Chapter 879: The Eye That Sees Fate (15)

“…No. But I see you’re a far more dangerous bastard than I thought.”

Dylan’s expression subtly hardened as he rose from his seat.

“Willing to use the entire city as firewood just to get your master back… you’re completely insane. I misjudged you.”

“As I said, it’s not something I enjoy.”

Walking toward Dylan, Lennok casually spread his hand.

At that moment, the flames burning around the shop began to coil around Lennok’s arm like a living creature.

“But if it’s necessary, there’s a reason it must be done, even if I can’t help it. That’s what I’m saying.”

“And I’m saying you’re crazy for even thinking that way about Van!!”

With those words, Dylan charged straight at Lennok.

The flames coiling around Lennok’s arm bent chaotically in all directions, distorting as they clashed with Dylan’s long-handled weapon.

Kwarurururuk!!

The rundown alley, lined with abandoned storefronts, shimmered and reflected the glint of the blade, distorted by the heat and haze.

Dylan’s form, thrashing violently within the flames, broke through the fiery wave in an instant and landed before Lennok.

He unhesitatingly threw away the half-melted blade and grabbed Lennok by the collar.

“Fuck, this was an expensive sword…!!”

Gritting his teeth, Dylan slammed his own head into Lennok’s forehead and yelled.

“I’ll make you pay for this, you bastard!!”

Kwaaang!!

Struck squarely by the headbutt, Lennok’s head snapped back.

Not stopping there, Dylan kept his grip on Lennok’s collar and pushed forward with his entire body, slamming him into the wall of a commercial building.

Drrrrrk!!

“Haaaaah!!”

Planting his feet on the wall, Dylan launched himself upward, dragging Lennok through the walls and windows of the abandoned building before hurling him onto the rooftop.

It was a violent collision meant to shatter all his joints, break his neck, and render him unconscious.

But just before impact, Lennok placed both hands behind his neck and kicked Dylan in the stomach with one foot.

Pow!!

“……!!”

The leg strength was completely unexpected from such a slender frame. An intense heat burned through Dylan’s body with the impact, and his expression twisted.

It was a sickening sensation, as if his own mana couldn’t respond to his body’s movements, getting stuck in the heat.

The moment Dylan’s grip on his collar loosened, Lennok sprang away and landed on the rooftop.

Lennok slid across the roof, fell, and staggered to his feet.

“Cough, cough!!”

“……”

Watching Lennok cough as if short of breath, Dylan’s gaze grew heavy.

Something had changed.

That kick just now. The counterattack that had struck Dylan’s vitals.

A strange sense of unease, as if the danger he felt from this wizard had transformed into something slightly different.

“You, what did you say your name was? Was it Evan on the wanted poster?”

“Why ask if you already know?”

“…No. I think I know what this feeling is.”

Dylan glanced down below the rooftop.

Fwoosh!!

The flames raging around the building were indiscriminately burning the ground and asphalt.

Except for the rooftop where the two stood, there was hardly a spot left to stand.

And the wizard had created this devastating scene with only two spells.

Staring at the sea of fire below, Dylan let out a small laugh and muttered.

“So this is what those idiots who fought Van must have felt.”

“……”

“I have no idea why you’re so strong. Or why every spell you use is so ridiculously powerful. Or why you know close combat but have such weak durability.”

Letting out a light breath, Dylan gathered all his remaining mana and set his foot on the edge of the roof.

“Hoo, alright… If you’re a wizard similar to the old Van, then to avoid dying like those other pathetic fools—”

Tak!

Untying the knots on his still-intact long-handled weapon, Dylan wrapped them around his hand and spoke.

“I’ll have to risk my life, too.”

Though the skin and muscle scorched by the heat magic had finished regenerating, the phantom of the burn still throbbed.

But he ignored even the stiffness from the pain and gripped the remaining weapons one by one.

‘He’s not completely unskilled in close combat. But he’s not a trained fighter…!!’

He seemed quite accustomed to moving his body for a wizard, but his physical abilities were no match for Dylan’s.

If they were, he would have simply beaten Dylan down when he was first captured, without needing to be restrained.

No matter how hot and vast his flames were, the first clash had confirmed that at this range, the caster would also be harmed.

On this rooftop, where they were forced into close quarters, it was simply a fight of who could endure longer.

‘Sensory input aside, if this becomes a battle of durability, I have the advantage. If I can force an engagement while considering our breathing, I can win.’

He took a deep breath of the air that was rapidly burning away, held it, and lowered his stance.

He tossed three daggers into the air and gripped the hatchet hanging from his thigh with one hand.

‘Here I go…!’

Thwack!!

He pushed aside the hot, heavy air and closed the distance in an instant.

Before Lennok could even register his approach, Dylan twisted his entire body and swung a dagger he caught in his hand.

He slammed a hatchet down on Lennok’s knee, pressed a curved blade into his stomach, and slid the edge of a straight sword across his shoulder.

Kakagagagak!!

As he swung his weapons, crimson flames exploded before his eyes.

Was he chanting heat magic in that brief moment to counter Dylan’s attack?

A feeling akin to admiration flickered for a moment, then all of Dylan’s focus was on controlling his body.

‘Cut the tendons. I have to keep him alive…!!’

With every minimal breath Dylan could take, he charged forward, gripping and swinging three or more weapons simultaneously.

It wasn’t a matter of understanding and moving; it was an ingrained assault, a combination of attacks that had reached the realm of second nature through countless experiences and practice.

It was an all-out offensive, unleashing all his remaining energy and mana in an explosive forward burst, giving his opponent no room to react.

Following his superhuman acceleration, a dozen blades slid through the air from different directions, seizing the space and closing every gap.

Just as Dylan’s straight sword parted the searing breath of fire, and a sharp spearhead slid down toward Lennok’s abdomen…

Flames burst explosively from Lennok’s back, forcibly shoving his body to the side.

Kwoooosh!!

“He dodged?!”

A self-destructive move, setting himself on fire to forcibly change his position.

But because of it, the spearhead Dylan had last thrown barely tore through Lennok’s clothes and grazed his side.

“Ignition Chapter.”

Fwoosh!!

Flames erupted on the back of Lennok’s hand and on his elbow.

Five streams of fire, centered on his left arm, varied in output and direction, instantly accelerating Lennok’s arm.

[5-Layered Ignition: Acceleration]

Paaat!!

It wasn’t burning his skin; it was using the ignition of the flames as recoil, a propellant to launch Lennok’s body forward.

Dylan’s array of blades immediately detected the movement and moved to intercept, but the coiling flames protected Lennok’s arm like a gauntlet, breaking through every barrier.

“This is…!!”

This wasn’t reacting to the exchange; this was an overwhelming tactical play, predicting all the underlying psychology from the start to crush him completely.

The moment Dylan felt a faint sense of unease from that overwhelming helplessness and snapped his head up…

Lennok’s explosively accelerated rocket punch connected with Dylan’s jaw.

[Flame Seal]

[Heavenly Collapse]

Pooooow!!

A devastating punch, using his entire arm as a propellant to shatter Dylan’s lower jaw.

As Lennok’s body lunged forward and slid to the ground, Dylan’s neck snapped halfway back.

“Ugh-gek…”

His vision spinning, Dylan somehow tried to regain his balance.

“My, my heaaad…”

Even after a direct hit that rattled his brain, he somehow maintained his balance and stood on his own two feet.

Lennok, who had fallen at the edge of the rooftop, looked back at Dylan, aghast.

“Your durability is truly monstrous. A direct hit to the brain with a hammer would have been weaker than that.”

To end the fight without killing Dylan, he had chosen a hand-to-hand brawl, a choice Adamant Thunder would never make.

But even after being struck by a punch accelerated by a 5-layered booster, Dylan was still conscious and enduring.

“Stay right there… you bastard…”

“That’s enough, go to sleep.”

“If you go… to Van…”

Gush gush gush!

Lennok approached the still-dazed Dylan and poured an entire bottle of strong liquor into his mouth.

Even smelling his favorite alcohol, Dylan desperately tried to resist, but he only began to nod off after Lennok shoved the bottle upside down into his throat and cast a sleep spell.

“Hoo…”

Did he really need to rattle his brain, soak him in alcohol, and cast a sleep spell just to knock him out?

Aside from the fact that Lennok had helped Dylan improve his skills and regenerative abilities, he never imagined he would be this tough an opponent.

It was a wonder he had endured for so long even after Lennok had caught him off guard and landed a critical blow.

Lennok stared blankly at the unconscious Dylan, then smiled faintly, patted his shoulder, and turned away.

“You did well.”

He still remembered that day he’d infiltrated Charlotte’s cosmetics factory with Dylan, faced Croken, and nearly died.

He remembered the cigarette they’d shared, sitting on the street after everything was over.

Perhaps Dylan’s decision to help Van was for a similar reason.

That was why Lennok didn’t find Dylan’s actions purely annoying.

“Now, then…”

As he stretched his hand toward the still-burning flames below the rooftop, the fire began to be slowly sucked into his hand.

Kururururu!!

With a strange vibration, the essence of the violent flames began to condense into a dark red sphere in Lennok’s hand.

Lennok stared at the small sphere for a moment, then tossed it into the air above his head.

Heat magic uncontrolled by the power of the Outer Sea was extremely dangerous, and leaving it here could cause unnecessary damage.

But there was no reason to extinguish the flames now that they were fully preheated, so Lennok had intended to carry it himself.

Wooooong!!

The sphere of fire wrapped around Lennok’s wrist and began to rotate behind his back like a large bead of a rosary.

Watching the compressed flame rotate in a fixed orbit like a planet around its star, Lennok shrugged.

“Shall we go?”

Once the fire was completely extinguished, Lennok stepped down onto the street of burnt ashes and began to walk slowly.

While many things he’d said during his fight with Dylan weren’t his true feelings, at least one thing wasn’t a lie.

Evan Martinez. The heat wizard cooperating with the Eyes of Blue.

Separate from the fact that he wasn’t well-known in Vulcan yet, Lennok had never intended for this identity’s martial prowess to be rated so low.

Hadn’t the major accomplishments he achieved under Evan’s name while fighting with the Eyes of Blue been enough to shake the northern continent?

If the megacity believed this name couldn’t yet compare to Adamant Thunder, so be it.

How far Lennok could go after falling back into Vulcan’s underworld under Evan’s name was, in the end, for Lennok himself to decide.

A silence so profound it hurt the ears.

A desolate obsidian cavern cloaked in darkness.

Even the sound of a dry swallow felt like it would echo like thunder, rendering her unable to move.

This was how Lapis thought of this space she first encountered upon opening her eyes.

A warm air drifted through the cavern, which seemed dark yet wasn’t.

A gentle breeze blew like a soft breath, yet at the same time, she felt a cold exclusiveness that tolerated no interference.

It was a serene space, as if someone’s ideal world had been given physical form.

“You’re awake.”

“……”

A black-haired young man, his expression so cold it bordered on cruel, sat in a chair across from her, staring at her blankly.