#119. A Flower Blooming in the Mud (8)
—
Beherat pursued the boy.
There were enemies stationed inside the barricaded upper floors, but he ignored them completely.
Tat-tat-tat-tat──!
Amidst the hail of bullets, the man’s fervent gaze was fixed solely on the boy’s retreating figure.
However, the gap between them did not close.
Despite exerting his full strength, he couldn’t even step on the boy’s shadow.
Tap!
Each time the man ascended a floor—
Tap!
—far ahead, the boy ascended as well.
With every step upward, Beherat’s anxiety, impatience, and anger grew exponentially.
Then—
────.
His vision brightened.
It was the rooftop.
Strictly speaking, the outside view of the building was not bright.
Rumble.
Dark clouds loomed overhead.
Though it was daytime, the surroundings were dim.
The reason he momentarily perceived brightness was—
“Veronica! Can you hold out any longer?”
A massive protective barrier of radiant white light enveloped the entire rooftop.
In the corner of the rooftop, near a small utility building, three men who appeared to be members of the Pro-Nisoha organization stood.
Through the window of the building, he could see a brown-haired boy and a red-haired girl.
‘That girl…’
Numerous protective barriers had been set up on the lower floors.
And now—
Boom! Boom!
The enormous barrier was withstanding relentless external attacks.
Magicians from allied forces surrounded the rooftop from adjacent buildings, pressing against the railings as if encircling it.
Due to the barrier, they couldn’t cross over.
Boom! Boom!
However, they continued to hurl fireballs without pause.
A separate high-level spell was being prepared collectively, so not all personnel were participating in the assault.
Still—
Boom! Boom!
The bombardment was more than sufficient to overwhelm their opponent.
Any ordinary barrier would have been shattered into pieces long ago.
“……”
But the girl’s barrier endured, continuously breaking and regenerating.
Beherat was well aware of the orders given by ‘Him.’
‘Deliberately restrain the attack until the final moment to break the barrier.’
They wanted to let the boy cling to hope until the very end, only to deliver ultimate despair and devastation.
However, Beherat, being on the scene, could sense it with his own skin.
His subordinates, driven by obstinacy, were now pouring out their attacks with everything they had.
The situation was slipping from perfect control.
“……”
Anxiety resurfaced.
The moment he felt it—
Rumble──!
The sky showed its displeasure.
Large raindrops began to fall one by one onto the barrier.
The sticky air. The explosions.
The dim surroundings. The shouting.
Again, anxiety.
At the center of it all—
Rumble──!
The boy stood.
The expressionless boy was not looking at them.
He gradually turned his head toward the railing, and each time he did, the fireballs vanished from the scene.
As if they were cleanly erased from a painting with a special solvent.
The number of fireballs hitting the barrier was reduced to less than half in an instant.
Then, Beherat heard His voice in his ear.
“…Yes, understood.”
The anxiety that had been rising in his chest quickly dissipated.
Yes.
After all, Allager was watching everything unfold.
Every unexpected variable was within His grasp.
That was the meaning of it.
Beherat had no reason to question anything.
He simply needed to faithfully follow His orders.
“Yes. Everything is going according to plan.”
As he relaxed his arm, Brook, whom he had been gripping under his ribs, let out a groan and fell.
“Boy.”
Ray turned and locked eyes with Beherat.
“Hand over the gem. If you do, you might be the only one to leave here alive.”
“There is a gem. But I don’t see why you’re so obsessed with it.”
The boy slowly shifted his gaze.
Even while conversing, he did not stop erasing the fireballs.
His demeanor showed leisure.
Beherat’s eyebrow twitched.
“You are too inferior to understand.”
“You’re not very good at persuasion. I have no intention of handing it over.”
“Then the answer is clear.”
Bang!
At that moment, both the man and the boy simultaneously sprang into action.
Clang! Clash!
A sharp metallic clang and the spark of friction filled the air instantly.
“Collin! Brook—”
In the midst of the battle, the boy’s voice rang out.
But Collin was already dashing forward before he finished speaking.
“Broooook──!”
He was well aware of his role.
“Betraying your superior, you ungrateful beast──!!”
However, aside from the assigned mission, the fury raging within him was undeniably genuine.
“Collin! My key! Give me my key!”
Brook’s eyes widened in madness upon seeing Collin rushing toward him.
His rage and greed soared instantaneously.
Bang!
He pulled out a pistol and fired.
But his unstable emotions and weakened body made his aim abysmal.
The bullet veered off course, lodging into the railing.
Meanwhile—
Thud!
Collin lunged, tackling Brook to the ground.
“Brook! I never thought you’d cross the line! Even if you were always reckless—!”
“You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting! Give me my key!”
The two men grappled on the floor, rolling over each other.
Clink!
In the struggle, Brook’s pistol slid across the rooftop to the corner.
Tat-tat-tat──!
Two remaining Pro-Nishoa members at the rooftop exit fired downward, blocking enemies from coming up.
“Brook! You beastly bastard!”
“A lowly errand boy like you dares to overstep?!”
The fight was evenly matched.
The two, consumed by rage, launched every attack they could from their entangled positions.
Thud─!
“Urgh!”
A fist struck a face.
Smack─!
An elbow slammed into a stomach.
It was a fight befitting street orphans.
But no one present cared or judged them.
Only heavy breaths, sweat, blood, and—
Shhhhhh──!
—black raindrops filled the scene.
To conserve mana, Veronica had risked dispersing the ceiling of her barrier.
“You think taking over Nisoha will make you something?”
Collin shouted.
Emotions and bodies, muddied beyond recognition.
“You think you’ll ever match up to Niles?!”
His words poured out like overflowing sewage.
And after continuous provocation—
“Shut up, you bastard──!!”
Brook’s inferiority complex exploded.
“I’m better than Niles! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have succeeded in eliminating him!”
His thunderous voice rang in Ray’s ears.
‘I need to use voice amplification magic.’
But it was impossible.
The magic circle designed for amplifying voices throughout the building was also being restricted by an unknown external force.
─27 seconds until the magic circle is restored!
Veronica’s briefing echoed in his ears.
‘I can’t afford to wait that long.’
Approximately 30 seconds.
That was more than enough time for Brook’s pent-up inferiority complex to explode and dissipate completely.
Clang! Clang!
As he continued to deflect the enemy’s attacks, Ray quickly scanned his surroundings.
The moment he spotted Brook’s fallen radio on the ground—
Tap!
He rolled his body.
Swish—!
A sweeping blade narrowly grazed above his waist.
Smack!
Ray grabbed the radio and forcefully slid it toward Collin and Brook.
“You dare take your eyes off the fight? Against me, no less?!”
Clang!
He quickly adjusted his stance to block another attack.
Throughout the battle, the boy was dividing his attention in multiple directions.
Whenever there was an opening, he would glance beyond the rooftop and erase incoming fireballs.
He maneuvered the fight to prevent the man from reaching the control room.
And now, he had just sent the radio to Collin and Brook.
“You worthless insect! How dare you ignore me?!”
A murky red mana writhed within the man’s vessel.
Pure rage.
Murderous intent toward his opponent.
The effect of the red gemstone he had swallowed earlier was now in full force.
Swish—!
With it, his attacks grew even wilder and more vicious.
But Ray, drawing on his circle’s mana, focused on steady defense and evasion, refusing to overexert himself.
At the same time, he constantly assessed the surrounding factors.
The remaining mana within the enemy magicians’ circles and the decreasing number of fireballs.
Beyond the walls, the amount of white mana left in Veronica’s circle.
─15 seconds remaining!
And the time left until the magic circle was fully restored.
‘13 seconds now.’
The mana in his circle and Walter’s ring was nearing depletion.
His mind was also reaching the brink of exhaustion.
To amplify the power of red mana, he had drawn himself into extreme fury.
He had ceaselessly dismantled enemy fireballs.
He had maintained multiple reinforcement spells at their absolute limit.
‘…If I didn’t know how to maintain composure, my emotions would have consumed me long ago.’
Right now, the emotion Ray was amplifying was intense fury.
The corresponding red mana was flowing into his vessel.
However, unlike before, the large mass of gray mana at the center of his vessel prevented the red mana from running wild.
It was equilibrium.
Thus, while his rage still enhanced every ounce of red mana he wielded—
It no longer threw his emotional state into turmoil.
Of course, he didn’t know how long that balance would last.
But it didn’t matter.
‘The situation will be over before that happens.’
Clang!
Ray struck Beherat’s blade hard, widening the distance between them.
Crackle—!
At the same time, Veronica’s barrier finally reached its limit and shattered.
‘Three seconds.’
Only three seconds left until the magic circle was restored.
‘Two seconds.’
If—
At this exact moment—
Every enemy, including the man before him, launched a simultaneous attack—
Then safety could not be guaranteed.
‘One second.’
But the enemy did not do so.
Shhhhhhh—!
Heavy rain poured down.
“Heh… hehehe…”
“Kihihihi…”
Instead of attacking, laughter filled with madness seeped through the storm.
The only moment where the enemy could have had a sliver of hope for victory—
Had just vanished.
Crack! Crack!
At the sound of something breaking, Ray turned his head.
One of the enemies was convulsing, his limbs twisting unnaturally like a broken wooden puppet.
Crack!
Then, as if resetting, his bones realigned rapidly.
Cough!
He spat out clumps of blood.
Raising his head, his unfocused eyes locked onto Ray.
─It’s been a while. Has it been four days since our last conversation?
A voice imbued with mana.
Even through the downpour, it rang with perfect clarity.
When Ray remained silent, the voice continued.
─I told you before, didn’t I? That I’d be the one to win. How does it look now? From where you stand?
Ray infused mana into his own voice.
“I’ve won. Completely.”
The other man burst into laughter.
─Ridiculous. If anyone looked at this situation, no one would say you’re in a favorable position. Ah, or do you have something up your sleeve?
At Ray’s feet, mana surged through the geometric lines of the magic circle, racing across the rooftop.
─Is it that magic circle you spent days setting up?
“……”
─Did you really think I wouldn’t know? I told you—I’ve been watching all your movements from above.
“……”
─But you’re out of luck. The weather isn’t on your side. Your magic circle is fire-based, isn’t it?
The enemy smirked and looked up.
Rumble!
Lightning flashed across the sky.
The rain was growing heavier.
─You do know that a magic’s power can change depending on the climate, right?
He wasn’t wrong.
Wind, rain, snow—
Environmental factors altered the distribution of elements in the atmosphere.
External magic, which relied on those elements, could be strengthened or weakened as a result.
It wasn’t an absolute rule.
But it wasn’t something that could be ignored either.
─Didn’t it strike you as odd that my subordinates’ fireballs suddenly got weaker?
“……”
─Haha. I must have overestimated you. Or maybe you were so fixated on your magic circle that you thought the weather didn’t matter.
“……”
─But you know what? Even if your magic circle could ignore the effects of the weather, it wouldn’t matter. Want to know why?
Snap!
The enemy snapped his fingers.
In that instant, magicians who had been holding back stepped forward.
Wooooooom—!
As they raised their hands, massive water orbs formed between the railings of the surrounding buildings.
Shhhhhh—!
The orbs exploded, releasing torrents of water that enveloped every single one of the Murcred organization’s members.
Once the water receded—
Every Murcred magician was now clad in a thick suit of water from head to toe.
─What do you think? A kind of armor made from water. Not as sturdy or versatile as a real barrier, but for defending against fire magic? Almost unbeatable.
“……”
─It’s breathable, easy to move in, and the rain is only making it stronger.
The enemy chuckled, shaking his shoulders.
The Murcred members followed, their laughter spreading through the storm.
Ahahahahaha—!
Uwahahahaha—!
The mana within their vessels glowed with a murky, viscous navy blue.
Mockery. Derision. Contempt.
─Go ahead. Use that grand fire-based magic circle you spent so much effort preparing! Let’s see it!
They were all waiting for it.
For the moment when Rsy’s hopes and expectations would plummet into the abyss.
“……”
The mana surging through the magic circle climbed up Ray’s firmly planted legs.
Through the still-rippling laughter—
“Who said that?”
The boy, who had remained silent all this time, twisted his lips into a smirk.
“Who said our magic circle was fire-based?”
And in that instant—
All laughter ceased.
And the world was engulfed in blinding light.
