27. White Night (15)

I can’t beat Kormpunthur in terms of absolute power.

As he holds the title of Great Demon, his abilities are mighty, far too powerful for an ordinary human to handle.

That’s why we needed a proper strategy.

In fact, in a situation where a large number of people face a single enemy, the strategy doesn’t require such high-level psychological warfare.

Allocate the allies’ roles according to their abilities, avoid the enemy’s attacks, and slowly attack the enemy through the appropriate use of abilities.

In a way, it was like a raid in an RPG game.

But the opponent is Kormpunthur.

He often used tricks to catch us off guard, so there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t do so this time either.

Furthermore, Pira-hyeon might have helped him devise strategies, even if she didn’t directly engage in combat, so there was no chance that this would be an easy fight.

“Everyone, according to plan!”

What we were most conscious of was Kormpunthur’s attack pattern.

Since the opponent wasn’t some pathetic AI from an RPG, we couldn’t arrange our allies in the standard tank-dealer-supporter order.

That’s why we devised a small-scale distributed attack plan.

If we set up separate tanks, dealers, and supporters, the enemy might target the supporters first to cut off their healing or buffs.

But what if there were multiple small squads combining tanks, dealers, and supporters?

One tank, three dealers, and one supporter. A squad of five people would attack the enemy according to their respective routes.

Considering that a physical-type Awakened could usually handle four to five people, it was an appropriate allocation of personnel.

Of course, this plan only works if Kormpunthur has a ‘manageable’ amount of power.

In other words, if he’s become stronger than before and has ridiculous power, our plan is useless.

But I thought it was worth a try. In the first place, a many-on-one fight overcomes the difference in power with an overwhelming number.

“You’re doing something annoying.”

Kormpunthur reached out his hand.

A black ray instantly shot up from under the ground, piercing the building wall and reaching the front of where we were located.

An attack that looked dangerous at a glance. We immediately rolled away to avoid the ray.

However, the ray that swept through our formation separated us, preventing each squad from reaching its desired position.

Some of the squads, suddenly in a dog-chasing-chicken situation, hurriedly turned around to return to their positions.

But then came a series of attacks. Fortunately, there wasn’t much damage, but the squad members, with nowhere to go, were stuck rolling and dodging within Kormpunthur’s attack range, only wasting their stamina.

“I don’t need the other humans. Lee Ji-hoo, you know what I want, right?”

“I’ll think about it after fighting you first.”

The moment Kormpunthur rushed straight at me and reached out his hand, a burst of bright blue flames suddenly erupted in the gap.

The flames, which looked incredibly hot at a glance, blocked the space between Kormpunthur and me, and surged greatly as if to burn everything.

“Don’t touch Ji-hoo-!”

Nice, Ha-yul.

Thanks to that, I was able to secure a gap for a moment, and I immediately activated combat mode. The overwhelming amount of magic power felt through the tips of my skin, and my whole body tingled just from seeing Kormpunthur.

I took a deep breath and straightened my posture.

It feels like it’s about to collapse at any moment, but I can’t back down here.

Because Kormpunthur is right there, beyond the wall of burning flames. Because everything will end only when I defeat him and rescue the captured people.

“Ha-yul-ah! Yewon-ssi! Please support me!”

“Okay!” “Yes!”

I called for help from the two people who were relatively close.

Meanwhile, Kormpunthur, who had been trapped in the wall of flames, was slowly clearing the flames and trying to get out.

His escape speed is faster than I thought. Is it because he’s a Great Demon?

“A large amount of magic is detected on the upper and lower floors!”

“…Squads with available manpower, head to the lower floors to eliminate the remaining demons! We’ll take care of this side, so hurry!”

To make matters worse, I received information that demons had begun to appear on the upper and lower floors of the building.

I almost lost my mind for a moment and went blank, but I barely regained my senses and derived the best conclusion I could in this situation.

I thought it would be the worst decision to split our forces on both the upper and lower floors right now. Not only is our force small, but if we don’t break through one side for sure, there could be a large loss of personnel if we try to escape later.

Therefore, I choose the lower floor. Of course, excluding the people who are fighting with me now, only the squads that are free from Kormpunthur’s influence.

Since a large amount of magic power was detected, I thought it would be best to send the personnel closest to the safe zone.

“Lower floor! Everyone heads to the lower floor!”

As nearly 2/3 of the personnel left, there were less than ten people left in this space.

And Kormpunthur was almost free from the influence of the flames. He rubbed the embers still on his body and made a scraping sound like metal, as if quite satisfied.

“Not bad. What’s your name?”

“…Why should I tell you?”

“Khehehe, okay. Then shall we play around until you feel like telling me?”

Kormpunthur didn’t seem nervous at all.

Even though everyone left in this space is among the best.

Even if he recognizes that he’s strong enough, how can he be so confident?

I get chills down my spine thinking that there must be a good reason for his full confidence. Just how strong has Kormpunthur become?

I couldn’t even touch a hair on him during the last attack… But I thought we had become stronger too.

“Where is Pira-hyeon?”

I briefly stopped the flow of magic power in the confrontation and asked a question.

I secretly hoped that Kormpunthur would take the bait, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of answering willingly either.

“I don’t need to tell you either, Lee Ji-hoo.”

Kormpunthur’s narrowly torn eyes took on a strange light.

He groaned for a long time in a voice that was still painful to hear, and then told me as if he had thought of something.

“Oh, I remembered. That person asked me to tell you one thing.”

“…What is it?”

“Ji-hoo-ya, don’t listen.”

Seol-ah sunbae tried to stop Kormpunthur by throwing icicles.

But he lightly blocked the icicles with his hand as if he didn’t care about sunbae’s magic, and shouted with his arms wide open.

“‘Eventually he will return, to my side.’ That’s definitely what she said.”

“…You’re kidding me.”

Where am I going?

Even if I lose to Kormpunthur, I plan to escape outside using Ellis’ teleportation magic that’s on standby.

Noticing the ridicule in my expression, Kormpunthur shook his finger while making a ear-splitting laughter.

“Khehehe… That person’s prophecy will surely come true. Of course, the difference between ‘those who have achieved’ and those who have not can never be overcome, so you will never understand.”

“…Those who have achieved?”

“It just means that you have achieved something great. It doesn’t seem like you’ll understand even if I talk more, so shall we start slowly?”

Kormpunthur raised one arm.

Soon, I felt a huge mass of energy concentrating there. It was a sign of a similar ray attack as before.

How should I attack? Think.

The enemy’s abilities are clearly specialized in the magical direction, but that body, which seems to have been obtained through artificial Awakening surgery, is also not easy to deal with.

He even took Ha-yul’s flames and Seol-ah sunbae’s icicles without any problems.

While I was thinking, Kormpunthur’s attack came flying.

A dark purple ray accurately pierced through the position I was just in. I immediately rolled away to avoid it, but my hands and feet were still tingling, perhaps because of the energy I felt nearby.

The ray that bounced off the floor created a deeply gouged groove with its powerful destructive force. It would probably cause at least a critical injury if it grazed you, and even instant death if you were hit properly.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about other people. I had to trust the other members and focus solely on attacking after dodging.

“Your movements are nimble.”

But no matter how much I kept dodging the attacks, I couldn’t see any openings in Kormpunthur.

Honestly, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s just playing around.

How can I inflict effective damage, how can I launch an attack that would shock him?

The more I worry, the more intense the attacks become.

The members who had been dodging well at first were now struggling to dodge the rays, panting heavily as their stamina became overwhelmed by the energy’s influence.

“The rest are all at a moderate level… Red hair, you look a little better. And that barrier from earlier.”

“Don’t, don’t evaluate me as you please!”

The dark red flames that the enraged Ha-yul spewed out transferred to Kormpunthur.

But the flames were still extinguished futilely with just one of his rough gestures. Kormpunthur touched the remaining embers with a terrible smile.

“Okay, I’ve decided. Lee Ji-hoo, and red hair. If only the two of you come with me, I won’t harm the rest.”

“Who decided that-“

“…Ha-yul-ah, just a moment.”

I turned my gaze from Kormpunthur to the other squad members.

Everyone was pretending not to be, but I could see that they were all tired. Even if we continued the battle as it is, it was clear that they would suffer considerable injuries due to their depleted stamina before long.

“…Just me. I’ll go alone.”

“Ji-hoo-ya! You really…!”

I have no choice but to admit it.

That this was a battle that we had no chance of winning in the first place.

If his power was the same as during the last incident, I might have had a chance, but the current Kormpunthur was too strong.

As if he was made ‘deliberately impossible to beat.’

I had to compromise.

Not just for myself, but for everyone else.

I didn’t know what would happen if I went with Kormpunthur, but I was certain that Pira-hyeon was plotting something strange.

That’s why I was going to play along.

Let her run wild as much as she wants. If she needs me that much, then let her try.

Of course, I have the last device to stop her.

‘That’ is still properly in my pocket. The thing that will be with me from beginning to end.

“…Okay. If you want it that much, I’ll give up on the red hair.”

“No! Ji-hoo-ya!”

“Ha-yul-ah, I’ll be back soon. Wait for me.”

Because I have no choice.

Because if I don’t do this, everyone will be in danger.

So, I’m going to go and give her a great blow and come back.

“Master, I have secured him.”

At Kormpunthur’s whisper, a pitch-black gap opened in the air.

A gap that looked similar to the one from before, but this time it was large enough for two people to enter comfortably.

“Go in, Lee Ji-hoo.”

“I was going to go in even if you didn’t tell me to.”

I threw myself into the portal.

With a sensation as if my whole body was covered in a soft substance, my vision gradually darkened.

I felt someone grabbing my arm from behind. Judging from the unpleasant feeling, it was Kormpunthur’s.

‘Ellis, are you still connected?’

• Yes… For now. But the influence of magic here is too strong. If I lose focus even a little, it feels like it will be cut off…

“This way.”

I obediently followed Kormpunthur.

I haven’t given up yet. I had a last resort left.

Rather, this is just the beginning.

After walking for a long time along the dark passage, the surrounding scenery gradually began to change.

“This is…”

“Master’s sanctuary.”

Bookshelves filled the walls, and books were packed tightly.

If it weren’t for the demon next to me, I would have thought it was no different from other libraries. The sight of countless books lined up was enough to evoke a sense of grandeur.

Then, I heard something rustling in the distance.

Kormpunthur grabbed my arm and immediately walked forward.

As we headed towards the table in the middle of the room, one of the books on the bookshelf suddenly flew towards me and gently landed on the table.

“Read it.”

[Diary – 27,436th]

As expected.

As soon as I saw the title of the book, I was able to confirm Pira-hyeon’s identity.

According to Kormpunthur, her alias is ‘The Achiever’.

A human who has realized too much of the world’s truth.

That’s why she became more unhappy than anyone else.

Pira-hyeon was a character who realized that this world is a novel.