‘…Where the hell did he go?! Seriously, how did he get there so quickly?!’
The place where the missing Escalon appeared was behind the ‘Castle,’ a good distance away where we had been waiting.
‘Seriously, can you just die already? Can’t you sense the mood?’
At this point, it’s time for him to just drop dead, but that damn guy still had a ridiculous escape ability.
“?!”
“Damn…!”
Upon closer inspection, the roots I had hidden underground were crawling around him. But not long after he finished moving, all the roots turned to ash and disappeared.
‘Teleporting to where there are roots… That’s broken, too.’
Escalon showed an incredible skill that looked to be one-time use.
As Escalon, whom I thought was solely physical enhancement, kept showcasing astounding abilities, we were left feeling frustrated.
“Are you serious?!”
“Lee Yeon-hee!! Get out of the way!!”
Ma Gwang-jin and Yoo Min-jeong were in shock at the unexpected power.
Shouting desperately to Yeon-hee, I suddenly found myself sucked into a summoning portal and transported to the dark space.
‘Quickly-!’
Then I was summoned back to face Escalon, who was smashing the Castle with a gigantic fist.
That process couldn’t have taken two seconds.
“Il-wol!!!”
Yeon-hee’s urgent voice sparked to life my combat power.
During that brief moment, the Castle’s defense crumbled significantly, threatening the Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon inside.
Yeon-hee could escape with the earring artifact, but not Noh Ha-yoon.
[Lightning Step]
I burst through all limits and charged at him, ready to self-destruct.
But Escalon, who had been diligently hammering the Castle, suddenly flinched upon seeing me, jumped back, and left the spot.
‘…Again?! Is he really wary of me?’
Both now and earlier, it was clear he sensed I was about to do something dangerous.
Keeping a distance of several meters, he threw confused looks my way.
“Ughhhh…”
He looked as if he didn’t understand why he kept avoiding me.
Swish—
Escalon glanced around briefly, then fixed his gaze on the trapped hunters.
‘No…!’
His new form vanished again, and I chased after him closely.
He had the speed advantage, but after bursting a few walls of flames along his path, I managed to control his movement.
“You weird bastard! Don’t get in my way!!”
“Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
Escalon shouted in frustration, unable to get any closer while he was pestered from a distance by me.
“Damn…! This isn’t getting cut!!”
Meanwhile, Ma Gwang-jin arrived at the wooden branch restraining Hyeon Il-hwan and Kang Yeon-su, starting to hack at it.
But no matter how solid it was, even Ma Gwang-jin struggled to cut through the branch.
“Get your filthy hands off! Disgusting human!”
Escalon’s rage exploded when I touched his precious prey.
“The world knows who the real disgusting one is, you son of a bitch!!”
Ma Gwang-jin fired back without holding back.
With fury in his eyes, crazed Escalon lunged at Ma Gwang-jin again.
[Crackling…]
At that moment, a dark breath fell from above onto his body.
BOOOOOOM──
“Huh?! Ugh!”
For the first time, Escalon took a full hit from an attack.
The endlessly crashing dark storm soon passed, leaving his body charred black like burnt meat.
“Ugh!!”
But as he shook himself, the aura of the Sword Dragon quickly dispersed.
Though it didn’t cause great damage, he got pushed back a few meters and now hovered in the sky, glaring at the Sword Dragon preparing for its next attack.
‘That’s strange. Why isn’t he dodging? He’s the one who senses even self-destructs before they activate, right?’
Did he get distracted by us and not notice the Sword Dragon’s breath falling from the sky?
‘That can’t be… He’s the kind of being with an innate talent for combat, hitting every summoned creature accurately.’
Thinking back, even the trap I originally set in the sky was unnecessary when considering his keen senses and the hundreds of roots.
‘Wait, could it be…’
Such doubts were pushed aside as I noticed a transparent smoke seeping from Escalon’s body.
“Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap!!!”
As I leapt toward him, he expelled strange smoke, maintaining a safe distance from me again.
‘There’s something strange filling the area. Is that smoke… Paralytic poison?’
He possessed every kind of skill.
‘It’s bizarre how many skills he seems to have.’
Could it be that he has a trait like [Thievery], stealing the powers of others?
As I kept my guard up against Escalon, I suddenly turned and rushed toward Kang Yeon-su.
“Grrr?!”
Noticing my movement, he quickly wanted to follow me, but I turned back to keep him in check.
“Ugh…”
Escalon, looking as if he might charge at me, bounced on his feet but seemed not entirely certain if he could take me down instantly.
‘Come on, hurry up.’
While I bought time, Ma Gwang-jin focused intensely, shouting and swinging his dagger.
Swoosh──
“Got it!!”
“Quickly, Quickly!!”
Finally, Ma Gwang-jin cut through the branch.
And Yoo Min-jeong hurriedly gathered the hunters.
“Ughhhh—”
“Ugh— cough, cough—”
The hunters freed from their bindings were in terrible shape.
I didn’t expect them to recover their former skills right away, but being unable to stand would be quite a problem.
At that moment, I felt something creeping up from underground.
[Root Chain]
I activated my ability to intercept the roots of Escalon that were writhing and aiming for Ma Gwang-jin.
Boom! Boom!
Sounds of explosions echoed from underground several times.
While Escalon and I stood still above ground, we were fiercely battling for territory underground.
‘This guy is too much trouble. Damn.’
Of course, I’d be hard-pressed to overcome his numerous roots.
I had to be content just buying time and thwarting his intentions to attack the hunters.
“Aaaah!! What in the world is this!!”
Escalon, frustrated because of me, slammed his fist into the ground.
I thought he’d push himself to take me down, but at this rate, I was starting to worry if he would run away instead.
“Ughhh— I’ll kill you.”
With his rage causing green blood to burst from his eyes, Escalon’s appearance made it clear he wouldn’t flee.
Just as I thought things were going better than expected, a variable occurred.
‘Oh no… Another Escalon?!’
– The Fifteenth Escalon’s squad is entering the battlefield!
– The Twentieth Escalon’s squad is entering the battlefield!
Of course, it was a possible situation.
I had been overhearing the messages sent to Ma Gwang-jin from Team 1, which included information about multiple scattered Escalon heading toward Korea.
But thinking those ordered to attack Korea would ignore their orders and return here seemed unlikely… this was a disaster.
“Hahaha!! Come, let’s crush these bugs!!”
The First Escalon, elated by the arrival of his kin, unleashed Light Madness while looking at me.
I wanted to smile back nonchalantly, but it was undeniable that the situation was at its worst.
Especially worrying was the status of the ‘Castle,’ which had already taken damage and now had exposed shoulders and chest.
At this rate, it was clear the Castle would soon be surrounded by hundreds of Creeper Guards.
While my standoff with Escalon continued, hunters began to gather towards the Castle.
The First Escalon didn’t push and waited for his companions.
“If I had known it would be my last day, I would’ve worn a better suit.”
As a message popped up, other hunters recognized the arrival of the other Escalon squads.
No matter how I looked at it, I could see no chance of survival.
Escalon’s physical capabilities far exceeded mine.
It wouldn’t be hard for him to follow me, and there would be limits to escaping with Yeon-hee, Ha-yoon, and Yeon-su in tow.
The even worse thing was that he was fixated on me, showing intent to pursue me to the ends of hell.
“Aaaaah… No.”
Everyone, including Yeon-hee, began to feel despair.
Holding out at the Castle would only be feasible if the First Escalon was absent, but he was as strong as ever.
Kughuhuhuh──
I was gradually pushed toward the Castle, and in ten seconds, we would be surrounded by them and end up fighting for our lives.
‘No matter what, I have to find a way to escape with the kids—’
Was there really no other option?
“They’re coming!!”
“Everyone, get ready!!”
When I was preparing my mind to at least make a stand, the First Escalon pierced his hand to let blood flow and started emitting violet smoke that began to gather in the sky.
It became a cloud, and I vividly imagined something lethal falling from above.
‘Rain of self-destruction… Are you insane?’
While everyone was clutching their heads, rejecting despair, Noh Ha-yoon suddenly jumped high above the Castle.
“Ha-yoon? What are you doing!!”
“Noh Ha-yoon? Get down! For now, hold on inside and wait for a chance—”
‘Huh… Why do her eyes look like that?’
Noh Ha-yoon’s eyes were unusual.
Waves of blue energy ebbed and flowed, her pupils changing shape repeatedly.
‘Is that really Noh Ha-yoon…?’
Coldness unseen or felt before seeped from her body, and the necklace, bracelet, and ring she wore all began to resonate with her power.
[Aaaah──]
Soon her hair turned white, and she floated in the air.
‘What the…?!’
In that moment, I followed the line of sight of the transformed Noh Ha-yoon.
There, a Sword Dragon was watching Escalon, flapping its wings.
The only creature free to move in this desperate situation.
And the one who dealt a critical blow to Escalon as well.
Even transformed, Noh Ha-yoon must have retained that memory.
Chills shot down my spine as I felt a sense of déjà vu from my foresight.
Then, I leapt into the air, activating [Lightning Step].
I triggered [Blink] toward the First Escalon while he was distracted by the unsettling energy radiating from Noh Ha-yoon.
Targeting his head.
‘Please— It has to be timed right.’
It was a single chance.
In that moment, my eyes met with Noh Ha-yoon, and I saw the breath released by the Sword Dragon blend with her chill.
Then, ice crystals sprang forth endlessly from the surface of the Sword Dragon’s dark breath.
The desperate screams of the Ice God ‘Perunox.’
A breath that seemed to scream for its own death.
The pitch-black breath, as if testing Escalon’s will, surged forth before suddenly silencing entirely.
“Urrrgh?!”
Escalon felt the massive force flying toward him.
Squirm—
As expected, he showed a quick reaction.
There was no doubt he would find a way to dodge that breath one way or another.
‘If I miss this chance, it’s truly over.’
In this life-or-death moment, the surviving Escalon could endlessly grow and become the scourge of this world before the Orc Legion Commander arrives.
Just then.
[Binding of the Verdant]
Natural energies filled with power and purity bloomed from his body, trying to activate his ability.
“Huff— huff—”
Yoo Min-jeong…!
Crackling sounds followed by breaking echoed—
“Aaaaargh?! That bug-like girl!! Cugh!”
In an instant, Escalon found himself restrained.
And as the Sword Dragon’s breath engulfed the firmly restrained Escalon, it inflicted [Freeze] and [Confusion].
Due to the unique trait of Escalon being resilient to status effects, he should never have been afflicted.
Yet, the ice curse of Noh Ha-yoon, transformed into something else, rendered all of that null.
Kaboom──
As I watched Escalon’s incessantly rambling mouth freeze cold, I quickly activated my skill.
[Blast of Madness]
Kiiiiiiiiiinnng─────
– A single ‘life’ cannot resolve the current situation.
‘As expected.’
– Would you like to add a life?
– Currently, fifteen lives can be added. How many lives would you like to—
‘Nice, five more have been added! Great, all fifteen-!’
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