Math Is Magic Chapter 30: CHAPTER 30: Not Once, But Twice!

Read chapter 30 of Math Is Magic by iminchoo on NovelPedia.

{ A FEW SECONDS EARLIER... } Vincent advanced slowly through the wild clearing, his ruthless gaze fixed on the path ahead. The tie, transformed into a deadly weapon, hung rigid like steel, yet softly wrapped around his right palm. A shadow of madness glinted in his eyes as he obsessively followed the bloodstains scattered on the trees and the ground. These red marks were the only trace left of the young Prince in flight. But the tracks suddenly stopped, dissolving into a mocking nothingness. Without a trail to follow, Vincent halted, his face twisted into a snarl of anger. ‘Damn it! Where is he hiding?’ he thought, gritting his teeth. Frustration consumed him, but he did not allow himself to linger too long. He took a deep breath and resumed walking, following the instinct that guided him along the same path he was already on. ‘I still can’t believe he escaped my first attack, especially considering he was turned away!’ Vincent reflected, thinking back to the moment when the young Prince had eluded the fatal blow. ‘But it doesn’t matter! Lucky or not, he has no escape now!’ Suddenly, a noise shattered the silence of the forest: the soft crackling of leaves being stepped on. Vincent’s eyes darted to the source of the sound, and his neck turned with the speed of a predator. Before him, a tall, dense bush swayed slightly next to a gnarled tree trunk. A mocking grin spread across Vincent’s face. "Heh! You shouldn't have moved, young Prince..." With measured, inexorable steps, Vincent approached the bush. However, the rhythm of his walk made it clear that he wasn’t in a hurry. Or rather, he was, but the true pleasure of the hunt—something he would never let slip away for any reason in the world—lay in the very moment before the assured victory. His elegant black shoes creaked on the damp ground, a sound that seemed amplified in the oppressive silence of the forest. Each step was a prelude to the end. Arriving before the bush, Vincent stopped. His eyes scanned the scene with a mixture of pleasure and morbid curiosity: the young Prince lay on the ground, face down, his body half-hidden by a blanket of leaves. His chest neither rose nor fell. The stillness was complete, almost spine-chilling. “Is he dead?” Vincent murmured, tilting his head, as if evaluating a poorly done work of art. “No, perhaps he’s just unconscious. Well, it doesn’t matter. The Boss wants his head, and he’ll get it anyway.” With an almost theatrical gesture, Vincent lifted his sword-tie. The weapon shimmered under the dim light filtering through the foliage, the tip pointed towards the low clouds that seemed to be dozing above the forest. The tension in the air was palpable, a suspended moment before the final strike. A cruel smile spread across Vincent’s thin lips. “Goodbye, young Prince!” And with a lightning-fast movement, Vincent lowered his arm, determined to sever both the bush and the lifeless body of his prey in one swift blow. The air split, heavy with a foreboding sense of blood and death. ‘Now!’ Mirac ordered himself, his mind working faster than the beat of his heart. At the last moment, before Vincent's weapon could crash into him, Mirac lunged into a roll to the right. His body snapped with determination, rising to his feet before Vincent could react. Vincent's tie-sword embedded itself into the ground with a dull thud, a blow that echoed like a hammer striking stone. Vincent found himself off balance, caught off guard by the unexpected maneuver. "What the hell-!" he exclaimed, his face a mix of surprise and anger. But he didn’t even have time to finish the sentence before Mirac immediately went on the counterattack! With lightning speed, Mirac’s right hand shot toward the pile of leaves scattered on the ground. Finally, as his fingers closed around the hilt, he drew his sword—the same one that had appeared suddenly behind him earlier, almost as if in response to his desperate need, when he was still hidden behind the bush. ‘A sword?!’ Vincent’s face