Chapter 44 - Transparent Radiance
Perhaps she had known from the beginning.
When he suddenly disappeared.
And when he never returned.
She hadn't wanted to believe it, but Anna had thought—so it has come at last.
This was Lost City, after all.
A place where the shadows of towering buildings devoured people's souls.
A kaleidoscope where life and death intertwined like a maze.
Walter was a mercenary.
A life where death was never far, where grievous wounds and brushes with the brink were commonplace.
Anna never tried to stop him.
It was the life chosen by a man who had not been chosen.
So she had practiced.
She had rehearsed the thought that when she woke up tomorrow morning, he might not be there.
The sorrow that would come with his absence.
The distant future where even that sorrow would fade.
She must have worn a somber expression.
He must have asked if something was wrong.
What had she said back then?
Had she smiled?
Had she embarrassed him by breaking into tears?
She couldn't quite remember.
It was an old story.
One that sometimes appeared in her dreams.
Walter lay inside a glass coffin, eyes closed as if peacefully asleep.
Maybe it was because it had been so long since she had last seen him resting like this.
Even knowing that what lay before her was nothing but an empty shell, Anna found herself unable to look away.
Their reunion after two years ended in quiet, in gazes that could not meet.
Then, suddenly, a surge of rage washed over her.
The one emotion she had never prepared for.
By the time she came to her senses, she was standing before the master of black flames.
Wraith of Styx.
A wielder of the cursed fire that devoured its own kind.
She had heard of him.
A heretic heir to a lineage passed down through generations.
Said to be the strongest among them.
Anna braced herself for death.
Not because she believed survival was impossible.
And certainly not out of some noble sense of duty.
She simply wanted to purge the fury within her until there was nothing left.
She knew what the outcome would be better than anyone.
That was why she had told them to run.
So why?
Why like this?
Anna's gaze wavered.
Because of the two figures now fighting by her side.
They had been assigned to her by that female Linker, a precaution for unforeseen circumstances.
She hadn't welcomed their presence.
She hadn't understood what use those weaker than her could possibly be.
But she had been wrong.
The only reason she was still standing in this moment was entirely thanks to them.
Because they had tirelessly relieved her burden, she was able to continue clashing against the heretic's flames.
And that left her all the more bewildered.
She had expected them to flee the moment things turned dire, yet here they were, throwing their lives on the line.
Was it because they were Solos?
Because they had to protect their client?
No, it couldn't be that.
Perhaps they were just… a little different.
…Different?
For the briefest moment, a thought crossed her mind.
Had Walter been a mercenary like them?
Somehow, she felt that he had.
He had always been a man of great responsibility.
Yes, that was something she had liked about him.
At some point—
Anna even forgot her anger.
She simply kept igniting white flames, over and over.
Her body had already reached its limit, but she no longer cared.
Crash!
The first to fall was the Solo wearing a helmet.
His acrobatic movements crumbled with a single strike, and as his body collapsed into the flames, a devastating red light erupted.
A man wreathed in rotation.
He filled the empty space his comrade left behind.
No, "filled" wasn't enough.
Not only had he singlehandedly maintained the balance, but for a fleeting moment, he had even shifted the tide of battle in their favor.
But it didn't last.
Now, after being struck down by the concentrated black flames, the blood of Zahad lay sprawled against the walls and floor, head smashed into the ground.
And the only one left standing—
Was Anna.
"It took you longer than I expected."
After several exchanges, Killgit stepped heavily toward the fallen woman.
His physique was overwhelming, enough to dominate even most beastkin.
Anna, looking up at the figure towering over her like a giant, coughed up blood and asked,
"…Did you provide the Black Flame to the black mages?"
Killgit nodded indifferently.
"I did. It was just a small ember, though."
"…Why?"
Anna asked again, as if unable to comprehend.
A martial art passed down by a single lineage carries its own secrets.
Even if it is considered a dangerous power, the fact remains that it is a legacy built over time.
And yet, the man before her admitted so easily that he had shared even a fragment of it with others—
"Why? Is your family's old-fashioned way of thinking struggling to grasp it? It was merely a trade."
Killgit flashed a savage grin.
At the same time, the Black Flame surrounding his body flared up even more fiercely, dyeing the space around them in dark mirages.
Just looking at it induced dizziness.
Yet Anna did not avert her gaze and spoke.
"…Just a trade? Is that how you regard this power?"
"What's the problem?"
Killgit stomped forward.
His overwhelming presence made it hard to breathe.
"I am the Black Flame itself."
Another step.
"No one can surpass me with this power."
A stream of blood ran down from Anna's nose.
"No one!"
Just as it felt like she would be crushed under the sheer pressure—
"…?"
Killgit suddenly turned his head to the side.
Then, his eyebrows slowly lifted.
Coughing up blood, Anna also struggled to shift her gaze in the same direction.
And she saw it.
A flame burning transparently.
And beyond it, a warm gaze.
***
What the hell is this now?
Jin was flustered.
Truly, utterly flustered.
He had already activated mana overdrive.
He had no idea how long he could stay conscious in this state, and standing around like this was one of the dumbest things he could do.
…But still!
How could he just walk away from that?
Walter was walking.
The bastard he had utterly demolished and sent flying with a final kick was taking slow, deliberate steps forward.
His face was so mangled it was unrecognizable.
The only things that could still be called eyes were two holes, one of which was completely crushed, leaking a pale liquid.
Yet, his relatively intact right eye trembled.
It was still bloodshot beyond distinction, with no clear separation between the pupil and sclera, just as before.
But the emotion within it was no longer violent.
As Jin debated whether to finish him off for good, his fist finally relaxed.
And then, flames erupted around Walter's body.
White Flame.
The same sacred heat as Anna's.
Solard's arcane magic.
But that wasn't all.
The pure white fire met the Black Flame that still clung to its master's body, and instead of annihilating each other, they silently blended together.
Defying Jin's expectations of mutual destruction, they fused into one and began to burn with a transparent radiance.
It was a mystical phenomenon.
It seemed like a vague silhouette, yet also felt like a clear, transparent wave.
The moment that scene imprinted itself in Jin's mind—
"...!"
From a distance, Killgit sharply turned his head.
His eyes widened as he spotted Walter, staggering toward him.
And just as he shouted something, Walter lengthened his stride.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Before long, he broke into a sprint, unleashing an inarticulate, guttural roar.
"Arrrrrrrgh!!!"
Jin clenched his teeth.
He caught the sight of Walter rushing past him and Killgit grinning wildly as he clenched his fists—all within the same frame.
His body moved before his mind could process it.
He kicked off the ground, overtook Walter, and charged straight toward Killgit.
His instincts screamed at him to do so.
And Jin trusted his instincts.
The reason he threw his fist toward the incoming punch—one he would have instinctively dodged otherwise—was because of that trust.
Jin had made up his mind, and the lightning resonated with him.
Boom!
Lightning struck.
Not from the sky, but from the ground.
Not crashing down, but surging straight ahead.
The next moment—
Two fists clashed midair.
Only then did the deafening roar explode through the space.
──!!
A shockwave burst out from between the colliding fists.
The force that should have dispersed into the air instead rebounded entirely into Jin and Killgit's arms.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of every muscle and bone from their hands to their elbows, up to their shoulders, simultaneously rupturing and breaking.
Jin's right arm snapped back over his head—
His body, unable to withstand the impact, was launched into the air and sent flying.
But this time was different.
In midair, his eyes caught sight of Killgit staggering.
And of Walter, lunging in to embrace him.
A colossal blaze erupted immediately after.
"Arrrrrrr!!"
A beastly, mindless howl.
Yet the flames bursting from Walter's body were incomparably radiant.
The fire that burned with his very soul devoured the black flames, crushing Killgit under an unfathomable weight and slamming him into the ground.
In that moment, Jin planted his left hand on the floor and pushed himself up.
"Huff! Huff!"
His breath caught in his throat, his vision spun wildly, and his right arm throbbed as if it had been shoved into a blender.
But even through the agony, he pulled out Gravis and fired at Kilgit's head.
He knew it wouldn't work.
But he was too pissed to just leave it at that.
"This is for RumPumPumPum's revenge!"
Only after seeing Kilgit's head twitch slightly did Jin turn away, making his way toward the fallen Anna.
He crouched, turning his back to her.
"Get on. Now."
Anna didn't waste time asking questions.
She immediately reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Even as she did, her gaze remained fixed elsewhere.
"…Walter?"
Murmuring to herself, her voice barely brushed past Jin's ears as he rose once again—this time, heading for Eric, who lay limp amidst the flames.
His vision blurred.
He couldn't even tell if the guy was dead or alive.
But he couldn't just leave the body behind, so he picked him up.
"…Tsk!"
Agonizing pain surged from his shredded right arm, forcing Jin to grit his teeth and swallow his screams.
"Arrrrrrr!!!"
A roar tore through the air.
The transparent flames still burned fiercely.
Killgit, buried within them, swung his massive arms wildly, struggling to shake off the fire.
But Jin didn't see this as a hopeful sign.
Because Walter—who had Killgit locked in his embrace—was crumbling, his body disintegrating piece by piece even at that very moment.
And then—
Killgit, his face now barely recognizable, turned toward them.
A chilling cry erupted.
"Gaaaaaa!!!!"
At the same time, Jin leapt toward the gaping hole in the ceiling, where thick black smoke billowed out.
His skin burned and melted under the heat, but he barely managed to kick off the edge and climb through.
On his back, Anna's voice rang out, screaming Walter's name.
Jin didn't look back.
He just ran.
Thunk!
Kicking open the emergency exit, he forced his barely functioning mind to focus as he sprinted up the stairs.
It had felt like a short trip coming down.
But now, the way up seemed endless.
To make things worse, the heat had warped and expanded the building's structure, causing it to slowly tilt from the underground foundation.
Unbelievable!
Can't catch a damn break!
Jin cursed every god in existence in his mind as he ran and ran.
With his mana circuits torn apart, he couldn't use his mana.
He had only his battered body to rely on as he finally reached the rooftop and threw himself into the waiting transport aircraft.
Collapsing onto the floor, Anna still unconscious in his arms, along with Eric, he used the last of his strength to speak.
"…Get us… somewhere safe…"
[Commencing takeoff.]
As the roar of the engines erupted around him—
A [Mission Complete!] notification flickered before Jin's eyes.
But by then, he had already lost consciousness.