Illegal Entrants (2)
Godin stared at Seong Hyun-jin with a look of utter bewilderment. The guy had popped up out of nowhere, claiming to be a drake hunter and an illegal entrant task force—what kind of lunatic was this?
…Wait, illegal entrants?
Godin was briefly thrown off, but he quickly snapped back to reality as he recalled Seong Hyun-jin's words. Using the term "illegal entrants" meant he knew that Godin and his crew had crossed into the duchy. His knightly attire was a bit unusual, but judging him to be from the duke's household, Godin immediately drew his sword.
Seeing the blade pointed at him, Seong Hyun-jin smirked and gave a thumbs-up. Then he jerked his thumb toward his rear.
"You wanna fight me? But you forgot about that, didn't you?"
"!"
In the direction Seong Hyun-jin indicated stood the drake. The beast was wary not only of the sudden intruder but also of Godin, who had bisected its breath attack. Instead of fear, Godin barked at Seong Hyun-jin.
"…That's my question. Have you forgotten that the drake could attack you too?"
"The drake? Me?"
Seong Hyun-jin glanced back briefly, then turned to Godin with a mutter, as if only just realizing.
"Oh, right. In that case, I'd be getting pincered, huh?"
"……?"
It was astonishing that he'd only noticed now. As Godin gawked in disbelief, the drake let out a roar.
KRAAAAAH─────!!
The ear-shattering cry shook the entire canyon. Snow piled in the crevices tumbled down in clumps.
What the…
They said a true dragon's roar instilled terror in listeners, but this false dragon—a drake—was no slouch either. Godin felt his sword hand stiffen slightly. He gritted his teeth, fighting to keep his body from freezing up.
"Nice set of lungs. Perfect for a wake-up call—you'd never oversleep with that."
Even in this dire moment, Seong Hyun-jin stood steady on his flimsy branch, cracking lame jokes. He raised his sword leisurely and added,
"Looks like it's decided to deal with me first, huh."
With those words, a dark, eerie energy began coiling around Seong Hyun-jin's sword and body. Godin recognized it as spirit power, but couldn't pinpoint the attribute right away. Even as an advanced knight, this was his first encounter with the rare chaos-attribute spirit force.
It's definitely spirit power… but it feels wrong.
Godin himself wielded spirit power befitting his advanced knight status, so he had no aversion to it in general. Yet this man's energy carried an inexplicable unease. It didn't make sense, but it was a stroke of luck regardless. If the intruder tangled with the drake, Godin could slip away in the chaos.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence against Seong Hyun-jin—he simply couldn't afford to get pinned down here, with the duke's reinforcements surely en route. No sense fighting it out.
I'll retreat while he's busy with the drake…!
Once he vanished and concealed his tracks again, the guy wouldn't catch up. Searching this vast duchy would take ages, giving Godin and his men time to complete their mission.
"You first!"
As expected, Seong Hyun-jin leaped from the branch toward the drake, scaling the cliffside. Godin whipped around and bolted. His sharp-eyed subordinates followed suit without hesitation. One approached and asked,
"Sir Godin, we just leaving like this? What about that guy? He seemed to know who we are…."
"No time to fight! Best to shake any pursuit while he's tied up with the drake. Shut up and run!"
"Y-yes, sir…."
Godin sprinted at full speed. But midway, something felt off.
…Why can't I sheathe my sword?
Putting it away would let him run faster, yet he'd been clutching it since earlier. Like someone who couldn't let go. Like he needed it gripped tight against some looming threat or anxiety.
"……."
Godin was an advanced knight—not just skilled, but battle-hardened. A rank where even veteran knights of the duchy crossed blades with him. He'd stared death down countless times and lived. He knew from hard experience: sometimes instinct trumped reason.
Recalling that hard-won wisdom, he glanced back.
And witnessed it.
An ice drake, its head severed. And standing before it, sword raised high—Seong Hyun-jin.
"Took you long enough to look."
They hadn't run far, yet the drake's head was already off. Not some juvenile; even Godin had pegged it as beyond an advanced knight's easy handling.
"What…."
It had died in an instant. No sound earlier meant it hadn't even resisted—a single clean strike to the neck.
How?
In that moment of doubt, his eyes caught it: the black power swirling on Seong Hyun-jin's blade. Godin realized what it was.
Drakes brimmed with mana. Their scales weren't dragon-tough—a disgrace to compare—but coated in abundant mana, they felt harder than steel when struck. Conversely, strip the mana, and the scales were easy to cut.
Chaos power…!
The dark aura on that sword was none other than chaos-attribute spirit energy. It nullified other spirits' power, and mana was no exception. Lacking offensive punch compared to other attributes, it held absolute dominance over supernatural forces.
That was chaos spirit power. But as noted, it had negligible attack power. Severing the drake relied purely on raw skill—and even if its scales paled to true dragons, one-shotting the neck wasn't simple.
Yet Seong Hyun-jin had done it effortlessly. Meaning his prowess far exceeded expectations.
Having pieced together how Seong Hyun-jin bisected the drake so swiftly, Godin now sensed one thing clearly: the young man's sword presence was anything but ordinary.
4th Form
Demon Slayer
Godin hastily raised his sword. But as an advanced knight, he knew one certainty.
That strike—he couldn't block it.
"……Sword Star?"
JJJJJJJJEEEEEEK───────────!!
# Serena, Siela, Yeonhui, and Clarice chased after Seong Hyun-jin alongside Gazel, arriving late. Though they'd set out together, Serena's dragon blood gave her overwhelming physical prowess, pulling ahead to reach the canyon first.
"Seong Hyun-jin!"
She scanned for him immediately upon arrival. Silence answered.
Anxiety gnawed at her in the quiet. What if the drake got him? Or the likely illegal entrants killed him…?
Suppressing a surge of fury, Serena combed the canyon meticulously. She ventured deeper, tense from Gazel's warning of frost giant habitats ahead. Rounding a bend, she finally spotted the man she'd sought.
"…Seong Hyun-jin?"
"Oh, Serena."
Seong Hyun-jin waved casually, unscathed. A man lay collapsed nearby, several strangers bound—but none of that registered in Serena's eyes now.
He flashed her a light smile. "You made it?"
"……."
Serena dropped her greatsword with a clunk. The dragon-word blade vanished the instant her hand released it.
Thud!
Without a word, she charged at Seong Hyun-jin.
"Serena?"
Expecting a scolding, he flinched. But her arms wrapped around him in a fierce hug, widening his eyes.
"…Thank goodness. Really… thank goodness."
"…What's up?"
"I thought… something might've happened to you…."
Her trembling voice tugged at him. Understanding dawned, and he chuckled awkwardly.
"What, you were worried? Over this?"
"Then don't make me worry…!"
He'd meant to reassure her it was nothing, but her outburst flustered him. She lifted her bowed head and pressed on.
"Running off like that—what about the people waiting behind? Think of those who worry…!"
"Didn't seem that dangerous, so…."
Reading her expression, Seong Hyun-jin apologized earnestly. "Sorry. Won't happen again."
"…Promise?"
"Yeah."
Sensing his sincerity, Serena sighed deeply and released him.
"Don't do it again. If you wanna charge ahead, take me with you."
"Even if it's dangerous?"
"Yes."
She nodded firmly. "Better than letting you go alone."
Her heartfelt words embarrassed him. To shake it off, he teased lightly.
"…You're calling me 'you' so naturally now, huh?"
"…Q-quiet."
She smacked his hand lightly and turned away, flushed. Only then did she take in the surroundings.
"Seong Hyun-jin, but this…."
"Illegal entrants. And that's the drake corpse over there."
Serena pointed to the collapsed man—more precisely, the dead one. Blood pooled beneath him, trickling down the canyon slope.
"…You killed this one?"
"Seemed like the leader. They were gonna bolt, so to capture the others alive, I made an example. Tough to take alive anyway. Probably the strongest of the bunch."
Serena approached the corpse and unflinchingly rifled through his jacket. Amazed by her toughness, Seong Hyun-jin watched as she pulled something from an inner pocket.
"…Right. Advanced knight insignia."
He'd hidden the shoulder epaulet worn during infiltration.
"Advanced knight, huh. No wonder he seemed tough."
"…You came out unscathed against an advanced knight?"
"Mostly a sneak attack. He didn't expect me to drop the drake that fast."
"That fast?"
At her puzzled look, Seong Hyun-jin nodded toward the drake.
"You know my spirit power? No mana, and it's not that tough—neck came off easy."
"You said you'd never seen one, but you know your stuff."
"Knew from books. Hoped for a challenge, but it went down too quick."
He sounded almost disappointed. "Should've let it fire its breath first, maybe."
Serena glared fiercely at his reckless talk, and he averted his eyes, flustered.
"…You really trying to get yourself killed?"
"…Won't anymore."
"Haa…."
She sighed and grumbled.
"How'd I end up falling for such an idiot…."
"They say the one who falls first loses."
"……."
Whack!
His cheeky line earned a solid smack to the head, sending him tumbling beside the very Godin he'd just beheaded.
"Guh… my, my head… feels like it's splitting…."
"…Now I get why Karin hits you like that."