Chapter 692: The Witch and the Magic Tower (6)
Deadrise had returned.
A private military corporation, founded by those who were once part of the Triad and comrades of Kaiser.
Even when they were in Vulcan, these superhumans dominated the city’s underworld with the most brutal and explosive methods.
What could be the reason for them to turn their attention back to this city, after moving their main forces to the Central Front?
But instead of immediately interrogating Malacia about that fact, Lennok focused on her reaction of astonishment at the sight of the Iron-Plated Wings.
“You…!”
The hunched, tall Malacia, who had been smiling gloomily the entire time, showed emotional agitation for the first time.
If she claimed to be part of Deadrise’s Demon Warband, there’s no way she wouldn’t recognize these Iron-Plated Wings.
“How could you have His equipment…!!!”
“Gileon Mylos.”
Lennok asked.
“Where is he, and what is he doing now?”
The exclusive equipment of Gileon Mylos, Kaiser Bajour’s trusted subordinate, known as Deadrise’s Gray Ghost.
Lennok had obtained these wings, which carve and slice through space, from the remnants of the past left in a restricted zone.
He had believed that if Gileon still possessed the other intact wing, Malacia would undoubtedly recognize these wings as well.
And his conjecture was not wrong.
Malacia’s eyes, which had seemed somewhat relaxed until just now, were trembling slightly.
Even a hint of suspicion that Lennok might be connected to Gileon Mylos was enough to gradually change Malacia’s demeanor.
However, Malacia remarkably quickly reined in the emotions she had briefly revealed.
She gritted her teeth, lowered her stance as if crawling on the ground, and then, gripping her huge scythe in a reverse grip, drew forth her magic.
“No, I won’t think.”
“…”
Lennok’s act of revealing the wings was itself an attempt to gauge Malacia’s reaction.
Though she didn’t know the exact circumstances, Malacia decided that she only needed to avoid falling completely into his scheme here.
Her response wasn’t to constantly think and ponder, but rather to stop making judgments and focus on the immediate situation.
She, too, was a high-hierarchy physical superhuman who had accumulated countless combat experiences through numerous battles.
“I’ll kill you here, retrieve His equipment, and report to headquarters. That alone will be enough!”
She lifted a long finger and tore off the mask covering her mouth.
Malacia’s mouth, revealed from within the mask, stretched back to her ears, and from her throat, she spewed out a viscous, slimy fluid.
“Ughhhk!!”
“Splat!!”
The fluid that burst out instantly covered the entire junkyard, making everything slippery.
The moment Lennok detected traces of magic and will-thought mixed within the fluid—
“A Miniature Universe?”
Malacia’s form, sliding through the fluid, bent like a long, twisted crescent moon.
The moment the accelerated scythe, amidst the nearly frictionless fluid, unleashed a slicing attack, the junkyard was cleanly split in half.
“KAA-BOOM!!”
Debris strewn everywhere was cut in half, and walls and the ground cracked diagonally, springing up from the recoil.
As he looked around, leaning on his staff, the shadow of a scythe was already cast beneath his chin.
[Scythe Crescent]
It then vanished, back-slicing over Lennok’s shoulder where he stood.
“Shhhhk!!”
Shields and protective spells were sliced away, and the resulting tearing sound left in its wake grazed Lennok’s neck with a chilling touch.
“Keheheheheh!!”
Malacia’s form moved freely through the fluid, letting out a grotesque laugh.
Her flowing hair spun like a black umbrella, subtly obscuring the blade of the swinging scythe.
From between Malacia’s magic-infused fingers, a jet-black scythe rotated at ultra-high speed, slicing Lennok’s form dozens of times.
Lennok, too, cast lightning magic with his other hand, firing it like a weapon to fend off her attacks.
[Azure Lightning Net]
[Thunderous Void Eye]
[Congealed Axe]
“Thud-thud-thud-thud!!”
The slippery scythe and fragments of lightning collided, revealing heat rays, and trails of light fiercely spun in a helical pattern.
The ground between Lennok and Malacia was sliced open, and electrodes surged and exploded from within the cracks.
“BOOM!!”
“Quite skilled.”
Lennok smiled, deflecting the scythe blade aimed at his flank by slamming down the shaft of his lightning spear.
“Perhaps it’s her unusual style, but she has no discernible pattern. It must be incredibly difficult to wield such a challenging Miniature Universe so effectively.”
Though not precisely known, Malacia’s Miniature Universe was a power that reduced friction.
It was by no means an ability that directly aided combat or was specialized for one-on-one duels.
However, Malacia not only freely wielded the challenging power of her Miniature Universe but also succeeded in perfectly integrating it into her own style.
A scythe swung while forcibly disrupting her body’s balance, maintaining minimal friction through the fluid.
Because it was impossible to predict when or how she would slide in, there was absolutely no discernible pattern or tendency.
Perhaps Malacia herself didn’t even think about where she would swing her scythe.
A method that went beyond exchanging blows, meticulously dragging the fight into a chaotic brawl so that no discernible ‘flow’ could be established.
No matter how experienced and skilled a superhuman, in such a situation, one could only endure and respond with their body to a certain extent.
And this kind of patternless, frantic melee was almost the worst possible scenario for a physically frail mage like Lennok.
‘She’s not even aiming for the life support device. She had no interest in that from the start.’
Unlike Halfman, Malacia must have known the rumors of Lennok’s injury, yet she didn’t bother to aim her scythe there.
Perhaps she believed that once Lennok entered combat, a life support device was no longer a weakness at all.
Or perhaps she was so certain she could kill Lennok right before her eyes that she didn’t need to consider any weaknesses.
“That’s what I want to say, you monster.”
“BANG!!”
Malacia whispered as she brushed past Lennok.
“You’re deflecting every one of my scythe attacks, even as you blabber on.”
Even while he spoke of no patterns, the lightning magic Lennok unleashed never missed the direction of Malacia’s swinging scythe.
Beyond simply fending off her offense, it possessed a searing power that could, conversely, electrocute and crush the scythe’s blade.
Lennok replied.
“Prediction isn’t necessarily about reading patterns. Rather, one can force a read by introducing variables from this side.”
At the same time, flames that erupted before the swiftly sliding Malacia slammed into her solar plexus as if crumpled.
[Crimson Chain]
[Constructed Fire]
“KAA-BOOOOM!!!”
“Kyaaaahk!!”
Lennok lightly shook his hand, watching Malacia’s shadow tumble and scream.
“A lack of thought, conversely, also means it’s easier to manipulate the situation according to my intentions.”
Malacia’s attacks had no pattern, but if Lennok intercepted and forcibly broke them, he could create a flow by force.
A power that twisted the situation simply by Lennok’s intervention in combat, regardless of his opponent’s abilities or thoughts.
Lennok’s fighting style had already transcended conventional understanding, reaching directly for the outcome.
“Haaah, Aaaaargh!!”
Though she had evaded with superhuman reflexes, one of Malacia’s arms was already completely burnt and melted away.
Even though she severed the arm before her entire body was consumed by fire, Lennok’s magic, which had penetrated her body, gnawed at her mind and spirit.
An intense pain that burned nerves, enough to make most superhumans lose their minds and convulse on the spot.
“Kah, ah…!!! Not yet!!!”
But even as Malacia coughed up bloody foam from the pain, she bounced her body as if striking herself, forcing herself upright.
“This isn’t nearly enough…!!”
She crushed her broken fingers to grip the scythe, then threw her body into the fluid, sliding directly forward.
“Splat!!”
As Malacia’s will-thought, resolved to a mutual destruction, reached its peak, she accelerated beyond limits on the extremely reduced friction surface.
The moment the diagonally bent scythe surpassed the speed of perception and reached the conceptual horizon—
“That’s right. It’s always not enough.”
Lennok, for the first time, took his hands off his staff and raised both hands, overlapping them.
“That’s why you always have to keep filling it, even if it means trying new things and taking risks.”
“Shwiiiing!!”
Hundreds of magical threads extended from all directions around the mage’s body, subtly manipulating and twisting Lennok’s form almost simultaneously.
Simultaneously, the heart technique of Touin activated, forcibly adjusting Lennok’s posture to draw in the domain of his will-thought.
He forcibly manifested the profundities of the martial arts he had learned with Lansia, embedding them right here.
“Kiiiing…!!”
A peculiar posture, as if performing a specific movement rather than a hand seal or incantation.
Before Malacia could properly register that strangeness and change the direction of her attack—
The golden radiance that burst forth before her eyes swallowed everything.
“FWOOOOOSH!!!!”
A magnificent melody, utterly grand, echoed in her ears—a hallucination.
Malacia couldn’t even properly comprehend what had happened.
Only her own tragically sprawled body came into view after the golden radiance, which had shaken her consciousness and mind, had faded.
“Ah, ah…”
Lennok slowly approached Malacia, who was weakly twitching in place, and spoke.
“That was enjoyable. So, the Central Front is full of such experienced individuals?”
Malacia, despite knowing there was an undeniable gap between Lennok and herself, had actually assessed her chances and initiated combat.
Far from fearing a direct confrontation with Lennok, she had swung her scythe with what seemed like eagerness.
This was more than just a powerful inherent hierarchy; it was the mark of a veteran mercenary, hardened by countless battles and life-or-death struggles.
If it hadn’t been Lennok, it wouldn’t have been surprising if someone had fallen to her audacious combat style and challenging Miniature Universe.
“You… you crazy bastard…”
Malacia, realizing Lennok’s intention, trembled but burst into laughter.
“To have such a technique, yet still risk your life… Khuhu, you’ll die soon…”
“I hear that all the time.”
“Crack!!”
Lennok snapped his thumb and forefinger, conjuring a small electrode, and dropped it onto Malacia’s glabella.
Malacia chuckled, watching the lightning fall before her eyes.
“Keheheheh…!! Yes, well, this isn’t so ba…!!!”
[Bolt]
The moment the small, twisting lightning bolt burrowed into Malacia’s head like a screw.
Her breathing ceased instantly.
One Flame Pillar of Blaiver Magic Tower captured. Deadrise combatant eliminated on site.
Having finished the job exactly as he had hinted earlier, Lennok gestured towards Tatiana, who was sitting slumped on the other side.
“Shwiiiing!!”
Magical threads suspended in the air naturally lifted Tatiana’s body upright.
A comfortable and natural assistance, as if an invisible person were supporting her from the side.
“You said you turned the Machine City upside down, and now I understand why your actions were so bizarre…”
Tatiana, who had stumbled to Lennok’s side with difficulty, gave a wry smile.
“If you can play around with Central Front veterans like that, just how bizarre are your usual fights?”
“Bizarre? That’s a bit harsh.”
Lennok smiled.
“It’s all simply what’s necessary.”
“…Was that the meaning of ‘necessity’ I knew?”
Tatiana tilted her head, yet meekly bowed to Lennok.
“Well, anyway… thank you for saving me. I really thought I was going to die this time…”
He steadied the stumbling Tatiana, who couldn’t even speak properly, with magical threads again.
She was too fatigued from long travels and battles to bear it. Her condition clearly seemed poor.
“Are you sure you don’t need treatment?”
“These internal injuries will be fine after a few days of rest. It’s something I always experience after a tough operation…”
Tatiana rotated her shoulders and said.
“The truly dangerous thing is actually this.”
Picking up the Stamp Gun from the ground, she murmured with a serious expression.
The unidentified object Halfman had tried to fire at Tatiana’s head.
“I should have aimed this at this woman’s head and fired it in reverse…”
“Too bad. Unlike that man, I couldn’t leave this one alive.”
Lennok replied with a smile.
“She possessed a very useful will-thought ability. Even if I captured her, it would have been difficult to hold her for long unless I personally kept her restrained.”
The Miniature Universe Malacia possessed created a fluid that reduced friction.
Considering that a physical superhuman’s Miniature Universe is based on their own body, it’s likely she transformed the properties of her bodily fluids in that way.
If she possessed such an ability, physically restraining and binding Malacia would be practically impossible.
Rather than being tied down by keeping her alive for no reason, it was better to deal with her cleanly right here.
“No, I’m not saying she should have been kept alive… I’m not in a position to complain.”
“Tentacion Corporation’s satellite factory. Did the Magic Tower and Deadrise join forces?”
Lennok asked.
A Flame Pillar of Blaiver Magic Tower and a Deadrise combatant.
If two Saint-tier superhumans were moving together, stirring up the megacity, their purpose was obvious.
It’s likely that Halfman’s hiring of the Cerberus Annihilation Squad was also a result of him making good use of them, as they were a unit under Deadrise.
Thinking that way, he could understand why Tatiana was searching for the satellite factory, and why Halfman, knowing this, had lured her there.
“Vulcan was their target from the start. You weren’t fleeing the Magic Tower; you were actually pursuing their plan.”
“…Yes.”
Tatiana nodded with a grim expression.
“I was pursuing Tentacion Corporation’s satellite factory from the beginning. To be precise, I was looking for the engine to be used in building the satellite.”
“Why?”
“Because the parts used in that engine aren’t mere chunks of machinery.”
Tatiana gritted her teeth and murmured.
“The parts that went into it are mages from the Magic Tower who fought alongside me on the front lines.”
“Mages?”
“What do you think would happen if a satellite launched from Vulcan had the performance to see the entire Central Front at a glance?”
“…”
“It would be difficult due to magnetic storms, barriers, all sorts of terrain features, and magic fields, but what if they forcibly boosted its performance by grinding up the souls and bodies of mages?”
Only then did Lennok realize why Tatiana was so desperately tracking the Tentacion Corporation.
“Deadrise intends to create and sell ‘Soul Satellites’ made by grinding humans into materials. And those materials were my subordinates who fell in the war.”
The witch’s red eyes blazed with uncontrollable fury.
Tatiana said, spitting out the words.
“The Magic Tower, knowing this, didn’t stop them; instead, they tried to profit through a deal. All because they wanted to prevent the Eyes of Blue from solidifying their position in the central region…!!”
“…Wait.”
Lennok, who had been silently listening to Tatiana, asked.
“The Eyes of Blue?”
“A secret society that gathered in the northern part of the Eastern Continent, and a military organization operating around the descendants of the Ascendant, the previous Lighthouse Keeper.”
Tatiana replied.
“Recently, they’ve been rapidly expanding their territory and establishing Lighthouses, and there are rumors that their newly constructed Lighthouses can see through the outer barriers of the Central Front.”
“…”
“Because of that, all the factions stationed on the outer front have been put on high alert.”
Tatiana spoke quietly, leaving Lennok in silence.
“The satellite Deadrise is producing is creating a new ‘Eye’ that rivals the Eyes of Blue.”