#176
The hunters quickly retreated from the terrible anomaly, but the river of cloth swept away some people as it flowed.
“Uh, uhhh…!”
“Grab him! Pull him out!”
“What kind of strength is this, damn it, it’s so strong…!”
Even though he was a considerably strong A-rank hunter, he was being dragged away helplessly. Once again, it took more than ten hunters rushing in to barely rescue the person being dragged away.
“Ughhhh…!”
“I’ll move him to the back.”
Again, Yoon Pa-ran quickly stepped forward and caught the unconscious A-rank hunter. Other hunters looked at him questioningly, but there was no time to make excuses.
“The unpleasant space has disappeared.”
At that moment, Dan Joo-hyuk spoke while shielding the sight of Yoon Pa-ran infusing energy into the hunter’s head.
As he said, when Yoon Pa-ran turned his gaze, the monsters’ barrier had almost completely collapsed. The black space that Kim Tae-jun had been desperately trying to maintain was also disappearing.
“Un…believers…will…be…punished…!”
Kim Tae-jun spoke with monster flesh clinging all over his body. His face had transformed so grotesquely that “beast’s maw” was now more fitting than “human mouth.”
Just before these gathered flesh pieces formed into something that walked on two legs, Dan Joo-hyuk lightly stomped the ground.
“There’s no need to wait for him to complete his transformation, right?”
Right before clashing with Kim Tae-jun, Dan Joo-hyuk forcefully swung one arm through the air.
Nothing was visible externally, but Yoon Pa-ran knew this action was Dan Joo-hyuk’s habit when using his skill to dry moisture.
“Kuh, uhhh…!”
The flow of monsters gathering around Kim Tae-jun abruptly stopped. Especially the flesh pieces converging at Kim Tae-jun’s feet shriveled and writhed violently.
Yoon Pa-ran quickly followed behind Dan Joo-hyuk. He could see the blackened ground around Kim Tae-jun gradually lightening.
“You, bastard…!”
Kim Tae-jun furiously swung both arms as the flow strengthening his body was cut off. However, unlike his legs, his arms were still in a half-formed state, so they weren’t threatening.
The great sword he had been preciously holding against his chest was now buried in monster flesh that had attached to Kim Tae-jun’s torso. It looked as if he was using it as a framework to create a new monster.
Dan Joo-hyuk reached for the greatsword, which was now barely visible except for its handle.
“I’ll be taking this.”
“N-no…!”
[Sacred Energy] swirled around his outstretched hand. Kim Tae-jun’s face, covered in dark red, distorted with panic.
“Hey, wait!”
Yoon Pa-ran shouted urgently. He had wanted to stop Dan Joo-hyuk because he had a bad feeling about this.
He was worried because it was also in item form. While SS-rank items that could affect an S-rank like Dan Joo-hyuk weren’t common, it would be troublesome if there was a curse that could harm him.
But Dan Joo-hyuk was faster, grabbing the sword’s handle and pushing in [Sacred Energy].
“Kuhak…!”
Kim Tae-jun, who had been resisting fiercely, suddenly made a sound as if his breath was cut off.
At that moment, a blinding light spread out.
“Ugh.”
Simultaneously, a violent wind blew as if an explosion had occurred. Reflexively shielding his face with his arm, Yoon Pa-ran tried to keep his eyes open to check Dan Joo-hyuk’s condition. The hunters who had been trying to cut off the monster flow from behind also screamed in unison.
The bright light that had been continuous suddenly cut off and died down.
“Tsk.”
As soon as Yoon Pa-ran heard Dan Joo-hyuk clicking his tongue, he examined the sword in his hand. It was now completely separated from Kim Tae-jun, with monster flesh still attached to about half of it.
And its once pitch-black appearance had changed to a light gray color.
[Neutralizing the axis.]
[The great gate will be somewhat reduced.]
“Phew…”
Seeing the status windows appearing one after another, Yoon Pa-ran sighed in relief. Judging by the unnaturally cut off flow of [Sacred Energy], it seemed Dan Joo-hyuk had used up all of Yoon Pa-ran’s energy in him.
Fortunately, it appeared to be enough to neutralize the item for now.
“Kuh, huu…”
“Huu…”
After staring at the object in his hand for a moment, Dan Joo-hyuk tossed it aside. Kim Tae-jun, standing before him, twisted his body intermittently with his limbs burned up.
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to launch an attack like before again. Since it was an easier resolution than expected, Yoon Pa-ran felt somewhat relieved as he turned to Dan Joo-hyuk.
Is it over if we purify just one more?
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. It was just an A-rank item.”
Yoon Pa-ran frowned at that nonchalant attitude. After all, one couldn’t know an item’s rank until touching it—wasn’t that too reckless? He felt he should properly caution him again soon.
By the way, where could the remaining axis item be? Like Kim Tae-jun, someone else might be carrying it around.
Just as he was thinking this, Kim Tae-jun’s waist bent completely and he slowly collapsed to the ground. It would be a collapse from loss of strength, but Yoon Pa-ran reflexively looked at him.
Kim Tae-jun’s two pupils rolled back as he fell, perhaps losing consciousness. That sight somehow appeared very slow. His heart beat increasingly harder, as if warning of danger.
“Ah.”
Kim Tae-jun’s inverted eyes were pitch black.
Suddenly, Yoon Pa-ran realized that the energy of the [■■■ fragment] he had been feeling hadn’t diminished at all.
“Dan Joo-hyuk!”
He instinctively lunged forward. As soon as he thought that the distance between Kim Tae-jun and Dan Joo-hyuk was too close, he acted without thinking.
Perhaps it was because a look of dismay filled Dan Joo-hyuk’s face as he turned to look at him questioningly.
—Kuh, kuh, kuhh…!
A dark item rose into the air from the nape of Kim Tae-jun’s bent neck. Something like a death god’s blade suddenly grew from his back and rushed straight toward Dan Joo-hyuk.
The river of cloth that had been gathering at his lower body suddenly changed direction and grabbed Dan Joo-hyuk’s legs.
“Kuk…”
[Attempting to complete the great gate by sacrificing the apostle.]
So the other axis was also with Kim Tae-jun.
Faster than the realization flashing through his mind, Yoon Pa-ran raised his sword. He felt his thighs burning but ignored it.
His gaze remained fixed on Dan Joo-hyuk. On Dan Joo-hyuk who had been captured by Kim Tae-jun after consuming all his [Sacred Energy] just moments ago.
“Dan Joo-hyuk…!”
Yoon Pa-ran momentarily forgot that he needed to hide his power. He imbued his sword with [Sacred Energy] and fully deployed his sword’s leap skill.
—Wh, at, is, this…!
A light even brighter than before shot at him like a comet. Even with his eyes completely inverted, Kim Tae-jun clearly looked toward the power approaching him.
Yoon Pa-ran, who had imbued his sword with the maximum [Sacred Energy] he could muster, struck the second axis item floating in the air.
“Just, disappear…!”
The massive force colliding in midair once again released a huge wave of power in all directions. There was resistance strong enough to make his arms tremble, but Yoon Pa-ran gritted his teeth.
Finally, his sword split the item and plunged down into Kim Tae-jun’s chest.
“KRAAAAAAAAAGHH…!”
The ground where Kim Tae-jun was impaled sank down in a depression. From that spot that became like a massive crater, Yoon Pa-ran poured out [Sacred Energy] with all his might.
Until there was nothing left to absorb his power.
“Haa, haa…”
As the light died down, everything was filled with dark red dust. Parting through that curtain of smoke-like haze, Dan Joo-hyuk approached Yoon Pa-ran.
“Yoon Pa-ran!”
[All axes have been purified.]
At the moment their eyes met, the status window he had been waiting for finally appeared.
Looking at the ground, the greatsword that Dan Joo-hyuk had pulled out earlier had fallen too. That greatsword, which had been gray, had also turned white like the necklace item that Yoon Pa-ran had split.
[The great gate is closing.]
“Haah…”
“…”
The two silently watched the status window that appeared before them for a moment.
Finally, everything was over.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
As soon as he pulled his sword from the ground, Dan Joo-hyuk reached out and grabbed Yoon Pa-ran’s forearm. Already feeling somewhat exhausted, Yoon Pa-ran obediently let himself be led up to the surface by his arm.
To think he was carrying two axes simultaneously.
Although they nearly fell victim to that fact at the end, it was puzzling behavior. If Yoon Pa-ran had been the mastermind behind all this, he would have definitely kept the two axes separated for safety.
Was it a plot targeting Dan Joo-hyuk?
Upon reaching the surface, Yoon Pa-ran stared down at the deeply crater-like depression in the ground. Kim Tae-jun, whose breath had stopped, had his entire body twisted so grotesquely that he looked just like a monster.
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
Everything was clearly over, so why did he feel so uneasy?
Though he hadn’t yet discovered all the ins and outs of the matter, Yoon Pa-ran thought he had been lucky in many ways. While his skill had guided him to this place, reflecting on how urgently he had acquired information, there had also been quite a bit of coincidence involved.
Was that why Kim Tae-jun’s end somehow felt a little too easy?
Only after checking once more that the energy of the [■■■ fragment] could no longer be felt did Yoon Pa-ran look away. Then he noticed Dan Joo-hyuk staring at him with a somewhat rigid expression.
“What?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Was Dan Joo-hyuk feeling uneasy about something too?
Anyway, looking up at the distant sky, he saw a welcome sight. The great gate that had been filling the sky was gradually closing. Even the otherworldly plants that had grown on the eroded land were visibly withering from the periphery.
Watching this decline that was almost majestic, Yoon Pa-ran sighed again.
It’s really over.
“Phew…”
Stretching lightly, Yoon Pa-ran thought of his siblings. Just to be safe, he should check if there were any other gates near the orphanage and then go pick them up.
He felt urgent again. Just as he was hastily taking steps to head toward the temporary headquarters of the Gate Management Office—
Dan Joo-hyuk grabbed his forearm firmly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
