The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower-Chapter 326

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Chapter 326: Terror (4)

A wind rushed in relentlessly from behind.

The captain braced himself against it.

‘This… is definitely dangerous.’

Each current carried enough force to slice through steel.

If it touched bare skin, it wouldn’t be strange for a body to be torn into hundreds of pieces.

After briefly halting the wind, Sasha issued a cold warning.

“If you don’t want to get hurt, tell me what you know. Now.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Then… we’ll have to extract it by force.”

At her gesture, 『Surging Wind』 moved like a raging torrent.

“…Snap.”

Snap!

The captain flicked his finger.

At the same instant, the wind that had been rushing in to swallow him vanished without a trace.

To any third party, it would have looked as though Sasha herself had withdrawn the attack.

Sasha frowned as she stared at the empty space where the wind had been.

‘Blocked it? No… that’s not it.’

More precisely, it had been deleted.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

‘Impossible.’

No matter the type of power, its activation always left behind traces.

Lightning left residue, fire left heat.

Even her master’s spatial magic left behind distortions or magical flow.

‘But… I felt nothing.’

The captain’s ability was different.

What disappeared wasn’t just wind—it was the phenomenon itself.

And publicly, the captain was known to be a level-7.

To handle a level-8 mage’s attack this cleanly was impossible in every sense.

“That’s an interesting ability. What’s the principle behind it?”

“Curious age, are we? Defeat me, and I’ll tell you.”

“…You’d better keep that promise.”

Rustle—

The nature of the wind she summoned subtly changed.

It was no longer violent, but eerily static.

“Alignment.”

At her command, the drifting winds lined up in formation.

All airflow converged in a single direction, making the entire space feel razor-sharp.

There was no room left to evade—absolute control and encirclement.

“Descent.”

Without sound or vibration, a legion of blades fell toward the captain’s exposed back.

At the same time, Sasha widened her eyes and heightened her senses.

‘If he uses the same technique again, this time I’ll—’

She would dissect it completely.

Snap!

The captain flicked his finger once more.

And once again, the wind vanished without a sound.

“…!”

Nothing.

Even now—when she knew it was coming and was fully prepared—she felt nothing.

“Hmm.”

Still, there was a difference compared to before.

‘…Huh?’

The captain’s breathing wavered.

So subtly that anyone below Sasha’s level would never have noticed.

“You’re overexerting yourself.”

“That’s an interesting claim.”

“You think I wouldn’t notice?”

“I still don’t understand what you’re talking about. This time, I’ll make a move.”

Still facing away, the captain let out a shallow breath.

“…!”

A wave of danger surged through Sasha.

She leapt backward—

KWAHHHH!

A massive pillar of mana erupted from the ground.

It was a stark contrast to the complete absence of mana from earlier.

‘What the—’

As the mana faded, Sasha swallowed.

A massive hole gaped in the center of the building—created using pure mana alone.

Had it been shaped into a proper spell, its destructive power would have been several times greater.

‘This is strange. The gap between his offense and defense is too large.’

Defensively, he was clearly superior to her by at least two steps.

But offensively, he was crude—almost embarrassingly so.

‘If his attacks are this sloppy…’

No matter how strong his defense was, sustained pressure would eventually create an opening.

Having organized her thoughts, Sasha steadied her breathing.

“World Liberation, One Thought, Pure Land.”

If she lacked information on her opponent, forcing out a World Liberation was one way forward.

A world reflected its owner best.

As the scenery shifted and green plains spread outward—

“Snap!”

The captain hurriedly removed his hand from his pocket and snapped his fingers.

In that brief instant, Sasha saw it.

His hand trembled—just slightly—before he quickly hid it back in his coat.

‘…He’s in pain?’

At that realization, the One Thought, Pure Land dissolved as though melting paint.

Even an ability capable of blocking World Liberation—

Yet Sasha didn’t mind.

“You’re starting to look exhausted.”

“…I won’t deny that.”

The captain nodded and slowly turned around.

Sasha’s expression twisted when she finally saw his face.

‘What… is that?’

It looked as though black and white crayons had been smeared together at random.

The face itself was obscured by noise, constantly shifting patterns.

“An artifact.”

“Occupational hazard. It wouldn’t do for my face to be recognizable.”

With an easy tone, the captain checked his wristwatch.

“Looks like things are wrapping up over there. I should get going.”

“Hey. Who said you could leave?”

As Sasha snapped back—

KWAHHHH!

A massive explosion of mana erupted from Gate E of the airport.

* * *

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Lightning fell from a clear sky.

KRRRRSH!

Even that violent strike flowed harmlessly down a single umbrella and vanished.

“Tch.”

Isel paused his assault.

Forcing his way through hadn’t worked—and further mana expenditure was pointless.

‘There’s no breaking through head-on.’

As much as he hated to admit it, that was his conclusion.

“I acknowledge you.”

His keen senses detected an enormous mana presence nearby.

‘So he didn’t come alone.’

Lingering here would be a mistake.

“From here on, it may be hard to keep up.”

Static crackled around Isel as electricity began to dance over his body.

“Chain Lightning.”

Oscar frowned and closed his umbrella.

‘I wanted to stall a bit longer.’

Chain Lightning was a mid-tier spell of the Yellow Tower.

But in the hands of a late-stage level-7 master—

The spell’s grade changed entirely.

CRACK!

Lightning struck a row of airport chairs, melting them instantly—

Then sharply changed direction, racing along the ceiling, walls, and pillars.

Oscar twisted his body continuously to track it.

‘Tch.’

The timing was perfect.

If he opened the umbrella now, it wouldn’t block in time.

‘If I take a hit, I’m dead.’

Oscar kicked up wind.

WHOOSH!

The gust flung him violently into the wall.

KWAANG!

Pain exploded through his body—but he didn’t stop.

Lightning surged again.

He focused mana into his right hand.

‘Reset the disadvantage.’

He struck the lightning with the back of his hand.

CRACKLE!

The bolt dispersed.

“…Bare-handed? An artifact?”

Isel’s eyes narrowed.

“Zephyr.”

“…”

“Ha! The former White Tower Master slaughtered demons searching for it—never realizing it was in the tower all along.”

Oscar snapped.

“Shut up.”

『Wind Bullet』

A spinning projectile of wind shot toward Isel’s forehead.

Lightning met it midair.

Boom!

‘…About 35%.’

The collision point told him everything.

“You’ll lose every time fighting like this. No wind can outrun lightning.”

Annoying—but true.

‘Then I’ll drag this into the mud.’

Oscar prepared World Liberation.

KWAHHHH!

The wall exploded.

A ragged figure burst through.

‘…A beggar?’

Matted hair. Filthy blond turned gray.

The moment his eyes gleamed—

SHRRRKK!

Black wind shot toward Isel.

“…Wind?”

Lightning answered.

BOOM!

Oscar’s eyes widened.

‘The collision point—dead center?’

That wind was faster than his.

Even Isel stiffened.

“YOU—!”

Purple lightning surged again.

This time—

The explosion point shifted toward Isel.

“…Impossible.”

Isel gathered mana desperately.

Too late.

Slice.

The wind pierced his throat.

“Ma—ggh—!”

Isel collapsed.

Oscar stared at the madman.

For reasons he couldn’t explain—

A memory surfaced.

‘Master! I’ll be a speed-type! I wanna be the fastest!’

“…Gilly?”

The madman finally turned his head toward Oscar.

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