“Cough... Cough——”
Everything was covered by smoke. The concrete ground has shattered, and the fountain that was once there had crumpled into nothing but a pile of degrees with water leaking around it.The twin was able to be shielded from the massive explosion, caught by Bahamut who withstood the blast with his barrier and his body.He exhausted his magic from protecting the two, granting Violet's last wish.He knew that Violet was reminded of the twin brothers she had before, who were killed by a man from an unknown organization and wanted to exact revenge by looking for him.It was the sole reason she became a member, only to die before she could ever exact her revenge.“——Bahamut! You're injured!”Cian would be the first to notice Bahamut's state. His mouth and nose were bleeding, and his skin was pale. They were symptoms of Mana Deprivation that could lead to paralyzation, or worse, death.“Geez. You guys act like her brothers...”Bahamut would only smile at them, confusing both Cian and Magi who were supposed to be strangers to them.“——Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck! What the hell did you bastards do?! SHE WAS EXPENSIVE!”Running towards what was left of the Brainless that Jack had sent against Violet, he picked up the metal plates that were almost burnt out.“She's gone, Jack'ole! You won.”Despite being injured, Bahamut moved towards Jack'ole, beginning to search for Violet's remnants as well.There was almost no chance that there would be any remains as there was a large crater at the point of explosion, leaving but a sizzling hot soil along with burnt metals around.Flesh and bones would be disintegrated from that magic explosion, but there was one thing that Bahamut knew Violet would leave behind.“Damned kid planned... You shouldn't have taken your life lightly...”On the ground, there was but a small chip that glowed. The label was there but most of it was burned. He could only kneel and pick it up, reminiscent of the memories he had with her.She was like a daughter to him, and they were always partners in crime.“Just... what were you thinking?”Violet had used the unstable Mana Stone in her gauntlet to create a Magic Explosion, which would disintegrate all living things around it.However, metals such as Zinc can survive such explosions with ease. It was what the chip was made of.“——You're still standing, aren't ya, Bahamut?! Don't worry, I'll make it quick!”Bahamut didn't move a muscle, letting Jack'ole charge in with his weapon.However, just as Jack came closer, two bullets would be fired simultaneously from behind Bahamut.One had pierced Jack's head, and another pierced his heart.“——Uagh!”There was no time for Jack to react, and Bahamut could only be shocked by it.The barriers placed within Jack's body were pierced. From those two bullet holes, Jack's corpse would begin to light on fire from the head, and his body became frozen in ice.“You two...?”Bahamut was ready to accept his fate and join Violet, but before he could stand up, Cian knelt.“I'm sorry... we were too weak to protect you guys.”Cian knew that it wasn't their job to protect them. It was just to deliver something.Magi had taken the liberty to secure the suitcase, and with the money still being with them, the trade could still go on with Bahamut being the representative instead.“What's the point...? I can't even face the boss like this anymore. I just lost... I just lost her. She was the rising rookie of the Violet Hex. That was supposed to be hers! I was supposed to make sure that she'll grow stronger so that she couldn't be killed!”Bahamut only took off the tinted glasses he had, throwing them into the ground.The twin would be taken aback as Bahamut reveals his eyes to be of different colors, with one being a bright hue of blue and the other that complimented it as gold.His pupils were sharp, and just like the origins of his name, his eyes looked like a dragon's.“Agh. I——”But soon, darkness would begin to cover Bahamut's eyes.His legs began to be limp, ad the burning sensations of his nerves would begin as if they were drying up.Finally, his body snapped, losing consciousness.“...Ack.”**“...So, were they successful?”“We were able to eliminate one, but there was a variable that interfered.”A man's voice would loom in from the dark, drinking from a golden chalice on a broken and concrete throne, asking the woman.The woman who stood in front of the man spoke slowly, as if her voice had a weight, lazily sighing as she was filled with disappointment.She was holding a crystal ball that recorded the whole event that happened in the Central Park. It was a portable magic recorder, a small eyeball-like device that would record everything from a remote distance.On it, were images of not only Violet and Bahamut but also Magi and Cian wearing their masks.“If these variables decided to leave, we could have been successfully able to eliminate everyone. Bahamut is still alive, and the Philosopher's Stone is still at their hands.”The woman would take one step forward, into the only ray of light from the small rectangular hole that the ceiling had.“Did you at least have your men attempt to take the stone?”“——No. The explosion had gathered the attention of some Sentient Guards, attacking them while they are around would be suicide for my men. It was rather unfortunate but they had to retreat.”The woman had sharp and long ears, clad in a black dress and light armor. She would only wear but a frown over her face, dissatisfied with the news that she had said herself.Sentient Guards, despite being just golems, are metallic robots made to withstand SSS Grade Grants and Mages. It can also identify and copy the enemy's magic, nullifying it in the process.They replaced most of the jobs of the police, with only a few human resources put into a dangerous task, and they were able to clear streets away from violence.However, due to its recent discovery, there are only a few numbers of them left to operate on the surface.They were more than just a threat to criminals, but they had been feared to be used to dominate the world of some people.“Damned Sentient Guards. It's only a matter of time before they would create enough to cover the continent. If they do, they'd just play King!”Throwing the chalice towards the corner of the small room. He grunted out of frustration, expressing his greater disappointment and anger.“Klaus. They would begin investigating that soon enough. Although we expected them to get killed normally, Violet was dumb enough to erase anything that could lead to us.”Hearing that, he would only stand up and take a few steps near the woman, facing her closely as he whispered.He was extending his hand past her as if reaching for something.His arm, instead of an organic flesh was made of black steel, riddled with wires inside, sparkling with lightning.It was an artificial arm. Just as he extended his arm, it would wind up, as if instead of emitting electricity, it was attracting it, grabbing the golden chalice that he had thrown to the distance.It was a magnet-like skill.“Then, do something about it, Fae. Pin the blame to them. That way we can track them down and corner them.”Giving her the golden chalice, Klaus would only lower his voice more, walking back to his throne after handing Fae the golden chalice.His eyes only looked at her with great expectations, not wanting to fail again.But despite that being mere pressure on the lady, she had treated it as an honor instead.“Of course. That was what I had in mind.”Placing the Magic Orb into the chalice, it was a perfect fit as it slid in without just the right amount of resistance.She would carry it back as she turned her back, walking towards the door.“The Black Skulls will remain on top.”She whispered under her breath.In the technological era of Areia, Technological Magistry has been the leading city after its advancement to the skies. With many people working premium jobs and living in such comfort, only those who are rich in both wealth and ideas can climb and be one of the elevated society. Technological Mages were inventors that had aspires to make a world where the Talentless are not oppressed by those with power but rather seen as an equal.They were formerly only a group that favored the Talentless, but now it was but a mixed race of mages and normal humans, bound together by their technology. The Talentless were what they called those who were unfortunate enough to be born without magic. They were discriminated against in the older era, but now they were considered to be equal by most as they were the ones who invented the innovative technology that forever changed mankind. However, regardless of the massive changes, the history of the Two Great Magicians remained. They were the Two G
Even in the world of a post-apocalyptic society, there were still governments that formed themselves to create a sense of unity. With other cities embracing anarchy, there were still cities that had been guarded not only by Sentient Guards due to their trade but by also human forces that tried to track down the roots of crime to prevent them. They had no specific names but people of the underworld had called them Dogs, as they would sniff out the crimes and criminals alike out of their den.Small organizations were caught by them, but when it comes to large organizations, they become powerless due to their ability to blend and hide their trade.It was truly a contrast in power, however, the police were not a force to reckon with as they wielded special authority with not only Grants but with Magic as most of them wielded Unique Magics capable of catching criminals off guard.They were the highest form of security next to Sentient Guards, but as long as one steers away from them, it
With the memories left in the burning embers of the past wars between the rising underground organizations, Violet Ghaani, became an orphan in Newyark after her parents were killed in a battle. It was but a reckless war that involved taking away innocent lives, ending up as but an ongoing occurrence. The Police were incapable of tracking down these large organizations whose tracks were everywhere, and despite the Sentient Guards being recent, were incapable of tracking the culprits down as well. Wars between underground organizations were hard to track down, as most of the time they would happen in areas far from the city, a place far from the police's jurisdiction.Regardless, there were infamous people with bounties placed on their heads, dead or alive.Violet was one of those, a rookie with the lowest bounty starting with 100,000 CCs, and Bahamut being thrice as that. They were considered criminals that had committed endangerment and destruction, making their bounty smaller as
Three days later, Bahamut was now able to be released from the hospital. “Ah, sir. It's all been paid.”The nurse would dismiss their payment with a swipe, canceling the transfer.“——Huh? That's weird. We haven't given you a single coin yet.”Leaning towards the registry of the hospital, Cian was confused as to how did such a thing happen. He still had the bill that summed up all of the expenses, pertaining to almost 10,000 CCs. It should have been required when paying someone's bill, but to think that someone was able to pay it regardless was unusual.“There was a tall man with tattoos all over his arms that came here just yesterday and paid the amount due under the name Bahamut. It's all paid, sir.”The nurse behind the registry was somehow stressing out that it was paid and that there shouldn't be any problems as she looked at Cian. It was obvious that something was up.“A tall man with tattoos...?”Cian would only walk back slowly as Magi arrived with Bahamut in a wheelchair.
Evening had fallen, and Magi was still stuck at his work for hours.“Ngh. This is hard.”Looking at the screens that showed numerous data and prints of the Grant that Magi had tried to replicate, he could only sigh out of frustration. Violet's Gauntlets had a design that was original to its creator, and with it being detailed up until its inside, perfectly replicating it would be hard. Besides, it was also the cane that had been partly disassembled, revealing the nanotechnology it was built on. Retrieving the data on the Memory Card from Violet's Grant was easy, however, transcribing the blueprint data from it was the part that relied on luck. “Copy-pasting isn't easy here. I should just give up on completely recreating her Grant.”Swiping all the screens away with his hands, Magi dismissed the windows as all of them proved to be useless. He had been trying to reference several Grants that resembled Violet's Gauntlets but none could theoretically hold her.Magi had thought of giv
As the next morning arrives at the twin's residence, Magi was the first to wake up, preparing the necessary things like breakfast. Bahamut would be second, as he no longer needed the aid of a wheelchair, standing up with the help of cyber-augmented legs that was powered by a mana stone engraved inside his skin. “How is it?”Magi would ask Bahamut as he walked to the table, seemingly without any lag or problems. “It's perfect! I knew that this existed but I never thought of using it myself!”Bahamut was quite excited to be able to walk again, expressing his happiness as he took a stroll around the small space they had. “It also feels... lighter...”Not only that, Bahamut's body felt lighter than ever, with not only the ability to control his legs, but the legs were also built-in with an anti-gravitational pulse that can let the user jump a significant amount of distance if activated. It was something that Cian wanted before, but installing it was a huge risk, thus it was only reco
“V-Violet?!”Shouting atop his lungs, Bahamut was quick to pick up the pistols that had emitted the holographic screens, showing an image of Violet with her eyes closed. “——VIOLET!”He shouted once again, louder than ever as Magi looked back at him while tending to his brother. “——You're so damn noisy, why are you shouting, you big oaf?!”It wasn't Cian or Magi who replied, but rather it was the person from the pistol's projection, Violet. Her face moved along with his words, showing a face of anger and irritation as she spoke. It was like only as if Violet was on a video call with Bahamut, acting casually as ever. Hearing that voice once more made Bahamut's eyes water up as he began to chuckle, wiping them all off before they could run down. It was no time to cry, he was able to see his comrade again.“D-Damn you, you're as sharp-mouthed as ever!”Bahamut couldn't hide his happiness as he laughed together with Violet who resided in a 2D plane, whilst Magi watched them interact fr
"Cough... Cough...! What in the hell happened——"Coughing out as he emerged from the rubble, Bahamut had just been able to view the current situation as it is.He was surprised as he saw multiple men dressed in black on the ground, and as he looked over to the side, there was the twin, standing before a tall man that held a sword. “——Black Skulls?!”Bahamut knew who they were upon seeing the man with the sword. It was Izumo Riku, one of the rankers in Black Skulls. “Ah, at least someone recognizes me here! Bahamut of the Violet Hex! Or at least formerly, that's you, right?”Nonchalantly responding to Bahamut, Izumo had known of Bahamut's affiliation and retirement from Violet Hex despite it being recent. Information was one of the fastest things that would go around with the right amount of money, and so, it was no surprise that Izumo knew of that.“Bahamut. You know this guy?”Raising his pistol aimed at Izumo, Cian aired out his voice as he looked at and asked Bahamut.“He's a r
Chapter 161 "Go back to Newyark after this is done, huh? I suppose I'm being treated like a Deux Ex Machina."Whispering above the roofs of the building, Magi kept himself hidden from the eyes of those who were below him. The Brainless were everywhere as few of them survived, moving towards the office as a battle ensued right outside it, wrecking the place open.However, in his position, he could also see Cian, trapped in a barrier with Mia. It looked like it was because of their technology, however, that wasn't something that they would normally do. "An evil man like me cannot be the hero of this day."Cian fired his pistol, his bullet breaking the barrier instantly before Cian could attempt to stab himself with his bare hands. Cian was startled at first as Magi observed him, but his eyes immediately went in his direction, looking up with a look of gratitude. Even after all this, Cian was still nonchalant with his actions. He still cannot believe that they were twins in blood.T
Chapter 160: "Watch out!"Barely keeping up with Dokuji's speed, Sumire and the others couldn't get closer to force him into a close combat battle as they tried to dodge his attacks.His ranged attacks were too powerful for them to normally dodge as each slash would alter the terrain and create such a large breeze."I can't use my Blood Shackles on him. If anything else, I could use it if he was his normal size!"As Michael stood behind Kalina and Saeko, he was being protected by the ladies.It was far-fetched for a man like him to be useless right now, but he had to admit that he can't do the physical feats they can do right now. As he is now, he'll be a burden if he tried to help them."Tsk. We gotta close the gap somehow. Two people aren't enough to stop him."Sumire's assessment of the situation was right as all of them nodded in agreement. Sumire, Saeko, and Kalina might be able to stop him even by a moment if they worked together, however, that meant leaving Michael to his o
Chapter 159 "Tch!"Flying around, Sumire carried Saeko around as they tried to dodge the debris that Dokuji began to throw, firing and destroying the small ones, but dodging the hopelessly large ones.Sumire couldn't move all that well with someone on her back, and just as she thought Saeko could be the only one that could disable Dokuji, his transformation made it far harder."This is getting out of hand! If we spend too much time here, we'll lure the other Brainless in!"As they looked around, their battle was beginning to attract the other Brainleas that survived their battles, gathering up near them as they slowly walked up them.Their men had been slowly wiped out by the others. However."Boss!"As a voice called them from below, three surging arrows would whistle out as it splits the wind, hitting the other Brainless right into their eyes as they fall, defeated with one arrow each. Their heads were impaled through the eye. This was but an easy fit for someone capable of contr
"R-Red?!"Before her, was the almost disgusting sight of Red whose body was half rotten. On his back, there was a tube that seemed to be suctioning something out of his neck, delivering it to a machine that seemed to produce material on a tube.It was a purple substance that dripped down into a tube that glowed, and as far as Kurumi knew about it, this could be the substance that that Brainless runs with as their blood. "Kekeke... You aren't supposed to be here...""—?!"From behind, a voice suddenly spoke, laughing silently as he lurked within the dark corner of the basement.His eyes glowed green and each of his steps sounded metallic as it stomped into the concrete floor.Kurumi had her guard up, her magic flowing in the environment as she was ready to cast magic."Sniff... Sniff... That's a sweet smell. Do you mind if I...?"Just as the crazed man stepped out of the shadows, he began to suck in air with his mouth, and just as he did, Kurumi felt like her magic was being sucked i
Chapter 157 "Just where the heck are they all coming from?!"Amidst their travel towards the red light, Michael and his mercenary companions encountered yet another group of Brainless.They've been seeing almost countless numbers of Brainless inside the city, and if they were to be released and known to the public, his image was good as gone. Rather, his image was already gone when the whole attack began. As the mayor of this city, he shouldn't have let those criminals fool him in the first place."Tch. Mayor! Go ahead, I'll have my team take care of this! You are to assist the Boss!"The leader of the mercenary group would wield their Grants, taking on the three Brainless with his other companions. He pointed in the direction where the red light originated, urging him to rush."Alright!"Michael nodded in response, following through with their suggestions.Their group of twenty became reduced as similar encounters would happen, leaving Michael with the last three mercenaries that
"Heh. What's wrong? You're making a sad face when you're winning. Are you pitying me?!"Looking at the skies, Violet stood there with a sad expression. Her expression kept quiet for a moment as if grieving someone."Oi! Face me when I'm talking to you—"Unsheathing her blade, Violet had already taken two steps past her. It was all too fast. Violet was just a few meters in front of Asa earlier, but now, she was walking past her, stopping before long.But only then she realized that something happened as Violet sheathed her blade away."GUAAAAAGH!"Her right arm fell off, rolling down as a lifeless limb. No blood came out, but only immense pain came with it as she saw the organic parts that were the inner parts of her limb. "You won't die even if I cut your limbs. This blade severs the limb but prevents the blood from going out of the wound. It was a blade for surgical operations, yet perhaps, for Gods."Asa rolled on the ground as she held her severed arm, crying out as it turned
"That's everyone.""Yep—. Pretty much."Dusting away his hands, Vincent would respond to Kira as they wiped the floor with the enemies. With Kira using her abilities more proficiently with range, Vincent didn't have to constantly teleport in and out, treating Kira as some kind of explosive whenever she attacks. "Let's go."After all that, they entered the backdoor, and just as they thought that things were going smoothly, the corridor was blocked by Sentient Guards."Oh no," Vincent muttered.There were five of them and with both Kira and Vincent blacklisted, they all fired on sight.With less than enough space to dodge, Vincent quickly held Kira by the shoulder and blinked past them."Run!"Both of them ran deeper into the corridor and took a turn, hoping that it would be the way to the office.The Sentient Guards dashed to follow them, but as soon as they took the turn as well, the two were already out of sight, proceeding to clear the corridors."..."Vincent and Kira were able t
Chapter 154 "You're not going out alive."Standing before Cian, Violet, and Mia was Asa Narasu. She was the only remaining enemy and with her absorbing the blood of the Brainlesses as her weapons, she might as well be the final boss of this fight. "That's stupidly overpowered!"Cian muttered to himself observing Asa wield that kind of power.The blood around her flossed and encircled her in a sphere and if any of them were to be caught in it, their powers would be disabled. "Oh? That's troublesome. I might have to put this one away."Although, as Narash had the Blood Shackles on, the flames that were enveloping her hands and the Gravity Magic that made her afloat became weaker, seemingly reacting to the Blood Shackles' ability to disrupt magic itself. They all knew that it was an ability that made a mage a normal person if they made contact with it, however, seeing Asa have trouble using it with other abilities meant that it wasn't built to be along with another.It made Cian thi
"Hup...!"Jumping out of a portal, Magi would end up on another roof again, avoiding confrontation with the others as he helped them from a distance. He was able to get an array of weapons from the helicopter before it exploded such as a pistol and an automatic firearm which was a type he never had used before. He knew weak weapons like this wouldn't work against wouldn't work on Brainless, but he had something that most of the people in the fight don't have. He had deadeye accuracy, and when it comes to the Brainless's weakness, it was the eyes.There was one problem, however. "This is troublesome..."As he aimed down on the surface, there was still a thick cloud of smoke coming out of almost everywhere. He could barely see Cian as he had his back against a building, facing three Brainless that were running after him. Considering the air and the distance, Magi estimated that the bullet would travel less than a second and hit the Brainless, but if he misses, the distance between