The Tragedy of Lanciel City

The Tragedy of Lanciel City

“Tsk!”

A tongue click rang out loudly.

Just as confusion flashed across Riksha’s face, who had been calmly guiding us,

Kaboom!

My vision flipped. Bang! Crash! Bang! Something shattered in succession. Each time, my back ached with a dull pain. What… what’s happening?

Thud! With that sound, I was unceremoniously slammed down. Only then could I finally lift my head.

My head throbbed painfully. My ears rang with a buzzing sound, and my vision swam. As I stood up, bits of rubble fell from my clothes.

“…Damn it.”

Before me, I could see more than a dozen walls with gaping holes punched through them. Through those holes, my companions looked as small as beans. How far had I been thrown? No wonder all my joints ached when I tried to stand…

“Hmm? You’re not broken?”

It was an old man’s voice.

His attire was distinctive. He wore a skin-tight full-body suit. Metal armor hovered slightly over the suit, moving with a sliding motion, and a sphere attached to his chest area emitted bluish sparks. His helmet completely covered his face, and a beam hilt circled around him. Various equipment dangled from his waist, making clinking sounds.

The details were more elaborate and complex than what I was familiar with, but…

“8th class equipment? No… 7th class?”

It was definitely ancient warrior gear. High-ranking at that.

…I had heard of a group that fought wearing ancient equipment. Their characteristic trait was indiscriminate hostility toward mages, and their nickname was… “Butcher”?

“…Butcher?”

“Knight Order, you lowly mage.”

The old man’s voice was thoroughly contemptuous.

“What are you doing here? …What have you done to the Jack family?”

“More importantly, I’m curious why you didn’t break, mage.”

Right. Level 5 physical enhancement alone provides physical abilities comparable to a 2-star Ki-blood magic practitioner. On top of that base, I had developed 3-star Ki-blood, and recently my body had been completely reconstructed, far surpassing human limitations. At that level, to put it crudely, I’m harder than steel and can’t be broken by ordinary magic. Yet even I felt my head spinning enough to make me nauseous. Some parts seemed dislocated and swollen. The impact would have incapacitated even a 4th Circle mage in a single blow.

But… so what?

[!!#$%THX:@!!]

Iron Blood emitted an angry mental wave. As the cold magical metal circulated through my blood vessels around my entire body,

Crack crack.

My dislocated joints realigned, and swollen inflammations subsided. The throbbing headache settled into a cold anger.

Though I had no idea what was going on…

I pulled out a spell I had been saving.

<Transportation>

Whoong!

Tearing through space, thirty 9th class beam hilts, ten beam shields, and seven Mobility discs appeared. Booster boots formed around my feet.

The enemy’s attack speed was faster than I could perceive. In that case, I had no choice but to maintain distance with the help of equipment.

“When it comes to equipment… I have far more, you know?”

“Ohh~?”

The old knight drew out the last syllable as if interested. …How annoying.

Kaboom!

Following my will, thirty beam hilts simultaneously emitted orange beams. Glass windows shattered with the heat blast and melted in mid-air.

But at that moment, my gaze wasn’t directed at the old knight.

‘…You can figure out what I mean, right? Someone will understand?’

Whoong!

While the dazzling beams from the beam hilts obscured visibility, I sent seven Mobility discs on a wide detour toward my companions.

‘This is ominous.’

Having been thrown far away, I couldn’t protect my companions. If they were attacked all at once in this situation, some would definitely die.

‘We need to retreat and regroup first!’

+ – + – +

Only Yuria with her [Magic Eye] could barely see Baek Jun-woo being thrown away. Someone wearing ancient warrior equipment had flown in like a cannonball and rammed into Baek Jun-woo. Bang! Bang! Through the walls that collapsed in succession, broken tables and toppled bookshelves came into view… and between them, the bodies of dead people, apparently employees of House Jack, were crumpled haphazardly.

A chill ran down her spine from head to toe.

Lytol, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, frowned and muttered.

“What in the world…”

A spear emitting yellow beams plunged down toward him.

“Dodge!”

Yuria’s warning came a bit late.

Zing!

Clatter!

“Kugh!”

Fortunately, the protective magic on Lytol’s robe activated and deflected the beam spear. However, the heavy impact sent Lytol spinning away.

By then, Yuria had made up her mind. She drew her bow and arrow.

“Wa-wait! I’m just hired… I didn’t know this would…”

“Well done, deceiver.”

Thunk!

Yuria’s arrow pierced the neck of Riksha, who had been disguised as a guide. Riksha, a mere 2nd Circle mage, couldn’t match the speed of Yuria, who had undergone level 3 physical enhancement and completed 2-star Ki-blood.

Yuria muttered.

“Mesmerizing magic again…”

The mesmerizing magic led by Riksha—designed to lower our guard and prevent us from discovering the upheaval in the lord’s castle—used exactly the same method as the one employed by Shado previously. Thanks to that, they could detect it faster this time.

‘Could it be… that the Knight Order also sent Shado?’

Pan-Dalus had said it was more likely to be the Magic Tower or Truth Tower rather than the Knight Order…

But what are the odds that different groups would use exactly the same spell?

Her throat felt gritty, as if filled with sand. But now wasn’t the time to ponder.

Kaboom!

Orange explosions erupted from the back where Baek Jun-woo was. Through the dazzling beams, seven Mobility discs could be seen coming this way.

‘As expected… Jun-woo’s thinking the same as me.’

Though it was a crisis situation with the leader Baek Jun-woo and the high Circle mage Lytol both gone, Yuria issued commands without hesitation in Baek Jun-woo’s stead.

“Everyone! Board the Mobility discs! Scatter and retreat immediately! Prioritize your own survival!”

The clues were sufficient.

The pre-arranged work that naturally drew them deep into the lord’s castle.

The attack that precisely targeted Baek Jun-woo and Lytol first.

The corpses of former employees seen through the broken walls…

The enemy had not only already taken control of the entire lord’s castle but also knew our information accurately.

That meant only one thing.

“Don’t overthink it! We’re outnumbered! It’s a trap! We’ll be annihilated at this rate!”

Yuria pushed one of the incoming Mobility discs toward Lytol, who had flown far away, and mounted one herself.

“Fel! Del! We’ll cover our allies from the rear while retreating! Go!”

Bang!

The Mobility disc, an ancient transportation device shaped like a disc. With a zero-to-hundred acceleration of just one second, it was more efficient than most movement-type spells. The six of them immediately boarded the Mobility discs and soared into the air.

Ziiing!

Dozens of red beams plunged into the spot where they had been just moments before. Yuria’s eyes quickly scanned the battlefield. Enemies who had been lying in ambush on the roofs of the lord’s castle were now visible. They seemed somewhat confused.

‘Fortunate. The enemies didn’t expect us to respond this quickly either.’

Thanks to that brief opening, the group was able to attempt a retreat. If they had realized even a little later, they would have been trapped in an encirclement with no escape.

“Phew… huh?!”

Yuria was about to sigh in relief when… she immediately raised her bow above her head.

A cold voice came from above.

“Too late.”

Whiiing!

A sound that cut through the air.

A knight with gleaming wings spread wide fell down and extended a long spear to stab Yuria. Just as the spear was about to pierce her chest, her white robe fluttered.

“Escape!”

Bang!

As Yuria bounced off the Mobility disc in an instant,

“A magical device? Hmph! That won’t be enough!”

With green eyes glowing behind his helmet, the young knight spread his star-like wings wide once more.

But,

Ting! Ting! Clang!

“Huh?”

Three perfectly timed arrows hit the left power device of the wings in rapid succession. The knight lost his balance and spun in circles in mid-air.

“Huh? Huh?”

“Nice dance~ idiot.”

With eyes glowing bright blue, Yuria gave a cold smile, then fell toward the streets of Lanciel City.

“You… damn…! I’ll kill you!”

After finally regaining his balance, the young knight flapped his wings toward the city streets where Yuria had fallen.

+ – + – +

Fel couldn’t feel any sense of reality in this entire situation. He stood there stupidly until he reflexively took off after hearing Yuria’s command. He blankly watched as red beams rained down from the top of the lord’s castle, a knight with gleaming wings pounced on Yuria, and Del, a 3rd Circle mage, defended the rear of Monggu, Hwarin, and Horatio as they retreated.

His gaze turned to where Lytol and Baek Jun-woo were fighting loudly. The lord’s castle, built up over hundreds or thousands of years by expanding on ancient relics, which could be considered history itself… was being indiscriminately destroyed. But the question that filled Fel’s mind wasn’t about that.

‘Where’s Father? Ann? Where has the secretary gone?’

In every place where destruction revealed interior spaces… bodies lay around like garbage. It felt like a ball of fire was rising in his throat.

“Ha! You’re mine!”

Zing!

With an unpleasant voice, a chain-connected hook flew over, pierced Fel’s Mobility disc, and wrapped tightly around him.

‘…Cuffs?’

Iron chains that repelled magical power and bound his entire body tightly. Though different in appearance, they seemed similar to the ancient equipment “cuffs” that Baek Jun-woo had shown.

A brutish force pulled Fel. He didn’t resist. Instead, he used wind magic to add momentum toward the pulling direction.

“Huh?”

A voice thick as if coated with oil. Rather than being large-bodied… it was a knight with enormous belly and buttocks. While he was surprised by Fel flying toward him at high speed, Fel unleashed a series of memorized spells.

<Spell Penetration>

<Sturdy Body>

<Spear Ghost>

And his Gift [Physical Strengthening]

Crunch!

From his 1-star Ki-blood, refined magical power—ki—surged. In his body enhanced by various auxiliary spells, the Ki-blood magic of ancient mage Jo Hee-ryong, transmitted through <Spear Ghost>, was recreated through Fel’s flesh.

Crack!

The thick iron chains that had been wrapped tightly around Fel’s body burst in an instant. Blue magical power streamed along the ‘Anti-Magic Spear,’ the heirloom of House Jack.

“Eek!”

Sensing danger, the massive knight quickly threw himself sideways and rolled on the ground.

“Huh?”

But Fel paid him no attention whatsoever.

Passing by him like a flash of lightning, Fel ran to the deepest part of the lord’s castle, shattering any walls that blocked his way. The further he went, the more corpses he saw, and the stench of blood grew thicker.

‘Please…’

‘Please!!’

Screaming inwardly, Fel broke through the final wall and collapsed to his knees.

“Father…”

Earn Jack, the mayor of Lanciel City.

His head, with eyes wide open, was rolling in the center of his bedroom. On one wall, the secretary Wei Dun was pinned like a butterfly specimen, his face frozen in a scream, dripping blood and flesh.

“Huff… huff… What? You knew these people?”

The massive knight who had belatedly followed asked in a wheezy tone. Behind him came hurried footsteps. The Knight Order minions were moving to surround Fel again, who had unexpectedly penetrated deeper.

But… what did any of that matter now?

Drip-

A single tear of blood fell from Fel’s chin and shattered on the floor.

+ – + – +

I saw Yuria falling beyond the castle walls and Fel driving even deeper into the lord’s castle instead. There was also Lytol, caught and unable to escape, and Hwarin, Horatio, and Monggu who had escaped beyond the castle walls under Del’s protection.

Thanks to Yuria’s appropriate judgment, we avoided the scenario of being shot at all at once, but… our forces were scattered, and the number of enemies in pursuit was far more than expected.

‘How many will survive?’

When I thought about it, my chest felt cold and my stomach churned.

“…How much did you find out?”

I asked.

“What?”

The old knight asked back.

“About me. Did you think someone of your level could win?”

“Ah, of course. I know you’re strong for a 3rd Circle mage and that you defeated the 4th Circle mage Lytol. So someone of my caliber is more than enough.”

The old knight’s voice was full of confidence. That’s why I twisted the corner of my mouth.

“That’s why you’re going to die.”

Iron Blood… can you endure it?

[#$%&?!!]

Ah, don’t worry. We have beam hilts and beam shields. And above all…

There’s no time to measure things, is there?

I raised my eyes to take in all the enemies at once. The old knight in front of me, the Knight Order minions rushing out of the lord’s castle behind him, and behind them again, three knights wearing something like booster boots closely pursuing Del’s group.

Aiming at all of them at once, I stretched out my left hand.

<Saíl(射日)>

[S-aah-hiL!!]

My mouth, my Circle, spat out the promised language of the gods.