He hesitated, then shook his head.
"I do not advice to fight. My father find us soon. Until then... we wait."
'Coward!' I stifled the urge to spit the word out. Turning to the girl, I asked, "What about you?"
The girl, still hiding behind her brother, responded in a small, childish voice:
"Yes! Father is very strong. Just wait...little while."
"Don't worry, father will find us in a few minutes. He'll defeat the bad man easily."
Her Zadakian was much better than her brother's.
Still...this was disappointing.
"So, you're going to leave your fate in someone else's hands? Sorry, I can't do that."
With those words, I turned and walked away. I didn't have time to waste on children, even if they had some potential.
I wasn't going to beg or plead with them. If push came to shove, I had my ways of forcing that boy to join the fight.
Alright, my plan was simple:
1- I'd hide in the corner by the door, in the blind spot of his missing eye. Then, I'd create some noise to lure him inside.
2- Boom, boom — two fire bullets: one straight to his throat and the other to his injured stomach.
3- Follow that with a fireball to burn his body.
4- Run!
A simple plan that relied entirely on surprise. You could call it an assassination attempt.
I wouldn't dare face him in direct combat because, for the thousandth time, I wasn't even rank one yet!
Of course, if this plan failed, I'd use the Light Bombs spell to blind him temporarily. Then, I'd force that purple-haired boy to join by threatening his sister with a fire bullet.
He was still a child, and I doubted he'd realize I was weaker than him. In that case, I could only pray the warlock had no defensive spells prepared.
And if all that failed and I died? Fine, then let me die!
I would've done my best and fought back — what would there be to regret? I wasn't some fool who'd sit around depending on their parents for an unknown miracle.
Waiting was an option, but from what he'd said earlier, it sounded like he was planning something.
Hmph, I wouldn't sit idly by and wait for my death!
As I was preparing myself, the purple-haired girl spoke up:
"Do you really want to fight? Just so you know, he's probably a rank three warlock! He can kill a hundred or a thousand of you with ease!"
"I suggest we wait for my father; he's a sorcerer of—"
"Eli!" the boy shouted, cutting her off.
I ignored them completely. I wasn't going to waste my time arguing with a girl who still clung to her father's protection.
My father was a rank five sorcerer. Would that help me now? No!
Fighting a warlock who might be rank three was practically flirting with death, but sitting here doing nothing was far worse.
He'd said something earlier about starting a "fun" or whatever.
Hmph! I wouldn't sit here like a fool, waiting for my death like these idiots.
Of course, I could've focused on "escaping" more than "killing," but was I foolish enough to engage in a chase with a rank three? The answer was no!
Who knows what kind of demonic spells he possesses? Unless he dies, escaping is pointless; he'll always be able to chase me. Forget his power as a rank three sorcerer—logically, who has better stamina and speed, an adult or a child? Engaging in a chase with him… that would be pure folly.
"Whew… Let's begin."
Hidden near the door, I picked up a small rock and infused it with a bit of mana.
With a moderate level of mana control, I could at least manage something like this. I only wished I could generate elements from nothing like enhancers do and imbue my weapon—that would've been incredibly useful now.
I'll have to ask Haist to teach me that when I get back!
I threw the rock at the wall, creating a muffled explosion.
"BAM!"
"Damn it, what are you brats doing!?"
The door slammed open violently as the disfigured warlock stormed in, fuming with rage. At that moment, I remained hidden by the door and activated
It allowed me to simulate the bullet's path. I pointed my left index finger at his throat and my right at his wounded stomach, shouting:
"[Fire Bullet]!"
"[Fire Bullet]!"
"Small orange magic circles appeared at the tips of my fingers, firing off two burning bullets.
This spell didn't require chanting because I had found a magic circle for "Fire Bullet" inside Beginner's Spellbook, which was more refined than the crude version I had experimented with three years ago.
It seems I'm not the only one with creative ideas.
"What—"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Before he could react, the bullets hit their mark.
Using
"That was… easier than I thought…"
I stared at his crumpled body on the floor. I raised my hands and muttered:
"[Fireball]!"
"[Fireball]!"
"Whoosh!"
Two bright orange balls appeared in front of my palms and crashed onto his body. Flames ignited immediately, and his figure began to burn.
Spells at level one were only moderately strong. Fire Bullet had about the power of a small-caliber gun, and Fireball could only cause second-degree burns at best.
That's why I used it twice; I had to make sure he burned completely.
Moments later, the acrid stench of charred flesh mixed with the metallic scent of blood, forming a nauseating combination that nearly choked me.
It was the first time I'd killed someone, but I didn't feel much—just a bitter taste in my mouth.
Perhaps it was because he was scum who'd killed a child before my eyes. Or maybe it was the adrenaline rushing through me. Or it could be the fact that I'd seen plenty of death in my previous life—I didn't know!
With the amplification of Lasca's Ring, my surprise attacks—equivalent to first-level spells—weren't something he could defend against with his bare body. Add to that the fact I hadn't seen him use any defensive spells.
His death was practically certain.
"He's… dead…" the purple-haired boy muttered in disbelief.
"Brother, he killed him…" the girl whispered to her brother, her tone a mixture of fear, denial, and disgust.
Her face betrayed a conflict of emotions: shock, fear, and a hint of repulsion.
"Well, onto the next stage—run!"
I didn't spare them another glance and turned to leave immediately.
"You… damn… brat… I'll… kill you!!"
The warlock roared hoarsely. Suddenly, a blazing red skull hurled me against the wall.
"Boom!"
Fortunately, the barrier from Luya's Embrace activated just in time, saving me from harm.
The Barrier of Luya's Embrace only defended against spells; it did nothing to mitigate physical attacks. This meant I had to deal with the impact of being slammed into the wall myself.
"Impossible! How is he not dead?" To my shock, the warlock had survived despite everything I threw at him.
I glanced at him, feeling a mix of disgust and...fear.
His throat had a gaping, charred hole that left an ugly cavity. Red liquid oozed from it, soaking his scorched robes. His already deformed body had been further disfigured, his melted features painted in shades of red, black, and orange, with flames still licking at his flesh.
For the first time since coming to this world, I felt true fear.
...How was he even alive?
Is he some kind of immortal monster? There was a hole in his throat the size of a finger and another in his stomach the size of an egg, yet he remained standing! This defied every logical principle I knew.
No—this was a world of magic! I was the fool for applying Earth's logic to such an abomination.
"Th-That bastard Greed! This is nothing like what he told me!"
"Damn it! First, that girl, and now this wretched brat!"
"I'll kill you all!"
The warlock glared at me with eyes full of hate and malice. His lone eye glowed a sinister red, radiating pure spite.
I shut my eyes quickly and looked away—his gaze could be his body-controlling spell!
Still… Greed, huh? I only knew one person named Greed who might harbor ill intent toward me.
I had no time to dwell on it. I leaped to the side, my mind racing to figure out what to do.
Suddenly, the warlock lunged toward the center of the room and grabbed the corpse of the boy he had killed earlier.
"Stay away! No, please!" The two crying children screamed and scurried in opposite directions.
Ignoring them, the warlock placed his hand on the boy's chest and shouted in his raspy voice:"[Heart Devour!]"
A crimson, blood-soaked magic circle enveloped the boy's body, which began to liquefy into a pool of red. The liquid slowly coalesced into the shape of a heart the size of a fist.
That aura... I could feel it clearly.
It was an aura that intensified the chill in my chest.
This was an aura of a four rank—this bastard was a four rank!
Lucky for me, I hadn't been reckless. But hmm, doesn't he have any offensive techniques for a rank-four magician?
If he did, I'd already be dead without even knowing how.
No, he likely has no offensive techniques at all! Let alone rank-four spells—just one fireball of rank one would've been enough to kill me.
The chill in my chest deepened as my heart thumped furiously. Truly, I had been too reckless to fight a rank-four warlock, but it seemed luck was still on my side.
It appeared he was rank four in name and mana only.
Otherwise… heh!
The heart solidified, glowing a deep crimson. A dense, overpowering stench of blood filled the room, emanating from that heart.
Without hesitation, the warlock consumed the heart with grotesque greed.
This seems like a stereotypical warlock ability... I could only scoff in bitter resignation.
Despite my derision, my body trembled, and my legs refused to support me.
Watching him devour the heart was the bloodiest, most revolting sight I'd ever witnessed. The overwhelming stench of blood alone was enough to make me retch repeatedly, but I forced myself to suppress it.
He resembled a feral beast devouring its prey.
The violet-haired girl fainted, while her brother quivered in fear and vomited repeatedly.
A magical sight unfolded before me: the warlock's wounds and disfigurements began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye after consuming the heart.
This is… A sense of dread gripped me. I wanted to stop him, but I had no means to do so. His blood magic was completely foreign to me, and even if I analyzed it now, it would be too late to act.
A quarter of his burns vanished, and the bleeding from his throat and stomach ceased. He glared at me with fury and roared:
"[Gluttony Skulls!]"
Above his head, three crimson skulls materialized, each surrounded by blazing red flames.
It was the same three level spell he had used before!