Chapter 42 : The Bait Was Thrown.

'Land there.' I landed gently atop the stage.

"What are you trying to pull, Black Nightmare!?"

"Don't think you'll be safe afterwards if you lay your hands on us!"

"Where are the guards? Call the guards!!"

Chaos ensued following the death of Gragas. Most people on the first floor were scrambling madly, trying to find their way out. Meanwhile, the ones on the second floor were busily armoring themselves or the room with whatever line of defense they could think of.

'Hm...Renata still needs time. Now, what do I do...' Standing still, I was racking my brain, trying to think about my next move since I finished dealing with Gragas a bit too fast.

'Whatever. Let's just mark some of them.'

"What are you dogshit people doing!? Attack him!!"

A shrilling scream pierced through the venue, taking the crowd by surprise. It came from the room where I fought with Gragas, specifically speaking, from the nobles who had watched me trash his guards, Gragas's guards, and Gragas himself.

'Hmm...It's better if you don't-...Wait, this is a perfect chance to train my barrier...'

I changed my mind. With a slightly burning expectation, I let the man rile the crowds.

Sure enough, he didn't fall short of my expectations and managed to persuade the whole lot of them nobles. 

You know how it works. When one goes, the other one follows...

Staffs, swords, bows, magic stones, and artifacts. Those kinds of stuff suddenly appeared out of thin air and landed in their owners' hands.

The constructive sounds of spells and knights' war cries soon replaced screams of terror and anger.

Torrents of unbridled mana splash amok the whole venue, followed by the bloodthirsty fellas who couldn't wait to fold me in half. It was chaotic yet oddly mesmerizing at the same time.

Witnessing all of it unfold, I stood there motionless, waiting and anticipating what kind of scene would occur after this.

'Barrier...'

Can they break past this? Do I need to amplify the barrier's strength more? Will the barrier fall short of reality, or will it work just as intended?

I was curious what the answers to these questions would be.

But one thing was for sure despite everything that was happening at the same time.

I realized once again that I have changed. It was strange...I wanted to argue that I was merely trying to adapt to this whole saving the world thing...

But wasn't this behavior I was exhibiting similar to the early sign of someone who was drunk with power? Or maybe I have been drunk for quite some time...I don't know...

There was a time when I was so careful against a novice Magician, but now, dozens of them were afront me, and I was waiting to welcome their warm greetings with open arms as though nothing else had mattered.

'Hm...stronger. More and more. Stronger!'

Changed or not, recklessness born out of arrogance would not help me ever. So, once again, I pushed myself to the limit, whether I was up against ants or lions.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!

Myriads of explosions blasted off continuously, wrecking the once luxurious stage beyond recognition.

Still, the flurry of spells and attacks never stopped. They kept coming, hoping to claim my life.

Unfortunately for them, they couldn't even put a dent in my over-layered and enchanted barrier.

Stacking and condensing them worked splendidly. Sure enough, Word Magic didn't fail to deliver what I wanted.

Meanwhile, a flame harpoon was sizzling and tearing the air, making a beeline through my chest, followed by a knight wearing a spiky armor of stones, gaining speed on his charge, trying to ram me to death.

The two people have worked in tandem to pincer me from each side, or they might think by hitting simultaneously with everything they got, they could crack a hole in my defense.

It was a simple and straightforward strategy. But everyone knew the basic was often the most reliable choice.

I did think it was a good idea.

It could've worked.

The thing is, my barrier was just that strong.

A translucent layer of a magic barrier popped out and blocked the burning tip of the flame spear.

On the left, a similar image replayed itself. The difference was, rather than disappearing like the spell before him, the man was there, gritting his teeth with burning determination to prove his strength and crack me a hole.

Obviously, it wasn't quite the wise move on his part. Dozens of spells that were blindly fired soon enveloped me whole, and the man who was also in close proximity to me. As a result, he was bombarded by his own allies in the back just because he had stayed for too long.

I could spot many of them wincing horribly.

They couldn't find any blindside, and power-wise, it was futile. Moreover, because of a certain knight's stupid act, their morale had taken a hit.

Be that as it may, the relentless assaults still continued. They were holding on, and I knew exactly why they were doing that instead of vying for another option, which was to strike a deal of some sort with me...

'They're trying to wear me down...'

After all, it was not once or twice I had fought when someone tried this kind of move against me. To further solidify my thoughts, magicians with the most condensed mana flow around the body, in particular, were holding back on their punches.

It was crystal clear that they wanted me to empty my tank against the small fries, and then when the time came, they'd hit me with the big guns.

Well, if they wanted to buy some extra time, then why not? It worked in line with my best interest as I needed to give Renata all the sweet time she wanted.

So, whilst watching my barrier popping out endlessly, I strained my Mind's eye, studying the structure of all the magic the magicians hurled at me.

It was not easy, I tell you...

It felt like you need to solve a damn math problem while playing a memory game at the same time. Then again, thanks to my persistent training, it was barely doable. Moreover, with Magic Word, I could use some usefull doping on my brain to raise my concentration and focus.

It messed with my head if I kept it all the time, so I was being extra careful to find the right balance whenever I tried to do it.

A minute went by, two minutes, then five whole minutes...

And silence finally descended. Hope has failed them, and despair has its reigned on every soul in the venue except for mine.

My robe flapped along the silent breeze, looking good as new.

Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with the awkwardness that threatened to show its ugly mug for much longer.

Renata has shown herself...

She was standing on the far end near the exit, nodding faintly to tell me that she had done her part.

'Finally...'

"Listen to me."

An explosion of mana bursted out from my command and enveloped everyone there. Faces of distraught and terror emerged from the visages of many.

"This will not be the last. From here on forward, all the slaves of Boreas will become mine...Don't you dare touch what is mine."

And the bait was thrown.

Will they bite it?

'Come and find me, Phantom Squad.'

Only time will tell.