Chapter 74

< 74. Ambush (4) >

A bolt of blue lightning struck the ground with a blinding flash.

Oliver was only able to narrowly avoid it thanks not to his reflexes or his body enhanced by black magic, but to a thin stream of mana that had arrived first to pinpoint the coordinates just before the lightning struck.

The moment he sensed the mana, Oliver instinctively leaped forward and narrowly avoided the lightning.

Kwaang——!

The ground shook with a blinding blue flash. A few seconds later, the thunderous sound of the lightning caused dirt and rock fragments to scatter everywhere.

It was truly an immense force.

'This is magic...'

Oliver continued to run forward, recalling the lightning mage he had fought in the past.

Perhaps because they were both lightning mages, he thought of him, not just in terms of how they handled mana, but also in the similar feeling it gave.

He wondered if they might be friends, but he couldn't think about it for long as he had to keep dodging the continuous lightning.

‘Indeed, it’s threatening. I understand why Mr. Murphy is afraid.’

Looking at the broken and cracked ground, Oliver thought.

Certainly, with such an attack, a large number of people would be more of a hindrance.

While it appeared powerful, the range didn't seem very wide. However, upon impact, the lightning spread an electric shock over several meters.

It was also visually and audibly threatening.

The fear on the faces of the people in the warehouse was proof.

Oliver used Targeting to climb to the top of the building.

The mages initially just stood in their spots, watching Oliver approach from above, but he kept dodging the lightning and gradually got closer to them.

On the way, he didn't forget to absorb the minions he had placed earlier to replenish his emotions.

When he had reduced the distance by about half, the lightning, which had been quiet, struck again.

[Targeting]

Sssss—! Kwaang—!

He used Targeting to pull his body forward and dodged it again.

He thought he understood why the lightning mage from the past didn't use this lightning spell.

Of course, it might have been that he couldn't use it, but this lightning spell, while powerful, was inappropriate for use against a group rather than an individual.

It wasn't easy to dodge, but with the right countermeasures, it could be avoided. The power was excessively strong, and the mana consumption was significant.

The proof was that the power of the lightning had decreased compared to the first time.

Unless it could firmly pin down the target, making it impossible to dodge, it would be difficult to hit Oliver.

"Hmm...? Black Shield."

Just after using Targeting to narrowly dodge, he felt a clump of mana heading towards him and deployed a black shield.

With a thud, three magic missiles hit the shield, and their power was considerable.

But that wasn't the real threat. While he was deploying the shield, the coordinates of the lightning had already pinpointed Oliver.

He was a beat too late to dodge.

‘With three Black Suits, I can withstand at least one or two hits. But I shouldn’t use up my suits before the real fight begins...’

Having made his decision, Oliver instantly extracted emotions and created a small minion to disrupt the coordinates of the lightning.

He threw the minion to the side to create a false impression, and immediately after, a blue flash struck again.

Kwaang——!

Was it luck?

Somehow, the defensive method he thought of worked, and the coordinates shifted just in time, causing the lightning to hit the minion instead of Oliver.

Although the power was considerable and caused additional damage to the surroundings, fortunately, thanks to the Black Suits, he didn't suffer direct damage.

The mana that had been swirling in the sky disappeared, which was actually a benefit.

Another magic missile flew towards him, more condensed than before.

"Did you recover your mana? How... Hey, Bullet."

Oliver extracted emotions and created a bullet of hatred, then countered the magic missile.

Thanks to the precise power, it exploded loudly and disappeared in mid-air.

"......!"

Although he couldn't see the mage's expression clearly from a distance, his emotional state suggested he was quite taken aback.

Another noticeable thing was that the lightning mage was drinking a blue potion.

'Ah, so that's how he recovered his mana... But it doesn't seem like it should be overused, right?'

After drinking the potion, his mana recovered at an unnatural speed, centered around his heart.

The potion seemed more like a drug that put a strain on the body rather than a miraculous creation of mana from nothing.

Meanwhile, another magic missile flew towards him, stronger and more numerous than before.

[Targeting]

[Rage Bullet]

Two black magic spells used simultaneously.

A black dartboard appeared on the mage's body, and a bullet containing a rage bomb collided with the magic missile.

The rage bomb exploded in mid-air as soon as it collided, neutralizing the following magic missiles and obscuring the vision of both sides with smoke.

The mages were momentarily confused for 1-2 seconds due to the obscured vision, and Oliver used this moment to use black magic on the Targeting he had placed earlier. [Hey, Bullet]

Several bullets of hatred were fired like a machine gun.

The mages were startled and deployed shields to defend, but they didn't block everything, and some groans could be heard.

Along with the groans, the mages' confusion, fear, and panic were evident.

The ease they had shown when they first arrived was gone, and they seemed to be in disbelief about the situation.

Oliver concentrated the energy of the Black Suit in his legs and leaped to close the distance with the mages.

‘If I can get close and incapacitate them like the explosive mage... Hmm?’

A hand holding lightning appeared in front of Oliver, along with a spatial rift he had seen in the warehouse.

A delicate hand, not calloused.

The hand suddenly appeared, covered Oliver's face, and then slammed him into the building below.

The impact was tremendous, but thanks to the Black Suit, his spine didn't break.

A voice filled with rage was heard.

"Arrogant...! You fake mage...! Electronic Shock!"

Electricity enveloped his body with the incantation.

While the lightning spell was good for attacking a group, the Electronic Shock was suitable for attacking an individual.

By concentrating the mana used for the lightning on one person.

The principle was simple but effective, and the Black Suit was being consumed at a rapid rate.

"I'll turn you into a roast!"

The mage shouted. Oliver tried to move to counterattack, but the Black Suit didn't respond due to the power of the electricity.

It was a critical situation, but Oliver calmly assessed the surroundings.

It seemed that this enraged lightning mage had initiated close combat, but he was curious about where the other two mages were.

If they attacked together now, it would be truly dangerous.

Focusing his vision, he could see where they were.

Just like with the explosive mage, they were moving through the warehouse using magic.

"Can you see?! Where my friends are! I'll sweep you and the gang members you're protecting together! Die in despair!"

"Ah... Thank you."

Oliver replied and turned his gaze to the warehouse.

As the lightning mage had said, the two mages had moved into the warehouse and were attacking the confused gang members.

Oliver signaled the minions he had placed in the warehouse.

"Minions, please."

With that, a small explosion was heard from the warehouse, and the condensed mana disappeared.

The minions he had placed there exploded, spreading Cling Spider Web throughout the warehouse.

A black magic that restrained the body, perfect for capturing targets except for its vulnerability to external shocks.

It seemed to work on the mages as well.

"You...!"

For some reason, the mage poured even more of the mana he had forcibly recovered through the potion.

The electricity, which had been crackling, changed to a sizzling sound and began to melt the Black Suit faster than before.

His power had increased due to his rage, but Oliver shook his head, deciding not to explain and clear up the misunderstanding.

There were two reasons for this.

First, the emotion-filled minion was almost there, and second, the mage's vision had narrowed due to his rage, so he didn't notice.

Sizzling!

With a terrifying sound, the second Black Suit was shattered, and the third Black Suit began to break.

Now, the electricity could be felt indirectly.

"Die! Fake!"

[Impression]

He commanded the minion, which had approached nearby.

The minion then released the large amount of emotion it had contained, and the black, sticky emotion entangled itself, becoming like viscous mud.

"This is...!"

The confused lightning mage. It was a funny coincidence, as the first lightning mage he had met had also been caught off guard by not noticing his surroundings.

The Impression, a swirling mass of entangled emotions, approached and tried to envelop the lightning mage.

The lightning mage tried to resist by attacking the emotion, but he couldn't use his full strength because he had overexerted himself to burn Oliver to death.

His attacks only momentarily broke the encirclement, and the pressure became even more intense. Finally, he tried to escape by surrounding himself with lightning as he had done before.

Thud!

But it was useless. When he tried to leap, the sticky emotion grabbed his ankles.

Oliver recalled his fight with the explosive mage.

He had continued to use magic, even at the risk of injuring himself, and eventually broke free of the Impression. If it happened again, it could be quite dangerous, so Oliver controlled the Impression as if it were his last chance.

Not just activating it, but continuously controlling it.

The lightning mage frantically emitted electricity from his entire body, consuming the emotion that was enveloping him, while Oliver tried to swallow the mage by controlling the Impression.

In the process, the Impression was reduced by half, but the mage, believing he could win if he held on a little longer, shouted in joy.

"Of course, a fake mage like you!"

At that moment, Oliver extended one hand into the air.

He then extracted the mage's fighting spirit, anger, confusion, and other emotions.

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