A corrupted magical beast.
Ludger had seen one before.
‘It’s the same as Kaloto.’
In the Kingdom of Sevya — the homeland of Casey Selmore — he had once encountered the Black Magic School’s leader, Kaloto.
Kaloto, the master of the Hellfire Magic School, had failed to suppress his own mana and was ultimately devoured by it.
And what took over that body was the fierce will embedded within the mana itself.
A corrupted magical beast born from pure hellfire mana.
Such creatures were disasters merely by existing.
And now, five of those same abominations had appeared before them.
‘So he created corrupted magical beasts intentionally?’
One of the blazing crimson skeletons raised its finger toward them.
“Everyone, move!”
The moment Ludger shouted, Phyron and Cravat reacted immediately.
Thanks to that, they narrowly avoided the five blood-red beams that ripped through the air.
Boom!
Those blood-colored rays were long-range attacks made of pure, searing fire.
Every steel structure they brushed past melted into drooping slag, leaving behind glowing red trails.
“Phew, that’s one hot welcome.”
Phyron had dodged a bit late— his skin bore faint burn marks.
But when he pressed his palm over the wound, it healed instantly.
Just seeing how the steel itself had melted was enough to show the power of that heat— yet he had endured it with his body.
When it came to physical endurance, Phyron had already reached the realm of superhumans.
“You noticed pretty quickly, Professor. You’ve fought something like that before, haven’t you?”
“I have fought one almost identical. Their patterns are similar too. But these ones seem weaker than that corrupted beast.”
“That thing, weaker?”
“But since there are five, we can’t take them lightly.”
Those beings, eternally burning with hellfire mana, were avatars of endless destruction.
So long as they lived, they would never stop burning something.
“Even if this sector’s uninhabited, releasing creatures like that... What is Nicolai trying to do?”
At this «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» point, Nicolai’s actions were beyond suspicious.
If such monsters were unleashed, Isla Machina itself would fall into chaos.
Did that mean Nicolai was willing to accept that much collateral damage just to kill him?
Ludger didn’t have time to ponder.
The corrupted magical beasts didn’t give him the chance.
Fwoosh—!
Blood-red embers spread through the air.
Ludger enveloped himself in cold mana and erected a massive ice wall across the area.
A biting chill surged outward, colliding with the beasts’ hellfire— but it was only a stalling tactic.
Under the combined heat of five creatures, the thick ice wall began melting rapidly.
“How the hell do we kill these things?”
Cravat flew in on a carpet of black smoke, shouting toward Ludger.
“You said you’ve fought one before, right? Then you know how to deal with them? What did you do last time?”
“I trapped it inside an iceberg big enough to freeze the sea.”
“...We have to go that far?”
“Fortunately, these ones won’t require that.”
The previous creature had been born from the death of an entire school’s master.
Even if these were made by combining a black mage’s corpse with World Tree cells, they were still patchwork imitations by comparison.
“So we just need to extinguish those flames, right?”
Phyron exhaled sharply.
And before Ludger or Cravat could stop him, he charged forward with a roar of delight.
“Ha-ha-ha! Burn me hotter!”
As Phyron rushed in, all five beasts turned their attention toward him.
Even if they tried to ignore him, his overwhelming presence made that impossible.
The magical beasts exhaled waves of scorching heat— flames of hellfire mana, far more potent than any ordinary spell.
The air shimmered, the ground glowing red beneath the radiance.
Phyron leapt boldly into the inferno.
“Nice and warm!”
Wrapped in mana, he withstood the heat with only sweat beading over his skinless muscles.
For any normal human, entering that heat would have meant instant incineration.
“I know he’s absurdly tough, but to actually hurt those things, elemental counter-damage is essential.”
Cravat, ever the analyst, deduced their weakness immediately.
Phyron’s combat magic relied on pure mana amplification without any elemental attribute.
Without water or ice properties, there was no way to harm creatures of fire— or so they thought.
Their worry was unfounded.
Phyron’s fists shimmered faintly blue, as if brushed with dye.
Crack!
His punch smashed into the nearest beast’s jaw.
He should have been the one melting from the hellfire contact, yet instead, the beast’s head snapped sideways with a crunch and toppled over.
“...What is that? Did he just wrap his fist in frost mana?”
Cravat’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Ludger’s were the same.
The spell Phyron had used was unlike any elemental magic they’d ever seen.
“Ha-ha-ha! Take this— Frostbite Punch!”
“......”
“......”
Even though the name was ridiculous— much like his ‘Chiropractic Magic’— its effect was undeniable.
Each time Phyron threw a punch, another corrupted beast went flying.
Those that fell writhed weakly but could not stand again— proof that his blows were landing effectively.
“We’ll leave those troublesome ones to him.”
“Agreed. We’ve got our own problems.”
They turned.
Beyond the crimson glow of the hellfire beasts, deeper shadows rippled— and within them, blue eyes lit up one by one.
On their shoulders, ampoules of glowing blue liquid gleamed like ghostly lights.
“New ones again.”
This time, unlike the red ones, these were blue.
Where the red units had steel masks over their jaws, the blue ones wore visored helmets glowing faintly with blue light.
The blue subjects raised their arms toward Ludger and Cravat.
They didn’t rush forward like beasts. Instead, the momentary stillness made it clear— the tips of their fingers had holes.
“Tch.”
Ludger immediately cast a barrier spell.
Cravat layered his own black curse energy over it for reinforcement.
Moments later, a storm of bullets poured from the blue units’ fingertips.
Tatatatatatat!
The barrier trembled violently, like an umbrella under heavy rain.
Inside the defense field, Ludger tried using Silence of Fire, but clicked his tongue and canceled it immediately.
“They’re using special gunpowder.”
“The kind that nullifies fire-type magic? They really came prepared.”
“And it looks like their bodies have been cybernetically modified.”
No sooner had he said that than a shrill mechanical whine sounded beyond the barrier.
The next moment, sparks flew— part of the barrier sliced open as a unit appeared, both hands transformed into spinning sawblades.
As its head poked through the breach, a sharp beam lanced straight between its eyes.
Pshing!
The subject reacted— twisting its head aside just in time.
The mask over its left temple exploded instead.
The strike that should have pierced its forehead had only grazed it.
But the follow-up sword-stick strike left no room for evasion.
The head rolled across the floor; the body collapsed.
“Its reaction speed’s faster than the red ones, but its vitality’s lower.”
Ludger drove his sword-stick into the headless torso’s chest.
The biobomb that had been primed to detonate lost its signal and deactivated.
“You’re not reusing old tricks again, are you, Nicolai?”
[Oh dear, John Doe. When you say that, it sounds like you’re underestimating me.]
As he expected, Nicolai’s voice came from among the blue units.
[The fact that I sent both my precious Red and Blue divisions shows how highly I regard you. You should feel honored.]
“You’re still the same coward. Hiding among your test subjects, too afraid to even project yourself directly. Don’t you have the courage to face me in person?”
[Ha-ha. You don’t really think I’d fall for such a simple taunt, do you? I prefer being precise and thorough. Since I’ve realized you’re far stronger than I anticipated, it’s only reasonable to be cautious.]
“You really think you can deal with me using just this?”
The Red and Blue legions were indeed dangerous—
The Reds, made from black mages’ corpses, combined physical power with the ability to wield dark arts.
The Blues, fused with machinery and drug enhancements, were armed with a variety of built-in weapons.
Yet still, it wasn’t enough.
Even if Ludger’s side was small in number, every member was elite.
[Oh, I know. No matter how many I send, all I can really do is delay you.]
“And yet you keep doing it. You must have time and resources to burn.”
[Don’t say that. Losing my Reds and Blues is quite the loss for me. Originally, I intended to drag things out longer— maybe play territory wars with those black mage fools. But thanks to you, I had to move my plan forward.]
“Plan?”
[Of course, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to tell you that outright.]
Nicolai’s mocking laughter echoed through the test subjects.
Ludger, never expecting a straight answer, showed no reaction.
The Blue Division began to move, surrounding Ludger and Cravat.
Yet they didn’t attack— not immediately.
“What are you scheming? You know these things can’t take me down.”
[You’re right. I’m not dumb enough to bash my head against a solid wall. Against someone as powerful as you, brute force doesn’t suit me. But what about others?]
“What?”
For a brief instant, Ludger thought he heard Nicolai laugh.
[John Doe. I was quite surprised when you appeared on this island— out of thin air, no less. You’d been in Lederbelk only recently. And then I learned you’re desperately protecting a certain girl.]
The laughter seeped out from the test subject’s throat.
[How fascinating. The great John Doe, running across this island, risking everything just to save one little girl.]
“You... don’t tell me—”
[I may not be able to strike at you directly, but I can certainly target the girl you care about.]
“You seem to have forgotten who’s with her.”
[Ah, Gariel Cosmo, yes? Quite the man. I never expected there to be a mage capable of wielding something as peculiar as time magic.]
Nicolai had already identified Gariel as well.
[Of course, I’ve prepared countermeasures for him. Time magic sounds impressive, but it’s bound by heavy restrictions. Practically useless in combat, wouldn’t you say?]
“You bastard...”
[Now, I wonder— how long can that Gariel fellow truly protect the girl?]
At that instant, Ludger understood why the Blue Division had surrounded them.
It wasn’t to attack— it was to keep them trapped.
To stop them from leaving.
[John Doe. I can’t kill you right this second. But I can kill the girl you cherish— and that man, Gariel.]
From the beginning, Nicolai had never intended to kill Ludger outright.
Once he discovered what Ludger valued, he chose instead to exploit it, to drag the suffering out as long as possible.
He was not a man who offered mercy by ending things quickly— he was one who found joy in watching others writhe in agony.
That was First Order Nicolai.
[Please, do enjoy my gift.]