Chapter 209: The Underground City (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209: The Underground City (4)
Satanists.
Traitors to humanity who worshiped demons, contracted with them, and murdered countless people.
They had existed in every era, always committing acts of terror.
Arson, murder, kidnapping, human sacrifice, and more.
To them, the lives of others were merely a means to an end.
Countless people died, and countless cities burned.
It was only natural that the number of people who developed personal grudges against them grew in the process.
KRAANG!!
Kim Yujun’s axe, which he had swung as he charged the Satanist, collided with a barrier. The immense repulsive force sent sparks flying in all directions.
“What did you do to Minha?!”
“Hm? Ah, that b-bitch?”
The Satanist’s face twisted into a grotesque expression. He was sneering.
“Kh, khuhuhu… W-Well, now?”
Kim Yujun gathered his mana, glaring at the Satanist as if he could kill him with his eyes alone, but it wasn’t enough to break through the man’s barrier.
THUD!
“Ugh?!”
Though he was thrown back by the repulsive force, the killing intent he directed at the fiend showed no signs of diminishing.
His usual cool-headed demeanor had vanished without a trace.
A faint madness could even be seen in his bloodshot eyes.
Following Kim Yujun’s brief clash, the party’s other main damage dealer, Kwon Sihoon, charged from the front, while the sub-dealers, Seo Hohyeon and Cha Seunghyeon, rushed in to strike the Satanist’s flanks.
“S-So annoying…”
Even with the B-rank hunters’ combined assault, the man’s face showed only irritation.
The moment the three’s attacks reached his barrier, something strange happened.
GRIND—
“Wh-What?!”
Unlike when Kim Yujun had attacked, their weapons became lodged in the barrier.
They sank deeper and deeper, like a slime swallowing its prey.
Each of them struggled with all their might to pull their weapons free, but it was no use.
“D-Don’t resist, you’re just a s-sacrifice. J-Just stay still… huh?”
But that wasn’t enough to stop them.
The Burst Guild was not particularly large, but it was skilled, accomplished, and trusted enough to be affiliated with the Hunter Association.
As members of its 1st Raid Team, they had been through countless battles and were truly veterans among veterans.
Kwon Sihoon, who was facing the Satanist head-on, let go of his weapon without a hint of hesitation and charged straight for him.
Rushing a mage empty-handed was no different from suicide.
“Grrrr.”
But that didn't apply to him.
As he charged the Satanist, his appearance was different from before.
His fingernails grew sharp like a beast’s claws, and the muscles all over his body bulged as if they would burst.
His arms and legs grew longer, and thick fur covered his skin. His eyes, too, shone ferociously.
It was ‘Beastification,’ a skill only a very small number of beast-kin could use.
KAAANG!!
Kwon Sihoon swiped his claws at the barrier. A bluish aura gathered at his fingertips.
It seemed the barrier couldn't block every attack in the same way. Instead of getting buried in it, his claws created cracks all over its surface with a flurry of swift attacks.
“Yujun-hyung!”
As the party’s supporter, Yang Suho, shouted, Kim Yujun charged the Satanist once again.
Seeing his visibly fiercer momentum, Kwon Sihoon threw himself aside at the perfect moment.
BOOM!!
A shockwave erupted as Kim Yujun’s axe slammed into the barrier.
Through the scattering dust and dirt, the shattered barrier and the Satanist’s heavily distorted face came into view.
The party members did not miss the opening.
Cha Seunghyeon’s and Seo Hohyeon’s movements changed. They activated their respective special abilities: Physical Enhancement and Acceleration.
Kwon Sihoon and Kim Yujun, having recovered, also immediately rushed toward the Satanist.
A combined assault by four B-rank hunters.
Logically, there was no way a mage whose barrier had been broken could withstand it.
But in a real battle, variables were like landmines; you never knew when or where they would go off.
“Keuk?!”
All the members who had been about to attack the Satanist collapsed on the spot, coughing up blood. The amount of bleeding was clearly alarming.
“Kh, khuhuhu…!!”
The Satanist let out a foul laugh as he looked down at them sprawled on the ground.
Seeing the party members’ pale faces, I had a rough idea of what the problem was.
‘Was the Death Energy laced with a curse? It seems to be the type that interferes with the nervous system.’
No wonder my hands and feet had been feeling a little numb.
Of course, even that sensation vanished completely when I circulated my Vajra Qi. Noel, who had received some of my energy, was also freed from the curse.
But the other hunters were not so lucky.
Except for the tanker, Kim Yujun, everyone was down.
A black magic circle formed at the fiend’s feet, and a bizarre killing intent and mana enveloped the area.
“I-It should be fine to kill a f-few of them, right…?!”
A twisted sneer escaped from between his blackened, rotten teeth.
*
Grit—
Kim Yujun clenched his jaw, looking at his fallen party members.
…It’s my fault.
He was the leader of the raid team.
He had a duty to make the right decisions in any situation.
But upon seeing the enemy responsible for his family’s ruin, he had lost his senses and driven his party members to their deaths.
The guild master had warned him until he was blue in the face to never underestimate the enemy, yet he had arrogantly assumed he could defeat a shabby-looking mage.
This was the result.
The ominous mana filling the area felt suffocating.
“I-I really am lucky… Not only did I get several B-rank hunters, but a wolf, too…!”
At this rate, a total wipeout was inevitable.
If so, he had to at least prevent his party members from dying because of their incompetent leader.
…Even if it costs me my life.
If he caused his mana core, the source of his power, to overload, he could move like an A-rank hunter, if only for a moment.
Of course, his heart would explode and he’d die shortly after, but if it meant his party members could escape, that was enough.
The moment he casts his spell is my chance.
He had heard it once before.
A mage is most vulnerable in the brief instant they are casting a spell.
The moment the fiend’s magic circle began to glow black, I forced my mana to flow in reverse, aiming to overload my mana core.
“Black Cu—”
Just as an intense pain began to squeeze my heart.
SNAP—
The magic circle, which had been ominously pulsating as if about to unleash a spell, shattered into pieces.
The fragments scattered like shards of glass before turning to dust and disappearing.
I stared blankly at the scene.
…What was that?
Did the fiend make a mistake?
No, that couldn't be it.
Perhaps it was an invisible spell.
Or maybe it was a sophisticated technique to make me lower my guard.
As a myriad of thoughts raced through my mind, someone dashed past me.
They were so fast I couldn't even follow them with my eyes.
“Wh-What is th—Keok?!”
WHAM!
The next thing I saw was the Satanist being sent flying through a doorway by someone’s kick.
Before I could even process what had just happened, I saw a familiar face.
“Kim Yujun,”
“H-Hyun-woo…?”
He was the mage who had joined our party for the day with the Association’s help.
He should have been exhausted from mana consumption, barely able to move. What was he doing here?
“We need to get out of here first. We’ll be wiped out if we stay. Can you move?”
As if mesmerized, I nodded at his words.
I had so many questions, but in his unwavering eyes, I saw a glimmer of hope.
“…Everyone! Retreat through the gate, now!”
Maybe we can live?
Maybe we can escape from here?
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
Panting heavily, I hoisted my collapsed party members onto my shoulders.
“…I’m sorry, but could you please take Sihoon?”
“Yes.”
The only ones who could move right now were myself, Suho—the party’s supporter who had been relatively far back—and Hyun-woo and Noel.
…Minha.
Grit.
I bit my tongue, drawing blood. It was a hunter’s ritual, a vow to avenge a comrade.
“Hup!”
CRASH!
When I kicked a cracked wall, an emergency exit I had prepared was revealed.
Thanks to that, we were able to get outside smoothly.
But as the saying goes, it’s one obstacle after another.
“…Dammit.”
What spread before my eyes as I exited the base camp was a massive horde of undead swarming toward us.
There seemed to be some low-level magical beasts mixed in, but the sheer number of undead was a problem in itself.
Is this really the end…?
I had only a few minutes left before the curse would take me down. The others were probably in the same boat.
Breaking through that horde and retreating through the gate in such a short time was practically impossible.
“Follow me.”
“What? H-Hyun-woo!”
But he didn’t give up.
There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in his back as he ran toward the undead horde.
Common sense told me I should stop him, but no words came out.
My body started running after him on its own.
As if that was the only path to survival.
And it wasn't long before I realized just how right that judgment was.
BOOM! KRAANG! KABOOM—
“N-No way…”
The endless horde of undead burned away into nothing.
The firepower was so immense that even I, the tanker, could feel the heat.
Th-That’s a 2nd Circle mage…?
It was clearly the 1st Circle spell, Fireball, but its power seemed comparable to the magic of a 3rd Circle mage I had met before.
In fact, considering his absurd casting speed, he was undoubtedly far superior.
Most of all, it seemed as if he had no limit to his mana.
Dozens of fireballs rained down from the sky without pause.
Even as the smell of burning corpses stung my nostrils, my eyes followed him.
Maybe…
Maybe I really was being given a second chance.
A chance to avenge my family.
A chance to avenge my comrades.
But soon, he, who had been running ahead, came to a stop.
—You dare, sacrifice…!!!
Immediately after, a horrific sound, like nails scratching a chalkboard, echoed from all directions.
There was no need to turn my head to see where it came from.
Not far from us stood the Satanist.
“H-How dare you reverse-calculate my magic?! You, a low-grade mage who can only use 1st Circle spells!!”
Shluk—
With a gesture from the fiend, undead burst up from the ground.
There weren't many, but the aura emanating from the two magical beasts blocking our escape path was unnerving.
An undead in a black helmet and a giant ghost floating in the air.
It was a Knight Helm and a Chorus King.
They didn't seem to be boss-level entities, but two of them appearing at once was something that should only happen in an A-rank gate.
“I-I’ll use you lot as test subjects, not sacrifices…! Y-You’ll suffer for eternity, even in death…!!”
The Satanist’s curse-laden laughter echoed throughout the city.
At that sight, Yang Suho collapsed to the ground.
Even the small spark of hope had been extinguished.
The only way to survive now was for me to overload my mana core and clear a path.
“Hyun-woo. I’ll open a path, so use that chance to escape… Hyun-woo?”
But he simply walked forward calmly.
Even in this desperate, life-or-death situation, he looked composed.
“Wh-What! It’s too late to beg for forgiveness! I’ll use you as a test subject for the parasitic beasts…!”
Ever since the Satanist had appeared, I had been wary of something.
Until now, I thought it was because of the Knight Helm and the Chorus King.
Even if they weren't boss-level, both of them radiated mana equivalent to sub-bosses.
But that wasn't it.
“No, that’s not it. It’s just a little funny.”
“…What?”
The moment he stretched his hand toward the sky, everyone present naturally lifted their heads, without anyone needing to say a word.
“A low-grade mage, you say.”
A massive magic circle was spread across the sky, which should have been blocked by the cave ceiling.
The golden, shining magic circle was so beautiful it momentarily made us forget the life-threatening danger we were in.
[Electro Vortex]
A momentary flash filled our vision, and then, a storm of lightning descended upon the city.