Chapter 135: Strengthening Firepower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135: Strengthening Firepower
“Ji-eun!”
“Ji-eun!”
Just then, Yu U-jeong and Si-ho came running over.
The two had realized Ji-eun was in a bad state and rushed to her side.
“Ahehe, I’m okay.”
Ji-eun said shyly to the two of them.
Seeing this, Si-ho and Yu U-jeong let out sighs of relief.
After all, as a team, they had all been genuinely worried about her.
Ha-chan watched her.
He was proud.
He could keenly feel that she had broken through her limits and grown.
A child becomes an adult through experience.
Ji-eun, who had always felt like a little sister, was now becoming her own person as a full-fledged hunter.
The fact filled Ha-chan with a deep sense of pride.
“Ji-eun, what about that child?”
“Ah.”
At Ha-chan’s question, Ji-eun remembered the child.
Then, something fluttered up from her arms.
It was a palm-sized girl, tinged with golden light.
“This is Geumjok.”
So that’s the name she chose.
Geumjok, who had been hugging Ji-eun’s cheek, soon flew over to Ha-chan and sat on top of his head.
Seeing Geumjok show a particular fondness for Ha-chan, Ji-eun blushed once more.
“Well, I’ve been communicating with Geumjok a lot, so I think my feelings for you, Oppa, might have transferred to her a little.”
She felt so embarrassed her face felt like it was not just burning, but about to explode.
“What the. I knew this thing was a ball of energy, but… it’s a nascent Spirit King, isn’t it?”
Baeksan reacted with disbelief upon seeing Geumjok.
When Ha-chan looked at him, Baeksan spoke while looking at Geumjok, whom he could apparently also see.
“A Spirit King isn’t something a high-level spirit becomes by growing. They’re born as such. Before a generational shift occurs, these things called nascent Spirit Kings appear.”
They’re like blank white canvases, with no attributes or will of their own yet.
Like a fetus of a massive energy cluster that will become a Spirit King.
That was Geumjok.
Ha-chan now understood why the spirits had been in such a frenzy over Geumjok.
Even if they were from a different dimension’s Spirit World, a nascent Spirit King had suddenly popped into existence, and they didn’t know what to do with their fear. The other spirits had absorbed that emotion completely and gone berserk.
After all, spirits are connected as mental entities.
“Ji-eun, did you form a contract with Geumjok?”
“Ah, uh, yes. It’s like a contract, but… it feels like we’re connected on a much, much deeper level.”
As Ji-eun, who had snatched Geumjok from Ha-chan’s head to hug her, hurriedly answered, Saran, who was standing beside them, let out a long sigh.
“It’s not something like a contract.”
Saran, the foremost expert on spirits among them, said as she looked at Ji-eun and Geumjok.
“Their very essences have probably mixed. Right now, Ji-eun and Geumjok are practically a single being.”
Hearing this, Ha-chan looked at Ji-eun with concern.
“Will there be any problems for Ji-eun?”
“Problems? What problems? She’s mixed with a nascent Spirit King. She’ll just get fucking strong.”
Baeksan replied nonchalantly, as if wondering why he was so worried.
Saran also shook her head, indicating there wouldn’t be any issues.
What a relief.
“Hey, Ha-chan-ssi, it’s nice that you’re all talking, but…”
Yu U-jeong said, pointing behind them.
“What are we going to do about that?”
There stood Ilbelli.
Drool dripped from its one remaining head, its eyes completely crazed.
Desperate to devour Geumjok, Ilbelli was tenaciously making its way here, even while under attack from Se-hee.
Seeing this, Ha-chan was lost in thought.
Ji-eun had rescued Geumjok.
Now that she and Geumjok were one, there would be no problem escaping with Si-ho’s spatial teleportation.
In that case, it seemed the wiser decision would be to bring in a returnee to finish off Ilbelli, just as Se-hee had first suggested.
“Ha-chan-oppa.”
Just as Ha-chan was thinking this, Ji-eun called out to him again.
Still held in Ha-chan’s arms, Ji-eun looked up at him and spoke.
“I have an idea.”
And what she said next was another method, one that Ha-chan had never expected.
*
High in the sky, at the edge of the land where the sea was visible.
Se-hee held a spirit staff made of talismans in her hand, catching her breath.
‘Haa, shit, seriously… this doesn’t feel like my own body.’
Because she had been using her talismans nonstop with her demonic energy, fatigue was flooding her body.
But Ilbelli was tenaciously surviving and enduring Se-hee’s fierce onslaught.
Ilbelli possessed a tenacious life force; you really had to give it credit for its durability.
‘Not enough firepower.’
Se-hee was still in the process of recovering her physical body, so she hadn’t regained her full demonic power.
Resurrection and recovery were two different things, after all.
Thus, Se-hee lacked the power to finish Ilbelli off.
To draw out more firepower, she needed more demonic energy.
‘Another attack from Ha-chan…’
That was firepower beyond any standard, to begin with.
She couldn’t hope for something like that again.
“Guuuuuuuuuung!”
Just then, Ilbelli thrashed again and charged forward.
Its willpower was almost admirable; Ilbelli’s only goal was to swallow Geumjok.
“You won’t!”
Seeing this, Se-hee immediately swung her staff.
In that instant, talismans detached from her staff and rained down on Ilbelli like meteors once more.
But it was still not enough to stop Ilbelli’s advance.
It was at that moment.
The air in the area began to flow as if in reverse, drawn toward a single point.
The air grew heavy, as if she herself would be dragged in and swept away.
A single person was reflected in Se-hee’s eyes.
It was Ha-chan.
There he stood amidst crackling red lightning, the muzzle of his gun aimed at Ilbelli.
Could it be? After unleashing so much power, did he still have strength left?
As Se-hee’s eyes widened in surprise, she saw the person standing next to Ha-chan.
Golden hair whipped about violently in the massive wave of energy.
Her eyes were glowing gold. It was none other than Ji-eun.
What had happened?
Se-hee didn’t know the details, but she realized one thing.
“This is the perfect moment.”
Se-hee unleashed all the talismans wrapped around her staff at once.
In that instant, the sky behind her cracked open with a sharp sound.
Through the opening in the sky, a giant dokkaebi appeared, wearing prayer beads on both hands.
With the translucent dokkaebi behind her, Se-hee raised her hand.
The talismans swirling around her hand began to trace a strange curve.
“Nakcheon.”
The moment Se-hee’s voice rang out, the dokkaebi, Nakcheon, leaped forward explosively.
KWAANG!
A violent roar echoed out.
Nakcheon was there, pressing down on Ilbelli’s head.
Standing rigidly on its head like a giant nail, Nakcheon pinned Ilbelli down, unleashing a ghastly killing intent.
“Guuuuuuuuuuk!”
Ilbelli thrashed in fury, but Se-hee poured even more demonic energy into her lowered hand.
At that moment, Se-hee’s demonic energy was exploding with a force that not even Ilbelli could overcome.
Then, Ilbelli sensed the same massive wave of energy that had blown its body apart earlier.
Ilbelli sensed the danger.
If Ha-chan’s Brain Thunder were to hit it directly again, in that moment…
Ilbelli knew instinctively that it would be bidding the world farewell.
“Guuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
The moment Ilbelli roared, its one remaining head gaped wide open.
Thinking its prey would be blown away, the beast was now unleashing the ultimate attack it had been saving.
All light began to be sucked into the space before Ilbelli’s mouth.
At the same time, a vibration that shook the very earth followed, proving the beast was using its full power.
Just as Se-hee noticed this and was about to rush to stop Ilbelli, her eyes met Ha-chan’s.
It’s okay.
That’s what Ha-chan was telling her.
“…Honestly.”
Seeing his confident smile, Se-hee twisted her lips slightly and refocused on Nakcheon.
Just like Hyeok-seo, she, Se-hee, had also played the role of a tanker in the game.
In that case, she had to act like a tanker and hold it down properly.
Ha-chan smiled, seeing that Se-hee had understood his intentions the moment she looked at him.
‘That’s just like Eva-noona.’
At the same time, Ha-chan let out a sound of admiration at the massive amount of energy flowing into his entire body.
Beside him, just as Se-hee had seen, was Ji-eun.
To Ha-chan, who had been wondering what to do about Ilbelli, Ji-eun had proposed none other than sharing Geumjok’s energy with him.
He had wondered if it was possible, but Ji-eun, who had become able to wield Geumjok’s power through their connection, was confident she could do it.
As proof, Ha-chan was now creating another Brain Thunder.
The red Brain Thunder was now infused with the power of the nascent Spirit King, glowing brilliantly with a mix of gold and red.
Ha-chan’s gaze fell upon Ji-eun.
With her golden hair flying, Ji-eun, in this very moment, looked more like a hunter than anyone.
Seeing her, who had grown up so much in just a few months, Ha-chan realized he had been treating her too much like a child until now.
And with that, he recalled the confession she had made with all her heart just a little while ago.
Was her love truly any less than that of Seol-hyang, Ahyu, or Si-ho?
At the very least, Ha-chan was certain he shouldn’t treat her feelings lightly.
“Ji-eun.”
And so, Ha-chan called out to her.
As Ji-eun’s golden eyes turned to him, Ha-chan gave her an apologetic smile.
“I’ll think more seriously about your confession.”
“Huh? H-huh?”
Ji-eun stared at Ha-chan, her eyes wide.
Looking into those eyes, Ha-chan placed his finger on Thunderbolt’s trigger.
He had no intention of getting the same result as before.
He would defeat Ilbelli with this one strike.
“Finish it.”
The moment Baeksan’s voice rang out, Ha-chan immediately pulled the trigger.
Crackle!
The instant a tiny crackle of lightning sounded.
KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAK!
A delayed roar erupted in its wake.
The bullet of red and gold Brain Thunder surged forward, swallowing everything in its path.
Seeing this, a black beam of light shot out from Ilbelli’s mouth with a deafening blast.
The Brain Thunder bullet and Ilbelli’s beam collided.
For a moment, it seemed as if the Brain Thunder was being pushed back.
But this was a Brain Thunder bullet empowered by Ji-eun’s full strength.
As if mocking the idea of being pushed back, the Brain Thunder became a storm, swallowing even Ilbelli’s beam.
Seeing this, Ilbelli poured all its power into its beam until the very end, but it could not stop the Brain Thunder bearing down on it.
That was the end.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
Engulfed by the Brain Thunder, Ilbelli was incinerated and vanished.
The Brain Thunder didn’t stop there, blasting away the earth and shaking Iceland to its core.
Amidst the violent tremors, as smoke billowed up, Ha-chan met the gaze of Ji-eun, who was still staring at him with wide eyes.
The sound of helicopters could be heard approaching from the distance.
It seemed that with all the commotion, Iceland had dispatched its own hunters.
Hearing the sound, Ha-chan looked at Ji-eun for a moment before stroking her head.
“You did well. I’m proud of you, Yoon Ji-eun.”
Hearing those words, tears welled up in Ji-eun’s eyes as a smile unlike any she’d worn before spread across her face.
Seeing this, Ha-chan smiled back, and then felt something snap in his head.
Ah, I’m passing out.
By the time he realized it, Ha-chan had already closed his eyes, hearing everyone’s screams.