55. Crushing the Corporation (5)

The Blue Cross Group hunters began rising again due to a skill activated by their boss.

Not killing them completely to make them my subordinates must have caused this situation.

This has become troublesome in many ways. Despite pouring out my magic power and smashing everything, seeing them get back up in perfect condition-no, in an even stronger state-made my morale instantly plummet to rock bottom.

‘No. Get a grip. It’s not like I can die anyway.’

I comforted myself with the fact that I couldn’t die. And this was an opportunity to make even a level 45 hunter my subordinate.

‘A skill that restores allies in critical condition to their original state… and judging by the massive shield, he’s a defense-type Awakened.’

He reeks of a typical tank. And that old man hiding behind him, holding a staff, clearly gives off the strong scent of a supporter or healer.

These two are going all out. They must be planning to buff up and push me back with tanking.

‘The Blue Cross hunters… almost all of them are A-rank or semi-A-rank and above.’

How can I deal with all the revived Blue Cross members and the two bastards who seem to be the bosses without killing them simultaneously?

‘Collapse the building.’

That seems like a good idea. Create chaos. Destroy the building and drag this into a messy fight. Then cause enough commotion to draw all the nearby monsters crawling out.

‘Besides, I have that thing…’

I immediately reached my hand toward the ceiling.

At that moment, the guy who seemed to be the Blue Cross boss fired a magic shotgun attached to his shield at me.

BOOM!!!!!!

Half of my head was blown off.

It doesn’t matter. I have an absurd number of lives left. Ignoring such an attack, I fired a Light Sword at the ceiling.

KABOOOOM!!!!!!

The cutting power of the Light Sword is insane. Meaning, an old building like this can be sliced apart like tofu.

“Ahhh!!! The ceiling is collapsing!!!!”

“Damn it!!!”

The building swayed and began collapsing. Dodging the falling concrete and plasterboards, I dashed outside.

Using Darkness Stealth and Intangibility, I exited the building without any interference. Moreover, with the Shadow Race and my blurred clothing supporting me, my figure instantly melted into the darkness.

I quickly climbed up to the rooftop of the building across the street.

“Ahhh!!! Where did they go!!!!”

“We need to catch them immediately!!! That villain disrupting public safety!!!!”

“They must be related to this incident!! We have to find them! They might be an underling of The Gatekeeper!”

“Seeing them survive having half their head blown off, they’re definitely an S-rank healer.”

“Rank speculation is meaningless! They’ve already shown at least five different abilities!!”

The enemies quickly continued their feedback.

Despite the building collapsing, everyone seemed fine. Those in power suits had insane defense, so that’s understandable, but even the others were surprisingly unharmed.

‘That old man… he’s no ordinary fighter…’

It seemed he had cast protective spells on all the Blue Cross members while the building was collapsing. Both the Blue Cross boss and that old man are extremely tempting targets.

‘Now, then…’

Honestly, the current me could kill all of them in less than an hour. But I’m making this big fuss because I want to capture them alive, not kill them.

And for that, I pulled out a very useful tool.

Since I was quite far from them, I could open my inventory.

“Huff. The smell.”

The entrails of a Mad Bug.

I scattered them over the enemies’ heads.

Now, all the nearby Mad Bugs will gather upon smelling this. Their racial trait makes them unable to resist the scent of their kin’s blood.

“Ahhh!!! Blood is falling from the sky!!!”

“This is… a Mad Bug’s gallbladder!!!”

“Damn it!!! They’re going to swarm! Form up!!!!”

In response to my bug terror, the Blue Cross members hastily formed ranks to face the incoming Mad Bugs.

-KISHAAAAAA

“Here they come.”

They’re swarming. There must be a nest nearby-good thing I prepared in advance.

‘I doubt the Blue Cross hunters would die to mere Mad Bugs.’

So I can freely gather and throw them at the enemies.

Time is on my side anyway. Until those bastards collapse from exhaustion from the bug waves, I’ll just keep gathering all the nearby Mad Bugs and drop them on them.

That’s my plan. To make an insane tank and supporter collapse from exhaustion, the only way is to keep pouring minions at them until they drop.

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to execute the plan…

‘What’s that bastard doing…?’

One guy who seemed to be a Blue Cross member was sneaking away from the formation and crawling into the collapsed building. He looked frantic, like he was searching for something. What could it be?

‘Looks like he’s trying to secretly pocket some elixir or something…’

Suspicious.

I immediately suppressed my presence to the maximum and jumped down from the building to chase after him.

The other Blue Cross hunters seemed too busy dealing with the swarming Mad Bugs to notice.

A single Mad Bug is too easy for a Blue Cross hunter, but when hundreds swarm, things get tough.

“Hah… hah…”

The man was panting as he searched for something inside the collapsed building.

I quietly followed him. The building was quite large, so despite the collapsed sections, many parts were still intact.

“Yes… found it!!”

Entering what looked like an office, the man frantically opened a safe and pulled something out.

‘That’s…’

Definitely some kind of elixir. It looked exactly like a high-grade potion.

“Hey.”

“Gah!!! What the-?!!”

Before he could pull any tricks, I quickly closed the distance and kicked his throat.

“Guhak!!!!”

The man collapsed, foaming at the mouth. I snatched the item from his hand and checked its info.

[Refined Haetae’s Elixir: A processed Haetae’s elixir. Consuming it allows one to learn “Air Step,” “Flame Immunity,” and “Blue Flame.”]

“Wow. You were hiding something like this?”

The last time I kidnapped the Divine Tree Cult Leader, that cult also had such elixirs. So these bastards had something similar too.

“Well then.”

I immediately swallowed the Haetae’s elixir. No need to hesitate. You have to take opportunities like this when they come.

“Guhh…”

Blood spilled from my mouth.

Soon, the magic circuits in my body began expanding.

It felt like my capacity had increased by another level. Moreover, my senses heightened.

“Haa.”

Successfully absorbed. Now I can use Air Step and Blue Flame. And most importantly, Flame Immunity. Fire-based magic or abilities won’t work on me at all now.

“Kyah.”

A sigh of admiration escaped me. I’ve completely nullified fire-based attacks. Even if engulfed in flames, I won’t die now.

Of course, I’d still revive even if I died, but if the enemy sets up a burning field, I could keep getting spawn-killed, so this is a welcome development.

“Good, then.”

Using Air Step, I immediately leaped into the sky.

I could feel something like a panel forming beneath my feet. Stepping on it, I could ascend higher. Nice. The magic efficiency isn’t bad either. I’ve gained the power of the Haetae.

“Hehehe.”

The sight of the Blue Cross bastards expending ammunition against the Mad Bugs came into view.

I immediately started moving around areas where Mad Bugs might be, gathering more of them.

“KISHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

“KYEEEE! KYEEEEEE!!!”

“Wow… this might be… too many?”

Not sure. Since they’re already aggroed, I have to either kill them or die. But I can’t waste time killing them one by one, so I’ll just dump them all.

The Blue Cross is strong, right? For the sake of public safety, they’ll handle it somehow, won’t they?

“Hahaha! Here! Fresh recruits for you!!!”

“Kyaaaa!!! That crazy monster!!!!”

“More are coming!!!! They keep coming!!! Hold the line!!!!!!”

Chaos erupted.

“Now then…”

I climbed up to the rooftop of a building far from the enemies and took out a pre-prepared chair to sit down.

“Let’s have some coffee.”

Since I’ll be up all night, I need to replenish my caffeine.

Tonight will be very long. I have to watch those bastards fight.

Ah, of course, it’ll feel even longer for the Blue Cross bastards.

******

The sun rose.

“Huff… haah…”

Lee Hyeong-u was completely drained from the all-night battle.

Fortunately-or unfortunately-there were no casualties among the group yet, but everyone was in no condition to continue fighting.

“What the hell… was that crazy bitch?”

“I wonder. I can’t fathom her motives. Maybe she was just stalling for time.”

“She must’ve realized she couldn’t take us on directly, so she pulled this cheap trick.”

Lee Hyeong-u and the elder rested briefly while making various speculations. No matter how strong they were, fighting continuously for over eight hours would exhaust anyone.

And when pushed to extreme fatigue, attention inevitably wavers.

“Huh?”

KABOOOOM!!!!!

Something crashed down beside Lee Hyeong-u as he was catching his breath.

“A, a van!?”

Someone had thrown a van at Lee Hyeong-u while he was resting.

The culprit was, of course, Elena. Seeing the Blue Cross members incapacitated, she deemed this the perfect opportunity to capture the elder and Lee Hyeong-u and began her attack.

“Damn it!!! That bitch!!!!”

“Everyone, get uuuuup!!!!!”

KABOOM!!!!

After observing their battle all night, Elena had already figured out Lee Hyeong-u’s skills.

She knew well that she couldn’t let him open his mouth. So before he could use “Heresy Declaration,” she splattered blood on his face to trigger “Blood Explosion.”

“Damn it!!! Restraint!!!”

As Lee Hyeong-u staggered, the elder urgently swung his staff, releasing iron chains.

But by the time he used his skill, Elena was already behind him.

“Guh!!! Damn it!!!”

The moment Elena grabbed the elder’s head, she immediately activated “Other World Infiltration.”

“KYAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!”

The elder trembled violently and collapsed.

“What the-!?”

Elena, who had thrown the fallen elder to the ground, smirked and approached Lee Hyeong-u.

She shattered his barriers with “Stun Fist,” relentlessly pushing him back.

“Guhhaaak!!!!!”

Finally, she landed a clean hit.

Lee Hyeong-u dropped to one knee, and Elena delivered the final blow to his face.

“Haa. Haa. Got you.”

That day, all the Blue Cross hunters became Elena’s subordinates.

The first objective was achieved.

Her next destination would be Pax Company.

Then Osung… and after swallowing Seoul whole, she would eventually extend her reach to the Academy.

To kill the original protagonist.