Chapter 70: Episode 70

“Die, all of youuuuuuu!”

Yeon quickly wove her red magic like silk to envelop her body, while I, with Ea’s help, stacked dozens of layers of shields. The purple orbs fell from the ceiling and walls and exploded, unleashing a massive flash of light and a deafening roar.

“Arrgh…!”

For someone with a purely offensive style, defensive magic was my weakest area. Unable to withstand the firepower, my body was sent flying and slammed hard against the wall.

“Cough!”

-Tower Master! Are you all right?

My body slid down the wall. The pain was so intense it felt like my lungs would tear, but I managed a difficult nod.

’There’s not much time. Somehow…’

Just as I forced myself to grab the wall and pull myself up, one of the characters on the wall caught my eye.

’Hm?’

For a moment, my eyes widened. I had avoided looking at them because of the headache they caused, but now, I began to carefully examine the moving characters as if possessed.

’I’m sure of it.’

My gaze moved frantically, scanning the wall, then the ceiling, and soon sweeping over the entire Boss Zone.

’It’s not Erendel script, but it’s unmistakably a magic formula.’

I could identify magic formulas everywhere in the dungeon.

“Heh… heheh!”

A laugh escaped me. My heart pounded. Every cell in my body awakened and trembled.

“Yeon!”

The explosions subsided, and Yeon was once again clashing with the demonkin. After taking another blow to her shoulder, she clutched the wound and stumbled back.

“What is it?! Hurry up and help—!”

“Five minutes! Just hold on for five minutes.”

Her brow furrowed. She looked confused, but considering everything I’d done so far, she had to know there was a reason. She could trust me that much.

“Got it.”

With a battle cry, Yeon charged at the demonkin, and I turned my back to them, examining the formulas. My Sage’s Eye widened as I read the flow of mana. My mind whirred furiously, uncovering the rules that connected the formulas.

’This is a transformation formula.’

’And this is a resistance formula.’

The Sage’s Eye was interpreting a new language system and hammering the information directly into my brain. I could understand it. And with every piece I understood, a shiver ran down my spine.

’The characters form meaning, and the meaning constitutes order.’

Each time I discovered a new pattern, a thrilling sensation washed over me like a wave. It was hard to believe, but this entire Boss Zone was essentially one giant magic circle. There was a reason for the pounding headache. My Sage’s Eye had noticed the magic formulas, but because they were written in another language, the discrepancy with my existing knowledge caused my brain to reject the information. The resulting overload was what had caused the pain.

’What kind of coincidence is this? No… is it not a coincidence?’

I placed a palm on the wall and closed my eyes.

’Right. Magic is fundamentally about manipulating mana. Thinking it was something only humans could wield was foolish from the start.’

Mana began flowing from Yusin’s right hand as he pressed it against the wall. The dungeons of this world operated on a system built not on anything else, but magic itself. He was now an explorer who had peeled back a layer of the world’s mysterious secrets.

’What is he trying to do?’

The demonkin’s gaze shifted to me. To him, I must have looked like I’d lost my mind, suddenly pressing a hand to the dungeon wall and closing my eyes. This was a monster’s domain. Whatever I was attempting was pointless.

And yet.

’This is unsettling.’

The demonkin tried to approach, but Yeon, wreathed in crimson magic, relentlessly swung her sword to block its path.

“Sorry, little lady, but you’re out of your league now.”

“Raaah!”

Sparks flew as their swords met. While the laws of physics forced Yeon’s arm back, the demonkin’s bent like licorice before snapping into place with unnatural elasticity, launching a vicious counter. A perfect attack born from an unorthodox form.

’Die!’

’Thwack!’

Just then, Yeon lifted her right foot and kicked the demonkin’s descending arm aside.

’…What?’

When the demonkin swung again, Yeon arched backward, leaning so far her knees nearly touched the floor. It was an irregular technique designed to capitalize on an opponent’s counter, but she rendered it meaningless by simply letting it glide past her. Pushing up from her knees, she slashed her sword in a sharp, diagonal arc.

’Clang!’

The demonkin barely managed to block it.

’Something’s wrong.’

Yeon began to counter the ensuing strikes in her own unique way. This was not the swordsmanship of a human, which was bound by a central axis. Unfettered by conventional posture, she could strike from any angle, at any moment. The more they exchanged blows, the more cold sweat beaded on the demonkin’s brow.

’Don’t tell me…!’

Goosebumps prickled across the demonkin’s entire body.

’She’s even adapting to this irregularity…!’

[The trait <Swordsmanship Analysis Lv.3> has evolved into <Demonic Swordsmanship Analysis Lv.3>.]

Yeon had finished mapping its movements. Having adapted to its alien joints, its different muscles, and its extra limbs, she had finally managed to categorize even a demonkin within the framework of ‘swordsmanship.’

“…You!”

This couldn’t be happening. The sight of this small woman, biting her lip and swinging her sword with such fierce desperation—in that moment, she looked more terrifying than any monster in the world.

“You insane, monstrous little—!”

If it had come to this, he would settle it with something truly beyond comprehension. A more extreme mind game! A more profound irregularity! The demonkin’s arm split into seven distinct joints, its fingers fracturing into even more. A total of thirteen segments moved with a bizarre, fluid balance, poised to deflect her sword and redirect the force of the impact into a lethal counter—

’Slash!’

But a simple horizontal slash cut through all its complex calculations.

The demonkin let out a horrific scream. Yeon’s blade had carved a deep gash across its body, and blood gushed out as if from a faucet.

“I won’t be swayed by you anymore!” Yeon roared, her voice raw. She had completely regained her rhythm. The demonkin stumbled back, suffering one wound after another.

“How dare youuuuu?!”

The enraged demonkin stomped its foot. Veins shot out from its sole and burrowed into the entire Boss Zone as violet magic began to shimmer. He had sacrificed everything for this power. His beliefs. His family. His future. Even his own humanity.

And yet.

He couldn’t even defeat these rookies who knew nothing of the sacrifice.

“Gaaaaaaaah!”

Risking his body’s collapse, the demonkin unleashed its maximum output. The sheer volume of magic was on a completely different level. Caught in the shockwave, Yeon’s feet lifted from the ground as she was blasted backward.

“Grrrk! Grrrrrrrrr!”

The demonkin spread its arms. Violet orbs of magic began to coalesce from all over the Boss Zone—three times as many as before.

With a hardened expression, Yeon raised her sword. The orbs swelled to their full size.

“Be gone, all of you!”

With a violent, crazed laugh, the demonkin swung its arms.

However.

“…Huh?”

Nothing happened.

As both the demonkin and Yeom stood frozen in disbelief, a voice cut through the silence.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

I pushed myself off the far wall and stood straight. Looking at the bewildered demonkin, I declared, “This dungeon is mine now.”

The demonkin’s lips trembled. “What kind of bullshit is that?!”

It stomped its foot with all its might. The Boss Zone remained silent. It stomped again and again, but the dungeon gave no response.

’…This! This can’t be…! This is a monster’s domain, the very core of a Disaster! It’s not a computer; hacking it should be impossible!’

The despairing demonkin snapped its head up. “What in the world did you do? Don’t tell me you’re a demonkin too!”

“Not a chance.”

I grinned and placed my hand on the wall again. Mana flowed from my palm, spreading throughout the entire Boss Zone.

-Synchronization complete. You have seized control of the Labyrinth Dungeon. Please issue a command, Tower Master.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t fully understand the dungeon’s system, but one thing was sure: for the Disaster’s ‘full release’ to occur, at least one outside dungeon had to be connected to the labyrinth. A moment ago, the demonkin had changed the entrance into a different dungeon, but that still meant it was connected to at least one.

’In that case…’

The corners of my mouth curled up. There was no reason to limit myself to just one passageway.

’RRRRUMBLE!’

The entire Boss Zone began to shake violently. Sparks of mana flew as the whole area overloaded.

“You! What are you doing!”

Despite the demonkin’s scream, I didn’t stop. The thousands of dungeon gates scattered across the Korean peninsula all began to link to this very spot. The demonkin tried to lunge for me, but Yeon tenaciously blocked its path with her sword.

A moment later, thousands of portals shimmered into existence around us.

From the first one that opened, a hunter appeared…

“…Hmm? Where am I?” He asked, scratching his head.

From the other portals, too, people began to emerge. Certified hunters from all over South Korea, and even the players with provisional licenses who hadn’t fled, showed up. One by one, they materialized inside the labyrinth.

“We did it! We found the Labyrinth Dungeon!”

“No, wait a minute, why are there so many people here?”

What had been the Boss Zone of a national Disaster was, in an instant, filled with people. For the demonkin, its sanctuary had just become its execution ground.

’I… I have to run…!’

Just then, a man in a long coat emerged from a gate that opened right next to the demonkin. Recognizing him, his expression hardened.

Im Namjin, a certified rank-2 hunter from the Enforcement Bureau. Now, powerhouses far beyond what the demonkin could handle were starting to appear.

“Alright, alright, everyone.”

’Clap. Clap.’

The sound of clapping drew every eye.

“There are ten minutes remaining until full release.”

The hunters from across the country stared at me as I spoke, as casually as if I were announcing the remaining data on a phone plan. I extended a finger and pointed at the demonkin.

“And the creature you see before you is the boss of this Labyrinth Dungeon.”

“…What?”

The look in the hunters’ eyes changed in a flash.

“You son of a bitch…!”

The moment the demonkin tried to flee, its upper and lower bodies were sliced cleanly in two. ’Swoosh!’ A hunter standing nearby had swung his arm.

“Gaaaaaaaah! Kegh!”

But the demonkin was tenacious. Its severed torso swelled, and the lump of flesh shot forward, diving into the nearest portal.

’I can’t die like this!’

It passed through the portal and emerged into a wasteland dungeon. The demonkin’s flesh pulsed as wings sprouted from its back. It transformed into a winged monster and was heading toward the sky.

“Hah… Hah… I’ll never forget this humiliation! I will return—!”

’Crack!’

The demonkin’s jaw twisted as its shattered teeth flew into the air. Its eyes shook as if they would pop out of their sockets.

“You won’t be coming back.”

I had chased it with Devastar and now hovered before it with a smirk.

“This is your grave.”

“You bastard! To the very eeeeeeend…!”

Without another word, I thrust my right hand equipped with Gauntlet. The demonkin’s body, which had been soaring through the wasteland, plummeted back to the ground.

’KABOOOOOM!’

I landed leisurely and walked toward the fallen creature.

’Argh!’

Pinned to the ground, the demonkin grit its teeth and gathered its mana, intending to take me with it. But…

’My body… won’t move?’

Im Namjin, the hunter with the petrification ability, had already caught up and had his hand on the demonkin’s body.

“You there. Your name?” Namjin stood and asked me.

“Kim Yusin.”

“You’ve done a great service.”

By now, hundreds of hunters and players from all over South Korea had formed a circle around us. In front of everyone, Namjin offered me the sword slung across his back.

“I’ll lend you this.”

“Thank you.”

He had willingly passed on the glory of finishing off the boss. I bowed my head and took the weapon.

“Mmmph! Gaaaaah!”

Watching the demonkin struggle, I closed my eyes. Countless emotions intersected in that moment as the events of the past few days flashed through my mind.

’This is the end.’

There was no hesitation. I brought the sword down toward the demonkin’s chest.

’Pshnk!’

The boss’s core that lay where its heart should have been shattered into pieces.

[You have cleared the Disaster.]

[The Disaster – Labyrinth Dungeon will now completely disappear.]

[Analysis has reached Lv.4.]

[Analysis has reached Lv.5.]

[Mobile Casting has reached Lv.3.]

[Predictive Evasion has reached Lv.2.]

[Intelligence has increased by 10.]

[Agility has increased by 10.]

A flood of player messages filled my vision. At the same time, thunderous cheers erupted from all sides.

“Well done, rookie!”

Everyone was celebrating my first major achievement.

“That kid’s having one hell of a debut.”

“That’s how legends build their careers when they’re just starting out. He’s going to be big.”

“Kim Yusin? Never heard of him. What guild is he with?”

I looked around. I saw Yeon, who had followed me through the portal, and even Bora, Heejong, and Yoonji, who must have been hunting until the very lastmoment. Everyone here was cheering for me.

“Won’t you say a few words?” Namjin prompted.

I nodded and looked at the crowd. “Everyone, you’ve worked hard. And…”

As the area quieted, I let a small smile play on my lips. “Let’s all go get some sleep.”

It was all over. Everyone present felt the finality in those words.

“Woooooooooooooah!”

They roared with everything they had.

The 3rd Labyrinth Dungeon of South Korea, which would have been recorded as one of the worst Disasters in history, was cleared dramatically, just five minutes before its full release.

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