The Trap of the Qliphoth
The cell phone Madam gave me was convenient.
Not that it had many features.
But being able to make calls regardless of location was a genuinely great function.
The moment I thought about reinforcing our forces, I contacted Analyst Thomas.
“Understood. I’ll prepare the guild members.”
“Oh, and please pass one more request along to Ellen.”
“Ellen, the executive director? She returned to the United States after the guild master left his post.”
“That actually works out perfectly. This is something that requires the power of Gold Moon.”
I left instructions to investigate every move Rene Davis made.
Requesting it through the Black Network would have been more reliable.
But if I mentioned Rene’s name at this timing, it would obviously link him to the Klyphoth.
The only reason I suspected Rene was because I had the answer sheet from my previous life.
If Madam grew curious about the source of my information, it would become troublesome.
“Understood.”
Not long after ending the call with Thomas, my phone rang again.
There was only one person who would contact me on this device.
“Madam? Is something wrong?”
“We’ve detected signs that the people kidnapped by Klyphoth have been gathered in one location.”
“It’s a trap, then.”
“Correct. The probability that the enemy has dug a trap is 78.2%.”
“And yet you’re still planning to charge in anyway?”
“Yes. The boss has decided as such.”
The Puppet Master of Darkness.
Since John Doe was stepping forward personally, he should be able to crush most ordinary traps.
However.
“I’ll participate as well.”
“If Mister Yu joins us, it will be like gaining a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.”
“Wasn’t that exactly why you called?”
“Hehe. While I trust the boss, having a safety measure is always better.”
Madam let out a light laugh.
John Doe had grown stronger after obtaining the blueprints of Galatea.
In my previous life, he had reached High Ranker status after mastering all the secrets recorded in those blueprints.
However.
It hadn’t been that long since I gave him the blueprints, so he probably hadn’t reached that level yet.
If John Doe were to fall so easily, it would be problematic for us.
The Black Network needed to remain intact if we wanted to efficiently control the criminal underworld across the globe.
The same applied to information gathering.
Although the Korean government and Gold Moon were cooperating, the Black Network still held the upper hand when it came to information from the shadows.
“Just tell me the location.”
“I’ll send the operation details to your phone.”
The moment I ended the call, a text message arrived.
A village located in the middle of the desert.
The residential area formed around an oasis was the Black Network’s target.
“They plan to launch the attack in three hours…”
That’s quite fast.
I could feel their determination not to give Klyphoth any room to pull more tricks and to press the attack relentlessly.
I need to pick up the pace too.
“Goddess, hold on tight.”
“Should Yeo grab onto your hair?”
“That spot’s a bit…”
Blink
Shrink
Cloud Flow Steps
…….
I roughly gauged the direction using the map and activated every movement skill I had.
Situations like this had been familiar back in the era of destruction.
At least I had a map this time.
I raced toward the village where the kidnapped people were being held, scanning the rapidly passing scenery.
Irba.
A small village built around an oasis.
The total population, including transients, was around a hundred people.
It served as a midway stop for those crossing the Sahara Desert, but—
“Daddy! Daddy!”
“Let us go!”
There were ten times more people detained here than the village could normally hold.
Figures in black robes stood guard all around.
Traitors of humanity who had sold their souls to Klyphoth were watching the village with iron-tight security.
“How cowardly, oppressing the weak like this.”
Nyx clicked her tongue.
While I observed the village with my presence concealed as much as possible,
I spotted people hiding and camouflaged throughout the desert.
“Mister Yu, over here.”
Flutter—.
A yellow curtain was pulled aside, and Madam suddenly popped out.
It was a camouflage cloth available for purchase in the Tower of Babel.
At the steep price of 10,000 CP and being single-use, it was an item rarely employed.
This was proof of just how seriously the Black Network viewed Klyphoth’s movements.
“You’ve prepared thoroughly.”
“We were just about to begin the attack.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Hehe, we plan to handle this within our own capabilities as much as possible, so please just watch.”
Shiiiing— Boom!
A flare shot into the sky and burst with brilliant light.
At the same time, the camouflage cloths fluttered, revealing hundreds of players.
All of them were at least Platinum rank.
The aura they gave off was far from ordinary.
How many guilds in the world could mobilize hundreds of Platinum-rank players?
Even Hwarang, which had held the top position in Korea, couldn’t manage such a force.
Only something on the level of America’s Gold Moon could pull it off.
Black Rose Gale
Explosion
Black Binding Bloom
Darkness Giga Flame
…….
Magic spells of at least 3-star rank rained down on the heads of the Klyphoth believers.
Blazing flames and thorned vines imbued with darkness.
The moment a destructive force capable of reshaping the terrain poured down around the village—
Ziiiing!
A blue barrier appeared in the shape of a hemisphere and absorbed every single magical attack.
A second and third wave followed, but not even a scratch appeared on the barrier.
Madam maintained her confident attitude and shouted powerfully.
“Do not stop the attack!”
“It would be better if you stopped.”
“Why?”
“That barrier is breaking down the structure of the magic and using it to strengthen the power of the formation.”
The instant the flames struck the blue membrane, instead of an explosion, only a tiny sound emerged—so faint you wouldn’t hear it unless you strained your ears.
Klyphoth’s barrier rearranged its mana in 0.01-second intervals upon colliding with magic, then released it.
It absorbed pure mana that had escaped the control of magic-type players.
“Quite the clever little trick.”
“It’s only possible thanks to their origin as beings from the other side of the world.”
Once a spell had been released, nullifying it was extremely difficult.
You either had to crush it with overwhelming power,
or interfere with the casting process itself to prevent the magic from activating.
Madam bit her lip hard.
“Cease long-range bombardment. We will now transition to close-quarters combat.”
Sand burst up from various spots across the desert.
The moment the order was given, the close-combat players who had been waiting began their charge.
Their assault showed no coordination in timing or breathing whatsoever.
Given the nature of the Black Network as an organization, cooperation was about a million light years away, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Judgment upon these unbelievers!”
The branches of Gaag-Shebla and Harab Serapel.
Red letters flickered above the enemies’ heads.
Traitors who had received the baptism of the Klyphoth sects.
Though they were humans of Earth, the system judged them as ‘enemies.’
Red magic circles spread across the ground.
Otherworldly monsters surged forth along with an ominous aura.
Dozens of Fel Beasts—hunting dogs of the other side—were summoned.
“Grrrr! Woof woof!”
“Can you shut those dogs up?”
The Black Network players didn’t yield an inch against the Fel Beasts.
Whenever the branches of Gaag-Shebla cast curses in succession, the supporters’ blessings drove away the wicked energy.
“Heh heh, it seems this old man must step forward now.”
John Doe.
The leader of the Black Network twitched the fingers of both hands.
Puppets burst out from beneath the sand.
They were humanoid-type puppets with six arms and two heads.
Blue strings shot from his fingertips and connected to four of the puppets.
“Thanks to our new director, I was able to strengthen these cute little things.”
John Doe glanced at me before focusing on controlling the puppets.
The four puppets that had rapidly crossed the desert and plunged into the battlefield swung their arms.
A blue energy shimmered above the weapons attached to each arm.
Aura Blade.
A secret technique that normally required enlightenment to wield—yet these soulless puppets were using it.
Swoosh!
The tough hides that had withstood the Black Network players’ attacks were torn apart by the aura blades.
John Doe’s puppets carved holes through the defensive lines of the two sects with terrifying breakthrough power.
Once their formation collapsed, the ‘branches’ of the two sects fell into panic.
“Don’t run! Fight back!”
“Damn it, where did these monsters come from… glurk.”
The moment the puppet weapons joined the fray, the tide of battle shifted in an instant.
A smile crept across Madam’s lips.
“It’s still too early to celebrate.”
“Even if they hid a trap, it’s impossible to overturn this much of a power gap.”
“Is that so?”
I watched the battlefield with my arms crossed.
The ‘branches’ guarding the village had received baptism.
Which meant—
They were all native inhabitants of Earth.
The Klyphoth bastards still hadn’t revealed their true forces.
“Do you know what the specialty of the Gaag-Shebla sect is?”
“Human sacrifice. I read the data Mister Yu released after the DMZ incident.”
“Then what do you think their role is?”
John Doe, who had been focused on controlling the puppets, turned his gaze this way.
For the first time, Madam showed clear agitation.
“Don’t tell me…”
Oooong!
A red light flowed from the center of the village.
A massive formation covered the village and everything within a radius of several kilometers.
“Their blood is the trigger.”
As the formation of Harab Serapel activated, the boundary between worlds began to collapse.
A world where the boundary had collapsed.
Pale gray buildings melted like liquid and flowed down to the ground.
The grains of sand in the desert scattered like the wind.
If one were to bring a surreal landscape painted by Salvador Dali into reality, would it look like this?
It was different from the Phase Seal I had experienced before.
“Welcome, everyone from the Black Network.”
A woman who had been among the hostages stepped up onto a building.
Nadia Cassel.
She was Rene Davis’s right hand.
The fact that she was here… was proof that my reasoning had been correct.
“Why is she here?”
Madam bit her lip tightly.
I pretended not to know and asked a question.
“Who is she that you’re so surprised?”
“She is the closest aide to Rene Davis, France’s top-ranked player.”
“Simple enough. That guy must have joined hands with Klyphoth.”
It wasn’t difficult to infer the process using the answer sheet I had secured in advance.
Nadia wore a chilling smile.
“I prepared a welcoming ceremony. I wonder if it meets your expectations.”
Clap, clap!
Otherworldly monsters revealed themselves between the distorted landscapes.
◈ Fel Beast
◈ Estimated 100+ entities
The Black Network players didn’t panic at the sudden appearance of enemies and immediately engaged in a chaotic melee.
Clang! Clang!
“These bastards are stronger than ogres!”
“They’re Diamond rank!”
“Hold on! As long as the boss is with us, we won’t lose!”
The number of injured grew rapidly.
Even though John Doe’s puppet weapons rampaged across the battlefield, they couldn’t reverse the tide that had already begun to turn.
“Thanks for the show.”
I lightly patted Madam’s shoulder and stepped forward.
“Mister Yu, did you predict this situation?”
“To some extent.”
Don’t worry.
The damage to your formation won’t be that severe.
I had chosen to observe while trusting in John Doe’s puppet weapons, and that judgment had been correct.
Nadia Cassel.
A bigger fish has arrived than I expected.
“Then I’ll return the favor.”
Cloud Flow Steps
I dashed across the distorted ground and charged straight into the battlefield.