Chapter 418
Chapter 418
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 418
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Board
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Rumble…
The statue began to move.
“Ur.”
“Yeah, we’ve got some business to take care of before we chase it.”
Rumble…
Just like the Maradum statue that Kang Seol’s group had seen vanish first, another identical one appeared right after.
Voices came from outside.
“Guys who’ve already made it this far?”
“Why the hell haven’t they dropped dead yet? What are the others doing?”
“Hmm… this is gonna take some effort.”
They strode into the room.
Their shady vibes and mannerisms made them prime suspects for hostility.
Click…
Han So-mi aimed the wrist-mounted crossbow at them.
“Who are you? State your business.”
“Whoa… cute. Business? Isn’t the mask party over?”
“Hurry!”
The man grinned wickedly, looking ready to charge at them.
“Of course, they’re the bad guys!”
Pew-!
Thwack-!
The bolt slammed into the man’s shoulder.
“Aaaagh! That hurts. Didn’t think you’d actually shoot.”
Splash-!
He yanked the bolt out of his flesh with ease. He winced a little, but acted like it was no big deal.
Swish…
The wound regenerated in an instant.
Kang Seol fell into thought.
‘Regeneration… just like back then. Are they with the same crew?’
The assassin from Tekon who’d chased Sylvia.
She’d definitely had regeneration powers like this guy.
“Cut the crap and clean them up. We need to catch that statue.”
“Aww, too bad. I wanted to play with them a bit more. Look at those blank faces. They have no idea what’s going on…”
The man assumed their expressions for them.
He figured they’d have the same looks as the people they’d killed on their way here.
“…What?”
But the group’s faces were nothing like he’d expected. Unnaturally calm.
Especially the white-haired guy up front.
“Kang Seol, is this the regeneration you mentioned?”
“Yeah, looks similar.”
“Running into half-eaten trash when you’re starving for something tasty. It reeks of cheap rot.”
The white-haired man’s gaze was clearly fixed on the guy as he called it half-eaten trash.
“…Trash?”
“Scram quietly, and I’ll kill you later.”
“You little shits, fertilizer for the ruins, talking big like…”
“Oh, right. The ruins awaken with blood, don’t they? Can’t let you go then. Things might go sideways.”
Ur sealed the man’s fate.
“Die here.”
“What? Ha… hahaha… you’re insane. Do you even know what’s waiting ahead?”
“And do you? What’s waiting…”
The white-haired mage hardened his expression.
“up ahead.”
“…Don’t care. I’ll just smash everything.”
“Ho… smash?”
Crunch…
Crrunch…
The man’s body began to warp.
Overinflated muscles. Grotesquely grown nails. Veins bulging like repulsive bugs crawling across his skin.
“Haa… haaa… this rush… it’s killer.”
Screeech…
Scriiiich…
His nails scraped the stone wall.
The wall crumpled like wet clay.
“This body’s immortal. Get it now?”
“Immortal, huh… there sure are a lot of those. Immortals trendy these days?”
Clank…
As Kang Seol stepped forward, Ur held him back with a hand.
“Hold up. I’ll handle this. Need to warm up anyway.”
“…Do what you want.”
Ur rubbed his hands together.
“So, what power you gonna show? Immortal…”
Thwack-!
Boom-!
The man charged at insane speed and blew off Ur’s head. Ur’s head shattered and slammed into the wall.
Han So-mi covered her mouth at the gruesome sight.
“Kyaaah!”
“Phew… heh… cocky bastard. See that?”
The reply came from behind.
“Yeah, I saw. Pathetic.”
The man whipped around. No way Ur was alive, but if he was, he’d counterattack.
But Ur didn’t.
He was sitting on the stone stairs, chin in hand, staring at the man.
“H-How…”
The man’s buddy shouted.
“It’s ice! Ice illusion…”
The body that had crashed into the wall was frozen solid.
Ur looked thoroughly disappointed as he drawled.
“No questions, just answer. That body… doesn’t look earned through effort. Drugs? Surgery?”
“You bastard!”
Bang-!
Once again, Ur’s chest was punched through.
A gaping hole.
But that was ice too.
Ur reappeared next to the man’s crew.
He spoke casually to them.
“What do you think? The muscle movement’s stiff. Side effect of the transformation? Or just inexperience? That’d be even more disappointing…”
“W-What the hell! You!”
They all rushed him, hacking away.
Ur’s prank was over.
His body turned to ice, sprouting sharp spikes around them.
[Ur uses Ice Trap.]
[Targets touching the trap take ongoing damage proportional to their Intelligence.]
[Forcibly escaping the trap deals 300% of Intelligence damage at once.]
“…Huh?”
“Wha…”
Stab…
They were all impaled like sea urchins, caught in the deadly spikes.
Ur told them.
“Immortality isn’t achieved with cheap drugs like that, rookies.”
“Who’re you calling rookies…”
Fwoooosh…
[Ur uses Ultimate: Event Freeze.]
[Everything freezes.]
Crackle…
The men’s bodies began to freeze.
Instantly flash-frozen solid.
Their bloated muscles and sharp protrusions couldn’t move.
“Yeah? You all look like kids to me.”
Kang Seol took it in stride, but the others didn’t.
Han So-mi at least had some idea of how strong the guys with Kang Seol were, but Mariju had no clue.
“How… what is this power…”
Only now did she realize the mana she’d sensed from Ur was just a fraction of what he could show.
Tap…
Ur pulled something from the frozen man’s pocket and tossed it to Kang Seol.
“…What’s this?”
“You don’t know? It was on him. Oh, and while I’m at it…”
He drew a thick needle, extracting blood from the frozen man into a small vial. Miraculously, the blood thawed and flowed where the needle touched.
“Gonna take this for research.”
As Kang Seol pondered the vial, Mariju approached.
“I… know what this is.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. …But how does an investigator not know?”
Her question made Han So-mi rush over to smooth things.
“Ah… this! It’s Home.”
“Home? Oh… that new drug.”
“Yeah. Are these guys connected to Home?”
No way to know if they were linked or just junkies.
Even if they were, were they distributors or producers? Unclear.
“Take it for now, whatever.”
“Yeah, let’s keep going.”
Kang Seol’s group headed to where the statue had stopped.
Maradum was now dressed in staff and robes. The red glow in his eyes had intensified.
Zing…
Kang Seol read the ceiling inscription.
“The mage couldn’t unlock the seal’s power, but with the Stone of Time’s might, he advanced further. Stronger than ever.”
“Keek…”
Ur activated the Stone of Time.
Rumble…
The statue moved somewhere.
Kang Seol’s group followed.
And they witnessed what Maradum had done.
“…Expand the light, mage.”
“Huh? Oh…”
Whoosh…
As Mariju’s flames blazed brighter, the space fully revealed itself.
Dwarf statues filled the area. All wore agonized expressions.
“This is…”
“The Ashen Throne, I bet. He came straight back once he got power.”
“Why the hell…”
“Revenge. For not choosing him.”
“That’s… insane. The power of time he preached was for the dwarves, right?”
“Watch.”
Text appeared on the ceiling.
Kang Seol read it as he walked among the twisted dwarf statues.
“That day, the Ashen Throne fell. By the mage of calamity.”
Following the statue, they saw Maradum gripping the throat of the Ashen King, Sirion.
Blue light flickered in Sirion’s eyes, then faded.
“…Is that it?”
“That’s where the text ends. Gotta manipulate the orb for the next part.”
Mariju muttered.
“Why do this… doesn’t it defeat his purpose?”
“As expected. Time consumed him. Happens a lot.”
Ur snorted and called Han So-mi.
“Hey, girl.”
“Me? I’m Han So-mi.”
“Yeah, Han So-mi. You headed to your favorite restaurant for a satisfying meal today.”
“Huh? Me? But right now…”
“Just an example.”
“Oh… okay…”
“You sprayed perfume, got dolled up. Stepped out the door.”
Ur eyed the Stone of Time.
“Then witnessed a murder right in front of you.”
“Huh… suddenly?”
“The knife plunged in and out. Ripped organs, pierced throat, ended the breath.”
“That’s too brutal…”
“So, what fills your head now?”
“Uh… murder? Tell people? Is that guy gonna attack me? Something like that?”
“Yeah. But why’d you leave home?”
“To eat.”
“Then why no thoughts on food?”
“…Huh?”
“You went out for a meal, but food’s not on your mind. Why?”
Han So-mi listened, entranced.
“What to eat, drinks to order, what if it’s closed?”
“Well, someone died right there. Food can wait.”
“Why?”
“Life’s more important than food, obviously!”
Han So-mi beamed, proud of her logical answer, but Mariju looked grim.
Ur chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s time.”
“…Huh?”
“Mages who touch time’s power get obsessed. With time’s weight, its value.”
“……”
“Time exists, overwhelms. Ethics, emotions, duties—nothing before it. In the age of magic… nothing mattered more than time.”
That’s why time magic was dangerous.
Ur gazed at Maradum.
“He’s no dwarf or mage now. Just time’s slave.”
Zing…
Ur manipulated the Stone of Time.
Maradum’s statue shifted.
The group hurried after.
Fwoosh…
Ceiling text appeared.
Faintly dark letters.
“…All your fault. For fearing the power that opens the future. I hate you most of all.”
His tone dripped mad laughter. The group rushed after Maradum’s statue.
A dwarf man stood beside Maradum.
“That statue… his neck…”
“It’s reattached…”
The beheaded dwarf.
Eorian, the warrior who’d sacrificed himself for Maradum. He’d revived.
Then the statue spoke.
“Maradum, why would you do this…”
The group startled as the statue spoke understandably.
“I-It’s talking! How…”
“Quiet, listen first.”
Maradum’s statue said.
“I brought you back to the world.”
“…You failed.”
“Nonsense! I didn’t fail!”
“The unbreakable Ashen Throne fell by your hand.”
“They deserved their crimes! And now…”
Ur smirked, mimicking Maradum like he knew the script.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“…That doesn’t matter, Eorian.”
Perfect match.
“…What do you want?”
“Omnipotence. I seek… those who made this.”
“Wrong. Even a non-mage sees it. How far back in time do you think you need to go?”
“…The Stone of Time accumulates power. I’ll gather enough to leap straight to the past.”
Maradum’s ravings terrified the group, but Ur enjoyed the show.
“Before that, your body will crumble!”
“Being dead’s fine for that.”
Maradum’s eyes glowed red.
Eorian yelled.
“No way… not that! If you’re my friend, return me to dust!”
“Eorian, guard me for centuries… millennia! The true dwarf king!”
“No! Let me go!”
“…Like the day you gave your life for me.”
“I died for the clever mage, not this madman!”
“No, I’m the same.”
Clank-!
Chains wrapped Eorian.
Rumble…
Boom-!
“Th-The ruins…”
“Watch out!”
The statue began to crumble.
No—the ruins rearranged themselves.
Rumble…
Boom-!
Boom-!
Like a star tomb made just for them, it allocated an absurdly vast space.
In place of Maradum’s vanished statue, a new one appeared in the center.
Hyper-realistic, as if it’d awaken any second.
A voice flowed from the statue.
“I am the mage of calamity, Maradum.”
Rumble…
Part of the ceiling descended slowly.
“I will return.”
Maradum seemed to address the descending man.
“Protect me, Eorian.”
Mariju couldn’t close her mouth.
“My god… that statue… it was all true…”
The chained warrior, Eorian, appeared.
Massive axe, bushy beard.
Eyes hinting at untold solitary endurance.
They turned red.
“…Gladly. My king.”
[The raid battle against the Calamity Mage Maradum’s revival ritual continues.]
[Adventure allows acquisition of a set amount of Era Force.]
[The adventure’s outcome will be recorded in history.]
[The adventure’s outcome will impact Pandea.]
[Extremely dangerous battle.]
[Current raid members: 3.]
[Colored Shadow exists in the battlefield.]
[Current raid members: 4.]
[Subjugation success greatly increases rewards.]
[Difficulty nears Impossible.]
……
Ur frowned.
“…Stupid dwarf. Already dead.”