#46 The Cult's Prodigal Sons (4)
#46 The Cult's Prodigal Sons (4)
"Frig extrem care îngheață totul―!"
Hayeon's incantation took shape. A bitter cold that froze all things. When the blade-sharp frost swept through, everything stood frozen. Even the Armored Monstrous Figure was no exception. The time the raid party had bought had let her complete the four-verse spell.
Moisture in the air froze into sheets of ice nearly a centimeter thick, encasing the Armored Monstrous Figure's entire body—
"...Shallow."
—An unstoppable force wouldn't be halted by something so trivial. The moment the ice shattered into splinters, Gu Jin-ha shouted.
"Ready!"
The mages began chanting fire magic, and arrowheads bloomed with flame. This would be the final volley. A few archers still had arrows left, but a unified barrage was now out of the question.
—Without giving the order to fire, Gu Jin-ha held the archers in wait a moment longer.
This won't be enough.
He needed a more decisive opening. Even with A-Class hunters stalling it head-on, the Armored Monstrous Figure could not be stopped. His mind flashed to the abominable mass of flesh he had witnessed in the Forest Dungeon.
Similar to that...
Except that thing had merely been durable and quick to regenerate. It couldn't be compared to this Armored Monstrous Figure of flesh. They needed firepower capable of obliterating everything—that thing included—in a single strike.
"Hayeon."
"I know. I'll prepare the spell, so..."
They had to buy her that time. A hunter of Dawn and a mage of Indigo Square who commanded water and ice. As she readied the five-verse incantation, Lee Eun-ha shouted.
"...Add! One o'clock, two!"
The Armored Monstrous Figure wasn't the only threat. Monsters that the figure had massacred were now swarming in from elsewhere, slinking toward the raid party. Heeding Lee Eun-ha's detection, Gu Jin-ha bellowed.
"Ignore the charging monsters! Hunter Lee Gi-jun!"
"Ah—yes. Moving!"
A talented hunter trained by Hong Yuri. He could hold the monsters at bay. To fill the gap Lee Gi-jun left at the front, Gu Jin-ha drew his rapier and sprinted.
"Cover me!"
Two hunters closed in behind him, and he accelerated. The instant the distance narrowed, he used his full momentum as a springboard, leaping high. He drove the blade forward alongside a surge of mana and succeeded in plunging it deep into the Armored Monstrous Figure's abdomen.
"―――!"
But an Armored Monstrous Figure would never simply endure in silence. A sweeping arm swatted Gu Jin-ha away with brutal force. The two hunters covering him caught his body, and because of that, he evaded the crushing follow-up fist.
It was a minor evasion, yet the shock alone left him reeling. Gu Jin-ha wiped the blood trickling from his lips with his sleeve and muttered.
"Explozie."
A brief incantation—and the rapier lodged deep inside the figure detonated, scattering into dozens of shards that left blade fragments embedded in its flesh. Even those wounds would soon close.
...This is insane.
The relentless footsteps did not stop. Gu Jin-ha scowled at the Armored Monstrous Figure. In that moment, a voice rang out.
"―――Când coboară florile de zăpadă"
Hayeon's magic had reached its third verse. But she still needed more time to complete the fifth. Somehow, they had to stall until then...
"Add! Six o'clock, four—no, five!"
A monster horde drawn by the commotion. At Lee Eun-ha's cry, the hunters scrambled, and the situation began spiraling.
Gu Jin-ha had meant to draw a spare blade, but he frowned. The backlash from stabbing the abdomen moments ago must have been far greater than he had realized—his wrist throbbed with numbness.
...Ridiculous, monstrous strength.
But he couldn't stay idle. If he didn't block them, the formation would crumble and be annihilated in moments. In the frantic situation, Gu Jin-ha drew his sword, cut down the surging monster swarm, and glanced backward.
"Totul este înghețat și înghețat."
At last, the fourth verse. Hayeon's spell was nearing completion. Chimmuk-haneun Ip had once cast dark clouds across the sky; Hong Yuri had manifested a Crimson magic circle. And now Hayeon's spell. Before anyone realized it, snowflakes had begun drifting down one by one. Bit by bit, the fine snow intensified into a raging blizzard, and soon, snow flowers bloomed in the air.
While the Armored Monstrous Figure rampaged through the raid party's ranks like an unstoppable wave, Gu Jin-ha shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Scatter! Put as much distance as you can!"
What she was casting was nothing less than Grand Magic. Any hunter caught even at the fringes of its effect would not be guaranteed survival, A-Class or not. His eyes met Hayeon's, and Gu Jin-ha gave a small nod.
Give her a clear target.
The raid party scattered. Gu Jin-ha seized a fallen comrade's spear and hurled it—the weapon flew viciously and lodged itself in the Armored Monstrous Figure's abdomen.
I don't have much mana left, but...
"Explozie―!"
Once more, Gu Jin-ha invoked the incantation of detonation. The spearhead exploded, but he knew full well that such a blow could never stop the Armored Monstrous Figure's advance.
"Fire!"
Fwoosh—
Arrowheads ignited, and the archers he had held in reserve until the last moment loosed their shots at a speed the eye could not follow. Attacks that had proved useless again and again were different this time. As the flame arrows burrowed into the wound left gaping by the spear's explosion, the Armored Monstrous Figure howled in agony.
And in that opening—Gu Jin-ha's judgment proved sound.
The instant the beautiful, pure-white snow flowers shimmered, Hayeon spoke the final words of the spell.
"Îngheață într-un viscol, ―Zero Absolut!"
"――――――!"
The moment the snow flowers settled over its head, the Armored Monstrous Figure's movements stopped cold, as if it were a broken machine.
"Did it... work?"
More than a surface glaze of thin ice, the Armored Monstrous Figure had become an ice statue. Unlike before, not even a twitch stirred. No matter how unstoppable its power, it couldn't resist Grand Magic that froze everything down to the molecular level.
"......!"
—That would have been true under normal circumstances. A thunderous sound erupted not far away, and something that had plummeted over the cliff's edge burst apart in a spray of blood and flesh, streaking the jungle red.
And then, before long, something began to stir within that space of Zero Absolute that had frozen all things solid. Black mana seeped forth from inside the absolute cold that should have halted even the movement of molecules.
...What?
Gu Jin-ha's brow furrowed at the incomprehensible phenomenon. Then the Armored Monstrous Figure convulsed.
...!
The black mana had begun to move the frozen Armored Monstrous Figure. No—it was dominating it. Soon the Armored Monstrous Figure was wreathed in mana that bloomed from within, its body trembling as if shuddering—
"...All units! The entire raid party retreats! Now!"
The situation careened toward catastrophe. In under ten seconds, the Armored Monstrous Figure's footfalls echoed through the jungle, and frozen flora shattered into fragments.
Amid it all, a voice thick with unknowable fury seeped out.
[Worthless vermin... how dare you...!]
The flesh-mass Armored Monstrous Figure was awakening once more, brimming with black mana. When Gu Jin-ha turned to look, Hayeon—the mage who had cast the Grand Magic—had gone deathly pale.
"H-how..."
To the best of Gu Jin-ha's knowledge, he had never once seen her so visibly shaken. It seemed more plausible that something else entirely had awakened, rather than the Armored Monstrous Figure merely ceasing to hold back.
"......!"
It was Lee Eun-ha who reacted most sharply.
"A c-chant! Someone is chanting!"
Lee Eun-ha had sensed the mana ripple from far away and screamed. The owner of this black mana was surely the mage who had stood atop that cliff. Everyone realized it at the same moment.
Did Alpha lose...?
The presence they could feel was... nonexistent. But the fact that the mage was still alive meant the blood and flesh that had scattered from the plummeting fall moments ago had belonged to Alpha. Gu Jin-ha clenched his jaw.
—No matter how swift, regret always arrives too late. If he'd known it would come to this, he should have found a way to make contact with Alpha—should have attempted a dialogue much sooner.
But it was far too late now...
What Alpha had known. The End it had tried to prevent. And the Heretical Prodigals. Now there was no way left to pursue them—and above all else...
The raid party could be wiped out right here.
Even as he ran, Gu Jin-ha understood perfectly that once the Armored Monstrous Figure shook off the lingering effects of Grand Magic, escape would become impossible. ...The rafts were still far away.
[―――]
The mage's incantation. Gu Jin-ha shut his eyes tightly and gripped his rapier. If capture was inevitable, he would at least buy time for the others to flee. Whether that was even possible, he didn't know, but...
"...We're with you."
He wasn't alone.
Eun Ja-rim had somehow steadied herself and now stood at Gu Jin-ha's side. There was no plausible way her grievous wounds had already healed. Glancing around, he saw several hunters who had stayed behind with the same resolve.
"Disciple of the Spear Saint, you still—"
"If I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather make it meaningful."
Their will matched his own, but she—the Spear Saint's disciple—at least had to survive. Furthermore, if her injuries hadn't yet healed...
But then he saw the resolve burning in her eyes, and Gu Jin-ha let out a bitter smile. Even if he ordered her to fall back, it was clear she wouldn't.
In the end, all Gu Jin-ha could do was release a sigh laden with emotion.
BOOM—! BOOM—! BOOM—!
The ground shook, the sound signaling that the Armored Monstrous Figure had finally thrown off Grand Magic's aftereffects. There wasn't even time left to argue.
[Fulger mare, îmi vei distruge dușmanii―!]
—A cascade of magic and the slithering ooze of black mana. Hunters scattered in every direction, and the flesh-mass Armored Monstrous Figure singled out Gu Jin-ha.
The blade detonations. The command presence. The Armored Monstrous Figure had judged Gu Jin-ha to be the greatest threat on this battlefield. Escaping the figure was impossible. As it closed the distance and swung its foot upward, a dizzying blast of wind pressure swept past him.
...This will suffice.
In that split second, Gu Jin-ha drove his rapier into the heel of the Armored Monstrous Figure and used the momentum to haul himself upward. While the figure thrashed, Gu Jin-ha crawled across its body and shouted once more.
"Explozie!"
The rapier embedded in the heel detonated, and the Armored Monstrous Figure lurched—then collapsed to one knee. The hunters didn't let the moment slip. Lee Gi-jun leaped, sword in hand; Hayeon began her next incantation. Eun Ja-rim hurled her spear with every ounce of strength she had.
It was the only thing her battered body could still do.
"Suliţă pentru a-l ucide pe diavol!"
The mana-infused spear struck the back of the Armored Monstrous Figure's hand—the very hand that had been sweeping aside attacks and that had been aiming to swat Gu Jin-ha away.
"Spear of Demon Annihilation!"
It detonated at Eun Ja-rim's cry, and Gu Jin-ha didn't miss the chance. Grabbing hold of the spikes and iron plates driven into the figure's body, he kept climbing. In an instant, he reached the top of the Armored Monstrous Figure's head and drew his last remaining blade.
"Explo—?!"
Just before he could plunge the sword into the crown of the figure's skull, Gu Jin-ha's eyes flew wide open.
—The sword was receding from him. No—his sword-hand was receding from him.
[Filth... How long did you imagine you could run amok?]
A pulsating voice of mana mocked him. The black mana had annihilated Gu Jin-ha's shoulder. One arm was gone, and now he had no weapon left...
Even in that hopeless situation, Gu Jin-ha's judgment remained sharp. He threw himself off immediately—but the Armored Monstrous Figure's throat-sac rippled, and its wounds healed in a heartbeat.
Like Baphomet...!
The skill Eun Ja-rim had warned them about. The black mana surged closer. Having reversed its injuries in an instant, the Armored Monstrous Figure lunged to seize Gu Jin-ha.
...His trajectory could no longer be altered. There wasn't enough time to gather mana. The instant he sensed his own death, an inexplicable force yanked him sideways. Narrowly escaping the Armored Monstrous Figure's grasp, Gu Jin-ha looked at his rescuer—and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"...Eun-ha? Lee Eun-ha! Why didn't you flee?!"
"I—I can help...!"
Her breath came in ragged gasps. She must have run a long way. In her eyes burned fierce resolve. Carrying a strange certainty, Lee Eun-ha nodded firmly.
"I can feel the trajectory of the incoming spells! If I stay with you...!"
If that was true, then without question, she could be useful. Yet Gu Jin-ha couldn't stop his brow from furrowing.
Even the fact that she had just saved him proved her talent—she was plainly destined to become a seed of the future. But even if Lee Eun-ha's claim was genuine and she could sense magic, their odds of victory were low. No—they remained close to zero. Meaning nothing had really changed.
She wasn't someone who could be permitted to die here. If Lee Eun-ha continued to live as a hunter, how many lives could she save? Frustration tightened in his chest, and Gu Jin-ha sighed—but it was already done. Resigned, he wrapped the one arm he still had around Lee Eun-ha's torso and hoisted her against his side. Dangling upside down, her eyes went perfectly round as she yelled.
"D-Distort!"
The Armored Monstrous Figure's arm was already swinging toward them. The distortion Lee Eun-ha manifested succeeded in slowing that arm—by a margin of 0.0000... countless decimal places, immeasurably small. In the end, it was meaningless.
A monster...!
Had they truly been fighting such a creature all this time? Lee Eun-ha's face had drained of all color as she cried out.
"Five o'clock—incoming! Team Leader! Team Leader!"
The words had barely left her lips when a hair-raising bolt of lightning followed. Before, Alpha had managed to dodge Chimmuk-haneun Ip's supersonic magic by combining Intuition and Perception, but for Gu Jin-ha—exhausted beyond his limits—it was no simple feat. He managed to evade by dragging up the last dregs of his mana, but his limits had finally caught up with him.
"Dammit..."
Stamina sapped by the expedition. Mana scraped clean from the bottom of the barrel. Blurred vision. The moment the Armored Monstrous Figure's arm had swatted him away, bones had fractured and internal organs had been shaken. On top of that, he had lost an arm and had forced his body to keep moving... Blood scattered, hemorrhaging heavily. Gu Jin-ha ground his teeth against the throbbing headache and spoke.
"...Run. Now."
The Armored Monstrous Figure advanced in great, loping strides. Gu Jin-ha shouted again.
"That is an order! Lee Eun-ha! Run—run right now...!"
Tears welled up as Lee Eun-ha forced them back, still pulling at him. If they stayed together, both of them would die. Why couldn't she grasp that simple fact...?
No—she does understand.
In the end, Gu Jin-ha managed a bitter smile. They all shared the same thought. Eun Ja-rim. Himself. Lee Eun-ha. All the ones who had stayed behind.
He had tried so hard to keep them alive... but the raid party possessed no method capable of stopping the Armored Monstrous Figure. This was where it ended.
"Team Leader...!"
Gu Jin-ha could no longer speak. When Lee Eun-ha saw him vomiting dark clots of dead blood, her expression crumpled into tears. The approaching footfalls deepened her face into pure terror. The colossal, blood-soaked fist of the Armored Monstrous Figure rose high, poised to deliver the final sentence.
"......D-Distort...!"
Still, her mana accomplished nothing. As though her efforts weren't even the faintest hindrance, the Armored Monstrous Figure raised its arm to shoulder height. Once that fist landed, it would be the true end... Everything would end.
In the end, I couldn't save the Team Leader either, and now I'm going to die right here...
Lee Eun-ha lifted her gaze in a daze. From far, far away—the mana and presence she had once sensed had vanished entirely, as though it had all been an illusion. At that, Lee Eun-ha surrendered. Her head dropped back down.
—And so she did not see it.
The black mist that had already begun drifting among the jungle trees.