Chapter 76 - Best Condition (4)
10 min read ·
"Haa... haa...."
I staggered along, opening my coat to look at the crushed metal Pentacle.
Crumple....
[Dented Sixth Pentacle of Mars]
I hadn't had any defensive magic up, but the Pentacle I'd kept inside my coat must have taken the hit first and absorbed some of the impact.
...What a loyal Pentacle.
Well, it still hurt like hell regardless.
I chanted a healing spell while clutching the spot where I'd been struck.
Walking through the back alleys, I thought.
'...Did I send Grizzly away too hastily?'
When Grizzly was close, it could read my thoughts to some extent and act accordingly.
Even at a distance, it acted autonomously following my commands.
Just like when it had tracked down and slaughtered the ranch workers from Kim Mi-ryeo's underground Workshop.
"Haa...."
My current state was the textbook weakness of a fantasy Summoner.
A powerful summon is called forth, but the Summoner is its sole weak point.
That was precisely why it was better for me to run far away.
And let Grizzly fight freely on its own. That was a sound strategy too.
The only thing that worried me was....
Just as I was walking with my hand braced against the wall.
Thud-.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the alley.
A white man who looked like any ordinary foreign tourist was walking toward me. But....
Maybe it was because the earlier fight had sharpened my senses.
".........."
I felt a gaze subtly scanning me.
The foreign man wearing wireless earbuds pretended to be on a call, or no, it probably was a real call.
He naturally angled his body to shield his movement as he slipped a hand inside his jacket.
I acted immediately.
Bang-!
Grizzly crushed the foreign man's head, and his body crumpled to the ground.
Splat.
Blood spread across the rain-soaked alley.
The man's hand, still clutching a pistol inside his jacket, went limp.
I looked down at the corpse and narrowed my eyes.
If this were America, someone with a gun in a back alley wouldn't be unusual, but this was Korea.
".........."
Which meant the corpse before me was an additional attacker.
This was exactly what I'd been worried about.
The old spearman and the long-haired wizard.
Those bastards had ambushed me the moment they saw me. They had targeted me deliberately.
I didn't know why they'd attacked me, but.
Well, it was obvious. They'd gotten information from somewhere and were after my Grimoire.
Then again, I'd killed plenty of people by now, so it could also be a grudge.
Honestly, the reason didn't matter.
What mattered was that they were trying to kill me.
And given that they had prepared thoroughly before ambushing me.
Only two had stepped forward first, but there could be more enemies.
When I'd let Grizzly fight alone and run away,
I had considered that they might target me while I was defenseless, but....
I hadn't expected to be attacked this quickly.
I stared at the corpse through narrowed eyes.
...But how did they find me so fast?
Had they already set up a perimeter in the surrounding area?
They might have given orders to shoot on sight any man in a white coat.
Patter- pitter-patter-.
The rain that had been falling was soaking my body, creating ripples in the puddles.
".........!"
...A single image surfaced in my mind.
The stream of water that had approached me just before the very first ambush.
My eyes went wide.
'-Detection magic!'
I looked up at the rainy sky.
My jaw clenched tight, and my lips twisted.
'Damn... that was a mistake.'
Even if it meant taking risks, I should have made absolutely sure to kill the long-haired wizard.
My fists clenched.
They were monitoring my position with detection magic and using their subordinates to chase me down and wear me out.
Like nobles on a hunt, they planned to appear at the end and finish me off.
Even in fights, I'd always won in one blow, whether through Grizzly's surprise punch or prepared magic.
Had I made a judgment error in this kind of close engagement...?
I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled.
"Phew...."
...Enough of that.
Regret and second-guessing could wait.
I calmly opened my eyes again.
After all, the fight wasn't over yet.
I'd made a mistake, but I wasn't dead yet. Next time, I would kill him for certain.
"Gyaaah...."
I stroked Grizzly's head, took the pistol from the corpse, and said.
"Eat."
Even if my stamina was running low, Grizzly's stamina couldn't be allowed to drop for the fights ahead.
Crack- crunch-.
Since my position was being tracked, I couldn't stay in one place long enough to let it eat slowly and thoroughly.
I caught my breath during the short interval and put together a plan.
The most dangerous threat right now.
I thought of the absurd old spearman who had sacrificed his spear but still blocked Grizzly's strike.
Honestly, the long-haired foreign wizard wasn't that big of a threat.
Of course, he was the most wizard-like wizard I'd ever encountered.
Being magic, there had to be groundwork and preparation behind it all, but.
Growing plants in an instant, launching blades of water, and freely manipulating the falling rain; he was practically a fantasy wizard.
But could any of that take down Grizzly? The answer was no.
The long-haired wizard's magic couldn't stop Grizzly. It wasn't that he lacked skill.
I'd put him at roughly the same level as the Necromancer who had attacked the campground, Edward Coffin.
Come to think of it, just as the long-haired wizard had made it rain to better use his magic,
Edward had also blanketed the campground with fog that turned corpses into Zombies.
...I'd taught myself magic from Grimoires, so I wouldn't know,
but was it the trend among modern wizards to set up favorable environments, field magic, area-of-effect zones?
".........."
A thought flickered through my mind for a moment.
I'd think more about that later.
Anyway, the real problem was the old spearman.
If Grizzly ignored everything else and charged at the long-haired wizard to kill him, the spearman would likewise charge at me to kill me.
It was essentially both sides rushing in with blades, ready to die together.
If today had been Tuesday,
I could have blocked with the [Sixth Pentacle of Mars], the magic that deflects fatal wounds, and tried something, but.
...Today was Monday, so that plan was out.
Well, that was fine.
Tuesday had Tuesday's magic.
And Monday had Monday's magic.
Grizzly was more or less done eating.
Staying in one place was dangerous, so I tucked the pistol inside my coat and got moving.
There was no telling when or where a bullet might come flying.
An incredulous laugh formed at the corner of my mouth before I realized it.
As I took each step forward,
I was reminded all over again of what kind of world I'd stepped into.
A world crawling with people who didn't give a damn about the law.
And since I was a serial-killer wizard myself, I couldn't rely on the law's protection either.
"...The wild, huh."
A lawless wasteland.
Given the current situation, being in a deserted area was actually more dangerous, so I left the alley.
Bustle-.
"Ugh, rain out of nowhere!"
I came out onto a busy main street teeming with people.
I'd thought about all sorts of things, but in the end, what I had to do was simple.
If they were coming at me with everything they had to kill me, then I would simply kill them with everything I had to protect my peaceful life.
My dark eyes glowed with calm resolve.
Drenched in the pouring rain, drawing the stares of passersby, I blended into the crowd.
***
A makeshift Workshop set up in a rented hotel floor.
Alphons washed off his wet body, came out, and set alchemical tools like a distiller on the table.
He prepared the solutions needed for casting magic.
Meanwhile, Lee Mun-ryong was inspecting his broken spear from behind and spoke.
"This was made by a famous Nordic wizard-blacksmith, you know. Since it broke on the job, does that count as a work injury? Am I getting compensated?"
Alphons apparently had no intention of humoring him and ignored it.
Lee Mun-ryong shrugged and looked away.
Inside a large silver dish placed in the room, even though not a single droplet of water had fallen into it, specific ripples were forming on its surface.
He didn't understand the principle, but apparently it displayed Yo-han's location.
"Don't we need to chase that guy directly?"
"The detection magic is already in place, and the mercenaries I brought from the School are pursuing him. It's fine."
In response to Lee Mun-ryong, Alphons paused his hands for a moment and spoke.
"A wizard is one who is prepared. Maintaining peak condition at all times is what a true elite wizard does."
Alphons checked the solution in a flask and swirled it.
"And he's tougher than expected, so it's safer to wear him down before attacking."
"Hmm... peak condition, huh."
Lee Mun-ryong stroked his chin, thinking of Yo-han.
Rest up and attack the exhausted enemy. True enough, but.
"He seems like the kind of guy you shouldn't give even a moment to breathe."
Well, looking at the silver dish, Yo-han had been on the move continuously since the ambush at seven in the evening.
It was currently three in the morning.
Under normal circumstances it might be different, but moving through the low temperatures of deep winter while getting rained on, his stamina had certainly dropped significantly.
And the rain kept pouring.
Just then, a scream rang out over the radio.
[Current target, AAAGH...!]
It wasn't just one. Screams erupted in rapid succession.
[Ah, AAAAAH-!]
Wooong-!
The water in the silver dish shook and splashed.
The ripples that had been steady until now turned into violent waves.
Alphons's eyes went wide, and Lee Mun-ryong spoke in a tone that said he'd seen this coming.
".........!"
"Looks like he's making his move for real."
Alphons dipped his finger into the silver dish and sensed Yo-han's location.
"...That place from before. He was there at the very beginning too; is that where his Workshop is?"
He let out a light scoff.
"Ha, so he finally got tired and revealed his bolt-hole."
Alphons strapped the flasks he'd made during the rest to his waist and threw on his coat.
It was hunting time.
Alphons and Lee Mun-ryong moved quickly.
***
A deserted street near Yo-han's secret Workshop.
It was already an empty street to begin with, but the pouring rain made it even darker and gloomier.
Shaaaaa....
There, Lee Mun-ryong looked at the man standing boldly in the middle of the street in a white coat: Yo-han.
A body weighed down by rain, lips turned blue from the drop in body temperature.
Completely unlike their side, who had rested comfortably in a warm room. He was clearly not in any normal physical condition.
Judging by the situation, he probably hadn't managed to eat or drink anything proper this entire time.
"Starving and exhausted."
Lee Mun-ryong rested the spear on his shoulder and spoke. He was curious why Yo-han had suddenly acted like this.
"You couldn't even win properly when you were in better shape than this. What do you think you can do in that state?"
Lee Mun-ryong expected Yo-han to ignore him, but a reply came.
"Starving and exhausted... you're right about that. But."
I looked straight at them and spoke.
"Does a lion that isn't hungry go hunting? Does a cheetah run to show off how fast it is?"
My calm voice resonated with the low rumble of a beast about to pounce.
"Starving and exhausted? That's best condition in the wild."
I bit down on my teeth chattering from the cold and bared a fierce grin at them.
And then,
Lee Mun-ryong couldn't hold back and burst out laughing at my bluff.
"Pfft, hahahahaha! You lunatic! Client! Watch yourself!"
His eyes gleamed as he gripped his spear properly. Every sense in his body sharpened to a razor's edge.
"He didn't run! He showed up to hunt us!"
"GAAAAAAH-!!"
Out of the rain, a three-meter transparent monster revealed its form and charged.
Lee Mun-ryong moved as well.
Thrust and dodge. Thinking of nothing but that, he bought time.
In the end, it was the same as the earlier fight.
The outcome of this battle would be decided in the clash between wizards.
Alphons glared at me with an expression of distaste, then drew his sword again.
A one-on-one situation had been created.
"Fine, I'll teach you what a real magic duel is."
"I'm curious about that."
And I immediately pulled out the pistol I'd recovered earlier from inside my coat.
"-What?"
I pulled the trigger faster than he could swing his blade.
'ILovePrettyBoys.'
That guy who was always posting crap on the Mephisto Market, but his advice had been spot on.
If you don't have a decent attack spell, just use a gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out one after another through the rain.