Chapter 270
Chapter 270
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: Despair Stained with Blood (2)
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***
It was sudden.
Without any warning, at a moment no one expected. A wave, identified as a howl, swept through the entire forest.
And the change that followed was immediate.
“...!”
My eyes widened as an unprecedented amount of strength flowed into the hand gripping my spear shaft.
*Grip!*
The muscles in my right arm contracted to their limit, and mana burst forth, instantly enveloping the spearhead in a spiral current.
*‘I have to kill all the monsters.’*
I could see the gargoyles scattered throughout the forest swelling to abnormal sizes. Their eyes were all glowing with a ferocious red light.
“...Han Cheon-seong! Where are you going?”
Hearing Karite's urgent voice beside me, I completely calmed my heart.
“I have to kill every monster in sight.”
“All of them?”
“Yes, all of them.”
I was already launching myself forward as I answered with conviction.
*CRASH!*
As a nearby student miraculously dodged a gargoyle's attack, the aftermath of the blow that struck the unfortunate ground came into view.
The ground caved in, creating a huge crater with a massive explosion of sound. Power on a different level from the gargoyles before.
I narrowed my eyes as I headed straight for the gargoyle.
*‘Can I pierce that skin with my spear?’*
Having gone berserk, the gargoyle's swollen body looked even tougher. I wasn't sure.
But at that moment.
*Swish!*
A sharp jet of water shot through the air, crossing my vision.
It relentlessly began to strike the massive, swollen gargoyle's shoulder with water pressure.
*SKREEE!*
As the gargoyle shrieked in pain and staggered, I, having arrived just in time, thrust my spear without hesitation.
—!
It seemed Karite was still trying to create an opening for me. The gargoyle didn't stagger much due to its enlarged body, but that small opening was enough for me.
The spearhead surged forward, aiming to pierce straight through its neck.
*SCREEECH!!*
But with a horrible noise like scraping metal, the spiral current imbued in the spearhead dissipated.
“Kuh!”
I hadn't managed to pierce the gargoyle's neck completely. The spear, having penetrated about halfway, stopped dead, and a powerful recoil from the force I'd put into it shot up my arm.
As the gargoyle twisted its neck and swung a massive arm, I quickly backed away, my expression hardening.
*‘This isn't good.’*
The problem wasn't that my attack didn't work completely.
The berserk gargoyle's body felt unbelievably tough, even to me.
*‘To other students, it must feel nearly impossible to resist.’*
I could tell with just a moment's thought.
*Swish!*
As another sharp jet of water cut through the air, I corrected my posture and leaped again.
*BOOM!*
The massively swollen gargoyle leaped powerfully off the ground as if to dodge the water, and the jet immediately changed direction, soaring through the air.
And seeing that, I held a belief that was close to certainty.
*‘Karite's water jet will definitely hit the gargoyle.’*
And I would just need to aim for that opening and pierce its neck precisely.
And just as expected, the jet of water struck the gargoyle, destabilizing its posture. Reaching its front immediately, I thrust my spear to finish it completely.
“...!”
But it swung its arm as if it had completely lost its reason, forcing me to quickly bend backward.
*FWOOSH—!*
With a sound like the air itself bursting, the gargoyle's arm cut futilely through the air. I straightened up and thrust my spear with even more intensity.
——!!
The spear, imbued with a stronger spiral than before, shot forward and pierced through the gargoyle's half-severed neck.
*KRA-BOOM!*
With a roar like a pile of rocks exploding, the gargoyle's head, separated from its body, flew into the air.
“...Hah.”
After finishing one, I took a short breath and looked at Karite.
I nodded at her, who was now calmly manipulating water and watching me.
*‘We can do this.’*
Against the berserk gargoyles, Karite and I could definitely kill them. And without too much trouble.
In that case, this wasn't a crisis that required us to flee or hide.
“Everyone, stay calm and evacuate to the designated location…!”
Just then, the shout of the C2 class instructor echoed from deep within the forest.
*‘The instructors are intervening right away.’*
Just as I thought the damage might not be as bad as I feared.
"Aaargh…!"
As a scream-like sound followed, I instinctively turned my head in a daze.
Making a mockery of my thoughts, I could already see... several casualties.
***
Across the vast Teryul Forest, a strange, bloody wind was blowing.
*KRA-BOOM!*
*THUD…!*
Countless gargoyles had gone berserk in unison from the howl, displaying completely different power than before. A single one could unleash enough force to shake the earth, threatening numerous students.
But at the same time, great flames of power spread out, scattering immense light throughout the forest.
Each one was a light with an overwhelming presence—the instructors had released their power.
The instructors immediately intervened in combat stances, beginning to rescue the many students in peril.
And among them.
There was one instructor who was dispatching gargoyles with absolutely overwhelming power.
*VMMMMMMMM—!*
A resonant hum, one that anyone hearing it would find completely unfamiliar, vibrated intensely through the air.
But even that sound was fleeting.
*Swish!*
Strands of red hair elegantly embroidered the air, and the beautiful arc of a sword drew endless lines, as if carving a new path through the forest. A beautiful trajectory of red lines.
And when that trajectory stopped.
*POP-POP-POP-POP-POP!!*
The heads of the gargoyles located throughout that area of the forest exploded simultaneously, and their headless bodies collapsed futilely to the ground.
*THUUUUD……!*
As the ground trembled violently.
The red-haired woman stopped, her eyes cold.
—Kalli Ishtar.
She used Vibration, a Paranormal-type trait, to display overwhelming acceleration. And just a moment ago, she had shown the overwhelming might to execute over a dozen gargoyles with a single sword strike.
*Clench.*
But despite that, Kalli's heart sank.
“……”
Briefly retrieving her sword, her gaze fell upon the mangled body of a student.
The student's face, contorted in the agony of their last moments, unable to resist the gargoyle's power.
...But she couldn't keep her eyes on the corpse for long.
*VMMMM!*
The power of Vibration in her sword swelled, shaking the air violently. The moment it seemed her red eyes glowed with a deeper light, she had already vanished from the spot.
—!
—————!!
Moving at near godlike speed, she continuously suppressed the berserk monsters in her sight, unleashing immense destruction.
It was nothing short of a violent display of power.
In the space Kalli passed through, only the corpses of gargoyles, their massive bodies crushed and exploded, remained. In the mere few minutes she had been moving, Kalli had executed nearly a hundred gargoyles.
And yet, her heart was heavy.
*‘Why is this happening…?’*
It was just an instant.
The moment a strange wave swept through the forest, the gargoyles in sight began to rapidly manifest immense power.
Something that should never have happened.
She had thought they were fully prepared. Prepared enough for the instructors to handle it even if an Apostle appeared. They had conducted the outdoor lecture with more tension than ever before.
But reality... it had happened again.
*POP! POP!*
Even while lost in thought, she continued to slaughter the gargoyles.
*BOOM!*
An explosion in the distance drew her gaze.
There, she saw a student thrusting a spear... The moment she saw the spear, she had to abruptly change direction.
Because it was a student she knew all too well.
—!
As she arrived, erasing the distance in an instant... she shouted loudly.
“Student Han Cheon-seong! Didn't you hear the order to evacuate!?”
*BOOM!*
She instantly exploded a gargoyle in her sight from the inside with Vibration, and saw Student Han Cheon-seong flinch and look at her.
“...I heard.”
“Then evacuate quickly! The instructors will handle the rest of the situation.”
As she spoke urgently, she found herself scanning his entire body.
Thankfully, there were no visible injuries. Seeing Student Karite right beside him, she let out a faint sigh of relief.
“Student Karite, you too. Evacuate with Student Han Cheon-seong to the assembly point. Now.”
“...Ah, yes, ma'am.”
Unlike Student Karite, who answered immediately, Student Han Cheon-seong met her gaze seriously.
“Instructor Kalli. Would it be... unacceptable for me to help clear out the monsters? There must be other students who haven't evacuated yet...”
As he spoke the words she'd feared, his eyes filled with intense determination, she cut him off before he could finish.
“No. Move to the assembly point at once!”
Regardless of whether Student Han Cheon-seong was stronger than the others, no student should be in this forest any longer.
It was dangerous, and they didn't even know what threat had caused the monsters to go berserk like this.
*‘There's a possibility of an Apostle.’*
Therefore, she could not leave Student Han Cheon-seong in this danger.
"Instructor Kalli…."
But when he still didn't move and just stared at her, her eyes grew cold.
“Student Han Cheon-seong, I am not asking you. Don't misunderstand. As an instructor, I am ordering you. Did you not hear me? I told you to move, now!”
She shouted like a drill sergeant, without a hint of hesitation.
“...Understood.”
As he finally seemed to relent and started to move, she unleashed her power on the heads of the nearby gargoyles.
*SPLAT!*
As she watched the gargoyles' heads explode, she glanced at the retreating back of Student Han Cheon-seong.
*‘Still... thank goodness.’*
The worst-case scenario.
But relieved that the absolute worst she had feared had not come to pass, she immediately unleashed even greater power.
Now that this strange phenomenon had occurred, she had to eliminate everything that could be a risk factor.
***
Several instructors had realized the anomaly at once and were trying to suppress the situation.
They had the power to do so.
While the students who were unavoidably sacrificed in that first moment couldn't be helped, now that the instructors had intervened, it would surely be suppressed quickly….
But an accident no one could have predicted occurred.
The other instructors had deliberately not joined Kalli in the direction she headed. After all, she was a powerhouse with strength that surpassed several other instructors combined.
But that was the greatest mistake.
…….
*Step! Step!*
Cheon-seong and Karite moved, stepping on the branches of old trees.
“……”
As he evacuated, Cheon-seong stared blankly at the corpses of students that came into view, his heart terribly heavy.
And he knew that what he had to do was now over.
That if instructors like Kalli were on the move, his presence would only be a hindrance.
So, just as he was trying to steel his heart.
“...Karite!”
Cheon-seong's eyes flew open as he suddenly shoved Karite, who was right beside him.
“Ah...?”
Pushed hard by Cheon-seong's hand without understanding why, Karite seemed to be moving away, but it did not go as Cheon-seong had wished.
*SHWAAAA!!*
Suddenly.
Darkness manifested and completely swallowed Cheon-seong and Karite.