Elizabeth (3)
“You won't run into her before the final day, so don't worry too much.”
With those parting words, Miller left. Something about needing an item to gift to that officer he'd just forged a connection—or maybe bad blood—with. He seemed busy carrying out his premeditated plans.
Well then, time to get going.
As dusk began to fall, Yun-seok trusted Miller's assurance that there'd be no battles until tomorrow and quietly slipped out of the barracks again.
Claiming every possible reward and clearing the mission under optimal conditions—that was the goal for all the challengers, Miller included. But not for Yun-seok.
He had come here to dig into El's past. So even if it meant taking a hit on rewards, he planned to prioritize that above all else.
Tatata.
Concealing his presence, Yun-seok left the military camp behind and raced across the blood-soaked plain left from the recent battle. He kept going toward the horizon until a rugged mountain range loomed ahead.
Do I really have to comb through all of this...?
Having crossed the vast plain in under ten minutes, Yun-seok halted and stared ahead.
The foothills of the mountain range. If the soldiers' intel was right, somewhere in these mountains lay the Trejan Cult's stronghold...
Let's head in for now.
Without hesitation, Yun-seok darted into the mountains. The ground squelched like a swamp, and the wind rustling through the dense trees carried an eerie chill, but Yun-seok wasn't one to flinch at that now.
Still...
If luck's not on my side, I might not find it even by the end.
As he spread his senses to their limit while pushing through the mountains, he soon realized the truth. It wasn't for nothing that the Trinity Church hadn't marched their massive army across the plain.
The current standoff was just the prelude. The heretics were holding back the enemy's advance across the plain as best they could, while the Trinity forces—with their hundreds of thousands of troops—scoured for the enemy's base before pushing forward...
And they'd been at this cat-and-mouse search for four months already, so the base was likely hidden airtight.
Should've left an Avatar behind back then...?
He regretted not having wings for a wider, faster search. Sure, Demon Transformation would sprout them, but the one-minute limit made it impractical.
Regretting the past wasn't Yun-seok's style, though. He quickly devised a workaround.
Well, no wings? Then I'll just leg it.
Of course, not in the ordinary sense.
Tat.
Yun-seok leaped high into the air. He condensed Heaven Breaking Divine Art qi in midair as a foothold, bounding across the sky like stepping stones over a river.
It split his focus to keep manipulating the qi platforms, but it beat trudging through the mountains by a hundredfold.
Pang! Pang!
Even after the sun fully set, sharp bursts of air echoed at regular intervals through the mountains. Until morning broke the next day.
* * *
“You've worked hard.”
“Nah, our captain did all the heavy lifting. Thanks to him, we made it back alive.”
Seven days had passed since the mission began. The ten challengers who'd chosen Proficiency mode had cleared it and returned to the Tower, their disappearance chalked up as simple deaths in this world.
“Hey, Miller. Drinks again tonight?”
“Sure. If we're still alive, that is.”
“Hahaha! Such a worrywart.”
While Yun-seok had been scouring for the base every night, much had changed. The standoff continued, but the 'Red Wolves' mercenary group—Miller's outfit—had undergone major shifts.
Starting with his meeting with mid-level officer Lebuk Tsriman, Miller had climbed steadily, forging ties with high-ranking officers. The group's consistent merits in battle helped, but his savvy was the real key. Two days ago, he'd even received a commendation, and tomorrow he had a rare private audience with the saintess.
Things are going smoothly for him.
Having cleared two extra objectives in the previous mission, Yun-seok could guess. Miller had likely pocketed substantial tangible rewards beyond empty honors.
Compared to that, am I still spinning my wheels?
He'd joined every battle without fail, pulling his weight and no more. The rest of his time went to roaming the mountains. Unbeknownst to him, Yun-seok had become quite the oddity among the challengers.
“Off again?”
After today's battle, as he prepared to leave the barracks, a challenger approached. The sole Unique-difficulty fairy-kin woman... A mage who wielded terrifying elemental magic despite her delicate look.
“Yeah. Feels like there might be extra objectives out there.”
Yun-seok gave his usual excuse—one challengers couldn't hassle him over.
But today, she was a bit different.
“You still don't know my name, do you?”
“...”
Caught off-guard by the direct hit, Yun-seok flinched. Surprised he truly didn't know, she blinked blankly before snapping back.
“I'm Sioli Mobilra.”
“Choi Yun-seok.”
“I know that much. Hurts my pride a bit... Anyway, with the Proficiency folks gone and fewer people around, how about sticking around tonight and actually chatting?”
No malice. Executioner's Eye had pegged her as strongly good-aligned. This was probably her way of reaching out to the aloof Yun-seok.
But frankly, such gestures were a nuisance.
“Not interested in bonding.”
He would've said the same without his El investigation. He was here for the mission, not a vacation.
Teamwork mattered, sure. But only with equals. After a few battles, Yun-seok knew: even if they all dropped dead tomorrow, he'd clear the mission solo without issue.
“...Fine. Do what you want.”
When Yun-seok drew a firm line, Mobilra didn't press. She seemed a touch offended, but he'd have been hounded otherwise. Feeling lighter, Yun-seok headed for the mountains.
Today's the day I wrap this up.
Seven days of searching had yielded zilch. He'd turned the place upside down, but no clues to the base.
At this point, he even admired the rangers who crossed after battles to hunt heretics.
Time for a new approach.
I've been thinking wrong all along.
It wasn't a place you found by looking. Even captured prisoners didn't know, teleported in as they were.
Hell, he was starting to doubt if it even existed here...
If I can't find it, make them come out.
Yun-seok activated King of Ten Thousand Swords to boost his stats, then opened his planned support authority.
By the Shaman's Law, the range of Judgment of the Destruction Lord within the domain increases by 10x.
Judgment of the Destruction Lord's base range with traits was 20m radius. Times ten.
200m radius...
A mere fraction of these vast mountains. But enough to pulverize a peak.
Judgment of the Destruction Lord.
The sky darkened, and a beam of ruinous light lanced down. When the flash faded, Yun-seok's peak was gone—replaced by a massive sinkhole.
Not here, huh.
Unfazed, Yun-seok hopped to the next peak and repeated.
Judgment of the Destruction Lord.
Normally 40-minute cooldown, but Yun-seok had Shadowless Chant for reuse every 10 minutes.
Kwarung—!
Another peak vanished.
But...
Rumble rumble rumble!
Maybe the strikes shifted the strata. The whole range shook like an earthquake—unintended, but fine. Perfect for flushing snakes from the grass.
“...”
Yet no heretics or demons showed. Maybe the snakes hunkered deeper in fright.
Or maybe the base isn't here at all.
Starting to suspect the Trinity had bad intel, but Yun-seok pressed on regardless. Today, he'd see it through.
He kept blasting peaks on cooldown. About five hours later.
Oh, is this it?
In the pitch-black midnight mountains, amid rote repetition, Yun-seok's eyes lit up.
Below an empty sinkhole, odd mana stirred.
Purifying with light, Yun-seok descended. And found it: a blue portal on an altar-like platform.
Jackpot.
* * *
You have entered the Trejan Cult Holy Site.
A grin tugged at his lips as the message popped up upon entering the portal, confirming he'd nailed it.
Worthily called heretics.
Yun-seok scanned the area. It resembled the Deep Labyrinth from his last scout: an underground dungeon. Countless lit lanterns lined the walls, but gloom prevailed. The ceiling soared over 40m, matched by vast passages plastered with grotesque murals.
They haven't noticed the intruder yet?
No welcoming committee. Yun-seok advanced down the unwelcoming hall until a massive stone door—and its apparent guard.
“Wh-who goes there?”
Visibly startled yet polite, the guard inquired courteously. Mistaking him for a high-ranking cultist, perhaps.
“Step aside.”
No shortcut via misunderstanding.
“Th-this is the holy site. Without verification of identity... No, even if you are someone important, without orders from the main temple, I cannot—”
Slash.
Yun-seok silenced him with a swing, cleaving the stone door in two. No need for chit-chat.
“Intruder...”
Lucky or unlucky, the guard muttered as debris struck him unconscious. Yun-seok ignored him and pressed on.
There, he found a girl.
A special challenge exists within 20m radius.
Execute the heretic shaman Elizabeth Lorwen.
The messages weren't needed. Yun-seok knew at a glance: the tiny girl bound head to toe in thousands of chains linked to the walls was El.
“El...”
But unlike the last mission, she wasn't the ten-year-old girl. Closer to seventeen or eighteen... Hard to tell with her emaciated frame.
Yun-seok gritted his teeth unconsciously.
“Wh...o...?”
Stirred by the commotion, El weakly lifted her head. Crimson hair matted with blood and sweat parted, revealing her eye sockets.
Yun-seok fell silent.
What the hell is this...?
Just horrific gashes where eyes should be—gouged out.
He'd heard from El about losing her eyes in life. But...
At such a young age?
What had happened? The final boss, the heretics' shaman—why was she imprisoned in such misery?
Overlapping with the lively child from the prior mission, pity swelled.
“This voice... Uncle? You've come back. I knew you would.”
He didn't know who this 'uncle' was. But her voice brimmed with reliance.
“Help... me. I want to get out of here...”
El rasped, clutching her last thread like a lifeline in the darkness, squeezing out her final strength.
Slash!
Yun-seok severed the chains with one swing, carefully scooping up the unconscious El.
You have accepted the hidden challenge request from Elizabeth Lorwen.
Mission content has changed.
For the remaining time, protect Elizabeth Lorwen from the forces of the Trejan Cult and Trinity Church. Mission fails if the protectee dies.
Hundreds of thousands of troops. Tens of thousands of demons. Both now hostile...
Perfect.
Yun-seok smiled coldly. It had been too easy before. Now the difficulty felt right.