<305 - The True Enemy>
Apostle of Anrage.
The guards planted by the Director to protect the cruise ship, once invited aboard to seek the Holy Artifact, are twenty powerful individuals.
Among them, the most dangerous being, Demonic Contractor Roe, had already awakened in Jonnas’s awareness even before he boarded the ship.
The [Vision Doll] held by Dark Merchant Jezel had a bi-directional vision-sharing function, allowing Jezel to spy on the doll owner’s perspective.
Crack!
Thus, Roe’s Mana Shield could stop attempts to shove him off the ship by raising the metal aboard in response.
“Such a rough welcome. What would you do if the lady gets hurt?”
“Oh, stop whining. There’s no way you’d get hurt with your protection, right? Besides… we’re both interested in that lady’s body,” Roe smirked.
To the ears of Liff and April, who were listening from nearby, this sounded like the ramblings of a pervert, yet neither could display any hostility toward him.
‘A different level.’
Liff felt it deeply. Even someone as skilled as himself within the Foundation couldn’t compete with these two.
April, glancing sideways, looked like she was struggling just to stand and keep her wits about her.
“Eek~ Uncle is a pervert?”
“Stay back, miss. He’s a pervert with nothing good to offer.”
“Are you not planning to let me go? Then I guess… I’ll have to resort to this method,” Roe declared.
With a snap of his fingers, the Magic Circle carved at his feet erupted with light, causing hundreds of trapped crew members to scream.
In an instant, their internal mana and life force were drained, turning them into [Mana Fuel], and their wails brought Roe only amusement.
“Now, let’s see who escapes this ship alive.”
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai was strong. Strong enough to defeat Academy Professor Raeb. He even had the record of attending the Academy as a representative of the Foundation for the first time. The face of the Foundation.
He had the skill and qualifications to represent the Wahyhiemhai Foundation, which was loathed and hated by the world.
The Director must have believed in him, hence the continued vital use of Jonnas until now.
Thus, defeating Jonnas and stealing Oknodie’s body would be Roe’s ultimate revenge.
‘The Foundation’s deputy. And the Chief Scholarship Student. The current and future of the Foundation shall be ended by this Demonic Contractor Roe, who will take them for his own. If he can even seize the pride of the cruise ship, the Director will suffer tremendous losses.’
In an instant, everything the Director had invested would turn to ash.
Such revenge after being shackled by the cruise ship for over a decade would be well worth it.
“Now, my fuels. Sacrifice your mana to me. Pray that Jonnas Wahyhiemhai falls at my hands as quickly as possible, or you all will be squeezed dry and die as my battle fuel!”
A cruel battle using the entire ship as hostages had begun.
*
Roe, squeezing power from the two thousand hostages, was undeniably powerful.
A master who could toy with the Upper Class for First-Year, including Warriors, with just a bit of mana was now gaining enormous mana. Jonnas’s metal manipulation couldn’t overwhelm him.
Creak!
With every use of strength, Jonnas felt his defeat clearly.
The metals borrowed from the cruise ship’s internal parts were being shredded in real-time by Roe’s vibration waves.
With every effort made to restore, the remaining quantity of metal appliances and components aboard shrank.
‘If I use everything, I’ll have no choice but to sacrifice the hull. If that happens…’
Winning wouldn’t truly equate to victory.
He wouldn’t be able to move the ship.
This meant that the lady wouldn’t be able to head to the Director’s Mansion.
That precious indulgence which could have served as the lady’s extra life would be wasted due to his shortcomings.
He couldn’t accept that.
‘It ends in a short battle!’
Roe saw through Jonnas’s impatience.
Calmly, he continuously redirected most of his power to [Defense], repeatedly tearing and smashing the approaching metals.
Even if he squeezed all the fuels and exhausted himself, he understood that if the cruise ship ceased to function, Oknodie wouldn’t be able to fulfill the Director’s orders.
Information isn’t only captured by allies.
The enemy, Roe, also received all information within the cruise ship through the crew members.
Among that was undoubtedly the fact that Oknodie had received a command from Papa to come visit the Mansion with friends.
‘No matter how much you wish for it to end, I won’t allow a short battle.’
As the clash intensified, the area unfolded, mana lights rained down, and explosions echoed in space.
The longer the confrontation dragged on, the more Roe’s cruel smile grew.
Time was on his side.
Impatience belonged to Jonnas.
The more anxious he became, the heavier the burden and danger Jonnas would have to bear.
Victory was steadily tilting toward Roe.
There was only one variable.
“Oknodie.”
“Jiang! Where were you hiding?”
“From the chandelier on the ceiling. Remember back at the Academy when we hid together?”
“Oh! That was fun~”
“More importantly, what are you going to do? That guy is ridiculously strong. Even the Warriors can’t match him. If this carries on, your Butler will be done for too.”
“I won’t do anything!”
“…Are you serious? If your Butler falls, everyone will be in trouble. Wouldn’t it be better to release the lifeboats and escape now? If possible, save Titosso too.”
Of course, the lifeboats couldn’t hold many people. Most would have to be left behind to fend for themselves.
With that cruel reality unspoken, Jiang hesitated.
Yet Oknodie just grinned contentedly.
“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out!”
He won.
As Jiang’s expression contorted from the lazy behavior of the only variable, Roe’s expression subtly lightened.
Was it blind faith in his Butler?
Or overconfidence in himself?
Faith always forces those unworthy of it to pay a considerable price.
Just as it did for those once aboard this ship and followers of Anrage.
The only difference now was that the strong was not the Foundation but himself.
This time, he would make everyone from the Foundation pay the price of belief.
And take this delicate yet spirited child’s body for himself.
Then escape to the Gift Academy, the safest place in the world away from the Foundation’s pursuit and threats.
If the Warrior candidate Kaina and others become Academy Students too, they would all share the same goals.
They would all become Upperclassmen, gaining sufficient power and connections, and once graduated from the Academy, the Foundation would have to run from them.
‘It’s not far off. I can see that entire future now. Jonnas Wahyhiemhai, just overcoming this one hurdle means our faith will finally triumph!’
Anrage is the god of corruption.
The one who awakens the latent talent within people.
He has shown him the greatest aptitude.
The aptitude of a Demonic Contractor granted immense power.
That god of Anrage had stated.
To reclaim his Holy Artifact.
And with it, that talent would grow even greater.
Having obtained the artifact but trapped with other selves in one body, now free to wield his power without hindrance, Jonnas was clearly cornered.
The great cabins towering in the center of the ship continued to shrink layer by layer.
So did the artillery shells in the armory and the cargo of the warehouse.
10% left.
That was the total amount of resources Jonnas Wahyhiemhai could utilize while inflicting no damage to the ship.
In contrast, his own fuel still had three chunks remaining.
[Absorption Magic Circle]
The second cage containing 500 crew members fell, spewing blood as they collapsed.
Even then, there were still 1000 left.
There were even special students deliberately left behind as sacrifices.
He had won.
Victory was already assured.
Even if he squeezed power with the consideration of the ship’s functionality being compromised, he couldn’t manage the mana of the next 500 or the 500 after that.
To win, Jonnas should have focused solely on a short battle against Roe, not killing all the crew.
Without mana to seize, no matter how hard he tried to extract it, the evaporating force would escape beyond the limits Roe could wield.
“The Foundation’s Butler. The iron-blooded metal magician. You’ve brought about your defeat through such a weak fighting style.”
“Do you really think that? That Jonnas Wahyhiemhai would duel against you without care while being responsible for the lady’s safety?”
In his attempt to see Jonnas’s disgraceful face as he threw a provocation, he was rather stonewalled by Jonnas’s overly confident response.
That confidence irritated him.
It was not arrogance or bravado; he felt genuine conviction in his victory.
Something was amiss.
There was something he hadn’t grasped.
“Our lady has great potential for the future.”
“…?”
“That’s why everyone who sees her thinks so. In the future, she will be exceptional, but she’s still far from that. It’ll take time for that potential to reach the level of a Golden Frame-level warrior.”
It wasn’t true.
With a murderous smile that had once been taken from the lady, Jonnas declared.
“This is the delay battle the lady wanted.”
“A delay battle? Against me in this vast sea, even prepared to lose the ship? For what purpose?”
“The lady is well-versed in Blood Magic. The ship already has mosquitoes flying around, sucking the blood of numerous people. And I injected a special secretion as well.”
The short battle was a ruse.
The more he rushed, the more Roe felt Jonnas’s sincerity, prompting him to attempt to evade into a delaying battle.
The trap had been set perfectly.
Thump.
The moment he locked eyes with Oknodie, Roe felt that something was dreadfully wrong.
The mana he had just drained from the crew members would not respond to his commands.
The ‘impurities’ in their blood all raised their heads in unison, rejecting his orders.
“Surprise!”
“You…! What did you do to the crew members’ blood?!”
“Nothing much. Just a little fun!”
Oknodie, who had been smilingly holding her ground all along, kindly answered Roe’s furious outcry.
“Did you know that, when mosquitoes suck blood, they inject a paralysis poison into their victims to avoid detection? I merely enhanced that function a bit.”
By adding yet another special function that went beyond mere paralysis.
“All I did was infiltrate a dormant-style mana paralysis poison that forces all internal mana to go numb the moment my Dark Mana receives the signal!”
Why would he do that? For what purpose?
He couldn’t understand.
What benefit lay in doing such a thing!
The shock was brief.
A frightening truth struck Roe’s mind.
If there were any gain, haven’t you already obtained it?
Right at this very moment.
“You… designed this long before boarding the ship, knowing it would come to this moment!?”
Roe finally realized.
The opponent he was fighting was not Jonnas Wahyhiemhai.
Beneath the surface, the true enemy—who had steadily plotted while putting Jonnas on display.
The Chief Scholarship Student of the Foundation and someone the Director took particular care of.
Dark Princess Oknodie was indeed the true enemy he had to defeat!
