novelraw Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50. The Prodigal Son (6)
When a dragon begins to exert its power, its scales rise and fall as if breathing.
Watching thousands of scales rising and falling, one gets an illusion as if waves are rippling over the dragon's body.
The current Saya was like that.
The black scales rippled, and the surrounding atmosphere also began to vibrate as if resonating.
The flow of air and temperature changes.
Climate manipulation.
The authority possessed by a dragon reveals its appearance once again.
Sizzle……
Saya began to carry out the instruction Riman gave.
Gathering the surrounding moisture to raise the humidity of this area, and simultaneously lowering the temperature.
Gathering moisture wasn't difficult.
Because the moisture of the dark clouds created a little while ago still remained in the atmosphere.
He only had to drag down the moisture that was clustered above the head earlier to the ground now.
While making the air damp like that, he also dragged down the temperature of the air together.
Cold began to arrive at a rapid speed.
The weather that was gently relaxed tightened with tension in an instant.
Naturally, he didn't manipulate the temperature of this entire city like this.
He was manipulating the climate only around those chief's faction SWAT members running toward the building right now, exactly around them.
“Hm?”
“Uh……?”
The members felt that the situation was changing somehow.
The air touching their cheeks became damp, and the metal surfaces of their firearms cooled down rapidly.
Cold, and high humidity.
A climate that could absolutely not appear in this season right now.
They realized that something was going strangely.
However, even if they realized it, there was nothing they could do.
Because the speed at which Riman piled up images and wove magic was much faster.
‘Silent sea, white coffin, broken tin.’
The air that turned cold and heavy pressed down on the members' shoulders.
A few sensitive ones among the members felt the current of mana rushing from behind their backs.
They hurriedly looked back.
Standing there was a single mage.
And probably the strongest mage they had actually seen.
The mana spreading from Riman took the form of magic in an instant.
[Frozen Earth Critical Point]
An ice-attribute area-of-effect magic that freezes a wide range at once.
It freezes.
Crackle!!
Dozens of members and the ground they were stepping on were covered with black ice in an instant.
“Gack……!”
“Guk……!”
As if time had stopped, they were fixed to the spot and stopped.
The members were frozen perfectly to the extent that they couldn't move even a single finger.
Riman’s words that he would handle it were never empty words.
Whoosh-
Riman felt the chill brushing his cheek.
Watching the magic perfectly implemented once again, Riman felt a faint sense of accomplishment.
[Frozen Earth Critical Point].
It was powerful magic.
And the drawback was also clear.
Because it was magic that required a considerable amount of mana corresponding to it and a long casting time.
But now, Riman manifested [Frozen Earth Critical Point] with a much shorter casting time and a smaller amount of mana.
It was a simple principle.
Because he had optimized the surrounding environment for ice-attribute magic in advance.
High humidity, low temperature.
Air containing a large amount of moisture promotes the creation of ice, and cold accelerates freezing.
In such an environment, the efficiency of ice-attribute magic was bound to skyrocket.
Thanks to that, Riman could activate [Frozen Earth Critical Point] quickly with less mana.
And being able to optimize the environment like this was thanks to Saya’s ‘Climate Manipulation’ ability.
Saya creates an optimized environment where Riman’s magic can produce maximum
efficiency, and Riman becomes able to wield magic much more powerfully within it than before.
Not simply strengthening the power of magic itself, but controlling both the environment and magic simultaneously to extract maximum power.
It was truly perfect combo play.
“Urghhh…….”
“Mmph…….”
Groans flowed out from the gaps of the frozen members' lips.
Although their whole bodies were covered with ice, surprisingly they were alive.
It was what Riman intended.
He had adjusted the temperature and thickness of the ice from the beginning so that the members wouldn't freeze to death.
But they were only alive, not able to move.
Because the frost and ice sheets covering their bodies were tough and hard, unbefitting their thin thickness.
It was because the crystal structure of the ice was firmly bound by the adhesive called mana.
Anyway, there was one reason why Riman kept them alive even after suppressing them.
Because they were police officers.
Even if they were a force colluding with criminals, they were terminals of public power anyway.
From the perspective of Riman striving to receive a pardon from the World Federation Government, they were opponents whom it was truly awkward to kill.
And an additional reason.
If the chief's faction collapses after today, there was a high probability that they would be incorporated into Inspector Park Jae-il’s forces.
And Park Jae-il was in a position friendly to Riman for now.
There was no need to dare kill and eliminate the future power of a friendly force.
But for now, it was necessary to make them exit so as not to hinder this operation.
For that, mere freezing wouldn't do.
Riman placed his palm on the ice sheet covering the ground.
And blew magic into it with force.
[Discharge]
Black electricity rode the surface of the ice sheet and attacked the frozen members.
Zap!!
“Gah……!”
“Guk……!”
Electricity climbed up the members' bodies.
The burrowing electric shock knocked all of them unconscious.
Freezing bound their bodies, and electricity blew away their consciousness.
Suppression couldn't be done more perfectly than this.
With this, excluding the chief's faction SWAT members from this fight was completed.
Riman called Inspector Park Jae-il via earpiece.
“Situation on this side is finished.”
However, no answer returned.
“Inspector Park Jae-il?”
Riman’s radio message hovered in the air without being received.
At that moment, Riman felt a certain ominousness.
Surely……
‘Did Ha Do-yeol start moving?!’
Dash!
Riman ran inside the building.
* * *
Several days before today’s operation.
Park Jae-il asked Riman.
“That guy Ha Do-yeol, he is a mana user, right?”
“Yes. To be exact, a Superhuman.”
An existence possessing superpowers from birth and able to utilize mana, a Superhuman.
“What exactly is the ability Ha Do-yeol possesses?”
“First, to tell you the countermeasure, do not catch his eye.”
“Yes?”
“I mean do not enter his field of vision.”
Perplexity dwelled on Park Jae-il’s face.
“…Is he a type whose field of vision is exactly the range of his ability?”
“Yes.”
“Then the moment we catch his eye, we die instantly or something…….”
“Instant death, huh.”
Riman chuckled without realizing it.
“You will rather come to hope he kills you instantly.”
“What?!”
“Still, if there is some distance, you can run away. Although it will be painful enough to die.
Still, a little possibility of living will arise.”
“What about the method for our side to attack?”
“Even if you fire, he will dodge lightly. At best, if it’s long-range sniping using explosive ammunition, you can catch him, but…….”
Riman, who thought for a moment, said.
“Since he also knows such weaknesses, he won't rashly come out of the building.”
“Aha…….”
“So by any chance, if you encounter him, run away unconditionally. Ordinary people can absolutely never beat that guy. I will handle him.”
“…Understood.”
“Ah, and just in case his hand touches your body.”
“Yes.”
“In that case, there is no way. It is immediate instant death.”
“……!”
If his hand touches, you die unconditionally.
Park Jae-il gulped dry saliva.
And asked Riman.
“So… what is his ability?”
Back to the present.
Inside the main building of Doban Distilling.
Park Jae-il and the members quickly swept up the remnants and occupied floor by floor.
Since Ha Do-yeol’s main force had already been struck by lightning and ground away in the front yard, dealing with the remnants was easy.
Like that, they reached the 3rd floor.
Since they had lightly suppressed the 1st and 2nd floors without any troop loss, the members' tension was minutely relaxed.
Soon, a corner of a hallway bent in an L-shape appeared in front of them.
In indoor combat, a corner is exactly a danger element.
Because a corner cuts off vision and makes one unable to see beyond it.
It is impossible to rashly gauge whether beyond it is just an empty hallway or a trap.
So before turning a corner and entering, cautious maneuvering is necessary.
But Inspector Park Jae-il’s members couldn't do that.
To be exact, they didn't.
Because they had pushed up with such irresistible force from the 1st floor to here, their vigilance had become faint.
On top of that, a strange conceit that a monster calling down thunderbolts from the sky was on their side.
They immediately turned the corner and entered the next hallway without any deceleration.
That was a mistake.
An irreversible mistake.
“Hm?”
Park Jae-il saw.
Two men standing at the end of the hallway.
One was the police chief.
Riman’s words that the chief would be here were correct.
But the other man standing next to the chief was the problem.
That was……
“…Ha Do-yeol?”
Park Jae-il and Ha Do-yeol’s eyes met.
At that moment, Park Jae-il remembered Riman’s advice.
-Do not catch that guy's eye.
Nevertheless, if he entered the guy's field of vision……
-Run away.
Of course, Park Jae-il’s members also knew this warning point.
But a few stepped forward without realizing it and ended up aiming their muzzles toward Ha Do-yeol.
A mistake committed by being distracted by the target appearing before their eyes.
Park Jae-il shouted urgently.
“Run away! You idiot…….”
However, Ha Do-yeol’s eyes already began to shine red.
The mana in the air fluctuated.
And death began to cover the hallway.
Sizzle-
“Aaaagh!”
“Gack!!”
Four or five members who went ahead screamed and rolled over.
Park Jae-il quickly backed away, but he couldn't completely escape from Ha Do-yeol’s ability.
Sizzle-
“Kuh……!”
Intense pain felt in the ear area.
Park Jae-il pulled out the earpiece radio he was wearing in his ear and threw it on the floor.
The surface of the earpiece radio made of plastic had melted down.
Because of that, his ear also suffered burns.
This was why Park Jae-il couldn't answer Riman’s radio message.
‘Damn it……!’
The burn remaining on his ear dug sharply into his nerves.
But Park Jae-il dared not express dissatisfaction.
Because he had seen what state the members who were unluckily hit directly by Ha Do-yeol’s ability ended up in.
“Gurgle……!”
“S-Save……!”
“Aaaaaaaagh!!”
The members were rolling on the floor emitting faint steam from their entire bodies.
Their joints were twisted here and there in strange directions.
All were results of being hit by Ha Do-yeol’s ability.
Ha Do-yeol’s superpower, that was……
-‘Heat’ (Gayeol).
At Riman’s words, Park Jae-il had asked.
-Is it an ability that heats up the target his gaze touches?
-He cannot directly heat up the target he looks at itself. But he can transfer heat indirectly.
-How…….
-He heats up the atmosphere.
-The atmosphere?
-He heats up the air with mana, and projects high heat using the air as a medium. If he does this, the temperature around the target soars to thousands of degrees in an instant.
-Then……
-They become oven-roasted alive.
-Such……!
-That is why I said it is better to be killed instantly. You know how painful the pain from burning heat is, right?
-Wait a moment, then if we touch his hand directly……
Stomp, stomp.
Ha Do-yeol approached one fallen member.
Although completely incapacitated due to high heat, he was barely holding onto his life.
Ha Do-yeol bent his waist and brought his fingertip to that member's forehead.
Ha Do-yeol’s mana flowed out riding his fingertip and went into the member's head.
At that moment.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!!”
Blood, cerebrospinal fluid, lymph fluid, serous fluid.
All fluids inside the human body boiled up at once.
The pain of internal organs cooking.
The scream that member let out just before dying couldn't represent even one hundredth of that pain.
And Ha Do-yeol was looking down at that scene with a faint smile.