Ch. 30 - Criminal, Rebel, and Mercenary (3)

As soon as they left Nico and his ten members behind, Mariel and Medea hurried toward One Eye's headquarters.

It was a large building flanked by bars and inns on either side. It also served as a place where slaves were caged and displayed for sale. Located not far from the city center, the building remained bustling even after night had swallowed the daylight. It had a basement as large as its upper floors.

Mariel and Medea stopped several meters in front of the building's gate. A small magic circle appeared at the tip of Medea's left palm, and a moment later, a one-and-a-half-meter-long magic staff was firmly gripped in her hand. Medea tapped the ground twice with the staff, and an orange barrier instantly materialized, imprisoning the building.

"I'll wait here, Mariel."

Mariel frowned at hearing the mage use his real name. He had insisted she call him M, but Medea ignored his request. Perhaps he shouldn't have agreed when Medea asked for his real name as payment for all the information she provided. But if he had refused, it would have taken more time to get the information.

"What's wrong? Your legs frozen? Want me to fire up your youthful spirit? Fufufufu~"

Mariel didn't have time to entertain Medea's comments. A crowd had already gathered around them, realizing who had erected the orange barrier around their headquarters. Most of them were brandishing weapons, but a burly man with a thick mustache held them back.

"You know this is One Eye's territory, right?" the man asked, restraining the criminals from attacking. "What's your purpose? Who sent you?"

"Take a deep breath and hold it, Medea," Mariel whispered.

Medea opened her mouth to ask a question but immediately obeyed as the air around her suddenly grew heavy.

Wind was just moving air. What happened when Mariel compressed the surrounding air? There would be no space for it to move. The pressure would increase to the point where breathing would rupture the lungs.

That was what happened to the twenty-plus people before Mariel. They, including the burly, mustachioed man, clutched their throats and dropped to their knees in unison. Blood gushed from their mouths as they coughed violently, and thick red liquid also seeped from their noses and ears. Within seconds, they all collapsed, still clinging to life by a thread.

Mariel restored the air to its normal state.

Medea immediately dropped to one knee, as did Mariel. Their faces were pale, and their breathing was ragged.

"What… what did you just do?" Medea asked once she had caught her breath, completely ignoring the chaos erupting inside the building at the sight of the lifeless criminals sprawled on the ground.

"What is the most dangerous element, Medea?" Mariel responded to the question with another question.

"…Lightning."

Medea's answer was laced with hesitation.

"If we're talking about the destruction it causes, you're right. But I think wind is the most dangerous," Mariel said, pausing as he stood up, followed by the mage. "You saw what happened when I compressed the air around us," he continued in a monotone voice. "They died without resistance. Imagine what would happen if I did the same to the entire city."

Shock painted Medea's beautiful face. Mariel could guess what she was envisioning. Realizing that he could wipe out an entire city with no one able to escape was undoubtedly terrifying. If Mariel hadn't told Medea to hold her breath, she would have suffered the same fate as the criminals.

"You…"

But that wasn't entirely true. The technique he had created was far from perfect. He couldn't even free himself from its effects. Mariel couldn't trap an entire city in super-pressurized air—at least, not yet. Maybe in a year or two, things would be different. But for now, it was far beyond the young man's reach.

"Can you… really do it?"

Mariel shrugged; it wasn't wise to answer that question. Let Medea assume the worst. Mariel didn't know her true motives for following him. She had only said that he was intriguing. Leaving the impression that he was dangerous would discourage Medea from trying anything reckless against him.

"More importantly—"

Mariel's words were cut off as the criminals charged forward in a swarm.

"Bastards!"

"How dare you challenge One Eye!"

"Stop wasting time! Kill them!"

Mariel instinctively created two wind swords, one in each hand.

"Fufufu. You're not using that technique again?" Medea asked as she tapped the ground with her staff, causing her to float slowly into the air.

"No," Mariel answered calmly, stepping forward. "You saw me collapse earlier," he continued, slashing through the oncoming criminals one by one with his wind swords. "If Oz is inside, he could take advantage of that moment to attack. It's better to be cautious."

Mariel then sprinted forward, cutting down criminals faster and leaving them with little to no chance to resist.

-----ooOoo-----

The night had accompanied her for quite some time, and midnight had already passed. Celinee stared in awe at the pile of gold and platinum coins in the treasure room of the nobleman's mansion, her final target.

Previously, she hadn't been the slightest bit tempted to take their wealth. However, the sheer amount of stacked coins before her was far greater than what she had seen in other noble estates. There was just too much money in front of her; it would be a shame to leave it untouched.

Celinee couldn't resist moving her hand. She grabbed several handfuls of platinum coins and stuffed them into her bag. She wasn't a thief, but being around Mariel had made her hands itch. Celinee felt unsatisfied if her hands didn't take part. Mariel was really something: that boy had dragged her down the wrong path.

Letting out a long sigh, Celinee quickly left the mansion that was now only a shell of its former glory. In the blink of an eye, she was on the highest roof of the house. Her eyes scanned the entire city, and that's when she noticed something different.

Chaos had swallowed parts of the city. There was no excessive destruction, but panic reigned. Magic circles appeared in several places, firing lightning bullets that obliterated people's lives. There were also sounds of fighting elsewhere. Celinee could even feel the presence of demons emerging in considerable numbers.

"That bastard…!"

Celinee didn't know exactly what Mariel had done, but it was clear he was the mastermind behind the chaos. She had no choice but to hunt down every demon that appeared. She didn't see a single person in a Sterminatore uniform. She really had to work alone now.

"That guy really needs to be taught a lesson," Celinee muttered irritably, speeding toward the nearest demon.

Within minutes, Celinee had located the nearest demon. It had the shape of a lizard but walked on two legs. Celinee didn't give it much time to breathe the air of the surface world. Quickly, she unleashed a water cutter, destroying the demon's heart.

Celinee's work wasn't finished; this was just the beginning.

-----ooOoo-----

Oz was truly enraged. The short-haired, lean but muscular blonde man was furious. The situation had spiraled in an unexpected direction. He was supposed to be the one hunting the members of Libertania, but reality had turned against him.

Oz didn't know how they had managed to hire Medea Samareas. One Eye had been utterly destroyed without mercy. All their buildings had been looted. The slaves were freed. Their headquarters was demolished. And every one of their members was dying one by one.

Oz had realized it too late. He had been too busy hunting the sewer rats. He had been too focused on the holes where they hid.

When he found no members of Libertania, when every hole he checked was unoccupied, Oz sensed something was wrong. But by then, it was too late. Oz could only stand silently, staring at the chaos with his sharp brown eyes full of emotion.

"Oz."

Hearing his name made Oz snort in frustration. He turned around, glaring with fury at the person who had been standing on top of a building. The distance between them was almost ten meters. The man had intentionally kept his distance.

"Nico," Oz growled. "It seems I underestimated you. I never imagined you would pay Medea Samareas to destroy One Eye. You took advantage of Bearbro and Weimei's absence. You're a sly sewer rat."

If Bearbro and Weimei had been here, Oz was sure that Medea would have thought twice about accepting the job. Bearbro was strong. Lasyana was even reluctant to fight directly with his boss. If he were here, the situation wouldn't have gotten so chaotic.

"Hahahaha! That's hilarious, Oz."

Oz's anger exploded at the dismissive response. He quickly drew both daggers from his waist and charged forward. Sparks of lightning surrounded his body as he ran, closing the distance between them in an instant.

Nico was certainly no fool. His power was not something to be underestimated. The man greeted Oz's attack with a smirk. His two black stilettos quickly blocked Oz's strike. Oz was faster, as his body was reinforced by lightning, but Nico could predict his movements three seconds ahead—that was the power of his spirit.

But Oz wasn't Bearbro's right-hand man for nothing. His strength was even recognized by Bearbro himself. Even though Nico could predict movements three seconds in advance, the force behind Oz's strikes overwhelmed Nico. After several minutes of relentless attacks, Oz managed to land a kick to the right side of Nico's head.

Nico was sent flying, crashing into the roof of another building. Oz immediately seized the opportunity, firing a lightning laser at his enemy. He wasn't about to show mercy, even for a second.

However, something unexpected happened. Nico vanished from where he had fallen. His position was replaced by a masked man. The lightning laser Oz had fired couldn't reach the new person. The laser fizzled out and disappeared before it could hit the masked man.