Bang, crash!
Each time the golden mana and dark red mana collided in the darkness, a thunderous noise echoed and the air shook. Lucas repeatedly blocked Carlos’s attacks with the mana shield on his left hand and counterattacked with the mana sword in his right.
Carlos’s body, covered in prickly fur, was as hard as armor and difficult to penetrate. However, it wasn’t completely impenetrable. Lucas focused on targeting the joints like elbows, knees, and waist, where there was relatively less fur and the skin was weaker.
“Ugh!”
Even shallow wounds accumulate impact when inflicted continuously. Eventually, Carlos was the first to back away. He was shocked that not only were his attacks repeatedly blocked, but he had also taken several counterattacks. Unlike himself, now covered in blood from various cuts, Lucas only had minor scratches on his face and hands.
“Damn it, you’re just a guide!”
Carlos shouted, unable to comprehend the situation. It should have made sense for even an S-class guide to be inferior in combat ability compared to an A-class esper.
However, Lucas was different from the guides Carlos had encountered before. He fearlessly confronted Carlos, unafraid of getting hurt. Above all, he seemed very familiar with this type of combat. It was as if he knew exactly how to tackle Carlos.
“How…”
Momentarily plunged into extreme confusion, Carlos hesitated like someone facing an unfamiliar monster. It was hard for him to accept that he was being overpowered by Lucas. Although there had been an increase in combat guides active in the field recently, it was still unthinkable for one to be comfortably handling an esper who had been active on the battlefield until recently.
“I’ve trained hard precisely to not lose to the likes of you.”
Step by step, Lucas approached Carlos while explaining his curiosity. After vowing to avenge his parents, Lucas had spent the last 10 years training as realistically as possible, even completing the physical training program that defense force espers undergo.
He had no choice, as the prime suspect in his parents’ murder was the S-class esper, Livio. Wanting to punish his parents’ killer with his own hands, Lucas had sparred with numerous ability users with Winfried’s help, preparing to face anyone regardless of who the culprit might be.
Among them, he had faced Caleb the most. Having practiced often with him, who had abilities similar to Carlos’s, Lucas knew well how to fight against such powers.
“When dealing with the likes of you, it’s better to use your head rather than brute force. Instead of recklessly confronting head-on, it’s better to persistently wear you down.”
Lucas replied in a calm tone as he readjusted his grip on the mana sword. Perhaps due to the werewolf transformation and the help of the surrounding environment, Carlos’s body was much tougher than expected. He fell into contemplation as he steadied his irregular breathing.
He was confident he could buy time until support arrived in this state. The problem was not knowing when that would be.
Should he wait for the containment walls trapping them to come down, or should he take down Carlos at the cost of some blood loss?
Lucas chose the latter. He decided to subdue Carlos as per his original plan. To do so, he needed to be more aggressive.
Click.
Lucas put away the mana shield on his left hand and drew his mana gun. He judged it better to focus on offense rather than defense. He faced Carlos with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other.
Shiver.
Carlos felt a strong sense of crisis from the gaze that was like a predator eyeing its prey. Unconsciously taking a step back, he realized he had momentarily been intimidated by Lucas and twisted his face in anger.
“Resorting to cheap tricks! Damn it! I’ll kill you!”
Rather than acknowledging his own inadequacies, Carlos blamed everything on Lucas, his pride wounded. As the voice in his head telling him to kill Lucas resounded again, an intense murderous intent boiled up.
Kill, must kill, will kill, without fail.
Red flames flickered in Carlos’s eyes as he was engulfed by an uncontrollable bloodlust. He surrendered himself to the voice constantly commanding him. At that moment, the last thread of reason flew away, leaving only the instinct to eliminate Lucas here and now at all costs.
“Die!”
Howling loudly like a wolf, Carlos charged at Lucas like an enraged bull.
Clang!
Blocking the claws aiming for his neck with his mana sword, Lucas frowned as he felt Carlos’s strength had increased compared to earlier. Now that he had abandoned thought and surrendered to instinct, Carlos had become much more difficult to handle than before.
Clash! Clang! Screech, bang! Screech…
As the two clashed fiercely, flashes of light and ear-piercing sounds followed in succession.
“Grrrr…”
Once again blocked by the mana sword, Carlos growled fiercely. As he withdrew his arm and stretched out his fingers, his claws shot out like daggers.
“Ugh.”
Lucas winced at the pain rising from his nape. If he hadn’t quickly turned his head to dodge, he would have been pierced. Perhaps that’s why the sensation of blood trickling down from the long gash felt so chilling.
“Raaah!”
Excited by the smell of blood, Carlos let out a monstrous cry and recklessly pushed against Lucas. As the exchange of blows prolonged, wounds gradually increased on Lucas’s body as well.
Lucas blocked Carlos’s attacks with his mana sword while simultaneously aiming his gun at the wounds he had previously inflicted. Each time the mana bullets dug deep into the wounds, Carlos writhed in agony.
“Huff.”
As they briefly entered a lull in the fight, rough breaths escaped from Lucas’s slightly parted lips. He was carefully watching for an opportunity to make direct contact with Carlos. If he could, he could forcibly overload Carlos’s internal mana and incapacitate him, just as he had done when torturing villains in the past.
Bang! Bang!
Spinning his mana gun, Lucas pulled the trigger in quick succession, aiming at Carlos’s knee and Achilles tendon. Then, not missing the chance as Carlos stumbled off balance, he dove into his embrace.
“Gah!”
A pain-filled groan erupted as Lucas threw away his mana sword and gripped Carlos’s neck with his hand. Lucas immediately began to pour his mana into Carlos’s body.
“Argh! Aah!”
As his internal mana began to go out of control, Carlos screamed and flailed. He swung his arms wildly, trying desperately to shake Lucas off.
Though his shoulder and arm were torn, gradually staining his white coat red, Lucas paid no heed and focused on the flow of mana.
“Guhak…!”
As his internal mana backfired and his transformation reversed, Carlos vomited blood. Unable to withstand the overwhelming pain, he passed out.
Thud.
As the unconscious Carlos went limp, Lucas released his grip on his neck. Immediately after, the massive body plummeted to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Wow…”
Billy, who had been watching the battle while trembling in a corner, let out an exclamation as the fight ended with Lucas’s victory.
“Are you alright? Any injuries?”
Only after confirming that Carlos was completely unconscious did Lucas gather his mana. Then he addressed Billy, who was sitting curled up tightly.
“Uh, no. Rather, Lieutenant, you… *sob*”
Billy couldn’t finish his sentence and began to whimper. As the tension released, tears suddenly burst forth.
“Thank you, thank you so much. Really, if it weren’t for you, I…”
“No need for thanks. If anything, I should apologize. You got caught up in this because of me.”
“No, it’s because I guided you this way… *wail*”
Unable to hold back his tears any longer, Billy wailed like a child. He felt he would never forget today’s events for as long as he lived.
“You’re really, really amazing. *sniff* He seemed like a high-ranking esper, but you… how… *sob*”
Billy stared at Lucas with eyes full of admiration, still amazed as he thought back on it. It was the first time in his life he had seen a guide win a one-on-one fight against an esper in real combat, not just in ability-sealed sparring.
“Calm down a bit. More importantly, we need to find a way out of here…”
Lucas muttered, tapping the still motionless containment wall with his hand. Although he had put out the immediate fire by subduing Carlos, it was frustrating not knowing the situation outside.
“Ah, well, um, shouldn’t the control room be taking measures by now?”
“I don’t know… Didn’t you say earlier that the security system broke down a couple of days ago? And the containment wall suddenly activated.”
“Oh.”
“This is definitely not a normal situation. What if there’s a problem in the control room too?”
“Gasp, that’s… oh, what should we do then?”
Billy panicked as Lucas voiced the worst-case scenario.
“…I shouldn’t have asked. Just rest.”
Realizing that Billy wasn’t much help, Lucas examined the containment wall alone. Then he paused, hearing a faint sound.
Crack, crackle…
The sound of something freezing and breaking, the mana waves felt from beyond the wall, and the coldness transmitted to his palm.
His golden eyes lit up as he realized the containment wall was freezing in real-time. He stepped back, feeling the intensifying energy.
“Step back!”
“…Huh?”
Bang! Just as Billy looked confused at the sudden command, a bright light poured in with an earsplitting explosion. Simultaneously, an urgent cry was heard.
“Luke!”
