NOVPUBVictor let out a bizarre laugh as he stared down the gun aimed at him.
“Oh-ho-ho, my! What a silent guest you are. Might you be a hired killer, perhaps?”
Ludger didn’t answer. He simply pulled the trigger.
Pshoom!
A mana bullet shot from the revolver, aimed straight for Victor’s brow.
But just before impact, it struck a golden wall that shot up in front of Victor’s face and dissipated into nothing.
‘What was that?’
From the shadows, Ludger narrowed his eyes at the sudden barrier.
The "wall" changed shape—transforming into a spherical mass.
Its appearance was unmistakably metallic.
But unlike any metal, it moved with remarkable flexibility.
“Oh-ho-ho! Fascinating, isn’t it? One of my finest works.”
Victor spread his arms wide and bared his teeth in a grin.
“My very own original Liquid Golem, crafted through a fusion of alchemy, metal transmutation, and every kind of magic I could get my hands on!”
A golem? Ludger frowned.
Victor called it a golem, but the way it slithered along the floor, it looked more like an amorphous slime.
At that moment, the liquid golem shuddered.
Chajajak!
A swarm of golden tendrils launched toward Ludger.
He backflipped out of range.
The place where he had stood just moments earlier was now riddled with spear-like golden spikes.
‘Fast and highly elastic. It changes shape at will. And it moves without Victor even issuing commands—it’s autonomous.’
Ludger leveled his revolver at Victor, keeping him in check.
In response, the liquid golem formed a barrier around Victor.
Just as expected.
It was programmed to both eliminate threats and protect its master simultaneously.
After dealing with sluggish steam-powered golems, this was a startling contrast.
‘Sure, the science in this world is different from what I knew... but this? This is overtechnology by any standard.’
He couldn’t even guess at the depth of Victor Dreadpool’s scientific expertise.
Then again, considering beings like Arfa and Betty, it might be that unnatural scientific advancement via magic was an unstoppable trend in this world.
Ludger launched a fire spell at the golem to test it.
A 3rd-circle spell: [Surging Flame].
A searing wall of fire clashed head-on with the liquid golem.
“It won’t work! I made sure it’s heat-resistant!” Victor shouted gleefully.
Sure enough, the golem withstood the intense blaze with no visible damage.
If anything, mana circuits across its surface lit up with a furious glow.
Freezing it wouldn’t be easy either.
‘It’s got elemental resistance, too. In that case, I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.’
Every golem had a core.
Destroying the core with a powerful strike was a time-honored tradition for taking them down.
Ludger sensed the mana structure of the golem.
Even amidst the maze of circuits, the faint signature of the core could be detected.
But—
‘The core is moving.’
Unlike most golems, which had a fixed core, this one’s kept shifting location.
Targeting it precisely on his own would be difficult.
Then, from the ceiling, two shadows dropped and landed with thunderous force on either side of Ludger.
Boom! Boom!
Their impact cracked the floor beneath them.
Wearing hoods, the two figures slashed toward Ludger with gleaming silver blades.
A sudden ambush—blades flashing through the air.
Ludger’s body was swallowed by shadow and reappeared a short distance away.
Steadying himself, he got a clear look at the new assailants.
‘Automata.’
They looked humanoid, but not entirely.
More like mechanical mannequins powered by internal clockwork.
Their ivory-colored joints supported two long blades on each arm.
“Oh? You dodged that? I didn’t think it was possible.”
Just as Ludger had been analyzing Victor, Victor had also been watching Ludger’s magic and movement closely.
He stroked his goat-like beard, muttering.
“There’s no way he moved that distance conventionally. High-speed movement? No, there wasn’t enough space for that. Maybe immunity to physical damage? No... wait—could it be?!”
He practically spat the words out in excitement.
“You—don’t tell me you crossed space?!”
“......”
Ludger stared at him with hollow, unreadable eyes.
He’d figured it out from just a single observation.
‘As expected of someone with a scientific mind. His analytical instincts are sharp.’
Even though Ludger hadn’t said a word, Victor seemed convinced he was right.
“Come on! How did you do it? Tell me! Please tell me!”
The sight of a middle-aged man whining like a child was unsettling to say the least.
But despite the foolish behavior, Victor’s insight into Ludger’s magic was dangerously sharp.
‘If I keep this up, he’ll uncover too much. Time to end this before I’m fully exposed.’
And those two automata were no joke either.
For that kind of mass to fall from that height and still move smoothly—
‘Ridiculous tech. Sharp eyes that contradict the childish demeanor. And a total lack of morality when it comes to human experimentation.’
Victor Dreadpool, First Order.
A dangerous man.
‘Which is why he must be eliminated here.’
Shadows ignited like flame around Ludger’s body.
In the next instant, he melted into the darkness.
The automata and golem froze for a split second—unable to track his movement.
“Oh? Where’d he go now?”
Victor’s back came into Ludger’s view.
He had reappeared right behind him.
From the shadow, Ludger drew his swordstick and aimed it at Victor’s heart.
He moved to strike—
But suddenly, something bright red came slicing toward his side.
“......”
Ludger aborted the stab and leapt back.
Had he continued, his torso would have been cleaved in two.
As he withdrew, a new figure appeared between him and Victor.
“Doctor. You really ought to watch your back.”
The newcomer was a man in black full-plate armor.
On his shoulder rested a massive obsidian greatsword. Crimson plumes flowed from his helmet.
His presence exuded not just intimidation—but striking elegance.
‘Armor? In this day and age?’
This era had long since abandoned traditional armor.
Even knights and soldiers now wore standard-issue uniforms.
There were reinforced exosuits, sure—but they were industrial, not made for combat.
No one walked around in full medieval plate anymore.
‘And that red slash just now...’
That arc had clearly come from his sword.
Everything—the sudden interference, his casual tone toward Victor—rubbed Ludger the wrong way.
“Oh-ho-ho! Thank you for the rescue, Knight Verom! You saved me!”
“Silence. Don’t mistake me for someone willing to clean up after you.”
The man called Verom spoke in a formal tone, but his gaze never left Ludger.
A blood-red aura pulsed from the massive sword resting on his shoulder.
‘That one... he’s First Order too.’
The black knight Verom.
Given how he addressed Victor as an equal, he must also hold the same rank.
‘Two First Orders... in the same place?’
Had they joined forces in response to Ludger’s raid?
No. That wasn’t it.
Judging from Victor’s reaction, he hadn’t expected an intruder at all.
It wasn’t deception—it seemed far more likely the two of them had simply happened to be together by chance.
If anything, Ludger had been unlucky.
‘I expected maybe one First Order to show up... but two? That was beyond expectation.’
And judging from Verom’s appearance, he looked like a close-combat specialist.
Not to mention the blood-red slash he unleashed—it was far beyond anything a normal knight could manage.
‘That wasn’t aura. It must be some kind of special ability, innate trait... or something else entirely.’
Surely that wasn’t the extent of his power.
Ludger lacked intel.
And fighting someone like that without information meant too much risk.
‘No choice. It’s too dangerous to continue. I’m pulling out.’
Verom, as if sensing Ludger’s intent, let his eyes glow crimson within his helmet.
“Are you trying to flee from me? I must commend your audacity.”
His archaic manner of speech felt comically outdated in the modern world.
But his strength was anything but a joke.
The greatsword in Verom’s hands began to shimmer with blood-colored energy.
Unlike the hazy aura most knights used, this energy coiled and spun like a blade itself.
As he swung, a crescent-shaped slash shot across the air.
‘That thing’s effective at range too?’
Ludger vanished into shadow again, crossing space.
The spot where he’d just been was torn apart by the red crescent.
It wasn’t just for show—its destructive power was overwhelming.
“How quick and nimble you are.”
Verom muttered as he swung his sword again and again.
Each time, red crescents tore across the air.
CRACK!
Steel structures were cleaved apart, debris flying in every direction.
Unable to withstand the barrage, one of the factory walls came crashing down.
The already-unstable factory began to shudder violently.
“Aaah! Knight Verom! What do you think you’re doing?! Do you know how many valuable facilities are in here? Are you trying to destroy everything?!”
“Silence. This place was destined to be abandoned anyway.”
“But I haven’t even recovered all my research data! There’s still valuable experiment logs!”
“You mean that bag the black-cloaked intruder is holding?”
“Eh?”
Victor stared at Ludger through his goggles, eyes wide.
Ludger had reappeared at a distance, and in his hand—he held a briefcase.
“T-That! That’s mine! Knight Verom, stop him! That’s my blood-and-sweat research data!”
“If it was so important, why does he have it?”
“I-I don’t know! It was locked up in a vault!”
“...You’re saying he cracked the vault and grabbed the data in that short time?”
Both First Orders turned their gazes on Ludger.
He decided now was the time to retreat.
But Verom sprang into motion, charging at him.
“I won’t let you escape!”
He swung his greatsword down with killing intent.
At that moment, light exploded from the shadows around Ludger’s body.
A flash burst forth, illuminating the factory—and Verom, thinking Ludger would dodge, instinctively shielded his eyes.
“What is—?!”
Zzzzt!
His entire body flared with danger signals.
The black armor he wore vibrated violently, warning of an incoming threat.
Verom halted his swing and slammed the greatsword into the ground.
Blood-red energy erupted like a vortex and enveloped him.
Victor, too, sensed the danger.
His Liquid Golem wrapped tightly around him like a shell, and the two automata took defensive stances in front of him.
────!!!
A blinding white flame engulfed the area.
* * *
Far from the burning factory—
Ludger stood on a rooftop, overlooking the chaos, as he deactivated [Ater Nocturnus].
He downed a mana potion he’d prepared earlier and reflected on the battle.
‘It would be nice if that attack killed them... but that’s wishful thinking.’
What he’d used at the end was his original magic: Sefirot’s Tree.
Specifically, the 8th Sefirah—Hod.
Borrowing the power of the Fire Angel Michael, the spell unleashed a storm of radiant fire that scorched everything in its radius.
It was the same high-output spell he’d used to blow up an entire factory when dealing with the Bug Brothers in Lederbelk.
The white radiance and sun-like flames could reduce anything to ash.
But this time, it had been cast hastily—its power was barely half what it should’ve been.
‘They both sensed the attack and went on the defensive at the last moment.’
Considering the strength of First Orders, they probably suffered no meaningful damage.
He hadn’t managed to kill them—a shame.
But his original goal had been accomplished, and that was enough.
Besides, the enemy didn’t know who he was.
He, on the other hand, had learned of another First Order’s identity.
‘And this—this is the result of their experiments.’
Ludger glanced through the documents he’d grabbed.
He had ducked into the chamber where Molroch had first appeared and grabbed whatever he could mid-fight. It had been more guesswork than precision.
But he’d gotten lucky.
Among the papers was a comprehensive report on human experimentation—infusing beastly power into human genes.
The root cause of the werewolf outbreak in Lederbelk.
It wasn’t a surprise—he’d already suspected as much.
But the next section was important.
‘Development of special gunpowder immune to Silence of Fire.’
Given who used that kind of gunpowder, this was a serious problem.
Terrorists who now called themselves the Liberation Army.
Though similar munitions had existed before.
‘Three years ago. In the Kingdom of Delica, a secret experiment was underway.’
Gunpowder that ignored magic suppression.
A mechanical army built from automata.
The moment Ludger saw the data—and Victor Dreadpool’s automata—the puzzle pieces «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» clicked into place.
Three years ago—
The Black Dawn had been involved in the incident in the Kingdom of Delica.
