Ch.74Chapter 74 – Madman (3)

Beatrice was by no means an easy opponent.

Rocks and flames flew at me, chains lashed out.

In between these attacks, she would jump in herself to throw punches and kicks.

She executed all these movements simultaneously.

Fortunately, there seemed to be a limit to how much she could enhance herself with magic, so I had the upper hand in our initial physical confrontation.

I could even push through when she suddenly levitated objects around us and hurled them at me.

Until now, I had been maintaining the advantage in our battle.

But the moment she started using her chains, the tide became evenly matched.

At first glance, they appeared to be ordinary silver metal chains.

However, true to their nature as magical tools, they would suddenly split into nine strands with hooks or arrowheads forming at the tips, trying to stab or slash at me. Then they would float in midair, allowing Beatrice to hang from them and navigate freely through the air.

She could even adjust their length at will—extending a chain behind me and then suddenly retracting it to move at high speed.

‘Her movements are too versatile.’

She would abruptly change trajectory in midair or burrow through the ground to target me from behind.

Meanwhile, Beatrice would cast spells to throw objects or charge in to fight directly, but her chains were never idle.

She combined two or three attacks simultaneously.

Her attacks came ceaselessly, flowing like water, like a dance.

Beatrice was more skilled in combat than I had expected.

“…Tch.”

However, when I managed to counter all her attacks and finally forced her into close combat, Beatrice clicked her tongue in frustration.

Her chains and magic were too slow to shake me off when I dove straight into her space.

Naturally, having experienced this before, I didn’t give her any openings.

When I managed to close in, Beatrice had no choice but to respond with her fists.

An ordinary opponent would have been toyed with by the chains and fallen victim to her magic or surprise attacks.

It’s nearly impossible for a person to respond to multiple attacks simultaneously.

But I could do it.

The red lightning still flowing through my body made it possible.

After several clashes, Beatrice threw her chains behind her to create distance between us.

She then gripped her chains with both hands, and we entered a standoff.

“…Huff, damn it.”

Perhaps starting to tire, Beatrice began to pant.

I too was beginning to feel dizzy from fighting for so long.

‘I need to end this in one go.’

There’s a limit to how long I can counter Beatrice’s attacks.

At least for me, there was a time limit.

‘I’m starting to feel dizzy.’

The red lightning not only had the penalty of shortening my lifespan the more I used it, but it also consumed extreme amounts of energy, making it impossible to maintain for long.

The haziness creeping into my mind must be because of that.

Beatrice too was breathing heavily, perhaps from the accumulated impact of fighting me directly.

She didn’t seem to be in good shape either.

‘This will be the last one.’

Call it intuition, but I had that feeling.

Both me and her.

I felt that we would decide the outcome with this next attack.

“…Right. I underestimated you too much.”

Beatrice said in a small voice.

“I can’t delay any longer.”

“You still haven’t given up?”

“I absolutely cannot.”

Beatrice slightly raised her right hand.

Soon, an unknown blue energy began gathering continuously in her right hand.

“Because Somnus is here.”

Beatrice opened her mouth.

“I must have my revenge.”

“Even if others get caught up in it?”

Beatrice stepped forward.

I instinctively understood.

She was planning to abandon defense and focus entirely on attack.

Perhaps this was her trump card.

The blue energy gathering in her right arm was still accumulating and compressing.

“…Because caring about others getting involved won’t help me catch that bastard.”

Her voice sounded somewhat bitter.

But she quickly shook it off, looking at me with unwavering eyes.

“So this time, I absolutely won’t let him escape.”

An indescribable light shone in Beatrice’s eyes.

It wasn’t a good light.

“…You’re saying you don’t care if you die?”

“My life already ended that day.”

Beatrice spoke with self-mockery.

“The day I lost my family and those who were no less important to me. I was as good as dead.”

“……”

“And living as if dead, I found him again.”

Beatrice bent one leg.

Is she preparing to lunge now?

“The one I had been searching for, whose traces I had only confirmed, the one I lost track of at the end and couldn’t find again—he finally revealed himself.”

Beatrice raised her face.

At a glance, her expression seemed ecstatic.

It was the face of someone approaching a moment they had dreamed of for a long time.

And seen differently, she also looked like she might be crying.

In my cold mind, one thing surfaced.

When we first met in the mine.

I suddenly remembered her wailing and crying out in anguish.

“Final warning. Step aside.”

Beatrice raised her hand.

“Even if I die, I’ll kill him before I do.”

Her hand began to glow blue.

“…This is ridiculous.”

I said quietly.

“Revenge or whatever. The moment you dragged others into it, you became no different from him.”

“…Shut up.”

Beatrice lowered her head.

“What do you know?”

Beatrice spoke as if resentful.

I didn’t bother to answer.

It would be laughable for me, who hasn’t yet experienced the grief of losing loved ones, to discuss this. So I don’t make hypocritical claims of empathy. I can’t.

“Don’t you think the people caught up in your actions are also precious to someone?”

Beatrice looked up sharply.

Perhaps she had known it all along.

That there were people who experienced that grief because of her.

That to those people, she was exactly the same as the target of her revenge.

And that applied to my case as well.

“…If you want revenge so badly, then face mine first.”

Indiscriminate revenge had created yet another avenger.

And Beatrice couldn’t avoid this challenge.

Because avoiding someone else’s revenge would mean denying her own.

Watching her quietly prepare, I thought of Christina’s face.

Yes, for her sake, for Christina who was caught up in this terror.

For the sake of those who might suffer in the future.

I have at least the right to exact their revenge on this woman.

“Here I come.”

With those final words, she kicked off the ground.

In an instant, the ground shattered, dust flew up, and she closed in on me.

It was a speed I hadn’t seen before.

I too gathered my strength and charged.

I don’t know what we shouted as we rushed at each other.

I extended my left arm and struck her face hard.

And Beatrice’s right hand…

Grabbed my helmet.

-Crack!

I could feel my helmet breaking.

At the same time, blue energy was pouring into my helmet.

Something was squeezing into my head.

The helmet that had reliably protected my face until now was beginning to crumble like paper.

“Aaaaargh!!!!”

Perhaps she had abandoned all defense and concentrated all her power.

Beatrice let out a battle cry.

Soon, Beatrice’s hand began to feel hot.

It felt like something was about to explode inside her hand.

I thought my head might burst if this continued.

And I clenched my right fist.

‘I don’t know the principle, but…’

I focus my mind on my fist.

Even through the pain, I somehow maintain focus.

I imagine all the power currently coursing through my body gathering there.

There was no logic to it.

It was almost instinctive.

Perhaps because of what Beatrice had just done, the image came easily.

In my right hand, a faint blue energy gathered along with the red lightning.

-Crack!

Finally, my helmet shattered.

And just before Beatrice’s fingers could touch my face.

I swung my fist and hit her in the stomach.

I hit with all my gathered strength.

-Thwack!!

“Kuhak!!”

A much greater impact and sound than before spread around us.

Beatrice seemed to have gathered all her strength for this attack.

Because of that, she might not have had any power left for defense.

Soon Beatrice’s body flew backward.

“Cough….”

With a weak cough, Beatrice rolled backward several times.

Eventually, she stopped moving.

-Crumble….

Suddenly my field of vision widened.

In reality, it was just the blink of an eye.

As the price for withstanding that moment, my helmet slid off my head and eventually scattered in pieces on the ground.

“…If not for the helmet, I would have died instantly.”

Looking at the helmet that had been reduced almost to powder, I muttered.

And then I sat down on the ground.

‘…I fought for too long.’

The price of using the red lightning was catching up to me.

I quickly spat out when I felt something welling up inside, and blood came out.

And only then did I start to feel pain throughout my body.

Although I had won, Beatrice’s attacks had steadily accumulated damage on me as well.

Meanwhile, Beatrice lay motionless, seemingly unconscious.

“…So I succeeded in beating her up.”

At least I had avenged Christina’s injury.

After resting briefly, now I should restrain Beatrice and…

-Clap, clap, clap

A strange sound of applause rang out.

“Bravo, bravo.”

“…You.”

I could finally notice why the applause sounded strange.

One hand was a prosthetic, so the sound of clapping was a bit odd.

“Wow, I’m surprised. I thought you would at least destroy each other.”

“…You, could it be.”

It’s that man who went with Cara.

Now he was wearing the same clothes he had worn beside the Saint.

Had he been watching this fight?

More importantly, when did he change into those clothes?

“Still, I’m amazed. To think you would finally defeat the Mad Dog of the Magic Tower.”

He was still smiling kindly.

If someone saw him, they might think he was a benevolent clergyman with such a smile.

For some reason, that smile was rather unpleasant.

And from the man’s words, I could notice one strange point.

“…How do you know she’s the Mad Dog?”

“Well… I once worked at the Magic Tower.”

The man says with a smile.

“I told you, didn’t I? This prosthetic. I lost it being bitten by a dog.”

It seemed insignificant, but something about it felt unpleasant.

And only then could I remember that I didn’t know this man’s name.

“…Your name, could it be.”

What happened next was instantaneous.

Beatrice, whom I thought was unconscious, suddenly rose to her feet.

With her eyes bulging terribly and blood flowing from her mouth, she charged.

“SOMNUS!!!!!!”

Beatrice shouted until her voice cracked as she rushed at Somnus.

+

“…Huh!”

Startled by the sudden vision, Eve opened her eyes wide.

She hadn’t been sleeping just now.

Since Kei had entrusted Sera to her, she had been in her office with Sera while reviewing documents.

She was just working as usual when suddenly she saw the future.

“…okay? Hello?”

Somehow having approached without notice, Sera was shaking her body.

“…Did I fall asleep?”

“No? You were just suddenly staring into space…”

Sera looked down at her with concern.

While they bickered and kept each other in check over one particular issue, Eve thought that Sera was fundamentally a good person as she rose from her seat.

Then she quickly opened the wardrobe beside her desk and took out a sword and coat.

“Um, Lady Ravencha?”

“Quickly get ready to leave.”

Sera looked at her strangely, but there was no time to explain.

They couldn’t stay here now.

“But…”

“Hurry.”

As Sera continued to hesitate, Eve quickly grabbed her coat and pulled her outside.

The weather was a bit cold as it was snowing, and Sera quickly put on her coat as they hurried out.

“Excuse me, could you explain why…”

“Assassins.”

Eve said this while pulling Sera’s hand.

“If we had stayed there, you would have been captured.”

Sera just tilted her head at this cryptic statement.

Eve quickly moved between alleys.

Her target was the location of today’s church festival.

Thinking that they needed to rendezvous with Kei quickly, Eve rapidly pulled Sera along.

“Um…”

Just as Sera was about to say something, it happened.

Suddenly, a large explosion occurred at the place where the prayer ceremony was being held.

The explosion was so loud that Eve and Sera momentarily forgot their purpose and stared at it in shock.

“…Kei!”

“Kei is!”

Without needing to decide who went first, they both ran quickly.

Surprised by the fact that an explosion had occurred at that very place, the two ran.

And it was right then that Eve noticed something shining entering her field of vision.

It was purely by chance that she spotted it.

“Duck!”

Eve quickly jumped in and knocked Sera down, and something flew through the space where Sera had just been.

Looking closely, it was something like a needle.

It seemed to be a dart blown from the mouth.

Eve quickly drew her sword.

“Who’s there!”

She looked at the place from where the needle had just flown.

And men dressed in black appeared in front.

They were the men from the vision Eve had just seen.

‘…So it wasn’t just those four.’

The future she had seen was of four men breaking through the reception room window, subduing Eve, and taking Sera away.

She had quickly taken Sera out before that could happen, but they had been ambushed and caught up to already.

‘For them to act so openly…’

The recent explosion.

She thought that the surroundings must be in chaos, and the guards would all have headed there.

Normally, just stalling for time would have brought the guards running, but that was unlikely now.

In other words, that explosion was related to these guys.

Eve pointed her sword to deter a man who was trying to approach.

Sera also created a magic missile between her hands.

Since she wasn’t strictly a mage, the magic missile she created without a staff was smaller than usual, but it was better than nothing.

As they faced off briefly, a man appeared among the black-clothed figures.

“You are…”

Sera’s magic missile disappeared as her concentration broke.

It was because someone she knew appeared among them.

“The one who came to meet Cara…”

“Yes. We meet again.”

The man spoke with a kind smile.

Eve, who felt that smile was ominously strange, pointed her sword at him.

“Who are you?”

The man raised one hand to scratch his cheek.

It was the prosthetic hand that he claimed had been lost to a dog bite.

Soon, making a reverent gesture of prayer with his hands, the man opened his mouth.

“I am called Somnus.”

Somnus smiled.

On the same day, in two different places.