59 — Chapter 59

Michael and his group burst out of the abandoned house.

The golem squad left inside had been completely neutralized. Their magic circuits had been destroyed while time was stopped, rendering them unable to receive further orders from Alice. This was a natural outcome; as far as a time-stopper is concerned, a golem is nothing more than a stationary doll. No matter how heavily armed they were, it meant nothing.

Still, since the objective was to force Michael to use his time-stop, the golem squad had more than fulfilled its purpose.

Michael’s group moved through the clusters of houses, heading straight for our base. Despite the area being turned into a labyrinth, they moved without hesitation. They definitely knew where we were.

“Well, I suppose that’s expected, given they managed to track us this far,” I muttered, gnawing on a piece of jerky.

The underground space beneath our base was the most fortified location in the city—ideal for defense or withstanding a siege. It was the perfect place to hide with a hostage. Naturally, from the perspective of a rescue party, it was the first place they’d want to investigate.

As they hurried along, Michael’s group deployed several layers of high-density defensive magic. This allowed them to shrug off exploding walls and falling debris from above. It was a brute-force approach that completely ignored the cost of mana consumption. They had clearly decided they didn’t have the luxury of moving at a leisurely pace.

“Hoh, not a bad plan.”

In this situation, it was the right call. Above all, being able to advance without relying on time-stop must have been a relief for Michael. He had to be reaching the point where consecutive uses were becoming difficult. He undoubtedly wanted to conserve his strength here.

They were desperate. They had to rescue the red-haired girl and eliminate me. If they didn’t take me down, they’d be forced to live in constant fear of assassination for the rest of their lives. I’m sure they wanted to avoid that at all costs. That’s why they were pushing forward with everything they had.

Even if I hadn’t taken the red-haired girl hostage, they likely would have come after me anyway. Their mindset was highly convenient for me; it was essentially a guarantee that Michael wouldn’t run away. If he used his time-stop to flee at full speed, even I wouldn’t have a way to stop him. Not having to worry about an escape made things much easier.

Both sides wanted to settle this right here, tonight.

“Everything is going smoothly so far,” Alice remarked, watching Michael’s group on the run. She showed no signs of tension, quietly sipping tea and occasionally nibbling on a cookie. There wasn’t a hint of strain in her demeanor.

“It’ll stay smooth from here on out. The possibility of them winning is zero.”

I swiped a cookie from her and pointed at one of the screens. It showed the alleyway directly in Michael’s path. They would be passing through it in less than ten seconds.

“You’re quite confident, Jack. It’s very reassuring.”

“I simply have the experience and preparation to back up that confidence.”

Michael’s group attempted to sprint through the alleyway on the screen. In that instant, the ground beneath their feet emitted a dull glow, followed immediately by a massive explosion. A thick cloud of dust and smoke billowed up, obscuring the screen. I couldn’t see a thing, but there was no doubt the damage was significant.

That was a landmine.

I’d buried those handmade beauties in advance.

“Hah-hah-hah! Looks like you forgot to watch your step!”

I slammed my hand on the desk, laughing. To move quickly, you inevitably have to leave your feet vulnerable. In other words, you become a perfect target for landmines. It seemed they never imagined the very ground would explode beneath them.

That was a direct hit. Based on their reaction speed so far, it was a toss-up whether or not Michael’s time-stop could have made it in time. My guess? He failed.

Waiting with a racing heart, I watched as the dust cloud gradually began to settle. I leaned forward to confirm the results.

The elf woman lay at the epicenter of the blast. Her lower half was completely gone. She didn’t twitch; her internal organs were scattered across the ground from the ragged sever line. Remnants of what looked like her legs were tumbled at the roadside.

The dark-skinned woman sitting nearby had sustained severe burns. She seemed to have shrapnel lodged in her as well, as she struggled even to stand. She was in a state that required immediate medical attention.

Standing amidst them was Michael, screaming his head off. He was the only one who had escaped with light injuries. Most likely, his comrades had used their own bodies as shields to protect him.

“Haha, that really shaved them down.”

My smile widened at the carnage on the screen. The landmine had done significant damage. Their coordination had utterly collapsed, and they were in a state where even simply moving forward was a struggle.

Once Michael finished crying, he offered his shoulder to the dark-skinned woman and continued forward with just her. The elf woman was left behind. Naturally, they didn’t have the luxury of carrying a corpse.

With this, they had reached the point of no return. They finally had a casualty among them. If they fled now, the elf’s death would be for nothing. He would come to kill me now, no matter what.

That was fine by me. I’d keep cutting off their paths of retreat one by one. I needed Michael to make it all the way here. After all, I intended to be the one to claim his life personally.

Now down to two, Michael’s group pushed through numerous traps. The dark-skinned woman utilized her magic to handle both offense and defense. Michael used a glowing sword to cleave through obstacles, occasionally even suppressing the force of an explosion with it.

“Heh, he’s got decent sword skills, doesn’t he?”

“That’s a Magic Sword,” Alice explained. “It looks like it can deploy a defensive barrier.”

“I see. A handy effect.”

I nodded, accepting her explanation. I’d been so focused on the time-stop that I hadn’t paid much attention, but it seemed he’d come prepared with some decent gear. Judging by his movements, he was accustomed to handling a blade. He’d clearly cultivated combat techniques while living as an adventurer. His movements were still below those of a raw recruit, but he was no longer a complete amateur.

Furthermore, Michael had stopped hesitating to use his time-stop. The moment the dark-skinned woman was in even the slightest danger, he immediately stopped time to deal with it. Each time he did, he suffered a nosebleed, and occasionally he even coughed up blood. The physical strain was eating away at his body by the second.

Still, they didn’t stop. They broke through the traps even as they staggered. The death of his comrade had likely changed his mindset. He was finally prepared to sacrifice himself.

Eventually, Michael’s group arrived at our base. After smashing through the fence, they stepped boldly onto the premises. They brushed aside the golem squad attempting an interception and entered a crude shack. From there, they used an indoor ladder to descend into the underground space.

They began to search the partitioned areas with single-minded desperation. They ran about, flipping over stored materials and destroying the swarming golem squads. Watching them through the screen, I spoke to Alice beside me.

“They’re finally here.”

“Shall we press it soon?”

“Yeah. It’s about time.”

Nodding, I selected the switch marked with a skull from the array in the room. This was my trump card—my special secret weapon. A one-time-only gift.

I removed the external safety lock and pressed the red switch firmly with my finger.

Immediately, the entire room jolted vertically. The shaking subsided after about ten seconds. During that time, several screens on the wall turned black and died. The cameras in those locations had been destroyed—all of them ones I had set up inside the base.

I focused on the remaining functional screens, the ones showing the exterior. There, I saw the base being erased in a plume of seven-colored explosive flames.