Chapter 1100

〈 Chapter 1100 〉 Dark Moon

“Damn it! Already a Grade 3? That thing had at least a 70% compatibility rate. 211, 14. Fall back with any living allies. I’ll take care of this bastard.”

Bellha’s orders rang out. The plan to retreat and observe from behind was instantly shattered into dust.

‘Can’t disobey orders… guess there’s no choice.’

I started running again.

When we reached the battlefield in the ruins, the situation was worse than expected. Numbers 72 and 105 were dead. Number 54 had his right arm and left leg torn off – he wouldn’t last more than a few minutes. At least Number 14 was still intact, though covered in blood but with all limbs intact.

I ran to 14 and helped support 54 together.

Neros was engaging Instructor Bellha.

“211…! At this rate, 54 is going to die!”

“…Emergency treatment is already done. All we can do is get 54 to the rear. The rest depends on whether 54 can hold on.”

14’s expression twisted, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment – he must have been close to 54.

I quietly shut my mouth. Saying anything here would just invite unnecessary resentment from 14.

While retreating, I glanced at the battle between Neros and Instructor Bellha. Neros is estimated to be Grade 3, while Bellha is Grade 4. Logically, Bellha should dominate, but reality doesn’t always follow logic.

Surprisingly, Neros and Bellha were fighting evenly.

Instructor Bellha swung a punch. Neros didn’t dodge; instead, he swung an electrified fist. It was Bellha who was pushed back, not Neros.

“Of course it’s the Thunder Dragon type. My luck is atrocious today.”

“Hahaha! This is the power of a dragon!”

Neros was laughing maniacally, his eyes glazed over like some kind of drug addict.

“Lost yourself in power, huh? Well, understandable after gaining such immense strength so suddenly.”

It was an elemental disadvantage.

Neros is a Thunder Dragon, while Bellha is a Water Battle Mage. Neros has the advantageous element.

“Water Wall.”

A pillar of water shot up beneath Bellha’s feet. He rode it upward, his right fist coated with frost. With full force, Bellha swung his fist toward Neros.

“Ice Shock.”

Crack!

Neros’ body, except for his head, froze solid. But Neros didn’t lose his composure. He smiled at his frozen form.

“I am a dragon. Did you really think something as trivial as this could kill me?”

“It’s just beginning. Bubble Room.”

Bubbles encased Neros’ body. Bellha pulled his fist back, ready to strike.

“My Water Fist will hurt quite a bit.”

Just before Bellha unleashed his punch, the ice and bubbles holding Neros shattered. The fragments pierced Bellha’s body. Clenching his teeth, Bellha swung his fist anyway.

KABOOM!

Neros’ right shoulder swelled up and exploded. He lost his entire right arm.

“GAAAAAAH!”

Neros screamed in agony. Bellha laughed, certain of victory as he raised his finishing blow. That blow never came forward. Neros’ sharp, elongated tail lashed out and…


Because it pierced through Ha’s body.

“…A tail just grew out of nowhere? No matter what, that mutation’s way too fast. It’s not high adaptability… this is a rampage…”

Belha’s body collapses. Neroth didn’t allow Belha to die peacefully. As if avenging his lost right arm, he tore apart Belha’s body with the remaining arm and tail.

‘Shit.’

Belha died too quickly. I needed at least 5 minutes, but not even a minute has passed. Myself, Unit 14, and Unit 54 haven’t been able to get 100 meters away from Neroth.

“Request… request backup!”

Unit 14 pounds on the radio, but it’s dead. Though unseen, the area is saturated with mana and magnetism. The cause must be Neroth.

“To send a transmission, we have to get out of this space at the very least. The problem is that’s impossible.”

Neroth’s gaze is already on us. His legs push off the ground. KABOOM. With the sound of the earth shaking, he instantly appears behind us.

“…211, take care of 54.”

Without time to stop him, Unit 14 charges at Neroth with the dagger strapped to his thigh in hand. Neroth smirks at Unit 14’s movement. His left reptilian hand moves with a current of electricity. Unit 14’s head goes flying. It rolls through the air before landing with a thud.

He didn’t last a second.

Such a meaningless death.

That word wouldn’t leave my mind.

“You’re alone now. You’re the one who blew away my subordinates’ heads, right? I won’t kill you as easily as them.”

“Alone?”

I belatedly realize Unit 54 is already dead. There’s no reason to support the corpse. I loosen my grip and let go. Unit 54’s body falls limply to the ground.

“And my future will be the same, huh?”

The situation is so desperate I want to give up everything. But I decided to struggle until the end rather than die easily.

I tightly grip the pistol. His body hasn’t recovered from the Ice Shock yet. His torso below the neck is still frozen stiff.

“With a body that doesn’t die from Ice Shock… the only place to aim for is the eyes. Eyes can’t be trained, so I should be able to lodge bullets there.”

Success is unlikely. The opponent is a monster that can detect and deflect shots from 1km away.

Step.

Neroth walks over to butcher me.

“Hole.”

The ground caves in and Neroth’s right foot gets stuck. His body wobbles. I pull the trigger aiming for his eyes.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The pistol slide ejects bullets. Neroth protects his eyes with his forearm. The bullets ricochet off his arm and roll on the ground.

“Kukuku. I figured out your plan when you started focusing on my eyes. Not bad, but clumsy.”

I keep pulling the trigger. Hoping for a miracle, I aim for vital points like the neck, heart, and groin. Useless.

Click Click.

The bullets are gone. Neroth approaches and swings his fist. The bracelet given by Lexi lights up and activates a Grade 4 Barrier. KAANG! The barrier blocks his punch.

“A barrier? Interesting. Let’s see how long you can hold out.”

“…”

While the barrier holds, I think of a way.

“There’s a method. All conditions are met except one.”

What’s lacking is time.

There’s not enough time to formulate the spell sequence.

No matter how much I rack my brain, there’s no way to buy more time. My final means, the Grade 4 Barrier, will break within 30 seconds.

“I need… I need time!”

At the moment of desperate prayer,

Has the god bestowed a blessing upon me? Time slowed down. Neroth’s punches on the barrier become sluggish, and the barrier’s fluctuations become visible to the naked eye.

[A notification window pops up: Using ‘Moment’. Remaining stacks: 6]

A system window-like message appears before my eyes.

” Moment?”

I absentmindedly move my hand and return to normal time flow. I also notice my hand moved incredibly fast.

“Temporary thought acceleration and physical acceleration ability, huh? At this point, another awakened power…”


“Heaven only knows how this turned out.”

A smile crept across my lips.

Neros paused mid-action. With eyes like a lizard’s vertical pupils, he stared at me, tilting his head.

“Have you gone mad with fear?”

“…Hah. The conditions are met. Seems like the Spirit favors me.”

“Definitely lost it.”

I activated ‘Moment.’

[Moment (刹那) activated. Remaining stacks: 5]

Neros’ punch slowed down again.

In this slowed world, I opened my Astral senses. I accepted the suppressed awakening within me. The Astral expanded and sharpened, with seven additional Mana Routes branching through my body.

This brought me to Rank 2, now possessing twelve total Mana Routes. As I channeled mana into the routes, ‘Moment’ ended, and time returned to normal.

‘Using the Mana Routes ends Moment. But Astral seems unaffected since it’s tied to the mind.’

I roughly understood.

[Moment (刹那) activated. Remaining stacks: 4]

I activate Moment. Within this stretched time, I calculate the magical formulas.

It’s complicated. And there’s a limit to what I can calculate due to my shallow magical knowledge. But given enough time, it’s sufficient. For the core formula, I handle it with my special ability.

‘The magnetic force spread around, the mana Neros scattered everywhere. The conditions are more than enough.’

Just as Belha said, Neros was in a berserk state, unable to control the lightning mana he had dispersed. I fully opened my Astral and took control of the abandoned lightning mana. My talent made it effortless, and Neros never noticed.

The formula was complete. The twelve Mana Routes powered up, generating the spell. Simultaneously, I unleashed my ability to produce lightning. The ability and the formula merged into one magic.

Whoosh.

The air vibrated. My hair stood on end, predicting something ominous.

Neros’ calm expression suddenly froze. He looked up at the sky where a magic circle hovered. Lightning from all around converged toward its center.

‘The magic circle looks flashy, but the formula itself is only Rank 2. The real key is the lightning-inducing ability.’

Thanks to that foolish dragon guy scattering lightning mana everywhere, the output problem was solved.

‘Remaining is just time… which my Rank 4 Barrier is handling.’

Sensing something amiss, Neros discarded his composure and concentrated mana into his remaining hand. Savage currents crackled from his palm.

The Rank 4 Barrier shattered, and I was hurled back by the shockwave. Though blood dripped from my mouth, being away from Neros was actually a good thing.

“It’s finished.”

“Don’t joke around. I’m not falling for someone like you!!”

Neros charged at me. His judgment was correct. If a mage dies, the ongoing magic usually disappears—it’s common sense.

And speaking of common sense, lightning moves faster than sound.

“Thunder Bolt.”

The compressed lightning struck the ground.

Neros, hit directly by the Thunder Bolt, disappeared without even a scream. In his place remained only a crater three meters wide and a charred piece of his tail.

Rank 5 Electric Magic: Thunder Bolt.

Using my current level, it would’ve been absolutely impossible to use such magic. But thanks to the special circumstances and my ability, I managed to pull it off. Of course, the aftermath wasn’t light. My mana was completely drained, and half of my twelve Mana Routes became unusable.

Still, I was satisfied.

‘I survived.’

Most importantly, I reaffirmed my magical talent. Even though I used my ability, the fact that a Rank 2 mage used Rank 5 magic is nothing short of a miracle. And that miracle was achieved solely by my talent.

‘If I want to survive in this world… there’s nothing but magic.’

Exhaustion washed over me. I closed my eyes as consciousness faded amidst the encroaching darkness.

‘It doesn’t matter if I sleep. They’ll pick me up anyway.’

When I wake up, the annoying barracks will greet me. That thought was strangely disappointing.