Chapter 85 - Battle City (5)

Shin Do-ryong, having just dealt with the wizards who had been running amok, was rushing toward a support request reporting that Yoannis had appeared.

He squinted and glanced up at the figures who had been following him from the rooftops, watching him since earlier.

It was the Sword Division, Namgung Soo's private armed force, clad in black cloth garments and armed with swords.

'They're not really doing anything, but....'

Whether they were gathering intelligence amid the chaos or waiting for the right moment to act, they kept appearing wherever wizards were causing trouble.

'...Like a flock of crows.'

Shin Do-ryong kept them in the corner of his vision, ignored them, and ran on.

Just then, someone burst out of an alleyway.

A sturdy, well-built old man carrying a spear. It was Lee Mun-ryong.

Shin Do-ryong's eyes narrowed.

He had known the man was in Seoul, but this was an unexpected encounter with a familiar face.

The Greatest Under Heaven and the former Greatest Under Heaven.

Shin Do-ryong's and Lee Mun-ryong's eyes met.

"You-."

"Oh! Good to see you. I need to go help my client, so I'm counting on you!"

Lee Mun-ryong quickly greeted him and dashed off toward the shopping mall.

"What?"

Then footsteps echoed from the alleyway, and a voice filled with fury rang out.

"Reckless Whirlwind! I'll kill you!"

They were Chinese Murim Practitioners who used Breathing Techniques, having come to Korea to target grimoires only to spot Lee Mun-ryong and attack him.

"You, you! Shin Do-ryong!"

...Well, they held a grudge against Shin Do-ryong all the same.

"Haah-."

Shin Do-ryong let out a sigh and swung his Twin Swords, deflecting the hail of bullets.

Tadadang-!

He dealt with the new batch of criminals.

***

The Greek fire was extinguished by the fire extinguisher, and the shopping mall hall fell momentarily somber.

Despite his cute appearance, the second-in-command who oversaw the clan vampires' operations.

A slender, feminine, black-haired pretty boy vampire.

Yoannis's lover and retainer-slash-secretary, Mia, broke the silence.

A trembling voice laced with fury rang out.

"...Master's-."

Wrinkling his pretty face, veins bulged on his fair forehead.

"I won't forgive the trash that hurts Master's feelings!"

Click-.

Mia roughly aimed an automatic rifle and sprayed bullets at the gnomes who had been happily holding fire extinguishers.

"Hehe~ Gnome is a number-one firefighter gnome who puts out all the fires!"

"Then gnome is~ a number-one fire truck gnome- Ugyaaaak!"

Udadadadadatang-!

The gnome pelted with bullets toppled over.

"Uwaaaang!"

The gnome clutching the fire extinguisher had its extinguisher punctured.

Tang! Shwooook- Shwaaaaaa!

"Eh?"

White gas burst out and sent it flying.

"Ehhh!? Uwaaang! I'm flying! M-Master!"

White powder spread throughout the shopping mall hall!

"Gak! Cough! Gnome!"

I cried out in alarm at the sight of a number-one fire truck gnome becoming a flying gnome and soaring away.

Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to pay it any more attention.

Snapped to their senses by Mia's gunfire, the vampires pulled their triggers.

Bullets rained through the white powder smokescreen.

Tadadadatang-!

The full-scale second battle had begun.

'...Damn it!'

I quickly ducked and ran.

"Gaaaa-!"

Grizzly sliced through the smokescreen, swinging its arms at the heads of the gun-toting vampires.

Chwaaak-.

Blood spurted as three vampires' heads were sent flying in a single stroke.

A momentary gap opened in the line of fire... but there were still too many.

"Aim for the wizard!"

The deluge of bullets tore the shopping mall hall apart.

I would have loved to pull out my Glock and go bang bang myself, but the numbers gap was too wide for a fair game.

Things were already razor-thin; the moment I stopped, I'd be Swiss cheese.

...Yoannis plus a gun-armed vampire squad.

A dangerous situation.

'Should I keep Grizzly by my side, fall back, and whittle their numbers down guerrilla-style?'

And then the situation grew even more complicated and dangerous.

"Gurgh!"

A mass of footsteps and beast-like barking sounds echoed as an old man leading a horde of ghouls appeared from another entrance to the shopping mall hall.

"Kim Yo-haaaaaan! I'll kill you!"

Chairman Kim, owner of the grimoire <Cultes des Goules>, had rallied ghouls and joined the battle to take revenge on Yo-han.

"Yoannis! That man is mine to kill!"

He charged in to settle the grudge of losing his entire operation overnight in the building massacre.

Vampires were headache enough, and now ghouls too.

My face scrunched up involuntarily at the absurd situation.

"Who do you think you are!"

"I'm Chairman Kim!"

Chairman Kim, the man I had tried to kill in the building but failed to finish. My eyes snapped wide open.

"Then die!"

Grizzly immediately swung its arms in rapid succession.

"Gaaaa-!!"

Pa! Pababang-!!

The charging ghouls' bodies burst apart in an instant, and Chairman Kim was struck as well, bones breaking, coughing blood as he was sent flying.

"Kraaaaak-! Yoannis!"

An expression of utter disbelief crossed Yoannis's face.

Getting beaten every time and still charging in like that was a talent in its own right.

Still, thanks to his adorable idiot of a disciple, a slight opening had been created.

Yoannis leaped forward, targeting Yo-han directly, and blocked his path.

".........!?"

My eyes went wide at the sight of Yoannis closing the distance in an instant.

A standoff that had continued since the running bus.

And then bullets rained down on the two of them. Not from the vampires.

Tadadadadadang-!

Footsteps echoed from another entrance to the shopping mall as mercenaries appeared, opening fire indiscriminately.

Yoannis spun his sword to deflect the bullets, and I quickly pulled back.

Drawn by the commotion, battle royale participants targeting grimoires were flooding into the shopping mall.

"Vampire blood fetches a price too! Don't be picky, just shoot!"

The leader of the mercenary group, Hard, narrowed his eyes at the man in the white coat facing off against Yoannis, Yo-han.

Seeing that the head of Clan Madas, a heavyweight from a bygone era, was personally targeting him...

'...That one must be the owner of the grimoire.'

And even if he wasn't, what did it matter? If not, then not.

Hard extended his right hand, spreading his thumb, index, and middle fingers to point at Yo-han.

Instead of carving runes, he channeled and amplified power through hand signs to cast Rune Magic.

"Tyr (ᛏ)."

The power of the rune meaning strength, whirlpool, twist, and the name of the one-armed war god surged forth.

Like a force blast, a mass of power struck Yo-han in the side.

"Gurk-!"

I staggered back from the unexpected attack, nearly falling, but somehow braced my legs and held my ground.

".........!"

The instant the large man extended his hand, I had judged it a magical attack and shifted my body sideways, but I was a step too slow, and the blow caught my side.

I couldn't fire force blasts, but I pulled out my Glock and answered with it instead.

Tang! Tang! Taang!

Hard dodged the bullets from Yo-han's immediate counterattack, keeping a straight face, but he was surprised.

"―!"

'Damn, he's tough.'

Was that coat a magical protective garment? Don't tell me it was one of that Dress woman's creations? Or was it a Breathing Technique? Body reinforcement magic?

Either way, it was not the durability of an ordinary person.

And toward Hard, who had barged into the fight on his own accord, Yoannis closed the distance.

It was also about eliminating a competitor going after <De Vermis Mysteriis>.

Hard frowned at the Damascus Steel magic sword in Yoannis's grip.

Going one-on-one against a sword-wielding Yoannis was suicide. A well-known tale in Europe.

After World War II ended and Yoannis lost his backing called the Nazis, countless Vatican holy knights had tried to kill him, but they all died to that sword.

That was why Hard, without hesitation, pressed his thumb and ring finger together, spread the remaining fingers straight, and cast Rune Magic through hand signs.

"Son (ᚹ)."

The rune's magical barrier disarmed Yoannis's sword, flicking it from his hand and sending it spinning high into the air.

The combat runes carved into Hard's body glowed. Now it was bare hands against bare hands.

Even against a vampire, he had no reason to be at a disadvantage.

And then Yoannis's fist slammed straight into Hard's jaw.

"―!?"

Yoannis effortlessly dodged and deflected Hard's punches, beat him down, and sent him flying in an instant.

Hard crashed into the shopping mall wall.

"Hand-to-hand combat. A wizard's most basic self-defense."

Yoannis caught the falling sword again as he spoke.

"And even back when I was human, I never lost in pankration."

Pankration, the ancient Greek combination of boxing and wrestling.

While Yoannis was beating Hard senseless.

"■■■-!!"

Grizzly howled and swung its arms through the air.

Thwack-!

With the sound of something bursting, a headless corpse crumpled to the ground, and from its hand fell a candle that looked as if wax had been smeared over a withered, mummified hand.

'Hand of Glory, an artifact that makes the body invisible when the candle is lit.'

The assassin, a wizard of considerable skill, died just like that, caught up in the melee.

".........."

Embarrassing as it was to admit as his master, I only now understood why Grizzly roared before fighting.

Just as bats use ultrasound to perceive their surroundings, Grizzly used the vibrations of its roar to detect any hidden enemies.

In any case, I looked around.

A brief lull in the battlefield born of coincidence.

As if standing in the eye of a storm, I watched the fighting swirl all around me.

The once-elegant shopping mall hall was wrecked, stained with corpses and blood.

It was like the Asura Realm of Buddhism, or maybe a scene from Nintendo's Super Smash Bros.

What I mean is, it was utter chaos.

"Target the owner of the grimoire!"

Shouts from those targeting me echoed from every direction.

My body ached and throbbed all over, and I was exhausted.

Wuuung-.

<De Vermis Mysteriis>, gripped in my hand, vibrated.

Shararak-.

'The worm that gnaws the night.'

The page bearing the spell to summon a planet-devouring cosmic giant worm flipped open.

I looked down at <De Vermis Mysteriis> with tired eyes.

Yeah... if I was going to die anyway, summoning a cosmic giant worm and killing everything might be one way to go.

"-Cut the bullshit."

That was obviously a messed-up joke.

The plans I'd made so far did have rough spots and holes, but....

Being careful and being defeatist are two different things.

What kind of moron factors their own death into the plan?

I fucking love myself.

Even if my parents abandoned me, I will never abandon myself.

I will absolutely not die to scum like these.

I'll beat every last one of them to death, and today is going to be-.

Blazing fury ignited in my weary black eyes, and strength returned.

-a meat party!

Without hesitation, I firmly shut <De Vermis Mysteriis>.

"You'd better be ready for a scolding later."

At the low, resolute, cold voice of its master, <De Vermis Mysteriis> vibrated with delight.

Wu, wuuung-♡

I straightened my knees and back, setting my exhausted body upright.

I didn't know if it would work, but....

It was far better than summoning a cosmic giant worm and going for mutual destruction.

I recalled the sensation of using Pentacle ritual magic.

More precisely, I forcibly initiated the process by which a grimoire assists magic and channels mana.

<The Lesser Key of Solomon> and <Baopuzi>, tucked inside my coat, sprang out and floated in the air.

<De Vermis Mysteriis> <The Lesser Key of Solomon> <Baopuzi>

Three grimoires that had originally only assisted their own respective magic answered their master's call and sent their mana.

I channeled the inflowing mana into the only magic I could currently use without going through a ritual process.

Forcibly amplifying and expanding the spell.

Kuuuung-.

The first to sense the anomaly was Yoannis. His body swayed slightly.

"This is-."

It was no illusion. The mercenaries' bodies wavered and collapsed.

Kuuuuuuuung-!!

The earth's gravity pulled their bodies down, pressing them to the ground.

The building, the earth itself, shook.

'Earth Elemental Magic.'

From the cracking floor, a massive swarm of gnomes burst forth and ran wild.

"Uwyaaaaaaht-!!"

One of the mercenaries screamed in terror at the sight of the gnomes.

"R-Redcaps!?"

A gnome snapped its head up and waved its arms.

"Not redcap, gnome! Totally different, gnome!"

In any case.

Before the overwhelming supernatural power radiating from the three grimoires, the eyes of everyone present froze for an instant, and the fighting stopped.

In a space where everyone had either fully fallen, dropped to their knees, or was staggering, they stared in astonishment at the only one still standing upright: Yo-han.

I spoke, the grimoires floating at my sides.

"Grimoires, grimoires. Grimoires, so noisy."

A low voice, weighed down with suppressed fury, echoed through the trembling shopping mall.

"The grimoires you've all been so desperate to bite, suck, and snatch-."

Furious to the tips of my hair at having been dragged into this mess while minding my own business, I declared savagely.

"-are already all mine. So get lost."

"■■■■■-!!"

Grizzly, whose actions had been restrained to protect me until now, seized the opening while the enemies were stunned and went berserk.

Like a charging truck, it ground and swept away every mercenary, ghoul, and vampire in its path.

Chwaaaaaaaaaa-.

Chunks of flesh and sprays of blood splattered in every direction!

Yoannis hastily grabbed Mia and rolled across the floor to dodge.

A single spell shifted the entire atmosphere.

And then....

Crash!

The large glass skylight in the shopping mall hall's ceiling shattered, and an angel appeared.

Well, more like someone with the air of an angel.

Broken glass shards glittered as the silver-haired, beautiful young girl Elsea cried out.

"A single noble white flower! The saintess Elsea makes her entrance!"

My eyes scrunched up involuntarily at the absurd situation.

"And who are you now-!"

"Your memory's terrible!"

Looking at each other from sky and ground, Elsea flashed a grin and a smile.

"It's Elsea!"

In her hand, an antique grimoire with a white cover.

<The Book of the Angel Raziel> shone brilliantly.