A fallen magician.
Rudger had memories of seeing such beings.
'It's the same as Caloto.'
In the Kingdom of Seville, Casey Selmore's hometown, he encountered Caloto, the leader of the black magic school, who was just like this.
Caloto, the master of the Hell Magic School, couldn't suppress his magical power and was consumed by it, resulting in his death.
And what took over his body was the intense will possessed by the magical power itself.
He was a fallen magician manifested through hell magic.
The fallen magician was strong enough to bring disaster just by existing.
And now, five similar beings had appeared.
'Did they intentionally create fallen magicians?'He could see a skull burning with blood-red flames pointing its finger in his direction.
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
As soon as Rudger's warning dropped, Whiron and Cravat immediately responded.
Thanks to that, they were able to safely avoid the five streams of blood-red beams cutting through the air.
-Whoosh!
The blood-red streams were long-range attacks made of high-heat flames.
The steel structures in the path of these beams melted into a viscous state, creating crimson trails.
"Whew, now that's a fiery attack."
Whiron had a reddish burn mark on his skin, as if he'd been slightly late in avoiding it.
Of course, the burn healed quickly the moment he placed his palm over it.
Just seeing how the grazed steel structure melted down showed its power, yet he withstood it with his body.
In terms of physical capabilities, Whiron had already entered the realm of superhuman.
"More importantly, the teacher is quite perceptive. Have you fought something similar before?"
"I've fought an almost identical being before. The method is similar too. These ones seem weaker than the fallen magician I fought then."
"That thing?"
"But there are more of them, so we can't afford to underestimate them."
These beings continuously burning with hell magic were incarnations of endless destruction.
Because they contained ferocious hell magic, they wouldn't stop burning things until their life ended.
"Even though this is a district where people don't live, releasing such things... What on earth are they trying to do?"
At this point, Nikolai's actions seemed more than just suspicious.
If such beings were let loose, there would be chaos in Isla Machina.
Does it mean he's willing to suffer such losses just to kill him?
Rudger's deliberation was brief.
The fallen magicians didn't give him time for that.
-Whoosh!
Blood-red sparks spread in the air.
Rudger wrapped himself in cold magic power and used it to create a massive ice wall in the surrounding area.
The chilly energy surged forward, confronting the hell magic of the fallen magicians, but it was merely buying time.
The heat emitted by the combined power of the five began to melt the massive ice wall at a rapid pace.
"How do we catch those things?"
Cravat, who flew in riding a black smoke like a carpet, asked Rudger.
"You said you fought something similar before, right? Then you must know how to deal with them? How did you catch them then?"
"I confined it in a large iceberg that froze even the sea."
"...Do we really need to go that far?"
"Fortunately, these guys don't seem to require that much effort."
The fallen magician he fought last time was born when the master of a black magic school died.
Even if they combined a black magician's corpse with world tree cells, it would be unfair to compare them to beings cobbled together.
"Whatever the case, we just need to extinguish those flames, right?"
Whiron exhaled strongly through his nose.
And before Rudger and Cravat could stop him, he charged toward the artificial magicians, letting out a joyful howl.
"Khahah! Heat me up more!"
As Whiron charged in, all five magicians focused their attention on him.
Even if they tried to ignore him, Whiron's presence made that impossible.
The magicians emitted intense heat.
It was the flame of hell magic, far superior to equivalent magic in terms of firepower alone.
It rose like a mirage and spread widely.
Whiron boldly jumped into that hot bath.
"It's hot!"
Whiron, wrapped in magic power, surprisingly withstood the heat.
Sweat flowed down his skin, which had no body fat, but that was all.
Normally, in such heat, a regular person would not only fail to sweat but would turn to ashes instantly.
"I understand he's unbelievably sturdy, but even so, an attribute attack would be essential to harm those guys."
Cravat analyzed the enemies' weaknesses with sharp insight.
Though the power of Whiron's magic was strong, it belonged to a line that maximized pure magical power without any attributes.
Without water or ice attribute magic, there would be no benefit from jumping into the center of such a dangerous place.
Cravat and Rudger's concerns were unfounded.
Whiron's bare fist turned bluish, as if sprinkled with dye.
-Bam!
The thrust fist properly lodged in the jaw of the nearest magician.
He punched a being burning with hell magic, so his fist should have melted, but instead, the magician's head was twisted to the side with a crunch, and it collapsed.
"...What is that? Did he wrap his fist with cold energy?"
Cravat widened his eyes in disbelief.
It was the same for Rudger.
The magic Whiron used looked quite different from other elemental magic.
"Hahaha! Take this! Cold Hands and Feet Punch!"
"......"
"......"
Between the manual therapy magic and this, even if it was magic he created himself, the name was so bizarre that Rudger and Cravat momentarily lost their words.
But despite the strange name, its effect was considerable.
With each punch Whiron threw, the fallen magicians fell one after another.
Given that the fallen ones staggered and couldn't properly get up, it was clear the hits were landing effectively.
"Let's leave those annoying guys to him."
"We worried for nothing. We're not in a position to worry about others anyway."
Rudger and Cravat looked back.
Except for the surroundings dyed red by the hot flames of the fallen magicians, the area was filled with deeper darkness.
In that darkness, blue eyes emerged one after another.
And the blue liquid ampules embedded in their shoulders glowed like fluorescent lights in the darkness.
"They've sent new ones."
Unlike the red ones, these were blue.
If the red ones wore steel masks on their chins, these guys wore visor helmets with blue light over their noses.
The blue subjects extended their hands upon seeing Rudger and Cravat.
Unlike other subjects, they didn't rush in like beasts. Just when they wondered what they were doing, they realized there were holes at the fingertips.
"Oh no."
Rudger deployed a defensive spell.
Cravat also simultaneously added strength by wrapping the black curse energy over the barrier.
Right after, countless bullets poured out from the finger holes of the blue subjects.
Bang bang bang bang bang.
The defensive shield vibrated roughly like an umbrella blocking a downpour.
Rudger tried to use the Silence of Fire within the defensive magic but immediately canceled it and clicked his tongue.
"They're using special gunpowder."
"A substance your Silence of Fire magic doesn't work on? They've really prepared thoroughly."
"Moreover, it seems they've mechanically modified their bodies."
As soon as Rudger's warning fell, a strange sound, keeeeng, was heard from beyond the barrier.
The sight was soon confirmed.
With a splash of sparks, the corner of the protective barrier was cut off, and an experimental subject with both hands transformed into rotating saw blades revealed itself.
The moment they poked their faces into the inside of the broken barrier, sharp light beams aimed at their foreheads.
-Ping!
The subject surprisingly reacted to that attack.
The mask on the left temple of the one who tilted its head to the side burst with a 'pung'.
The attack that should have pierced the forehead merely grazed the side.
But the sword stick swung immediately after couldn't be reacted to.
The severed head rolled on the ground, and the torso collapsed lifelessly.
"Their reaction speed is faster than those red ones, but it seems their vitality isn't."
Rudger said this while deeply stabbing the sword stick into the heart part of the headless torso.
As the bio-signal was cut off, the operation of the bomb that was about to explode automatically stopped.
"I hope you're not planning to use something I've seen before again, Nikolai."
[Oh my, John Doe. Saying it like that makes it sound like I'm underestimating you.]
Thinking that he would be watching this situation, Rudger called out, and Nikolai's voice was heard from among the blue subjects.
[By sending my precious Red and Blue corps, I'm actually indicating that I value and highly regard you. You should rather be proud.]
"You're still acting like a coward. Instead of hiding among your experimental subject corps, you're using a method to transmit your voice from a distance. It seems you lack the courage to face me directly?"
[Haha. Please don't think I'd fall for such a simple provocation. I always prefer what's certain and thorough. Now that I know you're a much stronger and more excellent magician than I thought, John Doe, it's right for me to be cautious, isn't it?]
"Either you're taking me very lightly or you think you can handle me with just this?"
Indeed, the Red and Blue experimental corps were threatening.
The Red, made using black magicians' corpses, could use black magic in addition to the powerful physical abilities of the subjects.
And the Blue, combined with machines, not only enhanced the subjects with drugs but also could use various weapons.
But it's still not enough.
Though they might be fewer in number, if that small number consists entirely of elites, the story changes.
[I know. No matter how many subjects I send, they'll only be an annoyance to you at most.]
"Knowing that, yet still doing this. You must have an abundance of time and resources?"
[Don't be like that. Even for me, consuming Red and Blue is quite a blow. I originally planned to play territory games with those black magicians for longer to buy time, but thanks to you, I've had to advance my plans.]
"Plans?"
[Of course, no fool would outright reveal that, right?]
Nikolai mocked Rudger with his voice beyond the subjects.
Rudger didn't show any particular reaction as he hadn't expected anything in the first place.
The Blue experimental corps moved and surrounded Rudger and Cravat but they didn't show any signs of attacking immediately.
"What are you up to? You know it's impossible to face me with these guys anyway, right?"
[Yes. I'm not a fool who bangs my head against a solid rock. I hate to admit it, but a direct approach like this doesn't suit against someone as strong as you. But what about others?]
"What?"
For a moment, Rudger had the impression that Nikolai was smiling.
[John Doe. I was quite surprised by how you came to this island. You suddenly appeared from thin air. You were definitely in Leathervelk until just recently. And I also learned that you are desperately protecting a certain girl.]
Nikolai's laughter flowed from the vocal cords of the subjects.
[This is truly amazing. The great John Doe is running around so diligently on this island just to save one girl.]
"You, don't tell me...."
[I might not be able to target you, but I can at least target that girl you cherish, right?]
"Have you forgotten who's by her side?"
[Ah, you mean Gabriel Cosmo? Quite an impressive man. I never knew there existed a magician who learned the wondrous magic of time magic.]
Nikolai had already figured out Gabriel's identity as well.
[Naturally, I've also set up a strategy for that man. Time magic sounds impressive at first, but it seems to come with quite a lot of restrictions. It's fair to say he has almost no combat ability.]
"You...."
[I wonder how far that man, Gabriel, can protect that girl?]
At that moment, Rudger understood why the Blue corps had surrounded him and Cravat.
They hadn't formed their formation to attack.
They had surrounded them to buy time, to prevent them from leaving.
[John Doe. I can't kill you right away. But I can immediately kill that girl you cherish and that man called Gabriel.]
Nikolai had never intended to kill Rudger in one go from the start.
Having discovered what was precious to him, Nikolai was rather planning to persistently exploit this weakness to cause prolonged suffering.
A man who doesn't bestow mercy, like finishing off the opponent in one go, but enjoys watching the suffering for a long time.
That was First Order Nikolai.
[I hope you'll like my gift.]