“Well, it’s about that time to conclude things,” the man with glasses remarked, stealing a quick glance downward.
“Indeed,” came the response.
“Do you feel alright about this?” he inquired further.
As they both observed the scene below, numerous dark wizards and programmers, who had been intensely engaged just moments ago, now stood intertwined, awaiting something.
Craig nodded slowly, contemplating the scene alongside the man. This was an entirely new experience for him, having spent his life as an elder in a dark magic faction, witnessing experts from two entirely distinct fields collaborating for a common purpose.
He pondered that, perhaps if they had met earlier or in a different setting, they could have achieved even better results. Nevertheless, such thoughts held no significance at this point.
“It’s disheartening to see those folks departing without gaining any knowledge in the end,” Craig remarked.
“That was the intention from the beginning.”
“Believing in something deeply often leads to sin,” the man asserted.
“Is it appropriate to say that in front of me, someone who reveres that very ‘sin’ as a god?”
“It’s impossible to comprehend fanatics. Can they genuinely be called fanatics if they can discuss their own doctrine in such a manner?” Craig wondered aloud.
The man’s behavior of worshiping an enigmatic entity known as disaster while also maintaining self-control was peculiar and intriguing.
As Craig’s eyes naturally fell upon the small pendant hanging around the man’s neck, he noticed an intricately engraved figure of a gigantic dragon with a shark’s head inside.
“Well,” the man chuckled, “just for the amusement of observing someone like you – a mere moth – I might temporarily stray and set faith aside.”
Craig couldn’t deny the truth in the man’s statement, so he chose silence over any retort.
“Very well. I will ensure the safety of our comrades in exchange for the data obtained from this experiment and information on the deployment of artificial domains…”
With that settled, all the remaining tasks were ones he could handle alone. There was no need to add unnecessary sacrifices, especially since the plan had already gone off the rails.
It all began with Craig’s stubbornness in the first place.
“It’s time to go. We must leave before Evelyn Marcia arrives. Interacting with that monster could disrupt the baptism in Vulcan.”
The archer, known for being the most formidable among the city government’s hunting dogs.
Ever since she had emerged in this case, the success of the plan had become incredibly uncertain.
“It was a mistake. I never expected someone as powerful as her to get involved… Was the slush fund really the root of the problem?”
“Perhaps it was,” the man replied nonchalantly, as if it were someone else’s concern.
Just as Craig was about to respond with a bitter smile, a loud voice echoed throughout the cavity.
[Can we ease the tension and wrap this up quickly?]
It was Jaun Odyss, the leader of Falcon.
[We can’t hold on for long with just the few remaining at the base. There’s a limit to how much we can delay.]
“…We’re cutting it close,” Craig retorted.
Jaun Odyss seemed to value his colleagues, but in reality, he considered only a select few as equals. To him, the other members of Falcon were mere pawns to be sacrificed for money.
Though perhaps Craig, who had proposed a deal to him and borrowed his power, had no room to judge.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave here.”
As the man lifted his glasses and started tapping on his phone, something extraordinary occurred within the cavity.
Squeeeeeeeek…!
With an odd sound resembling the twisting of steel, a section of the cavity opened wide, revealing an entirely different scene within.
Craig raised an intrigued eyebrow, realizing the significance of the phenomenon.
‘Transfer magic… and executed without any visible signs.’
It was a type of spatial magic that could transport a large number of people, dozens at a time, collectively. Normally, such a feat required meticulous preparations, substantial efforts, and significant costs at both the departure and destination points. However, the man executed it with apparent ease.
It was reasonable to assume that he borrowed this power, considering he had no mana or abilities of his own. And undoubtedly, this power stemmed from the blind faith he held in his mysterious beliefs.
“Then, elder…!”
“You must return!!” pleaded the dark wizards, their expressions desperate, as Craig stood at the threshold of the cracked space.
“Don’t worry.”
Since it was the end, even lies no longer felt agonizingly false.
***
The collapse of Falcon’s headquarters came swiftly.
While attempting to steal the encrypted key from the trade center earlier, they had already suspected that these terrorists with magical prowess were scarce in numbers. And among them, even fewer possessed both skillful magic handling and a relentless fighting spirit, like the swordsman Lennok, whom he had just defeated.
Falcon was, after all, an organization comprised of outcasts and wanderers from outside the city. In a world where individual power could surpass that of a group, a small team of exceptional elites, like this motley crew, tended to function more effectively.
This had already been proven when they successfully infiltrated the terrorist organization’s headquarters by assembling a group of freelancers with mana abilities.
As they walked down a corridor, Lennok suddenly halted, sensing around a dozen presences rapidly approaching from the other end.
Dadadada!!
Soon, a group of people turned the corner and came into view. Freelancers armed with various weapons and firearms, scanning their surroundings. Chen was among them, but Hina was nowhere to be seen. Had she lost her way in the labyrinthine corridors?
“Van, half of us…!!”
“You’re still alive!”
The faces of the freelancers lit up as they recognized Lennok amidst the turmoil.
Quickly tallying the headcount, it became evident that nearly half of their group had been lost in that short span of time. Similar to Lennok’s encounter, it seemed that those who had taken drugs, like the swordsman he encountered earlier, were guarding each corridor.
Chen spoke with a somber expression, “Many of them have been throwing themselves at us recklessly, with near-suicidal attacks. Given the nature of the battlefield, it was challenging to avoid casualties.”
The resistance they faced was more intense than expected. Although everyone’s expressions were grim, not a single person lost their motivation. They understood that an operation of this magnitude would inevitably come with losses.
Chen, managing to maintain composure, bolstered the spirit of his party once again. “If you observe that multiple corridors connect and extend like this, it’s likely this place serves as a transit area within Falcon’s headquarters. If we proceed a bit further, we should find our target.”
Upon hearing Chen’s words, the other freelancers tightened their grip on their weapons.
“Right. We just need to locate Jaun and Craig’s faces. If Cheisha can back us up with her firepower… All…”
“Unfortunately, that won’t happen.”
A voice from behind them interrupted, and a dazzling light flashed.
Poof!!
The heads of two freelancers standing behind Chen exploded like watermelons before they could even react.
The young man who emerged, trampling the fallen bodies with his boots, had sharp eyes and a fierce demeanor.
It was Jaun Odyss standing there.
The freelancers who recognized him quickly backed away in surprise.
“Ja, Jaun Odyss!!”
“T-The terrorist himself is here!!”
Various weapons and gun barrels were aimed at him, but he only grinned in response.
He showed no other reaction, just staring back at them.
“Useless bugs, you’re not helping the plan at all,” he spat out curses with a scornful laugh.
“Do you realize how much money I’ve lost because of you?”
“Are you out of your mind? Are you seriously going to commit terrorism against this city?” Chen’s words were sharp, but Jaun remained unfazed, chuckling in response.
“People like you, who would do anything for money, sure like to talk big.”
“What?”
“To be frank, what’s the difference between us and you? It’s just whether we conduct our businesses inside or outside Vulcan. Money is what matters. With money, you can do anything. That’s human nature.”
“…..No.”
Chen slowly drew two curved swords from his waistband and shook his head.
“No matter how much we need money, we don’t engage in activities like human trafficking or organ harvesting.”
“Can you say the same about the gang or those scavenger bastards?”
“We are not… like those criminal bastards…!!” One of the freelancers standing nearby tried to argue, but Chen pushed him back firmly, unexpectedly agreeing with Jaun.
“That’s not my concern. Are you trying to divert the conversation and waste time?” Chen quickly grasped Jaun’s intention and nodded to Lennok, who understood the plan.
Jaun had deliberately provoked an exaggerated and unreasonable argument to incite a counterargument, a tactic aimed at wasting time.
…
“I won’t play into your hands…!!”
Flash!
As soon as Chen realized that Jaun had fallen silent, he rushed forward, channeling his mana.
It was an action meant to convey that words were unnecessary to deal with Jaun now.
The goal was not to win a verbal battle with Jaun Odys or even to kill him. It was to bypass him, subtly blocking the spacious corridor below, and confirm Craig’s presence!
“Let’s go!!”
“Take down that terrorist!!”
Encouraged by Chen’s sudden charge, the other freelancers quickly regained their composure and started running, not toward Jaun, but toward the corridor behind him.
Realizing that the situation had taken an unexpected turn, Jaun’s lips twisted strangely.
“Damn, this is why I hate dealing with smart guys.”
Crack!!
As Jaun snapped his long, thin fingers, something glittering burst out of his sleeve.
Lennok quickly recognized the brilliantly shining object suspended in mid-air as a finely carved gemstone and shouted, mustering his mana.
“Dodge!!”
Flash!!
Kwaah!!
Around Jaun, the glowing gem exploded, unleashing the pent-up mana within, which transformed into a swirl of colorful blades.
Chwaak!!
“Agh!!”
“My arm, my arm!!”
Some managed to dodge the gem at the moment of its emergence, but others weren’t as fortunate, suffering ruthless injuries.
Freelancers staggered backward, clutching their wounds, blood spraying in all directions.
“Don’t falter!! We’ll die!!” Chen twisted his body and yelled, but it was too late.
With a wicked grin, Jaun swiftly dashed forward, grabbing two freelancers by their collars and slamming them to the ground.
Kwaaah!!
The eyes of the two freelancers, whose heads struck the floor, rolled back.
As Jaun tore at their necks, blood gushed from the torn throats.
Raising his blood-soaked hands, Jaun caught an incoming blade with his bare hand.
Sseak!!
It was a remarkably smooth maneuver, showcasing not only his proficiency in gemstone magic but also his skills as a combatant.
Extracting another gem from his waistband, Jaun’s left hand glowed with a bright blue hue, and…
Kwaah!!
A gigantic, massively amplified fist swept away the freelancers.
“Ahh!!”
“Damn it!!”
Although they had been informed that Jaun Odys used gemstones to channel mana, their reactions were significantly slow.
Not because the freelancers rushed recklessly towards Jaun; no one here was foolish enough to drop their guard when facing the leader of a notorious terrorist organization.
It was simply that Jaun’s speed in activating his magic was so swift and natural that it left the freelancers struggling to respond.
His seamless incorporation of magic activation while deftly parrying an attack not only showcased his prowess as a wizard but also made it evident that he was a skilled fighter.
“I had a rough idea from watching the fight with Daron.”
Jaun, who had turned the tide in an instant, fixed his gaze on Lennok, who stood at the back.
“I don’t need the others. If I can just pin you down here… this operation is as good as a success.”
(To be Continued)
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