Magic Academy's Genius Blinker Chapter 525: The Story of the Blood Witch (9)

Shhhhhh-

A heavy downpour saturated the evening.

Those who headed out in thin clothing, assuming the rain would quickly fade, climbed into the long-distance automated carriage wearing irritated looks, their outfits utterly soaked.

"Ugh. My clothes are completely drenched."

In the Aether Continent's western region, by Trimann Lake in Galeo County, automated carriages rarely saw action.

This led to poor carriage standards, featuring only stiff chairs aligned in single rows on each side.

Besides, away from the central continent and its enormous, advanced domains, security in those outskirts was woefully inadequate.

No one knew if the central continent's progress hadn't reached the remote areas yet, or if something else caused it.

"What did you just say? You bastard!"

Thwack!

A fight exploded inside the automated carriage, hurling three men out while it sped along.

With the vehicle's rapid pace, grave harm was possible, yet nobody batted an eye.

— Screw you, bastards!

Their enraged shouts revealed the ejected men escaped serious injury.

Darek the mercenary scowled, peering at the instigator: a fiery red-haired woman with bronzed skin, gripping her liquor bottle fiercely.

These days, all mages behaved identically. A bit of battle magic made them strut like kings, scorning other mercenaries.

"Tch."

The inebriated mage stumbled to what seemed her allies and slumped into a seat. Darek's eyes sparkled as he observed her.

Her two companions boasted smooth, pale skin unlike the redhead's.

Hoods shrouded their faces, hiding details. One seemed a mere boy under twenty, the other a graceful young noble miss from elite lineage.

Thud, thud!

Darek prodded his dozing partner's side.

"Huh? What’s up?"

Darek pressed a finger to his lips for silence, then nodded toward the trio opposite with his gaze.

"Oh-ho..."

His partner's eyes lit up too.

Prey.

Though not from ultra-rich nobility by their garb, nobles remained valuable. Kidnap for ransom, or sell if payment failed.

Lately, Galeo County's rising chaos rumors halted young nobles' travels, starving mercenaries of jobs. Stumbling on this jackpot in a long-haul carriage? Pure fortune.

"Ah... tracking magic isn’t so easy to use anywhere, I guess..."

"If it were such a convenient skill, there wouldn’t be a single one of them left by now..."

Darek perked his ears to the hushed talk from the group. The murmurs were faint, but snippets revealed key details... like their youth.

Prime goods for sale.

Pulling hoods aside would confirm faces, but even the visible chins hinted at stunning looks.

Open magic use in this lawless zone pointed to two options:

1. Supreme self-assurance in ability.

2. Total novices blind to how mercenaries crush mages.

Not guaranteed, but Darek bet on the latter. The redhead mage topped mid-twenties, lacking street savvy.

She probably ignored how shady mercenaries downed casters effortlessly.

No fancy scheme required. Seventeen riders total, fourteen Darek's crew.

A few knowing looks synced their strike timing.

Vrrrmmmm...!

A eerie buzz hummed from Darek’s right-hand gauntlet.

Clatter!

When the carriage jolted over bumpy ground, jostling riders, Darek struck.

Crash!!!

Darek surged ahead, right arm shooting out to seize the red-haired woman's collar, dragging her through the carriage side.

Thud!

Pinned to the carriage wall, she flailed, kicking and pounding the iron gauntlet choking her neck—in vain.

"Do you get it now? This is an item."

Darek grinned, squeezing her throat harder.

"With things like this, even low-ranking mages like you are no match for us mercenaries. That’s the world now."

Previously, mercenaries had managed to assassinate mages from time to time. Mages would drop their vigilance at night, frequently failing to keep their shields active.

However, the introduction of items like this one made it possible to ambush them even in daylight, despite mages maintaining basic shields over their skin.

Top-tier items were capable of neutralizing even Class 3 mages. And here's the evidence:

The red-haired woman, brimming with arrogance only moments before, saw her shield shatter with ease.

"Look at you... getting snared by lowly mercenaries. Your face tells the whole story, doesn't it?"

"Heh... Your looks are passable, so I'll bring you with us. Count your blessings. If you were hideous, I'd have broken your neck right there."

After felling the guard, Darek felt sure his companions had already overpowered the young boy and the noblewoman. No need to ponder it... the result was a given.

It was as inevitable as water rushing downhill, leaving no room for question or hesitation.

Assured of victory, Darek hoisted the red-haired woman by her collar and faced his comrades, dangling her like a prize to boast about his triumph.

"Ha, did you catch that, guys? This is—"

Then...

"Catch what, precisely?"

Something felt wrong.

"Urgh...!"

"Guhh..."

As Darek gradually took in the sight, the truth dawned on him.

First off, the carriage's side.

It lay utterly demolished, roof torn clean away too.

No way.

Even using his item's power, all he could manage was a hole in the carriage's side. Tearing it apart like flimsy paper exceeded his strength—or his comrades'. That wreckage came from elsewhere.

Next, inexplicably, every one of his comrades sprawled on the ground.

More astonishing still, the boy they'd brushed off as just a kid now pressed his foot down on the head of Darek's toughest comrade, the one equipped with the group's second-priciest item.

"Wha..."

Darek stood rigid, gaping at the unfolding scene.

Suddenly, the woman gripped by her collar reached out and seized his gauntlet.

"What the—?! AAAARGH!!"

His bewilderment lasted only an instant.

The gauntlet grew scorching hot, radiating red glow, compelling Darek to let go and crumple to the ground in agony.

Crushed and aflame, the gauntlet's molten bits oozed into his right hand. Darek couldn't fathom it stemmed from heat far beyond his wildest imagination.

That ferocious blaze had ruined Darek's right hand beyond repair, with torment overwhelming his every thought.

"Ugh, my raincoat's filthy now," grumbled the red-haired woman, Panallet, irritably. She brushed off her outfit, then tore away the stained raincoat and discarded it.

With effortless contempt, she quieted the still-squirming and howling Darek by stomping his head.

"How did you pull that off?"

Panallet eyed the gauntlet with intrigued, pleased curiosity.

Even she couldn't manipulate fire magic to such extremes.

Melting a gauntlet forged not from plain steel but a unique alloy was astonishing.

The feat owed everything to Baek Yu-Seol's guidance.

'Pay close attention. Soon, you'll apply flame magic to the ring finger section of that gauntlet.'

'And then?'

'It'll be... pretty hilarious.'

True to his words, Panallet had directed just a bit of Class 2 flame magic at the gauntlet's ring finger part.

Yet it melted entirely.

"That gauntlet's faulty."

"Faulty?"

"Yeah. It has a core in the finger joints that releases energy. For whatever reason, heating the ring finger spot triggers the core, making it spike to hundreds of degrees instantly. Word is, the whole lot got scrapped as worthless... These mercenaries must've snagged one."

Baek Yu-Seol casually nudged Darek's ruined right hand, knocking the gauntlet free. He scooped it up, twirled it in his palm, and examined it closely.

"Hmm... The serial code lines up with that junked batch... Dark mages likely swiped it. Then, spotting the flaw, they dumped it on these mercenaries."

"I-Is that right?"

"Yep. So, questioning these mercenaries could reveal a network of clever dark magicians. We'll haul them in afterward."

"Why wait?"

"They're still useful for now."

"I get it... But why let them strike first?"

Indeed, Baek Yu-Seol had intentionally kept quiet, despite figuring out their scheme. He could've halted the ambush right before it began.

He answered like it was the simplest fact ever.

"Because this way, I can beat them up in self-defense, right?"

"Oh... I guess that’s true..."

"Also, there were some things I wanted to ask them. Syclen?"

Syclen threw back her hood and stepped toward the downed mercenaries. Her features were stunning, yet her gaze froze like ice, draining all color from the mercenaries' faces.

"Mercenaries, answer my questions within three seconds. If not..."

Crack!

"Aaaaah!!!"

"One of your fingers will break."

Without posing even one query, Syclen showed her technique by snapping a finger, leaving Panallet squirming at her ruthless display.

"Understood?"

Crack!

"Aaaaah!! Please, just ask me anything! Please!!!"

Crack!

"Aaaaargh!!"

In the end, not a single question had been uttered when the mercenary, with all ten fingers twisted backward, fainted away.

Baek Yu-Seol folded his arms and shot Syclen a wordless stare that screamed, "What the hell are you doing?"

Syclen flashed a faint smile in return. That grin was staggeringly gorgeous, but her following words were completely unimaginable.

"It’s been a while since I’ve broken fingers... It feels pretty satisfying. Oh, you know that feeling, right? Like when you pop bubble wrap that comes with a delivery."

With those words out, Syclen slinked toward another nearby mercenary. He was pinned down, Baek Yu-Seol’s blade run through his thigh, unable to flee.

The terrified mercenary shuddered helplessly as Syclen seized him with her delicate fingers.

"P-please..."

Crack!

"Aaaaargh!!"

"Let me just break five fingers, and then I’ll ask you something."

Crack, crack, crack!

Galeo County buzzed that day with tales of eerie wails haunting some distant spot. Word had it fewer wanderers braved the roads afterward.

***

The straightforward but potent finger-snapping approach worked magic on those gutter mercenaries.

From it, Baek Yu-Seol gleaned several vital facts.

"So, Scarlet is trapped in another dimension?"

"Yes. To trace that, even a witch hunter needs specific materials. Do you know where the dark mages’ Persona Gate technique originated?"

"Not sure..."

"It’s said there used to be a religion called the Divine Moon Church, which served the Twelve Divine Moons. Their doctrines were brutal, and their Fawn Prevernal Moon magic was so overwhelmingly powerful and uncontrollable that they were banished on a global scale. They’ve mostly disappeared now, but they’re not entirely gone."

"A church serving Fawn Prevernal Moon..."

Divine Moon Churches remained fairly widespread in the modern world, so one worshiping Fawn Prevernal Moon wasn't out of the question.

"Anyway, we’re going to find the Gray Divine Moon Church that’s hiding around here."

The mercenaries revealed its whereabouts. More accurately, they were clueless about the Church proper, but when traits were laid out, they nodded—it matched rumors they'd caught. They blurted every bit of intel, useful or trash, tossing in crazy guesses that wove into a grand yarn.

After shattering every mercenary finger, Syclen rose beaming cheerfully, seeming totally invigorated.

"All done breaking fingers, so let’s head out. Ah, I must say, breaking fingers after so long... it’s oddly addictive."

"Y-yes..."

"Uh-huh..."

Baek Yu-Seol and Panallet, plainly rattled, sneaked their hands behind them. Spotting Syclen's curious head tilt, they shook their heads fast.

"Ahaha, don’t worry. I only break the fingers of bad people."

"R-right, of course."

"Yep. I break their fingers so they can’t do bad things anymore. My magic lingers in the bones, so they won’t even be able to hold chopsticks properly later. Ah, what a shame about that mercenary, Darek. Since one of his hands melted, I only had five fingers left to break..."

"S-should we have left him alone?"

"No, it’s fine. Because..."

The forest's edge parted abruptly, unveiling a colossal temple.

Crafted from gray stone, the whole edifice towered amid the relentless downpour, radiating a sinister, crushing vibe.

"There, looks like there are plenty more fingers to break."

Syclen declared it with a vibrant, refreshing smile—like chatting about fresh juice—then marched ahead boldly.

Rumble, flash!

Thunder boomed as Baek Yu-Seol and Panallet traded worried looks in her wake.

"You go first..."

"No, you first..."

Suddenly, tailing after Syclen filled him with an inexplicable terror.