Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: Cha Eun-ha (2)
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“This is...”
Gazing at the horrific scene before me, I was at a loss for words.
What happens when the inside of a building becomes a warzone.
It was an unfiltered, graphic display.
“It would be better if you two didn't look.”
I covered the bodies with a shroud of darkness.
The twins' faces stiffened slightly, but they didn't scream like they used to.
They had grown somewhat accustomed to seeing corpses.
‘Becoming numb to people dying...’
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
Perhaps that was for the better.
Better than becoming numb to killing people.
‘However.’
Most of the dead were East Asian.
While there were some Korean players who had joined Team A, the proportion was strikingly high.
Added to that was the gloomy atmosphere I'd been sensing.
I pushed down the surging anxiety and headed toward the source of the unusually large magical energy.
The fighting must have moved elsewhere, as I didn't encounter anyone on my way to the top floor.
“Ugh. What's that smell? Like meat is burning?”
“Wait. Over there!”
As Jo Min-woo sniffed the air and tilted his head, Jo Min-ah urgently pointed in one direction.
A pile of black ash that seemed to have once held a shape, and two familiar faces.
The fallen Jeon Do-jin, held in the arms of Cha Eun-ha.
“Aaaaaaah...!!”
Cha Eun-ha was wailing at the top of her lungs.
She sobbed as if she would stop breathing at any moment, her screams erupting from a place so deep they made the listener's heart ache, vibrating through the air.
No one dared to approach, standing frozen in place as if nailed to the spot where they'd found her.
Could a person really make a sound of such despair?
Could they grieve so deeply?
For a moment, even I was overwhelmed, forced to simply watch the scene unfold.
“Unni!!”
Jo Min-ah was the first to move.
She approached Cha Eun-ha, who was crying her eyes out as if from an endless well of tears, and wept with her. Jo Min-woo simply stood quietly by their side.
‘Remnants of magical energy.’
Left behind by someone who had unleashed an immense amount of power.
That was the 'unusually large source of magical energy' I had identified with Extreme Eye.
[It's divine power.]
Besial answered immediately.
[Divine power clashed with divine power. You should be glad the building didn't collapse.]
“Jeon Do-jin and... that pile of ash?”
[Burned beyond recognition. To give you a hint, it was a guy named Marker. From that L Team? One of their members. Remember?]
I remembered.
I'd only caught a glimpse of him fighting another guild master, so he hadn't left much of an impression, but I had grasped what kind of abilities he used.
The ability to manipulate threads.
And by extension, powers of control, spatial dominance, and so on.
“So, he and Jeon Do-jin fought using divine power.”
Jeon Do-jin, who wielded lightning with destructive force.
It was safe to assume which god would take an interest in someone like him.
The Greco-Roman god, Zeus. The Norse god, Thor.
Broadening the scope, there was also Indra or Takemikazuchi.
But by process of elimination, considering the other major figures who had already received divine power and the personalities of each god, Zeus was the most likely candidate.
That fickle god loved to make contracts with others here and there, even if he already had a contractor.
[The 'Lord of Olympus' gives a sly smile.]
Of course.
[And what's this? It's a mana exhaustion trap. So there's someone who can make these, huh?]
“A mana exhaustion trap?”
Normally, just using divine power wouldn't leave someone in that state.
It was correct to assume there was an additional factor.
If he had used divine power by squeezing out his remaining mana while caught in that trap...
It would explain why Jeon Do-jin ended up like this.
‘The others...’
Not far away, Kim Ji-hyeon was also collapsed, her breathing unstable.
I used the potion I had left over from treating Jo Min-woo on Kim Ji-hyeon, and her breathing finally stabilized.
She would wake up on her own once she regained her strength.
“By the way, Hyung. Isn't this strange?”
As I approached Cha Eun-ha, Jo Min-woo stood up and whispered to me.
“What is?”
“Well... is this situation really over?”
Look at this kid.
I let out a small laugh.
“I was just about to bring that up. You two stay here and guard this place. I'll go take care of it.”
“Yes!”
Jo Min-woo bumped his fists together energetically.
After confirming the faint flicker of blue flames, I headed downstairs.
The fact that the others who came with Jeon Do-jin were nowhere to be seen meant they were fighting somewhere.
Pushing my mana to its limits to scan the entire building, I realized sporadic fights were breaking out not only inside but also outside.
One noticeable thing was that a large number of people from outside were beginning to swarm into the building.
“Get out of the way! I'm first!”
“You little shit with no respect...! Hey! When did you start!?”
“Shut up and get lost if you don't want to die!”
A group of people, moving recklessly like bulldozers with the top floor as their goal, appeared before me.
Bloodshot eyes. An emotional state that seemed ready to explode at the slightest touch.
The typical appearance of someone addicted to 'Red Eye'.
Had the drug addiction made them blind to everything else?
“Someone's blocking the way!”
“Get rid of him!!”
[So many people who don't value their lives. Tsk, tsk. Why did they have to do drugs.]
“My thoughts exactly.”
I drew the Black Moon Divine Sword and parried the mace swinging at me.
*CRASH!!*
The mace shattered into pieces, and its owner was sent flying, knocking down the people behind him.
Normal people would have sensed something was wrong and backed off, but these guys were already out of their minds and didn't seem to care at all.
“Physical therapy is the only answer for madmen.”
I had expected this wouldn't be enough.
So, this time, I moved first.
*BOOM!*
I weaved through the addicts, disarming them with my sword and using thorns of darkness to restrain them completely.
They were just drug addicts, not brainwashed or mentally controlled by someone.
If I showed them enough force to snap them out of it, they would come to their senses on their own.
“Ugh...”
“A m-monster...”
Just as I thought.
I had only been moving for two or three minutes, but they had already lost their will to fight and were too scared to move.
Even though their addiction symptoms were so severe that they were drooling, their fear of me was greater, restricting their actions.
“You bastards! Don't you dare stop... huh?”
“You're late.”
A few of the people who had gone to destroy the warp gate came running, out of breath.
They bore traces of battle, and their breathing was ragged.
Even if the addicts weren't high-level, facing so many of them would be exhausting, so it was understandable.
“Our apologies. We lured them outside and surrounded them, which took some time. By the way... did you do all this... by yourself?”
“That's right. You've come at a good time. I've subdued them all, but you never know what might happen if I leave, so please guard this passage and keep an eye on them.”
“Their goal seems to be the top floor. Understood. But, Kim Se-hyeon-nim...”
“I'm going to catch the main culprit.”
I used the Invisibility Cloak and left the scene.
They were startled by my sudden disappearance, but being veterans, they quickly began to manage the situation.
I had already pinpointed Team A's location through Zeta.
They seemed determined to see this through to the end, charging forward with a legion of drug addicts at their front.
“Keep pushing! Finish them all!”
“I'll give you as many drugs as you want based on your performance! Your reward will match your efforts!!”
There were three people shouting at the top of their lungs.
This matched the information we had obtained from the captured Team A member in the last operation.
Team A had five members in total. One was dead, and another was the captive, meaning three were left.
‘I knew something was off.’
These numbers couldn't be explained by just Team A and the drug cartel.
Did they lure in a large number of addicts using drugs as bait?
I took a deep breath and plunged a giant spear of darkness in front of the advancing legion.
*KWWAAAAANG!*
The people at the front were swept away by the shockwave, sent flying in all directions.
The momentum they'd gained from the promise of unlimited drugs was instantly broken, the change evident on their faces.
“Wh-what the!?”
“Where did that attack come from!?”
“You shouldn't cause a disturbance in someone else's building.”
I took off the Invisibility Cloak.
To their eyes, it would seem as if a person had suddenly appeared out of thin air.
“Kim Se-hyeon...!?”
The one who recognized me narrowed his eyes.
“How are you here already...? He said he'd make sure to keep you tied up!?”
‘He?’
He must mean Yeomryong.
It felt strange.
To think he would help Team A, blinded by revenge, even knowing something like this was happening in Busan.
‘No.’
Yeomryong's movements were clear.
While he had something like joined Team A, he never actually helped them with their work.
He had only watched from afar, and that one time he fought me was all.
If Yeomryong had actively intervened and helped Team A, there would have surely been witnesses.
“He failed, which is why I'm here.”
“Tch... And I trusted him since he was the collaborator sent by the Master...!”
Looking at the faces of Team A, I realized that only the team name had changed; the organization and its members were similar to one that appeared in EOA.
Commonly known as the Scavengers.
The team within Pentagon Eagle that handled all sorts of dirty work.
The members had changed a bit, but seeing their leader, Santiago, the basic structure seemed largely the same.
“What are you doing! He's only human! He can't hold out against our numbers!”
The madness stirred.
Those blinded by desire glared as if they would tear me to pieces if I didn't get out of their way.
“...This is why I hate this chapter.”
It so starkly reveals the fate of humans who are faithful only to their desires.
*Swish!*
I spread my mana.
The air changed.
Some collapsed under the pressure weighing down on their shoulders.
Some choked, gasping for air and clutching their throats.
Some wet themselves and fell backward.
The crowd that seemed ready to march forward over a mountain of corpses crumbled in an instant.
“What kind of mana is this...!?”
Santiago's expression was one of utter horror.
His contorted face revealed that he, too, was struggling to withstand it.
“I'm seeing my father off. Be quiet.”
“Father...?”
The corner of Santiago's mouth twitched and curled upward.
“I see. So, Jeon Do-jin is dead? Besides the dispatched Jeon Do-jin, there are no other S-ranks in Busan. Does that mean you're the only strong enemy left here?”
The other Team A members also smirked.
Santiago shouted.
“Look, you idiots! That man is the gatekeeper guarding the warehouse of pleasure! If we get rid of him, Busan can remain a city of eternal pleasure! I promise you! You'll all be able to get much more, much cheaper, and much easier from now on!!”
Those who had collapsed stood up again.
He kept pouring the oil of temptation on them so that the fire of desire would not be easily extinguished.
That's what drugs do.
The pleasure is so unforgettable that it has the power to make you do things you rationally know you shouldn't.
“You all.”
*Fwoosh!*
“Will not take a single step past this point.”
Black flames erupted.