Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Enchantress (3)
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Before the magical beasts charged in.
Arthur had received two requests from Lee Yoo-jin.
The first was to conserve as much mana as possible until he gave the signal.
The second was to unleash Heaven's Bastion with full power the moment he signaled.
Those requests left Arthur wanting to ask a few things.
How he knew the name of his skill.
Why he needed to hold back on mana when every ounce counted.
Questions like that welled up in his throat.
But Arthur said nothing.
He simply nodded and went along with it.
Because he was a man who always gave his all for the right outcome.
And now...
"My god..."
He had rewarded my faith.
&
The light faded.
Darkness returned.
But the magical beasts and Fallen that had filled that darkness were gone.
All of them had been obliterated by the holy light that devoured the shadows—except for one Fallen.
Even the lone survivor wasn't unscathed.
Sizzle...
『.......』
Black smoke rose from its charred body.
Its crossed arms and tentacles suggested it had poured everything into resisting the explosion.
Thud.
Someone collapsed.
I turned toward the sound. Arthur was down on one knee, face pale as he gasped for breath.
"Arthur, you can drop the skill now."
Only then did he dispel Heaven's Bastion.
The golden barrier, on the verge of shattering, faded away smoothly.
"Take a Spirit Energy Pill and rest up, got it?"
Arthur nodded weakly and opened his mouth.
I fed him the pill, then climbed atop the barrier.
I raised my gun with a click and fired at the Bewitcher's forehead, frozen like a statue.
Rumble—boom! Thunderbolt's signature thunderclap echoed.
The lightning-infused bullet traced a blue path toward its target.
And right as it was about to embed in the Bewitcher's forehead...
A flash gleamed in the Bewitcher's charred black eye.
At the same instant, a third tentacle shot from its tailbone and swatted the bullet away.
Crack... craaaack.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the Bewitcher's body.
Its charred skin peeled off like molting scales.
Beneath it gleamed not its previous milky hue, but pale purple flesh.
'...Looks like that explosion stacked up a ton of damage.'
The Bewitcher boasted immense abilities, but its physical prowess was lacking.
As damage accumulated, its skin gradually shifted to the color of its own demonic energy.
Its defense weakening, literally.
And that weakened flesh couldn't be healed by a Fallen's typical regeneration.
To recover, it needed to absorb demonic energy from a rift like the one against Crusher's "Plague," or spend ages on the Continent of Death.
『...How dare you.』
From between its swaying tentacles, the Bewitcher's reverse eye glared at me with overwhelming killing intent.
In response, I pulled a holy grenade.
Yanked the pin and transferred it right in front of the Bewitcher.
Booom!
The grenade's signature holy explosion erupted.
Whoosh... patter...
Earth erupted upward, then rained down.
But without a chain reaction, the Bewitcher's demonic barrier blocked it cold. No damage.
I couldn't trigger another blast like before.
No Heaven's Bastion with Arthur's mana drained.
'Park Ga-ram's barrier is tough too, but...'
Park Ga-ram's state wasn't great.
He'd been holding it for ages—mana and mental strain maxed. He couldn't handle a chain holy grenade blast.
And critically, my mana was down to 30%.
Sure, a Spirit Energy Pill would recover it.
But it sped up regen, didn't restore instantly.
'Who can fight the Bewitcher right now...'
Me and Lee Seo-yeon... and... that's it.
Noah couldn't move, infusing holy power into her spear.
Arthur and Park Ga-ram: mana exhausted.
Asuka: talent control incomplete.
Im Da-hee and the classmates... no resistance to the Bewitcher's charm. They'd just get in the way.
So only Lee Seo-yeon could join me.
Her mental defenses were top-tier, befitting a lead character.
"Lee Seo-yeon."
"Yeah, got it."
"...?"
I hadn't even said it.
"You want me to fight with you."
"...Yeah, exactly."
How'd she know?
Can she read minds?
"Not reading—deduced from the situation, your expression, and actions."
"...Right."
Doesn't that mean she's paying close attention?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when she nodded.
"Exactly. Deeply interested."
Lee Seo-yeon stared right at me as she said it.
Like she wanted me to acknowledge her interest.
I dodged her intense gaze and called down to Noah below the barrier.
"Noah, how long can you maintain the holy spear?"
"...If I use all my holy power now, about 30 minutes."
"30 minutes... so we need to take down the Bewitcher in under 20, no matter what."
I couldn't let Noah burn all his holy power on the spear.
Even if we killed it, without his holy barrier, everyone but me would die to the rift's demonic energy.
In a normal rift, no big deal—no barrier needed.
Demonic energy only pools near sub-cores or main cores.
But this was a special-grade rift that taxed even top heroes. Demonic taint everywhere—not just near the core.
Unless you were immune like me or top-tier, Noah's holy barrier was essential.
"Hoo..."
I let out a heavy sigh.
And as I muttered about this damn time attack...
Ding.
📜 GREAT ACHIEVEMENT QUEST 📜
【Run Away.】
You possess 'Demonic Immunity'.
Hide from the Bewitcher's eyes now, and you can survive.
🎁 Reward: 100,000 points, ???
❌ Failure: Death.
I slammed the quest window shut in my mind, seething.
Fuck this. System gone mad?
No—looking at the content, it wasn't the system.
'Hey, developer. You crazy? Tell just me to run?'
Abandon everyone here?
'They die, they die—I'd never abandon them all.'
So shove this quest!
The instant I tried to close it...
Crackle!
📜 GREAT ACHIEVEMENT QUEST 📜
【Survive.】
Use every means and method to survive.
※ Reinforcements arrive in 20 minutes!
※ You absolutely must not die.
🎁 Reward: 200,000 points (plus bonuses based on performance), ???
❌ Failure: Everyone dies.
'Yeah, that's more like it.'
Not that retarded first one—this kind of quest.
Makes me actually want to survive.
'Reinforcements in 20 minutes, huh...'
Perfect.
Wasn't planning past 20 anyway.
"Hoo."
I exhaled a tense breath and closed the quest window.
Gripped Thunderbolt in both hands and leaped outside the barrier.
Lee Seo-yeon followed, vaulting down and clutching her sword hilt.
Shing...
Her signature weapon, Blood Demon Sword Dainsleif, slid from its sheath with a clear ring.
Hummm.
Dainsleif sang its sword cry.
Lee Seo-yeon's signature crimson-black mana rose, forming a blade aura.
She kicked off the ground and charged.
I followed right behind.
Slash!
Lee Seo-yeon closed in like an arrow and swung.
Whiiish—!
Her blade carved a red arc toward the Bewitcher's neck.
Its swaying tentacles whipped like lashes, deflecting her sword.
Claaang—!
Sparks flew from the clash.
That sparked it—Lee Seo-yeon's sword and the Bewitcher's tentacles blurred into hyper-speed frenzy.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—!
Her sharp eyes tracked the tentacles' every twitch.
Her blade danced swift sword and changing sword paths, targeting vitals.
Her feet wove dazzling steps, disorienting its eyes.
A veritable storm assault.
But she was at a disadvantage.
One sword against three tentacles.
Slash!
A shallow cut grazed her arm.
Then her body accumulated more wounds.
She was starting to get pushed back.
I immediately raised both pistols and activated Live Focus.
Clang-clang-clang clang-clang clang clang... clang......!
The skill slowed my perception of the world's flow, stretching the sounds.
Seo-yeon's blade and the tentacles sharpened from blur to traceable.
Even slowed, they were insanely fast.
But reactable.
Click...
I pulled the triggers.
Rumble-rumble-booom...!
The slowed thunder roared.
Lightning bullets streaked toward its vitals.
The eye targeting Seo-yeon shifted to me.
Claaang...!
The bullet ricocheted.
One tentacle rocketed toward me.
I fired into it.
It bounced back.
Then two tentacles lunged.
Both deflected by my shots.
They snapped back to position, targeting me again.
My guns thundered nonstop, spewing blue flashes.
No reloading.
Transferred ammo continuously.
Our pincer attack raged on—until...
Throb.
Headache incoming.
Mental strain signal.
'...Mana's fine thanks to the pill.'
Mentals weren't holding.
I gritted my teeth and prepped Dead Shot.
Headache worsening—Live Focus ends in about a minute.
Better force-end with Dead Shot.
Still firing nonstop, I glanced at the Bewitcher.
'Top-tier indeed.'
It was statue-still, regenerating.
Yet brushed off our combo effortlessly.
'...Time to set up.'
Transferred a grenade behind its head.
"...!"
Seo-yeon spotted it, parried a tentacle, and retreated.
I shot the grenade.
The bullet flew unhindered.
Figured I goofed the aim.
Too dumb to realize.
Booom...!
『......!』
Only post-explosion did the Bewitcher notice the rear grenade.
I raised my gun overhead; one tentacle shot up, eyeing for another.
'Thought holy grenades didn't faze it, but they sting, huh?'
What now?
This time, no grenade.
Something else.
I smirked at its misjudgment and triggered Live Focus's derivative.
'Dead Shot.'
───!
⚡ DEAD SHOT ACTIVATED ⚡
Thunderbolt
[Piercing bullet - evasion halved / guaranteed critical]
Silent gunshot thundered.
Blue flash erupted from Thunderbolt's muzzle.
『......!』
The Bewitcher finally clocked my aim—too late, yanking back all tentacles.
Or trying to.
『...You damn—!』
First curse from it.
Makes sense.
Recall all, and it'd get skewered by Seo-yeon's blade and my bullets.
Ignore Dead Shot? Forehead pierced.
So it chose...
Crunch!
『You fucking brat—!』
Abandon regen and move.
But Dead Shot bullet, doubled speed...
No full dodge.
Bang—!
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥
-12,847 HP
[Dead Shot critical - cheek pierced]
『…Kyaaaah!!』
Its cheek exploded.
Already grotesque face twisted even uglier.
I fake-gagged at it deliberately.
"Urk, so ugly."
Its killing intent and demonic energy exploded.
『You dogshit brat—!』
Provoke landed perfect—no more false airs.
I glanced at the quest timer.
[Remaining Time: 15 minutes 23 seconds]
15 minutes left.
I scratched my head with the gun barrel, grinned, and aimed at the Bewitcher.
"About 15 minutes. You can hold out, right?"