Chapter 263: Missionary Walter (2)

Crackle…!!

Even Davi, who had settled on Lennok’s shoulder, blazing with lightning.

“Should we move somewhere first?”

KWA-AAAAAAANG!!

At that moment, the dormitory’s backyard exploded, and the ground collapsed.

Amidst the wildly swirling dust, the boy’s figure sprang up as if rebounding.

The boy, who had spun a few times in the air and naturally landed on the dormitory window, stared down at his own body.

An arm that had been perfectly attached moments ago was gone, and blood was profusely leaking from his shoulder.

“Well, I’ll be.”

The boy touched his shoulder with a wry smile.

CRUNCH!!

Instantly, the flesh on his shoulder, where the bleeding had stopped, pushed out from his body, forming a new arm.

Should it be considered fortunate that Lennok was the only one to witness that grotesque sight?

“I was wondering why all this commotion in the middle of the school… I see the conversation has already concluded?”

There was no sign of living vitality in the eyes of the boy, who had cast his gaze inside the dormitory window.

While Lan Fei was drawing the magic circle to perform the ritual, Priscilla had quickly evacuated other students by using the name of the necromancy faculty.

Priscilla’s words, that she would be of some help, had proven precisely true.

In the midst of this chaos, she instantly grasped what she could do and acted not by lending a hand, but by clearing obstacles.

WHOOSH!

The boy leaped from his spot and instantly landed on the dormitory roof.

With his youthful face, he silently surveyed the surroundings and then smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s a beautiful place, this city.”

“…”

“To be able to build such a magnificent civilization without devout faith, it’s simply astonishing.”

The boy seemed excited, as if he had just gone out after a long time.

“That is why humans are worthy of salvation, and deserving of His grace. I have never once doubted the path the Cult is taking.”

The boy politely bowed his head towards Lennok, who was looking up at him from the ground.

“Bishop Walter Martinez. Though I am lacking, I fulfill my missionary duty of spreading the Cult’s grace. What is the sorcerer’s name?”

Lennok, looking up at the boy with a clear gaze, said.

“Mila.”

“Mila… you say? A very feminine name…”

KWA-AAAAANG!!

At that moment, Ludmilla appeared from behind and slammed the boy’s head onto the rooftop with a lightning-fast dropkick.

The boy’s head ground against the dormitory roof, scattering blood.

CRUNCH!!!

She didn’t stop at just one.

Ludmilla, after slamming her entire body into the boy’s head, bounced back up and kicked his body, then unhesitantly brought down a dagger from her pocket onto his neck.

She probably hadn’t even properly heard who her opponent was, yet there wasn’t a hint of hesitation in her actions.

The sound of skin tearing from the dagger’s sharp blade.

But the boy’s neck was not severed.

THWACK!!

The boy, who had blocked the dagger with his palms like shields, then clutched the dagger and began to hold it back.

“Cough…!!”

With a blood-soaked and disfigured face, the boy smiled and spoke.

“Please, just… listen to me!!!”

KWA-AAAAANG!!

As the boy kicked Ludmilla, a circular shockwave burst forth, and her body lurched.

But Ludmilla gritted her teeth and held her ground, even as she coughed drily.

The moment the boy’s face faintly crumpled at her unimaginable resilience, Ludmilla smiled.

“Die, cultist.”

CRUNCH!!

She let go of the dagger and flipped her body around in place. Unhesitantly, she dug her index finger into the boy’s temple.

Ludmilla’s finger, imbued with mana, dug into the boy’s head, causing blood to stream from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

CRACKLE!!

Lennok, who had been clearly watching the scene through his sensory domain, shook his head.

It was the first time he had seen Ludmilla, who always stuck to cunning combat methods, attack so viciously.

Ludmilla said nothing about it, but guessing the reason for her ferocity wasn’t difficult.

It was probably the familial desire for no problems to occur at the school her younger sister attended.

He would have preferred to capture him alive if possible… but Lennok didn’t bother to stop her.

In this world where magic and spells breathe, unfortunately, the rule of “first strike, certain victory” doesn’t often apply.

Especially if the opponent appeared here with a spell beyond common sense.

Sure enough, even with his brain turned to mush, the boy grabbed Ludmilla’s forearm and rose to his feet.

“…!!”

“My apologies. Since the vessel is just a vessel, it takes some time to dissolve the spell.”

Concentrated mana emanated from the boy’s body as he grinned and got up.

“Shall we go again?”

WHOOSH!!

Immediately after a translucent bear figure appeared behind him.

The boy vanished from his spot and unhesitantly kicked Ludmilla away.

WHAMMM!!

Ludmilla, who had fallen from the rooftop, crashed into the collapsed ground below, letting out a rough groan.

“Ughhh!!”

She seemed to have managed to block it by overlapping both forearms, but the impact was so great she couldn’t easily get up.

No, considering the amount of impact just now, it was rather miraculous that her arm wasn’t broken.

She probably used some kind of suspected superpower she possessed to somehow nullify the impact.

Lennok sighed, pulled something from his pocket, and threw it to Ludmilla.

CLICK!

“Catch.”

“Ugh… My head’s throbbing so much… Huh? Where’d you get this?”

What Lennok handed her was the shotgun he had bought from Gun & Barrel and used until now.

For Lennok, who had obtained a new rechargeable shotgun through Mauser, it was no longer needed, but for Ludmilla, who had left her equipment behind, there could be no more welcome gift.

“It’s something I carry for self-defense.”

“Well, should I call this a coincidence… it’s so similar to the equipment I use for work.”

“…”

Ludmilla didn’t seem too concerned about why an assistant professor at a magic university would carry a shotgun for self-defense.

Instead, she skillfully loaded it with one hand right there, then brazenly held out her hand to Lennok.

“Magazines. You have more, right? Give me all of them.”

“Hmph…”

As Van, he wouldn’t humor such a request, but as Evan, there was a limit to the power of magic he could use.

If he carelessly used magic like Van, there was a high possibility that cleaning up afterward would be troublesome.

Currently, Aris, who could cover for Lennok’s indiscretions, was also absent. Even if he was dealing with someone from the Guido Cult, he had to be careful.

When Lennok took out a few more shotgun magazines from his pocket and handed them over, Ludmilla finally nodded with a satisfied expression.

She looked up at the boy, Walter, who was smiling down at them from above, and asked.

“What’s it like, a spirit user in combat? Can you give me a general idea?”

“Aside from putting my body on the line in place of a vanguard, I can pretty much do everything.”

“Hoh.”

At those words, Ludmilla looked back at Lennok and smiled for the first time.

“Those words… where I work, they’re worse than saying nothing at all.”

“…”

Instead of replying, Lennok silently gestured with his chin towards Davi on his shoulder.

Davi twirled her tail in a displeased gesture, but when Lennok slightly furrowed his brow, she obediently climbed onto Ludmilla’s head.

“Whoa! Wait, what is this?!”

The moment Ludmilla, startled by the sensation of the materialized Electro-spirit, jumped up.

Crackle…!

The electric current emanating from Davi’s body unhesitantly pierced into the crown of Ludmilla’s head.

“Arghghgh! …Huh?”

Ludmilla was startled by the tingling sensation on her tongue for only a moment before she realized a powerful vitality coursed through her entire body and her senses became acutely sharp. She touched her body with surprised eyes.

Lennok, watching her with his arms crossed behind his back, chuckled and replied.

“I hope this answers your question.”

It was a magic created by appropriately applying Augmentation Magic [Remnant Thunder Body] to be usable through Davi, but from Ludmilla’s perspective, it wouldn’t be strange if it appeared to be a spirit-induced buff.

A satisfied smile slowly spread across her bewildered face.

“Oh, so those weren’t just empty words, huh?”

It didn’t just stop at making her senses sharper.

It artificially manipulates the bio-electrical currents throughout the body to assist muscle movement, maximize reflexes, and even properly aid the flow of mana.

Magic that couldn’t create something from nothing, but could make the speed to reach that ‘something’ incredibly fast.

Ludmilla, with faint currents flickering all over her body, spun around.

“I’ll see how much you can help me…!!”

Ludmilla immediately loaded the shotgun while dashing across the broken ground.

Instantly, she flipped her body halfway, leaped into the air, pointed the muzzle downwards, and fired.

BANG!!

At that moment, a massive shockwave shot from the shotgun’s muzzle, instantly propelling Ludmilla’s body dozens of meters upwards.

Davi, holding onto Ludmilla’s arrow-like hair with her front paws and flattening herself, said.

[Contact in 1.7 seconds. Three evasion routes. Accessing Electro-spirit custom combat algorithm?]

“Speak in a way I can understa…!”

Ludmilla, who had dashed in front of Walter in the blink of an eye, twisted her body and kicked the boy’s jaw.

Walter raised both hands and received her somersault kick.

THWUD!!!

He succeeded in absorbing the impact, but unable to completely negate the recoil, the boy’s body fell straight down from the dormitory roof.

Walter, who had lightly rolled sideways and landed, sprang to his feet and shot forward.

On Walter’s battered body, there was no longer a single drop of blood.

“So this is what necromancers’ mana feels like. It’s not a very suitable method for ignorant people like myself, but… I generally understand it.”

The bear figure floating behind Walter’s back changed to that of a deer, and the boy’s body accelerated.

Walter instantly battered Ludmilla’s arms and legs, then slammed her back, causing a choked cough to burst from Ludmilla’s mouth.

“Ghaaah…!!”

The moment Walter tried to approach Ludmilla one step closer.

Crackle…!!

Lennok, with Davi leading the lightning, scattered electric currents everywhere, quickly forming an electric barrier around Ludmilla.

“Hmm!”

On the surface, it looked like a simple branch of lightning magic, but Walter retreated instead of recklessly piercing through the electric current to finish Ludmilla off.

He was undoubtedly wary of Lennok’s ability to nullify, which had instantly unraveled the Rift Transfer spell, Amrita’s Scales, created through a magic circle.

Lennok instantly discerned Walter’s hesitation from that subtle movement and wielded his lightning without hesitation.

Dozens of electric currents extending from all directions, centered around Davi, rotated colorfully, swiftly surrounding Walter.

“Hmm…!!”

Crackle…!!

It wasn’t just about rotating in a circle.

It interpreted Walter’s breathing and the position of his outstretched hands and feet to set a pattern, then struck at the blind spots where counterattacks were most difficult.

At the sight of the elaborate electric siege formation created around a single person, not only Walter but even Ludmilla cast slightly surprised glances at the ground.

“Davi!!”

[Hacking complete. Full speed ahead!]

With a rough engine sound, a jeep appeared from the side and crashed straight into Walter.

WHAMMM!!

“Ugh…!!”

An exquisite timing that was difficult to react to even when perceived. An immense impact that even Walter found difficult to withstand.

It had hacked a vehicle parked in a nearby research building, targeting Walter, who was caught in the electric net and unable to move.

It didn’t stop at one; vehicles continued to pour in, crashing into Walter, and the surrounding streetlights toppled from the impact, crushing the boy.

RUMBLE!!

Not just pouring out electricity, but a materialized attack that utilized the Electro-spirit to its extreme.

Ludmilla burst into a hearty laugh at the intense display of interference ability that instantly turned an entire street into a mess.

“You crazy bastards!! What are you guys?!”

[I am a spirit.]

“Such a waste of talent, rotting away! I should beg the captain once…!!!”

Ludmilla also immediately accelerated using the shotgun’s shockwave and charged at Walter, who had rolled out from the ruins.

The two instantly clashed again amidst the wreckage of collapsed cars and streetlights.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TANG!!

Even without using shooting support magic like Lennok, her speed in changing magazines was extraordinary.

Her combat style, which freely performed attacks, acceleration, and changes of direction by repeating firing and reloading five times in an instant with unfamiliar equipment, was a purely intuitive move relying entirely on Ludmilla’s senses.

However, the sharp killing intent contained within it was something Walter could never ignore.

Davi also continuously emitted electricity, electrocuting surrounding rebar and metals to hinder Walter.

The smile vanished from Walter’s face as he was cornered, replaced by intense concentration.

“Hwoooooooh…!!”

WHOOSH!!

Taking a breath and instantly drawing up mana, a monstrous entity appeared behind the boy, completely unlike any animal seen before.

Its bizarre form, floating in the air with three eyes and chaotic tentacles, possessed an eerie suppressive aura despite being merely a manifestation of intent.

At that moment, the boy’s body crumbled in place and smoothly passed through the glittering scrap metal debris like liquid.

Walter, having instantly reconstituted his body behind Ludmilla, unhesitantly reached out.

“…!!”

WHIZZ!!

Though the method of manifestation was different, Lennok had seen a similar combat style somewhere before.

Hadn’t Beck Clinton, the warrior from the Cigar Bang gang, also amplified his combat abilities by imbuing himself with a similar image?

Most likely, that itself wasn’t the necromancy spell Lan Fei was familiar with.

However, Walter had undoubtedly used Lan Fei’s mana to pervert the spell in a way that he could utilize for combat.

“This cultist bastard’s using weird techniques…!!”

Ludmilla, gritting her teeth, responded simply.

BANGGG!!

She gripped the shotgun inversely beneath her arm and fired it backward. This propelled Walter, who had been charging from behind, upwards.

KWA-AANG!!

Walter’s body instantly shot into the air, piercing through the debris of scrap metal.

Not stopping there, she fired the shotgun in reverse to catch up to the boy suspended in the air.

Ludmilla, who had flown into the sky using a shotgun and shockwave-based superpower, unhesitantly closed in on the boy.

She whispered to the boy, who was looking up at her with a dazed expression.

“If you don’t die from a headshot, then there’s no other choice.”

WHAM!!

Ludmilla, who had flexibly twisted her body in mid-air to kick the boy’s jaw, unhesitantly jammed the shotgun’s muzzle into the boy’s mouth.

“I’ll blow your entire head to smithereens.”

KIIIIING…!!

A wave spread along the shotgun’s barrel, gathering and compressing right before the muzzle.

When the gunshot rang out, Walter’s head exploded as if the frame had been cut.

TAA-AANG!!