Chapter 691: The Witch and the Magic Tower (5)

Lennok snatched the Stamp Gun from Halfman’s hand just before he could fire it.

Even though he felt the trigger pull, he couldn’t even fully register the moment.

“!!!”

Halfman and Malacia’s expressions completely shifted as they belatedly registered Lennok’s presence.

Before they could even react in shock, both vanished as if disappearing.

Kagagagak!!!

They accelerated from their standing positions at near-sound speeds.

In an instant, leaving Tatiana behind, their magic violently swirled as they burrowed close to Lennok.

KWAANG!!

A massive shockwave erupted from in front and behind where Lennok stood, shaking the entire junkyard.

The impact sent Tatiana’s body flying like a toy, rolling across the ground.

“Cough!!”

Dragging her exhausted body, she struggled to her feet, her trembling hand wiping away a drop of blood that had fallen from her neck.

With blood-soaked hands, Tatiana bit her lip, and just as she was about to form a hand seal—

Lennok appeared beside her and gripped her shoulder.

“You’d be shaving years off your life. Is it really worth it?”

Had he grasped the situation so quickly that he not only withstood both their attacks simultaneously but also immediately moved to stop Tatiana?

Tatiana turned to Lennok, a bitter smile on her face as she wiped away the blood.

“You knew?”

“I figured you’d have at least one trick up your sleeve.”

Lennok glanced over her disheveled appearance and replied.

“But I didn’t realize you’d imposed such a powerful Geas just to use your magic.”

“…”

Tatiana had adjusted her pyromancy to suit large-scale firepower battles, imposing a powerful Geas upon herself.

It was a specialized magic system created by forcibly adjusting her artillery magic to broaden its range and power, optimizing it for intense firepower.

The need for pre-prepared ‘embers’ to use powerful artillery magic must have been a side effect of that.

Tatiana must have carried several such embers in preparation for combat, but she had used them all up during her repeated battles while fleeing.

Not only had she used embers to cast spells, but in the end, she had tried to rely on a completely different method, not the embers themselves.

“I wouldn’t recommend using that lineage if you’re not a blood wizard. You don’t seem to have the aptitude for it.”

“That’s…”

Unless you’re someone like Ryan Aiter, with an innate aptitude, or a natural-born vampire like Madame, dabbling in blood magic is suicidal.

Forcibly borrowing spells from other lineages is dangerous enough, but the moment blood becomes the medium, it’s practically signing your own death warrant.

Not only does it drain your lifespan and potential, but if you make even a single mistake, it wouldn’t be strange to drop dead on the spot.

“It might be a last-ditch resort spell you’ve learned, but if you use it, achieving your goal will become impossible.”

Lennok said, turning his gaze.

Along with acrid smoke billowing in the distance, the sticky glow of two pairs of eyes gleamed from that direction, fixed on them.

“The reason you fled the Magic Tower. Wasn’t it related to them?”

“…Yes.”

Tatiana nodded, a pain-tinged smile on her face.

“But I didn’t intend to ask a wizard who carries a life-support device to help me that far.”

“…”

“I started this. Even if it doesn’t go my way, I have to finish it myself…”

Staggering, she desperately tried to wipe away the dripping blood.

Perhaps due to extreme blood loss, her swaying hand gestures were pitiful, unable to gauge distance properly.

Lennok watched her silently, then shook his head and patted her shoulder.

“Ugh…!!”

With that light tap, she collapsed heavily.

“I’m not planning to kill you here, so give up.”

Lennok smiled.

“I intend to keep you alive and exploit you for a long, long time. Oh, should we just pretend you didn’t hear that last part because you fainted?”

“Ha… I heard e-everything…”

Tatiana leaned against a pile of trash and painfully closed her eyes.

Confirming that her breath was faintly still present, Lennok turned his gaze.

As he moved, leaning on his staff, blue lightning surged up a silver column.

Pazzik…!!

Lennok smiled beyond the thick bolts of lightning sparking in all directions.

“One of the Five Flame Pillars of Blaiver Magic Tower, you said?”

Malacia, her expression unreadable, obliquely stared at Lennok, while Halfman, his face contorted by the unexpected turn of events, exchanged glances through the lightning bolts.

Biting his lip, Halfman stomped his foot down on the face of the Cerberus Annihilation Squad youth lying at his feet.

Kwajik!!

“Ugh, guh?!”

His nose bridge broke with that kick, blood gushing out, and the youth, eyes wide with pain, turned ashen at the sight of Halfman.

Halfman glared at the youth and asked.

“Why didn’t you immediately report that you’d encountered Adamant Thunder mid-mission?”

“Cough, th-that’s…!!”

“Ah, never mind. No need to hear it.”

Eudeudeuk!!

The youth, flustered, tried desperately to make excuses, but Halfman kicked his face one more time, shattering all his teeth.

“This is exactly why you shouldn’t use murderous bastards for jobs. When you’re in a hurry and pick up just anyone, things always go wrong.”

“Ugh-buh-buh!!”

Chalkak!!

Above the youth, who was struggling and unable to speak properly, Halfman flicked his lighter.

He scooped up the rising flame with a single finger and dropped it directly onto the youth’s broken nose.

The moment the droplet-like flame touched the youth’s blood-soaked face—

“Die as slowly as possible. Painfully.”

The flames that erupted on the youth’s face began to consume his entire head, burning fiercely.

Hwarrereuk!!

“GUAAAAAHK!!”

The heat slowly but surely incinerated flesh and muscle, scorching bone.

The desperate screams quickly faded as even his vocal cords burned away, but the pain remained, making his limbs tremble violently.

Unable to bear the agony of his burning face, the youth thrashed, breaking his arms, legs, and fingers by bending them in unnatural directions.

Even his struggles faded and ceased, like dying embers.

Lennok watched the scene and nodded.

“Transferring the concept of combustion using pure will-thought, turning the target into fuel. Much more refined than I expected.”

“…Did Tatiana tell you?”

“I don’t need to be told; if you show it like that, I’ll know quickly enough.”

Using a lighter to forcibly create a combustion point, then forcibly transferring that combustion process to a specific target.

Only the state of incineration itself transfers, causing even non-combustible objects to burn fiercely like dry kindling.

Even the burning of a living human body, which ordinarily doesn’t ignite easily, like a dry leaf, was a result of that ability.

“Tatiana, and indeed, all of the Magic Tower’s Flame Pillars, handle pyromancy in unique ways.”

Lennok asked.

“Is that because your master specifically directs the Flame Pillars in such a manner?”

“…”

Melter Halfman, one of the Five Flame Pillars of Blaiver Magic Tower.

He was the one who had first tracked Tatiana after she fled the Magic Tower with the Phoenix Hall, and then lured her out by hiring the Cerberus Annihilation Squad.

While delaying, he obtained Achilles’s Spell Interception System, creating an overwhelming advantage.

And even bringing along another powerful superhuman, Malacia, to perfectly neutralize any remaining variables. Every one of his judgments was flawless.

A suitable selectivity that considered all imaginable variables without obsessing over each individual’s potential.

Maintaining a balance between these two types of judgment is itself a feat not easily achieved without extensive experience.

Halfman was undoubtedly a wizard who had survived countless battles, having rolled through battlefields.

Lennok muttered, intently observing Halfman’s face.

“I’ve always been curious about the skills of those who operate on the Central Front. This will be a good opportunity.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Adamant Thunder.”

In Halfman’s hand, as he retorted, was now a complex mechanical device.

Achilles’s Spell Interception System, which had been used to suppress Tatiana’s Artillery Armor and Rites of Rebirth.

The blue light net spread across the sky changed direction and began to suppress Lennok’s magic.

Kiiing…!!

An invisible pressure pressed down on the lightning bolts surging from his staff.

Halfman watched it, slowly beginning to loosen up.

“There’s a rumor that you’re Vulcan’s most explosive killer, and seeing you enjoy a trip while injured, it seems accurate.”

“…”

“Given that you’ve tracked us this far, it means you’re somewhat aware of the Magic Tower’s affairs, doesn’t it?”

An uncharacteristic, desperate urgency flickered across Halfman’s muttering face.

The reason he chose to fight at this point, instead of immediately fleeing even after encountering Lennok.

It might be partly because he trusted his and Malacia’s abilities and recognized that Lennok’s condition was compromised.

But it was also evidence that Halfman’s situation was so dire that he couldn’t back down from this confrontation at all.

Lennok silently watched Halfman, who was trying to reaffirm his resolve, muttering to himself.

“Let’s see just how skilled a madman who disregards his own life for the thrill of battle really is…!!”

Chiiik!!

The instant he spoke, Halfman lowered his stance, his knee twisting unnaturally.

Splitting a single step into dozens in a fraction of a second, Halfman explosively accelerated, transforming into an elongated streak of light.

Following the Flame Pillar’s leap, a long trail of flames burned like a tail, and threads of fire encircling the area lashed down before Lennok’s eyes.

Swaaaak!!

The chilling sound of air tearing, heard a beat too late.

But even as he watched the swirling flames descend right before him, Lennok shook his head.

“I’m not particularly fond of cruelty… and it seems this rumor isn’t even about me anymore.”

KWAANG!!

The threads of flame that had followed Lennok ignited like fuses at close range, exploding in rapid succession.

It was like dozens of invisible threads woven around Lennok, detonating in a sequential chain reaction.

Dududu!!

With each explosion, columns of flame rose in succession from the aftermath.

Halfman’s body, darting between the columns, shimmered like a heat haze, melting Lennok’s shield.

Kuwaaaak!!

With one hand, he flicked the lighter, while with the other, he gripped a flaming dagger in a reverse grip, accelerating furiously.

[Hyeokgwan]

[Daproe]

Ppajijijik!!

Following Lennok’s gestures, fragments of lightning connected, responding to the heat, breaking through the one-sided offensive.

Piiiing!!

Lennok saw the sharp flash of flame that grazed his ear and vanished, and he smiled.

“It wasn’t using magic threads after all. He used forced combustion transfer magic to burn the air, turning it into a fuse, didn’t he?”

The threads of flame swirling around Lennok were not constructs of magic threads or will-thought.

If they were, Lennok would have long since seized control and toyed with them.

The true nature of that emptiness: a spell was clearly being used, yet no combustion medium could be found.

Halfman was using magic to transfer the combustion process, burning the air itself, which shouldn’t ordinarily ignite.

If this exchange continued, the oxygen in the entire junkyard surrounding Lennok would completely vanish.

“Cutting off breathing creates a time limit and slows down thought processes. If you succeed in setting the stage, you can seize the initiative.”

A fighting style that, while continuing to attack Lennok, built the flow of a one-sided offensive into a grand scheme.

One might say it was a style befitting the actions and character Melter Halfman had shown so far.

“But it’s too slow.”

“Exactly.”

Pat!!

Halfman shimmered into existence before Lennok, smiling.

“Burning the air to cut off your breathing, that’s just a smokescreen to divert your attention.”

Immediately after, Halfman’s hands rapidly formed a series of complex hand seals, chanting continuously.

Simultaneously, the threads of flame burning around Lennok sank abruptly, as if plunging downward.

A bizarre choice, to nullify the process of burning away oxygen around Lennok with his own hands.

But Lennok understood Halfman’s intention when he saw the massive flaming magic circle already drawn beneath his feet.

Burning the atmosphere and taking away breath simultaneously with the attack was meant to halt the opponent’s thoughts while diverting their attention.

His true objective was to unleash a powerful spell, potent enough to affect even an 8-level wizard, through a series of complex chants.

“Hyeok (赫), Swe (碎), Tu (投), Bal (發), Gae (開). Designated Declaration.”

Pyrokinesis Unique Magic

Five-Layered Chanting, Composite Resonance

[Balyeomdorae (發炎到來): Yeomyeolnaseon (炎熱螺旋)]

[Ogeumswae (五金鎖)]

[Choyonghae (超融解)]

Wooooong!!!

The infernal heat boiling beneath Lennok’s feet instantly erupted in a crimson glow, incinerating the space.

The moment the lava-like flames of will-thought, boiling up, were about to pierce the ground and erupt like a volcano—

“No.”

Kwajik!!

As Lennok lightly stomped on the magic circle, the melting magic circle, made of threads of flame, began to shatter.

“I don’t know the outcome, but the magic used in the auxiliary chant is familiar.”

Lennok said, looking at Halfman, whose eyes were wide in disbelief.

“Then I can break it.”

“!!!”

Piiiing!!

Simultaneously with a tearing sound that grazed his ear, Lennok and Halfman’s bodies exquisitely dodged past each other.

An illusion, as if space itself had been peeled away diagonally from that spot.

Even though Lennok simply stood still, Halfman’s magic missed him, twisting and plunging into the ground.

KWAANG!!!

“Guh-hak…!!”

Even as he rolled on the ground, Halfman desperately began to rack his brain.

Although one attack had missed, the chant itself had undoubtedly reached the verge of success.

Considering that Adamant Thunder had barely managed to block the chant at the last moment, it wouldn’t be difficult to create an opportunity if he coordinated with Malacia.

‘There’s a chance…!’

The moment Halfman, thinking that, shot up to his feet, trying to gather his magic again—

“Huh…?!!”

He staggered and collapsed again, overcome by a sudden dizziness.

His face had gone blank, as if he didn’t even realize why he had fallen back down.

Lennok looked at Halfman and said.

“Exploiting the blind spot of a wizard who believes their senses are keen is surprisingly easy.”

“…What?”

“Most of them can’t even tell if it’s their own magic or not if you just mix in moderately modified magic.”

As Lennok’s gaze, fixed on the collapsed Halfman, slowly drifted downward—

“You don’t seem much different.”

Halfman discovered that, at some point, a twisted dagger had been deeply plunged into his side.

“Th-this is…”

The dagger was so deeply embedded that its blade wasn’t even visible between his ribs.

All he could tell was that traces of various curse spells were spreading from it, eating away at his entire body.

A vicious, sticky curse was flowing through Halfman’s veins, so potent that he couldn’t comprehend why he’d only noticed it now.

“Ah, the artifact’s magic… matched to mine…”

Halfman let out a hollow laugh, unable to pull out the dagger, and slowly lowered his head.

The dagger now lodged in his side was an assassination artifact, embedded with various curse spells.

Lennok had made the artifact’s magic appear identical to Halfman’s own, allowing him to plunge it into his side in a fleeting moment.

In terms of time, it was the instant their bodies had crossed paths at close range.

At that very moment, had he already perceived Halfman’s magic pattern and sensory domain, forcibly creating a vulnerability?

Even though he had undeniably turned Achilles’s Spell Interception System on Lennok, it had been meaningless.

The moment Halfman charged at Lennok head-on, the battle had already been decided.

Only after Halfman’s eyes slowly rolled back in their sockets, collapsing as he realized this truth, did Lennok turn his gaze to Malacia.

“Well, I’ve got one.”

“…”

Lennok said, looking at Malacia, who stood hunched, smiling.

“I’ve kept the smart one alive, so I don’t think I’ll need you. What do you think?”

“Hehe, I wonder…”

Malacia grinned, adjusting her grip on her scythe.

With a slight flick of her wrist, the scythe slung across her back rotated smoothly, tracing a crescent moon.

Kiiing!!

A chilling cutting sound echoed, as if the blade itself was slicing through the air.

“Since things have come to this, it wouldn’t matter if I excluded the Magic Tower’s Flame Pillar from the plan, would it?”

“You’d reschedule?”

A strange nuance, as if Malacia’s affiliation wasn’t subservient to Halfman’s decisions.

The moment Lennok frowned, sensing the unusual implication in her words—

Tatiana, who had been resting her eyes and catching her breath, painfully whispered.

“Van… mentioned a military corporation… from the Central Front…”

“…”

“Almost certainly…”

Lennok’s gaze shifted instantly as he grasped the meaning.

“I see. So you weren’t originally affiliated with Cerberus or the Magic Tower?”

A private military corporation operating on the Central Front.

An organization powerful enough to bind superhumans wielding such bizarre and unique armaments within a corporate structure.

A major player who once held a corner of Vulcan’s underworld Triad, and now the main force of a superhuman organization that has left the megacity.

“Deadrise: Demon Warband, Inhuman Annihilation Squad, Third Seat. Malacia Dendros.”

Malacia smiled.

“In this city, the grand name of the Triad—”

“No, forget that. Let me ask you this first.”

The moment Lennok retorted, patting his shoulder, the Iron-Plated Wings unfurled from his waist, enveloping him as he shot upward.

Chwaaaak!!

“!!”

“There was one thing I always wanted to ask someone from Deadrise.”

Lennok looked down at Malacia, whose eyes were wide open, and smiled.

“The owner of this item. Where are they now, and what are they doing?”