Ch.164The End of Malice+

# 164. The End of Malice+

The world split apart.

This wasn’t some middle-school-level dramatic expression; from Subin’s perspective, there was no other way to describe it.

She had never been one to enjoy adventures, and for safety reasons, directly channeling magical power into her eyes was something she couldn’t even imagine doing—in fact, she had never once attempted it until now.

But this was no time to be cautious. In this place where magical power was already backflowing, forcibly channeling magic into her eyes caused the blood vessels in them to burst and her eyes to begin melting.

That’s putting it mildly—in reality, the moment Subin concentrated magical power into her eyes, red lines appeared and bloody tears began cascading down like waterfalls.

Even as her vision turned red and blurry, even as she felt it rapidly fragmenting, Subin didn’t stop. She didn’t waste a single thought on whether she could be healed later or what would happen if she became permanently blind.

She was completely focused on confirming whether Sunghyun’s hypothesis was correct, and whether it could help them overcome their current situation…

‘Found it.’

The final concentration of a genius risking her life was truly extraordinary. By the time one of her eyes was completely destroyed, Subin began running toward the spot she had discovered, completely disregarding the Gaze of Destruction. Though there were no explicit orders, Danya, seeing Subin suddenly dash off from the rear, instinctively approached the Gaze of Destruction to draw more aggro. It was incredibly fortunate that the aggro hadn’t been split, since Subin wasn’t currently fleeing or attacking.

While Danya continued her life-threatening tightrope walk, Subin, her face completely stained with blood, sprinted at full speed before suddenly stopping at a certain point.

It was just six steps away from where the mage had been standing and taunting them all this time.

To the naked eye, there was nothing unusual about the spot, but with magical power concentrated in her eyes, Subin could barely make out an anomalous space with swirling movements. She firmly stomped on this spot, then knelt on one knee and began gathering magical power very discreetly. From experience, she knew that even the slightest provocation could cause that eye monster to fire its beam at her.

Like holding back a sneeze or resisting a tickle, Subin forcibly gathered the magical power that kept trying to escape her grasp. Just as her remaining vision was about to plunge into darkness, she released the magical power she had contained in her hands and strained her voice.

“Now…!!!”

**

The raid members lying inside a thin protective barrier.

Me, barely standing after applying buffs.

Danya, in such a precarious position that she could be hit at any moment.

Subin, who had rushed off somewhere with blood pouring from both eyes as soon as I suggested we make our move, now collapsed on the ground clutching her wrist.

‘Is this the end?’

Is this what they call your life flashing before your eyes? Fragments of my not-quite-thirty years of life decorated this moment.

‘What a shit game.’

We had somehow managed to defeat Iseratio despite its early appearance, but what the hell was this situation?

I wondered if I should have moved together with them somehow, but time can’t be turned back.

If this was truly the end, I wanted to spend my final moments with my raid members, but…

‘I’m scared.’

Once I acknowledged this might be the end, it became hard to maintain my composure and pretend to be calm. My legs trembled and my throat tightened. Back on Earth, I had never thought about death, and even in the Tower, though I had brushed with death several times, I had never actually contemplated it like this.

I didn’t know what I should do or say at a time like this.

At the same time, I desperately wanted to deny it all.

With Danya and Subin struggling up ahead, how pathetic would it be for me to give up now, after I had just told Subin that it wasn’t over yet and to pull herself together?

So I decided to hold on just once more, just one more time.

At least until Subin or Danya fell, I would somehow endure. Until then, the possibility wasn’t zero. Subin, with her needle-sharp insight and precision, might be able to thread through that needle-sized possibility and carve out a path.

Even as my body was collapsing in real-time, I forced myself to hold on, watching the backs of those two who were in even greater danger than I was.

And my faith in them was not betrayed.

“Now…!!!”

A desperate cry, so unlike Subin’s usual voice.

Hearing that short, two-syllable word sent chills throughout my body.

“Danya—!!!!!!!!”

My shout followed Subin’s, bypassing almost all conscious thought.

It stemmed from my absolute belief that there was a reason Subin had shouted “Now!” rather than “Found it!”

“————-■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!”

After about a second, the monster that had been arrogantly looking down at us from above suddenly began to thrash about wildly. Danya, who had been nearby, briefly retreated and was about to check on Subin, who had collapsed bleeding, but upon hearing my shout, she quickly assessed the monster and charged forward instead.

That split-second judgment soon proved correct.

“■■■■■—–!!!”

The thrashing monster was gradually falling from the air and attacking indiscriminately, but curiously, its attacks weren’t reaching close proximity. Because of this, those of us relatively far away—me and the raid members—were anxiously trying to avoid its blind attacks, while I gritted my teeth and crawled through the fire like a soldier on my belly, desperately trying to somehow save Subin who had been left alone.

When Danya’s protective spell barrier broke, I even tried to shield the injured members with my own body, though it would have been futile…

KUUUUNG–!!

Perhaps because the monster had completely crashed to the ground, it stopped attacking. The impact must have been significant, as it was screaming like a tantruming child. My eardrums felt like they might burst, but inwardly I cheered.

‘Now’s our chance! Our only chance!’

Would Danya not know what I knew? Sure enough, Danya, who had been calmly infiltrating to within striking distance of the monster, watching for an opening, rushed in like lightning the moment the monster completely ceased its attacks.

“Hup!”

Danya’s claws pierced the center of the eyeball, followed by a merciless slashing.

The monster’s end was disappointingly anticlimactic for something that had tormented us so thoroughly.

Unlike Iseratio, which had disappeared without leaving a trace, this eyeball monster left behind disgusting bodily fluids, skin, and tendons.

Come to think of it, how had that eyeball monster screamed without a mouth? Actually, was that monster even a demon? Or was it a demon-level chimera?

These fleeting thoughts vanished as soon as I saw Danya’s back, standing on the monster’s remains with blood dripping from her claws. And I understood why she was a legend among the Ayorr race, why she was counted among the world’s top ten strongest beings in the lore.

To put it simply, she was incredibly badass.

‘I made the right choice… making that contract…’

As soon as that thought ended, I couldn’t help but smile seeing her return to her cat form and scurry toward me in a hurry.

“[Sunghyun…!]”

Cats are indeed the right choice. This is a fact proven both historically and in this very moment. Anyone who disagrees knows nothing about cats.

Oh, and of course, the excellence of Subin and the other raid members goes without saying.

Analysis can wait for later.

I closed my eyes, feeling the soft sensation of the cat’s paws kneading my cheeks.

**

“Hmm…”

A man watching something in the void stroked his chin as he crossed his legs the other way.

“This is, well, I expected it to some extent, but it’s quite severe.”

“Is there any point in continuing from here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve told you many times not to ask questions when you already know the answers. It’s annoying and tiresome. Anyway.”

A woman who had suddenly appeared from elsewhere frowned and spoke curtly.

“Why are you going to such lengths to observe these mortals?”

The man replied calmly, showing no sign of surprise.

“Weren’t you the one who said it would be interesting?”

“Well, I thought it would be fun then, but not particularly now. You’re doing this because you’re finding it less entertaining than expected, aren’t you?”

“I never said it wasn’t interesting.”

“It’s all over your face.”

The man crossed his legs again. Seeing this, the woman smirked.

“Come on, let’s just end this and go back.”

“Hmm.”

“If it’s not fun, what more meaning can you find in this charade?”

“When I say I never said it wasn’t interesting, it’s not just saving face—it’s the truth. Though it’s not entirely wrong either.”

“What do you mean?”

The man pointed to the void.

“Everyone has their reasons, but mine was to meet these humans.”

Where the man pointed, there was a man being pawed in the face by a black cat, surrounded by several women.

“But you’re not entirely wrong either… so some adjustments might be in order.”

“Oh. I’m in favor. The others will probably agree too, right? Want me to let them know?”

“Please do.”

The woman disappeared, and the man closed his eyes.

It was a brief conversation in a place known to no one.