**#117. A Flower Blooming in the Mud (6)**
—
Beherat, an intermediate combatant of Murcred.
He lifted his head and met the gaze of the boy on the rooftop.
White hair. White pupils.
An expression that betrayed no emotion.
‘Is it that child?’
He first became aware of the boy’s existence five days ago.
—Seems like the enemy has picked up an interesting kid.
—Interesting… kid, sir?
—Yeah. A magician, apparently connected to the Pro faction in some way.
Frankly, he was surprised. It was rare to hear the word ‘interesting’ from the one he had served for so long.
The boy’s presence was reported the very next day.
—T-The mages who came to support us… were all taken down.
That was the report from the Nisoha operatives.
The bridge connecting Street 28 and 30.
It was there that Malik and Stoney had fallen.
And all because of a single boy.
‘At first, I thought it was nonsense. Malik and Stoney were battle-hardened veterans.’
Experts in close combat, they held an overwhelming advantage against fellow magicians.
And yet, they had lost their lives to a mere child?
The one he served found it intriguing, but he refused to believe it, concluding that the report was simply inaccurate.
The weak often let fear distort their perceptions, exaggerating what they had seen.
But Malik and Stoney did not return as the days passed.
Not the next day.
Not the day after that.
When he personally inspected the scene, traces of battle remained on the bridge.
However, the location was outside the observation range of the one he served, and there were too few clues to gather much information.
‘But I’ll find out soon enough. Whether the boy really defeated them through skill… or if there was something I don’t know about.’
Step. Step.
He continued walking, observing the abandoned building.
One thing was clear—the boy was highly intelligent.
Choosing a dilapidated building as the battleground was a strategic decision, likely made to counter Murcred’s many explosive-type magicians.
He sought to neutralize their primary combat method.
Additionally, the narrow entrance posed a significant challenge for attackers.
Naturally, this would force them to search for an alternative entry point, directing their gaze upward.
And at the end of that gaze—
“……”
They would find the rooftops of adjacent buildings of nearly identical height.
The gap between the buildings was relatively narrow.
With a bit of magical assistance, it was entirely possible to leap over to where the boy stood.
However, the moment a significant number of allies landed on that rooftop, the fire-based magic circle the boy had prepared would activate.
‘Clever.’
Meticulous and cunning.
Unbelievably so for a child devising a strategy alone.
Moreover, the boy happened to be in possession of a gem that could potentially be a fragment of the Rainbow.
The probability of it being genuine was low, but since it had appeared within detection range, it needed to be retrieved and verified.
‘This means collapsing the building from the outside using magic is not an option. There’s a risk of damaging the gem.’
The boy was lucky.
Cunning, and the circumstances favored him.
But that was all.
His opponent was simply too formidable.
The plans laid by the one he served never faltered.
Everything was within his grasp.
The boy, running forward with manipulated hope, would plummet into the abyss of despair the moment that hand flipped over.
And when that happened, the one he served would laugh.
Whenever he watched humans flounder in the murky currents of emotion—
‘That’s when.’
It was the only time that perpetual boredom and ennui left his master’s face, replaced by a radiant smile.
A kind of feast, a delicacy.
It was Beherat’s duty to present the boy’s despair and downfall to his master unscathed.
Just then, a transmission came through.
“Yes, the rooftop is surrounded by high-level barriers… Understood, we’ll engage accordingly. Moving as instructed.”
Beherat adjusted the device attached to his left ear.
*Click—Clack!*
The microphone that had been exposed outside was retracted into the device.
Watching this, Brook cast an envious glance at his own hand.
A long antenna and clunky buttons covered his outdated radio.
‘Guess money really makes the difference. If that bastard Niles hadn’t hoarded funds and instead invested in proper equipment…’
To be honest, he was envious. Jealous, even.
Every Nisoha operative wore an earplug receiver.
However, they were low-end models incapable of two-way communication, requiring squad leaders to carry old-fashioned radios that could both send and receive signals.
Still grumbling with envy, Brook heard Beherat speak.
“You will enter through the first floor and ascend. From below to above. We will enter from the rooftop of the adjacent building and descend.”
“Huh? Aren’t the magicians accompanying us?”
Brook was visibly alarmed.
He had planned to stick close to the magicians for safety.
“Do you have a problem with the order?”
“N-No, sir! But….”
Beherat narrowed his eyes, making Brook flinch.
Still driven by an overwhelming survival instinct, Brook desperately tried to argue further.
“C-Couldn’t you at least assign a few magicians capable of barrier magic to us…?”
“That is impossible.”
Beherat’s tone was firm.
Master Allager had already given all the necessary instructions regarding the situation.
“All Murced magicians will enter from the rooftop. I alone will enter from the ground level.”
“A-Ah! I see!”
Brook felt somewhat relieved.
He didn’t know much about magic, but he knew that Beherat was one of the top combatants among Murcred’s forces in Sector 46.
‘At least he can keep me safe.’
The lives of the other subordinates? He didn’t really care.
This battle would likely end the war.
If anything, reducing numbers now might even benefit him when it came time to divide the spoils.
Step. Step. Step.
A murky sky. Stifling air.
Underneath, 270 pairs of feet marched forward.
“Beherat, we’ll see you upstairs.”
The Murcred magicians split left and right.
In groups, they moved swiftly toward the entrances of the buildings adjacent to the target structure.
At that moment, the boy disappeared from the rooftop.
As the tense air thickened and the Nisoha operatives continued their approach—
“What the hell are you doing! You bastards! Are you planning to crawl like this all day?!?”
Brook’s voice exploded through the radio.
“Hesitation, my ass! They’re too outnumbered to even poke their heads out the window! Charge in! Take them down! The one who catches Colin! The one who takes the key safe from Colin! I promise you! A million shillings! And a promotion when we reorganize the syndicate!”
Like a sharp blade, his shrill voice pierced through their ears.
At first, everyone flinched.
Their ears rang painfully, and their faces contorted.
But soon—
“Wooooah! Wipe them all out!”
“A million shillings?! No way I’m missing out on this!”
“Fuck! Get out of my way! I’ll gun down those worthless bastards myself!”
Understanding the situation, they let out wild cries and charged forward.
They were all loyalists of Brook. However, as they hesitated and looked around, the neutral faction, one by one, followed in their footsteps. Soon, a massive wave of humanity surged toward the target building.
────!
A massive tremor shook the ground.
──────!
A deafening roar filled the air.
────────!
Dust and sweat clung to their faces, mixing with the humidity in the air and a whirlwind of emotions.
Beherat, watching the scene, ran a hand across his cheek.
“……”
His fingers came away damp.
Drip. Drop.
As he tilted his head up, dark raindrops began to fall one by one.
‘The weather is not on your side, boy.’
Lowering his gaze, he started walking toward the abandoned building.
“Hurry up and get in! Push forward!”
“Go around! There are other ways to get in!”
Anti-Nisoha faction’s men swarmed in front of the entrance like a colony of ants.
Perhaps because of its outdated design, the entrance to the abandoned building was narrow.
As a result, the gang members spread out, attempting to break in through shattered windows.
Psh! Psh!
Gunfire erupted from inside, and some collapsed instantly.
Yet, no one stopped.
“Damn it! They really are hiding inside!”
“So what?! Keep pushing! We outnumber them by far!”
The battle had begun. Madness had already taken root, and the momentum of the charged emotions could no longer be halted.
Beherat approached a wall and channeled his reinforcement element into his circle.
And then—
Kwaang—!
He slammed his fist into the wall.
With a deafening crash, the wall crumbled, and the nearby gang members stood frozen in shock.
Beherat stepped through the hole and surveyed the interior.
A vast, high-ceilinged space.
Trash and debris littered the ground.
Scattered remnants of collapsed stalls and unidentifiable merchandise hinted that this place had once been a large store.
Tududududu—!
And among the wreckage, enemies lay in ambush.
They fired at the entrance and windows, protected by small, dome-shaped barriers.
‘They said there was another mage besides the boy.’
Beherat had already received all the intel through his superior’s radio.
The situation unfolding on the rooftop.
The layout inside the building.
The enemy’s force composition—everything.
So, he wasn’t caught off guard.
But he was slightly impressed.
Setting up multiple barriers in different areas like that…
Ordinary skill and mana reserves wouldn’t be enough to pull it off.
‘Breaking through those might be a bit tough for these guys.’
His eyes flicked to the side.
The opposing gang members who had barely made it inside scrambled for cover, dodging gunfire.
Not that he cared.
Their lives were insignificant.
‘…Just disposable pawns.’
His target was the boy.
He had no reason to concern himself with anything else.
Turning his gaze, he spotted a staircase at the far end of the building.
He prepared to envelop himself in a barrier and sprint forward when—
“W-Wait! Are you heading upstairs? If so, could you take me with you…?”
It was Brook.
Having already confirmed that Colin wasn’t on the first floor, Brook had only one thought on his mind.
‘I have to capture that bastard Colin myself. That way, I won’t have to pay out the reward money or anything else.’
A massive greed burned in his chest, something even he didn’t fully understand.
“Fine.”
Beherat found the strange glint in Brook’s eyes somewhat irritating, but he allowed him to come along.
Of course, going alone would have been easier.
However, as the leader of the opposing faction, Brook might be useful.
Perhaps his enemies would hesitate to harm him.
And if all else failed, he could always use him as a human shield.
“Th-Thank you… Ugh! Ughk!”
Beherat grabbed Brook under his arm and launched himself forward.
Bullets rained down, but his barrier deflected them as he sprinted.
The staircase loomed closer and closer in his vision.
Just as he reached the foot of the stairs—
“……!”
TAT!
A warning came through his earpiece.
His instincts screamed.
Without hesitation, Beherat veered sharply to the right and threw himself away from his path.
Shhhiiiiiik—!
From the upper floors, a blur shot downward, slicing through the air like a comet—
Crashing into the very spot Beherat had just been standing.
Kwaaang—!
The floor shattered.
Debris exploded in all directions.
The boy, clad in powerful reinforcement magic, had landed like a massive shell.
“H-Hiiiiek!”
Brook screamed in terror.
Through the settling dust, the boy’s figure slowly rose.
“……”
Beherat was puzzled.
The boy should have been on the rooftop by now, preparing his magic array to face the other fighters.
‘My role was to arrive just in time to disrupt that plan.’
As he pondered the situation—
A voice whispered in his ear.
“…Understood.”
And suddenly, he knew why.
A grin tugged at his lips.
Perhaps the idea that luck favored the boy had been his own misconception.
“You must be the mage siding with the Pro faction.”
Beherat pulled a bladeless sword hilt from his waist and swung it.
With a metallic clatter, segmented blades extended outward, locking into place.
Clack! Clack!
The weapon formed a long sword, about 60 centimeters in length.
A changdao.
“There’s something I need to confirm. They say you possess a gemstone. Show it to me.”
His voice was cold as steel, but the boy didn’t react.
Expressionless, his unreadable eyes fixated on Beherat’s drawn blade.
“I gave you an order—”
Just as Beherat was about to speak again—
Crack. Crackle.
Fragments of rock materialized in the air around the boy.
They clustered together, drawn to the knife in his grasp.
And in seconds, a weapon of nearly identical length took shape.
A stone blade.
Its edge gleamed with an unnatural sharpness.
Beherat’s lips twitched.
So, that was the boy’s answer.
The tension in the air thickened.
Beherat amplified his physical reinforcement magic.
And the moment he spotted what he thought was an opening in the boy’s stance—
“W-Wait! Could you just put me down—?! Uwaah!”
Shhhiiik—!
He hurled Brook at the boy.
And then, immediately, he lunged in pursuit.
Bang—!
