Besaha couldn't even comprehend what had happened to him.
For a fleeting moment, a mere three seconds, he couldn't recall who he was fighting.
'I was definitely...'
...in combat with an attacker.
Attacker?
'Was I attacked?'
Confusion filled Besaha's mind.
He distinctly remembered coming here to check on the lab.
He was about to enter the lab when... for some reason, he was unleashing magic spells indiscriminately.
Why? Was he fighting someone? Then who?
As Besaha stood bewildered by the inexplicable situation, a shadow loomed over him.
He was trapped within a tetrahedral space formed by darkness.
"Wh-what the...!!"
Before Besaha could fully react, dozens of black daggers surrounded him. Each dagger held an extraordinary amount of mana.
Then, a man materialized.
He wore a jester-like mask and an incongruous black uniform.
However, the masked man quickly concealed his form, disappearing into the darkness that enveloped him and Besaha.
Only then did Besaha recall why he was unleashing magic and who he was fighting.
'Right, I was...'
...fighting an assassin who was trying to kill him. But why couldn't he remember that? It was as if the man's existence had been 'erased'.
Suddenly, a shiver ran down Besaha's spine.
Was this man even a living being?
His ability defied comprehension.
Besaha, a 5th-circle high-ranking mage, entertained the absurd thought that the masked man might have commanded the world to erase his existence for a few seconds.
It was the only explanation for this preposterous situation.
Besaha struggled to steady his trembling pupils as he looked up at the masked man.
"Who... who are you?"
"..."
The man didn't answer.
He simply launched the black daggers he had summoned towards Besaha.
The daggers, imbued with powerful mana, began to strip away Besaha's Mana Shields one by one.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
.
.
.
By the time it reached the seventh layer.
Only one mana shield remained to protect Besaha.
"Who the hell are you!?"
Beshaha shouted at the man in terror.
In the past, Besaha would have been able to repel the man's attacks and escape.
He might have even been able to defeat the man, depending on the method.
After all, there was still plenty of opportunity for a comeback.
However, the aura emanating from the man constricted Besaha's entire body.
Like a child crushing an ant.
It was the kind of aura that seemed to nonchalantly separate the skin from the flesh.
Before it, Besaha, a 5-circle magician, had become nothing more than a mere victim.
"Wind, kill that man! Hurry!"
Beshaha hurriedly chanted a spell, pouring all of his mana into creating a giant storm.
This should do it.
Even that man, who wielded a power that defied the laws of the world, wouldn't be able to escape unscathed.
However,
"-Move."
As the man muttered something, he disappeared once more.
At the same time, Besaha's storm swept through empty air..
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak-!
Despite its power to devastate the surrounding area, the man reappeared unscathed.
"Ah..."
Despair filled Besaha's eyes.
The man had taken no damage despite using his ultimate technique.
Was he using a power similar to the ability to erase existence?
Not knowing what it was made him an even more fearsome being.
Then, the masked man stared down at Besaha and spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Vermin."
I am a vermin.
With those words, the masked man shattered Besaha's last mana shield.
* * *
Swish-.
I separated Besaha's body from his head.
As I swung the dagger, which had turned pitch black with Sword Lacquer after removing the last mana shield, Besaha collapsed into nothingness as if the struggle he had endured until now had been a lie.
Thud.
Thud...
I narrowed my brow as I watched Besaha's head roll on the ground.
The unpleasant feeling I had wasn't necessarily guilt from killing a human.
It was simply because it wasn't aesthetically pleasing.
"Whew..."
Swish-.
I exhaled roughly and brushed back my sweat-soaked hair.
The opponent I had just faced was the strongest I had ever encountered.
If Besaha hadn’t acted strangely at the end, our positions would have been reversed.
I briefly indulged in a short reverie before recalling the recent battle.
‘Is that what a magician is?’
Beshaha seemed to have noticed the true nature of my 'Absolute Stealth.'
A technique that defied the very laws of physics and erased one’s existence.
It was only natural for a magician to realize the absurdity of Absolute Stealth.
‘In the end, it was a good choice.’
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of any other way to approach him without using Position Exchange.
I succeeded in assassinating him with just one use of Absolute Stealth.
Truthfully, it was partly luck.
If Besaha hadn’t panicked after seeing Absolute Stealth.
If he hadn’t been a theoretical magician, but rather a combat-oriented magician.
‘……The thought of it sends chills down my spine.’
Even the slightest delay in using Position Exchange at the end could have led to a disastrous outcome.
Anyway.
“Thanks to that, I survived.”
I collapsed onto the ground.
I had used up all my stamina and sustained too many injuries.
I looked fine on the outside, but my insides were already in turmoil.
It would take a long time to heal all of these in a short period of time.
It would be better to receive Luna’s help, but first, I had to join up with her.
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