Chapter 227: Mobius (11)

It was enough to have Petunia Titi sighing. We hadn’t even agreed on any hand signals, yet without anyone taking the lead, we reached out or threw nearby objects. Black magic gathered in Milia’s hand and flew towards Mobius’s head.

Mobius shouted, deploying a blue shield.

“Petunia! Have you joined hands with a demon?! You, who were once a hero who defeated the Demon King, are now trying to kill us by siding with the Demon King!”

Petunia Titi didn’t answer his words. She silently drew a bow from her waist and nocked an arrow. She aimed at his head, but at the last moment, changed her mind, altered the trajectory, and fired.

“W-what!”

The arrow that grazed Mobius’s cheek pierced through the wall and disappeared. The sturdy hoses stuck where the arrow hit snapped, spilling their contents profusely. Blue liquid soaked the floor, and Mobius stumbled backward with a panicked expression. The wall he leaned on became an empty space echoing with the sound of wind, pulling his backside down.

Petunia Titi took another step forward and aimed her bow. Mobius raised his head, deploying his shield. It was a thick shield imbued with considerable mana, seemingly impenetrable by ordinary attacks.

“Surrender. Stop it. We didn’t bring you here to kill you. We’re not doing this to torment you. You’re smart. You understand what you’re doing, don’t you?”

Petunia Titi looked down at the slumped Mobius. Mobius’s eyelids fluttered, then he got back up and shouted.

“Not a chance!”

A white beam shot out from the tip of his staff. Just looking at it suggested intense heat, and Taffy, upon seeing the beam, yelped in surprise and fled upstairs. We scattered in different directions, while Petunia Titi rolled and fired an arrow.

The arrow, fired weakly, changed course upon hitting the shield and embedded itself in the wall.

“You call that an attack?!”

Then he took a step forward and waved his hand grandly, as if stirring stew. Sharp metal scraps and glass shards on the floor floated into the air, and Milia clicked her tongue and stomped her foot. As a purple barrier materialized, Mobius thrust his hand forward.

“Die!”

A sharp torrent of steel poured towards us. I had no choice but to topple the nearby desk and hide behind it. Glancing sideways, I saw Petunia Titi meet my gaze with an awkward expression. We couldn’t converse due to the banging sounds hitting the desk and shield, but we shared a similar sentiment and nodded.

“Fuck.”

Steel fragments rained down relentlessly. Milia, crouched low and maintaining the thickest possible barrier, was sweating cold. The fragments that bounced off and fell to the floor were drawn back around Mobius, spinning rapidly before flying forward again.

The sight of them spinning and sparking until repelled by magic felt like hundreds of mining drills trying to shatter Milia’s barrier.

“No!”

Then, a black shadow bled from the wall, and Taffy burst out, reaching towards Mobius. Mobius stopped launching metal scraps at us, struck the floor with his staff, and his eyes glowed.

A blue glint flashed from Mobius’s eyes, and brilliant light poured from his palm.

“Aaaargh!”

Smoke rose from Taffy’s entire body, and he was weakly thrown aside. Though he trembled and showed clear signs of anger, the burn marks appearing all over his body indicated he couldn’t continue fighting.

“How dare a presumptuous bat approach me! I am the Archmage Mobius! Can mere demon brats possibly be my match?!”

Petunia Titi fired another arrow. As he was about to cast another spell on Taffy, the arrow collided with his shield, crushing him against the wall along with the barrier, eliciting a pained scream.

“Aaaargh!”

The arrow couldn’t pierce the shield, but it succeeded in buying time by pushing Mobius back. Meanwhile, I dragged Taffy behind Milia, and he mumbled, clinging tightly to me.

“It hurts.”

“It’s okay. I’ll kiss it better later.”

“Aaaargh!”

When Mobius struck the floor with his staff again, the arrow penetrating the shield veered off in another direction. The arrow slammed into the basement wall, creating another large hole, and screams echoed from upstairs. Frowning at the pouring debris, he moved towards Sylvia.

Blue liquid poured from the severed hoses, and the water level in the test tube containing Sylvia was gradually lowering. Mobius glanced at the glass tube once, but he didn’t have time to contemplate. Milia’s magic bullet flew in, and Mobius twisted his body to dodge it, his face contorting.

Clang!

The magic bullet exploded near the glass tube, causing it to shake violently from the recoil. Mobius furiously yelled at Milia’s clumsy aim.

“Don’t touch my granddaughter!”

Milia scowled and shouted.

“Who’s your granddaughter?!”

She gathered powerful magic in her fingertips, and Petunia Titi fired her bow to prevent Mobius from interfering. Mobius’s magic-infused staff shot forward, colliding head-on with the arrow and causing a powerful explosion.

The shockwaves spreading in all directions pushed Mobius, Petunia Titi, and Milia in different directions, making them click their tongues. I held Taffy close, pondering if there was anything I could do.

Coming down here was a good idea, but this laboratory was too cramped for me to engage in close combat. If I moved forward, I’d obviously block Milia and Petunia’s aim, and I didn’t have abilities like Taffy’s to turn invisible or hide in shadows.

His barrier was being chipped away little by little with each arrow Petunia Titi fired, but people were converging from upstairs.

We had to defeat him quickly; the longer we stalled here, the more disadvantageous it became for us.

“W-what?! What’s going on down there!”

Sensing the commotion below, guards were approaching. Mobius shouted back while deflecting magic.

“There are intruders here! Kill them all! They are wicked lackeys!”

“I-intruders! Intruders are here!”

“Ah, fuck.”

The plan had gone completely awry, and there were more than a few things I didn’t like.

“Evan!”

Milia called my name, and I bolted without even turning my head towards her. First, I had to stop the mages and soldiers coming down. Even as I took a step, the shadows cast from the first floor grew in number, consuming the ceiling like a single darkness.

“Eek…!”

One guard tried to push past the Imperius, attempting to crawl down. I punched the bastard in the jaw, then threw him back down to the first floor. From the first floor came startled voices reacting to the suddenly ascending soldier.

“Waaagh!”

“S-someone’s there! Push! Push them back!”

Someone shouted, and the soldiers began advancing, gripping their spears. It was obvious they had blue mana coursing through their bodies, likely from a mage’s enhancement spell. With such soldiers pushing forward in formation, it looked like a living, moving wave crashing in.

“Shit…!”

“Who are you! Why did you infiltrate this magic tower!”

I didn’t answer. They didn’t need to know my name or my identity. At this spot, I was merely an unknown intruder. I began manipulating the Imperius with my hands. Seeing the massive body move according to my actions, the soldiers flinched in surprise and retreated. Even the soldiers unaware of the situation ahead flinched and screamed at the mechanical sounds accompanying my movements.

I forcefully pulled the machine closer, then struck its side hard.

KABOOM!

With a sound like a bomb exploding, the Imperius’s steel plate crumpled into the shape of my fist. The drill swung menacingly, aiming at the soldiers, and the face of the soldier at the front turned deathly pale.

“Ah…! Aaaagh…! Aaaah……!”

Before I could even operate the machine, he turned deathly pale and started running away. Not only that, but soldiers who belatedly grasped the situation began fleeing frantically, like ants climbing higher ground to escape a downpour. I struck the machine with my fist once more, urging them to flee faster.

KABOOM!

Seeing the soldiers pouring out in a rush, the mages couldn’t help but wear puzzled expressions. Was Mobius putting on a striptease downstairs? Why weren’t they fighting?

Their questions were quickly answered by a soldier’s cry.

“Th-the Imperius! It’s the Imperius!”

“The mining equipment is moving!”

However, the questions multiplied. Why was the Imperius, which should be on the upper floors, here?

“Wh-what? Why is the Imperius…….”

A rather seasoned mage voiced his confusion. Then, a mage who hurried down the stairs shouted just in time.

“Senior! The Imperius from the warehouse is gone!”

“Wh-what?”

The mage’s eyes widened, a blue flash erupted from the floor, releasing intense mana with a loud boom.

KWAANG!

“Waaaaaaagh!”

KWAANG-!

“Waaaaaaagh!”

With a satisfying boom, I couldn’t quite regain my senses from the tingling shock and aftershock felt throughout my body. Milia, Petunia Titi, and Taffy all wore bewildered expressions at the powerful explosion echoing behind us.

Even as dizziness swirled, I clenched my fist and charged forward to fill the momentary gap in the attack.

Dust billowed behind me, and Milia, Titi, and Taffy froze, their eyes wide.

“Ugh…! Ughh……!”

And before my eyes.

“Huff…! Huff……!”

Was an old man who had dropped his staff in shock, now trembling and gripping it tightly.

“N-no……! Merilda……!”

He clutched his head, muttering those words, then glared at us, staff in hand.

“Ugh……!”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

This bastard. Scared of the sound of explosions, huh?