BOOM—!
BANG! BANG, BANG—!
Lena, wrapped in a shield, easily subdued the android.
The android moved quickly while firing its Core Gun, but it was helpless against Lena's ability to wield magic.
“Malfunction. Energy leakage. Shutdown pending.”
The android, kneeling on the ground, looked at Kang Hyeon-woo's group with an expression of disbelief.
“Exception detected. Core Stream user outside system control discovered.”
Kang Hyeon-woo approached the android.
“Are you the bastards who invaded our Earth? The ones who sent those insect-like things?”
“Unable to answer. Reporting agreement violation.”
“Agreement. What agreement?”
“Earth-Ritubalu Interplanetary Agreement.”
“……What the hell does that mean? Who did you make the agreement with?”
“Unable to answer. Exception…… warn……ing.”
The android shut down.
[Awakening Support System Online]
[Name : Kang Hyeon-woo]
[Codename : SIN]
[Class : Mage]
[Grade : ???]
[Affiliation : Shinhwa Company]
[Life Force : -1 / ???]
[Mana : 4,000 / ???????]
[A total of ?? passive magic skills are active.]
[S-Grade Magic Skill (Mana:Life Force Exchange) active.]
[Death occurs when all Mana is depleted.]
[Critical Error : Connection is faulty.]
A hologram appeared in Kang Hyeon-woo's vision again, displaying his basic information.
Lena approached the android and prodded around inside the deep gash in its body.
“These are exactly the same as the ones we saw underground earlier. But…… this is really fascinating.”
“What is?”
Lena stared wide-eyed at the dark, protruding mechanical joint.
“This joint. So it can be done this way too…… And the material looks really good.”
“How is it different from you?”
“That's what's strange. I don't have a database on my own body. So I can't compare them, but…… I'm probably not like this.”
Lena was a half-android.
He did not know how it had been done, but she possessed biological traits as well.
‘An agreement…….’
Kang Hyeon-woo picked up the Core Gun the android had been using.
It was not much different from the ones used on Earth.
‘Why, and how, did Park Seong-jun get here?’
With his weapon here, it was clear that Park Seong-jun had somehow come to this place and smashed the android.
Kang Hyeon-woo stopped dwelling on it and destroyed the Dungeon Core.
“We're going back now.”
CLICK!
“Bye!”
Lena waved her hand, and Eorin puffed out her chest and spoke with a proud expression.
“Consider it an honor that this great one came here personally!”
“Big Sis, there's no one here. Who are you talking to?”
“Y-you bastard, did you not say goodbye too?!”
“Ah…….”
Eorin bit her lip as she, Kang Hyeon-woo, and Lena headed toward the portal at the cave entrance.
***
“Blink!”
FLASH!
“Blink!”
FLASH!
“Fire Ball! Ice Storm!”
SKREEEEEEEEK!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
Lena cast magic while making short-distance teleports with Blink.
Once the insect-type monsters gathered in the wasteland had been cleared out to some extent, Lena came back down beside Kang Hyeon-woo.
“Wow. This is really fun!”
“It is all thanks to this great one's teachings!”
Eorin stroked Lena's head with a proud expression.
“Hehe! I'll go finish them off! Blink!”
FLASH!
Lena disappeared toward the horizon.
Eorin's expression hardened as she watched Lena disappear.
“I understand it to some extent now.”
“Understand what?”
“That child is a human who is about half machine.”
“I never asked you to understand.”
“That is…… something that overturns the very foundation of life. It should not be alive.”
“You're awfully interested in another world's affairs.”
“Because this concerns your world, I will leave it at merely voicing this opinion. Had it been our world, that child would already have been annihilated.”
Shinhwa Company, which had created Lena, would also have been destroyed after incurring the Dragons' wrath.
Kang Hyeon-woo slowly walked south without giving any particular reply.
Eorin walked beside Kang Hyeon-woo and spoke again.
“That child. There is far too much Mana stored inside her body. The bigger problem is that the instant she uses Mana, she instinctively replenishes it.”
She meant that the Core located near Lena's heart was sucking in the surrounding Mana and storing it.
“Moreover, when that child uses high-level magic, she instinctively controls even the surrounding Mana. Just like you.”
“Do Dragons get jealous of talent too?”
“W-what?! Nonsense! This great one is not so foolish as to feel jealous of a mere machine-human! The way that child manipulates Mana is like a Dragon's……!”
Eorin flinched.
Startled by her own words, she fell silent.
Then she began pondering something with a grave expression.
“I must report this to the Ancient Dragons. T-this…… something about this is strange.”
“When the next Special Dungeon appears, it'll probably be connected to your world. You can go then.”
“What in the world is happening to your world and ours?”
“Not my problem.”
“There you go…… again!”
“Even though we can't understand the writing, the fact that we can communicate verbally is strange to begin with.”
“Yes. There is no translation magic in effect…… yet we were able to communicate naturally.”
“Whatever it is, it's not my concern.”
Busan was not far away.
With Eorin lost in deep thought beside him, Kang Hyeon-woo continued toward Busan.
***
“Mister, who are all those people?”
As they drew closer to Busan, they saw countless people heading west.
“Refugees.”
Fort Busan Marina.
They were refugees who had abandoned Busan and escaped, heading for nearby cities.
In the distance, at the entrance to Busan, a massive iridescent hemispherical energy barrier stretched across the area.
It was an energy barrier that made it impossible to see inside at all.
Shinhwa Company soldiers appeared here and there among the refugees, directing their movement.
A Shinhwa Company soldier approached Kang Hyeon-woo's group as they headed in the opposite direction from the refugees.
“You need to go the other way. The assembly point is ‘Castle Manok,’ approximately 35 km to the west.”
“Manok? What was the old place name?”
“It is the former Changwon area.”
“We're going to Busan.”
“You cannot enter.”
“That's none of your business.”
At Kang Hyeon-woo's words, the soldier aimed his gun at him.
“Leave while I'm still asking nicely. Did you leave something behind? Why do I have to wear myself out like this because of trash like you?”
Kang Hyeon-woo silently looked at the muzzle of the soldier's gun.
“Call your superior.”
“What?”
“You're making me say it twice.”
Kang Hyeon-woo stirred a small amount of Mana.
BANG—!
“AAAAAARGH!”
The soldier went flying backward helplessly and disappeared into a cloud of dust.
“What?!”
“This bastard!”
“Kill him!”
The muzzles of the soldiers farther away spat fire.
“Enhanced Shield!”
With Lena's clear spell chant, white spherical barriers enveloped the three of them.
THUD-THUD-THUD—.
THUD, THUD!
Core Energy Cannon blasts from the muzzles hammered against the shields.
After firing for quite some time, the soldiers finally seemed to realize something was wrong and approached Kang Hyeon-woo's group.
“Identify yourselves.”
“Who's in charge here?”
“I am.”
A middle-aged man approached Kang Hyeon-woo cautiously without lowering his gun.
Without a word, Kang Hyeon-woo took a device from inside his clothes, projected a hologram, and showed the man his information.
“A mercenary? Even so, Shinhwa's soldiers…… Hrk.”
The soldier, who had been glancing over the information, widened his eyes and swallowed hard.
“H-headquarters! L-lower your weapons!”
The soldier quickly gave the order, snapped a salute, and shouted in a booming voice.
“Captain Jeffrey of the 5th Support Group, Shinhwa Headquarters! My apologies!”
“Just words.”
“……Pardon?”
Kang Hyeon-woo lightly moved his Mana.
BANG—!
“URK—!”
Captain Jeffrey also flew backward and crashed beside the soldier from moments ago.
He sprang up!
Without even having time to collect himself, Captain Jeffrey quickly regained his stance and maintained his salute.
“So your 5th Support Group points guns at people the moment you see them.”
“W-we will rectify that.”
Captain Jeffrey's insides were burning black.
It was infuriating enough that he had been sent all the way out to this backwater to clean up after an Anomaly.
The evacuating citizens had poured every kind of complaint onto the soldiers. After being hounded by all kinds of grievances, the soldiers had naturally begun controlling people more forcefully.
Then, out of nowhere, a high-ranking mercenary from headquarters appeared and started taking issue with their attitude.
Believing his path to promotion had been completely blocked, Jeffrey broke into a cold sweat and spoke again.
“I'm truly sorry. The soldier who caused this trouble will be disciplined.”
“Weren't you the one who gave the order to fire?”
“T-that was…….”
Just as Jeffrey was unable to hide the anxiety constricting his chest.
“But it happens. I understand. If necessary, I could put in a good word at headquarters about your efforts.”
Kang Hyeon-woo's matter-of-fact words.
Goosebumps rose across Jeffrey's face.
“I-is that really true?”
“In return, I have a few questions.”
“O-of course!”
“Start with a detailed briefing on the situation in Busan.”
“Yes, sir!”
An unknown energy field had formed around the Busan area, making communication with anyone inside, as well as entry and exit, impossible.
Before the energy field formed, Shinhwa Company sensed an irregularity in the Core Stream and issued an emergency evacuation order, moving the citizens outside the energy field.
When it became clear the phenomenon would not end quickly, Shinhwa Company had the 5th Support Group urgently evacuate the citizens to other cities.
“What about the situation inside?”
“We don't know. But the last report said that a monster capable of communication had appeared…….”
“A monster capable of communication…… What kind?”
“Well…….”
Jeffrey trailed off awkwardly.
“You're making me say it twice.”
“N-no! This is only according to some of the citizens who evacuated in the emergency.”
Jeffrey scratched the back of his head.
“Most of those reports came from elderly citizens…… and they said it appeared to be a Dragon.”
“What?”
Eorin's expression turned terrifying as she had been lost in thought.
Jeffrey flinched in surprise and waved both hands.
“N-no. They were probably mistaken.”
“Naturally.”
Eorin stared at the energy field with a stiff expression.
“Any other news?”
“What would you like to know?”
“For example. Any news on codename Beast?”
“……Pardon?”
Jeffrey stared at Kang Hyeon-woo with a dumbfounded expression. Kang Hyeon-woo looked at Lena and Eorin and jerked his chin.
“We're moving on.”
Jeffrey quickly spoke again.
“Well…… that energy field blocks not only the Core Stream but physical passage as well. I'm not joking. You really cannot get inside.”
“That's none of your business.”
Just as Kang Hyeon-woo's group was about to leave, Jeffrey, who had been about to say something, focused on the radio hooked over his ear.
Then he hurried after Kang Hyeon-woo, who was already walking away.
“I-it appears a senior official from headquarters is going to step in and handle this. If you absolutely must go to Busan, I think you should wait just outside the energy field for a little while.”
Jeffrey shouted after Kang Hyeon-woo, who kept moving away without answering.
“Captain Jeffrey of the 5th Support Group! I look forward to working with you!”
By the time Kang Hyeon-woo was so far away he was almost out of sight, the soldier who had been rolling on the ground approached Jeffrey.
“Who exactly is he, sir?”
THWACK!
Jeffrey smacked the soldier on the back of the head.
“Codename SIN. A companion of the Five Heroes.”
“……Pardon? There can be any number of duplicate codenames, can't there? What makes you believe that…….”
“You stupid bastard. Listen carefully. There are barely enough people on this Earth without a Grade in the Awakening Support System to count on ten fingers. And if his codename is SIN on top of that…… you idiot, what have you been learning?”
“Huh……. Why would someone like that come here?”
“I don't know either. Let's get back to work. I've made myself known to him, so if I run into him somewhere later, I'll at least be able to strike up a conversation.”
The soldiers who had been listening stared blankly in the direction Kang Hyeon-woo's group had disappeared.
***
“How strange.”
Eorin murmured with a peculiar expression after touching the rainbow-colored energy field.
“Big Sis, why?”
“I could feel it from far away…… but this does not feel like magic at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It is fundamentally different from the dimension-type magic that human called Kang Hyeon-woo used.”
“Hmm……. It feels somehow familiar to me, though?”
“Familiar?”
“Let's see…… Hup!”
Lena reached a hand toward the energy field.
“Huh?”
Part of the energy field flowed like water, opening a passage leading into Busan.
“How did you do that?”
“Uh…… I don't know. I just touched it with my hand like you did, Big Sis…….”
“Did you feel the flow of Mana?”
“No. I really didn't do anything…….”
Kang Hyeon-woo strode through the open gap.
“We'll find out when we go in.”
Kang Hyeon-woo's group entered Busan.
***
The inside had been utterly destroyed.
“Mister, the buildings are lying down in a strange way.”
“This is what happens when a powerful explosion occurs at the center.”
The commercial and residential districts, where the warmth of human habitation still lingered, had been destroyed in a radial pattern.
Then it happened.
THOOM.
A tremendous pulse of Mana slammed into Kang Hyeon-woo's group.
Eorin flinched.
“T-t-this……!”
“Big Sis, what is it?”
“Im-impossible.”
THOOM.
THOOM.
Pulses of Mana rolled toward them one after another like waves.
ROOOOOOAAAAAAR—!
KRAAAAAASH—!
A horrific monster's roar resounded from beyond a low mountain in the distance.
Shiver, shiver, shiver.
Eorin trembled and grabbed Kang Hyeon-woo's arm.
“N-no. Let us go back.”
“What are you talking about?”
“N-no. This cannot be happening.”
Eorin babbled incoherently and began dragging Kang Hyeon-woo away almost by force.
ROOOOOOAAAAAAR—!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
The roar sounded once more, and a fireball as large as a house shot up into the sky.
Immediately behind the fireball, a gigantic creature flew up into the sky.
“A Dragon?”
The figure in the distance was a Dragon whose entire body glowed red.