Chapter 84 - Battle City (4)
9 min read ·
The length of a typical bus was roughly thirteen meters or less.
On top of that, the standoff distance between Yo-han and Yoannis was even shorter, making for an even smaller arena.
Grizzly closed that distance in a single bound and swung its arm.
Invisible but felt through the trembling of the air, Yoannis planted his feet firmly and swung his greatsword.
'Thousand-Pound Hammer.'
Centering his body's weight.
CRASH-.
The wave pattern of the magic sword split the night and struck the empty air.
KABOOM-!
The impact spread and the bus shook violently.
THUD! THUUUD-!
Caught off guard by the sudden impact, bus passengers screamed without knowing what was happening.
"Huh? AAAAAHH!"
"Oh my god-!"
"A, a traffic accident?"
Even amid all that, the fight continued.
Grizzly swung both arms in rapid succession.
"GAAAH-!"
Yoannis used his footwork to narrowly dodge what needed dodging, then raised his greatsword above his head and set his stance.
Channeling centrifugal force and the full power of his body, he spun and blocked the attacks.
BANG! BANG! CRASH!
In the span of a few brief seconds, several exchanges clashed with flashes of light.
CLAAANG-!
But Yoannis was gradually being pushed back, like a boxer naturally cornered against the ropes.
"...!"
His muscles and bones trembled and screamed.
Jumping off a moving bus would honestly be preferable to fighting this monster, but...
Yoannis quickly shifted one step to the side.
A hole appeared in the bus ceiling right where he had been standing a moment ago.
CRASH!
The passengers' screams rang out.
"KYAAAAAAHH!"
Yoannis clenched his teeth at the razor-thin margin and smiled with his eyes.
...Wasn't that a bit too pedestrian?
'Besides-.'
The bus raced on, and the city's fake starlight of glittering lights spread out before him.
People screaming.
"S-stop the bus!"
Nearby cars honked their horns frantically.
HONK! BEEP! BEEP!
Yoannis savored this moment and looked past the invisible monster at Yo-han.
A rectangular, racing stage for just the two of them.
He raised his sword and set his stance.
-Besides, his opponent had prepared such a wonderful date venue.
Backing out was no way for a man to behave.
"Hoo...."
...The only problem was that at this rate, he would simply be overpowered and killed.
WHOOSH-!
The bus sped on and the winter wind brushed against his face.
'Greek Fire' was tricky to use given the headwind from his position.
Grizzly swung its arm again.
And so Yoannis kicked off the bus and leaped high into the air.
TAP-!
"GAH-?"
Vaulting over Grizzly, he soared into the night sky, rotated his body, and landed at the front of the bus roof.
Yoannis now faced Yo-han without obstruction.
Targeting the wizard, the main body.
It was the basic method for dealing with a powerful summon.
And the moment he landed, he received an unexpected strike.
"...!"
A silver blade thrust toward him, and Yoannis blocked it with the flat of his sword.
CLANG-!
In the darkness, the silver sword in Yo-han's hand glinted.
Alphons's silver sword.
The sword that had become Yo-han's after Alphons died and it was recovered, now swung through the air.
Yoannis deflected the surprisingly strong thrust.
At the sight of Yo-han holding a grimoire in one hand and a sword in the other, he called out with amusement.
"Haha! Are you a 17th-century university student?"
.
.
.
I didn't answer and quickly bent my knees, ducking low.
The moment I saw Yoannis jump, I had drawn the One-Handed Sword hidden under my coat.
I'd spun around and attacked on pure impulse.
Of course, I didn't think that just because Breathing Technique had boosted my physical abilities somewhat, I could beat a Sword Master vampire in close combat.
I had merely struck first before I could be caught off guard.
And so...
'I'm counting on you, Grizzly.'
"GAAAH-!"
Grizzly swung its arm over my ducked body.
However.
Yoannis saw Yo-han duck and simultaneously bent one knee, dodging in the exact same way.
"~."
"......."
Flashing blue eyes and irritated, calm black eyes glared at each other.
The briefest of standoffs.
VROOOOM-.
And then the hyenas who had caught the scent joined in.
Mercenaries in helmets and riding suits rode up on motorcycles, ignoring every traffic law as they closed in around the bus.
RAT-A-TAT-!
They aimed pistols at Yo-han and Yoannis and opened fire.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-.
Stray bullets grazed past over the bus.
A truly apocalyptic bus.
Bystanders who witnessed the scene doubted their own eyes, their jaws dropping.
"...What the?"
"A movie shoot? No way, right?"
Of course not.
At the brazen sight of wizards and mercenaries running wild, Team Leader Park of the Special Operations Division scowled.
"What the hell are those lunatics doing!"
The Special Operations Division agents who had been walking the streets, sticking talismans and preparing a ward, a modified version of a spirit-repelling spell that induced an uneasy feeling to keep civilians away, were also thrown off by the speeding bus.
Lee Hye-eun, the female agent of Special Ops Team 3, spoke in a panic.
"Wh-what do we do? Team Leader Si-on!?"
At this rate, those biker gang types would keep playing around with that poor bus and get farther away.
And then Si-on saw Yo-han in his white coat atop the bus.
"...Yo-han-ssi? -I'm going to shoot."
Si-on made a swift decision and assumed a firing stance.
"What? The bus?"
Hye-eun asked in surprise.
Team Leader Park followed Si-on's lead, shooting at the wheels of the mercenaries' motorcycles with his pistol, and shouted at Hye-eun.
"The motorcycles!"
BANG! BANG! CRASH- BANG!
"Yes! -Ah!?"
While shooting at the mercenaries' motorcycles to suppress them, a bullet Hye-eun fired struck the bus's rear tire dead on.
SCREEEEECH-!
The bus driver, who had been trying his best to pull over near the sidewalk but was panicking from the motorcycles swarming around the bus, now had a blown tire on top of everything.
"What! What! What the hell is wrong with these lunatics!?"
He slammed the brakes hard.
The lurching, speeding bus screeched to a sudden stop.
"...!"
Yo-han and Yoannis, who had been on top of the bus, were also flung off.
Yoannis couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! What a mess!"
WHOOSH-.
"AAAAAAAAHH!"
.
.
.
Feeling like I was on a roller coaster with no safety bar, I screamed as I went flying.
"GYAGYA!"
Grizzly hastily snatched its master out of the air, cradled me in its arms, and curled up.
WHOOOOSH- CRASH! SHATTER! THUD!
TUMBLE TUMBLE!
We flew straight through, smashing through a shopping mall storefront window and rolling into the mall.
Yoannis rotated his body in midair and landed with graceful flair.
Shortly after, Mia, his face a mix of worry and curses, chased after him leading the vampires.
"Master!"
"Save the scolding for later in bed."
Yoannis soothed his worried, cute lover and headed toward the shopping mall.
"D-don't say weird things like that!"
Mia's face flushed red as he commanded the vampires and followed behind.
"Yo-han-ssi!"
Si-on shouted in alarm and tried to run toward him, but the mercenaries, who didn't follow road safety rules but did protect themselves with helmets and protective gear, got back on their feet.
BANG-!
They returned fire at the Special Operations Division.
"KYAAAAAAHH!"
Bystanders panicked and fled.
Through the bus windows, Si-on could see the frightened civilians.
For now, evacuating the civilians here was the Special Operations Division's job.
Si-on's dark eyes trembled for an instant, then settled into a calm, narrow gaze.
"Engaging hostiles from this point. Please handle civilian evacuation."
Si-on spoke to Team Leader Park and Hye-eun, then called for support over the radio.
"...Also, I've identified Yoannis, leader of Clan Madas. Requesting Director's support."
Thinking of Yo-han who had tumbled away, she called for the strongest backup available, Shin Do-ryong.
And without hesitation, or perhaps to resolve things quickly.
CLANG-!
Si-on drew the Four Tiger Sword in one hand and charged, deflecting bullets and subduing the mercenaries.
SLASH-!
Subduing them, though in this situation there was no room for mercy, so those who resisted were cut down without restraint.
BANG! BANG!
Or shot down with her pistol.
***
A spacious, well-decorated shopping mall hall.
"Gyaah...."
Lick, lick... My cheek was being licked as I got up from Grizzly's arms.
"...Thanks, I'm fine."
I quickly turned my head and assessed the situation around me.
It seemed the bus had come to a sudden stop and I'd been launched into the shopping mall.
Everyone else had already fled after hearing the commotion.
".........."
...That vampire bastard, Yoannis, must have landed somewhere else.
Still, I didn't think the fight would just fizzle out from a fall like this.
He was the type who had gone out of his way to chase me up onto the bus. He'd see this through to the end.
And just as expected-.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-!
-A hail of bullets poured in, shattering the shopping mall's glass doors, and the vampire horde entered.
When Yoannis, standing at the head of the vampire horde, snapped his fingers.
Ominous green flames in the shape of arrows flew in and set the shopping mall ablaze.
"...?!"
Grizzly and I scrambled to dodge, but lines of flame bloomed from the floor as well, cutting off our escape.
I narrowed my eyes. Impressive that he could conjure fire, but...
This was a large shopping mall.
Soon enough, the fire alarm went off and the sprinklers activated.
HISSSS-!
Water sprayed down from above, pouring over everything.
...But then I noticed something was wrong.
The flames weren't weakening.
Within the cascading water, the green flames surged even more brilliantly.
FWOOSH-!
Yoannis's leisurely voice echoed through the hall.
"Greek Fire doesn't go out with water."
The green flames that touched the water spread and splashed, landing on my coat.
"...!?"
FWOOSH-!
A small spark instantly grew, greedily climbing upward.
My eyes went wide and my mind raced.
'It won't go out? How? First, take off the coat- and then what? How do I counter this?'
And then the Gnomes' voices rang out.
"HIEEEK- Fire extinguisher, spray! Gnome!"
"Gnome! Uwawa!"
Two Gnomes, startled out of their wits by the fire, scurried over and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the mall hall.
One Gnome held the canister while the other gripped the nozzle, and they sprayed white powder.
HISSSSSS-!
Pure white powder spread out and extinguished the 'Greek Fire' clinging to my coat.
At the sight, the Gnomes' eyes sparkled with delight.
"Gnome put out fire! Gnome saved Master!"
"Now Gnome is a top firefighter too, Gnome!"
Aside from the celebrating Gnomes, an awkward silence hung in the air.
"............."
Well, that was certainly fortunate, if nothing else.
I looked at Yoannis with a dumbfounded expression and said.
"...It went out, though?"
"For fire to burn, it needs temperature, fuel, and oxygen... and fire extinguishers work on the principle of cutting off the oxygen supply."
Yoannis's eyes sank low.
"Fire extinguishers are easy to overlook, sure... but they're products of modern science, created by brilliant scholars and PhDs who put their heads together to figure out how to put out fires."
My eyes sank low as well.
Setting aside the fact that he was the enemy, as a fellow wizard, I couldn't help but feel a certain solemnity.
Greek Fire, cool name and all... done in by a fire extinguisher.
Modern science was way too strong.