58 — Chapter 58

After finishing their first aid, Michael’s group resumed their advance, keeping the elf woman protected in the center of their formation. She had cast healing magic on herself and was now fit enough to walk. While she wasn’t at full strength, she was surprisingly competent; the time loss was less than I’d anticipated.

‘Healers really are a pain in the ass…’

I groaned as I watched the whole scene play out on the screens. I couldn’t ignore the fact that they could mend heavy injuries with a single spell. It didn’t make my traps meaningless, but it certainly cut their effectiveness in half. Even if her mana eventually ran out, the mere fact that she could keep them alive was a nuisance.

In the elf’s case, she could use offensive magic on top of that. She was the ideal support specialist. To maximize the mental and physical strain on Michael, I’d have to kill her early on.

Michael stayed close to the injured elf, while the dark-skinned woman took the lead. She held a short staff, scanning the surroundings with hyper-vigilance.

“That woman… she was a Hexer, wasn’t she?”

“That’s right. Her style isn’t particularly rare; just standard Hexcraft,” Alice replied to my mutter.

The phrase “standard Hexcraft” sounded a bit odd to me, but there was no point in digging into it. If she said so, then so it was. While the word “hex” carried an occult vibe, in this world, it was a perfectly legitimate discipline—a branch of magic based on curses.

Getting hit by one would be troublesome, but Alice had already taken countermeasures. We had deployed defensive magic in this room to repel hexes, rendering her a non-threat to us here. A Hexer who can’t land a hex is just a weak mage. From my perspective, she was nothing more than easy prey.

“You look like you’re having fun, Jack.”

Alice spoke up just as I was selecting the next trap to trigger. She was watching me with a faint smile.

I paused my hand and shrugged. “Is that how it looks?”

“Yes, very much so. You’ve been smiling this whole time.”

“Opportunities to kill someone who can stop time don’t come around every day. It gets my ‘Bomber’ blood pumping.”

Besides, I was heading into this confrontation after making thorough preparations. It would be a waste not to enjoy it. You only get one life; whatever ending I eventually meet, I want to live it with as few regrets as possible.

“Right then, here’s a little extra service.”

Switching gears, I pressed a switch. A wall near Michael’s group exploded. The three of them reacted instantly, leaping back to evade. Having been “baptized” so many times already, they were clearly on high alert.

However, the dark-skinned woman tripped over something and tumbled. She looked around in a panic, her head whipping back and forth. Based on her position, she must have caught her foot on a tripwire. A new trap had been sprung.

“Haha, looks like you messed up.”

Crossbow bolts were discharged from the second floor of a nearby building. The arrows closed in on the dark-skinned woman. At that distance and speed, evasion was impossible.

She manifested a shield of black mist in front of her. The outline was hazy, floating there like a phantom. It was likely a spell intended to intercept the bolts.

“I already predicted that response.”

The bolt pierced right through the mist and struck the dark-skinned woman in the abdomen.

She was pinned to the ground, looking like an insect specimen as she thrashed her limbs. The arrowhead of that bolt had been crafted from dragon bone; I’d designed it specifically to punch through defensive magic. I was glad to see her fall for it so perfectly.

Furthermore, a bomb was clearly suspended from the fletching of the bolt. The flame traveled along the fuse, devouring it as it went. The woman struggled violently, seemingly descending into a panic because the bolt lodged in her gut wouldn’t budge.

The moment the fire reached the explosive, the three of them vanished from the screen. Simultaneously, an explosion erupted in the air above where they had just been standing.

It was an utterly unnatural phenomenon. Time-stop, once again.

Michael must have detached the bomb from the bolt and hurled it skyward, while moving everyone to safety at the same time.

“Where did they run to?” I asked.

“The nearest abandoned house,” Alice replied, pointing to a different screen.

The feed showed Michael and his group resting inside a dilapidated room. The dark-skinned woman lay on a tattered sofa while the elf treated her with healing magic.

“Oh?”

I focused on Michael, who stood on the opposite side of the room. He had one hand pressed against the wall, his shoulders heaving. I could tell his breathing was incredibly ragged, as if he’d just finished a full sprint. He was already nearing his limit.

This was an excellent pace. Time-stop wasn’t omnipotent; that much was obvious from his movements. He was incredibly vulnerable to surprise attacks. The fact that he’d failed to protect his comrades from the start was the best proof of that. He couldn’t trigger his ability instantly in response to a sudden threat. Consequently, he was stuck playing catch-up.

“……”

I pressed a switch. Nothing happened.

The bomb beneath the floorboards should have detonated, but there was no change in the room’s condition. I pressed it a few more times just to be sure, but the result remained the same. It wasn’t a mechanical failure.

That’s when I noticed an object rolling in the corner of the room. It was the bomb, completely dismantled. The components had been torn apart, making it impossible to detonate.

This was almost certainly Michael’s handiwork. He must have discovered and disarmed the bomb under the floor while time was stopped—likely while he was moving his companions into the room. Neither of those tasks could be done in a matter of seconds. He was stopping time for significant durations now. That was why he looked so exhausted. To help his friends, he’d pushed himself to create a safe zone, no matter the cost.

“He really goes all out, doesn’t he…”

I let out an exasperated sigh. That sentimentality of his was a fatal flaw. He should have left his comrades behind like he did during the sniping incident. If he had, he could have proceeded safely. He wouldn’t have exhausted himself to this extent. Bringing dead weight into this zone had been a mistake from the start.

‘Well, I only adopted this strategy because I knew he was that kind of man…’

What Michael needed wasn’t coordination with allies. He needed the will to ignore personal feelings and carry out his objective with maximum efficiency. He possessed a “cheat” ability like time manipulation; depending on how he used it, he could kill me easily. However, he’d been a mere amateur before being summoned. It might be cruel to demand that much of him.

Cutting off my train of thought, I gave Alice a detached set of instructions.

“Send in the golem squad. Give them a grand welcome, like the birthday party they’ve been waiting for.”

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

Alice nodded and began controlling the golems she had stationed outside. About ten of them immediately scrambled toward Michael’s location. It would take about twenty seconds to arrive. They should make it before the group managed to leave.

I still had a massive stock of golems in reserve. Individually, their combat prowess wasn’t much, but they were outfitted with built-in firearms and explosives. Their utility when used in suicide charges was high. I intended to dispatch a squad every time they tried to rest. I was sure they’d appreciate the gesture.

“Now then, what’s your next move? Show me the strength of those bonds you have with your friends.”

I spoke to the Michael on the screen. Everything up to this point had been a mere warm-up—a tutorial, of sorts. They were still a long way from our location.

The real show was just beginning.