Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Silver Holy Bullets
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After Montreal and the police officers died, all the spirits' attention turned to Lee Si-woo.
Rumble.
With a sound that shook the ground, the barrier built with holy water and salt began to tremble.
As thousands, tens of thousands of spirits slammed their bodies against the barrier, a dizzying phenomenon that felt like the very earth was shaking continued.
Rumble…
On the trembling ground, Luktator shouted at young Si-woo.
“Are you sure this is okay? It feels like we’re in big trouble if we stay like this!”
“I-It’ll be fine! Probably!”
At young Si-woo's less-than-confident words, a horrified Luktator exclaimed.
“Probably? What in the world do you mean, probably! Do something, quick! At this rate, we’ll end up just like them!”
While Luktator and young Si-woo were panicking, Lee Si-woo spoke in a calm voice.
“Si-woo. Magazine.”
Young Si-woo, too, was clearly agitated by the spirits' formidable presence, but he diligently carried out his role and duty.
With extraordinary skill, young Si-woo quickly and accurately loaded silver bullets into a spare magazine and tossed it to Lee Si-woo.
Catching the magazine thrown to him, Lee Si-woo expertly swapped it out, shouldered his rifle, and spoke.
“Si-woo, any idea where the spirits’ leader might be?”
At Lee Si-woo's question, young Si-woo quickly scanned the national cemetery building and replied.
“He’s clever, so he’s most likely inside that building. If he’s in there, the sturdiest structure here, the bullets won’t reach him.”
Lee Si-woo narrowed his eyes and frowned.
In truth, this was something Lee Si-woo hadn't considered.
He had taken this position with the intent of dealing with Montreal, and he had succeeded, but he hadn't expected the leader to hole up in the building and refuse to come out.
‘Hmm…’
Anxiety crept up the back of his neck, but Lee Si-woo knew that at times like this, he had to remain as calm and composed as possible.
Besides, it wasn't as if he was completely unprepared for such a situation.
“Si-woo. You said that if I sprinkle salt all over my body and douse myself in holy water, I can move around outside the barrier for a while, right?”
Young Si-woo, realizing what scenario Lee Si-woo was envisioning, said.
“Yes. But with the spirits this aggressive, three minutes… no, even one minute will be tough.”
One minute.
It was not enough time to reach the national cemetery building.
However, it would be enough to get to where Montreal's group had died.
Lee Si-woo turned to Luktator and said.
“Elder. You heard him, right? Get ready quickly, and go grab those two black boxes up ahead.”
Luktator glared at Lee Si-woo with a look that said, *what kind of person is this?*
“…Why does it have to be me? You’re here, and so is that young lad. Stop working an old man to the bone and let one of you youngsters do it.”
“You’re the swiftest among us, Elder. You have the Let Suit’s swiftness option… and, well, you’ve lived a full life.”
“Hmph, I don’t know what I saw in this rascal to follow him to such a dreadful place… In any case, because of one disciple, I’m going through every hardship imaginable in my old age. Fine, I, who am on my way out anyway, will gladly go.”
Grumbling in a clearly sulky tone, Luktator sprinkled salt all over his body. Beside him, young Si-woo politely offered a thermos filled with holy water.
Luktator shook his head, dumbfounded by young Si-woo's attitude, presenting the holy water as if he’d been waiting for a sacrificial lamb to go out in his stead.
“The big one, the little one… I give up. I lose. Fine, you rascals can have it your way.”
Luktator poured the holy water over the salt that had settled on his suit.
Soaked in the salty holy water, Luktator shot out of the barrier like a bullet.
In that moment, even young Si-woo couldn't help but be impressed by Luktator.
He was amazed by Luktator's bravery—how, despite his constant grumbling, he acted without a shred of hesitation when the time came.
Kyaaaak!
At the appearance of fearless prey, the spirits lunged at Luktator, but they couldn't penetrate his suit, which was steeped in holy water and salt.
Crackle.
However, with sparks flying continuously, it was clear that Luktator was also taking significant damage.
It was as if he were crossing a sea of static electricity, relying on a single suit.
Luktator gritted his teeth and activated the swiftness option.
Moving with an ethereal grace as if riding the wind, Luktator reached Montreal's position, quickly grabbed the black boxes, and returned to their base.
Placing the black boxes in front of Lee Si-woo, Luktator gasped for breath and collapsed to the ground.
White smoke rose from his entire body, a phenomenon caused by the salty holy water vaporizing from the spirits' touch.
“Good work.”
Annoyed by Lee Si-woo's nonchalant comment, as if he never doubted Luktator would succeed, Luktator whined.
“Next time, I won't do it even if you order me.”
Lee Si-woo grinned and said.
“You wouldn’t if I ordered you. But you would if I asked.”
Since he couldn't exactly say that was wrong, Luktator smacked his lips.
“…You sly rascal.”
The brief respite was short-lived. As if displeased that Luktator had freely crossed the barrier, the spirits' intensity grew even stronger.
Woooooong!
With a reverberating sound like a vortex of all sorts of monstrous cries and screams, the earth shook once more.
This time, the ground bucked, and clumps of dirt and gravel popped up like breadcrumbs in a hot pan, a visible sign that the situation was worsening.
Extremely tense, young Si-woo took out silver statues from the holy relics he had brought and began to place them one by one along the edge of the barrier.
“Hurry and open those black boxes, or whatever they are! Quick! I don’t think we can hold out for much longer!”
As soon as he placed the silver statues, the shaking subsided to some extent, but now the statues themselves began to tremble violently, as if fitted with vibrating batteries.
Worse, scratches started appearing on their surfaces. It was clear that even with the holy relics, the barrier would not last long.
Crunch.
Using his monstrous strength, Lee Si-woo forced open the locked black box.
Inside, the beautiful form of a quadruple rocket launcher was revealed.
His face lighting up, Lee Si-woo shouldered the rocket launcher.
And, as if he couldn't delay any longer, he fired immediately.
Thwoom, thwoom, thwoom, thwooom!
The muzzles of the quadruple rocket launcher spewed gray smoke as they unleashed the rocket missiles.
The rockets, trailing smoke, slammed into the national cemetery building, erupting in a deafening explosion and a burst of red flames.
Having used all four rockets, Lee Si-woo tossed the now-useless launcher to the ground and opened the remaining black box.
Before Lee Si-woo could even reach for the last rocket launcher, a wary spirit’s roar echoed around them.
Ooooooh--!
Inside the national cemetery building, dust and gravel swirled together, forming a tornado.
Instinctively knowing that the tornado was the leader of the spirits, Lee Si-woo shouted to young Si-woo.
“Get out the Silver Holy Bullets!”
“I was just about to…”
Before young Si-woo could finish his sentence, the silver statues embedded in the barrier's edge split in half with a sharp crack.
Simultaneously, cracks formed in the ground beneath their feet, shattering the barrier’s perimeter.
The barrier, unable to withstand the leader spirit’s rage, had been destroyed.
Just then, young Si-woo threw five Silver Holy Bullets from his pocket to Lee Si-woo.
“Here—!”
Catching the five Silver Holy Bullets thrown to him, Lee Si-woo’s body floated up into the air.
Feeling as if an unseen hand had grabbed his limbs and was pulling him up, Lee Si-woo gritted his teeth, transferred four of the bullets to his left hand, and clenched one tightly in his right.
“Hah!”
With a sharp cry, Lee Si-woo threw one Silver Holy Bullet with all his might, like a pitcher making a full-power throw.
A silver trajectory cut through the air, creating countless fragments of sparks.
This was the sign of spirits perishing, unable to withstand the sacred power imbued in the Silver Holy Bullet.
Finally, the Silver Holy Bullet pierced the center of the tornado.
Kyaaa!
With a piercing shriek, the tornado writhed.
It seemed to be effective, but Lee Si-woo’s limbs were already being consumed by the surrounding spirits, making it difficult to move.
Glancing back, he saw that Luktator had quickly doused himself with holy water and salt again and was holding on, while young Si-woo, strangely, remained untouched.
It was as if young Si-woo was invisible to the spirits’ eyes.
‘Clear your mind. Survival is what’s important right now.’
Seeing the Frog Bear Suit’s HP dropping rapidly, Lee Si-woo released three of the bullets from his left hand.
Clenching the single remaining bullet in his left hand, Lee Si-woo swung his left arm with all his strength.
Whoosh!
Once again, a silver trajectory shot out, tearing through all sorts of spirits and striking the tornado.
The tornado flickered like a candle whose wick had burned down.
But it still seemed to have some strength left, remaining in its spot.
“Si-woo! You have to do the rest!”
The moment he threw the second Silver Holy Bullet, Lee Si-woo’s body was flung high into the sky.
The spirits, sensing the crisis, had moved with the intention of keeping Lee Si-woo far from the ground.
Young Si-woo moved as nimbly as a squirrel that had spotted an acorn.
Picking up the three Silver Holy Bullets on the ground, young Si-woo loaded them into the top of a magazine he had prepared earlier.
Clack.
After inserting the magazine into the rifle, young Si-woo aimed the muzzle at the tornado and pulled the trigger.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
The muzzle spat fire, spewing three Silver Holy Bullets toward the tornado.
Following the tails of the three silver trajectories, explosions erupted like magnificent fireworks.
And then, the three Silver Holy Bullets struck the tornado.
Boom!
Struck by the three Silver Holy Bullets, the tornado vanished without a trace.
As the tornado was obliterated without a scream or a cry, as if its very existence had been erased, the spirits also began to retreat.
Thud!
Having been shot high into the sky, Lee Si-woo crashed to the ground in a pathetic state.
Barely surviving thanks to the Frog Bear Suit, Lee Si-woo coughed up blood and let out a pained groan.
“Damn it… I almost died.”
It was the most dangerous moment since he had entered the trial world.
Yes, so dangerous that he would have surely died if not for young Si-woo.
‘The spirits seemed reluctant to attack young Si-woo. This… is probably the work of the Progenitor Devil.’
It wasn't strange.
The Progenitor Devil knew young Si-woo’s value better than anyone, so it was only natural, in a way, that he would have taken such precautions.
‘More importantly, the Elder…’
When he turned his eyes, he saw Luktator lying face down on the ground, his butt twitching like an ape exhausted by the heat.
His left arm was bent at a grotesque angle; it seemed the effects of the salt and holy water had worn off at the end.
If young Si-woo had reacted even a moment later, neither Lee Si-woo nor Luktator could have been sure of their survival.
‘Still… we did it.’
A system message appeared before Lee Si-woo's eyes.
[You have cleared Secret Chapter 2.]
[Calculating rewards….]
Ding.
[Calculation complete. Please return to the starting point. Rewards will be distributed upon your return.]
It was the moment the long, long Secret Chapter 2 was finally complete.