Chapter 245: Episode 245

“So be it.”

Provoked, Sham crouched even lower.

“If you want to live, back off while you still can!”

Countless mana tentacles shot out toward Yusin and Marie. In response, Yusin activated the magic circle spread across his palm.

<Prometheus>

A giant of flame surged from the circle, passing through a series of Amplification Circles as it charged forward.

Sham’s tentacles pierced through the giant’s body in several places. The intense heat incinerated the tentacles, but in return, Prometheus’s form collapsed, crashing to the ground.

It looked like magma erupting from the sky.

“Move!”

The hunters from both sides, who had been locked in combat on the ground, scrambled back to avoid the falling fragments of Prometheus.

In an instant, a river of lava formed in the middle of the battlefield, leaving everyone speechless. While they were stunned, Yusin moved swiftly.

<Devastar>

With a puff of black smoke, Yusin appeared right before Sham, who still bore the massive shell on her back. Her eyes flew wide as Yusin swung Specter, the blade on his back, in a clean arc toward her.

Sham’s arm hardened into a carapace, blocking Specter’s path.

But that wasn’t the real threat. The magic circle spread across Specter’s surface had already trapped Sham within its range.

’Once more!’

<Prometheus>

This time, the giant of flame engulfed Sham at point-blank range. Yusin watched her get swallowed by the flames before casually stepping back.

’That was a clean hit. I didn’t see any defensive effects trigger, either.’

He had no idea how powerful her hunter suit was, but there was no way she could come out unscathed after taking a direct hit like that.

Just as he was thinking that, the seventy gun batteries, which had been quiet, suddenly rotated downward.

“…Tch!”

Yusin hurled himself aside. Seventy water cannons fired like lasers, tearing up the ground as they swept past. His body rolled across the stone floor before skidding to a stop.

’No way she’s still alive.’

From within the cluster of conch shells, a woman’s hand emerged, bracing itself against a rim.

Yusin’s eyes widened.

“It has been nearly ten years.”

A naked woman, her entire body slick with a viscous fluid, slowly rose from the conch shell.

“Since I last used this technique.”

Sham was younger.

The wrinkles that had covered her face were gone, replaced by smooth skin and a firm, toned body. It was as if she had been reborn. The only thing that remained the same was her hair, still stark white.

“I heard you were fast, but I didn’t expect this. I really have gotten old.”

The woman, who looked to be in her early thirties at most, spoke with Sham’s familiar cadence, though her voice was that of a young woman.

“I will not let my guard down again.”

She pointed a slender finger at Yusin.

At her signal, blue light gathered within the seventy conch shells before torrents of water once again erupted toward him. Yusin bent his right leg, activated Devastar, and stomped hard on the ground.

His body shot into the air. In the spot where he had just been, countless streams of water rained down, annihilating the surrounding trees, rocks, and everything else in their path.

“Hm.”

Sham rested her chin on her hand with a smile, looking as relaxed as if she were enjoying an open-air bath.

From above, Yusin let out a baffled laugh.

’…What the hell is that ability?’

“Shall I increase the number a bit more?”

She murmured to herself as she gently stroked the surface of the conch shells. The seventy shells swelled as new conches began to bud and multiply across their surfaces.

There was no stopping it. The number of shells surpassed one hundred, then blew past one hundred forty—twice the original count—before finally reaching two hundred.

“Kim Yusin.”

He paused.

Yusin turned his head at the voice behind him.

“Move.”

Marie stood there with both arms outstretched. Above her, a gray sun was blazing.

The sheer volume of Soul Aura made Yusin, a mage, instinctively shudder.

“Haaaaaaah!”

Marie hurled the sun of Soul Aura. Sham, still resting her chin on her hand, simply extended her arm.

At her command, water cannons, tentacles, and more erupted skyward from the two hundred horned conch shells.

It was a clash of pure force.

The resulting shockwave was so massive that the hunters had to struggle with all their might just to avoid being blown away. Watching from the sky, Yusin clicked his tongue.

’So this is the power of a world guild leader. They might all be officially Rank 2, but they’re clearly not in the same league.’

Marie’s Soul Aura burned through Sham’s attacks as it advanced, shrinking in size but steadily pushing forward.

It was now right in front of Sham. Perhaps sensing the danger, she increased the number of batteries to three hundred and launched an all-out barrage.

In the end, the Soul Aura sun evaporated right before it reached her.

“Marie!”

The unconscious Marie plummeted from the sky. Yusin flew over and caught her in his arms.

It created an opening, but Sham also looked utterly exhausted, pressing a hand to her forehead. She didn’t seem to have the strength left to launch another attack.

“Hang in there, Admiral.”

Yusin wasn’t one to waste such an opportunity. With a wicked smile, he stretched out his right arm.

“It’s two-on-one, remember?”

Specter’s hilt slid into his hand.

Two fifth-order casts in a single day.

He sounded relaxed, but he was also nearing his limit. It would be hard to avoid passing out, but he had no choice. He had to push himself and make sure he took Sham down for good.

Murmurs rippled through the air.

“…What the?”

“Snow?”

Snow began to fall from the sky. Through the clouds, a colossal magic circle slowly revealed itself.

<Blizzard Ground>

The temperature around them plummeted, and a blizzard roared to life with a knife-like wind. Sham, who wasn’t wearing a single thread of clothing, shivered and hugged her shoulders.

“It is useless, Tower Master,” she said calmly. “I have seen footage of that spell. Do you think I will be unable to move from here?”

“I doubt it.”

Yusin pointed to the side.

“But what about that friend over there?”

Yusin had never intended to target Sham in the first place. The blizzard raged toward the monster, Shelter.

SKREEEEEEEEEE!

Whatever kind of arthropod it was, a single glance was enough to tell it was weak to the cold. Yusin planned to take down Shelter itself.

The beast screamed in agony as snow began to pile up all over its body.

It tried to break free, but its body was so massive and heavy that it could not move easily. The snow magic, draining both mana and body heat, was slowly tightening its grip around the monster’s throat.

Just as the blizzard was gathering strength, about to grow even fiercer—

“Very well, very well.”

Sham raised both arms.

“I surrender.”

He remained silent.

Yusin turned to look at her.

“On my honor as Admiral and that of my fleet, we will withdraw without any further attacks. In return, I ask that you dispel the blizzard tormenting our baby.”

“…Hmm.”

“Unless, of course, you are asking for a war of annihilation. That would not be such a bad ending either.”

Killing Shelter wouldn’t be difficult. However, if he did, Sham and her fleet would come at them with the intent to see things through to the bitter end.

But the main enemy here was the Sky Castle Lord.

He couldn’t let his emotions dictate his actions. If both sides were annihilated here, it would be the exact scenario the Sky Castle Lord wanted.

He couldn’t keep dancing to that man’s tune.

“Fine. But I have a condition as well.”

“Speak.”

“When you sided with Albert, you cut off our communication channels. I want them restored.”

She fell silent.

This had been Yusin’s real goal all along.

Sham frowned, looking up at him as if trying to gauge his intentions, but Yusin only shrugged with an easy smile.

“Very well. I accept your proposal.”

She let out a sigh, then turned to address the hunters of her fleet.

“We are retreating. Let us return to the sea.”

“Yes, Admiral!”

The Lion Fleet began to withdraw. Yusin obediently canceled the Blizzard spell. As the storm cleared, the utterly exhausted Shelter collapsed onto the ground.

Hunters from the fleet rushed over, pouring mana into the beast and doing everything they could to raise its body temperature.

The Ghost Corps hunters also lowered their weapons to treat the wounded. Frustration was etched on their faces, but they were too drained to continue fighting.

Holding the unconscious Marie in his arms, Yusin lowered Wingolem’s altitude.

The war was over.

* * *

A girl lay asleep on a bed by a sunlit window.

Marie Gold, known as the Ghost King, was the power behind the Mexican Hunter Association and the leader of the Ghost Corps.

It was a pitiable fate, being dragged into wars between monsters and adults at such a young age. And it was a bitter reality that Mexico had no choice but to cling to and rely on her.

’Then again, it’s nothing new. The world is a tragedy.’

I was sitting in a chair, fiddling with my smartphone. From time to time, I would swap out the wet towel on Marie’s forehead for a fresh one.

She let out a soft groan and shifted, then soon settled into a steady, even breathing as she fell back into a deep sleep. I turned my gaze back to my phone.

The world was in chaos.

Black veins had become starkly pronounced on people’s bodies. Scholars had analyzed components extracted from those veins and announced research results showing the presence of “mutant cells” from monsters, plunging the world into shock once again.

Those who had dismissed GOT’s threats as nonsense, and those who had optimistically believed the black veins would fade like a common cold, were all equally horrified.

Once the black veins manifested, the so-called “mutation phenomenon” followed.

Some people showed symptoms in as little as a week, so even with a generous estimate, there were only about four to five days left.

I scrolled through various videos that had been uploaded online.

The Polish Hunter Association building was on fire. An enraged crowd waved flags and shouted slogans at the top of their lungs.

I couldn’t understand Polish, but from the bits of English I caught, they seemed to be yelling, “Negotiate with GOT!”

I moved on to the next video.

At the American research complex working on the antidote, people were climbing over walls and tearing through barbed wire, trying to break into the facility.

Women pushed forward children whose black veins stood out starkly, screaming and begging for someone to save their kids.

The next video showed the situation at the Alliance headquarters in Switzerland, which I had visited a few weeks ago. A sea of people stretched endlessly in front of the main entrance, packed so tightly it looked pitch-black.

Security guards, faces grim, had their mana rifles trained on the crowd. Beside them, furious protesters chanted “OUT! OUT!” at the top of their lungs. White smoke billowed up from several spots.

On top of that, every issue GOT had mentioned had caught fire. Pride marches by sexual minorities, protests by Muslim women, people firing machine guns at giant banks in financial districts, and so on.

The world was in utter turmoil. My head throbbed, and I tore my eyes away from my phone to stare out the window.

“…Haah.”

A pleasant breeze drifted in through the window. Just looking away from my phone made the world seem peaceful. It felt like my grip on reality was slipping.

I turned my head at the rustling sound behind me. At some point, Marie had woken up and was staring straight at me from the bed.

“Kim Yusin?”

Marie pulled the blanket up, eyeing me warily. I answered in a gentle voice.

“Yeah, it’s me. When did you wake up?”

“…Just now.”

“Sham has retreated. Your people are safe too, so you don’t have to worry.”

She nodded. Then, with a tiny, soft hand, she pointed at my smartphone.

“…That.”

“Hm?”

“Show me. The video you were watching earlier.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep