## Chapter 209 – 209. Underground City (4)
#209. Underground City (4)
Satanist.
Worshippers of the devil, betrayers of humanity who made contracts with them and killed countless humans.
They have existed in every era, always committing acts of terror.
Arson, murder, kidnapping, human sacrifice, and more.
To them, the lives of others were merely a means to an end.
Countless people died, and countless cities burned.
It was only natural that more and more people harbored personal grudges in the process.
콰앙!!
Kim Yu-jun’s axe, charging towards the Satanist, collided with the barrier. Sparks flew in all directions due to the immense backlash.
“What did you do to Min-ha?!”
“Hmm? Ah, that bi-i-ird?”
The Satanist’s face twisted grotesquely. He was sneering.
“Heh, heh heh… Wh-who knows?”
Kim Yu-jun glared at the Satanist as if to kill him, gathering his magic power, but it was not enough to break through the barrier.
쿵!
“Ugh?!”
Even though he was thrown back by the backlash, his murderous intent towards the guy showed no signs of diminishing.
His usual cool-headed demeanor was nowhere to be found.
Beyond his bloodshot eyes, a faint madness could even be glimpsed.
After Kim Yu-jun’s brief clash, Kwon Si-hoon, another main dealer in the party, charged from the front, while Seo Ho-yeon and Cha Seung-hyun, the sub-dealers, aimed for the Satanist’s flanks.
“How bo-other-some…”
Even with the combined attack of the B-class hunters, only displeasure was etched on his face.
The moment the three people’s attacks touched his barrier, an anomaly occurred.
꾸드드득-
“Wh-what?!”
Unlike when Kim Yu-jun attacked, their weapons became stuck in the barrier.
They sank deeper and deeper, as if a slime was devouring its prey.
They each struggled desperately to pull out their weapons, but it was not enough.
“Do-don’t resist, you sa-sacrifices, and st-stay still…”
But they didn’t stop just because of that.
Burst Guild, though not very large in scale, was a guild that had built up skill, performance, and trust enough to be affiliated with the Association.
As the first attack team of that guild, they had been through thick and thin, and were clearly veterans among veterans.
Kwon Si-hoon, who was confronting the Satanist head-on, let go of his weapon without a shred of regret, and charged straight at him.
Charging at a mage with his bare body was no different from suicide.
“Krrr.”
But that didn’t apply to him.
His appearance as he charged towards the Satanist was different from before.
His fingernails had become sharp like those of a beast, and the muscles throughout his body swelled as if they would burst.
His arms and legs had become longer, and thick fur covered his skin. His eyes were also shining fiercely.
It was ‘Beast Transformation,’ which only a very few therianthropes were capable of.
카앙!!
Kwon Si-hoon swung his claws at the barrier. A bluish energy was gathered at his fingertips.
His claws did not sink into the barrier as if it could block all attacks like just now; rather, cracks appeared all over the barrier due to the rapid succession of strikes.
“Yu-jun hyung!”
At the shout of Yang Su-ho, the party’s supporter, Kim Yu-jun charged at the Satanist again.
With a momentum that was visibly more intense, Kwon Si-hoon threw himself to the side at the right timing.
쾅!!
Kim Yu-jun’s axe collided with the barrier, causing a shockwave.
In the scattering dust, the shattered barrier and the Satanist’s badly distorted face could be seen.
The party members did not miss the gap.
Cha Seung-hyun and Seo Ho-yeon’s movements changed. It was each of their abilities, physical enhancement and acceleration.
Kwon Si-hoon and Kim Yu-jun, who had regained their composure, also charged straight at the Satanist.
It was a combined attack by four B-class hunters.
Common sense dictated that a mage whose barrier had been broken could not withstand it.
But in actual combat, variables were like landmines that could explode anytime, anywhere.
“Cough?!”
Everyone who tried to attack the Satanist coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot. The amount of bleeding was ominous at a glance.
“Heh, heh heh…!!”
The Satanist gave a bitter laugh as he looked at them sprawled on the floor.
Looking at the pale faces of the party members, I roughly knew what the problem was.
‘Was the curse laced with death energy? It seems to be the kind that interferes with the nervous system.’
Somehow, my hands and feet had been gradually tingling since earlier.
Of course, even that completely disappeared when I drew up the Vajra Body. Noel, who had received my energy, was also free from the curse.
But the other hunters were not.
Everyone except Kim Yu-jun, the tank, was sprawled on the floor.
A black magic circle appeared at his feet, and bizarre murderous intent and magic power covered the surroundings.
“I guess it’s okay to kill a few of you…?!”
A distorted sneer flowed out between his black, rotten teeth.
***
까득-
Kim Yu-jun clenched his teeth as he looked at the party members who had fallen to the floor.
‘…It’s my fault.’
He was the leader of the attack team.
He had a duty to make the right decisions in any situation.
But he had lost his mind at the sight of his family’s enemy, and had driven his party members to their deaths.
The guild master had warned him countless times not to underestimate the enemy, but he had been arrogant, thinking that he could beat a mage in shabby clothes.
This was the result.
The ominous magic power that filled the surroundings tightened his breath.
“I’m so lucky… Not only did I get several B-class hunters, but even a wolf…!”
If things continued like this, they couldn’t avoid annihilation.
Then, at the very least, he had to prevent his party members from dying because of an incompetent party leader.
‘…Even if it costs me my life.’
If he overloaded the magic core, which was the source of his magic power, he could move like an A-class hunter for a short time.
Of course, his heart would burst and he would die soon after, but it would be enough if he could save his party members.
‘The moment he uses magic is the chance.’
He had heard it somewhere.
Mages were most vulnerable at the moment they used magic.
The moment his magic circle began to glow black, I reversed the flow of magic power, aiming to overload the magic core.
“Black curse-“
The moment intense pain gripped his heart.
딱-
The magic circle, which had been fluctuating ominously as if it would spew out magic at any moment, shattered into pieces.
The magic circle, which had been scattering like shards of glass, soon turned to dust and disappeared.
I stared blankly at the scene.
‘…What?’
Could it be that he made a mistake?
No, that couldn’t be.
Perhaps it was an invisible magic.
If not, it was a highly sophisticated technique to induce my carelessness.
As all sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind, someone ran out in front of me.
At an incredible speed that I couldn’t even follow with my eyes.
“Th-this is un… Cough?!”
퍼억!
What unfolded in my vision next was the figure of the Satanist being kicked and sent flying beyond the doorway.
Before I could even think about what had happened, I saw a familiar face.
“Kim Yu-jun-ssi,”
“Hy-hyun-woo-ssi…?”
He was a mage who had joined the party for the day with the help of the Association.
He must be having a hard time moving because of the high magic power consumption, so why was he here?
“We need to get out of here first. If we stay like this, we’ll be annihilated. Can you move?”
I nodded at his words as if possessed.
There were many things I wanted to ask, but I saw hope in his unwavering eyes.
“…Everyone! Retreat beyond the gate right now!”
Maybe we could live?
Maybe we could escape from here?
Suddenly, I had such thoughts.
Breathing heavily, I hoisted the party members sprawled on the floor onto my shoulders.
“…I’m sorry, but can I ask you to take care of Si-hoon?”
“Yes.”
The only ones who could move in this place were myself, Su-ho, the party’s supporter who was relatively behind, and Hyun-woo-ssi and Noel-ssi.
‘…Min-ha.’
으득.
I bit my tongue and bled.
It was a ritual unique to hunters who vowed revenge for their comrades.
“Hiss!”
쾅!
When I kicked the cracked wall, an escape route made for emergencies was revealed.
Thanks to that, we were able to get out easily.
But it was like going from the frying pan into the fire.
“…Damn it.”
What unfolded before my eyes as I emerged from the base camp was a huge number of undead hordes flocking to this place.
There seemed to be some low-level monsters mixed in as well, but that number of undead was a problem before that.
‘Is this really the end…’
Until I collapsed from the curse, there were only a few minutes left. Maybe the others were the same.
Breaking through those guys in that short amount of time and retreating beyond the gate was virtually impossible.
“Follow me.”
“Yes? Hy-hyun-woo-ssi!”
But he didn’t give up.
There was not a hint of hesitation in his back as he ran towards the undead horde.
Logically, I should have stopped him, but no words came out.
My body started running after him on its own.
As if that was the only way to survive.
And it wasn’t long before I realized how accurate that judgment was.
쾅! 콰앙! 쿠웅-
“N-no way…”
The endless undead horde burned and disappeared.
The firepower was so great that even I, the tank, could feel the heat.
‘Th-that’s a 2-circle mage…?’
It was clearly a 1-circle magic, Fireball, but its power seemed similar to the magic of the 3-circle mage I had met before.
Rather, considering the absurd casting speed, it was clear that he far surpassed him.
Above all, it seemed that there was no such thing as a limit to his magic power.
Dozens of fireballs fell from the sky without rest.
Even as the smell of burning corpses brushed past my nose, my gaze was chasing after him.
‘Maybe…’
Maybe I really had a second chance?
A chance to avenge my family.
A chance to avenge my comrades.
But before long, he, who had been running ahead, stopped.
-You dare to be a sacrifice…!!!
Immediately after, a terrible sound like scratching a chalkboard echoed from all directions.
There was no need to turn around to check where it was coming from.
The Satanist was standing not far away.
“D-dare you reverse engineer my magic?! A low-level mage who can only use 1-circle magic!!”
푸욱-
As he gestured, the undead rose up through the ground.
There weren’t many of them, but the energy emanating from the two monsters blocking our escape route was ominous.
An undead wearing a black helmet and a giant ghost swimming in the air.
It was a Knight Helm and a Chorus King.
They didn’t seem to be boss-level entities, but two of them appearing at the same time was something that only happened in A-class gates.
“I’ll use you guys as test subjects instead of sacrifices…! You’ll suffer eternally even in death…!!”
The Satanist’s laughter, filled with curses, echoed throughout the city.
Yang Su-ho collapsed to the floor at the sight.
Even the small hope that had bloomed was trampled on.
The only way to survive was for me to overload my magic core right now and open a path.
“Hyun-woo-ssi. I’ll open a path, so take that chance to escape… Hyun-woo-ssi?”
But he quietly walked forward.
Even in this desperate situation, he seemed composed.
“Wh-what is it! Even if you beg for forgiveness now, you’ll be used as a test subject for parasitic monsters…”
Since the Satanist had appeared, I had been wary of something.
Until now, I thought it was because of the Knight Helm and the Chorus King.
Even if they weren’t boss-level entities, they both exuded magic power equivalent to sub-boss-level entities.
But that wasn’t it.
“No, it’s not that, it’s just a little funny.”
“…What?”
The moment he reached out his hand towards the sky, everyone here naturally raised their heads without being told to.
“A low-level mage, you say.”
A giant magic circle was unfolding in the sky that should have been blocked by the cave ceiling.
The magic circle, shining in gold, was so beautiful that it made me forget that my life was in danger.
[Electro Vortex]
A momentary flash filled my vision, and soon a storm of lightning swept through the city.
