Ch.179Sealing Paper

# 179. Seal Zone

Even as my consciousness was fading due to the side effects of activating “One for All” at maximum output, grabbing the staggering Subin and running forward was an instinctive action.

When you part the sea, it’s bound to close again, isn’t it?

I think I was able to move forward without panicking because I kept reminding myself that we needed to traverse this miraculous path before it closed.

Subin’s attack was on a completely different level. If someone had been watching from afar, I bet a small mushroom cloud would have risen from that strike.

It was a single blow that the most powerful mage had deliberately prepared for three minutes.

A more powerful spear.

A more powerful area attack.

Forced to become a newbie again after reaching max level and unable to use most of her skills, she had been independently researching ways to fulfill her role and maximize her strengths ever since being summoned to the Tower.

Simple enhancement magic.

Simple stacking magic.

Simple attribute conversion magic.

Simple bestowing magic.

Even if we wouldn’t understand the detailed explanation, and even though she downplayed it as nothing special… we still know.

While we struggle just to learn existing skills, creating and mastering skills tailored to oneself is incredibly difficult and remarkable.

Her unique magic that she successfully implemented with superhuman concentration even in life-threatening situations.

“Great and Beautiful Truth”

True to its name, the great and beautiful flame spear not only swept through and pierced the monster wave that was about to devour us but even reached the surface of the seal zone.

Despite Senior Yehyun’s elemental resistance and Senior Soyu’s barrier, my entire body felt hot and I could barely breathe, but I kept running. If I fell behind here, it would mean death, so I scraped together energy from the very bottom of my soul, whether for tomorrow, the day after, or whenever.

Along the way, someone took Subin who was clinging to my side, and I was also carried by someone (I think it was Seyeon based on the feeling).

In this strange space where time and space were distorted, our destructive charge never stopped.

And the result created by my bold decision, my party members’ solid defense, and Subin’s overwhelming attack that satisfied all requirements and more was…

**

Sound. The noise that soon brought to mind words like clamor or commotion continued to grow louder without stopping. At first, it was just a faint sound that I couldn’t distinguish, but it gradually became clearer, perhaps because I was focusing.

Yes.

These were screams.

They were screams.

But listening carefully, I realized there wasn’t just one type of scream.

Screams mixed with joy.

Screams mixed with pain, anger, and grief.

I could understand the second type of screams coming from afar, but what could be causing the first?

That too became clear as time passed.

The first screams decreased.

The second screams increased.

And a third commotion was heard.

Ah.

I see.

It’s because of me.

There are those who want me to wake up.

There are those who don’t want me to wake up.

The two forces clashed, and the latter won. And they’re getting closer to me.

I need to get up.

I need to wake up.

I know I’m not ready.

I instinctively know that now is not the time.

I know that if I get up now, the meaning of everything that has led to this point might be diminished.

But isn’t diminishment better than annihilation?

The presence of those approaching closer by the second was intense enough to urge me to wake up as quickly as possible.

So.

I opened my eyes.

Raised my upper body.

And with both hands, I tore open the closed world.

And then

There was light.

**

‘…Am I dead?’

That couldn’t be right—I was too clearly feeling the pain signals my body was sending.

‘Another miracle.’

It was unavoidable, but thinking about it now, it was insane.

What if someone had broken through while we were buying time?

What if Subin’s strike had been even slightly less powerful?

But we succeeded.

So I stopped the chilling thoughts about what had already passed. And before checking if my body was okay, I decided to confirm that my party members were safe.

“Ugh…”

I must have been lying on the ground, because when I thoughtlessly placed my palm down, a pain several times worse than what I was already feeling rushed in all at once. As I barely swallowed the scream and curses that were about to burst out, I heard rustling nearby.

I turned my head in that direction… but couldn’t see anything.

Confused, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind until I heard a very small laugh.

“You need to open your eyes, silly.”

“…Oh.”

Was dried blood caked on them? I forced my eyelids open with effort. Then I saw Senior Soyu sitting next to me, shining a faint light.

“Senior.”

“I’m glad you’re awake. Really, really glad.”

“You too. Thank you.”

I nodded slightly in gratitude.

“The others?”

“Don’t worry. For now, everyone’s alive.”

“For now?”

I tried to fully raise my body but immediately gave up. It wasn’t just the pain—my strength wasn’t properly returning.

“By the way, Senior. The current situation…”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t really know. From the circumstances, it seems like we’re inside the seal zone’s barrier, but it’s too quiet. No monsters. No extreme regional penalties either.”

“I see…”

“…Yeah. And anyway, we’re not in any condition to do anything even if we knew. Everyone squeezed out their strength. Beyond their limits.”

I clenched and unclenched my fist. As soon as I felt even a little strength returning, I ignored the pain and raised my body.

Then I saw things I couldn’t see when I was half-lying down.

Danya curled up in a ball next to me.

Party members lying with frowning expressions and pale faces.

And this space itself, alien in every way.

The tree trunks were clearly dark brown and the leaves were green. The soil was soil-colored and the rocks were gray.

It was ordinary. Clearly an ordinary scene, so why did it feel so alien?

I was confused. I looked at Senior Soyu, but she was busy healing the party members with the faint light she had squeezed out like a wrung cloth.

‘The reason Senior healed me first…’

Maybe she felt this too, and wanted me to investigate.

So I observed.

The trees, the soil, the stones, the rocks, the grass, the flowers, the sky, the clouds floating above the sky…?

‘Huh?’

I got goosebumps and tilted my head up again. The clouds that seemed to be floating above the sky were now in place as if they had never moved. I lowered my head and looked straight ahead again.

Once, twice, three times, four times. I repeated it more.

Everything I was looking at now.

Was not moving.

Not even slightly.

No matter how many times I looked, it remained the same. Chills ran up my spine. I barely managed to turn my head toward Senior Soyu. I whispered even more quietly than before.

“Senior.”

“Yes.”

“I think we’re definitely inside the seal zone.”

“…Yes.”

“And… I think there’s a sealed demon not far from here.”

Senior Soyu’s white light flickered.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but maybe because this is a sealed place, everything is frozen.”

A place that looks normal, but where everything is abnormal.

A place that appears normal (seemingly) in the midst of continuous abnormality.

A place unnaturally still that I only noticed by chance because I already knew this wasn’t an ordinary place and was being extremely cautious.

An unpleasant place where there are no monsters and nothing has happened, yet the tension hasn’t decreased at all.

“If this is inside the seal zone, we can consider our initial objective accomplished.”

“Then.”

“The demon has either already awakened, or the awakening process has been accelerated. So we…”

Need to escape this place and return to Fort Paelm. As quickly as possible.

“Given the situation, we need to wake everyone up forcibly and move. It would be best to get out of this strange space as quickly as possible.”

“Understood.”

I forced my creaking body to move. Actually, right after regaining consciousness, I had writhed in pain, but I was already somewhat adapted to it. That was fortunate in the current situation, though it was a bit depressing to be getting used to such things.

Anyway, I poured a potion into my mouth, put the limp Danya on my shoulder, and grabbed Seyeon and Yuri’s shoulders, shaking them vigorously. This wasn’t something you’d normally do to severely injured people, but…

“Seyeon! Yuri! Wake up! Come to your senses!”

Not only did I shake their shoulders vigorously, I even slapped their cheeks hard enough to make a sound. Since these two were much tougher than me, their faces didn’t even redden from my rough touch, but the shock therapy seemed effective as they both opened their eyes almost simultaneously. They suddenly raised their upper bodies, turned their heads left and right, and then, a beat late, let out silent screams.

More precisely, I hurriedly covered their mouths before they could scream.

I gave them a three-line emergency summary, hammering the explanation into the two who were in pain and confusion.

‘This is the seal zone’ ‘Objective accomplished’ ‘Escape and return’

As soon as they heard my three-line summary, they splashed potions all over their bodies, gritted their teeth, and each carried one person on their back and held another in their arms.

‘The monsters outside the seal zone… No, for now, just focus on getting out of here.’

Looking more wretched than refugees, we began to crawl back the way we had come.