Date
“We’ll head over right away. Please take care of this place.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll hold the line here.”
The leader of the Shinyongsan Crew and the Keepers bid farewell to me and Keira before leaving Complex C.
Their destination was the heart of Artisan Street, where the Ttanttani was on display.
“...Will it be okay?”
“Us? Or over there?”
“Both.”
“This place is fine.”
Keira and I stayed behind in Building C. We couldn’t just leave the purple sparks spewing out monsters unattended.
“Hmm... this is...”
Keira was analyzing the purple sparks right now. She said she’d be able to dispel them soon enough.
She can do it, right?
I knew exactly what those purple sparks were. Keira might not, but this was the signature technique of a very famous villain.
“Villain” was the term for criminal Keepers. Most of them got caught right away—Korea’s Keeper Association and law enforcement weren’t exactly pushovers. Named villains famous enough to stick in people’s minds numbered maybe five at most.
And the most famous of them all was the one behind this technique: the Summoner. He could summon monsters. His whole method was to summon a swarm, fake a Gate rampage, and then take whatever he wanted while everyone scrambled.
For a while the Summoner’s existence was practically an urban legend. People suspected the Association was just inventing some weird villain as cover because they couldn’t handle the Gate rampages. But when the Summoner vanished after his last appearance ten years ago, and the rampages suddenly plummeted, people finally accepted he had been real. The rampages that used to hit about twice a month during his active years dropped to maybe once a year.
That was why no one even thought of the Summoner when they saw his trademark purple sparks. It had been a full decade since his last activity, after all.
“You structured the formula like this? Is that even possible?”
Keira was genuinely astonished. It was the first time I’d ever seen her react with surprise to someone else’s technique. Fair enough—people estimated the Summoner’s skill at SS rank. Same tier as my Summon Gate. In a way, the two techniques even felt similar.
“Hmm...”
Back then, no one had ever managed to dispel the Summoner’s technique. If Keira pulled it off now, it would be a real achievement—even if we couldn’t announce it to the public.
“...Alright.”
“You got it?”
“No.”
Keira shook her head.
...Even Keira couldn’t do it? The all-capable Keira who treated everything like it was trivial?
“I’ll just smash it instead.”
Of course. Magic was omnipotent. And Keira was a goddess.
“No people or CCTV nearby?”
“Not sure about CCTV. Ah—there’s one over there.”
“Then give me a blind spot.”
“What are you planning?”
I stepped in front of Keira, blocking the CCTV mounted on the right-hand ceiling. Without answering, she closed her eyes and clasped her hands over her chest.
Whoosh.
A translucent blue flame bloomed between her palms—something I’d seen before. The moment she opened her eyes, I remembered exactly where.
Her mysterious blue eyes looked even more profound now. This was blue mana. The first skill I’d ever received from her. The one she’d stopped me from using the instant I tried, looking dead serious about it.
Ssssss.
She raised her clasped hands, and the blue flame slowly ascended. Above it waited the purple sparks.
Crackle-crackle.
Sparks flared around the flame, but the flame held its shape and kept rising. The moment flame and sparks touched, the sparks erupted even more violently—almost becoming lightning that came crashing down toward us.
“Keira!”
She showed no intention of dodging. Those mystical eyes were unfocused. I threw my hand up over her and blocked the lightning.
“Ghhk—!”
My vision went white. My whole body prickled and burned. I held on through sheer will not to let Keira get hurt.
Crackle-snap-snap!
Even as I endured, the lightning grew stronger. I couldn’t see what was happening above, but the blue flame was probably erasing the purple sparks. This had to be its final thrashing.
“Gyaaaaah!”
I screamed and still didn’t pull my hand back. I forced strength into my knees as sensation drained from them, determined not to collapse onto Keira.
To a third party it probably looked like I was catching and holding the lightning. Someone should’ve taken a picture. That useless thought actually helped me hang on.
Zzt. Zzt.
At last the lightning ended, and I toppled straight backward.
“See? How was that? Hey—Jungmin? Jungmin!”
Behind Keira’s startled face, a blue flame as large as the purple sparks had been was blazing.
As expected, Keira was a goddess.
I slowly opened my eyes. Something soft cushioned my head, and right above me was Keira’s beautiful face. Even from this angle it wasn’t the least bit humiliating—a miraculous face.
“You’re awake?”
“Nope. Gonna sleep a little more.”
I rolled over. As I turned my head, her skirt rode up and my face slipped between her thighs. Keira’s panties filled my vision.
“Hup.”
“Mmnh.”
When I inhaled, Keira let out a soft moan. I was considering going further when the warning broadcast cut in.
Ah. Right. Not the time for this.
I sat up at once.
“...How long was I out?”
“About a minute?”
Less time than I’d expected.
“Let’s go too.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you.”
My body felt heavy and sore, but nothing was actually wrong. When a villain appeared, nearby Keepers stepping up was one of a Keeper’s duties. One of the Association’s mottos was “Keeper business is settled by Keepers.” I agreed. Against Keepers, only Keepers could minimize the damage.
“...Really? I didn’t account for the lightning earlier. I’m sorry.”
Keira apologizing? That was genuinely rare. The worried look in her eyes was so adorable I wanted to rain kisses on her right then, but I held back the same way I’d held back the lightning.
“It’s fine. Even if we go, it’ll mostly be cleanup work. The Summoner’s meticulous and slippery as hell.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah.”
Otherwise the Association wouldn’t have failed to catch him during the ten years he was active, and they wouldn’t have lost the trail for another ten after he vanished. This terror attack was definitely timed for when the Shinyongsan Crew’s core members were off on something like a Gate expedition. By the time the Association heard and dispatched specialists, he’d already be long gone.
Still, thanks to Keira we’d sent a few people ahead. Maybe they could protect the Ttanttani.
“Alright. You’re really okay, though?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”
This girl. She was even more lovable than usual today. Was it the date outfit?
“Then I’ll take the lead.”
Keira ran first and I chased after her. Her hair was still completely loose. You’d think she’d tie it up for easier movement by now.
Cute. She really did listen well.
Complex C to Central Street was a decent distance, yet the warning broadcast kept looping the whole way. The fight between the Summoner and the Keepers must have been dragging on.
“Kreee!”
“Left! Left—block it!”
“Dodge!”
When Keira and I reached Central Street, dozens of Keepers and orcs were tangled in a messy brawl. At least there were plenty of Keepers here. Not everyone had run.
“Looks like we need to jump in.”
The Keepers had the numbers and seemed to have the advantage, but a few Orc Warriors were the wild cards. Best plan was to clear the regular orcs fast and then take the Warriors together.
“Wait—the enemy’s real goal is something else, right?”
“The Ttanttani?”
The Ttanttani still sat right in the middle of the street. Keepers had it surrounded, so breaking through didn’t look easy.
“Exactly. Do you know how the Summoner usually escapes? Magic? Monsters? Artifacts?”
“...Artifacts!”
Keira’s word unlocked a flood of ten-year-old memories. The Great Thief—that was the Summoner’s other nickname. He used his ability to divert attention and steal countless things. Artifacts naturally made the list. Ten years ago the ones he favored most were an Invisibility Cloak and Teleportation Boots. With those two, snatching the Ttanttani from the middle of a Keeper cordon would be trivial.
...We needed a trap.
“...Let’s hide for now. We need to watch the situation a bit. And—can you find someone wearing an Invisibility Cloak?”
“I’ll try. It might be possible.”
We slipped into an alley between buildings. The Summoner revealed himself faster than Keira’s magic could locate him.
Crash!
The glass case holding the Ttanttani shattered, and the Ttanttani vanished at the same instant.
“...Invisibility Cloak! Damn it! Catch the Summoner!”
“What do we do, Leader?!”
The Summoner, back after ten years. Even with every preparation imaginable they hadn’t caught him a decade ago—getting ambushed like this, they couldn’t even chase his shadow.
“Kreee!”
“Shit! Just hold the orcs for now!”
The Keepers couldn’t focus only on the Ttanttani. The orcs alone were already overwhelming them.
“...Found him. Over there, near the spear orc. He’s moving this way.”
“Nice!”
Finding him was lucky. Him coming our direction was jackpot. The street had two exits—the way we’d come and the opposite side. If the Summoner had gone the other way, we probably never would have had a shot. I’d had a feeling he’d come this way, though. He’d summoned the monsters on our side, after all.
One prerequisite remained.
“Can my magic pick him up too?”
“Should work. It’s not that high-grade an artifact.”
I took Keira’s word for it and cast Search in that direction. I couldn’t see him, but I felt someone moving.
“I see him too. I’ll attack first. Keira, follow right after.”
“Got it.”
“He’ll use the Teleportation Boots. Range was about twenty meters, I think.”
“Understood.”
We waited a little longer until the Summoner was almost on top of our alley. I stepped out and said,
“Orcs! Which way am I supposed to go?”
It was clumsy acting. Anyone who knew me would have laughed immediately. But the Summoner had never seen me before, and with someone suddenly popping out he’d be too busy reacting to wonder whether I was faking.
I felt him slip slightly out of my path. Looking that way, I shouted,
“Hey! Orc over there! Watch out!”
Then I charged straight at the Summoner. I knew we’d collide, but I didn’t lead with a shoulder or anything deliberate. I just wanted to create the appearance of an accidental crash.
Whoosh.
In that instant the Summoner vanished from in front of me. He’d used the Teleportation Boots.
Where did he go?
My Search range was a little short of a twenty-meter radius. If I stretched it in one direction I could push about fifty meters, but I found the Summoner’s position by the sound of ice instead.
Crack!
An ice pillar—the third one I’d seen today—erupted from the ground.
“Gah!”
The Summoner screamed and collapsed. At the same moment his right arm tore free from his torso and flew into the air. The hand still clutching the Ttanttani.
I sprinted toward the Ttanttani first. Keira would handle the attack on her own.
Crack-crack!
Another ice pillar erupted. Once I secured the Ttanttani Mjolnir, only ice pillars remained.
Where was the Summoner? Was the cloak still working properly? He’d lost a lot of blood—he couldn’t have gone far.
I looked to Keira for the answer and found her pointing above me.
“Above!”
Only then did I feel mana thrashing over my head. I looked up. Purple sparks were flying in every direction—far larger than the ones Keira had erased earlier.
“Ghhk... Die, all of you!”
With the Summoner’s voice, something burst out of the purple sparks. I scrambled clear and rolled sideways.
Thud.
What landed where I’d been standing was a massive foot—nearly the size of my entire torso. The owner’s head seemed to scrape the sky itself. From that height a thunderous snort exploded.
“Kreeeeeee!”
An A-class monster. An Orc Chief.