There were only two ways to put down a corpse under the effects of Heros.
One could sever the link placed on its brain.
Or one could destroy the brain with a powerful external impact.
Rud had not targeted Karte’s temple without reason. Furthermore, Karte was a Mage who used water. If he attacked with another wave like the previous one, matters would become troublesome. Rud had no choice but to rush him, even if it meant pushing himself too far.
“No, this should be enough to…”
A chilling murderous intent brushed across his back. Rud hurriedly turned around and saw Karte, completely unharmed, extending an arm toward him.
SWISH!
Rud instinctively struck Karte’s arm aside, forcing his hand away from its original trajectory.
It was a purely instinctive movement. Karte’s pupils widened in surprise at Rud’s extraordinary reflexes.
SHNK!!
A razor-sharp sound pierced his ears.
A thin stream of pressurized water had shot from Karte’s hand. When Rud diverted its path, it cleanly sliced through the streetlamp directly in front of them.
‘A Water Pressure Cutter?’
Water was known as one of the sharpest substances in the world. Had Rud failed to knock Karte’s hand aside, his shoulder would have been severed cleanly.
Rud clenched his fist and drove it toward Karte’s temple once again.
Karte had left himself exposed after missing his attack, and Rud intended to exploit that brief opening.
WHOOSH!!
Karte, who had been standing directly before him only a moment ago, vanished without a trace.
‘He can even use Teleportation Magic.’
Rud remained completely still and calmly assessed the situation.
He firmly planted the foot he had nearly moved and waited for his opponent to approach first.
SHRIEK!!
The sound of something tearing through the air stabbed toward him from the one o’clock direction.
Rud unleashed a Shockwave in that direction. The Water Pressure Cutter flying toward him like a blade of Sword Energy exploded with a resounding BOOM!
Sprays of water scattered everywhere.
Rud ignored them and kept his gaze fixed on Karte, who was floating in the distance.
WHOOSH!!
Rud used the Teleportation Magic Shedia had taught him and closed the distance in an instant.
The crown of Karte’s head gleamed enticingly. Striking it with all his strength would surely send a surge of pleasure rising from deep within him.
As though he had read Rud’s thoughts, Karte used Teleportation Magic again and disappeared just before Rud’s fist reached him.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Rud pursued him relentlessly. An unexpected aerial battle unfolded above the village.
Moving at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, Rud and Karte engaged in a fierce game of pursuit before descending to the ground once more, as though their exchange had merely been a warm-up.
Rud and Karte glared at each other as they caught their breath.
Amid pressure so intense that neither could move so much as a finger, Karte was the first to speak.
“You are not an ordinary man, are you?”
He had suspected as much when Rud knocked his hand aside.
Dark Mages did not favor close combat. They did not fight with their fists, either.
Yet Rud was responding in a manner entirely unlike any Dark Mage Karte had encountered before.
Rud steadied his breathing and answered casually.
“It is simply what my master taught me.”
“Cough! Cough!”
Shairin had no idea how long she had been unconscious.
She coughed up the water filling her throat and slowly raised her upper body.
“Didia…? Where is Didia…?”
Shairin forced her hazy thoughts back together and looked around.
In the distance, Kyria was performing CPR on the unconscious Didia.
Kyria was a Fire-Attribute Weasel. Even dipping a paw into a shallow stream could prove fatal to her. The fact that she was still alive meant Didia must have shielded her with her entire body just before the wave struck.
Shairin forced her unsteady legs to move and hurried over to Didia.
She lifted Didia’s face and examined her condition.
Bright red blood flowed from her head, and she was not breathing at all.
She appeared to have struck her head against something while being swept away by the wave.
“What are you trying to accomplish with those tiny paws? Move aside. I will do it.”
As though she understood Shairin’s words, Kyria immediately stepped back.
Shairin was an Elemental Mage who could wield lightning. She had also completed emergency medical training, which was why Kyria trusted her to take over.
Shairin placed a hand in the center of Didia’s chest and sent an electric current through her as though massaging her heart.
Kyria watched in breathless silence from beside them.
Suddenly, Didia violently coughed up the water in her mouth.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Hey, are you awake?”
“SKREE!!”
Didia struggled to open her eyes and looked around. Kyria burst into tears and threw herself into her arms.
Shairin also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled faintly.
“Shairin? D-Did I lose consciousness?”
Didia asked as she stroked the head of Kyria, who was nestled in her arms.
“If you already know, then get up. We need to deal with the man who attacked us.”
“Ah, that is true…”
“Girls!”
A familiar voice interrupted their conversation. When they turned, they saw Letra running toward them while several unconscious people floated through the air behind her.
“Letra?”
“Are you both all right? Are either of you injured?”
“Yes. We appear to be all right for now.”
Letra briefly looked Shairin and Didia over.
Their clothes were completely soaked, and blood was still running down Didia’s head, but neither appeared to have suffered any serious injuries overall.
“Then take these people to the hospital. You can manage that much, right?”
“All of them?”
“What about you?”
Letra slowly lowered the unconscious people to the ground before quickly turning away.
“I have to go help Loeb.”
The wind swept past them.
Rud solemnly steadied his breathing as he watched Karte’s movements.
Only two minutes remained before the effects of Maktamin wore off.
If he failed to deal with Karte before then, the situation would become overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
The distance between them was approximately ten meters.
Rud could close it with a single push from the ground. However, now that his surprise attack had failed, Karte would not allow him to approach so easily.
Karte drew a silver staff out of thin air.
The fact that he had taken out a tool meant he intended to keep Rud at a distance.
The situation was turning against him.
Rud attempted to use Teleportation Magic to seize the initiative, but as though he had read Rud’s intentions, Karte swung his staff repeatedly as though wielding a sword.
SHRAAAK! SHRAAAK! SHRAAAK!
Three sharp Water Pressure Cutters flew toward Rud in succession, viciously slicing through the air.
They were faster than before. Rud moved with precision and blasted the Water Pressure Cutters aside with Shockwaves, but unlike earlier, an aching sensation spread through his fingertips.
‘Their power has increased as well!’
He had no opportunity to look away.
Karte fired Water Pressure Cutters from his staff without pausing to breathe, as though firing a Machine Gun.
Even a grazing blow would be fatal. Rud was somehow managing to endure, but if this continued, the effects of Maktamin would wear off and Muscle Pain would spread throughout his entire body.
Only one minute remained.
He had no choice but to force the issue.
Rud diverted the trajectory of the Water Pressure Cutters with Shockwaves and attempted to close the distance. Karte suddenly raised the staff in his hand high above his head.
A moment later, the water flowing through the Underground Waterway once again burst through the ground and formed a massive wave.
It was even larger than the previous one. Rud’s expression rapidly darkened in alarm.
Karte had been firing Water Pressure Cutters so relentlessly because he had been preparing this attack all along.
BOOOOM!!
Without hesitation, Karte brought his staff down with tremendous force.
The wave thundered forward and engulfed Rud in an instant.
Its power and speed were entirely different from the wave that had attacked Shairin and Didia. Using the staff had strengthened Karte’s magic considerably.
Rud had vanished entirely within the wave.
That should have been more than enough to deal with him.
Karte relaxed and slowly lowered his staff.
All that remained was to recover the body.
He still needed to find Letra, whom he had nearly forgotten, but Shuran’s true target had been Rud. Letra was no longer particularly important.
“Hmm?”
A human silhouette entered Karte’s field of vision.
It was not Rud.
The figure wore a red cloak over her shoulders and had long hair. She was undoubtedly a female Mage.
“Who are you?”
“I am a Mage named Letra.”
Karte’s eyebrow twitched briefly. It was already too late for her to appear now.
Without sparing Letra another glance, Karte walked past her.
“Unfortunately for you, I am no longer interested. Consider yourself fortunate.”
“Where are you going?”
“What would you do with the answer?”
He felt an intense gaze against the back of his head.
Letra was glaring at him.
Karte completely ignored her and continued walking at a leisurely pace.
He knew perfectly well that there was nothing she could do at this point.
His guard was completely lowered.
Karte’s back gradually receded into the distance.
Letra watched him with an enigmatic expression.
At that moment, Rud came hurtling down from the sky and drove his fist directly into the crown of Karte’s head.
BOOOOM!!
An explosion like the impact of an artillery shell echoed through the street.
Karte collapsed helplessly with his face embedded in the hard ground.
How had this happened?
Rud had intended to escape with Teleportation Magic before the wave engulfed him, but his body had suddenly floated into the air on its own.
Letra had used Levitation Magic to move him elsewhere.
Rud had not allowed the opportunity to pass.
He pretended to be swept away by the wave, moved outside Karte’s blind spot, and waited for the perfect moment to attack.
He probably could not have succeeded if Letra had not lulled Karte into lowering his guard.
As Karte attempted to lift his head, Rud pressed down firmly against the back of his skull and pinned him in place.
“You seem like you could be quite useful.”
“What are you planning to do to me…?!”
“You will find out soon enough.”
Rud cut Karte off and skillfully dispelled the Dark Magic placed on his brain.
Karte’s movements ceased as though his breath had been extinguished.
There was no warmth in his skin.
He had returned to being the corpse whose life had ended several hundred years ago.
It did not matter.
Before the soul inside Karte could escape, Rud hurriedly cast Heros on him.
He intended to extract information from Karte, but an instant later, agonizing Muscle Pain swept through his entire body.
“Urgh…?!”
Rud’s body stiffened as though he had been paralyzed.
The effects of Maktamin had worn off, and its side effects had begun.
Letra, who had no way of knowing this, hurried toward him with a horrified expression.
“Loeb, what is wrong? Did Karte cast another spell on you?”
“N-No. It is nothing like that…”
He would have to use Maktamin more cautiously in the future.
Rud held his breath and forced his rigid body to move.
Pain like dozens of needles piercing his muscles flared throughout him.
“Urgh!”
A groan escaped his lips.
Letra tilted her head, looking utterly bewildered.
It would take approximately fifteen minutes for the Muscle Pain to subside.
However, Rud could not remain like this in the middle of the village until then. Swallowing his embarrassment, he quietly asked Letra for a favor.
“Could you take me back to the hotel?”