Chapter 211
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: Decisive Battle - 3
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- [Breaking News] Unidentified Giant Lifeform Appears Over Seoul. The city now faces its worst crisis in history.
- [Breaking News] UFO Over Seoul Confirmed to be 'The Demon King's Castle'
*Gurgle— Gurgle—*
A tentacled creature with a giant, grotesque eye let out a strange noise… From the bizarre form of the Demon King's Castle, a legion of the undead poured out, beginning their conquest of downtown Seoul.
*Screeeech—*
Fortunately, a large-scale evacuation had been carried out immediately after the battle in the California Corrosion Zone, in preparation for a worst-case scenario.
Thanks to this, civilian casualties were minimized.
But in the end, it had only bought them time…
"They're forming groups and have started moving toward the shelters!"
At that moment, the A.M.T. Seoul Operations Command was on high alert, and the command post established in Seoul City Hall Plaza began to respond.
"Gasp! Approximately four thousand… no, six thousand of them… A normal shelter can't hold off that many monsters!"
"—Shelter defenses are projected to be breached in just eight minutes!"
Voices reporting analysis results echoed from all directions.
At this rate, hundreds of thousands would be sacrificed in a short time.
All eyes focused on Lieutenant General Choi Jeong-cheol, the commander of Seoul Operations, who stood before the situation map. He turned to the Director of Operations and asked.
"What are our troop deployments in that area?"
"...The 1st Battalion of the 3rd Anti-Demon Brigade is nearby!"
It was the very unit Lee Hyun-wook had once belonged to.
Currently, the unit's commander, Colonel Kim Kang-seok, was leading his elites to support the Californian front, leaving the unit without its leader. Still, it was considered the strongest A.M.T. force currently stationed in Seoul.
But even so, sending a single A.M.T. battalion to face them… No one dared say it, but it was essentially a suicide order.
In other words, they were being told to sacrifice themselves to buy time.
"......."
Lieutenant General Choi Jeong-cheol knew this as well. With a bitter expression, he gave the order.
"Hmph— Our duty is to protect the people, what can we do? From this moment, mobilize all forces and buy time however you can. If it gets too dangerous, I'll step in and incinerate them myself…"
That the best their entire force could do was buy time… All they could do was hold on using every method available, waiting for the arrival of a single person.
That name was, of course, Steel Rain, Lee Hyun-wook.
They believed that he, as he always had, would put a stop to this massive disaster. That belief was the source of their courage.
However…
- *Kssshh—* It appears the Steel Fleet's return will be delayed.
"...Well, things have gotten properly tangled up."
The Demon King's scheme had delayed Lee Hyun-wook's arrival.
At this rate, there would be no stopping Seoul from becoming the Demon King's sacrifice.
But it was at that moment.
To the north, a red shimmer flickered between and beyond the buildings.
*FWOOOOOSH—!*
The blaze was so immense that it was as if dusk had fallen, bathing half the city in an orange glow.
Someone was maneuvering the flames, cleansing the city.
Everyone stared, their expressions dumbfounded.
Only Lieutenant General Choi Jeong-cheol wore a strange smile.
"Oho, that's… Hahaha—a fire even bigger than mine has appeared!"
It was a fire so overwhelming that even he, the wielder of the formidable firepower known as Semi-Armageddon, had to concede defeat.
*KRA-KA-BOOM—!*
Pillars of fire moved like dragons, piercing through downtown Seoul. The undead legion, which had been marching toward the shelters, drawn by the scent of the living, was instantly incinerated and turned to ash.
"My god. Was there a flame-based skill of that magnitude?"
"I feel like I've seen that somewhere before… Ah! Inferno!"
Inferno.
A name that was always mentioned when discussing the most powerful Players since the world turned into a game.
But she had been holed up in Busan, refusing to emerge no matter how desperately the world sought her.
The reason for her seclusion was never properly known, so her image had shifted from one of overwhelming firepower to one of mystique.
And now, at this very moment, she had appeared without warning and begun to defend Seoul against the Demon King… While many were shocked, they couldn't help but cheer.
Those with Lee Hyun-wook were no different.
"...Don't tell me, Inferno has made her move?"
Lee Seong-yoon couldn't hide his surprise.
Kang Seo-yoon was the same.
"...Wait, we went to see her four times, and she ignored us every single time?"
The two of them were close enough to be called Inferno's colleagues. That's why, whenever a crisis struck the Korean peninsula or during Guardian operations, they had visited Inferno time and again, trying to persuade her to lend her strength.
But Inferno had never set foot outside Busan.
Yet this time, Steel Rain had solved yet another long-standing problem. It was clear he had secretly placed Inferno on standby in Seoul.
"Seriously, how… What's your secret?"
Finally, unable to hold back, Kang Seo-yoon asked in disbelief. Lee Hyun-wook shrugged as if it were nothing.
"Well, I just solved the reason she was uncomfortable leaving Busan."
"...Do you have some kind of counseling license? Her mental state is a complete mess, and she's so stubborn she's nearly impossible to handle. I can't believe you managed to bring her out."
And as Kang Seo-yoon said, the reason Inferno was cooped up in Busan was a psychological issue—trauma, to be precise.
'...Even in my past life, we barely managed to drag Inferno out.'
Lee Hyun-wook's strategies, utilizing his knowledge of the future, weren't just for monsters and Villains, but for allied Players as well.
For example, he had won over Kim Kang-seok early in his regression, and just recently, he was able to persuade Lee Seong-yoon because he understood his psychology.
And this time, his target was Inferno.
'Inferno's mental problems began after the Prophetess died.'
There was once a Player known as the Prophetess.
She foretold major upcoming events, and based on her information, the Guardians had prevented several terrible disasters.
'But she was assassinated by a Villain.'
And Inferno had been very close with the Prophetess. As fate would have it, at the moment of the assassination… she was right beside her.
'Inferno responded appropriately… but she lacked just a tiny bit of power, and in the end, she couldn't protect the Prophetess.'
After that, consumed by guilt, Inferno became the Savior of Busan, never taking a single step outside the city where her abilities could be maximized.
Because she had failed to prevent a terrible event due to a sliver of missing power, she developed a compulsion to constantly maintain her abilities at their absolute peak.
'In other words, if she could utilize her 'Savior of Busan' achievement and, better yet, acquire multiple ways to strengthen her power… Inferno's trauma could be erased.'
And Lee Hyun-wook had prepared just that, getting the powerful weapon known as Inferno to function properly again.
But...
- *Ksshh*—The situation in Seoul is getting progressively worse.
"...Even with Inferno, stopping the Demon King alone will be impossible."
Lee Seong-yoon said. His judgment was cold and accurate.
As he said, no matter how powerful Inferno was, it was impossible for her to single-handedly stop a Necromancer and the Demon King from eight years in the future.
However…
"That might have been true for the old Inferno. Things are different now."
"What? What kind of support did you give her?"
"Yes. A very fitting weapon… no, I gave her two of them."
He had certainly made a significant investment.
'It was a good thing I applied Alain Giam's Extreme Replica to that item.'
So much so that it was painfully regrettable.
'That's why the plan was for her to execute the Fire Dome operation to protect Seoul, and then, at a critical moment, I would bring her in as the third wave of reinforcements.'
Lee Hyun-wook spoke with conviction.
"Inferno will hold out just fine."
***
Sergeant (Acting) Ahn Min-tae, deputy leader of the 1st Assault Team, 1st Battalion, 3rd Anti-Demon Brigade.
Shield and sword in hand, he was sprinting down an empty four-lane road between a forest of buildings.
"Run—! Faster—!"
He yelled, looking over his shoulder.
Six A.M.T. soldiers were running behind him.
And swarming behind them was…
*Screeeech—*
A legion of the undead. Walking corpses of all kinds, tangled together, surged forward like a massive wave.
Their numbers were in the thousands by a rough estimate… and considering they were being constantly supplied, that was likely not the end of it.
Even for the "Namsan Unit," the strongest force in the Seoul Operations Command, stopping them was next to impossible.
"Hah— Hah— Team Leader, where is Inferno? At this rate, we're…"
A soldier asked.
About ten minutes ago, news had arrived that Inferno had appeared and was wiping out the undead legion.
But Inferno was just one person.
She couldn't possibly cover all the shelters that the undead legion was targeting simultaneously as they spread out in all directions.
"Shut up and focus on the mission! Run! We'll handle this!"
Ahn Min-tae was now acting as the leader of an assault team.
While Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo were making names for themselves across the world, he too, though his abilities paled in comparison, had been doing his best to grow.
As a result, he had reached level 48—a high level for an A.M.T. non-commissioned officer—and had become an exception, carrying out the duties of an assault team leader despite his rank.
"Instead of just waiting for support, consider every possible method and use every available resource. That's what a raid is!"
He had not forgotten the teachings of his former superior, Lee Hyun-wook.
Thus, even in the face of an insurmountable crisis, he had devised a plan to stop the undead legion swarming toward the shelter and had received approval from his superiors.
That plan was…
*Ksshh—*
"Ah! This is Rat 3, Rat 3 has reached the checkpoint— Detonate immediately—!"
The moment his report ended—
*BOOM—!*
A huge explosion erupted.
*BOOM—!*
Another explosion.
Crimson smoke billowed from the lower floors of the buildings on both sides behind him.
Those were the explosive scrolls Ahn Min-tae's team had planted.
*Rumble—Rumble—Rumble…*
Soon, the 18-story building on the left and the 14-story building on the right began to shake. They tilted rapidly toward the road, then collapsed, intersecting with each other.
*CRASH— CRASH—*
With the four-lane road completely blocked, the madly charging wave of death was forced to a halt, as if it had crashed against a breakwater.
Ahn Min-tae's plan was a resounding success.
"...Team Leader, that was a perfect operation!"
"Whoa— As expected of Sergeant Ahn, Steel Rain's right-hand man!"
"Didn't they say Park Jun-mo, the God of Lightning, was his left hand back in the day?"
He allowed himself a small smile at the praise coming from all sides before his expression turned stern again, and he raised his voice.
"Don't let your guard down! Prepare for battle! They'll climb over the buildings! Firepower team, where's the firepower team!"
The nearby firepower team, which had been on standby, approached and began setting up magic engineering machine guns and cannons.
*Screeeech—*
"...They're coming."
Soon, groups of undead began to crawl over the building wreckage.
"Fire—!"
On Ahn Min-tae's command, the magic engineering weapons spat fire, and all sorts of magic spells exploded, blasting away the undead climbing over the debris.
"Good, this is manageable! Keep pouring it on!"
They had effectively created a fortress wall, making the fight much easier.
At this rate, they could buy a significant amount of time.
Until Inferno, or Steel Rain, or someone else arrived.
But…
*BOOM—! BOOM—!*
Suddenly, the undead on top of the debris began to explode. Ahn Min-tae and his team jumped back in surprise.
*BOOM—! BOOM—!*
The explosions continued.
It was the Corpse Explosion skill.
This meant the Necromancer himself had started paying attention to this location—a very bad sign.
"Uh… If this keeps up…"
Then, dozens, hundreds of Corpse Explosions went off in succession…
*KRA-KA-BOOM—!*
"N-no—"
They finally blew a large gap in the building wreckage.
*Screeeech—*
The undead legion began pouring through the newly created gap as if through a canyon…
"—Dammit, retreat again!"
They had no choice but to run again.
They didn't even have time to retrieve the magic engineering machine guns or cannons they had set up; they just had to run for their lives.
"—It's the shelter entrance!"
About twenty meters ahead, a subway entrance came into view. The shelter was there, holding tens of thousands of civilians.
In other words, there was nowhere left to retreat.
The order given to them was to defend this place at all costs.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"
Ahn Min-tae scrambled over the barricade set up in front of Exit 2 and hurriedly activated his Mana Messenger.
"S-Sir… Operation failed! They've broken through!"
But there was no reply.
The acting battalion commander was probably staring blankly, unsure of what orders to give.
- *Ksshh*— Uh…
That was all, just a deflated sound.
The conclusion that followed was…
- I'm sorry. Good luck.
At those words, the soldiers didn't get angry or despair; they just stared blankly at Ahn Min-tae.
The situation was too dire to even process emotions.
"...Team Leader. Do you think Steel Rain will come for us this time, too?"
The one who asked was Private Kang Min-seok.
When Kang Min-seok had just transferred in, the Black Orcs had invaded the Korean peninsula. Back then, to a terrified Kang Min-seok, Ahn Min-tae had said that Steel Rain would come. And he really did.
A similar situation had occurred during the Titanomachia siege. At the last moment, Steel Rain had appeared.
Even if they hadn't experienced it themselves, how many times had Steel Rain made a timely appearance?
It was only natural to hope for a hero's arrival in a crisis.
But this time, Steel Rain would not come.
'The seal in the sky. He can't break through that.'
Ahn Min-tae couldn't answer Kang Min-seok's question. He looked up at the sky, blocked by red chains, and let out a small sigh.
*Screeeech—*
The monstrous cries grew closer.
Ahn Min-tae gripped his shield and slowly rose to his feet.
"...I never learned how to die a heroic death."
He had only ever learned how to win from Lee Hyun-wook.
But there was one other thing he hadn't been taught…
"Can't be helped…"
And that was to never give up.
"All troops, prepare for battle!"
At Ahn Min-tae's command, the 19 A.M.T. soldiers raised their weapons.
They were all terrified by the overwhelming odds, but they were still elite soldiers assigned to the A.M.T.'s finest unit. And many of them had volunteered for this unit, chasing the legend of the hero named Lee Hyun-wook.
"Hoo… I didn't think it would end like this."
"Still, we have to hold out as long as we can, right? We are his successors, after all!"
That's why they didn't break down in the face of death, nor did they shy away from one last battle.
But just then—
"Huh?"
Suddenly, the sky turned orange.
All of them instinctively looked up.
In that instant—
*BOOM—!*
Something wreathed in flames crashed down from the sky like a meteor.
*FSSSHHHH—!*
"Ugh! It's hot!"
An incredible wave of heat washed over them, forcing Ahn Min-tae's team, who hadn't flinched even as the undead legion approached, to back away involuntarily.
Before them was a single, blazing, cerulean flame.
Beneath it, the asphalt had already melted, forming a large puddle.
'So bright!'
Ahn Min-tae shielded his eyes and tried to look past the flames. He saw something.
It was a person.
A woman in red armor, with long red hair…
She turned her head and looked at Ahn Min-tae.
"Back."
"Excuse me?"
"Get back. If you don't want to burn to death."
Bundles of flame began to erupt from her body.
***
「Oh— Inferno… She should still be holed up in Busan. How did she get out?」
The Demon King.
He commented on Inferno's appearance with an air of interest.
He had currently emerged from the Necromancer's body and was controlling the Demon King's Castle, having taken root in its core.
「Inferno's fire will be annoying, I suppose.」
When conquering the world in the previous dimension, the biggest obstacle had been, without a doubt, Inferno. Steel Rain had appeared after her.
"...We can still win."
The Necromancer was the one who said that.
「Of course we can. Eight years from now, we killed a much stronger Inferno. And this isn't Busan, so she's practically at half strength.」
However…
「…Hmm, how did he make that?」
His gaze zoomed in on a single point like a camera.
There stood Inferno, and next to her, a moving fire spirit was visible.
And that spirit was holding a flag.
"Ah, that's 'Empire of Nomads'."
「…To have developed that already. The recipe is so complex it shouldn't have been created for another six years.」
The Kingdom of Nomads.
It was an object that could contain the properties of a region and apply its effects to the surrounding area.
And that one had, without a doubt, 'copied' Busan.
In other words, Inferno was currently receiving the effect of her 'Savior of Busan' achievement—a 100% increase to all stats.
And that wasn't all.
*Fwoosh—!*
Flames erupted from her right hand, and soon, a massive red sword—one that looked as if it were sculpted from lava and radiated overwhelming heat—was in her grasp.
"That's… She's already holding that!"
Lævateinn.
Also known as Surtr's sword.
It was a legendary-grade weapon that Inferno had used even in the dimension the Demon King and the Necromancer came from.
"...It's still useless."
The Necromancer said again, but his brow furrowed as he recalled the sword's power.
One of the greatsword's skills, 'Hel Line,' was the skill that had turned the most undead to ash, making it a particularly vexing sight for him.
「Yes, that's true. But… Steel Rain, you've prepared to an annoyingly incomprehensible degree.」
But no matter how nimbly he moved and responded, the eight-year gap could not be closed.
However…
"—Huh?"
「.......」
When flames erupted from Inferno's left hand as well, revealing another Lævateinn, both the Demon King and the Necromancer were at a loss for words.
"If there are two Lævateinns… what do we do?"
The story had changed.
The red woman, wreathed in flames, gripped a greatsword in each hand and began to walk toward the undead legion.