Isn’t it (4)
“No, those slow butts don’t really affect me.”
A frivolous male voice echoed through my head. It was an odd voice, but the power it possessed was real.
They had cornered me. With my back against the wall, I only saw one possible route of escape. Like in the movies, I ran straight through the wall.
“That must be embarrassing for them. These elite soldiers can’t even catch a small-time thief like me.
“Now that I think about it, I am quite quick…haha.”
I ran at a tremendous speed, as if shot out by a gun. The mana made my body light as a feather. I had to move quickly before the monsters could catch up to me and hit me with their fireballs.
“Hey!”
The old woman’s shout rang in my ears. I didn’t stop. I put on quite a show. I did pirouettes, summersaults; everything I could to avoid their projectiles without losing too much speed. I had thought he was bluffing, but it turns out his stories had been real. A smile appeared on my lips. This had been the ability of a guy I had met in the Awakened Prison. When they arrested him, they had broken his leg. As a result, he could no longer use it like he used to, so he lived as an honest man after being released…Before all that, he was a famous thief.
“If I hadn’t hurt my leg, I would have continued living as a thief.”
Every time I hit the ground, my speed increased more and more. Whether it was on foot or in a vehicle, nothing would be able to catch up to me. He had told me he was faster than any cars, even if running naked on the highway.
My reinforced leg and back muscles would be able to withstand any stress. My entire body was now optimized to run as quickly as possible. No matter how great Lee Song-yeon was, no wizard could keep up with me right now.
BOOM!
“…”
Something exploded right next to me. When I turned my head, I saw a giant hole in the ground, as if a bomb had impacted there. Seeing the hole made me swallow. Even for someone with fire immunity, this was scary.
[Let’s continue running, please. I don’t want to die yet.]
I picked up speed again.
Far behind me, I could hear the angry voice of Lee Seong-yeon.
…Sorry, old lady.
* * *
“Why did the crack have to appear in such a remote place…Just getting here was a nightmare,” the man complained. Others around him laughed at his comment. The soldiers were mostly wearing big armors and wide robes. While their outfits were different, everyone had a red emblem on their chest.
Team 1 clear.
Team 2 clear.
Team 3 clear.
“What do you mean, clear? The Godmother did most of the work. Don’t pretend you guys did anything.”
Once again, the men burst out laughing. It was a pleasant atmosphere. He was too relaxed for someone storming a rift.
“It’s been a while, but I feel very relaxed.”
It was the confidence that came with ability and experience. They had been active since the first generation, and remained on top of their game. All of them were famous hunters. In addition to the three guilds, some competent soldiers had received scout proposals from various guilds.
“It looks like the Godmother is throwing quite a party in there. Look at how scared those beasts are! We can’t let her have all the fun, come on guys!”
“Hell yeah!”
All the competent hunters had gathered in a group. They were following Lee Seong-Yeon, who they called the Godmother. Their metal armors made more sound than usual armor would. The clattering was quite loud and intended to scare the monsters to make them hesitant to attack.
“If it’s hot, it’s hot. When you run out of mana, you’ll burn instantly. Hahaha!”
Fuwook!
The hot sword sliced right through the Lizardman’s neck and cracked the skulls of three Cerberus approaching from behind. He was more skilled than normal veteran hunters, the ones who saw him fight, admired him.
“Oh come one, you’re getting blood all over me!”
“Haha, look at this madman! Who says that the monsters in the cracks don’t bleed like normal monsters!”
Calmly, they did their work. The sharp eyes of skilled hunters missed no monster that tried to slip through the cracks. They sliced through the monsters slowly and methodically. Where they walked, they left behind only the lifeless husks of their enemies.
* * *
“Wooah ah…”
Once I managed to catch my breath, I hit my trembling leg with my fist. Ten minutes might seem like a short time, but he was completely exhausted once the link was broken. A few fireballs painfully reminded me of the messages that the red marbles’ durability was diminishing rapidly.
‘Damn. I feel like…’
“You are so dead.”
Fortunately, Lee Seong-Yeon, whose power had once been estimated to be comparable to Cheol-hyeol, was gasping for breath. Her old body couldn’t handle the stress as easily anymore. Her power hadn’t decreased at all, but her stamina and precision have been gradually declining.
‘Still… I’m almost there.’
I just had to take her there, and it would be all over. Come on, hold on a little longer. I got up, stumbling away from the battlefield.
“Ke-e-e… Okay.”
Clap!
I kept moving, breaking the necks of lesser monsters to replenish life and mana. I was lucky I had the necklace. I felt my energy slowly returning.
[You are very good at avoiding her. I give you high marks.]
The traveler made some ridiculous sounds that didn’t match his appearance. I pushed onwards, ignoring his words.
And…
I had finally arrived at my destination.
“Who……!”
In an hour, I had run the distance it had taken my party hours to walk. Avoiding the monsters, I finally entered the secret place.
“Wooey…”
A monster standing guard, and a gatekeeper who had nothing to oppose me, died where they stood.
She surprised me more and more. She looked way too old for active duty. She looked like a kindly grandmother who stayed at home all day, taking care of her grandchildren. Sweat was flowing down my face. Even though I used mana, my breathing did not calm down, and the heat was getting so unbearable that I was half expecting my sweat to evaporate.
“… Flame Empress.”
It smelled disgusting in here. Slowly, I turned around. She was staring at me with red flames all over her body.
“I have been told that your husband had died a long time ago. Oh, it’s been so long who can blame you for forgetting him…You must be so lonely.”
“…Shut up.”
The only evidence she had from her husband’s murder were the wounds on his cold body.
He had probably died without realizing what was happening. The murderer knew exactly what they were doing. With a single stab, they had pierced a vital organ.
It had been a very skillfully-executed murder.
Lee Seong-yeon’s expression became visibly harsher. I suppressed my emotions as well I could and continued to try and hurt her feelings. It was very difficult for me to intentionally hurt someone because of my kind-hearted nature.
“You were so ignorant, that when your husband died, you just moved on, pretending to be a hero. You’re so boring.”
“… Shut up!”
“In the past, you might have been someone, but now…you can’t even hurt me. It seems to me that time has finally caught up with the Flame Empress.”
Kwaahang-!
She shot towards me at an incredible speed. As I tried to dodge it, I saw that it was a type of fire I hadn’t seen from her before. It was much faster and more powerful than usual.
[Durability of the ‘Red Orbs’ greatly reduced.]
[Please be careful.]
Even my mana-enhanced sight couldn’t follow her attacks. More fireballs like the last one hit me.
While their effect on me was comparable to a gentle massage, the Red Orbs started to fail.
[She is amazing…Oh, isn’t she beautiful? If my friends in the past could see you, they would praise you…]
I was a little surprised by her incredible power, but I laughed as if it didn’t bother me.
“…You are old.”
With these words, I turned around and ran. Fireballs chasing me, I threw myself into a small hole in the wall.
Ka-blam!
The whole wall collapsed. I managed not to get hit by the debris and escaped through another passage. I took the hood off and returned to my original appearance.
“You dog… …”
Seeing Lee Seong-Yeon’s bloody appearance spitting out all sorts of swear words…I kept watching her smash everything around her in a frenzy.
It was worth it.
“… ?”
However, Lee Seong-yeon found something lying on the floor.
A work that I had created by linking myself with artists.
“… What is this…?”
It was a big stone with a pattern resembling a black dragon engraved on it. Lee Seong-yeon stared at it for a long time.
“Godmother, here you are!”
Her support troops had arrived. It would be a hard fight against any one of them.
“What are you looking at? A stone?”
“…Take this and find out what group uses these symbols.”
Lee Seong-Yeon’s voice was very cool.
“In that group…you will find someone who moves very fast, a man with good feet. Don’t kill them. Bring them to me alive.”
“… A man with good feet?”
“That guy hit me, I want him brought in front of me.”
… Sorry.
“He dared…yes, okay. I will get right on it. Now please let us secure the area.”
Following her orders, Lee Seong-yeon walked away, head drooping, suddenly looking very tired. My plan had been successful.
Now they would experience the wrath of the first-generation hunters.
‘Prepare to die…’
The man with ‘good feet’, who I deliberately used when attacking Lee Seong-Yeon, was still a baby when he had smashed my ankle with a single kick.
* * *
Since their numbers were fewer than the soldiers that defended the first Wave, it had taken them a week, but they had successfully closed the Rift. On top of that, they had managed it without any losses. After returning to the academy, I spent my time preparing for my upcoming graduation.
[Don’t you want to make plans for the third Wave?]
“I have to save as much power as I can.”
It was time to take a break. The third Wave would be more difficult than the first and second combined. This time, whatever I did, the world would experience a disaster.
“Cadet Jeong Si-woo.”
I would have preferred to keep studying analysis, but Instructor Park Hyun-Seok was standing at my door.
“Yes?”
Only
I looked up from my book.
“Someone has come to see you.”
Park Hyun-Seok was looking at me with a serious expression.
“It’s always a really amazing connection….”
I could hear his voice whispering in my ear.
‘What did he mean by that?’
Scratching my head, I headed out of the classroom. When I saw him sitting in the faculty office, I understood.
“Nice to meet you.”
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