Chapter 60 – Salamander's Heart (3)
Enchantments of the 3rd tier and 2nd tier.
A man, aided by the enchanter Vins who was hired by the same informant, swung his hammer at Verden. The sound of the wind being torn grazed his ear, and the ground shattered where the hammer struck, scattering fragments in every direction.
"Neither of you pleases me... but eliminating the competitor first takes priority."
The other two joined in right after.
A swordsman aimed at Verden's back, exploiting an opening, while the elemental mage waited for the timing and fired magic from a blind spot.
Since they were not teammates, their coordination was poor, but in battle, numerical superiority alone was more than enough to tilt the balance.
Of course, nothing in this world is absolute. Exceptions always exist.
'Why... why aren't my attacks landing?'
The hammer-wielder, Hebegel, felt doubt rising.
He had his body reinforced by enchantments. His usual lack of speed had been compensated, and his already strong physical power had been further enhanced.
Yet he could not subdue a single mage in close combat. It made no sense.
Kaaang! Kang! Kagagak!
Before the hammer could swing down, the staff blocked its path. He could not land a clean strike, and even when he did, Verden evaded by a hair's breadth.
'It's not like he can see the future...!'
The swordsman shared the same thought as Hebegel.
Within less than ten exchanges, both began to sense something was off. As their momentum faltered, the magic stored in Verden's staff erupted.
Kwaaang!
"Guh?!"
A staff strike reinforced with Mana Concentration.
Hebegel blocked with his hammer, but he could not withstand the impact and stumbled back. At the same time, from behind Verden, a sharp spike rose from the ground and pierced through the swordsman's sole.
The sudden pain immobilized him.
Jjeoong!
A stone fragment smashed into the swordsman's right abdomen. The spell was strengthened through a magic tome.
The iron armor he wore dented inward, and the shock that could not be absorbed pierced through his insides.
"Guhhh...! Ack...!"
The liver, one of a human's vital weak points. The nerves connected to it went berserk.
His breath caught in his throat, and his brain tingled. The fact that he did not faint outright spoke to his mental resilience, but movement was still impossible.
Verden swung his staff into his torso. The swordsman flew away, crashed through a tree, and collapsed over the bushes.
'Then, next....'
"Die!"
A flaming spear hurtled toward Verden.
At the same moment, the ground rumbled, and a massive pillar burst out diagonally. The pillar shattered the fire spear, then split in two and barreled toward the two mages in the rear.
They hastily raised mana barriers, but it was pointless.
Kaaang! The pillars shattered the walls of magic, swept the surroundings, and struck the mages. Both were sent flying, their frail bodies unable to endure, and they lost consciousness.
The time Verden took to subdue all three was barely over a minute.
In a situation Hebegel had never anticipated, he stepped back in fear. Even with four of them, they could not land a single blow. Alone, he stood no chance.
Verden silently flared his magic.
"W-wait!"
Thud!
***
"Guhhhk!"
Krallg, Rucas's closest aide, was trapped beneath the earth by Verden's magic.
He twisted his body and struggled with all his strength to escape, but his injured body could not endure. The solidified ground did not budge.
'Damn it, if only my body were fine!'
If it were, he wouldn't have been caught in the first place.
Having worked under Rucas for more than ten years, Krallg was confident in his skills. Facing four pursuers head-on was impossible, but he could have escaped by exploiting openings.
'Still... it's quiet outside.'
The clash of metal had ceased.
Since that massive tremor earlier, all had gone silent. Trapped underground, he could not see what had happened.
Then, the ground restraining him began to shift.
It seemed the robed mage had won. To defeat four at once, he must have possessed considerable skill, though surely not without injury.
'If I play this right, I might kill him and escape.'
Soon, Krallg emerged above ground.
But the situation was not as he imagined. The surroundings were in shambles. The pursuers who had chased him now lay sprawled helplessly. Their chests still rose and fell, so they were alive.
In contrast, the robed mage stood unscathed.
Krallg swallowed nervously at the indescribable, oppressive pressure.
Verden asked,
"Where is Rucas?"
"Ah, y-yes. He's at the secret hideout."
Krallg answered immediately.
He quickly realized this was not the time for pride. Even if he appeared pitiful, survival mattered more. Rucas would likely kill him if he found out about this betrayal... but Rucas probably wouldn't survive anyway.
"And why did you not go to the hideout?"
"Well, I don't know if you've heard, but those 'Human Hunters' famous in Gray attacked us... By now, Rucas and his men are probably all dead. There was a 4th-tier mage and a former high-ranked mercenary with them. They're among the top ten in this business."
'So they struck first.'
Still, Verden had no intention of turning back based on words alone.
He could find the hideout first, then decide. Verden looked down at Krallg.
"Then guide me."
If you want to live.
***
A secret underground hideout hidden in the cliffs.
Through a small gap in the rock lay a structure as large as a mansion built on the opposite side of the cliff. Equipped with heating, and with food stores sufficient for several months even with four meals a day.
The workers who had built it had all been slaughtered, so only Rucas and his closest aides knew of this safe zone, at least until yesterday.
"Huff, huff...!"
Rucas rushed desperately into the underground.
A door of thick steel. He locked it firmly with six heavy bolts. But even this could not keep out pursuers.
Kwaaang!
The steel door was torn away whole, shards scattered and pierced through Rucas's leg. As he fell miserably to the ground, the woman who entered the underground burst into laughter.
"Oh my, Rucas. With that leg, running away is impossible now, isn't it?"
"Ugh... Benya, you damned bitch!"
Former high-rank mercenary, Benya.
With a massive axe slung over her shoulder, she looked at Rucas with disdain.
"Harsh words. Don't you want an easy death? If you wanted to live, you should have handed over the classified information from the start."
"Don't spout nonsense...! Without information, an informant has nothing left but death!"
"Well, who told you to act like an idiot? And honestly, your chances of survival were higher, weren't they? Right, Lloyd?"
"That's true."
The mage Lloyd, carrying a wooden staff, descended the stairs.
His robe was soaked with blood that had yet to dry.
"The ones above are all dealt with."
"And Pelled?"
"I told him to block the entrance, in case some other partners came chasing. But judging from things, no one else is coming... still, there's no reason to waste more time."
A higher form of telekinetic magic.
Invisible mana pulled an old document and a sealed pouch from Rucas's chest. Rucas quickly reached out, but Benya stepped in and crushed his chest beneath her boot.
"Gyaaaahhhk...!"
"Such a nuisance. Lloyd, what about the goods?"
"They're genuine. And the Salamander's Heart is real as well."
"This job's a nice one. Stress relief, money earned. But this heart, sold off as stolen goods to some noble, would fetch hundreds of millions, wouldn't it? Rucas, how do I thank you for this?"
"You damn... aaaaaaaagh!"
Benya sneered and pressed harder with her leg.
Rucas's sternum cracked halfway, and he soon lost consciousness. Only then, satisfied, did she raise her axe.
"Farewell, Rucas. I'll put your money to good use."
Crunch! Rucas was split clean in two.
Wiping the axe clean on the corpse's blood, Benya turned to Lloyd.
"Shall we head ba—"
Aaaaargh!
A scream came from above. A familiar voice. It was unmistakably Pelled's. Realizing something was wrong, Benya and Lloyd turned their attention to the stairs.
Moments later, something rolled down. The severed head of Pelled, eyes wide with terror.
"Kakakak. Kakakakak. The scent of the heart lingers here."
An eerie laugh. A giant covered in scars across his face appeared.
Blood dripped from the two cleavers he held, and his unnervingly perfect teeth gleamed in the dark.
Benya tilted her head.
"What's that bald bastard?"
"He's not from Gray. But judging by his looks, I know where he's from."
The Salamander's Heart that Rucas had stolen.
Surely this was the man who had destroyed Rucas's informant to recover it. Benya scoffed and twirled her axe.
"Perfect. Rucas's lackeys weren't enough of a challenge. Something big like you, breaking you will be satisfying."
"Don't underestimate him. He killed Pelled easily."
"No problem."
Someone like Pelled, she herself could have killed in a single blow.
They were human hunters. For them, the concept of comradeship was thin. They traveled together only because their interests aligned.
"Well then, shall I kill you?"
Whooong────!
Her axe, carrying lethal force, fell toward the giant's skull.
***
Verden, following Krallg's guidance, reached the secret hideout.
Beyond the crack in the cliff, an open space spread out.
The structure built in the wilderness was quite a sight, if not for the countless corpses strewn about.
Krallg swallowed hard.
Terrified, but with Verden's chin-gesture, he had no choice but to move. They passed blood-soaked pools and entered the building. Most of the corpses here had clearly been struck down by magic.
"H-here, there's a basement, inside is Rucas's chamber."
"I see."
Moving aside the headless corpse that blocked the entrance, Verden pushed Krallg to the front.
While descending the stairs, Verden's senses tingled. The faint sound of flesh being ripped, the stifled gasps of someone dying.
'Fortunately, I'm not too late.'
He immediately entered the basement.
But what he saw was not what he expected.
The mage, staff broken, had been reduced to unrecognizable remains, and the muscular woman with one arm severed was impaled on a crude blade, dangling in the air.
Her wheezing breath ended as her neck was cut, her head flying off.
"Kakakakakak."
The giant with grotesque appearance.
At the sight, Krallg collapsed to the floor.
"M-m-monster...!"
Could this monster be the one who annihilated Rucas's informant?
The ones just slain must have been the so-called human hunters Krallg spoke of... judging by the fact that a 4th-tier mage and a former high-rank mercenary lay dead, his strength was indeed considerable.
The giant strode to Lloyd's corpse, picked up the pouch beside him.
"Finally found it. He will be pleased. But before that..."
With a wide grin, the giant twisted his body grotesquely.
Then he strode toward the entrance where Verden stood. Kaga-gagak. He clashed the twin cleavers together, sharpening the blades.
His gaze locked squarely on Verden and Krallg. Clearly, he had no intention of letting them pass.
Fwoooosh!
A vast surge of mana burst forth from Verden's body.