Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: What Can Be Stopped (5)
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“How far is it?”
“If we go at full speed, we should get there within a few hours.”
“I'll call Jun Bo-ra.”
Hwang Chan-jin pulled out his phone without a moment's hesitation.
He can't really think Jun Bo-ra is his subordinate, can he?
“...She's not picking up.”
“She's probably having a tough time on her end. She's basically acting as a breakwater.”
Especially at this point in time, the eastern side of Seoul was teeming with monster waves.
It was a situation caused by all the major gates being concentrated there.
As difficult as it was, if they succeeded in holding them off, the coin supply was guaranteed.
“Then let's get going. The faster we move, the sooner we can ensure their safety.”
Lee Min-hwa was quite eager.
She seemed to have already contacted the Hongryeon Guild, tapping the communication device in her ear a couple of times.
If she told the Hongryeon Guild, the message would surely get to the twins and Choi Yeon-soo.
I nodded and took the lead.
“Zeta. Go on ahead and report their movements as they happen.”
As if in reply, the darkness rippled once before melting into the air and vanishing.
Watching this, Lee Min-hwa wore an interested expression.
“I've seen it a few times now, but it's a truly fascinating power. Usually, those with the ability to command summons are weak themselves, but that's not the case with you. There must be some strict conditions, right?”
“The coin consumption is quite severe.”
As if that one sentence was enough to explain everything, Lee Min-hwa gave a small nod.
Even now, if I were to perform a special summon with the highest possible success rate, it would cost 27,500 coins just to restore my original stats.
And even then, it's not a 100% success.
‘With that many coins, there's so much else I could do.’
In gaming terms... it was a class that low-budget players should never choose.
That's exactly what it felt like.
“Let's go. Before they get away, we'll end this once and for all.”
“I'll make them regret calling me a frozen human.”
Lee Min-hwa and I stared dumbfounded at Hwang Chan-jin's back as he strode forward.
...He was holding a grudge over that?
First that other jab, and now this. He holds a grudge longer than I thought.
The more I got to know Hwang Chan-jin, the more he seemed to deviate from my first impression of him.
“He's cool as long as he keeps his mouth shut.”
Lee Min-hwa muttered with a sigh and followed him.
I also began to pick up my pace.
At the same time, something about the location where the two L-Team members were kept bothering me.
‘That location.’
Could it be a coincidence?
Nothing was happening there right now, but it was a place where something would happen later.
L-Team had a considerable amount of information, enough to know about the Guide of Madness and Paradise's experiments.
If their goal was to definitively break the Korean players, they wouldn't back down with just the Guide of Madness.
‘I'd better consider the worst-case scenario.’
***
“Is this the place?”
Ruins devoid of any warmth of life.
A literal ghost town, with no people or monsters.
When you fail to stop a monster wave or a disaster.
Or when you fail to stop the coming apocalypse.
The thought that this is all you would see anywhere on Earth made me feel thirsty.
‘The ending where you survive alone...’
I glanced over at Hwang Chan-jin, whose thoughts were unreadable.
Before we fought the Disaster of Verdure.
Hwang Chan-jin had definitely mentioned that ending.
You fend off everything and protect the Earth, but you're the only one left alive.
You can roam the Earth freely like in a free-roam world, but there's nothing you can do.
A device to show why that's a bad ending.
I recalled reaching that ending and renewed my resolve.
There's no point in stopping the apocalypse if I'm the only one who survives.
And I hate the idea of regression even more.
Didn't I see the fate of the regressor from the original story with my own two eyes?
“Which building do you think it is, exactly?”
Lee Min-hwa's question snapped me out of my thoughts.
Hwang Chan-jin answered in my stead.
“Probably that building over there.”
“Probably?”
“...I'm not certain, but I'm almost certain.”
Lee Min-hwa furrowed her brow in confusion, but I nodded.
Because Hwang Chan-jin's expression was accurate.
“Looks like you know, too.”
“Of course.”
Hwang Chan-jin snorted and jumped to the opposite rooftop first.
Well, it would be harder *not* to know about such a major event.
Hwang Chan-jin might miss the deep, detailed strategies, but he knew the overall flow of events.
Lee Min-hwa, who couldn't follow the conversation, frowned, then her expression changed to one of realization as she saw where Hwang Chan-jin was headed.
“This is...”
Lee Min-hwa's eyebrows shot up.
Just as I was about to ask what was wrong with her unexpected reaction, she moved even faster.
“Those bastards...!!”
“Ugh. What the!?”
With fire in her eyes, Lee Min-hwa instantly shot past Hwang Chan-jin.
“What's with the sudden...”
“Move. We have to keep up.”
I could practically see the waves of fury rolling off her back.
This was strange.
There was no reason for Lee Min-hwa to react like this.
The only person who could be called Lee Min-hwa's sworn enemy was Choi Seo-hee.
And with Choi Seo-hee dead, there should be nothing left that could enrage her to this extent.
‘Was there some deeper lore in the game that was never revealed?’
The story involving Lee Min-hwa and Choi Seo-hee was one you could only hear after building a fair amount of affinity with her.
Considering that, it was entirely possible there was an even deeper story I didn't know about.
“Get out here, now!!”
*KRAAANG!*
Ignoring the perfectly good door, she destroyed an entire section of the wall.
Inside, several people who seemed to be in the middle of something flinched.
‘That's...’
Robes with unusually large, cone-shaped hoods.
And an aura so gloomy you could feel it just by looking at them.
As far as I knew, there was only one group of people with those characteristics.
“The Tarwi...?”
“W-what the hell are you!”
“How do you know about us!?”
The worst-case assumption I'd made before coming here.
It was now a reality right before my eyes.
Hwang Chan-jin also clicked his tongue with a short "Hah."
“Why are these bastards here now?”
“It must be L-Team's doing.”
“Those guys...”
I couldn't believe it, but they were really in contact with these guys even before the chapter was supposed to start.
The spacious room was already filled with countless test subjects in a state of suspended animation.
Since this was a place where they co-researched Paradise's demon experiments, the situation was similar.
Was that all?
‘Is that Paradise's research data?’
The contents of the data on the laptop screen, and the USB drive plugged into it.
That data was identical to what I saw in the research lab right after arriving at the third mine.
On top of that, the two from L-Team who contacted them had destroyed the research facility there before moving.
The evidence was clear.
“Where did the two who brought that data here go?”
“L-like I'd tell you th— Gyaaaaaaaah!!”
The man who was trying to act tough suddenly had his leg set on fire.
Hwang Chan-jin seemed to be about to do something, having formed an ice spear, but he looked a little flustered by how fast Lee Min-hwa had acted.
“Go. I'll take care of things here.”
Lee Min-hwa's coldly hardened expression was similar to when she had faced Choi Seo-hee.
The Tarwi followers were an enemy faction we had to deal with anyway.
I didn't know what had happened between Lee Min-hwa and the Tarwi, but we needed someone to handle this place regardless.
I nodded and immediately went outside.
“They didn't deny there were two of them.”
“I know. Zeta's already tracking them. It's been keeping watch, and it seems there are only two.”
“I'll take the one with mind control.”
“No. It's better if I go. Can you really ignore the mind control attacks that keep coming at you?”
“Such things can be overcome with willpower.”
Hwang Chan-jin said without even blinking.
He wasn't wrong, but...
I drew a clear line.
“I'm completely immune to mental-type powers. This is the better way. You can cover the teleporter's mobility with your ice sheets, right? Ignoring a type advantage is, as you would say, inefficient.”
“...”
Hwang Chan-jin seemed displeased, but he nodded silently.
At least he listens.
I gave a wry smile inwardly and picked up my pace.
“There they are.”
A man and a woman sitting not far away shot to their feet.
It was because they sensed Hwang Chan-jin and me approaching.
The woman grabbed the teleporter's arm, and just as the teleporter was about to use his ability...
“Hmm!?”
A sudden barrage of daggers embedded themselves in their spot, breaking his concentration and forcing him to switch to a short-range teleport.
To perform a long-distance teleport in one go required a long wind-up time.
If you don't give them time to concentrate, they can't escape via teleportation.
With Zeta disrupting their teleports like this before we could close in, the two from L-Team had no choice but to give up on escaping.
“...Persistent bastards.”
“How did they know we were here?”
The woman twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.
“There's no way you could have captured the Guide of Madness this quickly. Did you kill him, perhaps?”
“...”
When Hwang Chan-jin and I remained silent with no change in expression, the woman pouted.
There was no reason for us to reveal any information.
“You know we have to capture them alive, right?”
“I know.”
*Shing.*
We each drew the swords from our waists and moved as we had discussed beforehand.
I went for the woman who used mind control. Hwang Chan-jin went for the man who used teleportation.
[Using skill, 'Extreme Eye'.]
The woman's information was listed succinctly.
As expected, these two didn't have a trait with an information-blocking effect like 'Mysticism'.
On L-Team, it was only Roberto.
‘In other words...’
I recalled the insignia engraved with an S and a V.
The organization where the progressors gathered.
It was highly likely that among L-Team, Roberto was the only one who actually belonged to it.
“Come to think of it, I also have to avenge our leader on you.”
The woman, Ada, covered her slyly upturned lips with her hand.
Then, her eyes glowed a deep violet.
“I'll have to make you suffer as much as possible.”
[You are being affected by the skill, 'Mind Control'.]
[Unique Effect, 'Watcher Beyond the Screen' is responding.]
[You are not affected by 'Mind Control'.]
“Huh?”
Ada's expression turned to one of bewilderment.
S-rank mind control.
While it couldn't completely dominate another S-rank player, it could show them illusions or prevent them from moving their bodies at will.
In fact, Seong Woo-hyeon had been easily taken down that way.
But this was probably the first time she'd met someone like me, who was completely unaffected.
Ada caught her breath and used mind control again, but the same system messages just popped up.
“The mind control isn't working...?”
“Even a succubus couldn't interfere with me. You think you can?”
*Fwoosh!*
With a single leap, I was in front of Ada, swinging my sword.
Ada hastily drew a dagger to block, but she seemed unused to deflecting impacts, flying backward with a small scream.
Until now, even when attacked, she probably would have easily evaded by using mind control to subconsciously alter the attack's trajectory.
That is the weakness of those with mental-type powers.
‘Because she's only fought advantageous battles using her mental powers, she crumbles helplessly when she meets an opponent they don't work on.’
*KWANG!!*
The second strike.
Struck in the stomach, Ada's face contorted as she stumbled backward.
“What in the world is going on... The trajectory isn't changing at all...!”
“Mental-type powers don't work on me.”
“Who could possibly be like that! It's impossible, no matter how strong their mental fortitude is!”
“It's true. At the very least... yeah. Unless it's someone on the level of Asmodeus.”
“Asmodeus!? Don't be ridiculous! That's one of the seven great demons!”
Ada screamed and forced power into her eyes.
Her eyes shone with a more intense light than before, as if she was pouring all her mana into them, but it was a pointless act.
“I thought even if Roberto was pushed back, my ability might do something...”
Ada gritted her teeth.
She glared at me with venomous eyes, but to me, she looked like a puppy less than three months old trying to be threatening.
I flicked my finger, manipulating the darkness to restrain Ada.
“Look forward to it. I'm going to make you spit out everything you know.”
“What are you taking out... Th-that's...!?”