Chapter 53
Greenhorn.
A single-word assessment Bastian gave after examining the young man named Kael directly—and through the database.
Based on the information available, there was no denying that this Kael was a genius when it came to combat.
However, that only meant he was near the limit a Tier 5 could reach.
The difference between Tier 7 and Tier 5 could not be bridged by anything.
So Bastian thought it was the typical behavior of a greenhorn.
One of those bratty kids who occasionally wanted to show off their talent.
But then.
Bastian felt something strangely off.
A foreign sensation.
Bastian had experience traversing countless battlefields. That experience was his strongest weapon and shield. The instincts honed over years by such experience were not something to dismiss. In fact, there had been several times when he had survived by relying on them.
That instinct was now sounding an alarm about the young man.
“… .”
Under normal circumstances, he would have left on his own.
Avoiding unnecessary danger was one of his rules for survival.
Whenever his instincts sent him a clear warning, he had to gather more information first and adjust the situation.
But things were different now.
His master had released his leash and ordered him to tear apart the prey.
Then there was only one thing he had to do.
He had to tear the prey apart.
..
..
In the basement of Archeon Holdings’ main building, Isolation Zone C-7.
The Cage.
That place, known simply by that one word, was a temporary isolation zone for high-risk test subjects.
The laboratories under Archeon Holdings conducted countless experiments involving biocompatibility, circuit implantation stability, and artificial organ responses.
In the process, test subjects would sometimes break down.
They were beings that scratched at the walls after forgetting human language, tried to break through isolation doors while snapping their own bones, and continued moving in bodies that should already have been dead.
C-7 had been created for such occasions.
Its soundproofing was perfect.
It was also designed to withstand ordinary explosives without leaving so much as a trace, as well as the output of high-Tier ACU users up to a certain range.
That was why Bastian Crowd sometimes used it as a training ground.
Few places could withstand the output of his Tier 7 ACU.
Today, only one moving target had been added.
Bastian’s routine had not changed.
***
The Cage.
Bastian Crowd knew the layout of this place well.
In a place like this, he could use a certain amount of force.
At least the building would not collapse, nor would he hear the screams of the guests upstairs.
Across from him stood Kael, still dressed in the black suit he had been wearing earlier.
Bastian watched him for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Are you planning to fight me in that?”
Kael glanced down at his sleeve.
“Is there a problem?”
“Rather than a problem.”
Bastian rolled his neck slightly.
“You look eager to die.”
Kael answered unconcernedly.
“It won’t affect the outcome. And it’s not something you need to worry about.”
“Arrogant brat.”
Bastian watched him quietly, but there was still no sign of tension on Kael’s face.
But that was all.
Greenhorn.
That assessment had not changed.
Bastian slowly took a step forward.
“Surrender now.”
Kael looked at him.
“Surrender?”
“Yes.”
Bastian’s voice echoed throughout the Cage.
“Withdrawing against a Tier 7 won’t damage your reputation. You’ll probably be praised for making a wise decision. You could continue living as you have until now, running errands for other people. As long as you stay alive, that is.”
When Kael gave no answer, Bastian continued.
“I don’t know why you’re standing here. But whatever the reason, the outcome won’t change. This isn’t a fight you can win.”
Bastian looked into Kael’s eyes.
“I’ll ask one last time. Are you still unwilling to withdraw?”
Kael was silent for a moment before opening his mouth.
“You talk too much.”
The moment those words fell.
Bastian moved.
The ACU beneath his nape emitted a blue light, enhancing Bastian’s body.
His foot pressed against the floor.
Boom!
Bastian’s body shot forward as though it had vanished. It was a simple charge. But a charge backed by a Tier 7’s physical enhancement was not simple. The floor cracked, the air compressed, and the distance folded in on itself.
If you waited to see it and react, it was already too late.
Bastian had no intention of making things complicated. From the beginning, he would simply crush his opponent with strength. Whether he lived or died no longer mattered, but he intended to leave Kael unable to spout nonsense ever again.
Bastian’s right hand reached toward Kael’s shoulder.
It was over.
But just as he thought so, he realized how short-sighted he had been.
Kael drew his right foot back and lowered his upper body, and Bastian’s fingertips brushed over his shoulder.
Bastian’s hand cut through empty air by no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper.
‘He dodged?’
Bastian immediately swung his left arm, aiming beside Kael’s head. If Kael dodged, he would expose his side; if he blocked, his arm would break.
But Kael did not block. Instead, he slipped one step inward. It was a dangerous choice only berserkers would make.
Bastian’s fist grazed the tips of Kael’s hair, and Kael twisted his body to slip away.
Bastian did not stop and continued his flurry of attacks.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Though the floor and walls rang heavily, Kael was not hit even once.
Bastian’s eyes narrowed.
‘That wasn’t luck.’
Kael was not keeping up with Bastian’s speed. He was reading Bastian’s movements beforehand and moving first.
“…You’re holding out pretty well!”
Bastian planted his left foot wide and pressed forward from the front. He drove his entire body forward to prevent Kael from slipping to the side. At the same time, a blue spell formula bloomed from Bastian’s left hand.
The air compressed.
The moment Kael tried to slip sideways, Bastian detonated a shockwave in that direction.
BOOM!
A round impact mark appeared on the wall, and Kael’s body staggered momentarily.
He had failed to evade completely.
A short breath escaped Kael’s lips, but he still did not fall.
Instead, he used the impact to roll backward and retreat.
Kael’s fingertips touched the floor, then lifted away. Bastian did not miss the opening.
BOOM!
His body shot forward again. His foot flew toward Kael’s chest.
Kael did not retreat. No, there was not enough room to retreat into.
He lowered his body and tried to slip beneath Bastian’s ankle. But Bastian immediately twisted and brought his heel down.
BANG!
The floor caved in, and blue sparks flashed for an instant.
Kael rolled to his feet.
Bastian slowly exhaled.
More troublesome than expected.
No.
His instinct had not been wrong.
Bastian raised his output another level.
A thin blue barrier surrounded his body.
With this, ordinary attack magic would not work.
Lower-tier magic would be repelled before it could even make contact.
To face Bastian in this state, Kael would have to overwhelm him with frontal firepower. But a Tier 5’s output was nowhere near enough.
When Bastian raised his right hand, a blue spell formula split into three branches above the back of his hand.
RATATATAT!
Short mana bullets poured toward Kael.
Kael jumped immediately, but one mana bullet grazed his side. Another struck the floor and sent fragments flying. Bastian charged at the same time.
The moment Kael veered left, Bastian thrust out his fist as though he had been waiting for it.
This time, he would hit.
Just as Bastian reached that conclusion.
Kael said,
“Motus.”
A metal fragment lying on the floor sprang into the air. It shot up into the lower right side of Bastian’s vision. It posed no threat significant enough for the barrier to block.
But that instant of recognition.
The angle of his fist wavered by the tiniest amount.
By the tiniest amount.
As Bastian’s fist grazed past Kael’s left shoulder, Kael slipped through the opening and entered Bastian’s inner range.
Bastian’s eyes turned cold.
‘Just now.’
He had used magic.
Bastian, whose attention had been diverted for a moment, was late in folding his left arm to block Kael’s approach, but Kael lowered his body as though he had expected that too.
Then he slipped past beneath Bastian’s side.
Bastian turned.
Kael was already widening the distance again.
….
His breathing had grown somewhat rough.
Whenever Bastian pressured Kael with hand-to-hand combat and magic, Kael narrowly evaded him. The pattern repeated itself.
A war of attrition.
Bastian realized it too late.
Kael had never intended to bring him down from the start.
At least not for the first few minutes.
Even when he had chances to counterattack, he did not.
Kael let every one of those moments pass with movements that looked reckless.
He was maintaining his balance on that razor-thin line.
“…This is ridiculous.”
Bastian kept up the pressure.
Kael was covered in blood, but Bastian continued to spend mana throughout the process.
Bastian exhaled deeply.
The Tier 7 ACU beneath his nape was growing hot.
He ignored the warning window that appeared.
Kael was barely managing to rise with one shoulder braced against the wall.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were still alight. They showed he could still continue.
Those eyes grated on Bastian’s nerves.
‘Still.’
Why had he still not collapsed?
When Bastian raised his right hand, mana was drawn into his palm, pressing down on the air inside the Cage.
Blue light climbed from his fingertips to his elbow.
This time, there would be no evading it.
Bastian gathered most of his remaining mana into a single point.
He stepped forward.
Thud.
One step.
On the second step, Bastian’s body vanished for an instant, and an impact formula infused his fist. For a moment, there was a sound like the air tearing apart.
Kael tried to move his body, but.
This time, he was too late.
Bastian’s fist slammed into Kael’s abdomen.
KRAAANG!
The shockwave shook the entire Cage, and Kael’s body flew backward and crashed into the wall.
Bastian swallowed a ragged breath.
‘It landed.’
This time, definitely.
Bastian slowly straightened his posture.
The ACU beneath his nape had grown quite hot, and his mana must now have been nearly depleted.
He could no longer use attack magic properly, nor maintain his physical enhancement.
But the barrier remained.
That would be enough to finish Kael.
Bastian looked at the fallen Kael.
Kael lay on his side, vomiting blood.
His breath came and went as though it might stop at any moment, but astonishingly, he was alive.
‘He’s alive?’
Bastian unconsciously narrowed his eyes.
‘Even after taking that?’
He slowly approached Kael.
The barrier was still active.
Even with his mana nearly gone, it was not something low-output magic or bullets could pierce.
Bastian judged that Kael had few options left.
Kael moved his bloodstained lips.
The sound was barely audible.
“Vinculum.”
A thin beam of light crept along the floor.
It wrapped around Bastian’s ankle and stopped his movement.
But that was all.
Bastian looked down.
The binding formula wrapped around his ankle was pathetically thin.
It looked like a final struggle, formed by scraping together the last of Kael’s strength.
Kael said, swallowing blood,
“Finally caught you.”
Bastian looked down at him.
“Even if you bind my leg, you don’t have enough strength to break through the barrier. What use is this?”
Kael’s lips twitched.
His blood-soaked face was smiling.
Grin.
The instant Bastian saw that smile, his instinct sounded another alarm.
Too late.
Bastian instinctively tried to thicken the barrier.
But he lacked the mana remaining to do so.
In that instant.
Kael’s hand rose toward his own nape.
His fingertips gripped the device attached beneath his neck, inside his suit.
ACU.
Bastian’s eyes widened.
Kael crushed it in his hand.
Crunch.
At that moment, the information about Kael floating in Bastian’s vision began to waver.
[ACU: Tier 5]
[Signal lost]
[Signal lost]
……
[Reanalyzing]
Bastian stopped breathing.
‘There isn’t one.’
Kael dropped the shattered dummy ACU fragments from his hand.
Small metal pieces scattered across the bloodstained floor.
Only then did Bastian understand Kael’s intention, and he immediately tried to pull his leg free.
But at that moment, Kael opened his mouth.
The air changed.
The static remaining inside the Cage rose up.
Crackle.
The broken dummy ACU fragments began to glow blue.
Even as he vomited blood, Kael pointed a finger at Bastian.
“Fulmen.”
It was a short utterance.
For an instant.
Every light in the Cage went out, then came back on.
Crack.
Then the broken dummy ACU fragments reacted as though exploding, and light burst forth.
And.
The aftershock followed.
KRRRRRR———!