Ch.135Resurrection Ritual Is Dangerous (3)

After completing my preparations, I immediately gathered everyone.

Yesiel, who had remained in Korea, gladly accepted my proposal, and Ji Cheol joined without complaint since he was essentially my subordinate anyway.

Then there were Henesia, Astride, and Chae Hwa-in.

Honestly, I thought this would be sufficient firepower, but unnecessary carelessness isn’t good.

The other side still has two founders who haven’t revealed their identities, plus their leader.

Since all three are returnees, they might be hiding unknown powers.

“So who else are you calling?”

Normally I would have left her behind, but this time I decided to bring Song Hayeon along.

She’s been focusing on training and building her skills, so she should be able to handle the small fry at least.

I glanced at Song Hayeon once, then continued with an evil smile as I contacted several other individuals.

The results of those calls would become apparent once we arrived in Spain.

“I’m sorry. Your entry has been denied.”

“What? Why?”

“The Spanish authorities don’t want you entering their country.”

“Didn’t they get the message from the Association? We agreed to cooperate for the S2-rank dungeon raid.”

“Well, it seems they’re concerned about the security threat posed by such overwhelming combat power.”

Despite having coordinated everything in advance with the Association’s help, it appeared Spain didn’t want our cooperation.

Perhaps it was because of the sudden decision, or maybe there was simply no place for us in their existing raid plans.

Either way, it was clearly a troublesome situation for us.

Unable to find more words, Song Hayeon quietly returned and asked me:

“…That’s what they said. What should we do?”

“Ugh, this is really urgent.”

While I tend to be impulsive, even I hesitated at the thought of openly invading another country’s territory.

That would essentially be tantamount to a declaration of war, with only slight exaggeration.

Just then, Henesia, who had been quiet until now, offered a suggestion.

“What if we do the same as our opponents?”

“What, what do you mean?”

“I mean we could just hypnotize everyone, conceal ourselves with magic, and depart. If we just make it to the dungeon and capture the Hades group, it shouldn’t matter even if problems arise afterward.”

In other words, she was suggesting we act first and report later.

And she was certainly right. At least it was better than wasting time here.

“…That’s, that’s not bad. Let’s do that.”

So we forced our way through using magic and began our journey, ultimately crossing a line that couldn’t be uncrossed.

“Looks like we’ve arrived.”

A beautiful island in the Mediterranean’s Balearic Islands.

The final battlefield to sever this wretched connection.

Mallorca displayed its majestic form before us.

#

Crack!

Crunch!

CRAAACK—!

“That’s the last one. Seems we’ve finished cleaning up.”

The Black Ogre guarding the dungeon boss had its neck ripped out.

This was done by a knight in black armor.

And that knight’s master was none other than Heimbell, the leader of Hades.

“Well done, Brago. Now guard the passage with the others.”

[…I shall obey your command.]

The fluid movements despite the heavy armor and the natural communication between them—

These were clear evidence that he was a high-level undead.

Watching this series of battles, Fabio felt goosebumps rise on his skin as he inwardly expressed his admiration.

‘…He really is strong. To handle a dungeon of this difficulty without even using his full power.’

The dungeon boss, which had seemed capable of devouring all challengers, was now in tatters, its limbs bound as it lay in the center of the boss room.

Heimbell had completed the preparation of the ritual formation and had spread the corpses of all the monsters from the dungeon around it.

The altar was complete.

Now the true ceremony would begin.

“…Colton. The fragment.”

“Understood.”

Colton, one of Hades’ founders and an American returnee.

He handed over the soul fragment of Gildeon that had been obtained through the localized ritual in Italy.

‘Come to think of it, that was the first time.’

The place where Fabio, an Italian, first met Baek Eunha.

At that time, Helena’s appearance had prevented any chance of confrontation, which in retrospect was fortunate.

Had they fought then, he would certainly have been the one to lose.

‘But even she…’

In this situation, there would be no way for her to intervene.

Colton and Escargot, with skills surpassing most S-rank hunters.

Heimbell, the absolute powerhouse who far exceeded even them.

And finally, Fabio himself.

Even if she brought enough forces to break through all of them and enter the dungeon, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, Hades only needed to buy time until Gildeon’s resurrection ritual was complete.

‘It’s essentially over.’

At this point, Gildeon’s resurrection was a foregone conclusion.

And the moment he regained his physical form and appeared in this world, everyone on Earth would have to kneel before him.

Whoosh.

Rustle.

“…I will now begin the ritual. Everyone return to your positions and fulfill your roles.”

And so, in an instant, the dungeon interior was engulfed in vast darkness.

#

“What’s the plan now?”

Hidden among the bushes under concealment magic, Ji Cheol was the first to speak up.

This was certainly troublesome.

The information about them quickly assembling a raid team was apparently true—a considerable number of hunters had already gathered in front of the dungeon on Mallorca Island.

Among them were numerous S-rank hunters whose faces were well-known from various media.

“…We’re fine for now, but if we get any closer, they’ll notice us.”

“Given their numbers, it’s nearly impossible to deceive them all. We need to make a decision.”

Ji Cheol was right.

We couldn’t fool so many high-level hunters—they weren’t low-rank hunters or ordinary people.

But we couldn’t waste any more time when we were so close to enemy territory.

Finally, I sighed and gave instructions to the group.

“Wait, wait. Two more people should be arriving soon.”

Fortunately, thanks to contacting them early, the expected individuals arrived without delay and appeared before us.

They were Xavier, Yesiel’s master, and Beatrice, the Italian S-rank hunter.

“I’ve heard the general situation, but what exactly are you planning to do?”

Beatrice showed clear confusion after seeing the assembled group.

However, my attention was focused not on her but on the person beside her.

A woman with an unfamiliar face had joined our group, accompanying Beatrice.

“Who are you?”

“Huh? Master, don’t you know her? That’s Seo Min-ah. She’s from our country, of all places.”

Seo Min-ah… now that she mentioned it, the name did sound familiar. Wasn’t she an S-rank hunter known as the Magician?

“But why are you here…?”

“I brought her along. She really wanted to help.”

Apparently, Seo Min-ah and Beatrice were already acquainted.

Even so, it was suspicious that she would readily offer assistance in such a matter.

As I was giving her a dubious look, Seo Min-ah, who had been smiling gently, spoke up.

“I think I can be of help.”

“Based on what?”

“This might sound sudden, but due to the nature of my ability, I know quite a bit about this situation.”

A rather unbelievable statement.

Everyone expressed doubt, and I too tilted my head as I asked gruffly:

“…Really? What do you know?”

“Hmm, let’s see. At the very least, I know that a terrifying entity is about to awaken, and if we don’t hurry into the dungeon right now, we’ll be in danger.”

As soon as Seo Min-ah finished speaking, the ground suddenly began to shake as if an earthquake had struck, and black mist started rising from the direction of the dungeon.

The raid team gathered in front were thrown into panic, and we too stared at the scene with shocked eyes.

Seeing this, Seo Min-ah continued in a low voice:

“See?”

“…I get the picture now.”

Come to think of it, I’d heard something from Joseph before. In America’s top-secret zone, there was a special awakened one with the ability to read the future.

Judging by her carefree attitude and detached gaze, she was clearly a similar case.

“…Teacher, what should we do?”

Astride subtly placed her thumb on one of her swords as she asked me.

She meant she would eliminate Seo Min-ah if I thought she might be a burden.

However, after a moment’s consideration, I looked into her sincere eyes and made my decision.

“…Come with us. We’re going in.”

And so, we gradually made our way toward the entrance of the dungeon that was slowly being engulfed in darkness.