A Mother's Despair
Outside the stage. The Class Annihilation Match viewing room.
Yoo Heeyeon’s mother, Kim Heera, screamed at the staff at the top of her lungs.
“You people—! Have you all lost your minds? My daughter is trapped in there—! Why the hell is that freak monster even on the field?! Why aren’t you stopping the match right now?! Do you all want your heads on pikes? Huh? Shall I show you exactly how I can ruin your pathetic little lives? You bastards—!”
One of the officials broke into a cold sweat and stammered back.
“W-we’re sorry. We’re trying to end the match immediately, but the system isn’t responding. Magic isn’t working either. We’re currently investigating the cause.”
Kim Heera whirled on her husband.
“Say something, damn it—! These worthless idiots are just making excuses and doing nothing! Tell them to send Heeyeon outside the stage right now!”
Yoo Hanbeom had already calmly assessed the situation and reached his conclusion. The man who had been standing quietly in the back stepped forward and addressed the staff.
“Where is the stage’s internal management artifact?”
The Class Annihilation Match took place inside a virtual space created by a spatial formation artifact. It was the device that sent students in, managed the battlefield, and brought them back out.
“P-please follow me.”
The official led Yoo Hanbeom and Kim Heera to a chamber containing a massive artifact that resembled a giant magic stone.
“Th-this is it. Normally this artifact controls the entire stage, but it stopped responding completely a little while ago.”
A mage was visible nearby, desperately pouring his mana into the device with a strained expression.
—Swoosh.
Yoo Hanbeom calmly placed his hand on the artifact and channeled his mana into it.
—Whooooooong.
His mana was violently repelled.
“As expected.”
Seeing the certainty on her husband’s face, Kim Heera shrieked.
“What is it?! What the hell is going on?!”
“It’s demonic energy.”
“Demonic energy?”
“A powerful wave of demonic energy is circulating inside the stage. It’s interfering with the external artifact, making normal mana interaction impossible. If we force our way in too aggressively, the remaining people could be trapped inside the stage forever. We cannot open it by force.”
“Stop talking in riddles and say it simply!”
“It means it’s impossible to pull Heeyeon and the others out from the outside. For them to exit the stage, that powerful demonic energy must first be dealt with. Either kill the student who has turned into a monster so he can no longer emit it, or knock him unconscious.”
Yoo Hanbeom sat down, quietly closed his eyes, and muttered with a grave expression.
“All we can do now is pray.”
—Swoosh.
He opened his eyes and stared at the screen.
External intervention impossible. Stage isolated by overwhelming demonic energy.
‘Lee Hyunseung… what exactly are you planning? It doesn’t matter what method you use. There is no normal way a mere student could handle a monster carrying that much demonic energy.’
‘Still… I hope at least both of them make it back alive.’
Yoo Hanbeom’s gaze returned to the screen showing the interior. His eyes caught the image of Yoo Heeyeon floating in the air after being shot by Lee Hyunseung.
‘What the…!’
—Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
Yoo Heeyeon flew toward Shin Junho.
“Ughhhhh…”
Just before hitting the ground, the paralysis had loosened enough for her to use her own magic to cancel the impact of the fall. She was still a little sore because she had activated the defensive spell too late, but now was not the time to worry about that.
“Y-Yoo Heeyeon…”
Because right in front of her stood Shin Junho, now transformed into a monster.
Shin Junho looked down at Yoo Heeyeon sitting on the ground and muttered.
“Get lost… My target is Lee Hyunseung…”
“R-really? Then I’ll just…”
Yoo Heeyeon immediately tried to stand and run away. But Shin Junho called out to stop her.
“Stay… right there.”
—Flinch.
With her back still turned, Shin Junho continued in a low voice.
“I’ve always envied bastards like you… People born with everything… And the selfish trash who use the things they lucked into to order others around…”
—Kuuuung—!
Shin Junho stomped the ground hard.
—Kugugugugung—!
The surroundings began to shake. Yoo Heeyeon’s body trembled from the vibration and she staggered.
“Yoo Heeyeon… How does it feel? The guy you always looked down on is now far stronger than you.”
He began to laugh maniacally. Even though one of his arms was still missing, his condition had reached a peak he had never felt in his entire life.
“…”
Yoo Heeyeon stared at Shin Junho for a moment and thought.
‘There’s no point trying to talk to him.’
At first glance it might seem like proper conversation, but Shin Junho was simply vomiting out every word he wanted to say, every resentment he had bottled up. There was no real interaction. It was probably the influence of the demonic energy.
“While I’m cleaning up the others, I’ll kill you too.”
—Whoosh—!
Shin Junho swiftly raised his arm and slammed it down toward her.
—Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
—Tadadadadot—!
Yoo Heeyeon barely dodged the attack and ran like mad.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Stop—!”
While running, she fired magic behind her.
Ice Spear
Several ice spears shot toward Shin Junho.
—Pachachang—!
But Shin Junho simply flicked his wrist as if shaking off water and shattered the spells effortlessly.
‘This is bad… It’s only a basic weapon, so the power isn’t nearly enough…’
—Clunk—!
In her frantic sprint, Yoo Heeyeon failed to see a tree root on the ground and tripped over it.
“Kyaaaaaaaah—!”
—Thud—!
She collapsed on the spot.
—Throb.
Pain shot through her ankle from the fall. She could still move, but running fast enough to shake off Shin Junho was now impossible.
—Gulp.
‘I… I have to fight…’
The only thing left for her now was combat. There was no one in this space who would help Yoo Heeyeon. Who would risk their life for her?
She knew that fact all too well.
“Ah…”
Only then did she realize it.
They were completely cut off from the outside. Their lives were in danger. In this place, the prestige, rights, and authority of the Artemis Guild meant absolutely nothing.
The people here were all acting on pure instinct. Before the signal was severed, most had already been eliminated. Even the few remaining A-class members had long since fled far away to avoid Shin Junho.
The only ones left—F-class Lee Hyunseung and Jeong Eunseo—would never help her.
“Ha… Haha…”
A hollow laugh escaped her.
Jeong Eunseo had been beside Lee Hyunseung. Even while bleeding and in pain, she had looked ready to help him. So if Shin Junho attacked Lee Hyunseung, she would obviously fight alongside him.
But who was beside her right now?
No one.
There was absolutely no one by her side.
In this space, money, power, and authority held no sway. Everything she had believed was hers had been an illusion. Everything she thought was her own strength had been borrowed from her father’s arm. On her own, she was nothing.
She was cruelly, painfully realizing that she had always been an empty carriage.
—Whoosh—!
Shin Junho charged toward Yoo Heeyeon.
Dark Emperor
A black sphere with high defensive power that hides the body. Automatically counterattacks enemies who strike the sphere.
Yoo Heeyeon used Dark Emperor to protect herself.
—Pushushushuk—!
Countless tentacles burst from the black sphere and attacked Shin Junho.
—Kugugugung—!
For a moment, Shin Junho appeared to writhe in pain as the tentacles pierced him. Then he curled his body and began gathering demonic energy.
“Kwaaaaaaaaah—!”
As he roared like a madman, the tentacles heading toward him suddenly froze.
—Paaaaang—!
Shin Junho didn’t miss the chance. He swung his one hand, wrapped all the tentacles in his grip, and ripped them out of the sphere.
—Crack—!
“This… is insane…”
Even if she was using a basic-grade weapon and receiving no power correction, how was this possible? There should be no one crazy enough to destroy Dark Emperor like this.
But Shin Junho wasn’t finished.
—Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
He slammed his fist down on the sphere containing Yoo Heeyeon.
—Kwadudududuk—!
With a single strike, cracks began to spread across Dark Emperor.
—Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
—Crack—!
On the second strike, part of the barrier shattered.
—Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
—Clang—!
On the third strike, Dark Emperor completely broke apart and dissipated.
“Ughhhhh…”
Tears streaming down her face, Yoo Heeyeon crawled backward across the ground.
“Please… Please spare me… I-I don’t want to die…”
Without even thinking to wipe the tears pouring from her eyes, she desperately crawled backward, trying to put even an inch more distance between herself and Shin Junho.
“Kuhahahahaha—!”
Shin Junho watched her pathetic display and burst into roaring laughter. Then, with ice-cold eyes, he looked down at her and muttered.
“You used to call me a half-baked mage because I was missing an arm. Now you’re begging for your life.”
—Whoosh.
Shin Junho clenched his fist and raised his arm.
“You insect. Get crushed to death by the very vermin you looked down on.”
—Whoosh—!
His arm descended toward Yoo Heeyeon at terrifying speed.
I want to live. I don’t want to die in a place like this.
I just wanted to win. I just wanted to stand above everyone else.
I didn’t care if the methods were dirty and ugly. Because no one could punish me anyway.
In the end, every single person had abandoned her. Not one remained beside the woman who had believed she held absolute power.
‘If I had acted just a little differently… would the result have been different…?’
A tiny seed of regret suddenly bloomed in her mind. Everything she had thought was right, everything she had taken for granted as her right, began to collapse completely.
But there was far too little time for deep reflection.
—Swoosh.
Staring at Shin Junho’s arm brimming with demonic energy, she closed her eyes.
After all, no one was going to help her.
—Kwaaaaaaaaang—!