Chapter 306: What Does It Mean to Turn the Tables?
Chapter 306: What Does It Mean to Turn the Tables?
An unquenchable flame, eternally burning.
The Eternal Flame, capable of incinerating all that exists in this world.
If I had my way, I would have launched an attack on all fronts, including the Warp Gate. And I certainly had the power to do so. The Eternal Flame was a myth-rank Authority, and I could designate targets for destruction according to my will.
But I didn't. The moment I confirmed the Warp Gate had been seized, I had a gut feeling that my plan had gone awry. In the worst-case scenario, it might have already been damaged.
In other words, while I could retake the Warp Gate, there was a chance the Users, upon discovering any damage, would pin the blame on me. Wanting to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, I deliberately targeted only the defensive barrier and the Vagabonds positioned at the very front.
The situation was currently a stalemate, with the Vagabonds focused entirely on defense. But since the Users were on the offensive, giving them this much of a push would be enough for them to recapture the gate.
The Blazing Swords shot through the air without delay. The fiercely burning Eternal Flame let out a clear hum as it instantly flew over the Users' heads. The moment it reached the large-scale barrier the Vagabonds had erected, it dove sharply, like an eagle spotting its prey.
Assuming you fire 100 missiles, the narrower the bombing range, the more firepower you can concentrate.
But even setting that aside, the power of the Eternal Flame was absolute.
Fwoosh! Fwoooosh!
“Wh-what is this now! Shield, shield!”
“Ugh, aghhhhhhh!”
There was no grand explosion, no flashy effects. The Eternal Flame simply moved faithfully according to my will.
Dozens of Blazing Swords rained down on the target area. The translucent, large-scale barrier was torn apart like paper. The Vagabonds who had been holding back the Users' approach under the cover of their mages were sent tumbling to the ground in an instant. The flames ignited by the Eternal Flame brightly illuminated the area around the Warp Gate, and the mournful screams of those impaled by the swords echoed through the air.
“Wh-what? What happened? Who suddenly….”
“It's our chance! Attack! Let's retake the Warp Gate!”
The shield that had held so firm was now broken. The Vagabonds who had blocked the Users' advance were neutralized. A few of the mages in the back seemed to be staggering, likely affected by the barrier's destruction. The once-impenetrable entrance was now wide open.
Some of the Users muttered in confusion at the sudden turn of events, but the tenacity of those who felt their lives were threatened was a fearsome thing. The lull was brief. Soon, they began to surge forward like a tidal wave, letting out roars of fury.
I followed from the rear, carefully observing the Vagabonds' situation.
I can probably leave the rest to the Users.
It would be a different story if they were being unilaterally slaughtered like at the central plaza, but the situation at the Warp Gate wasn't that dire. I could see a few Vagabonds who had been outside the attack's range and others who had barely managed to regain their senses. But the Users were already pouring in like a flood. It was a chaotic, haphazard charge with no tactics or order, but in this situation, it was a decent enough method.
“Don't push! I said don't fucking push, you son of a bitch!”
“Wait your turn! Let's go in the order we arrived, come on!”
“Die, you bastards!”
“Kuaaaargh!”
With hundreds of Users pushing in from all sides at once, the inside of the Warp Gate was incredibly chaotic.
Actually, it was beyond chaotic. There were Users running straight for the Warp Gate, Users rushing the fallen Vagabonds, and the Vagabonds themselves, who were desperately resisting but were cornered from all sides. Every possible shout and scream that could erupt in such a situation mixed together, making the Warp Gate ring.
Watching them, I decided to make full use of my Orthros Long Boots. Looking ahead, I could see that the area would soon be packed solid with Users. I needed to check the Warp Gate's condition as quickly as possible, so I kicked off the ground without hesitation.
“Ack! Who stepped on my head!”
Sorry about that.
Glancing down, I saw a User clutching his head as he collapsed. A single leap had been just a bit short, so I had just kicked my foot out anywhere, and it seemed I happened to hit someone. After a brief mental apology, I looked forward again.
The Warp Gate was getting closer by the second. But even though a few Users were already there, touching it, the portal showed no signs of opening.
Just as I landed near the Warp Gate, a single cry confirmed the anxiety I had been feeling all along.
“The, the Warp Gate isn't working!”
Goddammit.
I bit my lip and ran to the Warp Gate. The gate itself was fine. There were no signs of damage anywhere, and all the seams were properly connected. Yet it wasn't working. That meant there was only one answer. Those Vagabond bastards must have tampered with the magic circle that operated it.
“What do you mean? Why isn't it working?!”
“What are you doing? Open the portal already!”
“I, I don't know…. Why… why….”
“Move! Let me try.”
The inside of the gate was instantly thrown into chaos. And when the shouts of the Users further back, who still didn't know the gate was inoperable, were added to the mix, it was more than just chaos. It was then, just as I was about to approach the magic circle to see if it could be repaired, that a low laugh drifted into my ears.
“Kheheheheheheheheh….”
The sound was coming from the floor. I lowered my head slightly and scanned the ground, spotting a Vagabond being trampled under the Users' feet. His equipment had long since been torn to shreds, and judging by the pool of blood he was lying in, it wouldn't be strange if he died at any moment.
“Serves you right, you fucking bastards…. Khehehe…. Cough! Cough!”
“What the hell did you people do to the Warp Gate?”
“What did we do? We messed with the magic circle, you stupid bitch. Go on, stay here as long as you like. You'll all be killed by the reinforcements rushing in from outside soon enough…!”
“You son of a…!”
“If you want to live, why don't you run away now? Kehkeh!”
Thwack!
Someone, unable to contain their anger, must have brought their weapon down. The Vagabond's head caved in, and a fountain of blood erupted. As I watched the man's eyes roll back, I immediately activated Third Eye.
If it was only damaged and not completely destroyed, I might be able to repair it in a short amount of time. I needed to check the extent of the damage, so I turned my gaze to where the magic circle was.
…Forget it.
The moment I saw the information and damage percentage for the Warp Gate displayed in the air, I decided to leave this place at once. They must have had an expert on Warp Gates, because it had been sabotaged in a truly masterful way. To be precise, it was repairable, but not here and now. The magic circle had been so cleanly dismantled that it would take at least two days of continuous work to fix.
The shouts coming from three directions were now very close. Time was of the essence. Now that I'd confirmed using the Warp Gate was impossible, there was no reason to linger. Pushing through the Users packing the interior, I leaped toward the entrance again. There was only one option left. I had to get out through the city gates.
The question is, which gate should I go to….
“Soohyun!”
“Oppa!”
As I leaped over the dense crowd of Users and reached the entrance, I heard familiar voices. Turning my head toward the sound, I saw Ko Yeonju and the other clan members gathered together, apparently having been unable to enter the Warp Gate yet. Thinking it was a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune, I quickly made my way toward them.
*
Deep in the night, the dark sky cast a thick shadow over the city. But the city was not dark. Flames soaring up from all directions drove away the darkness, brightly illuminating the streets.
The city streets, lit by the fires, presented a horrific scene reminiscent of a painting of hell. Cold, stiff corpses were strewn across the rubble of shattered buildings. Blood that had trickled from the bodies ran down the walls to form puddles, its streams gradually extending toward the city center.
Even though you could build a small hill with the corpses scattered everywhere, the slaughter was still ongoing. One side massacred indiscriminately, while the other could only scream pitifully and suffer helplessly. I saw a few Users attempting to resist, but they were swiftly cut down by the Vagabonds' merciless attacks.
A city where slaughter ran rampant. Streets overflowing with screams, madness, corpses, and blood. A single woman in a skin-tight black bodysuit leisurely crossed the main street of this city. The woman was Baek Seoyeon.
Walking down the street with a model-like gait, Baek Seoyeon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, as she calmly exhaled, a satisfied smile graced her lips. When she opened her eyes again, they were sparkling. It seemed she found this situation immensely enjoyable.
“Wow, you really are a crazy bitch. How can you be thinking about that in a situation like this?”
“Crazy bastard. Who are you calling a crazy bitch? Then what's that in your hand?”
After strolling down the street for a while, Baek Seoyeon came to a sudden stop. Her face, which had been so delighted just moments before, creased into a slight frown at the sound of a scream that echoed through the streets.
Soon, an expression of utter exasperation began to drip from Baek Seoyeon's face as she looked in one direction. With a shallow sigh, she drew the dagger that hung at her waist. Gripping it tightly in one hand, she began to walk again.
Where Baek Seoyeon was headed, a man and a woman were in the middle of a heated argument. Arguing so placidly in a hellish situation like this was certainly out of place. But considering the number of corpses lying around them and what each of them held in their hands, it wasn't entirely strange.
“Hey, how old do you think he is? At most, he's in elementary school. No, is he even a User to begin with? Just kill him already.”
“What does that matter? And what's that you're holding?”
“This bitch is obviously an adult. And I don't do perverted shit like you. Anyway, stop talking and just kill him.”
“Bullshit. You think it's easy to find a cute little boy like this? Anyway, he's mine, so you just worry about yourself.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake.”
As if finding their conversation ridiculous, Baek Seoyeon let out a scornful sound. The two turned to look at her, their faces startled. Soon, a hazy despair clouded the faces of the man and woman as they saw Baek Seoyeon. In their respective grips were a boy who looked very young and a woman with a mature beauty, held so tightly it looked like their hair would be ripped out.
“B-Boss.”
“Boss! You’re here!”
“Good to see my ass. The others are risking their lives on this mission, and here you are, our esteemed cadres, doing a fine job. Huh?”
“Th-that's not it….”
The moment the woman hesitated, Baek Seoyeon shot forward like an arrow. She closed the distance in an instant and swung the dagger in her right hand with a flash of light.
Pop!
Just as a brilliant light seemed to sweep past, the sound of a full balloon popping echoed loudly through the street. The boy's head burst like a crushed watermelon, splattering pinkish brain matter everywhere.
The woman who had been holding the boy's head stared blankly as she raised her hand. All that was left in her grasp was a handful of hair. She stared at it for a moment before her face crumpled in a fit of irritation.
“Ah, Boss!”
“Shut up.”
“Seriously…. I finally found one out of thirty….”
Ignoring the constant grumbling from her side, Baek Seoyeon turned her gaze to the man this time. The man shook his head frantically as soon as he met her eyes.
“B-Boss! No!”
But Baek Seoyeon's sleek leg cut through the air without hesitation, and the top of her foot connected precisely with the captive woman's chin.
Crack!
“Gak!”
With a single scream, the mature woman's neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
Watching the woman's body go limp, the man spoke in a sorrowful voice.
“Seriously, Boss. That’s too much.”
“You two are the ones who are too much. How long has it been since the attack started, and you're already looting?”
Baek Seoyeon rotated her ankle once or twice in the air before gracefully folding her outstretched leg back. The man, whose gaze was momentarily captivated by her shapely legs, immediately answered when he felt her stare.
“Hyeon said we could loot as much as we wanted.”
“He meant you could do it after the raid was over.”
“But Boss, you told us to kill only twenty people each. Look. Hae-yeon and I have killed over a hundred so far….”
The man pointed to one side of the street with a genuinely aggrieved tone. Now that he mentioned it, while the other streets were filled with screams and footsteps, this area was strangely quiet.
Baek Seoyeon glanced in the direction the man pointed. Just as he said, the number of corpses littering the street was certainly over one hundred.
“Sigh. Anyway, stop messing around. Where's Gain?”
“Gain? Come to think of it, where did she go? A moment ago, she was kneeling in front of a corpse, just staring at it.”
As the woman answered, looking around, Baek Seoyeon shook her head with a dumbfounded expression.
“Why is it that everyone under me is so weird? One is staring at corpses, another is thinking about fucking around when the raid has barely started…. Hah.”
“Come on, we got word that the plaza was a success, and the Warp Gate too. Looking at the situation, it's pretty much over…. Give us a break, Boss. I can't hold it in.”
Baek Seoyeon glared at the man who chirped in like a sparrow, then spoke in a slightly softer tone.
“You've got a silver tongue, I'll give you that. But didn't I toss you a few just the other day? Right, when we captured those guys from the representative clan? You said the priestess was your type and rushed over like a madman.”
“Ah, right, that did happen. But I couldn't do it. No, I didn't do it.”
“Why?”
“I waited my turn, and I was exactly the two-hundredth. But when I saw her, I just lost the will. Her holes were all stretched out, her body was a mess of white…. She was just limp, like a puppet with its strings cut….”
The man, who had been chattering like a woodpecker, suddenly fell silent.
“What is it?”
“Boss. Behind you.”
The man gestured with a slight jerk of his chin, and Baek Seoyeon slowly turned around. Walking toward her from behind, having appeared from nowhere, was a woman with a vacant, doll-like beauty. To put it nicely, it was a vacant beauty; to put it bluntly, she looked like she had lost her mind.
Baek Seoyeon confirmed the woman's face and turned her body completely.
“Gain? Where have you been?”
“Boss. Big trouble.”
“Where have you…. Huh?”
“Plaza. Warp Gate. Can’t contact them.”
The moment they heard those words, the faces of the three hardened drastically. Baek Seoyeon narrowed her brow slightly and asked again.
“What does that mean? Until we came in….”
“Plaza. Warp Gate. Can’t contact them.”
In response to Baek Seoyeon's question, the vacant-looking woman held up a crystal ball and repeated the same words. Baek Seoyeon stared at her for a moment before speaking in a cold voice.
“Park Dong-su. Lee Haein. The chatter is over. And it's a little early, but gather the others right now. As soon as they're assembled, we're heading for the plaza and the Warp Gate.”
“Now? But we haven't completely taken over yet…. Weren't we supposed to clear this sector before moving in? Why don't we at least leave the looting teams on the left and right flanks?”
“Do it.”
Fweeeet!
The man called Dong-su nodded once and immediately blew a signal.
At that, shadows that had been scattered in every direction began to converge in one place.