Hill of Storms
Hill of Storms
A sky blazing an alien pink, a wind so violent you could barely open your eyes.
In the very heart of this storm—the one even Stardus had struggled against—a man dressed all in black stood calmly.
Yeah, that's me. Me.
".....So this is what it feels like?"
A gale fierce enough to fling a small child.
And attacks pouring out of dozens of magic circles, all aimed straight at me.
The tempest that no hero, no matter how desperately they tried, had ever been able to breach—
I was walking through it as easily and comfortably as a morning stroll around my own front yard.
"Ugh, what's with all the gnats?"
Swatting aside those flying star-things with telekinesis was just a bonus.
Stuff that belonged on top of a Christmas tree kept coming at me. Annoying as hell.
I deflected the star-shaped lumps flying at me with a single smooth gesture.
And as a result, that purple star slammed into the ground instead of into me.
KABOOM—
It hit with an earsplitting roar, like a bomb going off, and completely obliterated the ground where it landed.
Whoa... shit....
I clicked my tongue, watching the aftermath.
Yeah, as expected.
Truly mind-boggling firepower.
How the hell is a basic attack that strong?
I tilted my head up.
The pink storm towered high enough to cover the entire sky.
Just like the event from the original work—the one no hero could stop, the one that ended up destroying Seoul completely. This lived up to it.
Just like the event from the Original Work—the one no hero could stop and that ultimately destroyed Seoul completely. It certainly lived up to its reputation.
Of course, that did not apply to me, since I already knew everything.
Thinking that, I stretched out a hand and stopped a violet destruction beam heading my way.
Despite the ferocious energy behind it, the beam scattered in all directions without even touching my palm.
I smiled slightly at the sight.
Right. The Moon Priestess. A tremendously powerful and threatening enemy. In terms of sheer difficulty to defeat, she was even harder than the giant weapon from the old Han-eun Group incident.
But that's only if you fight her blind, without knowing anything.
I grinned and slowly closed my open hand.
And right then—
FWOOOM—
The magic circle that had been firing the beam shattered to pieces and detonated.
Right. The real core of this terrorist attack was not the Moon Priestess herself, but the enhancement devices the cult leader had set up in advance—namely,
The magic circles laid out across Seoul.
They weakened heroes' abilities, boosted the Moon Priestess's firepower, jammed communications, blocked darkness abilities, supplied magical power... basically, they were loaded with an absurd number of effects.
One could say those magic circles were the true core of the attack.
The Moon Priestess has solid raw magical skill, sure. But not the kind of overwhelming power to utterly stomp Stardus and Icicle and Shadow Walker all put together. In a one-on-one fight with Stardus, she'd barely hold out before losing.
That was why the Cult Leader's enhancement magic circles made her practically invincible.
That's the key to this attack incident—the heart of everything, really.
In the original work, they only uncovered this secret after Seoul was basically leveled, and they finally managed to smash the circles in advance and kill the Moon Priestess.
...That thought made the image of the Moon Priestess asking me to kill her flicker through my mind again. Right. That was the damn original. Not anymore.
In any case, I'd gone one step further.
I hacked the magic circles and made them work in reverse.
Meaning, this massive magic formation laid out over Seoul
Now strengthens me and weakens my enemies.
In other words.
Inside this storm, I held absolute power.
"Up you go, there we go~"
I flicked a violet lightning bolt falling toward me with a hand and sent it back into the sky.
Sliced through incoming lasers.
Detonated the star-shaped lumps with telekinesis.
Leisurely, I approached the storm's center where the Moon Priestess would be.
Ah, easy. So easy.
I would be seeing the Moon Priestess at any moment.
***
"Haah... haah...."
At the center of the storm.
There, she was gasping for breath.
"...Hnk..."
Inside the tempest she herself had raised.
Someone was approaching, piercing through every single barrier she had created.
'....How did they do that?'
Barriers based on her own magic, amplified by the cult leader.
Dozens, hundreds of offensive magic circles surrounding the place where she stood.
She could feel someone advancing, breaking through all of them.
'Who in the world could it be?'
In the previous two attacks, so many had charged in to stop her.
But they'd all been repelled before reaching even the middle of the storm.
This intruder was racing toward her location as comfortably as walking into their own home.
'...Probably another hero.'
She thought quietly.
Someone has finally come to stop it all.
Yes, maybe it's for the best.
She paused for a moment and looked down at her own hand.
She stood at the eye of the storm—a place without a breath of wind—and yet.
Her hand was trembling, like someone with a severe tremor.
Grasping that hand with her other one, she smiled bitterly.
Yes. Maybe it's for the best.
Only three times, including this time. Just three times.
And already, it was so hard. So agonizing.
If I'd had to do this dozens more times,
Could I have endured it then?
The crushing guilt that never let up.
A life trapped in the Moonlight Church, gnawing at herself, consumed by self-blame.
Yes. Perhaps it's better to just end it here.
What meaning is there in a life built on hurting others?
That person approaching is probably
Going to capture me, or try to kill me.
But capture was pointless. The cult leader controlled her anyway, so anyone who tried would simply be exploited in return.
So she'll resist as much as possible.
And if it goes that way, naturally...
She'll end up dying here.
'...Though I didn't want to die.'
As she said that, her eyes glistened faintly with tears.
To be honest, she had been ready to give up her life if it came to that.
But.
She hadn't realized it would come this soon.
The heroes had been totally helpless just last time, so she'd thought it would take at least a few dozen more attacks before they got here.
Right now. On the third attack.
She hadn't expected them to reach her.
'...What am I thinking? No. This is better. I can stop it before the damage gets worse.'
She steeled herself with that thought.
But still, she was a little scared.
She was already somewhat aware of how people reacted.
Those who called her a monster, who feared and despised her.
And especially a hero.
A hero strong enough to break through all her barriers.
What expression would that hero wear when they saw her? Anger? Disgust? Contempt?
Having to face those looks.
And the possibility of dying right here, right now.
It was all too terrifying for her.
.....
Even so, she resolved herself.
Yes. I had to pay for my sins.
She couldn't run forever.
When the hero arrives...
She would provoke them, fight for a while, and then, when the decisive blow came, simply release her power and take the hit.
Having worked out even a plan for her death with a sad heart,
She braced herself, imagining the hero who would look at her with contempt.
And the person who finally burst through the storm—
"Hello there!"
—was a man grinning broadly and greeting her.
'....What?'
***
Using the reversed magic circles, I breezed right through the pink storm—the so-called Magical Power Storm—and finally arrived at the eye of the tempest.
Unlike the surroundings where the wind howled fiercely, the center was utterly still, without a single gust.
And in the middle of it stood
A woman in a white priestess robe, her hair tied back with a red cord.
She looked like she'd stepped right out of a comic.
A little mysterious, yet with a kind face that you'd never associate with causing such terror.
Her height, a bit taller than Seo-eun, meant I had to look down at her, which vaguely reminded me of Seo-eun.
The Moon Priestess was also a character who had met a truly pitiful end in the Original Work. I had finally met the woman who had carried out all these attacks.
...She was staring at me with a cold, hardened face, but her eyes were filled with fear.
So I decided to greet her.
"Hello there!"
So I smiled and threw my arms open wide in greeting.
They say smiling makes a good first impression. They do say that.
And the result?
Her fearful eyes shifted instantly to bewilderment.
...Well, at least they shifted?
Anyway, thrown off for a moment by my sudden greeting attack, she seemed to recover her senses, hardened her face again, and snapped at me coldly.
"...Who are you? No, that doesn't matter. If you've come to stop me, I'd just like to say it's pointless."
After saying that, she drew in a breath.
And at the same moment.
Bzzzzzzzzzt.
Dozens of magic circles began materializing in the air around her, glowing violet.
And with her crimson eyes fixed on me,
She murmured lowly.
"I'll keep fighting. Whether you stop me or not, that isn't what's import—"
"Baek Eun-wol."
I cut her off and spoke.
"Baek Eun-wol. Called the Moon Priestess in the Moonlight Church. Found by the cult leader and raised under him. Able to use magic granted by the Moon God. Dislikes the Moonlight Church and opposes the cult leader's ideology. But because of the spell he placed on her, she has no choice but to obey his will. Doesn't want to commit terrorist attacks."
I said it all in one breath.
She stopped conjuring her magic, her body frozen in place.
She couldn't regain her composure at the sudden turn of events, her pupils shaking madly.
To her, I grinned and said:
"Eun-wol, abandon that cult-like Moonlight Church"
"and join me instead."
Alright.
Time to run my mouth for real.
***
[Everyone! Breaking news! Egostic has reportedly appeared aboard an airship at the site of the Moonlight Priestess's terrorist attack!]
And while Egostic was doing that inside the storm—
In real time, all of Korea was being flipped upside down.