Thud.
“Ghk, ggrrk…….”
The moment Tae-hwan slammed down hard on the boss’s eye, the boss’s movements stopped. It froze as if it had malfunctioned, and the Espers blinked in confusion at the sight.
“Wh-what is that?”
“Judging by its reaction, this really does seem to be its weak point—but it doesn’t look like it’s cleared yet.”
As Tae-hwan said that, he looked up at the sky. When a boss was cleared, or when a week had passed since a Gate opened, corresponding changes usually occurred inside the Gate as well.
However, the sky was clear and silent, without a single cloud, and there was still about a day left before a full week had passed since the Gate opened.
“……For now, it’d be better if everyone backed off a bit. I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”
Hyeon-seo spoke with an anxious expression. Tae-hwan, too, seemed to sense something strange about the boss, which hadn’t moved at all to an eerie degree, and pulled back without hesitation.
“Something about this is definitely—.”
“Wait, just now—the boss’s eye!”
BOOM—!
Before the urgent shout could even finish, the boss’s remaining eye began to glow, and its mouth split wide open. At the same time, the boss lifted its thick, blunt legs and started swinging them wildly, attacking the Espers.
“Grrr! Grrrngh!”
“It’s completely gone berserk, hasn’t it?”
“Did we piss it off or something?”
The Espers narrowly dodged the boss’s attacks. They needed to attack if they wanted to escape this cursed Gate, yet all they could do was desperately avoid the boss’s frenzied, rampaging strikes.
“Isn’t this insane? At this rate, we’re all going to—.”
“KRAAAH!”
The roar was deafening. The boss opened its mouth as wide as it could and spewed a powerful torrent of fire toward the sky.
“Get out of the way!”
“Kang Rion! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Amid the chaos, Rion had managed to land a hit during the brief opening when the boss launched its attack. He waved his hand to signal that he was okay.
This is exactly when I need to stay calm. If I start thinking it’s impossible to break through, it’ll only feel more hopeless.
Forcing himself to remain composed, Rion fixed his gaze on the boss. The eight eyes it had possessed were now reduced by half, as Tae-hwan’s attack seemed to have affected even the surrounding area.
No matter where we attacked before, it stayed relaxed. But the moment we went for its eyes, it went completely wild. That means the eyes really are important. And on top of that… its movements have slowed, even if just a little.
Unfortunately, there was no time to savor that realization. Having been struck in a vital spot once, the monster bristled its fur layer upon layer, shielding its eyes completely.
If I can just land one more hit on those eyes, the tide might turn. Rion ground his teeth as the thought crossed his mind.
The Espers weren’t even given the luxury of thinking deeply. The boss, having completely lost its reason, was simply flailing its legs at random, yet even those wild, uncoordinated attacks were overwhelming to deal with.
“Damn it, no matter how much fire I throw at it, all I can barely manage is burning a few strands of fur.”
“Han Seo-ha, can’t you at least freeze its legs?”
“I am! But before I can freeze them completely, it just rips everything apart with brute force—ah!”
If we could just deal with those eyes somehow, something—anything—would break open. Rion continued thinking as he barely managed to fend off the boss’s attacks.
There has to be a way. There has to be…
“Grrrngh!”
The four eyes hidden beneath the fur glowed once more, and the boss opened its mouth again. As Rion braced himself for the incoming attack, he noticed something—and his eyes lit up.
Bang!
“Ugh…!”
“Rion!”
He’d been so focused on watching that he failed to dodge properly, leaving his arm drenched in blood—but it didn’t matter. Rion shouted down to his teammates below.
“It’s not the eyes! I mean, the eyes are a weak point, but there’s an even clearer one—under the eyes, beneath the skin!”
“What?”
“When the boss attacks, I saw something sparkling inside its mouth. I think that’s its core.”
“Inside its mouth? No, how are we supposed to destroy that? Its skin is ridiculously tough.”
“It only opens its mouth when it attacks. Haah… this is seriously—.”
Even after identifying a clearer weak point, it wasn’t something they could deal with immediately. This situation was no different from the saying about hanging a bell around a cat’s neck.
“At least with a cat, you can see its neck clearly….”
“Alright, I get it. We need an attack strong enough to pierce through.”
“No, it doesn’t have to go that far.”
“Then do you have some kind of plan?”
Hyeon-seo looked at Rion with eyes full of cautious hope. No matter the circumstances, the strongest Esper in this Gate was Rion.
If it’s anyone else, maybe not—but if it’s Rion, he can do it.
“So what’s the plan?”
“As expected of you, Rion sunbae. We’re really getting out of here now!”
Joo-chan shouted with raw sincerity. He looked like he wanted to escape this place immediately.
Of course, there wasn’t a single person here who didn’t feel the same way. Though they hadn’t said it out loud, the Espers’ eyes were already sparkling with anticipation as they looked at Rion.
“When it attacks—right at the moment it initiates the attack—that’s the opening.”
Rion spoke calmly, as if guiding someone along a path. For a split second, Hyeon-seo nearly nodded along with an Oh, I see. That’s easy. She barely snapped herself back to her senses before speaking.
“Th-that’s not exactly easy, though. We’re barely hanging on just defending against it while it’s rampaging like this.”
“I don’t know why, but when the boss attacks with its mouth, it only aims toward the sky. I’ve already confirmed its position, so if you help me just a little, I can attack without dragging anyone else into it.”
Rion’s voice remained steady and composed. More than usual—perhaps more than at any point since entering this Gate—it sounded calm.
“But… what if you get caught in that attack? Can you really do it by yourself?”
“You’ll all be helping me, so it’s not like I’ll be alone. We need to lure the boss into using the same attack as before, and Seo-ha needs to freeze its legs as much as possible so it doesn’t move away from the coordinates I have in mind—.”
“Kang Rion, that’s not what I’m asking. Are you really okay with this?”
“Grrrngh!”
At the same moment as Tae-hwan’s shout, the boss snarled and continued its assault. The frenzy from having its eyes attacked had died down slightly, but its movements were still dangerous.
“Han Seo-ha, freeze its legs as much as you can. Everyone else, while Seo-ha’s pinning it down, hold those legs so it can’t move.”
In the end, Rion avoided answering and instead issued instructions to his teammates with practiced ease. The Espers, wearing slightly uneasy expressions, followed his orders.
It’ll be fine… it’s not just anyone—it’s Rion sunbae.
Would Kang Rion act like this if he wasn’t confident?
I just want to get out of here. I’m seriously going to die….
Everyone harbored their own share of anxiety, but half from trust and faith in Rion, and half from their desperate desire to escape this wretched S-rank Gate, they chose to ignore it.
There was no better alternative anyway—no brilliant solution that didn’t involve following Rion’s plan.
“Alright. I’ll give it everything I’ve got. Let’s think of this as the final attempt.”
Seo-ha drew on every last bit of strength she had to activate her ability. Seo-jin, who had been slumped weakly in a corner from exhaustion, also squeezed out what little power he had left to apply his skill, slowing the boss down.
“……Yeah. He must have something in mind.”
Even Tae-hwan, who looked dissatisfied with the situation, seemed to accept that there was no other way and provoked the boss as Rion had instructed. It wasn’t long before the boss opened its mouth wide once again.
That’s it.
Spotting the glowing core inside the open mouth, Rion sharpened his power to its absolute limit.
Once it gets hit, it won’t expose an opening so easily again. I have to think of this as my first—and last—chance.
From where Rion stood, the boss’s core looked smaller than a single finger joint, but that wasn’t a real problem.
As long as I concentrate, I can move objects as small as specks of dust one by one. This much is fine.
The real issue was whether Rion’s attack could reach the core safely, without being swallowed up by the boss’s own attack. Inch by inch, Rion advanced toward the boss’s mouth, drawing out every ounce of his focus as he aimed inside.
Now!
The moment his attack left his hand, Rion instinctively knew this single strike would become the key to opening the door out of this loathsome S-rank Gate. His attack was sharp and precise—powerful enough to pierce through minor obstacles without difficulty.
“Grrrrrr!”
Rion’s intuition was dead on. Though the shattered core was hidden by the boss’s thrashing tongue as it writhed in pain, Rion knew his attack had struck its mark perfectly.
Facing its final moments, the boss twisted its entire body, smashing and destroying everything around it in a last, desperate frenzy. Once even that struggle ended, a true path out would finally open.
“Grr… grrrrk….”
How much time had passed? The boss’s movements gradually slowed, and with a thunderous crash, it collapsed onto the ground. It was still rasping for breath, but it no longer seemed to have the strength to move.
“Haah. Is it… really over now?”
After confirming the sight, Rion descended from above and headed toward his teammates. Their faces were utterly exhausted—yet filled with the relief of having survived—as they looked at him.
“If we leave it alone, it’ll probably finish on its own, but if we want to get out quickly—.”
“Kang Rion, behind you!”
“Rion sunbae!”
The relief on the team’s faces was instantly replaced with panic. Spinning around in alarm, Rion saw one of the boss’s legs flying straight toward him.
This much, I can easily knock away—.
“Ugh…!”
As Rion planted his feet on the ground to block the attack, a surge of pain flooded him the instant his leg touched down. He lost his balance and staggered.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t save people. I just wish you’d think about yourself a little, too—and that you wouldn’t think it’s only natural to die while saving someone.”
At the moment the boss’s leg closed in right before his eyes, why was it that Yu-won’s voice replayed inside his head?
