Chapter 295 |
Kuuung!!
"I see... I understand."
In an instant, Meyer's expression turned serious as he grasped what Renok was saying.
"If they've gone this far to kill me, it means they're in a real hurry. It'll be worth the effort to root them out completely."
Instead of replying, Renok glanced toward the inside of his coat.
Dabi was responding to the message Panoa had sent in panic to his phone.
It seemed they had no interest in the other officials left in the conference room. Their target was solely Meyer.
Renok tightened his grip on the throttle, thinking the same thing.
Vroooom!!
From the moment they exited the core of the Districts 10s, he felt the number of vehicles tailing them surge.
All of them were black cars with heavy tinting. Though the models varied, what stood out was how they were painted in a matte finish that blocked even the slightest light.
"..."
The scale even surprised Renok. It was believable enough to think an entire military unit had been mobilized.
Whirr!!
The windows of the vehicles arrayed behind the bike slid open.
What emerged weren't human faces, but dozens of gun barrels.
Meyer's face hardened, and at the same moment Renok sharply twisted the handlebars.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!
The muzzles spat fire in unison, painting the road with a wide spread of bullets and countless sparks.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Unable to even look back, Meyer clung tightly to Renok's shoulder and screamed, but Renok ignored him and kept pushing the bike forward without pause.
Simple gunfire couldn't pierce the shield, let alone damage this monster bike prototype.
Their opponents surely knew that, so the fact that they'd started this in the middle of the city could only mean one thing.
They wanted to pin him down here somehow and prevent Meyer from escaping too far.
Kwang!
Beyond mere shooting, pitch-black Jeeps pulled up on both sides of the bike, squeezing the space tight.
It was a bold approach, even though they knew who Renok was.
In this situation, with him driving the bike directly, they must have calculated that he couldn't use powerful, precise magic.
A reasonable judgment, but they wouldn't have attempted it from the start if it truly tied him down like this.
Renok gripped the brake as he muttered.
"Dabi."
[Mount assist algorithm reconfiguration complete. Initiating evasion maneuvers.]
Screeech!
The bike, which had been speeding ahead while dodging the barrage from behind, suddenly dropped its center of gravity and tilted sharply.
Not only Renok, but even Meyer's shoulder nearly scraped the asphalt as the speed plummeted.
Screeeeech!!
"......!!!"
The other vehicles, unable to match the reaction, passed by the bike a beat late.
The moment the bike, now nearly at a standstill, surged back to life and straightened up was a mere instant.
It was an impossible feat without perfect balance, impeccable timing, and precise control of the throttle.
While a few pursuers who recognized the difficulty of that masterful maneuver gaped in awe,
Renok immediately changed direction and began vertically traversing the empty road.
The thick tires headed not toward the road blocked fore and aft by over a dozen vehicles, but toward the row of commercial buildings.
Kagak!!
He lifted the front wheel of the bike onto the wall of a building where no one walked.
Meyer's face paled as he realized Renok's intent.
"...I'm not sure my grip strength will hold out to the end."
"It's fine if you let go. The seatbelt is secure enough."
"What do you mean by... Urk!!"
Vroooom!!
Renok didn't respond and simply twisted the throttle.
In response, the bike spun fiercely and began climbing straight up the building wall.
It was a choice possible only for Renok, who adjusted the bike's center of gravity with mana threads and assisted with levitation magic.
The pursuers, who had been relentlessly firing at the unconventional driving path, momentarily halted their triggers in surprise.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
The bike, now turned at a right angle, began racing vertically along the building exteriors.
An unreal motion that seemed to defy gravity.
"C-Can a mage really escape like that...?"
"Ordinary mages struggle just to levitate their own bodies with mana. That's only possible because it's that man."
"Get it together and step on it!! If we lose him here, all our preparations will be for nothing!!"
"...He won't get away. We've already called in air support!!"
The pursuers snapped back to attention and floored the accelerator, glaring at the bike's receding figure.
Thud-thud!!
Renok, having broken through the encirclement in an instant, descended from the building wall and sped down the empty road's center.
"To reduce traffic this much at this hour...!!"
Meyer strained to look around, trying to provide any useful information to Renok.
"It's impossible without controlling intersections beyond the crossroads to manage vehicle density!! Avoid sections where wide roads meet!!"
"Understood."
Hacking traffic signals to redirect or claiming construction to force detours wasn't impossible.
In fact, the fact that they could grasp Renok's escape route on the fly and pull off such maneuvers proved the meticulousness of their organization.
Renok followed the map route Dabi displayed on the bike's AI interface, changing direction in a flash, and was about to accelerate when—
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
A roar that crushed the air above came as a helicopter blocked the bike's path.
An unrealistic steel monster appeared in the middle of the wide-open six-lane road.
Its rotors spun ceaselessly, vibrating with a deep hum, while its black-gloss fuselage silently gazed down at the bike.
Renok looked up at it and chuckled.
"This is unexpected... Do they think there's no other chance but now?"
Such shootouts and explosions were common in the outer districts, but mobilizing equipment typically used only for military purposes was rare.
Unless it was a superhuman deathmatch, deploying heavy firepower like a helicopter would invite city government intervention.
Yet, inside the Districts 30s, they openly used gear to assassinate a single councilor.
[Has this city ever had any sense of normalcy?]
Dabi muttered indifferently, but Renok had no time to respond.
Whiiiirrr!!
A missile dangling from the helicopter's bulky underbelly ignited and plummeted straight into the road's center.
Faced with this absurd display of firepower beyond recklessness, Meyer gaped,
and before a hoarse scream could escape his throat, Renok moved first.
Shhhrrrrk!!
With his right hand still gripping the throttle, he extended his left, scattering hundreds of mana threads indiscriminately in all directions.
Over hundreds of strands wove like spiderwebs around the nearby buildings rising beside the six-lane road, supporting them and forming a spiraling cone in the center.
The incoming missile was caught precisely in that, seized, its rotation and impact reduced until it halted in midair just before detonation.
Sizzle!!
"......!!!!!"
An impossible feat: stopping a launched missile barehanded in the air.
Even the spectators—and the very one who fired it—froze in shock.
In that gap, Renok gunned the bike and slipped under the helicopter, speeding down the road.
Meyer, strapped to Renok's back and witnessing the miracle, silently clicked his tongue in amazement.
"...I've thought this before, but you really don't seem human at all. Do you even know what you just accomplished?"
"It turns out we almost caused civilian casualties with their gunfire in the city—mutual negligence. I just erased that accusation."
Screech!!
Renok replied while glancing at the map on the interface.
"My colleague has already secured all the CCTV footage. That should eliminate any chance of the blame falling on us."
In truth, it was all the work of the cyberbrain spirit curled in his pocket, but there was no need to explain that much to Meyer.
Leaving Meyer's repeated exclamations behind, Renok muttered coldly.
"All that's left is to track down the ones who made this mess and crush them."
*
After shaking off several more pursuits, Renok arrived at his preset destination and brought the bike to a halt.
Screeeeech!!
The bike's engine was scorching hot from the intense maneuvers.
Traces of wear scarred the thick tires from repeated friction with the road surface.
The bike obtained through his deal with Sebastian boasted unmatched mobility and durability, but despite its size and class, it surprisingly required delicate maintenance.
Renok clicked his tongue briefly, dismounted, and quickly scanned the surroundings.
An abandoned dockside, piled with rusted containers.
The ships visible behind him lay toppled on the dry shore, corroded by rust.
Meyer, dismounting after Renok, looked around.
"...This is Altara Harbor in District 29."
"You knew."
"I heard it's been left abandoned since a chemical accident at a nearby factory halted construction. It's one of the areas the city government promised to redevelop, so I've been keeping an eye on it."
Meyer's face was pale as he muttered, clutching his trembling legs and slowly sinking to the ground.
"I'm sorry. This old body won't listen to me."
"It's fine."
He was an elderly man far older than Joden, who worked with Renok.
The fact that he hadn't lost consciousness while fleeing on the bike with Renok was proof enough of his toughness.
It wasn't strange that his strength had now drained away as the tension eased.
Renok gazed down at the gasping Meyer, lost in thought.
'What to do...'
If it were just a matter of stamina, he'd use Residual Thunder Body or a potion to restore energy, but he doubted Meyer's body could handle it.
The drugs and magic Renok used were all meticulously crafted and researched to match his own condition and symptoms.
In terms of innate frailty, Renok and Meyer might be similar, which was exactly why artificial doping needed restraint.
'About ten minutes until support arrives. Better to assume none is coming.'
He'd contacted Panoa and Jenny about the destination in advance, but the roads were blocked, making movement difficult.
Even contacting Killian from Daik Corporation wouldn't change much; his allies' arrival time wouldn't differ greatly.
Renok quickly decided and pulled an amulet from his pocket, placing it in Meyer's hand.
"It's a druid's amulet. Holding it will help conceal your presence."
"I'm sorry I can't be more help."
Meyer coughed dryly as he spoke.
"With a traitor among my aides and no way to know who, calling for people is tricky..."
"On the flip side, once this is over, you can clean house thoroughly."
Renok left it at that, turning away from Meyer.
"It won't take long."
The abandoned harbor, lined with dilapidated containers.
Even the old Renok hadn't known of the amulet's presence-concealing ability, but it should suffice to hide Meyer.
As he checked his condition with another cigarette, the delayed pursuers began encircling the harbor in droves.
Thud-thud-thud!!
Two massive helicopters appeared almost simultaneously from both skies.
On the ground, over a dozen Jeeps blocked the harbor entrances in unison, and the people disembarking swiftly surrounded Renok's position.
Kwang!!
Armored vehicles smashing through container walls and even an old tank appeared, prompting Renok to let out an involuntary scoff.
"Even in undeveloped districts, groups moving like this are rare. They came fully prepared from the start, huh?"
"If you hadn't escalated things unnecessarily, it wouldn't have come to this."
A man emerged from the line of people, spitting as he spoke.
His nose and ears were adorned with tattoos and jewelry, his clothes a garish riot of colors.
He looked far from military. The eerie glow rippling from the spear in his hand was striking.
The man sauntered up to Renok with a swagger, stared up at his face, and smirked.
"Firm Thunder looks like this? Prettier than I imagined. I figured with all the face-hiding, you must be some monstrous ugly bastard."
"From your outfit, you're not defense force... A gang?"
"Listen up. I won't say it twice."
The man tapped his spear butt against the ground.
"Hand over the old geezer you're carrying. Then I'll let you go nice and easy."
"..."
"We're from the same shady side, and you didn't touch any of my guys while running—that's commendable. I'm giving you special treatment. Got it?"
The man's eyes gleamed unnaturally.
A dangerous aura, as if he'd tear limbs apart at any moment.
But Renok simply peered into his face and murmured.
"Vardishu Brotherhood."
"..."
"The latest news was just an article about your deputy leader attempting escape after a death sentence... Nothing since, which is odd. If you've shown up today, there's only one reason."
He cross-referenced all their faces against the city government network database and collected any media exposure to trace affiliations.
Renok smirked as he met the man's flickering gaze.
"Someone on the council saved your deputy leader's life in exchange for becoming their dog? Impressive loyalty for a rootless criminal outfit."
Kwaaang!!
A flash erupted between the man and Renok, sending a light shockwave through the foggy dockside.
The man snarled, his spear tip embedded in Renok's raised shield.
"Keep yapping if you wanna die."
"Not all councilors want this to succeed, it seems."
Renok slowly stepped forward, lifting the cigarette from his mouth with his hand.
The furious man swung his spear, but the blade stuck in the shield wouldn't budge further.
Creak...!!
"Sh, shit!! What the hell!!"
Dozens of mana threads had already bound his body, immobilizing even a finger.
A restraint meticulously balanced with the weight of the surrounding rusted containers.
So precise that even a skilled mana user couldn't grasp where to apply force to break free.
"Planning to kill Meyer outright and pin the blame on shadow figures? With a councilor's power, it wasn't impossible."
"Y-You bastard!!!"
The man thrashed wildly, staring at the cigarette's glowing tip, but it was futile.
Renok flicked the ember onto the man's crown and murmured.
"So you picked the day of our meeting to make contact. But me taking Meyer and running turned it into wasted effort."
"Aa, aaaah!!"
Whoosh!!
As the ember sparked, the man's body ignited like he'd been doused in oil.
Bound tight by mana threads, he convulsed in the flames, writhing, but the threads held firm.
One human reduced to firewood, illuminating the blaze.
The organization's members behind him gulped in unison at the gruesome verdict.
To their eyes, it must have looked like their vanguard had simply burst into flames from his own frenzy.
As the man's breath ceased with his internals charred, the spear shaft slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.
Clang!
Renok bent down slowly, picked up the shaft, and said.
"It's been three years since I started working in this city."
"..."
"If you know about me, you should know something like this is pointless."
Despite no overt hostility or killing intent, an uncanny pressure emanated from the mage before them.
The strength of a survivor who had navigated countless battlefields and stages, trampling innumerable foes.
Awe toward one who had waded through the corpses in this city where defeat meant death.
He would kill them. The unyielding truth hit harder than ever, courtesy of its source.
A chill silence fell over the encircled harbor. People began backing away one by one.
"I've heard countless tales about Firm Thunder."
Before the chaotic atmosphere spiraled further, someone spoke from the rear of the crowd.
As the voice sounded, the throng parted like waves, revealing a figure stepping forward.
"Even for a mage, a battle-loving maniac who enjoys dueling monsters single-handedly, a ghost who craves blood over money... How could one not fear that?"
Though arriving last, he advanced with everyone's deference—a young man who hadn't fully shed his boyish features.
The youth looked up at Renok with an innocent smile.
"But when it comes to fear, money scares me more."