Chương 496: Chapter : 496

Ken prepared to take a walk toward the center of the city. He was entirely ready to deal with the giant magical plant. He just hoped he did not have to run. Running in wet socks was absolutely out of the question.

The black rain poured from the dark sky. The drops splashed against the cold cobblestones. The entire capital city of Bluemoon was totally soaked. The toxic purple fog swirled through the narrow streets. Mind-controlled citizens wandered around blindly. They swung wooden pitchforks. They swung iron hammers. They wanted to destroy everything in their path. Ken Eliot walked right through the middle of the chaos. He held a massive, flat piece of broken concrete directly over his head.

He used the concrete as a makeshift umbrella. He slouched his shoulders. He kept his free hand shoved deep into his pocket. He dragged his cheap shoes across the wet stones. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff.

"This is completely unacceptable," Ken complained to the empty street. He looked down at his shoes.

"My socks are totally soaked. Wet socks are the absolute worst feeling in the entire world. This is a massive tragedy. I really need to sit by a warm fireplace." A glowing red-eyed baker charged out of an alley. The baker swung a wooden rolling pin right at Ken's face. Ken did not panic. He did not drop his concrete umbrella. He simply tilted his head two inches to the left. The rolling pin missed him entirely. Ken stuck out his foot. The baker tripped over Ken's wet shoe.

The baker tumbled onto the cobblestones and fell fast asleep.

"Observation Haki is very useful," Ken mumbled lazily. He popped a piece of strawberry candy into his mouth. He chewed it slowly.

"You cannot hit what you cannot touch. It is basic anime logic. I am completely untouchable." He walked past the sleeping baker. He looked around the ruined city. His elite spirit commanders were doing a fantastic job. Karna dashed across the rooftops. The spymaster shot brilliant golden arrows into the sky. The arrows hit the dark shadow monsters. The monsters turned into harmless gray ash. Joseph stood in the main plaza. The earth mage trapped the frenzied citizens inside solid stone boxes.

He kept them perfectly safe from the battle. Mirajane floated in the air. She dropped pink sleeping bubbles onto the angry crowds. The citizens fell asleep instantly.

"My team is amazing," Ken thought casually. He smiled a goofy, relaxed smile.

"They follow the pacifist run rules perfectly. They do not hurt the normal people. They only destroy the bad guys. I am a very good manager. I delegate all the difficult tasks." Ken thought about his real team back at the 13th Unit estate. He missed them.

"Naomi is probably making a nice dinner right now," Ken pondered lazily.

"She is much nicer to me these days. She does not yell at me as much. She would definitely buy me a hot sandwich if she saw me in the rain. I really miss her cooking. I hope she saved me some food." The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the western sector of the city. The loud boom echoed across the stone buildings. A giant cloud of white dust rose into the dark sky. The ground shook violently.

Small pebbles bounced on the street. Ken stopped walking. He stared at the rising dust cloud.

"Are you kidding me?" Ken whined loudly. He shifted his concrete umbrella.

"Another explosion? This city has absolutely zero structural integrity. Everything keeps blowing up. I really hope a new boss monster did not just spawn. I am entirely too tired for a boss rush mode." He watched the dust cloud settle. Three figures stepped out of the rubble. They were not Black Magicians. They were not dark shadow monsters. They were three humans. They wore matching, dark blue and silver combat uniforms. They looked incredibly strong. They radiated a massive, intense amount of pure magical energy.

They were the elite members of the Blackmoon faction. The Blackmoon faction was a legendary group of warriors. They were the absolute strongest protectors of the Bluemoon Kingdom. They served directly under the King. The traitor scientist, Greed, had trapped them inside a sealed underground vault. He locked them away before the invasion started. But the dark magic holding the vault finally broke. The explosive battles in the city shattered the seals. The warriors were completely free.

The first warrior stepped forward. His name was Oisin. Oisin was a tall, lean man. He had bright blonde hair and a confident, cocky smile. He did not carry a sword. He carried a very strange weapon. He held a large, silver musical instrument. It looked exactly like a fancy guitar. The strings glowed with bright blue light.

"We are finally out of that dark basement!" Oisin cheered loudly. He stretched his arms.

"I missed the fresh air! Let us make some noise!" A massive group of Black Spirits charged toward the three warriors. The shadow monsters hissed loudly. They swung their dark swords. Oisin did not flinch. He strummed the glowing strings of his silver guitar. He played a sharp, incredibly loud chord. A brilliant, visible wave of blue sound magic blasted out of the instrument. The sonic boom shot across the street. The sound wave slammed directly into the charging monsters. The impact was devastating.

Dozens of Black Spirits shattered instantly. They exploded into gray ash. The sheer force of the sound magic blew the toxic purple fog entirely away from the area. Ken watched from a distance. His sleepy dark eyes widened slightly.

"He uses a magical guitar?" Ken thought. He almost laughed.

"That is an amazing anime trope. He is a combat bard. He literally plays music to destroy his enemies. I absolutely love that fighting style. It requires zero running. You just stand still and play a song." The second warrior leaped over a pile of broken rocks. His name was Lugh. Lugh was a young, energetic man. He had spiky brown hair. He moved with blistering, impossible speed. He looked like a yellow blur of motion. He held a long, shining spear made of pure white light.

"Do not take all the glory, Oisin!" Lugh laughed. He landed gracefully on the cobblestones.

"Leave some targets for me!" Lugh dashed straight into a huge crowd of shadow wolves. He spun his light spear flawlessly. He moved so fast he created glowing after-images. He thrust his spear forward. The spear did not just stab one monster. The tip of the weapon split open. A thousand tiny beams of white light shot out of the spear. The light beams zoomed through the air like homing missiles. They tracked the shadow wolves perfectly. The white light pierced the monsters. The wolves evaporated immediately.

"Wow," Ken mumbled. He took another bite of his strawberry candy.

"That is exactly like a scatter-shot attack. He just aimed once and hit fifty bad guys. This Blackmoon faction is completely overpowered. I am very glad they are on our side." The third warrior walked out of the dust. Her name was Nimph.