Chapter 47 - Last Bastion [5]
Scarlett Penelope, the sole successor of the [Explosion] Magic Art, a rare magic that only she possesses today.
As an orphan, she was drafted into the Second World War against monsters due to her innate abilities.
For most of her life, Scarlett was trained to fight—an emotionless soldier who could be discarded at any moment, unaware of what she was truly fighting for.
When the war finally ended, ushering in an era of peace, interest in [Explosion] Magic declined because it was dangerous to its own user.
As a result, Scarlett's worth diminished and became a useless tool, as her skills were primarily suited to warfare and violence.
Everything changed when she met Gael Historia, the current strongest magician, who offered her a position as his assistant.
From that day forward, Scarlett vowed to devote her life to serving the one who gave her a purpose.
Her loyalty and strong sense of justice made her a valuable ally, and she played a significant role in the rise of Demiurge during the first and second Cardinal Sky.
That same war hero of the nation stood before me, intent on brutally tearing my guts out, a 17-year-old girl who had recently recovered from their injuries.
…This matchup is unfair, I demand compensation.
“…”
“…”
We stood still in silence, waiting for one of us to make a move.
I wasn’t confident I could win against THE Ashen Witch. It was too risky, especially since I didn’t know what she had been up to for the past six years.
If Scarlett was already a monster back then, imagine how strong she would be in a year, struggling to find a glimmer of hope?
The thought of her growth alone felt overwhelming.
But… maybe with my knowledge about her, I could find a way to win—
—Shing…!
In the blink of an eye, Scarlett closed the distance between us in less than a second.
“What…!”
The swing of her blade at my neck produced a ringing sound that built up until it violently exploded.
—Crackle Crackling…! BOOOM!!!
The entire area collapsed, destroying everything within a certain radius. The combined efforts of the students had created exceptional firepower, but Scarlett was on an entirely different level.
“Ho…?” Her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected me to take her attack head-on.
“Kggh…!” I grunted in pain.
If I hadn’t reacted in time, the battle would have already been over. Due to the intense explosion, I covered my hand in Ichor and formed a shield to deflect it.
Even though I managed to block the attack just in time, she still penetrated the Ichor on my arm and nearly sliced it in the process.
—Kachick!
“!!!” Scarlett stepped back and retreated as I reloaded with Libera, which I had formed while we were talking just moments before.
—BANG! Crink…!!!
I shot an ice bullet into the floor, its potency increased tenfold by the influence of the Ichor, impaling everything around her in ice.
“Urgh…!” I winced in pain, clutching my injured right arm as I filled the cut with Ichor. The agony was intense, but I had to endure it.
“[Ice] and [Alloy]...?” She muttered.
“There’s more where that came from!” I shouted.
Facing an opponent stronger than anyone I had fought before, I had no choice but to use everything I had to stand a chance against her.
While firing the condensed ice bullet, I spread Ichor on the ground to immobilize Scarlett, just as I had done with the students, hoping to ensnare and suffocate her.
"Tch.” Scarlett tried to escape, but even she couldn’t break free from a material stronger than steel using sheer strength alone.
I had lost all of my concentrated mana bullets back in Arcadia, which forced me to create bullets during the fight instead.
The upside was that I didn’t have to worry about Libera breaking, but making bullets mid-fight drained my mana more than I had anticipated.
—Bang Bang!
Following the ice bullet, I shot two earth bullets to immobilize her completely.
‘This is my chance…!’ I thought, sweating in uncertainty that had plagued me throughout the battle.
I had faced countless near-death experiences, but if I had been even a millisecond late at the start of this fight, my neck would have been a target.
—Crackle…!
But the battle was far from over, it wasn’t even considered one, anyway.
Despite my efforts, she was playing with me, judging whether I was worth her time.
“Oh no—” My eyes widened in fear. This was something I had definitely experienced before, but on a much, much larger scale.
“HAAH!!!!” Scarlett shouted, and suddenly—the unthinkable happened.
I couldn’t even comprehend what had occurred in such a brief span of time.
Did something happen? What exploded? Was it her sword? Was it her magic activating?
No, what transpired wasn’t any of those.
Scarlett reached a state of enlightenment that only a handful of magicians ever achieve.
The ability to expand the concept of a Magic Art into something beyond itself, manifesting it into reality.
What I was fighting wasn't an [Explosion] magician, but the literal manifestation of explosion, capable of pure [Destruction].
—Cring…! BOOOM!!!
“GYAAH!!!” The force of the blast threw me back.
My ears were ruptured, my skin was torn off, and my vision blurred.
‘Ugh… not again…’ I clutched my injured arm, battered from the devastating explosion. If I had been any closer, I would have sustained life-threatening injuries.
“[Earth] magic too? What are you?” Scarlett exclaimed, swinging her sword to clear the smoke.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. You will die by my hand like the rest of them, Morzen Cultist.” She glared at me as if I were one of them.
...
...
…Morzen Cultist? Me?
“Wait, hold on. Since when did I get branded as a Morzen Cultist—”
“Silence.” Scarlett ignored my protests and advanced.
“Urgh… of course, you've always been stubborn.” I stood back up and glanced away.
I realized I was mistaken—the gap between us was too wide.
The explosion had vaporized everything around her. Her sheer firepower disintegrated both the bullet and the Ichor, leaving her unscathed.
If I let my guard down for even a split second, I would lose my life without warning.
Everything about her was beyond my capability to handle, a giant wall I had yet to scale.
Winning was not an option.
It was simply impossible to do so.
Fearing for my life, I ran back to the hospital, searching for a place to hide.
“Running away? Pathetic.” Scarlett said, casually chasing me as if prolonging my death was a game.
‘Ahh… dammit! What can I even do to fight this monster!’ I thought frantically as I fled.
I had gone from happily enjoying a free meal to being chased by death itself. Isn’t this bullying at this point?
I kept running, even when I was out of breath, driven solely by the instinct to preserve my stamina.
It felt like a predator toying with its prey before the final strike.
—Tap… Tap… Tap…
Scarlett menacingly walked toward me, neither slowing down nor speeding up.
Even if I provided her with definitive proof, she would completely ignore my words and kill me without hesitation.
That was the kind of person I had written her to be.
—Bang Bang Bang!
I shot more ice bullets at her to slow her down, but her reflexes were so fast that she easily sliced through them.
—Tinkle Tinkle!
However, because she sliced them, I accounted for that and let the ice expand until it completely trapped her in a cask of ice.
Only to fail miserably.
—Crink…!
‘Already…?!’ I clenched my teeth in panic, and the ice began to shatter.
It wasn’t enough to immobilize her, let alone give me a few seconds to escape.
“Dammit…!” I ran away at full speed again. I couldn’t find a way to win this with ordinary means.
—BOOM…!
She broke through the ice by generating enough heat to walk over it as if nothing had happened.
“No matter what you do, you can’t defeat me.” She said without emotion and walked even faster.
To lose her, I dashed up the stairs. All I needed to do was stall for time, then—
—BOOM!
Without blinking, she instantly exposed my location by breaking through walls.
...Nevermind then!
“Your presence was so sloppy that I could spot you immediately. It’s hard to believe you’re one of them.” She commented, locating me by my mana.
“What do you mean, one of them? How did you come to that conclusion in the first place!?” I squealed, distressed by her monstrous strength.
“Silence.” She ignored my words again and continued to walk toward me.
‘Tch, there’s no point in trying to convince her…’ I clicked my tongue.
If I had written her to be a bit more apathetic toward her enemies, then I wouldn’t be in this situation right now.
I don’t know how long it had been, but my legs were sore from running for too long. I was at my limit.
—Thud…!
Ditching the thought of running away, I had no choice but to resort to my last plan and hide in one of the rooms.
“Haaah… Haaah…!” I took deep breaths; the wounds I'd received from this one-sided beatdown made me far more exhausted than I should have been.
—BOOM!!!
“Ghhk…!” I shielded myself with Ichor from the blast.
As expected, she blew through the door in a flamboyant manner.
Her eyes were filled with determination to protect her loved ones, but also an uncontrollable rage to rip me to shreds in the most painful way imaginable.
It was hard to believe that the person Noah relied on the most was consumed by bloodlust aimed at eradicating my very existence.
“There’s nowhere to run,” she said, advancing until she was only a few meters away from me.
—Shing…!
She pressed her blade against my neck, lifting it slightly.
“Ghhk…!” I tried to resist, but it resulted in my chin bleeding.
What is she finally going to let me talk?
“Tell me, how did you and Miss Camellia end up under that tree?” She demanded, granting me a moment for my final words.
The tree…? Oh, that tree?
“Ha… hahaha….” I chuckled upon hearing her question. “Do you really want to know?” I looked her in the eyes, unwavering.
Even against an unwinnable opponent, the fire in my eyes did not diminish. In fact, I remained confident I would win.
She may be an unstoppable killing machine, but she had one fatal weakness—
“Because I grew that tree, Scarlett.”
“What… did you just say—”
—Kachick!
Caught off guard, she reacted too late and attempted to deflect the bullet.
She had known from the start that I had set a trap from my side, which made my earlier distraction ineffective, but she didn’t understand my true intentions.
“!!!” A shiver ran down Scarlett's spine as her instincts screamed at her to avoid this threat.
She realized that if she didn’t dodge, she would die here.
—BOOOOM!!!
With a pull of the trigger using a string contraption, a giant blast tore through the wall—no, it obliterated everything in its path.
She swiftly moved aside, the bullet grazing her cheek, but I had anticipated every variable when confronting these monsters.
“I knew you’d do that!” I smiled like a maniac, ecstatic that my plan was coming to fruition.
Scarlett’s biggest flaw was me, the son of the man who saved her from despair.
I may be considered the failure of the Historia family, and I admit that Scarlett was the only one who recognized me as an individual.
I didn’t see her through scornful eyes, and she didn’t see me that way either.
We were merely a servant and master, our bond shattered the moment I disappeared.
If she were suddenly confronted by someone who knew about that wretched son, what would she do?
That’s right—
Scarlett would hesitate for a moment, an underhanded move that I wouldn't hesitate to use in the slightest if it meant living another day.
—Vooom…!
I trapped her in a wave of Ichor, thickening it into a prison, stronger than before, to keep her still.
—Crackle Crackle…!
She was already showing signs of using her magic to explode and break through the Ichor, but I had prepared my last trump card beforehand to end this once and for all.
—Kachick…!
“!!!”
“HAHA! THERE’S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!!!” I screamed like a lunatic.
If I looked at myself in the mirror, it was clear who the villain was from an outsider’s perspective.
But so be it. If the world chooses to condemn me as a villain,
Then I’ll embrace that role, using everything I have to win this fight.
“EAT THIS!!!” I held Libera tightly and pulled the trigger to seize victory.
With the pull of the trigger, I loaded the gun with an [Overcharged Bullet] I made while I was stalling for time.
It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I was confident she wouldn’t die from this.
These few seconds would determine the victor in a fight that had been unfair from the start.
So what if I used unfair methods? I’m not a fighter; I take pride in being someone who uses their head instead.
I fight in my own way.
—BOOM!
…
…
…
—Bang! Crumble! Whoosh…
“…Are you okay, Miss Penelope?” A deep voice emerged from the smoke.
“Huh…?” I uttered in confusion.
Someone from the mist had blocked my attack as if it were nothing—an astonishing feat I hadn’t thought possible.
“I’m fine. You didn’t have to interfere in my fight, Orion.” Scarlett broke free from the Ichor prison.
The giant man stood before Scarlett and me. It puzzled me how effortlessly he blocked that.
“That material… I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The man named Orion observed the golden material, studying the Ichor.
His imposing physique was intimidating that he appeared twice my height.
“Now move out of the way.” Scarlett bumped Orion’s shoulder and returned to her main objective—to kill me.
“I’m afraid I cannot do that, Miss Penelope.” Orion replied.
“…And why? What are you trying to do by protecting this filthy Morzen Cultist?!” She glared at Orion with disdain.
“—Because I said so.” Another voice emerged from the smoke, belonging to someone I recognized.
“L-Lady Camellia!” Scarlett's killing intent vanished upon seeing her.
“…Camila?” I called out when I recognized her voice. “What’s going on?” I demanded answers.
Her brown hair, which I was used to seeing, was gone.
In its place was vibrant, fiery red hair and golden eyes—the ones she was supposed to have from the start.
The person standing before me wasn't Camila Rondoile, but Camellia Historia, the third daughter of the Historia family.
“I’m sorry, Aria. Let me take care of this, okay?” She approached me and held my hands.
“GET AWAY FROM THEM!!” Scarlett yelled, trying to stop Camellia, but Orion blocked her path.
“What are you talking about…”
—Chink…!
“…Ah.” A syringe was stabbed into my neck. “Why… did you…” All my strength drained from my body, and I gradually lost consciousness.
“Please, trust me.” She held my hand tightly.
It surprised me to see that this was the Camellia I knew.
Despite plunging me with a syringe, which I didn't appreciate, I decided to put my faith in her one more time, so instead... I felt relieved, rather than betrayed.
The last I recalled was grasp her hand tightly, reassured that she was alive.
“Camellia…” Scarlett attempted to reach out for her, but stopped when Camellia waved her hand.
“How long have we been unconscious?” Camellia asked Scarlett.
“…8 days.” Scarlett replied, her loyalty to the Historia family still unwavering.
“I see…” Camellia herself had only woken up yesterday.
It was all thanks to Orion that she discovered what had been happening.
“Thank you, Orion. I won’t forget this debt.” She said, managing to force a smile.
“Just following orders, Lady Camellia.” He nodded in response.
Looking uncomfortable in her sleep, Camellia placed Aria on her lap, where she rested peacefully.
"Mmpgh... so smooth and squishy..." Aria mumbled, making cute sounds that befitted her doll-like appearance.
She was bruised and wounded, evident from her battle against Scarlett, of all people.
‘…How are you always being beaten up? You dummy.’ She thought to herself, this wasn’t the first time it happened.
Seeing Camellia's affectionate actions toward her, Scarlett clenched her arms, confused about what was happening.
“Camellia I—”
“I know. Tomorrow, I’ll explain everything that has happened, including what’s going on with Aria.” Camellia held her choker tightly against her neck.
Her story confined in a cage may have come to an end, but another was about to begin.
Today marked the start of a larger narrative, a new world.
And Aria, the harmless girl on her lap, would be at its center.
