Chapter 75 - Best Condition (3)
10 min read ·
A city dyed in darkness and light as the sun set.
Even if the commercial district had gone under and few people walked these streets.
In a corner of the metropolis where, since it was rush hour, just a short walk away people were bustling about.
The old man with a spear, Lee Mun-ryong, ran.
Lee Mun-ryong gripped his spear and clenched his teeth.
He smiled fiercely as he watched the man in the white coat before him, Yo-han.
In a situation where he'd been ambushed without any warning.
The man had immediately summoned and gripped his weapon, his grimoire.
Lee Mun-ryong watched Yo-han, who stared straight back at him.
In this line of work, there were two kinds of people.
Those who hesitated for a moment before killing when caught in an unexpected situation.
".........!"
And those who could blow a person's head off without a shred of hesitation.
Though nothing was visible, an overwhelming killing intent flooded Lee Mun-ryong's senses.
And this man was clearly the latter.
The attack had already begun.
'This is going to kill me.'
And so Lee Mun-ryong stepped forward with his left foot and drove a thundering stomp into the ground.
BOOM!
Quickly shifting from one arm to both, he gripped the base of the spear shaft.
He changed from a thrusting stance to one where he twisted his body to swing.
On the razor's edge. Even the slightest sluggishness meant death.
It flowed into a single motion.
Gathering the force from his toes, channeling even the momentum built from his charge.
He stepped forward with his right foot and drove a second thundering stomp.
KRAAASH!
He swung the spear shaft down as if bringing a mace crashing to earth.
'Eight Extremes, Six Harmonies Spear.'
It sounded strange, but it went without saying.
Eight Extremes Fist was stronger when wielded with a spear than with fists.
The descending spear shaft collided with the invisible monster's strike.
KRAAAAASH!!
A thunderous roar, louder even than the stomp that had cracked the asphalt, echoed outward.
The impact shattered the spearhead and sent it flying.
From the side, it would have looked like he'd struck the empty air and his spear had broken for nothing.
But he felt it clearly.
'The Invisible Vampire.'
Lee Mun-ryong clenched his teeth against the tremor running along his spear shaft.
'It really existed!'
The familiar of the grimoire <De Vermis Mysteriis>.
An absurd rumor, yes.
But since word had gone around that the owner of the grimoires <Lemegeton> and <De Vermis Mysteriis> might be the same person, Alphons had prepared for the possibility.
He had told Lee Mun-ryong about the existence of the Invisible Vampire.
It wasn't the kind of monster that became easy to handle just because one knew it existed.
Still, knowing about the invisible monster versus not knowing were clearly different things.
Thanks to that, he'd caught on quickly. ...Otherwise, it would have been dangerous.
The spear was broken, but he was alive.
Though he'd only managed to block a single blow.
"■■■■■-!!"
The invisible monster howled. The air trembled.
For the briefest instant, a hollow laugh formed on Lee Mun-ryong's lips.
He'd poured every ounce of strength and technique in his body into that, and the thing's attack had been a casual strike.
As if nothing had happened, another lethal blow came crashing in.
The impact made Lee Mun-ryong's body shudder. His vision shook.
But he did not close his eyes.
It was strange to say "watching" when the monster was invisible.
But he needed every scrap of his senses awake if he wanted to dodge.
It was his first time fighting a monster this powerful.
A life spent living and dying by the blade.
But this wasn't his first brush with death.
The only thing he could trust was the martial prowess he'd honed himself.
Spirit, skill, and physique. Mind-Technique-Body.
He would not waver. He would not doubt.
And so....
Lee Mun-ryong screamed desperately inside.
'UWOOOOOH! Please let me live! Move, body!'
And then.
Lee Mun-ryong's tempered body moved to survive.
His left foot kicked off the ground. He snapped his head to the side.
WHOOSH!
Grizzly's arm grazed past, narrowly missing Lee Mun-ryong's head.
The overwhelming speed made the wrinkles on Lee Mun-ryong's face tremble.
Even a graze would be fatal. A killing blow.
Lee Mun-ryong gritted his teeth and kept his body moving.
Of course, he very much wanted to pat himself on the back, but....
Dodging it was no cause for celebration.
He didn't know whether what the monster had just thrown was its left arm or right arm, but.
If he stayed this close...
Left arm, right arm, left arm again, he'd just get pummeled to death.
So what he was aiming for was.
The monster's master, the wizard, visible behind the invisible creature.
Of course, the monster wouldn't just stand by and watch, but....
Right now, Lee Mun-ryong wasn't alone.
His client was hard to get along with, but the man had skill.
SPLAASH!
Alphons had been preparing his magic the moment he saw Yo-han.
Water tentacles came surging toward Yo-han at high speed.
Grizzly moved to block the magic first.
"GAAAH!"
It swept its arm and tore the water tentacles apart in one blow, swatting them away.
That was enough. A brief opening.
Lee Mun-ryong extended his right foot forward and lowered his body.
Even a little bit closer.
Instead of the broken spearhead, he aimed the opposite end of the shaft, bent his knees, and extended his arms.
He thrust the shaft forward and let go naturally.
With the force behind it, the shaft flew in a straight line and struck Yo-han in the ribs.
"-Gkh!"
CRASH!
The impact sent Yo-han's body tumbling to the ground.
Surprise flickered in Lee Mun-ryong's eyes.
He had aimed for the heart, but Yo-han had twisted his body in that split second!
There was no time for regret.
Lee Mun-ryong immediately kicked off the ground and leaped far back.
KWABOOM!!
A crater formed where Lee Mun-ryong had been standing as Grizzly drove its fist into the spot.
Having created distance, Lee Mun-ryong pulled a spare spear from the fishing bag he'd left on the ground earlier and unfolded it.
CLANK.
"My life flashed before my eyes. Went through every thought imaginable in one or two seconds."
Lee Mun-ryong said to Alphons while keeping his eyes on the front.
"If you want me to buy time against that monster, you'll need to pay at least triple the original contract fee."
"We don't have time to haggle over that. We'll talk later."
Alphons glared at Yo-han, who was staggering to his feet.
Drooling like a dog, pupils shaking, but that was from pain, not fear.
Those black eyes gradually regained focus and glared back at them.
***
"Gkh... Keurgh... Haah!"
I let out a ragged breath as searing pain spread through my body.
A rapid exchange and an ambush I never saw coming.
Just as Si-on and Ellie had demonstrated.
I knew there were humans who could boost their physical abilities with a technique called Breathing Technique.
But I never expected someone could move that fast and hit that hard.
'Dammit....'
The area around my ribs throbbed as pain radiated outward.
'That was fast as fuck.'
That goddamn reaction speed... Twisting my body was the best I could manage.
Once I got out of this mess....
Even accounting for the suspicion and entanglements it would cause, I needed to contact Si-on and learn that Breathing Technique.
".........."
Grizzly stood in front of its master, bracing for an attack.
Alphons watched Yo-han rise to his feet, pulled out a flask, and began chanting a spell.
He wasn't holding back at all. This was his most powerful magic.
"Waters of the tempest, rage once more."
Rainwater collected during a typhoon, distilled to its purest essence through alchemy and magic.
The pure water elemental force rose not into the earth, but skyward.
Pitter, pitter-patter-patter-patter...
Storm clouds formed and rain began to fall.
Seeing the scene before him, Lee Mun-ryong spoke.
"Getting rained on will slow the body down... but there are advantages too."
Invisible or not, it still had a physical form.
Unnaturally, in a space where nothing should be.
"Haaaah...!"
The pouring rain splashed and streamed along Grizzly's body, revealing its position.
Lee Mun-ryong thrust his spear forward, keeping Grizzly in check.
"Since the old days, fighting monsters has always been the warrior's duty."
Furthermore, the magic-infused rainwater gathered on the ground and swelled up like a slime.
Bubble, bubble...
It assisted Lee Mun-ryong in keeping Grizzly at bay.
In the end, the outcome of this battle would be decided between the wizards.
Alphons drew a one-handed sword from his waist, hidden under his coat.
A magic sword, silver-plated and engraved with magical incantations.
Rainwater trailed along the blade and gathered at its edge. Alphons swung the sword.
A blade of water carrying a cutting slash flew through the air.
"...!?"
I frantically rolled my shock-wracked body to dodge the water slash.
'Fuck... what the hell, a water cutter!?'
My face contorted on its own from the pain and frustration.
If this weren't a life-or-death situation right now.
I would have complained about why I didn't have any fantasy-like magic like that.
Anyway, without a care for how I looked, I rolled across the ground.
Ritual magic was useless in a situation like this.
To counter the enemy's magic, I pulled out the new magic I'd recently learned.
Elemental magic.
"Gnomes!"
At their master's call, a swarm of gnomes rose from the rain-soaked earth.
"Waaaaaah!"
"Let's go!"
"Murder gnomes!"
With white beards, each pulling a sickle from their pockets, they charged at Alphons.
"...What?"
Alphons's eyes went wide.
One of the Four Elemental Spirits. Earth elementals, gnomes?
Alphons quickly pulled out a flask containing a seed suspended in water and hurled it at the gnomes.
"Eh?"
"What's thi... AAAGH!?"
The seed grew at an explosive rate, thick vines bursting forth.
The vines coiled around the gnomes' bodies and tangled them up.
"Wh, WAAAAAH~!"
"Getting our nutrients sucked dry gnomes!"
"H, help us gnomes!"
Earth Elemental Gnomes, taken out by vine whip!
At that pitiful sight, I couldn't exactly squeeze my eyes shut in front of the enemy.
So I squinted them shut instead.
Maybe they should change their name from earth elementals to house-elves.
...Still, it was fine.
They made coffee and cleaned, after all. Personally, I liked them.
And the objective had been achieved.
***
Caught off guard by the unexpected appearance of the elementals, Alphons was startled, then quickly checked on Yo-han.
But Yo-han was already gone from that spot.
In the moment Alphons was flustered, he had made a quick judgment and fled.
Both Grizzly's and the gnomes' summons were released.
The sound of footsteps splashing through puddles in the alleyway echoed out.
Lee Mun-ryong let out a rough breath.
"Haah...."
He extended his trembling hand, muscles torn and quivering, and spoke.
"Got any recovery potions or anything?"
Alphons handed him a flask filled with red liquid.
Lee Mun-ryong downed the potion, and his wounds healed as his body recovered.
"...Times like these really make you appreciate how convenient magic is."
Then he looked toward the alley where Yo-han had disappeared and spoke with a puzzled expression.
"I hit him while avoiding the monster, so the blow didn't land with full force, but... he still shouldn't have been in any state to move."
"The gnomes."
"What?"
Alphons answered in a low voice.
"Among the Four Classical Elements, earth symbolizes vitality and resilience."
He spoke with an expression of displeasure.
"By contracting with the earth elementals, his bones, muscles, skin, the overall durability of his entire body would have increased."
...It didn't matter. The task at hand remained the same.
Alphons raised his head and looked up at the sky where rain poured down.
The magic had been unleashed.
As long as this rain fell, the bastard could not escape.