Chapter 127:
‘He’s trying to wear me down.’
An Esper without a Guide would eventually overload, and that meant death.
Even if Park Hyung-woo failed to kill her directly, forcing her into an overload would still be a victory for them.
Bam!
Knowing this, Seo Jae-yi didn’t hesitate and punched the sturdy earth wall Park Hyung-woo had created, shattering it easily.
She brushed off the Taesan Guild members’ attempts to restrain her and continued running.
However, they were Espers from a guild that was once the strongest in Korea, and with a, albeit washed-up, S-rank among them, she couldn’t move as quickly as usual.
As she struck down another Taesan Guild member who tried to ambush her, breaking his wrist, Seo Jae-yi’s foot sank.
The ground beneath her had turned into a quagmire. Swamp creation, one of Park Hyung-woo’s abilities, a terrain manipulation skill only an S-rank Esper could use.
Before she could pull her foot free, sharp thorns erupted from the ground. She dodged them with ease and grabbed onto one to pull herself out of the swamp.
“Ow, ow!”
As soon as she did, smaller thorns sprouted from the main thorn. She quickly let go, kicked it away, and jumped back, but not before getting scratched.
“Wow, you actually managed to scratch me. Trash, you’ve gotten stronger! You’re finally starting to feel like an S-rank!”
“Someone shut that bastard up!”
As Park Hyung-woo yelled, wind and telekinetic force flew towards her face. A blast of hot air from Seo Jae-yi neutralized the attacks. Water, fire, and ice evaporated before they could even reach her.
She grinned at the enraged Park Hyung-woo and continued her ascent.
‘Damn it. Holding back is tiring.’
Luring them into the dungeon while holding back was more troublesome than she had anticipated. She had to be constantly alert for surprise attacks.
Like now.
“……!”
Sensing something incoming, Seo Jae-yi quickly dodged. A sharp object embedded itself in the ground.
At first, she thought it was a throwing knife from a Stealth Esper.
“……A syringe?”
But it was a syringe, filled with a reddish liquid that looked like blood.
‘What is this? It’s unsettling.’
It wasn’t the first time she had seen blood, but it felt strangely disturbing. Perhaps this was the reason for Park Hyung-woo’s unusual confidence.
Whoosh!
A bullet grazed her leg, accompanied by a faint whistling sound. Made from a monster’s magic stone, it drew blood.
Distracted by the syringe, she had been a bit slow to react. Thanks to her monstrous reflexes, it had only grazed her, not pierced through.
“Seo Jae-yi, what’s the use of dodging that?”
Glancing at her already-healed leg, Seo Jae-yi looked at Park Hyung-woo, who was now close by.
“Aren’t you curious what that is?”
“Not at all. I can check it after I kill you.”
“No, you can’t. It’ll be too late. Check it now.”
Park Hyung-woo raised his foot and crushed the syringe. The reddish liquid splattered on the ground with a crunch. The pungent smell of blood filled the air, assaulting Seo Jae-yi’s sensitive nose.
It was a scent she had smelled before, a scent that brought a sharp pang of pain.
Seo Jae-yi’s face hardened.
“Nice expression.”
Park Hyung-woo smirked at her frozen face.
“……So that’s what you were so confident about. Park Jeong-su is behind this.”
The red liquid in the syringe was a Guide’s Awakening Factor. Seo Jae-yi recognized it because Park Jeong-su had used it to torment her during the experiments.
And the owner of this Awakening Factor was none other than Seo Jae-yi’s father, Seo Ju-il.
‘You still have my father’s Awakening Factor? And you’re using it against me?’
She couldn’t contain her rage any longer. Patience wasn’t her forte to begin with.
Heat radiated from Seo Jae-yi’s body.
‘I’ll kill them all here. And dispose of their bodies in the dungeon.’
Just as she was about to lunge at Park Hyung-woo, intending to snap his neck, her rage created an opening.
“……!”
A Taesan Guild member, she hadn’t even noticed him approach, broke through the heat surrounding her and grabbed her.
Even as his hand burned, he didn’t let go.
Just as Seo Jae-yi was about to sever the hand, another Esper’s unsettling energy invaded her body. She immediately recognized it.
A Life Force Esper.
He was trying to steal her life force, at the cost of his own life.
Even though he should have known what happened to Life Force Espers who messed with her.
‘How much do you want me dead?’
Seo Jae-yi looked at Park Hyung-woo incredulously. His face was filled with triumphant glee. He thought he had won.
He might not be able to kill her with this, but weakening her was enough.
But he was wrong.
“U-uwaaagh!”
The Life Force Esper screamed and fell to the ground. His slightly burned hand trembled, then began to shrivel like a mummy’s.
It wasn’t Seo Jae-yi’s life force that was being drained, but his own.
“N-no, no! Help me! Aaagh!”
Starting from his fingers, the shriveling spread up his arm, to his shoulder. The Esper screamed, clinging to his comrades as his body withered away in real time.
Someone severed his arm at the shoulder, but it was no use. The shriveling continued from the point of severance.
Not a single drop of life force remained in his body.
“G-Guild Leader, Guild Leader! Save me, save meee!”
Choking, he clutched at his throat and reached for Park Hyung-woo.
“Damn it!”
But Park Hyung-woo, seeing his face contorting as his body decayed, beheaded him with a nearby guild member’s sword.
Thud, thud, roll. Thump.
The headless body collapsed. But the decay didn’t stop even after he was dead.
His severed head and lifeless body continued to shrivel until they were completely desiccated like ancient mummies.
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone was speechless, horrified by the gruesome sight. The guild members stared at Seo Jae-yi, who was completely unharmed, as if she were a monster.
Only Seo Jae-yi remained unfazed.
‘Is this because of Hae-won’s power?’
Her body was filled with Hae-won’s life force.
Unless he personally reclaimed it, her life force wouldn’t be drained.
‘He’s really helpful.’
Seo Jae-yi grinned and clenched her fist. After she dealt with these guys, she would reward him with a passionate kiss.
“It seems your trump card didn’t work.”
The Taesan Guild members, except for Park Hyung-woo, flinched at the sight of Seo Jae-yi’s smiling face and clenched fist.
Seo Jae-yi looked at each of them.
Now that they had brought her father’s Awakening Factor, she wouldn’t let any of them escape.
‘You dared to use my father like this? Alright, let’s finish this.’
Seo Jae-yi’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the broken syringe lying near Park Hyung-woo’s feet.
She changed her mind. She would kill them all here and dispose of their bodies in the dungeon.
She would keep Park Hyung-woo alive, though. She needed to interrogate him about his connection to Park Jeong-su.
‘But before that…’
There was one person she had to deal with first.
Seo Jae-yi started running.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
As Park Hyung-woo roared, his eyes bloodshot, a massive wave of earth erupted from the mountain.
He didn’t hesitate to attack, even though it could bury his own guild members alive. He truly was trash.
Seo Jae-yi dodged the wave of earth and ran to the side. Sharp earth spikes rained down like drops of water from the wave.
Crack, crunch!
A shimmering, red-hot aura surrounded Seo Jae-yi, blocking and shattering the spikes. Some of them melted into liquid, unable to withstand her heat, and dripped onto the ground.
The ground beneath her feet gave way, and Seo Jae-yi stumbled. Seizing the opportunity, the guild members attacked.
Idiots. As Seo Jae-yi scoffed, a massive pillar of fire erupted towards the sky.
“Aagh!”
Some managed to dodge, but others were thrown back, their faces horribly burned.
How dare they try to get close to her? They truly had rocks for brains.
Shaking them off, Seo Jae-yi finally reached her first target.
“Hello there.”
She grinned at the man before her.
She had pinpointed his location with her thermal vision the moment he threw the syringe.
The one who had used her father’s Awakening Factor against her.
“You’re a familiar face.”
A ranged Esper who used telekinesis.
His face paled, and he stumbled backward.
“Oh, you can’t run away.”
Crack!
With a light touch of her hand, his neck snapped. She casually tossed the dead man aside and looked around.
Sensing no energy signature from his gun or bag, it seemed the broken syringe was the only one containing the Awakening Factor.
“Seo Jae-yi!”
Park Hyung-woo, finally catching up, roared. Seo Jae-yi responded indifferently.
“You’re incredibly slow. You’re not really S-rank, are you? Shouldn’t you get your abilities reassessed, Baldy?”
“Who are you calling Baldy?!”
“Grow some hair!”
Seo Jae-yi yelled and lunged at Park Hyung-woo. Just as she was about to sever his right arm, something unexpected happened.
Thump!
“……Huh?”
A chilling sensation washed over her. A sense of foreboding so intense it momentarily stole her breath.
It was a feeling she had experienced before, but far more terrifying and repulsive.
“…….”
Park Hyung-woo froze as well. Even though this was his chance to capture Seo Jae-yi, he didn’t move.
He, too, felt the ominous presence.
“Park Hyung-woo, is this…?”
“…….”
Park Hyung-woo didn’t answer. Their gazes shifted simultaneously towards a certain direction.
Less than 10 kilometers away, an immense power, strong enough to paralyze even an S-rank Esper, was emanating.
This could only mean one thing.
“……An Emergent Dungeon.”
A gate.
If they were lucky, it would be Rank 2. Worst case scenario, it could be a Rank 1 dungeon, something never before seen in Korea.
‘Wait.’
Seo Jae-yi’s face hardened as she stared in the direction of the energy signature, biting her lip.
“Isn’t there a village in that direction?”