Chapter 1100 – Dark Moon
“Damn it. Already a Class 3? That bastard had a compatibility rate of at least 70%. Number 211, Number 14, retreat with the surviving allies. I’ll take care of him.”
Belha’s instructor’s orders came down. The plan to fall back and observe the situation was immediately scrapped.
‘Disobeying orders is serious… I have no choice.’
I started running again.
I arrived at the battlefield in the ruined city. The situation was worse than I had imagined. Number 72 and Number 105 were dead, and Number 54 had his right arm and left leg torn off. He looked like he would die in a few minutes. Number 14 was the only one who was relatively okay. His body was covered in blood, but his limbs were intact.
I ran to Number 14 and together we supported Number 54.
Neros was being confronted by Belha’s instructor.
“Number 211…! At this rate, Number 54 will die!”
“…The first aid is already done. All we can do is take Number 54 to the rear. The rest depends on whether Number 54 can hold on.”
Number 14’s expression twisted. Seeing his face as if he was about to burst into tears, he must have been close to Number 54.
I quietly shut my mouth. If I said anything here, I might just earn Number 14’s resentment.
While moving to the rear, I glanced at the battle between Neros and Belha’s instructor. Neros was estimated to be a Class 3, and Belha was a Class 4. Logically, Belha’s instructor should have overwhelmingly won, but reality doesn’t always follow logic.
Surprisingly, Neros and Belha’s instructor were fighting on equal terms.
Belha’s instructor swung his fist. Neros also swung a fist charged with electricity without dodging. It was Belha who was pushed back, not Neros.
“Of all things, it had to be a Lightning Dragon type. My luck is exceptionally bad today.”
“Hahaha. This is the power of a dragon!”
Neros was laughing. His eyes were gleaming, like a drug addict.
“Are you drunk on power? Well, I guess you could be. You gained immense power in an instant.”
It was a difference in attributes.
Neros was a Lightning Dragon of the electric type, and Belha was a water-attribute battle mage. Neros had the advantageous matchup.
“Water Wall.”
A pillar of water shot up from under Belha’s feet. Belha rode the water pillar upwards. Cold air formed on his right fist. Belha put his full weight into his fist and swung it at Neros.
“Ice Shock.”
Crack!
Neros’s body, except for his head, froze. Neros didn’t lose his composure. He looked at his frozen body and smiled.
“I am a dragon. Did you think you could kill me with something like this?”
“It’s just the beginning. Bubble Room.”
Bubbles of water enveloped Neros’s body. Belha pulled his fist back right in front of him.
“My water fist is going to hurt a lot.”
Just before Belha was about to punch, the ice and water bubbles that had been holding Neros’s body shattered. The fragments pierced Belha’s body. Belha gritted his teeth and punched.
Wham!
Neros’s right shoulder swelled up and then exploded. He lost his right arm at the shoulder.
“Kuaaaaaaak!”
Neros screamed. Belha laughed. He was sure of his victory and raised his fist to finish him off. That fist never went forward. Neros’s sharp, long tail pierced Belha’s body.
“…A tail that wasn’t there until just now appeared? Even so, the mutation is too fast. It wasn’t a high compatibility rate… it was a rampage….”
Belha’s body collapsed. Neros didn’t allow Belha to die peacefully. As if taking revenge for his right arm, he tore Belha’s body apart with his remaining arm and tail.
‘We’re screwed.’
Belha died too quickly. He was supposed to buy at least 5 minutes, but not even a minute had passed. Number 14, Number 54, and I hadn’t even gotten 100 meters away from Neros.
“We need to request support… we need to request support!”
Number 14 pounded on the radio. But the radio was dead. Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel mana and magnetism thickly covering the area. The cause must be Neros.
‘To use the radio, we need to get out of this space at least. The problem is that’s impossible.’
Neros’s gaze was already on us. His legs kicked off the ground. Thud. With the sound of the ground shaking, he instantly caught up behind us.
“…Number 211. Take care of Number 54.”
Number 14 took the dagger from his thigh and charged at Neros. There was no time to stop him. Neros smirked at Number 14’s movements. The left hand of the reptile, which had already shed its human form, moved with electricity. Number 14’s head flew off. It rolled through the air and landed on the floor with a thud.
He died without even lasting a second.
A dog’s death.
That phrase wouldn’t leave my mind.
“You’re the only one left. You’re the one who blew off my subordinates’ heads, right? I won’t kill you as easily as the others.”
‘Only one left?’
I belatedly realized that Number 54 was already dead. There was no reason to support a corpse. I released my grip. Number 54’s corpse fell limply to the floor.
‘And my future will be like that too.’
The situation was so hopeless that I wanted to give up everything. But I decided to struggle to the end rather than die easily.
I gripped my pistol tightly. His body was still under the influence of Ice Shock. His body below the head was frozen blue.
‘Since his body doesn’t die from Ice Shock… I need to aim for his eyes. Eyes can’t be trained, so I can put a bullet in them.’
The chances of success were slim. The opponent was a monster who could notice and deflect a 1km sniper shot.
Thud.
Neros walked towards me to trample me.
“Hole.”
The ground suddenly gave way, and Neros’s right foot went into the hole. Neros’s body staggered. I aimed for his eyes and pulled the trigger.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The pistol’s slide moved, spitting out bullets. Neros protected his eyes with his forearm. The bullets that hit his forearm bounced off and rolled on the floor.
“Hehehe. I knew from the moment you stared at my eyes. Not bad, but clumsy.”
I kept pulling the trigger. Just in case, I aimed for his vital points: neck, heart, groin. It was useless.
Click click.
The bullets were all gone. Neros came closer and swung his fist. The bracelet I received from Lexi glowed, activating a Class 4 barrier. Clang! The barrier blocked his fist.
“A barrier? Interesting. Let’s see how long it can hold.”
“……”
While the barrier held, I thought of a way.
‘…There is a way. The conditions are met. Except for one thing.’
What was lacking was time.
There was not enough time to create a spell.
No matter how much I racked my brain, there was no way to buy time. The last resort, the Class 4 barrier, would break within 30 seconds.
‘Time. I need time…!’
It was the moment I desperately wished for it.
Was it a blessing from God? Time slowed down. Neros’s fist pounding on the barrier became slow, and the barrier, shaking and fluctuating from the impact, was visible to the naked eye.
[Using an Instant (刹那). Remaining stacks: 6]
A notification window appeared in front of me. It was similar to a game system window.
‘Instant?’
I moved my hand unconsciously, and I was back in the original time. I also realized that my hand had moved very quickly.
‘A temporary acceleration of thought and physical abilities. To awaken another ability at this point.’
A smile appeared on my face.
Neros’s movements paused for a moment. He looked at me with his vertical reptilian pupils, then tilted his head.
“Did you go crazy from fear?”
“…Heh. The conditions are met. It seems God favors me.”
“You’ve definitely gone crazy.”
I activated Instant.
[Using an Instant (刹那). Remaining stacks: 5]
Neros’s fist slowed down again.
In the slowed world, I opened my Astral. I accepted the awakening I had been forcibly holding back. The Astral expanded and became clearer. Seven more mana rods extended from within my body.
With this, I rose to Class 2 and had a total of 12 mana rods. As I activated mana in the mana rods, the Instant ended, and I regained the original time.
‘Using the mana rods ends the Instant. Is it because the Astral is mental and not affected?’
I roughly understood.
[Using an Instant (刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]
I activated Instant. In the stretched time, I calculated the spell.
It was complex. And there was a limit to the spells I could calculate. My magical knowledge itself was shallow. But if I had time, it would be enough. The core spell would be handled with my ability.
‘The magnetism around me, the mana that he scattered everywhere. The conditions are sufficient.’
As Belha said, Neros was in a rampage. He couldn’t control the mana he had scattered everywhere. I fully opened my Astral and controlled the abandoned lightning mana. My talent made it easy. Neros didn’t notice until the end.
I completed the spell. The 12 mana rods activated, creating the spell. At the same time, I unleashed the ability to generate lightning. The ability and the spell combined to create a single magic.
Woo woo woo.
The air vibrated. My hair stood on end, predicting an ominous future.
Neros’s relaxed face hardened. He raised his head and looked up at the sky. There was a magic circle in the sky. The surrounding lightning was gathering towards the center of the magic circle.
‘The magic circle looks flashy, but the spell itself is only Class 2. The real core is the ability to generate lightning.’
Thanks to that stupid dragon scattering lightning mana everywhere, the output problem was solved.
‘All that’s left is time. And the Class 4 barrier is taking care of that.’
Sensing something was wrong, Neros abandoned his composure and focused mana on his one remaining hand. Electricity flashed menacingly from his hand.
The Class 4 barrier broke, and my body was caught in the shockwave and thrown backward. I coughed up blood, but it was good that I was away from Neros.
“It’s complete.”
“Don’t make me laugh. Do you think I’d be defeated by someone like you?!”
Neros charged at me. His judgment was correct. It was common sense that if a mage died, the magic they were casting would disappear.
And to add another piece of common sense, the speed of lightning transcends sound.
“Thunder Bolt.”
The compressed lightning struck the ground.
Neros, who was hit directly by the Thunder Bolt, didn’t even scream and disappeared. All that was left at the spot where he had been was a crater 3 meters in diameter and some of his burnt tail.
Class 5 electric magic, Thunder Bolt.
I used magic that was absolutely impossible for me to use at my current level by using special circumstances and my ability. Of course, the aftereffects were significant. Not only was my mana depleted, but half of my 12 mana rods were unusable.
Still, I was satisfied.
‘I survived.’
Above all, I reaffirmed my magical talent. Even if I used my ability, it was a miracle that a Class 2 mage used a Class 5 magic. And it was none other than my talent that created that miracle.
‘If I want to survive in this world… magic is all I have.’
Fatigue washed over me. I closed my eyes. My consciousness grew fainter as sleepiness overwhelmed me.
‘It’s okay to fall asleep. They’ll pick me up anyway.’
When I woke up, the dreary barracks would greet me. That was the only thing I was disappointed about.
