EP.189 Say You Want to Live - 5
"Nice to meet you. I am the top student of the middle school and the supernova of the host industry, a customized private tutor and a mediator of encounters, the legend of the pickpocket world and a gambler who never loses. The idol of children, the kind-hearted caretaker, the magician Hughes, shining with a single prior conviction."
It's a stylish self-introduction, but if you tear it apart one by one, it's utterly trivial. All are aliases based on true stories. The plight of a petty criminal with nothing to over-package even if he wanted to.
Wulfen, who guessed my identity, slowly nodded.
"Magician. I've heard of you. A petty criminal passed down as a legend in the back alleys, right."
"I'm embarrassed."
"Seeing that even the Shadow couldn't find you, I thought it wouldn't be an empty title..."
I didn't live my life in vain. I mean, even a Tantalus escapee has heard my name.
Anyway, rumors are like shadows or echoes; they tend to swell up bigger than the original. Wulfen must be overestimating my skills too, right?
"It is a strange thing. In the era when I existed, legend was not a title given so easily. But was the Military Nation a country so lacking in mystery that it had to revere even a petty criminal?"
A backhanded compliment disguised as praise?
I'm sorry, but if we fight with trash talk, you'll lose a hundred times out of a hundred. If this were a world where we fought with words, I'd be the one and only god.
Where do you think you're going? I'll show you the mind-reader's heart-gouging.
"I also feel it's strange. I thought the Kingdom's shadows, even if they were a bit pretentious, were still people who could do at least a thing or two."
Saying that, I let out a deep sigh and muttered as if disappointed.
"To think you're a rat that tucked its tail and ran away even from Tantalus. It's too shabby to slap the Tantalus escapee brand on you. How can I boast anywhere that I escaped from Tantalus like this?"
Trying to deal with me with provocation? You're far from it. Mind-reading is an ability that's good for winning the goodwill of others, but it's even better for arousing hostility.
When I mentioned Tantalus, Wulfen, who had heard an unexpected story, raised his eyes slightly and asked.
"...Do you know about Tantalus?"
"I've been there once too, so how could I not know?"
Ah, right. Come to think of it, I could say he's my senior.
I gave a short salute toward the senior who was locked up in Tantalus first and answered.
"Nice to meet you, senior. I'm a Tantalus 2nd batch inmate. I lived peacefully in Tantalus where you guys weren't around, stayed for about 3 months, destroyed the Abyss, and escaped. It was nothing special, so how come you were locked up for nearly 20 years?"
"...Your bluff is excessive. Is surviving in Tantalus, which became empty ruins, something to boast about so much?"
"Does it really look like a bluff?"
Cower. Be terrified of my bluff. The more I become a monster inside you, the more power I will exert.
I took light steps to the side as if taking a stroll. Stalling for time as much as possible with meaningless footsteps, I chose words that would stimulate Wulfen's curiosity.
"By any chance, have you ever faced the Black Knight of the Progenitor Tirkanchaka? Have you ever tussled with the King of Dogs? Have you resurrected an immortal whose limbs were torn off and left abandoned, and hung on when the Earth Immortal overturned the ground?"
I don't tell lies. However, even if it's the truth, I don't mention things that sound too absurd. Only to the extent that it seems plausible.
If it's beyond the opponent's imagination, a bluff is just a floating cloud. Even if I said I drove a skewer into Tirkanchaka's heart and struck the back of the Earth Immortal's head, it would only arouse suspicion.
'Progenitor, Immortal, Beast King. They are the things that were in the Abyss. It doesn't seem like just a story he heard. Only those who saw it directly would know the fact that the magician tore off the immortal's limbs.'
His judgment was quick. Wulfen accepted the fact that I had visited Tantalus. At the same time, he raised his guard against me and began to focus on my every movement.
Even so, he didn't think of tucking his tail and running away.
Although Wulfen had foolish subordinates, he wasn't as stupid as they were.
'Since we've faced each other, a fight cannot be avoided. No matter what.'
Right. I expected this to happen.
Looking at it rationally, once we've met, fighting back is the correct answer. Even if I was bluffing, it has to be revealed through a fight, and if I wasn't bluffing, he has to resist with all his might.
Even if not strictly for that reason, he's a person confident in his own skills, so he wouldn't tuck his tail out of fear.
'An opponent I'd have to face eventually anyway for the hegemony of the back alleys.'
Hegemony while aiming for something like the back alleys? Should I call it modest, or should I call it grand?
I understand. He wants to live imposingly. He wants to enjoy wealth and glory without having to watch others' moods.
Then he should become everyone's friendly neighbor like me. Why insist on ruling by killing people? What a waste.
"Are you the one who hindered my plan, Magician?"
"That's right."
"Why did you resist me?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
He was originally a serious person to the point of being unfun, but Wulfen asked with utmost seriousness.
"Magician. I heard you didn't particularly build a faction. If so, isn't the existing faction being pushed out also what you wanted?"
"That's ridiculous. I'll ask you the opposite. Why are you trying to clean up the back alleys so thoroughly? Even touching people who have nothing to do with you?"
"It is a strange thing. To clear new ground, isn't it natural to tear down what was originally there?"
Within Wulfen's common sense, he couldn't find a reason why he should lower himself or be careful for someone else's sake. Because he was the most powerful in the back alleys.
I was newly reminded of the fact that Wulfen was from the Kingdom era.
The Kingdom is a world of the law of the jungle, a harsh world where the strong win everything through duels.
For Wulfen, who was born, raised, and ruled there, the strong taking from the weak was as natural a common sense as the fact that the sun rises in the east.
I was so dumbfounded that I asked back.
"Someone like you learned the Ki of a coward? Hiding when someone looks stronger, and trying to win with a sneak attack when they look similar?"
"That is the law of the world. The strong take, and the weak lose. For the weak to survive, they have no choice but to hide. However, I am stronger than them, and they did not hide. I will take everything from them."
We can't communicate. Haa, these kinds of people are really.
Unfun.
"One-dimensional indeed. You'll only come to your senses after getting your head smashed by the Military Nation."
"Unfortunately, that chance will not come. Not for you, nor for the Military Nation."
As soon as those words ended, a dagger flew without any warning. In the alley of the Military Nation where the faint streetlight was all there was, a fatal flying dagger, surrounded by pitch-black darkness, invisible and inaudible.
'Well, shall I test it?'
The target was my right foot. Human eyes are dull to things that don't come from the front, so the intention was to aim for that blind spot.
'Right foot first. It's an invisible dagger. How will you respond?'
However, if I've already read it, it doesn't matter. I lifted my right foot slightly, and then stepped down again right before the dagger struck the ground.
Thud. The dagger driven into the ground under my right foot vibrated faintly. I leisurely spread both arms and shrugged as if asking if that was all.
My figure, standing lightly on the dagger, looked exactly as if I had caught the flying dagger with my foot.
Seeing that figure, Wulfen increased his vigilance a bit more.
'He's no simple petty criminal. Let's be careful. Thinking of facing a knight, trample him thoroughly.'
Now the time that could be dragged out with words was all over.
From now on, dragging out time depended entirely on my capabilities.
"Legend of the old era, Wulfen Penstein. It's about time for a generational change, right? Please disappear into the back alleys of history now."
"If you have the qualification to do so."
Wulfen took out his main weapon, a short sword. The ambiguous length of the sword, longer than a dagger but shorter than a longsword, seemed to symbolize his identity.
The moment he pulled up his Ki, a pitch-black aura surged up the blade, wrapping around the edge and soon becoming invisible.
The symbol of shadows, and the ultimate technique in close combat. The Shadow Sword, which doesn't show any opening to the opponent.
Thanks to reading Wulfen's thoughts, even while knowing the sword was there, tension naturally came over me. Because if anything went wrong, the invisible blade would pierce into my body.
"To survive, you'll have to perform a great magic. Magician."
Against that, all I had was a deck of cards.
I spread the cards. At once, over 50 cards fluttered, and when I clapped my hands as if shuffling them, the dozens of cards disappeared without a trace.
Instead, what was left was a single short spear that I had secretly swapped in earlier.
I gripped the short spear with both hands and faced him.
"Let's have a match, has-been."
Wulfen's figure disappeared. Immediately after, an invisible blade flew towards me.
The short sword, whose length couldn't be gauged, aimed for my shoulder. If I didn't have mind-reading, the match would have been decided here. Because I wouldn't have been able to know how far the blade reached at all.
'Let's attack precariously and see the reaction. Magician, can you detect the reach of the sword?'
However, with mind-reading, the opponent's intention was clearly felt. It was a light slash given from a long distance so that he could pull back at any time.
Then there's no need to be scared. I twisted my shoulder slightly and thrust the spear at the same time. The spearhead instantly pointed straight at the approaching Wulfen.
'Sharp. The reaction is fast. But...'
Ting. The short sword easily deflected my spear. I instantly felt as if someone was grabbing and pulling my spear.
Short sword and spear. Even though the difference in length was overwhelming, it was my side that shook more violently. Just from being deflected, my grip ached and the tip of the spear shook weakly.
As if even this was a trick, I gripped the bending spear and thrust it, but Wulfen no longer overreacted to my attacks.
'Sharp, but strength and speed aren't felt that much? Well, then let's have a contest of strength.'
Suddenly, along with that thought, a pitch-black and sticky aura clung to the short sword. The aura, like black mud, touched the spear, soon wrapped around it and didn't let go.
He intended to transition into a pure contest of strength like this.
Tch. He has a knack for smelling the scent of the weak. If we compete in strength like this, my pathetic strength will be exposed.
It can't be helped. Even though the spear is a waste.
I let go of the immovable spear from my hand and took out a card from my sleeve.
Diamond 9, Hand Axe.
A hand axe with a shape good for throwing was grasped in my left hand. At the same time as kicking up the clinging short spear with my knee, I threw the axe, hiding it in the shadow of the spear.
The axe with a blue, sharp blade spun around and struck as if to split Wulfen's chest. Wulfen reacted to the sudden appearance of the axe.
'The card turned into a weapon. Alchemy?'
Should I deflect it with Bullet-deflecting Ki, or dodge?
The hesitation was short. Wulfen didn't gamble with his own safety. A spinning axe thrown from close range was ambiguous to deflect with Bullet-deflecting Ki.
'I dodge.'
Wulfen rotated his body greatly. His cloak fluttered, and both the spear and the axe vanished uselessly over Wulfen's shoulder. Stepping lightly, he examined my hands and feet with sharp eyes.
'The main weapon is not the spear. Alchemy? Or, another weapon?'
None of them are my main weapon. I didn't have a main weapon in the first place.
I had already consumed two cards. It would be nice to pick them up again, but there probably won't be any leeway for that.
This gap is an opportunity. Taking advantage of the gap when he retreated, I dashed into the alley. As I exposed my back and ran away, an unbearable doubt appeared on Wulfen's face.
'Running away? I can't grasp his tactics at all. He can't not know how disadvantageous it is to show your back in a fight, right?'
The reason showing your back in a fight is disadvantageous is because you can't see behind you. If you can't see behind you, you can't grasp the opponent's attack, so running away is bound to be disadvantageous whether on the battlefield or in a duel.
But for me who has mind-reading, there's not much difference between showing my back and facing front. Because I read the opponent's attacks with mind-reading anyway.
No, rather, showing my back is good because it makes the opponent let their guard down.
'Let's approach carefully while throwing daggers.'
Why do those daggers come out endlessly? It's not like he makes them out of cards and carries them around like me.
Complaining was only for a moment, two daggers shot by Wulfen flew straight towards my back. The moment the daggers left his hand, I immediately rolled forward. A cool sensation brushed over my back. A little, but my cloak was torn.
I made it with quite expensive materials, but Wulfen's Ki is especially sharp. It seems better not to expect much from its defensive power.
'He detected the daggers flying from behind. His Ki sense is good. Then, how about spreading my aura in all directions. Let's see if he can still detect it.'
Instantly, darkness bloomed. The aura spread in all directions came approaching, filling the street like fog. If someone who didn't know had seen this scene by chance, they would have thought dust was pouring in due to a landslide somewhere.
Driving the surging shadows and hiding his body within them, Wulfen was about to rush at me from the shadows when...
He paused when he saw the revolver I had hidden in my cloak.
'A gun? Could alchemy also produce a gun?'
Diamond 6, Revolver.
I shot one round last time, so five Diamonds are left. If not now, when his Bullet-deflecting Ki has thinned out because he spread his aura, there's no chance.
Click, click. I brought the secretly converted revolver to my waist. Pulling the trigger and striking the hammer, I spewed out five bullets in a single breath.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta.
At short intervals, I shot accurately aiming for the main body even in the darkness. Arm, leg, chest, forehead, leg. Bullets embedded themselves in various parts of Wulfen's limbs.
Wulfen, who received successive shocks in a short time, staggered briefly.
'I don't know. I can't accurately gauge his skill level. One thing for sure is that his Ki sense is bizarrely outstanding.'
However, even the thinned Bullet-deflecting Ki easily blocked mere bullets. The bullets couldn't even penetrate his black clothes, let alone his body, and fell uselessly to the ground.
Wulfen gathered his aura. The aura that had spread in all directions seeped back into his nose and mouth.
It looked as if Wulfen was swallowing the darkness.
'Then I give up on hiding my figure. A vicious frontal confrontation... It's not my area of expertise, but there's no other way.'
Wulfen, who finally realized his superiority, decided to become stupid instead of using his head.
Black Shadow Ki is an assassination Ki that hides one's figure by swallowing light and sound, aiming for the opponent's openings. Therefore, the normal way to use it is to scatter it in all directions like Wulfen did to deceive the enemy's senses.
However, Wulfen boldly discarded that usage.
He turned the aura he had emitted back into his body. Instead of scattering it in all directions to block vision, he concentrated it inside his body to increase his strength.
A vicious usage that ignores the original intention. But.
'I will compete only with strength and Ki.'
It's poison to me.
Ah, I'm doomed.