Chapter 111. Hain Al Gul (1)
“Damn it.”
More urgent than the fact that Garibaldi and Junseok had come here with him was the scene unfolding right before his eyes.
Ella's Garden, once brimming with lush green meadows, now looked like a dead wasteland.
All the grass had rotted away into mush, and scattered here and there were pools of dark purple poison.
Even in the air...!
His nose and lungs burned with every breath he took.
The toxic components permeating the oxygen were assaulting his respiratory system.
“Nus! Help us out!”
“Always calling on me when you need something, you bastard!”
Nus, who had been forced to stay dormant without enough mana to venture out in the eastern territories that weren't under domain control, leaped from Jeonghyeon's inventory at his call.
“Just leave it to this body of mine!”
He split himself into several tendrils, wrapping them around Jeonghyeon and the group's mouths and noses.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Junseok panicked and tried to peel Nus off at first, but he soon stopped when he felt his breathing ease.
“Horakti. Where's Hain Al Gul?”
“She should be in Ella's Garden.”
Shit.
The only real shot at victory was catching Hain Al Gul off guard—since she wouldn't have anticipated Jeonghyeon's arrival—and overwhelming her with a single all-out strike.
“She probably sensed it already?”
“Likely.”
Horakti's dimensional shifts required an enormous surge of mana.
Someone like Hain Al Gul, a mage and alchemist, would have easily detected that kind of power.
“Should we run...?”
“Sorry, but I have no mana left for another jump.”
Horakti didn't have enough mana left for even one more dimensional shift.
The form of Horakti that Jeonghyeon had always seen was a kind of polymorph—a shape convenient for activity, sustained by the tiniest trickle of mana.
The fact that he'd revealed his true form already meant his mana reserves were basically tapped out.
“Fine. You head back to where the beastkin are.”
“What about you?!”
“I'm gonna fight Hain.”
“Have you lost your mind? Didn't you hear how she wiped out all our kin in one go?!”
Just as Horakti said, fighting now was as good as suicide.
But on the flip side, there was no other way to seize the advantage except a surprise attack.
It was do or die.
Better than waiting for her to prepare defenses against mental attacks...!
Even if it was the slimmest of slim chances, the momentum was on their side right now.
“She's probably fighting already anyway, so send reinforcements.”
“...Understood.”
Horakti spread his wings wide with a mighty flap, then vanished toward the beastkin using Guide of Spirits.
Hain Al Gul must have noticed us by now anyway.
Jeonghyeon paused in thought for a moment.
Hain Al Gul was one of Malekith's forces. In his previous life, Malekith would have known every move his subordinate made.
Just as they'd conveniently run into Horakti at the perfect timing—and then met Philip, Uldran's awakener, as if by prior arrangement—Hain Al Gul's appearance now had to have some reason behind it.
Garibaldi... Junseok...
The key this time was probably Garibaldi and Junseok, who had tagged along by accident.
Out of all the healers in Kingdom Guild, not a single one had come with Junseok.
You'd think at least one would have. Maybe Horakti just didn't have the juice to bring a healer too?
It felt like the entire situation was scripted to force Jeonghyeon into completing some specific quest.
His mind raced in an instant.
Whatever. It didn't matter.
I have to resolve this with the manpower I've got right now...!
“...!!!”
In that moment, Jeonghyeon spotted a faint glimmer of hope.
“Everyone, listen up.”
Jeonghyeon's right eye turned a deep crimson-black.
As the weight of his words shifted dramatically, the others—who had been flustered—calmed down and focused intently on his gaze.
“The monster we're facing is an undead called Hain Al Gul. Ever run into undead before?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
“Jeonghu and I saw some in the Tower.”
“Think of her as their lord. She's insanely strong. We might stand a chance with raw power alone, but...”
“Then just smash her face in and win. What's the worry?”
Jeonghyeon let out a smirk at Nus's blunt, straightforward words.
“Watch out for her mental attacks, that shithead. Junseok, Garibaldi—do not look her in the eyes. Not until I give the signal. Absolutely not.”
Everyone fell silent, their faces paling in shock at Jeonghyeon's words.
Had Jeonghyeon ever been this cautious, this genuinely afraid?
He was truly terrified of losing right now.
The lord of all undead.
“How the hell do we beat something like that...?”
Garibaldi was the first to speak up.
“Ignirn's flames.”
“...?”
“Ignirn's flames are the unquenchable fire of karmic flames. Try swinging your sword at one of those pools.”
At Jeonghyeon's words, Garibaldi began gathering his mana.
Until a massive orb of mana formed before him.
“Everyone, watch closely. That's Garibaldi's swordsmanship.”
Garibaldi used a unique style of swordplay, different from the others.
Instead of channeling mana directly into the blade, he created a virtual target.
Then he swung his sword wide at the massive mana orb.
Whoosh!
The sword arced in a huge spinning radius, cleaving the mana orb in half. It exploded in a massive fan-shaped plume of smoke straight ahead.
“Burst!”
Garibaldi clenched his fist.
Boom! Kraaang!!
The fire particles scattered through the air ignited all at once, erupting into fierce flames that raged outward.
“Whoa...! Whoaaa!”
Philip couldn't hold back his awe as he stared at the spot where the flames dissipated.
Nothing was left—no fire, no life. Everything had been utterly incinerated.
“Ignirn's flames can burn away most poisons.”
Right now, Jeonghyeon, Nus, Philip, Jeonghu, and Garibaldi could all wield Ignirn's mana.
That meant they had a shot at clearing the poison.
“So what do I do?”
Junseok, who had been quiet, raised his hand awkwardly.
“You got that windmill spin thing, right?”
“It's Windmill Revolving Strike.”
“Same difference.”
Jeonghu, usually so reserved, tossed in a quip.
“No different from Storm Dragon Fist anyway...”
“Pfft...! Heh.”
Everyone stifled chuckles at Jeonghu's remark.
They'd all been thinking the same thing.
“...Is this really the time?! Our lives are on the line here!”
“Exactly~! Lives on the line, so we gotta use that badass-named Windmill Revolving Strike to save our asses. Obviously.”
Nus, a master at snark, chimed in, and everyone turned away, cracking up.
“Come on!”
“Ah... pfft, heh. Sorry, sorry. But Nus nailed it.”
“What'd you say, you little shit?”
“Nah, we're in a tough spot anyway. No point brooding over death all serious-like. Better to laugh and loosen up.”
“You're just messing with me and spouting crap, right?”
Sharp bastard.
“As for your technique...”
“No. We've already exposed too much mana. Just memorize the timing. Use it right before Garibaldi shouts 'burst.' Got it?”
Junseok pondered for a second, then nodded.
“Ah... I see. Okay.”
“Philip pulls aggro, and we all handle the trash mobs. Garibaldi and Junseok break her defenses.”
“Yep!”
“Got it.”
That left Jeonghu.
“What about me?”
“You...”
Jeonghyeon paused, then jabbed a finger into Jeonghu's chest—right over his heart.
His mad, intense eyes locked onto Jeonghu's.
“Aim for Hain Al Gul's heart.”
Only Jeonghu could take down the boss.
***
A short walk from Ella's Garden brought them to the heart of the sanctuary.
The vibrant garden of life was gone, replaced by poison pools and rotting corpses everywhere.
Mangled bodies that could have been animals, beastkin, or elves—impossible to tell—reeking of decay.
Jeonghyeon's group crept slowly through the gaps between the corpses.
And when they fully entered the garden proper...
“Oh my~! You came?”
The Undead Lord, Archduke of the Demon Realm, creator of chimeras.
The symbol of utter depravity and evil.
Hain Al Gul greeted them with a bright smile.
The number one reason to beware her mental attacks.
“Don't meet her eyes. Think of her as Medusa.”
Just as Jeonghyeon warned, Hain Al Gul was breathtakingly beautiful.
Rumors even swirled that she'd become undead specifically to preserve that beauty through embalming.
“I didn't expect you to come like this. I thought you'd run away.”
Her tone was saccharine, clashing with her title of Archduke of the Demon Realm.
Hain Al Gul transformed herself into the form that would most stir desire in whoever gazed upon her.
Men, women, beastkin—even golems without defined gender fell under its sway.
And it was a monstrous ability that showed multiple forms simultaneously to different viewers.
Philip saw his ideal type, Jeonghu saw his, Jeonghyeon saw his.
Unlike Asmodeus, who exploited greed to topple humans, she was pure poison.
“What's wrong with everyone?”
Hain slowly rose, exuding potent pheromones that eroded self-control and drowned victims in lust, and approached them step by step.
Of the group, only Jeonghyeon met her eyes directly.
“Only you... are seeing me properly.”
Hain twisted her body seductively as she drew near Jeonghyeon.
Don't let it show. Don't let it show.
Jeonghyeon had to play the part.
Act like he was ensnared by lust.
The strongest leader falling first and fastest—that was the pattern to sell.
Her true form is a swarm of bugs. Remember that.
He could pull it off because, among this group—and all awakeners in his past life combined—only Jeonghyeon had seen Hain Al Gul's true form.
Her real body was a horde of ugly, filthy, stinking insects.
Ants, cockroaches, caterpillars clustered amid toxins, reeking of putrid stench.
From a truly beautiful dark elf queen, she'd become this grotesque symbol of obsession with eternal beauty, transforming herself into vermin.
That's not human. Not an elf. It's bugs. Filthy, stinking bugs.
More repulsive than the corpses he'd just stepped over. With that self-reassurance, Jeonghyeon mercifully regained his mental composure.
But the real problem came next.
He had to feign enchantment at just the right pace—not too slow, not too fast.
Otherwise...
“What? Don't you like me?”
Offended, Hain shifted into the form her target loathed most.
You fucking bitch...!
The Hain standing before Jeonghyeon now wore Malekith's visage.
His long white hair draped down, that leisurely smile stoking Jeonghyeon's rage.
“Why? Didn't you hate me? Said you could kill me anytime?”
The ultimate illusion, drawing directly from memories etched into Jeonghyeon's mind.
She could mimic the voice and speech perfectly.
The stronger the hatred, the more perfect the manifestation.
Hold—everyone hold...!
Jeonghyeon signaled Philip and Jeonghu.
And finally, the third phase.
The one chance his party had arrived.
“Not this either? Then how about this?”
Hain Al Gul changed form one last time.