Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: Unhyang's Awakening
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“Hmm……”
Unhyang, who had been out of it for a while, stirred feebly.
Her eyelids, trembling as they stayed shut, slowly fluttered open. As her senses returned, she felt someone gently tapping her cheek.
“Awake?”
“Uh……”
Through her blurry vision, she saw Ye-ryeong's face looking down at her as she lay there.
But in that moment, Unhyang didn't recognize her.
No.
She did recognize her, but couldn't reconcile the face with the two people popping into her mind as the same individual.
“H-Hey, could it be……”
Unhyang bolted upright, her eyes suddenly wide as saucers.
“K-K-K-K-Kim Ye……”
“Look at her reaction. She really was a fan of ours, huh?”
“R-Really? S-Sis… Sis?”
Ye-ryeong's face was completely different from the first time they'd met.
But to Unhyang, this face felt far more familiar. As a fan of Lee Soo-hyuk and Blue Eyes, she knew every member's name and face by heart.
She'd only seen Ye-ryeong a couple of times before, but this face? She'd seen it dozens, hundreds of times.
There was no way she wouldn't recognize it.
“Sorry for the deception.”
“Then earlier, I……”
A scene flashed in Unhyang's mind.
“Follow me. I'll guide you.”
“She talks so cheekily. Guess she has no idea who I am.”
Her face flushed hot.
Mortified enough to crawl into a hole, she slapped her hands over her cheeks.
“Uwaaah!”
“Whoa, you scared me!”
“You idiot, what did you say! You stupid mouth, mouth, mouth!”
Ye-ryeong watched Unhyang smack her own lips in bewilderment.
“You're more worried about that than how I'm alive?”
“Oh, right.”
“Not even a shred of doubt……”
Normally, you'd suspect anyone reported dead who suddenly showed up. Even Ye-ryeong herself hadn't fully believed Soo-hyuk was alive until she saw him with her own eyes.
Yet Unhyang showed no suspicion at all.
‘She's one of a kind.’
Ye-ryeong already knew she wasn't ordinary. Their brief encounters had left strong impressions both times.
But it wasn't just Unhyang's skill or her unusual background with the Divine Lotus Castle.
It was Unhyang's pure admiration and longing for Blue Eyes.
Maybe that's what had drawn Ye-ryeong in.
“B-But I think I just saw Soo-hyuk-nim?”
“Ah, Soo-hyuk……”
Worried about Soo-hyuk before even her own resurrection.
That showed how much she cared.
‘She doesn't know his secret.’
Unhyang had no idea about Soo-hyuk's true identity. To her, he was still just the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk.
‘Reliable.’
There was no need to doubt her in the first place. Unhyang had thrown herself into what might be a death trap at Soo-hyuk's request.
“I have a favor to ask. It's from Soo-hyuk too.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You.”
In that instant, Unhyang's eyes sparkled excessively.
It was an overwhelmingly eager gaze. Ye-ryeong flinched back a step.
“ entrust it to me, no matter what!”
A request from Soo-hyuk, her longtime idol, and now from Ye-ryeong too.
As Blue Eyes' biggest fan, she was ready for anything.
“You feel it too, right? The situation over there.”
Unhyang nodded.
Ever since waking, her skin had prickled. Ominous demonic energy permeated everywhere.
“We're taking down one legion commander and breaking through here.”
“A legion commander?”
“Yeah. But our friend's not doing so hot right now.”
Ye-ryeong nodded toward one side. Unhyang followed her gaze.
Lying emaciated on the ground was Hyo-min.
“So we need someone to look after her.”
“She looks familiar……”
“It's Hyo-min. You know her?”
“Eek!”
Unhyang jumped in genuine shock. The face had seemed familiar, and sure enough, the one on the ground was another Blue Eyes member.
Unlike Ye-ryeong, her gaunt frame and pale face had made her hard to recognize at first.
“M-Me, with her?”
“Yeah. Just carry her and keep up. We'll handle the fighting. Can you do it?”
“Yes!”
Her eager response made her seem a bit reckless.
But Ye-ryeong trusted her—they'd fought together before.
“Alright, let's go. Si-woo and Soo-hyuk left a few minutes ago.”
At Ye-ryeong's words, Unhyang hoisted Hyo-min onto her back. In her haste, Ye-ryeong shot forward.
Whoosh.
Unhyang matched her pace with footwork, following Ye-ryeong's receding back. Her expression soon turned serious.
‘Two Blue Eyes members.’
Ye-ryeong and now Hyo-min. Two members thought dead were alive. Add Hwang Gyu-seong from the recent showdown, and it was three.
And.
‘That guy who appeared with Soo-hyuk-nim…’
She hadn't gotten a clear look amid the chaos and distance, but the image of him freezing Baekya in an instant was vivid.
‘That must be Si-woo-nim.’
Hwang Gyu-seong, Ye-ryeong, Hyo-min, and Si-woo.
Blue Eyes members presumed dead were popping up one after another.
But the question now wasn't how they were alive.
It was why they'd been reported dead in the first place.
‘Soo-hyuk-nim.’
And the one man who'd summoned her to where they all gathered.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Unhyang's mind reeled in confusion.
The ground was parched and crumbly.
Lifeless grass crumbled like leaves in deep winter. The earth blackened, and demons strode across it.
Blue House's surroundings teemed with demons and skeletons risen from hell.
“When did they multiply this much……”
“How many are there?”
“Our response was too slow.”
They should've moved before the encirclement formed. Then they might've avoided this siege.
“Looks like they're not here just to pick a fight.”
Pierre's expression gazing at the demons was graver than ever.
Yi Won-jae felt the same.
“This is war.”
The demons' numbers were unprecedented. At least in the last decade, nothing like this had happened.
“Bellador.”
Yi Won-jae called a guildmate, a high-ranker with top detection skills.
“How many forces do the demons have?”
Bellador's eyes turned white. His vision now extended far and wide.
“The demons number in the tens of thousands. But the summoned monsters outnumber them several times over.”
“The summons?”
“Yes. And there are two demons that look like legion commanders. One seems to be controlling the summons.”
“Two legion commanders……”
“At least the Demon King isn't here.”
Yi Won-jae sighed at Bellador's report.
“Not sure if that's a blessing.”
Demon King.
The Three Great Demons, each a walking catastrophe.
Only players like the Heavenly Demon or Archmage could check them. But the Heavenly Demon was more enemy of humanity than player.
So, only the Archmage could stand against a Demon King now.
“If they've come this far……”
“We have to assume all participants who entered the forest are dead.”
“Can't avoid the backlash.”
“You need to be alive to face backlash, no?”
Yi Won-jae gave a bitter smile at Bellador's words.
True. No time to worry about criticism for leading participants to their deaths.
First, survive—then deal with the rest.
“And now……”
Then Bellador's eyes returned to normal.
“They're on the move.”
Thoom-thoom!
Drums echoed again.
Kyaaahhh!
Bone dragons circling the sky roared. Their wings shifted direction as the demons advanced.
“Positions by role! Go into defensive hold for now. Melee, only block close approaches!”
“Yes!”
“Expect chaos—watch AoE usage. Lure them in and take them down. Hurry!”
At Yi Won-jae's command, Blue Zone mobilized. His gaze swept the area.
“Team leads, with me—we take the legion commander.”
Pierre, Bellador, Luway, and others nodded.
Blue Zone's remaining high-rankers. Yi Won-jae planned to take them down one commander first.
‘Two legion commanders? No chance.’
Legion commanders needed Kim Il-su himself. With two rampaging here, no way to stop them.
With current forces, only one was feasible.
Even that would take multiple high-rankers like Yi Won-jae, with casualties.
Priority: swift takedown of one.
“Charge!”
Yi Won-jae drew his sword and surged forward.
Flash.
Starlight bloomed from the blade tip.
Demons mesmerized by the beauty got red lines across their necks. Blood fountained from severed heads.
Kyaaahhh!
A bone dragon overhead spewed breath at Yi Won-jae.
Dark-red demonic breath. As Pierre moved to shield him, a crescent moon hung on Yi Won-jae's blade tip.
Swoosh.
The blade arced through empty air.
The crescent sliced the breath—and the dragon's gaping maw and flapping wings split apart.
Thud, thud.
The corpse hit the ground, then melted—denied true death.
“He's the strongest!”
“Pile on!”
“That neck's mine!”
Demons fearless of death swarmed Yi Won-jae from all sides.
Clank.
Yi Won-jae didn't swing.
Or rather, no one saw it.
When he swung.
Splatter!
Chasing demons were diced into chunks of flesh. Allies amid them unscathed.
Thus carving a path with a few strokes, Yi Won-jae led the charge.
‘Incredible.’
Pierre, following, was awestruck by Yi Won-jae's skill.
High-ranker prowess was rare outside showdowns. Top ones like Kim Il-su or Yi Won-jae rarely showed off.
Unless in a field like this.
“Eyes front!”
Yi Won-jae shouted at Pierre, as if eyes in the back of his head.
“Incoming!”
His gaze locked on one demon.
The only one strolling leisurely amid the chaos.
Bigger fish than expected, sooner.
“……A legion commander.”