Chapter 69
Chapter 69: Unable to Go Mad (3)
Bamer, a member of the Yale mercenary group who was fighting Makan, was gradually being cornered.
‘This damn bastard…’
He had chosen the wrong opponent. Bamer was known for his cruelty even within the party, but he was having a hard time handling this one ignorant young fool.
He felt like tearing his muscles apart with an iron skewer.
The combination of the young fool’s reckless spear attacks and the strange magic that filled the gaps, left him breathless.
He had never met anyone like this before.
At some point, with a ting sound, the iron skewer in his hand bounced away.
‘Damn it!’
A look of urgency appeared in Bamer’s eyes. His initial relaxed expression was nowhere to be found.
Bamer, having lost his weapon, floundered and was eventually hit by Makan’s spear and fell to the ground.
“It’s over.”
The moment Makan swung his spear blade once more towards Bamer.
“S-save me!”
Bamer knelt down and raised both hands, declaring his surrender.
Makan twisted the path of the spear blade at the last moment, aiming it towards the ground.
It was then.
The sky flashed white.
The expressions of the enemies, hidden in the darkness, were revealed.
“…What?”
For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on Makan’s face. The enemy was smiling.
“Keh, you idiot.”
A cruel glint appeared in Bamer’s eyes. From Bamer’s mouth, which was gushing blood, a small iron skewer shot out, aiming for Makan’s heart.
Makan hurriedly twisted his body, but he couldn’t avoid it completely. The skewer pierced his chest.
“Cough!”
Makan’s scream was drowned out by the sound of thunder.
Bamer, not missing the opportunity, took out another skewer and thrust it towards Makan’s face.
“I’ll pierce your face.”
It was then that another young idiot appeared from somewhere and took Bamer’s attack instead.
It was the small young idiot who had been fighting another party member.
“Ugh. Get a grip, Makan.”
The iron skewer thrown by the party member pierced the small young fool’s back.
“Ugh. Get a grip, you idiot.”
“…”
Only then did Makan pull out the skewer from his chest and raise his head.
‘…Zion.’
There was also an iron skewer deeply embedded in Zion’s back. A fountain of blood erupted from his back.
It was a wound he received in exchange for saving him in the middle of fighting the enemy.
Makan’s heart pounded.
“…”
He turned his gaze to look at the enemies.
Two of them were aiming their skewers at them.
And behind them, the Bayern Invincible Corps was not missing the opportunity and were forming hand signs.
Makan gripped the spear shaft embedded in the ground so tightly it seemed like it would shatter. No thoughts came to mind.
Instinctively, he opened both his Mana Core in his lower abdomen and his Mana Circle in his heart simultaneously.
The spear blade, infused with all the Mana from his Core, made a thud sound as it was driven all the way in, and the Mana Circle rotated, causing the surrounding earth to shake.
Makan’s vision narrowed.
It was a chaotic situation with numerous ice spears raining down and iron skewers flying around, but Makan’s eyes only saw the heads of his enemies.
“I’ll crush them.”
Makan swung the spear blade, embedded deep into the ground, upwards.
A straight crack appeared in the courtyard between the Invincible Corps and Makan, and the ground was overturned into the air.
Makan launched himself towards the enemies through the overturned ground.
Zion, who was watching, also had a flicker of madness in his eyes.
* * *
Burma, covered in dust, barely managed to dodge.
Cold sweat ran down his forehead. The momentum of the two young idiots had changed in an instant.
The ground suddenly overturned, even though there was no earthquake, and before he could react, his comrade’s head was blown off.
‘What’s with those kids’ eyes…’
The moment he made eye contact, his body froze. Their eyes were desperate. They were different from him.
It was clear that if he continued to block them, his head would be next.
‘Let’s wait until the leader joins us.’
Burma looked around and quickly flew to the opposite side.
Fortunately, the skills of the brats on the other side were insignificant.
Every one of them was tense.
‘Yes, this is normal.’
Burma focused his attention on two of them who were fighting together.
One of them had a particularly fearful look in his eyes. His body stiffened every time a skewer flew towards him.
“Keh.”
A cruel smile appeared on Burma’s face again.
It was always fun to skewer such cowardly ones.
The fight quickly tilted in their favor when Burma joined in. As Burma swung the iron skewers in both hands, the fear in the coward’s eyes grew.
His hands fumbled, and his posture crumbled.
The moment Burma thrust his skewer deep into the coward’s stomach.
Suddenly, the coward screamed and ducked to the ground.
“Ugh.”
The skewer pierced the shoulder of the other guy behind him instead.
The coward, crouched down, shouted with trembling eyes.
“N-no, Ain!”
“Keh.”
Burma, enjoying the screams, pulled out the blood-stained skewer with a grim smile.
“This isn’t bad either.”
He planned to finish off this one first and then slowly torture the coward.
Finally, a situation he liked was unfolding.
As he approached with the skewer to further pierce the guy’s shoulder, Burma suddenly felt a hot sensation from the side.
The moment he instinctively let go of the skewer and pulled his hand back, with a bang, the skewer exploded in a fireball.
He looked up to see the coward standing up and charging at him.
“Keh, the idiot is begging to be skewered first.”
Burma took out two of his prized iron skewers from his bosom and thrust them towards the coward’s face.
The coward raised his arms to block the skewers. The skewers pierced the barrier surrounding his arms, causing cracks to appear.
Before Burma could pull the skewers back, the coward jerked his forehead back and then headbutted Burma’s face.
At that moment, a barrier shimmered on the coward’s forehead as well.
Thud
“Ugh!”
Feeling the strong impact, Burma grabbed his forehead and quickly retreated.
“This damn bastard!”
Before Burma could regain his composure, he heard the sound of something tearing through the air. Twisting his body at maximum speed, Burma swung his iron skewer once more.
At the same time that he felt the sensation of flesh being pierced by the tip of the skewer, Burma was thrown back with a shock that shattered his ribs.
“Kraaagh!”
Looking down, he saw his ribs protruding through his skin. It was hard to even breathe.
While he was still trying to make sense of what had happened, the coward was approaching him.
There was also a skewer deeply embedded in the coward’s shoulder.
“Ugh… You didn’t dodge on purpose?”
Was this the same guy who was acting like a coward just a moment ago?
The coward pulled out the iron skewer from his shoulder and pointed it at him.
“It’s an advanced technique, you bastard!”
His ribs were broken, making it difficult to breathe. He met the coward’s eyes.
The coward’s eyes were fixed on him without a hint of wavering.
They were just like the eyes of that reckless fool from earlier.
“Don’t…Don’t kill me. If you kill me… Cough!”
The iron skewer pierced his throat. He could no longer speak.
Only air escaped from his mouth.
He couldn’t see. Blood poured from his eyes.
‘Kraaagh!’
Burma’s consciousness faded.
* * *
Cyan knelt down, clutching his burning chest.
He couldn’t regain his composure at all.
Even after using all of his 4-star Mana to cast magic several times, he couldn’t land a single blow on that arrogant bastard.
What the hell was that guy?
Was it true that he was of Samael’s bloodline?
Cyan’s gaze turned to Ruin, who was fighting Blood.
“…”
He was even effortlessly dispelling his magic while fighting ‘that’ Blood, using all sorts of strange tricks.
Suddenly, the image of his eldest son flashed through Cyan’s mind, and he felt the blood rush to his head.
It was all because of that bastard.
His family was in this state because of him.
“That… damn bastard.”
Cyan gathered all the remaining Mana in his body. He was already at his limit, but it didn’t matter.
His chest felt like it would explode, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
A moment later, Cyan, who had been spitting blood from his mouth, finally completed the magic formation.
The most powerful magic he could perform.
With this… With this, he could kill that bastard.
At that moment, Ruin, who had been fighting Blood, suddenly turned his head and looked at Cyan.
“What are you doing? Weren’t you a spectator?”
“…”
“Are you an idiot?”
Cyan couldn’t speak because he was on the verge of completing the magic formation.
“You are an idiot.”
Cyan’s head was turned by a lightning-fast kick without any reaction.
Smack
The Mana inside him was disrupted, and black blood poured out.
* * *
Anyway, the world is vast, and there are many third-rate people.
Forming a hand sign while defenseless, practically begging to be killed.
‘If you’re going to be a spectator, just be a spectator.’
After giving the spectator who tried to interrupt the stage a lightning-fast slap, I turned back to face Blood.
Blood still couldn’t take his eyes off me.
The evil energy had faded, but the rotten smell was stronger, and his face was clearly exhausted.
As I was about to charge again, Blood spoke first.
“Crazy Mage.”
“What?”
“Come under me. You’ll die by my hand anyway if you keep resisting. Your subordinates are also destined to die. But if you come under me, I can save you. If you go to Yale and hide, even Urgon won’t be able to find you.”
“Are you the group leader?”
“I am.”
I grinned and replied.
“Bullshit. Worry about yourself. Your organs are probably rotting away already.”
The fate of someone who forcibly absorbs Mana by devouring others’ Cores couldn’t be good.
There were others like him in the past.
They ripped out the Core of a comrade who fought and died alongside them against the demons during an expedition, and miserably absorbed it.
Those madmen who refilled their own Cores with the Mana of their dead comrades and continued to fight the demons desperately.
The more they drew on others’ Mana, the faster their bodies were destroyed, but they did it anyway, knowing that.
Because that’s what the expedition was like.
But this hunchbacked bastard was different from them.
This bastard committed such a foolish act purely for his own sake.
Blood grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.
“I can kill you. This is not a lie.”
“Oh, really?”
I already knew he had a hidden trick. Such a smelly bastard always had dirty tricks up his sleeve.
I looked into the rotting bastard’s eyes and said.
“If you’re going to do it, do it quickly. Don’t hesitate and miss your chance.”
Blood chuckled and pointed his index finger at me.
“Do you think you’re the only madman in the world?”
“Show me. I’ll be the judge.”
Suddenly, Blood’s index finger detached from his hand.
As soon as I dodged with a nod, he pointed his middle finger at me.
“Stop flipping me off. It’s quite offensive.”
At that moment, his pinky finger was launched towards a random direction.
The middle finger was a feint.
Looking at the direction the pinky was flying, it was towards Palge.
“Dodge, fatty!”
Palge, who was fighting two guys near me, must have been watching us because he put up a barrier to block the finger.
“…What?”
Blood’s pinky finger, rotten and decaying, melted through Palge’s barrier and pierced his thigh.
“Kuaagh!”
“You idiot, I told you to dodge.”
As I ran towards Palge, I heard another powerful tearing sound from behind.
In the split second I dodged with a nod,
I saw Palge in front of me and hurriedly reached out my hand.
Before the tearing sound reached Palgae, I caught it with my bare hand. A tingling sensation spread through my palm. This time, it wasn’t a finger but an iron skewer.
My hand was torn by the skewer, and blood flowed profusely.
“…”
Palge looked down at my hand, and I looked into his eyes for a moment.
Palge trembled and opened his mouth.
“Gathering radiance, Cure.”
I guess when Palgae goes crazy, he becomes a fatty who can speak properly.
Light enveloped my palm, and the wound healed instantly.
At the same time, the Yale guys swung their iron skewers at Palgae.
“Kuaagh!”
A barrier exploded from Palge’s body, sending the Yale guys flying.
Palge glared at the flying guys as if he was going to kill them and ran towards them.
“He’s become a crazy fatty.”
I turned my head again and looked at Blood, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
It seemed like he had been focusing solely on me until now, and only now was he grasping the overall situation.
“Is it over? You seem to have your left hand left.”
Suddenly, Blood’s entire body trembled. His cloak continued to flutter, and his swollen body was revealed through it.
“Piercing a single point… Hmm.”
I was about to pierce his body but stopped immediately when I felt something was off.
Blood’s pupils turned blood red.
“I told you, didn’t I? You’re not the only madman.”
As he spoke, Blood’s body swelled even larger.
I realized Blood’s hidden trick. I also knew what would happen the moment I popped it.
I immediately rushed towards Blood and compressed my barrier.
In an instant, Blood’s body exploded, and rotten flesh scattered in all directions.
Fwoosh
Thousands of pieces of rotten flesh, torn into pieces, covered the sky beyond the range of the barrier.
I fully opened the Circle in my heart and spread a wide ‘Wind Barrier’ in the air to block the chunks of flesh.
But there were too many of them.
“Dodge, you idiots!”
I hurriedly looked towards the apprentices and suddenly burst into laughter.
Even as the rotten flesh rained down on the apprentices like spikes, they were nonchalantly cutting off the heads of their enemies.
At that moment, a massive surge of Mana rippled once more from behind.
Kuooooooooong
The surge, spreading widely across the courtyard, enveloped the remaining pieces of Blood’s flesh in the air and exploded in an instant.
“Ugh!”
It was Kazen.
Kazen knelt on one knee. He gasped for breath as if it was hard to endure. A handful of blood flowed from his mouth.
After watching Kazen for a moment, I took a step and slowly approached Blood.
Blood’s once bulging body was now emaciated, revealing his skeleton.
His entire body was covered in skewer marks, and his flesh was rotting away from the inside.
“Is that all you’ve got? Is it over?”
Blood had a look in his eyes as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
“How…”
I picked up an iron skewer that had fallen to the ground and pierced his shoulder as I replied.
“You idiot.”
Blood’s body collapsed without any resistance.
Suddenly, the reason I had been cautious with Blood came to mind…
I thought he would try to kill me with whatever he had hidden, no matter what it was.
But he didn’t.
Blood realized while fighting that he was no match for me.
So he tested my reaction by attacking Palge.
Then, he deliberately unleashed his hidden move on the apprentices, not caring whether his subordinates lived or died.
He probably thought I would die trying to protect the apprentices and get hit by the flesh.
I picked up another iron skewer and pierced his stomach.
“Ugh.”
“…”
The shadow of death fell over Blood’s face.
Blood briefly turned his head to look at one of his dead subordinates nearby, then let out a sigh of resignation and opened his mouth.
“…They’re pitiful. So am I. I didn’t live a shameful life. This isn’t the life I chose. Look at my body.”
Blood looked down at his own body. It was covered in skewer marks.
“I’ve been like this since I was a lump of flesh. Every day was hell. The Core I ripped out belonged to my father, who made me this way. I became the group leader, and our lives improved. And yet, you say I’m wrong.”
I replied without much thought.
“You’re no different from your father.”
“…”
Blood didn’t answer anymore.
Suddenly, the sky flashed, and another thunderous roar echoed.
Blood glanced at Kazen for a moment, then looked towards where the apprentices were gathered.
All the other Yale members were dead. Yet, the apprentices continued to strike down on their heads.
All the surviving Bayern members were looking at the apprentices with fear in their eyes.
The dying Blood muttered.
“…They’re crazy.”
“Yeah, unlike you.”
Hearing my reply, Blood tilted his head slightly.
“Do you really take pride in being crazy?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because if you’re not crazy, you can’t go crazy.”
Blood, who had been lost in thought for a moment, nodded.
“…I see.”
Then, Blood looked at the apprentices and gathered his last remaining breath.
“I am Blood Rahidolf, the Group Leader of Yale. Tell me your name.”
I looked at the idiots for a moment and replied.
“The Crazy Mage Squad.”
I struck down on Blood’s neck, who had already stopped breathing.
[TL/N: Peak Chap]]
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