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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 222: Combining Opposing Energies
The two fighters' gazes turned to me simultaneously. After quickly scanning me up and down, Daisy gestured for me to step aside.
Ignoring her, I looked at both of them and lowered my voice.
"Don't fight each other, fight me."
"Who are you?"
"Fight me."
"Get lost."
Whoosh—
Daisy's dagger flew towards me immediately.
Truly, her patience was worthy of the vice commander of the FullKhao Brotherhood.
As I dodged it with a slight movement of my head, Daisy's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Don't get in the way, step aside!"
"Are you itching for a death wish?"
Amidst the shouts from the spectators, Wolf calmly spoke to Daisy.
"There are usually two reasons someone wears a mask like that. Either they're attempting an assassination, or they're already acquainted. If it were the former, they wouldn't approach like this. It seems like it's someone we know."
Daisy glared at me.
"Are you one of the guys we beat up? Maybe one of those remnants from the Setis Mercenary Group? The one who was bragging about being one of the top ten or whatever?"
"No, his build is a bit different."
I gestured to Wolf with my hand.
"There's another possibility for why someone wears a mask."
"..."
"They're crazy."
Wolf nodded.
"That's a possibility."
"If you understand, come at me together."
Silently, Daisy walked across the arena and picked up the dagger she had dropped.
At that moment, Daisy's figure blurred almost simultaneously.
Swoosh—
Sensing the killing intent, I immediately rotated my circles and unleashed a shockwave to my right.
Daisy, who had been leaping with afterimages, desperately dissipated the shockwave and soared into the sky.
"What the hell are you?"
Suddenly, several spectators gasped and stood up at the same time, and Wolf's eyes narrowed in a strange way.
Poof—
I leaped into the sky, and Daisy plummeted, our gazes meeting in a fleeting moment.
Daisy landed on the ground and shuddered as if she had seen something terrifying.
"That insane look in his eyes..."
"..."
"Brother...? Is that really you, Brother?"
I took off my mask in midair and replied,
"I was recognized too quickly."
Wolf smiled slightly, and Daisy waved happily, looking up at me. Of course, I smiled too.
"I meant it when I said come at me together."
There was no need to wait for a reply.
Whoosh—
All six circles opened simultaneously. The mana in the atmosphere began to converge explosively.
The swirling flow of mana.
As several spectators jumped up in surprise, the Crazy Mage Squad's curses echoed.
'Here we go again, damn it.'
'The commander just can't sit still, can he?'
The subordinates quickly began manifesting their incantations, expanding a protective barrier around the clearing.
Vrrrmmmm—
Hovering in the air, I immediately began preparing a Sixth-Circle incantation while looking down at the battlefield.
'Might as well finish this in one go, I'm starving.'
Multi-Spell Manifestation.
Inferno—A spell of blazing flames.
Orb Frozen—A spell of piercing ice.
Fire in my right hand, frost in my left.
As the flames and ice steadily grew in size, Wolf and Daisy locked eyes from below—and moved at the same time.
Daisy immediately unleashed her full mana core, gripping her dagger in a reverse grip while turning her gaze skyward.
Wolf, beginning to channel an immense aura, unsheathed his sword and pointed it directly at me.
Srrrng—
I let out a twisted grin from above.
'So you've got time to act all relaxed now, huh?'
It seemed the Crazy Mage Squad weren't the only ones who had grown stronger.
I had thought this level of power would be enough, but watching the two of them now, I realized I'd been mistaken.
Their composure, their confidence… it stirred something in me.
How commendable.
And when someone is commendable…
They deserve a reward.
Vrrrmmmm—
I unlocked another Circle within my heart and stretched both hands toward the sky.
In an instant, the fire and ice in my palms swelled into massive spheres, growing to an overwhelming size.
That was when Wolf and Daisy's expressions completely changed.
Daisy immediately pulled another dagger from her left hip, wielding one in each hand.
Wolf, too, adjusted his stance, bracing his sword’s hilt against his artificial arm, which had been concealed beneath his left sleeve.
Shhhhh—
I brought my hands together in a prayer-like motion, slamming them together.
At that moment, the opposing forces of scorching flame and piercing frost collided, fusing into a single, explosive mass as it plummeted toward the ground.
A seemingly simple technique—but in the history of Samael, only a handful had ever mastered this devastating incantation.
Twin Extremes.
'You goddamn lunatic commander!'
Zion’s yell was instantly drowned out.
Because what followed…
Was a roar powerful enough to consume everything.
KWAKWAKWAKWANG—!
That was when Wolf suddenly began spinning, pivoting his entire body around the grip of his sword.
Amidst the deafening explosion, a faint but distinct resonance rang through the air—
The cry of a blade.
Vrrrmmm—
Then came the counterattack.
Wolf released his sword, sending it hurtling skyward, while Daisy—her eyes now brimming with a murderous glint—launched herself into the air, unleashing slashes of sword energy from both blades.
KWAJIIIIIIIK—!
The instant they clashed, the Twin Extremes technique began to tear apart at its core, its combined fire and frost rending into streaks of spiraling light.
And then—
'Kgh…!'
As Wolf's sword flew away, and Daisy crashed to the ground.
The aftermath of the radially spreading shockwave struck the Crazy Mage Squad's barrier directly before slowly dissipating.
"Oh, no..."
"What did I just see...?"
The spectators were all gaping, their faces slack-jawed. Donkey, who had been thrown from his overturned tent by the force of the blast, looked around in shock before spotting me floating above the clearing, his eyes widening.
Whoosh—
I slowly descended to the arena floor, glancing back and forth between Wolf and Daisy, and smiled.
"You guys haven't been slacking off."
Daisy, her hair disheveled, pushed herself up and smiled back.
"It's definitely you, Brother."
Sometimes, spur-of-the-moment decisions can lead to good results.
This was one of those times.
Though it was a hastily thrown together move, the destructive power of the shockwave created by the opposing incantations was far beyond what I had anticipated.
If I hadn't mimicked a dispel at the last moment to absorb the shockwave, Wolf and Daisy could have suffered internal injuries.
Furthermore...
I looked up at the sky.
'Samael is Samael, after all.'
Such an elaborate deception.
Though it seemed like nothing was there, there was definitely something. Just as I was about to activate the incantation, I detected a transparent barrier covering the entire airspace of Khaoto.
"Which goddamn bastards are you!"
"Dare to cause trouble for the Brotherhood?"
"Want me to crush your skull with this mace? Huh?"
That was when a large number of familiar faces from the mercenary squad's base rushed out from beyond the crowd. They had mistaken the earlier roar and shockwave for an enemy attack.
The men, scanning the area with fierce eyes, tilted their heads in confusion before noticing Wolf and Daisy...
Then, one by one, their gazes settled on me.
"Hello?"
"..."
How dare these third-rate punks not recognize their Commander?
I waved cheerfully, but none of them returned the greeting. The men, who had been glaring with all sorts of rough stances, simultaneously averted their eyes with deflated expressions.
"Did everyone get rougher while I was gone?"
"…Ah, Commander, you're here!"
"You're late, you bastards."
There was one guy who was late to the party.
I spotted One-Eye, who had finished his duel with Fenrir and taken a bath, walking up belatedly.
Why was he walking with his face slanted like someone with a stiff neck?
"Who the hell invaded? They don't know the Brotherhood is scary, do they? Dare challenge this Eye Light—"
I made eye contact with One-Eye.
"..."
Poof—
I immediately leaped forward to flick his forehead, but he dodged with a head gesture, trying to grab my back.
Naturally, anticipating his move, I used the Crazy Mage Footwork to grab the back of his back, placing my hand on One-Eye's head.
"…One-Eye."
As One-Eye slowly turned his head back,
I launched a slingshot to his forehead.
Tadatadak Tadatadak Thwack.
"Ugh."
With a crisp striking sound, One-Eye fell flat on his back.
I had now reached a level where I could flick foreheads three times per second.
After glancing at my shuddering subordinates, I spoke.
"Everyone, gather around."
***
"Ah, I've missed this taste."
Having cleared the area of onlookers, we sat in a circle in the courtyard of the FullKhao Brotherhood headquarters, enjoying the chicken stew Donkey had brought out, catching up on old times.
"As expected, Donkey hyung's cooking is as good as ever."
I looked at Hote, who was silently eating his stew on the side.
"How is it?"
"…You were right, hyung."
His expression was quite shocked.
Donkey, who was bringing out the chicken stir-fry, asked,
"Who's your friend? New recruit?"
I replied,
"Not recruited."
"Then?"
"A friend with a knack for fried chicken."
Donkey's eyes widened slightly.
"He cooks?"
"Quite well. Why? Are you interested?"
I noticed that Donkey's complexion was a bit different from before.
"You look tired?"
Donkey sighed.
"We're getting more customers, but we lack manpower."
"You can hire people, right? You've made a lot of money. You're tighter than you look, Donkey hyung."
"We have plenty of servers. But there's no one I can trust to run the kitchen."
Donkey chuckled.
"Want me to bring out some moonshine?"
"Not today."
Truthfully, I really wanted some moonshine.
When eating this top-quality hangover cure, alcohol should be involved.
Isn't that the inseparable, subtle relationship between hangover cures and hair of the dog?
But now wasn't the right time.
I looked around at the scenery and tried to suppress the urge to drink.
The mercenary headquarters had expanded massively, almost like a rich man's estate.
After filling my stomach for a while, I looked around and said,
"When everyone's had enough to eat, go do your jobs. Only the executives gather."
As soon as I finished speaking, the subordinates moved with disciplined efficiency.
One-Eye, his forehead swollen and red, was the first to rise, taking charge of the lower-ranking members, and then Bravokhan went into the main building to retrieve documents.
With only the mercenary executives and Crazy Mage Squad members gathered in the courtyard, I sat in the head seat and pointed at One-Eye.
"One-Eye."
"Yes!"
"Don't use daggers. You're not Daisy."
One-Eye's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Wolf.
"Wolf and the Commander both say the same thing?"
Wolf nodded.
"I guess the Commander noticed when he fought Fenrir. Daggers don't suit One-Eye."
No, this wasn't something I noticed during the duel; it was a matter of intuition.
You might call it a realm of a priori knowledge, not empirical.
As time went on, I increasingly experienced this feeling.
I told One-Eye what I felt.
"Use dual longswords."
One-Eye nodded slightly.
"If even the Commander says so."
Daisy chimed in.
"Brother, what about me?"
I shook my head and looked at Bravokhan.
As if he had been waiting, Bravokhan rose from his seat and said,
"Shall we begin with the report?"
"No, before that."
"Please, speak."
"How well do you track those entering and leaving Khaoto?"
Bravokhan replied without hesitation.
"We don't manage one-time visitors separately. We track regularly visiting merchants, mercenaries, and knights with considerable influence, or those who frequent the Samael family. Among them, we focus on those who are noteworthy."
I nodded and got to the point.
"Efficient management."
Bravokhan asked, eyes gleaming,
"You have something specific in mind."
"Have there been any unsettling individuals recently?"
"Unsettling, as in?"
"Someone who seems to be hiding something dirty, someone 'off.' You know, someone suspicious."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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