#115. A Flower Blooming in the Mud (4)
—
“If we use the fire-based magic circle we’ve set up, we can annihilate the enemy magicians all at once. Fire-based magic is the most powerful among elemental magic. After that, we can bombard the ground-based enemies who haven’t yet entered the building with magic.”
Fire-based magic?
The magic circle they were drawing now?
There was deception in Ray’s words.
But Veronica simply nodded and listened.
Ray had instructed her not to show any reaction, even if his words seemed strange.
But that wasn’t the only odd thing.
‘That explanation wasn’t meant for me.’
Ray’s usual monotone voice hadn’t changed in the slightest.
However, Veronica sensed a subtle difference.
Though he was speaking while looking in her direction, his attention was divided elsewhere.
It was as if he was conscious of someone else, deliberately letting them hear.
‘But there’s only Ray, me, and those nasty old men up here on the rooftop.’
She tilted her head in confusion but couldn’t grasp the exact meaning behind Ray’s actions.
“…….”
After a moment of contemplation, Veronica decided to focus on drawing the magic circle.
Since Ray said it, there must be a reason.
As she moved busily around—
Tap.
Something touched her back.
Startled, she almost let out a scream but calmed down upon realizing it was just the railing.
And then she saw something that made her eyes widen.
“……!”
A small circular beam of light.
Like a stage spotlight, it shone down on a part of the railing.
Veronica hurried to the rooftop entrance and returned with something to place in the beam of light.
Clack.
A small flower pot.
One that had yet to sprout.
After adjusting its position to receive sunlight properly, she slowly lifted her head.
The sky was covered in dark storm clouds.
From a tiny gap between them, a single ray of sunlight was breaking through.
*
*
*
D-0.
On the rooftop of the Resistance hideout.
McCurley stood at the railing.
“…….”
The air was heavy and rough.
Like sticky grains of sand floating around.
It was a familiar feeling to someone who had lived in the lower sectors.
A precursor to some phenomenon.
Lifting his gaze, McCurley stared at the dark clouds covering the sky, then turned his head slightly to the side and asked,
“Are you not nervous, Mage?”
“I don’t get nervous.”
A dry reply came.
No nervousness.
At first, he thought it was just the bravado of a boy his age.
But after witnessing the boy’s magic firsthand, he realized it wasn’t bravado at all.
It was confidence in his own abilities.
‘Of course, that might be part of it.’
But simple confidence alone couldn’t fully explain the certainty in the boy’s words.
It was something else.
It felt less like confidence and more like stating an absolute truth.
As if saying, ‘The sun rises in the east and sets in the west’ or ‘Water flows downward.’
McCurley found himself curious.
What kind of life had this boy led?
“Mage.”
“Yes.”
“If we ever get the time to talk—”
Just then, McCurley’s gaze caught something in the distance.
Enemy vehicles unloading supplies at various points throughout the streets.
“—If we get the time—”
A different thought crossed McCurley’s mind.
Under normal circumstances, things would go the usual way.
The Resistance would infiltrate enemy territory to secure supplies, knowing full well it was a trap.
And the enemy would toy with them, only tightening the noose at the last moment.
Like a cat deliberately letting a mouse live for the next game.
“—If we get the time—”
His fist clenched tightly.
Today would be different.
The destination of their stolen supplies wasn’t their hideout this time.
Instead, they would lead the enemy to a place where this entire conflict could end.
Suppressing his emotions, McCurley completed his question.
“—If we get the time, could you tell me your story? How you’ve lived, and what Sector 50 was like?”
Ray remained silent.
McCurley quickly added,
“Ah, sorry if that was too much. You can ignore what I said. I mean, there’s no guarantee we’ll even get the chance—”
“We’ll get the time.”
“…….”
“Because we’ll win this war.”
Once again.
That same emotionless face and voice, filled with unwavering conviction.
A paradoxical thing.
“…….”
Yet, in that moment, McCurley felt his anxiety dissipate, replaced by an odd sense of reassurance and confidence.
Yes, this was why.
He hadn’t sided with the boy out of desperation, thinking they had no other choice but to take a gamble.
“I’ll tell you as much as I can. I’m not great at storytelling, though.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
He had conviction.
That this boy would lead them to victory.
“That seems to be the last of the supply vehicles.”
“Yes, it does.”
Confirming the locations of all the supplies, the boy turned and headed for the exit.
The man followed behind him.
Tap— Tap—
Footsteps echoed in steady rhythm.
“By the way, McCurley, what kind of flower were you?”
The boy asked.
*
Ray and Scarlet Tulip descended to the first floor of the hideout.
Firearms and goggles. Bulletproof vests and helmets.
And lightweight communication gear.
From head to toe, the Resistance members were fully equipped and lined up in formation between the pillars.
The total number: 66. Eleven squads.
Except for the wounded, and leaving minimal guards on the rooftop to avoid suspicion, this was the entire available fighting force.
At the very front stood Colin.
Clank. Creak—
Clank. Creak—
The metallic sound of footsteps echoed through the hall.
As the boy descended the stairs, no one spoke.
Or rather, they couldn’t speak.
The air was so thick with tension that their hearts felt like they might burst at any moment.
Tap.
The boy’s combat boots stopped next to Colin.
His gaze swept over the assembled faces.
He focused, analyzing their expressions.
Everyone’s eyes, noses, and mouths were frozen like stone.
And in that frozen scene, the only thing that moved—
The boy’s lips, whispering softly.
“Let’s begin.”
The operation was carried out with seamless coordination.
Sixty-six soldiers boarded trucks and vans lined up in front of the hideout, divided into squads.
*Screech— Clack!*
Ray and Philip rode in an eight-seater van driven by Squad 1, including McCurley.
Ray sat in the front passenger seat, while Philip, holding a radio, sat directly behind him.
“My heart feels like it’s about to jump out of my chest. I’ve only ever watched gang wars from a distance—I never imagined I’d be directly involved in one.”
Philip whispered, and Ray replied.
“You’ll have to get used to it. You might face situations far more dangerous than this.”
“Well, I’m a lot bolder than when I first met you.”
Bolder.
That word also applied to Veronica, who was in an abandoned building on 38th Street, performing the final checks on the magic circle.
“We’re departing.”
*Click. Rumble—*
With the driver’s tense voice, the engine started.
“Davis, no need to be nervous. We trust your driving skills. This mission will be a success.”
“Yeah, you didn’t earn the title of Nisoha’s best racer for nothing. Just do what you always do.”
“Technically, I did earn it with my feet. I mean, I step on the accelerator and brakes with them.”
A small chuckle escaped.
The tension eased slightly.
One by one, the vehicles left the hideout and headed toward their destination.
Ray, Philip, and Squad 1 were in one van.
Colin and Squad 2 were in another.
These two vans moved toward the border zone where the enemy had dropped supplies.
The remaining nine vehicles headed for the abandoned building on 38th Street.
Their mission was to ambush the enemy from a favorable position once they swarmed in.
Ray gazed out the window, watching the alleys and streets blur past.
‘Two vehicles are enough to lure them in.’
Deploying too many vehicles would only create unnecessary confusion and miscommunication.
Considering efficient movement and adaptability to unexpected situations, a small number of vehicles was more effective.
Then, Colin’s voice came from behind.
“But we never figured out how the enemy was tracking our movements.”
Ray broke from his thoughts and answered.
“It won’t interfere with the lure. We’ve prepared countermeasures.”
Ray hadn’t revealed to the others that the enemy was using summoning magic.
「Using a familiar to scout… No way! Could it be that they’ve been tracking us this entire time with summoning magic?」
When Ray first demonstrated the magic, Colin and the squad leaders had reacted with alarm.
「I checked. That’s not the case.」
He had deliberately given them that answer.
Ray’s overarching plan required two conditions to be met before it could be fully realized.
First, that the arrogance displayed by the enemy’s officer was not just a passing whim.
Second, that the enemy remained unaware that Ray’s side had discovered their method of surveillance.
‘That way, we can feed them false information.’
Just as he had discussed with Veronica on the rooftop days ago.
Through the use of familiars and summoning magic, they had gathered extensive information on the enemy magicians—but Ray hadn’t shared everything with his allies.
He had hidden certain details.
For the sake of a perfect deception.
Because if even one of their own unconsciously let something slip in front of an enemy familiar, the entire plan could collapse.
‘The two main pieces of information I’ve intentionally exposed to the enemy are these:’
First, that the Resistance is planning to turn the tide with a lure strategy.
Second, that they will activate a magic circle at the lure site to annihilate the enemy.
‘The enemy is aware of these facts. They eavesdropped on my conversation with Veronica through their familiar.’
Ray had formed a hypothesis.
If the emotional abnormality displayed by Curiosa was a trait shared by all of Murcred’s officers…
If the arrogance of the enemy officer in Sector 46 stemmed from a similar emotional irregularity…
‘Then they’ll take the bait.’
There was a high likelihood that the enemy officer would deliberately fall for the lure strategy.
To grant themselves a fleeting sense of false hope.
Only to eventually crush that hope, ensuring the despair and sense of defeat would be even greater.
That way, they could effectively inflate the gap between their own superiority and the enemy’s inferiority.
‘They’ll prepare countermeasures based on the information they’ve gathered. There’s a small chance they’ll opt for a direct frontal assault instead, but…’
The enemy’s arrogance.
And the information gap.
From Ray’s perspective, both conditions were more than satisfied.
His sharpened instincts, honed through years of survival in the slums, told him so.
It was a gamble worth making.
But unlike the past, this time, he carried the weight of many lives on his shoulders.
To ensure the plan’s success, he had prepared additional measures.
That was where the jewel and the knife came in.
“We’ve arrived!”
They had reached the outskirts of 19th Street.
The enemy’s occupied territory bordering the contested zone.
Squad 1 quickly disembarked and began loading the stacked supplies into the truck bed at the three-way intersection.
“Hurry! Faster!”
McCurley directed his squad while nervously scanning each direction of the intersection.
Ray also stepped out, keeping watch at the ends of the streets.
When the crates were halfway loaded—
“Enemies!”
A deafening burst of gunfire instantly filled the streets.
*Tudududududu—!*
At both ends of the T-shaped intersection—
As if on cue, the enemy appeared, using pre-stacked sandbags and benches as cover, opening fire on Ray and Squad 1.
*Tk-tik! Tk-tik!*
But their bullets failed to penetrate Ray’s barrier.
‘Both streets. About ten enemies each.’
His barrier was smaller and weaker than Veronica’s, but it was enough to protect the van and the squad from this level of gunfire.
“Ray is protecting us! Don’t waste time returning fire—just focus on loading the supplies!”
McCurley’s confident shout rang out behind him.
*Woom—!*
Ray drew upon his mana.
As red mana surged through his body and reached his feet—
*Bang!*
His entire body launched forward.
At some point, a knife had appeared in his hand.
His target was the rightmost street.
“Fire! Stop him!”
“Don’t let him get close!”
The boy closed the distance at a terrifying speed.
Panicked, the enemy soldiers frantically redirected their aim.
But he was too fast—their shots struck only the pavement and utility poles.
A few bullets did hit him—
*Thunk!*
—Only to bounce off.
Bullets that should have easily pierced human flesh left nothing but small holes in his clothes, failing to draw a single drop of blood.
[Metallization]
A technique utilizing two circles of mana, Metallization showed greater effectiveness than before.
Ordinary barriers blocked heat and cold but absorbed shock poorly when in contact with the skin.
But Metallization shattered the force of impact almost entirely.
‘It stings a little.’
He could feel the sensation, but pain had little meaning to him.
It wasn’t an issue.
If anything, even Veronica’s random slaps sometimes hurt more.
As he closed the distance—
*Tap!*
Ray suddenly halted.
With an urgent motion, he pivoted 180 degrees.
He was retreating, as if unable to withstand the gunfire any longer.
Inside his coat, his fingers felt the smooth, sharp surface of the yellow sapphire.
‘The first piece of information the enemy doesn’t know.’
That they possessed an item suspected to be a Fragment of the Rainbow.
This was the moment to “accidentally” drop it and let the enemy see.
If they saw it, they would be compelled to go all in.
But just as he was about to pull the jewel from his coat—
—*Please return it without damage! If there’s even a tiny scratch, its value…!*
A voice echoed in his mind.
Ray nodded internally.
Then—
*Whip!*
He threw the jewel straight to the ground.
