Chapter 434
Chapter 434
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 435
Chapter Title: Triple Disaster in Seoul
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“……What the hell is this?”
I stared at the Seoul skyline, overwhelmed with shock.
Following the sudden invasion of black monsters, this time cracks had ripped open alongside not one, but three disaster-grade monsters.
One was more than enough to handle, yet here were three.
On top of that, these were named monsters given significant weight even in the original story.
One was the Black Dragon Cassis, who had confronted me a month ago and demanded I take my own life.
Another was the Basilisk, a disaster-grade monster in the form of a pure white snake.
Finally, the massive Rainbow Toad, recognizable by its enormous size and grotesque form.
Naturally, each one possessed strength comparable to an entire major guild.
—Everyone, attack!
Paaang!
Wizards from the Association and guilds unleashed a barrage of spells toward the disaster-grade monsters that had appeared in the heart of Seoul.
The intense attacks made the beasts stagger for a moment, but they quickly retaliated with flames or blasts of mana.
Kwaaaaang—!
Every time the monsters counterattacked, horrific screams erupted from somewhere on the ground.
Even with barriers deployed for defense, the overwhelming gap in power made perfect protection impossible.
“Aaaack—!”
“H-Help me!”
In an instant, Seoul turned into hell.
This was on a scale incomparable to the terror unleashed by the King of Two Great Demons.
Kraaaah!
Kyaaa! Kyaaa! Kyaaa!
Taking advantage of the chaos, the black monsters began lunging at everything in sight.
Terrified citizens tried to flee as fast as they could, but without magic, escaping the black monsters was impossible.
“P-Please, spare me!”
Just as one fleeing citizen was about to be devoured by a black monster, I swiftly fired a spell at it.
The black monster’s body exploded, collapsing to the ground.
The citizen, barely saved, looked up at me with trembling eyes and bowed their head.
“Th-Thank you! Wizard!”
I nodded in response instead of replying.
“Hey, hey. Isn’t that Kim Sun-woo……?”
“……Huh? Yeah, kinda looks like it.”
Voices murmuring in surprise reached me, as if they’d recognized me.
Turning my head, I saw people filming me with their smartphones despite the dire situation.
I narrowed my eyes.
What the hell are they doing right now?
“Hey, you there. Stop filming and head to the underground bunker—
Kwaaaaang!
Before I could finish, a building shielding the citizens exploded.
The citizens panicked, and without hesitation, I activated [Grasp of Great Nature] to block the falling debris.
Kuuuung!
As the debris barely missed them, the citizens stared at me in terror.
“Th-Thank you!”
After confirming all the nearby citizens had evacuated, I let out a small sigh.
The situation was more serious than I’d anticipated.
I’d thought Cruas would invade Seoul alone, but he’d brought not just hordes of monsters, but three disaster-grade ones as well.
“……Well, duh. With wizards from around the world gathered in Seoul, he’s no idiot—he wouldn’t come alone.”
Had he just escalated things unnecessarily……?
I turned my gaze to the disaster-grade monsters locked in fierce combat.
With so many wizards present, they were dealing effective damage, but with three of them, the battle was gradually tilting against us as time passed.
At this rate, Seoul would fall before Cruas even descended.
“Tsk.”
No choice.
I’d planned to observe and intervene as late as possible, but I couldn’t let further casualties mount.
Wuuung!
A golden orb began slowly forming above my palm.
Now that my mana control had reached S-Rank, manifesting the golden orb didn’t take long.
Shooo……
Just as the mana orb was about to complete, darkness welled up behind me, and Ha-ryeong and Seon-hwa appeared.
“My King, you must conserve your mana.”
Surprised by their sudden arrival, I kept the orb manifested and turned to look.
Since Ha-ryeong’s building wasn’t far, they must have sensed my mana and rushed over.
“As per Your words, Cruas will soon descend upon Seoul. Since he targets you, we must preserve your strength until then.”
“I can’t take him down alone anyway. Saving even one more person to fight by my side is what matters.”
“We will step in.”
Her unexpected words made me narrow my eyes.
“You?”
Darkness then rose behind Ha-ryeong, revealing a horde of demons.
Each one possessed at least A-Rank power. Among them was the elder demon I’d seen at the succession rite, brimming with immense strength.
“Disaster-grade monsters are enemies not just to humans, but to us demons as well. If our goals align, we can join hands with humans once.”
I hadn’t expected the demons to step up directly.
I stared at them for a moment before releasing my mana and nodding.
Their intervention would be a huge help against the disaster-grade monsters.
They might not match the Association’s full might, but they were far from negligible.
“……Fine. Got it. I’ll leave this to you.”
Kieeeek!
The massive black dragon soaring through the sky let out a shriek, forcing the wizards on the ground to grimace and cover their ears in agony.
“Urgh……!”
“Three disaster-grade monsters? What the……!”
Subduing even one disaster-grade monster required the firepower of an entire major guild.
At least five S-Rank wizards—no, more like ten.
And with the number of disaster-grade monsters increasing, the required manpower skyrocketed exponentially.
“In the end, Kim Sun-woo was right.”
Michael, an Association executive watching the scene, muttered.
Yeomje bit his lip at the words.
“……Tch.”
He had nothing to say.
It was too improbable to dismiss as mere coincidence.
“……I apologize for our inadequate response. But that guy is a demon, humanity’s ancient enemy. Even in the same situation, I wouldn’t trust him.”
“Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
As Michael replied sarcastically, Yeomje turned his gaze to the massive dragon hovering in the sky.
“……Kim Sun-woo. Just what the hell is he?”
Yeomje’s mind swirled with questions about Kim Sun-woo.
How had he known about the disaster-grade monster invasion in advance?
Did he possess the power of prophecy?
And why had he risked warning humanity, even at the cost of exposing the terror plot?
Humanity’s defeat would benefit the demons.
“Yeomje, enough thinking. Let’s deal with the disaster in front of us first.”
Snapping to attention at Michael’s words, Yeomje extended his hand toward the black dragon.
Whatever Kim Sun-woo’s true nature, the priority was stopping the immediate threat.
Soon, a massive flaming spear blazing fiercely formed above his head.
It was Yeomje’s signature spell, ‘Eternal Blazing Spear’.
“Haat!”
Paaang!
The flaming spear shot toward the black dragon at blinding speed.
Distracted by the ground bombardment, the black dragon sensed the sudden surge of power and flapped its wings to evade.
But its opponent was one of the top S-Rank wizards, a true monster.
In the end, Yeomje’s spell pierced the dragon’s wing.
Kieeeek—!
The black dragon’s screech echoed across the area once more.
Though the spear had penetrated the wing, the resulting flames began spreading slowly across its entire surface.
“It worked!”
“It’s Yeomje’s magic!”
For the first time, a proper attack had landed, brightening the wizards’ faces momentarily.
But only for a moment.
Black mana welled up around the black dragon’s body, condensing in its maw.
“……This is insane.”
The wizards on the ground instinctively knew.
If that hit, there was no surviving it.
“A-Attack!”
The wizards hurriedly drew up their mana and bombarded the dragon with spells.
At that moment, a massive shadow fell over the ground, and a gigantic toad crashed down onto the clustered wizards.
Kuuuung——
The impact was like a bomb detonation, sweeping the wizards away.
“……We can’t win this.”
The wizards gazed at the monster before them with despair.
By then, a black mana orb brimming with immense power had formed in the black dragon’s mouth.
That was when it happened.
Kwaaaaang!
A massive surge of black demonic energy pierced straight through the black dragon’s neck.
At the same time, the dragon shrieked, and the manifested black mana orb dissipated.
“What was that just now?”
Stunned by the sudden support, the wizards on the ground wore confused expressions.
That was…….
“……Demonic energy?”
The situation was too chaotic to confirm, but the black energy they’d seen was unmistakably demonic.
It felt exactly like a demon’s aura.
And then.
Another intense wave of demonic energy surged from somewhere, shooting straight at the black dragon.
Kwaaaang!
Kieeeek!
Soon, darkness billowed from afar, and a demon legion revealed itself.
Yeomje stared at them with trembling eyes.
“……Why are demons here?”
“Y-Yeomje!”
Just then, an Association wizard called out to him urgently.
“……Demons have suddenly barged in. Do we have to fight them too?”
Yeomje blankly alternated between the black dragon and the toad before turning to the demon legion.
Their recent actions.
From their behavior, it was clear their target was the disaster-grade monsters before them, not humans.
But his convictions rejected the idea of allying with demons.
“Ignore the demons. They’re not our enemies.”
A voice came from behind instead of Yeomje, drawing everyone’s gaze.
There stood Association Chairman Kim Jin-cheol.
Amid the chaotic heart of Seoul.
Lee Seo-jun swung Sobae-cheon, slicing through black monsters one by one.
“……This never ends.”
He’d already cut down over twenty black monsters, yet they kept appearing endlessly.
Catching his breath, Lee Seo-jun glanced at the distant battle with the disaster-grade monsters.
Black demonic energy firing alongside Association spells.
He vaguely realized demons had joined the fight against the disaster-grade monsters.
“……Did Kim Sun-woo make a move?”
“Seo-jun!”
Hearing a familiar voice, Lee Seo-jun turned.
Amid the street piled with black monster corpses, Yun Ha-young, Shin Young-jun, Lee Hyun-joo, and Choi Seo-yoon were running toward him.
“Seo-jun, you okay? Any injuries?”
“Yeah. You guys?”
“We’re fine too.”
Kwaaaaang!
Suddenly, an explosion rocked nearby.
As everyone turned toward it, Yoo Ah-ra emerged, wiping sweat from her forehead.
“You’re here.”
“……Yeah. Hey, don’t tell me you took all those out by yourself?”
Shin Young-jun squinted at the piles of ashes behind Yoo Ah-ra.
Over fifty monster corpses were stacked like a mountain.
Yoo Ah-ra shrugged nonchalantly.
“Yeah. But anyway.”
“……Yeah, no one beats you in fighting multiples. You’d fit a major guild better than the Special Task Force. What a waste.”
“Shut up. It’s my choice.”
Yoo Ah-ra narrowed her eyes at Shin Young-jun’s words, then turned to Lee Seo-jun.
“Where’s Kim Sun-woo?”
All eyes turned to Lee Seo-jun, who met their gazes and pulled out the Compass of Bonds.
“His location……
Right then.
Pang!
A powerful surge erupted from somewhere, and a bolt of black mana shot straight at Lee Seo-jun.
Sensing it, he moved immediately, but its speed was too great for a perfect dodge.
“Ugh!”
In the end, the spell pierced the compass, deeply wounding his hand.
“Seo-jun!”
“You okay?!”
Everyone stared at him in panic. Blood flowed from his palm.
The wound looked deeper than expected—a critical injury for a sword-wielding wizard.
“……I’m fine. Luckily, it’s my left hand.”
Muttering that, Lee Seo-jun looked down at the fallen Compass of Bonds.
The glass was shattered, its form unrecognizable.
The attack had completely destroyed it.
“……Damn.”
Gritting his teeth, Lee Seo-jun turned toward the direction of the attack.
There stood a monstrous figure resembling a devil.
Definitely not a disaster-grade monster, but far stronger than any black monster he’d faced so far.
“……A gargoyle?”
Gargoyles were at least A-Rank monsters.
At minimum—and this one felt close to S-Rank.
Sensing the gravity, Lee Seo-jun’s group drew up their mana.
The gargoyle looked at Lee Seo-jun and chuckled gutturally.
[……Lee Seo-jun, huh. Talk about lucky. This might be my chance to take out both Seeds of Chaos at once.]