Ch.110Chapter 110. Smoothly (4)

“How utterly stupid.”

The confidence in the First Elder’s voice was palpable.

I had just returned after dropping off Elaine, and by then, the black mist that had been spread across the floor earlier had already disappeared.

That wasn’t the only thing that had changed.

Yongyong, who had been charging fearlessly toward the First Elder earlier, was now captured.

Despite being bound in midair and unable to move his wings at all, Yongyong wasn’t falling.

‘I should save Yongyong first.’

“How could you tie up a child like that?”

“Hup!”

Crackle-zap-

While I was muttering as I looked at Yongyong, black lightning shot up from the ground with the First Elder’s shout.

The sound of electricity accompanied the black lightning surging from the floor.

Woong-

‘That’s fast!’

It moved at such speed that I would have been hit if I hadn’t opened a space around me.

The lightning, literally moving at the speed of light, was aimed precisely at me but couldn’t reach me.

The black lightning was sucked into the subspace.

“Tsk.”

As I deflected the lightning, the First Elder clicked his tongue and slightly frowned.

It seemed the First Elder realized that ordinary magic wouldn’t work on me, so he appeared to be changing his approach.

With attacks too fast for me to react to.

“It seems to be some kind of automatic defense.”

Woong-

Having deflected one attack, it was now my turn.

I jumped through space while the First Elder muttered to himself.

When I moved, the First Elder maintained his tension and positioned himself to flee.

In a way, he was the most troublesome type of enemy for me.

A mage who fights only from a distance without giving me, whose main weapon is a sword, any chance to get close.

Moreover, not just an ordinary mage, but one with very quick movements who could cast spatial movement almost as fast as I could.

‘I’ll get Yongyong first.’

Contrary to the First Elder’s expectation that I would approach him, my destination was next to Yongyong.

I couldn’t just leave my pet bound by an enemy.

Yongyong looked even more pitiful because his mouth was also tied, preventing him from making proper sounds.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Woong-

I sent Yongyong back to where he originally was, as he remained still when I placed my hand on his mouth.

As the giant wyvern disappeared, the mana threads binding him loosened helplessly and scattered in the air.

“Tch.”

The First Elder glared at me with a surprised expression, apparently not expecting me to go to Yongyong.

Even so, he didn’t forget to prepare an attack against me.

“You can’t keep blocking forever.”

“You’ve been talking a lot by yourself while not even responding to me.”

“…Hup!”

The First Elder ignored my words and let out a shout like before.

Simultaneously, ominous mana began gathering from the floor again.

This time, it was much denser and greater in quantity than before.

I could tell just by looking.

Something big was coming.

‘I can’t just stand by and watch.’

They say the best defense is offense, don’t they?

Instead of preparing to defend against the First Elder’s magic by opening the subspace around me wider, I stared intently at the First Elder who was concentrating with his eyes closed.

My “Teleportation” was an ability that could move not only my body but also anything in contact with me to a place I remembered.

For the first few years, I only used spatial movement at that level.

Then I started to apply my ability more when I developed a sense for space.

After years of jumping through space, it felt natural.

The sensation of space opening and my body entering and exiting that space.

One day, when I suddenly began to feel a sense for space, I started researching my ability in earnest.

Thanks to that, I became able to not just move but also open space, and furthermore, use subspace as storage.

And taking one step further.

‘I can open space without touching it.’

Although using this technique once gives me a severe headache.

Woong-

I concentrated while staring at my opponent with as much force in my eyes as possible.

Open a space where the First Elder is standing now, and send him there.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve gone there.’

A place I’ve only visited once, but that has been very useful until now.

Woong-

The more I concentrated, the more the space around the First Elder began to waver.

Of course, the First Elder didn’t notice it.

He was too busy casting his own magic.

In reality, the black magic churning on the floor was growing increasingly massive and ominous.

‘Still, he’s slower than me.’

Woong- Paat-

“Phew.”

It happened in an instant.

The First Elder, who had been floating in the air, disappeared from that spot.

It definitely wasn’t that he noticed my technique and escaped.

Until the last moment before disappearing, the First Elder had been concentrating with his eyes closed.

‘Aaagh.’

The sudden stabbing headache was another proof that my technique had worked.

I almost collapsed right there, but I managed to endure.

At the same time, the mana on the floor was vibrating as if about to explode.

My head hurt, but I needed to get out of here first.

Woong-

With the sound of space opening, I stepped forward.

It was time to end this.

Not here where ominous mana was overflowing.

**

Kilvis was one of the strongest black magic users in the Nameless Organization.

There are various fields within black magic, but First Elder Kilvis specialized in pure magic itself.

True to his reputation as a once-called genius, Kilvis quickly mastered black magic.

While Landgar became obsessed with the undead and Arte with creature manufacturing, Kilvis continued to focus on magic itself.

It was completely different from commonly known magic, but that’s why Kilvis liked it more.

Ignoring existing rules and creating everything anew.

That fact alone gave Kilvis a new meaning to life.

In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the common black magic used in the Nameless Organization was created by Kilvis.

‘I couldn’t test it on people until now, so this is perfect.’

Kilvis concentrated more as he felt the mana surging from the floor according to his will.

Although it was a magic he created himself, Kilvis had never used this magic in actual combat.

Not just in combat, he had never even tested it on anyone.

The reason was simple.

If he tested it carelessly, the existence of the Nameless Organization and black magic might be revealed to the outside world.

‘This time, it’s a reversal.’

“Hmph.”

A sneer escaped from Kilvis’s lips as he concentrated.

If the magic manifested as Kilvis expected, even that guy who could pass through magic wouldn’t be safe.

The magic he was using now was essentially a finishing move that drew almost all the mana gathered in the vicinity.

No matter how solid that automatic defense against physical attacks was, it couldn’t be infinite.

Originally, the magic Kilvis created was a massive explosion magic.

A magic that compressed and compressed mana into a small sphere, but made it explode powerfully.

But the magic Kilvis was creating now was the opposite.

Instead of making the sphere small, he was making it larger to trap that thief inside.

And rather than exploding outside the sphere, it would unleash continuous explosions and magic inside the sphere.

It would be a situation where attacks would pour in from all directions.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t fully understand that guy’s techniques and magic.’

If he had been facing a more manageable opponent, he would have captured them alive and extracted information about their abilities, but Kilvis didn’t have that luxury.

The opponent was so good at escaping that he might lose him again if he wasn’t careful.

That’s why he was using magic that was close to an all-in.

‘The end…!’

Woong-

It was at that moment when the magic was fully completed.

The moment when everything would end once activated.

“W-what?”

Kilvis opened his eyes in shock as he felt the mana connected under his control suddenly cut off.

What he saw wasn’t the familiar view outside the laboratory, nor the proud figure of the Black Shadow Corps commander.

Swoosh-

With the sound of waves, what he saw was the sea.

A vast, open sea.

‘What is this?’

Completely disoriented by the changed surroundings, Kilvis hurriedly looked around.

“Huh…?”

Taking his eyes off the sea in front of him and turning around, Kilvis couldn’t manage his expression.

Behind the sea were forests and rocks.

And not just ordinary forests and rocks.

It was hard to find an intact tree in the forest, and the rocks were destroyed here and there.

Remains of trees that looked burned, giant rocks pierced by something, and so on.

It looked like a scene after some natural disaster.

Woong-

It was while Kilvis was blankly looking around, trying to grasp the situation.

“Whew. It’s been a while.”

“You…”

Kilvis muttered as he blankly looked at the person who appeared before him.

As expected, it was him—the Black Shadow Corps commander who had been fighting with him until just moments ago.

“…Hmm. The island seems quite damaged.”

“…”

Kilvis couldn’t say anything as he watched the Black Shadow Corps commander rubbing his forehead as if troubled.

Instead, fear gradually rose within him.

Looking at the situation, it was clear.

This guy was the one who had moved him here.

‘Could he really teleport someone without even touching them?’

It was shocking.

This was something beyond magic.

Despite being focused, he hadn’t even sensed the movement of mana around him.

“Well then.”

Shing- Gulp-

Kilvis unconsciously swallowed as he watched the Black Shadow Corps commander draw his sword.