolted upright unwittingly.
"That’s...!"
Rain peered through the scope again.
"No way...!!"
Finally, it entered his sight.
Atop the impossibly tall Mage Tower.
Green smoke rising from there.
"Signal...!!"
He quickly accessed the comms channel.
"Support team! Support team, green signal confirmed! I repeat, green signal confirmed!!"
[What?! Say that again?!]
"Situation resolved!"
The Investigation Bureau was the same.
"Special Forces reporting! Signal confirmed from Mage Tower summit! Green signal confirmed!!"
Yakob, viewing through binoculars from atop a vehicle, shouted into his comms.
"Abort the incineration procedure immediately!!"
At that moment, Dun City Tactical Strike Command.
"Soak prep complete!!"
"Ready to fire at any time!!"
Major Corell picked up the red receiver.
"From Dun City Hall, in the name of the Luthers, final launch authority delegated to Tactical Strike Command Commander Jared Carter."
Commander Carter nodded and inserted one of the world's two keys beside the launch button.
"Transmission received. Verifying final launch authority delegation."
A 13-character string appeared on the screen.
Beep! The deputy commander tore off the printed paper and read the code.
"KGDEF135DSFPZ"
"KGDEF135DSFPZ"
Confirming it matched the screen, Commander Carter said.
"Verification complete. Commander Jared Carter confirms final launch authority delegation."
"Deputy Commander Steve Corell also confirms final delegation."
"Initiating final launch procedure."
Corell nodded to the commander's gaze and inserted his necklace key.
"3... 2... 1."
As the countdown ended, they turned their keys simultaneously.
Click! The launch switch's lock disengaged before the commander.
"...Procedure complete."
Now, just flip the switch to fire.
"......"
"Commander."
Major Corell, watching him, said.
"Time's almost up."
"I know."
The commander took a small breath and lifted the switch cap with a snap!
The major spoke upon seeing it.
"Commencing final launch countdown."
"Commencing final launch countdown!!"
'Judgment' began glowing more intensely than ever.
Corell started the count, watching it.
"3!"
The gauges spiked rapidly.
"2!"
As Commander Carter's finger grasped the red switch.
"1...!"
Rrring-!!
All eyes turned to the suddenly ringing red receiver.
"?!"
Commander Carter snatched it up.
"Yes, Commander Jared Carter speaking."
He flinched and looked up.
"...Yes?"
Nodding grimly, he replied.
"Yes. Understood. Yes. Glory to great Luther."
Click! Replacing the receiver, the deputy commander asked.
"Commander, that was..."
"Deputy Commander. No, men."
Closing the switch cap again, Carter sighed in relief.
"The operation... is canceled."
"!!"
Sapientia's sky cleared rapidly as if nothing had happened.
Gordon and Cash, confirming the incineration canceled, clutched their pounding chests.
"Fucking hell, thought my heart was gonna drop out!"
[But it's not over yet!]
"I know!"
The green flare over the Mage Tower was good news.
But the problem was who had fired it.
"If it was Leverk who sent that signal..."
It could lead to a worse outcome than if incineration had proceeded.
Gordon shouted.
"Turn the chopper around!"
[Roger!]
With binoculars to the returning chopper, he stared at the tower entrance.
"Please... Kyle... be you!"
At the base village entrance.
A man disembarked the helicopter amid aligning security and Investigation Bureau agents.
It was Austin Marshall, second son of the Marshall family.
He glanced at Special Forces Captain Yakob, who bowed before him.
"Y-you're here."
"......"
Having heard Yakob let the Butcher escape, Austin's expression was sour.
'But...'
Stopping a demon descent was another matter.
He looked up at the outwardly serene Sapientia.
His gaze fixed on the Mage Tower's main gate at its peak.
'Even the Butcher couldn't have stopped a ritual of this scale.'
The barrier devouring magic power had taken out the demon's minions, of course.
Leverk's mages were strong, but they'd have demonic powers too.
'No way he overcame all that in this short time.'
Austin's eyes widened.
'The victor... is undoubtedly Malphas.'
Then, as if on cue, the massive gates creaked open.
'Here he comes...!'
Austin thought, watching.
'Walter Leverk! Reborn dream demon!'
Jim Gordon and his support team in the helicopter felt the same tension.
"Kyle...! Please, I beg you!"
[Please, Mr. Clark...!]
Bang! The gates swung wide open.
'Leverk...!'
'Kyle...!'
As everyone held their breath, staring into the darkness within.
Step.
Someone stepped out through the gates.
"...!!"