Chapter 1562 – 1562. 성유니콘
Bang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Bang bang bang!
With the explosions, the yard was devastated. I’d dealt with all the annoying bombs with that.
I looked around the yard and let out a small exclamation. The aftermath of the explosion was quite significant. There were a considerable number of bombs installed in front. If I had gone in any deeper, even with my protective aura, it would have been dangerous.
“Damn it!”
The door of the abandoned house opened, and a man burst out, cursing. It was So Tae-jin, the guild master of No Count. He scratched his stubbled chin and glared at me and Son Ga-yeon.
“Why the hell are you doing this to us?! Huh?!”
“Do you really not know? You tried to kill me first. So, I’m trying to kill you.”
“It wasn’t us who tried to kill you, it was the Hwangha Gate! The one who hired the contractor was the Hwangha Gate!”
“I know you’re in league with the Hwangha Gate. Don’t act innocent. It’s just disgusting.”
I said in a cold voice. No matter what So Tae-jin said, I was going to kill him. He tried to kill me. If I had died then, revenge would have been a pipe dream. He would have lived well, as if nothing had happened.
‘Just imagining it pisses me off. I can’t stand to see that.’
I held up the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers, aiming them at So Tae-jin. Son Ga-yeon took a step back and watched. It seemed she was leaving the revenge entirely to me.
“Damn it! Do you think I’ll go down so easily?!”
So Tae-jin pulled out a revolver from his pocket. He aimed it at me and pulled the trigger. I reflexively moved to the side. An invisible bullet grazed past my body.
‘Did he make the bullets invisible?’
So Tae-jin pulled the trigger again. I swung the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers. With a sharp metallic sound, the bullet was deflected.
“Crazy! You deflected an invisible bullet?!”
“Even if it’s invisible, you can feel it if you concentrate.”
“Shit. Are all A-ranks just monsters…!”
Bang bang bang bang!
Bullets were fired in rapid succession. It was useless. I deflected all the bullets and approached him. The position of the bullets could be guessed from the muzzle. It was also true that you could feel them if you concentrated, even if they were invisible.
“You ran away for no reason and annoyed me, so I’ll slowly slice you up, starting with your feet.”
“You think you’ve won? But what about this? I think I’ve won.”
He sneered. I narrowed my brow. I couldn’t figure out the source of his confidence.
“You can feel it even if it’s invisible, you say? Then try feeling this! Gil-seong!”
Thwack.
My waist was stabbed. A sharp pain surged through me. I looked down to assess the situation.
A boy who looked about 10 years old was grinning as he stabbed a knife into my waist.
“Hyung. Does it hurt? You can scream. Chang-sik likes that too.”
“…Did you think I wouldn’t kill you just because you’re a kid?”
I held the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers in reverse grip. I didn’t plan to kill him right away. Since he stabbed my side, I planned to stab his side in return.
“Yujin! Get out of the way!!”
Son Ga-yeon shouted. Instinct told me to obey her words.
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 6]
I used Flash to retreat.
Something invisible fell from the air where I had been standing. The force was extraordinary. I didn’t know the details, but if it had hit my head directly, it would have caused damage that couldn’t be compared to a bomb.
“Chang-sik says it’s a shame.”
The child called Gil-seong smiled. I narrowed my brow.
‘What is that? Is that kid’s ability?’
It was Son Ga-yeon who answered my question. Her face was stiff.
“It’s a Dueoksini. That kid seems to have the power to control ghosts. He’s probably… from a shaman’s lineage.”
“Wow. Noona, how did you know? Like you said, my mom is a shaman. But she tormented me so much that Chang-sik killed her.”
Gil-seong chuckled. So Tae-jin, who was standing behind him, looked at Gil-seong with a displeased expression and shouted.
“What are you doing! Kill them quickly! We need to kill them to escape safely!”
“Mister. Chang-sik says that noona is not ordinary. He says it’s better to just run away right now?”
“That damn ghost… When did you say you could kill them all… Damn it. Is that woman that strong?”
“Um. He says she’s a natural enemy. A Bukbaek Son… Exorcist clan? Something like that.”
Son Ga-yeon, who had been watching, stepped forward. She drew her anti-demon sword and swung it into the air. She was fighting something invisible.
“It’s been a while since I’ve fought a ghost this strong… Yujin, you deal with So Tae-jin. And don’t kill the kid.”
“That kid stabbed my side.”
“He’s a kid. There’s room for redemption. It seems like he made a contract with a Dueoksini… It must be the Dueoksini’s fault.”
“Okay.”
I said, suppressing my rising dissatisfaction. I had no intention of following Son Ga-yeon’s words. Even if he was a kid, he stabbed my side with a knife. If the opportunity arose, I wouldn’t hesitate to cut his throat.
‘First, I’ll deal with So Tae-jin.’
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 5]
I rushed towards So Tae-jin. So Tae-jin’s face was filled with shock as he moved to the side. The red blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers chased after So Tae-jin’s back.
Clang!
The blade was blocked. It was blocked by something invisible.
“Heh, heh heh. I knew this would happen, so I set up a Black Ent’s branch.”
The invisibility faded. A black, old branch was blocking the blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers. The branch wriggled and wrapped around the blade. I unleashed sword energy. The branch absorbed the sword energy and grew.
‘If it absorbs sword energy….’
Crackling.
Red lightning surged. The branch tried to absorb the lightning as well, but it couldn’t fully absorb the heat. The branch caught fire and burned fiercely.
“Did you think I’d just stand by and watch?! Die!!”
So Tae-jin took something out of his pocket. It was a bat, smaller than the palm of his hand. The bat was tightly bound with a white string. So Tae-jin threw the bat, untying the white string. The bat charged at me, its red eyes glowing.
‘A Class E monster, the Red-Eyed Bat. This guy has a potent poison that even hunters can’t ignore.’
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]
I extended my index finger. Sword energy manifested around my finger. I swung my finger, which had become a small blade, at the bat. The bat’s body was split in two.
“?!”
There was something hard attached to the bat’s back. It looked like a small backpack, and it was a bomb. He had attached a small, invisible bomb backpack to the bat’s back.
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]
Just before the explosion, I wrapped my whole body in a protective aura.
Kwaaaaaang!
A huge explosion occurred. It was a small bomb, but the explosive power was strong enough to shake my protective aura.
So Tae-jin, who had been confident of victory, immediately paled when he saw that I was standing unharmed.
“You survived that head-on? Seriously, shit! Gil-seong! Do something about this guy! Hey, Gil-seong!!”
“Ah, mister! Chang-sik! Chang-sik!!”
The annoying kid was sobbing. I couldn’t resist my curiosity and turned around.
A horned monster, nearly 2 meters tall, was being held by Son Ga-yeon. Half of the monster’s body was cut off, and Son Ga-yeon was coldly stabbing her anti-demon sword into the monster’s head.
‘She subdued a Dueoksini in just a few seconds? They said she was from an exorcist clan, and her skills are the real deal.’
It was a shame that I hadn’t seen with my own eyes how she fought.
The aftermath of the explosion reached the branch as well. The Hwaryeon Flying Daggers fell to the ground. I caught the falling Hwaryeon Flying Daggers and swung them at So Tae-jin.
Swish!
His right arm fell off!
“My arm!! Damn it! Gil-seong! What are you doing! Use that!!”
“B-but Chang-sik isn’t here!”
“Shit! Is that the problem?! I’m going to die like this! Use it quickly!”
“O-okay. Mister!”
To shout so loudly in front of me. So Tae-jin was amazing in a different way.
‘This is getting annoying.’
Originally, I had planned to kill him more painfully. But thinking about it again, I didn’t think I needed to.
‘Die.’
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 3]
A momentary leap using Flash.
My blade pierced directly through So Tae-jin’s chest. I could clearly feel the sensation of piercing his heart.
I was about to savor the sight of So Tae-jin’s dying face, but I felt an enormous mana surge from behind. I pulled the blade out of So Tae-jin’s body and turned around.
The kid was holding a black stone, like a magic stone. Mana was emanating from the stone.
‘This is….’
Cold sweat broke out. I had experienced this phenomenon a few times in college under the guise of practice.
‘A dungeon collapse phenomenon…. No, it’s different. This is a dungeon creation phenomenon. Mana is converging on one point.’
Was he artificially creating a dungeon?
I couldn’t understand what was going on. But one thing was certain: it was dangerous.
“Yujin! That stone! Get rid of the stone that kid is holding!”
Son Ga-yeon shouted. It wasn’t just me who felt the danger.
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 2]
I gritted my teeth and ran.
I couldn’t get close. The mana surge formed a wall, blocking me. I swung the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers at the mana surge. I cut through the mana and advanced forward.
It was too late.
The mana surge affected the kid. The kid’s eyes exploded. Then his head exploded, and then his torso exploded. And then the mana surge rapidly contracted into a small stone. The mana surge disappeared as if it were a lie.
Son Ga-yeon and I looked at each other in silence.
It felt like we were suddenly in a vacuum. It was unsettling. It was the calm before the storm.
“Noona. Let’s get out of here first.”
Let’s get out of here first. That’s what I was about to say, but I couldn’t finish the sentence. The compressed mana surge was released, swallowing me and her whole.
It felt like I was inside a whirlpool. My vision spun. In the midst of the chaos, I gritted my teeth and activated my mana. I used mana to protect my body.
When I came to my senses, she and I were in a completely different place.
‘…Could it be that we entered a dungeon?’
I suppressed my nausea and calmly looked around.
It was a forest. Son Ga-yeon was lying face down under a tree, unconscious. Blood was flowing from her mouth and nose. I rushed to her and checked her pulse. Her pulse was normal. She seemed to have internal injuries, but they weren’t severe.
I picked up Son Ga-yeon in a princess carry. And then I looked around again. I needed to move to the safest place possible.
‘A black tree?’
In the center of the forest, there was a huge black tree that stretched up to the sky.
“……”
Immediately after, something pure white flew towards me from the huge black tree.
Its form was similar to a human. However, it had no nipples, navel, genitals, or anus. It had no mouth, nose, or ears either. Unlike its white body, its two eyes were jet-black obsidian.
I had met a similar being before.
“…Pylon.”
-Human. I don’t know how you got here, but this is my territory, which I officially obtained through negotiations with the Chinese government.
