Chapter 116: Reason (4)

"Articulo, stay here and attack anyone who tries to leave those buildings," Luke said. "You can kill them if you feel in danger, but otherwise, I would like you to leave them somewhat alive... I won't feel satisfied unless I kill them myself."

Artiuno grunted as if she was saying leave it to me. Hopefully, despite having a bird brain, she won't let the enemies escape or go too far and deny Luke of his satisfaction. Still, considering that they didn't try to take a peek outside, they were helping to fight Luke inside those buildings. They knew that Luke was stronger, but he wouldn't be able to use all of his strength in a confined place. Not to mention, Luke would be able to find them in the air if they tried to escape. That being said, Luke had better things to do, so he didn't want to waste too much time with them.

"Can you pinpoint their location?" Luke asked.

"I am sorry, the mana level in this city is too thick… I also think that they have some skill to conceal their presence," Rina replied.

"That would explain why you only noticed the attack at the last moment," Luke said.

"However, once we are on the same floor, I should be able to feel their presence," Rina said.

"All right," Luke said, and then he jumped on the terrace of one of the buildings.

Although the door that led to the staircase was closed, Luke melted the doorknob and everything else but using Spark Ball. Since the attack had been at point-blank range, it didn't make any noise. Without wasting time, he began to climb down the stairs. He noticed that even the interior of that building was frozen in several parts. Was that another strategy of those guys to make their presence hard to catch? Regardless, Luke went down the fifty floors, and Rina didn't pick up anything. Since Artiuno didn't make any noise using his attacks, it was safe to assume their enemies were still inside.

"Yes… they are using a concealing skill," Rina said with her head down. "I am sorry…"

"How useless can you be?" Shalia asked.

"Ugh…" Rina groaned in annoyance.

"Let's calm down… do you guys know the costs of low-level concealing skills?" Luke asked. "I doubt that they had that much mana or that more than one of them has the skill."

"The most useful one costs one hundred points of mana and can stay active as long as the target doesn't move," Rina explained.

"I see…" Luke nodded. "In that case…"

Luke left the building and then quickly found a gas station nearby. While the fuel had been frozen due to the cold temperatures and lack of management, Luke found other flammable things. Plastic, alcohol, oil… he got those and put them on the first floor of that building. He had seen some rooms with a lot of telephones. That was probably where some sort of telemarketing business was being made before… so things inside would burn nicely. Luke also found some cars in the park of the building, so he decided to make those go kaboom.

"Hehehe, I am liking this," Shalia said.

"If you are not careful, you will damage the pillars in the park and make the entire building collapse," Rina said while furrowing her eyebrows.

"I will be sure to stay away from when that time comes," Luke said. "Never fear."

"I wasn't talking about that…" Rina frowned.

Luke knew what she was talking about. If one day the human race manages to take back their home planet from the hands of monsters, then they shouldn't go and destroy their buildings like that just to get rid of minor problems. Luke knew that she had a point, but between wasting time and risking his neck over the risk of damaging a building like that, he would damage the building and make it collapse ten times.

"Also, the flames will probably attract a massive Koriri pack," Rina said.

"Even better, I want to finish my job here before tomorrow night," Luke said.

Rina shrugged and then sighed. She could understand why Luke was becoming more chaotic lately, but that still troubled her. The situation over his planet was too chaotic as well… humans were attacking each other for minor reasons. Some tried to kill him because they feared his growth. Even though they faced some problems, her people never gave in to despair. They always tried to work together and overcome the issues that appeared on their path.

Once things were ready, Luke and Shalia began to put fire into the stuff they brought. Weirdly enough, the cold of the area began to decrease, and the flames gained extra power. While flying on Artiuno, Shalia fired some Fireballs toward the offices inside the building, and the dark smoke began to leave the building in droves.

It didn't take long for the cars in the park began to explode, making the whole building tremble. As the fire spread, the temperature increased, and the windows made of glass began to explode. 

"They are moving… they are coming in this direction," Rina said. "Be careful, their actions seem pretty coordinated."

"That was fast…" Luke frowned. "Are they plotting something? It feels too good to be true..."

The enemies were into two buildings, but all of them jumped from those at the same time and while looking at Luke. However, Sheila was nowhere to be seen… Luke pointed both hands toward the enemies and used Spark Ball before they landed. Still, he only hit three before a thunderbolt suddenly fell from the sky and hit him. There was no time to dodge, and he was hit directly…

Luke's mind went blank due to the pain. The last thing he saw was smoke leaving his body and Rina kissing him even though he looked like charcoal… To think that they would have a countermeasure if for a plan that he came up with just now...