Bang!
A gunshot broke the silence, echoing through the residential complex. Johann, realizing his mistake, made a face of regret. Yet, he secretly hoped his attack had succeeded. But there was no miracle. The mana bullet he fired froze in mid-air and fell limply.
Clink.
As the sound like a coin dropping hit his ears, Johann’s heart plummeted. He forcibly steadied his trembling hands.
Iberis, caught in the lens, stood still just as before. Unlike someone who had just been shot at, he calmly stared at Johann’s location.
“Damn it!”
Realizing he had been completely exposed, Johann fired his gun wildly. But an ice shield that had suddenly appeared blocked all his attacks.
“Eek!”
Terrified at the sight of Iberis rushing towards him, Johann reflexively stood up. But before he could do anything, a cold hand grasped his head.
“It’s not like you’re advertising to be killed. A sniper shouldn’t carelessly reveal himself.”
“Gah, argh!”
Johann screamed as the cold penetrated his mind. He died without even realizing his own death.
Iberis, having taken Johann’s life in the blink of an eye, tossed the frozen corpse to the ground. Then, drawing up mana, he expanded his spiritual sense. Soon, he felt enemies hiding all over the building. Seemingly surprised by the sudden situation, they were all suppressing their presence.
“…Two in the east, three in the west, one who seems to be a sniper on the blue-roofed building.”
– Confirmed.
“About four gathered near the entrance. The rest are faint and hard to detect. They seem to be wearing mana detection interference equipment.”
Iberis reported the enemy positions he had identified through the wireless earpiece in his right ear. Soon, a pleasant baritone voice was heard. It was Lucas.
– We’ll take care of the small fry. Major, please focus on capturing Livio Logan as planned.
A slightly stiff voice penetrated his ears, causing a small sigh to escape through his teeth. He could imagine what expression Lucas was making right now.
He was probably in a bad mood, displeased that Iberis had exerted himself to kill Johann. Iberis bit his lip, holding back laughter at the image of Lucas that came to mind without even seeing him. He quickly responded.
“Understood. Um, I’ll just do a little bit on my way since they might interfere with my path to him.”
Iberis said, glancing around. He wanted to handle everything so Lucas wouldn’t need to step in, but as Lucas said, he needed to conserve his strength as much as possible. The real opponent was inside, after all.
A cool gaze turned towards the building located deepest in the complex. The modest single-story house was Adrian’s home. Sensing the fierce mana flowing out from there, Iberis steeled himself, tensing the corners of his lips.
– We’ll enter immediately to ensure the enemies can’t focus on you, Major. That’s when you should move.
Lucas, seemingly displeased with Iberis wasting mana unnecessarily, immediately ordered an advance.
“Haaah…”
Finishing the communication, Iberis took a deep breath and concentrated mana in his toes. As he leapt high into the sky using the building’s railing as a foothold, the ground split and massive ice spikes erupted everywhere. This much help should be fine.
“Argh!”
“Damn it, my vision…!”
As the ground suddenly overturned due to the erupting ice, the enemies hiding near the entrance lost their balance and staggered. Those ambushing inside the buildings also panicked and floundered. Not missing this opportunity, the soldiers advanced into the complex.
“They’re coming! Prepare to fire!”
“Ah, Major Hyun is over there…!”
“Leave him! We’ll leave that person to the Guild Master and we’ll…”
Iberis dashed through the air quickly, leaving behind the sound of enemies chattering about him. His eyes were fixed on the red mana swirling like fierce flames in the distance.
* * *
“…He’s here.”
Livio, sitting on the rooftop railing, opened his eyes as he felt the rapidly approaching presence. Right after, a figure in black combat uniform landed lightly in the yard.
“Welcome.”
“Were we on good terms to exchange greetings like this?”
“Haha. So prickly.”
“Why did you come here? Do you know where this is?”
“I do. Isn’t this the village where the bereaved families of the special team who died in an unfortunate accident live?”
“Accident? When it was a trap you set?”
Iberis frowned. Among those who surrendered in this incident, there was someone who had condoned the death of team members a few years ago. He submitted evidence that Livio had reported the possibility of a hidden dungeon at the time, but it was ignored, claiming he didn’t know his actions would lead to such results.
“To come all the way here and still lie so shamelessly. It’s been confirmed that you deliberately omitted the contact from the grade measurer who observed the rift, and then silenced him with threats after the accident occurred.”
“Oh my, did that guy surrender too…? I didn’t know that. My information is a bit slow due to life on the run, you see.”
Livio shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t seem particularly affected, knowing that many had already betrayed him.
“What did I say earlier…? Ah, you asked why I chose this place as a battleground? Since my plans for reinstatement went down the drain because of you and I became a criminal, I thought I’d take out my frustration on the people living here. I’ve been watching them being cared for so meticulously all this time.”
At the mention of intending to kill Adrian and the other residents here, Iberis’s aura intensified. He knew Livio was trash, but seeing him feel not even a shred of guilt towards the people made miserable by his evil deeds made Iberis’s chest burn with anger.
“You psychopathic bastard.”
“Haha, psychopath? I have feelings too. And in the end, nothing happened, right? You evacuated everyone.”
“I thought you might target them. Looks like my guess was right.”
Iberis retorted as if stating the obvious. As he spoke, he gradually drew up his mana. He didn’t want to exchange any more words with Livio.
“Let’s stop this pointless talk. We’re not in a relationship to have a leisurely chat, are we?”
“Right, that’s true. Today, here, one of us – you or me – will die.”
As the air rapidly turned chilly, Livio released a burst of mana. The cold clinging to his skin disappeared as if washed away.
Having pushed back the silver mana that had rushed at him as if to devour him whole, Livio glared at Iberis with narrowed eyes. Killing intent swirled in his bloodshot eyes.
“Let me ask one thing. Did it have to be this way?”
“What?”
“Did you have to ruin everything for me like this?”
“What nonsense. Anyone listening would think I’m the perpetrator. Don’t reverse the order of events.”
Iberis shot back sharply, not hiding his displeasure.
“It wasn’t me who attacked first, but you, Livio. You’re the one who lured my team members into a trap and killed them!”
“If you bastards hadn’t tried to betray me, none of that would have happened! Ungrateful brats!”
“Betrayal? Ha, we were just doing what we had to do! That’s what happens when you commit corruption.”
Iberis raised his voice, enraged. He found Livio utterly detestable for blaming others without a hint of remorse even after all this.
“You’re the one who took bribes, branded an innocent person as a spy and killed them, framed a competitor to build your power, and schemed to silence us!”
“You…”
“Do you know how many people have been sacrificed and left with lifelong scars because of your greed?”
Step. As Livio faltered, speechless, Iberis closed the distance one step at a time. Transparent ice bloomed wherever his feet touched.
“Your downfall is the result of the karma you’ve accumulated. It’s time to pay for the crimes you’ve committed.”
“Shut up!”
“So don’t act wronged. You’re trash who doesn’t even have the right to do that.”
“You bastard!”
Livio roared. As if his composed demeanor until now had been a lie, a fierce energy burst forth from his body.
“Die!”
In an instant, Livio created dozens of fireballs and hurled them at Iberis. But his attack didn’t reach Iberis.
Boom! Bang! Hiss!
An ice wall that shot up high into the sky blocked all of Livio’s fireballs. As the powerful fire met the ice, it melted instantly, creating a burst of white steam.
Iberis, who had slipped into the misty smoke, calmly counterattacked. Just as Livio had done, he created numerous ice spheres in the air and launched them.
“Hah, this is nothing!”
Livio shattered all the ice chunks raining down on him. Bang, boom! Explosions rang out each time their mana clashed. After exchanging a round of attacks, the two rushed at each other without hesitation.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
