Arakhan Subjugation Battle (2)
Checking the battle status.
Mana consumed: about half. All 48 prepared magic scrolls depleted.
In exchange, the primary objective of destroying the forest had been achieved, creating a stage relatively favorable to me... or so it should've been.
Invisible Hand.
Arakhan scraped its hoof against the ground.
Thud, thud.
Raindrops began to fall from the sky. The clear sunlight vanished behind abruptly gathered storm clouds.
"Not a coincidence, huh."
Acting like some forest guardian deity with all its freakish antics.
But dragging things out was always disadvantageous. The victory conditions hadn't changed.
"Ignite."
A massive fireball formed at my fingertips and shot toward Arakhan.
Now at 3rd tier, its firepower rivaled an A-rank fire hunter without shame.
—Gruk?
The beast leisurely growled, then swiftly dodged the flame hurtling toward its face. Its movements were grotesquely fast for its massive bulk.
But I wasn't disappointed by the miss. What mattered was that it had dodged.
"Guess it hurts like hell if it hits."
Against a Tower 30th-floor monster, what could be more reassuring than my attacks landing?
The worst would've been if it tanked the flames without a care, enduring the pain.
Screeech— Arakhan pulled its center of gravity way back, like a predator coiling before the pounce.
Then.
Da—dadadada—!
It kicked off the ground and charged straight at me. At the same time, I kicked up the stones at my feet.
Whoosh-crack!
The airborne stones collided, generating friction.
I didn't miss the moment faint sparks flew.
"Ignite."
I murmured.
A mage's spoken incantation sharpened the visualization. Plus, using fire magic after building frictional heat maximized power with minimal mana.
A technique I'd picked up from the Cradle over the past week.
Fwoosh!
The stones ignited in an instant, floating in midair—gripped by the Invisible Hand.
I spun my waist sharply and shouted at the perfect timing.
"Transparent, punch!"
Bang—!
A gunshot-like crack echoed.
The transparent arm obeyed, slamming its fist into the stones. They sliced through the sky several times faster than the earlier fireball.
Thwack!
—Kieeeek!!
Arakhan collapsed mid-charge. The stone had shattered its blue eye, igniting flames from within its body.
* * *
"One more!"
I kept smashing stones with punches—the tenth one now. Arakhan's body was a mangled wreck. No part from head to toe, front to back, remained intact.
Still, I didn't let my guard down.
No other abilities in sight. Just pure physical enhancement?
The nagging issue was those storm clouds. God, please let it be my imagination—a fluke.
Just die already.
Pour—!
The intensifying downpour chilled my overheating mana circuits and blurred my vision. The flames adorning Arakhan's body flickered out.
No signs of life remained. But no subjugation alert appeared.
I sensed the worst-case scenario I'd hoped against was becoming reality.
"Figures, fucking hell…."
Fsssh—
Soon, black mist began seeping from Arakhan's corpse.
Necromancy raising the dead. This guardian deity had been touched by demonic hands.
B+ rank disaster Arakhan (Evil) reveals itself.
I swept back my wet hair and let out a hollow laugh.
I vividly recalled asking just in case.
My life had always been like this.
Just when everything seemed set, the board flipped. The scenarios I dreaded always found me.
How much more bullshit before it's satisfied?
"Shop purchase, mana potion."
Will you spend 100pt?
I nodded.
Pop!
A vortex swirled in midair, materializing a small vial.
I uncorked and chugged it without hesitation, circulating the instantly restored mana through my body.
My resolve hadn't changed since contracting the grimoire.
If I could survive one more day, I'd do anything.
Finally, Arakhan's corpse rose.
Phase 2 didn't erase my efforts. The pierced wounds remained unhealed, movements markedly slower.
"Wanna go till the end, huh?"
One shot.
Compress all mana inside me and blast it dead with that single strike.
But.
—Tadadak!
"...Huh?"
Arakhan turned tail and bolted.
"It's running?"
The unexpected move delayed my reaction. I pieced together info in my head and gave chase.
Why did a Tower monster crawl out here in the first place?
Simple: to eat more when hungry.
Living beings were mana crystals—prime food. That's why the government's policy was containment.
'Once it's done eating at this restaurant, pray it heads home on its own.'
The fact I'd been ignoring.
And right now, tasty meals were scattered nearby.
The villagers I'd evacuated to the outskirts.
If even one got eaten and it started recovering, game over.
No real answers left.
'Should've killed them all myself from the start?'
Lie if I said I hadn't considered it. ...No, even looping back, I couldn't.
That was my line in the sand.
"Huff, huff…."
Running hard, but a regular 20-something office drone couldn't outpace a deer.
The gap widened. Breath burned my throat. Had to risk it.
"Transparent!"
The transparent arm responded, shoving the ground with a massive palm. My body soared to impossible heights.
"Whoaaa!"
I flew dizzily through the sky.
"Transparent, catch! Catch me!"
Just before slamming into the ground bare-bodied, soft hands enveloped me.
Distance to Arakhan shrank to 150 meters in a flash.
But still not enough.
One more flight like that, and a horn to the gut meant instant death.
So right here, right now—end it.
"...Hup!"
Fingers extended, breath held. Aimed at the receding Arakhan through the gap.
Pour—
Relentless downpour, verging on a torrent.
Had to guess its blurry shape.
...No, that mindset won't cut it.
Snipe pinpoint through this rain from this range? Still too complacent.
"Okay, you win."
The moment I admitted it.
Snap. Reason's thread broke.
"But before I go, I'll flip your fucking dinner table too."
Too long playing the good Samaritan against my fate.
Tried my best not to cross the line—now no choice left.
"Let's all die together, yeah?"
I slammed in every ounce of mana. What gathered at my fingertips was no longer a sphere.
I shattered the psychological barrier I'd subconsciously held since my first spell.
Ignored all fallout.
The evacuated people, buildings, nature. Even myself.
"…."
But Arakhan's end wasn't immolation. Just before I pulled the trigger.
Kaboom—!
Without warning, a blinding bolt struck Arakhan's head.
Less than 0.1 seconds by the numbers.
All that remained: a mana stone the size of a rock.
The B-rank disaster vanished from the world without a corpse.
"…."
The unimaginable end left my mind blank.
Then.
"That was one hell of a close call."
A woman's voice—unfamiliar—sounded right beside me.
"Whew—."
Her breath dispersed the mana at my fingertips, dissolving the spell.
"Don't cross the line. Planning to blow everything outside the barrier too? Came to stop a mass slaughter before it happened, and you're the culprit?"
Black leather jacket haphazardly thrown on over track pants. Hands in pockets like a neighborhood stroll—outfit totally mismatched the scene.
Where the hell did she pop from?
Oddly, the pouring rain parted around her alone. Her face rang a vague bell.
"Ugh, pisses me off more I think about it. Who the fuck is she to order me around? Such a pain, seriously."
"…Seo Ha-rin?"
Her tongue-click jogged my memory. Her identity.
"What, you know me?"
Who in Korea wouldn't? The one and only S-rank hunter.
First time seeing her face from official docs, probably?
Headline darling, nation's hope. Light, goddess, savior.
Unlike the hype, her temper was dogshit unpredictable. Wherever she showed, lavish VIP treatment was mandatory.
Some employee bullshitted her youthful face against those irritated eyes meant she'd warm to anyone.
Wasn't she holed up tackling Tower 60th floor? Why here? What about the barrier?
Why save me? Show up sooner if that's the plan.
Nothing made sense as she spoke.
"You're Baek Seo-hu, right?"
Fuck, how does she know my name?
"I'll be waiting at the Blue House in three days."