Chapter 176 – 27. White Night (14)
The next morning, we set up our makeshift shelter.
Since there were not many items originally prepared, the work takes less than an hour.
The chilly morning air.
In the hazy sunlight, they spend their time quietly, facing the sunrise that never rises.
With the final match coming up, we could barely breathe.
So after everything is ready.
The moment when crew members carrying backpacks approached me and saluted me.
“I’m leaving.”
I finally realized that this would be the final chapter of the journey.
Live or die, it will end here.
It doesn’t matter what Pirahyun wants. It’s none of my business to figure out how to make this world out of this nonsense.
Right here, right here.
Kill Cormpuntur and get the hostages back.
Then my journey ends.
The war that I, a mere petit bourgeois had to participate in to save them, would finally come to an end.
Ryu Xin will take care of the catastrophe that follows.
I just wanted to live a quiet life like I always did when this was over.
No, it has to be.
With my will and the will of the members, I will definitely make it that way.
“Let’s go.”
November 23rd.
The final operation ‘Omega Zero’ begins.
Target. Pantagruel completely dismantled.
* * *
The elite of Pantagruel are unknown opponents that they have never encountered before, except for Cormpunture.
Bonamana will be wrapped in artificial essence and various rare artifacts. Otherwise, he chose to directly strengthen his body like the flesh monster last time.
Either way is equally dangerous.
That’s why I told the crew to be careful because any kind of surprise could happen, but…
It’s already been 20 minutes since I entered the inside of Omega Zero, but there was no trace of the enemy at all.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with infrared detection!”
“This side doesn’t take anything either.”
What the heck is this?
My heart aches at the completely unknown intention.
Are you thinking of driving us into the middle and attacking us in one fell swoop?
No, it is an operation that is not feasible at all.
If necessary, Alice’s spatial movement could reverse the position right before the battle, and our unit’s strength was not so weak that it would collapse just by attacking at once.
Then what is it…?
You have to think. Just have to remember
The safety of the crew depends on my judgment.
“Maybe they moved their residence altogether?”
“Check your Magi numbers.”
“…Still held high.”
The number of demons varies depending on the density of demons.
In the end, since demonic energy is nothing more than contaminated magical energy, the demonic energy that remains in the place where the demons disappeared is quickly purified and returned to magical energy.
In other words, the fact that the demonic energy is still high means that at least they did not abandon this place and run away.
In other words, there is a high possibility that somewhere here is watching us right now, or hiding inside and watching our movements.
“Once you come out, search every building to ensure safety.”
“Yes.”
It may take a while, but this method is the most reliable.
The structure of Omega Zero is a radial shape with several low-rise buildings attached to each other, and the deeper you go into the interior, the more buildings appear, so there was no great danger in exploring.
[Jihoo. Do you think everything around you is real?]
Pirahyun’s voice still echoes in my ears.
A factor that gnaws at the nerves and reduces concentration.
Even if you don’t want to pay attention, you can’t just ignore the voices that keep coming, and you’re getting more and more tired.
They promised not to touch it in battle, so I wonder if they are going to continue to carry out mental attacks like this instead.
While listening to the repetition of meaningless words with a frown on his face, the crew, who seems to have discovered something, calls me with a short exclamation.
“Here’s something!”
Upon closer examination, it was something resembling a crack in a torn rubber structure.
However, unlike harmless rubber structures, it emitted an uneasy energy from the gap.
Its appearance can be called a gap in the space.
As soon as I saw the space, which seemed unusual at first glance, I first instructed all members not to touch or touch.
It’s just my opinion, but this is probably the ‘remnant’ of the power of Pirahyun.
Considering her ability to absorb and release…
That gap probably works similar to a black hole.
As a test, I tore off a small piece of the wall material inside the building and threw it into the crack.
– Wow!
As expected, the gap greedily sucked up the wall material.
And the gap that ate the wallpaper widens a little.
What does this mean?
A simple trap? Or, a real passage disguised as a trap?
Why did he leave such a mark here?
If it doesn’t simply have the ability to suck in something, if it also has the ability to spit out something that lives up to its name of absorption and ejection.
[That’s the correct answer.]
“What the fuck…”
– Beep! Beep! Beep!
Suddenly, the surrounding Magi levels start to explode.
Along with that, the gap in the space expands to the extent that it is conspicuous.
The crack, which procrastinated and widened as if it was eating away at the surrounding space itself, soon became large enough for one huge person to pass through.
“All ready for battle!”
Before long, the purple hole is wriggling and trying to spit something out.
I urgently ordered my troops to prepare for battle.
Within a few seconds, the crew quickly lined up in a row, and eventually began to stare only at the inside of the hole.
Slowly but surely, something comes through the gap.
Two huge horns.
A grotesque head and contrasting eyes with a strong impression.
I could tell just by looking at it.
That I had met this person before.
Also, he had already been defeated once.
NIS raid incident.
Those painful memories run through my mind.
A terribly bitter wound of defeat.
The feeling of wandering close to futility.
Memories of that day came back in time, here and now.
“…Alert! Level 3 danger!”
“The gun doesn’t work at all!”
“Until it’s completely over, you’ll probably be immune because of the gap! Don’t consume ammo and just be vigilant!”
In turn, one leg, torso, face, then the other leg.
It resembled that of a horse, but thicker and more muscular, and the remaining legs finally crossed the crack and came over here.
Finally.
I could witness
The great devil of collapse.
…Cormpuntur, stronger than ever.
“It’s been a while. Jihoo Lee.”
The sound of scratching an iron plate resonates everywhere.
If the previous voices gave only unpleasant sensations, the current voices go beyond that and shake the surrounding space.
Ringing an alarm in my head
As if warning them, “This is really dangerous,” Their heart beats thumping and beating at high speed.
“Then let’s begin.”
The Archdemon of Collapse stretched his arms high.
In less than three seconds, dozens of purple spheres were created at the same time, and they flew towards all the members at high speed.
It was an attack with the power of collapse based on its color and shape.
“Don’t intercept, dodge!”
The power to instantly ‘collapse’ something upon being hit.
If, unluckily, the attack is directed toward the mind rather than the physical wound, there is nothing more troublesome than that.
‘Ellis, don’t come out this time and keep hiding. You are the most important If the crew is in danger, immediately teleport them to the coordinates connected to the outside, okay?’
– Yes yes…! I will work hard and do my best!
The final boss from the beginning.
Isn’t that really too much?
As if such a cliché of growth when a hero goes to catch a demon king doesn’t exist in reality, Kormpunkur himself came to deal with us.
What’s more, he’s also clearly different from before.
Even at a glance, you can feel how strong you are, and even the slightest mistake can immediately endanger not only injuries but even your life.
The goal is victory, but in a safe state.
As many victims have already been produced, no more deaths can be made.
Even if it means giving up the battle, I will fight as safely as possible.
When that happens, the three people caught…
I’ll have to go find it myself though.
“The opponent uses the power of collapse! There are a lot of gravity classes mixed together, so find a magic that can offset them!”
But, it always has been.
Both the sea dragon incident and the facility raid incident.
So I wasn’t afraid.
Wouldn’t that be a much better situation?
So many people are helping me by my side.
What else is there to be afraid of?
So that.
Fight against Cormpuntur with all your might.
With the determination to kill him here without fail.
“Everyone, go oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!”
The battle had just begun.
