novel
| ← Ch.240 | Ch.242 → |
***
"I-I have to avoid this."
Ho Sung Lee mumbled to himself, and it was rational.
Even if he hid as a shadow, it didn't guarantee that he would be okay in the midst of all that force.
The force was powerful enough to destroy the entire castle.
It was almost like an explosive with great firepower.
"Damn it... !"
While Ho Sung Lee looked at Bowl and Ssol in panic when he couldn't find a place to hide, a shadow appeared in front of them.
"... ?!"
It was Lownie.
He used his skill to form a shield in front of Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol.
Swoosh!
A white Aura flashed in all directions.
And then...
Rumble!
The sound of the castle shaking could be heard.
Their surroundings were filled with smoke, but Min Sung and Chopin were still battling.
Chopin looked like a mess.
His hair, which was previously tied up neatly, was loose and messy, and his eyes and mouth were covered in blood.
On the other hand, Min Sung looked as he always did.
"This son of a bitch... !"
While the castle was on the verge of destruction, Chopin swung his sword, causing for a red liquid substance to burst out of it.
'... What's this?'
The red liquid covered his sight.
And then he sensed that a threatening force could come at him at any moment.
That must've been a special characteristic of the skill.
And there was something that suddenly crossed Min Sung's mind.
He had forgotten about it for a while, but he decided that this was his chance to put it to use.
[Skill opened]
[Counter barrier]
Min Sung used his skill as well.
The counter barrier was a skill that allowed him to turn his opponent's attack back onto them.
And then...
He saw the message, 'Counter barrier successful!'
The red liquid resembling blood began to disappear quickly, and it then started to cover Chopin instead.
"No way... ! Damn it!"
Chopin floundered while being covered in the red and sticky substance.
'This counter barrier skill isn't half bad. '
Min Sung smirked and swung his Gungnir.
Kaboom!
The thundering noise sounded like a lion's roar.
And along with a slashing sound, Chopin's right arm flew off, spouting blood.
The arm that was holding the sword flew out of the hole in the wall and fell outside.
"Aghhhhh!"
Chopin screamed and plopped down on his knees.
He continued to bleed. He grabbed his right shoulder while blinking violently and clenched down on his teeth.
"I was looking forward to powerful opponents in the inner continent, but you're weak, too."
He was helped out by his counter barrier skill, but even if he hadn't used it, he would have been able to win against Chopin.
But this battle did teach him a lesson for the first time since coming to Beatrice.
"Agh!"
As soon as Chopin tried to pull out another weapon from his item window, Min Sung almost stabbed him with his Gungnir before realizing that he had to capture him alive.
Min Sung took out an item, but he simply grabbed Chopin by the throat and threw him out the hole in the wall.
Chopin bounced off the side of the hole before falling through to the outside of the castle.
Considering how strong he was, Min Sung assumed he wouldn't die from the fall.
Min Sung then walked toward the magic square.
But...
Rip!
He heard cracking sounds and the castle began to tumble down.
Ssol ran at an incredibly high speed out the hole in the wall, and after that were Ho Sung Lee and Bowl, followed by Lownie.
While everyone jumped out of the castle, Min Sung stared down at the magic square on the ground.
And right as he was about to stab the magic square with his sword.
Roarrrrr, kaboom!
The castle tumbled down upon Min Sung.
***
Ho Sung Lee and Bowl stared up at the castle with surprised eyes, but they were just watching out of curiosity of when he would come out.
Ho Sung Lee and Bowl knew better than anyone that Min Sung Kang wasn't going to die just because the castle fell on him.
Even Lownie, who saved them both, knew that as well.
"Thank you."
Ho Sung Lee brushed himself off and then greeted Lownie.
Lownie was looking up at the destroyed castle.
"Who is that player... ?" Lownie asked.
Ho Sung Lee sighed.
"He came from a star called earth. His name is Min Sung Kang. Some know him as the Black Slaughterer."
Min Sung then came out of the pile of bricks and brushed himself off.
Lownie was unable to take his eyes off of him.
His eyes looked both shocked and in awe.
Min Sung stretched out his joints and glanced around.
"Where is he?" Min Sung asked.
Ho Sung Lee looked around blankly.
He then realized that he couldn't see Chopin, who had lost his arm to Min Sung.
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Ho Sung Lee mumbled, and Min Sung glared at him in annoyance.
"Unless you want to die in his stead, you'd better find him, " grumbled Min Sung.
"I-I apologize, Sir."
Ho Sung Lee used his supporter skill to find Chopin, and Bowl also used his spirit spell.
"He couldn't have gone far."
In response to Min Sung's remark, Ho Sung Lee and Bowl immediately began their search.
At that moment, Min Sung saw Lownie staring right at him and knitted his brows.
"What are you looking at?"
In response to Min Sung's emotionless question, Lownie didn't show a response.
He simply watched Min Sung with a straight face.
Min Sung sighed and looked around while clicking his tongue.
"Where did he run off to?"
Right as Min Sung mumbled to himself, he heard a trill.
I found him!
It was a trill, but he could sense the direction.
Min Sung kicked the ground, making it rumble, and he disappeared from Lownie's sight so quickly that Lownie couldn't see where he went.
As soon as Min Sung disappeared, an army of players ran toward Lownie, who was standing in the quiet surroundings of the castle's ruins.
"Where's Lord Chopin?!" One of the players asked with an offensive look in his eyes.
Rather than answering, Lownie gripped harder on the sword in his hand.
The players' eyes shook.
***
Ho Sung Lee was the one who sent the message, but it was actually Bowl who found him.
Just as Min Sung predicted, the place where Bowl found Chopin was where the magic square actually was located.
There was a passageway in the basement behind the castle, and around it was blood predicted to have been from Chopin.
"Stay out here. I'm going in alone."
Min Sung then stepped into the stairs leading to the basement and disappeared into the dark.
Ho Sung Lee watched Min Sung walk down and gulped while Bowl's eyes lit up with black flames.
Ssol then stepped forward from behind with a terrified face and watched in the same direction Ho Sung Lee and Bowl were staring at.
***
The stairs leading to the basement were wide, but there was no lighting.
But since Min Sung was used to seeing in the dark, it didn't hinder him in the slightest bit.
On his way down the stairs, Min Sung stopped in front of a metal door.
He shook it with his hand, but it was locked.
It was locked from the inside.
Min Sung put his Gungnir into his item window and gathered magic energy in his fist.
Kaboom!
Along with an explosive sound, the door ripped open and rolled on the ground.
Min Sung walked through the door and stepped into the hallway.
It was damp and humid.
It also reeked inside.
There was a light on the ceiling of the hallway, and on the ground was blood spilled by Chopin.
Min Sung followed the blood trail.
Just 5 minutes later, Min Sung saw something shocking.
"Ugh..."
"G-give me food."
"I'm hungry."
"... Take it out."
"Please save me."
"Sobbbbb!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Ughhhh..."
He heard shocking noises from all directions.
On the side of the hall were people trapped behind cages, and every single one of them pleaded for help in great pain.
There were those who were crazy and hungry, as well as people who were screaming for help because it hadn't been long since they were captured.
They were all Beatrice natives, not players.
When he walked further, he could see that there were also players who had their limbs cut off.
Unlike the Beatrice natives, they were quiet, and their eyes looked lifeless.
He had heard that the magic worked based on the life of human beings.
He had already started to gather humans.
"What a sight..."
Min Sung laughed at the absurdity.
How could he openly make such a thing?
He didn't know if he should call him bold or crazy.
In any case, It was very likely that the magic square was here in this basement.
With a few waves of Min Sung's hand, the locks on the metal doors opened.
The Beatrice natives couldn't believe what they saw, and they opened the door and ran to get out of the basement.
They were pushing and shoving.
They ran to get out as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Min Sung looked for Chopin.
It was highly likely that the magic square was there, and even if it wasn't there, he had to find Chopin first.
He continued to walk through the hallway.
The hallway went on forever with more and more cages.
There were so many cages that he couldn't imagine just how many human beings he was planning to capture.
| ← Ch. 240 | Ch. 242 → |