episode_0100

Chapter 100 – Compatibility

“You, what are you?!” “Where did you appear from?” The Dark Cultists revealed their bewilderment at my sudden appearance. I looked at Deborah. “Well done.” “What do you mean! It wasn’t that hard.” Deborah feigned modesty at the compliment. Unlike the lively voice in my head, she was currently hugging a mannequin covered in an illusion, trembling with anxiety. The tear marks under her eyes, not yet fully wiped away, looked truly real. ‘She had a talent for acting.’ When I first asked her, she was so awkward that I worried she might get caught, but it was just unnecessary concern. Rather, I should be careful not to be deceived by her later.

Just as I was arbitrarily wary of Deborah, the Dark Cultists exchanged glances and rushed me all at once. “Die!” “I’ll butcher your limbs!” Perhaps because there were no orders to capture me alive, their attacks were ferocious. My response to the attacks targeting my entire body was very simple. Ignore everything except the vitals.

Slicing sounds! The Dark Cultists’ attacks cut my skin, and blood gushed out. But before the pain could reach my brain, flames erupted and regenerated the wounds, so all I felt was the sensation of being cut. In the meantime, I launched attacks, landing a punch on each of the exposed enemies. Boom! Bang! It wasn’t the sound of flesh hitting flesh, but rather like bombs exploding. The condensed flames of destruction exploded, incinerating not only their bodies but also their demonic energy, inflicting unimaginable pain. “Ughaaaah!” “Aargh!” The enemies collapsed to the ground, screaming, then were consumed by the flames that spread throughout their bodies, vanishing. As their comrades disappeared without a trace, the remaining cultists hesitated and retreated.

“Wh-what is this!” “Damn it! It even burns demonic energy?” “Wh-what are you? Who are you to interfere with us?!” It was truly disgusting that these guys, who had been killing people to their hearts’ content, now valued their own lives so much. I swept them away without a word. It took only three minutes to defeat all the cultists. Taking a deep breath and checking my physical condition, I turned my head to look at Deborah.

“Go.” “Huh?” “That man. Doesn’t he need treatment? You’ll be able to treat him if you go to the cult. Don’t worry, I’ll help your friends.” “Ah! Ah, yes! Then I’ll leave it to you!” Illusion magic consumes a lot of mana. Not knowing when the illusion magic cast on the mannequin might wear off, Deborah simply bowed her head and went down the stairs instead of giving a long reply to my words. Now, as long as Deborah leaves the clock tower, the plan will be successfully concluded. Since I’ve appeared, Ethan won’t bother to keep peeking at Deborah, and then the mannequin won’t be exposed. As long as they know that I and Ruan exist simultaneously, there will be no reason for suspicion in the future. ‘Good. That’s one thing done.’ All that remained was to help Abel’s group.

***

CRASH! A deafening roar echoed widely as the shield and fist collided. Abel couldn’t withstand the immense impact and was flung back, sliding a long distance across the ground. His legs trembled as if they would collapse at any moment. His opponent didn’t seem pleased.

“Is this all you’ve got? Try a little harder.” Red striped hair, vertically slit red pupils. Perked up round ears and a long tail indicated that he was a tiger beastman. Krak, the battle maniac. Tasked with guarding Baltar, he was currently single-handedly enduring all the attacks from Abel’s group.

Swish! While Abel briefly drew attention, Alisa and Pernia seized the opening and rushed in from a blind spot. A rapier and a dagger swung simultaneously, pre-occupying escape routes and flying in. It was an attack where even if one was dodged, the other was unavoidable. Krak boldly caught the dagger and parried the rapier. CLANG! “Ugh!” Alisa quickly twisted her trajectory to deflect the punch, but she couldn’t withstand the immense brute force and was sent flying backward. And as soon as the dagger plunged into Krak’s forearm, Pernia let go without hesitation and retreated. Krak irritably pulled out the dagger and threw it to the ground.

“How long do you intend to fight like this? Let’s have a blazing battle of slaughter!” His roaring forearm slowly healed. The Bloodline Ritual, a privilege of beastmen. This power, passed down from ancient times, granted Krak endless regeneration. All the numerous attacks he had received so far had inflicted no damage on him at all. In some ways, he was a more troublesome opponent than Shakra. Shakra had been off guard to begin with, and there was a chance of victory if one pushed through with a battle of attrition. If they couldn’t unleash enough firepower to overwhelm Krak, Abel’s group would eventually collapse from exhaustion if they continued to fight like this. Alisa bit her lip in frustration. ‘Still too weak, as expected.’ After much effort, she could now freely manipulate sword energy, but she still couldn’t resolve the crisis right before her eyes. At this rate, she had no idea when she would be able to repay her debt to Hyun.

It was at that moment. “Krak. Finish it quickly.” Baltar, who was engrossed in completing a magic circle from the observation deck overlooking the academy, urged Krak. As a meticulous planner, he utterly loathed it when his predictions went awry. Krak could not defy the will of Baltar, who held a higher rank, even if he wasn’t his direct superior.

“Well, I was getting tired of this anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Now, just die!” His fist struck the shield. CRUSHING SOUND! “Ugh!” Abel, who had barely been enduring the onslaught, rolled on the ground with a scream. From Krak’s fist, a red aura was now fiercely blazing. There was a world of difference between a concentrated aura, condensed to its limit, and one that was merely worn. Abel had no chance of enduring it.

“First, the mage.” Krak fixed his gaze on Uni, who had been blasting fire spears just moments ago. It wasn’t simply because she was annoying, but an unconscious choice to vent the frustration he had accumulated from guarding Baltar. Both of them shared the commonality of being fire mages. Naturally, Abel wouldn’t stand by and watch Uni in danger.

“Absolutely not! If you want to kill Uni, you’ll have to kill me first!” “Hoo… Your eyes are finally useful. Then, watch this!” Krak’s fist exploded again. CRASH! The shield, which had been dented in the center in the shape of a fist, was now even more horribly crumpled by the attack. But this time, Abel managed to deflect the impact and endured without falling. That pleased Krak.

“Hahahahaha! Let’s see how long you can last!” Bang! Boom! Crash! The fist continuously struck the shield. The shield gradually lost its original shape. The more it did, the greater the burden on Abel became. The group tried to stop Krak somehow, but they were often sent flying with a single punch. Only Abel, focused on defense, could handle even a fraction of his strength. In truth, Krak could have easily broken through Abel’s defense and exploited openings, but he stubbornly insisted on a head-on confrontation. Finally, Abel reached his limit.

Bang! “Ugh!” Abel, who had slid a long way across the ground, knelt, profusely bleeding. His internal organs had been severely shaken by the repeated impacts. The shield he held was now a complete scrap of metal, barely recognizable as a shield anymore.

“Is this the end? If you can’t get up anymore, I’ll kill that mage.” “Ugh!” Abel forced himself to stagger to his feet. He was so precarious that a common person could have knocked him over with a light touch. Uni stepped forward. “A-Abel! Stop! It’s okay. I’m okay, so—” “Stay still! I’ll stop him. I’ll protect you. So just stay there.” A sense of conviction emanated from Abel. Faced with his will to never let Krak pass and to protect her even if it cost him his life, Uni froze in place. Krak, too, met his conviction and grinned with satisfaction.

“Good. That’s how it should be. Now, this is the last one. If you take this, I’ll let that mage live! Tiger King Fist!” Krak, making an impossible promise, used his ultimate technique. Mana took the form of a tiger’s maw and swelled. The fist, imbued with majestic force, distorted the air as it rushed forward. Before it, Abel was infinitesimally small. “Ughaaaaah!” Still, he didn’t flinch, pouring all his concentration into the shield. In that moment, he was perfectly one with the shield. With some kind of realization, another gigantic shield made of mana overlaid his shield, protecting the front. Holding the conviction of a lifetime, the mana-infused shield met the fist.

CRRRASH! An enormous roar erupted along with a shockwave. When the aftershock subsided, what was revealed was Abel, his shield, and an entire arm completely shattered, lying collapsed. “Abeeeeel!” Uni immediately rushed out and embraced Abel. She held him, examined him, then quickly pulled out a potion to attempt treatment. Krak slowly approached the two of them. The rest of the group, who had been quietly recovering their stamina until then, exchanged glances and stepped forward.

“You can’t touch Abel, you bastard!” “That’s right, meow! We won’t let you!” “You’ll have to defeat us first!” Seeing their eyes full of resolve, Krak scoffed and raised his fist. “Your courage is admirable, but you weaklings cannot stop me!” A fierce battle ensued for a while. Yas and Alisa took turns receiving the onslaught, while Pernia controlled numerous daggers to provide support and simultaneously attempted surprise attacks by targeting openings. They fought bravely in their own way, but it was still insufficient to handle Krak. Yas and Alisa were neutralized in turn, and Pernia, left alone, summoned Shilaphe and cast a tornado.

“Hahahahaha! You’re quite something!” However, the tornado certainly inflicted significant damage on Krak, but its mana consumption was so extreme that it vanished before it could properly defeat him. Moreover, even the slight injuries sustained were healed by his regeneration, leaving no hope. In the end, even Pernia was struck down by Krak’s blow. Krak walked past them and headed towards Abel.

“My apologies. It took a while. It was a satisfying fight. So I’ll send you off without pain.” Krak, showing a semblance of respect, concentrated all his mana into his fist. Hummm! The aura condensed even further. His intention was to sever the lifeforce in one go with destructive power concentrated on a single point. Uni watched the fiercely blazing red aura with fearful eyes, yet she spread her arms and stood in front of Abel.

“You can’t kill Abel.” “Move. If you keep blocking, I’ll kill you both.” “Then do it! I have no intention of surviving alone anyway.” “Hmm… Is that so? Then it can’t be helped. Die.” Krak’s death sentence was pronounced. Uni, watching the approaching fist, tightened her grip on Abel. ‘Someone, please help.’ She prayed earnestly. She hoped that anyone, anyone at all, would appear and stop this man. She knew that the possibility of help appearing at the top of this high clock tower, isolated from the outside, was extremely slim, but she still hoped for a miracle. And someone answered that wish.

“Stop.” A quiet yet clearer voice than anything else. In the instant they turned their attention to an undeniable presence. CRASH! A fist wind of flame swept across the ground, sending Krak flying. At its source stood a man. Wearing a familiar-shaped mask, he had silver hair and golden eyes. “Hy-Hyun!” Alisa, the first to regain her senses, let out a cry full of hope.