Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Rescue Team (6)
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After I finished my not-so-short story, Nam Soyul stared at me in silence.
Her eyes were unreadable. I swallowed without thinking.
Nothing she said would surprise me. The tale was just that hard to swallow.
The normal reaction would be to grill me on my sources or question the truth of my words.
But when she finally broke the silence, it was neither interrogation nor doubt.
A question about my plan.
"Can't I do it?"
"Raw power isn't all that crucial. And it's impossible for Hunter Nam Soyul."
"Why?"
"Your mana is too vast."
Ah, she understood quietly.
Huge mana reserves meant strong resistance to mana itself.
Twisting required more than a typical mana gap could handle. And among the group, only one person met the conditions.
Not bravado—a choice backed by solid reason.
"Please."
What went through her mind as she watched me bow my head?
Nam Soyul asked, genuinely curious.
"Why go that far?"
Dangerous. Could mean death. But that wasn't the worry in her voice.
Our bond wasn't close enough for that.
So what she really wanted was my motive.
Why was I sticking my neck out this far for Jin Seohyun?
Ironically, I was tongue-tied.
I hadn't exactly pondered the "why" before acting.
Because she was the ultimate supporter?
Because she might join my party someday?
I'd saved Jin Seohyun once before. So this was just carrying on from that day.
I considered it, then dismissed it.
Back then, I wasn't at risk. No real downside for me.
But now? This was life-or-death.
Why was I willing to bet my life on Jin Seohyun?
What surfaced was a single girl, hand outstretched to me.
"Princess? I've come to save you."
That impish smile bubbled up a laugh from me before I knew it.
Ah, so simple a reason.
I answered lightly.
The end of the third underground floor.
We finally stepped into the central chamber. Even free of the passage, we couldn't see ahead.
But this wasn't mere lightless dark. A pale, hazy veil choked the entire space.
"Is this... fog?"
Someone muttered in confusion. Reach out, and even your fingertips blurred in the thick density. The frontliners raised weapons, going on high alert.
Yet the unidentified fog didn't attack.
Shoooo—
The fog packing the room began sucking toward one spot all at once. Our clothes whipped in the swirling currents, and soon our vision cleared.
The hazy curtain parted, unveiling the chamber's full view.
And in that instant, someone cried out like a scream.
"No door!"
Smooth walls sealed us in on all sides. The entrance we'd just used included, every exit perfectly blocked.
"Enemy! Form up, everyone!"
Oh Seung-hun bellowed, eyes locked on the room's center.
The fog's gathering point. A massive shape was taking form there.
At first, it resembled nothing more than an opaque smoke pillar. But as it condensed denser, its contours sharpened.
Within the rippling haze, hundreds, thousands of faces flickered in and out. Expressions twisted in agony, mouths agape in screams, eyes wide with terror.
Only then did the fog's true nature dawn on us.
Souls. So many they'd mimicked mist.
Countless souls forcibly twisted and mashed into one colossal mass.
Boss monster: Soul Lord.
The mass writhed. Its surface boiled over, souls dripping free like globs.
They clumped, twisted, soon solidifying into distinct shapes.
Grinning specters drifting through the air.
Skeletons in tatters, dragging long scythes behind them.
Soul Devourers and Soul Harvesters.
Roughly eight soul soldiers summoned—but no one fretted.
Our forces overwhelmed. Over ten S-ranks and top-tier A-ranks.
The question wasn't "can we?" but "how fast?"
Nam Soyul struck first. She ignored the mobs in her path. Summons would vanish once the core died.
Left foot back, right hand low.
Blue haze rising over her blade.
Slash!
A flawless upward cut. Distance irrelevant—the strike leaped space to the central mass.
"Tch."
Nam Soyul clicked her tongue. It connected. But it didn't cleave the core.
Only the hazy fog layers cloaking the Soul Lord—the soul shield—tore away.
Even the gash sealed shut moments later.
Souls peeled from the core refilled the gap. Damage dealt, sure. But it cost power to regenerate the shield.
An interminable war of attrition, then.
Raid leader Oh Seung-hun shouted.
"Tanks, hold the summons! Dealers, pour it all on the boss!"
The team snapped to action.
The tanks advanced to stall the Soul Harvesters. Their role: buy maximum time without overcommitting.
No aggressive clashes. No supporter left to block lethal hits like before.
While the mages chanted on, one finished first.
Pzzzzzt—!
Jeon Do-hyeok's left hand crackled as high-voltage currents compressed endlessly.
He thrust the sparking palm forward madly. The unleashed beam speared straight through the Soul Lord.
Boom!
The encircling fog roiled wildly. The soul shield thrashed like it screamed.
But Jeon Do-hyeok's assault didn't stop there.
The electricity striking core scattered every which way. The backlash hit the prowling Soul Devourers.
Like bulbs fried by overload, four detonated at once. Ghosts winking out without a trace.
Jeon Do-hyeok looked rattled, though—not by design.
Vanishing Soul Devourers unleashed mental strikes. Even an A-rank struggled with four simultaneous hits.
As the intangible waves crashed in, he clenched his eyes shut.
Then snapped them open. Far weaker than anticipated.
Someone's mana had shielded him just before the curses landed.
He turned. Locked eyes with Han Yujin.
The reason a mere D-rank like him joined the rescue.
Precise timing was tricky, but he could mimic a mental barrier.
Ignoring Jeon Do-hyeok's wink, Han Yujin stuck to his task.
Clearing Soul Devourers one by one.
The Soul Lord churned out soul soldiers nonstop.
With dealers hammering the boss, he had to handle trash duty.
Soon the mages finished their chants.
"Fire!"
Three A-rank mages unleashed advanced spells in unison. They slammed the soul shield dead-on—now we saw the end.
Ruuuuumble—!
The thinning fog stopped replenishing.
No spare power left in the core.
Nam Soyul seized the gap for the killing blow.
—Kieeeek!
An ear-shattering screech ripped through the room. Shieldless, the Soul Lord convulsed in frenzy.
Its surface ruptured, unleashing thousands of souls in a rampaging flood.
"Everyone, fall back!"
These grudge-soaked souls were curses incarnate. Swept into that storm meant instant blackout.
Luckily, the souls fizzled before reaching the team's perimeter.
The Soul Lord spewed souls unceasingly, form crumbling by the second.
Wait it out, it'd dissipate naturally. But the packed souls inside promised no quick end.
Remote attacks hastened the fade. Still, the bulk loomed massive.
How much longer? Fed up, Oh Seung-hun charged.
"Outta the way!"
"You're insane, leader!"
The panicked cries couldn't stop him. He hurled into the soul torrent, sword aloft.
Dozens grazed him in a blink. Collapse was seconds away. But he wouldn't fall.
Aura surged. He drove the blade down—deepest point, straight for the core.
———!
A grotesque death knell erupted. Oh Seung-hun vomited a gush of blood in tandem. Near-suicidal lunge.
The colossal soul clump imploded, scattering across the floor. Battle done. Far quicker than expected—but casualties heavy.
Oh Seung-hun propped on his sword like a crutch, barely upright. Armor shredded, exposed skin blackened.
"Leader! You good?"
"Idiot..."
He brushed off Nam Soyul's rebuke. What mattered was the exit now revealed.
Escape at last.
"Handle the rest."
With those words, over ten filed out the gate. Not everyone could—some still out cold.
A handful stayed, tending the wounded elsewhere. Just two remained here.
Me and Nam Soyul.
She eyed me.
"Plan still the same?"
To her probing if I'd chickened out, I tore a sheet from my notebook and handed it over.
"Just time it as close as you can."
With that, I positioned before the gate.
Whew.
Lie if I claimed no fear.
Dangers dwarfing anything before lurked ahead.
Step.
Two paces to the gate.
Failure odds overwhelming. I advanced on faith alone—not zero chance.
Reason and logic screamed turn back now.
Step.
One pace to the gate.
But if anyone in this world could save you...
Step.
...it'd be me and no one else.
Last step taken. I plunged into the gate.
The link between labyrinth and reality.
Familiar feel: dimensional transit.
—Kigigigik
But a bizarre screech, transit jammed.
Distorted space warped around me, sabotaging the shift.
Nam Soyul's power clashing with the gate.
Once rolling, transit wouldn't halt. Yet the distortion mangled the coordinates,
Thud!
Vision went black. Destination: no reality.
A rift between dimensions.
Kiiiiii...
Otherworldly howls froze my body.
Abyss denying even faint light. Infinite void, yet its reek inescapable.
Special gate: Endless Abyss.
'Why go that far?'
Step. I walked the dark.
'Because we're friends.'