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“……What on earth?”

Under the blood-stained sky, Euna muttered in disbelief. In the brief moment she had been talking to Kim Joo-seop, a member of the Rear Guard—or rather, the upper body of a raid member—had flown in and sprawled out on the ground. Approximately 20 people—almost half of the Rear Guard—had been killed in an instant. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to grasp the unbelievable scene.

Of course, she didn’t think closing her eyes would change anything. When Euna opened them again, her resolve had solidified. The blood-soaked monster that sensed her presence twisted its mouth into a grotesque smile and howled.

“―――!”

In its hand, it gripped the lower half—chewing on the remains of the Rear Guard member who had come flying like it was some chewy jerky. As Euna suppressed a gasp, Kim Joo-seop drew his bow, and she also brandished her spear and shouted.

“Everyone in the Rear Guard! Fall back!”

For a moment, the Rear Guard hesitated, but when Euna urged them again, they finally began to flee. Kim Joo-seop shot her a sharp look.

“Euna, right now, fighting together is…”

“Look up. Either way, that’s just bait.”

When Kim Joo-seop finally noticed the ominous dark clouds forming above, he nodded. —Although he had been slow to judge in this urgent situation, he had never heard of ominous clouds forming in Area 2. It was most likely the enemy’s magic. If that were to finish…?

“…I’ll take care of the Mage.”

“Okay. I’m counting on you.”

A mage is best dealt with by an archer. If a marksman like Kim Joo-seop had at least the skill of a decent archer, he would quickly be able to track the mage and take them out. That was Euna’s calculation. However, that would mean she had to face the monster alone…

“…Are you really going to be okay?”

With her spear in hand, Euna gathered her magic power and confronted the monster.

“……It seems numbers mean nothing.”

—It wasn’t that the Rear Guard hadn’t tried to resist. It was just that it hadn’t mattered. The monster that had devoured the Rear Guard member showed no signs of injury. This was likely the skill of a boss from Area 1, an executioner. It meant false immortality.

“…I won’t ask any more. I wish you good luck.”

“You too.”

As Kim Joo-seop left, Euna dashed forward immediately. The spear she thrust forward was filled with surging magic power.

“Spear to extinguish the devil!”

—Just as the spear was about to explode with heat, Euna shouted with all her might.

“Spear that vanquishes!”

With a loud declaration, light burst forth, enveloping the heavens and earth in brilliance.

On the battlefield of the night, the strike that had obliterated the chimera-like slimes filling the hideout tunnel—

“……!”

—had no effect on the monster at all. All it did was rip away the robe it had been wearing. When the blood-soaked robe disappeared, what lay bare was the form of a horrifying monster.

In that moment, what came to Euna’s mind was the image of the fleshlings that had attacked the academy, something she had only seen in videos. Nails, armor, chains, and iron plates… All sorts of things used to tear, stab, and bind the fleshlings together to create a colossal monster. No, it was a grotesque form that looked as if pieces of flesh had just been stuck onto a makeshift skeleton.

“……!”

Seeing that figure, Euna swallowed hard. Not because she was horrified, but because she realized that her attack had, in fact, been effective.

‘There is a wound.’

Yet, the truth was that it had healed instantly in that brief time. It seemed to possess regeneration rated C… no, likely B or higher.

‘…I need to focus on defense.’

Euna acknowledged this without hesitation. If that regeneration was truly a skill, she would not have the power to take the creature down. However, if it was about buying time, that was within her capabilities.

As if the spear was beckoning her hand, it returned to her grasp. The monster tried to grab it, but it slipped out of its reach.

“―――!”

Infuriated, the creature charged at Euna.

***

‘…Still okay.’

The wide-ranging detection read the situation on the battlefield. Leaving the retreating Rear Guard behind, Euna remained to buy time. If it were her, she would definitely buy them some time somehow.

‘It’s okay.’

The main force was crossing the river. They’d reach Area 2 soon enough, so it would be fine to leave Euna to her own devices. The more pressing issue was the dark clouds overhead. No matter how powerful the magic, it’s useless if it doesn’t hit. But can we really escape on a mere raft? Plus, rushing into the forest would make them monster fodder.

‘And this river is long.’

The river was long, and even with a scroll, it’s not a distance they could escape from. In the end, nothing would change if they didn’t take down the creature. After concentrating with her eyes closed…

‘I found it…!’

Before long, she identified its location. The magic power connecting to the dark cloud—without a doubt.

“Spiritul tunet…”

As the spell neared completion, her magic power grew. The ominous clouds darkened to their limit and covered the sky. It seemed impossible, but it gave the illusion that night had descended on this dungeon.

Watching the massive, terrifying magic building up gradually, she ignited the flames without hesitation.

***

As the black flames enveloped the wolf, it dashed forward, cloaked in air. There was no hesitation in its full-throttled dash. In an instant, it ascended the cliffs of the jungle. The flames rose, turning black, but the masked figure wasn’t focusing on the wolf.

No, the wolf’s C-class stealth was not something that could be easily detected, even by the masked figure known as the Silent Mouth, who truly didn’t notice the wolf’s approach.

The first reason was that it had been focused on chanting; the second was that it hadn’t even known the wolf existed; and the third reason was—

“Spiritul tunetului coboa―?!”

In a single leap, the wolf smashed the head of the chanting Silent Mouth. Transformation reduced its head to nothing but ash. The magic that had been in the process of being cast stopped, and the body of the Silent Mouth, headless, fell to the ground. The flames of transformation clung to the headless body.

“…….”

Yet, the wolf did not leave its spot.

After a moment, shattering the common sense that a headless corpse wouldn’t rise, the body pressed its hands into the ground and stood up. It tilted its neck, now devoid of a head. —That was the third reason. The subconscious thought that ‘it wouldn’t matter even if I got hurt’ was ingrained within.

With a simple motion, as if brushing off dust, the spell of transformation extinguished. No, it simply separated the area covered by the magic with a spoon-like motion.

[It seems it knows me…]

That was not a voice. It was merely the reverberation of magic power forming sound. As the Silent Mouth gazed at the wary wolf for a moment, it spoke again.

[Ah. I heard there are some creatures chasing us… Interesting, but there’s no time…]

The Silent Mouth—unlike its name, it started rambling on. Conversely, I was gaining insight into its being.

[Ahn Hyung-seob (Human)]

[Height 176.5cm] [Weight 64.7kg]

[Strength 243] [Agility 331] [Stamina 336] [Magic Power —]

After seeing that, I sighed. Bottom tier of B-Class or top tier of C-Class. That was about it, but I couldn’t discern its magic power. Of course. It wasn’t possessing magic power; it was merely using magically transmitted power.

‘So it wasn’t the real body after coming this far.’

Having reached Neverland, I had hoped for something, but it was a puppet. Just controlling a dead body through magic connections.

‘Dammit.’

Ultimately, whether piercing through the heart or smashing the head, it meant that whatever it was, it wasn’t a vital point. It meant I had to destroy the medium hiding its magic power somewhere in its body.

‘I thought it might be the mask.’

But it wasn’t. It had to be somewhere else. Regardless of cutting off limbs or disassembling it, it was impossible to take it down unless I destroyed the medium. It seemed that it couldn’t even transmit the power needed to continue chanting the spell in real-time.

As both of us were watching each other, the Silent Mouth’s neck turned very slightly, and it charged forward. The lightning that surged from the ground shot out sharply. Avoiding it wasn’t hard since I had anticipated it, but the speed was absurd.

It seemed surprised that I had dodged, extending its hand forward, and powerful magic began to swirl from within.

[—Die]

The black magic whirled and mixed together, and the moment it released its hand, it flew toward me in an instant. It was as if it had pierced through my movements and trajectory. I was anticipating it too. The moment I turned to dodge, the magic sphere dissolved everything in the jungle, and dark smoke billowed up from the burning trees.

[Spiritul tunetului coboară aici―]

Even in the midst of all this, it didn’t stop the spell chanting. With determination, it persisted in reciting the fourth chant. —I knew well that I must never give a mage time and distance. But I couldn’t afford to rush in. —Who knows what traps lay ahead?

‘Even if I do go in.’

Even if I pushed my way in, there was no guarantee I would win. As I kept my distance, a magic-spiked projectile sliced through the air. The spikes failed to penetrate the magic barrier and fell to the ground like rain.

‘That’s it.’

The shadow and magic bullets were impossible since they lacked substance, but spikes could hold transformation. The black flames engulfed the jungle, devouring it and gnawing away at the magic barrier.

However—once its attention landed on me, the black flames extinguished pitifully. Even though I managed to seize an arm along with the ensuing gust, when I bit into it—

“―――.”

—the bitten off arm exploded, leaving no lower jaw. If I hadn’t had the hardening and softening skills, that wouldn’t have been the end of it. I attempted to dive into the shadows to avoid the steady stream of magic and lightning pouring in, but the power saturating the ground prevented that.

‘When?!’

Ultimately, I had no choice but to leap away using recoil. As if following an established play, a chain of lightning rushed in without a hint of hesitation. The transformation I unleashed immediately devoured the chain. However—unlike Hong Yu-ri’s flaming chain, this one pierced through transformation unrelentingly.

‘This is…!’

Not until after creating a gust could I barely stop it. The moment I landed on the ground, I met its gaze.

[Ho…]

It reacted with casual interest, stroking its chin. I didn’t like it at all.

‘…….’

I inserted the thoughts that had popped into my mind into the mix. I pushed aside my clumsy conjecture. It wouldn’t matter if I didn’t take it down. The only transformation spell didn’t reach it; all that was left was to push forward.

With only the black flames smoldering, its gaze fell on me and extinguished the fire.

—If even transformation couldn’t reach it, then I only had to move on.

[Skill Point 23 → 7]

***

Far away, watching the main force crossing the river, the armored figure opened a spatial portal.

Gripping his greatsword, he casually looked up at the sky.

—Recalling a time long ago when he once stood amongst them.

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