Chapter 649: Human World [R-18] (78)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 649: Human World [R-18] (78)
If the creature trying to emerge from the rift unleashed a mental attack, the entire situation here could collapse in an instant.
I instinctively looked for Im Hye-rin and Im Hwa-yeon. In the distance, I saw Im Hwa-yeon curled up, clutching her head and groaning, while Im Hye-rin held her daughter, trying desperately to keep her grounded.
“Hwa-yeon!”
“Mom… my head… it feels like it’s going to shatter…”
Looking around, I saw it wasn’t just the two of them. Most of the ability users on site were either screaming in agony while clutching their heads or had already collapsed to the ground.
What was more dangerous was that some were already scratching at their own skin with their nails, even attempting to self-harm.
I met Bi-yeon’s eyes and immediately ran toward Im Hwa-yeon. As soon as she entered the range of my Absolute Mind, Im Hwa-yeon’s trembling hands slowly relaxed, and a sense of peace gradually returned to her gasping face.
“Hah… hah… What… what was that just now…”
Im Hwa-yeon asked, her body still trembling slightly. I placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
“I think that thing is launching mental attacks.”
Far away, as the monster’s silhouette became clearer, both mother and daughter gasped.
Im Hye-rin spoke with a heavy tone.
“This is dangerous… Both Hwa-yeon and I had artifacts for mental defense… If we were still affected this badly…”
I nodded.
“Then every ability user here is in danger.”
Im Hye-rin’s expression hardened.
“I need to contact the Association President. This is an emergency…”
“Speaking of which, where is the Association President right now?”
“He’s… probably been called away by the government. I imagine he’s in a strategy meeting, but this needs to be reported immediately. Seo-yun, are you… are you okay?”
“Yes. One of my abilities blocks mental attacks. The reason Hwa-yeon is okay now is because she’s within my ability’s range.”
Im Hye-rin let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s a relief, at least…”
Just then, one of the ability users who had succumbed to the mental attack charged toward us, his eyes filled with madness.
His body transformed in an instant, and a massive figure with a lion-like face and a wild mane lunged at us with a roar.
Bi-yeon stepped forward and subdued the man with ease.
“I shouldn’t kill him, right…?”
Im Hye-rin muttered under her breath.
“…Try not to kill him if you can help it.”
At her words, Bi-yeon struck the man on the back of the neck.
Thwack!
The man went limp and collapsed onto the ground.
I scanned our surroundings. The scene of crazed ability users attacking each other or themselves was still unfolding. The higher-ranking users seemed to be holding on, but it was impossible to know for how long.
Im Hye-rin cautiously approached me and asked.
“Seo-yun, your ability… what’s its range?”
“About ten meters. And even within that range, only the targets I specifically designate are affected. I can’t just protect a large number of people indiscriminately… it’s difficult for me, too.”
Im Hye-rin nodded and surveyed the area.
“Alright, I’ll start guiding the evacuation… Can you hold that monster off for as long as possible?”
She said carefully, her eyes fixed on the giant eyeball monster that was halfway out of the rift.
“Yes. Bi-yeon and I will handle it. If it gets dangerous, don’t hesitate. Run immediately.”
Im Hye-rin handed me a small communicator.
“Okay, take this. Just put it on your ear. I’ll keep you updated on the situation in real-time.”
Bi-yeon and I both took a communicator and put it on.
“Seo-yun. Don’t push yourself… If it gets really dangerous, you have to run.”
I gave a short nod at Im Hye-rin’s worried voice and first sent the vulnerable Im Hwa-yeon as far away as possible. Then, Bi-yeon and I immediately moved toward the rift, out over the sea.
Looking back, I saw Im Hye-rin directing the evacuation. She seemed to be holding on for now, but I couldn’t be sure how much longer she could withstand the mental assault.
I need to end this quickly.
Bi-yeon and I powerfully cut across the surface of the water, knocking out or cutting down the mind-controlled ability users and the monsters that swarmed out one by one.
As we drew closer to the massive tentacled beast, I activated Soul Imprint.
A magic circle instantly unfurled in the air.
One by one, my daughters emerged from the circle.
So-ra, Lucy, Ha-young, and Ha-yul. Each greeted me with expressions and voices that reflected their distinct personalities.
“Girls, you understand the situation without me explaining, right?”
“Yeah!” So-ra shouted, clenching her fists.
“Papa, isn’t it been too long since you last summoned us?” Lucy pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
“Yawn, I was about to go to sleep,” Ha-young said with a yawn.
“Father’s enemy. I will ensure they are eliminated,” Ha-yul replied, her gaze fixed calmly on the monster before us.
I looked at each of my daughters’ faces and gave a brief instruction.
“Your main objective is to save the people around us. And just in case, don’t ever move a certain distance away from me.”
The four girls instantly shed their playful expressions and nodded in unison.
“Alright, begin.”
At my short signal, my daughters moved as one, as if they had planned it.
Lucy was the first to act. She condensed a massive amount of red blood into a giant axe and swung it with all her might from mid-air, cleaving through the tentacles.
Next, So-ra jumped onto the blood weapon, spinning through the air as she swung a greatsword, instantly slicing apart the tentacles that were trying to emerge from the rift.
Ha-young freely transformed her slime body, running along the tentacles and changing her fingertips into a giant scythe to slash through them, moving like a slippery blur.
Ha-yul sang a gentle song, casting a fire buff. Thanks to her, everyone’s movements became even faster and stronger.
The sight of my four daughters working in perfect sync to wipe out the giant tentacles in an instant was nothing short of overwhelming.
I smiled and glanced at Bi-yeon.
“Well, is it our turn?”
Bi-yeon grinned and formed a sword.
“Can’t let the kids show us up.”
We met each other’s eyes and smirked. The next moment, we simultaneously kicked off the air and leaped toward the giant eyeball monster.
A massive tentacle flew straight at us. Bi-yeon and I crossed our swords and swung hard.
As the severed tentacle fell, more tentacles writhed and swarmed toward us, but the sharp sword force from Bi-yeon’s wind effortlessly cut them down.
“This thing is just disgustingly huge. It’s not as tough as it looks, is it?”
I nodded as I sliced through another tentacle.
“I know, right? That unsettling feeling… it must have been from the mental attack. Its actual combat power seems much weaker than I thought.”
The monster’s giant eyeball quivered violently, but we ran across the sea without a shred of fear, pressing forward.
Then, a thought occurred to me.
“Come to think of it… we haven’t really fought together like this very often, have we?”
Bi-yeon’s lips curled into a smile as she lightly spun the sword in her hand. The tip of her blade grazed a tentacle, and a clean slice of the monster’s flesh fell into the sea.
“That’s because you were so pathetically weak back then. I was holding back on purpose to help you grow~”
“Yeah, not anymore.”
“Yeah, you’re still weak.”
I let out a dry laugh and raised my sword.
“Alright, let’s make a bet. Who can take down that eyeball monster first.”
Bi-yeon raised an eyebrow and smiled playfully.
“Hehe, if I win… you have to be celibate for a week. No sex.”
“Are you crazy? How am I supposed to manage that?”
“Don’t tell me… you scared?”
I shot her a look of disbelief.
“Fine. But if I win, I’m confiscating your games for a week. And you have to live as a dog at home for that week.”
Bi-yeon’s eyes widened as she shouted.
“My games too? Isn’t that too harsh?!”
“Scared?”
Bi-yeon gritted her teeth and gripped her sword.
“Ha! Jin Seo-yun, you’ve gotten pretty cocky lately! Fine, you’re on!”
“I’m not the man I used to be. Get ready.”
We looked at each other, then simultaneously kicked off the air. The waves churned from the shockwave, and the wind split as two shadows shot like lightning toward the rift.
KWWAAAAANG!!
The monster in the rift, still unable to fully emerge due to its immense size, thrashed its tentacles about.
Bi-yeon and I sliced through the tentacles at incredible speed, getting closer and closer to its main body. Thousands of eyeballs flashed and opened at once, and from the gaps between them, a shower of dark red beams rained down.
So it doesn’t just use mental attacks…
Each red beam carried immense explosive power, creating powerful shockwaves.
“The bet’s on,” Bi-yeon shouted, her eyes sparkling.
“Don’t come crying to me when you lose!”
Bi-yeon made the first move. A teal-colored haze rose from her sword, and with a light swing, a massive wave of sword force imbued with hegemonic energy shot forward. The tentacles that tried to defend were sliced away, and a wound was carved into the eyeball monster’s main body.
Following right after—
A blue sword force condensed at the tip of my blade. The energy, a mixture of fire and moonlight, coated the entire blade in a single layer. Only the sharp, shimmering blue aura, glowing red like moonlight, wrapped around the sword.
I steadied my breath and held my sword horizontally.
The monster’s gaze, its thousands of eyes wide with fear, met the tip of my blade perfectly.
“Hey, eyeball.”
The moment I took a step forward, the sea parted, and the sword force that had been flowing along my blade was explosively released.
A single swing. A line was drawn in the air.
The energy of fire that seemed to burn everything to ash and the cold, beautiful energy of the blue moonlight mixed together, becoming a blade that split the world.
Moon Shadow Sky Sword Dance—Fire Moon Shadow Slash.
The compressed energy instantly carved through the sea, and in less than a few seconds, all the tentacles blocking my path disintegrated into dust, leaving not even a trace behind.
And the monster’s torso, split by the Fire Moon Shadow Slash, began to slowly cleave in half, like a distorted painting.
The tentacles writhed, and from between its eyeballs, smaller tentacles sprouted and began to cover the wound.
“Disgusting.”
“Looks like it’s trying to regenerate, doesn’t it?”
“Seems so. As if we’d just let it.”
“Hey, it’s cheating to attack the wound I made!” Bi-yeon cried out unfairly.
“If you don’t like it, you can do the same.”
“You dirty cheat!”
“More importantly, let’s finish this. The kids are going to steal our kill.”
Looking around, I saw that my daughters had already rescued most of the people. I could even see them surrounding the monster’s main body, ready to attack.
“I’ll take the left!”
“I’ve got the right.”
Just as we were about to charge again, something strange happened.
The monster’s giant eyeball began to ooze slime and slowly split open. From within, something grotesque and human-sized shot out.
“K-kill. Kill… them all…”
“Did it just speak?”
“It looks so fucking bizarre.”
Instead of a face, it had a single large eyeball with a crudely gaping mouth directly beneath it. Its entire body was made of tentacles.
The eyeball, which had been spinning madly in a 360-degree arc, suddenly stopped, its gaze locking perfectly with mine.
“J-Jin Seo-yun… Im Hwa-yeon… Jin Seo-yun…! Im Hwa-yeon!!!”
The creature shrieked and charged toward us in a crazed frenzy.
“Hey, looks like it knows you pretty well. Is it a friend of yours?”
“You think I’d be friends with something like that?”
The creature’s scream echoed across the waves, and for a moment, the sea swelled as if it were being sucked upward. A dark red beam flashed from its large eyeball and shot toward us.
I instinctively twisted my body to dodge, and Bi-yeon reflexively threw herself in the opposite direction. A tremendous shockwave ripped through the space between us, creating a massive ripple on the sea’s surface.
I grinned and said, “Well now, that thing has more destructive power than the giant body.”
“Right? Maybe that was the real main body.”
“In that case, the one who catches it…”
“Wins?”
Bi-yeon and I launched ourselves forward again at the same time.