Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 78

#078. The Vortex of Desire (4)

The blind bullet that had been flying across the battlefield pierced the old man’s chest and disappeared into the distance of his vision.

Slap.

John’s new model collapsed.

The body lying on the floor writhed and convulsed.

It wasn’t an instant death.

However, it was clear that he had suffered fatal damage leading to death.

Knock knock!

Knock knock!

Fran’s figure had disappeared somewhere, but instead the adults found John and rushed at him with their eyes wide open.

Michael ran out.

He barely managed to get there before the Rockdeers and wrapped John with his body.

Kuung──!

“Ugh!”

A terrible pain shot up my side.

It was a blow to Rockdeer’s head, and the pain was so severe that he couldn’t even breathe.

Due to the shock, I felt my body being pushed along with John who was embracing me.

“We need to deploy defense quickly….”

I thought about it in the midst of confusion.

But it was just a thought.

Because there were no elements left within the circle to implement the defense.

Gugugugu──!

The sound of the Rock Deers running was transmitted through the vibrations of the earth.

Michael instinctively hugged John tighter.

I don’t care what happens.

If only the representative could be safe.

The moment I prepared my mind like that.

KWAAANG──!

I heard a crash, but I felt no pain.

“I can’t understand it. No matter how much I think about it.”

A voice was heard.

When I raised my head, I could see a transparent white shield surrounding me.

“It’s impossible, obviously.”

“Ray…?”

Ray was approaching right next to me.

He was staring at my chest with a face that said he couldn’t understand at all.

“Is it because you respect him that you set out to rescue John now? Without caring if it puts your own life in danger?”

Kwung─! Boom─!

The sound of rock deers slamming into the defenses could be heard from all directions.

A confusing and disorienting situation.

Michael answered at once.

“Yes, sir. You are the only person I respect.”

Almost simultaneously with the answer, Michael caught sight of something far away.

A number of vehicles are entering the vacant lot entrance.

They were all members of the mercenary group.

‘No way… No way there were more troops left?’

Michael’s guess was correct.

The remaining forces of the Skye Mercenaries were waiting outside the open space to stop the escapees.

The mercenaries’ cars stopped at a certain distance from the battlefield.

And the mercenaries get out of the car and prepare to operate the large gun mounted on the roof.

It seemed like he was trying to suppress the Rockdeer and his guards by firing to save his comrades.

‘If it ends up like this…’

It has been decided who will be the ultimate winner.

Currently, the battlefield is in a state where battle is impossible regardless of the camp due to the Rock Deers running wild.

In that situation, if an enemy outside the battlefield were to fire artillery fire, there would be no way to deal with it.

‘No matter how great Ray’s skills are…’

Judging from the previous battle, Ray’s main magic was estimated to be reinforcement and lightning.

Reinforcement magic was specialized for close combat.

The lightning type boasted a fast casting speed, but had the disadvantage of a short effective range.

‘…The distance between them is at least several dozen meters.’

It was impossible.

Even though Ray is a great wizard, he can’t hit an enemy that has fallen that far from his current position.

“I understand why you admire John. You said he was the one who saved you from the slums.”

Before that, it seemed as if they were completely unaware of the newly appeared forces.

“But what I don’t understand is that there were moments when my respect for John had to be waned. At least from my perspective.”

Michael heeded Ray’s words, while drawing up the remaining elements of control and manipulation in the circle.

Beep─!

Ppaeaek─!

The falcons circling the sky circled their flight toward the mercenaries in the distance.

──!

────!

The mercenaries who were manipulating the guns discovered the falcons and were confused.

In an instant, the distance narrowed, and at that moment, their sharp beaks and claws were about to dig into the skin of their faces.

Beep──!

Pfftpfftpfft──!

The falcons suddenly turned around and flew back into the sky.

And then it disappeared into the distance, and was no longer visible.

The bond of solidarity had been broken.

In an extremely urgent situation, the distance at which the maximum number of missionaries could be deployed was not calculated.

“… … .”

Michael felt empty.

Now it was all over.

Both yourself and the people you have to protect.

And then, Ray’s voice continued to be heard.

“John tried to commit robbery against a band of mercenaries. Your emotions were clearly shaken when you heard the story. But why doesn’t your respect for him diminish?”

I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying, but it sounded like he was asking why I kept helping John.

Is that really such an important issue?

Are you aware that a new enemy has appeared?

If that many guns were firing at the same time, even the strongest defenses would be broken.

“John also heaped insults and contempt on you.”

“… Ray, you are truly a unique person.”

“I’m saying that your feelings are now being touched by the corruption that John committed.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“John even tried to dump you.

“Was it so?”

“And judging from what you said earlier, it seems like the reason you looked for the Rock Deer in your memories wasn’t to express your gratitude.”

“…I know.”

Ray’s voice was definitely flat as usual, but there was a thick, stuffy feeling within it.

That was probably because of Michael’s consistent reaction.

“Tell me, how is it possible to maintain that feeling, that respect for John?”

“… … .”

Michael was silent for a moment.

Somehow, Ray’s appearance reminded me of a group of students from the Magic Tower who chased after professors in search of knowledge.

Seekers who do not seek to do something with their knowledge, but rather seek knowledge itself as their goal.

There weren’t many of them.

Usually, the purpose of learning magic is not for exploration, but to increase one’s own value and gain a high status in society.

Michael quietly removed his lips.

“Didn’t you ask me yesterday about the definition of respect?”

“Yes, that’s right. Did you find the answer?”

“I am not a philosopher and I am not confident that I can give a definitive answer to this question. However, I do have my own opinion.”

“What is it? That?”

Michael looked down and saw John dying in his arms.

The silence continued.

When Ray, unable to bear the wait, was about to urge her on.

“A person who feels different from others.”

Michael said.

The surroundings were filled with gunfire, but his voice was heard particularly clearly.

“A person you want to be like.”

The ceaseless screams and crashes could not drown out his voice.

“But he is the one who shines so brightly from such a high position, that no one dares to resemble him.”

A single star in the dark night sky.

Michael ran and ran to get closer to the star.

I want to embrace the light of that star.

I want to reach the same position as that star.

But no matter how much I ran, I couldn’t shorten the distance to the star.

“The CEO was a great person who couldn’t even be compared to me. I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could never shine like the CEO.”

I decided with realization.

If I can’t shine, let me help other shining people spread more light into the world.

If I stay by the side of the shining one, I too will be able to shine because of that light.

“You said that a little while ago. That there must have been some indication of the CEO’s corruption. Yes, that’s right. Of course. I’ve spent a lot of time with you, so it would be a lie to say I didn’t know about it.”

Michael’s voice grew louder.

“I also knew that the past and present leaders were different people. I tried hard to deny that, but today I can no longer deny it.”

The gunfire did not stop.

The screams, the cries of the rock deers.

“But so what? While chasing the starlight, I was able to maintain my sense of direction in life.”

“… … .”

“Even if the starlight has faded, the path I have walked so far will not be a lie. Of course, the starlight can no longer serve as my guide. But what on earth, what on earth does that matter?”

Michael’s voice was almost sobbing at the end.

After a moment of silence, he seemed to suppress his emotions and then spoke with agitated breath.

“I pledged my loyalty to you, sir. You have achieved many things that I could never have dreamed of. You are the person I respect the most, and I respect you─.”

My breath was swallowed in a gulp.

The sentences were barely connected.

“─He is someone I will continue to respect. This is my answer to Ray’s question.”

“… … .”

Why is that?

Ray felt a corner of his heart tickle and burn.

It was strange.

It’s clear that I couldn’t fully understand what Michael was saying.

One sentence in particular lingered in my mind like a brand etched in fire.

─A person you want to be like.

─But someone I don’t think I can resemble.

There was one person who came to mind.

And at that moment, many of the emotional traces that had been engraved in my heart began to shine at once.

All of them were emotions that had a connection with that person in sector 50.

… … .

The boy’s consciousness sank deep into memories of the past.

“You have to give your opponent a way out. Otherwise, he might grit his teeth and rush at you when he’s cornered.”

“So you want to eat and live? But you shouldn’t think about expanding your store towards 4th Street. That’s where Hector keeps his eyes on.”

“Take this. This is the price you’ve paid for running around sweating all month. This is all just to make a living.”

LOL.

The unconsciousness is like the deep sea.

A boy slowly sinking beneath it.

And fragments of memories played on both sides.

The emotions evoked by each memory were so colorful that it was dazzling.

However, they were not all the boy’s feelings.

‘Niles.’

He was the owner of various emotions.

His outward words and actions were extremely dry and blunt.

However, the colorful manas vaguely reflected in the bowl clearly showed that he was a person with a wide range of emotions.

okay.

The intensity of each emotion was not strong.

However, the types of emotions that were expressed were diverse.

The boy from the past, who realized that fact, had a glimmer of hope.

“In terms of what I say and do on the outside, I’m not much different from this person.”

If that person and I are the same kind of people.

Then wouldn’t it be possible for me to have such a variety of emotions?

I wanted to be like you.

So I wanted to have feelings.

With that in mind, I observed Niles’ every move for several weeks, trying to identify his characteristics and emulate them.

But there was no result.

To begin with, Niles was a different type of person from us.

There was also another reason for the wide emotional range.

“Niles! How about stopping by for a drink?”

“Boss, I’d like to discuss that matter with you for a moment.”

“Niles…”

Niles lived his life always paying attention to everything around him.

It’s like he’s trying to take responsibility for everything that’s within his own fence.

‘Everyone in the sector loved Niles.’

Perhaps it is because of his wide emotional range that he has an excellent ability to understand and empathize with other people’s problems.

Actually, it wasn’t clear.

Is it because of your wide emotional range that you are able to interact with many people?

On the contrary, I think I have developed a wider range of emotions through interacting with people.

… Anyway, it wasn’t an important issue.

Because from the boy’s perspective, it was a very inefficient and incomprehensible way of life.

In other words, I couldn’t follow along.

‘… … .’

A person I wanted to be like but never had the courage to do so.

It was Niles.

As soon as I realized that fact, a question arose.

Was what I felt back then respect?

So did I respect Niles?

Deep inside my memory, past emotions arose in an uproar.

An emotion that had been dyed in black and white began to surface toward the surface of consciousness, gradually regaining its original color.

From black and white to pink.

From light pink to pink.

And again in pink… .

When emotions finally bubbled up to the surface of consciousness.

Woohoo───!

The color of that emotion was a vivid purple.

The emotions that had been restored to color began to spread brilliant light throughout the boy’s heart.

Strictly speaking, it was only one aspect of the emotion called respect.

That was enough.

Woohoo───!

Around the heart.

Above the first ring.

A red mana stream that was orbiting there to build a new ring.

That’s when it starts spinning furiously.

A burning pain rose in my chest.

Beneath the surface of consciousness.

All the memories that were played back were rewound in an instant.

“… … !”

The boy’s consciousness, which had been sinking to the bottom, also rose sharply toward reality.