Chapter 338
Chapter 338
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 339
Chapter Title: The Fading Soul
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jin Cheonwoo’s words left me speechless for a moment.
“......You’re saying I shouldn’t be here? I came here of my own will.”
[It’s not about this exact moment. I mean you, an outsider, existing in this world at all.]
Me existing in this world?
“Wait a second. You’re the one who summoned me here. Why are you acting like my presence in this world is a problem now?”
I shot back in disbelief, and he replied.
[I may be the one who pulled you in, but it wasn’t ‘me.’]
......Are you playing word games with me right now?
“Explain it so I can understand.”
[It’s exactly as I said. I, ‘Jin Cheonwoo,’ did summon you, but the current me didn’t.]
Jin Cheonwoo continued.
[You were merely part of my ‘plan.’ According to that plan, you shouldn’t have been in this world.]
It was absurd.
He summoned me himself, yet now claims it wasn’t him.
Does he have some kind of split personality or something?
[Kim Sunwoo.]
Jin Cheonwoo quietly called my name. I glared at him.
[I know you have many questions. But I have no obligation to explain everything to you. Just live in this world as you please.]
“......You.”
At that moment.
His previous words flashed through my mind again.
‘Jin Cheonwoo himself summoned me, but the current Jin Cheonwoo didn’t.’
‘I was just part of the plan.’
‘Things have deviated from the plan.’
......No way.
I looked at Jin Cheonwoo and said.
“You’re not claiming that the point when the me from the outside world was pulled in was in the future, and that future you is a different person, are you?”
[.......]
Jin Cheonwoo fell silent.
[Kikik...... Kikikik.......]
Then, Shinbi, who had been beside him, began to laugh in a snickering sob.
Her laugh was so unsettling that I wanted to punch her.
Right then.
Jin Cheonwoo’s soul started to dissipate into smoke, bit by bit.
“What’s this?”
[Kikik kik.......]
Shinbi’s laughter echoed again. I turned to her.
“Hey. What’s going on here?”
In response, Shinbi narrowed her eyes and said.
[Sorry, but five minutes are up.]
“Five minutes?”
[The summoning ritual’s time limit is five minutes. You know that.]
“There’s more soul dust left.”
I had prepared plenty of soul dust in case of emergencies.
But Shinbi shook her head in refusal.
[Sadly, no more is possible.]
“What do you mean, no? Why not?”
[Your conversation drained too much energy.]
Too much energy consumption.
I gritted my teeth.
I still had so much more to ask Jin Cheonwoo.
The purpose of summoning me to this world, Kim Chang-hyun’s true identity, the fourth journal......
I hurriedly turned back to Jin Cheonwoo to ask at least one more thing.
But nothing remained where he had stood.
“......He’s gone.”
Lee Seo-jun, who had been quietly watching, murmured softly.
I let out a sigh of emptiness.
Lee Seo-jun stared into the empty space where Jin Cheonwoo had vanished, lost in thought, then asked Shinbi.
“Why couldn’t I hear your conversation properly?”
Shinbi replied.
[You don’t have the qualifications yet.]
“Qualifications?”
[I can’t tell you the details. Figure it out through your own research, step by step.]
Lee Seo-jun shut his mouth, at a loss for words. Shinbi chuckled softly and said.
[Time to say goodbye. This was fun, thanks to you. Not sure if we’ll meet again...... Bye!]
As Shinbi waved her hand, a blinding light flashed.
At the same time, the space we were in shattered.
We were back in the underground passage from before the summoning ritual.
Lee Seo-jun looked around, scratched his head, and muttered.
“What the hell is going on......”
Kuuuung!
Then a massive vibration rumbled, and dirt from the ceiling began to fall to the floor.
I looked up at the ceiling.
This vibration was definitely from Jaun’s attack.
With their invasion underway, they’d swarm this place to steal Jin Cheonwoo’s soul.
But with just me and Lee Seo-jun’s power, blocking Jaun’s forces flooding in here was impossible.
So, our best option was to minimize the damage.
And to block Jaun’s group from drawing attention at the outer wall.
“Let’s head up for now.”
Jaun’s group of fourteen scattered quickly after landing on the shore.
The Association’s wizards moved to stop them, but they were powerless against the overwhelming force.
“Kaaak!”
“Block the entrance!”
Wuuung!
Aporia’s security magic artifacts activated.
Intense mana gathered in one spot and fired toward Jin, who was charging through the center.
Paaang—
At that moment, Jin pulled out a massive shield he’d been carrying on his back.
It looked like a worn-out shield on the outside, but when he infused it with mana, a huge white barrier manifested and blocked the mana cannon.
Kwaaaang!
Ancient Barrier.
A holy relic with the ability to completely block mana.
“What the hell is that......”
“Keep attacking!”
Then, dozens of manifestation spells appeared in the sky above and bombarded the ground where Jin stood.
But Jin stood firm again, blocking every attack with the Ancient Barrier.
After about a minute of bombardment ceased, Jin lifted the Ancient Barrier and charged toward the outer wall again.
Just then, a voice came from the communication artifact in his ear.
—Portal setup complete.
Installation portal.
A one-time-use relic that allowed short-range teleportation to allies.
Including dungeons, ruins, and towers, it was so rare that one might appear only once every five years.
“Got it. I’ll head in right away, so keep drawing their attention. Oh, and where’s Choi Il-hyun?”
—Choi Il-hyun seems to have already moved to where that person’s soul is sealed. Be careful with the infiltration teams.
Right then, Association wizards poured down again to block Jin.
Overwhelming numbers.
Even Jaun’s Jin, with his many mysteries, couldn’t handle that many.
“Hey, hey. Help me out. Hurry.”
—Everyone, cover your ears!
At his ally’s signal, Jin hurriedly deployed a mana barrier to block all external sounds.
—Aaaaaaaaah!
Then a ear-piercing scream echoed loudly around them.
The Association wizards clutched their ears in agony.
“Kuaak!”
“W-what?!”
The wizards who heard it began losing focus one by one.
They had fallen into an illusion from Jaun’s other ancient weapon, [Echo of Illusions].
“......Good. Everything’s going according to plan.”
Jin chuckled lowly as he slipped inside the outer wall.
Looking around, he saw wizards trapped in illusions and others struggling to stay sane.
Neutralizing the enemies now would be smart, but he didn’t want to waste energy, so Jin ignored them.
Right then.
“Die......!”
Two wizards drew swords and aimed for Jin’s back.
At the same time, two ice spikes manifested above Jin’s head and pierced straight through the wizards’ skulls.
Thud!
“......Hoo.”
Jin slowly scanned the surroundings.
He’d neutralized most of the Association wizards, but small fry like these still lingered.
Then he felt an intense gaze from somewhere. Jin casually turned toward it.
Seeing the face, he was slightly startled.
“......Damn, I flinched thinking it was the Witch of Fire.”
Hair fluttering in the wind.
It was Yoo Ah-ra from the Magic Academy.
Instinctively, he’d been about to kill her with an ice spike, but something came to mind.
“......Ah, right. The blood oath.”
Jin belatedly remembered the blood oath with Kim Sunwoo.
‘Never touch anyone close to Kim Sunwoo.’
Her face resembled the Witch of Fire, which annoyed him greatly, but he couldn’t kill her.
“Kid, you’re lucky. Without the blood oath with Kim Sunwoo, you’d be dead already.”
Yoo Ah-ra bit her lip hard at his words.
She knew exactly what he meant.
She already knew about the blood oath between Kim Sunwoo and Jaun.
But despite her enemy standing right there, the helplessness of being unable to act filled her with despair.
If she forced an attack, she’d obviously die a dog’s death.
And that would end any chance of revenge.
“You......”
“What, if you wanna die, try interfering. There’s an exception clause that lets me kill anyone who directly obstructs our plan.”
Jin chuckled lowly.
At that moment.
Kwaang!
Intense mana energy surged from somewhere.
Turning to look down at the outer wall, he saw Kim Deok-hyun and Baek Eun-seong clashing spears in combat.
Jin stroked his chin and watched their fight for a moment.
From the momentum, Kim Deok-hyun seemed slightly superior......
“......No need to help, right?”
Baek Eun-seong would survive on his own.
No one in Jaun matched his tenacity and grit.
“Alright, time to get started.”
Jin pulled a red crystal from his pocket and spoke into the communication artifact.
“Activating the [Origin Generator] now.”
Jin infused mana into the red crystal, the [Origin Generator], in his hand.
Cracks began spiderwebbing across its surface.
And shortly after.
Crash!
The crystal shattered, and a circular red wave spread across the area.
“......Heh.”
Origin Generator.
A holy relic opposite the [Origin Destroyer], which permanently stripped mana usage.
In other words, those swept by this wave would regain their lost ‘mana origin.’
The downside was it was single-use, unlike the [Origin Destroyer], but it had the advantage of wide-area effect.
With this, Aporia’s prisoners who lost their origins would regain their original power.
And by now, ‘Lee Cheong,’ who infiltrated the prison with the [Invisibility Cloak], should have unlocked the restraints on the inmates.
“It’s almost time.”
Jin checked the time on his wrist.
As expected, soon after, a massive explosion erupted from inside the prison.
Kwaaaang—!
The building was reduced to unrecognizable rubble.
Tap, tap......
From the blazing ruins, a withered, familiar face slowly approached him.
Jin shouted joyfully.
“Teresa!”
“Heh...... Jin, long time no see.”
Teresa chuckled lowly.
“How’s your condition?”
“Not great. Just minimal meals to stay alive. Well, as you can see, my mana’s mostly back.”
Teresa said, gathering mana above her hand.
“Oh, right. I made a friend here too—”
“Krahaha!”
A mad laugh burst from somewhere.
A man leaped from the collapsed buildings, swinging his sword wildly as he mercilessly slaughtered Association wizards.
Jin looked at the man in baffled astonishment, then asked Teresa.
“......Is that guy your new friend by any chance?”
“Uh...... yeah. He’s a bit crazy, but...... entertaining to watch.”
Jin blinked as he observed the man’s fight.
Someone with that level of skill had to be someone he knew.
“What’s his name?”
“Don’t know his real name. Something like...... Blood Ghost?”
“......Blood Ghost? Wait, that Blood Ghost?”
Blood Ghost.
A notorious magic criminal active before Jaun.
“......Wow. Locked up for decades and still maintaining that skill?”
Jin watched Blood Ghost’s fight in amazement.
His muscles were gone, skin and bones, but enhanced physical abilities with mana produced that insane performance.
What must his prime have been like?
“A monster......”
“Hey! Blood Ghost!”
At Teresa’s call, Blood Ghost sliced through the wizard in front of him and halted.
“But where’d you get that sword?”
Blood Ghost grinned, lifting his bloodstained sword.
“Heh...... This? Took it from these guys?”
He pointed at the fallen Association wizards on the ground.
“......Oh, okay?”
Teresa nodded slightly.
Just then, Blood Ghost noticed Jin beside Teresa.
“But is this kid your friend too?”
“Well, yeah......”
Jin felt an inexplicable unease and waved lightly.
“Uh, hi.”
Blood Ghost stared intently at Jin’s face before looking away.
His gaze landed on Yoo Ah-ra.
“......That kid.”
Blood Ghost sensed a familiar mana from Yoo Ah-ra.
The same energy as someone who’d been with Choi Il-hyun.
“What. Just a brat?”
Blood Ghost smirked and gripped his sword tightly.
Jin stopped him.
“Hey, hey. Wait. Not her.”
“..?”
Blood Ghost paused and gave Jin a questioning look.
The blood oath contract with Kim Sunwoo included this too.
‘Other allies can’t touch people close to Kim Sunwoo either.’
But thinking about it, Blood Ghost wasn’t his ally.
So whatever Blood Ghost did wouldn’t concern him, right?
Jin shook his head with a sly smile.
“Nothing. Do what you want.”
“......What?”
Blood Ghost sensed something off but turned back to Yoo Ah-ra.
Sensing the danger, Yoo Ah-ra gathered her own mana.
Roar!
Dozens of fire orbs manifested above her head.
Blood Ghost looked surprised for a moment.
Jin and Teresa were the same. Yoo Ah-ra’s magic was beyond their expectations.
“......Damn. No wonder she’s paired with Lee Seo-jun.”
Blood Ghost sneered viciously and charged at Yoo Ah-ra.
Yoo Ah-ra immediately unleashed the fire orbs to counter.
Kwaaaang!
“Kuh!”
Blood Ghost’s poor physical state made the fight fiercer than expected.
Of course, Yoo Ah-ra’s greatly improved magic skill played a part too.
“Still just a greenhorn!”
Blood Ghost deflected the incoming fire orbs and closed in on Yoo Ah-ra rapidly.
But Yoo Ah-ra had built up plenty of combat experience against reinforcement wizards through spars with Lee Seo-jun.
She calmly detonated a fire orb on the ground, creating a smoke screen.
As visibility blurred, the explosion’s shockwave pushed Blood Ghost back.
“......Kuh! Clever tricks!”
Whoosh!
Yoo Ah-ra leaped high through the smoke into the sky.
Then she manifested countless fire orbs above her.
A technique inspired by Kim Sunwoo’s aerial barrage of spells.
“Haaaah!”
With Yoo Ah-ra’s shout, the fire orbs rained down from the sky toward Blood Ghost.
Blood Ghost hurriedly activated his protective aura to block. But the sheer mana in the flames had limits even for defense.
“Kuhuk! Cocky brat!”
Finally, Blood Ghost squeezed mana into his sword and swung widely.
Boooong!
A powerful mana wave erupted centered on Blood Ghost.
Swept by it, Yoo Ah-ra lost balance midair and plummeted to the ground.
“Kuhuk!”
Yoo Ah-ra curled up, vomiting blood on impact. The excruciating pain nearly brought tears.
“Using petty tricks......”
Step, step.
Blood Ghost slowly approached the fallen Yoo Ah-ra.
“Not bad, though. That skill at your age. Krhihih.”
Yoo Ah-ra barely regained her senses and lifted her head.
Blood Ghost, sword in both hands, was right in front of her.
Seeing him, she resigned herself.
......Is this the end?
“Then, time to finish—”
Right then.
A white light flashed, and something pierced Blood Ghost’s forehead.
Yoo Ah-ra watched wide-eyed.
A round hole appeared in Blood Ghost’s forehead, blood trickling down.
Thud.
Blood Ghost collapsed to the floor.
“......What.”
Jin, watching from behind, muttered blankly.
“......No mana was felt just now?”
Teresa nodded with a flustered expression too.
And moments later, Jin instinctively yanked Teresa’s arm.
Immediately, a straight beam of light flashed where Teresa had stood.
Jin broke out in cold sweat.
“......What the hell is this?”