Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Shadow of Victory
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Since time immemorial, those who summon something to fight their enemies have to choose one of two paths.
Overwhelm with sheer numbers, or rely on just a few incredibly powerful summons.
The rotting corpse in front of me had chosen the former. A terrifying swarm assault. Its body had become a nest for maggots and flies, and its gaping abdomen continuously spewed out all manner of grotesque insects.
Some were abnormally huge, while others were about the size of normal bugs.
"It's like a sandstorm rushing in."
From a distance, anyone would probably mistake the scene on this stage for a pitch-black thundercloud rolling in. But this cloud wasn't just any cloud—it was one formed by countless insects clustering together.
The thing had enveloped the entire outdoor stage in a dome of innumerable bugs. Every flying insect was itching to chew my flesh and lay eggs under my skin.
"Damn it."
And amid this frenzied swarm of insects, people staggered toward me. Their bodies were riddled with holes, and tiny insect eggs dribbled out from those punctures.
Corpses of people who had failed to evacuate. They'd become nests for the bugs. The eggs embedded under their skin hatched, tore through their flesh, and flew straight at me.
"Can't argue with that."
If you want to win, the best way is to crush them with numbers. I burned away the life force of the charging insects with Paradox Flame as I slowly advanced toward it.
"Ugh... aaah! S-save... me."
The people turned into bug nests were still alive. It must have thought that would give me pause.
Fat chance. I quickly put an end to the bug nests' suffering.
"Yeah. In situations like this, people turn merciless."
They couldn't return to their original bodies anyway. Better to kill them now than let them live longer as nonstop bug factories.
Pity was secondary; with this many bugs already, I had no desire to let their numbers grow even more.
In the cloud of countless swirling insects, the monster muttered that.
It all came down to reading the flow. Track the movement of the onrushing bugs and move accordingly. No different from a leaf drifting on water.
The blue trajectories floating around me vibrated the mana in the air, whittling away at the enemy's magic power. The Paradox Flames burning under my control from all directions incinerated the stamina of the incoming bugs.
"What's your goal here?"
It answered my question.
"Not that."
As I spoke, it raised one hand and clenched its fist. The insects swirling like a cloud gathered in one spot, forming a massive spear.
The spear formed from entangled insects hurtled toward me with a roar like a plane taking off.
Black flames clung to my spear, and blue trajectories whipped out dozens of times against the incoming one. My attacks shattered the insect spear at a speed that made me look like multiple people.
Insect wings, shattered shells, and bodily fluids sprayed everywhere. As I smashed the incoming spear and pressed forward, I thrust into the chest of the monster that called itself Balea.
With a sharp sound, my spear tip pierced its chest.
"What the hell are you babbling about? Speak English, you bastard."
As it staggered back, the insects swarmed around me again, whipping up a vortex with their irritating wingbeats. I glared at Balea through my limited vision.
How many of these things were there? What was their true purpose? What connection did they have to the descendants of Dangun? I knew nothing.
Suddenly, sparks erupted around us, and the flying insects plummeted to the ground, legs twitching.
"I've finished escorting the civilians to safety. There shouldn't be any normals within 5km."
Han Sang-ah stood beside me, sword in hand. Electricity was poison to bugs—proven fact by Pokémon and electric flyswatters alike. Pale sparks crackled menacingly along her blade.
"Jeong Oh-hoon?"
"He's set up on a nearby rooftop."
Right—he wasn't built for close-quarters anyway. The moment Han Sang-ah answered, as if to prove he was helping, bullets streaked in, exploding and sweeping away clumps of bugs.
"What's everyone else doing? This is right in the middle of Seoul."
The Association couldn't just sit this out.
"The Association decided they couldn't deploy unverified hunters into this situation. They've sent emergency requests to licensed hunters above a certain rank."
About 30 minutes until backup.
"Let's finish it before then."
"You sure?"
I swung my spear, burning the muscle power of the onrushing bugs as I replied.
"Probably?"
With Jeong Oh-hoon's precise ranged support and Han Sang-ah and me coordinating after multiple joint ops, we could handle it. The bugs swirling around us didn't need to land hits.
The real target was the rotten flesh of So-hwi, controlling all these insects.
"Most of those bugs can't pierce my coat."
Han Sang-ah's coat was a special item earned from cleaning out Bratzuk's fridge. It seemed a good chunk of the bugs Balea spewed couldn't harm her under its protection.
That made things easy.
"You handle the bugs."
Her coat nullified bug attacks, and she controlled electricity—rat poison for insects.
She was far more efficient at this than me.
"Got it. While I thin the numbers..."
I'll beat on its main body. Jeong Oh-hoon could handle any leftovers she missed.
Let's give it a shot.
"Easier than the fridge, right?"
"Yeah."
Han Sang-ah finished answering and charged into the swarm, swinging her lightning-charged sword in all directions. Each precise, clean strike carried just enough power to drop a bug the moment it touched the bolt.
"There are people too. Still alive."
"Any way to save them?"
Han Sang-ah fired the question right after hearing my explanation.
"No, can't reverse that. They'll live as bug nests forever or die."
One or the other. Han Sang-ah's sword flashed with sharp light. The heads of the approaching people rolled across the ground.
"I might be wrong."
"Even if there was a way to restore them, I swung the sword after hearing you. It's on me, so don't worry about it."
With that, Han Sang-ah pressed on against the endless bugs. As she took on the bulk of the swarm, the number of bugs lingering near the main body I faced decreased noticeably.
"Don't call this cowardly. You've been bragging that numbers decide victory."
You wouldn't deny your own words now. That'd be pretty pathetic.
With a squelching sound, moldy, mushroom-ridden rotten flesh fell to the ground. Dozens of bugs bit into each other to form a skeleton frame, and tattered, pus- and rot-oozing flesh clung to it, shaping something like a club.
It grabbed the club and aimed it at me. At the same time, a surge of overwhelming mana erupted from its body, making my hairs stand on end.
Even after I'd been chipping away at its mana bit by bit, it still had this much left.
It swung with a whoosh, spreading filthy spores. I stepped forward, braced to meet it. The club came crashing down on my head.
The moment spear shaft met club, I desperately deflected its force, twisting its trajectory.
The ground shattered. Massive mana spread out. The prepared stage collapsed entirely, sending shockwaves rippling. Naturally, I was right next to it and got caught in the blast.
"You maniac."
It wasn't just a shockwave—it felt like a truck slamming through me. Its attack didn't end there. We were in close, swinging weapons nonstop.
Defense, evasion, counterattacks blurred together as Balea and I fought like madmen.
'This is bad. Things are going south.'
Its brutally fast, ferocious attacks made me miss its movements in split seconds. Close combat like this forced instinctual reactions.
No, why was it fighting so damn well? Unbelievable. Summoners like this usually had weak main bodies.
"Gah."
With a thud, its club finally smashed my side. The impact pierced muscle to bone, bone to organs. I flew at tremendous speed and slammed into the wall.
I spat out a mouthful of blood, then unzipped the hem of my top. Shattered plates poured out from the bottom of my suit.
"You like special... alloys, huh."
Shattered in one hit. Insane. At least this saved my bones and flesh from pulping. Still, I wasn't thrilled about it.
I couldn't dodge or block, so I ate the hit. Meaning the same would happen again in future clashes.
"How could I not? Look at me after one hit."
Truth was, my current skill was outmatched, no matter how stubborn I got. Stronger than Lee Se-eun, even.
I staggered to my feet, wiping blood from my mouth.
"Hey, you... ugh. Can't stick around here much longer, can you?"
No response. For it to output this much power through a body like So-hwi's... the flesh couldn't take it.
Our fight up to now had been sustainable output for So-hwi's body. But the moment Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon joined, its mana spiked several times stronger.
This exceeded what So-hwi's body could handle. I steadied my spear after a brief stagger.
"And even if it dies here, your main body won't hurt. You take out one annoying pest and call it a win."
It had possessed this body via contract. Killing it here would just mean discarding the corpse.
With that, it gripped the disgusting club with both hands again.
"Gonna break a few bones today. Poor body's always suffering with a master like me."
Beef after work, maybe. I coughed up more blood and opened my mouth.
"Han Sang-ah, I'm turning off the flames. Team up with Jeong Oh-hoon and hold the line."
I extinguished the Paradox Flames burning around me. Then reignited them along my spear. The flames spreading across it undulated like a black sun.
"No matter how much you look, you won't figure it out. You don't need to."
I'll accelerate the collapse of So-hwi's crumbling body. If I die getting pummeled before the flesh totally breaks, I lose. If its body gives out first, I win.