THOOM—!
Two beams plunged from the sky toward the ground.
Eorin's Breath and Kang Hyeon-woo's Photonic Cannon pierced through the phase space and shattered reality, striking Meras directly.
FLASH—!
Silver and white light exploded in a dazzling flash.
KABOOOOOOOM—!
The aftermath of an explosion nearly resembling a mushroom cloud engulfed Kang Hyeon-woo and Eorin.
Eorin quickly moved her enormous body in front of Kang Hyeon-woo.
RRRRRUMBLE—!
The shockwave spread outward, pushing the seawater away all at once.
Buildings crumbled in an instant as though a nuclear explosion had gone off.
Blocking the dense cloud of the explosion, Eorin shouted.
“No, what the hell was that magic? Are you really human?”
Kang Hyeon-woo couldn't answer.
[Current Mana 50]
[Critical Warning : Mana critically low.]
[When all Mana is depleted, Mana Skills will be removed.]
[Warning : Mana:Life Force Exchange target is in combat. Mana is continuously being consumed.]
[High-consumption Magic Skills will be removed to protect the user.]
The phase separation and Reality Manipulation Kang Hyeon-woo had cast were dispelled.
Stagger.
Kang Hyeon-woo felt the world spinning as he plummeted toward the ground.
“H-hey! What's wrong?!”
Eorin hurriedly descended after the falling Kang Hyeon-woo.
“Th-this.”
Eorin used Blink to appear above the sea and caught the falling Kang Hyeon-woo on her back.
“Hey! Answer me! What's wrong?!”
Eorin turned her head toward her back and shouted.
To Kang Hyeon-woo, Eorin's thunderous shouting sounded as though it were coming from far away underwater.
‘The aftereffects are severe.’
A Beyond Grade Magic Skill.
As far as Kang Hyeon-woo knew, it was a skill unique to him.
A skill no other Mercenary possessed.
It had been a gift from Chris Taylor, Eagle Actual, the leader of the Seven Heroes.
Its Mana consumption was horrendous, and its aftereffects were nothing to scoff at either.
Moreover, its explosive power was so immense that even Kang Hyeon-woo had only used it a handful of times.
Given the nature of Dungeons, where he had to coordinate strategically with his companions while clearing them under constant pressure, there had rarely been any occasion to use magic like this.
“……Mana.”
Kang Hyeon-woo barely managed to utter a word as he clung to his fading consciousness.
“Mana? Do you mean you have no Mana?”
“Don't…… make me…… say it…… twice.”
Eorin thought for a moment, then shook her enormous head from side to side.
“Th-then there is a way. Mana…… Mana…… Ah, no, I cannot!”
Eorin's muttering grew faint as Kang Hyeon-woo's consciousness slipped farther away.
.
.
.
FLASH!
His eyes opened automatically.
The first thing he saw was the blue sky.
Feeling the hard ground beneath him, Kang Hyeon-woo sat up and saw Eorin staring at him with a fierce expression.
“You are awake!”
“What happened?”
“I-I…… shared a little of my Mana with you.”
“Mana?”
Kang Hyeon-woo brought up his hologram and checked his information.
[Name : Kang Hyeon-woo]
[Codename : SIN]
[Class : Mage]
[Grade : ???]
[Affiliation : Shinhwa Company]
[Life Force : -1 / ???]
[Mana : 50 / ???????]
“Nothing seems to have changed.”
“W-what are you talking about?! You woke up perfectly healthy!”
“That is true.”
His Mana had not increased, but his body overflowed with strength.
Kang Hyeon-woo took out the Core Park Seong-jun had given him and poured it into his mouth.
[7,300 Mana restored.]
[Direct Core consumption has low recovery efficiency.]
[Use refined Cores or a Recovery Station…….]
[Magic Skills maintained.]
[Mana:Life Force Exchange active.]
[A total of ?? passive Magic Skills are active.]
After checking the information, Kang Hyeon-woo turned his gaze toward Meras.
Meras's body emerged through the cloud of dust, floating atop the seawater that had been pushed away and then surged back in.
“Is he dead?”
Eorin shook her head.
“His life has not completely ended yet. But he will not be able to recover.”
“I see.”
“But what in the world was that magic? How can you use magic even larger and more powerful than my Breath?”
“None of your business.”
“Urgh……! That form of Breath is a power granted only to the Silver Clan!”
“Who granted it?”
“Huh?”
“You're making me say it twice. I asked who granted it.”
“Eh? Hmm? Uh…….”
Eorin tilted her head.
“Well, the Primordial Being must have granted it, right?”
“The Primordial Being……. Something like a god?”
“A god? Hmm…… no. It is a little different.”
“Then are you saying some entity that actually exists created your kind?”
“Huh? Hmm…… I have never thought about it that deeply.”
“Didn't you go on about the wisdom of your clan?”
“Urgh, urrrrrgh! Th-that's because I have not been an Adult Dragon for very long!”
Eorin shouted while flapping about, causing Kang Hyeon-woo's body to sway.
Kang Hyeon-woo used Fly and floated beside Eorin.
“Let's go down. To that bastard.”
***
Grrrrrrrr.
Meras floated on the sea, letting out a faint groan.
The solid red glow that had filled his eyes was gone.
A gaping hole had been blasted through the area beneath Meras's neck, around his chest, and red Mana streamed from it.
“Where is this place?”
“Hmph! Your grave, Meras!”
“This is…… not Aishas. So Dimensional Travel truly was real magic.”
Meras moved only his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings.
RRRRRUMBLE.
Far above the city, Park Seong-jun, Asimov, the soldiers, and Lena were tangled together in battle.
Meras shifted his gaze toward Eorin.
“……You are…… a child of the Silver Clan.”
“Meras! This is your punishment for deceiving the Ancient Dragons and destroying the lives of Aishas!”
“……Me? Me? What are you…….”
Meras thought for a moment, then his eyes widened.
“Ah……! How can this be?! D-did I truly do such a thing……?!”
“Meras! Are you pretending innocence now?!”
“Child of the Silver Clan. Thank you for stopping me.”
“……What do you mean?”
“This is no time to remain here. Hear my final request.”
A large red jewel emerged from the area around Meras's Mana Heart and flew toward Eorin.
“This is……?”
“It is my Mana Heart, containing my memories and will. Deliver it to the Ancient Dragons. There is no…… time.”
Meras's body slowly began turning into red motes of light and scattering away.
“Answer me! Did I not ask what you meant?! Meras!”
“Child of the Silver Clan. This tale is far too complicated for you to understand. This world and Aishas are in danger…….”
When almost all of his body had disappeared, Meras looked toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
“How……? Why does a human possess the Mana of the Silver Clan?”
“H-hmph! I shared mine with him!”
“What……? Human who shares a fragment of the Silver Clan's Mana Heart. Do you know the meaning of what you possess?”
“None of my business.”
Kang Hyeon-woo spoke without emotion.
“That…… is. To us Dragons…….”
CRASH!
Eorin attacked Meras with magic.
Meras, who had already been gradually disappearing, vanished completely.
“?”
Kang Hyeon-woo looked at Eorin.
FLASH!
Eorin returned to the form of a silver-haired woman.
“There was no need to hear the rest.”
“What does the Mana Heart Fragment mean?”
“Hmph! You know that thing you like to say! None of your business!”
“……True. It isn't my business. Let's go catch Asimov now.”
“Y-you should thank me! What you just received is……!”
“?”
“Urrrrgh! If someone helps you, should you not thank them?!”
“Didn't you say you'd help me for the rest of your life?”
Eorin flinched.
“Th-that's…….”
“We're moving.”
Kang Hyeon-woo used Blink and moved near Park Seong-jun.
***
“You pig bastard!”
“You ignorant bastard!”
BANG! BANG!
Asimov and Park Seong-jun collided in midair at speeds invisible to the eye.
Every time the two collided, shockwaves burst outward.
“Ahahahaha!”
Lena was tangled among the soldiers, using Blink while firing magic in every direction.
‘Phase Intervention.’
THOOM.
A phase separated around the area.
‘Hold.’
Rings of light appeared and constricted the soldiers.
“Blink!”
Lena teleported beside Eorin.
“Big Sis! Are you okay?”
“I am fine. What about you?”
“I'm perfectly fine! I had so much fun practicing magic!”
“And yet you still have not defeated things like those? I am embarrassed to have taught you.”
“I was practicing! Big Sis! Practicing!”
The soldiers trapped by Hold struggled to break free.
‘Lightning Vortex.’
Kang Hyeon-woo fired a lightning sphere at the soldiers.
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE—.
The sphere indiscriminately blasted the soldiers with lightning magic.
“Explosion!”
Lena pointed at the soldiers and cast her spell.
KABOOM—!
“Blink!”
“Lena! It is dangerous!”
Eorin shouted when Lena teleported directly toward the soldiers in the middle of the explosion.
“Haaap!”
SQUELCH-!
Lena plunged her arm into a soldier's chest and pulled out its Energy Core.
“This is their power source, Mister!”
One by one, the soldiers that had lost their Cores fell toward the ground.
The last remaining soldier, Captain Kim Hyeon-seok, shouted at Kang Hyeon-woo while bound by Hold.
“Please spare me!”
At the sudden plea, Lena turned toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
“City Lord Seed deceived me and turned me into this. Please spare me.”
“Didn't you say you couldn't remember?”
“My memories returned while I was fighting. City Lord Seed sent me to headquarters to track you.”
On the City Lord's recommendation, Kim Hyeon-seok had participated in a special program still in the experimental stage and had his entire body modified against his will.
“I…… need to take revenge on City Lord Seed. Please spare me.”
Kim Hyeon-seok's words had no rise or fall in pitch, giving them an eerie quality.
“Seed is dead.”
“……Pardon?”
“Asimov killed him.”
Kim Hyeon-seok stared blankly into the air without saying anything.
“If you spare me, I will follow you.”
“I refuse.”
“Pardon?”
“Both sparing you and having you follow me.”
“W-why……?!”
“The moment you chose Seed's offer, everything was already decided.”
Besides, Kang Hyeon-woo already had a Dragon and a Half-Android beside him.
There was no reason to go out of his way to add Kim Hyeon-seok to a party without a single normal human in it.
“B-but!”
BANG—!
At that instant, the Hold spell binding Kim Hyeon-seok shattered.
“Get down here!”
Asimov's irritated roar rang out.
In the blink of an eye, Kim Hyeon-seok descended to the ground and appeared behind Asimov.
Park Seong-jun and Asimov stood on the ground glaring at each other, both covered in wounds and bleeding.
‘Dispel.’
Kang Hyeon-woo dispelled the phase, and his group descended behind Park Seong-jun.
“What about that thing from earlier?”
“Got him.”
“Knew it…… That eraser-like skill really is useful, isn't it?”
“I nearly died.”
“You lived, so it's fine. But the liquor I gave you didn't break, right?”
“Did you leave it with me because you were afraid it would break?”
“You only figured that out now? Hey! See that? My intelligence! Huh? You ignorant bastard. You're dead now.”
Park Seong-jun shouted at Asimov.
Asimov swept an irritated gaze over Kang Hyeon-woo's group.
“You killed a test subject. Interfering with the project is punishable by severe penalties.”
“What experiment?”
“Hehehehe. Strictly speaking, it isn't an experiment. It's acceleration.”
“You said that before. What are you accelerating?”
“Destruction.”
Park Seong-jun, who had been listening quietly, murmured.
“Wasn't the world already ruined?”
“That isn't what I mean! Shinhwa Company is really trying to make the world…….”
“Enough chatter!”
BANG!
Asimov raised his two-handed axe and slammed it into the ground.
Kang Hyeon-woo spoke calmly.
“I'll take into consideration that we were once comrades. Get lost now.”
Asimov raised a hand to his ear, making a gesture as if he were speaking with someone.
Asimov's face twisted violently.
“Urgh…… You bastard! Why only you……?! Why?!”
Asimov slightly bent his knees.
BANG!
Asimov charged toward Kang Hyeon-woo at tremendous speed.
Almost simultaneously, Park Seong-jun raised his shield and stepped in front of Kang Hyeon-woo.
Just before Asimov and Park Seong-jun collided.
“You're the one getting lost!”
Asimov pulled something from inside his clothes and threw it toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
‘Core Bomb?’
An object resembling a small Energy Core flew toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
Just before Park Seong-jun's shield reached Asimov.
Asimov twisted his body at a bizarre angle and flew sideways.
“Where do you think you're going?!”
Park Seong-jun immediately flew after Asimov.
Meanwhile, the small Energy Core reached Kang Hyeon-woo.
Planning to throw it away immediately, Kang Hyeon-woo caught the slowly approaching Energy Core.
HISSS.
The moment it touched Kang Hyeon-woo's hand, the Core activated with the sound of escaping air.
And then.
FLASH-!
A tremendous Energy Storm formed around him.
‘……This is!’
It was the very same energy explosion Kang Hyeon-woo had seen in the Final Dungeon.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!
An Energy Storm like a small typhoon formed.
At its center was a black portal gleaming like glass.
Caught in the Energy Storm, Kang Hyeon-woo's body spun wildly as he was dragged toward the center.
‘Blink.’
‘Fly.’
[□ □□ unavailable. □□ connection □□□ un□□]
[Warn□ : □□ critical □□□□. □□□□.]
‘Teleport.’
[□ □□ unavailable. □□ connection □□□ un□□]
It was exactly the same as before.
Kang Hyeon-woo cast every spell that came to mind, but unknown warning messages appeared and none of his magic could be used.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM——!
As the energy spread outward, Kang Hyeon-woo's vision gradually blurred.
“Mister!”
Lena leaped into the storm to grab Kang Hyeon-woo as he was being sucked in.
“Lena! H-hey!”
Eorin jumped into the storm almost simultaneously with Lena.
Captain Kim Hyeon-seok, who had been standing motionless behind them with an expressionless face, glanced at Asimov once before suddenly leaping into the storm as well.
“Goddamn it!”
KABOOM—!
After sending Asimov flying into the distance, Park Seong-jun rushed toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
“Damn it! The buffs! The buffs are gone!”
Park Seong-jun struggled desperately to approach the storm, but it was useless.
The waves of energy continually pushed him back.
“Hyeon-woo! Hyeon-woo!”
In the wildly spinning world, Kang Hyeon-woo saw Park Seong-jun gradually approaching while using his shield to withstand the storm.
‘I'm tired.’
A crushing wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over Kang Hyeon-woo.
BANG!
Park Seong-jun slammed his shield into the ground and anchored himself so he would not be pushed back any farther, then shouted at Kang Hyeon-woo.
“Hyeon-woo! Get □□□□ a grip!”
Park Seong-jun's words began breaking apart and growing distant.
He screamed until his throat seemed ready to tear.
“Hyeon-□! □□□□! □□□ □□□□. And that child. Lena□□□□ You must□□□□ protect her□□! That child is □□□□……!”
With Park Seong-jun's fading voice as the last thing he heard, Kang Hyeon-woo's vision went dark.