Chapter 285
The battle of the night raged on.
Amid the chaos of flashing flames and swordlight, and the spray of blood, Kamibarez was running frantically while holding Sasha's hand.
"Are you okay, Sasha? Can you keep running?"
As Kamibarez looked back and asked, Sasha, clutching her hand, gave a small nod.
Kamibarez, though out of breath herself, forced a bright smile.
"There's the brat!"
A gang member came running with a crude mace in hand. Kamibarez quickly shaped her hand like a gun and aimed at him.
Thunk!
With a launching sound, a red bullet flew and struck the gang member's chest armor.
Boom!
With a loud crash, the gang member was blown back and slammed into a tree.
"Where's the brat?!"
"Just grab that little monster as a hostage! Then it's over!"
Gang members were closing in from all directions. Kamibarez glanced quickly around and darted sideways.
"Where do you think you're going, our cute little ladies—"
"!"
But there was another one on this side.
Kamibarez stopped in her tracks with a hardened expression. A gang member with a rough face was approaching, blood pouring down his arm.
Licking his lips with his tongue, he spoke.
"Uncle's got something tasty for you~ Wanna come with me?"
At that, Sasha trembled and clung to Kamibarez.
"It's okay."
Kamibarez said resolutely, shaping her hand like a gun again and pointing it at the approaching gang member.
"S-Stay back!"
"Oh my~"
The gang member raised both hands playfully.
"You look tired, little lady. Are you okay? Why don't you come with uncle…?"
Shrrrk!
Just then, a rope coiled around the gang member's neck and whoosh! dragged him into the darkness of the forest. A moment later, thud!—silence.
"?"
"??"
Kamibarez and Sasha, still holding each other, wore bewildered expressions.
"Kami! Get downnnn!"
A voice suddenly called from above, and Kamibarez dropped to the ground, shielding Sasha.
"Haha-ha!"
Holding onto a rope hung from a tree like Tarzan, Dick came swinging down and kicked an approaching gang member squarely with both feet.
"Grand entrance!"
Landing with a stylish double spin after knocking down the gang member, Dick drew his sword.
Clang!
He blocked a strike aimed at Kamibarez.
Clang! Clang! Claaang!
Dick and the gang member clashed swords in quick succession, locking blades in a fierce power struggle.
Grrrk!
The gang member turned red in the face as he pushed with all his strength, but Dick still wore his usual smug grin.
"You've taken good care of it, but your sword seems a bit outdated—"
At that moment, Dick's blade turned black and began to spread to the gang member's weapon as well.
Both blades grew incredibly heavy, and thud!—they dropped their weapons simultaneously.
"Maybe it's time to buy a new one?"
Before anyone noticed, Dick had drawn another sword in his other hand.
"Limited-time offer!"
Slash!
The gang member fell, spraying a stream of blood. Dick casually adjusted his grip on the sword and turned back.
"Kami! Take the kid and keep running!"
"Thank you! Can you keep going, Sasha?"
"Yeah!"
Kamibarez and Sasha began running again. With them gone, Dick faced the approaching gang members alone.
"Guess I'll try out something I learned back in Keyzen!"
Dick dropped his sword to the ground and clapped his palms together.
Then, timing it perfectly with the incoming gang members, he pressed the completed magic circle on his palm to the ground.
Bubbling…!
Green liquid surged up from the ground like a geyser, quickly covering the area. The gang members halted as the slime reached their ankles.
They tried to retreat, but their feet were already stuck in the goo.
Dick grinned and pressed his hand down again.
The liquid on the ground turned pitch-black and solidified. Now even slashing it with swords did nothing.
"That damned necromancer bastard!"
"Well then."
Dick pulled a small black orb from subspace. He tossed it in front of the gang members and waved before fleeing.
"Hope you have a lovely time with my friends!"
He snapped his fingers.
As the black aura vanished, the gang members realized too late what it was.
"A… a wasp nest?!"
With Dick's enchant lifted, holes formed on the surface of the nest, and wasps began pouring out.
"Aaaaaargh!"
* * *
Kamibarez and Sasha were fleeing desperately, while the gang chasing them was just as determined.
They knew their only chance of victory was to take Sasha hostage, the one the necromancers were after.
Huff! Huff!
Gang members were swarming in from every direction.
Then, Sasha, running while holding Kamibarez's hand, suddenly let out a small cry and collapsed to the ground.
"Sasha!"
It looked like she had twisted her ankle from running too hard.
Kamibarez quickly raised a wall of blood to block incoming arrows, then checked on Sasha.
"…You should run first, big sis."
Sasha said quietly.
"No! I absolutely won't."
Kamibarez shook her head firmly, knelt down, and turned her back.
"Get on!"
She carried Sasha on her back and started running again.
But she, too, was exhausted. This ambush had started with Kamibarez, and she'd expended far too much blood already.
The gang members crossed over the blood wall Kamibarez had created and closed the distance. They were just seconds away from catching up.
"Gotcha!"
A gang member reached out to grab Sasha's hair, only to be struck directly in the face by an ice spike that flew out of nowhere.
Massive chunks of ice began raining down mercilessly from the sky onto the gang members.
There was only one person Kamibarez knew who could use such powerful dark ice magic.
"Maelyn!"
Maelyn was approaching with a wink toward Kamibarez. With her other hand—the one not casting Blizzard—she waved.
Fwoooosh!
Black flames clung to the grass and began billowing. The gang members halted their steps.
"Come on, all of you. I'll take you all on."
Maelyn smiled confidently and spread her arms. Different types of magic circles formed in each of her hands.
"Dammit!"
"Don't panic! Hit her while she's charging her dark magic!"
Two gang members rushed Maelyn. With a glance, she signaled her skeletons, who blocked their path with swinging swords.
"Tch!"
Casting dark magic and controlling undead at the same time—
Maelyn was more than proficient at Summonology. With her skeletons holding the enemies at bay, she safely completed her next magic circle and floated it into the air.
Sharp shards of ice launched from the circle in all directions.
Maelyn had added her signature active targeting formula, giving it such high accuracy that each incoming gang member was hit precisely.
Maelyn, who single-handedly shifted the tide of battle with her overwhelming firepower, exhaled lightly.
'They're just minnows, but some of them are using mana and darkness here and there, so it's annoying.'
Crack!
At that moment, a crack began to form on the ice wall she had erected earlier.
Craack! Crackle!
Crack!
Kwaaaaang!
The thick ice wall shattered completely, and a man came flying through, crashing to the ground.
Maelyn took a startled step back.
"What the—?!"
Vwoom!
Following close behind, another young boy came flying through and stomped on the man's face, scraping across the ground for several more meters.
The stomped man let out a pained gasp, "Kugh!"
The boy's eyes glowed in the darkness.
"Simon!"
Seeing Maelyn, Simon—who had been glaring coldly at his opponent—waved cheerfully with a smile.
"Hey! Below you!!"
Without even looking down, Simon kicked off the darkness and leapt into the air. The white-haired gang leader had raised claws of darkness to slash upward from the ground.
Simon twisted in midair and landed without a sound.
"You little brat, you fight dirty well."
The white-haired gang leader wiped the blood from his nose and muttered.
The surrounding gang members, shocked by Simon's sudden appearance, brandished their weapons and charged.
"Stand down! That guy's way out of your league—!"
'Open Gate.'
Chrrrrrrrrrrrk!
Chrrrrrk!
Six spaces opened in the air around Simon, from which bladed tendrils surged forth.
In an instant, a dozen or so gang members were either slashed or struck, rolling across the ground.
"M-Monster…!"
The one gang member who survived, simply because he was too slow to move, stared in terror at the back of Simon's head.
When Simon turned to look, the gang member shrieked and collapsed to the ground.
"…What rotten luck."
The white-haired gang leader slowly got to his feet and said,
"You're a necromancer from Keyzen, aren't you? Can't monsters like you and Efnelle fight among yourselves? Why torment us commoners in a back alley like this?"
"You guys,"
Simon said, clenching and unclenching his fists,
"are involved with Efnelle."
"..."
"Are you going to deny it? Do you even know who that girl you tried to kidnap is?"
The white-haired gang leader let out a long sigh.
"The payment was too generous, so I figured something was up. But still... I'm sorry, but we don't know anything about the client. We just moved because they paid us."
"I see."
"We'll give up on the girl. Could you let us go?"
Simon smiled slightly.
"Why would I?"
"Ha! Of course you wouldn't!"
Even he knew how ridiculous that sounded.
The white-haired gang leader smirked and lunged forward. Darkness surged along the blade he held.
"I may not have received elite training like you lot—!"
The writhing darkness clung to his sword and transformed into a jagged sawblade.
"—but experience from living by the sword doesn't just vanish!"
The moment the distance between them closed, Simon pointed his finger.
Swish!
A teal-colored smoke shot out and wrapped around the gang leader's leg. Simon pulled his arm, and the man's body was dragged forward without resistance.
"Guh!"
Suspended midair, the gang leader swung his blade wildly, but Simon easily ducked beneath the slash.
The moment the gang leader's feet touched the ground in a stumble, Simon charged in.
'How many attack patterns does this guy even have?!'
Smack!
Simon's knee smashed into the gang leader's face. Blood and a few moonlit-reflecting teeth flew out from his mouth.
Crash!
As the man collapsed, Simon yanked out a long strand of Cloud from his finger and pulled it upward.
The Cloud coiled around a sturdy tree branch above, and Simon grabbed it with both hands and tugged. Using the pulley effect, the gang leader was lifted into the air by his legs.
"Urgh!"
The gang leader's face twisted in fear.
Swish. Swish.
Simon's two fingers danced like they were performing. Bones from a fallen skeleton floated into the air.
The bones shot toward the suspended gang leader.
Thud! Thwack! Thud!
Amid the loud impacts, Simon released the Cloud. With multiple puncture wounds, the gang leader fell headfirst to the ground, unconscious.
"Too easy."
Simon muttered and glanced around.
"The b-boss is down!"
"That easily…?!"
"Nice, Simon!"
Maelyn stepped forward, snapping her fingers toward him in approval. Then, she opened her arms wide.
"If you're thinking of surrendering and dropping your weapons, now's your last chance, gentlemen~"
Click.
Clunk.
As if they'd been waiting, the gang members dropped their weapons.
"T-The Sentinel Gang, taken down this easily…"
Sasha, still held in Kamibarez's arms, trembled in disbelief.
"That oppa… is strong, huh?"
Kamibarez asked, her cheeks flushed red.
Sasha turned to look.
"W-Who even are you people…?"