Chapter 106: Raid (2)

[Black Flame]

Outside the car window, six mysteriously burning black fireballs were created.

And grotesquely twisted skulls flicker inside the flames. These flames were formed by forcibly dragging the nearby wandering spirits.

Screeeeeeech!!!

At the same time, the artifacts I possessed enhanced my magic at the same time.

It was a spell combining fire magic and necromancy magic.

[Ring of Corrupted Flame, Fire Magic +50%

Butcher's Hook, Necromancy Magic +100%

Great Justice Tiger Sword, Fire Magic +100%]

The triple-enhanced fires made of the wandering spirits were launched with tremendous firepower.

It would be nice if the calculation was done in a multiplicative way, but in [Cthulhu World] it was done in an additive way.

Boommmmmm!!

In an instant, the stars in the sky are obscured by a massive black flame...

- Aaaaaaaargh!!!

A terrible scream spread from the spirits. It wasn't just any scream. It carried forced terror and hallucinations as additional effects.

"Aaaaah! A monster, a monster!"

"An attack, an attack!"

"My leg, my leg!"

Lights suddenly flared up from the direction where the attackers had been hiding. It seemed they panicked and turned on the lights. Really? Turning on the lights? Were they asking to be hit?

[Lightning Strike]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

Boom! Crackle! Fzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

Lightning struck all around the place and white light flashed.

These guys seemed well-trained, so they probably wouldn't die from this.

"There! That car, they used magic from it!"

"Block that car!"

Someone quick-witted was among them.

"Oh my, we've been spotted."

"Eh!? We've been caught? What should we do? Run?"

It appeared there was quite a high-level mage or priest among them.

"Jang Hyeon-deok, you can go back now. I'll deposit your payment tomorrow."

"Is that really okay?"

"Go."

I immediately opened the car door and jumped out.

"Aaagh! Mage-nim!?"

Jang Hyeon-deok's worried shout came from behind me, but the magic had already activated before I hit the ground.

[Fox's Agility]

[Swan's Dance]

Normally, I would have used a leap here, but not this time.

[The unique feature of the L-grade garment 'Winged Robe of the Night Veil', 'Wings of the Heavenly Steed' has been activated.

// Wings of the Heavenly Steed: Automatically casts the 'Flight' spell.]

Flap-flap!

The robe rustled in the wind, making a sound similar to the flapping of a bird's wings.

With swift and agile momentum, I soared into the dark night sky.

Whoooooosh!

In an instant, I rose to the height of four stories and surveyed the ground below.

"Tsk, what's that?"

The attackers each held a peculiar kind of light.

"It's a torch, isn't it?"

Of course, among the cultists with anachronistic beliefs, many clung unnecessarily to strange traditions.

Thanks to that, I could generally distinguish who they were based on their bizarre fixations. Especially those carrying torches...

"O great flame, flame of the burning supernova, lord of Fomalhaut! Lend us your greedily burning tongue!"

Descendants of Fomalhaut.

People would mock them for turning on the light as soon as they were attacked, saying it was stupid, but that wasn't true. For them, a torch was more than just a source of light.

Did Park Kwang-lim betray me? I could break the curse if only he waited a bit longer!

Whoosh!

Large balls of fire began to fall from the torches they held and began to swim across the night sky.

Those fireballs are...?

Twenty fireballs shot up into the sky.

This was not magic.

Like drones, meteor showers soaring backward into the sky, or the will-o'-wisps from legends, each of these fireballs was... a living creature? Well, could these even be called living creatures?

"Uhryyyyyyyyyy!!!"

"Ahrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

They were beings from another dimension, possessing ecological and physical structures beyond the comprehension of any carbon-based life form on Earth.

They were surreal monsters with their own magical power and will.

"O Burning ones! Burning tongues! Burn the enemies of Fomalhaut!!"

They were known as the "Burning Ones", "Burning Tongues", or "Fire Vampires". They were members of the [Living Flame].

"Uhryyyyyyyyyy!!!"

Alright, come then. I'll smash them all.

Fascinating as they were, they were not an insurmountable challenge.

The fireballs trailed flames like meteor tails as they flew. Or not flew but... went? Went?

Wait, where are they flying to?

"Ah, stupid Kim Shin-hwa!"

Those cult fools can't see me flying in the night sky in black clothes. Naturally, they would head towards the car that turned on the light and escaped.

"Ugh, so annoying!"

I gathered my magical power and projected my will onto the winged robe of the night veil.

I felt a terrible strain on my spine and neck as I sharply turned.

I was flying fast in the direction of Jang Hyeon-deok's call van while calculating the angle.

The range was... ah, forget it. The entire sky in sight!

[Creation: Create Clear Water]

[Sweeping Wave]

Whooooosh—Shhrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The night sky was covered by a massive wave.

"Wh-What is that!? What is that!"

"A wave!? Water? Where did such a huge wave come from!?"

Shouts of astonishment erupted among the cultists.

"They may be amazing, but in the end, they're made of fire, right?"

Crashhhhhh!!

"Ahgrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

The burning ones that were initially flying in one direction scattered in all directions.

It was an attempt to avoid the sudden, expansive wave, but it was slightly too late.

Hssssssssss!!

A burning one was engulfed by the wave and vanished leaving behind explosive steam. It was pitiful to watch it struggle to escape the range of the wave.

"Indeed, water is the bane of fire."

Even if it wasn't a magically imbued current, just contact with ordinary water was enough to harm them.

"Uhryyyyyyyyyy!!!"

However, I hadn't caught them all. Approximately half had managed to perform acrobatic flights to escape the reach of the wave.

The burning ones perhaps felt confused as they traced erratic paths through the air. Were they searching for me?

"Over there! That one! It's him!"

A shout came from a distance from someone with a really loud voice.

As the burning ones floated through the air, their focus turned to me. Of course, these fireballs lacked eyes, but the extra senses I had as a mage detected their surreal gaze.

"Uhryyyyyyyyyy!!!"

"Ahrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

"Ah, quiet it down, you creatures."

Fireballs surged forward with terrifying force.

These idiots, so beautifully clustered together as they flew toward me... this only made them an easy target for my attack.

Ziiiiing...

I launched a spell as I flew backward.

Red fireballs approached me but they were met by the dazzling array of blue magic circles that unfolded in welcome.

It felt like watching an extraordinarily glamorous laser show.

[Waterfall Ceiling]

Fwoooooosh!!!

The glowing blue magic circles exploded at the same time. Along with them, massive water cannons burst forth in all directions.

Screeeeeeech!!

The sky darkened in an instant.

The battle, if you can call it that, was more like a cleanup, and it was over with astonishing speed.

Only the steam rising like clouds here and there served as evidence that the recent events were real, although they too would soon disappear.

"Is that Jang Hyeon-deok...?"

Ah, is that light in the distance Jang Hyeon-deok? He had managed to escape quite a distance in a short time.

"I guess he won't ask for money this time."

I turned my head to look toward the place where the torches had gathered.

The ranks of the torches were disorganized, perhaps because they were surprised to see the allies they trusted disappearing in an instant.

"Now, what will you do, cult members?"

Could it be that they heard my muttering to myself? Suddenly, the commander of those cultists seemed to make a decision.

"Waaaaah!!"

"Behold the descendants of Fomalhaut!"

The torches, or rather, the descendants of Fomalhaut, started rushing toward the hungry mansion in unison.

"Hmm? You're ignoring me?"

Fwoooooosh!!!

"Ughrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

That wasn't the case.

As if a fireworks display had begun, an enormous number of fireballs shot up into the sky.

Dozens, no, hundreds would be a fair estimate.

It was a spectacle reminiscent of the sky over the Thousand Gold Temple.

"I don't know who summoned them, but with that many, they must be exhausted."

It seemed too many for one person to have summoned.

There must be an S-class artifact involved... or could it be that this is not just a simple cultist but almost a high priest or a judge?

I spread my magical sensors in all directions.

[Heavenly Sight]

My vision expanded dramatically. I could see all the sources of magical power moving in the area.

That one over there.

The guy holding a torch that looked like a long pole. Or should I say, a staff with a flame at its end?

It looked like a fine piece of work. Clearly, he was benefiting from an artifact, not that he's particularly impressive on his own.

"Hey, stop that."

I focused the magic I had dispersed for detection at one point and changed its nature.

It required immense concentration to alter the properties of magic that had already been assigned specific attributes.... dissolution, transformation, and reconstitution. But for me, who has long been able to manipulate the primal particles of magic, it wasn't a difficult task.

[Ice Blade]

Crack!

Suddenly, blades of ice surged upward.

"Kaaaaak!"

Blood and screams scattered in all directions.

"Yes, I've caught you, you bastard. Stay still, the final blow is coming."

[Arrow of Destruction]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

Buzzzzzzzz!!

I immediately cast another spell, but it seemed he wasn't foolish enough to rely solely on his artifact.

He leaped through the trees surrounding the mansion to dodge. I tried to launch a tracking shot, but—

"Uhryyyyyyyyyy!!!"

"Ugh. Now's not the time."

The summoned beings fiercely swooped in to protect their summoner.

"Eek!"

I gained altitude to dodge the incoming fireballs.

I glanced back in the direction of that cultist from earlier, but he had completely vanished.

Ah, I lost him. But at least I've prevented further summoning.

I ascended further and activated a new spell.

[Mist and Dew Spider Web]

Pfshhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

A web made of mist and dew.

It was a huge water net summoned to counter the swarm of fireball-like flies heading my way.

"It's not really meant for this purpose."

"Ughrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

It was intended for defense and capture, but for those fireballs that were to water, this alone was a sufficient attack.

An enormous amount of vapor rose into the sky.

"Um, but that's too much."

Moreover, the burning ones were not mere fireballs.

They were beings with intelligence and will.

Trails of light meandered intricately across the night sky, eerily twisting as they changed direction.

It seems this will take some time, huh?

It's not difficult to stop them. But the problem is...

"Beacons of Sacrifice! Destroy the heretics' ground!"

The Beacons of Sacrifice was a sub-organization under the descendants of Fomalhaut. And as suggested by their fervent name, they existed to demolish the enemies of the cult.

Anyway, such aggressive zealots were now headed toward my home.

If a cultist with such summoning abilities was commanding them, those under him would not be just trivial minions.

When I glanced in the direction of the mansion, I saw lights turning on in every window. It seems Heo Sang-hyeon-ssi has woken up.

"Shall we see how well the defenses I painstakingly set up perform?"

I activated a few more water-type spells while reaching behind me.

Ding—

[The Silver Bell of the Underworld]. It draws forth the power to enhance control over summoned creatures using the bell as a medium.

"Everyone, rise."

I projected my magical power and will toward the mansion.

Screech! Crunch! Bang bang bang!!!

And a tremendous noise began to erupt from the mansion.