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#195. What You Lose When You Become an Adult (3)
The boy had never imagined anything before.
To be precise, there was no freedom.
Even if you think of situations and words, they only exist as ideas and letters.
Because they never once had any clear shape.
What was clearly in the boy’s mind was a blank sheet of paper on which nothing could be drawn.
But now.
────.
Multicolored lines were racing across the pure white paper.
The colorful lines, made of vibrant colors like the murals in the underground of the ruins, looked like cracks starting to form on an egg just before hatching.
“If I too could break free from the rules and freely manipulate mana.”
indeed.
What will it look like?
The boy’s mind was engraved with intense doubt and curiosity about the opponent’s use of mana.
This made the attempt to recall the scene go beyond its limits.
That constant stimulation.
─────!
I breathed a deep breath into some force that had been locked away deep in my subconscious.
That was imagination.
A clearer image than ever was forming in the boy’s mind.
This is the image of himself breaking the rules and freely manipulating mana.
In that moment, the boy felt that the mana of the ring and jewel had become incomparably softer than before.
It was like paint that was perfectly ready to be used.
─Thump thump.
I felt my heartbeat and turned my senses around.
On the deck covered with damp despair.
All of Rael Law’s best fighters were lying down with serious injuries, groaning.
And not far away, right before our eyes.
There was an enemy who looked normal.
I stared intently at the person who was closing the distance.
He changed the whip he had been swinging madly into a longsword and then kicked his seat towards me as well.
Beyond the lenses of goggles and gas masks.
The two pairs of eyes reflected each other’s faces as they ran towards each other.
─Thump thump.
It was at that moment that Ray’s thoughts began to spin violently.
What kind of pictures can you draw using mana that is dissolved like paint?
How do you hit an enemy that normal magic doesn’t work on?
A gradually heating up incident.
The focus becomes limited to one enemy, the surrounding scenery disappears, and only the front of your eyes begins to become clear.
There are only two things that exist in the world.
Me, and the other person.
The next moment, the two boys’ new forms crossed each other and distanced themselves from each other.
During the silence, the two boys did not move at all.
And then.
Tsk tsk─
The first movement occurred above Ray’s face.
A gas mask split in half fell to the ground and rolled around.
Thud!
Hearing the sound, the corners of his lips rose and he looked back at Ray.
“Hey, you dodged this. You could have split my face in half─.”
The conversation didn’t end there.
The next moment, he witnessed his right arm slipping diagonally.
thud!
“What is this….”
The opponent looked at the severed part with blood gushing out and the severed right arm alternately with a look of extreme bewilderment.
And then, at the warning of instinct that he felt in that moment, he turned to Ray with his face hardened.
A momentary frown.
In Ray’s hand was a sword made of yellow light.
High-purity mana flowed along the black sword that had a clear physical form.
At the same time, it was emitting a tremendous light, tearing apart the darkness within the storm.
The one who saw Ray’s white hair and light sword suddenly had a look of realization on his face and burst into mad laughter as he spoke.
“You…! It was you, the guy my father was talking about…! It was you! It was you! Why didn’t I realize it sooner!”
Ray didn’t answer.
He just stared at the other person with indifferent eyes.
“Kuhahaha! I told you to avoid it, but now that we’ve met, there’s nothing I can do. You, I have to kill you. Then, Father will be happy because the thorn in his eye will be gone! Right!”
In an instant, a crimson mana burst out from the enemy’s shoulder.
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The bleeding at the shoulder joint stopped and the segment began to lengthen and take the shape of an arm.
But that was only for a moment.
Aaaa …
A terrible scream echoed through the center of the encroaching storm.
The bright yellow flames that had bloomed on the cross-section were burning and consuming all the crimson mana that was spurting out.
─────.
A silent, swaying flame.
The wondrous sight took even the dwarves, who were accustomed to crafting, refining, and working with fire, by surprise and held their breath.
The bright yellow flames were not satisfied with just consuming the gushing mana.
It began to expand its territory towards the crimson mana that had already materialized into the shape of arms and armor.
“Ugh…! Ugh…!”
He desperately increased the output of his crimson mana while sweating profusely.
But the yellow flame had no intention of falling, and only quietly carved out terrible pain.
“Kuaaaaak─!”
“… … .”
What Ray thought of when he saw the crimson mana was darkness.
It is light that chases away darkness.
It is fire that persistently pursues the target and eventually kills him.
So the boy imagined.
A flame made of pure light.
“Kuaaa …
That was why.
Even though the sword and flame are clearly made of the mana of the ring and jewel, the combination of the elements inside does not follow the general laws at all.
The combination formula was purely a product of the boy’s imagination.
There wasn’t any complicated or elaborate calculation involved.
The boy could only imagine, and the elements would change their properties and positions accordingly.
But it wasn’t easy.
The maintenance of the imagination had inflicted extreme fatigue on the boy’s mind.
‘…but it’s okay.’
It was a pleasant feeling of fatigue.
Ray kept his eyes on his opponent without letting his guard down.
A few dwarves struggled to get up, staggering.
“Did I win…?”
“I, I can’t move….”
Shock and awe for the boy.
A sense of relief for the fallen intruder.
It was a common feeling shared by the dwarves on deck at the moment.
“Not yet.”
But the subsequent warning made the tension that had been slackening momentarily tighten.
Ray judged that the battle was not over yet.
“Kuaaa …
The malice contained in the vessel was rapidly expanding along with the violent struggle.
The anger of the vessel has long since become engulfed in malice and has become a complete part of it.
All I see is dark emotions.
──────.
The gushing crimson mana then turned completely black.
The black mana, whose output had suddenly become explosively strong, began to push away the yellow flames little by little.
Aaaah …
Kill me! I will kill you!
I’m going to kill you!
The venom and malice that poured out with the scream sent a chill down everyone’s spine for a moment.
The little yellow flames were not completely extinguished.
But he got up as if he had recovered enough energy.
At that moment, Ray was swinging his sword in front of the enemy.
Kkaddddddddddd!
In an instant, a pitch-black sphere wrapped around his body and blocked Ray’s sword.
Interlocked light and darkness gnawed at each other, repeating the cycle of creation and extinction.
In the endlessly flickering world, Ray could sense it intuitively.
It’s not a problem with mana output.
To tear apart this young darkness of evil, a higher purity of mana is required.
Crack─!
Ray, who drew a parabola in the air using the repulsive force of the black sphere, landed at a distant location.
The next moment.
What appeared in the place where the sphere had disappeared was a giant black wolf enveloped in yellow flames.
A body that sways like a shadow.
Torn, malicious eyes.
Black breath spewing out like smoke.
Ray spoke to Iss, who was lying down next to him, while casting strengthening magic at full output.
“I’m going to the power room.”
“uh…?”
There was no time to question the meaning.
Because Ray disappeared straight down the stairs and into the interior of Rael Row.
Krrrrrr──!
Then the wolf rushed in.
Iss, who had been flying, barely avoided the collision, and when he turned his head, he could see that the wolf had also disappeared down the stairs.
“… … .”
All that remained on deck was sheer chaos and groans.
All elders and high-ranking officials who were to give instructions were unconscious.
Iss gritted his teeth and stood up, enduring the pain.
Move. Think.
Do what you can.
‘The power room… That’s all there is in the power room… Ah.’
Iss realized something in that moment and threw himself towards the stairs.
Although the complex passageways branched out into dozens of paths, my two legs ran without stopping toward one place.
The place we arrived was the control room.
Elder Falun and his staff stood in front of a wall full of CCTV cameras illuminating every corner of Lael Row.
“Elder! We must open all passages to Rael Row immediately!”
“You suddenly appeared and are talking nonsense! Are you telling me to open the door so that that monster can run wild in our space?”
“Ray, Ray can repel the intruders! You have to clear a path for them to reach the power room!”
Falun shouted with a red face.
“You’re talking nonsense in this emergency situation! Get out and recover in the treatment room! Now! We’ll control the passages according to the instructions on display, drive that monster into one place, and then dispatch our fighters to deal with it!”
No, that will only lead to more sacrifices.
“No. The best judgment would be─”
“Is! Are you planning to disobey orders? The decision is up to the elders, and it’s not your place to get involved! Get out of the control room immediately! That’s the norm!”
Iss felt dizzy.
My stomach was churning.
It was stuffy and frustrating.
Yes, what usually weighs me down is these rigid, inflexible norms.
“Didn’t I tell you to get out! You have no right to be here right now!”
Guidelines, norms, and authority.
That’s really loud.
It feels like something in my head is breaking.
At the same time, someone’s advice flashed.
“Have an accident.”
“… … .”
I’m not following your advice.
That’s just how I feel.
The moment the thought was over, the fist was already flying towards Falun’s forehead.
Yis’ fist was bare as his armor had broken off during the battle, and Falun was wearing a protector on his abdomen.
But Ray’s strengthening magic changed the situation momentarily.
Snap!
Iss’s fist broke the guard and hit Falun’s forehead squarely.
“Cough…!”
Falun collapsed without even being able to groan properly due to the sudden attack.
Iss growled at the workers, shaking his bone-crushing fist into the air.
“If you don’t want to die, get out.”
*
Ray came down the stairs and entered the hallway, where he encountered two people with anxious looks on their faces.
It was Veronica and Grine.
“You two, return to your cabins and protect the rest of the party. I don’t think the intruders will make it that far down, but I can handle the upper area by myself for now.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“I don’t fully understand the situation yet, but I think I have an idea.”
The two disappeared down the hallway, following Ray’s instructions.
Ray looked at the sight and turned his head to the other side.
In the distance, a wolf was seen rushing forward.
The yellow flames attached to its body were not burning anything around it except the wolf, as Ray had imagined.
widely!
Ray pushed the floor hard, exploding the red mana on his legs.
The chase was so close that the wolf’s breathing could be heard right behind him.
‘Have you finished your evacuation? I don’t see any dwarven villagers.’
At first glance, Ray’s path seemed to have no rules, but in fact, that was not the case at all.
Because the yellow jewel in my heart served as a compass to show me where to go.
The resonance of the jewels that had been going on since the moment I entered Rael Row grew uncontrollably stronger as I ran down the hallway.
Of course, since I didn’t fully understand the structure of Rael Row, there were times when I took turns or got lost.
But that was only the beginning.
At some point, the security devices along Ray’s path were disarmed and a passageway opened up, revealing a path, with flashing lights on the walls showing him the right direction.
So Ray arrived at the power room and opened the door.
The yellow jewel, with half of its body across from her, was trembling with wild excitement.