Overwhelming (1)
Overwhelming (1)
"Aaaaagh! I said let's just go...!"
The sensation of plunging straight into the maw of a colossal Hungry Ghost. Daera screamed as a dizzying jolt shot through her entire body, rattling her bones.
It overlapped with a memory from a certain day.
An unprecedented rampage of a Grade 4 Dungeon.
It was dangerous, sure, but the Daera of back then wasn't weak enough to get chewed up by some low-rank 8th- to 7th-Rank trash monsters.
She wasn't the only superhuman there, either.
The Alpha Individual, though, was unnaturally strong and posed a real threat.
But in the end, she overcame it. Let her guard down? She absolutely didn't. Her kind teacher was an exceedingly strict person when it came to safety.
Even without a Unique Ability at the time, she somehow managed to kill the Alpha Individual.
Though one of her arms got torn off. It hurt like hell. Hurt so badly that she literally rolled on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Still, she survived. She felt relieved. With the Alpha Individual dead, the rampage would end, and the wall isolating the space would drop.
An arm flying off? A serious injury, no doubt, but not a career-ending scar.
It would cost a bit, but she could just rack up some debt and pay it off gradually. Superhumans rake in good money, after all.
The very moment that thought crossed her mind—
The ground, the space itself, split wide open.
She plummeted into hell.
Just like now.
"Nngh...!"
Her body trembled at the memory that had suddenly surfaced.
Years of nightmares. Memories of trudging through some incomprehensible hell with one arm ripped off, her future pitch-black, shivering through every single day.
'But, goddamn it, I can't just run away by myself.'
The hope that had abruptly fallen into that hell. They said it was coincidence, but hadn't her junior disciple, who shares the same teacher, come to save her?
She couldn't just toss that junior disciple aside and flee.
Setting aside whether the junior disciple was more capable and stronger than herself.
Biting her lip, Daera roused her mana. Crackle! Lightning Energy forcibly jolted her rigid body into action.
Her locked-up limbs loosened. The fall continued. Tightening her arm around Lee Ha-yul, she adjusted her posture in midair.
The ground approached.
'People?'
Daera narrowed her eyes. In the visible stretch of ground below, she spotted figures.
Copycats? She wasn't sure. Their distinctive features seemed too unique for that.
Four in total.
One barehanded, one slouching with a spear in hand, one clutching a bow.
And one with red hair, a fiery-looking bastard.
'Is it those pricks?'
The ones who seemed to have been tailing Daera lately. Or the ones who caused this fucked-up phenomenon.
She couldn't get a read on whether they were copycats or people from outside, but according to Lee Ha-yul, they were apparently sons of bitches from outside.
'Then there's no need to hold back.'
Daera thrust one hand high into the air. Lee Ha-yul, cradled in her arm, wrapped both legs around her waist so he wouldn't slip.
[Gek]
Cracklecracklecrack! Lightning Energy coalesced in her palm. A Unique Ability that had manifested after being dropped into this hell—the Reverse Side.
The output was shockingly powerful, enough to harm herself if she wasn't careful, but with proper control, there was no attack ability to match it.
When she'd squabbled with Lee Ha-yul earlier, she'd toned it down, worried about drawing monster attention. Right now, there was no such need.
- Cracklecrackle...!
"Huh?"
Gripping the lightning, Daera furrowed her brow. Strange. But before she could do anything about it, the lightning energy had already shot skyward.
Kururrung! Thunder roared. The lightning energy forming in the air devoured the surrounding mana. Having swelled in size, the energy gathered like a thundercloud.
And then, descent.
A barrage of lightning bolts cascaded from the thundercloud, striking the ground violently.
- Kaaaaaaagh─!
Monsters that had been mindlessly swarming were swallowed by the lightning, shrieking in agony. Those that writhed inside the bolts vanished within mere seconds.
It was a terrifying spectacle, yet Daera's brow didn't ease.
Around the scorched earth, one patch of ground remained conspicuously pristine.
The four she had intentionally targeted were unscathed.
"The one who tagged along is pretty vicious too, huh?"
Spada, having blocked the lightning, spoke with a shudder. Both his arms, which had unleashed slashes to deflect it, felt numb—and it hadn't even touched him directly.
"...Stings a little, I guess," said the spear-wielding man, Yang Yi-hwa, who had deflected the bolts by swinging his spear.
"A direct hit would probably kill me on the spot," added Est, who had shot down the lightning streams with arrows, sharing the sentiment.
They had nearly been fried to a crisp right from the start.
As a chill instinctively ran down their spines, Hong Yeon-jun maintained his silence, his gaze lowered.
- Thud
Two people landed on the ground.
Daera, who had just cleared the area with a volley of lightning, and Lee Ha-yul, who had landed right beside her.
Woom! The moment they touched down, both their forms wavered. The presence-concealment and perception-obstruction magic applied to them unravelled.
"...Oh?"
Yang Yi-hwa, who had been fiddling with his spear with a numb hand, let out a murmur of admiration.
Both of them possessed extraordinary beauty.
Especially the white-haired one. Though his body was concealed by a thick robe, his exposed face was enough to bring the phrase Ruinous Beauty to mi—
"Huh?"
Yang Yi-hwa blinked. A beauty so striking it commanded attention, forcibly seizing interest. It wasn't a face he was seeing for the first time.
"The Special Admission Cadet?"
The next-generation protagonist who had stirred the entire world without exception, whose status no one could dispute.
Blinking at the sudden appearance of such a figure, Yang Yi-hwa soon shot a sidelong glance at Spada.
"No matter how I look at it, you got utterly wrecked by a cadet?"
"You moron, his level's nowhere near a cadet."
"Well, that's true."
Clicking his tongue, Yang Yi-hwa tightened his grip on his spear. His words were teasing, but he was well aware of the Special Admission Cadet's track record.
Especially the skill displayed at the most recent record, the Birth Festival.
Putting aside whether any of it was fabricated, even if only half of it were true, he was decidedly not at a cadet level.
- Hoo...
Turning his head from side to side, Lee Ha-yul lifted his gaze. Both eyes stayed shut, as if he had no need to open them at all.
Yet paradoxically, everyone present felt as if they were being pierced through, down to the last detail.
Hong Yeon-jun could feel the blatant pressure directed toward himself.
"It's the first time we're meeting face-to-face."
As he stepped forward, the other three quietly shut their mouths.
"I'm Hong Yeon-jun. Hm... it's been quite a while; maybe I've been forgotten by now?"
"Hong Yeon-jun?"
Daera, who had been flexing her numb fingers after expending a burst of mana, glared at Hong Yeon-jun.
Specifically, at his fiery red hair and eyes.
"The disgrace of the Calamity Flame Family?"
"Ah, my notoriety still holds, I see. Though I suppose that's natural."
No family history can be without its defectors. But no one had caused a defection on par with Hong Yeon-jun's—a Capital Crime.
With a bitter smile, Hong Yeon-jun shrugged.
"Well, that's who I am. You were looking for me too, weren't you? The reason... honestly, I think I get it. I doubt the business is pleasant for either of us."
The Calamity Flame Family's disgrace, and Lee Ha-yul, who wields the Calamity Flame himself for some reason.
After all, within the Calamity Flame Family, no one welcomes Hong Yeon-jun's existence.
'On the surface, that is.'
Lee Ha-yul made no reply.
Feeling his heart pound abnormally fast, Hong Yeon-jun drew the sword hanging at his hip.
It wasn't the sword he'd received from the Calamity Flame Family. That blade had long since shattered and been lost in a battle with an enemy.
"As you've probably guessed, this is an elaborate trap we put some effort into. The effect... seems like that lightning-chucking woman next to you caught on too."
"Tsk."
Daera didn't answer, only scowling. Crackle... Lightning rose from her fingertips, feeding on mana.
The output was unsatisfactory. Severely diminished.
That wasn't all. Her movements felt sluggish, her limbs as heavy as if weighed down by a thousand pounds.
Lee Ha-yul had also attempted to rouse his mana, and he nodded at the internal resistance rising against him.
A restriction was being imposed on mana operation. Internal circulation was affected, yes, but it was the manipulation beyond the body that was especially hampered.
It wouldn't be easy to break free. This was an effect bound up in the oppression exerted by the Reverse Side itself.
He had a guess on how the other side was wielding that Reverse Side oppression. But that didn't make it any easier to dispel.
"One side has a lightning-attribute Unique Ability. The other handles the Calamity Flame and... an unidentified attribute ability. For attribute types, combat power plummets when external mana manipulation is blocked."
"Boss, but it's still manifesting, isn't it?"
"In exchange, the efficiency's taken a critical dive."
Hong Yeon-jun rested the flat of his blade on his shoulder. Hwarururuk! A murky Calamity Flame flared along the blade.
"Of course, this side is less affected by the oppression."
At his signal, the other three raised their respective arms.
The spear-wielder, the archer, and the freak who drew a sword from his own body.
All were superhumans who had deeply cultivated their Technique Categories.
The Technique Category consumes less mana than Unique Abilities or Expansion Abilities, and draws heavily on Heart Power instead.
Meaning, in this space where mana was suppressed, they had the greatest advantage.
"Spelling it out one by one lacks a certain style, but we've both had time to grasp the situation, so it's a net gain. Now then, go."
"Right!"
Boom! Yang Yi-hwa, who had been steadying himself for the impending fight, kicked off the ground.
"That crazy bison bastard."
"I'll provide cover, same as always."
Spada grimaced and followed behind Yang Yi-hwa, while Est killed their presence and drew the bowstring.
Spear and sword leading the front, with bow providing cover. A rhythm they had always followed as a unit.
"Ever since I heard the news, I've wanted to fight you!"
That held true whether he'd thought they were the Enforcement Department, or now, when their identities had been revealed.
If anything, the anticipation was even greater now.
The skill Lee Ha-yul had displayed at the Birth Festival had been that immense.
Of course, the capabilities he'd shown back then, along with magic, had been Anti-Army Combat skills through Spirit Arts and Necromancy.
In the current situation, all of those were techniques that would feel stifling, so there was a bit of regret.
"The conditions are skewed, but a tool can't pick its circumstances, so I'll settle for this!"
Spearpoint leading, Yang Yi-hwa grinned and roused his mana.
Wooong! The dull spear blade, drinking in mana, became entwined with a murky curse.
The artifact, the Spear of Execution. Its effect was similar to the scars left on Spada's body.
It gouges open wounds, then lays a curse upon the torn injury to prevent recovery. As a bonus, it induces complications through the curse as well.
In short, it was a spear that turned any single wound into a fatal one.
"Ah, fuck! Junior disciple!"
Daera, who had been continuously manipulating mana to shake off the oppression, swore loudly and readied her stance.
This battlefield was clearly extremely disadvantageous for an attribute ability user like Daera.
Skill? Honestly, she was proud to say she was in peak form, but her Anti-Personnel Combat still had plenty of gaps.
Most of all, she hadn't achieved anything special in the Technique Category.
Of course, just as she'd resolved moments ago, she couldn't run away alone. Besides, running didn't even seem like an option.
"First, let's stick together and hold out! We'll take turns on the vanguard..."
[Found it]
"What?"
Wiping the blood trickling from his nose, Lee Ha-yul nodded.
The Reverse Side's core. Shaking off the oppression and extending his Observation, he had pinpointed its location.
A short distance away, a pitch-black pillar jutted upward. The pillar's bottom and top were thick, while the center drew a smooth curve, narrowing as it went. A shape like an hourglass.
At the pillar's center, a core as large as a modest building—the Dungeon Core—pulsed like a heart.
He just had to trigger the rampage starting from that point.
The objective was right before their eyes.