The first to move was a kelpie with the body of a fish and a horse.
Known for drowning people and sometimes causing storms and water damage, the kelpie was a rare, but often seen, monster, for which information and tactics were widely known.
However, the kelpie summoned by Milited was far from what was known to the public.
It was a monster called a kelpie that only drowned and killed at most a few people.
However, the kelpie, who rushes in a storm towards Yoo Ji-hyuk and his party, has the power to destroy a city if he puts his mind to it.
“for a moment.”
Jin Ye-seul blocked Yoo Ji-hyeok, who was about to throw a spear towards the kelpie’s forehead.
“Jihyuk doesn’t even need to go out with you.”
She was wearing the armor handed to her by Yoo Ji-hyeok, and her black hair and all-black appearance were unique among the group.
“Ugh… !”
Jin Ye-seul’s body, which bravely stopped the rushing kelpie, wrapped in a storm with rough tullezil, was pushed back a little. Even though she lightly blocked the head-butt, which was powerful enough to shatter even a high-rise building, Jin Ye-seul clicked her tongue slightly as if she didn’t like it.
“Purple?!”
“Oh, little. It smells like your mouth.”
Sharp claws protruded from the gauntlet part of the armor and held the kelpie’s neck firmly.
It was like looking at the claws of a dragon. Jin Ye-seul, who grabbed the kelpie’s neck with the dragon’s claws, lifted the kelpie as it was, and slammed it down to the floor roughly.
He struggled violently, and every time it did, there was a storm and even sparks, but she didn’t care.
“hurt?”
With those words, Jin Ye-seul nodded and grabbed the kelpie’s neck more and more tightly.
Meanwhile, Lee Yu-na suddenly ran towards her.
Then, with his back to Jin Ye-seul, he held out the hand holding the handle in front of him.
In her hand, a polygonal shield made of magical power was realized in an instant.
It was incomparably faster, more sophisticated, and sharper than what she had done in the past.
Countless ice picks followed, like a blizzard, hitting the place where Jin Ye-seul and Lee Yu-na had been, but they were only shattered helplessly every time they collided with the magical shield that Lee Yu-na had embodied.
In the meantime, a cold enough to freeze his breath in an instant, attacked Lee Yu-na and Jin Ye-seul.
However, it had no effect on Jin Ye-seul, who was wearing armor. Also, like Yoo Ji-hyeok, it was only cold enough for Yu-na Lee, who gained resistance to attributes in Professor Abel Grossman’s class, even cold resistance, and did not neglect her training.
“… … ~!”
The troll holding the staff uttered a spell and then shot a strange light at the two of them.
However, as if he had already noticed, Choi Hyun-woo drew his sword and swung his sword in the light of it.
“Where.”
His sword possessed the power to cut off the source of all witchcraft and spells.
As if to prove that it was not a lie, the magic that the troll fired was cut off by Choi Hyun-woo’s sword attack and shattered in the air like a shard of glass.
“Seonjo… Your descendant and child, who, at least in vain, freed you from suffering, beseech you.”
Yeeun Lee looked up at the giant hydra and muttered quietly.
The branches of the world tree rooted in her arms twitched as she quietly uttered her prayers, and in response, the headdress holding her green hair gleamed.
“Please stop bouncing and give me a bit of power.”
With a pinch, she put the arrow on the string and pulled it with all her might.
Against this, the Hydra took in a poignant breath, as if trying to exhale a breath full of poison from their nine heads, all golden.
“Every day, I will be quiet!”
She shouted nervously and fired an arrow made of the branches of the World Tree at the particularly huge head in the center of the Hydra.
The Hydra exhaled as hard as she could toward the flying arrow as if it were plastic.
He had no doubts, believing that it would not only melt Ye-eun Lee, who had sent an arrow, with a handful of blood, but also make all the people around her without a trace.
However, the tiny arrows she shot flew away, literally tearing the breath from the nine heads.
In a moment of panic, the guy twisted his body, but the arrow, which had already left the demonstration, turned on its own as if he had a will and was stuck in the Hydra’s neck.
“Bread.”
As if that was enough, Yeeun Lee put down her bow and muttered playfully.
Afterwards, the arrows locked in the Hydra’s body grew rapidly and began to grow into a single giant tree. The Hydra panicked and moved her nine heads to try to escape, but she could not escape as if it had been firmly rooted in the earth.
Seeing the Hydra gradually depriving herself of everything and becoming a tree, Yeeun Lee shrugged her shoulders and murmured as if embarrassed.
“… Really?”
No, it must be because of this Jihyuk gave me.
She tapped the hair ornament with her finger, and again fired an arrow at the protest.
Then he started shooting at the clones of Gracius and Natalia Milited, who were spraying annoying magic in this direction. Perhaps because of the sight they had just seen, the guys were extremely reluctant.
“Craah!!!”
During the melee, a werewolf with a particularly huge body suddenly roared loudly and ran towards the center of the group.
Its target was the nape of a man who stood in the middle and did nothing like the chief among them, among those who were stronger than expected. The guy, who ran at full speed in an instant, raised his arms wide to snatch the man’s neck as it was.
“aah!!!”
At that moment, the terrifying pain that seemed to be scorched with a poker over a layer of skin made a scream filled with pain and crashed to the ground.
It was because of a line of high-temperature magic that was as thin as a laser that came out of Han Soo-young’s hand.
“Your puppy is spoiled.”
Han Soo-young muttered like that and snapped her fingers.
As if reacting to her, the lens and buckler that had been hovering around her moved around and surrounded the Werewolf.
“No muzzle, no leash. Besides, do you dare to bite someone?”
Then, from her hand, that magical line of courtesy shot out.
The werewolf growled and turned to dodge it easily.
However, since that wasn’t his purpose from the beginning, Han Soo-young didn’t even show a look of disappointment.
“I’ll fix your burjang hair instead of your master.”
The line of magic was shot straight at the lens.
Eventually, the lines of magic that bounced off as if reflected on the lens were larger and more cohesive than when they were first shot from Han Soo-young’s hand. There was a buckler in the trajectory of the deflected line of magical energy, and it was precisely facing the werewolf, revealing a mirror-like surface.
By the time the Werewolf noticed that, it was already too late.
Before long, the lines of magic that had caused the werewolf to suffer extreme pain in the first place were split and poured down innumerably like showers.
“Ahhh!!! aah!!!”
It was not a number that could be avoided or prevented from the beginning.
The werewolf, who was trying to shake it off somehow, suddenly collapsed on the spot and only vomited a painful scream. At some point, even the screams stopped, but the magical shower didn’t stop until literally the guy’s corpse was burned and there was no ashes left.
“Now these guys are the problem.”
Hyeonu Choi, who cut off the troll shaman’s neck and kicked the body that had lost its owner, muttered like that. His gaze was on Gracius and Natalia Milited, who were flying through the air and chanting annoying spells.
That was then.
“９… !?”
Gracius, who was hit by something that was shot at the moment, flew straight to the wall and locked himself up.
It couldn’t even utter a single scream, its head shattered, and it fell powerlessly to the ground.
Belluna was there.
“Milited… .”
Suddenly, she forced herself out of Yoo Ji-hyuk’s shadow and muttered quietly.
She had just grabbed Gracius’s head and smashed it against the wall, but her shoulders were trembling quietly as if it wasn’t enough.
“Take him away… The child in front of my eyes, me and that person’s child… Dare my son… .”
From one of Belluna’s eyes, wrinkled, dark red blood flowed down.
“I will kill you!!! You and all your children!”
– Foolish thing.
The air reverberated as it hummed, and the voice of a man who seemed to be sneering resounded.
― You seem to have forgotten that you were also called one of my children. In the first place, for us who live eternal life, such blood can be seen at any time and is only a dream. Even if you are attached to a pet, it looks like it is firmly attached.
Milited rarely opened his mouth to provoke Belluna, but she couldn’t elicit any further reaction from her, whose eyes had already turned over with anger. She just turned her head and ran towards Natalia Milited, who was floating in the air, as if looking for her next prey.
With a single gesture of her hand, half of Natalia Milited’s body flew away.
It was then when she reached out her hand to burst her face as if it were abominable.
“What?!”
A magical arrow suddenly appeared from nowhere and passed her eyes, smashing Natalia Milited’s head. It was as if he was showing off to her.
Belluna, who would have burst out in anger, saying it was a terrible insult, only blinked her eyes.
“… baby?”
That arrow from before was made up of Ivan Hunt’s magic power.
She did not know, but Yoo Ji-hyeok gave Ivan Hunt the power to shoot arrows at the target, ignoring any obstacles.
In the shadow of Yoo Ji-hyuk, Ivan Hunt barely came to his senses.
And even though he was dying, he noticed that his mother was on the verge of losing her mind.
The fact that he instinctively fired arrows of magic to make her regain her mind.
Nothing she knew.
All she knew was that Ivan Hunt was unharmed.
That was enough for her.
“Ivan… !”
Like Belluna, Choi Hyun-woo, who felt the magic of Ivan, smiled brightly as if he was lucky.
It was because he was worried about him, even if he did not express it, as he had gone through many hardships together.
“yes?”
“… … .”
Meanwhile, Choi Hyun-woo slowly turned his head to the gaze of someone who was looking at him.
A contemptuous yet warlike smile appeared on the face of Choi Hyun-woo, who had confirmed the opponent, as he was usually serious and respectful of others.
“Randsch.”
As if responding to him, Randsch’s appearance increased to several.
Choi Hyun-woo rushed into the middle of them without hesitation.
The Randsch then giggled and gave off an eerie smile.
It was a smile that meant that he could find his own body.
“… huh!”
And without hesitation, Choi Hyun-woo cut off his body.
“… … !”
Randsch opened his eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe it until after it was split in two.
But it was already too late.
Since the dark sword had precisely cut through the core of the clone, all he could do now was wait for it to disappear.
“… How about blaming your own stupidity?”
Ironically, those words spoken softly were uttered to himself, not to Randsch.
He had long since cast away all the delusions in his heart.
It was only through conversation with Nam Hyun-hwa that I realized it.
Competitive spirit toward someone, longing, envy.
Envy, jealousy, self-esteem and disappointment.
You don’t have to throw it all away.
He only realized one fact, but it was something he had never expected that he would feel so at ease.
And only then did he finally understand the other self he had met in Margo’s dungeon in the past, who had chosen to entrust his soul to the magic sword.
Yeah, what the hell was he so obsessed with?
Hyunwoo Choi muttered with a small smile.
long and long
Let me cherish my own stupidity.
“… I can see you now.”
The place where I first felt in trance during the battle with Minerva, where I could only set foot for a moment. The scene at that time was now fully unfolding before my eyes.
It was only then that he could happily accept that he had gone one step further.
He swung his sword without hesitation.
Then, a sword that was bigger, sharper, and more pure than that of his teacher, Nam Hyeon-hwa, was fired.
* * *
When everyone in the party was successfully defeating the opponent, only Yuna Lee was struggling with the opponent.
That was probably because the opponent was a high-ranking elemental of ice that was the same level as that Belluna Hunt.
It must have been difficult not only for her, but for anyone who was dealing with it. But even knowing this, Yuuna could not hide her impatience.
“Ugh… !”
And caught in that impatience, he even made the mistake of freezing his wrists.
Lee Yu-na bit her lip and swung her hand once more to attack the Spirit of Ice, but the spirit, which could be called nature itself, lightly let out her attack.
no.
She mumbled unknowingly.
Even in this situation and up to this point, the fear that she would not be able to stand side by side with the other children, let alone Yoo Ji-hyuk, suddenly landed on her shoulder.
Power entered the hand holding the ‘Hilt of Origins’.
I can’t lose, I have to win, I don’t want to be abandoned.
I must show the value of my existence, the proof that I am useful.
It was like a shackle to Yuuna.
The reason she was abandoned by her parents was even more so because she had been living in the grip of a crooked self-hatred that she was useless.
She’s been hoping someone needs her.
And that vague someone became a concrete object at some point.
I don’t want to be rude in front of ‘someone’, in front of anyone other than anyone else.
With that thought alone, Yuuna clenched her teeth.
That was then.
“… uh?”
A voice came from somewhere.
After obtaining Hilt of Origin, many voices had been heard, but it was nothing more than a whisper. However, the voice I heard now had a will and strength that was significantly different from the whispers I had heard before.
“Uh, what?”
The voice was telling him to look at himself and come to his senses, and if he was his disciple, he would definitely be able to do it.
And there was only one person who could call her a disciple.
“… Professor Grossman?”
Yuna was startled by the sudden shouting.
How dare you mistake yourself for someone else, and above all else, it was a cry that seemed like a wounded one, that you were not your only teacher. At those words, Yuunaa whispered quietly.
“Hey, Laune? Is it Master Laune?”
… Only then did the shouting stop.
What the hell happened, as she moved her body non-stop, she felt that her mind was complicated. Then he heard a small sigh in his voice.
Because you have always been polite and courteous to yourself, this is the only way to help.
So, relax and trust him who believes in you.
Just as he believed in himself and helped him, he will help you this time as well.
Laune told me to believe.
“… … .”
Laune continued to talk to her.
I will let you go through a world that we, the spirits see, hear and feel.
I will lend you my eyes, my ears, and my tongue.
… So, please be that person’s strength.
There was no time to ask what that meant.
“ah.”
The door opened.
It was as if a huge, warm light, wind and clouds were enveloping her.
Then, in her eyes, a sight she had never seen before appeared.
She just blankly moved her hand as if being drawn to something. With that simple blow, the Ice Spirit, who was so powerful, was literally shattered.
“ah… … .”
Lee Yu-na was blankly standing in the wreckage of the spirit that was shattered and scattered like snow.
In it, she was able to catch something else in her eyes.
It was something with an obvious malice.
It was only now that I could understand what I had read before in a book about sensible people.
So, without hesitation, she fired another blow towards it.
At that time, a notification window appeared in front of Yoo Ji-hyuk.
For Jin Ye-seul and Choi Hyeon-woo, it was a notification window that said someone who achieved the third awakening appeared.
* * *
It was close to inevitability to be called a coincidence.
Choi Hyun-woo’s sword.
Yuuna’s Strike.
At the end of the two headings, there was Milited’s core.
– ah… Ahh… !!!
Milited, who was beaten in the heart in an unexpected situation, unknowingly let out a scream mixed with screams.
Then, as he watched his true nature appear, Yoo Ji-hyuk smiled a little.
Now the time had come for him to move.