Chapter 276 |
Among the family heads of the Eight Families, there was no one who hadn't heard rumors about Ban.
The mage who had rapidly risen to fame by selectively taking on the most difficult and tricky designation requests and succeeding in them all.
Despite being a high mage with tremendous talent, his combat prowess was said to be on par with that of warriors.
An outside director of the Cartel.
The fact that he continued to operate as a freelancer even after securing such prestigious positions as an external advisor for the Agent spoke volumes about his abilities more eloquently than anything else.
Yet, despite all that, few people truly understood what had just happened.
The Platon Mercenary Agency, one of the few top players even in the shadow sector of the megacity.
A veteran mercenary who had survived the harsh streets and experienced every kind of battle had been defeated by a sorcerer vulnerable in close quarters without exchanging a single blow.
And in that process, if the bracelet on Ban's right wrist hadn't remained silent, it would mean he had simply overpowered Adam using only elite-rank mana.
If he displayed such overwhelming dominance in the process, even the family heads couldn't help but feel shaken.
As they looked down at the mercenary Adam Brobeck, who was being carried out unconscious, the family heads' voices grew louder one by one.
"Is he really a mage?"
"His nerve is no joke. He knew the attack was coming and still slammed that kind of spell right in close range."
"It means he was confident in perfectly controlling both the mana rigidity and the power... And in fact, the bracelet is intact. That's why that mercenary fell for it without realizing."
Everyone in the room was watching Ibon's reactions, but the family heads of the Eight Families were each outstanding warriors in their own right.
The citadel's family heads, who held an overwhelming position in hand-to-hand combat among the megacity's triad rulers, couldn't possibly fail to recognize the true value of the battle that had just taken place.
"A pugilist hardened by close-quarters combat was rendered combat-ineffective with just one spell."
"The power is impressive, but the incantation speed draws the eye too. He manifested a freezing-element physical attack of that scale in an instant."
"With the handicap of a proxy battle, if he can do this much..."
Noticing the family heads' faces turning serious, Ibon spoke up.
"Let's proceed to the next rite right away. It's my proxy's turn now."
"Your proxy, Family Head Ibon...?"
"Yes."
Ibon smiled as he looked at the other family heads, whose expressions had turned sour.
"Among the kids I have, he's a particularly unique one. It won't end easily."
As soon as he finished speaking, a pale-faced man walked up onto the arena stage.
His back was slightly hunched. His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings.
His posture, as if unaccustomed to the sunlight that poured into the compound at that moment, made him look like someone who had never seen the light of day in his life.
He stared silently at Renok's face for a moment, then awkwardly touched his own.
"I see... So the proxy battle has begun. I was just summoned on the family head's orders."
"..."
He gazed blankly at the sky for a moment, then muttered softly.
"Even after failing the mission, I can't die and must serve him. That's a fitting end for a member of this family."
He seemed to finally realize where he was, as if coming to his senses late.
Instead of trying to understand his words, Renok quietly stared at the bracelet on his wrist.
The opponent's bracelet had one light. Renok's had six.
In the exchanges of victories, forfeits, and abstentions among the proxies, five had already lost their qualifications.
If two more chains were filled with light, Renok would officially gain the right to decide the citadel's lord.
This wasn't just a formality; it meant directly controlling the citadel's management authority, which existed as a magic barrier.
With the situation pushed this far, the Ibon family head would undoubtedly try to defeat Renok or nullify the proxy battle's outcome through some other means.
Renok wasn't waiting for victory in the proxy battle; he was anticipating that very moment.
"Let's begin."
Clang!!
As the bell rang, the man quickly formed hand seals.
Immediately after, several unidentified objects rapidly surged up from beneath the arena's dirt floor.
He had no intention of giving the opponent time to prepare an incantation.
If Ibon's proxy wasn't the opponent he had in mind, then the next one would be the one Renok had been waiting for.
He intended to end it quickly and wrap things up.
Right then, a faint flash streaked through the dry sky, and a thick bolt of falling thunder struck the ice fist standing beside Renok.
Crackle!!
Boom!!
The impact shattered the thick ice chunks into hundreds of pieces, scattering intense light across the arena via diffuse reflection under the sunlight that poured down.
"Ugh!!"
"I can't see!!"
Even Ibon's proxy squeezed his eyes shut for that one moment against the flash.
As the ice crystals surrounding the proxy shattered entirely, a storm of biting cold swept in.
Thud thud thud thud!!
Renok, hands in his coat pockets, impassively observed the opponent's reaction.
A battle between proxies. Though it took the form of a match, that was merely for the rite of succession to the citadel lord's authority.
Thus, the mediators of this proxy battle had no intention of cleaning up the arena or the stage even after the fight ended.
It was a solitary rite that continued until only one proxy remained.
Interfering in any way during the process was taboo.
"..."
But even Renok couldn't help furrowing his brow at the sight of the opponent emerging from the cold storm.
When he had first formed the hand seals, there had been only one proxy. Now, there were six.
"Ooh!! Clone technique!!"
"That side came prepared too!!"
"Now it's getting interesting!"
The audience erupted in excitement at the proxy's suddenly multiplied forms.
But Renok gazed at the proxy's figures and slowly shook his head.
"A clone technique... No, it was far more grotesque and alien than that."
"..."
"Necromantic ritual to forcibly impose a living soul onto a body created by capturing consciousness."
The others seemed too distracted by the cold storm to notice, but Renok had clearly perceived it.
The man had pulled up five wooden logs from below the arena, and in an instant, different spirits had possessed each one, transforming them into identical copies of himself.
A bizarre method that crammed human memory and behavioral principles into inanimate objects to animate them.
And all of them were at the sixth level, having comprehended mana attribute changes.
Considering how unusually efficient it was compared to the incantation process, it was likely a cult technique that boosted efficiency at the cost of life.
Probably a form of human spirit offering, using those necromantically bound souls and discarding them afterward.
"6 against 1... Was this the plan from the start?"
Renok muttered, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist.
It hindered a saint-class mage like Renok from using his full power and aimed to overwhelm him with numbers at the same elite rank.
A simple, obvious ploy, but undeniably effective.
The man who stood farthest left steadied himself and spoke.
"For the citadel's safety, I won't hesitate to use any forbidden art."
"..."
"To establish the family's order against an outsider—that is my duty as one who has failed to serve the family fully!"
Whoosh!!
With those words, the six figures scattered like mist, instantly taking positions at the edges of the arena stage.
Six different gazes converged on a single mage at their intersection.
The six identical faces drew out countless hidden weapons from their bosoms as if on cue—daggers and throwing stars etched with incantation script, and piles of priestly bombs—raining them down on the arena's center like a bombardment.
Thud thud thud thud!!
This wasn't mere tossing of explosives.
The hidden weapons thrown by Ibon's elites, versed in various stealth arts and assassination techniques from the citadel's underbelly, flew at bullet speeds, pressuring from all sides.
At the same time, the surfaces of the released hidden weapons glowed with incantation script.
Boom boom boom boom!!
They triggered a massive explosion that filled the entire arena stage.
"Whoa!!"
"The heat...!!"
The intense blast made the citadel residents seated near the stage recoil in shock.
The relentless barrage of flames was so scorching that the inside of the stage was barely visible.
The family heads and their attendants—those with the skill and insight to pierce the heat—alone widened their eyes.
Without stopping there, the six proxies formed hand seals in unison and unleashed their mana.
Hummm!!
The six streams of mana crossed toward each other in an instant, drawing a massive hexagram on the arena floor.
The countless symbols and characters packed within it glowed, rotating to erase a single person.
Earth element series unique incantation.
[Six Harmonies Resonance]
[Mountain Breaker]
Rumble rumble rumble!!
Gigantic roots erupted from beneath the arena, coiling around Renok's form and crushing him.
As its name implied, this destructive incantation—originally used to level mountains and lay foundations for settlements—was now poured solely to demolish one man.
In a situation where the initiative had been thoroughly seized, there was little he could do but endure the onslaught of explosions.
With saint-class mana restricted, how long could he last without a disqualification loss?
Watching from behind the stage, Chen's expression turned grave.
"It might take longer than expected. We should prepare our plan in advance."
[What nonsense?]
To Manson's retort, Chen continued immediately.
"Ban prefers a macroscopic view in combat, designing the field accordingly. But that's only possible if he doesn't lose the offensive initiative."
Manson, who had only partnered with Renok on equal terms, might not realize it, but Chen, having been manipulated several times, knew Renok's preferred combat style.
"Starting outnumbered means he's behind in total exchanges throughout the fight. If it were the Ban I know, he'd sweep the area with a large-scale spell and reset the field..."
[The audience is the issue.]
"Yeah. In truth, something like that bracelet isn't a big problem for Renok. He's not sloppy enough for rank restrictions to trip him up. But..."
Could he deploy a spell powerful enough to counter the blazing inferno filling the arena without harming the spectating citadel residents?
A poorly controlled counterattack might do more harm than good.
But Manson sighed at Chen's words and smacked the back of his head.
[Worried that Ban might lose while minding his surroundings? Ridiculous.]
"Ugh... I thought it was a valid concern."
Ban was highly rational, quick-witted, and possessed both judgment and decisiveness.
But unlike his cool intellect, Chen knew he wasn't the heartless type without blood or tears.
He wouldn't hesitate for his goals, nor treat people as disposable pawns unnecessarily.
In this situation, even a momentary lapse in judgment could mean ceding control indefinitely.
"One mistake, and it's over. If the citadel lord's authority passes to them, we might have to make the first move."
[For someone in business, you sure have a poor eye for people.]
Manson replied with a grim smile.
[If he hesitated over something like that, Ban wouldn't have survived this long.]
His inorganic gaze slowly lifted to the center of the rising roots.
[He doesn't create situations where he has to worry—that's why there are so many who revere that mage.]
As he spoke, dozens of cracks began forming at the roots' crushing core.
Crack crack crack!!
With a chilling slicing sound, the thick wooden roots were severed entirely, and Renok emerged unscathed.
Staring down at the six proxies looking up in bewilderment, Renok suddenly tossed the tobacco from his mouth to the ground.
In that instant, the dozens of roots beneath his feet blazed up like oil-soaked kindling.
Roar!!
The family heads' eyes widened at the sudden grand bonfire in the arena's center.
"He's setting Ibon's root incantation ablaze!!"
"Impossible pyromantic magic...!!"
"No, wait, that's..."
He wasn't burning the roots whole.
The fire, transferred along the hundreds of mana threads woven between the roots, coiled around and consumed them.
An innumerable bundle of mana threads, installed so seamlessly that no one knew when.
Realizing some ends were tied to their own ankles, the proxies' mouths fell open.
"...!"
The fire, following the mana threads bound to their ankles, began incinerating their flesh in an instant.
Those who had silently poured attacks without a word now thrashed and screamed at the flames Renok had ignited along the mana threads.
"Arghhh!!"
"Aaah!!"
The six proxies writhed in agony.
Unknown to them, Renok's mana threads clung to their bodies, endlessly feeding unquenchable flames into their flesh.
With the explosion's traces vanished, only charred meat lumps remained.
Through mangled lips, one tremblingly asked.
"Did you... from the start...?"
"The moment you let me feint a first strike to fool the audience, it was over."
Renok drew a new tobacco from his pocket and lit it at the edge of a burning lump.
"Aren't you mistaking who you should be wary of?"
He had permitted the cold storm to conceal the moment the cult incantation was used, but by then, Renok had already attached mana threads to all six proxies.
Mana restrictions. Offensive initiative. Limited battlefield. Onlooking audience.
Before such concerns could narrow his options, Renok had already seized the battle's turning point.
All that remained was to wait for the end of their prepared assault and strike the unnoticed gap.
Thud thud thud!!
Six ice stakes materialized in the air, instantly piercing the burning lumps.
"Guh...!!"
The proxies, without time to react, perished and reverted to the wooden logs they had animated.
The original proxy's body slowly crumbled into ashes and vanished.
Gazing at the dispersing flesh, he murmured softly.
"Family head..."
Ooooooh!!
The spectators erupted in fervent cheers toward Renok.
An outsider not from the citadel. His status as a mage in unfamiliar garb didn't matter.
Renok's refined response amid the raging flame storm captivated hearts, transcending the fight's duration with masterful technique.
"The Oryun proxy, right?"
"I thought they were all rotten, but they brought out a decent one."
"They're under Elder Samyeong anyway. If he becomes citadel lord, it's all good."
Oryun's poor image. Outsider origins brushed off under Oren's name.
Conversely, the family heads who had seemed relaxed moments ago fell silent.
"..."
The atmosphere turned icy. Ibon's face was rigidly cold.
"I heard he was a top-tier lightning mage... Does that mean the spells he just showed aren't his main arsenal?"
"For something like that, the elements he used were too diverse. Considering the mana restrictions, he must have borrowed external power."
The bracelets proving proxy qualifications were exquisitely sensitive devices.
Wielding mana recklessly like Renok would shatter them instantly, leading to disqualification.
Clearly, Ibon's side had employed some trick as well.
"Even so, his execution was too fast. If he held back for the final round to reach this point..."
It wasn't impossible for Ibon to lose.
The family heads coughed uncomfortably in unison, but everyone present understood.
Only then did the gazes of those aligned with Ibon subtly shift elsewhere.
Toward Oren, the Samyeong family head who had crossed his arms and stayed silent.
Conversely, the Paldoon family head, who had unwittingly joined the Samyeong side, puffed up with pride reaching the skies.
"Ilwon family head."
Ibon, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"Yes."
"Your proxy is last. You're prepared, I assume."
Taeo's expression shook violently for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and nodded.
"...Yes."
"Good."
The stage was now utterly scorched and ruined.
As Renok leaned against the collapsed root backrest, someone in a thick robe approached from the front.
"Nice to meet you."
The first words from the robed figure who stood before Renok were just that.
To the opponent who attempted casual conversation out of nowhere, Renok stared silently instead of replying.
There was no need for greetings. From the start, this was the only proxy Renok had been waiting for.
Hadn't he planned all this to draw this man out?
Unaware of Renok's thoughts, the robed figure continued.
"I've heard about you. They say you're quite famous outside as a freelancer?"
"..."
"Ah, I haven't introduced myself."
He raised his hand and slowly removed the robe.
A middle-aged man of mature years. His bright golden hair clashed with his face.
The incongruous smile on his lips and his deathly pale skin.
Renok closely examined the bluish traces below his neck, like clotted veins.
The sight matched exactly the outer appearance he had encountered by reverse-diving into a missionary's mental image before.
"I'm Walter. Walter Martinez."