The Bishop's Desperate Escape

The villains were scrambling in a frenzy.

"Grab all the summoning stones!"

"Wipe away the traces roughly! It's a hidden place anyway, who gives a shit!"

It was all because of the unregistered hunter's ambush.

'He came in first, of all things.'

The villain executive in charge of intelligence gritted his teeth and directed the scene.

The unregistered hunter was someone the Necrophilia side had been chasing to kill.

They'd clicked their tongues in admiration at how adept he was at escaping—moving silently across the country, even to Japan, without leaving a single trace.

'And he came in here alone?'

This wasn't a place just anyone could enter. You needed an admission ticket infused with the faint power of the constellation Anubis, a wooden tally.

'This information can't leak out.'

The very fact that he'd gotten in was incomprehensible.

As the executive thought that, he looked at the horribly exploded corpses, blood, and charred meat chunks scattered everywhere.

How long had it taken? Maybe a minute to massacre hundreds of villains like this.

"Hurry, retreat now!"

Above all, the retreat order from the bishop—the top administrator here—had pulled the trigger on their withdrawal.

Not content with sneaking in alone, the unregistered hunter had completely crushed the bishop's mind.

"Tch!"

'So he wasn't just running away all this time.'

Now their side was the one fleeing in droves.

"We've secured all the key items!"

A group of villains with blackened faces brought over piles of summoning stones, tallies, and items needed for the Hell Gate plan, reporting to the executive.

"Escape first. Dealing with the unregistered can wait."

The executive amplified his voice so everyone in the subway station area could hear.

'Unregistered. He's probably hiding somewhere nearby, watching.'

With that, the villains summoned the train.

- Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu...

The sound of the hell train returning from afar and the announcement echoed.

'Good.'

The immediate fire was out. They'd managed to retreat with the Hell Gate items and as many regular forces as possible.

"Hoo."

Now all that was left was the bishop's retreat.

Currently, five executives from combat, tank, and curse lines had formed an absolute defense formation to protect the bishop.

It was fine. The high executives were handling the bishop's rescue.

Then,

"Aaaahhh!"

"Kuhk, kaaaah!"

Screams echoed.

The source was behind the executive.

It was the platform where the "Incheon-bound hell train" had arrived.

- Kwa-jik! Kwa-jijik!

The sound of flesh being pierced and bones shattering. Some kind of battle was raging inside the train.

"What the hell!"

The executive rushed into the train,

- Hwaaah!

"!!!"

Blood-red flames erupted from the train with terrifying heat, engulfing the executive's body.

- Hwaruk! Hwak!

"Kuhk...!"

No matter how hard he tried, the flames wouldn't go out. His body convulsed wildly from the agony of his living flesh roasting as he ran around,

- Thud.

Smoke from his burning flesh made breathing impossible. Until then, he couldn't even die, feeling every bit of the scorching pain.

- Tadak. Tak.

The sound of flesh burning. Through the blood-red flames, a glimpse of the train's interior.

A slender woman.

And a massive muscle monster, too big for the train, hunched over as it emerged outside,

beside her, a mourning-clad woman, a blind swordswoman.

'Hongmaehwa...! How the hell did they get in here!'

Now he understood. The vivid malice that inflicted endless pain without letting you die.

This was Hongmaehwa's fighting style.

'Report, I have to report...!'

The executive burning in the flames lost consciousness like that.

"Hongmaehwa has entered!"

Ollie displayed Seol's view on the screen in real time.

As expected, it was on another level from the 3D images via the spy chip. This was the effect of actual ally tethering.

- Kwa-jik! Hwaruk!

"Whoa."

I might not even need to step in.

"Ruthless, yo. I love it! She seems even stronger than usual?"

That was right.

Seol's original ability was the dream demon's dream devouring.

An ability to eat the dreams of the sleeping, manifesting in the most destructive way, whatever form it took.

But now, that ability was dormant along with her insomnia.

Yet she'd grown stronger because of it.

"Besides dream devouring, her curse power, mana, and other awakening-related powers seem intact!"

Ollie analyzed.

With insomnia gone, the mental erosion was eliminated—full capacity in every way except for dream devouring. Then,

- Kuoooooh!

The muscle monster beside her suddenly bulged its veins, its pupils vanishing.

- Kwaaang! Kwaaang!

Like a tank charging like a sports car. Wherever the muscle monster passed, only crushed villain corpses remained.

"Kill her! Hongmaehwa came in alone! We have to kill her here!"

Three villain executives flew at the muscle monster simultaneously, unleashing black magic that looked lethal at a glance. A curse that rotted flesh on contact.

But the muscle monster didn't even seem to consider dodging. Pitch-black mana grazed its body, rotting the living flesh.

"Krrrk..."

"..."

The blind swordswoman passed by its side, tapping her sheath. The rotting muscle on its left arm severed in an instant—too fast to follow with the eye.

At the same time, the severed arm shurra-lak! regenerated.

"Kill Hongmaehwa here! Especially that bitch Seol!!!"

The villains were dead serious about capturing Hongmaehwa. Even retreating forces swarmed Seol and her guild members. Hundreds surrounded them, attacking en masse.

At that moment,

Seol's eyes glowed pink.

Peach Blossom, her unique curse re-manifesting the dream demon's power.

- Hwaaaah!

Dozens of villains wrapped in pink energy groaned "Huer, huuuh," lost their minds, drooling as they slowly approached Seol.

This time, her signature blood-red mist filled the area. Villains who inhaled it—especially those enthralled by Peach Blossom—started biting and tearing at each other.

"You fucking bastard. She's mine to fuck. Get lost!"

"You dog, can't tell up from down. I'll fuck her first."

Those whose minds were broken by Peach Blossom turned weapons on each other, inflicting fatal blows and splattering blood everywhere.

The others who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breathed the Prime Origin mist fought among themselves, ignoring Seol entirely.

"..."

The mourning-clad woman watched the scene. She received Seol's order.

"Yeon. Bring them out."

"..."

The woman called Yeon muttered something,

- Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!

Hundreds of massive nails floated up around Seol.

They flew out, positioning themselves precisely.

- Shwaaaaaaaa!

In an instant, so fast even the command center ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't track, Seol surged in all directions.

- Puk! Puk! Puk!

- Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!

Only the sound ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of nails embedding one by one into villains' bodies echoed here and there.

Seol returned to her spot, gesturing to Yeon.

"Kaaaaah!"

"Guk, kekek, kek!"

Villains with nails embedded twisted their limbs and collapsed.

Through them, the muscle monster and blind swordswoman moved like cannons, like lightning, sweeping away villains everywhere.

"Capture Hongmaehwa—. Kill that bitch—."

Seol's voice rang out.

She was mimicking what the villains had just said.

"This bitch is mine—. She's the one I'll fuck—."

She stroked the cheek of a villain collapsed in agony, skin necrotizing.

"Fuck. That's too scary..."

Scary, but reassuring instead. They say keep the crazy ones on your side.

I was realizing that suppressing the dream demon wasn't just for the power fragment—it was a damn good choice for my own safety too.

Jenny, watching this live, was trembling violently.

She covered her eyes like she couldn't watch anymore. I'd called in Hongmaehwa and returned to the ops room immediately.

Ah, I'd tried not to show her the gruesome scenes. But I was too busy to mind Jenny right now. Anyway,

'Is this the assassination/curse guild vying for world number one?'

From the villains' perspective, it was mind-breaking.

Hongmaehwa was already a tough opponent, and now she'd come at full curse and mana capacity.

Then, Seol's voice came through the ops room. She seemed to guess I—the unregistered—was listening.

The direction she pointed was exactly the information center interior, the break room. Spot on.

"I'm going in from here."

No matter how much Hongmaehwa tore through villains, black bastards still swarmed like ants from everywhere.

Jenny, eyes squeezed shut and kneeling, formed a warp point. With Seol's tethering, imaging was crystal clear, and the warp quality was top-notch.

I messaged Seol via mail: 'Unregistered joining.'

Seol, who kept her inbox open, read it and replied.

Has she sounded oddly pleased since earlier? Nah, probably imagination.

'My turn to show off.'

Unfortunately, there was one bastard here who was damn good at that.

- Woooong...

Ally join was tethered to all of Hongmaehwa, so no hesitation.

Chain, penetration. And cause unknown.

- Kwaaaaaang!

Around her first,

- Kwaaaaaang!

Massacring villains near the information center far away.

- Kwaaaaaang!

Taking out high-level villain executives grabbing the muscle monster and blind swordswoman's ankles.

Seol just walked forward, gazing at the flurry of messages.

Thanks to my sniping that razed the surroundings, she advanced easily.

Villains still poured out to block her, but with my power plus Hongmaehwa executives, her path cleared.

Thus, in front of the information center. The place filled with bizarre energy preventing my warp points.

As expected, Seol knew about the power fragment's weak durability that Ollie mentioned.

At the information center entrance, blackened by the villain executive's energy, Seol pulled three talismans from her bosom, stuck them on, and stepped back slightly.

Then, with a gu-gu-gu-guk, cracks formed in the door in a triangle from the three talismans, compressing instantly. Similar to my shadowless bullet.

- Puhwaaaa!

Terrifying dark energy burst from inside.

"The executives inside are different from before, yo!"

Ollie, analyzing the energy, spoke. Seol seemed to sense it too.

The information center interior was filled with black smoke like the Cartibes incident.

At that moment, heavy voices echoed from inside.

"Protect the bishop."

"Heart to Anubis."

- Pa-aat!

- Ka-ang!

Two Necrophilia executives burst from the black smoke.

One lunged at Seol, swinging a threatening warhammer; the blind swordswoman drew her sword, protecting Seol from the attack.

The other looked like a massive obese zombie spewing black smoke everywhere. Smoke jetted from its mouth and nose like a sprinkler—touch it and it'd explode.

"..."

The mourning-clad woman wrapped red threads around the blob executive. It couldn't move a step, just spewing smoke in place.

- Tok. Tok. Tok.

Seol entered the information center without a hint of tension.

"Looks like three more inside, yo! Uh, but they're like mages with meh combat power."

Ollie sounded puzzled. Seol knew too, entering without care.

"Guide the bishop. O manager of death."

Strange prayers poured out like a machine gun from inside.

- Pat!

Seol threw three daggers precisely. They pierced the break room door straight into the villain executives,

"Kuhk!"

"Kaak!"

Strange groans echoed from inside.

Then, Jenny reported, "Warp magic seems possible inside the information center now, Captain!"

Probably because the center broke open, dark energy rushed out wildly. Empty spaces appeared in corners indeed.

With HUD night vision equipped, I warped in. A spot with straight-line view to the break room.

The scene upon entry.

"Tch."

Three executives with daggers in their throats had formed a strange purple magic circle over the coughing-up-blood bishop's body. Problem was the barrier like with Cartibes.

They planned to let the bishop escape at least.

"No chance."

Adjusted to 5x zoom scope.

"..."

No intention of letting him go easily.

I'd steadily produced them, now carrying four.

Precisely past Seol arriving at the barrier, HUD-assisted precision shot.

- Pusht!

- Jjeojeojeok!

"N-no!"

"Bishop, Bishop!!!"

As if the barrier crumbling was more despairing than daggers in their throats, the three executives screamed. Seol gave them no time for more.

- Puk! Puk!

HUD secured my vision, but even without for Seol, she precisely slit their throats.

She entered the shattered barrier, grabbing the bishop.

'Retrieval complete.'

However,

Instead of immediately taking the two power fragments, Seol stared at the bishop's chest, then stepped aside slightly.

'Fuck. What now.'

- Kwa-gwak. Kwak!

A denser barrier sphere than before wrapped the power fragment necklace tightly. The problem: that sphere was burrowing into the bishop's body—his chest cavity.

- Kwa-gwa-gwak!

The unconscious bishop from warnings rolled back his eyes, vomiting blood, unaware of the baseball-sized barrier sphere drilling into him.

Decided on one more distan shot.

"Hoooooo..."

Baseball-sized. Ultra-precision shot.

HUD's green ● formed the exact aim point.

Exhaled appropriately, relaxed body.

No margin for error, even at close range—using every tool.

'Break the barrier, Seol retrieves.'

Dispel bullet fired.

- Pusht!

But,

- Do-oooong...

"!!!"

The dispel bullet hit dead-on, but the same message as with the dream demon appeared—the barrier didn't break.

'Power bullet, power bullet!'

"Ah."

Already used on the dream demon, hadn't produced new ones yet.

Sensing my attack failed, Seol jammed dozens of nails into the bishop's body.

- Puk! Puk! Pubuk!

Then muttered something. Eerie red aura swirled around the bishop. A barrier to prevent escape.

Seol raised her dagger, deeply slicing the bishop's skin. The unconscious bishop seemed oblivious to the added pain.

Seol sounded troubled for the first time.

As she said, she'd jammed nails into every corner of the spatial transfer magic circle on the bishop, disrupting energy flow.

But the source of her unease: the message before her eyes.

Then,

- Shuuuuu!

Eerie purple light blazed blindingly from the magic circle around the bishop. Even Seol stepped back.

"Kekekeke. Funny bastards."

One surviving villain executive cackled.

"You're done already. No matter how you struggle, it's over. Even you can't harm the bishop..."

- Puk!

His throat half-severed, the sound of his breath cutting off.

Not Seol's doing. The executive himself jammed the dagger in his throat deeper.

Suicide here—did that mean,

...escape was already guaranteed.

- Shuuuuu!

'Damn! Damn! Damn!'

One more shot. Same message, barrier around power fragment unbreakable.

Thus,

The unconscious bishop pixelated in purple mana and vanished somewhere.

"..."

Failed to retrieve the power fragments.

The ♠ spy chip was destroyed, gone. Probably hit by my or Seol's attacks in the chaos.

Seol had seen the message too, feeling the wall even her power couldn't breach.

"Haa."

Back via warp, I slumped in the ops room chair, feeling drained.

We'd caught the bishop, damn it. Two more fragments would've made four total.

"You. I'll kill you for sure."

After taking back my thing around his neck.

Hongmaehwa mopped up the remaining villain stragglers. About 40-50 left, taken out quickly.

Only the abandoned subway clear message popped up.

This dungeon had some serious quality.

"Hoo."

If there was gain, it was EXP.

- Hwaaaah!

Finally broke LV 100. A level that felt distant, unattainable.

The new establishment system activated.