Chapter 95. SIEG Industry (5)
A burst of orange muzzle flash spread in all directions, and the lead bullet, starting its spiral rotation inside the barrel, tore through the midnight air and surged towards the target.
The bullet, imbued with April's pink mana, flew across the darkness, carving a bright trajectory like a tracer round.
The place where the bullet, flying at supersonic speed, hit was the front windshield of the lead vehicle's driver's seat.
A snipe mirroring the way the Scavengers had first sniped them, a perfect return of what they had done earlier.
The bullet, which immediately shattered the windshield and flew through, accurately penetrated the Scavenger in the driver's seat.
Screeeeeech!
Immediately, whether the driver had collapsed, a fierce tire screech echoed. But that wasn't the end.
"With this, I've at least given them a hit back..."
Click, clack.
April pulled the bolt handle back with a natural motion to eject the cartridge case and loaded the next round. She aimed again.
"This time, it's with interest!"
The muzzle of the rifle, aimed at the enemies, again glowed with the color of her mana, emitting an intense muzzle flash as the second bullet pierced the darkness.
The place where the bullet, which had torn through the air at a terrifying speed, landed was the lead vehicle's tire.
Crunchcrunchcrunch!!
Suddenly, frost shot up like a white flower blooming on the struck tire of the vehicle, freezing part of the truck and the surrounding ground it penetrated.
The truck immediately froze to the ground, tire and all.
Instantly, another truck, trying to brake, caused a rear-end collision behind the stopped truck in the middle of the road,
And the bikes following around scattered, stopping in a hurry, which came into view.
"Hoo."
Confirming that through the scope, April exhaled the breath she had been holding, loaded the next round without a gap, and glanced at me.
"I've completed the order for now. How is it?"
"It's good."
Enoch replied briefly, looking at the frozen truck.
Among powerful elemental magic, was it Frost magic, specialized in hindering movement by trapping the enemy's feet?
If cast and fired with a bullet, it could exert considerable power like that.
The reason he had ordered April to use sniping to pin the enemy's feet was precisely because he knew it was the biggest advantage of a firearm-type magic gear user integrated with the power of modern weaponry.
Especially, the biggest characteristic was being able to precisely strike magic to the landing point without losing power, even at a distance like this.
But April seemed dissatisfied with the praise and pouted her lips slightly.
"...Cheh, well thanks for that. Does it hurt to say a little more when giving a compliment?"
"We can do that later."
Anyway, with this, the Scavenger vehicle convoy was completely blocked. Enoch glanced to the side.
He had already planned how to deal with the enemy after the ambush.
Arcato, who received his gaze from beside him, crossed his arms and grinned.
"Ah, well, if my colleagues have set the stage this much, it's time for even me to get to work."
He watched as the Scavenger members poured out of the cars, then instantly gripped his magic gear, raised his mana, and leaped out the window.
Kwooong!!
Arcato landed on the ground, destroying one of the vehicles from the 5th floor as a cushion.
"Shall I say hello to the Scavengers after a long time?"
As he drew a circle with his magic gear in the darkness, a halo of light appeared, and soon fireballs began to float around him like satellites.
It seemed to be Arcato's main magic.
[Pyro Satellite]
The fireball satellites began to play around him and move freely like will-o'-the-wisps.
He spat out the cigarette in his mouth and shouted.
"Come at me all at once, you Scavenger whelps!!"
As he stretched out his hand, with a sharp searing sound, the fireballs began to fly around freely, dancing in sync with his magic gear's movements.
He seemed to be adjusting the appropriate distance with the enemies, suppressing the enemies charging out of the cars head-on, and shouted with a twisted smile.
"Please, I'm begging you, don't approach within 5 meters of this old man. It's too close for comfort!"
He immediately gauged the distance and jumped into the middle of the stopped vehicle line of over a dozen Scavengers.
He began to rampage in the middle of the enemies, wielding fireballs and controlling them freely.
It was true that he had said earlier that long-range combat was not his specialty, but it didn't seem like he was respected among the freelancers for nothing.
Enoch, who was watching the situation unfold, slowly placed his hand on his sword hilt, concentrating and raising his senses.
He could already hear sounds in his ears.
"That building! The building!!"
"They attacked from the building, let's kill those bastards first!!"
To begin with, Arcato couldn't handle all the Scavengers on his own. If so, there would naturally be a move to eliminate the sniper first.
If that was the case, all I had to do was block that.
First, as soon as the Scavenger long-range mages attempted to deploy magic there, April was shooting them first and neutralizing the threat.
"Tch, that level of skill isn't enough."
However, disregarding even such sniping and Arcato.
Scavenger combatants, who had somehow managed to charge this way, approached, shouting loudly.
"Drag those bastards out!"
"It's the 5th floor! There must be a sniper there, let's go!!"
They had reached the entrance of the abandoned building and were just starting to climb up. From now on, the real battle was about to begin.
Enoch glanced behind him.
"We'll start too."
"Understood. Let's go first."
Beside Enoch, Skia nodded, then slowly raised her short wand in front of her eyes and focused her mind for a moment.
[Perception Inhibition]
[Suppressor]
Along with the magic circle that rotated around Skia once.
With a small static-like noise, as if transparent noise was covering her surroundings, Skia's form became fainter.
Not only that, she also cast a second layer of magic, a sound-blocking spell.
A silhouette that even Enoch, who could see mana, would miss if he didn't concentrate. Her presence was likely already completely hidden from the enemy's sight.
Whoosh!
Immediately ready for battle, she immediately raised her short wand, lightly kicked off the railing, leaped up, and jumped straight down.
She landed immediately and then approached the enemies' rear, sliding quickly and silently.
"This might sting a little."
And then, getting close to the backs of the confused enemies, she activated lightning magic with her short wand.
Immediately, the light blue current formed at the tip of her wand wrapped around and subdued the opponent like a net.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
"Wha, what?! Kraaaagh!"
Just as there was a reason Enoch had kept an eye on her from the start. Skia's performance, based on stealth-type magic, was quite impressive.
She was indeed a person close to Tier 10.
In particular, she was making excellent use of the characteristics of stealth-type unique magic, which were troublesome for enemies to deal with.
She kept approaching, aiming for the enemies' blind spots, by confusing them with Perception Inhibition magic. She systematically took them down one by one.
Above all, it was magic highly valued for its high survival rate and lethal strikes through powerful ambushes.
'It's a good thing she's on our side now.'
She was definitely a veteran freelancer.
Perhaps she was even stronger than Arcato or April.
To begin with, a mage wielding stealth-type magic who had fully reached the unique magic level was famous for being troublesome, even among the renowned powerhouses in the original work.
Especially since mages specializing in assassination or ambush were notorious for their methods, such an evaluation was not difficult to understand.
As Enoch had expected, she was indeed a reliable asset.
Clang!
And then, an anomaly occurred in one of the Scavenger trucks where there had been no presence felt.
The vehicle's container door at the back suddenly opened with a sharp metallic clang.
"..."
At the sudden event, Enoch glanced over.
As the back door of the truck opened. Scavenger combatants wearing masks poured out from inside.
Masks with a square cloth covering the front of their faces. The lower part fluttered, revealing their mouths.
"Kuaaaaa!!"
A group of about twenty individuals, screaming horribly, opened their mouths wide and immediately rushed past Arcato, who was dealing with other gang members, like the wind.
Even as he took down a regular gang member who was just charging at him, Arcato glanced at the masked members and shouted loudly.
"Watch out! Masks! They are Scavenger Elite members!"
These were effectively the main force, then.
But even before Enoch's thoughts could fully form, April had already placed her finger on the trigger and shouted loudly.
"Ha! What can you guys do if I shoot from far away!"
In an instant, the rifle's shot tore through the surroundings and fired, accurately flying across the darkness and piercing the enemy's chest.
But an anomaly occurred at that moment.
"Wha, what? They're not falling?"
At April's words, Enoch glanced back. Despite being hit by the bullet, they paid no mind and continued to charge.
They staggered unsteadily but charged towards the building with incredible speed.
Enoch slowly drew his sword.
"Tch, I'll fall back to the upper floor and get into position."
April, from the side, immediately retrieved her rifle and exchanged glances with me. She immediately began running towards the upper floor to secure distance for her next shot.
A grotesque shouting was already emanating from the lower floors of the abandoned building, which was now shrouded in darkness.
"Kuaaaaaa—!!"
The creatures, charging like beasts, instantly breached the 4th-floor stairwell and began pouring in.
The one leading the charge rushed towards Enoch from the darkness, barehanded.
Seeing that, Enoch's gaze narrowed.
Somehow strange movements. They weren't even holding magic gear in their hands.
However, as they were enemies, he would simply face them.
Enoch immediately swung his sword, cutting the waist of the one charging at him while deploying magic.
However, as the creature fell to the ground cut in half, Enoch was certain something was wrong.
'They're not dying?'
Despite being cut in half at the waist, the upper body of the Scavenger Elite member continued to move.
Tatattattatak!
Then the severed upper body immediately scrambled rapidly towards me with both arms, leaping into the air as if it were a broken puppet, extending its arms.
In that moment, the mask on its head fluttered, revealing its mouth gaping wide and its teeth with saliva dripping.
Naturally, this wasn't post-mortem rigor mortis. It was clearly abnormal movement with murderous intent aimed at me. Seeing that, Enoch recalled something.
A body that didn't stop even when severed.
I definitely remembered seeing individuals who used this kind of magic among mages.
'Necromancer.'
If so, the course of action was clear.
Enoch immediately raised his sword and plunged it down into the head of the Scavenger Elite member who was flying through the air, dragging only its upper body tenaciously.
Puoooook!
As the sword pierced its head, the body, with only its upper half remaining, immediately twitched violently, then went completely limp.
Enoch watched it for a moment, then retrieved his sword and calmly looked at the Scavenger Elite members who were continuing to charge towards him.
And then.
With the sound of a rifle shot tearing through his ears, the head of one of the charging Scavenger Elite members was shattered, sending fragments of flesh flying in the darkness.
And then it collapsed to the ground without a struggle.
"I saw that just now, I'll keep it in mind when dealing with them!"
The sound of April shouting, aiming her rifle barrel towards the 5th floor through the collapsed floor of the abandoned building on the 6th floor.
And the other freelancers, who quickly confirmed that, also began to aim for the heads of the charging Elite members from their respective positions.
***
The battle ended after not much time.
Not a single Scavenger Elite member survived.
At first, the freelancers were surprised by the strangeness of the creatures who seemed to ignore death, but after learning how to deal with them, they didn't struggle.
"..."
However, immediately after the battle ended, Enoch was silently looking down at the fallen Scavenger Elite members for a moment.
Enemies that moved even when only the upper body remained.
It was definitely not within the normal range of events.
No matter how much of a world of mages it was, it was naturally extremely rare for a human body to be able to move even after losing half of it.
There were only a few cases where that was possible.
Suddenly, something Elena had said earlier flashed through his mind.
─ [...there are rumors circulating that the Scavengers have even recently been joined by a combat mage of Tier 10 level as their leader...]
He had definitely suppressed the main force. But he felt something ominous. There was something he needed to confirm first.
Enoch immediately manually pressed the button on the earset he was wearing to activate it.
Communication was probably reaching Elena through the line she had set up earlier.
As expected. As soon as he pressed the button, Elena's anxious voice was heard as if she had been waiting.
[Ah, Lord Enoch! Are you safe? I've been trying to contact you for a while now, but since the freelancers weren't responding, I was sure you were in combat...!!]
Her voice was trembling. As expected, she also knew that communication with the PMC side had been cut off.
However, while moving to the abandoned building and quickly preparing the ambush, no one could make a call.
This was because the Scavengers had earlier backtracked their location by connecting to the communication that the PMC had been using.
To eliminate the risk of having their location discovered during the ambush, communication was impossible. Now that they had suppressed the main force, it no longer mattered.
"The Tier 10 mage who recently joined the Scavengers."
Enoch asked calmly.
"Roughly when did they join?"
At his words, Elena composed her trembling voice and said, regaining her composure as much as possible.
[I understand that it was a very recent event. That's why virtually no data has been collected.]
"Then the period when the Scavenger members became stronger?"
[Yes? Although it's not precise, you can probably say they coincide. However, for what reason...]
Hearing that far, Enoch made a firm conclusion.
The timing of the Tier 10 mage's arrival and the period when the Scavenger members collectively became stronger coincided.
If so, these grotesque members who could move even when their bodies were severed were definitely related to that Tier 10.
Just then, someone approached him from the side.
"Hey."
It was Arcato. He spoke in a serious tone.
"These guys. They clearly didn't die even from lethal blows."
Arcato, who had fought the Elite members, glanced at his clothes and wounds, which were messed up from the fight.
"Besides, they're not just skilled individuals who would be only Scavenger elites. If I had made a mistake, I might have died."
"I agree, but what's the conclusion then?"
April, who had somehow descended to the floor level, tapped the butt of her rifle nervously.
"I think we need to reveal their identity."
Arcato levitated a fireball on his finger, reduced it, then flicked it to burn the mask worn by the fallen Scavenger.
And in an instant, April's gaze froze.
"...!!"
Flame.
The identity of the Scavenger gang member's face revealed from inside as the fire burned the mask.
It wasn't the face of a normal person.
It was a human whose skin was rotting in places, as if disinfectant had been poured over an already decaying corpse.
"...Zombie."
April muttered quietly.
That was precisely the identity of the Scavenger Elite members revealed from inside the burned mask.
April glanced at it with a disgusted tone and said.
"Anyone can see this is the work of a Black Mage. I've only heard about this until now. What happened?"
April muttered with a disgusted expression, as if she hadn't expected to see Black Magic directly.
Even she, a veteran freelancer of the Outskirts, clearly didn't encounter this often.
"The Elite members clearly didn't feel pain, unlike the normal members we faced earlier."
Skia also said stiffly.
"They kept moving unless their heads were destroyed."
"Yes. And they used the magic they mainly used in life. I recognize some of the magic gear."
Skia agreed lightly with Arcato's words and added.
"I also confirmed that they were zombies who still used magic from their life. They didn't have magic gear. You could say they were fighting under the Black Mage's command."
At her words, April turned to the side and asked Arcato.
"...So, didn't you say earlier that they might have a Tier 10 mage?"
Everyone present sensed what was about to be said. The zombies were likely his doing. Enoch concluded their words.
"To begin with, these Elite zombie members are strong, but they're not enough to annihilate the PMC at once."
"...Are you saying the main body is somewhere nearby?"
April asked again with a slightly agitated gaze.
"But, he wasn't visible at all during this battle, was he? He wasn't with this follow-up unit—."
And just as she was about to say that, Enoch's gaze instantly shifted to the side, and he unleashed his sword.
[Reverse Flow]
The trajectory of the dark blue sword, swung like a current of water in the air, instantly struck a large rock spear unleashed by the enemy, which tore through the air.
Kaaang!
The sword, swung diagonally in front of Enoch, grazed the spear, causing blue sparks to fly in the air.
The sword, having completed one rotation, immediately deflected the enemy's well-aimed strike directly to the side.
The rock spear deflected by the swung sword hit the pillar beside it. It penetrated the concrete and plunged in, causing the interior to shake violently.
In an instant, a chill ran down Enoch's spine as he swung his sword.
Its speed was clearly too fast to evade.
Moreover, the trajectory was precise enough to pierce not only Enoch but also April, who was beside him, at once.
If he hadn't instinctively used [Reverse Flow] to deflect it, his heart would have been pierced, and he would have died instantly.
Although it was a surprise attack, it was an attack so fast and precise that even Enoch, who had sharpened his senses during the battle, couldn't react.
"Ah—?"
And simultaneously with Enoch, who had instinctively defended against the attack,
And April, who had let out a scream, her eyes wide with surprise at the fact that she had almost died instantly.
It was Skia who first realized the enemy had attacked and reacted quickly.
[Perception Inhibition]
[Suppressor]
Immediately, shimmering transparent noise unfolded around her, and Skia, with her form transparent, dashed into the darkness towards where the rock spear had flown from.
She ran to assassinate the enemy who had attacked them as quickly as possible.
Skia, who was searching for the enemy while gripping her magic gear, suddenly widened her eyes upon discovering a figure beyond the passage.
The new figure of the enemy stood like a shadow in a place untouched by light, due to the shadows inside the abandoned building.
Immediately, Skia ran and circled around to the figure's blind spot, raising her short wand.
Just as she leaped and lunged towards the enemy who had newly appeared in the darkness.
Paaaaaang—!!
A wet tearing sound of flesh rupturing instantly echoed through the warehouse. Blood splattered in all directions, creating a sticky spray of blood.
The smell of blood spread everywhere.
What had been torn off was Skia's head.
In an instant, a chilling silence fell over the interior. The sound of thick, wet blood dripping echoed.
"Ah, ah..."
April let out a strange sound with a blank expression. Her expression showed she couldn't believe what had just happened before her eyes.
Despite clearly using stealth-type magic, Skia, who had attempted a surprise attack, was defeated in a single blow.
In that moment.
The midnight moonlight shone into the abandoned building, which was shrouded in darkness.
A man stood there, clutching Skia's headless neck in one hand. His other hand was tucked in his pocket.
"..."
As if it didn't matter that his sleeve was completely soaked in blood, he clutched the limp corpse with one hand.
The man, behind the mask he wore like a veil, silently looked the corpse he held up and down.
In an instant, a piercing sense of pressure penetrated Enoch's entire body.
A mage who had entered this place without hesitation, as if it were a matter of course, killed a veteran freelancer in a single blow, and was now looking at the corpse with a twisted smile.
Suddenly, his sharp murderous gaze from behind the mask glanced over and focused on Enoch.
─Scavenger's Tier 10 Mage.
After observing him for a moment, Enoch walked towards the enemy in the darkness, letting his sword hang loosely.
The dark blue mana that was beginning to rise from the blade began to push back the darkness.