Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Hayar
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In an instant, the headquarters building turned into a hellish melee. Debris from the collapsing ceiling blocked the view, while clouds of sandy dust rose hazily, slowly swallowing everything around.
Amid the chaos, intruders pushed forward.
"Shamshir!"
The moment a voice revealed the intruders' identity, the mages reacted immediately. The sand obscuring their sight was swept away in a flash, and the falling ceiling debris halted mid-collapse, shooting upward against gravity.
Through the gap, a group of masked figures poured in at tremendous speed. Combat between the masked assailants from above and the mages below spread like wildfire.
"Ugh, aaaaagh! M-My arm!"
"Watch out! Some of them are blessed by mana!"
Screams, shouts, and harsh explosions rocked the interior. At a glance, it looked like the mages were pushing back the masked intruders. But a closer look revealed otherwise.
Hidden among the horde of masked figures were several with physical enhancement abilities. They waited for the mages to be distracted, then closed in stealthily and cut them down in an instant. Over five mages had already fallen that way.
Some didn't even see it coming. They seemed to have been struck the moment an explosion blinded everyone.
"They're heading below!"
"Block them!"
The masked figures leaped past the upper floors, diving downward. They avoided normal paths, using the debris the mages lifted as footholds to burrow even deeper.
"Lu-Lumia?"
"Stay there and don't come out."
I gently pushed away Renila, who clung to me, and advanced forward. I couldn't guess their goal, but I couldn't ignore the situation unfolding right in front of me. It wasn't direct yet, but we'd taken that first step into the fray.
'The enemies and allies are too close... Chain Lightning won't work...'
In that brief moment, as I pondered usable spells, a masked figure lunged at me. His sword gleamed with a sharp blue edge, but I wasn't worried. No trace of mana lingered on his body.
He couldn't breach the wall of Gentle Wind.
Whoosh-!
The fierce burst of wind pressure repelled the masked figure. Watching him, I thought.
'What's their objective?'
What on earth were these guys after? It didn't seem like just killing mages. Nor was it an abduction attempt this time.
'Below?'
The masked figures kept moving downward relentlessly, as if desperate to seize something there. Several items came to mind naturally: the headquarters' power core, the strange stone slab that amplified mana.
Maybe that was it. The thought had just crossed my mind when a familiar silhouette rocketed up from below with overwhelming momentum. It was Vasek.
"You inferior scum!"
His arm thrust out casually at first glance, but it unleashed a deafening boom. The rocks encasing his entire arm shattered, launching like cannon shells.
Bam-bam-bam-!
The fragmented pieces flew like bullets. I opened my mouth at the sight. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the nearby Vasek.
"Mr. Vasek. The fifth one on the right. He's a mana user."
"Hmph."
Vasek's eyebrow twitched at my words. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then charged straight at the target. A few masked figures blocked his path, but they weren't much of an obstacle.
His casually swung arm flung stone shards that stuck and swept the blockers aside in unison. Right after, a harsh metallic clash rang out as Vasek collided with the mana user.
Thud-!
'This side's fine...'
With Vasek here, I could relax. I glanced toward Renila, then leaped downward—toward the floor where Durel was.
Whoosh-!
It was a chaotic brawl with enemies and allies mixed everywhere. Wide-area attack spells were out of the question. So I'd use magic suited to the situation.
Mana flowed from my body, condensing into small clusters. It held only two simple laws: motion and destruction. Vasek's display had inspired me. A barrage of bullets overwhelming the front. The image was crystal clear.
'Magic Missile.'
A single Magic Missile formed in an instant. Even as their numbers multiplied, the casting speed remained unchanged. It manifested with thought alone—faster than any spell I'd used before.
The moment my wind-wrapped body dropped downward, hundreds of light orbs erupted in all directions. Magic Missile wasn't a powerful attack on its own. Each was a small, complete spell with minimal mana, so individual impact was low.
But dozens, hundreds? That changed everything.
Thud-thud-thud-!
Dull impacts rang out in succession. The crisp sound of flesh being pummeled echoed, followed by groans erupting from all sides.
Whoosh-
I landed in the wide corridor amid the wind. The masked figure grappling with Durel whipped around in surprise. And that was his end.
Slash-!
Durel's sword cleaved the masked man's throat.
Thud-
Beyond the collapsing figure, who hadn't even screamed, Durel appeared. A hastily donned cloak hung crookedly over his shoulders, and a faint metallic tang of blood wafted from his arms and legs.
"Huff... huff... Master."
"You're struggling."
"I'm sorry..."
"There are too many. Be careful."
"Yes..."
"Don't let them drag you off like before."
"I'm watching out."
Mid-conversation with Durel, a massive explosion boomed from above. Vasek, tangled with three masked figures, plummeted downward.
I said at the sight.
"I have to go."
I didn't wait for a reply. All the dangerous mana users had leaped below. The remaining rabble could be handled by Durel and the upper-floor mages.
Judging that, I kicked off the ground and dropped toward the headquarters' lowest floor.
'As expected.'
The scene below matched my prediction. Two masked figures faced Vasek, while the third—near a stone slab the size of his torso and orbs flanking it—pried them loose.
Our eyes met Vasek's in that instant. No plea for help. His fierce glare targeted the slab's intruder: Stop him from taking it.
My heart's Mana Circle began to spin. Hundreds of star-like lights flickered around me. The masked figure, midway through retrieving the slab, finally looked up—too late.
Hundreds of projectiles engulfed him, and I descended into the room, riding the wind. My toes lightly touched down.
Thud-thud-thud-! The starlit figure slammed into the stone wall. But the assault didn't end. Magic Missiles cast with thought alone—another hundred appeared.
'Fire.'
Bam-bam-bam-bam-!
No room to move. Each Missile hammered his body, making it convulse violently.
'Again.'
Thud-thud-thud-!
After absorbing three full barrages of hundreds through his body, the masked figure finally stilled. The strangely curved sword slipped from his hand, his breathing gone.
Crack-!
As his body crumpled, a small crack etched into the stone wall behind. Even without raw power, hundreds accumulated shocking impact.
'Magic Missile...'
Spells typically scaled with mana invested. But Magic Missile used little mana. Only with the amplification of the third circle could one truly master this peculiar spell.
As I finished my fight, Vasek's was wrapping up too. One foe already down. Blood dripped from his stone gauntlet as he stomped with a guttural shout.
"Haa!"
No mana stirred. No spell. A feint. Bluff to deceive. And it worked. The masked figure leaped skyward with Vasek's shout.
It looked like dodging an upward spell from the ground—a poor choice.
Vasek's arm smashed the air. His gauntlet shattered into countless stone-shard bullets, blasting toward the intruder.
Thud-thud-thud-!
The bloodied figure dropped lifelessly. Instant death, no scream. Vasek, covered head to toe in gore, turned to me, panting heavily.
"You... that spell... what..."
As I opened my mouth to answer, a sudden ominous premonition hit.
"Mr. Vasek. What about Renila...?"
Vasek's eyes widened at my question. He'd been too focused on the fight to notice something crucial. After catching his breath briefly, he kicked off and soared upward.
Whoosh-!
I followed, riding the wind into the air. My third Mana Circle enabled momentary flight, keeping pace with Vasek.
"Miss!"
Vasek landed in the large corridor and bellowed. But no reply from Renila.
Bodies everywhere. Mages and Shamshir masked alike, all bloodied and sprawled on the floor.
"Damn...!"
Vasek spat a curse and shot upward again. As I prepared to follow, scanning the room with Arcana revealed Durel was gone too.
The moment I tensed my legs, a ferocious gale erupted beneath me.
Boom-!