Chapter 68

Chapter 68

 

Immediately after the Twisted Choir’s Schism Hymn began.

The Raid Party ended up dropping into an unexpected place.

It was maze-like, just like the place they had originally been in.

But its structure was extremely simple.

Because of that, the team members were able to meet back up quickly.

Soon, the key figures of the Raid Team gathered and put their heads together.

They were none other than John, Jeong Sang-hoon, and Yu Se-ha.

First, Yu Se-ha, the shot-caller, opened their mouth.

“The headcount is finished, but only the Captain is missing.”

“We can proceed with the raid, sure, but we can’t abandon Bro.”

At John’s answer, Yu Se-ha made an uncomfortable expression.

They seemed to be roughly the same age.

But from their first meeting, John had kept speaking casually.

Yu Se-ha thought they should draw an appropriate line.

“By the way, why are you speaking casually after seeing me only a few times? I don’t recall telling you to drop formalities.”

“I’m Foreign Worker. Polite Korean too hard, cannot do.”

“You said you’ve been in Korea for over ten years.”

“You learned English at school for over ten years too. Can you hold a free conversation?”

“…….”

Yu Se-ha was left speechless.

Because that was, in fact, true.

When the atmosphere seemed about to heat up, Jeong Sang-hoon quickly stepped in.

“Come on! Why are we doing this among ourselves? Yu Se-ha, John is kind of like the diced-radish piece in a game—the special-case player. You mustn’t try to judge him logically.”

“Hoo! I understand.”

When Yu Se-ha nodded, John flared up this time.

It seemed he had roughly read the atmosphere.

“Hey! Fffu-cking guys. You just insulted me, didn’t you? Are you comparing me to diced radish kimchi because white people’s faces are red?”

“Why would we do that?”

“Then why kkakdugi?”

“No, to explain that would be complicated……. By that logic, didn’t you just insult us too, John?”

“That was an interjection.”

“O-ours was the same.”

“Ah? That’s what it was? Okay! Acknowledged.”

Yu Se-ha’s excuse actually had many holes.

But unexpectedly, John readily accepted it.

He was truly impossible to pin down.

In any case, only now could they have a proper discussion.

The three exchanged the information they had gathered so far.

Yu Se-ha spoke first.

“It feels as if the Abyss of Silence has been miniaturized.”

“I looked around in case there was a secret passage, but nothing showed up even with my Detection Skill.”

“Of course we need to solve the gimmick to get out. The problem is that we don’t know what that gimmick is.”

Jeong Sang-hoon and John added their opinions, but no sharp solution came out.

In the end, there was only one thing the Raid Team could do.

Continue searching until they solved the gimmick.

Just as they were about to finish the discussion.

An urgent voice came through the Whisperer.

—Yu Se-ha! You need to come see this.

“What happened?”

—The space is getting narrower!

“Pardon?”

The three hurriedly rushed out.

Then they saw the walls collapsing and slowly shrinking.

The speed was slow, but the pressure was enormous.

At this rate, it was obvious they would eventually be crushed to death.

At the very moment everyone was horrified.

One side of the wall abruptly turned transparent.

Soon, the scene beyond it came into view.

Yu Se-ha could not close their open mouth.

“Is the Captain fighting the boss alone right now?”

“…….”

Jeong Sang-hoon was also unable to continue speaking.

What kind of insane Awakened hunted a boss alone?

But John’s reaction was calm.

“If it’s Bro, he can do that. That guy is on a completely different level.”

“If you can use an expression like ‘on a completely different level,’ I think you’ve basically mastered Korean. I don’t understand why only polite speech is impossible?”

“…….”

John, who had casually said one thing and gotten sniped by Yu Se-ha, seemed quite flustered.

His face, which was already red to begin with, turned bright red.

But John regained his composure in an instant.

“Korean people memorize all kinds of weird English words too. Don’t know CSAT English?”

“Hah! You’re disgustingly good at arguing back.”

In the end, Yu Se-ha only shook their head.

While the two bickered.

Jeong Sang-hoon was focusing on Ha-kyung’s fight.

“How is he dodging all of that? This is his first time experiencing the boss pattern.”

It was not something that could be done simply by being fast.

How could he jump in advance when he had no way of knowing where and how the boss would strike?

And yet, the opponent was far larger.

Its stride was also unbelievably wide.

But Ha-kyung found spaces to dodge as if he were a prophet.

While even landing effective hits.

It was a sight even Jeong Sang-hoon, a 1.5-Generation Awakened, had never seen before.

“Why the hell did our Master pick a fight with someone like that? Because he was young?”

Of course, career history was very important in the Awakened industry.

Surviving meant a person was that strong.

But that was not an absolute metric.

Wasn’t Lee Ha-kyung proof of that right before their eyes?

As John said, he truly existed on a completely different level.

Jeong Sang-hoon watched Ha-kyung’s fight with total immersion.

“Huh? Wait! It looks like we can get out if something is done.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Of course this is a room where we can get out only if we do something…….”

“No, wait! I don’t mean that!”

“If that’s not it, then it’s not it. Why are you shouting?”

“I mean the Captain needs to do something. He’s the only one over there.”

“That’s probably because of his artifact. Bro doesn’t really get cursed.”

“Ah, really? Then do we really have to find it in this room?”

But the team members who had gone out to search had no news.

During that time, the space continued to shrink.

In a few minutes, they would become like grapes inside a press.

John, unable to hold back any longer, pounded on the wall and shouted.

“Save me, Bro!”

Then, astonishingly, Ha-kyung turned his head.

Even though their eyes had only met, the team members could feel it.

He would definitely save them.

***

From Ha-kyung’s perspective, it could only be absurd.

Because the team members who had disappeared were trapped beyond a glass wall.

On top of that, the space was getting smaller and smaller.

If left like that, they would soon be annihilated.

Ha-kyung first tried to widen the distance between himself and the boss.

‘It’s fortunate that bastard is slow, at least. But how am I supposed to save them?’

The Silent Archbishop swung its staff again and again.

Then dozens of blue magical spears flew in.

Ha-kyung decided to try using his opponent’s attack.

He ran along the glass wall with Wall-Walking Steps.

WHOOSH—! THUD-THUD-THUD!

The magical spears stuck into it one after another, but not even a trace was left on the surface.

It seemed this was not the gimmick’s solution.

Still, Ha-kyung did not mind.

‘It failed? Then I just have to try again.’

There was still some leeway.

The team members had not been crushed flat like sweet griddlecakes  yet.

But he did not have all that much time either.

He had to save them somehow before a catastrophe occurred.

He quickly scanned his surroundings, but only the Ultimate Abyss Fragment was detected.

Even with Soul Brand’s senses, there was nothing special.

Then what was the answer?

Ha-kyung stared at the transparent wall the team members were trapped behind.

‘It can’t be glass, right?’

It was a substance that had withstood dozens of magical spears fired by the Silent Archbishop.

There was no way it was simple glass.

Still, it seemed weaker than an ordinary wall.

Light was passing through it, wasn’t it?

As soon as Ha-kyung dodged the boss’s attack, he grabbed the Whisperer.

“Yu Se-ha, can you hear me?”

—Yes, Captain.

“Have you tried breaking the glass wall?”

—Huh? No? This just opened up a moment ago…….

“Then try pouring attack skills into it first.”

—Y-yes, understood.

Yu Se-ha answered in a dazed voice.

Generally, dungeon structures could be destroyed as much as one wanted.

But this place was a location with strong religious coloring.

Perhaps because the walls were covered in antique carvings.

It seemed they had not thought of smashing them.

And it had only turned into a glass wall a moment ago, too.

Soon, lights of all colors began flashing and bursting.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

But there was not even a scratch on the wall.

Ha-kyung smiled bitterly.

‘So it wasn’t because they panicked. It just looked impossible?’

By common sense, that was true.

Who would try to smash down a thick iron door by hitting it?

If it looked impossible at a glance, one would search for a different method.

Ha-kyung checked the glass wall whenever he found an opening.

However, there was nothing particularly special about it.

Except that it was truly unbelievably thick.

While he was in the middle of dodging attacks.

The Silent Archbishop suddenly moved its feet.

BOOM—! THUD!

It seemed to be quite frustrated.

Because until now, it had not landed a single hit on Ha-kyung.

‘Would that bastard’s staff work?’

It was the most plausible guess.

Ha-kyung deliberately loitered in front of the glass wall.

Then, thankfully, the Silent Archbishop thrust its staff.

Exactly as Ha-kyung intended.

WHOOOM—! CRASH!

With a tremendous roar, the glass wall shattered.

It did not even seem to have struck that hard.

Yet it collapsed with a tremendous crash.

Soon, the team members poured out in a rush.

With faces gone deathly pale.

“Uwaaah! I almost got crushed to death!”

“Hah! Hah! I thought I was fucking dead.”

When he looked inside, the walls had completely closed.

In other words, if he had been late by only a dozen or so seconds, the team members would have been annihilated.

He had thought they had some leeway.

But it had been a tighter situation than expected.

Soon, the team members gathered around Ha-kyung.

“From here on, please leave it to us, Captain!”

Everyone was sincerely grateful to Ha-kyung.

Wasn’t respect overflowing from their eyes alone?

Of course, not everyone expressed their gratitude in the same way.

“Bro! Keep the life debt on your tab. I’ll pay it back after I die of natural causes.”

At John’s words, Ha-kyung let out a hollow laugh.

John was originally that kind of person, so it was nothing new.

Instead, Ha-kyung returned John’s joke.

“There’s no telling how long your life will last, John. You’re an Awakened who goes in and out of the Abyss, so even if you die today, wouldn’t that be natural causes?”

“Wow! Look at the class of that curse. As expected of the Undying One.”

“I suppose I lack sensitivity toward lifespans. I’m immortal, after all.”

“Shiiiit! Bro has finally been dyed in the vibe of a Florida alpha male. I like it.”

“Stop with the power struggle and focus on the raid.”

“Damn it, to think I lost a battle of words to that dull Bro…….”

John looked more dejected than ever.

He had not been that bad even when he had been beaten thoroughly during sparring.

It seemed Ha-kyung had hit John’s sore spot.

Whether he had or not, Ha-kyung paid it no mind.

‘He isn’t someone who’ll sulk over that much.’

Of course, he would probably have to soothe him a little.

In any case, with the team members joining him, the boss raid rapidly gained momentum.

Aggro had been properly secured.

And the melee damage dealers were reliably breaking the outer shell.

Now, defeating the Silent Archbishop was only a matter of time.

But while the raid was finally proceeding properly.

An unexpected system message appeared.

[Warning]

[Intruder detected in dungeon]

[Encountered Talent Predator, Veil Lancer]

BOOOOOM—!

The ceiling of the boss nest shattered.

Then something pitch-black suddenly entered.

A gaunt body two meters tall.

A pair of large membranous wings.

A head resembling a canid.

The Emperor’s close aide, who had once driven Ha-kyung to the brink of death.

It was Talent Predator, Veil Lancer.

Ha-kyung could only frown.

‘At this timing, of all times……. More importantly, how did it get in?’