The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower-Chapter 328

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 328: Terror (6)

Sasha steadied her breathing and looked at the commander.

‘Hmm. I think I understand why.’

Why the man before her was able to serve as the boss of the Violet Brigade.

First of all, he was strong.

His estimated level was 7, yet he possessed enough skill to comfortably endure the offensive of herself, an 8-level.

‘…It might be a rash guess, but he could already be level 8.’

If that were true, it would mean he had hidden his real strength even from the members of his own brigade.

In fact, Oran and Kaya both believed him to be level 7.

Of course, that alone wouldn’t change the direction of this battle.

‘I’m stronger. I am.’

The initiative had long since completely shifted to her side.

The wind controlled the entire space, and if she wanted, she was confident she could decide the outcome at any moment.

Even so, there was one reason she hesitated.

‘Something about this feels off.’

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was strange.

From the very beginning until now, the commander didn’t seem to be fighting at full power.

‘Even his reactions feel… soft.’

He focused solely on blocking her attacks and never crossed beyond that line.

Even the occasional counterattack he threw felt perfunctory, like he only did it because the timing demanded it.

Rather than staking his life, it felt as if he were merely stalling for time.

As if this fight itself held little meaning for him.

‘If that’s the case… then what is it?’

What was the real objective he considered meaningful enough to keep her occupied here?

“…Hmm?”

When Sasha suddenly relaxed her guard and adopted a loose stance, the commander asked,

“Don’t tell me the great White Tower Master is already tired?”

“Don’t try such clumsy provocation. You weren’t planning to fight seriously anyway, were you?”

“That’s a hurtful thing to say. From the start until now, I’ve been giving it my all—”

He trailed off and sharply turned his head.

His eyes narrowed toward the E-Gate’s direction.

“…The Mad Fiend went berserk? No, that can’t be.”

Looking troubled, the commander turned back and stared at Sasha.

“What? Why are you staring at my face like that?”

“The one standing before me… are you really Sasha Maestro?”

“…I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Judging by your reaction, you are the real one.”

His expression grew even more confused.

‘Then who made the Mad Fiend go berserk?’

The Mad Fiend usually lost control only when recalling his past.

Knowing that was precisely why he had been going through all this trouble to prevent the White Tower Master from meeting him.

‘Chester Randus is imprisoned, so he can’t be here. Then could it be Lloyd Schultz…? No, according to reports he’s currently in the Yan Empire.’

No matter how many times he thought about it, there was no one who should be able to trigger the Mad Fiend’s memories.

But the important fact was that his berserk switch had already been flipped.

As the commander hurried to move, Sasha blocked his path.

“I don’t know where you’re trying to go, but you’re not going.”

“I recommend you step aside. I’m not saying this just for my own sake.”

“That’s such a cliché line. Why not go all the way and say we’ll all die if I don’t move?”

“You know it well. If we don’t intervene right now, the city of Rouen might disappear tonight.”

The warning sounded quite chilling.

It was an absurd claim to hear, yet the speaker’s attitude was far too serious.

After hesitating briefly, Sasha denied it.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Even for me at level 8, erasing Rouen in a single night would require solid preparation. And the Yellow Tower Elder is there.”

“Of course, the Yellow Tower Elder could save his own life. But most of the city’s facilities would collapse and its infrastructure would vanish. And if someone is prepared to lose their life, it wouldn’t require much preparation, would it?”

“….”

If someone fought with the mindset that dying today was fine, it wouldn’t take long preparation.

All they’d have to do was go mad in the center of Rouen and unleash a colossal storm.

‘There has been a strange mana presence from the place where Master is staying since earlier…’

While Sasha was briefly lost in thought, the commander kicked off the ground and escaped.

Startled, Sasha bit her lip and immediately gave chase.

“Stop right there!”

* * *

KWA-RURURURUNG!

A world-ending roar thundered inside the airport.

Barely managing to hide behind rubble, Oscar peeked out and surveyed the battlefield.

“Kh… ha! Krrk! Di… dieee!”

With bloodshot eyes, Isel cursed in a burnt, metallic voice as he scattered lightning.

The pillars of lightning raining endlessly from the sky looked like the proclamation of the world’s end.

Each pillar carried enough destructive power to kill instantly upon impact.

Naturally, pouring out high-tier magic like that meant he wasn’t thinking about the aftermath at all.

‘That crazy old man… has he already thrown his life away?’

Isel’s attacks were obsessively focused on the freak.

His pride and honor already crushed, his eyes were completely gone.

Oscar shifted his gaze toward the freak.

Still cloaked in black wind, the man didn’t even seem inclined to dodge the incoming lightning.

“GRAAAAH!”

Every time he struck lightning head-on, he let out a roar that was somewhere between a scream and a battle cry.

Seeing that, Oscar pressed his forehead and sighed.

‘So I have to dodge Isel’s attacks while also making sure that guy doesn’t die?’

He had to accomplish two things at once, each difficult on its own.

Feeling dizzy, Oscar set his priorities.

‘Isel Marcos. I’ll remove that old man from the battlefield first.’

Having decided, Oscar leapt over the rubble like hurdles and dashed straight for Isel’s back.

With all of Isel’s attention fixed on the freak,

this was the moment.

Right now, even taking down a late-stage level-7 master in a single blow was possible.

To raise his ambush success rate, Oscar first maximized his physical speed.

Oscar-Style Martial Arts, Secret Technique Chapter 2

Thunderclap.

URURURUNG!

An enormous amount of mana gathered in his legs, producing a thunder-like sound.

His enhanced muscles and mana circuits granted him speed beyond his usual limits.

The distance to his target shrank in an instant.

‘From here, I can reach him.’

The distance to Isel was merely 12 meters.

A strike to the back of his head from this range—impossible to dodge.

It was the perfect position and distance for a snipe.

“Wind Sniping.”

Oscar raised his hand without hesitation and took aim.

Just as he held his breath and pulled the imaginary trigger—

SWOOOSH!

A streak of black whirlwind interfered.

“Tch, you idiot!”

Forced to retreat, Oscar spat out a curse.

The snipe twisted at the last moment, only slicing off one of Isel’s earlobes.

Needless to say, the one who sent the whirlwind to interfere was the freak.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“GRAAAAH!”

Protecting him from Isel was, unfortunately, only Oscar’s one-sided wish.

The freak himself regarded both Isel and Oscar as targets to be eliminated.

“Ghk!”

Even Isel, who had been focused solely on the freak, noticed Oscar’s presence.

Crackle, crackle!

Calmly, he burned his own ear with lightning and glared at him.

“Y-yes. The White Tower’s rat. You… were here too.”

KWA-RURURUNG!

The lightning that had targeted only the freak now struck toward Oscar as well.

“Tch!”

Front, back, left, right—even above and below.

Countless bolts of lightning and winds poured down from every angle.

‘Wait… but this picture…?’

Dodging nonstop, Oscar felt like he was going insane from frustration.

Like a shrimp caught between fighting whales, he alone was taking attacks from both sides.

At this rate, his mana would dry up first.

‘No more.’

It felt as if his gambler’s instinct was shouting.

Whether it worked or not, now was the moment to play his trump card.

“Fuu.”

Gathering mana, Oscar focused his mind.

What he was preparing now was World Liberation.

Not the half-complete version he’d used before, but the fully realized form he could finally wield after reaching level 7.

With half-closed eyes, Oscar faced his true world.

“…World Liberation.”

Infinite Sky.

SHWAAAAA!

Threads of wind spread from him, rapidly expanding and repainting the world.

“….”

At a glance, it looked no different from before—just an endless sky.

But the moment Oscar faced that world, he smiled.

‘I summoned it properly.’

He could feel it.

This world was more complete than his previous life’s Boundless Sky Domain.

“Hm.”

Isel rolled his eyes.

All he could see was an endless sky.

Even looking down, there was no land to stand on, not even a continent.

‘A trivial, unimpressive world.’

A world made only of sky.

Of course, for ordinary people this would be hell itself.

There were few beings capable of flying.

He himself couldn’t use the Flight spell.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fly.

“Lightning Spear.”

Crackle!

Summoning a spear of lightning, Isel stood atop it.

The freak was already floating using black wind.

“Hmph.”

With a snort, Isel looked at Oscar and asked,

“You think… bringing out such a trivial world… will change anything?”

“…Ah, come to think of it, you’ve never seen it before.”

“Seen what?”

“What else? The world I used in my previous life.”

The forms were similar enough that he would’ve recognized it instantly.

‘And you would’ve started running like mad.’

Smiling faintly, Oscar shifted slightly to the side.

KWA-RURUNG!

A bolt of lightning struck exactly where he had just been.

“Hmm?”

A coincidence?

Isel frowned and summoned lightning again.

Once more, Oscar moved in advance and dodged before it struck.

“D-don’t tell me… future sight?”

Eyes widening, Isel muttered, and Oscar smiled lightly.

“You’re not entirely wrong. The principle is a bit different, though.”

Every wind and current in the sky detected even the slightest muscle movement of the opponent, as well as the mana flow that shifted with their thoughts.

All that information was delivered directly to him.

In this sky, he held absolute superiority in every mind game against his prey.

‘And that’s not all.’

Everything so far had been possible even with his previous life’s domain.

But in this life, to make use of the Frost ability he’d gained, he had chosen to evolve his world further.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“…What?”

At the sudden question, Isel reflexively looked down.

Tap, tap.

His skin was slowly freezing over.

‘Not only can he read my thoughts and movements, but if the fight drags on, I freeze?’

Vicious.

A world literally designed to annihilate whatever he designated as an enemy.

Swallowing hard, Isel suddenly lifted his head and looked at the sky.

“What… is that now? Don’t tell me this world has another ability.”

“Hmm?”

Following his gaze, Oscar looked up—and froze in shock.

Above the beautiful night sky, as if obsidian had melted into it,

a crimson full moon was rising—one he had never seen before.

He swore, that was not part of the world configuration he had set.

‘In the world I created, meant only for me… something I don’t know has interfered?’

At the same time he felt an unfamiliar sense of dissonance that should never exist in his own world,

Oscar’s eyes fixed upon the eerie red moon radiating an ominous aura.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]