Break? Time Attack!

That was enough.

The barrier was sucking in ambient mana like a parasite jacking into the dungeon's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana network with a straw.

So the answer was simple. Deplete the surrounding mana all at once.

The barrier would try to reconstruct itself to maintain its form.

There had to be one point where it would be at its most vulnerable.

I glanced at the withered tree behind her. Her eyes, gripping the iron ball, showed no gaps.

"I'll twist the surrounding mana entirely. There'll come a moment when the barrier thins out."

"Where should I shoot?"

"Shoot wherever your instincts tell you. You can do it."

"...I'll give it a shot. Leave it to me."

Kwaaaaang—!!!

I unleashed Crimson Flame in a wide area without hesitation, burning every bit of mana floating in the air.

"Tch!"

As the mana supply cut off, the woman clicked her tongue and forcibly concentrated the barrier's output on the front.

I aimed for that exact moment when the rear thinned.

"Now!"

Kwang—!!

The iron ball pierced the thinnest inner layer of the barrier in a blind spot.

"Kuh!"

The woman staggered, her shoulder pierced, trying to repair the shield.

No reason to wait for her.

The gap in the breached barrier. I hammered it relentlessly with a fist cloaked in Magic Sword Aura.

Creeeak, bang—! Bang!

The violet barrier crumbled.

I grabbed the collar of the recoiling woman and slammed her into the ground.

Kwajik.

Woooong—!

A vibration echoed through the entire dungeon. And then the system message followed.

"...What did you just do?"

"Just as expected."

The woman sneered.

"If I'm taken down, the main core is designed to suck in the remaining energy and go berserk. I knew you'd make it this far anyway."

Damn... this was a real time attack. I had to block even one node.

"That pillar trying to regenerate..."

Song Ji-yul realized the situation too. No need for more words.

"Let's go."

With roles clearly divided, we each had to do our part.

"Stop the node's regeneration."

Complex emotions lingered in Song Ji-yul's sunken eyes.

"But...!"

"I'll finish this before then. Don't worry and go."

"You better... See you later."

The pink hair vanished quickly into the thicket.

"No time. Tell me where the main core is."

"Try it. The rampage has already started. My role was just to keep you pinned here."

Still pretending to be so composed to the end.

She saw me as nothing more than a lab rat. No real killing intent there.

So I had a simple solution in mind. Force her into the observer role? Make her a murderer who had to kill me right now.

I tightened my grip on her collar.

"Fine. Then watch how the main core you've been hiding like a sacred relic rots away."

Zizzizik—!

Magic Sword Aura began spreading through her circuits into the gate's neural network.

You said you were carrying out a holy war, right?

I'll show you how a faith without foundations shatters.

"You, you! What the hell are you doing!?"

Her face crumpled in helpless panic for the first time.

"You said the barrier pulls dungeon mana directly, right? What a fine communication cable. I'll use it as a conduit to pour poison into the hidden main core."

Kuwoong—!

The dungeon itself shook.

The main core interfered with my mana, its form changing in real time.

An earthquake raged in her eyes.

The lab rat she thought would just wander the maze was setting the whole thing ablaze. No wonder.

"Let go of that hand, you crazy bastard!"

Her mechanical eyes bloodshot.

Her cold cosplay was over. The true reaction of a fanatic whose faith was defiled.

She wanted to kill me right now. Finally crossed the line.

Hosiai Minaka. Her true name floated in the system window.

The barrier's source was a D-rank skill based on a D-rank core.

But by linking it like a blood vessel to the entire gate's mana network, the perceived firepower was much higher.

To think something this absurd was possible.

And one more thing to note. The main body was paper-thin, but as long as the bloodlines connected, it regenerated endlessly.

Simply put, cut the bloodlines.

But those bloodlines being the gate's entire mana network? That was fucking annoying.

99.8% failure rate. No need to agonize. Just carve out the risk lump and toss it.

The woman glared daggers and screamed.

"You lunatic! Swallow my skill? It'll burst your heart with the contaminated power!"

"Who said I'd eat that trash skill?"

I scoffed.

Confirmation received—why hesitate?

"Status window. Proceed with the approved plan from before. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Filter and discard the skill, extract only the core."

"...What? Extract only the core—what the— Kyaaak!!"

Shuuuuk—!!

With a scream, she collapsed, gasping.

"Haa, heuk...! It should have stolen the skill too...!"

Neatly snatched just the core. How's it feel left with a scrap-heap skill?

I checked my status. Vastly different from Cha Do-yeon or Ryu Jin-hyuk.

Irregular waves, sure. But skipping the problematic skill itself meant far less strain on my core.

Of course, assimilating it right away was impossible.

For now, securely isolating it in a corner of my core was plenty.

"Time for some punishment? Gotta settle the accounts before I rush off."

I placed my flame-wreathed right hand on her collarbone.

Chiiik—

"Aaaaagh!!"

Her tactical gear melted into her skin, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.

"Don't move. Before I burn a hole straight to your heart."

"Uh, euk... Uuuk...!"

She curled up trembling like a leaf. Despair deeper than death eroded her eyes.

"What happens if I shove Crimson Flame's heat into a body stripped of its mana core? Imagine the agony of your neural net burning away, plus the terror of living as a powerless cripple forever."

The creed of a coreless fanatic.

"I'm in a hurry. Affiliation and name. And the main core's location. Spill."

Her hoarse voice echoed desperately amid the smoldering thicket.

"N-Nox... Station 4, Nox...! Cough, m-main... in the G-zone mana field..."

"Pulling gate mana directly isn't normal hunter awakening. Who gave you that power?"

"...The one who swallowed the star. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Taught me how to truly see the heavens... Please, my core... at least give back my core...!"

I checked the time. Her reactions said pushing further was pointless.

"Give it back?"

A faint spark of hope flickered in her eyes.

"Miss Nox. Or whatever fake name you use back home."

"...?"

"Your Korean's fluent. Hosiai Minaka."

She must've been shocked. Took her a moment to process.

"H-How do you know my name?"

I'd already known the names of everyone I'd confiscated from.

Thought it was just informational. But now confirmed.

The system reveals the target's true name. Exploit it right, and I can do more.

Her lofty observer mask stripped away. She'd believed herself hidden perfectly.

I drew a clean line.

"But here's the thing. It's fully assimilated into me now. No clue how to extract it."

"Hyaak... Aaaaagh!!!! Kill... I'll kill you!!!"

"Someone said the exact same thing a few weeks ago. No contact since, so killing me might be tough for you."

Ding!

Data outside the system's logs?

Woooong—!

Violet circular pupils slowly deployed around Nox.

"...Forced summoning, huh."

Ignoring the gate's absolute laws. What kind of bastard could pull this off?

"A-ah! The one who swallowed the star...! He hasn't abandoned me...!"

Ecstasy flashed across Nox's face.

"Just you wait, this humiliation...!"

Paat—!

Her body was sucked into the space beyond. Even hastily retrieving her scrap-heap remains.

Star Worshippers. And the one who swallowed the star.

Focus.

Not much time left. The main core rampage countdown was ticking too.