Chapter 160
The twelve-lane road that had been well under reconstruction had long returned to a state of pandemonium. There were no longer any people to be found there.
Whirrrrrr!
My only companion was the evacuation siren blaring overhead. I saw glimpses of the Fire Giant through the ss of abandoned cars. The giant stared at , gaze fixed directly on . The monster, a sizable lump of fla assuming the form of a person, was grinning.
Even though its this far away.
I was standing at the top of a sloped road, and the Fire Giant was waaaay down there. Despite being extrely far away, I could still feel that the energetically burning flas were smiling.
How chilling.
The fire ki inside
reacted even more fiercely. To be more exact, it was jumping around in agitation upon eting fire ki of a higher grade.
Its not coming any closer.
Its gaze was on , but it didnt approach. No, it couldnt approach.
[The Guardian Tower is manifesting the Power of Guarding.]
[The Guardian Tower has identified an enemy.]
I, the Guardian Tower Master, heard the notices.
[The Power of Guarding does not permit the enemys entry.]
The Guardian Tower Tintin was here. If I fought the Fire Giant head-on, I would lose ten tis out of ten, but here, there was a monunt set to protect
and this field.
Im going.
I began to walk.
My solitary footsteps rang loudly in my ears.
Whirrrrrr!
My footsteps continued to beat to the rhythm of the siren. And joining the score was the thump, thump of my racing heart.
The warning broadcast continued to blare.
All residents, please evacuate.
Once again, all residents, please evacuate to the nearest shelter.
The Fire Giant stared at
with a smile as I walked towards it. It raised its palm, then swung through empty air.
Whumpf!
I didnt actually feel it, but I could feel the flow of fire with Observers Eye, along with the sll of fire.
The heat of the fire is colliding with the Power of Guarding.
Boom!
An explosion went off.
An explosion only I can hear.
The world around
right now was strangely silent, as if only the Fire Giant and I existed in this field. Only the fire sounds the Fire Giant was producing and the movent sounds of my body punctuated the silence.
Shock waves billowed out as the Fire Giants attack crashed against the Power of Guarding, flaring up in the form of a red fire twister.
This, too, isnt visible to the eye.
When seen through the physical eye, the world was extrely peaceful and calm. But my eyes saw sothing else. Right now, a war of flow was underway.
I continued to walk towards the Fire Giant until it was directly thirty ters ahead of . I could now make out its features very clearly. I walked a little closer, giving
an even better view of the monster. Before
was a creature of a completely different level than the monsters I had t so far, a creature I could not hunt with only my ability no matter what tricks I used.
I could only feel one thing.
Overwhelming strength.
Radiating from it was an aura that proved it certainly deserved its title of calamity. If I hadnt had the Person of Fire title, I wouldnt have even been able to sense this aura.
[Your inner fire ki is reacting more fiercely to the higher-grade flas.]
It felt as if my blood had beco fire, and that fire was boiling up inside .
Fighting is dangerous.
I couldnt just fight it head-on. We had to stack variable after variable after variable. Only then did we have a chance. I didnt want to die here. I would create my own future.
Right up to this point.
There were three ters between
and the Fire Giant, just barely out of reach if the giant could stretch out its fingertips.
Up to this point its safe. For now.
The Guardian Towers authority was protecting . The Fire Giant couldnt get any closer, at least for the ti being.
Are you the hunter thats after ?
Groaaar!
The Fire Giants flas blazed up fiercely. Now that I was up close and face to face with the giant, I could tell more precisely.
The ti Ive been given is seventeen minutes.
After that, the Fire Giant would break through the Power of Guarding.
Seventeen minutes, huh.
Seventeen minutes could be seen as both short or long. I sat on the ground, completely defenseless.
If you can hunt , try it. I dare you.
Then, I closed my eyes. The Fire Giant froze, its flas burning even more red-hot, enraged that I was looking down on it. It slamd its fists down in anger on the formless wall manifested by the Power of Guarding.
Whumpf! Whumpf!
Craaaaaaash!
A formless, soundless battle I could not see or hear. I sat there, focusing my mind with closed eyes.
The others will do what they have to do.
The giant was alone. But I wasnt. Sothing I could never even think of doing alone was possible together. I couldnt do it, but we could.
And Ill do what I have to do.
As I had always done, I would do the best I could.
We need to stall anyway.
I decided to focus on my situation while stalling. My Person of Fire body was reacting fiercely. I had the feeling that if I could guide this tempest sohow, I would be able to gain a new kind of enlightennt. I had felt this way when I fought the Brown Bear Kim Taechun, who was slower than , and when I uttered the half-conscious Will Incantation.
An enlightennt of a new stage.
It could be that I was right at the doorstep. It was possible that I might fail, but what I needed to do was focus on what I had to do now.
Ive aggroed it 100%.
The aggro was 100% on . What we needed now was ti.
* * *
* * *
Ahn Seohye was a Barrier Magician. With sufficient ti and resources, she could display power far greater than similarly leveled Players. The problem was that typically, she wasnt given the ti and resources she needed.
I have to hurry.
She moved busily, setting herself to the job of further strengthening the barrier as Hyukjin had instructed. She drew out all the mana she had, weaving her red threads densely into the barrier.
So Yoohyuns voice sounded next to her. I just have to move this car over there, right?
Seohye nodded. The positions of the cars, the people, and even the direction of the wind were all factors that made up a barrier.
[Frenzy Hunting Barrier is changing to Nesis Doom Barrier.]
The Frenzy Hunting Barrier was used for hunting many opponents, while the Nesis Doom Barrier was good for hunting a small number of opponents more efficiently.
That mont, she felt a refreshing energy ripple through her body. The Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon had buffed her.
Its much easier now.
Seohye, Yeonseo called out, I just have to put a hole here, yeah?
Everyone hustled about, moving not as
alone but us together. That was the feeling Seohye experienced.
So distance away, sitting alone before the Fire Giant, was Kim Hyukjin.
Seohye bit her lips.
I want to protect.
Whether she wanted to protect that person, or us, or the first real ho shed ever had, she didnt know. She simply felt a will to protect, and the will of a genius Barrier Magician beca one more elent of the Nesis Doom Barrier.
[The Barrier Magicians strong will begins to imbue the Nesis Doom Barrier.]
[The Guardian Tower recognizes the presence of Guardian Will.]
[The Guardian Tower honors the Guardian Will and assists the Barrier Magician.]
The best defense is a good offense. The will to protect imbued the Nesis Doom Barrier Seohye was deploying, becoming the best offensive barrier.
This is the best Im capable of right now.
If the Fire Giant ca closer, the barrier of red threads, the Nesis Doom Barrier, would swallow it alive. Though whether it could truly pull it off was yet to be seen.
Ive done my best.
It had taken about seven minutes.
So now
Sweat ran down her forehead. She didnt even notice it as she walked towards Kim Hyukjin. The oppressive heat of the Fire Giant was bearing down on her, but she wasnt scared. Her desire to protect what she had now was greater than her fear of the calamity-class monster.
Im here.
Hyukjin humd in response and opened his eyes.
Its been about seven minutes.
That left ten minutes. He had to set up the stage in that ti. He believed in Seohyes barrier and the Guardian Towers power, but those two alone were not enough to perfectly hunt a Fire Giant. No, it might actually be that they might be the ones that were hunted. He had to do everything he could.
Hyukjin glanced at Senia. The angel was streaming in a half-transparent state. Seeing as he hadnt heard any ssages, he judged that she had used her Interdiate Administrator authority, and he was right. Senia deed that Hyukjin required a great deal of concentration and put his notices on pause.
Senia was focusing on Hyukjin, and many Guardians were doing the sa.
Seohye. I know what youre capable of.
...I did my absolute best.
But I also know that its not enough.
After coming here, I can also tell that we cannot hunt that giant with my barrier alone.
Seohyes back was wet with sweat.
Just being in front of it is making
feel so tense.
It was a first for her. Even when she t the Evil Spirit Tycon, she didnt feel this way. Back then, hunting instinct billowed up within her, but right now, she just wanted to run away.
And so Im thinking that theres a possibility that I might have to return the Red Eyes to you.
Th-The Red Eyes?
Senias wings fluttered. She, too, had grown a lot and realized right away that it was ti to re-enable Hyukjins notices. She inford the Guardians.
[The temporary pause on ssages has been lifted. ssage transmission is now possible.]
She intentionally sent the notice to Hyukjin as well.
Not bad, Senia.
Their teamwork had grown by leaps and bounds.
Theres a big difference in ability between you when you had the Red Eyes vs. now. You may not have noticed, but the Red Eyes amplify your killing and hunting instinct, which in turn influences the killing intent of your barriers.
...
Actually, I need the Red Eyes, too. To be exact, not Hyukjin, but the Shepherd Boy. But that ans nothing if we die, right?
I have the Red Eyes, Shepherd Boy. I know youre listening. Hyukjin said those words only in his heart. There were six minutes left. The more desperate side would take action.
So the fact that I need them has to co second. Surviving this cos first.
There was no aning to only stimulating the Shepherd Boy. He relayed the current situation precisely and objectively to the other Guardians as well.
The other two Fire Giants are coming this way, too.
...What?
Seohyes eyes widened. One was already hard enough to deal with, but three? Senias wings fluttered visibly. She couldnt figure out what Hyukjins end goal was, either.
So if we dont use the Red Eyes if we cannot draw out all of its strength
Of course, he had no intention to really use the Red Eyeshe didnt know what kind of power it actually held. He was just telling the Shepherd Boy this: if you dont help , your precious Red Eyes might disappear for good.
Seohye suddenly spoke up. W-Wait a mont, Oppa.
She was so flustered that she inadvertently called him oppa.
Whats going on?
Hyukjin smiled inwardly. She had probably gotten a ssage from the Shepherd Boy. Hyukjin judged that the Guardian had sent a ssage to Seohye instead of him.
I got a ssage.
A ssage? he echoed, feigning ignorance. What kind of ssage?
Ive been given a favor. A marble that can allow
to use as much power as if I used the Red Eyes. Its a Barrier Magician exclusive item.
Hm? A Barrier Magician exclusive item? Was it not the Shepherd Boy?
Which Guardian sent it?
After so hesitation, Seohye answered, The Shepherd Boy.
From those words, Hyukjin could see exactly why things turned out like this.
The Shepherd Boy is desperate.
He was extrely desperate.
She says she got that item from the Shepherd Boy?
Was that item truly sothing the Shepherd Boy could grant? That much, Hyukjin didnt know. But there was a high chance that the Shepherd Boy borrowed it from another Guardian, one related to barriers. In any case, the Shepherd Boy currently had his stomach in knots.
He was sure of that. As a result, they scored a good favor. They could pull this off even without using the Red Eyes.
Then next
There were five minutes left. In these five minutes, Hyukjin would punch open a path of survival more perfect than before.
The picture that had been fuzzy at first was steadily becoming clear, all while the fire ki inside Hyukjins chest continued to rage.
Reviews
All reviews (0)