The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 414: Black Finger (6)

A long trail of blood was drawn across the floor.

“Grrrr.”

Staggering slightly, the Mad Fiend widened the distance and glared at the Lumberjack.

Fortunately, the wound was not deep enough to expose the bone.

“What a shame.”

After confirming this, the Lumberjack also voiced his disappointment.

If the attack had gone just a little deeper, this battle would have been over.

“Well, it’ll only take a little longer. It won’t make much difference to the outcome.”

Whoooosh!

He confidently rested the two-handed axe on his shoulder and grinned.

Killian carefully observed him.

‘Just what kind of ability is it?’

He had not taken his eyes off the Lumberjack for even a single moment since the instant he used World Liberation.

The gap between those who could use World Liberation and those who could not was not one that could easily be bridged.

Ordinarily, the right choice would have been to flee without looking back.

‘But the Mad Fiend is here.’

Known as one of the three strongest members of the Violet Brigade, he was also Level 7.

In other words, their side still had the card known as World Liberation left to play.

‘If the Mad Fiend liberates his world and I devote myself entirely to supporting him, he isn’t an opponent we cannot defeat.’

What mattered now was quickly determining what effect the Lumberjack’s World Liberation possessed.

Killian’s eyes narrowed.

He had identified three things so far.

First.

The moment he liberated it, his entire face became covered in tree bark.

Second.

There was no significant change in his strength or speed before and after World Liberation.

Third.

He reacted accurately even to attacks coming from outside his field of vision.

‘In other words, for now, it is highly likely to be an ability related to vision.’

Indeed, although his entire face was covered in tree bark, he did not seem to be experiencing any difficulty seeing.

Instead, he had dealt a critical blow to the Mad Fiend when the latter approached from outside his field of vision.

That could not simply be dismissed as luck.

That appearance was a change caused by World Liberation, after all.

‘I’ll have to confirm it.’

Killian looked at the Mad Fiend.

Sensing his gaze, the Mad Fiend growled lowly and kicked off the floor.

Booom! The solid stone floor caved in as his body shot forward.

At the same time, Killian also burrowed toward the Lumberjack’s flank and swung claws made of mana.

“Hmm.”

At the same moment the Lumberjack stroked his bark-covered chin.

“……!”

The unique wild instincts possessed by a Forest Warrior frantically sounded a warning.

Kagagagak!

In the end, Killian stopped abruptly without taking the final step and halted his attack.

“Oh?”

At the same time, an intrigued voice flowed from the Lumberjack’s mouth.

The Mad Fiend had also stopped his attack, just as Killian had.

“You fellows have instincts as sharp as beasts, at least.”

Letting out a low chuckle, the Lumberjack went, Shring!

He dragged his enormous double-bladed axe across the floor around him.

A circle with a radius of roughly three meters, centered on himself.

“You seem desperate to figure out my ability, so I’ll tell you. Do not enter this area.”

He declared in a voice overflowing with confidence.

“You’ll die.”

“…….”

“…….”

There was a strong possibility that it was merely a bluff.

However, Killian could not ignore the warning his instincts had sent him.

Lowering his stance, Killian spoke.

“Mad Fiend. Let’s increase our speed.”

“Grrrr.”

Whether or not he had understood his words was impossible to tell.

The Mad Fiend crouched without taking his eyes off the Lumberjack.

Boom!

This time, Killian kicked off the floor first.

“Isn’t it about time you changed your strategy?”

The moment the Lumberjack muttered in a weary voice.

Killian, who had been recklessly charging toward the circle, sharply changed direction just before stepping on its boundary.

At the same time, the Mad Fiend rushed in from the opposite side.

The two formed a perfect symmetry with each other.

It was a situation where, in order to face one of them, the Lumberjack would inevitably have to expose his back.

Even so, the Lumberjack did not even prepare to swing his axe.

“…….”

He merely stood at the center of the circle and watched the two of them move.

Killian and the Mad Fiend continuously switched positions.

Whoosh, whoosh-whoosh!

They repeatedly circled the Lumberjack and threatened him, but he did not react.

‘Was it merely a bluff?’

To confirm it, Killian charged from behind and gently pushed his left foot inside the boundary.

It amounted to no more than a few toes.

“……!”

Yet even that alone sent a chilling sensation crawling up his spine.

He felt as though every vital point on his body—his neck, chest, abdomen, legs, and more—was being severed.

It felt as though the axe blade might cut through his body at any moment.

‘But.’

Killian clenched his teeth.

If he became frightened and retreated here, he would never be able to discover the nature of his opponent’s ability.

Nor could he push this role onto the Mad Fiend.

If the Mad Fiend suffered an even greater injury here, the balance of the battlefield would collapse entirely.

“A Forest Warrior knows no fear!”

At the same time as his shout, an enormous amount of mana surged explosively from Killian’s entire body.

A technique used by the warriors of the forest tribes when they were driven into danger.

One that drew out their limits even at the risk of the aftereffects and side effects.

-Full Tattoo Activation.

Now that he had drawn out the magic of dozens of tattoos in a single instant.

Killian’s physical capabilities had momentarily reached a level comparable to Level 7.

“……!”

Whoosh!

For the first time, the Lumberjack, who had shown him nothing but his back from beginning to end, turned around to face him.

‘World Liberation? No, this brat isn’t a mage capable of using that.’

His magical depth had remained unchanged, and only the level of his physical body had been raised drastically.

‘However.’

That was no reason to disregard his opponent.

Booom!

Having momentarily surpassed the Lumberjack’s speed, Killian drove his knee into the other man’s chest.

In that position, he secured his opponent’s head with both hands and slammed his own head into it.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Ghk!”

Under the consecutive attacks, the Lumberjack retreated two or three steps.

Whoong! He hurriedly swung his double-bladed axe.

“……!”

Killian smoothly planted a hand on the back of the axe blade, vaulted over it as though flowing water, and extended his leg.

Crack!

The Lumberjack’s head snapped to the side.

‘It works.’

A sense of exhilaration swelled within him.

At this moment, his attacks were clearly affecting his opponent.

‘Perhaps…….’

He might be able to win like this.

After all, despite having liberated his world, there had been no significant change in his opponent’s strength or speed.

If Killian continued to overwhelm him one-sidedly like this, he would eventually fall.

‘……But I’ll probably collapse first before that happens.’

Killian assessed the situation coldly.

Full Tattoo Activation certainly allowed him to use power beyond his own capabilities, but its limits were clear.

‘Ghk!’

Killian forcibly swallowed the blood trying to surge back up his throat.

It would not have been strange for his overheated mana circuits to melt down at any moment.

The muscles and bones throughout his body, having been pushed to their limits, were also screaming incessantly.

He knew.

Once this magical moment came to an end, he would no longer be capable of continuing the battle.

‘But.’

His gaze locked onto the Mad Fiend beyond the Lumberjack’s shoulder.

Oscar had introduced him as a trustworthy companion, but in all honesty, Killian was not certain.

The Mad Fiend had never once displayed the bearing of a Level 7 high-ranking mage.

But in this fight, he had no choice but to trust him.

“Tsk! You damned gnat!”

The Lumberjack, who had been repeatedly retreating, swung his axe in irritation.

『Song of the Wolf』

Killian responded by extending his claws.

However, the moment the axe blade and the mana claws collided.

“……!”

The claws melted and scattered like snow.

At the same time, Killian saw it.

The blade of the two-handed axe precisely severing the roots of the mana that formed the claws.

‘Was the ability of his World Liberation to cut the grain of mana?!’

Killian’s eyes widened.

If that were true, everything made sense.

‘An ability that allows him to read and cut the grain of all mana within a three-meter radius.’

That was probably the true nature of the Lumberjack’s World Liberation, ‘Felling All Phenomena.’

It was certainly a troublesome ability, but it also possessed a fatal opening.

‘The only thing enhanced through the liberation is his ability to see mana. His physical capabilities do not increase.’

As proof, Killian had overwhelmed the Lumberjack one-sidedly even within his domain.

The reason he had grown irritated was probably rooted in the same issue.

“Grrrr.”

At that moment, the Mad Fiend, who had merely been watching the battle from a distance, drew up his mana.

A fierce wind arose, twisting the trajectory of the axe that had been rushing toward Killian.

Slash!

“Ghk!”

The wound was deep enough to expose the bone.

However, he could hardly complain.

Had the Mad Fiend not used the wind to alter its trajectory, it would have been his neck rather than his shoulder that was cut.

“Tsk, you’re lucky.”

The Lumberjack clicked his tongue lightly.

“I wanted to make sure I killed you without missing this opportunity, but I didn’t expect someone to interfere.”

“Haa, haah.”

Killian breathed heavily.

He had now reached his undeniable limit.

The repercussions of forcibly activating every tattoo were gradually beginning to crash over him.

“…….”

He quietly lowered his gaze and saw that his hand was trembling.

He was not even capable of curling it into a fist.

It was a situation that should have driven him to despair, yet Killian instead felt relieved.

‘My role is over.’

There was no chance the Mad Fiend had missed what Killian had seen.

He, too, must have realized the nature of the Lumberjack’s World Liberation.

“Grrrr.”

As though responding to that expectation, the Mad Fiend growled lowly.

‘Now, show me.’

Killian’s eyes burned fiercely.

He himself might still be Level 6, but the Mad Fiend was different.

As a mage who had reached the mighty Level 7, he should be capable of using World Liberation.

‘Your world.’

The Lumberjack was clearly wary of that as well.

The proof was that he had been unable to recklessly charge at Killian despite how exhausted Killian was.

He was probably being cautious, fearing that if he moved carelessly, the Mad Fiend would liberate his world and kill him in an instant.

“…….”

However, the Mad Fiend merely scratched his head and did not use World Liberation.

‘Why?’

His confusion deepened.

Come to think of it, it was strange.

The Mad Fiend had personally been struck by the Lumberjack’s World Liberation and even suffered an injury.

Ordinarily, when faced with such a situation, any Level 7 Master would naturally liberate their world.

‘Then why…… Wait, could it be?’

At the same time Killian’s complexion turned pale.

The Lumberjack arrived at the same conclusion.

He looked at the Mad Fiend through narrowed eyes and asked.

“You…… Don’t tell me you can’t use it. World Liberation?”

“Grrrr.”

The Mad Fiend laughed lowly.

His attitude seemed to say that if he had been capable of such a thing, he would have used it long ago.

“Khahahaha!”

At that reaction, the Lumberjack’s shoulders shook as he burst into laughter.

After laughing for a long while, he let the axe hang toward the floor.

“It has been a long time since I laughed this hard. I’ll probably remember you as the funniest bastards I’ve ever met.”

The Lumberjack stopped laughing and raised his axe.

His target was Killian, who could not move due to the backlash from Full Tattoo Activation.

Whoooosh!

The distance closed in an instant, and just as the enormous axe descended toward his neck.

Booom!

“Grrrr.”

The Mad Fiend leaped between the two of them and struck the side of the axe blade.

“Ghk, cutting in line too? You must be eager to die quickly.”

The Lumberjack snorted and swung his axe once more.

At that moment, the Mad Fiend, wrapped in black wind, kicked the Lumberjack away.

Kwoooooom!

The Lumberjack was sent crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the cavern.

“Kuwoeeek!”

At the same time, Killian also coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The mana was so ferocious that merely being nearby was enough to inflict internal injuries.

‘That’s a wind I’ve never seen before. Why did he refrain from using it until now…… Could it be?’

Had he been unable to use it because he was worried that Killian might get hurt?

“Grrrrrr.”

The back of the Mad Fiend as he walked forward with a low growl looked broader than it ever had before.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]