Chapter 60: Titan (3)
“Grrrraaaah……!”
Matafil unleashed his monstrous strength and shoved the pillar he had been carrying to the side.
With a resounding thud, the mass of concrete fell to the ground.
“Pinkbit! First, we need to give you first aid for your wounds…….”
“…….”
I ran straight over to Pinkbit, who had collapsed, but she couldn’t take her eyes off sowhere else.
“Snap out of it! What are you staring at so blankly?”
As I scolded her and followed her gaze, Matafil couldn’t help but wear a similar expression.
“Wow…….”
There, flying through the air and showing off all kinds of techniques, was a single hero.
Boom!
He lightly evaded Titan’s fired shell using ergency boosters.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Even the machine-gun fire pouring out at high speed was completely avoided with aerial acrobatics.
Having seen reinforced exoskeletons countless tis on the field, Matafil knew just how incredible that was.
“Wait a second…… handling that…… like that……?”
Operating a reinforced exoskeleton suit was by no ans simple.
If you ssed up the output control even slightly, you couldn’t stay airborne—let alone move straight forward—and even just raising an arm required consciously moving every single component.
“Could it be an exoskeleton implanted with artificial intelligence?”
No, that wasn’t likely.
If that were the case, it would have coordinated its attack with Titan, not obediently followed commands like that.
“Then…… could it be auxiliary system hacking?”
As ntioned, operating an exoskeleton was disgustingly complex and difficult, so you had to rely on the built-in auxiliary control system to run it properly.
But Diesel was soone who couldn’t possibly have authorization to access the system.
Even if ICE wasn’t installed like with other weapons, using the auxiliary system still required hacking.
And not just any system—the Cheonrang Group’s latest software, famous for its Electrosphere security.
A mage, not even a hacker, pulled that off?
That was harder than persuading an artificial intelligence with words.
Which ant there was only one conclusion to draw.
He really was pulling off that difficult operation perfectly with his own ability.
“They say all mages have sothing odd about them…….”
A mage moving an exoskeleton suit as if it were his own body.
Even for Matafil, who had spent a long ti working as a Ghostcatcher, it was a sight he had never seen before.
‘So this is what it feels like.’
The sensation of boarding a flight-capable exoskeleton suit was exactly as I had imagined.
The kind of fantasy any man indulged in at least once.
The one difference was…….
〈Master……! Look at flying Ar……! See how agile I am……!〉
It wasn’t , but an overexcited Electrosphere Spirit Guide, who was doing the piloting.
A spirit that had perfectly learned the auxiliary system embedded in the exoskeleton.
〈That puny tank AI can’t even graze my body!〉
It felt like riding so kind of extre amusent ride.
But this wasn’t a the park—it was a brutal battlefield.
So I cald Ar down and asked the most important question.
〈How much ammo does Titan have left?〉
〈One round in the main cannon, thirteen rounds in the machine gun.〉
If there was one problem with this suit, it was that it had absolutely no weapons capable of damaging the enemy.
It would’ve been nice if it could fire beams from its hands like in the movies, but unfortunately, that function wasn’t installed.
‘Not like I need that.’
Because I myself was the weapon while wearing this.
I instructed Ar, who had been focusing on evasion, to approach the underside of the tank.
〈You’re planning to destroy the defensive barrier magic by hand like last ti, right? What about loiter ti?〉
〈About three seconds is enough.〉
〈Understood.〉
The exoskeleton spun widely once in midair, then shot toward the underside like a bullet.
But perhaps it realized sothing from that movent.
Titan leaped far away at high speed.
〈Tch. Looks like it noticed, Master.〉
〈Keep trying.〉
Several more attempts followed, but each ti, Titan stubbornly refused to give an opening.
Two minutes passed in that standoff.
As the remaining operational ti displayed on the suit interface changed to 00 : 59, a warning light began flashing.
〈Ar, we don’t have much ti left now.〉
〈Just a mont. It keeps making movents that are theoretically impossible according to my calculations……〉
At so point, Titan stopped attacking and switched to a perfect defensive posture.
It must have figured out that this exoskeleton was running low on fuel.
〈This won’t work, Ar.〉
〈Yes?〉
〈Throw .〉
〈Throw you?〉
〈Just eject roughly near Titan. I’ll run the rest of the way myself.〉
〈Then the androids outside will shoot you, Master.〉
Just as Ar said, android guards ard with rifles were flooding into the lobby.
But there was no way to break this situation without taking so damage.
〈You’re planning to increase your speed using Leigong, right? Based on simulations using the results you tested in the matrix, the probability of you surviving safely that way isn’t even 10%.〉
〈That’s fine—just calculate the landing point properly.〉
At my words, Ar gave a sowhat unexpected response.
〈Master.〉
〈……?〉
〈Do you trust ?〉
Caught off guard by the spirit’s words, I hesitated slightly, and Ar asked again.
〈Do you trust Ar, Master?〉
〈Of course I do.〉
〈Then please trust just a little more.〉
With that, the first attempt began.
Titan sidestepped, and it ended in failure.
00 : 22
The second attempt, deliberately circling wide before a sudden acceleration.
Titan tilted its body, and I failed to reach the target.
00 : 13
An android carrying heavy weaponry fired a missile.
Guided and relentlessly pursued, it wasted precious ti as I dodged it in vain.
00 : 09
This ti, a portal created by Pinkbit shimred.
From who knew where, a single grenade was tossed lightly right beneath Titan.
00 : 08
Kwang! The explosion shook the exhibition hall, but the target was unhard.
The mont it detected spatial-type magic, it had forcefully leapt sideways.
00 : 05
Because of that, its balance was severely disrupted.
There was no way Ar would miss that.
00 : 04
For the first ti, its underside was completely exposed.
The reinforced exoskeleton that had been flying through the air accelerated toward the target.
00 : 03
By timing alone, this had to be the final attempt.
But Titan dramatically regained its balance.
00 : 02
It began lowering its body with great effort.
For the first ti ever, Ar let out a shriek.
00 : 01
The path to the underside was blocked.
The interface before Diesel’s eyes flickered.
00 : 00
The exoskeleton ceased operation and automatically ejected the pilot inside.
〈No……! No……! Master……!〉
Ar, ejected from the exoskeleton, flew toward the nearest android.
In an instant, it completed the hack and began wildly firing the shabby pistol in its hand.
〈Ar.〉
〈I’ll cover you, so hurry and take cover……!〉
〈Don’t you trust your master?〉
〈……?〉
Pajijijik!
An overwhelming surge of mana light poured out in all directions.
〈This distance is enough.〉
Leigong, modified in Diesel’s own style.
A lightning output that far exceeded Ar’s calculations erupted forth.
“T-that……!”
Matafil, who had been hiding behind a pillar and providing cover fire with a pistol, shouted.
Beautiful lightning charged straight toward Titan.
At that mont.
Titan unleashed every last remaining machine-gun round toward Diesel.
Out of five shots, four harmlessly missed, but one bullet pierced the barrier and lodged itself into Diesel’s shoulder.
‘Ugh…….’
This much damage was within expectations.
If I had run all the way from that distant pillar, it wouldn’t have hit my shoulder—it would’ve gone straight through my head.
‘Perfect position.’
Reaching the underside of the tank, Diesel looked at the high-grade defensive magic.
Fortunately, because the thing had lowered one side of its body so deeply, there was no one who could see what he was about to do.
An absurd act made possible through the ability called Surreal Awakening.
The act of directly tearing apart a defensive magic formula.
Diesel reached out his hand.
As if sensing sothing, Titan hurriedly raised its body—
But it was aningless.
‘That was my first job.’
A defensive magic far thicker than the one AT-71 possessed.
Perhaps because of that—
Jijijijik!
A far greater roar than that day echoed out.
‘Back then, I nearly died.’
Paaang!
The backlash from forcibly dismantling the magic formula burst out in all directions.
Along with it, Titan’s body staggered.
Now, it had no ans left to protect itself.
‘This ti, it’s manageable.’
An entirely new mana gathered in Diesel’s hand.
He placed his hand on the ground just like that.
‘Brinicle.’
A single icicle blooming from the deep sea surged upward.
Only, unlike before when it was pure white, it was now covered in pitch-black darkness.
Slowly swirling, it touched the tank’s armor.
Kkeojeojeok!
Along with that sound, its entire body instantly froze solid in black ice.
‘Even this won’t be enough for you, will it.’
The one who finished off AT-71 during the first job hadn’t been Diesel.
But this ti, he intended to finish it with his own hands.
The form of the lightning god stretched its hand upward.
Mana erupted from the ten fingertip acupoints and surged high into the air.
Soon, a sound like a beast growling echoed from the ceiling.
‘If I’m doing this, I might as well take everything out at once.’
As if passing judgnt, he pointed his hand downward.
Then, a lightning-type spell with massively amplified power—
Kwagwagwang!
‘Lightning Storm’ swept through the entire exhibition hall.
Not only the completely frozen Titan, but also the androids scattered around firing their weapons were all swept away by the storm.
“My god…….”
“…….”
Blue lightning flashed across the faces of the two Ghostcatchers watching the scene.
“Whew…….”
In the lobby, now truly swept clean by the storm, only silence remained.
Srrrk—Diesel slipped free from the form of Leigong and casually tidied his disheveled hair.
〈Master……!〉
〈Yeah.〉
〈I’m sorry, Master……! Ar insisted and told you to trust ……〉
〈It’s fine.〉
〈I’m sorry……. Master……. I’m sorry…….〉
Ar clung to Diesel’s chest and repeated the sa words over and over.
〈Ar is……. Ar is a bad spirit who puts Master in danger…….〉
〈I said it’s fine.〉
I pulled the completely dejected Ar deep into my arms.
‘At least according to the calculations, Leigong has no side effects.’
In truth, the output had been a bit excessive, but my muscles were perfectly fine.
After applying first aid to the shoulder that had been hit by the machine gun, Diesel turned his head.
‘Pinkbit was shot earlier too.’
When I looked toward the pillar where my teammates had been taking cover, I saw two faces wearing utterly stunned expressions.
“What’s wrong with you two?”
“…….”
“Uh, that was incredible.”
“What?”
“I’d only heard rumors, so I thought no way. But to think it was this much.”
Just then, Pinkbit, who had been trying to get up, let out a cute groan.
“Kkyaak……!”
“Stay still, Pinkbit.”
Matafil supported her with his uninjured arm.
“What about the portal?”
Now that the spatial disruption device Titan had been emitting had stopped working, a proper portal should be possible.
At Diesel’s question, Pinkbit nodded and gathered a teal-colored magic in midair.
The space in front of her rippled, and—kkeojeojeok!—a long portal ford.
‘A dium-sized portal. That’s an incredibly clean magic formula.’
Spatial-type magic was another gain from this job.
Of course, using it as freely as Pinkbit did was never easy.
First of all, you had to be born with the unfamiliar sense called mana spatial perception.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah.”
Diesel stepped into the humming portal first.
As Matafil and Pinkbit followed and pushed their bodies inside—
The portal closed itself with a push-shik sound.
“T-that’s impossible…….”
The monitoring room.
Raja stared at the monitor with a horrified expression.
“They actually pulled it off in the end.”
“How did those bastards…….”
As Raja gaped like a fish, Heavyskull asked indifferently.
“What’s the problem? It just proves they t the qualifications you wanted.”
“No, this isn’t what I wanted…….”
“…….”
Then, as if realizing sothing, he muttered.
“Variables. Yeah, there were unexpected variables this ti! That’s why this isn’t my fault!”
“Variables……?”
“The autocannons, the grenades, the other weapons—they all had ammunition, didn’t they! Things that should’ve been completely empty according to the original plan!”
“Lord Raja, what are you even…….”
“If not for that, sothing this ridiculous never would’ve happened!”
“What on earth are you talking about right now?”
“Wait……. In the first place, why did such variables even…….”
Raja’s trembling gaze turned toward the mage standing beside him.
“What’s with that look?”
“You…….”
“Raja, explain what you just ant.”
“It was you.”
“…….”
“I rember Director Wagner warning . That there might be another puppet besides .”
“A puppet……? Surely you’re not saying you were acting under soone else’s orders…….”
“Don’t act! You piece of shit……!”
Raja cranked up the output of the Stone-Arms installed on his right arm and grabbed Heavyskull by the nape.
“Khk…….”
“Talk. Whose orders were you following? Don’t tell Angelina noticed sothing?”
“Kkhk, what is this…….”
“Well, even if she did, it doesn’t matter. You’re easily replaceable anyway. I’ll deal with you right here and now—”
Before he could finish speaking, the skull dangling in midair stopped moving.
Raja spat on the floor.
“What the hell. You’re already dead? How anticlimactic.”
As he relaxed his grip—
“I didn’t want to do this.”
“……?”
Suddenly, a massive blaze erupted from Heavyskull’s neck.
A high-powered spell that appeared without any warning.
The flas burned Raja’s hand that was gripping the mage.
“You idiot. A skull doesn’t need to breathe.”
“Kuaaagh……!”
“Did you say Director Wagner?”
“You…… you bastard……!”
“As expected, Podvig is rotten from the inside out.”
When Heavyskull waved his hand, pajijijik! sparks flew, and the power of lightning was layered over the flas.
The fire burned even more fiercely as Raja scread in agony.
“Be quiet. You’re distracting my thoughts.”
“W-what the hell are you…….”
“If I were just soone like you, rely sabotaging jobs, life would’ve been so much easier.”
“Kh…… uh…….”
“Tsk, you should’ve just kept playing the role of a moderately crazy guy……. Thanks to you, this turned into a headache. Ah, what’s this—already dead?”
When Heavyskull shoved Raja’s unfocused body aside, the lifeless corpse collapsed limply.
“Haa……. Seriously, those Cheonrang bastards are way too demanding. They should at least keep their requests reasonable. How many tasks do they expect done at once…….”
This ti, it was the skull that sat down in front of the monitor.
“Well, I guess that’s why they said they’d wipe all the tags clean if I handled a job of this level. It’s not like I only had one tag stuck on like you did, Raja. Right?”
In the answerless silence, the tal skull cackled to itself.
“Still, variables…….”
After staring at the monitor for a while, it spoke quietly.
“Yeah. There really does seem to be one variable.”
The gaze of the empty skull turned toward Diesel boarding a vehicle.
“A truly proper variable.”
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