The Calculated Escape
Hyeol-bong crossed the forest thick with darkness and thought.
‘I had a feeling, but it’s come to this after all.’
He hadn’t said it aloud, but from the moment this plan began, something had felt off.
How to put it—he had slipped out of his own control? Something was interfering?
No, more precisely, it was a gaze.
‘It felt like someone was watching.’
He had first sensed that gaze back in Korea.
With his base in Asia, Hyeol-bong had always coveted Korea’s excellent pool of talent.
Japan was easy to tap but its abilities were too extreme, while China was closed off thanks to its damn sect system.
So he had spent a long time cultivating Korea, and finally succeeded in absorbing an entire major guild.
With his covert support, that guild had instantly become the representative guild of its city.
In reality, Hyeol-bong had received quite a few high-quality magic sword candidates through that channel. All of his closest subordinates had come through that route.
But then it collapsed.
In an instant!
Completely and cleanly!
When he heard the report that the Korean branch had burned down, an article soon followed stating that Haemu Guild had effectively been disbanded.
The interval was so absurdly short that at first he thought the situation itself was a joke.
“I still don’t understand it.”
Hyeol-bong burst out of the forest without slowing and passed through the camp at the crossroads.
The camp was eerily empty, yet the path was perfectly maintained, allowing Hyeol-bong to continue his thoughts in comfort as he fled.
‘Anyway, that was the decisive blow.’
Villains operate strictly on the logic of power.
Even comrades within the same organization were no exception.
With the supply line of high-quality combat power from Korea severed, Hyeol-bong’s 3rd Corps strength had no choice but to falter.
This naturally affected his influence within the organization.
That was why he had ultimately failed to stop the operation from being moved forward.
‘It was that hippo bastard who pushed it through. An unexpected star had risen. A star that broke the mold would eventually draw everyone’s eyes……’
It was the 「Divine Reading」 delivered years ago by the former 2nd Corps Commander, the ‘Hippo Wearing a Crown of Thorns’.
Because the Hippo had used that reading to locate the Gate Transporter, his voice carried weight, and his claim was to create the holy land before any unforeseen variables appeared.
Hyeol-bong had consistently opposed it.
They had already overextended themselves approaching Namgoong Sega just to secure funds—did they really need to rush even more? The cautious Hyeol-bong could not accept it.
But once the balance of power within the organization collapsed, the plan was forced through anyway, leading to this pathetic flight.
Crunch.
Hyeol-bong ground his teeth as irritation surged.
Regardless, the magic sword slung across his back kept rolling its eyes, guiding him toward the optimal escape route.
‘Fleeing itself isn’t the problem. I’m used to being a fugitive.’
Unlike the other two, Hyeol-bong had not been strong from the beginning. Even after first consuming his father’s bloodline, he had been weak. He had fled miserably, killing animals, monsters, and vagrants alike to grow stronger.
During that process, he had faced life-threatening crises more times than he could count. He had nearly died encountering unexpected powerhouses, and had been chased by soldiers while trying to cross borders.
For Hyeol-bong, fleeing was no problem at all.
Whether it was miserable or cowardly, as long as he survived, opportunities would come.
What truly enraged him now was something else.
‘Why the hell did those idiots act so impulsively and ruin everything like this?’
Objective. Rational.
Based on evidence, according to data.
Look at his own escape route right now.
Because he moved according to the hundreds of thousands of data points accumulated in the magic sword, there were no obstacles. No common pursuers, not even a single minor hindrance.
When one moved ideally based on evidence like this, problems simply didn’t arise. So why move emotionally and squander opportunities?
‘This won’t do. I tried to shorten the timeline by absorbing existing organizations, but this time I’ll have to build one myself.’
Rationally. Logically.
With thorough control and calculation.
Without relying on stupid humans—using the magic sword in a way befitting a magic sword.
He would create an organization tailored to a flawless plan like this escape route.
While laying out the blueprint for his new organization, Hyeol-bong entered the 30th camp where the final checkpoint lay……
“……”
In an instant, Hyeol-bong stopped as if struck by lightning.
The scenery was the same.
Broken container buildings gave it a desolate air, and the surroundings were so quiet that even breathing could be heard.
It looked no different from the camps he had passed through until now.
Yet Hyeol-bong could not take another step.
Because someone was sitting right in the center of the camp.
A man with a suit draped over his shoulders, legs crossed as he sat on a wooden chair.
It was Lee Shin.
Lee Shin exhaled smoke from his magic herb cigarette and smiled.
“Did you come alone?”
* * *
『In the Xenocrates Invasion Quest, the probability of 3rd Corps Commander Hyeol-bong fleeing is extremely high. This can be seen from Hyeol-bong’s story. Unlike ‘Belphegor,’ who was evaluated as a genius even by the Bureau, or the ‘Hippo Wearing a Crown of Thorns,’ once called Africa’s hope, Hyeol-bong rose from the bottom, making his instincts and survival skills unparalleled……
……
Hyeol-bong’s escape patterns, driven by such strong survival instincts, can be classified into three types. The first……』
* * *
“First, hiding inside a gate. Entering any gate and waiting until things calm down. It’s a method only possible in gate danger zones, and in that case tracking takes quite a long time. It’s a tricky and effective method, and you probably considered it too, right?”
“……”
“But you already combined every gate in the vicinity. The remaining ones were all reversed to fill the vacuum left by the 2nd Corps you massacred. So the first pattern is a pass.”
Lee Shin exhaled smoke and grinned at Hyeol-bong, who remained silent.
“Second, subtly changing clothes during battle. Our dear Hyeol-bong can transform into anyone he’s ‘consumed,’ can’t he? If you slip into the ally side during the chaos, it’d be perfect. And as seasoning, you could feed some bribes to those corrupt South American guilds? It’d be a total madhouse party.”
“……”
“But that’s difficult too. This whole operation seems to have been orchestrated by the Bureau from the start. That makes it a complete non-starter. Hmm, actually this is kind of my own boast, but I’m the one who led it. Lee Shin. Make sure you remember that.”
Even as Hyeol-bong glared at him with killing intent, Lee Shin puffed out his chest and bragged.
“The last, third method isn’t even much of a method. Classically slipping through the danger zone into another country. Yeah, that’s the method you chose.”
“……”
“Geographically, the South American gate danger zones are messy and there are many neighboring countries, so if you map out an escape route well, getting just yourself out isn’t hard. You probably thought the same while fleeing, right?”
Hyeol-bong gave no answer. At some point he had begun scanning his surroundings, trying to gauge the enemy’s strength.
Lee Shin chuckled as he watched him.
“Want me to guess what you’re thinking? How the hell did I know your escape route?”
“How……?”
“Ooh, now we’re getting a reaction. From your perspective, it must be baffling. Pinpointing you in this vast Amazon.”
“Well, to cut to the chase……”
Lee Shin, now standing, smiled.
“Wasn’t the path here awfully comfortable?”
“?!”
“No obstacles, smooth sailing, perfectly appropriate. It was flawless. Exactly the feeling you like best.”
“That……”
“Heh heh, when we secured the Gate Transporter, why do you think we cleared out the camps?”
“Don’t tell me you……”
“Getting the picture now?”
When the expeditionary force had done its preliminary work, what had Team 2—containing the Fist King, Black Star, and Light Sword—been tasked with?
That’s right.
Camp cleanup. Specifically, concentrating on these 30-series camps.
“Someone like you who moves on learned data had no choice but to come here. It’s too ideal, isn’t it? And more importantly…… you’re not human. As a tool, you should act like one.”
He moved according to data rather than free will. Completely castrating intuition or emotional aspects, he moved according to plans calculated on evidence.
Accumulated data, precise plans, calculated perfection.
That was why Lee Shin had likened him to a high-performance AI.
“Well, let’s stop talking.”
Now then, everyone.
Lee Shin shouted and clapped, and figures began emerging from the surroundings.
“……What the hell did I just hear.”
“That guy’s seriously not right in the head.”
Changgwi and the Sword Master appeared from the alley.
“Hah, so that’s why. I was wondering why they were cleaning the camps. This is ridiculous.”
“Crazy bastard.”
From behind, the Guardian and Light Sword revealed themselves.
The Fist King shook his head as he stepped out, while Black Star and Cross walked forward with expressions like they had seen ghosts. From the ceiling of a building, the Divine Archer rose.
Meanwhile, those standing behind Lee Shin.
“Oppa, you were so cool again this time.”
Yu Ri-ra gave a thumbs-up.
“So that’s the magic sword… No wonder it didn’t feel human.”
Baek Yeon-woo’s eyes gleamed.
“How do we deal with this impudent brat.”
Kim Jong-phil, the Mountain King, rapped Lee Shin on the head.
And finally.
“You shall not pass.”
Park Su-bin stood guard in front of Lee Shin.
The strongest fighters in Korea, enviable anywhere in the world, had gathered. Centered around Lee Shin, they intended to personally put the period on this long calamity.
Rumble.
Behind Park Su-bin, the upper body of a mechanical giant revealed itself, signaling the start of the final battle.
* * *
Why was a magic sword called a magic sword?
Because it sold its soul to pollute the world. Because it destroyed.
The magic sword whose seal was completely released. No—the true form of Hyeol-bong.
The moment the bloodshot eyes within the magic sword shone eerily.
Wooong――!
The surroundings were dyed gray, and holes of darkness opened everywhere. Holes that erased life the instant they touched, like black holes.
The only one free here was Hyeol-bong, who was not alive.
He settled into a hole. Then he thrust the magic sword, rippling with ominous darkness, into it.
Kieeeek――
A ghostly wail.
Along with the screams of the dead, a vertical crack formed in the hole. As the crack widened, it became a massive eye.
In that instant, the holes scattered throughout transformed into eyes all at once.
With an enormous shockwave, they fired beams of light.
―――――!!
The forest was erased in a straight line. The camp’s containers were erased.
Everything touched was erased—beams of destruction wiped away the surrounding landscape like an eraser.
Yet Hyeol-bong did not stop.
Hyeol-bong, head raised, eyes turned milky white, pulled the magic sword from the hole and leaped straight forward.
And in that brief moment.
He split.
One, two…… a total of seven Hyeol-bong ‘clones’ crashed into the humans.
““Die!!””
The shadows moved as one body. Darkness swirled like a single entity between the beams of destruction, erasing and shattering everything around them.
“Die!”
At Hyeol-bong’s cry, the eyes filling the surroundings raised their output even further.
“Die!!”
He swung the magic sword more violently. The magic sword constantly changed size and shape, aiming for lives. Beyond destructive—it was a desperate offensive.
It had to be.
There was no turning back anyway! If he didn’t win, it was over!
This was no situation or position to hold back strength.
He would do everything he could. If he wanted to live, he had to pour out everything!
“Uwaaaagh!!”
When the magic sword struck the earth, the ground split with an earthquake, and hands of corpses erupted from the cracks.
When the magic sword cleaved the air, the surroundings were sucked in and ‘eyes’ opened. Then they fired beams of destruction.
Sometimes a maw appeared and bit at enemies, sometimes things that might have been blood vessels or leeches spewed forth to devour life.
Despair followed in the wake of every swing of the magic sword.
Indeed. Hyeol-bong was now vomiting up every last drop of the life force of the hundreds of thousands he had consumed.
But.
“……That’s enough.”
“!!”
The World Tree of the Mountain King soared through the darkness.
Vita looked down at Hyeol-bong with disgusted eyes.
Letters of light rose along the branches.
Green targeting lines were drawn beneath the earth.
Immediately after, a large-scale bombardment and light rained down.
――――!!
Hyeol-bong’s eyes all attacked the World Tree at once, but it was useless. Instead, the eyes themselves were erased.
Meanwhile, beams of light originating from the Divine Archer pierced through the clones’ heads.
A massive sword created by the Sword Master slammed down on a clone. A spear fired by Changgwi pinned a clone to a tree.
The Fist King outright snapped a clone’s waist.
Lightning fired by Yu Ri-ra forcibly injected light into a clone made only of darkness, while on the other side, between clones being bisected from head to toe and scattering, Baek Yeon-woo could be seen.
Just before every attack was nullified in an instant.
Hyeol-bong scraped together every last bit of remaining life force.
Hyeol-bong’s magic sword drew a large circle, and following its trajectory, darkness split apart as flames ignited.
Goooo――.
A black sun.
As ruin tried to scorch the land.
In that moment, metal seized the sun.
Crunch.
“!!”
The upper body of the mechanical giant, grasping the black sun with its massive hands.
Park Su-bin spoke.
“Tear it apart.”
The God of Mechanical Devices responds.
Bwooooo――!!
Flashbulbs burst from its eyes.
Engines screaming.
Pipes belching smoke.
Pistons and springs accelerating.
Not magic, not truth. Only power. Only the power of machinery……
Like the sun in the sky illuminating the dawn through darkness.
The black sun.
Torn apart!
Riiip!!
Magic power was erased. Darkness receded.
All that was sinister was wiped away as sunlight shone through.
The light that began a new day—that was hope.
Lee Shin smiled with his back to the light.
“Let’s go home.”
It was time to return.