Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Monster Subjugation (6)
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“Grrrrrrr!!”
“Kirararak!”
The monsters surrounding them let out vicious roars.
Oh-jin scanned his surroundings, his expression hardening.
‘Damn it.’
It was unbelievable.
It was something he didn't want to believe.
But he could guess what was happening.
‘So that was the ace up his sleeve.’
The monsters that now surrounded them.
The ability to control these vicious beasts was the reason for his confident expression.
‘And he got that power from the Black Star Society.’
Oh-jin stared at the black orb in Choi Jong-cheol’s hand.
It was a relic that emanated the same ominous energy he had felt at the Mok-dong Gate.
A relic imbued with the power of the ‘Black Star’ was in his hand.
‘He’s using that to control the monsters.’
The Aquarius stigma didn't have the power to control monsters, so he had to be using that relic.
‘Damn it all.’
What kind of fucked-up coincidence was this?
To think the prey he had targeted for the Aquarius stigma was actually a member of the Black Star Society.
At this point, it was almost suspicious enough to make him think someone was maliciously orchestrating this.
“Huhu. Why the long face? Didn’t you already know everything?”
Choi Jong-cheol’s taunt reached him.
His grip on his spear tightened instinctively.
Oh-jin’s face twisted into a grimace.
‘Considering the flow of events, it's not an entirely bad situation.’
After all, this had raised Vega’s trust in him, and he no longer needed to fabricate evidence later.
But the problem was…
“Kuaaaaaah!!”
“Karrrrk!!”
“……”
There were far, far too many monsters surrounding him.
He could have handled about ten of them on his own, but this was well beyond that.
“Hoo.”
He let out a short breath.
It was the worst-case scenario.
But then again, wasn't this why he had prepared an insurance policy in the first place?
“Vega, please.”
[Very well.]
He knew using her blessing was a burden on Vega.
But in this situation, he had no choice.
[Go, my child.]
Vega placed a hand on his head.
Vwoooom!!
A brilliant silver light erupted, flowing into Oh-jin’s body.
[Once more, with your power, rewrite the pages of fate!]
With Vega’s cry.
Fzzzzzzzzzt!!!
Blue lightning swept through the area.
A dizzying power surged from the depths of his body.
“Hah.”
A heated breath escaped his lips.
It had been a while since he’d felt this dizzying sense of omnipotence.
The monsters that had seemed so threatening now felt like sick puppies.
‘It’s different.’
This felt completely different from when he received the blessing at the Mok-dong Gate.
‘Because my level is different from back then.’
He had achieved exponential growth through his training over the past three months.
Enough that even the prideful Lyra had acknowledged him.
The stronger he became, the more potent the blessing’s effect.
“Alright then.”
Smirk.
The corners of his mouth twisted up.
“I’ll be back in a flash.”
His breath was long and low.
He launched himself forward, springing off his bent legs.
━He sprinted.
-Kzzzzzzzzzt!!!
“Kuaaaaaah!!”
“Kruk!! Krararak!”
Two down, for starters.
With a single thrust of his spear, a storm of blue lightning swirled forward like a vortex.
It didn't just burn flesh; it turned them to ash. Two monsters died instantly.
“Kararararak!!”
Creatures with mantis-like arms spread their wings and took to the sky.
“So what if you can fly?”
He casually extended a hand.
Kra-koom!
A bolt of lightning formed in mid-air and struck a monster that had taken flight.
“Kieeeeeek!!”
The monsters that had spread their wings to fly were struck down like lightning rods.
“Ha.”
A dry laugh escaped him.
Creating lightning from thin air.
Normally, it was a technique he wouldn't even dare to imitate.
“This is insane.”
But right now, he could do it as easily as breathing.
“━I could get used to this.”
Thwump!!
He kicked off the ground, baring his teeth fiercely.
Gripping the spear shaft, he turned toward a dense cluster of monsters.
He pulled his right arm back as far as it would go.
Twisting his waist to add rotation.
“Fire in the hole!”
He threw.
Shwoooooo!
A silver arc shot through the air.
Like a meteor streaking across the night sky, the silver spear fell and embedded itself in the earth.
And then.
-Kzzzzzzzzzt!!
“Kiaaaaaaaah!!”
“Grrrrrrrkkak!”
The blue lightning condensed within the silver spear was released all at once.
Sharp bolts of lightning swirled outwards.
The monsters caught in the vortex were charred black.
A pungent smell filled his nostrils.
“These bastards have a surprisingly savory smell, which makes it even more disgusting.”
The moment he landed, he took a step and rolled.
Crack!
A monster’s claw slammed down where he had just been.
“Kiiiiiiik!”
Rumble! Thwump!
When had it burrowed underground?
The ground right below where he had rolled to safety heaved, and a monster burst out.
“Hup!”
He quickly stomped his foot and jumped.
From the cracked earth, a monster with a mouth split into eight sections shot up.
“Grrrrrrr!”
The monsters that had escaped the lightning storm charged at him with savage roars.
Bzzzzzz!
The mantis-like monsters that had been rolling on the ground took to the air again.
“Tsk.”
Front, back, left, and right.
Below and above.
He was completely surrounded by monsters.
It was undoubtedly the worst-case scenario, but…
“You bastards are trying so hard.”
Oh-jin smirked and spread his arms.
Twang!
Six wires intertwined like a net.
“Well, if you’re going to come at me like this, it just makes it easier for me.”
Fzzzzzzzzzt!
Blue lightning raced along the net of wires.
The monsters closing in from all sides—no, from all six directions—were reduced to ash by the crackling electricity and collapsed.
“Hah, hah.”
Even with the blessing, was it this draining to pour out so much magic in such a short time?
His breathing became a little ragged.
He took a moment to catch his breath and turned his head toward Choi Jong-cheol.
“W-what is this.”
Choi Jong-cheol’s mouth hung open as he trembled.
He even rubbed his wide eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“N-no way!!! H-how can a 3-Star Awakened be this… this…!”
I’m a 4-Star now, you punk.
‘Well, it wouldn't make sense even for a 4-Star.’
Honestly, it was true that he was incomparably stronger than other 4-Star Awakened.
But even considering that, the only reason he could display such overwhelming power was thanks to Vega’s blessing.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!!!”
Choi Jong-cheol scratched his cheeks hysterically, like a spinster who’d failed her fortieth blind date.
He clawed at his cheeks until the skin broke and blood trickled down, then thrust the black orb forward and screamed.
“Kill him!! Tear that bastard to shreds, you idiots!!!”
“M-Mr. Jong-cheol! Please calm down!”
Had he run over after hearing the commotion?
The bald man who had been with Choi Jong-cheol urgently tried to stop him.
“A-at this rate, the plan!”
“Fuck the plan!! Can’t you see that bastard laughing his ass off? Huh? Can’t you see him?!”
Choi Jong-cheol ground his teeth and reached for the bald man.
His arm, wreathed in black energy, seized the man by the neck.
“Keok! Gack! W-wait…!”
Crack, crunch!
With the sickening sound of crushing bone, the bald man’s head twisted at an unnatural angle.
His entire body was horrifically compressed as if caught in an industrial press.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurryyyyy!!!”
Choi Jong-cheol glared at Oh-jin with bloodshot eyes.
“Kill that bastarddddddddddddddddd!!!!!”
His crazed shriek echoed through the ruined city.
“…What the hell is wrong with that guy?”
Oh-jin frowned as he looked back at the screaming Choi Jong-cheol.
He was clearly not in a normal state.
‘Is it because of that relic?’
The sinister energy emanating from the black orb in Choi Jong-cheol’s hand was gradually consuming him.
“First, I’ll take care of that━”
Before he could finish his sentence.
“Karrrrrrrrrrrk!”
“Kiaaaaaaaak!!”
Rumble!
More monsters emerged from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
There were even more of them than before.
“Damn it.”
With the monsters single-mindedly targeting him, it was difficult to get close to Choi Jong-cheol.
[Ugh… m-my child. Are… you, al… right?]
Vega asked, her expression pained, as if she were enduring the constraints of the law.
She looked to be in more pain than he was, and he was the one fighting the monsters.
“Sorry. Looks like this is going to take a bit longer.”
Oh-jin retracted his wires and reached out his hand.
The silver spear he had thrown into the monster horde flew back to him.
“Karrrrk!”
Blue lightning raced through the charging monsters.
With every swing of his spear, two or three monsters collapsed into piles of black ash.
But.
‘There are too many of them.’
The onslaught of monsters showed no signs of letting up.
‘Are all the monsters in the city flocking here?’
Oh-jin bit his lip and swung the shaft of his spear to strike a monster charging from behind.
“Hah, hah.”
As the battle dragged on, his breathing grew more ragged.
No matter how strong the blessing made him, his stamina and mana had their limits.
‘Damn it.’
After firing his Lightning Spear more than thirty times in a row, Oh-jin created some distance from the monsters and retreated.
“Kugh.”
Was it because he had used too much mana at once?
A horrific headache slammed into him, as if his head had been split with an axe.
‘I can endure any amount of pain.’
The problem was that his mana, which had seemed endlessly vast, was slowly beginning to run dry.
Oh-jin thrust his spear with a frustrated expression.
‘If only my mana would surge like it did back then.’
Unfortunately, he couldn’t intentionally trigger that state.
“Hah! Hah! Hah!”
He was panting, his breath catching in his throat.
He couldn't even guess how many monsters he had killed.
Dozens? Or over a hundred?
In any case, the pile of monster corpses was growing rapidly by the second.
-Crunch.
“Kugh!”
A monster that had barely managed to break through the storm of lightning bit down on his shoulder.
A fist-sized chunk of flesh was torn away, and blood poured out.
“Damn it!”
“Grrrrrrr!!”
“Kishaaaaat!”
In that brief moment of injury.
Three monsters pushed through the lightning storm and opened their maws ferociously.
[M-my child!]
He heard Vega’s terrified cry.
“Kuh…!”
Oh-jin swallowed a groan and raised his spear.
Slip.
“……!”
His palm, slick with his own blood, momentarily slipped on the spear shaft.
‘Danger…!’
Just as he tried to back away urgently.
-Fwoooooosh!!!
Red flames engulfed the three monsters.
“Kihaaaaaaaak!!”
The monsters, wreathed in fire, shrieked and writhed.
‘Flames…?’
He turned his head.
There stood…
“Oh-jin, you.”
Ha-eun glared at his bleeding shoulder, her expression twisting fiercely.
“Did you or did you not promise me you wouldn't get hurt?”