Chapter 372: Shin Sangyong
Chapter 372: Shin Sangyong
Despite it being morning, a dim shadow was cast over Barbara's Field. The sun was still high in the middle of the sky, but a sudden gathering of dark clouds had completely blocked its light. It looked as if a downpour was imminent.
Suddenly, a single, cold gust of wind blew across the field, reaching toward something.
The wind swept past a group of people.
It was then.
La-la-la-la-la-la….
La-la-la….
La….
Splash!
The water spirit, which had been singing of a brilliant victory, was swept up by the wind and vanished in an instant. With that, the liquid that had formed its body scattered, embroidering the air with a spray of glittering droplets.
Only after this strange phenomenon did Kim Yoohyun slowly raise his head. His vacant gaze stared blankly at something. But after a short intake of breath, he raised his right hand and began to chant.
A moment later, a crest appeared on the back of his tightly clenched fist, emitting a golden aura. The golden magic instantly spread throughout his body, causing a discharge of energy before surging high into the air and dyeing the entire sky. The process of the black clouds turning into yellow clouds was a spectacle beautiful enough to be called magnificent.
Before long, Kim Yoohyun’s entire body was shrouded in golden light, and currents of leaking magic danced as if to tear the very air apart. He simply stood there, calmly gazing forward. Yet, visible beneath his slightly lowered head, his eyes, his lips, his shoulders—all held a faint tremor.
Abruptly, Kim Yoohyun squeezed his eyes shut. His face began to contort. Worry, anguish, grief, sorrow, tears… an array of feelings that could be collectively described as ‘sadness’ washed over his expression.
“…”
After a short while, Kim Yoohyun opened his clenched fist. He quietly parted his lips.
“Ultimate.”
Flash!
For a moment, a flash of light accompanied by a thunderclap illuminated the world. And at last, Kim Yoohyun lifted his slightly bowed head. From his now-open eyes, a deep yellow glow streamed out like fine threads.
Then, Kim Yoohyun’s throat bobbed, like someone choked with emotion. He then continued speaking with great difficulty, as if he were forcing something out.
“Thunder…!”
Rumble, ruuumble!
And the world was bathed in a bright yellow light.
The moment the hem of Kim Yoohyun’s robe billowed upwards—
CRACK-BOOM! KRA-KA-KABOOM!
From the yellow-dyed sky, hundreds of streaks of light rained down upon the water-soaked field.
*
The lightning flashing through the clouds brightly lit the area. The enemies, who had seemed ready to charge at any moment, finally sensed that something was wrong and froze in place. They immediately looked up at the sky, but it was far too late.
The Thunder God had already unleashed his power.
KRA-KABOOM!
The moment the explosive thunderclap sounded, my hair stood on end, and my vision turned completely white.
For an instant, I couldn't see a thing. I immediately stirred my magic and enhanced my vision. Then I could see it—the golden clouds in the sky were melting and pouring down onto the earth.
It was a downpour of lightning.
BOOM, CRACK! BOOM, CRACK! BOOM, CRACK! BOOM, CRACK!
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
A sharp, stinging killing intent pierced my skin. The lightning bolts that fell in straight lines slammed violently into the ground, creating massive craters. Then, before the enemies had a chance to react, the electricity spread in all directions, riding the water that covered the earth. It was like watching rivers made of pure electricity.
—Guh, uwaaargh! Uwaaaaaargh!
—Gyaaaaaaaaargh!
Following the crashing thunder, a chorus of tearing screams echoed from all around.
The area was immediately filled with an uproar.
—Haaargh! Hyaaaaaaaaargh!
—Ggegelegelegelegelek!
The synergy between electricity and water was truly immense. The electrocuted enemies not only convulsed but were burned completely black. The number of those falling helplessly was too great to count. The fact that they had been packed so densely to restrict my movement had now come back to poison them.
Perhaps those who were merely electrocuted were the lucky ones. The unfortunate souls struck directly by lightning were vaporized without a trace. Only the few remaining fragments of flesh hinted at the horrific result.
Amidst this chaos, I stood tall and calmly surveyed my surroundings. I was also in this space, so I couldn't avoid the lightning. Accordingly, the golden currents that had already swallowed dozens of Users veered and flowed toward me with the speed of a light beam.
Crackle! Crac-crackle!
The approaching torrent of lightning caused a fierce discharge, crashing over me like a wave.
BZZT! BZZZZZT!
For a moment, it collided with my magic resistance, creating a sharp ripple, but thankfully, it grazed past me and flowed harmlessly on. My brother's mastery of magic control had shone through.
I let out a sigh of relief. But I couldn't rely on my magic resistance alone. I raised my guard, preparing to draw out the power of Eternal Flame at any moment.
My brother's unique ability. Thunder God.
The Thunder God ability had several effects, including enhanced vision and magic control, but its crowning feature could be defined as ‘amplification.’ It allowed him to borrow the power of the Thunder God to dramatically expand the range and destructive force of his own abilities.
This was incomparable to simple amplification. As the name suggested, the inclusion of the word ‘God’ meant it was safe to assume it was on a similar level to my own Eternal Flame.
—Pfft! You’ve got to be kidding. You think this is on my level?
Huh?
Just then, I tilted my head at the voice that echoed in my mind. But in that instant, another bolt of lightning struck from the sky, and then another. The horrifying sound of thunderbolts striking the earth made me quickly dismiss my question and let out a hollow laugh.
KABOOM! KRA-KABOOM! KRA-KA-KABOOM!
“…”
The lightning fell without end. As if scolding them for daring to corner his little brother, my brother gave them no quarter, relentlessly pouring down thunderbolts. My vision was hazy even with my magically enhanced sight, so I gently closed my eyes.
By now, not even screams could be heard.
How much time had passed?
As I stood with my eyes closed, focusing on the presences around me, I felt the vibrations that had been shaking my surroundings gradually subside.
I kept my eyes closed for a while longer before slowly opening them.
Wooooosh….
The ceaseless lightning had finally stopped. The area was so thick with smoke that I couldn't see an inch in front of me. Clouds of dust kicked up by the impacts swirled around. As they gradually settled, the surrounding scenery came into full view.
Suddenly, the smell of something crisp and burning stung my nose.
Scorched earth.
The ground was cracked and split as if lava had flowed through it.
Scattered here and there were charred, unrecognizable corpses.
That was right. Within at least a 100-meter radius, there wasn't a single person standing besides me. The enemies who had been glaring at me with murderous intent just moments before had vanished all at once, as if it had all been a lie.
Literally a pile of ash… The scene before me was a catastrophe so complete that even that description felt inadequate.
But my shock was brief. I quickly pulled myself together. It wasn't as if I was stunned senseless; I had seen this a few times in the first playthrough.
No. Even setting that aside, I had no time to stand around. This was a precious opportunity my brother had created for me, accepting the strain on his own body. After I’d asked him to trust me, showing a dazed expression now would be the ultimate betrayal of that trust.
Therefore, my next actions were swift.
First, I quickly retrieved ‘Caligo Abraxas’ and ‘Victoria’s Glory,’ then looked down at the corpse I had heard about earlier. The Spirit Summoner's body had barely maintained its shape, but that was all. The arrogant smile she had shown me was now a mangled mess.
I quickly used my Third Eye to scan her, then thrust my hand toward her abdomen. I soon felt a round orb in my palm—something hard and cold. I pulled it out immediately.
『Water Crystal』
“I knew it.”
Though slightly scorched, the ‘Water Crystal’ was thankfully intact. With a sigh of relief, I carefully placed the orb inside my coat.
I had bought time. I had eliminated a variable. Additionally, I had halted the enemy's charge and inflicted massive damage.
Even so, it couldn't have possibly affected all 15,000 of the enemy’s total forces. The enemies outside my range had likely paused in confusion before resuming their charge.
Still, Vivian should have established some sort of defensive line by now…
But I wasn't heading there. No. I couldn't.
I have to hold out as long as possible until reinforcements arrive.
The Eastern forces were currently in disarray after being hit by the ‘Tide of Purification.’ They weren't gathered in one place, which meant I had to move quickly. The only thing left to do was to save the people I knew and get them inside the defensive line as fast as possible.
Pushing aside the joy of having obtained a means to fight the forces of demons and Demonkin in the future, I began to sprint across the field. Simultaneously, I activated a Latent Ability.
『Blessing of the Battlefield (Rank: EX)』
(Description: …A goddess’s blessing that can only be enjoyed by a single soldier, active only on the battlefield. The blessed User gains a wide field of vision that can encompass the entire battlefield and can immediately pinpoint the location of allies in crisis. Furthermore…)
*
As if disturbed by the deafening noise, Shin Sangyong’s brow twitched slightly. His eyes slowly fluttered open. He blinked once or twice, his vision blurry, and habitually fumbled around him. It seemed he was looking for the broken glasses he kept by his head.
Without even thinking to enhance his vision with magic, Shin Sangyong searched for his glasses for a while before suddenly freezing. His narrowly opened eyes shot wide in an instant.
Shin Sangyong was still sprawled on the ground. He had been unconscious ever since being swept away by the ‘Tide of Purification.’
“Uh… uh…”
Still unable to process the situation, Shin Sangyong barely managed to lift his head, his gaze fixed on his bent right hand. The moment he saw the thick blood smeared on his palm, he shot up with a start.
“Ugh, uwaaaargh!”
But Shin Sangyong couldn't get up. The moment he saw the unknown corpse lying on top of him, he let out a huge scream and fell back down. At the same time, an excruciating pain shot up from his leg, violently rattling his mind.
He was flailing his arms, overwhelmed by the sudden situation, when—
“Is anyone alive here?”
With the voice of a still-young woman, the corpse on top of Shin Sangyong was rolled away.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah… uh… ah… uh…”
The woman seemed frustrated by Shin Sangyong’s groans. She immediately bent down, grabbed his shoulders, and shouted. Shin Sangyong shook his head violently.
“Hey! Stay still! They haven't reached this far yet, but we still have to run!”
“He-help…”
Finding his continued groaning strange, the woman’s urgent gaze scanned him over and suddenly glinted.
“Oh no…! You’re badly hurt. Just wait a moment.”
The woman was surprisingly strong. She helped Shin Sangyong up, hoisting his body. Only then was he able to regain some of his senses.
He managed to turn his head to look at the woman who had helped him and saw a young woman with a cute face and chubby cheeks. Her face was covered in dirt, and she kept glancing behind them as if being chased.
“Th-thank…”
“Ah, I’ll take your thanks later. For now…”
It was then.
Thwip! Thwack!
“Aargh!”
An arrow flew from somewhere and brutally pierced the face of the woman supporting him. She collapsed with a single scream, and Shin Sangyong, who had just managed to get up, was thrown back to the ground.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
At the same time, the reality of the situation finally began to register in Shin Sangyong’s senses.