Attack of the Order - Official Wizards! (1)

The formation of their attackers made no sense to Kai.

Of the five pursuers, the two broomsticks in the front were flying quite a bit faster. Both riders were wearing long coats and had a hat over their heads.

Formal wears? Kai guessed, and then it hit him. They are official wizards!

Kai had asked Arlen why the so-called Wizard's Council would hunt Mr. Beedle.

Wizards or men, Arlen had told him, all fear something they don't understand.

"STOP!" one wizard shouted. "Turn around and land on the island. Otherwise, don't blame us for not showing any mercy."

"Red!" Arlen shouted. "Be prepared for a sneak attack."

Kai nodded.

But it wasn't the sneaky ones they should have worried about, Kai found out soon enough.

The second official wizard didn't give any warning. He flicked the wand, and Kai felt as if a train was coming at him. The very air rumbled as Arlen twisted the broomstick to dodge.

What was that? Kai thought, his heart dreading that tremor.

"Simon?!" Arlen glared at Simon. "If not now, then when?"

Kai saw a shocking scene then.

The broomsticks were flying at their top speed, but Simon, sitting behind Shae now, stood up. If it weren't for his hunched back, there couldn't be something straighter than him. The wind failed to stir anything other than Simon's robes.

Then Simon danced!

Kai had never seen someone being so graceful before. Kai saw Simon looking at the water. Then Simon's hands shot out like the snap of a bowstring. Tensed first, but thunderous afterward.

They were flying low enough for Kai's toes to feel the wet, chill in the sea. The two wizards had their wands out to fire those blasts again.

Suddenly, something shot out of the sea.

They were surrounded by so much water and foaming waves that Kai couldn't see it.

It was fast. And it was powerful.

Bang!

One wizard had almost got thrown off the broomstick . He would have fallen if it weren't for him clutching the broomstick at the last moment using one hand. The second wizard's broomstick lost balance completely, the twigs at its end blasting into pieces.

Simon's dance wasn't over yet.

He slouched, his hands going downwards, and then he stood up, his hands shooting up like bullets.

Bullets! Kai saw them this time. They were water bullets.

Tiny globules of water. No larger than a mouthful. No wonder I couldn't see them before, Kai thought. At such a level, it's hard to distinguish them from the thrashing waves.

The wizard, dangling on the broom with one hand, must have seen them too. He flicked his wand, blasting the water bullet away. The other wasn't as fortunate, though. His broomstick was going round and round, like a dead bird falling from the sky. The second water bullet hit right in his face.

Kai saw a shower of blood, and then the wizard fell. But before the sea could claim his body, he disappeared.

Kai could have sworn he heard a sound, like a crack of a whip. But it might as well have something else. He wasn't sure.

"Peter!" the first wizard roared, eying the drowning broom. The sea claimed it instantaneously. The three others, flying a considerable distance behind the official wizards, must have realized what was happening. They rushed their brooms towards the wizard.

Simon's hand had again gone down, his feet twisting on the wooden staff as if it was a floor. The wizard aimed the wand, and suddenly, Simon's broom shook. At such a speed, that slight shake was enough to send the inexperienced Shae tumbling down on the waters.

Simon broke his graceful dance and lunged at Shae's outstretched hands.

Arlen had to turn around to face the wizard. Otherwise, it meant death for both Simon and Shae.

"Expelliarmus!"

Arlen flung his wand-hand at the wizard. The wizard had already found his balance by then. Kai gaped, seeing the spell that had thrown Sonia's hands getting thwarted by just a flick of the wizard's wand.

This?! Kai could scarcely believe it. It's like we are children in front of him.

The wizard gave Arlen a scornful look before shouting the same words.

"Expelliarmus!"

Kai had thought Arlen would lose his wand, then. What happened, though, was even more unbelievable.

Arlen, along with his wand, got blasted off the broomstick. Kai lunged and caught Arlen's foot. But then, they were completely open to the wizard's magic.

The wizard again pointed the wand, but something hit him from behind.

Bang!

It hit again.

Then once more.

Bullets after water bullets surrounded him from all sides, hitting his vital areas. Kai saw madness had overtaken Simon. The dance, though, hadn't disgraced its charm.

The wizard had to take the broomstick up, but the bullets followed until they couldn't see him anymore.

What's this Skill? Kai asked himself. How can he use so many of them?

"Simon!" Arlen called out, taking control of the broomstick, his face bloody. "They are coming. Let's go!"

Simon nodded. He dragged the drenched Shae and brought the broomstick to its maximum speed.

The three Order's Contestants were just on their tail.

There were two women among them.

In the lead was a man, short of height but lean. He could have been bald, if not for his long braided ponytail. For a mustache, he had two whiskers, and a streamlined, threadlike long beard. All his hair seemed to run away from him as his broomstick cut through the wind.

The woman on his right had a round face and saggy breasts. Kai could even see her nipples through the wet clothing over her.

They were that close.

There was one another, but Kai couldn't see her face. She was on Simon and Shae's tail. It was she who attacked first. Kai saw her taking out a gun, like the one he had read about in the archives during his previous life. It was short, one-handed, but her hands were steady.

-Bang-

"Captain!" Kai shouted. "This one is a newbie!"

Kai gestured towards the woman with the saggy breasts.

No weapon; her flight was shaky; and there was nervousness on her face.

The ability to smell fear had become an instinct for Kai.

Arlen must have realized what Kai was implying. Their broomstick was like a bullet, air sizzling about it, but then… it stopped.

The sudden break would have thrown Kai off the broom if he wasn't expecting it. The two Contestants behind Kai, though, weren't.

Kai threw himself off backward. The man realized what was happening, but his momentum was too great. He stirred the broom towards the newbie woman, trying to huddle together.

Kai smirked. "Hey, weirdo!" he shouted over the waves. "Wanna play catch?!"

It appeared then.

Two enormous legs, with half a feet long talons, appeared out of the blue, separating the man from the woman like a blanket.

The longsword appeared in Kai's hands, and the newbie's broomstick did the rest. It brought her to him. The woman couldn't even turn it before the steel kissed her. The power behind the slash was so great that it cut her open from neck to waist.

The sea tasted the blood.

Kai touched the corner of the Hippogriff's legs, sending it and the Longsword back to the Inventory.

The execution was so perfect, and fast, that the woman firing at Simon and Shae hadn't even noticed.

Arlen made a quick roundabout, and Kai caught the broom's wooden staff just over the bristles.

The braided leader had been so shocked that he even forgot to chase them. He looked to his right, but the woman had gone. The sea had claimed her broomstick; the blood indistinguishable from the dark waters under them.

Kai grinned vilely. He looked at the man and gave him a middle finger.

…

[

You have killed 1 Order's Contestant

…

Your Title Status is updated

…

Title: Murderer

Specification: Kill 10 Contestants in a single random world. The Contestants must be from the same or higher floor than yours.

Status: (7/10)

Effect: Perception +2, Worth +1

]

…

'Three more,' Kai thought. He looked at the man and the woman. 'Three more.'

Kai pulled himself, slowly but surely.

Behind him, the man had put the foot on the paddle, his broomstick shaking along with him in rage as he chased.

-Bang-

Kai's ears rang. This bullet had come for him, he realized. The woman had given up on Simon and Shae, and now she was joining the man in the pursuit.

Arlen took out his wand and aimed at the gun, but the woman flew away almost instantaneously.

Kai realized Arlen hadn't intended to use the spell either way. He was just creating distance between them.

The chase lasted for the entire length of the sea, but the man and woman didn't catch them.

And except for the occasional sound of the gun going off, there wasn't anything to hear. When the first ray of sun hit Kai's face, even the sun had gone silent.

A bad feeling hit Kai then.

Something's wrong, he thought. They aren't trying hard enough.

"Arlen!" Kai shouted.

"Sit tight!" Arlen spat back.

The sudden brown and green brought Kai's thought to present. First, it was a line, and as they flew closer, it became cliffs. The sea water rampaging high rocks with endless anger and defiance.

Soon, they crossed the sea.

The danger gave no sign before it hit them.

Boom!

Kai instinctively wrapped his arms around Mr. Beedle.

It also seemed like Kai had been dearly waiting for something like that to happen.

They rolled, the rocks drumming on Kai's back. The lower end of the broken broom fell just by his side. Kai lifted his neck, and then, he saw him.

The man who had disappeared with a cracking sound.

The official wizard, Peter.

Kai's hand slipped when he pushed against the ground.

There was wetness on the rocks; moss and small puddles of water. He could feel it, smell it, and touch it; the decisive moment.

Kai struggled to stand up, his eyes never leaving the official wizard.

Peter's face was swollen, beyond the humanely describable terms. His left eyes couldn't be seen anymore under the protruded black-blue flesh. Traces of blood still lingered at the corner of his lips, and his wand-hand trembled with every step he took towards them.

Thump!

Kai hid Mr. Beedle behind him as he heard another crash. Simon and Shae's broom exploded mid-air, throwing them off on the rocks. His eyes found Arlen then. The blue-haired Captain was standing on his feet too, his wand out in open.

"Peter!" the second wizard landed beside Peter, his wand giving out a trail of smoke. "Are you alright?"

Kai knew they were in trouble then. Arlen's change in route had managed to injure two official wizards, but they weren't dead.

Kai took out the longsword.

"Yes." Peter nodded. "You sure took your time, Dickon."

Arlen, Simon, and Shae approached Kai. Arlen was still OK, but Simon could scarcely even walk. His left leg was broken, the white bone splintered and beaming out of the flesh. Shae supported him as they grouped around Mr. Beedle.

He wouldn't be dancing anytime soon, Kai thought dismayingly.

The two Order's Contestants caught up with the two parties facing each other. They got off their brooms behind the officials and scampered towards them.

"I told you," Dickon commented, showing displeasure. "We are just recruits. It would have been wise to bring more force. Wiser, yet, for a veteran to accompany us. Let me take out my badge…"

Dickon reached out to the in-pocket of his doublet.

Arlen broke into a sudden dash of madness then. Kai was at Arlen's tail, running zig-zag, hiding from Peter's eyesight.

Peter let out a murderous grin, but just as he was about to use the spell, a water bullet hit the back of his head.

"YOU!" He roared, stumbling to find the balance.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Arlen shouted, his face becoming paler than the vanishing dark of the sky.

Dickon couldn't react in time and stiffened.

Kai jumped over Arlen and slashed at the wizard.

The steel had almost touched Dickon's neck when he heard the rumbling incantation.

"Incarcerous!"

Kai got flung by what seemed like thick ropes. They wrapped around him, entangling his arms and legs.

He didn't hear the words again. But, in the next moment, he found Arlen blown away, too.

Damn it! Kai cursed, trying to bring the longsword edge to the ropes.

"That's it!" Peter grumbled. Kai saw Peter shooting a glance at Simon, who was now lying on the ground. The official wizard came towards Kai then, the other half of his face also turning blue in rage.

"I gave you a chance," Peter said, pointing the wand at Kai.

Kai's mind shook, his Perception screaming high. He saw Peter opening his mouth, but the incantation and intention, both felt dark even to him.

"Crucio!"

Ahhhhhh… Kai howled, but no voice came out. It felt like his insides were twisting into themselves. Thousands of needles were pricking his flesh, and hundreds of knives were cutting him apart.

Pain…

On and on. It kept going on as if the pain was eternal. And suddenly it became quiet. In the twists and turns, the longsword had cut the ropes apart. But Kai couldn't find the strength to even think properly.

Kai saw a blackness covering his eyes.

Then came a roar, so loud, that Kai felt he had returned to the thunderstorm, surrounded by the old enemies who he had killed.

This roar was Lightning; Thunder; Storm's rage.

This roar… had come from Mr. Beedle.

"WHO DARE USE DARK MAGIC IN OUR PRESENCE?!"