Episode 144. Return (1)
Countless monsters rushed towards the Wailing Wall. But none of the hunters shrunk back. Their every move could be the key to saving humanity.
By sacrificing themselves, they could be saving dozens or hundreds of lives. Every single hunter here was firmly determined.
“Haargh… Ugh!”
But despite their determination, the hunters were no match for the monsters. Each creature was comparable to a Disaster. And thousands, no, tens of thousands of those monsters poured in like a tidal wave.
Their firm determination slowly faltered. Their will and righteous minds set on protecting humanity cracked. The looming fear was too great. The number of hunters decreased, but the number of monsters increased. The word ‘death’ was strongly carved in everyone’s mind.
“Watch out!”
Like catapults, rocks thrown by monsters pounded the Wailing Wall. Originally, such simple attacks would not work, but the Wailing Wall had been subject to countless impacts. And it was slowly shaking. The last wall was becoming thin, and it looked like it would collapse before long.
“Ahhhhh!”
Rocks flying in from all sides exploded in the air. It was Sung Hyun-woo and Yoo Ji-yeon’s doing. Standing at the edge of the -Wailing Wall-, the two drew up as much power as possible and intercepted the rocks the monsters were throwing.
But it was too much for only two people to handle. Sung Hyun-woo’s nose was bleeding. Overload. His excessive use of telekinesis, a power derived from his ntal strength, had eventually overloaded his body.
“Hyun-woo, go to the back and get so rest! You’ll get seriously injured!”
“I can’t! If I take a break… it’ll be over… Ugh!”
This created a slight gap, and unlike other monsters, the monsters under the command of the -Great Overlord- were clever enough not to miss it.
Between the barrage of rocks, a long, intricate spear flew in like a flash of light. It was a spear made of monster bones. A weapon much harder than rocks and more durable than most tals.
It was a surprise attack aid at Yoo Ji-yeon and Sung Hyun-woo, who were using just enough strength to destroy the rocks. The spear pierced Sung Hyun-woo’s chest like a lightning bolt.
“Hy-Hyun-woo!”
The montum of the spear pushed Sung Hyun-woo back. He fell behind the Wailing Wall. Yoo Ji-yeon quickly looked back, and the monsters didn’t miss her vulnerable state.
Another spear penetrated Yoo Ji-yeon and sent her flying away. She was pinned on the top of the wall. She looked terrible. Yoo Ji-yeon coughed up thick blood.
“Ugh, uh… ah…….”
All of her defensive asures, her mana barrier, characteristics, and skills were penetrated instantly. She avoided imdiate death, but she couldn’t move. She was immobilized with a single attack.
In a haze, Yoo Ji-yeon looked below the wall. The situation there was not that different.
“Everyone needs to get the formation right! The line! The line of defense is getting pushed back!”
Kim Seung-hyun was covered entirely in blood, and the hunters next to him were helping him as they yelled.
“Focus─! Stay calm! Don’t get carried away!”
Lee Hyun-seung was shouting with all his might at the hunters, a pile of dead bodies at his feet. The sll of dead bodies and monsters confused the hunters, creating fear, but it stimulated the monsters’ predatory instincts and aroused them instead.
It was a mistake to enter the Land of Death. This place was their ho. Their territory. Fighting here was like stepping into a pit of fire voluntarily.
“Are, are you all right?”
Zhang Wei approached Yoo Ji-yeon, who was blankly staring below the wall. He was also sweating profusely. He had been saving so many hunters’ lives, which ant that he was running out of strength.
Yoo Ji-yeon nodded slightly and looked up at the sky. The red sky. It was as if the sky was saying that humans could no longer live under it. She couldn’t help but think that those damn invaders were going to wipe out humans from this world, once and for all.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
At that mont.
Soone walked out of the thick dust clouds.
“Oh….”
It looked like a walking mountain. Like a huge mountain with blunt feet was walking this way. And not having to wonder, she knew right away. The end had co. All of the monsters they had been struggling with had been nothing, and this was the beginning.
“Stop annoying , and get out of here!’
A sharp voice ca from above the mountain. It was a boy. He was sitting on top of the mountain-like creature’s head, looking down at everyone. The -Great Overlord- had finally revealed himself. He had co to rule, to trample everyone and bring an end to the world.
“Oh….”
At his appearance, a few hunters beca dazed and stiff. It was because of the Great Overlord’s ability. He could turn submissive humans that were overtaken with fear into his minions. It was a terrible ability that forcibly turned ordinary humans into monsters. That ability was affecting the hunters right now.
“Hey, hey! What’s wrong with you? Wake up, wake up, you idiot!”
Watching their fellow hunters, who had just been fighting alongside them, start to twist their bodies bizarrely, the hunters panicked. They had never heard of such a phenonon. And humans were bound to panic when witnessing sothing that they had never imagined.
The spark of fear spread uncontrollably in an instant. Like a huge fire caused by a spark, the hunters were gradually engulfed into the Great Overlord’s control.
“…….”
Yoo Ji-yeon and Zhang Wei, who were looking down from the wall, gulped. It was terrible. What the hell was that? The hunters had been holding on, but the Great Overlord’s sudden appearance completely reversed the tide.
The monsters kept rushing in. They trampled the hunters, and the screams didn’t stop. The apocalypse. Watching what was happening, the two couldn’t think of anything else but the apocalypse.
And, at that mont.
“Stop, you bastards─!”
A familiar voice, but an unfamiliar way of speaking. Kim Seung-hyun’s furious roar echoed throughout the battlefield. Yoo Ji-yeon turned to look at him. It was the first ti she heard him swear.
The Martial God, the most talented hunter, a strong Tank, the man that everyone could rely on. The Kim Seung-hyun right now was all of those things and none of them at the sa ti. His face looked like that of an animal.
“What, don’t shout. You little worm!”
But the Great Overlord didn’t even blink at his roar. Kim Seung-hyun’s shield was bent, his hunting suit was about to fall apart, and his spear was broken in half. He looked like a ss.
“Go away!”
With that shout, a huge arm swung out from behind the dust clouds. The simple swing generated storm-like wind pressure, and the monsters and hunters nearby were flung away like pieces of paper.
However, Kim Seung-hyun did not back down in the face of it. Superhuman Strength. He was enduring the pressure that even monsters couldn’t withstand with the physical strength he built up and his willpower alone.
“I can’t go. I’ll hold you here until I die!”
Kim Seung-hyun’s voice rang low. And the huge arm collided with Kim Seung-hyun’s shield. tal fragnts scattered far away in all directions. Kim Seung-hyun’s arm fell off, and red blood also dripped down.
The bodies of the monsters and hunters around him couldn’t withstand the impact and exploded.
“Huh, huh… ahh!”
Only Kim Seung-hyun was alive and breathing in the pit of the blood. After enduring the disastrous power, he was kneeling on one knee. Holding on to his severed arm, he glared at the Great Overlord.
Was holding out all he could do? How could a single attack bring about such a disaster?
‘Is… is this where it ends?’
And at the end of that thought—
“Kim Seung Hyun!”
“Martial God!”
“Waaa─!”
The hunters roared from all over. Kim Seung-hyun looked back blankly. Why? Why were they yelling? Why were they cheering in this desperate situation?
He looked up. Sitting on the head of the mountain, the Great Overlord looked strange. He didn’t look happy that he damaged Kim Seung-hyun so badly. Rather, he looked bewildered.
“An ordinary human being… blocked this attack with such a crude object?”
It went against all common sense. Kim Seung-hyun grabbed his mangled arm, and supporting his weight with one knee, stood up shaking. With his remaining arm, he grabbed the broken spear and held it high.
Yes. Even if they were near the end, unless it was completely over, it wasn’t over yet.
[A dormant ‘characteristic’ awakens.]
[It is similar to the characteristic ‘Loyalty’ that you currently possess.]
[The two characteristics have been integrated.]
.
.
.
And when the hunters saw Kim Seung-hyun raising his spear high, they roared so loud as if to drown out the noise of the monsters. Kim Seung-hyun joined in, shouting with all his might.
-Undying Will-
[→ Exerts incredible power when fighting to protect.]
[→ Can ‘absolutely defend’ up to three attacks when yielding a shield to protect. (Cooldown: 3 minutes)]
[→ Those fighting by your side possess the ‘sa power’ as you unless you panic or beco immobilized.]
[→ When fighting a ‘non-human species’, all abilities are ten tis amplified.]
We haven’t lost yet.
* * *
“…Aargh!”
“What, don’t tell you had a nightmare, being a Transcendent.”
What was he talking about? I looked around. I was tied up and inside so sort of transportation taking sowhere.
Right. Soone with a body of fire had captured and was taking sowhere.
‘…That was a dream?’
I thought, breathing heavily. A dream. It was too vivid to be a dream—the desperate battle at the front line and the sacrifice of my teammates, who were my everything.
I was watching it from a distance as if I were watching a movie. I needed to help. I had to help. But I didn’t have a body. I was just stupidly staring at everything like a ghost floating in the air.
“Why are you so quiet? Is it… your first dream since you beca a Transcendent?”
“Yes.”
“Ha, hahahaha! What a funny guy. So, a rookie like you punched his senior in his face… Quite impressive, you are.”
He burst out laughing at my answer. Then, he imdiately continued.
“Yes, then you would be surprised. It must have been incredibly vivid.”
“…How did you know? What, do Transcendents have different dreams?”
“We do. So even trade drugs because they want to have those dreams. Drugs that let you dream for years or decades without waking up.”
“…Why?”
“A Transcendent’s dream is not just a dream.”
Not just a dream.
His words woke up.
And he spoke before I even asked.
“The world you left by breaking your shell. You just glimpsed what was happening right now in the world you lived as a mortal. Many Transcendents miss the days they lived as mortals. They’ve beco nearly omnipotent, but on the other hand, this world is boring and unromantic. Sotis… you miss it.”
“……!”
My heart jumped. What I just saw was not a dream that the brain created based on what I imagined in the past. What I just saw was real. Not this place where the damn Transcendents lived, but the place I was supposed to be. I had just seen the situation there.
“Well, don’t get too caught up in it. It won’t do any good to care. Transcendents can’t interfere with mortal worlds anyway unless they go through an extrely difficult process.….”
Crack.
I twisted my wrist, broke it, and pulled it out of the restraint. Then, I set my wrist bone with my other hand. This way, my hands were free. The guy in front of was going on and on like a snobbish old man without a clue about what I was doing. I turned my wrist and then glared sharply at the man who was still bragging.
I didn’t have much ti.
It looked like I had to return as soon as possible.
“Excuse . There’s sothing wrong with this restraint… My wrist hurts so much. Can you take a look at it for a second?”
Even if that ant being a bit violent.
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