Chapter 51
Chapter 51
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Surpassing (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“…Hah.”
A short, dry laugh escaped Oh-jin's lips.
A brilliantly blazing red flame.
A woman standing resolute amidst the scattering ash and dust.
“Noona.”
Just like eight years ago.
No, even longer ago, just like when he first met her.
She sparkled like a jewel.
Even in a scene filled with blood and flesh, she was still beautiful.
“Stay still.”
She took a potion from her jacket and poured it onto Oh-jin's shoulder, where a chunk of flesh had been torn away.
A dizzying pain spread through his shoulder.
While the wound didn't regenerate as if time had reversed, at least the bleeding stopped.
It seemed to be a rather expensive potion.
“That’s an expensive one.”
“Huh?”
Ha-eun's expression twisted fiercely.
“Is that what’s important right now?”
“Pfft! Just kidding.”
Oh-jin shrugged and laughed.
No matter how much he loved money, he wasn't so out of his mind as to worry about the cost of a potion in this situation.
‘Thanks to her, I’m alive.’
Her arrival gave him a moment to catch his breath.
‘And.’
The fact that she was here meant…
-Fwoosh!
“Kuaaaaaah!!”
A magical beast that had jumped high through the wall of flames charged forward with its massive body.
The awl-like thorns protruding from it glinted sharply.
As the distance to the beast rapidly closed.
“Hmph!!”
*Kwaduk!*
A young man holding a large shield in one hand blocked the beast's path.
The sharp thorns were blocked by the shield and pushed back.
The beast twisted its body, trying to pierce the shield, but…
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
With a heavy roar, a hammer filled with the magic of a Stigma struck the beast's head.
*Splat.*
Its head burst, and its brain and eyeballs spilled out.
“Are you alright, Mr. Oh-jin!”
Park Chang-hyun shouted, looking back at Oh-jin.
Seeing his reliable figure, a smile naturally formed on Oh-jin's lips.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“B-by the way, did you kill all these magical beasts by yourself, Mr. Oh-jin?”
Park Chang-hyun's jaw dropped as he looked at the surrounding corpses of the magical beasts.
A quick glance revealed dozens. No, what looked like over a hundred beast corpses.
‘This is ridiculous…’
Park Chang-hyun stared at Oh-jin with an expression of disbelief.
Even if he was the Apostle of Polaris, a mere 4-Star Awakened killing over a hundred 6-Star magical beasts on his own?
It was a situation where if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have scoffed and told them to stop spouting nonsense.
‘Is he even human?’
*Gulp.*
Park Chang-hyun swallowed nervously, looking at Oh-jin with a tense expression.
“First, let's take care of those things.”
Twirling his spear, he stepped toward the swarming magical beasts.
It was a short break of less than a minute, but it was enough time to calm his ragged breath and boiling magic.
“I've already contacted the subjugation team. Other Awakened will be here soon.”
“As expected, there's no one like my noona.”
If the other Awakened participating in the subjugation operation joined them, things would become much easier.
“…So don't overdo it. Just buy some time.”
Hmph.
Ha-eun snorted and turned away.
“Hoo.”
After taking a deep breath.
*Click.*
She removed the eyepatch she was wearing.
A vicious eye gleamed.
“Noona?”
“Ugh. I didn't want to use this since I'm still not used to it.”
Ha-eun swallowed a groan and took a step forward.
A vertically slit pupil.
An eye like a snake's turned towards the magical beasts.
“Kireuk?!”
*Flinch!*
The magical beasts that met the Dragon's Eye flinched and stepped back.
“Ugh!”
Ha-eun grimaced, her left eye squeezed shut as she let out a pained groan.
*Kwaduk, kwaduduk!*
The hideous veins around her left eye bulged even more.
“Shit. This really fucking hurts!”
Ha-eun bit her lip and spread her arms wide.
*Wooooong!*
The Stigma engraved on her left chest blazed with an intensity he had never seen before.
“Noona, this is…”
“Heheh. I wasn't just playing around for the last three months, you know?”
She grinned and crossed her outstretched arms in an X.
-Fwooooosh!
A red fire dragon that erupted from the ground coiled around her body.
“When it comes to experience as an Awakened, I've got a lot more than you.”
Enveloped in flames, Ha-eun took a fierce step forward.
*Kooong!*
A massive flame erupted as if a volcano had exploded.
The ground she stepped on cracked open, and red flames shot up from the fissures.
“—I can't just hide behind my Oh-jinnie's back forever, can I?”
FWOOOOOSH!!!
The surging flames.
Her tightly bound reddish-brown hair fluttered brilliantly.
“K-Krrk.”
“Karararak!”
Were they frightened by her intense, blazing aura?
Or did they feel an instinctual threat from the majesty of the great fire dragon sweeping the area?
The magical beasts could be seen cautiously backing away.
“You.”
Ha-eun's gaze fell on the magical beast with a piece of flesh dripping blood from its mouth.
It was the beast that had torn into Oh-jin's shoulder earlier.
“Whose do you think that is that you dared to tear it off?”
Baring her teeth fiercely.
She extended her hand toward the beast as if aiming a gun.
-*Snap!*
With a clear sound, she snapped her fingers.
The fire dragon coiling around her shot toward the beast.
Fwooooosh!
The huge maw made of flames opened wide and swallowed the beast whole.
“Krrrrrrk!”
“Kishaaat!!”
Other magical beasts in its path were also swept up by the fiercely writhing fire dragon and turned to ash.
“…Huh.”
Oh-jin let out a sound of awe as he watched Ha-eun wipe out the magical beasts with overwhelming firepower.
‘Is that the power of the Dragon's Eye?’
He couldn't tell what its specific capabilities were, but…
After she used the Dragon's Eye, the flames surrounding her body felt as if they were moving like a 'living thing'.
Fireballs rampaging in all directions as if they had their own will.
It was such an overwhelming sight that he would have found it hard to believe if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
Well, anyway.
‘Thanks to her, I can relax a bit.’
Grinning, he stood next to Ha-eun.
“Anyone who heard you would think it was your shoulder that got bitten.”
“It might as well be my shoulder. That belongs to me.”
“Why is it yours?”
Who decided that?
“Kyahahat! Everything a younger brother has belongs to his older sister, you know?”
“What kind of…”
“Oh-jinnie, you're not allowed to eat, drink water, or even breathe without my permission.”
Even the Nazis weren't that bad.
“—And don't get hurt, okay?”
“I think I'm going to get hurt from cringing so hard.”
“This little shit?”
“That was so touching, Noona.”
I can't stop crying.
*Stream, stream.*
“Y-y-you said all that super cringey stuff like it was nothing back then!!”
“Pfft!!”
He chuckled and roughly pulled her by the waist.
“W-wha?”
*Thwack!*
He kicked the head of a magical beast charging through the flames.
He gently patted the waist he was holding and turned.
“Well, I'll try my best.”
My noona's this worried, so I can't get hurt.
“…You two are really close.”
Park Chang-hyun let out a dry laugh and looked their way.
Shrugging lightly, he kicked off the ground toward the swarming magical beasts.
-*Bzzzzzt!!*
Blue lightning shot out, piercing through the flames.
The magical beasts that had been swarming with terrifying force began to be pushed back.
After a little more time passed.
“W-why are there so many magical beasts!”
“Hey, isn't that Lightning Wolf over there?”
“Holy shit. The three of them were holding out against this many?”
“Crazy. This isn't rookie-level stuff, is it?”
The Awakened who had gathered after being contacted joined the battle.
“Kieeeek!”
“Karak! Kak!”
The rate at which the magical beasts were being pushed back accelerated.
‘Good.’
The tide of battle had definitely turned in their favor.
[Hah, hah, hah!]
It seems my goddess is reaching her limit, too.
‘Shall I end this?’
Oh-jin's eyes gleamed sharply as he turned toward Choi Jong-cheol.
“Ah, ahh.”
He trembled, looking down at the magical beasts that were being relentlessly pushed back.
“Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?”
He neurotically scratched his cheek.
Continuously scratching the cheek where the skin was peeling off and bleeding.
Without stopping.
*Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.*
“Why are they losing? Huh? Why?”
Bits of flesh were scratched off by his fingernails.
“I did what I was told, didn't I? I did everything they said to do, didn't I?”
*Creak. Creeeak.*
He turned his head at a bizarre angle, pouring out unanswered questions.
“But, but, but.”
*Kkiiik.*
His head, twisted like a broken wooden doll, turned toward Oh-jin.
“Whyyyyyyy—!!! Can't you kill himmmmm—!!!”
The flesh was peeled away to the point his cheekbone was exposed.
As if peeling all the skin off his cheek wasn't enough, Choi Jong-cheol shoved his fingers above his cheekbone and began to gouge out his own eyeball.
“O-Oh-jin. W-w-what's wrong with that bastard?”
Ha-eun asked, her jaw dropped and her face pale.
“Aah— Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Whyyyyyyyy!!!!”
“Kyaaaaaah!! Shit, he's really pulling out his eyeball!!”
“Krrrgh! Keuk! Kill! Kill! Kill! I said kill himmmmmm!!”
*Crunch.*
Choi Jong-cheol let out a crazed scream, popped the eyeball he'd plucked out into his mouth, and chewed it.
“Shiiiit!! That Xiahou Dun motherfucker is eating his own eyeball, Oh-jin!!!”
Calm down, Noona.
Stop pulling my clothes.
“W-was that bastard always such a psycho?”
“No way.”
It seems his mind has been completely consumed by that black holy relic.
Oh-jin bit his lip hard and ran toward the convulsing Choi Jong-cheol.
‘If I leave him be, there's no telling what he'll do.’
I have to deal with him quickly while I have the chance.
-*Tadak!*
After approaching the convulsing Choi Jong-cheol.
‘Explosive Lightning.’
10-hit combo.
-*Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!*
He thrust his spear with all the power he could muster.
“Ah, ahh.”
But.
-*Crack.*
*Woooooong!!*
“Keuk!!”
The orb held in Choi Jong-cheol's hand shattered, and a black energy erupted from it.
Oh-jin's body was thrown back helplessly.
“—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Choi Jong-cheol threw his arms into the air.
The black energy that had erupted spread out wide.
And then.
*Ruuuuuumble!!!*
“W-wha?”
“W-what is that?!”
A black pillar shot up from the city center and mixed with the energy flowing from Choi Jong-cheol.
The ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
No.
It wasn't just shaking.
-*Rumble! Ruuuumble!*
“I-it's collapsinggggg!!”
“Get out of the way!!”
The twisted and broken crust of the earth rippled like a wave.
Dozens of multi-story buildings collapsed like dominoes.
“…Crazy.”
Oh-jin stared at the collapsing city with a haggard expression.
The collapse was most severe in the city center.
‘If I had been there.’
I would have been crushed between the collapsing buildings and buried alive without a chance to do anything.
‘What the fuck is this?’
What kind of method could be used to completely wreck a city like this?
“Krrk! Krak! Hee, heeheehee! Yes, yes, yes!!”
Amidst the continuing collapse.
Choi Jong-cheol's crazed laughter also continued.
“I, I, I? can just? kill him? my? self?”
*Creak! Creeeeak!*
The black energy that had spread out wide converged on Choi Jong-cheol.
His body swelled up like a balloon being inflated to its limit.
Soon.
“Krrk! Kashaaaaaat!!”
The lower body of a snake and the arms of a mantis.
Choi Jong-cheol, who had become a 'magical beast' with a mouth torn in eight directions, let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
“…What.”
Oh-jin stared with a hardened expression at Choi Jong-cheol, no, at 'what used to be Choi Jong-cheol'.
‘A person… turned into a magical beast?’
An incredibly ominous sensation spread down his spine.
“Keuk.”
Oh-jin tightened his grip on his spear.
‘Quickly.’
His instincts were warning him. Screaming at him.
He had to kill that monster as soon as possible.
If he didn't kill it—
“Huh? Me? Why? Whywhy? Why this? Body? Did I? Krrk?”
He would die.
“Vega! Hold on a little longer!!”
There was no reply.
“…Vega?”
He turned his head to look at her.
[I'm, sor…ry. My, child. I can't… anymore….]
Vega's body dissolved into a haze of silver light.
“……”
The blessing was gone.