Ch.148Chapter 6. Hellfire Peninsula (5)

Sealing a human somewhere.

It’s not an impossible method.

Many ancient texts—novels, comics, movies, anime, etc.—present various methods for sealing away a being.

And I know far more about these methods than the people of this world do, and I have the ability to implement them.

How?

Simply through the Goblin Club?

That’s right.

All my supernatural abilities are based on the Goblin Club, and they’re implemented through its power.

Through that power, I create several talismans to suppress demons.

“ARGH!”

First, I beat the demon until its magical power is depleted.

With each swing of the Goblin Club, chunks of its magical power are shaved off, and the mana tainted with darkness is purified by flames and burns away.

By mixing Qiongqi’s magical power with the power I know, I can use a truly terrible power against the supernatural beings of this world.

[Turn to ashes.]

Mana Burn.

A very simple ability that burns the opponent’s mana.

According to the law of equivalent exchange, it should offset my mana against the opponent’s, but I burned the opponent’s mana in an extremely efficient way rather than through equivalent exchange.

[Did you think you could kill me with just that?]

“AAAGH!!”

The demon screams and fires magical bullets at me.

I easily avoid them with a sidestep and prepare for a major attack.

“D-die! Goblin!”

The demon stretches both hands forward, preparing some tremendous technique.

Crimson magical power spreads around the demon, and an oval shield-like mana barrier was precisely targeting me.

“Final Twilight—!”

BOOM!!

What I thought was a barrier was actually a bombardment that concentrated and fired mana.

It’s a method that makes the opponent let their guard down by appearing to raise a shield, then fires a concentrated beam of magical power at the speed of light to take them down.

[Too slow.]

“You dodged…?!”

Too bad.

This was already a technique that appeared in the original novel.

“N-no! You knew about it?! You dodged because you knew!”

[Your imagination is poor.]

“W-what?!”

This is a common taunt against supernatural ability users.

Lack of imagination, lack of creativity.

It’s essentially the same as dissing ability users for not properly utilizing their powers.

[Anyone could come up with a technique like yours. Raise a shield, then fire from the center of that shield.]

I know this technique not only because other heroes in this world use similar techniques, but also because I saw it in comics when I was young.

[Die.]

I hold up my club, jump high into the air, and aim it at the demon.

[Demons are to be executed.]

“Ugh, AAAH! I don’t want to die!!”

The demon begins firing magical bullets in a final desperate attempt.

Spikes protrude from its shield and rush toward me, but I position my club sideways while still in mid-jump.

[Propulsion.]

Whoosh!

Qiongqi’s magical power erupts as flames from the end of the club, pushing me sideways.

The demon’s desperate attack grazes the empty air where I had been, and I slowly swing my club backward as I advance toward the demon.

“S-stay away! I still, I still have so much I want to—”

CRASH!

I spin my body like doing a forward roll, using the rotational force to swing my club at the demon’s shield.

“Kuh, kuhak…!”

Purple blood spurts from the demon’s mouth.

The blood has toxicity and tries to corrode the mana that forms my body upon contact, but before the blood can touch me, Qiongqi’s flames sweep across my front and burn it away.

CRACK!

As soon as I break through the barrier, I land and immediately strike the demon’s head with my club.

Crunch.

With the sound of something breaking, the demon’s eyes roll back and it collapses sideways.

‘The weakness of supernatural beings is the brain.’

This is true for humans too, but especially for supernatural beings.

[Anyone with a concussion temporarily loses the ability to use their powers.]

That’s why I continue to use the club.

I’d like to learn flashy swordsmanship or do gun kata action with pistols in both hands, but smashing a demon’s protective barrier around its head with a club is the fastest way to “neutralize” a demon.

[Sleep now.]

I take out a talisman, stick it on the demon’s forehead, and tap it with my Goblin Club.

Whoosh!

The demon’s body is instantly sucked into the talisman.

To others, it might look like I’ve sealed the demon in the talisman, but the reality is quite different.

I don’t have the ability to manipulate subspace, nor can I jump into drawings on rice paper.

Though I came from another world, to use such abilities in this world, one would need to understand Einstein’s theory of relativity completely and be able to explain it to others without missing anything.

Unfortunately, I’m not at that level, so I attached the demon to the talisman using a very simple method.

‘Contraction.’

The demon is sealed in the talisman.

Not inside the talisman, but attached to the back of it while maintaining its form.

Like a wasp stuck to flypaper.

The demon has simply shrunk to the point of invisibility, though keen observers might notice.

“S-stop!!”

A hero rushed over urgently.

“What have you done with the demon! Goblin!”

[Ah, you mean this.]

I point with my club to where the demon had been, then fold the talisman in half and slip it between my index and middle fingers.

[I thought I might be able to make use of demons, so I’m collecting them.]

“Y-you bastard!!”

Of course, the side where the demon is attached is facing inward, invisible to the hero.

[Don’t worry. I have no intention of using demons to attack anywhere.]

I carefully fold the talisman so the demon’s spine doesn’t bend, then put it in the box attached to the back of my bike.

[I just wonder how I can kill demons more easily.]

“L-liar…! You’re actually waiting too!”

[Waiting?]

“For Platinum Sun!!”

Wow.

How did he know?

“Goblin! If you’re really a villain, those demons inside…!”

[Killing the demons in here now would just end there.]

Vroom.

As I mount my bike, wind blasts from underneath, making it hover slightly.

“W-what…?! The bike, flying in the sky…?!”

[A rider’s bike flying through the sky is common sense. Remember that.]

VROOOM!

Having subdued the demon, I need to go “seal” the next demon.

[Ah. Syndicate communication. I’ve pretty much wrapped things up here. Actually, there’s only one left. The demon in Jindo.]

[You mean the S-class?]

[Yes. It wasn’t intentional, but Snow White is also heading to Jindo right now.]

[…S-class opponents are for S-class. And to make matters worse, an A+ class has become a demon….]

[It killed all its practice mates from the beginning, then chased down and killed all the fleeing faculty members. The death toll is currently estimated at 30. What do you want to do? Do you want to see how Baek Seol-hee handles it?]

[If it were before March, I probably would have.]

I would have asked Baek Seol-hee.

A way to save demons has emerged.

But should we offer a chance of salvation to a demon that has killed 30 people and is probably still killing more?

It’s a hero’s dilemma.

Knowing there’s a way to save demons makes one hesitate to kill them carelessly, but seeing a demon that has killed 30 people indiscriminately massacring people regardless of age or gender makes one want to kill it.

I don’t know what decision the government will make, but at least at this moment, there will be complaints and dissatisfaction.

[Because of Platinum Sun’s abilities and existence, all heroes have begun to hesitate. Boss. Please send people to the heroes as you would.]

[I’ll recruit people based on how they act. There’s nothing easier to recruit than people who become dissatisfied when the existing system is shaken. Oh, by the way.]

A small video appeared on the bike console.

[Taowu is fighting Dueoksini right now. It seems he went directly to Ulleungdo targeting Ymir.]

[He noticed Ymir?]

[Why else would he go to Ulleungdo? Well, considering the nature of such beings….]

[Even if he knows Ymir’s identity, he’ll pretend not to know and hope for her to come out as Platinum Sun.]

There’s no need to understand the thinking of psychopathic villains, but understanding makes it easier to deal with them.

[He will continue to push Ymir. He’ll create situations forcing her to transform into Platinum Sun. Tell Taowu I’ll finish up in Jindo quickly and head to Ulleungdo.]

[Understood. Be careful on your way. The demon has cleverly destroyed the bridge to the island, so they’re currently dealing with the S-class demon inside Jindo.]

[It destroyed the bridge?]

It’s true that demons have intelligence, but it deliberately physically destroyed the bridge to make the island truly isolated?

[Do we have data on the demon?]

[Just finished hacking. Official name, ‘Demon of Bone Powder.’ English name ‘Skullian.’]

[…Bone Powder?]

[Yes. It’s currently hunting supernatural ability users in Jindo.]

The boss’s voice trembled slightly.

[After killing ability users, it creates mana powder on the spot and inhales it as it goes around.]

I pressed down harder on my bike.