Chapter 122: The Trap (8)
Chapter 122: The Trap (8)
The Japanese Awakeners, observing from a distance, also noticed the demons’ movement.
When they saw the demons—creatures with leathery, membrane-covered wings—soaring from a fortress that looked as if it were carved from obsidian, they initially feared a large-scale assault. They immediately issued an alert and prepared for battle.
However, when they saw the monsters heading toward the forest to engage in combat rather than toward the advance base where the Awakeners were gathered, they realized the targets were Wolyeong and Knight.
The officials from the Korean Branch of the Awakener Association, who had come to support Wolyeong and Knight, were thrown into a panic.
“We have to go save them right now!”
Even if the average level of Japanese Awakeners was considered lower than some, the gap was mostly at the very top; the average strength was similar across nations, so they took the situation seriously. It was hard to imagine just two people, Wolyeong and Knight, holding out against such a massive swarm of demons.
“But there are so many of them... I think it’s already too late...”
The Japanese Awakeners expressed their reluctance, as the situation looked grim for anyone attempting a rescue. Most of the Awakeners who had come from other countries to support Japan reacted similarly.
The Korean Branch employee who had argued for the rescue knew the reality of the situation as well.
Damn it... Wolyeong-nim.
Though he hadn't become particularly close to her while supporting her for the past two years, as someone who knew exactly how powerful she was, he couldn't help but curse at the current reality.
Since only a tiny minority advocated for a rescue, and most feared the demons would swarm the base immediately after killing Wolyeong and Knight, everyone hurried to bolster their defenses instead.
“Wait...?”
An Awakener observing the demons let out a dazed sound as the battle appeared to be ongoing.
“The fight is still happening!”
It was unexpected news. The observation feed was immediately transmitted to the large monitor in the briefing tent.
“No... how...?”
Because they were observing from a great distance, the image wasn't clear, but they could definitely see the demons locked in combat with someone. They saw black shapes plummeting helplessly from the sky and flashes of brilliant silver light. It was clear that a fierce battle was raging.
The expressions of the Korean Branch staff brightened as they shouted urgently.
“They’re still fighting! We have to go help! Wolyeong-nim is the strongest Awakener here—are you just going to let her die?!”
It was as the employee said; none of the Japanese Awakeners felt confident they surpassed Wolyeong, and the supporters from other countries didn't have many high-rankers among them either.
In a way, Wolyeong and Knight were their only hope. The thought that their chances of victory would be higher if they joined the fight began to take hold.
A brief debate ensued. The group was split between those who argued they might die on the way and that there was no need to leave their defenses, and those who insisted on going to help.
Even during the argument, the battle continued. Surprisingly, the number of demons seemed to be steadily dwindling. Everyone watched as the dense swarm of black shapes began to thin out.
“This is unbelievable...”
It meant that Wolyeong and Knight were actually winning against the demons. As it became clear they were systematically reducing the enemy's numbers, public opinion shifted drastically toward providing support.
The Awakeners who had been preparing for defense were puzzled by the sudden order to move out, but word quickly spread that Wolyeong and Knight were holding their own and seemingly winning.
The Japanese Awakeners, who had been demoralized by their previous crushing defeat at the hands of the demons, stared in wide-eyed shock. Some remained skeptical, but as the order was finalized and more people vouched for the situation, everyone moved quickly to prepare for combat.
A short while later, the Awakeners set out to support Wolyeong and Knight. While some remained behind to guard the base out of fear, a significant number volunteered for the rescue mission. They moved in jeeps to cover the distance quickly, rapidly approaching the site of the battle.
The sounds of combat grew louder in their ears—the roar of explosions, the thud of things crashing into the earth, and the blood-curdling screams of demons.
Soon, they witnessed a scene of absolute slaughter: a knight in silver armor and a psychokinetic in a black robe were massacring the demons.
However, they were shocked to see that it wasn't just Wolyeong and Knight. There were two more figures in silver armor, giving off an aura similar to Knight’s.
A total of four people were fighting the demons, killing them indiscriminately. Both newcomers appeared to be female—one a knight with a sword and shield, and the other a martial artist using body arts.
They saw demons being cleaved in half by silver, crescent-shaped sword energy... and they saw demon heads exploding and torsos caving in from punches and kicks.
The Awakeners felt a surge of catharsis watching the demons get systematically dismantled. Many of the Japanese Awakeners present had barely survived the first defeat, and having summoned the courage to return, they felt as if they were finally being rewarded. Seeing those terrifying, powerful demons being slaughtered by the four of them caused their morale to skyrocket.
*
Han Shin’s party realized the Awakeners were arriving as reinforcements in the middle of the battle. He knew Grace and Laysia would have to show themselves, but there was no other choice.
The four of them were currently dominating the demons by complementing each other’s skills; if two of them were to hide now, the battle would undoubtedly become much more difficult.
Since Han Shin had already told Park Min-woo, the Korean Branch Head, that he was a knight from another world, he had already prepared a rough explanation.
Now that the demons have appeared, I’ll have to explain that they are the ones behind the portals anyway. I can just say they came from the Other World.
Now that the demons had revealed themselves on Earth, it was no longer possible to deal with them in secret.
As the supporting Awakeners joined the fray, the demons began to be pushed back even further. Under normal circumstances, the demons would have wiped out the reinforcements easily, but they couldn't do so because of Han Shin’s party.
The demons had realized Han Shin’s group was trying to advance toward the black fortress and were throwing themselves at them to stop them. In the midst of that, they couldn't afford to focus on the other Awakeners.
The demons' ultimate goal was to facilitate the transition from Nippur to Earth, which meant they had to protect the Black Spire at all costs. Since this objective was paramount, they had no room to worry about anything else.
The problem was that while the Awakeners were like a handful of insects to the demons, their attacks were becoming difficult to ignore. The Awakeners had worked hard to compensate for their weaknesses after their first defeat. Recognizing that individual demons were powerful, they had devised plans to fight in five-man teams rather than individually.
This proved effective. While an Awakener with a massive shield blocked a demon’s diving attack, the damage dealers in the team launched a counterattack.
The Awakeners' attacks weren't entirely ineffective against the Lesser Demons. Furthermore, seeing the reinforcements arrive, Laysia used Sacred Ground, neutralizing the buff spells cast on the demons in the area.
Using her holy power as a Battle Priest rather than just her martial arts, she spread Tiamat’s divine energy to create a zone that benefited allies and hindered enemies. It was an incredibly useful spell when fighting the forces of the Evil God.
Laysia had been carefully managing her divine power until she judged this to be the perfect moment, and her intuition was correct.
The main reason the demons had won so overwhelmingly in the first battle was due to Baal’s Blessing. They had been able to pierce through magic and shatter formations with high-speed diving attacks, leaving the Awakeners scattered and easily picked off. Laysia had just stripped them of that single greatest advantage.
Thanks to this, the morale of the supporting Awakeners rose even higher as they realized the Lesser Demons weren't as invincible as they thought and that their own attacks were landing.
Seeing the demons falter further with the Awakeners' intervention, Han Shin decided to break through to the black fortress immediately. He sprinted toward the fortress alongside Grace.
The atmosphere of the battlefield grew even more heated as the two knights in silver armor cleaved through the demons with sword and spear, carving a path forward.
Naturally, the Awakeners’ spirits soared, while the demons became desperate and intimidated. They had to stop the charge toward the black fortress, but they simply couldn't.
Barrow, who was leading this horde of Baal’s demons, watched the scene through a crystal ball inside the fortress.
He was already nursing a headache over the unfavorable turn of the battle, but he was startled by the sudden movement of Han Shin and Grace, who seemed to have seized an opening with the arrival of the Awakeners.
He hurried out of his quarters, gathering the remaining subordinates in the fortress to stop them. He had to protect the Black Spire.
They must have consumed a lot of strength after fighting so much.
Barrow channeled his dark mana, fueling his thoughts with his own desperate hopes. His targets were, of course, the two silver knights tearing through his subordinates.
He started by casting Dark Hand.
Massive, monstrous black hands erupted from the ground beneath and in front of Han Shin and Grace, attacking them. It was a standard tactic used by mages to restrict the movement of approaching enemies.
Though it was a spell they hadn't seen before, Han Shin and Grace didn't panic in the slightest. The claws of the black hands were incredibly sharp and their grip strength was immense; an ordinary Awakener might have had their lower body mangled and been brought down, but these two were far from ordinary.
Han Shin kicked off the ground to avoid the hands, leaping forward as if flying, while Grace lowered her stance and slid forward in sync with him.
Grace’s body spun, and the sword in her hand severed the Dark Hands. A circular wave of silver sword energy erupted, obliterating all the hands in an instant.
Having easily bypassed his magic, Han Shin and Grace were suddenly right in front of him. Barrow desperately poured out dark magic.
Spheres of black energy and curses formed from dark mana flew toward them, but the two continued their charge without stopping, dodging and blocking everything thrown their way.
In the process, Grace was nearly exhausting the last of Tiamat’s divine power. Between catching up to Han Shin after clearing the Dark Hands, blocking the onslaught of dark magic with her shield, and intercepting attacks with her sword energy, her strength was draining rapidly.
It was all to create an opening for Han Shin.
With Grace’s support, Han Shin reached the black fortress. Naturally, the demons lunged at them, desperate to stop them by any means necessary.
At that moment, Han Shin drew upon his latent Power of the Dragon, shrouding his body in a silver aura. The knight, glowing with a silver light, became a being that the demons present could not hope to stop.
This applied to the Lesser Demons and their leader, Barrow, alike.
Realizing the largest demon was the leader, Han Shin threw his spear directly at him.
PHUT!
The spear left Han Shin’s hand with a sound that seemed to tear the very air.
Barrow tried to block it by manifesting a Dark Shield, but the shield made of dark mana was torn like paper. The spear buried itself in his abdomen, carrying him through the air until he was pinned against the Black Spire.
BOOM!
“Cough...!”
Cracks spread like a spiderweb across the Black Spire, centered on the pinned Barrow.
As he coughed up blood, Barrow realized that the spear Han Shin had thrown wasn't powered by magic or Qi, but by a different kind of strength altogether.
However, he couldn't think about it any longer—nor did he need to.
In his fading vision, he saw Han Shin, who had closed the distance in an instant, swinging a warhammer down toward him.
A thunderous roar, incomparable to when Barrow had been slammed into the spire, erupted.
KABOOM!!
The Black Spire took the full, devastating impact of Han Shin’s warhammer. The spiderweb cracks expanded and raced across the structure before it began to slowly crumble.
Rumble!
The black stones that made up the spire shattered and cascaded downward. Han Shin leaped back to avoid the debris.
It broke in one hit...?
Han Shin was surprised by his own feat. He had swung with all his might to finish off Barrow and hopefully damage the spire, but he hadn't expected the structure to be so fragile that it would collapse from a single strike.