Obsidian Hall's smoke bombs were quite cleverly designed.
The smoke bombs didn't release smoke that could easily be blown away by the wind. Instead, they spewed a kind of dense fog with a certain degree of moisture.
On top of that, to make it easier to disperse various agents, their smoke bombs came with an injection port.
All you had to do was inject the prepared agent through the port, and the smoke bomb would spread it through the surrounding area.
A minute earlier, after climbing out the window, Lude had made his way up to the roof.
Secret Arts weren't without limits.
Generally speaking, the greater the precision a Secret Art required, the shorter its range of control.
For instance, Death-Defying could only carry out mechanized commands.
But the enemy Lude was facing could control multiple Balloon Puppets at once, each with precise control.
That meant the enemy's range was probably much shorter than Death-Defying's.
Still, Lude couldn't be sure the enemy was in this building, either. His original plan had simply been to pick out the Balloon Man and shoot the bastard, creating a brief one-on-one situation.
So he hadn't even filled the third floor with smoke. There were only a few of these useful smoke bombs, after all, and once they were gone, that was it.
But Lude hadn't expected Matos to pull out a syringe the moment he saw the smoke. Well, that settled it—there was no need to pick anyone out. The enemy had jumped out and identified himself!
Facing Lude, Matos tightened his grip on his revolver, preparing to make one last stand...
...Or so he thought?
Old Matos couldn't help but give a self-mocking laugh. Against Lude, a last stand wasn't even an option.
He knew his own limits. Not only was Old Matos now old and frail, he'd never undergone any alchemical modifications.
Even when he was young, a puppet-user who worked in the rear as support couldn't possibly trade blows with someone like Lude, whose body was built of steel!
But there was still something he could do. His aging mind just couldn't recall what it was at the moment.
It was all right. It was all right...
A bead of cold sweat slid from Old Matos's temple. Instinct, hurry up—bypass the brain and do what needed to be done!
Just then, through the pale blue smoke gradually clearing from the stairwell behind Lude, Old Matos saw a figure rushing toward them.
In that instant, a sudden realization came to him—
He knew what he had to do!
And his body had already begun to act on it, even before the thought crossed his mind.
Watching Old Matos search for a chance to fight back without the slightest fear, Lude couldn't help but marvel at the caliber of spellcasters in this world.
So far, he hadn't met a single coward. Even Moke had worn the most timid expression while doing the most ruthless things.
No wonder Siana had described spellcasters as a bunch of obsessive fanatics with oversized egos. They really were steadfast!
As Lude was musing, a smile suddenly appeared on Old Matos's face, as if he were watching his children and grandchildren get married.
Then he did something so absurd that Lude was stunned for a second—
He turned the muzzle toward himself, pressed it beneath his chin, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!
BANG!!!
Lude blankly wiped his face. He looked at the red-and-white mess smeared across his hand, then turned his gaze to Old Matos's shattered skull. For a moment, his mind went completely blank.
No, old man, that's way too badass. Why'd you have to beat me to it? What were you even trying to accomplish?!
Would you really rather die than not splatter your opponent with blood? Were all the Black Tide Society's members this tough?!
But just then, a piercing cry came from behind Lude:
"Teacher—!!!"
Lude turned around, and the question in his mind was answered in an instant.
Moke stood behind him, his face deathly pale, his hands trembling despite himself.
He'd wanted his student to see him die—but why?
Lude didn't know, and he didn't want to know.
All he knew was what the enemy wanted to do. He just had to stop them from succeeding!
With that thought, he drew the Dragon Tooth Sword without hesitation, ready to behead Moke.
Without Matos's help, Moke wouldn't be a match for him!
But just then, a knife-like pain suddenly shot through Lude's body!
"Hiss—"
Lude drew a quiet breath. The pain was so intense that, for a moment, he could barely move!
What was happening?!
It was the power of those two nails!
Had he stepped on the third nail?
No. The nails could count, and the third one was still wedged between Moke's fingers!
It was the two nails embedded in his body!
But this wasn't the Secret Art activating. The power of those two nails was gradually fading!
Lude had no idea what was going on, but he could feel the foreign Psionic Energy that the two nails had become slowly leaking out of his body. The excruciating pain was accompanied by an indescribable sense of relief!
Had Moke deliberately undone his Secret Art?
That couldn't be...
But Lude knew very well that he couldn't fight Moke head-on in this state.
The power of the Secret Art would fade completely in only ten or so seconds. But if Moke drove the third nail into him before it faded, that slow dissipation would turn into a sudden explosion!
He needed to find a way to stall him. Just ten seconds or so...
Just then, Moke suddenly asked, "Teacher... he killed himself, didn't he?"
Lude was slightly taken aback. Was he trying to talk?
Sure. They could talk!
Pretending nothing had happened, Lude nodded. "That's right."
Moke stared fixedly at Matos's corpse and spoke in a low voice:
"I'm a coward. I've always been. I can't make up my mind, and I let others lead me around."
"Because I'm so afraid of things going wrong, I work hard to train. But when trouble comes, my first instinct is to run away."
"Teacher killed himself because he didn't want to become a hostage and drag me down, right?"
"Sounds like you had a good teacher," Lude said with a sigh.
He was even a little jealous. He'd never had such a wonderful teacher to guide him.
As for his previous life, there was no point bringing that up. In this life, his beloved Lord Hypnos had told a whole basket of lies before taking him on as a disciple, then dug a whole string of pits for Lude afterward. Even now, Lude was still hesitating over whether to enter the Loselin Empire.
Compared with this guy's teacher, Lord Hypnos, you old geezer, you're just a second-rate hack!
"Thank you." Moke shifted his gaze to Lude. "It's a shame Teacher didn't have a good student. If I hadn't stopped in my tracks out of fear after you sent me flying earlier, and had instead fought you bravely, maybe Teacher wouldn't have died."
"No." Lude shook his head. "Your teacher had a wonderful student."
Under Moke's astonished gaze, Lude lit a cigarette. "You knew you weren't a match for me, but you still made up your mind to face me to protect the teacher you respected. You're a brave guy."
"So that's why..." Moke murmured. "No wonder Teacher smiled at me then."
"Maybe Teacher was happy to see me make my own decision for the first time, to see me finally resolve to fight a powerful enemy head-on. It must have meant a lot to him, even though I only did it because I was worried about him and didn't think it through..."
"I'd disappointed Teacher so many times that even this little thing was enough to make him happy."
"Maybe that's why Teacher smiled as he took his own life. He thought I could make decisions and was ready to risk my life. He thought I was capable of surviving on my own, so he could die content..."
As he spoke, Moke straightened his back for the first time and looked at Lude. "I can't—and won't—disappoint Teacher again."
Lude knew it was because the power of the two nails inside him had completely dissipated.
So he immediately drew the Dragon Tooth Sword from his waist.
At the same time, Moke stared at the last nail in his hand. It had been his last hope of defeating Lude.
But now, Moke only shook his head at the nail. He crushed it in his fingers, turning it into pure Psionic Energy.
"I don't need that weak Secret Art anymore."
Moke spoke softly.
As he spoke, Moke raised a hand and grabbed at empty space. A sword appeared beside him, pulled from thin air.
It had no edge or ridge, no crossguard or hilt. It looked just like a giant nail.
"Teacher, this is the requiem I offer you—Voodoo Kingdom · Grown Kidz!"
Witness my growth!
Before you continue