## Chapter 112 – 112. The Pursuit Squad (2)
#112. The Pursuit Squad (2)
Fourth Circle magic, Burn Flare.
It’s a wide-area spell that explodes surging flames to sweep the surroundings.
As an elemental spell, especially of the fire element, it boasts firepower comparable to a Fifth Circle spell. However, its complex formula and unique premonitory phenomena make it difficult to time its use, so it’s not a highly regarded spell.
Of course, it’s undeniably a great spell when the opponent is ignorant of magic or conveniently gathered in one place, as they are now.
The exploding flames swept everything away. The black-clad figures in formation were burned to a crisp.
However, the man presumed to be the leader of the black-clad figures seemed unscathed.
‘He’s unharmed after taking a Burn Flare head-on… Is that the legendary Aura Shield?’
A ki barrier surrounded the man’s body. It was quite different from my mana barrier, almost like wearing armor.
‘Just looking at its durability, it’s at least a barrier cast by a Fourth Circle mage… No, maybe Fifth Circle.’
I understood why he didn’t even have a scorch mark despite taking a Burn Flare head-on. From the start, his level was a step, no, half a step above mine.
But he’s not in perfect condition either. He suffered internal injuries from forcibly releasing the entangled energy. As evidence, the flow of energy felt from him is erratic.
Taking advantage of the opening, I immediately rushed to Chun Yeo-hwa.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…I’m sorry. Because of my involvement, you’ve been caught up in this…”
I pressed Chun Yeo-hwa’s nose with my index finger.
“You’re talking nonsense, so you must be fine.”
I hugged Chun Yeo-hwa, who was breathing heavily. I injected ki to check her condition. There were hardly any external wounds, but the internal injuries were a problem. Her ki meridians were quite damaged in the process of forcibly raising her inner energy. I quickly handed her holy water and a potion.
“Drink this first and rest for a while.”
“Hyun-woo, this time it’s really not going to work. That man is no ordinary demon…! So, let’s run away first…”
“Yeo-hwa.”
Golden Vajra Energy fiercely flared up as if reacting to the demonic energy emanating from the black-clad figure.
“I have no intention of letting go of the guy who messed with my girl.”
I don’t know how to fully utilize the massive energy contained in my dantian. Using the mana circuits and ki meridians separately also feels awkward.
A duel? This is the first time I’m fighting for my life. Especially against an opponent who is a step ahead of me.
Even so, I can’t back down.
“Not only does he use bizarre sorcery, but he also reeks of those hateful monk bastards’ energy. So, he’s the witch’s bodyguard.”
A grotesque sound, like insects crawling, flowed out, and a heavy, viscous murderous intent that frayed the nerves spread through the air. He doesn’t show any agitation even though his subordinates have been annihilated.
From his sword-drawing stance, I could tell he was completely different from me, who learned swordsmanship in a short period.
“I’ll capture you alive, especially. The Lord will be pleased.”
“Bullshit, try it if you can.”
[Strength]
[Haste]
[Balance]
[The Steps of Fire]
[Iron Body]
I cast all the support magic I could use right now. I felt strength beyond my usual, and my body became lighter.
‘I’ll save Berserk. I can’t afford to increase stamina consumption in this situation.’
I had already consumed a considerable amount of stamina running here. There’s a limit to replenishing stamina with mana. And potions? Would I even have time for that during battle?
I raised my mana to increase the strength of the barrier while calculating the formula.
[Fireball]
Dozens of fireballs generated from the magic circle that filled the surroundings flew towards him. Bang, boom, bang! They were traveling at speeds exceeding 100 km/h, but he dodged them without much difficulty.
I wasn’t surprised because I expected it.
I infused Golden Vajra Energy into Guillennium. A faint sword aura flared up.
‘Tch, if I had a little more time to train, I could have drawn out a clearer sword aura than this.’
I put my regret aside and composed myself.
The combat style of gaining an advantage in close combat based on physical abilities enhanced by support magic and mana, as usual, wouldn’t work against a swordsman of higher caliber than me.
But I can’t afford to create distance. If I move even a little from this spot, he’ll try to target Chun Yeo-hwa first.
“Is that all for the sorcery? It’s nothing.”
“Not a chance.”
He began to run towards me, stepping on the footwork. He’s so fast that I would miss him if my focus broke even a little. I fired another Fireball at him.
He avoided it with minimal movement, as if it were natural, given the reduced number of fireballs compared to before. It’s a natural judgment. There’s no need to waste stamina with large movements. And that’s my aim.
[Fire Burst]
Bang! The Fireball that passed near him exploded. It was an unusual power.
“…You.”
The concentration of murderous intent felt from him, who rolled on the floor from the explosion, became even denser. But that’s all. As an assassin, he’s quick to calm his emotions.
“Are you pissed? Now that I see it, you’re not an assassin, but a donkey. The way you rolled on the floor is fantastic.”
Looking closely, he had scorch marks all over. As expected, there’s no way he could keep such a high-density Aura Shield up continuously. He’s not a mage, after all.
I used the Formless Divine Speed and ran towards him. A clear black sword aura flared up from his sword. Anyone could see the gap between my sword aura and his.
But I have magic.
I’m superior in pure strength. Our swords cut through the air as they advanced. Clash!! An explosion that couldn’t be imagined as the sound of cold weapons colliding echoed. A large amount of dust swirled.
Guillennium, clad in Golden Vajra Energy, aimed for his neck. But he naturally blocked my attack and counterattacked. I immediately stepped on the footwork and backed away.
Clang! But his sword aura struck down on my barrier as if to show off, and it covered me. I hurriedly dodged the attack and retreated.
‘What was that? It felt like the sword bent just now…’
I was sure I had dodged it, but his sword aura was already breaking my barrier.
“Where did the momentum from earlier go? Are you now afraid for your life?”
Clang! I hastily deployed a barrier and parried the attack. There’s no time to think. I’m just responding to the relentless attacks.
But if this continues, I’ll be the one to fall first.
‘…I need to buy more time, even a little.’
[Extreme Speed]
[Berserker]
Electricity raced through the mana circuits, and muscle fibers increased. Strength and speed became different from before.
Based on the suddenly increased attack speed, I succeeded in catching him off guard and slashing his shoulder, but blood didn’t appear on the tip of my sword. It was blocked by the Aura Shield.
He, who had maintained a poker face throughout, only glanced at his shoulder this time as well, and didn’t show any signs of being flustered by my increased speed. Rather, he further refined his fighting spirit and took a stance.
“…Were you hiding your strength? But if it’s a power that can be used without a price, there would have been no reason to hide it from the start. Have you become impatient?”
I didn’t answer. As he said, Extreme Speed puts a burden on the mana circuits, and Berserk accelerates stamina consumption.
Moreover, I had forcibly used the unfamiliar Formless Divine Speed while running here, so the time I could clad Golden Vajra Energy was also running out.
On the other hand, the opponent had no injuries except for some internal damage. Moreover, he seemed to have plenty of inner energy to spare.
I don’t know how much longer he can use the Aura Shield, but he’s minimizing the consumption of inner energy by using it at the optimal timing. A war of attrition isn’t even possible. From the start, it’s not easy to land a proper hit due to the difference in swordsmanship.
‘…Stop it.’
Life and death are at stake in a fleeting moment. I shake off useless thoughts. What’s important now is how to kill the opponent.
Formless Vajra Art, Formless Divine Speed.
I become a golden lightning bolt and run. I unfold my sword at the distance that was narrowed in an instant. Naturally, it’s dodged and blocked. On the other hand, his sword reaches me and shatters the barrier miserably. Even so, I stubbornly recreated the barrier. The burden on the mana circuits increases due to the rapidly consumed mana.
Neck, heart, liver, dantian. As an assassin, the places he’s aiming for are all fatal vital points. The speed of his sword increases more and more. If the speed of creating the barrier slows down even for a moment, I’ll be saying goodbye to the world as it is.
My heart is pounding as if it will burst at any moment. But ironically, my head cools down more than ever.
-Swordsmanship is the method of handling the tool called a sword. There is no right answer to handling tools. Swing it as you please. If you have the basics, that will become your swordsmanship.
An auditory hallucination echoes in my head, the voice of my master who once threw those words out with an indifferent expression.
Formless Vajra Art, Formless Sword Art.
Golden energy is born on the sword.
The speed of the sword increases. Hesitation in wielding the sword decreases. Gradually, my sword parries his attacks, and the number of times it leads to counterattacks increases. His Aura Shield wavers.
I can feel his emotions beyond the clashing swords. Impatience.
Clash!! The output of his sword aura increased explosively. Then, it condensed sharply, as if it were another sword blade added to the sword.
-Hyun-woo, it’s Aura! You can’t block it with your Aura Shield!
Chun Yeo-hwa’s voice is heard in my head.
The horror of Aura wasn’t just the power to cut steel like tofu. The essence of Aura is to ignore the enemy’s defense without any care by imbuing the attack with thought.
Clang!! The maximum output barrier was shattered in an instant.
A smile appears on his face for the first time, as if he’s convinced of victory.
“Die.”
His sword, clad in Aura, comes down towards my head.
[Thought Acceleration]
The surrounding time slows down.
I’ve been fighting like a swordsman, not a mage, until now.
The distance was too close to fire restraining magic, and it was obvious that preparing large-scale magic would be blocked because of the Aura Shield.
Of course, it wasn’t just me who couldn’t fight as usual.
That guy wearing black clothes also fought passively, unlike an assassin. He consistently used sword aura instead of Aura, and he blocked my attacks with the Aura Shield, which consumes a lot of energy. He must have been wary of my magic.
In fact, his judgment was appropriate.
If he hadn’t felt impatient at the end and used Aura, I might have ended up falling.
But now that he’s consumed all the remaining ki in the Aura and released the Aura Shield, the opportunity has come to me.
“You seem to be mistaken about something.”
Dark clouds gather in the clear sky.
A huge magic circle covers the sky, writhing with immense mana and lightning.
From the moment that guy didn’t fall to ‘Burn Flare’ until now, I’ve been focusing on concealing mana and allocating most of my brain’s resources to weaving a single spell.
“I’m a mage.”
[Thunder Breaker]
A single bolt of lightning from the sky covered the earth.
