Liberate (4)
Checking surrounding threat level.
Increasing security level to match threat.
[ERROR. ERROR. Unable to release Security Level 3 or higher in current state.]
Forcing security level release to respond to emergency situation.
May cause overload, resulting in temporary or permanent performance degradation.
Proceed with forced release?
“Ha, haha.”
Yeong-sik’s lips twisted upward.
He had been waiting for this mechanical chime ever since the Light Shield guild members first surrounded them. Desperately praying for it. Yearning for it with every fiber of his being.
“What the hell? That guy’s still alive?”
One of the Light Shield guild members who had raised his sword toward the fallen Kim Gil-su turned his head toward Yeong-sik. A sneer curled on his lips.
“Hey, you lost your mind or something?”
He approached the chuckling Yeong-sik and prodded his cheek with light taps.
Yuna, who had been flung back by Han Cheol-ho’s shield, shouted in a frantic voice.
“Yeong-sik! Run!”
She cried out with a desperate expression.
But she knew better than anyone that escape was impossible in this situation. Her face twisted in anguish.
“Why... why always...”
She recalled the moment Salvatore Guild crumbled from internal strife. The despair of that day, the memory of guildmates who once laughed and joked together turning on each other, slaughtering mercilessly for survival.
Deep despair enveloped her entire body.
“Pfft. Hey, she’s telling you to run? Huh?”
The man burst into mocking laughter at her shout and tapped Yeong-sik’s cheek again.
Yeong-sik showed no response or reply to the man’s actions, just kept chuckling.
The man’s face twisted savagely at the sight.
“I said answer me, you bastard!”
The man’s hand swung wildly.
Crack.
Yeong-sik caught the fist hurtling toward his cheek. A low voice emanated from his mouth.
“Liberate.”
“? What?”
The man’s face twisted in confusion at Yeong-sik’s sudden words, as if wondering what nonsense he was spouting.
And then.
Click.
The sound of gears meshing rang out repeatedly from Yeong-sik’s body.
Clank, clank, clank!
With cold mechanical noises, Yeong-sik’s back split open. Dozens of circular barrels protruded from it, like a hedgehog bristling with spines.
“Wh-what the hell is this?”
The man stared in bewilderment at the sudden development.
He wasn’t the only one. All the Light Shield guild members’ gazes locked onto Yeong-sik.
A red glow emanated from Yeong-sik’s eyes.
“Hiiik... This guy’s got some weird skill, huh?”
The man whose fist was gripped forced a bright smile and shouted. The other guild members chuckled lightly at his words.
They figured Yeong-sik’s bizarre form was just some odd skill from a hidden class.
“You think that’ll let you beat us? Huh?”
The man taunted as he tried to wrench his fist free and grab his sword.
“Huh? What?”
But no matter how hard he pulled, the fist trapped in Yeong-sik’s hand didn’t budge an inch. Panic crossed the man’s face as he threw his whole body into yanking his arm free.
Yeong-sik’s glowing red eyes fixed on him. The crimson light intensified.
Ziiing.
“W-wait...”
Sensing something ominous, the man stammered desperately.
But before he could finish, the red beam from Yeong-sik’s eyes sliced his head clean in two.
“Wh-what the hell is that guy?”
“Laser beam?!”
Chaos erupted among the Light Shield guild members.
Yeong-sik regarded them with cold, emotionless eyes and spoke.
“Lock-on complete.”
His voice was ice-cold.
“Fire.”
Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!
With his command, fist-sized missiles poured from the barrels on his back.
In less than a second, dozens of missiles engulfed the Light Shield guild members.
Kaboom!
“Aaaargh!”
“This crazy bastard!”
An explosion as fierce as Lee Chae-rin’s swept the area.
But Yeong-sik’s missiles flew precisely to their ‘targets’ before detonating—utterly incomparable to her magic.
“Aaaargh!”
The Light Shield guild members caught in the blasts had limbs torn apart. Hellish screams echoed through the forest.
“M-missiles?!”
“What the...”
A few lucky survivors who escaped the blasts amid the inferno stared at Yeong-sik in disbelief.
Yeong-sik extended his left hand toward them.
Ziiing.
A blue light gathered in his palm.
The men blanched and screamed, fleeing in terror.
The blue glow in Yeong-sik’s left palm erupted radially.
Kaboom!
“Aaaargh!”
The fleeing men were shredded by the explosion.
“Wh-what the hell is going on?!”
Hong Seung-geol, who had barely deflected the missiles with his halberd, stared at Yeong-sik in horror.
He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
Yeong-sik’s cold gaze turned to him. His right hand, glowing blue, aimed at Hong Seung-geol.
A blue energy blast hurtled toward him.
“Uwaaaah!”
Boom!
Hong Seung-geol desperately rolled aside as the energy blast approached. He paled at the sight of a crater over three meters wide where he’d stood.
“Wh-what the fuck is this X-Men shit?!”
Spitting curses, Hong Seung-geol hurled his halberd aside and bolted.
“Huff! Huff!”
Terror crushed his chest like a vise. Glancing back while sprinting through the dense forest, he saw Yeong-sik standing motionless at the original spot, not pursuing.
“Damn! Damn it! What the hell is this?!”
In full panic, Hong Seung-geol screamed desperately. No one could stay sane watching a corpse suddenly rise and unleash missiles everywhere.
He ran with every ounce of strength. His body swayed drunkenly on the rough terrain, on the verge of collapse.
But even fleeing pathetically, he was a level 70+ warrior. He wouldn’t tire this easily.
“Huff, huff... Th-this should be far enough, right?”
He muttered, glancing back. Yeong-sik was now out of sight, too distant.
Relief washed over him as he thought he’d escaped.
“Huh...?”
Then he noticed a red dot glowing on his arm. Like a laser pointer’s beam.
It crept from arm to shoulder, then to his chest.
“W-wait. This...”
Hong Seung-geol’s face froze. Memories of Earth movies flashed in his mind.
“No way, sniper...”
Bang!
Before he finished, a faint gunshot rang out, punching a fist-sized hole through his chest.
A gush of blood poured from Hong Seung-geol’s mouth.
“Cough!”
He collapsed, trembling as he stared toward Yeong-sik’s position.
“Wh-what the hell is that bastard...”
His shaking hand clutched his chest. Consciousness faded.
With his last breath, he rasped,
“Why’s he in a whole different genre...”
And with that, his awareness snapped.
Han Cheol-ho stared rigidly at the being that had massacred all his subordinates in seconds.
He had endured the missile barrage with Radiant Shield, but couldn’t block it fully.
Gulping as he eyed his tattered armor, he asked,
“Who are you?”
His voice was characteristically low. Yeong-sik, who had been gazing into the forest where Hong Seung-geol fled, turned.
Red light still gleamed from his eyes.
“Who knows.”
Yeong-sik replied flatly. It wasn’t evasion out of reluctance to reveal himself—it sounded like he truly didn’t know who he was.
“Hoo.”
Han Cheol-ho inhaled deeply, shield raised. His eyes sharpened.
No matter what he is, he can’t spam attacks like that repeatedly.
Yeong-sik had annihilated his guildmates in under a minute with relentless barrages.
Even a ranker couldn’t sustain that without rest.
Now’s my chance!
Han Cheol-ho charged Yeong-sik, thrusting Radiant Shield forward and crouching low.
“Charge!”
White light exploded from his body. He poured all remaining mana into this skill.
Like a wedge of pure light, he rocketed forward with ferocious momentum.
Yeong-sik stomped hard, watching him approach. Flames jetted from the dozens of barrels on his back.
Expending all mana, Han Cheol-ho’s charge was laughably outpaced as Yeong-sik blasted forward.
Thud!
The ground where Yeong-sik stomped cratered. His supersonic speed unleashed a sonic boom, devastating the surroundings.
Mere movement wrought calamity.
“Radiance!”
Han Cheol-ho activated the shield’s laser skill. Dazzling light poured from it, forming three overlapping white shields before him.
Boom!
“Urk!”
The raw impact shattered one shield. Han Cheol-ho swallowed a groan from the full-body shock.
Yeong-sik swung his right arm, smashing the second light shield.
Boom!
“Useless!”
Seeing Yeong-sik fail to pierce both at once, Han Cheol-ho bellowed. He raised his shield high to smash Yeong-sik’s head.
Clack!
Then Yeong-sik’s right wrist bent forward, splitting open. Two shotgun barrels emerged from within.
Boom!
The shotgun blast obliterated the third light shield.
“Ha.”
Han Cheol-ho gaped incredulously at Yeong-sik. Shooting a shotgun from his wrist now? He couldn’t make sense of it.
But.
Han Cheol-ho slammed down his raised shield. Yeong-sik had only pierced Radiance—that was all.
Unbelievable that mere seconds shattered a shield even rankers struggled against, but irrelevant.
I’ll win this.
Shoooo!
“Hm?”
Han Cheol-ho’s face stiffened as he swung toward Yeong-sik’s head. Flames like jet exhaust erupted explosively from Yeong-sik’s right elbow.
Seeing it, Han Cheol-ho’s expression hardened further.
“No way...”
Dread slowed his movements. A smirk crept across Yeong-sik’s lips.
“Wait just a—”
Han Cheol-ho stammered in disbelief.
But before he finished, Yeong-sik’s right arm rocketed toward him.