Plasma Bullet in the Alley
My soles burned like plasma.
Voices mumbled up ahead, but I couldn't focus on them at all.
A tear trickled from the corner of my eye.
"Not listening, huh? Should I just let the magic beast loose?"
"As long as it's not the Tower Master, capture her alive first. This bitch is from the North too."
Snippets of conversation drifted in during the lull.
Sure enough, it was an ambush targeting the Northern wagons.
Irritation boiled up. Not because of the pointless pain.
Maybe it was facing this inexplicable malice head-on.
"Hoo…."
I gritted my teeth against the agony, forcing my mind to sharpen.
I took in the scene before me, viewing myself from a third-person perspective.
Dark alley, black-clad figures creeping closer, magic beast cage.
There I stood in front, middle finger raised.
I closed my eyes briefly, minimizing mana use while envisioning a spell to neutralize them silently in one go.
A weapon delivering maximum results at minimal cost.
A lethal strike to shatter their will instantly.
The magic came to mind naturally.
First, to stifle any noise, I draped a thin mana barrier over the entire alley.
A shield blocking sound and light from escaping.
Then, index finger thrust forward, thumb raised upright.
I coated them too with the barrier.
Exhaling, I manipulated mana to suck in the air at my index fingertip.
—Keeeeng.
Compress. Compress harder.
All it was, was air gathering at my finger. Just compressed air.
As volume shrank, pressure spiked. Basic physics.
The surrounding air crumpled in unison, creating a vacuum nearby.
My hair whipped toward the fingertip, singeing at the end before bouncing back wildly from the repulsion.
"What the…."
One black-clad guy stepped forward slowly, hiding his hand in his sleeve.
Whatever he was planning, it was already too late.
I ramped compression to the limit.
—Tzzzt, tzztzt!
Suddenly, the compressed air breached critical point, transforming its very nature.
Temperature soared from adiabatic compression, ripping air molecules apart.
Ionization. Air turning to plasma.
A blinding white dot flickered unstably at my fingertip.
Even the ambient air shimmered with heat haze, warping space as bluish electric arcs sprayed outward.
"What is that… Block it!!"
The black-clad men drew sleeve-daggers, but my finger moved faster.
"Bang."
With the short incantation, my thumb snapped down like a hammer.
—Kwaaaaaang!!!
Not an explosion, but a ripping tear through the air.
What streaked out was a beam of light. A streak of azure-white brilliance.
Air rushed into the vacuum tunnel left by the projectile's path, colliding and detonating shockwaves in chain reaction.
Too fast for a blink.
"Guhk…."
The targeted black-clad man couldn't even scream before the bullet hit, hurling him into the rear wall where he embedded.
It pierced his ribs. Dead? Probably.
"…Hoo."
I brought my index finger to my lips and blew on it.
Multicolored steam rose from the glowing fingertip, swirling in the breeze.
…Am I kinda badass right now?
I looked up again, shifting my gaze to the remaining black-clad man.
"Uh…. Huh…."
He couldn't control his trembling legs and collapsed to the ground.
Hm. Guess I was badass.
"Sssup…."
My fingertip stung like a burn.
Sabak sabak.
I clenched my fist to hide the smoldering finger and slowly approached him.
"Kuhk…!"
Suddenly, something suspicious stirred.
—Pewk.
Whatever he was about to do, I shot a small air bullet to knock him out first.
"Hooow…."
Now I was the only conscious one in the alley.
I whipped my head around, scanning, then finally let out the scream I'd held back.
"Aaaaooook…!!"
My soles still throbbed, and now my finger hurt too.
Next time, definitely layer heat shields.
I flopped down in the alley, rubbing my soles furiously with my left palm while stuffing the right finger in my mouth to cool it.
"Grrr…!"
Then a magic beast's growl echoed from mid-alley.
"Ahfoo…."
I turned to see black energy rippling off the beast's body—the same as during the magic beast wave.
Identical to what I'd absorbed before.
Too murky for mana, too thick for aura.
No way a profane magic beast was emitting holy power, so it was just unknown energy.
I stood stealthily. Hopping on my less painful left foot to the beast's side, I stared at the snarling wolf-beast baring its teeth warily.
"Wha ar oo." You're what. My index finger was still in my mouth, so it came out slurred.
I pressed my hand gently to the iron bars.
The beast's energy flowed into my palm at the contact.
A strange euphoria washed over me, familiar from the wave. Once the last speck was absorbed, the beast crumbled to black ash and vanished.
At that instant, my body shivered, the throbbing sole pain and finger burn vanishing completely.
With the pain gone, my fevered head cooled sharply.
I looked up at the alley again.
Churned earth and wall scars, unconscious black-clad man beside them.
"…Was that overkill?"
Mana cost was low. It was just a compressed air bullet, after all.
Just a bit stronger than usual.
I shuffled toward the man, sweeping ruined ground aside with my soles.
Of course, that didn't flatten it.
"Hey."
Standing over him, I called out, but no response.
"Hmm…."
Only one way, then.
Slap.
I bent down and smacked his cheek hard with my palm.
Solid, satisfying impact.
* * *
"Ruen!"
Yriel's voice rang from the rooftop beside the alley.
She hopped down, stepping on narrow window ledges along the outer wall.
…Should've done that too.
"What happened? You didn't come back, so I followed."
"Uhmm… well, see."
I gave a quick rundown of events.
Followed the beast's roar, ran into these black-clad guys, took them down.
"Sounds dangerous."
Yriel murmured, eyeing the bound man.
"Yeah, pretty much."
I nodded at her words.
Almost let a magic beast loose into the crowd—total chaos.
"Right! But at least one survived, so lucky for them."
Ah, their side's perspective?
Yriel was an empathetic mage.
She nodded vigorously, then stepped toward the bound man.
Paralyzed by magic, he sweated coldly, eyes darting frantically.
"Did you hear why?"
"Not yet. About to."
Hearing me, Yriel grabbed his throat, pried his jaw open.
"Magic binding held up fine, huh."
"Kuh…."
Inside his gaping mouth, a black pill nestled against his molars.
"Poison pill."
"Aha."
That was his last resort before passing out.
Yriel yanked out the pill with the tooth and tossed it to the ground, glancing at me.
"Magic okay?"
"Keep it short."
No choice.
Better not to, but he wouldn't talk otherwise.
I clapped softly, thickening the alley's mana barrier.
Then Yriel's palm pressed to his crown.
"Krrghhh…!"
Golden sparks flew.
Reading the mana, it was a memory extraction spell.
He was already dark from his clothes, but now he was full-on charcoal.
Drop the 'was'.
"Hmm… Complicated situation."
"Yeah? What's up?"
Yriel stroked her chin and continued.
"Know the Lupiento Count?"
"…Yeah."
I owed him big time. My dopamine dispenser.
"Seems the Count and Second Prince teamed up to check both the North and First Princess. Planned to raid the auction, frame it as magic beasts, pin it all on the North."
"Hmm…."
I'd half-guessed, but yeah.
Didn't expect the Second Prince, but no one else would hate a rising North more.
"High up in an assassin guild, apparently. Lots of info. So, what now? If you report it, I'll vouch."
"…What happens if I do?"
"They'll pretend to punish him lightly. Second Prince pulls the strings now."
I shook my head firmly at Yriel's words.
"Nah. I'll handle it."
"Got it. Actually a relief! …My vouch doesn't carry much weight in court."
I could see why.
Yriel and I cleaned up the scene, then climbed back to the roofs and slipped away.
No witnesses. Perfect hit.
"Hmm…."
Glancing back while roof-running.
Wonder how they got that magic beast.
"Gotta report that too."
I organized the letter to Arwen in my head.
But first, urgent business.
"You know the Count's mansion location?"
"Yes. Going now?"
"Let's roll!"
I followed Yriel's beaming grin, leaping rooftops.
Time to shine with my specialty.