Chapter 198
Chapter 198. At the End of the Earth (4)
The leader of the People from Another World, whom I could only see in the memories of others.
Yoo Ji-han’s first impression upon actually meeting him was:
‘Strong.’
It felt like he was the most powerful among the People from Another World I had encountered thus far.
Even compared to Rank 1 Heroes like Yoon Do-ha, that man’s aura did not seem to lose at all.
In fact, the magical force pressing down on him was emanating from him as he hovered in the air.
Pang!
Kim Si-hu attempted to dissipate the force that was hindering our party.
He scattered the remaining magic he had left around him to clash with the captain’s magic.
Lim Si-yeon, nearby, also responded in a similar manner, but—
“Yoh-ho-ho!”
“Ugh!”
“Kyaah!”
The efforts of the mages were easily thwarted by the captain, who simply waved his outstretched palm from above.
With the magical pressure having intensified, Kim Si-hu struggled to push his thighs with both hands, trying to lift his upper body.
Having failed to withstand it, Lim Si-yeon completely collapsed onto the floor.
“Lim Si-yeon!”
“I-I’m fine.”
Though she said she was okay in response to Hwang Joon-ho’s call, Lim Si-yeon was unable to rise again.
Once Yoo Ji-han confirmed that their lives were not in danger, he shifted his gaze back to the captain.
“I’m sorry for causing everyone so much trouble.”
“No, it’s not your fault!”
“First, let’s pay our respects to the fallen comrades.”
The captain raised his top hat over his heart and bowed his head towards the deceased People from Another World, closing his eyes.
Those from Another World, including Rius, followed suit as they paid their respects.
“Those bastards are trying to die…!”
How dare they act so casually in front of me?
With a grim expression, Kim Hyun-tae grasped his heavy great sword, which felt several times heavier than usual.
Though the weight was far greater than normal, it was not so heavy that he couldn’t move at all.
“Wait there.”
“……!”
As the captain’s command to wait was issued while he was still paying respects,
Kim Hyun-tae froze as if he were one of his subordinates.
In reality, it was the force weighing upon his entire body that had forcibly immobilized him.
“You! You there! Come down at once!”
“I said to wait.”
“Ugh!”
He was even sealed shut, unable to speak.
Seeing this, Yoo Ji-han thought,
‘So this isn’t just waiting for no reason.’
From at least 20 meters away, he had bound the feet of everyone in our party.
Even Kim Hyun-tae was completely unable to budge.
I was starting to grasp the extent of that man’s strength who held the title of captain.
“I just woke up, but… I understand the situation.”
Elites who had moved from Yeosu to the ends of the earth.
Heroes attacking them up close.
With only a few established circumstances given to him, the captain successfully assessed the current situation.
“Hmm?”
Eventually, his gaze turned toward the fallen Chilla.
An unusual monster he had never seen before in his life.
And there was Min Yu-ri, glaring at him while holding onto that monster’s body.
“That’s…”
The captain’s eyes widened as he fixed his gaze on Min Yu-ri.
A slight smile crept onto his lips as he said,
“Rius! Capture the woman next to that hamster.”
“Y-Yes?”
“She’s a treasure that can produce at least nine top-grade magic stones.”
“……!”
To think one could make top-grade magic stones just using the material from a living hero.
How immense must the magical power of a single hero be?
Though Rius looked skeptical, there was no way the captain would lie to him.
“I’ve never seen such a person! Extract all her blood and hand it to me, and keep the cut flesh, bones, and organs separate as well.”
“Chik…!”
“Yoh-ho-ho! This will surely make for excellent materials for restoring Ajesia in the future!”
Chilla, unable to move while enemies threatened its master, trembled in fear.
It was barely holding onto consciousness as it was.
Just then, as Min Yu-ri was calming the strained Chilla—
Pabab!
A blade-like gust of wind shot toward the captain from the ground, aiming for his neck.
Unfortunately, the captain merely tilted his head and easily dodged the attack.
“A Spirit Master, I see?”
The captain looked down at the Sylph.
Spirits, being non-human, were not affected greatly by his magic and moved freely.
—Whew! So close!
The Sylph lamented its failed attack.
It had hidden the moment the captain appeared and launched a surprise attack, but it appeared that simple magical attacks posed no threat to him at all.
“Round spirit! Know your place and attack me!”
—I know my place well! I’m nothing compared to you!
“Truly, you are quite the arrogant spirit.”
—Your mom!
“Tsk tsk! How can you have such a cheap manner of speaking! What kind of human is your contractor…?”
The captain cast a sidelong glance at Yoo Ji-han, who seemed to be his contractor.
Yoo Ji-han then spoke up.
“I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“How exactly did you send Korea’s Rank 1 Heroes to Another World?”
“……!”
Upon hearing Yoo Ji-han’s question, the captain furrowed his brows.
How could a mere hero know this information?
When he looked at Rius, he shook his head as if he knew nothing.
Even when he glanced at Jerry, who was held hostage, she had the same response.
“How on earth did you find that out?”
“Just happened to know.”
“……Well, that’s true. After all, it wouldn’t change anything even if I found out now.”
The captain slowly lifted his right palm forward.
Then, he snapped his fingers audibly.
[Miracle Hallucination]
The magical force that had been binding the heroes suddenly vanished and re-emerged as a magical phenomenon that enveloped them.
The pupils of those ensnared by the magic lost their strength and lost focus.
“Ah…”
“Ugh…”
Moments later, their grip weakened, causing the weapons they’d been holding throughout the fight to drop one by one to the ground.
Those who had been resisting with tightly closed eyes were no different.
‘As expected of the captain.’
The magic of a sorcerer renowned for handling hallucination magic.
Only two people throughout Ajesia’s long history had reached such an extreme level.
Using countless methods to protect human minds, there was no stopping that magic.
Rius wore a slight smile.
‘This time, you have no chance!’
Rius focused on Yoo Ji-han.
No matter how troublesome his abilities were, he wouldn’t escape this time.
“……?”
But suddenly, why was it?
As the magic unfolded, Yoo Ji-han, who seemed to lower his head, slowly lifted his head to gaze at the captain.
His clear gaze was proof he was not under the hallucination.
Everyone was left in shock.
“What on earth are you…?”
“Captain! That man is not affected by the hallucination!”
Rius laid out all the magic that had been discerned by Yoo Ji-han until now.
Nodding at the rough explanation given, the captain said,
“To summarize, we’ve been pushed all the way here because of that man.”
“Yes… That’s correct.”
To be pushed to the very ends of the Korean Peninsula because of a single Spirit Master.
Unlike the heroes who had dropped their heads from the hallucination,
Rius was unable to bear the embarrassment and lowered his head.
“Jerry.”
“Net!”
As Min Yu-ri’s magic was released, Jerry regained her freedom and saluted the captain.
No matter how much she had been taken hostage, she couldn’t act carelessly before the captain.
“Did Jerry also fall victim to that Yoo Ji-han hero?”
“Net! Our master got us!”
“……Master?”
“He’s our master!”
Thinking back over everything, the captain reached a single conclusion.
‘Yoh-ho-ho, he’s a dangerous individual…’
*
“Hey! Kim Hyun-tae!”
Freed from the restraints, Yoo Ji-han struck Kim Hyun-tae hard on the back of the head.
However, he did not regain consciousness.
It was the same no matter where he hit—back of the head or elsewhere.
—Ugh! That’s hard to break free from!
Yoo Ji-han looked above Kim Hyun-tae’s head.
Instead of the thin thread seen during the hallucination, a massive white column was connected to his head.
He couldn’t touch it even if he tried.
All he could tell was that he was under an incredibly powerful hypnosis that couldn’t even be compared to before.
‘If I’m not careful, he’ll die!’
The People from Another World were moving freely now that they were out from under the spell.
With even Jerry’s restraints lifted, he had no confidence about being able to fend them off if they all charged at once.
‘I have to find a way, a way out.’
Watching the enemies with his eyes while remaining cautious with his body,
He pondered what could be done to overcome this dire situation.
But nothing practical came to mind.
Even if he fled, he couldn’t move everyone who had fallen under the magic.
It was truly a situation where he couldn’t move forward or backward, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
—Ah! Ji-han!
Just then, a sharp cry from the Sylph reached him.
As Yoo Ji-han quickly turned to look for it—
“……Sylph?”
The Sylph was not where it had been hovering.
Just where had the spirit gone?
Yoo Ji-han hastily scanned the surroundings.
‘It’s gone.’
The broken observation deck and the People from Another World had completely disappeared.
In their place was a not-so-large cube-shaped room.
He had never been here himself, but—
‘Isn’t this the space I saw then?’
It was the same space shown in the memory of Yoon Do-ha’s spirit, Mumu.
“Yoh-ho-ho! Welcome.”
“……!”
The captain appeared a few meters away.
Yoo Ji-han reached for his waist, but there was no sword in hand.
He had arrived unarmed and without any equipment.
“Where is this?”
“The boundary of dimensions.”
“Boundary?”
“A place where one can easily move to another dimension, in other words, Another World.”
Despite the captain’s friendly explanation, his words were hard to believe.
As Yoo Ji-han continued to stare into his eyes, he said,
“Are you planning to send me to another dimension like those Rank 1 Heroes?”
“Yoh-ho-ho! You’re quite clever!”
“Why not just kill me?”
“Because there’s a chance you could escape alone without dying, isn’t there?”
“…….”
“It’s a possibility, at least.”
Though it depended on the premise of leaving behind the other companions,
If Yoo Ji-han focused entirely on escaping using the Sylph, there was a good chance he could flee alone.
However, hearing that from the enemy made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Sometimes, there are better alternatives than murder.”
“That doesn’t seem like something the leader of Ajesia should say.”
“……You know where we’re from? As I thought, you know too much.”
“Thanks to whom, I wonder?”
“The conversation ends here. It’s time to part ways.”
The captain raised both of his hands forward.
It was the action before he clapped.
‘Oh no!’
If memory served, the moment he clapped, Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon’s bodies had vanished.
Yoo Ji-han dashed forward fiercely to block him.
“Farewell.”
Clap!
However, as the two hands collided, a short sound echoed.
Finishing his task, the captain smiled.
“……Huh?”
But for some reason, the body of Yoo Ji-han that had been charging forward did not disappear.
Soon, Yoo Ji-han reached the captain and punched him right on the nose.
Pwaaah!!
The bone from his eyebrow jutted straight inwards and broke, sinking into his face.
Pshhh!
Bright red blood dripped from both nostrils.
Holding his face with his hands, the captain screamed in agony.
“Kwaahk! Y-you! Why aren’t you disappearing?!”
“I don’t know! Let’s just start by hitting you!”
