#118. A Flower Blooming in the Mud (7)
—
Tang─!
Beherat launched himself with explosive force after throwing a projectile at the boy.
The motionless figure of the boy rapidly came into view.
‘Let’s see it.’
The emotion Beherat felt at that moment was competitiveness.
An instinctive realization that the opponent belonged to the same category of predator as himself.
Doubt about whether the boy had really killed Malik and Stoney.
‘Show me your skills.’
All of it was enough to make his blood boil.
The boy, who hadn’t moved an inch, swung his hand—wrapped in enhancement magic—with full force at the perfect timing.
Slaaap───!
Brooke, struck on the right cheek, disappeared from sight at terrifying speed, followed by a loud crash from somewhere.
Kwaang──!
In that brief moment,
“Block this.”
The man, lifting his blade with both hands, was suddenly right in front of him.
The boy was reflected in his pupils.
The boy’s right hand gripping the stone blade.
His well-trained legs.
Each part of his body moved with the precision of a seasoned warrior.
Chaaaang───!
With an ear-piercing metallic sound, their positions reversed.
The distance widened.
Tap.
Beherat steadied himself.
He felt a slight tremor in his hand gripping the hilt and turned to look behind him.
The boy’s stance remained firm.
However, the stone blade was completely shattered, leaving only the original knife blade exposed.
It was due to the explosion magic Beherat had activated by injecting red mana into his blade.
‘Not bad.’
One exchange.
A short clash, but enough to gauge some level of skill.
For his age, the boy was undoubtedly skilled.
But it was still hard to believe he had simultaneously killed both Malik and Stoney.
Crunch─!
Stone fragments reformed the boy’s weapon.
“Ugh! W-wait!”
Grab.
The boy grabbed the leg of the fallen projectile beside him and hurled it at the man with one hand.
The action was so swift that it was difficult to track with the eyes.
The man also swung his enhancement-magic-infused hand with full force at the perfect timing.
Slaaap───!
Brook, struck on the left cheek, vanished from sight again, followed by another impact sound from somewhere.
The man then rushed toward the boy, who was charging at him.
Chaang───!
A second exchange.
Again, their positions changed.
This time, Beherat felt a strong sense of unease.
‘This is…’
The boy’s momentum had changed.
It was as if he had become an entirely different person.
Moreover, the boy had exploited Beherat’s own habits to redirect the sword’s trajectory at the last moment.
If it wasn’t his imagination—
As a result—
Drip.
“……”
Beherat touched his neck.
A thin line of blood had formed.
He had figured out his habits?
In just one exchange?
‘Impossible.’
It was absurd.
But his body didn’t lie—it was certain that the boy had read his movements.
Tang─!
Feeling a deep discomfort, Beherat once again launched himself toward the boy.
Chaang─!
Tap.
After gaining distance again—
He realized the truth.
‘You did kill them.’
Turning his body, Beherat stared at the boy and increased the distance further.
‘You were measuring my skills.’
The vibrations left in the hilt from the sword clash were incomparably stronger than before.
Moreover, this time, the boy’s weapon had not been destroyed.
That was natural.
The explosion magic had not activated.
To be precise, it had activated—
But the expected phenomenon did not occur.
His internal mana had definitely been consumed, proving that the magic had indeed triggered.
‘How… is this possible?’
The boy had erased the magic.
The principle? The method? He had no idea.
He had read the reports, but he hadn’t believed it until he saw it with his own eyes.
And now, seeing it for himself—
‘This is dangerous.’
An instinctive alarm.
The greatest threat he had ever felt.
Beherat immediately pulled out multiple blood-red stones and swallowed them.
Crunch!
Feeling the surge of mana coursing through his entire body, he prepared to react to the boy’s next move.
“……”
Ray silently observed the man before shifting his gaze.
“Uhh… Ughhh…”
Brook lay crumpled near the wall, his swollen face barely able to move.
According to the original plan, he should have extracted a confession from him by now.
After annihilating the rooftop enemies with a magic circle and coming down.
But a problem had arisen.
『T-this can’t be…! I must have made a mistake when drawing the magic circle…!』
The magic circle had failed to activate.
Veronica assumed it was her fault, but Ray didn’t think so.
‘She wouldn’t make a mistake.’
He trusted Veronica’s skills.
Besides, he had double-checked the completed magic circle himself.
『Stay calm, Veronica. There was nothing wrong with the design of the magic circle.』
After calming Veronica, they examined the magic circle together.
『Something is blocking the movement of the elements! The elements bound to the magic circle can’t manifest because they’re being suppressed!』
A mysterious force from beneath the rooftop floor was locking down the core elements forming the magic circle.
Like a massive magnet pulling them down, rendering them immobile.
They had no idea what that force was.
‘…Veronica must be trying to figure it out right now.’
She was exhausting herself, maintaining the protective barrier while enduring the enemy’s relentless attacks.
That was why she had no room to cast new barriers or adjust the existing one’s range.
That was why Ray had come down.
If the long-bladed man reached the rooftop, Veronica and the others would be in danger.
‘Eliminating him immediately is difficult.’
The man had two circles.
The same level as the two men he fought on the bridge.
But within a few exchanges, it was clear—
This man was far more skilled in close combat.
Moreover, he had just consumed a large quantity of red stones.
If Ray went all out, things might change, but the problem was—
‘I can’t afford to deplete all my mana here.’
There was a limit to the amount of mana he could use.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.
*”No matter how perfectly you run, there are times when you trip. That’s because the world sometimes goes out of its way to torment you. When you fall and look back, you see a stone right in front of your feet.”*
It was Niles’s voice.
Whenever he was feeling frustrated, Niles would come to the underpass and start saying things that made no sense.
Sitting on the edge of the underpass.
Tipping a bottle of liquor in his hand.
Ray would usually be beneath the underpass, doing whatever jobs he had picked up from the streets, responding as he worked.
*”Isn’t it just that you didn’t see the stone before you ran?”*
*”No. It wasn’t there before. The world sneaks it in front of my feet just when I’m focused on running.”*
What on earth did that mean?
Why would the world place a stone in his path? And how?
Metaphors were something Ray found almost as hard to understand as jokes.
*”Niles, you have a habit of making things too complicated.”*
*”You just don’t get it because you’re still a kid.”*
*”Sixteen’s plenty old enough.”*
*”Nah. You’re still young. Just a kid, really.”*
*”…….”*
He hadn’t understood back then, but for some reason, he felt like he did now.
Niles had probably been talking about a perfectly laid-out plan being ruined by an unavoidable circumstance.
*A stone that suddenly appears in front of your running feet.*
That was exactly what the unknown force acting on the magic circle felt like.
After all, it was a phenomenon that hadn’t been there when the circle was first designed.
But Ray had no intention of tripping over that stone.
Life in the backstreets had always been an endless series of extreme, unpredictable situations.
He was used to it.
Unexpected variables.
He had always made the best possible decision in the moment, steering the situation to his advantage.
And this time would be no different.
*‘I need to get that thing up there first.’*
Ray glanced at Brook.
From the rooftop, he had disrupted Brook’s vessel, shaking his emotions.
Rage, greed, inferiority.
Of those, he had artificially amplified inferiority to its maximum limit.
But right now—
Brook wasn’t showing any particular signs of inferiority toward Niles.
*‘I need to push it even further.’*
Ray spoke up immediately.
*”Brook.”*
Brook flinched.
Beherat also fixed his gaze on the boy.
*”You’re not even worth the dirt under Niles’ toenails.”*
Provocation was a skill honed from years of street fights.
As a result, his word choices in this area were far superior compared to his other, less refined abilities.
But the intended target of his insult didn’t react as expected.
*”Uh… uhh…”*
Was it because his fear of the situation outweighed everything else?
Brook only let out a vacant, dazed sound.
Even Beherat, who didn’t understand the boy’s intentions, looked slightly perplexed.
*”What exactly are you—”*
At that moment—
[Ray! The barrier is about to break! I can’t hold it for much longer!]
Veronica’s voice rang through Ray’s receiver.
He hesitated for a split second.
[And the force restricting the elements is weakening! At this rate, it’ll be completely gone in five minutes! The magic circle will activate!]
His course of action was clear.
Thud!
Ray immediately lunged at Brook.
He reached out to grab him by the scruff of the neck—
But Beherat, who was closer, moved first.
He snatched Brook up, tucked him under his arm, and put some distance between them before shouting:
*”I knew it! You want him alive!”*
*”Guh… ugh! Air! Give me some air! Ugh!”*
*”There must be something you need to extract from him!”*
*”Guh! Ack! Cough!”*
Ray remained silent for a moment.
He didn’t know about information, but there were certainly things he wanted Brook to say out loud.
*‘I need to take him to Colin.’*
Someone who knew Brook well.
That person would be much better at triggering his inferiority complex than Ray could.
He pointed at Brook with a finger.
*”Do you need that?”*
*”So I was right. You’re not even denying it.”*
For some reason, Beherat had no intention of handing Brook over.
If Ray went up, he would chase him.
And he’d bring *that thing* with him.
Ray finished thinking and made his decision in an instant.
Thud!
*”……!”*
He bolted toward the stairs.
Beherat relaxed slightly, murmuring to himself.
*”…I didn’t think things would go this smoothly.”*
What *Allager* desired was the boy’s perfect despair.
For that to happen, the boy had to struggle to the bitter end, clinging to hope until the last moment.
The grand finale.
The final stage was the rooftop where the magic circle was drawn.
*”I was wondering how to drive him back up, but he moved on his own. Perfect.”*
As expected.
No matter what variables tried to disrupt the flow, as long as everything played out within *Allager* design—
The situation would always correct itself and reach the predetermined destination.
Like an unchangeable fate that no human could resist.
*”He is fundamentally different from ordinary people like me—born with unparalleled fortune and an extraordinary mind.”*
That was why Beherat had sworn loyalty to him and dedicated his life to following him.
…And yet.
Why was this unsettling feeling creeping into his chest?
*”…….”*
Like thorns stabbing at his heart, a gnawing fear pricked at his nerves.
It was an instinctive warning.
If they didn’t kill the boy *now*, something terrible would happen.
Only those who had faced him firsthand could sense it.
*‘I should report this…’*
Beherat froze at the thought.
…And what exactly would he report?
That they should abandon the original plan and focus all their efforts on eliminating the boy immediately?
*Blasphemous.*
Such a thought was utterly blasphemous.
Was he actually doubting that *Allager* design could go awry?
Grit.
He clenched his teeth so hard that blood seeped through his lips.
*”…Yes, I’ll pursue him immediately.”*
Responding to the radio, Beherat immediately leaped up the stairs.
*”A-air…! Ugh…!”*
Bringing Brook along, still crushed against his side.
Gunshots and screams.
The space they had just vacated quickly filled with a cacophony of noise.
And soon after—
*”Move up! Ignore these bastards and just get to the top!”*
*”There’ll be enemies up there too! We outnumber them—push forward!”*
Angry footsteps thundered through the building, following Beherat’s path.
