The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (117)
‘Am I really caught in such a trivial Curse Magic?’
A moment ago, when his joints had twisted backward in that grotesque cursed spell, he’d seized them with his Internal Energy and prevented them from bending the wrong way.
Having blocked the curse so easily, the suffocating hex seemed trivial by comparison.
He’d thought he could force his breath out by compressing his chest and lower abdomen with Internal Energy—surely that would be simple enough.
Yet despite channeling his power, his breath wouldn’t come. And when he’d drawn in more air, it had mingled with what was already trapped in his lungs, swelling his chest painfully and leaving a queasy sensation rising from his lower belly.
‘This could actually be dangerous.’
Jang Gain decided he’d have to kill Luksikana quickly to break free of the curse. He infused his spear with Force Projection and unleashed the Death Flower.
Luksikana’s eyes widened at the sight.
“You can project such a terrifying Aura through your spear even while cursed! You really are a Grand Master. But in this space, even a Dragon couldn’t defeat me.”
Boom.
She raised her Magic Staff and struck the floor, conjuring multiple transparent barriers.
Crack-crack-crack-crack…
Jang Gain thrust his spear forward, and a single flower formed of Force Projection hurtled toward Luksikana.
Crash, crash-crash-crash…
The transparent barriers materialized before her shattered on impact with the Force Projection bloom, her face crumpling in shock, and the Research Chamber wall with its window disintegrating as well.
Everything in the path of Jang Gain’s spear thrust broke apart, tearing a hole through the wall large enough for several adults to pass through comfortably.
‘The curse-caster is dead, so now I should be able to breathe… Wait. Why… why isn’t it working?’
Jang Gain tried to exhale, but when the breath still wouldn’t come, his eyes snapped wide open.
Unable to release it, he inadvertently drew in more air, which only caused his chest to swell further and a suffocating sensation to intensify in his belly.
“Crazy! This is the Magic Tower, built to withstand even a Dragon’s breath—how did it get punctured?”
Then he heard Luksikana’s voice—from someone he’d thought dead.
Turning toward the sound, he found her standing perfectly intact, though her face had been shattered moments before.
‘She used Spatial Teleportation without even chanting a spell—in a single instant!’
Seeing her silent-cast teleportation, Jang Gain thrust his spear forward with such explosive speed that she had no time to recognize the attack, let alone react to it.
Flash.
In an instant, Force Projection pierced through her abdomen like lightning.
Kaboom…
A watermelon-sized hole tore through the wall behind her.
‘Even in that split second, she dodged with another Spatial Teleportation!’
Jang Gain’s eyes went round with disbelief.
What the Force Projection had pierced was only her afterimage.
Without pause, Jang Gain thrust toward the rippling distortion in space nearby.
As the Force Projection shot forth at light-speed, the warping vanished, only to reappear elsewhere in the chamber.
Jang Gain continued relentlessly, seeking out each spatial distortion and sending Force Projection in its direction.
Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom…
After thrusting roughly ten times, the floor beneath his feet suddenly trembled, and moments later, the breath he’d struggled to release finally came free.
Ahhhhh…
Jang Gain steadied his breathing and used Energy Detection to search for Luksikana, but he sensed no trace of her anywhere in the Research Chamber.
‘She dodged all my attacks using Spatial Teleportation, so she’s definitely not dead. Where did she run off to?’
Crack-crack-crack…
At that moment, the joints of Aleingde Mir, who had been contorted in an awkward position, snapped nearly simultaneously back into place.
“Ugh! I thought I was done for, trapped by a Curse Magic with no way to dispel it… You truly are a Marquis. Without you, I’d certainly be dead today.”
As Aleingde Mir rose shakily, rubbing his joints, Jang Gain surveyed the Research Chamber, its walls and ceiling now riddled with holes, and shook his head.
“That woman must have escaped outside.”
“Outside? Hmm! You think she fled through one of those holes?”
“I found her! Fortunately, she didn’t get far.”
“Found her? Where is she?”
“Directly above us.”
Without hesitation, Jang Gain infused his spear with Force Projection and shot it toward the ceiling where he sensed her presence.
The Force Projection pierced through the ceiling and shot upward before colliding with something and exploding.
“It was blocked?”
Through Energy Detection, he felt the Force Projection repelled. Startled, he wondered if his opponent had suddenly grown stronger.
“My lord, this upper level is the Magic Tower Master’s residence.”
“Ah! Then the Tower Master must have blocked my attack.”
“That would seem to be the case.”
“I thought as much.”
Jang Gain felt the Tower Master layering successive shields, one atop another, and understood that he intended to fight alongside Luksikana.
‘To break through those shields in one strike and take down the Tower Master, I’ll need the Death Flower.’
Crash, kaboom…
The Death Flower erupting from the spear tore through the ceiling, carving out a hole large enough for several people to slip through, before detonating in a massive explosion.
‘This… this makes no sense whatsoever…’
Grasilah, the Magic Tower’s master, stared up at the gaping hole in bewilderment.
His realm was at the very edge of Seven-Star Grade. That meant that here, in this space, he could unleash magic approaching the peak of 8-Star Rank—nearly 9-Star Rank itself.
Yet the magical shield he’d just poured all his power into had shattered like glass, and the force of the impact had blown straight through the ceiling.
The shock barely had time to settle before he turned his gaze downward, watching two figures rise through the opening.
“You noticed in that split second that you couldn’t stop it, and dodged instead. Your reaction was remarkable.”
As the figure climbed through the hole, Grasilah felt as though a colossal mountain were ascending before him.
There were few beings in this world who could radiate such overwhelming presence.
“Forgive me—could you be a dragon?”
“No, I’m Jang Gain, a marquis of the Smed Kingdom. As for that woman, she scurried away like a mouse well enough before, but it seems she’s run out of places to hide now.”
Grasilah followed the marquis’s gaze.
About ten paces from where Grasilah had been standing moments before, Luksikana trembled violently, her face drained of all color.
“Luksikana!”
Thump.
In that instant, Luksikana suddenly dropped to her knees before Jang Gain.
“Lord Marquis Gain, I have been a fool. Please, I beg you—spare my life!”
“To actually ask for mercy in a situation like this—you’ve got some nerve!”
Grasilah regarded her with shock, but then his eyes widened as they fell upon the figure beside Jang Gain.
“Wait—Aleingde Mir.”
“It has been a long time. Master Grasilah.”
“Why are you traveling with him?”
“Because I came with him. And Lord Marquis Gain is the master I serve.”
“What! Ah, well. In any case, it’s been an age. Has it been ten years? Or longer than that?”
“Nearly twenty years, I would say.”
“Twenty years? Yes, that sounds about right. How have you been all this time? I heard you’ve become something of an authority on chimeras.”
“I was managing well enough until I fell into the trap set by this loathsome creature kneeling before me now.”
“Hmm? What do you mean by that? Were the two of you not on good terms? Luksikana, what happened between you and Aleingde?”
“I… my disciple Maraing is a mage in the Bermuda Allied Forces’ mage division, and…”
As Luksikana recounted how her disciple had caused a rift between her and Aleingde Mir, and how she’d used a Mandragora as bait to lure him here, Grasilah’s lips trembled.
“So you were planning to lure Aleingde to his death and seize his chimera and his wealth?”
“I thought it better to strike first than to suffer at Aleingde’s hands.”
“You’re insane! You should have simply given him the Mandragora and apologized!”
“I’m afraid I’ve already consumed it, so I had nothing to give.”
Aleingde Mir opened his mouth at Luksikana’s response.
“Master Grasilah, this contemptible woman planted my disciple Laila in the Mandragora seeds as fertilizer so they would germinate. We must hurry and rescue her.”
“What! F-fertilizer? You buried a living person as fertilizer?”
“Yes.”
“Luksikana, is what Aleingde says true?”
“I… I apologize. I must have been mad.”
“This is beyond madness. This is pure cruelty. Tell me at once—where did you plant the Mandragora seeds?”
“In the Magic Tower Basement.”
Hmm.
The moment he heard the answer, the master’s expression hardened.
“The… the basement? How could you possibly know about the Magic Tower’s basement?”
“I discovered it while searching for a suitable place to plant the seeds.”
“Ah, I see. Yes. Well.”
Jang Gain, listening to the exchange, wore a thoughtful expression.
“I understand that Drago typically takes root well in soil where the bodies of monsters or animals have decayed. There must be decomposed remains in the Tower’s basement.”
“Ah, yes—we used to store the corpses of monsters that died in magical experiments in the basement and later remove them to be burned. I imagine a great deal of blood must have seeped into the earth over the years.”
“I see.”
“In any case, since only a few days have passed since planting, there’s a high chance she’s still alive. If we go now, we should be able to save her. Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Grasilah helped Luksikana to her feet and took the lead, with Jang Gain and Aleingde Mir following behind.
Poke.
After a few steps, Aleingde Mir jabbed Jang Gain in the ribs with his finger.
When Jang Gain glanced at him with curiosity, Aleingde Mir was sending a hand signal they had agreed upon beforehand.
Heh.
Upon seeing the signal, Jang Gain let out a soft chuckle, conveying that he had already discerned the situation.
* * *
‘At this rate, my very soul will be sucked in! Please, someone kill me! I don’t want to be drained alive as nourishment for the Drago! Anyone—just end it, please!’
Buried in the earth, Laila watched as the Drago seed erupted and sent roots burrowing through her skin, beginning to drain her blood and muscle. Terror and despair consumed her entirely.
The roots that had pierced her skin grew more vigorous with each passing moment, creeping up along her spine toward her head.
When the roots reached her brain and began to feed, she would finally have the death she craved.
Clang.
The sound of a rusted iron door opening echoed through the chamber, followed by the footsteps of several people.
Though dirt covered Laila’s face and she could not open her eyes, her ears remained sharp enough to hear.
‘Someone’s come in. Please, please kill me!’
She tried to cry out, her mouth frozen shut, when she heard the newcomers speak.
“We’ve planted a Mage named Laila here.”
“Aleingde Mir, fortunately the heart is still beating—faintly, but it’s there. She’s alive. We’ve applied Magic to create an effect similar to the Ghost Hibernation Technique.”
‘Wait—that’s Marquis Jang Gain’s voice! Could it be… could I actually survive this?’
In an instant, she felt the earth covering her face and body being swept away.
Laila tried desperately to open her eyes, but they remained sealed shut despite her efforts. All she could do was listen.
“Marquis Jang Gain, wait. It’s been days now—the Drago’s roots may have already reached her organs or even her brain. If you just tear them out carelessly, the shock could kill her.”
“Then what do we do?”
“First, we need to put the Drago’s body into magical sleep so the roots stop growing.”
Boom, boom-boom-boom-boom-boom……
The earth itself trembled, and Magic Circles began to glow across the walls and ceiling. The geometric patterns that formed them started to rotate slowly.
“What’s this? Why is it suddenly—?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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