Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Insulin (6)
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“Now. Block it.”
The others had stopped moving after Suhyun’s initial command, just as he’d instructed. If they carelessly provoked the ogre and it shifted its attention elsewhere, things would get messy. Right now, it was fixated solely on Suhyun out of rage, but if the beast used even a bit of its brain, it could torment him far more effectively.
Power Armors leaped into the air from their ambush positions beyond the hill, and the superusers unleashed another barrage. Not to deal damage, but to grate on its nerves.
-!
And then the ground beneath the ogre’s feet vanished.
“Hoo, huuuh...”
Keric was drenched in cold sweat, arms outstretched. He’d exhausted himself by unleashing a massive surge of superpower all at once. Another squad member rushed to support him and administered a superpower replenishment agent. Keric’s pale face quickly regained color.
‘Impressive. No wonder he’s Team 1’s leader.’
Suhyun thought as he watched the ogre sink into the pit. Superusers of Keric’s caliber were rare. And on top of that, the man had the temperament of a model mercenary. It was another reminder of why Blue Bear was thriving.
-Kraaaang!
‘Oops, not the time for idle thoughts.’
With its lower body trapped in the pit, the beast shielded its upper torso with its arms and waited. Neither the anti-monster rounds nor the scattering explosions from superpowers inflicted meaningful damage. At best, they left scratches.
The more he observed it, the more astonishing the creature seemed. He could understand why the dark elves had abandoned the fight and considered fleeing.
Yet life on Cameron was always about battling monsters beyond common sense.
‘Hit it once here and pull back...’
Preparations were complete. The ogre was formidable, but it had a weakness. Suhyun had already devised a plan to take it down.
The ogre was clever. It knew the superusers’ assaults wouldn’t last forever. The moment the momentum waned, it would surely leap out.
To bait it, Suhyun activated Telekinesis and his poison art simultaneously. Not to harm it, but to ensure it didn’t bolt elsewhere.
He needed to imprint that he was the greatest threat here.
‘Narrow the area as much as possible, and make it sharp.’
Even if Nullification blocked the damage, the threat would still land.
‘Go!’
A disc-shaped Telekinesis blade, opaque from the infused superpower poison, hurtled forward. A potent superpower combining Telekinesis and poison art.
‘It’ll charge if it vanishes, right?’
Spurt!
The ogre’s shoulder split open, blood spraying.
“?!”
Suhyun, the attacker, was more shocked than the victim. The ogre stared at him with four baffled eyes. It had clearly sensed the incoming strike and swung its fist to deflect it. The trajectory shifted to its shoulder as a result, but the hit didn’t dissipate—it sliced into the flesh.
Blue discoloration spread around the ogre’s shoulder. It clenched its fist hard, and the poisoning halted in an instant. Suhyun let out a hollow chuckle. Blocking his poison like that.
-Kraaaang!
‘But why?’
Even in the heat of battle, the question nagged at him. It should have been nullifiable. Only one explanation came to mind.
‘Because of the superpower fusion?’
Superpower fusion—combining multiple superpowers. People often mistakenly thought it was possible by wielding various artifacts or teaming up superusers, but in reality, only mages could achieve true fusion.
Whether collaborating with other superusers or using endless artifacts, you couldn’t truly merge them simultaneously. That was just forcibly slapping two superpowers together.
One reason mages were prized was their ability to fuse superpowers. Breaching a powerful monster’s defenses required immense power, and fusion offered that potential.
But whether fusion bypassed Nullification? He hadn’t known.
Boom!
While Suhyun pondered, the ogre closed the distance. Clicking his tongue, Suhyun accelerated time. His target: the beast’s eyes.
‘No matter how tough...’
Even as the Power Armor moved swiftly, its bulk was undeniable. The ogre swiftly seized its torso. A vicious grin spread across both heads.
Crunch!
“Team Leader!!”
The clueless squad members cried out in horror. The ogre’s fist had pierced straight into Suhyun’s cockpit.
But Suhyun was already airborne above the cockpit. In his hands gleamed a massive greatsword meant for Power Armors. Using Telekinesis to propel himself maximally, he charged at the ogre’s face.
Stab!
In slowed time, Suhyun’s strike pierced the beast’s right eye precisely.
“You can’t nullify this either!”
The Telekinesis on the blade vanished upon contact with the eye, but Suhyun kept generating propulsion with more Telekinesis. The greatsword plunged deep into the ogre’s eye.
-Kraaaaaaaa!
Wracked by pain it had never felt before, the ogre shrieked and clutched at its stabbed face. Suhyun vaulted into the air, ran across its head, and flipped backward.
The blade was coated in composite poison. Unlike superpower poison, Nullification wouldn’t neutralize it.
Originally, he’d planned to systematically destroy both eyes and slowly choke the life out of it. But the fusion success changed his mind.
An opaque line slashed through the air. A fused strike of Telekinesis and poison art.
Slice!
One of the twin-headed ogre’s necks flew off, while the other was deeply gashed.
“Ooooooh!”
The squad members cheered, but Suhyun gritted his teeth.
‘Shit!’
He’d aimed to sever both necks at once. At point-blank range, with one eye pierced, Nullification shouldn’t have held strong.
Yet it endured. As long as one head remained, the beast could move. Monster vitality defied logic.
Unable to accelerate time again due to power drain, Suhyun steeled himself to take a hit for recovery time. Its attacks were brutal but not instantly fatal. If he bought time with remaining Telekinesis...
Blood stopped gushing from the dangling flesh. Even half-dead, the ogre’s gaze burned. It glared at Suhyun hovering in the air with its one good eye and roared.
“Uh, that...”
As events deviated from the plan, Uncle Jo Company members sensed something ominous and sprang into action.
“Blow it away! Right now!”
“?!”
“Let’s go!”
Kim Chang-sik grabbed Gu Jung-cheol’s collar and, with another superuser’s aid, launched upward. Even in confusion, Gu Jung-cheol grasped what was needed.
‘Body Hardening!’
“You bastard! Look here!”
Kim Chang-sik took a deep breath and unleashed his superpower at full blast.
“Dragon Breath?!”
A Blue Bear squad member gasped in shock. It resembled the Dragon Breath from the footage—an enormous, intense blaze that could be mistaken for it.
The ogre reacted the same way. Poised to smash Suhyun, it instinctively recoiled from the flames. Normally, it would have charged trusting Nullification, but Suhyun’s prior strike had spooked it.
“Hey, you idiot! Body Hardening means nothing here...!”
Suhyun spat curses as he caught Gu Jung-cheol flying toward him. Kim Chang-sik had bought him time to widen the gap again. But sending Gu Jung-cheol was foolish. Flesh enhancement like his was pointless against Nullification.
“Oh no!”
“Good job anyway!”
Leaping down from above once more, Suhyun squeezed out every ounce of strength. Target: the wounded neck. The ogre, amid the flames, noticed Suhyun overhead and panicked, trying to shield its neck.
But Suhyun was faster.
Slash!
The ogre’s arm fell limply. The second head smashed into the ground. Suhyun landed simultaneously.
Thud—
Confirming the beast’s death, Suhyun collapsed. Superpower depletion left his stomach churning.
‘Without the enhancement procedure, I’d be dead.’
“You okay?!”
“Does this look okay to you? Leave me be. I’ll recover once time passes.”
Jennifer ignored him, pulling something from her pouch and feeding it to him. Feeling his depleted energy surge back, Suhyun’s eyes widened. This was definitely...
“This is?”
“Our new tech. How is it?”
“You’re telling me this after the fight’s over?”
“......”
* * *
Even after the fierce battle, the squad lingered. Much to process. From wrecked Power Armors to dismantling the ogre corpse, by the time they finished, Suhyun had nearly fully recovered.
‘Superpower fusion... Yeah, I was too fixated on time powers. I’ve got that magic book too.’
With Telekinesis, Suhyun hadn’t bothered with miscellaneous superpowers. Flame, ice, energy types were useful, but he’d felt no need.
Fusion changed that.
Plenty of value in collecting them.
“No, I didn’t hide it on purpose... And I figured you didn’t need it since you could’ve won without! For real! It’s barely finished development anyway!”
“I get it, calm down.”
Stopping Jennifer’s rambling, Suhyun approached the dead ogre. Its menacing bulk was now just baggage.
The corpse would be dissected and packaged entirely. A mutant ogre warranted endless research.
Dust rose in the distance. Dark elves on motorcycles approached. They instantly recognized the twin-headed ogre’s remains.
“You really... took it down...!”
“Save the awe. Honor the deal first. Where’s the potion?”
The dark elves straightened unconsciously, out of respect for Suhyun’s feat. Awe for strength overrode enmity toward humans.
“...Follow us.”
* * *
“But that potion won’t be ready for a while, right? What’s the plan?”
“Hmm, I’ve got a few ideas... Let’s take it first and figure it out.”
Ignoring the murmuring dark elves, Suhyun demanded the potion from the chieftains right away. Eavesdropping had revealed their lack of goodwill; no point dragging it out.
‘Would be annoying if they tried sneaking it away.’
“Truly impressive. Taking it down. I’d heard humans were strong, but not this strong.”
“?”
Suhyun tilted his head incredulously at the dark elf addressing the seated squad. Wasn’t this the hardliner who’d said no borrowing human strength?
“Sit and wait. We’ll bring the potion soon.”
A long table held dark elf pottery and tea. Some squad members sipped the poured tea without thinking.
“Wait...”
Before Suhyun could stop them, they swallowed it. He scanned for poison with his poison art. Unbelievably, it was laced.
“What’s wrong? Drink up. I poured it myself.”
“You crazy bastard!”
Exhausted from the life-or-death ogre fight, Suhyun’s temper erupted. He smashed the teapot over the dark elf’s head. Pottery shattered loudly as it tumbled aside.
“What...”
“You idiots. Don’t let your guard down? I said suspect everything when I’m not around? And you guzzle it down?”
Realizing the situation from Suhyun’s words, the squad members bolted up.
“What is it?!”
“What else? Poison, you fool!”
“You... noticed quick! Too late! If you want your comrades alive, stop right—”
Suhyun kicked its face.
“Think you’re the only one on Cameron who handles poison?”
“Stop! Let go of the chieftain!”
The outer dark elves rushed in. One held an incense burner.
“Breathe this, and the poison activates instantly. Release him, or I sprinkle!”
“Do it.”
“What?”
“I said do it.”
Grinding his teeth, Suhyun advanced. He’d wanted a pretext to deal with the hardliners; perfect timing. Them charging in was ideal.
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