Chapter 500 – Thief Guild vs Revolutionary Army (4)
Wessker felt wronged.
As one of the continent’s top ten thieves, she thought she’d be good at petty and laughable fights.
You know, like pickpocketing or sneaking around.
But a mirror?
Summoning the netherworld through the surface of a mirror, flipping things upside down like a two-sided mirror!
That just screams “not a regular thief.”
The Three Great Evils.
Multicolor Magic.
The kind of power that made you feel the strength of being mentioned alongside such big names.
“Why are you wasting such incredible power on a petty place like the Thief Guild!? If you used that strength for the Revolutionary Army, you could have set the entire Empire straight ages ago!”
“I don’t like the Revolutionary Army.”
“What’s the difference with the Thief Guild? You’re all just a bunch of criminals gathered to steal!”
“Murder with false accusations and evidence tampering. Sure, we might do those things if necessary, but you crossed the line. We only pull those tricks when we’re hunting down traitors who ally with demons to defeat humanity.”
The essence of the Revolutionary Army was fundamentally different.
“You slaughter innocent civilians.”
“It’s merely a sacrifice for the cause!”
“That’s why I dislike you.”
In response to Lilia’s feelings, some of the ghosts draining Wessker’s power gathered in the back, forming several massive blobs.
Surrounded by blinding light, the ghosts fused and recombined, evolving into superior monsters of overwhelming soul density.
Wailing Banshee.
Wrist-Cutting Naeri.
Blindfolded Freaky.
As the upper-tier Ghost-type Monsters emerged, Wessker shouted to her underlings, the Red Mages.
“Handle the small fry!”
Withdrawing her previously deployed powers to fend off the encroaching ghosts, she unleashed a high-tier fire spell to increase the density of her fire magic.
Fire Dive.
A flame-charged charge that burned anyone beneath a certain level of existence to ash just by getting close to it!
Kablam!
The city, flipped upside down like a meteor dropping, escaped destruction past a certain threshold.
Wide Area Defense Barrier – Big City Defense Specification.
Even the impact of Fire Dive landing could hardly shake the barrier as both inside and outside were isolated.
Wessker easily deduced this was a creation of the Previous Hero, the Destroyer.
“You set a conditional magic spell to trigger the barrier the moment there’s a significant destruction reaching the city. You built a wall more effective than the castle wall for defense.”
“I prepared for when the Thief Guild headquarters would be attacked. I didn’t expect humans to invade first, not demons.”
“But now it’s over. With the barrier up, you lost the chance to draw people from beyond. You’re blocked from summoning ghostly reinforcements and fusion of upper-tier ones.”
If only she hadn’t bothered with the barrier, more people would’ve died, and more ghosts could have come forth.
If that had happened, Wessker would’ve faced a number of upper-tier ghosts equal to those she wiped out with Fire Dive, and amidst the exhausting mana drain battle, she would’ve inevitably collapsed in despair.
Such a fight is madness—facing the monster population equivalent to an entire city’s flux.
But the opponent had closed that door.
All because of the fear of casualties.
It only drew a laugh.
“This crisis is the result of narrow and shallow horizons, unwilling to endure small sacrifices for the greater good. Experience the truth of the difference between the Revolutionary Army and the Thief Guild before you die!”
A formidable enemy, yet just that much.
Confident of victory, Wessker gathered her mana for the finishing blow.
But in Lilia’s eyes, there was neither fear nor hesitation.
She had won.
It was as if that’s what she was saying, just overflowing with certainty.
The fragments meant to become mirrors shattered completely, embedding themselves into the debris.
In the dry canal, there wasn’t even a little puddle to find.
‘Just a bluff, right?’
With a cruel smile, Wessker added a stroke to the horizon.
The explosive energy bursting from her fingertips filled the barrier with explosion.
“Miss Wessker?!”
“With that kind of force, the blast will take us all…!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t die. I wouldn’t give even useless pawns like you over to the ghosts.”
The blast was adjusted to barely not kill her subordinates.
6th Tier Annihilation Magic – Redline.
With an explosion bursting like fireworks, the heat rising made Wessker’s heart race.
Yes, this is it.
In moments like this, she felt most alive.
The moment to bring an end to a world capable of being endlessly cruel just to take down one girl.
A moment when she could finally be as cruel as the world that had been so harsh to her.
“Ahhhhh…! Yes! Truly wonderful. The thrill of exploding the entire world in a moment is unparalleled!”
She rubbed her thighs and wiped her blazing cheeks with both hands.
In response to her sensuous shout, a cooler voice with a completely different tone replied.
“I knew a Red Mage would definitely retaliate like this if weaknesses were shown.”
“Hah?! Surviving in the explosion of Redline, aren’t you a bit too tenacious? If your fire affinity was lacking, you should be burning to the core!”
“You misasked the question. I would’ve asked why you knew I was a Red Mage first.”
Oh? Good point.
How did I know?
“I didn’t ask, but kindly let me answer. For growth, I learned techniques from the Multicolor Magic Tower. The fiery mainstream of the Red Tower was no exception.”
“Haha. Are you planning to beg for your life clinging to a sect’s honor? You have a surprisingly cute side.”
“Which side do you think is cute?”
As the explosion-packed barrier faded, Wessker’s joy-filled face contorted in confusion.
Negation.
The Redline vision spell Wessker unleashed was negated by a similar magic.
If her 6th tier magic squeezed out through her staff was blocked, then the opponent’s spell had to be at least at the same tier.
Nope, that’s beyond her league.
Even genius who painstakingly honed their skills in the tower for months wouldn’t level up magic of this caliber.
Such magic had already been completely leaked out.
The story about a technique slip had gone beyond the ordinary.
“In essence, vision is merely a written explanation of how a singular understanding proceeds. Once you learn various techniques across many fields, you’ll discover humans’ imagination ultimately leads there.”
“Did you realize the vision independently without leaking it?!”
“It wasn’t that difficult. Just like how I blocked your vision spell like this.”
Unthinkable.
Her mind couldn’t catch up.
Even Wessker, who had grown up hearing “genius,” felt a fear that she couldn’t comprehend—talent at an incomprehensible level.
No, this can’t be.
As her spirit crumbled, she took a step back.
But the barrier blocking her escape remained intact.
Not just intact, but it was glowing a fierce red and began showing powerful magical reactions.
“This reaction… is from just a moment ago?!”
“Exactly. The barrier is transparent. If it’s transparent… it can be a mirror at any time.”
As the powers of the two opposing sides clashed, the energy that had burst skyward scattered like a dome along the internal surface of the barrier.
Lilia remembered all too well the power and energy of that explosion.
“It’s time to return it.”
With the impact of the two spells negating rising along the barrier’s surface once again.
No way.
She couldn’t keep up with the speed.
Wessker urgently raised her staff and yelled.
“Activate the Joint Defense Magic Circle!”
The Red Mages, who barely saved their own lives, raised their staffs in response to her call.
But after Wessker’s explosion had severely lowered the output potential they could squeeze out…
“Aaaaah!”
“Kuahk!”
One by one, the mages collapsed, either vomiting blood or convulsing due to mana dysfunction, catching flames, and collapsing.
Wessker, who alone had to endure the overwhelming power without ever caring for her subordinates, was also left with a severely drained mana level like everyone else.
Clash!
The barrier, borrowed for counter-attack, couldn’t endure the overheat and broke apart, but that was no loss for Lilia.
The barrier had done its job, and Wessker was left without the capacity for large-scale massacre.
“Put on the restraining cuffs.”
At Lilia’s command, the Kanelle City Guard, waiting nearby the barrier, rushed in.
Having lost a majority of her subordinates and only preserving her life, the cuffs were firmly placed around Wessker’s wrist.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“I need help underground. Once the chaos on the surface is settled and the headquarters is stable, I’d like the city guard to fill the gap in defensive power.”
“You think I can refuse the request of a top ten thief in the continent? I will gladly comply.”
With a bright smile and a hand extended, the guard hid something in a grimace.
“After all, it won’t do to let the hand of a lowly commoner touch a high-ranking individual, right?”
“…It’s not a bother. We’re both commoners, merely with different powers.”
In a begging position, she couldn’t hurt feelings.
The fight with Wessker had been heavy for Lilia, but a handshake was nothing trivial.
She dragged her exhausted body and extended her hand with effort.
Clink.
On the clasped hands, for some reason, restraining cuffs intended for high-level criminals were fastened.
Is this a trap?!
Instinctively, Lilia shifted her weight back, pulling the guard toward her.
She struck hard at the abdomen, knocking him down and snatching the key to release the cuffs.
The nearly perfect plan was blocked by an alarmingly intricate counter.
“Fighting like this while under restraining cuffs, what kind of person are you?”
“Is it any wonder? Our eager Wessker didn’t manage to escape defeat; how could I just watch as her superior?”
Wessker’s superior.
Someone higher than an executive of the Revolutionary Army.
A competent person who could execute all techniques at a minimum of 5th tier proficiency, whose combat skills surpassed Wessker’s.
In a state of her mana manipulation being disrupted by restraining cuffs, she wrapped one hand around Wessker’s wrist and her own, performing the Mana Flow Technique with not a single mistake.
This identity.
This skill.
One person immediately came to mind.
“Now, Lilia. Let’s see if those high-minded Thieves Guild folks can overlook your sacrifice for the greater good. I’m curious if they’ll value friendship and let this opportunity slip away for the sake of that.”
The dismissal of the Three Great Evils.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army.
The Revolutionary has taken her hostage.
