Wedding Day (2)
In the thick fog, two men and women ran desperately, gasping for breath.
Yura gripped Seon-ah’s hand tightly and finally reached the point where the fog began to thin.
If they simply crossed over there, they would be safe.
She believed it with all her heart and tried to escape the fog.
But that belief was betrayed in an instant.
Bang!
The body that had been running at full speed slammed into the end of the fog.
Scientifically and commonsensically, the situation made no sense.
It was as if an invisible, transparent wall had suddenly appeared.
Yura felt it instinctively.
The Gate had already opened.
And there was no longer any escape.
From behind came Seon-ah’s voice, as if her mind had partially returned.
“Yura… what the hell is this? What kind of fog is it that does this?”
Seon-ah, who had no idea what was happening, asked her.
“…A Gate has been created,” Yura answered briefly. “Originally, we should have escaped the fog before it opened. But it seems we’re already too late.”
She gave Seon-ah a quick explanation of the dire situation.
She had never imagined something like this would happen on the wedding day.
Not only would she suffer such an incident on what should have been the happiest day of their lives, but the only remaining days would be the ones spent happily with Seon-ah.
But one could not escape reality.
Hunters who went on expeditions to close Gates were organized into small teams of four to eight people.
The Gate that had just opened was undoubtedly a small-scale C-rank Gate or lower.
It was uncertain.
Although she had no combat experience, she had received some training, and both of them were C-rank Awakened.
Even though the minimum number was four, with the numerical disadvantage, she and Seon-ah might still be able to fight the monsters, close the Gate, and escape.
It was reckless thinking, but because this small Gate had a narrow range, escape was impossible.
Even if the Gate was discovered by others and hunters were dispatched to close it, it would be too late.
Hunters themselves, since their lives were on the line, no matter how small the Gate.
Recruiting people for the expedition took at least a day or two.
Since there was no escape now, it was better to prepare to fight.
Otherwise, Yura would die and Seon-ah would be taken by the monsters and become a Seed-spreader…
Two figures ahead were steadily getting closer.
The Succubus was leading her subordinates and confirming the two of them up close.
The person on the right was a man.
He had a somewhat decadent aura, but he had a pretty face.
The woman, since she was going to kill her anyway, held no particular interest.
Excited by the thought of a big harvest, she quickly gave orders to her subordinates.
There were sixteen Orcs, but to kill two unarmed humans and capture the man, only about four would be needed.
“You four. Kill the woman and bring the man. I’ll take him as a resource to use.”
The Orcs moved with the words that treated the man like an object and the simple instruction.
The four Orcs at the front drew their weapons and charged toward the two people.
Yura and Seon-ah assumed the monster who had given the order was their leader.
Although visibility was poor because of the fog, a humanoid figure with wings was visible.
She didn’t know what kind of monster it was, but the black blood oozing from its skin was not normal for a monster.
And when the Orcs came close enough to identify them as enemies,
Seon-ah was startled by the sight of the Orcs.
Unlike the monstrous appearance she had imagined, they looked human.
Except for the green skin and the 2-meter-tall muscular bodies, which were not as pretty as Yura’s but still attractive.
Although visibility was poor because of the fog, if the four in front were all like that, the monsters behind were probably the same.
Seon-ah thought that she and Yura had to combine their strength to kill the monsters.
But she felt a slight reluctance to fight beings that looked human and had some intelligence that allowed communication.
But realizing that if they stayed like this, both Yura and her lives would be in danger, she steeled her resolve.
Two Orcs swung their weapons toward Yura from the sides.
The coordinated attack of the two monsters seemed to indicate they had been trained, as it was difficult for one person to avoid.
Yura, who had pushed her acceleration ability to the limit, barely dodged between the swinging weapons and swung her fist toward the head of the monster on her right.
Thud!
Yura’s fist sank into the monster’s head.
It was not a metaphorical blow; it physically penetrated.
The monster died instantly with one touch of Yura’s hand.
With a heavy thud, the 2-meter-tall body fell backwards.
The three Orcs at the front, who saw this unbelievable sight, began to be cautious.
It seemed they had changed their mind from casually slaughtering the enemy.
Their expressions showed their human-like faces.
Fear was evident in their faces.
The humans they thought were easy prey suddenly killed one of their comrades, so they started to be wary.
From the two people’s one attack killing an Orc, hope sprouted in their hearts that they could win.
Yura picked up the weapon the fallen monster was holding and held it in her left hand.
However, due to the excitement, she didn’t feel pain.
Her fist that broke the Orc’s head looked swollen, as if it wasn’t normal.
Perhaps while breaking the tough-looking Orc’s head, her own hand was also broken.
Seon-ah used her healing ability toward Yura’s hand from behind.
The swelling on Yura’s hand disappeared as if it had never been there.
“Thanks. Seon-ah.”
She said lightly to Seon-ah, then moved the weapon to her now-normal right hand and gripped it properly.
Seon-ah wanted to answer the question, but to not disturb her from concentrating on the fight, she nodded even though she couldn’t see it.
She thought there was no weapon to attack with, but upon realizing that she could kill with bare hands, it seemed the fight wasn’t so disadvantageous.
With the weapon, it seemed she could win more easily than she thought.
Feeling confident, she roared and threatened the monsters.
“Come on! I’ll send the first one who comes to the afterlife!”
The monsters were overwhelmed by the woman’s strange movements as if she was moving quickly alone in stopped time.
Although the number of combat-related Awakened abilities was many, the actual acceleration ability was a combat-all capability that allowed both evasion and attack.
Among the 15 or so S-rank Awakened in the world, only 2 had abilities related to combat, so it was a guaranteed performance ability.
The monsters behind started coming toward them.
Perhaps they had underestimated the two people, who instead knocked down one of their vanguard and realized something was wrong when the three monsters’ movements stopped.
They had no choice but to defeat the Orcs before they joined the fight.
Yura moved first and swung her sword at the Orc who had tried to coordinate from the left earlier.
It was one of the sword techniques learned from Hwaryong Guild, but she hadn’t used it often, so her proficiency was low.
However, the sword technique that pressured psychological warfare was one where it feinted a slash and then stabbed.
Although sword proficiency was important, even for beginners using some fake techniques with psychological warfare could deliver a fatal blow to opponents who didn’t know this sword technique.
Combined with the fraudulence of the acceleration ability, the Orc who couldn’t follow Yura’s sword speed eventually died with a sword to the forehead.
Taking the momentum, Yura’s body moved without stopping, and the two Orcs who were frozen by the movement couldn’t even grip their weapons properly; one had his neck cut and the other had his heart pierced.
Seeing their comrades falling one by one, the monsters rushed over desperately.
The one at the front was a woman who looked human but had black wings, golden hair, smooth brown skin, and curved horns.
“You filthy humans! How dare you!”
It was the same voice that gave the order earlier.
That monster was undoubtedly their leader.
However, when Yura saw that monster, her eyes trembled.
“Succubus…”
Yura muttered to herself, with an expression as if she saw something unbelievable.
According to Yura, Orcs were C-rank monsters, but Succubus was on a different level from those.
It was an A-rank monster that freely used magical abilities and used men as Seed-spreaders cruelly.
If that Succubus, the leader of the monsters, came out, it was certain that they would lose this fight.
She gripped the sword tightly and rushed straight at the Succubus.
She planned to ambush the Succubus who was startled by the sight of her subordinates.
Yura swung her sword toward the Succubus’s neck.
Then the Succubus tried to block it with her claws.
Yura used the sword technique she had done earlier, feinting a slash and then stabbing.
This sword technique had a big disadvantage.
It was a sword technique that was likely not effective after showing it once to a new enemy.
It was a sword technique that was just a trick using psychological warfare rather than pure skill, a unique secret technique of Hwaryong Guild that could only be used in truly urgent situations.
So, she had to defeat it with this one attack.
She feinted swinging and changed the sword’s path; eventually, the sword quickly pierced between the claws.
However, the Succubus’s reflexes were also fast, so with that speed, it was difficult to inflict a fatal wound, and the sword just grazed the left side of the Succubus’s neck, making a small scratch.
The Succubus’s gaze toward Yura changed.
She had been careless like the four Orcs earlier, but the Succubus who had almost been fatally wounded by the recent attack began to be cautious.
As if she had been a little scared, she retreated and gave instructions to her subordinates who had come with her.
“All of you, gang up and kill them!”
Knowing that there was no way to win against the overwhelming numbers, the monsters quickly started surrounding them.
Seon-ah also thought that with so many numbers, Yura wouldn’t be able to protect her, so she picked up the fallen sword.
And the Orcs all rushed in at once.
The Orcs, having realized that Yura was more dangerous than Seon-ah, attached 8 to Yura and 4 to Seon-ah.
Although they were Awakened, Seon-ah was not suited for fighting monsters because her strength was only a little stronger than that of a normal woman.
She couldn’t exert the superhuman strength like Yura, and she hadn’t received any training, so she wasn’t suitable for combat.
Moreover, she only had healing ability, so it would be hard for her to fight well like Yura.
Nevertheless, it was necessary to keep these four from attacking Yura.
It was an essential element because the Orcs had numerical superiority.
With that thought, Yura started moving quickly again.
Every time Yura swung her sword, the Orcs’ limbs were cut off or necks were severed.
It was when Yura was about to defeat the four.
“Huu… huu… huuk…”
Yura seemed to have run out of stamina quickly, as if she was unfamiliar with fighting using acceleration ability.
Even now, panting and catching her breath, she was glaring fiercely while raising the sword here and there to prevent the Orcs from approaching carelessly.
However, Orcs were also coming at Seon-ah’s side.
Perhaps because of the crisis of possibly dying.
Seon-ah raised her sword to block the Orc’s attack.
However, contrary to expectations, she felt a tearing sensation in her grip and dropped the sword from her hand.
Seon-ah was also startled, but the Orc who had attempted the attack also had an expression as if dumbfounded.
Yura was fighting the other Orcs without even looking at Seon-ah’s side.
She couldn’t see Seon-ah’s side because of the fight.
If this continued, would she die too? At that moment, the Orc in front rushed at Seon-ah and struck his belly with the back of the sword hilt.
In that pain, Seon-ah felt her breath cut off and collapsed to the ground.