Clash with the Great Warrior (1)
Jinwoo simply stared at his next prey in silence. No one could tell what expression lay beneath the plague doctor mask. At last, he spoke.
"Chiharu, Corax."
His voice was astonishingly calm.
"Wait in the sky. Do not move rashly until I give the signal."
He lightly patted Chiharu's trembling shoulder from behind—a gesture meaning both calm yourself and a silent command from her master: trust me.
Then, without hesitation, he leaped from Corax's massive back. His feather cloak unfurled like wings, slowing his descent. He landed softly on the ruined runway like a black leaf.
He stood facing the Great Warrior, hundreds of meters apart.
[...Hoh. Not running away, little bug?]
"Since an uninvited guest has crashed your filthy stage, I must at least greet the host."
Jinwoo haughtily replied as he opened the Magic Grimoire.
The Great Warrior tilted its head, seemingly even more intrigued at the sight of the grimoire unfolding.
[Disrupting the 'Infinitely Many's' amusement, slaying His hunting dog, stealing the wenches meant for His altar, and even meddling in mortals' fates with your pathetic toy... All that just for a 'greeting'?]
It slung its massive double-bladed axe over its shoulder and continued.
[My master... desires you. That arrogant soul of yours and that impudent grimoire. Surrender your weapons now, and you shall bask in the glory of becoming His most favored plaything—without pain.]
"A plaything, you say..."
Jinwoo scoffed.
"I... am the one who plays with toys. The thought of becoming one hasn't even crossed my mind."
He raised the hand holding the grimoire, pointing at the Great Warrior, and declared,
"And relay this to your 'infinitely many masters': I am no actor in His game. I am the new predator who shall devour the stage itself."
At the arrogant proclamation, the Great Warrior's countless eyeballs ignited with ecstatic glee all at once.
[Kuhahaha! Yes! That's it! Now it's worth the hunt!]
No more words were exchanged. It gripped its axe firmly, kicked off the ground, and charged at Jinwoo like a runaway locomotive.
"Now!"
At Jinwoo's signal, the two hounds waiting in the sky unleashed their assault simultaneously.
Cawwww!
Corax struck first, activating [Feathers of Ruin].
[Feathers of Ruin]
Thousands of steel feathers rained down like arrows over the charging Great Warrior's head.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Chiharu nocked three black arrows on her magic bow and unleashed them fiercely at the Great Warrior's vitals.
But the result was shocking.
Kakakakakang!
The steel rain was absorbed into the Great Warrior's living armor the moment it touched, drawn like metal to a magnet. The feathers lost their power and instead became part of the armor, making it even more menacing.
Chiharu's arrows met the same fate. They shattered into glass dust upon contact and were wholly devoured by the armor.
[...Pathetic, little chicks.]
The Great Warrior ignored the attacks as if swatting annoying flies and closed in right before Jinwoo.
But Jinwoo was already prepared for the next move. With the grimoire's power, he summoned dozens of shadowy tentacles from beneath his feet. They slithered like snakes, binding the Great Warrior's ankles and legs, slowing its movements.
At the same time, he conjured dozens of crimson-black mana orbs in the air and fired them at the Great Warrior's face.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
The mana orbs exploded against its face, but even in the unarmored area, something grotesque occurred. The dozens of eyeballs covering its face absorbed all the energy like shields.
"Damn... fuck."
A curse laced with bewilderment escaped Jinwoo's lips for the first time.
Cawwww!
In that instant, Corax unleashed its final resort: [Mental Shock].
[Mental Shock]
Its cry became an invisible sonic wave, striking the Great Warrior's mind directly.
[...Kuh?!]
For the first time, the Great Warrior's advance faltered momentarily. Billions of voices tangled in its mind, causing brief chaos.
But it lasted only a moment.
[Silence, worthless thing!]
The Great Warrior roared, repelling Corax's mental assault with sheer willpower.
Kieek!
Corax shrieked in shock from the reflected attack, staggering in the sky.
Emily watched the overwhelming spectacle from behind a terminal wreckage, utterly entranced. She realized it now—the magic she had dreamed of while reading Whirlwind Peter was mere child's play before them.
This was true magic. A grand and horrific war waged by gods and demons over the world's stage, betting their domains.
And her heart pounded wildly toward the solitary crow mage standing at its epicenter, facing the apostle of a colossal god alone.
In Emily's eyes now burned not mere admiration, but near-religious worship.
[Kuhahaha! Bug-like wretch! Hide-and-seek is over!]
The Great Warrior mocked Jinwoo as he retreated, putting distance between them under its overwhelming power, and pursued.
But it no longer charged. Instead, it hurled its massive double-bladed axe like a boomerang.
Shuuuung—!
The axe spun, destroying everything in its path. Jinwoo cloaked himself in a curtain of darkness with the grimoire's power. The axe cleaved only an afterimage and embedded itself in a distant burning fuselage.
But as the Great Warrior reached out, the axe returned to its hand like a living creature. And it repeated the assault relentlessly.
The ruined airport filled with the symphony of destruction from the colossal axe.
Jinwoo maximized the feather cloak's perception concealment ability, moving like a ghost among the debris, perfectly hidden as he evaded.
But the Great Warrior was seasoned. It didn't track with eyes. It followed traces.
The faint mana afterglow where Jinwoo brushed past, the barely visible footprints left behind, and... his scent carried on the wind.
The ancient warrior, forged through eternal battles for its master over millennia, predicted Jinwoo's next position in an instant from those subtle clues and hurled the axe there once more.
Jinwoo was being perfectly hunted.
"At this rate...!"
Chiharu, watching from the sky, gritted her teeth. Her master... was being pushed back. One mistake would lead to fatal consequences.
Caw!
Corax beside her thought the same. They could no longer waste time firing meaningless feathers from afar.
The gazes of the two female predators met in the air. Their eyes held a silent resolve.
"Corax!"
Chiharu shouted.
"Draw its attention... to me!"
She no longer aimed for the armor. Instead, the sole unarmored weakness: those horrific eyeballs.
Her arrows might pierce those.
Cawwww!
Corax answered with a roar. It righted its massive body vertically and dove toward the ground—and the Great Warrior—like a black comet.
No longer a ranged supporter, it switched to close combat with its razor-sharp beak and talons.
The Great Warrior sensed the massive threat diving from above and finally tore its gaze from Jinwoo.
[Foolish chick...!]
It assumed a defensive stance toward Corax.
That was the moment.
"Now!"
Chiharu leaped from Corax's vast back without hesitation. Twisting midair, she poured all her focus into a single arrow on her magic bow.
In her sight, the largest, most arrogantly gleaming central eyeball amid the dozens covering the Great Warrior's face zoomed into close-up.
Bam—!
Corax's massive body collided head-on with the Great Warrior. Its talons scraped the armor, sparking flames, but the Great Warrior absorbed the impact without budging and flung Corax aside.
In that split second when all attention focused on the sky battle—
Pew—!
Chiharu's arrow pierced the central eyeball silently and precisely.
[...Kraaaaaaaaah!!!]
For the first time, a genuine scream of pain erupted from the Great Warrior. The pierced eyeball burst, spewing vile fluids.
It writhed in agony, clutching its face.
It had suffered wounds over millennia of battle, of course. But this pain was different. Not mere physical torment—this was the pain of defeat, losing one of its perfect sensory organs to that pathetic bug.
Enduring the pain, it yanked the embedded arrow out with bare hands in rage. It slammed the shattered eyeball remnants to the ground.
The remaining countless eyeballs all turned blood-red at once.
The Great Warrior no longer observed its foe. Now, it reentered battle with true intent to kill.