Chapter 486: Stage Collapse (2)

Ju lifted his head from beyond the wall of flames.

They were trapped inside a ring of fire, jumping and shifting to avoid the rising heat that encircled them.

Capturing that mage had never been an option to begin with.

He had fought Hildebert nearly on equal footing.

There was no universe where they could win. The moment Yehyeon grasped the situation, he immediately shifted to retreat strategy. Titan in Core5 or not—they needed to get out first.

The problem was the mage’s overwhelming mobility.

And burns were lethal even to Black Badgers.

Fwoooosh!

The mage grinned and sealed them inside a crown of fire.

The flames climbed higher, cutting off escape.

Enduring the searing heat, Yehyeon looked at Ju.

Ju had rushed out to retrieve Byung Yeong-baek and was the only one outside the fire ring.

Their comrade turned back toward them, gripping Byung Yeong-baek.

“Below!”

The problem—

Ju had one foot already inside a teleportation array.

“Ju! Get out!”

「qrÛÝÂûæ?」

At the same time, the flame mage twisted his body toward them.

The only Badger not inside the crown of fire.

The mage extended his palm.

“Above!” Yehyeon shouted.

BOOOOM!

A pillar of flame crashed down.

A dust storm born of heat slammed into the fire crown. Impact and scorching air swept over them. Yehyeon raised his forearm to shield his face and braced his legs.

Ricardo swiftly adjusted position—the silver wall he deployed absorbed part of the shock.

A capable Badger.

If the temperature rose just a little more, it would melt entirely. But for now, the silver barrier held.

Squinting, Yehyeon urgently searched for Ju.

Alive.

He had rolled aside, dodging the fire pillar.

And in doing so, he had also moved out of the teleportation range.

Meanwhile, Byung Yeong-baek—

Whether by the flame mage or another mage—had been thrown elsewhere.

The man was sucked into the teleportation array, flailing and shouting something unintelligible.

「Ǹƚ`ǞßÐ! ǕǔȁƘȐƙȞȥȠ!」

His voice cut off.

All train cars except the frontmost vanished.

It was a bizarre sight. The tracks remained—but the train resting on them was gone.

Like watching a poorly edited film.

From the remaining front car, someone leapt out.

Yehyeon recognized the child.

「Ǹƚ`ǞßÐ!」

“A summoner.”

Yehyeon muttered.

The boy—clearly not yet an adult—shouted at the blond mage.

「ƙȐǐǒDŽƵƣ! ΤϦϏϽϾ!」

“A summoner?”

Ricardo echoed in confusion.

“He’s a kid.”

Jonathan Kudo muttered as well.

Now that he thought about it, those two had not been fully conscious when Headquarters was breached. They likely hadn’t seen the boy who led an overwhelming swarm of Creatures inside.

“But he’s a skilled one. Don’t relax.”

“Child soldier?”

Jonathan frowned.

Yehyeon sensed Ricardo narrowing his eyes at the boy.

Though trapped in flames, the attack had paused briefly.

The mage had completely turned toward the boy.

His braided blond hair, tied back with cloth over his eyes, whipped in the air. The mage did not even glance at them—like a few rats could be allowed to scurry for now.

Yehyeon was grateful.

It bought time.

“No.”

He answered as he confirmed Ju was stealthily moving back toward them.

“That’s not the reaction of a child raised in abuse.”

The boy shouting at the mage was full of confidence.

Though Yehyeon couldn’t understand the language, it felt like the boy was scolding him.

There was no fear. No grim resolve.

And the slight upward curl at the mage’s lips held unmistakable affection.

Yehyeon shut down emotion and adjusted his action cam.

“Recording probably won’t be clean.”

“The Personnel Director seems to be recording.”

Ricardo was right.

Ju had already taken cover behind a wrecked cargo truck and was motionless.

At that distance, their conversation was likely captured clearly.

If they survived, the Titans could interpret it.

If they survived.

“Huh.”

“The fire’s gone?”

The heat vanished.

The Black Badgers blinked, unable to process.

They had survived countless battlefields—but magic was different.

The sudden disappearance of the flame crown was incomprehensible.

Instead of retreating, the three tightened their stances.

The mage turned and smiled.

「υΤϣϦϔ!」

A teleportation array bloomed beneath the remaining train car.

The summoner boy stood beside it.

Floating in the air, the mage looked relaxed.

The boy’s face, however, had hardened.

And now—

He wasn’t looking at the mage.

He was looking at them.

More precisely—

He was staring at Yehyeon.

Eyes burning.

“The eyes of someone seeking revenge...”

Yehyeon could read the boy’s relatively unscarred upbringing.

Ricardo read the hatred in his gaze.

“That kid—was he at Headquarters?”

“I saw him then. But he probably saw me during the Remnant Wraith operation.”

Yehyeon replied evenly, senses sharpened.

“Jack handled the opponent.”

He rolled his eyes slightly as he answered.

They still didn’t fully understand the situation.

That was dangerous.

They needed to grasp the enemy’s intent immediately.

What Yehyeon had determined so far—

The mage viewed them less as enemies and more as insects to toy with.

There were civilians on that train.

High probability.

That was why the train had been teleported away in haste.

If he were the flame mage—

He would finish them here.

Why extinguish the fire?

What had the boy said?

At first, Yehyeon thought the boy had been urging haste.

But then he wouldn’t be standing there now.

Ah.

Was this—

An opportunity?

Teaching the child how to fight?

THUD.

As if confirming Yehyeon’s suspicion, Creatures descended from the sky.

A swarm of angels and witches blanketed the horizon.

Wooooong—

Wings slicing through air.

“Could’ve stuck to one thing...”

Ricardo muttered irritably.

Jonathan answered dryly.

“At least he put the fire out.”

Yehyeon sensed Ricardo swallowing his temper.

Given the circumstances—and Yehyeon’s presence—he held back complaint.

There was no time to dwell.

The summoner spoke again and froze the airborne Creatures midair.

That sight was chilling.

Then the mage raised his hand once more.

「Ϫϋ ΪΩΙΥΖΕ.」

The mage tilted his head.

The hairs on Yehyeon’s neck rose.

The cargo truck.

Gasoline.

Kang Ju.

「ΖΦ Ϥϣϑ.」

BOOOOM!

The cargo truck exploded.

A tremendous blast.

If the teleportation array hadn’t swallowed the remaining train car and summoner at that exact moment, they would have been blown away.

The mage—seemingly fire itself—remained unharmed, laughing as he stepped into the portal.

Yehyeon and the Black Badgers were hurled across the ground.

Thankfully, while the mage’s attention was diverted, Yehyeon had attached a wire from his morphing weapon to Ju’s body.

Ignoring the crushing pain in his back, Yehyeon rose.

Ju, barely spared from being strangled by the tensioned wire, was being helped up by Jonathan.

His left hair singed into uneven curls.

“I worked hard planting a tracker and an Eternal Chaser on Byung Yeong-baek.”

Ju smiled brightly at Yehyeon.

“But to use that properly—we need to survive, right?”

Yehyeon gave a bitter smile and nodded.

“Prepare for engagement.”

He tossed aside his cracked visor.

“Guns should work again now.”

The Black Badgers stood—

Facing the descending swarm.

***

“There was engagement.”

Valdez reported to Kyle.

“They encountered Black Badgers stationed at the Core5 train station. The train was teleported. No injuries. Civilians remained inside. All are now at the designated location.”

“How many? Who? Did they kill them?”

“Four. The Archmage attempted to kill them, but Mou scolded him to conserve mana. They were not burned.”

Kyle nodded calmly.

Valdez continued.

“They left behind a large number of Creatures. Survival probability is low.”

“Depends who was there.”

Kyle replied evenly.

He scanned the troops preparing for assault.

At the boundary of Center Core.

Their presence concealed by magic.

The Creatures’ presence, however, could not be fully hidden.

That much mana waste was unacceptable.

Kairos would have sensed them already.

If Black Badger functioned normally—

They would soon face resistance.

But Kyle knew—

Black Badger was in disarray.

If only the new Commander kept misfiring.

“Were they unfamiliar Badgers? The Archmage wouldn’t care—but Mou observes.”

“...It seems the former Commander was present.”

Valdez answered a beat later.

“When the Remnant Wraith breached the barrier, he saw the Badger riding the ashen aircraft.”

Kyle let out a soft scoff.

So not all at Core5 would be eliminated.

Didn’t matter.

Binding them at the station for a while was sufficient.

And—

Yehyeon wasn’t at Headquarters.

That was good news.

“Ask if there was a flea-like female Badger.”

Kyle crossed his arms.

Valdez looked puzzled but complied.

“There was not.”

Kyle clicked his tongue.

It would’ve been convenient if that small one had been cleared too.

“Who?”

“The one who came with Kairos last time.”

Incredible mobility.

The only Badger he wasn’t fully confident he could kill one-on-one.

He didn’t remember her face clearly.

Only—

Small. Black. Like a flea.

If she hadn’t died—

They would meet again.

“If you see her—immobilize immediately.”

Valdez didn’t scoff like Meierbold might.

Kyle was serious.

Small, mobile, decisive.

A significant risk.

“Kill her if possible.”

Though that would be harder.

In the end, Kyle would face Hildebert.

Someone else would need to handle the flea.

He listened to the rest of Valdez’s report.

***

“Yun.”

Beyond the activated portal, blue ocean rippled.

Waves crashing faintly.

“I have a question.”

[What.]

“Is there any physical method to move objects more efficiently?”

He asked seriously.

The nuclear bomb stood about two stories tall.

【8:15】

“It’s really heavy.”

He switched to speaker and set the phone down.

Silence flowed from the other side.