Chapter 280: Light and Shadow (1)

Among the heads of the Eight Families, there was no one who hadn’t heard rumors about Van.

A wizard who had rapidly gained fame by selectively undertaking and succeeding in difficult and tricky designation requests.

Even though he was a high-level wizard with immense talent, his combat prowess was said to be comparable to that of warriors.

An outside director of the Cartel.

The fact that he continued to work as a freelancer even after securing prominent positions like an external consultant for the Agent, brazenly proved Van’s skill more than anything else.

Yet, despite this, not many people truly understood what had just transpired.

The Platon Office, one of the top mercenary groups even in the underworld of the megacity.

A mercenary who had survived the harsh streets and experienced all sorts of hardships was defeated by a sorcerer, who was supposedly vulnerable in close combat, without even a single exchange of blows.

If the bracelet on Van’s right wrist hadn’t rung the alarm during the process, didn’t that mean he had suppressed Adam purely by employing mana at the Commander Wizard level?

They had thought his skill would be outstanding, but that was merely a conclusion based on the outcome.

If he showed such overwhelming dominance in the process, the family heads couldn’t help but be unsettled.

The voices of the family heads, who were looking down at the unconscious mercenary Adam Brobeck being carried away, began to grow louder.

“Is he really a wizard?”

“His nerve is no joke. He knew the attack was coming, yet he unleashed such a powerful spell at close range.”

“He must be confident in perfectly controlling both mana rigidity and power… The bracelet was indeed unharmed. That mercenary was caught off guard precisely because he didn’t know that.”

Apart from everyone present paying attention to Ibon, the heads of the Eight Families were all outstanding warriors in their own right.

The Fortress Heads, who held an overwhelmingly dominant position regarding close-quarters combat among The Triad of the megacity, couldn’t possibly fail to recognize the true value of the battle that had just occurred.

“A martial artist, seasoned in close combat, was incapacitated by a single spell.”

“The power is one thing, but the casting speed is also remarkable. He instantly manifested such a powerful ice-based physical attack.”

“If he can do this much with the handicap of a Proxy Battle…”

Noticing the family heads’ faces turning serious, Ibon opened his mouth.

“Let’s begin the next ritual immediately. It’s my proxy’s turn now.”

“The Ibon Family Head’s proxy, then…”

“Yes.”

Ibon smiled, looking back at the other family heads whose expressions had turned sour.

“Among the children I’ve taken in, he’s a very unique one. It won’t end easily.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a pale-faced man walked onto the manor’s stage.

A vaguely stooped back. Sharp eyes scanning all directions.

He cowered as if the sunlight pouring into the manor was unfamiliar to him, looking like someone who had lived his entire life disconnected from the light.

He stared silently at Lennok’s face, then awkwardly touched his own.

“I see… The Proxy Battle has begun. I was called forth by the Family Head’s command.”

“…”

He gazed blankly at the sky, then murmured softly.

“Even after failing a mission, I can’t die and must serve that person? That, too, is a fitting end for a member of this family.”

He seemed to belatedly realize where he was standing.

Instead of trying to understand his words, Lennok quietly gazed at the bracelet on his wrist.

The light on the opponent’s bracelet was one. The light on Lennok’s bracelet was six.

During the exchange of victories, defeats, and surrenders in the Proxy Battle, five proxies had lost their qualifications.

Now, if two more chains were filled with light, Lennok would officially be granted the authority to decide the owner of this Fortress.

That wasn’t just a formal ritual; it meant directly controlling the administrative authority of the Fortress, which existed as a legitimate barrier.

With the situation cornered to this extent, the Ibon Family Head would undoubtedly try to defeat Lennok or nullify the outcome of this Proxy Battle through other means.

Lennok wasn’t waiting for the Proxy Battle’s victory; rather, he was waiting for that moment.

“Let’s begin.”

Clang!!

As soon as the bell rang, the man quickly formed a hand seal.

Immediately after, several unknown objects began to rapidly shoot up from beneath the manor’s dirt floor.

He had no intention of giving his opponent time to prepare a spell.

If Ibon’s proxy wasn’t the opponent he had expected, then the next one would surely be the person Lennok had been waiting for.

Finish it quickly and conclude the matter.

Immediately after, a faint flash flickered in the dry sky, and a thick bolt of lightning struck directly into the ice fist standing beside Lennok.

Fzzzzt!!!

CRASH!!

With the impact, thick shards of ice shattered into hundreds of pieces, scattering intense flashes of light throughout the manor as they chaotically reflected the pouring sunlight.

“Ugh!!”

“I can’t see!!”

For a moment, even Ibon’s proxy closed his eyes to avoid the flash.

All the ice crystals surrounding the proxy exploded, unleashing a frigid storm.

WHOOSH!!

Lennok, his hands in his coat pockets, idly observed his opponent’s reaction.

The battle between proxies. While it took the form of a match, it was ultimately due to a ritual for inheriting the Fortress Head’s authority.

Therefore, the arbiters of this Proxy Battle had no intention of tidying the manor or cleaning the stage even after the fight ended.

A ritual akin to solitude, continuing until only one proxy remained.

Because any interference in that process was strictly forbidden.

“…”

However, Lennok couldn’t help but frown upon seeing his opponent emerge from the frigid storm.

The proxy, who had been a single figure when first forming the hand seal, had now split into six.

“Ohh!! Is that a cloning spell?!”

“Looks like they’ve prepared all sorts of things too!!”

“Now it’s starting to get interesting!”

The audience grew boisterous at the sudden increase in the number of proxies.

But Lennok silently watched the proxies, then shook his head.

“Cloning spell, huh… At least it’s a far more bizarre and alien technique than that.”

“…”

“Is it necromancy, forcibly imbuing artificially created bodies with the consciousness of the living?”

Others seemed too distracted by the frigid storm to notice, but Lennok was clearly aware.

Different spirits had instantly possessed the five wooden blocks the man pulled up from beneath the manor, transforming them into identical replicas of the man.

A strange method that forcibly embedded human memories and behavioral principles into inanimate objects to animate them.

Furthermore, all of them were at the 6th level, having realized Property Transformation of mana.

Considering the abnormally high efficiency for the spell’s complexity, it’s highly likely to be a cult technique that boosts efficiency at the cost of life.

It was probably a form of human spirit offering, where the animated souls were used and then discarded.

“Six against one… Was this their intention from the start?”

Lennok murmured, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist.

Hindering Lennok, an Archmage, from displaying his true power, and overwhelming him with sheer numbers at the same Commander Wizard level.

It was a rather simple and obvious trick, but its effectiveness couldn’t be denied.

The man standing furthest to the left straightened himself and spoke.

“For the well-being of the Fortress, I will not shy away from any dark art.”

“…”

“To establish the family’s order by dealing with outsiders is surely my mission, which I failed to fulfill for the family!”

Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!!

With those words, the six figures scattered like mist, instantly taking positions at the edges of the manor’s stage.

A single wizard, intersected by the ends of six different gazes.

The six identical figures, as if on cue, pulled out countless hidden weapons from within their robes.

Daggers and shurikens meticulously engraved with spell runes on their surfaces, along with countless improvised bombs, rained down like a bombardment towards the center of the manor.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!!!

This wasn’t just throwing explosives.

The hidden weapons thrown by Ibon’s experts, who had secretly operated beneath the Fortress and mastered various stealth and assassination techniques, were fired at bullet-like speeds, pressuring from all directions.

Simultaneously, the spell runes on the surface of the weapons that left their hands glowed.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

Causing an explosion massive enough to fill the entire manor stage.

“Whoaaaaa!”

“Th-the heat…!!”

An explosion so intense that the Fortress residents sitting near the manor stage recoiled in terror.

The continuously erupting flames were so scorching that the inside of the stage was barely visible.

Only the family heads and their retinues, those with the skill and discernment to see beyond the heat amidst this chaos, kept their eyes wide open.

Not stopping there, the six proxies simultaneously formed hand seals and pressed mana.

Whoooooosh!!

Six streams of mana instantly intersected, drawing a massive hexagram on the manor floor.

Countless symbols and characters packed within it glowed and rotated, aiming to erase a single person.

Earth-attribute unique spell.

[Sixfold Resonance]

[Mountain Shatter]

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!!

Giant root tendrils extending from beneath the manor instantly wrapped around Lennok’s figure and crushed him.

A destruction spell, originally used to collapse mountains and establish foundations for dwellings, poured down to break a single person, true to its name.

A situation where the initiative of the offense was completely lost. At this rate, there wasn’t much he could do besides helplessly enduring the onslaught of explosions.

How long could he endure without being disqualified, given the restrictions on using Archmage-level mana?

Chen’s expression, watching from behind the stage, involuntarily turned serious.

“It might take longer than I thought. I should prepare a plan in advance.”

“[What nonsense are you spouting?]”

Chen immediately continued speaking at Manson’s retort.

“Van prefers to design the battlefield with a very macroscopic view in combat. But that’s only possible if he doesn’t lose the initiative in his offense.”

Manson, who had merely been Lennok’s business partner, might find it hard to guess, but Chen, who had been manipulated a few times, knew what kind of combat Lennok preferred.

“Starting outnumbered, he’s been pushed back in the overall exchange of blows throughout the battle. If it were the Van I know, he’d sweep the surroundings with large-scale magic and reset the playing field, but…”

“[The audience is the problem.]”

“Right. Actually, a bracelet like this probably isn’t a big problem for Lennok. He’s not so sloppy that a rank restriction would cripple him. But…”

Can he unleash magic powerful enough to counter the inferno raging throughout the manor, without harming the Fortress residents watching this Proxy Battle?

If he doesn’t meticulously control the power, the counterattack could be worse than useless.

But Manson, despite Chen’s words, sighed and slapped him on the back of the head.

“[What were you worried about? That Van might lose because he’s worrying about his surroundings? Unbelievable.]”

“Ugh… I think it’s a perfectly valid concern.”

Van was very rational, quick-witted, and possessed both judgment and decisiveness simultaneously.

Chen knew that despite his cold intellect, he wasn’t truly a heartless person.

While he wouldn’t hesitate to achieve what he wanted, he wasn’t so ruthless as to needlessly throw people away as pawns.

In this situation, even a momentary misjudgment would likely mean continuously ceding the initiative.

“Even a small mistake and it’s over. If the Fortress Head’s authority is passed to them, we might be the ones who have to cause a ruckus first.”

“[A guy who does business sure is terrible at judging people.]”

Manson replied with a somber laugh.

“[If he hesitated over such trivial worries, Van wouldn’t have survived until now.]”

His inorganic gaze slowly looked up at the central part of the towering root trunk.

“[People worship that wizard precisely because he doesn’t create situations where he needs to worry.]”

At the same time as those words, dozens of cracks began to appear in the center of the crushing roots.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!

With an utterly chilling slicing sound, the thick wooden roots were all cut away, and Lennok walked out from within, his expression perfectly calm.

Lennok, who had been staring down at the six bewildered proxies looking up at him, suddenly threw the cigarette he had in his mouth onto the ground beneath his feet.

At that moment, the dozens of root tendrils Lennok was standing on began to burn brilliantly, as if they were logs doused in oil.

WHOOSH!!

The family heads’ eyes widened at the magnificent campfire that suddenly erupted in the middle of the manor.

“He’s setting Ibon’s root spell on fire!!”

“Unbelievable heat magic…!!”

“No, wait, that’s…”

He wasn’t burning the root tendrils whole.

The fire, spreading along the hundreds of mana threads entangled within the tree roots, was engulfing the root tendrils and burning them.

Countless bundles of mana threads, impossible to tell when they had been set.

The proxy’s mouth slightly opened as he realized that some of the threads were even tied to their ankles.

“…!”

The fire, transferred along the mana threads tied to their ankles, instantly began to burn the proxies’ bodies as well.

Those who had silently poured out their attacks without a single word now thrashed wildly, powerless against the flames Lennok had ignited along the mana threads.

“GUAAAAAHHHH!!”

“AAAAAHHHH!!”

The six proxies twisted their bodies, screaming in agony.

Lennok’s mana threads, attached to their bodies at an unknown time, clung to them, ceaselessly pouring unquenchable flames onto their forms.

The traces of the explosion completely vanished, leaving only lumps of flesh, their entire bodies turned into balls of fire.

He asked tremblingly, with completely mangled lips.

“C-could it be… from the very beginning…”

“It was over the moment you allowed the first strike, thinking you were deceiving the audience.”

Lennok pulled out a new cigarette from his pocket, brought it to the tip of the burning flesh-lump, and lit it.

“Weren’t you mistaken about who you needed to pay attention to?”

They had allowed Lennok’s frigid storm to conceal the moment they used the cult’s spell, but Lennok had already succeeded in attaching mana threads to all the proxies at that very moment.

Mana restrictions. Offensive initiative. A confined battlefield. Spectators watching the battle.

Before his options could be limited by such trivial concerns, Lennok had already seized the turning point of the match.

All that remained was to appropriately wait for the culmination of their prepared offense, and then strike through a gap they themselves hadn’t noticed.

Thump-thump-thump-thump!!

Six ice stakes appeared in mid-air, instantly piercing the burning lumps of flesh.

“Gasp, ugh…!!”

Ibon’s proxies’ breaths were instantly cut off without time to react, and they returned to the wooden blocks they had been conjured from.

Even the body of the proxy who had first formed the hand seal slowly crumbled, turning into ashes and vanishing.

As he looked down at his dissipating body, he murmured softly.

“Family Head…”

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!

The spectators watching let out fervent cheers towards Lennok.

An outsider, not from the Fortress. His identity as a wizard in peculiar attire didn’t matter.

Lennok’s utterly refined response amidst the raging storm of flames, regardless of how long the battle lasted, contained an artistry that thrilled the hearts of those watching.

“Was he the Oryun Family’s proxy, they said?”

“I thought they were completely rotten, but they got a decent proxy.”

“They’re under the Samyeong elder anyway. If he becomes Fortress Head, it’ll actually be a good thing.”

The bad image of the Oryun Family. Their origin as outsiders was roughly glossed over under Oren’s name.

Conversely, the family heads, who had been somewhat relaxed until just now, suddenly spoke much less.

“…”

An utterly chilling atmosphere. The Ibon Family Head’s face was frozen cold.

“I heard he was a high-level lightning wizard… Do these spells he just showed not represent his main abilities?”

“For that to be the case, the types he showed were too diverse. Considering the mana restriction, it’s possible he borrowed external power.”

The bracelets that certify the proxies’ qualifications are extremely delicate items.

If mana were used indiscriminately, like Lennok does, it wouldn’t be strange for the bracelet to shatter instantly and result in disqualification.

It was clear that they, like Ibon, had come out using some kind of trick.

“Even so, his execution speed was too fast. If he’s conserved his strength for the main battle and still reached this point…”

The possibility of Ibon truly losing could not be ignored.

The family heads collectively let out uncomfortable coughs, but no one present failed to understand what they meant.

Only then did the gaze of the family heads who had sided with Ibon subtly begin to shift elsewhere.

Towards Oren, the Samyeong Family Head, who had been silently watching with his arms crossed since before.

Conversely, the Paldun Family Head, who had inadvertently joined the Samyeong side, felt his shoulders swell with pride.

“Ilwon Family Head.”

Ibon, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

“Yes.”

“The Family Head’s proxy is the last one. You are prepared, aren’t you?”

For a moment, Tae-oh’s expression wavered violently, but he quickly composed himself and nodded.

“…Yes.”

“Good.”

The stage, completely burned and devastated.

Someone in a thick robe was walking forward, approaching Lennok, who stood with his back to the collapsed root trunks.

“A pleasure.”

Those were the first words uttered by the robed figure who stepped before Lennok.

To the opponent who abruptly tried to initiate conversation, Lennok simply stared at him instead of replying.

There was no reason to exchange greetings. From the very beginning, the only proxy Lennok had been waiting for was the one standing before him.

Hadn’t he planned all of this just to draw this man out?

The robed figure, completely oblivious to Lennok’s thoughts, continued speaking.

“I’ve heard stories. You’re quite a famous freelancer out there, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Ah, my apologies for the delayed introduction.”

He raised a hand and slowly removed his robe.

A middle-aged man of venerable age. Bright blond hair that didn’t quite suit his face.

An alien smile on his lips and utterly pale skin.

Lennok meticulously noted the bluish traces below his neck, as if veins were clumped together.

His appearance was strikingly similar to the one Lennok had encountered before by reversely probing into the missionary’s Mind Imprint.

“I am Walter, Walter Martinez.”