Chapter 268. Assembly (4)
[Orden’s Territory]
I ran towards Orden’s castle. I dismantled the traps that were on the way with the [Mystic Key] and plowed through any monsters that blocked the way.
But what we were worried about ended up happening. As we got closer to the castle, more and more monsters began to appear until it got overwhelming.
“…Hey, there’s just too many.”
Even Aileen looked dismayed. I couldn’t blame her. Over 10 million monsters stood in the field in front of us. I doubt even Chae Joochul could break through that number.
“Including the monsters flying in the sky and hiding underground, there are about 12 million of them.”
Jin Seyeon estimated the number with her eyes. It seemed far crazier after hearing about it directly.
“That many? Should we just go back? We can meet up with the Hero Association’s forces.”
“…No.”
Aileen suggested that we retreat, but I declined.
The number of monsters was perfect to test my third Gift.
“I have a way.”
“What way….”
[Buster Call]
I used 4.5 streaks of Stigma toof activated this high-rank Gift. I was trying to summon Genkelope’s Battlecruiser.
Chwaaaa—
Stigma’s magic power shot up from my body, piercing through the clouds and creating a hole in the sky. The light created a ring, which was, of course, a portal.
“…Uuu.”
My head and chest hurt, but I wasn’t worried since I already finished summoning it.
Guooooo…
Fierce wind blew from the portal. Dirt rose up from the ground as a huge object appeared through the portal.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Everyone fell silent.
What was descending from the sky was Genkelope’s Battlecruiser, a product of transcendental magic engineering found only inside the Tower of Wish. Earth’s current technology couldn’t build even a tiny part of the battlecruiser.
[Genkelope’s Battlecruiser has been summoned through your Gift ‘Buster Call’.]
[The vessel and its crewmen have their specs increased by 30%.]
[Special skill ‘Algorithm’ reacts to your Gift ‘Buster Call’. The vessel’s specs increases by 12.5%.]
[Buster Call will remain active for 36 hours and can be reused after 90 days.]
Such an overpowered Gift had to have a huge restriction. But when it rose to high-rank, it even gained the ability to boost itself and its crewmen. I was genuinely shocked that the only downside of the Gift was its long cooldown.
—Hello, Ship Commander. Is this your world?
Horner’s voice rang out in my ear.
“Huh?”
—Give us your command.
“Command….”
There was only one command that made sense in this situation.
“First, wipe out the monsters below you.”
**
[Orden’s Underground Prison]
Guooo….
The huge rumbling shook the entire underground prison. However, Kim Suho kept his eyes on Park Hanho without shaking an inch. Park Hanho’s killing intent was clear.
“…Senior, snap out of it.”
Yun Seung-Ah’s sword was infused with white flames. She pointed her sword at the man she once respected.
Park Hanho maintained his silence until then. But Yun Seung-Ah felt like she could read Park Hanho’s mind.
Yun Seung-Ah knew Park Hanho was the most unfortunate Hero. His wife and younger sister were murdered by Djinns, and his only daughter died from an illness. Even so, Park Hanho did his duty as a Hero, which made Yun Seung-Ah all the more proud to be his junior.
“This isn’t who you are.”
But it seemed he was rotting inside without anyone knowing. Yun Seung-Ah sympathized with the despair and rage Park Hanho carried.
“Senior—”
“Yeonhee could have been saved.”
Park Hanho spoke. The sadness in his voice was deep and dark.
“If those fools from the Association shared even a tiny portion of Yuri’s Authority… Yeonhee would still be alive.”
Park Hanho spoke with regret and sorrow.
Neither Kim Suho nor Yun Seung-Ah could say anything. Yun Seung-Ah had heard about the rumors surrounding the Authority of Healing. That the old, power-hungry men of the Association were abusing it to prolong their lives.
“But it doesn’t matter now.”
Park Hanho suddenly smiled. The corners of his mouth curled up and stretched to his ears. The eerie smile sent chills down Yun Seung-Ah’s back.
“The King gave Yeonhee back to me.”
With that, Park Hanho unleashed his magic power. It wasn’t just him. The Heroes surrounding Yun Seung-Ah and Kim Suho did the same.
“You’re out of your mind.”
Yun Seung-Ah shouted as she took a few steps back.
“Suho! We’re going to die if we don’t kill them—!”
“Yes!”
When Kim Suho and Yun Seung-Ah were about to begin their fight…
KOOOOONG…!
A bigger rumbling shook the prison. Of course, the two of them didn’t pay any attention to it and focused on the enemies in front of them.
Clang-! Clang-!
Swords clashed, creating fiery sparks of ember. However, their fight didn’t last long.
“—!”
After about 10 minutes of fighting, when Kim Suho was about to cut Park Hanho’s unbreakable magic power…
Jiiing—
The sound of a laser rang out, and a circular hole was created on the ceiling. An ‘entrance’ was created, and dozens of soldiers hopped down from the hole. They were all wearing power armor with the word [Genkelope] written across it.
—By Ship Commander’s orders, we will suppress all who wish to cause harm to you two.
With a single sentence, Genkelope’s soldiers entered the fray while protecting Kim Suho and Yun Seung-Ah. They moved quickly as expected of elite soldiers.
Jiing…
Magic powered lasers suddenly joined the fight between cold weapons. The outcome was easy to predict.
**
On the other hand, near a trap called the Room of Foolishness a bit farther away from the underground prison, a large-scale battle was underway.
“Stay in your positions! Be careful not to get surrounded! We can get through this if we stay sharp and alert!”
Essence of the Strait’s high-rank grade-1 Hero, Kim Youngjin, shouted loudly. Kim Youngjin had entered Orden’s territory as the leader of a 20-member team, which included Rachel, Chae Nayun, Yi Jiyoon, and Yohei.
“K-Kyak! Rachel! P-Protect me! Don’t let your supporter die!”
High-intermediate-rank grade-1 supporter, Yi Jiyoon, yelped. A high-intermediate rank monster was charging towards her.
“Fiery!”
Rachel sent her fire elemental to protect Yi Jiyoon. Fiery’s fire blast scorched the monster’s body.
“Haaat—!’
Immediately afterwards, Chae Nayun’s sword slashed down. Her magic power made the blade bigger, elongating its reach to 10 meters.
“…Tsk.”
But even with Chae Nayun’s powerful attacks, the team was being overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters.
“Aaaagh!”
Over an hour had passed since the start of the battle. No one could see an end to the battle, and more and more monsters seemed to be appearing.
“Why are there so many of you—!?”
Chae Nayun bellowed angrily, which only made her the target of monsters.
Woong—
Chae Nayun swung down her claymore. A crescent-shaped sword strike cut down dozens of monsters.
“Know your place, you damned fools!”
Then suddenly.
Koong-! Koong-!
A huge monster appeared with heavy footsteps.
Kwang-! Kwang-!
It was 30 meters in height, a horn was protruding out of each of its two heads, and it held a large club.
It was a Twin-headed Ogre, known to be one of the trickier monsters to fight among high-rank monsters. Judging by its black skin, it should be from a particularly elite breed. It had to be at least grade-3.
“Hu-man! I- will- eat- you!”
The ogre screamed in human language.
Everyone’s jaws dropped in shock.
A talking monster. By now, everyone knew what that meant.
“…Be careful, it’s a humanoid monster.”
Kim Youngjin muttered with a serious voice. It was then.
Guooo….
The sky suddenly turned dark, and a giant flying object descended from the clouds. Fierce wind blew on the ground from the pressure created by the mysterious object.
“The hell is that? Wait, isn’t that…?”
Chae Nayun, who was staring at the mysterious object, shouted. She wasn’t the only one. Members of Kim Youngjin’s team were all elites within the Tower of Wish. They recognized the mysterious entity.
“That’s… Genkelope Vessel?”
The mysterious object looked just like Genkelope Vessel’s battlecruiser.
The team members looked up in shock and awe.
Voooong—
At that moment, the ogre swung its club at the battlecruiser.
“The- heck- are- you…”
But the ogre couldn’t finish its sentence, as the battlecruiser’s Starlight Cannon instantly vaporized it.
**
Central Asia.
Jin Sahyuk was looking down at the earth from a height of 500 meters. She could see the several battles happening at once and the countless number of magic power explosions.
“Aren’t you going to join them?”
Bell appeared next to Jin Sahyuk. His body was wavering like flowing water. Jin Sahyuk didn’t spare him a glance. She was lost in thought, wondering why Kim Hajin sacrificed himself to save the Recorded Past.
“….”
From her perspective, Kim Hajin had done so to cast aside his longing for Akatrina. He had let go of his past self.
So Jin Sahyuk had no choice but to give up on Kim Hajin. The man who was once her loyal servant was now her enemy. She had to admit it.
But the image of Kim Hajin treating Prihi flickered before her eyes. ‘Were we like that in the past? I never smiled at my servants. You were always behind me, and I didn’t know how you felt…’
“Sahyuk?”
Bell called Jin Sahyuk. For some reason, Jin Sahyuk felt like her name wasn’t hers today.
“…What.”
“How was Akatrina? You still want to go back, right?”
“…Cut the bullshit.”
Jin Sahyuk swore to herself once again. That she would return to her homeland once more, even if death is all that awaits her, even if no hope of life exists in that world…
She no longer had the confidence to live in the same world as Kim Hajin.
Humiliation and defeat.
Pain and agony.
Regret and sorrow.
Those were the feelings Kim Hajin left in her heart. As long as he wished to stay on Earth, Jin Sahyuk would do her best to live in a world without him because she knew she would only be a target of regret and resentment to him.
“…Bell.”
Jin Sahyuk called Bell in a serious tone.
“…Hm?”
“You said the end is near.”
Hearing this, Bell nodded.
“Yep, it’s soon. You’ve heard of ‘Baal’, right? He can open the dimensional gate.”
“…Right, Baal.”
Jin Sahyuk was familiar with the name. Bell had always told her to kill him and make a trade with Baal to return to her world.
“When can I meet this Baal?”
“Mm… I don’t know, but I’m sure he’ll appear sooner or later.”
Jin Sahyuk didn’t like Bell’s ambiguous statement.
“Where is he now?”
“Who knows? Baal is everywhere. For all I know, he could be next to you at this very moment.”
Jin Sahyuk ignored Bell’s nonsensical joke. Bell grinned and looked up at the sky.
“Just wait a little bit. Once he descends, you’ll meet him even if you don’t want to.”
Just as Bell muttered as such….
A giant portal, well over 100 meters in diameter, suddenly appeared in the sky.
“What’s that?”
Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows and stared at the portal. Along with a fiercely blowing tempest, a ship-like thing was crossing through space.
A huge body and a pair of wings that stretched far out.
Jin Sahyuk knew well the identity of this monstrosity created with magic engineering.
“…Genkelope?”
[Genkelope Battlecruiser].
After appearing out of the blue, the battlecruiser opened its hangar and fired its cannons. Magic powered lasers blasted down, cannon balls exploded, and fighter jets shot out from the hangar.
“Ah~ Looks like Kim Hajin summoned it.”
“What?”
“He can do all kinds of strange things. Is this his ultimate skill? How interesting.”
Jin Sahyuk’s face immediately distorted. ‘When did he learn something like this?’ She thought.
B-B-B-BOOM—!
The battlecruiser began to rain down fire on the monsters. Orden’s monsters stood no chance against the ultimate fruit of magic engineering.
The battlecruiser attacked nothing but Orden’s monsters… at first.
—Wait! A wanted criminal has been spotted on the east side!
Suddenly, Jin Sahyuk heard a familiar voice. A sense of foreboding overcame her.
“East side?”
‘A wanted criminal on the east side… Wait!’
—I see her too!
—Everyone, change target!
—Ship Commander’s mortal enemy is over there!
Whooosh— The fighter jets changed course.
Coincidentally, they were heading over to her.
“H-Hey, wait, wait, wait.”
Of course, she knew this was no coincidence. She knew that she was the wanted criminal they were talking about.
—Capture her!
Feeling wronged, Jin Sahyuk cursed out loud.
“Fuck, why me!?”
The fighter jets already set their target to Jin Sahyuk. Of course, Bell was long gone from her side.
“Dammit…!”
With no other choice, Jin Sahyuk began to run.