Chapter 175
Chapter 175: Pursuit
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence hung in the air as weapons were aimed at one another in the battlefield.
The debris from the collapsed corridor shifted, indicating that the monsters trapped inside were trying to break free.
Yoo Ji-han pointed his sword toward that direction and said, “If we don’t stop those things right now, there’s no room for negotiation.”
“Does this person’s life not matter?”
“Cut out the pathetic threats.”
Yoo Ji-han lowered his upper body, poised as if he could leap forward at any moment. Even if Jung Young-wook was killed, he seemed ready to sweep away the enemies before him.
The otherworlders, who had experienced his sword for just a moment, flinched.
‘He’s not an easy target.’
Eventually, the man holding Jung Young-wook spoke up. “Everyone, stop.”
Following the command of the otherworlders, the monsters halted their actions.
Yoo Ji-han confirmed that all vibrations around had ceased before relaxing his stance.
However, sensing an unsettling tension, he frowned and shouted, “You there!”
“…?!”
The woman he pointed at gasped in surprise.
Yoo Ji-han glared at her, saying, “You just cast an illusion over the corridor.”
“W-what are you talking about?!”
“If you don’t remove it immediately, I’ll take you out first.”
Yoo Ji-han growled, gripping his sword tightly. He had realized she had laid an illusion spell to make it appear that the monsters had stopped.
‘How did he find out?’
The startled woman looked around at her companions for support.
Finally, someone sighed and said, “Cancel it.”
“……Understood.”
Swoosh—
Once the illusion was completely lifted, Yoo Ji-han lowered his guard.
Seeing this, the man pointing his sword at Jung Young-wook asked, “How did you find this place?”
What baffled the otherworlders the most was: how did the heroes manage to find and attack the location where they had been hiding?
Even if there was a traitor among them, very few people knew the location of this place in the first place.
“Is there any reason to answer that?”
“You’re being rather cocky for just ten people attacking.”
“That ten has severely disrupted your plans.”
“…But Park Jae-kyung behind you won’t be able to move for a while.”
“What of it?”
“What?”
“I’m right here.”
Buzz!
Yoo Ji-han summoned the Sylph, inflated to its maximum size, onto his shoulder. He was flaunting his identity as a Spirit Master.
But the otherworlders reacted heatedly. “Spirit Master Yoo Ji-han! We already know you.”
“What are you going to do with a Spirit that can’t even communicate?”
His basic information was already known among the crowd.
It was simply that, as a beginner Spirit Master, he hadn’t raised their suspicions to the level of a significant threat.
Yet Yoo Ji-han pointed to his eyes and said, “I see right through your pathetic illusions.”
“…!”
At his words, the otherworlders all stared intently at him.
It seemed that the reason the expedition team coming down to Yeosu struggled with magic was standing right in front of them.
‘So it was him.’
‘Because of that bastard…’
‘Things have turned upside down.’
The hero Jerry had been begging desperately for his capture!
His presence was like an unexpected thorn that had popped up from an unanticipated place.
“Do you know a magician named Kefal?”
“How do you know that name…?”
“I killed him.”
“…!”
The elite magician who had his heart pierced after Yoo Ji-han read his memories.
Strictly speaking, it was Park Jae-kyung who ended his life.
But the otherworlders had no way of knowing that, so they merely whispered among themselves.
He had been one of the more renowned magicians who crossed over from Ajesia.
‘Kefal is dead?’
‘How could that be!’
‘This is why we haven’t been able to contact him.’
People’s eyes rapidly swirled with panic, struggling to hide their emotions.
Not everyone had the acting skills of Paras, the one they encountered at the mart.
Yoo Ji-han scanned the flustered otherworlders with a contemplative look.
‘I can’t afford to look weak here.’
Survival of the fittest.
Weak animals only get eaten by predators.
Even if the enemies had some information about him, it was merely a general understanding.
Thus, he aimed to act as if he were a hero comparable to Park Jae-kyung to draw out their caution.
“I’m starting to like this more and more!”
Jerry swallowed hard as she looked at Yoo Ji-han.
Her hands, gripping her twin daggers, trembled with anticipation.
She didn’t care if comrades she knew had died right in front of her; her heart was full of a desire to test her skills against him.
“Even so, the situation won’t change.”
Creak!
As the dagger’s blade tore into Jung Young-wook’s skin, blood began to flow from the wound.
It was an act meant to remind everyone that they were the ones holding the hostage.
Jung Young-wook, taken aback, squeezed his eyes shut.
“What the…!”
Kim Si-hu glared fiercely at the dagger owner, fury raging in his eyes.
But Yoo Ji-han maintained his composure as he addressed him, “What’s your name?”
“Rius.”
“Rius! Where are the people who were with that magician now?”
“They’re all dead.”
“….”
It seemed that everyone in Jung Young-wook’s party had been wiped out except for him.
Upon hearing about the death of their guild member, Park Jae-kyung glared at Rius with a look that could kill, but he merely scoffed.
There was no need to be scared of someone who had already lost most of their strength.
“What do you want?”
“Your deaths.”
“Well, that’s interesting. I wanted the same thing.”
They were two parties, each wanting the other’s demise.
Even if a hostage was taken, it wouldn’t lead to a situation where someone would willingly sacrifice their life for the hostage.
Rius wasn’t foolish enough to suggest this after gauging Yoo Ji-han’s intentions.
Thus, he proposed a compromise.
“If you don’t want to die, then leave now.”
“I can’t do that until I get that person back.”
“If you leave first, I promise to let you go alive.”
Rius offered to release Jung Young-wook after the heroes departed.
However, Yoo Ji-han shook his head.
“You need to hand him over before saying that.”
“Why would I trust you with anything?”
“Conversely, what reason do we have to leave?”
“You’re the ones taking a hostage here.”
“In that case, I’ll take all of you as hostages.”
“…What?”
Yoo Ji-han intended to take all the otherworlders present as hostages.
Jerry, observing the situation with sparkling eyes, couldn’t help but grin with excitement.
“Give him to me.”
Whoosh!
Green aura surged around Yoo Ji-han’s sword.
The situation was once again teetering on the brink of collision.
“I knew you’d come out like this!”
“…Hah.”
Rius let out a deep sigh as he prepared for battle, as if waiting for the moment.
‘It’s a bit bothersome, but… it can’t be helped.’
Rius pulled out a small glass vial filled with a transparent liquid from his pocket.
Upon seeing the suspicious item, the heroes immediately became wary of Rius.
Swish!
Rius removed the cap from the vial and poured the liquid over Jung Young-wook’s wound.
About five seconds later, Jung Young-wook began to tremble convulsively, foaming at the mouth.
“Guhh!”
“Young-wook!”
Yoo Ji-han stopped Kim Si-hu, who was about to rush forward, and looked at Jung Young-wook, whose eyes had rolled back.
“What did you do?”
“It’s a poison that will cause all of your magic power to go haywire within an hour, leading to death.”
“…!”
“The antidote is with me alone. So if you want to save this magician, you’ll leave now.”
Yoo Ji-han grimaced.
He never thought they’d use such a method to force a choice.
He glanced back at the healer from Yoon Do-ha’s party, but she shook her head.
Even if they brought Jung Young-wook back in this state, they had no means to treat an unknown poison.
“How are you going to hand him over?”
“Come back here in an hour. Before we leave, I’ll make sure to administer the antidote to him.”
“……You’d better keep that promise.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party slowly retreated toward the entrance they had come from, keeping their weapons trained on the otherworlders in the tense atmosphere.
Min Yu-ri was still aiming a magic arrow at Rius’s head, with her bowstring drawn back until the very last moment.
“Hyung! What do we do now?”
“Let’s hide and wait.”
It took less than five minutes to exit the Space Distortion.
Yoo Ji-han led the group to the rooftop of a seafood restaurant near the dock, a perfect place to hide.
“Chilla. Bend down a bit.”
“Chirp?”
“A little more.”
“Let’s just lay him flat.”
After laying down the large Chilla, noticeable from afar, onto the rooftop floor, they crouched behind the wall of the rooftop to observe the guesthouse they had just escaped from.
“Chirp chirp…”
About half an hour passed quietly with Chilla lying still.
Min Yu-ri, using [Eagle Eye], spotted the otherworlders flooding out of the guesthouse.
“They’re out.”
“Young-wook is also over there.”
The monsters following behind had been concealed with an illusion spell, making them less visible.
Yoo Ji-han noticed an exceptionally large man under the spotlight carrying a bundle on his back.
It seemed there was a person inside that bundle.
However, the very distinct and alien magic emanating from that bundle was…
‘The Captain.’
The leader of the otherworlders he had encountered in Mumu’s memory.
The figure responsible for making Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon disappear in Yeosu.
For some reason, the mastermind behind all this chaos was lying still inside that bundle.
“There’s a high-ranking official from IUPC as well.”
“Hmmm…”
“They’re boarding a ship?”
The otherworlders who were chatting in front of the guesthouse began to board the large fishing boat moored at the dock.
The bulky flying monsters picked up those who couldn’t fly and took off into the skies.
‘They’re lifting that big giraffe.’
The monsters handled by the IUPC members were far more skilled and controlled than those they were accustomed to.
Jung Young-wook, with his expression relaxed and eyes closed, was left on the ground.
Park Jae-kyung expressed her surprise at this. “They’re keeping their promise.”
“……No way.”
“Huh?”
Yoo Ji-han shot up from his place, saying, “That was a fake.”
“What do you mean?”
“They set an illusion over a pillow.”
“I knew it would be like this!”
“Those sneaky bastards!”
The illusion magic made a pillow resemble Jung Young-wook, fooling the heroes until the end.
They didn’t think for a second that the otherworlders would actually hand over Jung Young-wook.
Yoo Ji-han’s party immediately descended from the rooftop and dashed toward the location of the ship.
“They’re coming!”
“Get on! Hurry up!”
Once their deception was revealed, the otherworlders hurriedly boarded the fishing vessel.
Moments later, the anchored boat and the flying monsters began their exit into the dark sea.
In the obscuring gloom of the night, compounded with the illusion, it became challenging to even perceive the boat up close.
But Yoo Ji-han was fixedly staring at the ship as it slowly moved away.
‘There’s no way I’m letting them escape!’
The large bundles loaded onto the ship undoubtedly contained Jung Young-wook.
“Is there anyone who knows how to steer a boat?”
“I can steer that one over there!”
“Ho-yeol?”
Nam Ho-yeol had experience piloting fishing boats from when he had gone fishing with his friends in the past.
Yoo Ji-han placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Let’s go after them. I’ll guide you on the direction.”
