One At A Time (IV)

Visually, their foes' actions seemed unthreatening, perhaps not even aggressive, but intimidation was never the goal. The real threat was yet to come.

"Umbra seeds? Don't tell me..."

"That's right..." the villain growled.

Cyril's tone had dropped noticeably. His eyes narrowed with determination as he stared down their adversaries. The expressions of the Cocytus members mirrored one another to some extent.

Manic grins spread across their lips—some more pronounced than others.

Howard produced three objects from his inner pocket—small glass vials, roughly the size of a teaspoon, each filled about three-fifths with a collection of small red tablets that appeared to be universally composed.

"Do it you guys!" Douglas, the bald leader, howled as he snatched one from Howard. He downed the contents in one swift gulp, becoming the first to subject himself to the strange effects of whatever was sealed within the small glass vial.

"Angelica get back!" Cyril shouted, leaping back a few meters after imploring his companion to do the very same. "Cyril, what's going on?"

"Look." He interrupted, pointing at the trio as their energy surged.

The ground caved in with a dull THUD.

A crater spread beneath their three adversaries, each releasing a surge of mana powerful enough to send ripples through the earth like a shockwave. In an instant, their energy had nearly doubled, radiating with raw intensity.

"GRCCCKKAAAAAGHHHHH!!!" Douglas let out a thunderous roar, consumed by the overwhelming surge coursing through him. The tattered remnants of his shirt were completely obliterated by the sheer force of his expanding aura. His muscles swelled, and his form twisted unnaturally as if it was struggling to contain the sudden explosion of power.

"What...is that? What's going on?" Angelica's thoughts came out as little more than a whisper. Her confusion was only natural, even with things like elixirs on hand the most a deviant could do was replenish their stamina from an untapped source. No item—elixir or otherwise—could grant such a sudden, dramatic surge in power, at least none that Angelica knew of.

Cyril on the other hand, retained his sangfroid. He had seen something like this once before, on the day of the final assessment, that same drug was able to boost a certain fire mages abilities to their absolute peak.

Although brief, the encounter had nearly cost him his life. Watching the flow of power surge into Douglas and his men made his blood boil as the memories came rushing back to him.

[Alert. Cyril, your opponent's appear to be strengthening their bodies by amassing large amounts of ambient mana. My calculations indicate that a preemptive strike would be highly effective in this situation. There is a 53% chance that it would put a decisive end to their transformation.]

I know, but they'd probably die if I attacked them in that state. Their bodies are already struggling to handle all that power, and I'm not sure I have enough control over my skills yet to avoid killing them by mistake. I'll try to take them alive first and see if I can extract any information from them.

[Is this directive being driven by your 'gut'?]

You could say that. Why?

[Very well. I will acknowledge your will for the time being.]

Before he could even grasp the sudden shift in Aria's behavior, the mental transmission was abruptly severed. Without any other distractions, his attention fully returned to the battle that was about to unfold. Ceaseless waves of mana rippled through the surroundings, each one a testament to the growing strength of their opponents.

Yet, Cyril remained unaffected by the supernatural surges. His posture was as rigid as a lamppost, unyielding even in the face of such power. Angelica, too, felt no ill effects, but the difference between them was clear in their reactions.

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The young noble was gripped by a heavy sense of dread, a stark contrast to her teammate, who fought to suppress his growing impulses. Without realizing it, his hands clenched into fists so tight that his skin began to tear. Blood dripped through the gaps in his fingers, catching Angelica's attention.

She struggled to decide where to focus but chose to address his condition first.

"Cyril—your hand—"

"This is bad. Angelica, listen closely." he said, his voice rasp with disdain.

"Y-yes, I'm listening." Angelica was taken aback by her own compliance, so much so that she blinked twice to confirm it. Not many people could get her to respond like that.

"I can't explain right now, but these guys are probably twice as strong as they were a while ago, expect the power of a C-rank from them at the very least. The drug they just took is boosting their abilities temporarily, looks like this fight won't be as easy as we thought."

"I figured as much. What was the vial they threw earlier for? Does it have something to do with this too?"

"No." Cyril answered sharply, releasing the words on a heavy breath.

"The fine dust from earlier is a special mineral from the dungeon called umbra seeds. When dispersed, the particles disrupt the flow of mana within their vicinity. It works similarly to a chaff grenade, if you're familiar with that. They're using it to mask the unnatural concentration of ambient mana they're gathering."

"I see." Upon hearing that, Angelica evoked a surge of mana into herself once more. "I take it that means it'll take even longer for reinforcements to arrive then, yes?"

"Yeah, that's right. If you can avoid killing them, please do, but don't take any chances. I know a good doctor that would love to run some tests on these guys."

"I was planning to subdue them without using lethal force anywa-"

"HAAAH!!" Before Angelica could respond, a fearsome roar rumbled through the area.

"Fools, you should have taken your chance." Douglas emerged from the earthen dent in the ground. Everything from his glowing form, lean body and perilous aura was a clear indication that he was no longer the same person from a minute ago. His two lackeys emerged shortly after, both of them mimicking the peculiar glow adorning their leader's form.

[Cyril, your opponents' output has increased exponentially. Their bodies are absorbing ambient mana to enhance their strength, but it seems to be putting a severe strain on them. This is causing instability. I suspect a backlash will occur soon.]

"I figured as much. They've definitely gotten stronger, but I doubt they'll be able to control all that power for long."

"Prepare yourself." Douglas interlaced his fingers and raised both arms.

The weight of the terrorist's threat fell flat. Neither Cyril nor Angelica flinched. Instead, they widened their stances. As if anticipating Douglas' next move, Cyril exchanged a brief glance with Angelica, communicating something wordlessly before the deafening impact came.

"RAAAAGH!!!"

With a thunderous roar, Douglas brought his interlocked fists crashing down onto the drab cobblestones. The ground quaked from a devastating impact, leaving trees quivering and the air vibrating. Debris erupted from a deep fissure, scarring the once-peaceful park as if a meteor had split the earth open.

Large earthen pikes shot up from within the dark divide, filling the deep gap of destruction. The odd stone clusters appeared to mimic an assortment akin to that of thorns, but contrary to what it might seem, they were never meant to skewer their quarry. Cyril was one thing, but the death of a noble like Angelica on their hands would warrant far too much pressure from the authorities from inside Babylon and the world at large.

There was a simple reason behind the terrorist's deliberate display of summoning the spiked constructs. He had bisected the park with near-perfect precision for one purpose—separation. The moment he struck the ground, the two teenagers moved in opposite directions, just as he predicted. No matter how strong they were, a sudden split like this was bound to chip away at their coordination.

Thick plumes of dust churned about the half-ruined park, yet the man standing at the center of the devastation paid little heed to it all. His attention was elsewhere, searching for a target that had no doubt evaded the full brunt of the impact. The stone pikes erupting from below caught the noble dame off guard, her reaction lagged behind Cyril's, and before she could move, he shoved her aside with a sudden surge of strength.

The expanding fissure caught Cyril's feet before he could fully evade the eruption of stone spikes, but Douglas knew he wasn't dead. He vividly recalled seeing his opponent smash a few of the spikes to pieces with his bare hands before the dust and debris engulfed the area.

Douglas glanced to the side, his mind registering the sounds of the battle raging beyond the ten-meter wall of his creation— beyond mild curiosity, the occasional crackles and booms barely stirred his interest.

"Come out!" He howled, his voice clearing the air with a palpable force.

A deviant's sensitivity to mana largely depended on their Index. Those who didn't possess the exalted [Mobius] skill had a much harder time probing their environment with mana, especially if the subject of interest was deliberately concealing its presence.

Douglas swallowed a growl as he spun his head back and forth, unable to discern anything amidst the rising plumes of dust. Right when he was about to unleash even greater devastation upon his surroundings, a strong presence suddenly appeared to quell his mounting uncertainty.

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