Ch. 333 - Winter Break (7)

As the sinister light flickered, the walls and ceiling seemed to melt away, swallowed whole by encroaching shadows. A hotel staff member, standing too close, brushed against one of the dark tendrils and vanished without a trace.

"Aaaaahhh!!”

The unfortunate soul was devoured as if consumed by a black hole. Witnessing this, Telix - the commander of the Stella Knights tasked with guarding Baek Yu-Seol - felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine.

"Damn it...!"

Who - or what - was this monstrous woman?

Her skin was a ghastly shade of pale blue, and her hair and eyes were as dark as midnight. Though her pupils appeared empty, Telix recalled the brief moment their gazes met. It had left him paralyzed, seized by a bone-deep chill.

“Third Company! Head downstairs and form squads of three! Deploy omnidirectional shields as you advance! The building’s collapse has been stopped, so focus on reclaiming ground as you fight! Second Company, hold the front line with me and begin a controlled retreat! If the formation breaks, fall back and regroup immediately!”

Every soldier mattered. Their opponent - a risk level 7 dark mage - posed a terrifying threat, but with enough coordination, she could still be defeated.

The Stella Knights were no specialists in combating dark mages, yet they were seasoned warriors who had braved countless deadly encounters.

“To your positions!”  

Despite the initial ambush, Telix believed that reestablishing their formation could turn the tide of battle.

— Hoo... How annoying...  

“She’s making her move! First Company, keep her pinned down while Third Company secures the perimeter!”

Vrrrmmmm!

As soon as Telix gave the order, high-density mana gathered in every direction.  

While they couldn’t use large-scale magic due to being inside the building, the Stella Knights were trained for ‘close-quarters combat’ which focused on precision strikes in confined spaces.  

Urban warfare often took place in tight corridors and enclosed areas, giving the Stella Knights a tactical edge in scenarios like this.

“Commence concentrated fire!”  

At Telix’s command, the narrow hallway erupted into a storm of magic.

Sparks crackled along the ceiling as bolts of lightning rained down. Rings of fire ignited and spiraled toward the Inquisitor, while a massive blade of ice sliced through the air, aiming straight for her throat.

‘This should be enough to deal significant damage!’

… Or so they thought.

The Stella Knights had failed to account for one crucial detail: ‘Inquisitor Kaena’ wasn’t merely a risk Level 7 dark mage. She was a dark mage who wielded demonic magic.

Swoosh!

“What… What’s happening?”  

“What is this...?”  

“Our magic… It’s being absorbed?!”  

The spells unleashed by the Stella Knights were swallowed whole by the swirling shadows that surrounded Kaena, vanishing without a trace.

“This can’t be happening…”  

Telix froze, his breath hitching as disbelief washed over him.

‘A magic power binding type...!’

At their core, the types of magic learned by ‘magic warriors’ and ‘magic knights’ were fundamentally different.  

Magic warriors specialized in rapid-fire spells and focused attacks, designed to counter dark mages who fortified their bodies with hardened flesh and preternatural speed.

On the other hand, magic knights relied on slower, high-impact spells to shatter the magical barriers of heavily shielded opponents.

At advanced levels, the gap between these two approaches narrowed, enabling them to fight dark mages effectively with standard anti-personnel magic, until now.

This time, things were different.  

“The enemy is a magic power binding dark mage!”  

Telix’s shout sent a ripple of dread through the ranks. Dark mages with this ability were predators, uniquely designed to nullify magic at its core and cripple spellcasters.

For the first time, the Stella Knights, who had stood so firmly in the face of danger, glimpsed the shadow of defeat in their wavering eyes.

“Do not panic! We were trained for situations like this!”  

“Yes, sir!”  

“We’re changing tactics! Second company, deploy anti-magic spells to neutralize the binding effect immediately! First company, use piercing magic to hold the line until the anti-magic takes effect!”

Now that conventional spells had failed, their only hope lay in specialized counter-spells crafted for confronting dark mages. Though weaker and less versatile, these spells were their last line of defense.

‘If we keep this up… We won’t hold out!’

Telix clenched his teeth and surged forward, staff raised high.

Rumble...!

Above the gaping hole in the ceiling, thunderclouds churned, crackling with azure lightning.

“Take this! Strike them down!!” 

Flash! Boom!

A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the air, striking with devastating force.

Kaena’s shadows rose to meet it, shielding her from the brunt of the impact, but the sheer power drove her back a step.

Sensing their chance, three Stella knights surged forward, activating an explosive magic circle.

Whoosh!

“Argh?!”  

Before they could unleash their spell, Kaena’s shadow lashed out like a serpent, snaring them in its grasp.

“She’s trying to absorb them!”  

Telix thrust his staff forward, desperation flaring in his eyes, but deep down, he knew it was already too late.

Crackle!

“Argh…!”

“You monster! Do you think we’ll just stand by?!”

Even as the shadows bound them, the knights didn’t falter. One of them, gritting his teeth, activated a freezing spell, locking the shadow in place for a heartbeat.

Telix didn’t waste the opportunity. A second lightning bolt shot forth, severing the shadow’s hold.

“Don’t let her close in! Focus on ranged attacks! Keep her pinned!”

“Yes, sir!”  

Forced to retreat, the knights maintained their distance, but Kaena’s shadows showed no such restraint. The dark tendrils stretched unnaturally, relentlessly hunting down their prey.

“What about the anti-magic formation?! How much longer?!”  

“It’s almost ready!”  

Vrrrrrr!

The entire hotel pulsed with energy as glowing violet patterns spread across the walls and ceiling.

A massive diamond-shaped magic circle flickered to life, ready to sever Kaena’s dark magic at its source.

“Good! At this rate…!”

As the anti-magic formation neared completion, Telix was certain victory was within reach.  

Snap!

Suddenly, the anti-magic barrier that had been spreading across the hotel shattered into pieces. The shadows divided into dozens of tentacles and surged in all directions.  

‘What… What’s happening?!’

Telix dropped low, summoning a shield just as the shadows rained down, battering it with unrelenting force.

“Grrr...!!” 

Even as he gritted his teeth against the onslaught, Telix’s mind raced to make sense of the sudden reversal.

Scanning the battlefield, he saw the Stella knights holding their ground, grouped in threes and reinforcing one another with triangular shields. They were managing for now… but just barely.

‘Why did the anti-magic barrier fail?’

Kaena alone shouldn’t have been able to shatter it… not without direct interference.

‘Is there another enemy…?’

Yes, it made sense. The attackers wouldn’t have sent just one dark mage to target Baek Yu-Seol.  

The shadows that surrounded them were more than Kaena’s doing. Somewhere in the darkness, another enemy lay in wait… hidden, but no less deadly.

In that moment, Telix felt the crushing weight of impending defeat.

Their only countermeasure against Kaena had been obliterated, and now there was another enemy lurking… one equally formidable.

“At this point, it’s all or nothing…”

Desperation gnawed at him. He briefly considered a final, self-sacrificing attack to buy time and save Baek Yu-Seol.

Flash!  

Before he could act, a brilliant golden pillar of light pierced the heavens, striking Kaena with divine fury.

— Kyaaaaa!!!

Kaena shrieked, her otherworldly voice echoing as though it carried the cries of the damned.

“Are you alright?”  

Telix blinked and looked up. There, descending gracefully, was a woman with golden hair flowing like sunlight.

“… A goddess?”  

“Huh? Wh-what are you talking about? Snap out of it!”

“Oh… It’s Flame, isn’t it?”  

The once playful and adorable Flame had matured into a serene and pure figure, making his confusion understandable in the chaos.

Whoosh!

Before he could rise, a mass of shadows lunged toward him.

Crack! Crackle!

A sudden burst of ice spiraled outward, forming a protective wall that shattered the incoming attack.

Then, a tiny flame - barely larger than a fingernail - floated down from above.

— …?  

Kaena cocked her head, her soulless black eyes fixed on the flickering ember.

BOOM!

The flame detonated without warning, engulfing the shadows in a fiery explosion and erasing them completely.

“This is…”  

“Leave this to us. You focus on the other enemy.”  

“… Understood.”  

It was remarkable that a student had sensed the presence of a second enemy so quickly, but Telix had no time to offer praise.

Creaaak! Crackle!

As he regained his footing, Telix noticed roots and vines creeping along the hotel walls, glowing faintly with holy light.

“Jeliel activated a holy barrier. She said it’s an ancient technique passed down through generations… strong enough to weaken the dark mage’s power.”

“Got it… Thank you.” 

It was almost unbelievable that these were just teenagers. Yet, considering their backgrounds, it made sense… they were the elite of the elite, students rigorously trained to battle dark mages.

They were, after all, magic warrior cadets from ‘Stella Academy’, making them trustworthy for this mission.  

“All units, regroup on the 37th floor! Dark magic activity detected below… likely an attempt to breach the anti-magic barrier! Deploy detection spells in every direction and tighten our perimeter!”

"Yes, sir!"  

While Telix led his team out with swift precision, three girls - Jeliel, Eisel, and Hong Bi-Yeon - gathered around Flame, their staffs aglow with green, gold, blue, and red light. Together, they turned their focus toward Kaena.

“Hey, commoner. Are you sure we can win this?”  

“Yeah. Are you sure?”  

“I-I don’t know! If we can’t, are you just going to run?”  

“Even if I knew we were going to lose, I wouldn’t run.”  

Flame hastily tied her long hair back and scanned the area cautiously.  

‘As I thought—the [Tamer] came with her.’

Kaena, despite her terrifying power, was little more than a mindless beast. She could never have acted alone. Flame had hoped the Tamer wouldn’t risk following her into a hotel in the middle of a densely populated city.

‘We need to send the Stella Knights after him.’

Unlike Kaena, the Tamer was a standard dark mage… vulnerable to human magic and far less durable. With the Stella Knights involved, he could be neutralized quickly.

‘But we can’t win against Kaena…’

Without the help of the Stella Knights, it was impossible for the four of them to take on a risk level 7 dark mage.

Even though each of them had unlocked their unique abilities and reached the power of Class 6, there were still limits. Facing a fully realized risk level 7 dark mage was no easy task.  

"Still..."  

Eisel opened her mouth to speak.  

“We’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

“Yeah. Let’s show them what we can do… even without the old man.”

Encouraged by Flame’s confident tone, the girls activated their magic.  

— Kieeeeeeee...!  

Kaena’s shadows writhed in response, stretching out like living tendrils of darkness.

Watching them twist and crawl, Flame suddenly felt a jolt of recognition—something buried in her memory clawed its way to the surface.

‘… Hold on.’

In the story, Kaena’s Tamers had been nothing more than minor nuisances… dispatched swiftly by the protagonists’ allies. She had completely brushed them aside.

‘Kaena’s Tamers… Don’t they usually operate in pairs?’

Her face turned pale.  

***

At the same time.

At the top of the hotel, the 50th-floor VIP room.  

B-beep… b… beep…

The rhythmic hum of the damaged life support system filled the room. Half-destroyed, it flickered weakly as it struggled to sustain Baek Yu-Seol’s fragile condition.

Nearby, a pink-haired woman lay crumpled on the floor.

Alchemist and Magic Engineer, Alterisha.

“My, this is impressive. Not only did you manage to transmute the entire structure of this building, but you even rearranged the room’s position. At first, I assumed a spatial mage had interfered. For a moment, I worried someone like Elthman might show up.”  

The speaker stood calmly before her. Dressed in a sleek suit, his face was concealed behind a white mask engraved with a symbol she recognized all too well.

“… Moon Shadow Church?”  

“Oh, you recognize us? How delightful. We’re so obscure these days that it’s been hurting my feelings. My name is Marek, a Tamer of the Moon Shadow Church.”  

“Why… Why are you doing this…?”  

Alterisha’s voice wavered as she spoke. Meanwhile, her trembling fingers inched toward the remnants of Baek Yu-Seol’s life support system, desperate to transmute what little remained into a protective mechanism.

“Stop.”  

Slash!

Before she could react, a blade pierced her hand, and she couldn’t even scream. Her head dropped, trembling from the overwhelming pain.  

“Ugh…”

Alterisha had never endured such agony before. The delicate transmutation array she had been carefully constructing in her mind fractured instantly.

“Your alchemy is quite troublesome, honestly. Sigh, Baek Yu-Seol has so many allies. Imagine having to bring an Inquisitor just to capture a single student.”  

“An… Inquisitor…?”  

“That’s right. And yet, the situation has become so messy that I, a Tamer, had to step in personally.”  

As Marek spoke and stepped closer, Alterisha’s eyes suddenly glowed pink.  

Without realizing it, her [Framework] had activated. 

Alterisha’s eyes, gifted with the ability to perceive the essence and origin of matter, exposed a shocking revelation.

‘He’s… wounded?’

She saw it clearly… the man before her was already gravely injured, barely holding himself together through sheer force of will.

Had he been in a fight before arriving here?

“… Oh dear, you noticed?”  

Marek’s eyes flickered behind the mask as he caught Alterisha staring at his wound. He let out a soft, humorless chuckle.

“His Highness gave me quite the trouble earlier. It took everything I had to shake him off. That man is truly insufferable.”

“Ugh…”  

A suffocating wave of dark magic poured out from Marek, pinning Alterisha to the ground.

‘This level of pressure… I can’t possibly endure this…’

For a moment, she had felt a glimmer of hope upon realizing his injury, but now she felt foolish. The overwhelming gap in power crushed her spirit. Even a fully trained knight would struggle to take on this wounded man, let alone a mere alchemist like her.  

“I couldn’t kill the prince, but from now on, I’ll systematically eliminate everything that gets in my way. Starting with you.”  

“Ugh… Cough!”  

He seized Alterisha by the collar, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.

Smiling through his mask, he said, “Goodbye—”  

Shhk! Thud!

Marek suddenly froze. His grip on Alterisha slackened, and confusion flashed across his face.

“W-what…?”  

“Cough! Gah!”

Alterisha collapsed to the floor, gasping and heaving for air. Her body trembled, her mind scrambling to make sense of what had just occurred.

Marek staggered, and then—

‘What?’

He looked down at his arm. His right hand was gone.

Splurt!

Blood gushed out in a fountain, splattering Alterisha and soaking her completely before Marek’s dark magic regeneration managed to stem the flow. 

"... What is this?"  

Although he was a Tamer, Marek possessed abilities above risk level 6. Wounds like this should have healed before the blood even had a chance to flow.  

But this time… this time, his body had failed him. His regeneration was sluggish, almost as though his flesh had forgotten how to heal.

‘No… More importantly…’  

When had his wrist even been severed?

A shiver crawled down Marek’s spine, and instinct took over. He leapt backward, his eyes scanning the room for the source of the attack.

It was only then that Marek noticed something… a figure staggering like a ghost from the wrecked life support machine, clutching a surgical knife.  

It was ‘Baek Yu-Seol’.

And when Baek Yu-Seol lifted his head, his black eyes burned with an eerie, blue glow.

‘What is this presence...?’

Cold sweat drenched Marek’s back. He instinctively stepped away, his legs trembling under him.

The Moon Shadow Church had long feared Baek Yu-Seol. He had slain their dark mages time and time again. Yet, their Cult Leader had dismissed him… estimating his strength to be no greater than Class 6.

‘No, that was wrong!’

The boy standing before him now—could he really be only class 6?  

Baek Yu-Seol had always been difficult to assess due to his ‘Mana Leakage Delay’, which left his mana density almost negligible.  

‘But what is this magic power surrounding him...?’

The mana swirling around his body was unlike anything Marek had ever encountered. Calm and serene yet terrifyingly powerful, it resembled the eye of a storm. Marek was overcome with an acute sense of danger.  

‘Change of plans. I need to bring Kaena… Kaena must come…’

Realizing he couldn’t win, Marek spun on his heel, ready to flee.

Squelch!

Before he could take another step, a surgical knife pierced through his chest, stopping him cold.  

“Ah…”  

Thud!

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.

The heart - the ‘only weakness of a dark mage’ - had been struck.  

As he fell to the floor, Marek weakly lifted his head.  

In his final moments, the last thing Marek saw was Baek Yu-Seol’s hollow, blue eyes, devoid of any emotion. It was as if he felt nothing from taking a life. 

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