Dozens of people were huddled inside the shabby building, which seemed to be empty. Dozens of people were huddled inside the shabby building, which seemed to be empty.
They were all armed with firearms, ready to burst through the doors of a secret passageway leading to the underground.
If Rudger had been a few minutes late, the Liberators would have scattered in all directions through the underground tunnels.
"'So many of you gathered, sticking together like cockroaches."
Rudger said so and stared intently at Karl.
While the others still looked bewildered by the sudden surprise, Karl did not.
Judging by the different reactions of the others, he was at least the one in charge of this area, or at least the one with the power to do so.
"It's you."
He must be the one who threatened Leo.
"……!"
Karl's lips twitched as Rudger's gaze narrowed. He bellowed at his men, who still couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.
"What do you think you're doing? We're under attack!"
The liberators, finally coming to their senses, grabbed their weapons and pointed them at Rudger.
From shotguns to pistols and automatic rifles, there were all kinds of weapons that would freeze a man in his tracks, but Rudger was different. As if he'd known this was coming, he summoned the magic he'd prepared in advance.
Seeing the scene, Carl shouted in his heart.
'The Silence of Fire is of no use here!'
The gunpowder they use is a specialty product that is not inhibited by the Silence of Fire. To those who don't know that, it's hilarious because they're blindly trusting in Fire Silence.
"Shoot!"
Of course, there was no point in waiting for magic, so Karl gave the order to fire. The trigger was pulled, the primer ignited, and the bullet fired at Rudger.
It was the first time the guns had seen the light of day in the presence of the wizards. But it was all too fleeting.
[Tick-tock-tock!]
The bullet ricocheted off a wall in midair.
Karl's eyes widened at the sight.
The magic Rudger used was not Silence of Fire. He had unleashed a protective barrier.
"Uh, how?"
Karl knew how arrogant wizards can be. They are mostly about efficiency. That's why, at gunpoint, they'll use Silence of Fire instead of defensive magic. It takes less energy and is quicker to manifest but Rudger didn't.
It wasn't because he didn't value efficiency but because he knew.
'How did he know that the gun would work in the Silence of Fire?'
Rudger was aware of the special gunpowder they were using. Otherwise, he could not have been so confident without a change in his expression even after seeing the bullet fired.
'Did Leo tell him? No. It was a secret, even from him.'
"You look like you're wondering why I used a magic barrier. Did you think I didn't know your shallow minds?"
Karl gritted his teeth at Rudger's arrogant tone.
"Shoot all of them! Use every last one of them!"
The operation is out of the question because Rudger was here so he could only hope for success elsewhere.
The only thing left for Karl to do was to kill the man in front of him by any means necessary.
[BANG!]
The guns held by the Liberation Army fired.
Rudger watched the scene and flicked his hand.
Magic flowed out but it didn't do any fancy tricks in the air. It merely streaked across the air in a single, lightning-like flash.
Nevertheless, translucent plates of magic appeared in the air. Dozens of them stood at an angle near the muzzles of the firing guns, deflecting the bullets that raced over with such ease.
[Puff, puff, puff!]
Magical plates sprang up from all directions, deflecting bullets here and there. The deflected bullets hit another energy plate, changing the direction of their flight. Eventually, the deflected bullets rained down on the liberators.
"Argh!"
The liberators were stunned as their own bullets rained down on them.
Karl, unharmed by the baptism of bullets, squinted. At first glance, it might have seemed like a very basic spell, creating a force field out of thin air, but Karl could tell. The magic Rudger had shown him was a very complex collection of spells.
The [Source Code] quickly computes the spell and along with the [Coordinate Designation Technique] he created magic plates out of thin air.
That's amazing enough, but Rudger even managed to adjust the angle of the magic plates to send the ricocheted bullet back to the shooter.
'This is possible? It's impossible without knowing the angular position of every muzzle and bullet!'
Besides, it didn't take long for Rudger to return fire after they shot.
In that short time, Rudger had calculated everything and created this situation.
'A monster!'
No matter how great the teachers at Theon are, there's no way this is possible in real life.
Even if Rudger Chelici had been in the military, he had only served as an officer, and not for long. Even a war mage with 20+ years in the military wouldn't attempt this maneuver because it wouldn't work but Rudger had done it.
'I can't believe it, but it's already happened!'
Karl gritted his teeth and quickly picked up a bomb and threw it. If the bullets didn't work, he'd use the explosive power to destroy him.
[Boom!]
A powerful explosion erupted nearby, followed by a blast of searing heat. Karl faced the heat, but didn't look away to see how Rudger would fare.
[Whoooooooooo!]
The red-hot flames suddenly stopped expanding and were sucked into a swirling point.
"What?"
Karl's voice trembled as a red gem in Rudger's right palm that had absorbed the flames.
"A fire-sucking gem?"
The sight before him made it hard for Karl to accept the reality. It would be incredible for an artifact to be able to suck fire but an unadorned gem.
Rudger, on the other hand, pocketed the gem that Quasimodo had left behind when he died and recalled its performance earlier.
'It's good at stopping real fire instead of magical flames.'
The red gem still glinted as if it wanted more fire, but Rudger ignored it. It was clear to him that bombs with special gunpowder were of no use against him.
Rudger was now a nightmare for the liberators, even with the special gunpowder.
"Now, wait! If you kill me like this, I can't guarantee the safety of the hostages!"
Karl quickly assessed the situation and shouted at Rudger.
"I'm sure Leo has told you everything, but in case you've forgotten, his family is in our hands!"
"Not anymore. I just sent a man to take care of them."
"The guard is no ordinary man. He's a knight, unbeatable with a sword! Do you really think you, a wizard, can save hostages against a knight? No, he won't even get there in the first place!"
"That's not necessary. I've got someone who's good with a sword."
"What?"
"A knight whose skill with a sword is unrivaled."
Karl's mouth dropped open at the absurdity of that statement.
* * *
Pyren was a knight who wouldn't hesitate to kill for money.
As a result, despite his skills as a regular knight, he was kicked out of the Order and became a wandering vagabond, traveling the world.
Killing for hire, mercenary work, human trafficking. He did his dirty work in the underworld and naturally came into contact with the Liberation Army.
And now Pyren was following a mother and daughter, silently and unnoticed. This was his assignment.
The woman he was following was the family of an intelligence operative who had been placed under special management by the Liberation Army, and he was to kill her on cue.
Killing a mother and daughter who had no connection to the Liberation Army was a brutal act, but one that Pyren was willing to accept.
'Killing people is the best, especially if they're women.'
The mother and daughter don't know Pyren exists. They don't know what they've gotten themselves into.
It didn't matter if they knew. Pyren thought they would rather know. That way he could enjoy watching them break down in fear.
'I hope I get the signal soon.'
After following for so long, his body was already itching because of the delicious taste. It was because he had a sore throat after only doing this for a few weeks.
However, his expert's sense was telling him that the long-awaited moment was approaching.
"What?"
Pyren smiled at the sight. It was a very sinister-looking smile, with hollow cheeks and protruding cheekbones.
"What, have they noticed the way I look? They're not completely oblivious, and they've got a pretty good head on their shoulders."
But it was a mistake. They should've rather pretend they didn't know he was there, so he would have no reason to touch them.
Now he could kill them without waiting for the signal.
Pyren chuckled and entered the alleyway where Leo's sister and mother had disappeared. Even if the two of them, who were nothing more than ordinary people, ran away, there was no way they could escape him, a knight.
"Whew~."
Less than five minutes later, Pyren found the mother and daughter stopped in front of a dead end alleyway.
When they saw him, they shuddered.
"A deserted cul-de-sac at the end of your escape options? You shouldn't do this, isn't it better for me?"
Pyren flicked her tongue across his lips.
The mother-daughter duo's faces hardened at the creepy sight.
"Yes, it is. I like it better where there are no people."
"……!"
At the sound of the voice behind him, Pyren drew his dagger from his waistband like lightning and swung.
The dagger was aimed squarely at the other man's throat, but it was blocked. The man who spoke had lightly grabbed his wrist.
'Grab?'
He was no powerhouse, but he was caught so lightly. But Pyren was a pro at this, and he drew another dagger from his left hand and tried to slash at his opponent's wrist.
The unwelcome visitor let go of his hand, and not only that, but he counterattacked.
Pyren managed to pull back, glaring at the interloper.
"Who are you?"
The interrupter was a handsome blond man. Gentle enough to not appear to have blocked his attack, librarian-like in style, with colorful blond hair tied back around his neck but Pyren recognized him.
'That man is a knight like me.'
A knight who fights rationalistic battles rather than justifiable confrontations. He was obviously skilled, because he didn't even flinch as he approached.
While Pyren was on guard, Passius approached Leo's family and checked on them.
"Are you two all right?"
"Yes, yes. We're fine."
"Good, I was not too late."
Passius laughed softly and looked back at Pyren.
Pyren gave a wry smile.
"Huh. So you came to rescue those two girls, huh, what a surprise. Looks like Karl got played for a fool, too."
Pyren shook his head and adjusted the daggers in both hands.
A bluish energy rose from the top of the dagger, lengthening it even further.
Pyren swung it once, lightly and one of the pipes on the alleyway's outer wall was sliced clean through.
"I take it you're a knight too, but you're out of luck. You should have killed me a moment ago when you had the chance."
Pyren realized that Passius held nothing in his hands. No sword at his waist and no concealed weapon.
He knew he was a skilled knight, but without a weapon, there was nothing to fear. Even if a knight is superhuman, the presence of a weapon is important in a fight between two knights.
'Of course, I won't let my guard down. It's only for a moment, but he lightly caught my blow, which means he's strong.'
Pyren took a light breath and shot forward like a bullet. The movement was so quick that it seemed to lengthen his body.
Stopping in front of Passius' nose, Pyren swung the daggers in both hands in a quick motion.
"Die!"
The daggers came from both sides at the same time. One aimed for his throat, the other for his chest. But Passius easily dodged the surprise attack by taking only two steps backward.
To Pyren, it was a mere sliver of air.
'Let's see if you can dodge this one, then!'
The muscles in his arms twitched and pulsed with energy. Pyren's hands moved swiftly and brilliantly, drawing countless traces of sword energy in the air.
The sword energy was directed straight at Passius. The piercing blue light enveloped him, like a giant blue shark devouring its prey.
"Get out of the way!"
Leo's sister, who was watching from behind, shouted, but Passius did not step down this time. Instead, he just stepped forward lightly.
What Passius did was simple. He raised his right hand as a sword and swung it lightly sideways.
[Paching───!]
The sword energy wielded by Pyren was shattered by Passius' single strike. The pure white sword energy didn't stop there. It leaped over the shards and landed on Pyren's body.
A huge mark was carved into the narrow wall of the alleyway and the aftermath stretched all the way back to Pyren back.
"Monster……."
Pyren looked down at the wound on his chest. A solid red line had begun to trace the path of Passius' hand.
Facing Pyren, who stared at him in disbelief, Passius spoke.
"It's not like I didn't kill you when I had the chance."
He lightly shook off his bloodless hands. The white blackness that rose from the fingertips disappeared as if it were scattered.
"A chance like this? I can make it whenever I want."
That was the power of a knight who went beyond the advanced level and reached the level of a master.