The Elder Stands Alone
The northern reaches of the Sultan’s Magic Mirror. Kugugugung—! The ground suddenly trembled, and the surroundings grew dim. Thick fog rolled in, obscuring vision. It wasn’t just sight that was hindered.
“Squad 1, comms down! Squad 2, comms down! Squad 3, comms down……!”
“Lord Bishop! We’ve lost contact with all squads!”
At the liaison’s report, the Third Bishop Division Commander Antonio’s expression hardened. There was only one reason the fog would thicken so abruptly and sever communications.
“……A hotspot,” Antonio said. “We need to get out of here immediately.”
“Get out? You mean abandon the ten squads to the north!?” Dang Oe roared.
He had every right to be furious. The northern sector, now a hotspot, was crawling with hunters—ten full squads, all scattered in search of the Sultan. Unlike the main assault company Antonio and Dang Oe belonged to, these were small combat units that would be picked off one by one if they encountered the Sultan. Their role was to signal upon discovery and wait for reinforcements. Yet Antonio was suggesting they abandon them and retreat.
Antonio shook his head grimly. “It’s unfortunate, but we have no choice. Staying here puts us in danger too. We must fall back and await support from other assault teams.”
The demonic energy was still thickening. This far exceeded the Church’s initial projections. Lingering in such a space was like carrying kindling into a raging fire. The correct move was to escape and wait for backup with proper equipment. Other families and Paladin Lucius’s main force remained in the gate. Searching for ten dispersed squads in this fog where even communications were cut was impossible.
“……All we can do is pray the squads survive and escape on their own.”
“Nonsense!”
The S-class Poison Master’s fury stained the gate’s earth black. “Your prayers again! Is that the Church’s way!?”
Antonio and the Monarch A-class mage Liam looked uncomfortable.
“Elder Dang, remaining here will only get us all killed. Is that what you want?”
“There’s no time. He’s coming.”
Dudududu— In the distance, the Sultan’s hoofbeats shook the ground, drawing closer. The encroaching demonic energy tightened around their throats. Time was critical. Even Dang Oe couldn’t stubbornly refuse any longer. He understood Antonio and Liam were right. If he persisted, not only the squads but the entire assault company—his clan’s main force—would be endangered. Yet the ten squads mattered just as much to him. Among them were the Tang family’s rising generation. As an elder of the Tang Clan, he had a duty to protect them. Stubborn and self-righteous though he was, he was someone who honored his responsibilities. Now was the time for a decision.
“This old man will buy you time. Get the children out in the meantime.”
“……You intend to face the Sultan alone?”
“That’s reckless!”
“Go, now!”
In the distance, a pitch-black cavalryman on a spectral steed charged forward. Dudududu— Seeing the black demonic energy surge, Antonio no longer hesitated. If Dang Oe was staying to hold the Sultan, then his role was to safely extract the assault company.
“I wish you fortune, Elder Tang.”
Antonio offered no usual blessing, only a wish for luck. Liam quietly bowed his head. In response, a green poisonous mist rose from Dang Oe, as if driving them away. Antonio turned at the sight.
“……”
The same Dang Oe who had stubbornly opposed entering the hotspot and drawn criticism now found himself alone when crisis struck. Dudududu—! The moment the assault company retreated, the Sultan arrived, cloaked in pitch-black darkness. Dang Oe’s pupils turned a vivid green as he faced the Sultan’s shadow. Then—
Kwaaaaaang—!
Black fog and green poison mist collided.
*
At the same moment Dang Oe clashed with the Sultan, on the western side of the gate—
“These persistent bastards.”
S-class fire awakener Han Yujin grimaced at the revenant soldiers rising like zombies no matter how many times they fell. Her flames could melt dozens at once, but she couldn’t handle ten hands with one. Hundreds of revenants kept rising. “This won’t end at this rate.”
Kim Hayun shook her head. The Korean Hunter Association volunteers and others were fighting hard, but battling an endless zombie horde was no easy task. Han Yujin hesitated to unleash large-scale flame attacks that drained massive mana. In the gate’s environment, where mana couldn’t be replenished once depleted, they had to fight with restraint. Against Karbu, who waged a war of attrition, the hunters were at a disadvantage.
‘……Karbu’s just as troublesome as the Sultan.’
While the Sultan had gained prominence after defeating Marquess Cunningham, Karbu was no pushover either. Karbu—the slave who rose to become mentor to Muslim warriors. The specter of the great Muslim champion who had stood against the First Crusade head-on was formidable.
Kurururung—! Suddenly, a massive clash of energies erupted from the north. The northern sky turned green with poison mist and pitch-black darkness. Among the colliding forces was one of the assault team leaders. ‘Dang Oe.’ Han Yujin realized the Tang Clan elder had engaged the Sultan, but she couldn’t go to help. Their own situation was just as dire.
—Ölün, kafirler!
Fallen revenant soldiers grabbed at the hunters’ ankles, halting their movements. Other revenants then drove swords into the immobilized hunters’ bodies.
“Aagh!”
Another hunter collapsed onto the pile of corpses. The dead hunter’s mana was absorbed by Karbu, fueling the creation of new revenant soldiers. Over forty hunters had already fallen this way.
—Kâfirleri öldürün!
Han Yujin’s brow furrowed as she gazed at the revenant soldiers filling the avenue. “If the Church helped, this would be easy.”
Karbu’s weakness was overwhelming firepower beyond mere numbers or being melted by light mana. With the bishop division led by Paladin Lucius, it would have been manageable, but she couldn’t ask for help. Lucius was occupied with his own assigned target, the Sultan. ‘……We’ll just have to manage somehow.’
Just as Han Yujin glared at Karbu in the rear with burning eyes—
Tatatatatatang—!
Suddenly, a barrage of massive magic bullets rained down on the battlefield. The revenant soldiers clogging the avenue were swept away in an instant.
“!”
Startled, Han Yujin turned toward the source of the gunfire. Whoooosh— A gust of wind cleared the city’s fog, revealing a force armed with heavy weaponry. “Bonaparte!”
Recognizing the French Bonaparte family, color returned to Han Yujin’s face. However, revenant soldiers were zombies that rose again even after falling. No matter how many were cleared, they couldn’t be eliminated without killing Karbu. That was what Han Yujin knew. But then—
Hwaaaah—!
A brilliant radiance burst from Rachel. “!”
Han Yujin’s eyes widened. The fallen skeletal soldiers touched by the light melted away like spring sunlight. There would be no more resurrections. ‘What is that……?’
It resembled light mana but was far more dazzling—a power Han Yujin had never seen before. The skeletal soldiers were powerless against it and were wiped out.
“Anyway, now we can finish this.”
Hwarururuk— Flames of mana igniting across her body, Han Yujin charged toward Karbu.
*
Northern sector of the gate. Before the hotspot created by the Sultan.
“……”
Namgung Chun, the Azure Sky Sword and deputy head of the Namgung family, stared at the ancient city engulfed in darkness. “This will be difficult.”
“We should wait for Sir Lucius to join us,” Bishop Antonio replied to Namgung Chun. Having barely escaped the hotspot after regrouping the first company, he had no intention of going back in. The prolonged battle had left him and the other bishops with depleted mana. The same applied to the Monarch summoners. Entering the now even denser hotspot was a gamble. At this, one Tang family member raised his voice.
“Are we just going to stand here and watch!? Elder Dang Oe is still inside!”
“Is Crowley not here yet?” Namgung Chun changed the subject. Though the warriors of the Namgung family he led were in good condition, Namgung Chun didn’t move. He had too much to lose to gamble recklessly. Liam and Antonio were equally reluctant to act. They weren’t free enough to recklessly challenge the Sultan in this thick demonic energy. Even recklessness was a luxury when each had too many responsibilities to bear—and too much to lose.
Like disaster victims before a fire scene, they could only stand helplessly, staring into the darkness. Just as Bishop Antonio hesitated, biting his lip while gazing at the shadows—
“If you’re not going in, would you mind stepping aside?”
“……?”
At the voice from behind, Antonio turned. A masked young man stood there. “Please move aside for a moment so I can enter.”
Antonio found himself stepping aside without thinking. The young man then walked forward.
“It’s dangerous……!”
Antonio stared blankly as the young man strode into the darkness before he could stop him. “Who is that young man?”
Namgung Chun’s eyes widened. The hunters’ startled gazes followed the young man walking steadily into the darkness—Choi Seojun.
*
Inside the hotspot, hunters lay scattered here and there. They seemed to have been overtaken by demonic energy but were not in mortal danger. ‘Over there.’
Kwaaang—!Kururur—! Successive impacts echoed, as if someone were fighting the Sultan. Choi Seojun headed toward the source of the noise. Green poison mist had engulfed the area. Within that dense fog, an old man was hurling hidden weapons at the Sultan.
Peobeobeobeok—! The old man, exuding a thick green poisonous aura as if his entire body were made of poison, turned the Sultan’s upper body into a pincushion. The Sultan melted, his form becoming unrecognizable in an instant. However—
Seuseuseuseu— The creature displayed monstrous regenerative power, recovering as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the old man panted heavily, exhausted. Seuseuseuseu— The Sultan raised his demonic spear toward the weary elder. Demonic energy from the gate coalesced around the spear. Just as it was about to thrust toward the old man—
Taang—! A single bullet pierced the Sultan’s chest.