C33: Step towards the Truth (2)
“Damn it! Brother!”
As soon as Bruno saw that Veron’s head had been severed, he responded immediately. Countless insects squirmed from the crevices of his clothes. Bruno quickly shook his head.
‘He used sound waves and even metal.’
Attribute elements are divided into a total of 10.
<Fire> <Water> <Wind> <Earth> <Wood>
<Lighting> <Metal> <Ice> <Dark> <Light>
And unknown ones that have not yet been discovered.
In the case of sound magic, it used vibrations in the atmosphere, so it was often viewed as a derivation of the wind element and when Rudger stopped the Tesla Gun, he used <Metal> attribute magic.
‘Metal element is derived from the earth. Attribute elements that can be used usually consist only of similar series.’
Bruno judged that there were three elemental magic’s Rudger used: <Wind>, <Earth>, and <Metal>.In the case of ordinary wizards, there are only two or three attributes that they could use.
No matter how much ability they have, up to 4. From 5, it can be said that is the realm of innate talent. As a result, wizards basically set their opponents to three elements because that was common sense and it was natural.
‘When it comes to the wind element, tiny flying insects are not good. If that’s the case, then I’ll have to release the big guy.’
He did not rule out the possibility that Rudger could use a fourth element, just in case.
Protruding from Bruno’s sleeve was a giant centipede with a thick carapace. It was a worm that was not found in the general ecosystem, but was created through black magic and subspecies hybridization with a special object caught in the southern jungle.
However, the head of the centipede that Bruno pulled out was cut off in an instant. It took less than a second for that sharp sword to target his neck.
“What!”
By twisting his body, Bruno was able to deflect Rudger’s blade and block it. Hard scarabs were wrapped around his body, hidden under his clothes, like chain armor.
‘A close-up fight? Maybe it’s a war mage?’
Bruno immediately tried to distance himself from Rudger but at that moment, a formula was engraved on Rudger’s face. Bruno’s eyes widened.
‘That’s [Fluttering Flame]!’
The third-tier flame elemental magic, the fluttering flame, blew out intense flames in less than a second and engulfed Bruno.
“Aww!”
With Bruno’s scream, a fire broke out and the surroundings became brighter. The soldiers, who had been staring at only the entrance, looked back and widened their eyes.
“The enemy!”
“How the hell?!”
But in the meantime, Bruno twisted his body in the scorching heat. Fire was the most difficult magic for those who deal with bugs.
He was using an element completely unrelated to the other three. It was unbelievable.
“Damn, how can you?”
All the bugs managed to survive, but Bruno’s condition was not very good either. His face half melted from his full body burns, and he flopped down, staring at Rudger.
“Who the hell are you?”
“…….”
Instead of answering, Rudger pulled out his revolver and blew off Bruno’s head. At the same time, the reserve power was activated and the light returned to the inside of the laboratory.
“Huh!”
“The bug brothers are dead.”
The soldiers who were in charge of the security inside were at a loss as they saw the bodies of Bruno and Veron. The soldiers lost their will, they couldn’t fight a monster like that.
Everyone backed away from Rudger in fear, but a change took place in Veron’s corpse, which had fallen after his neck had been cut off.
“……!”
Rudger responded immediately. The moment he threw his body forward, a huge hand scraped through the space where Rudger had been a while ago. It was an insect’s forelimbs, full of sharp thorns on a bare carapace.
The other people who were watching the scene were stunned.
“Isn’t he dead?”
Rudger asked as he looked at Veron moving with excitement.
After his head was cut off, Veron’s body stood up again. What struck Rudger a while ago was his bizarrely deformed right hand. Veron held out his left hand, which was still in human form. The palm of his hand had a mouth.
“You became an insect?”
“Surprised?”
Bruno dealt with bugs. Conversely, his older brother, Veron, was large and did not deal with insects. But then I wondered why they are called worm brothers.
‘It was like that.’
Veron was a warlock whose body itself mutated into a kind of bug. Since such a body could not change naturally, he actually used his body as an experiment in black magic.
Why Warlocks are crazy people, Veron gave a clear example of that.
“Even so, your head was cut off, but you’re fine.”
“My body is no longer like a normal person.”
At the same time as those words, Veron’s body changed with a horrifying sound of ‘Kudduk!’The black robes surrounding his body swelled and then countless thorns popped out.
Rudger stepped back. Still, the gigantic Veron turned even bigger and looked down at Rudger. He was a monster that looked like a mixture of several insects. At this point, Rudger couldn’t tell if he was a warlock or a cryptid.
[You killed my brother. I’m not sad, but you have to take responsibility for that.]
Veron’s arms were being pulled back, and then shot towards Rudger like an arrow. Rudger immediately flew upwards using a wire launcher. Veron’s stab passed almost under Rudger’s feet, and the soldiers behind him were pierced instead.
“Aww!”
“Run away!”
Even though his men were screaming and dying, Veron didn’t care. Veron lifted his head and looked at Rudger.
“Kugugung!”
At that moment, the steel structures on the ceiling collapsed and fell on Veron’s head.
Even though a significant amount of reinforcing bars had fallen, Veron remained intact. There were only a few scratches on his carapace, but no wounds.
[Did you mean to draw my attention with something like this?]
Veron turned his gigantic head and looked at Rudger as he rode the wire and landed on the ground. He was clearly provoking him, but Rudger didn’t show much of a reaction.
‘It bothered me.’
Veron’s body was already out of the realm of ordinary bugs. With such a gigantic body, the carapace that wraps around it was also hard, so it was no wonder that it was actually called a monster that surpassed a warlock.
‘That’s why I hate warlocks.’
Rudger stopped firing the revolver and retrieved all of his weapons. Because he realized that even if he shot a hundred bullets, he wouldn’t hurt him.
[Are you giving up?]
Veron laughed at Rudger’s behavior, but instead he stretched out his hand towards Veron.
[What are you trying to do?]
Rudger’s gesture of extending his arm toward him not only stimulated Veron’s curiosity, but also aroused discomfort.
Was he trying to use magic? However, it was virtually impossible to damage Veron unless it was a 4th rank or higher magic and he judged that Rudger was a wizard of the third rank.
The speed of the magic unfolding was bizarrely fast, but that’s all. He didn’t think that such a Rudger would be able to deal a decent blow to him.
Veron decided to wait and see what the intruder would do.
“I didn’t want to use something like this in this situation.”
[Hmm?]
“Well, I can’t help it.”
A pure white light filled the inside of the laboratory.
* * *
“Whoops. It’s still chilly.”
Hans, who was waiting for Rudger outside the abandoned factory, trembled as he put his hands in his pockets in the still chilly night air.
Thirty minutes have passed since Rudger went inside.
‘The end is near.’
Rudger didn’t try hard enough, but Hans realized he was a bit angry, after all, he did it himself.
They kidnap a 7-year-old kid and his parents and use them as human experiments. No matter how dishonest he is, there is a law called “goodness” that must be observed even for those who do such things. That Shamsus School crossed that line too badly.
‘He’s a little late. Is it because there were two warlocks?’
Especially if those warlocks were the Bug Brothers but Hans didn’t think Rudger would die. He’s known him for several years and if Rudger would’ve died it would’ve happened a few years ago, that’s how strong he became.
Wasn’t he a human who hunted monsters in Jévaudan alone when he was working as a hunter in the first place? The number of knights that the monster ate alone was over five but Rudger hunted it alone.
Rudger was not only the only hunter named ‘Abraham van Helsing’ he was also a private detective, a thief, crime consultant, mercenary, artist and so on.
He had many faces, and the masks he wore in the past always made a big impact.
Flash!
At that moment a strong light that hurt his eyes was emitted from the entire abandoned factory. At the same time, the light turned into flames, turning the abandoned factory into a sea of fire. The terrifying power that blew up a large factory.
Hans knew very well whose work it was.
He once asked Rudger what it was and the strange answer he got was ‘real magic’.
‘If it’s magic, it’s magic, what is real magic?’
Anyway, the fact that Rudger used it would mean that the opponent was formidable.
* * *
Rudger came out with the materials in the laboratory and the experimental drugs used on the subjects in a suitcase. Hans, who was waiting outside, greeted him.
“Are you here? Let’s leave first. Even if the factory was abandoned because it was so flashy, the police will come.”
“It’s all taken care of.”
After defeating Veron, Rudger checked the depths of the laboratory. He saw the appearance of terrible subjects trapped in iron cages in the dark. All of them were ordinary people who had their own daily lives however, their daily life eventually fell apart.
Those who suffer as their bodies mutate, lose their reason, and cross borders where it is difficult to call them human. The only mercy that Rudger could bestow upon them was to let them go without pain. So Rudger blew up the entire laboratory, killed the scientists, and left with their research reports and experimental results.
“Is this it?”
Hans asked, looking at the tube with the red liquid inside the suitcase he had received from Rudger.
“Yes.”
“The world is very scary. There must have been some people in a place like this who did experiments on humans. I never imagined that scientists and inventors would have teamed up with warlocks.”
“It’s not just that.”
“What else have you found?”
“How do you think they hid a secret lab that big?”
“That……”
“There is someone behind the scenes who has given them a huge amount of funding.”
“……I don’t think that’s normal.”
They would need a large amount of money to build a laboratory like that without anyone else’s knowledge.
“Don’t worry. Because I already know who they are.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
At Rudger’s answer, Hans felt uneasy.
“Take this.”
Hans immediately accepted the suitcase.
“I will go to the hideout first. Stop by after work.”
Hans left without hearing Rudger’s answer.
Rudger stood still for a while. From afar, the bright red flames from the burning factory lit up the dark abandoned factory area. It was like a candle burning most brilliantly just before it went out.
* * *
Inside a gorgeous mansion Richie Bellbot Rickson threw a plate of food brought to him by his maid. The maid hit by the plate fell bleeding from her forehead. The food on the plate stained her clothes and face but no one supported or helped her.
The old man in his 60s, with a white beard growing tired of it, glared at the maid disgustedly.
“Did you serve this as food? It’s like garbage that can’t properly pay for it even if I give it money.”
Bellbot got up and left, he was a man who stood out as a very successful capitalist in the changing times. But when he achieved success, he was an old man full of tiny wrinkles. In the end, he sacrificed his youth to get to this position.
He wanted to get his youth back so he supported the warlocks in some kind of experiment. Recently, he heard that some of the subjects escaped and the experiment was disrupted.
‘Damn! Stupid bastards! Garbage bastards!’
Bellbot was so angry inside and returned to his room.
‘Still, the experiment wasn’t meaningless. Sooner or later, the right results will come out.’
A drug that will restore a weakened human body to its heyday, the elixir of youth was not far away. It’s not just about getting younger, it’s about becoming healthier and stronger.
Thinking like that, he was about to turn on the light in his large room that had been turned off.
“Bellbot Rickson.”
“What?! Who are you?”
There was someone in the middle of the room. Bellbot tried to turn on the magic light, but something went wrong and the light wouldn’t come on. In the darkness where even the moonlight does not enter, Bellbot was trapped in a room alone with an unidentified intruder.
“Guards! Security!”
“They can’t hear you even if you scream.”
There was already a sound barrier around the room, of course, since it is the house of a wealthy man. If he used that kind of magic, an alarm would go off right away but Rudger’s magic was so secretive that he didn’t activate the alarm magic.
Rudger, who was sitting in his chair, got up and slowly approached Bellbot.
“Bellbot Rickson, I will ask you one thing.”
“What? Who are you? Reveal your identity!”
“A seven-year-old child desperately tries to survive this horrific reality while watching himself and his parents become monsters.”
“Aww!”
Rudger reached out his arm, grabbed Bellbot by the collar, and brought him close to his face. His eyes glowed red in the darkness.
“How do you think a person who has no choice but to burn them to death even though he knows it feels?”