112. Hain Al Gul (2)
Hain Al Gul changed her form.
First, she showed the object of the greatest desire. Then, the object of the greatest loathing.
"Not this one either? Then how about this?"
And at the last change, she revealed her true form.
The filthiest, ugliest one.
"Now—everyone!"
Jeonghyeon shouted.
At his command, they all snapped their eyes open and stared straight at Hain Al Gul.
A grotesque, horrifying monster resembling writhing insects tangled in death throes.
"Gasp…!"
The nose-stealing, beautiful fragrance turned into a stench so foul that merely inhaling it made blood trickle from their noses.
The soft, elegant voice became a shredded, ear-torturing horror.
"Why? Does this form suit your tastes?"
As if trying to pass this off as just another transformation, Hain slowly crawled toward Jeonghyeon.
Along her path, her slime oozed out, corroding the ground.
"Yeah. It's better, actually."
"Really? You have tastes like that?"
"That's your real face, isn't it?"
"…!"
Caught admitting her true form was hideous, Hain lost control.
"You… filthy insect…! What do you know about beauty?!"
In that instant, Hain spread her body wide, scattering poison molecules.
"Garibaldi! Junseok!!"
Jeonghyeon wrapped his body in Ignirn's mana and signaled Garibaldi and Junseok.
"Right!!"
Garibaldi unleashed his pre-gathered mana forward.
Then slashed it with his sword.
Screeech—!
Whoosh—!
The mana sphere split, Ignirn's mana particles scattering like spores into the air.
"Storm Blade Whirlwind!"
Junseok erupted Albatron's mana, spinning his spear and thrusting it in.
A gale-force blade wind howled like a storm from the spear.
Ignirn's mana particles clung swiftly to Hain.
"Explode!!"
As Garibaldi clenched his fist, flames burst from his sword tip, chaining explosions all the way to Hain.
BOOM!!
Hain writhed in agony like a bug burning to death.
"KyaAAaAaK!!"
Her ear-splitting shriek echoed across all of Elaha's Garden.
"Not over yet! Philip! Get ready!"
"Yes sir!"
Activating Attribute Domination, Jeonghyeon converted his mana to Ignirn's and sent it to Jeonghu and Philip.
The boss was Jeonghu's mark, for sure.
They instantly grasped what Jeonghyeon meant by "not over yet."
Having fought alongside him for so long—fooling enemies and even allies when needed—they knew his style inside out.
"Hup…!"
As Philip gathered mana, Ignirn's power leaked from Soul of the Mountain.
Soul of the Mountain is being corrupted by foreign mana.
Weight increases.
Caster's attack speed decreases significantly.
Power doubles.
Ignirn's flames can now ignite the lingering mana echoes on the ground.
Philip's status window was visible to Jeonghyeon too.
'I see…! So it can draw different powers depending on the mana…!'
Jeonghu's was the same.
Stake of the Death Wail is being corrupted by foreign mana.
Stake of the Death Wail, resistant to fire-attribute mana, resonates.
Special skill efficiency increases.
Special Skill – Stake of Annihilation (Passive): Inflicts more lethal damage when striking enemy weak points.
Special Skill – Stake Drive (Passive): Inflicts more lethal damage when striking enemy's toughest parts.
Special Skill – Mana Overload (Active): Temporarily overloads mana circuits for boosted efficiency.
Special skills: Stake of Annihilation and Stake Drive. Passives for crits on weak points or hard parts.
Plus Mana Overload.
Like Ignirn's minions, it treated the body like an engine—efficiency spiked.
Faster, stronger. High risk, high return.
"You filthy things!! Children!! Clear them out!!"
Hain screamed amid her torment.
Corpses strewn around the ground began twisting and rising one by one.
Escaping the mental assault—the biggest hurdle—didn't mean it was over.
Now the real fight began.
"Philip! Nus! Your turn!"
"Got it!"
Philip smashed his mace down on the creeping abominations.
"Die, you bastards!!"
BOOM—!
The earth quaked, the ground warping and cracking like an earthquake.
The impact scattered the half-formed masses, exploding them.
Ignirn's embers flared in the gaps.
'…Those are the molecules Garibaldi uses, huh?'
Jeonghyeon sent mana to the fire particles.
"Explode!"
Clenching his fist, he detonated them.
BOOM!!
The area erupted in flames, incinerating countless monsters into ash.
"My children!! My children!!"
Hain raged as her "children" died before she could react.
'Not called Ignirn for nothing.'
The top-tier dragons earned their rank.
Such raw, destructive power.
Worthy of the might just below Solgaleh. Jeonghyeon dared hope he could win if things went well.
"I won't… let you get away! Child!"
Hain called another "child."
Grrr…!
A massive bulk hidden behind her, like a sleeping hill.
"No way… that's…?"
Philip and Jeonghyeon recognized it.
A manticore.
GRRROOOAR!!!
A raid boss manticore, here of all places.
'Not gonna be easy this time either.'
To Hain, the manticore was just a pet.
She always brought a few to dozens on raids.
And manticores resisted fire.
[Stake of the Death Wail, resistant to fire-attribute mana, resonates.]
Jeonghyeon recalled Jeonghu's window.
Jeonghu's gauntlet, "Stake of the Death Wail," was a mana stone weapon made from manticore parts.
Meaning manticores had fire resistance too.
"Jeonghu! Aim for its brow!"
"Yes!"
Jeonghu concentrated mana from his body into his legs.
"Storm Dragon Fist… Leap Strike!"
He kicked off into the sky.
But his propulsion had limits.
The manticore was surely gaping its maw there.
"Devour it, child!"
At Hain's order, the fully risen manticore gaped wide.
Its teeth, sharp enough to shred on contact, dripped venom in the gaps.
"This is ridiculous…!"
Jeonghu had never faced a manticore, nor even seen Mountain's Fury.
He couldn't gauge such a massive monster's scale.
As if anticipating it, Jeonghyeon yelled at Junseok.
"Junseok! Can you help?!"
"With what?"
"Get it to the manticore."
"To live? I'll do anything!"
Before Jeonghyeon finished, Junseok leaped toward Jeonghu.
Then double-jumped off the airborne Jeonghu.
"Whoa?!"
Grabbing Jeonghu's back, he rocketed higher.
CRUNCH!!
Just as the manticore chomped empty air.
"Whoa…!"
Jeonghu, now cloud-level high, gawked in shock. Junseok grinned smugly.
"Kid. This is an emergency ascent."
'Emergency ascent.'
A skill exploding Albatron's mana for an extra midair jump.
"Hunters call it double jump!"
"It's not double jump!!"
That's what hunters dubbed it.
"Go!"
Jeonghu balanced precariously on the spear tip like a diver.
"Spear Heaven Style… Sky Drop!"
Junseok gathered Albatron's mana and plunged the spear at the manticore's brow.
THUD—!
Jeonghu took the full momentum, plummeting spear-first at the brow.
"Storm Dragon Fist…!"
Channeling all mana into his fist…
"One Strike!!"
It pierced the brow, slamming straight to the ground.
Or shot down, really.
BOOM!!
Insane speed.
Before the manticore could react, Jeonghu cratered the ground.
"Grk…?"
Brow and skull pulverized, it stared skyward blankly, unaware its brain was mush, before toppling.
Crash!
The giant corpse hit the dirt.
Philip kept AoE-burning the abominations.
Garibaldi relentlessly ignited Hain's body.
"Nooo!!"
Everyone but Jeonghyeon felt victory as Hain screamed in death throes.
But Jeonghyeon alone—gaining momentum—scanned warily, unease prickling.
'Hain wouldn't go down this easy…?'
Even earlier than his past encounter, she wasn't some pushover monster.
At least two or three more manticores. The mobs shouldn't die so fast.
She commanded zombies, undead—even headless knights and liches. An utterly depraved Undead Lord.
Going down easy meant one of two things.
First: Not the real body.
'Second… it's a trap…!'
Hain was a master of disguise, but no way the whole thing was illusion.
That was Asmodeus's specialty—similar, but different.
Then…
"No way…!"
Jeonghyeon charged Hain.
"Hey! Watch the fire!"
Ignoring Garibaldi's warning, he poured mana into Blood Dissector and slashed horizontally.
Screeech!
The neatly bisected body had no mana stone.
Not even her heart, oozing venom that could raze the area just by existing.
'Damn…!'
The halved Hain extended a long face toward Jeonghyeon—no more pained cries.
A beautiful elf face, white and red-lipped.
"Oh my. You know me? Busted~?"
"What… are you?"
"I am Hain Al Gul. Undead Lord and…"
"I know that. What are you now?"
Hain smiled dazzlingly with that gorgeous face.
"Hmm~ Why so curious? But I'm flattered someone cares this much. Though, if you want my favor, show yours first."
From the mouth of that womanly face, a slender white elf hand slid out.
Grotesque and cruel.
The hand caressed Jeonghyeon's chin.
A mouth formed at its fingertip and spoke.
"And who might you be?"
"Fuck…! Everyone, get back! Illusion Prison…"
Jeonghyeon felt like he was underwater—the words stuck on his tongue.