Chapter 220

Cards flew from all directions—front, back, up, down, left, and right.

[Phantom Magic – Caribbean Stud]

Each one was spinning like a saw blade, and getting hit by even one would slice me up like tofu.

“Cute trick.”

[ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᛒᛚᛟᚲᚲᛊ ᚲᛟᛚᛞ ᛊᛏᛖᛖᛚ (Magic that blocks cold steel)]

A barrier formed around me, blocking all the cards. If they were just regular cards, my head would’ve been sliced off. But these were special blades crafted by my older sister, made from iron and monster materials. In the original story, they could even slice through bones while cooking meat.

“Let me ask you something. Why did you betray us? From the situation, there’s no reason for you to betray us. What benefit is there for you to be here, turning your back on the other older brothers, sisters, and even me?”

“…Half right, half wrong. I won’t tell you which is which, but here’s a hint: from the situation, there was always enough reason. I’m not like Zick or the Heavenly Demon. I don’t have the broad shoulders to protect everyone. My emotions come first. Do you think I care about others? Do you think I’d blink if people died? If their screams were annoying, I’d just shut them up and kill them. If I felt guilt, I wouldn’t have betrayed you in the first place.”

“Oh, really? Then why don’t you scream a little yourself?”

[ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᚱᛖᛚᛖᚨᛊᛖᛊ ᚹᚨᚲᚲᚢᛗ ᛒᛚᚨᛞᛖ (Magic that releases vacuum blades.)]

The vacuum blade flew straight and sliced off Squar’s left leg. She gritted her teeth in pain but pulled out a card from the severed area.

“An Ace of Spades? Oh, how lucky~.”

In an instant, her leg regenerated. That was one of her skills from the original story. When her health dropped to 5%, she could draw a card. If it was an Ace, she’d fully recover; if it was a Joker, she’d die; any other card, and she’d recover a tiny bit of health. I didn’t know she could modify it like this, though.

I must’ve cut her limbs off about 30 times, but she kept regenerating. It was a downgraded version of Ares’ regeneration ability, but her firepower and other skills were so annoying it was infuriating. How does she keep drawing Aces 30 times in a row? Is she cheating, or is her luck just that insane?

“Disgusting struggle.”

“That’s just how I am. By the way, Werner, did you forget something? Like the cards stuck in your barrier?”

[Phantom Magic – Pot.]

[ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᚨᛒᛊᛟᚱᛒᛊ ᛖᚲᛊᛈᛚᛟᛊᛁᛟᚾ (Magic that absorbs explosions)]

The barrier absorbed the explosion’s impact and turned red. One of this magic’s traits is that the narrower the concept, the stronger it becomes, and the less mana it consumes.

For example, if you use <Block all attacks>, the mana consumption is ridiculous, and the attack tolerance is significantly lower. But if you narrow it down to <Absorb explosions>, the mana consumption decreases, and the attack tolerance increases dramatically. It’s like trying to paint a large canvas with a limited amount of paint—you’ll run out before you finish.

“That was my trump card.”

“You might not know my new magic, but I know all your techniques. I even know which skills you use in which situations.”

“Good for you. But do you know this one?”

She held a card in her left hand.

[Phantom Magic – Anti.]

She sliced off her own left hand with the card. I felt a chill on my left pinky finger. Guess I won’t be making promises with my left hand anymore.

“Guess I won’t be making promises with my left hand anymore?”

“If you kill me quickly and find a doctor, they might reattach it.”

“If you want to die so badly, why don’t you just slit your own throat?”

“Eh, I just wanted to show you this technique. Consider it a warning not to get cocky just because you think you know all my skills.”

She pulled out an Ace of Hearts from her severed wrist and regenerated it.

Regeneration is one thing, but how do I block that self-harm magic… I needed to buy some time.

“Next question. From the situation, it seems there’s a traitor who killed the Heavenly Demon Old Man. Was it you or Media?”

“At that time, Media was somewhere else. I was the one who stabbed that stupid old man’s heart. What a pathetic old man. What kind of Heavenly Demon is that? Just a weak, pitiful old man.”

“…What?”

“That old man always bragged about his strength, but when it came to his death, he was worried about others till the end. It was so pathetic it wasn’t even funny. If he had cursed me with his dying breath, it would’ve been less pathetic.”

“…Up until now, I was willing to spare you if you surrendered. But not anymore. Just die.”

“Werner, didn’t I teach you?”

She drew a card.

“Don’t get so easily excited, and don’t throw around words like ‘I’ll kill you’ so casually.”

Even if she’s just going to throw cards, I’ve shown her multiple times that it’s useless.

[ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᛒᛚᛟᚲᚲᛊ ᚲᛟᛚᛞ ᛊᛏᛖᛖᛚ (Magic that blocks cold steel.)]

[Phantom Magic – Pot.]

There shouldn’t be any cards stuck near me…

“When you’re excited, you don’t see your surroundings.”

That’s when I noticed. Cards were stuck all over the cathedral. They glowed and exploded in a deafening blast. The cathedral’s roof collapsed into massive rock fragments, and the centuries-old cathedral crumbled into rubble.

========================================================

In the rubble, Squar barely managed to get up. Her arms were tattered, her teeth were gone, and she spat out blood along with a molar. Her ribs were cracked, and one eye was so damaged she had to keep it closed.

“There’s no magic to block falling debris. Too bad. If you die from something like this, you’re disqualified. If you’re that weak, it’s better to die by my hand. Be grateful.”

She drew a card from the mess.

“King of Diamonds. This should stop the bleeding~. I guess my luck’s running out after drawing so many Jacks.”

“Nope.”

My furious voice came from behind, startling her.

“Your luck’s already run out. It ran out the moment I survived. Blowing up the building was a mistake. As you can see, I’m fine… By the way, who’s going to pay for the reconstruction? Deposit the repair costs before you die.”

“How did you survive that collapse… You’re not like Melchior or Ricardo…”

“Oh, this… My son from a future where you helped kill me lent me 30% of his power. But it wasn’t just mana—it was physical strength and durability too… Turns out, he’s tougher than he looks. A collapsing ceiling didn’t even scratch me.”

“Fine. I won’t call it luck. Luck is part of skill. You pass.”

“Not like you’re the one relying on luck the most here, right?”

“Haha, maybe. Anyway, you pass, so I’ll get serious now.”

Squar pulled out a glowing purple dagger from her pocket.

“You’re worthy of being stabbed by this blade.”

“Sorry, but I have bad memories of being stabbed by your kind of blades.”

“I know. That’s why I brought it. This blade is the sibling of the one that stabbed you.”

“Pretty tasteless. But I guess expecting good taste from a traitorous woman is idiotic.”

“…How sad. I’ve made my decision, but hearing those words from you makes me feel sorry for my sister. So let’s finish this quickly before I hear more.”

She smiled a chilling smile, reminiscent of Media’s. A smile filled with madness, born from the belief that nothing else matters as long as she gets what she wants.

“By the way, did you forget something too?”

“What did I forget? My conscience? Comradeship?”

“No, the explosion’s impact I absorbed earlier. Absorbing it doesn’t make it disappear. Where do you think it went?”

“….!”

[ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᛞᛁᛊᚲᚺᚨᚱᚷᛖᛊ ᛞᚨᛗᚨᚷᛖ (Magic that discharges damage)]

If you’re a card user, you’d want to go out artistically, like some gambling lord. So I returned the explosion’s impact to her. After all, art is an explosion.