episode_0170

170. Mira.

Shield… No, Johan, whose attention had been drawn away from Sarah, stared at the bandaged mummy.

“Hey. Are you also from the Public Security Forces?”

“Similar.”

“Can’t you just let me go? I don’t particularly intend to cause trouble.”

The bandaged mummy tilted its head.

“Unauthorized explosion, hotel property damage, and even causing public disorder. And you’re saying you didn’t cause any trouble?”

“I will faithfully pay the compensation. I have plenty of money, despite appearances.”

“The title of Special Grade Weirdo can’t be bought off with money.”

“Then what should I do?”

“It’s simple.”

Slowly, the bandaged mummy’s bandages began to unravel. In response, its aura rose sharply. Johan unknowingly broke out in a cold sweat.

Thanks to creating a semi-permanent magic restraint, Johan vaguely guessed the bandages’ purpose. It wasn’t an artifact that increased power.

‘It’s closer to the opposite.’

The bandaged mummy, now slimmer than before, stretched out both hands. Whitish bandages writhed like Medusa’s hair.

“Kill him. No taking him alive.”

At the same time, the figures behind it charged at Johan. Johan grasped Sarah’s Shield in his right hand and the Blood-Soaked Fan in his left.

Johan was quite skilled in martial arts in his own way. It’s just that it rarely came to light, obscured by magic.

His fan created a crimson line.

Clang!

“Keuk!”

The woman who had wielded the greatsword was knocked back, making a grating sound. Her arm was numb.

Seeing this, the woman’s comrade guffawed and shouted.

“Hahahaha! Getting pushed back by a mage! You should be ashamed!”

The comrade clanged! his hands together. He was wearing special alloy gauntlets on his fists.

“Watch closely! Haaaap!”

The wind split as his gauntlet approached. Johan put the fan into his inventory and spread out his palm. The gauntlet member stretched his mouth wide.

‘That guy is a Special Grade magician! That means his physical abilities are lacking!’

The world is unfair, yet fair in a way. The god gave the weirdo extraordinary magic, but he must not have given him physical abilities.

Thud-

“……Huh?”

The gauntlet member let out a bewildered groan. What? He caught it with one hand? A magician?

The gauntlet member remembered the days when he sparred with his father as a child. It felt exactly like that. A sensation of being trapped in a heavy swamp.

The weirdo muttered.

“I won’t kill you.”

At the same time.

Thwack!

The swung Sarah’s Shield directly hit the gauntlet member. He lost consciousness and was buried in the ground. Johan straightened his bent back and looked around.

“One, two, three, four, five. Is that mummy six?”

Johan spoke to the bandaged mummy who was watching from a distance.

“How long are you going to stay in the back?”

“……You guys, fall back. He was a more bizarre guy than I thought.”

The bandaged mummy’s subordinates quickly retreated. In particular, the woman with the greatsword had the fastest movements.

Swish, the bandages flowing from his body spread in all directions, creating a huge enclosed room. Johan indifferently looked around the white world.

‘It’s quite spacious.’

Johan rolled his eyes, scanning his entire body. The strength drained from his body. It must be due to the bandages’ influence.

“……Why are you standing still? Don’t tell me you’ve given up?”

“As if.”

“You’re a strange guy.”

The bandaged mummy decided to think positively. Of course, it wasn’t completely free from the influence of the bandage barrier either.

However, the impact was less than that on the weirdos. In the first place, it was the owner of the bandage artifact.

Immediately after, the bandaged mummy’s figure disappeared from sight.

The sound of the wind couldn’t even be heard because the speed was so fast. Johan extended Sarah’s Shield behind his back. It was an instinctive movement.

Clang!

“Hoo! Was the magician a decoy?”

Johan staggered and flew off to the other side. The bandaged mummy quickly followed. Its right leg was swung like a whip.

Johan was weakened, and the mummy who untied the bandages became stronger. The gap in power widened on both sides, creating a deep chasm.

Johan eventually allowed a follow-up hit.

“Keut!”

Bang!

The bandages rippled like waves. Despite the considerable impact, the bandage barrier was fine. Johan was inwardly impressed by the performance of the excellent artifact.

‘I want it even more.’

Johan thought so and rolled to the side. Bang! The bandaged mummy’s downward strike landed a hair’s breadth away.

Johan gauged his magic capacity. It was still lacking. He needed to buy a little more time……

“You seem to be thinking a lot.”

“……!”

A calm voice was heard. Not in front, but right next to him. The hairs on his whole body stood on end.

Johan reflexively spread the Blood-Soaked Fan wide open. Soon, the crimson side of the fan and the bandaged mummy’s fist collided.

Crack! Johan’s wrist was bent at an abnormal angle. At the same time, a terrible pain rang out.

“Now it’s starting.”

The bandaged mummy didn’t stop. Its shoulders blurred as indiscriminate barrage continued.

Johan crouched down, protecting his vital points. But it didn’t have much effect.

Thwack!

“Keuheuk!”

He felt his right ribs shatter. It was hard to breathe, as if his lungs had been pierced.

Even though he had raised his durability stat by using [The Scales of Magic] to some extent, it was this much. It was a formidable brute force.

Johan looked at the bandaged mummy with blurry vision. Its bandages weren’t all untied yet.

‘Amazing. It doesn’t even seem to be doing its best.’

He felt an intangible something writhing inside the bandages.

It was definitely the power that the bandaged mummy was sealing.

One question was.

‘Why bother hiding his power?’

Well, it wasn’t Johan’s business. Johan just needed to get the bandage artifact.

Sarah’s restraint is still incomplete. The bandages will be the piece that will reinforce that gap.

Thwack!

Johan, who was hit by a kick, flew to the edge of the bandage barrier.

The bandaged mummy wiggled its feet and said.

“The amount of magic I felt has decreased significantly. Is it a method of consuming magic to increase physical abilities? It’s a method I’ve never seen before.”

“……Heu, was it too obvious?”

“It wasn’t difficult.”

The conversation was short. The bandaged mummy rushed at Johan again.

Johan stomped his foot hard. The ambient magic, responding to his will, fluctuated. Soon, a huge wave covered the bandaged mummy.

Now that most of the magic has been converted into physical stats, it’s impossible to inflict effective damage with internal magic. In the end, he had no choice but to use ambient magic.

“It’s shallow.”

The bandaged mummy made an X with both arms and broke through the wave. The bandaged mummy narrowed its eyes sharply. Johan, who was behind the wave, disappeared.

The bandaged mummy immediately looked up. The ceiling of the bandage barrier. The guy was there.

“There’s no other cockroach.”

The bandaged mummy reached out to Johan. Then the bandage barrier writhed. Johan hurriedly took his body off the ceiling.

Swish!

Bandages sticking out of the barrier pierced the place where Johan was located. Thud, Johan snatched a bandage that was heading for his face.

‘The barrier even has an attack function……’

There’s no end to it. Johan thought so and lifted Sarah’s Shield.

Clang!

The bandaged mummy’s powerful fist struck directly with a magnificent noise. At the same time, Sarah’s Shield twitched slightly. Was it about to wake up? Johan was horrified.

The bandaged mummy tilted its head.

“What the hell is inside? Is it even a human?”

Johan answered as he was violently knocked away.

“There’s a monster inside. A very scary monster.”

“Take it out. I’m curious.”

“I’m too scared to take it out.”

“……”

The bandaged mummy roughly nodded. And slowly lowered its stance. Its left arm stretched out, blocking Johan.

The bandaged mummy pulled its right arm back tautly.

“Let’s finish this soon.”

Slowly, the bandages wrapping around the bandaged mummy’s right arm gradually unravel. At the same time, a strange pressure began to weigh down the surroundings.

Bang!

Immediately after, the bandaged mummy strongly hit the air and rushed at Johan. The whitish bandages that were being released trailed like a long tail.

“……Heuep!”

Johan widened his eyes. He can’t block that attack with his current power. Then……

‘There’s only one way.’

Woo-oong, Johan’s magic spread out like a spider web from his feet. His magic quickly permeated every part of the bandage barrier.

The bandaged mummy realized that Johan was doing something strange. But nothing changed. No matter what he did, the bow had already been drawn.

Rather, the bandaged mummy was looking forward to it. It’s been a long time since a Special Grade Weirdo appeared. He didn’t want it to end so easily either.

At that moment, Johan clapped both hands together loudly.

“Barrier Reversal.”

Clang-!

The white bandage barrier began to glow blue. At the same time, the bandaged mummy’s fist struck Johan.

Clang!

A translucent circular energy wave spread out from the point of impact. The air in the area swayed violently.

It was definitely a tremendous blow, but the bandaged mummy widened its purple eyes as if embarrassed.

“……What!”

Its fist was blocked by a crimson fan. Furthermore, the fan didn’t have any shaking. Johan’s expression was the same. It was such a comfortable face.

However, the bandaged mummy wasn’t embarrassed that the attack was blocked. It was a more fundamental reason. How, how on earth……

“You’re out of the barrier’s influence?”

The bandaged mummy was overwhelmed with a clear sense of powerlessness.