[Vol. 7] Chapter 259: Poison Explosion
The first and most obvious change Lenka noticed was that the enemies in her eyes seemed to move slower. As long as she focused, even quick enemies like rangers or assassins now looked to her as slow as turtles. She had more than enough time to calmly think about how to respond to their attacks, instead of being flustered like before.
Later, she slowly realized that it wasn’t the enemies who had slowed down, it was her own thinking speed that had greatly improved. Thanks to the unusual training with the [Dragon Gate], her mind and soul had become much stronger, and everything related to those areas naturally changed as well.
Whether it was the earth magic she learned in Sainz or special moves like dragon breath, even though her total magic power hadn’t increased much, her control over it had become so much better that her actual combat ability had doubled or even tripled.
If it weren’t for the huge attention that might come with such a shocking improvement, and if Sister Violet hadn’t warned her not to show off too much, Lenka honestly felt confident that she could beat up even those so-called young legendary geniuses from top schools around the world, without holding back.
But as she got used to the pressure and presence of the [Dragon Gate] over the month, her growth began to slow down. So, starting from the day Sister Mia woke up, Sister Violet stopped taking her to [Morst Underground Labyrinth], and instead told her to stay with the two maids, get some rest, and be on standby, just in case anything happened.
Lenka didn’t really know how to rate her own power now. Her magic strength hadn’t changed much, but according to Sister Violet, her soul had reached a level that surpassed ordinary beings, and she no longer felt afraid of the terrifying energy that Sister Light naturally gave off without meaning to.
Because of that, maybe she was the only one now who could sense something strange that others didn’t notice.
This man named Shutak… had been acting odd since the very beginning.
She couldn’t explain exactly what was strange about him, but her instincts told her that something wasn’t right. She could feel a faint, eerie weirdness coming from him, like there was some kind of hidden poison that could spread wildly. Even though he looked totally normal on the outside, it felt like anyone who got close to him would be hit by terrible luck.
This made the little girl feel nervous by instinct, and for some reason, magic began flowing through her body on its own, forming a soft, glowing light that was almost visible to the eye.
"Lenka...? Hey!"
"!?"
Zi quickly noticed the change. She pulled on the Dragonkin lady’s sleeve, but before she could say anything, Lenka suddenly pushed through the crowd and charged straight toward the front of the stage where the empire representative was standing!
"Well then, my speech ends here. I hope that after this exchange conference, countries and various sectors can strengthen cooperation and bring peace and prosperity to our world..."
Shutak’s official-sounding speech was just about to end. He was preparing to finish his topic when he suddenly heard footsteps and noises behind him. As he instinctively turned around to check, his whole body shivered suddenly!
Then, dark gray liquid began to pour out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His limbs started to twitch slightly, and he tried to open his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. But his body began to inflate like a balloon, growing larger and larger at an incredible speed. The dark color was so thick that it could be seen through the tearing skin, like an ominous omen.
This shocking scene was broadcasted by countless devices, clearly showing up for everyone watching the closing ceremony, both inside and outside Sainz.
It became an extremely important signal.
Both Frederica and Priscilla, standing beside him, noticed the strange change. Frederica seemed to know something in advance, and her face changed dramatically. Without hesitation, she pulled out her holy sword from her waist. But Priscilla was slower to react, and she couldn’t even summon her staff in time!
Before anyone could blink, a small figure rushed to Shutak’s side and without hesitation, kicked him toward an open area!
"Yogg, quickly!!!"
In the next moment, all the noise, the panic from the people on the stage and in the audience, was drowned out by a massive explosion.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In the final moments of disbelief, Shutak’s body exploded in an instant. Countless pieces of flesh flew out like shrapnel, along with gray air and liquid, scattering violently. The powerful shockwave sent hundreds of people flying, and the scene immediately turned into chaos and destruction.
The Sainz guards, responsible for security, were shocked. Just as they were about to rush in to save people, several intense explosions rang out from various parts of the audience area.
These strange explosions, hidden inside human bodies, caught everyone off guard. Within moments, hundreds of people were injured or killed, and the venue, which could hold tens of thousands of people, immediately descended into unprecedented chaos!
"Ha~!"
The defense magical barrier, modeled after the midday sun, quickly rose into the sky, covering the entire venue. But perhaps the people of Sainz never imagined that the attackers would be so mad as to turn living humans into moving bombs.
Even though all the security personnel rushed into action to protect everyone, they were unable to effectively stop the overwhelming chaos on the scene.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Amid the rising smoke, Lenka, who had also been thrown back by the shockwave, coughed up blood. She shakily stood up, looking a bit disheveled.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Uh, it doesn’t seem that bad?"
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth and holding her still-dizzy head, Lenka briefly checked her body, a puzzled expression appearing on her face.
The moment she realized something was wrong, her body instinctively charged forward. Although the kick she had given earlier had successfully separated Shutak’s body from the surrounding crowd, which should have minimized casualties, it also left her exposed in the closest possible spot to the terrifying explosion.
Thanks to her recent significant increase in spiritual power, Lenka could now predict whether an attack would be dangerous before it even happened. Normally, such a massive explosion would have been impossible to stop in her rushed state, and she would have either been severely injured or killed. But now, it seemed...
Aside from a slight shock and a little blood, she seemed to be fine?
It was as if some familiar energy and aura suddenly surged from within her, forming a barrier that absorbed most of the explosion's power. What was happening?
The buzzing in her ears, mixed with countless sharp screams and wails, rang out, making Lenka’s head throb with pain. But for some reason, despite facing such a sudden attack, she felt surprisingly calm. Even the terrifying scene of Shutak exploding didn’t shake her, she only felt a little nauseous and angry.
Was this the benefit of her increased spiritual power? That old man had actually died just like that, though he was a bit annoying, it was still so cruel. Zi’s intuition had been right after all…