Ch.125125. Metamorphosis of Sorrow

My head is dizzy and my body aches all over.

[Awakening Cards]

-Immune System Enhancement

-Adaptability Improvement

Cheongi is startled in front of me.

“J-Jonghyun.”

“Kim Cheongi. I don’t need to hear any more. Let’s run away.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Are you going to stay like this? That bastard has already left to deal with Aerial. Let’s escape.”

I woke up faster this time, as if my body had adapted to getting beaten.

But my mental state was still a mess. My physical senses were also completely off.

Slightly better than being half-asleep, but I still couldn’t control myself properly.

These awakening cards are quite helpful in many ways. But what’s important now is preventing Cheongi from injecting me with that syringe.

Kim Cheongi was hesitating.

“Deokmin is insane. He’s already a monster.”

“B-but he said we’ll die if we don’t… if we don’t obey…”

“Snap out of it! Kim Cheongi!”

I shouted in frustration.

“Do you think he’ll let us live after he achieves his goal? You’re just being used until the end!”

“…”

“Cheongi. Let’s stop this right now and escape together. There’s no reason to listen to that guy.”

I endured the splitting headache. Cheongi was clearly terrified of Deokmin.

“But if I free you, how will we escape? There are many monsters out there. We can’t get out!”

“Trust me.”

I asked Cheongi to trust me, but of course he wouldn’t listen.

“What nonsense! You’re in the lower class just like me! How do you plan to escape? And what happens after we escape? Is that the end? What if Deokmin takes revenge? He threatened to kill my parents. What am I supposed to do? You don’t understand because you’re privileged? Because the school protects you?”

I looked at Cheongi who was shouting through his tears.

“Yes, it will be difficult. But is there any other option if we just sit here? We have to at least try to move.”

“…Acting so calm. I want to free you too. But that’s not the situation we’re in. Just untie you and see what happens? Why aren’t you scared in a situation like this!”

Cheongi had moved beyond tears to anger.

“Not scared? I am scared, I’m just holding it in. I’m just like you. So untie me. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“I betrayed you. We haven’t talked since then. Friends now? That’s laughable. You must hate me too.”

Kim Cheongi’s expression suddenly darkened. I touched a nerve there.

“Well, about the betrayal. Honestly, it was pretty harsh. I don’t feel good about it. But what about you? Second year is over, and Deokmin will be dealt with after this anyway. Are we going to keep avoiding each other forever?”

“…”

“But I wanted to go back to how we were before. Like the old days. Frankly, all this talk about betrayal! It’s something we can laugh about later over drinks, saying ‘That’s how it was back then.’ We’re just first-year high schoolers. Our emotions run high, we get angry, we make mistakes! We can go back to how things were. But if we just stay like this, we’ll never be able to drink together in the future.”

I tried to persuade him sincerely.

Even though my feelings toward Kim Cheongi weren’t great, we were the kind of friends who needed to make up eventually.

That time came much sooner than expected, but this was truly how I felt.

I want to reconcile and go back to how things were. There was nothing left to interfere with school life now.

Just collect points, complete some missions, suppress the monster group, and focus on eliminating humanity’s crisis until graduation.

“Look, honestly, if you like Yuhwa, go confess to her. I’m not dating her. Be straightforward about it. And I never intended to deceive you. To be honest, the day Yuhwa asked for my help was exactly the day you mentioned. I swear on my phone that’s the truth.”

“Your phone is broken anyway.”

“…I’ll get an expensive new one, you jerk. What are you even saying in this situation…!”

But Cheongi laughed at the absurdity, and I ended up laughing too.

“Ah, I shouldn’t be laughing. It’s your fault!”

“Sorry.”

Kim Cheongi stood up then. He forcefully tore off the restraints binding my body.

“I wanted to make up with you too.”

“Let’s just say we’ve got some good drinking stories for later. And someday, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I said someday.”

As I tried to stand up, my vision swayed. Suddenly I could see the floor.

About to hit—

But at some point, the falling motion stopped.

Cheongi was supporting me.

We looked at each other and smiled.

“Escape sounds good, but how do we go? There must be many monsters around?”

“I have a few disguise methods in mind. Tell me what you saw on the way here.”

“Disguise? Not running away?”

“At least if we’re gone, there are no hostages. That means the guild can come in without hesitation.”

Simply running away is impossible. Instead, we need to hide and look for opportunities.

Starting with figuring out where we are.

“The Taean Gate? That’s a powerful location.”

No, actually, considering guild infiltration, it’s a good place to defend.

He chose a good spot.

Hard to escape from, using Aerial as bait, and blocking the guild’s rear attack.

Aerial is in danger now. We need to hide quickly.

As soon as we left the hospital, we saw a fortress-like structure rising prominently on the highland above the forest.

I recall the Taean Gate and consider what monsters might appear in this forest.

“Cheongi! Text them that we’ve escaped! Tell them we’re hiding nearby!”

“Huh? Oh…”

The fortunate thing here is that Cheongi uses a smartwatch. That guy gave it to him to check the time, but here it became our counter-strategy.

As we were heading down, suddenly thunder roared, and a wall in front of us was blown away.

Could it be?

And there was an imposing snake waving its tail in front of us.

A Mahanaga roars before us.

“No way?”

Has he already killed Aerial and come back?

Anger filled my chest. If that’s the case, I’ll give up hiding my identity and transform.

Just as I was about to pull out my card—

“Over here!”

With a somewhat sharp voice, Aerial appeared before us.

And two people, a man and a woman, were beside her. How did they get here?

“The Magician Guild will protect you! Get ready to run!”

“This… looks like they’ve deployed their own strategy?”

Hope was beginning to appear.

*

Aerial received a sharp rebuke from Jo Seonghee.

[Don’t try to win. You can’t beat it.]

[What? You said it’s weaker than a normal Mahanaga, right?]

[You can’t even properly handle an S-class yet. Mahanaga, even weakened, is still SS-class. Conventionally, it’s an unbeatable entity. What will happen if you recklessly charge in and die? Well, if you stupidly want to let the hostages die and die yourself too, I won’t stop you.]

Jo Seonghee made sure Aerial, with her strong pride, clearly understood her position.

[You can’t just charge in blindly. You can shine even brighter. Not by rushing in stupidly, but artistically. Since you’re capable of that, I’m giving you these instructions now. Have you finished adjusting Gram?]

[Hmph. Of course. I’m always capable of everything. I’ll execute this plan well for everyone’s sake.]

She boosted Aerial’s confidence while implanting the strategy in her mind.

Aerial saw an S-class monster approaching from the entrance.

A plant-type Reaper Tree with excellent regenerative abilities. Unfortunately, it was a type disadvantageous to Aerial.

She instantly blew it up with Gram’s firepower.

‘I know. I won’t let anyone die.’

By the time she had entered, contact had already been made. Since Deokmin had Min Gangsu’s phone.

In other words, the opponent would arrive shortly after her intrusion.

Indeed, a mini Mahanaga appeared in the sky.

Smaller than the one Jo Seonghee fought, but still much larger than a human. At least 7 meters long.

Aerial’s Gram was blazing intensely, like during her previous magical adjustment.

But it wasn’t going berserk.

Because she was different now from how she was then.

“Deokmin! I came alone as promised. Are you trying to kill me?”

Soon the Mahanaga form changed into Deokmin’s appearance.

“How fierce, Aerial. Should I return that Do Jonghyun guy? If you sacrifice yourself, that would work, right?”

“Isn’t that why you made me come alone? Idiot.”

“That’s right, but if you kneel down and offer yourself to me, I could just let Jonghyun go.”

“You’ve lost your mind. Well, that’s why I was never interested in you anyway.”

“You refuse? You could save the other two with just yourself?”

Deokmin swaggered like a victor.

With Aerial’s personality, she would have rushed to attack long ago.

But she endured for the sake of the plan.

Noticing this, Deokmin grew suspicious.

“Strange? The Aerial I know would have charged right in? Why are you so quiet?”

“…”

“Are you up to something? Aerial? Aren’t you a terrible actor?”

At that moment, Mahanaga-level magical power began to emanate from Deokmin’s body.

And that’s when Aerial charged. Hurriedly and urgently.

Deokmin laughed at her foolishness.

A magical tail collided with Gram in an instant. The staggering Aerial was thrown back.

“Honestly, you looked mysterious and were my idol. Separate from liking you, I mean. But seeing you like this, you seem less charming? Hmm. Maybe Seol Yuhwa would be better?”

“Neither Yuhwa nor anyone else would be interested in a monster like you, Deokmin. That’s why you were busy improving your grades with drugs. Pathetic.”

“Oh, really? Even so, your position and mine have switched. I’m the strong one now.”

“Strengthened by illegal drugs, only to be beaten by Jonghyun? Is that when you sold your soul to monsters out of misery? Pathetic. Really.”

Deokmin smirked at those words, but inside he was seething.

“Jonghyun is different from you. Do Jong… no, Do Jonghyun knows he’s weak and that’s why he works hard. From the first time I met him. He has a much better personality than you too.”

Her attitude was like speaking of an object of admiration. Deokmin’s anger twisted.

“Then I’ll kill you along with Do Jonghyun!”

Finally, Deokmin began transforming into a Mahanaga. A giant snake nearly 7 meters long that flies through the sky.

But now, rather than flying, he charged to crush Aerial, who should normally be no match for him.

Certainly, a Mahanaga’s body is powerful. Someone like Aerial could be dismissed as nothing.

Seeing Deokmin charging, Aerial finally smiled.

[Guide him from the air to the ground and provoke him to attack you. Recall the Mahanaga’s attack patterns and techniques. This one is an aerial attack, and the next is…]

Fortunately, as Jo Seonghee said, Aerial succeeded in guiding him to a ground attack.

[It’s extremely difficult to face a Mahanaga head-on anyway. You need to look for that one moment of vulnerability. I’ll teach you a technique to ‘accumulate’ magical power.]

Jo Seonghee successfully transmitted the skill of accumulating magical power to Aerial.

Plus, with magical adjustment, Gram was burning more intensely than before.

Aerial was buying time.

[This is a deception tactic to make the enemy underestimate you, Aerial. When he comes directly to the ground, that’s your moment to attack. Just three times. Any more and you’ll be consumed by Gram.]

That timing had now arrived.

[Mahanaga’s attacks include breath attacks and various abilities we’ve seen before, but in direct combat, they’re limited. Due to body structure, it’s always the mouth.]

But the Mahanaga was shooting powerful lightning bolts to the sides. He wasn’t going to give her any corner to escape.

Magical power began to gather in the charging mouth.

Aerial recalled the simulations she had run hundreds of times.

She exploded Gram and struck the ground.

She bounced upward with a speed that even Deokmin couldn’t predict.

He was startled and left an opening, but as Deokmin turned his mouth skyward—

Before he could strike her down, Gram was right in front of his face with ominous magical power.

[Throwing it?]

Aerial’s throwing skill was beyond imagination.

She pierced right through the corner of Deokmin’s mouth as he looked up.

[ARGHHHH!]

In front of the writhing creature, Aerial moved in for the finish.

She grabbed Gram and literally released magical power. As the Mahanaga suffered in pain from two attacks, Aerial breathed a sigh of relief.

[I’ll give you two methods. One is the countermeasure I just mentioned, and the other is…]

“I don’t even need to use the other one.”

Aerial smiled victoriously as she quietly looked at the packaged item in her possession.

[No matter how hard you try, you can’t defeat a Mahanaga. Deal significant damage and then divert attention. Guide him.]

When Aerial sent a signal through her smartwatch, two members of the Magician Guild with invisibility and flight abilities appeared.

And as the Mahanaga stood up again, he hurriedly looked around and began to leave.

“As expected, now that we’re gone, he’s planning to return to his base!”

“Okay. Let’s rescue them in one go!”

That’s how they had followed the confused Mahanaga and arrived here.

Everything had gone according to the hopeful plan.

Aerial waved happily when she saw Do Jonghyun.

“But there weren’t even any sentries. If I’d known, I would have called our guild master. It would have been over just like that. I was stupidly too cautious.”

“Aerial. It was a life-or-death operation. Being cautious was natural.”

“I know. I’m just saying that because I’m happy.”

How careless, not even placing monsters to handle the hostages.

That shows how emotional Deokmin is.

But soon they sensed something strange.

The roars of monsters were growing louder everywhere. Something was wrong with Deokmin’s body.

The Mahanaga began to ‘roar’.

Then suddenly, monsters from somewhere flew toward him and were absorbed into his body.

“That’s the Mahanaga’s roar and absorption! Everyone run!”

Soon invisibility was activated, and they disappeared from the Mahanaga’s sight. But the Mahanaga, now grown to 14 meters, shook the air with a destructive force unlike before.

Just passing by crushed everything beneath. The impact was enormous.

It was so powerful that the two Magician Guild members who came to help couldn’t withstand it and fell.

Fast and strong.

Soon lightning began to storm around the Mahanaga.

“Everyone be careful!”

As the instructors stepped forward, Aerial stood in front of the two.

“Aerial!”

“Stupid Jonghyun! Who are you worried about? You two just run!”

Soon, thunderbolts that shook heaven and earth struck all around.

The instructors blocked them, but then laser-like energy beams were fired.

They passed through everything in the blink of an eye.

“Ah!”

For a moment, something flashed beside him. A brush with death.

“Huff… huff…”

In the midst of just breathing heavily, Jonghyun’s heart began to race at the sound of something collapsing.

He looked to the side, following the sound.

Aerial also turned around.

What they saw was Cheongi, collapsed with a hole in his body.

“Cheongi!”

Jonghyun’s voice echoed, and Aerial’s expression hardened.

“Jonghyun! Go first! You at least need to survive!”

Harsh but true—there was nothing Jonghyun could do to help here.

“Aerial, but…”

“I have a way! I can escape! So run!”

There’s no time to mourn a friend’s death. As Jonghyun disappeared, Aerial realized it was time to implement the second plan.

She stepped forward with the two Magician Guild members.

“Protect me as much as possible. It won’t be easy to even approach.”

Aerial took out a dropper bottle containing a special solution.

She was determined to hit him with it in this desperate battle.

But at that moment, an eerie wind was blowing from behind.

As the battle began and they were dancing on the edge of death, the sound of massive footsteps began to shake the place.