"Uwoooooooh!!"
A downpour of starlight. Gunnar clenched his teeth against the violent pain burning through his entire body and hurled himself sideways.
Crack!
His twisted ankle rotated once more, snapping back into place. In that instant, pain so intense it made his mind reel shot up his nerves, forcing a shriek like a little girl’s from his throat.
Squawking, he rolled across the floor and immediately carved a rune of regeneration into his abdomen, where the skin had caved in.
"Sowilo!"
Chime.
The rune glowed. The green light that flowed from it healed the burns covering his body and restored his twisted ankle. With a wet crunch, blood spurted from the realigning ankle.
"Huu……!"
His exhaled breath was thick with the stench of smoke. Gunnar ground his teeth and gripped his axe with both hands. Then he moved his legs with everything he had.
The direction was not toward Amelia.
Toward the entrance he had blown open on his way in. Toward the gaping hole, he ran like a madman.
"Ah!"
Amelia, who had never imagined he would flee without so much as a backward glance, let out a flustered cry, and Gunnar stomped the ground, his molars cracking as they crushed his gums. His enhanced leg strength shattered part of the floor, launching his body forward.
‘How the hell am I supposed to fight a monster like that, damn it! There’s no choice but to run……!’
Until now, Gunnar had hunted countless mages. Naturally, among them were those who possessed grimoires, and many who were more than strong enough to be called formidable.
And Gunnar had never once lost in battle against them. If he had lost, there was no way his neck would still be attached to his torso, was there?
A mage who hunted mages. Though Gunnar lacked the typical characteristics of a mage, he was nevertheless one of them. As a fellow mage, he knew innumerable ways to kill a mage.
But right now, he couldn’t use a single one of them.
No, to be exact, using them would be meaningless.
The girl with purple hair? A pushover. He could kill her as easily as he pleased. He could toy with her if he wanted.
The abilities of a grimoire—once he figured them out, dealing with them wouldn’t be difficult. Cutting off her head and kicking it like a ball wouldn’t be hard either.
But the man hiding somewhere in this space right now.
A heterogeneous mage harboring ether of unknown origin. That bastard was the problem.
‘If I fight, I lose, no matter what!’
There was a word called win rate. It usually referred to the probability of victory when individuals or groups fought each other, and Gunnar was capable of using rune magic that could forcibly raise that win rate up to fifty percent.
But even if he used it right now, it wouldn’t turn the tide of the current situation.
Wasn’t that obvious?
Because no matter what number you multiplied by zero, it was still zero.
"Ooooooh!!!"
Howling like a monster, he had nearly reached the gaping hole.
The moment he tried to cross through.
Claaaaank!!!
Chains surging from the doorframe densely blocked the exit.
Silver chains through which a blue galaxy flowed. Beyond them, a man who had slightly lifted his cloak spoke with a grin.
"I don’t recall giving you permission to leave."
"Y-you……!"
Rustle.
The man flipped his cloak back over. His presence vanished, and Gunnar spat curses, swinging his axe at the chains.
"You son of a bitch!"
Kwaang!
A massive shockwave burst from the chains upon colliding with the axe blade. Gunnar, having lost both arms, was sent flying and slammed into the wall, while Amelia hurriedly moved to a new spot and began chanting.
"Our Father in heaven. Lend us Your light, and smite and repel our evil!"
Laaaa……!!
At Amelia’s feet, Catholic-system magic activated, and a celestial song resonated. It soon became blades of light that poured down upon Gunnar. Before he could even tend to his injuries, Gunnar kicked away the blades, blood streaming from his entire body.
"Stay out of this, you fucking bitch! Shut the hell up and stay put!"
Drip.
The blood flowing down his cheek moved on its own, inscribing runes of regeneration. Having recovered both arms at the cost of a massive amount of ether, Gunnar picked up his fallen axe.
ᚢ
Having engraved the rune character meaning "strength" into his legs, he explosively accelerated and charged at Amelia. Flames soared from the axe as he swung it directly at her.
[The master of this grimoire has detected an attack difficult to withstand.]
And the Repository of Knowledge reacted.
[Beginning countermeasures.]
Kuoong!
A shield approximately 3 meters in size dropped down in front of Amelia with a thud. The blood-red shield, which had appeared by smashing through the ceiling, effortlessly defended against Gunnar’s attack.
"Ugh!"
The shield that had clashed with the axe blade wobbled and rippled.
Immediately after, fresh blood spurted from the shield, having absorbed the axe’s impact entirely.
Fuwaaaak!
Fresh blood possessing energy perfectly identical to the axe’s impact. Gunnar’s eyes widened as he leaned back to avoid the blood head-on. The lump of blood barely grazed his chin and completely crushed a factory machine.
"This is insane……!"
Bleeding began from the grazed wound. Gunnar tasted iron seeping into his mouth as he slid across the floor.
"How does it make sense to instant-cast magic at that level! Both the master and the disciple are completely insane!"
"Heuk, heuk……!"
Ignoring the blabbering Gunnar, Amelia fled far away.
At the spot where she had pre-inscribed a magic circle. She poured bread and wine over the circle, and threw gold, silver, red cloth, and the carcass of a rhinoceros beetle while chanting.
"Lord of the Red Robes, the King of Wisdom descends. You must prove your own wisdom—"
"Where do you think you’re going, bitch!"
Gunnar threw his axe at Amelia. The spinning blade fell, aiming precisely for the top of her head.
Just before it made contact. A blue cloth suddenly leaped from the air and gently wrapped around the axe handle. The axe froze in place as if time had stopped, trembling violently, while Amelia gasped for breath with a pale face, clenching her fist tight.
"Heeeeh…… B-Big brother……"
"Don’t worry. Even if I hadn’t stopped it, the grimoire would have defended you on its own. If it couldn’t, I would block it, so focus on your magic."
Ian’s voice came from beyond the cloth.
His face was not visible. Instead, only black pupils floated in the air.
"Bullshit."
Gunnar swore at the sight, and Ian grabbed the axe he had caught and threw it back toward Gunnar. The axe fell exactly at Gunnar’s feet, twitching and scattering sparks around it.
"Let’s try again. You’re better than that. You can do better."
Ian said.
"Son of a bitch!"
Gunnar screamed, grabbing the axe.
No matter which way he looked at it, there was no chance of winning. In a situation where it was obvious he would just be toyed with like a plaything before dying, cold sweat poured down his body.
‘Fuuuuck, a variable……! If I could just create even a small variable, I could escape……!’
It was the moment he thought that and wrapped his axe in flames.
Thud.
With a faint noise, the factory shook briefly.
"……Ah!"
"……What is this vibration?"
Amelia and Gunnar stopped moving at the same time. Ian, who had hidden his body within the Galaxy Veil, also hardened his expression.
‘……Something’s coming.’
Something was coming.
Thud!
The sound grew closer. The vibrations intensified, and a faint metallic clanking sound was heard.
It sounded like footsteps, yet also like metal interlocking.
Either way, it meant an uninvited guest had arrived, so Ian clicked his tongue and drew back the veil to reveal himself. The veil, whose effects had already mostly faded, melted into the air with a soft hiss.
Kwaaaang!
At the same time, a hole was punched through the factory wall. Dust billowed up, and someone wearing a black coat slowly walked out from the collapsed wall.
"Hm."
The first thing visible was a silver helmet adorned with horns. Red ocular light leaked out like a laser between the eye holes.
The functional shirt clinging tightly to his body revealed the man’s muscular physique without filter.
A leather strap crossing his upper body was connected to the scabbard hanging on his back, serving to secure the massive longsword to his body. The gauntlets covering him from his hands to his elbows gleamed as they caught the sunlight streaming through the window frames.
"Found you."
He spat out.
There was no time to ask what he had found. He immediately cracked his wrists and lowered his head toward Gunnar.
"The Glorious Knight of Black and Gun. Theobaran. I have flown from France to dispose of you."
"……Knight?"
"Your unmistakable stench wafted over, and I came running. But…… I never imagined you’d be fighting another mage in a place like this."
Clack.
Having completely loosened his wrists, he turned his head slightly toward Ian.
"You also possess a nature close to evil, do you?"
"……What?"
"It cannot be helped. I shall deal with both of you here. If you wish to live, persuade me as we fight. If it is reasonable, I shall cease the violence."
Theobaran.
He drew his sword and walked toward Gunnar with metallic clanks.
"Executing."
Shwaaaaak!
In less than a second.
Theobaran arrived directly in front of Gunnar in an instant and sent a fist flying at the bastard’s face.
"Ah, shi—"
Paaaaaak!!!
Gunnar’s curse was buried beneath a sonic boom that seemed to tear the air apart.
Several teeth flew through the air, and his shattered jawbone dangled, piercing through his flesh. Despite having taken only a single punch, he was launched into the air and crashed into the wall, vomiting a gush of blood.
"Huh."
Absurd destructive power. Ian let out a hollow laugh and turned to look at Theobaran.
He had already approached right in front of Ian’s nose.
"Make your excuse."
Kuuuuuk!
The moment the knight clenched his fist, the air compressed.
It was not a skill or magic. His insane grip strength had naturally absorbed the surrounding air.
A feat accomplished through pure physical ability alone. Ian twisted the corner of his mouth, and Theobaran swung his fist even faster than Ian could open his mouth.
In that fleeting instant. Ian twisted his body slightly and caught the fist with his coat. The coat, which had turned liquid-like, completely absorbed the knight’s attack.
"Hup!"
The opening created by the attack being nullified. Before Theobaran could react, Ian swapped his grimoire and thrust his empty hand straight out.
Ian’s fingers tapped against Theobaran’s coat.
In that very moment he tried to chant a spell, Theobaran moved faster than Ian. He was already standing three paces away from Ian, staring at him.
Ian distorted his face at the speed that was unbelievable even as he watched with his own eyes. Regardless. The knight looked down at the coat hem that Ian’s hand had touched and moved his lips.
"Impure energy."
Rustle.
The knight drew the shotgun he had kept at his waist and turned to look at Ian.
"You, are you an apostle of an Outer God?"
Crimson light flashed between the knight’s helmet. Ian drew his revolver and grinned.
"I’m her husband."
"I see."
Kiiiiiiik!!!
The sword in the knight’s hand vibrated, emitting a sharp noise. At the same time, Gunnar, having retrieved his axe, crawled out from the debris, bleeding.
"You bastards……!"
"Not dead. You’re tougher than I thought."
"You fucking sons of bitches…… Fine, let’s all just die today! I’ll die too! You all die too, damn it!"
Kung!
Gunnar stomped his foot. Rune characters rose like tattoos over his exposed skin, then withered away in an instant.
Simultaneous manifestation of all runes. An ultimate technique that only a very select few among rune mages could use.
He rested his axe on his shoulder and glared at the knight and Ian, gnashing his teeth.
"Come at me…… you sons of bitches!"
"Your tone is crude, yet I shall commend your courage. Die with honor."
"Amelia, fall back. I’ll handle it from here."
The three people facing each other in a triangular formation each took their stances.
Ian opened his grimoire.
Gunnar wreathed his axe in flames.
Theobaran dropped a bead of blood onto his blade.
And.
"I wish to borrow your eyes, so please bestow your grace generously."
"Algiz! Mannaz! Ansuz! Kenaz!"
"Make your excuse."
They collectively bared their teeth at one another.