Genius Wizard who sees Rainbows- Chapter 7

#007.   Broken World (2)

 

 

 

The boy glared at the golem.

I am different from you.

I am human, capable of feeling emotions.

Whoosh!

The flame that ignited on his palm was as red and hot as the blood flowing beneath his skin.

Whoosh! Crackle!

The flame danced furiously, matching the boy’s murderous intent.

A vortex of fire, created in an instant, tore through the darkness under the bridge and rushed toward its target with intensity.

Boom────!

A moment lasting only seconds.

The golem reacted to the fire, firing another beam.

The vortex and the beam collided midair, pushing against each other as if locked in a struggle of power.

But only briefly.

The vortex, resonating with the boy’s emotions, spun faster and grew larger, engulfing the beam.

Then, with explosive force, it continued forward, swallowing the golem whole.

Roar──

The golem writhed.

It swung its arms wildly as if it could feel pain, though it was a lifeless being that didn’t breathe.

Its melting body turned to liquid, which evaporated into the flames before it could flow down.

The golem’s wailing gradually faded.

Roar──

When the flames finally subsided, nothing remained.

Only the charred ground and the lingering heat in the air bore witness to what had just happened.

The darkness, which had retreated, crept back in.

The fierce sound of rain once again filled the boy’s world.

The boy felt confused.

He hadn’t fully grasped what he’d just done.

The one thing he knew for sure was that Niles, lying on his lap, was dying.

“Niles, stay with me. Stay with me.”

There was no response.

In his panic, Ray slapped Niles on the cheek.

Slap!

“…You idiot… I already feel like I’m dying. Cough!”

Niles spat out a mouthful of blood and, with effort, lifted his head.

Seeing the gaping hole in his chest and the boy’s lap visible on the other side, he let out a hollow laugh.

It’s hopeless.

Not that he felt like he was going to die—he knew he definitely would.

“Niles, you can’t die. You just can’t.”

The fissures in the boy’s heart stopped widening.

The cracks mended, and the emotions that had erupted were sealed again.

Perhaps it was a subconscious decision by the boy’s brain and body.

He’d been deeply conditioned to think that the more vulnerable he was to emotions, the worse his chances of survival.

His sadness and fear started to heal over.

In that state, the boy shook Niles’s body.

“Don’t die. Please.”

“Stop… shaking me, you punk… it’s like you’re… doing it on purpose…”

Niles’s labored breaths escaped his mouth.

He wasn’t afraid of dying.

After all, for those born at the bottom, death was a familiar concept.

He had always thought he would die one day in some unusual way.

He just hadn’t expected it to be today.

“Cough!”

The bleeding wouldn’t stop.

His dimming consciousness signaled that his life was nearing its end.

Did he regret his life?

Not really.

He had always struggled to survive, bound in the web of the underworld.

Considering he was born at the very bottom, he had managed to experience a lot and achieve quite a bit.

It might look insignificant to those at the top, but he was satisfied.

Yet he sometimes wondered—

If he had started fighting harder just a bit earlier.

If he had begun struggling at the age this boy was now.

Would his life have taken a different shape?

“Hey.”

“Don’t talk. I’ll get some medicine or something from the car─”

Thud!

As the boy tried to get up, Niles grabbed his arm.

The strength was unbelievable for someone on the verge of death.

Niles managed to say, trembling.

“You… really need to leave here… find a better place…”

Go upstream.

Don’t let the current carry you away.

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Niles lowered his head and fell silent forever.

In his other hand, partly pulled out from his pocket, was a car key and a slip of paper.

────!

The boy screamed amid his closing emotions.

Rage and sorrow.

Those were the first emotions he had ever learned in this world.

──────!

But his cries were swallowed by the sound of rain and the rushing river, unheard by anyone.

His tears mixed with the rain, flowing down and becoming part of the river.

And so, the boy’s emotions were once again erased and blurred by the world.

Shhhhh──

It was a night of black rain in the slums.

 

*
*
*

Ray awoke to sunlight pricking his eyelids.

“…….”

He was under the bridge.

The ache in his body and the collapsed tent reminded him that last night’s events had not been a dream.

He turned his head to see Niles lying on the ground.

It had been harder than he expected.

Moving a dead adult alone into the shelter under the bridge.

Afterward, he’d tried to gather up the bodies of Pale and the younger kids in the tent but had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Technically, it had been dangerous.

He could have been discovered by the scouts from Hector’s gang.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have taken such a careless risk, but last night he’d reached his physical and mental limits.

Luckily, it seemed the rain had only recently stopped, as bright sunlight filled the outside.

The silence around him suggested that the enemy had not been active while it was raining.

“…….”

His mind had returned to its usual numb state.

It felt as if he’d dreamed an intense dream.

To think he had felt such fierce emotions.

Yet something was a bit different.

It wasn’t exactly the same as before.

The emotions that had raged through him last night left traces in his heart.

Fear, hesitation, excitement, confusion.

Like craters left by a meteor.

…And anger and sorrow.

The craters for those two emotions were larger than all the others combined.

When he focused on the traces, he could feel each emotion faintly.

Especially anger and sorrow, which were remarkably vivid.

Proof that he was human.

“…….”

Ray summoned a flame, fueled by his anger.

Whoosh.

Though it wasn’t as large as when he’d defeated the golem, it was still much bigger than usual.

The theory that emotions affected the strength of magic had proven correct.

He felt a headache from sustaining his emotions too long.

When he shifted his focus, the emotions vanished as if they had never been.

“…….”

It felt like turning his emotions on and off.

Ray looked at Niles and the children’s bodies.

‘No time to deal with the corpses right now.’

With the black rain gone, the enemy would likely have entered Street 17.

Ray started moving immediately.

Splash─ Splash─

He washed the blood-stained raincoat in the river, put it on, and headed toward Street 17.

He was determined to find and kill Hector and the mage who had controlled the golem.

One should repay what they’re given, whether kindness or vengeance.

Even if he couldn’t kill them, he had to inflict enough damage to settle the score.

Tap─ Tap─

He moved quickly.

As he passed the outskirts of the street, he saw burnt buildings and bodies scattered on the ground.

“Damn. What happened here?”

“Help over here! Henry’s missing.”

The surviving residents were clearing the site.

A few of Hector’s gang members wandered around as if supervising.

“There’s a kid─!”

Ray moved before the gang member could finish.

He slipped inside the man’s reach, generating blue sparks, and grabbed the man’s neck.

Crackle─!

“Urgh!”

Thud!

The gang members around them turned to look at Ray.

“Damn, what’s this?”

“Isn’t that the kid? They said the brat who raided the warehouse used a stun gun.”

“Grab him. Boss said to capture all the brats.”

The gang members exchanged signals, drew their knives, and charged at Ray.

Their movements were cautious, aware of the stun gun hidden under his coat.

Zap! Crackle!

Thud! Thud!

But it took less than 10 seconds for them all to fall at Ray’s feet.

The emotion Ray focused on now was anger.

Red mana, corresponding to anger, flowed through his veins, glowing like lava.

It was a body-strengthening spell used instinctively.

Ray visualized making his body “strong,” and the red mana responded, transforming into magic.

Thump.

His muscles throbbed continuously, and his body felt light as a feather.

As he passed through Street 17, the anger from last night surged back in full.

At this rate, he might actually be able to take revenge on Hector and the mage.

“What the hell…!”

“Is that Ray?”

Leaving the shocked residents behind, Ray moved swiftly again.

“There’s an intruder…!”

Crackle!

Thud!

He reached an alley near the central plaza, taking down every enemy he encountered along the way.

─How should we handle this?

─Do as planned. Don’t hesitate. We were meant to win this fight, right?

There were many voices in the plaza, more than anywhere else.

Ray peered out from the alley to assess the situation.

“…….”

The moment he saw Hector giving orders to his subordinates, he felt a tingling at the back of his head.

The red mana in his veins darkened, and its flow quickened.

Clench.

Every nerve in his body was directed at Hector.

He tightened his grip on the knife handle.

The red mana gathered at his feet, ready to explode.

“Hey, kid. How about a quick chat?”

A voice suddenly came from behind him.

Bang!

Ray turned, slamming his foot down with a sound like an explosive going off.

He darted forward like a bullet, propelling himself off the ground and swinging his knife toward his opponent’s neck without a moment’s hesitation.

Whoosh──!

“…!”

Humphrey twisted his body in desperation.

A stinging pain accompanied a shallow cut on his neck, sending drops of blood spraying out.

“Damn…!”

If he had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he would have collapsed, bleeding profusely from his neck.

Smack!

Holding his neck with his palm, he retreated to put some distance between them.

Ray quickly closed the gap, giving him no time to catch his breath.

“Calm down for a second…!”

Slash─! Whoosh─!

Humphrey twisted his body, narrowly dodging Ray’s incoming knife.

But Ray’s attacks were so fierce and fast that shallow cuts started appearing all over his body in an instant.

“What the…!”

When Humphrey locked eyes with Ray, he felt a chill run down his spine.

They were the eyes of a beast.

They were filled with only one intention—to plunge a blade into his opponent’s heart.

Slash─! Whoosh─!

And it wasn’t just wild, reckless attacks.

Every move was a calculated strike, aimed precisely at vital points with lethal precision.

It was unsettling.

‘What is this… these impossible movements…!’

The last time he saw Ray, he was nowhere near this skilled.

He was just a street orphan who could fight reasonably well, a kid he could subdue easily if he wanted.

But now, it was different.

If he didn’t give his all, he would die.

As someone who had been in countless battles, Humphrey could sense that.

He gritted his teeth, continuing to allow minor attacks as he analyzed the situation.

Ray had good combat instincts.

But he still showed signs of inexperience.

If that was the case…

Swish!

“Argh!”

Humphrey deliberately allowed an attack to hit his left shoulder.

Seizing the opening he had intentionally created, he grabbed Ray’s arm.

Clutch!

And then, using just one hand, he threw Ray to the ground with tremendous strength.

Thud─!

Ray’s body bounced off the ground, sending him hurtling into the alley.

He quickly got back up, adjusting his stance and pointing his knife toward Humphrey with a wary gaze.

“You… what are you?”

Humphrey stared at Ray, then looked at his own hand with a bewildered expression.

Something felt off about the sensation when he grabbed Ray’s arm.

It felt like he had thrown a stone, not a person.

And despite being slammed to the ground, the kid stood there unfazed.

Normally, anyone would be left gasping for breath, lying on the ground.

Humphrey’s perception was accurate.

Thanks to the impact resistance granted by his reinforcement magic, Ray had barely felt the blow.

Humphrey steadied his breathing.

Fortunately, it seemed that none of the other gang members outside had heard the commotion.

“How about calming down for a moment? Ray, the ghost of Street 17.”

“…….”

Ray’s eyes flashed with suspicion.

How did this man know his name?

Watching Ray’s movements carefully, Humphrey continued, staying tense.

“You’re famous. More than you think. There are quite a few people who are keeping an eye on you.”

Ray thought he was about to say something important, but it turned out to be nothing but idle chatter.

He braced himself to attack again.

But just then—

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to throw your life away in a pointless act of revenge. I have a proposal for you.”

His body, which was ready to leap forward, faltered momentarily.