Ch.206Chapter 206: The Kingdom of Duron (12)

# Chapter 206: The Kingdom of Duron (12)

Kallian in his red robe curled his lips into a sneer.

His voice was dry and hot like flames, but the demonic energy within it was as dark and ominous as an abyss.

The crimson orb in his hand began to pulsate, condensing an enormous amount of energy.

“But your meaningless struggle ends here.”

Morbis whispered from within his pitch-black robe that seemed like darkness itself.

His presence was faint, yet his blade-like killing intent seemed to graze the nape of Valt’s neck.

As Morbis’s form dissolved completely into the strange shadows within the hall, the surrounding darkness rippled like a living predator.

KWAAANG! Kallian’s preemptive attack erupted. The dozens of crimson magical whips that spewed from his orb were not simple attacks.

Absorbing the unstable magical energy from the devices enveloping the hall and the twisted energy leaking from the massive dimensional rift, they amplified exponentially and rushed toward Valt’s group at unpredictable angles and irregular speeds.

A thunderous roar echoed as the space where the whips passed seemed to distort and tear.

“Scatter! And defend!”

Valt’s shout was the focal point that united his team members amid the chaotic situation.

He dodged the incoming magical whips by a hair’s breadth with instinctive reflexes, throwing himself sideways.

The tip of a whip grazed his cheek, leaving a searing pain.

Professor Liman unleashed a dazzling blue aura at the tip of his sword, deflecting or cutting through the incoming magical whips.

CHANG—!

PZZZZZT—!

The sounds of air being torn and magical energy dissipating mixed together.

His face showed a more serious expression than ever before. He was keenly aware of the overwhelming power of their opponents.

“Lati! Wide-area barrier!”

Lati urgently chanted an incantation.

Her blue magical power rose up, forming a massive spherical barrier.

Lilith also supported by overlapping the barrier with her blood-red magical power, making it thicker.

The magical whips collided with the barrier, causing tremendous explosions. A shockwave that seemed to shake the entire hall struck them, but they barely maintained their defensive line through the cooperation of the two mages.

Fierce sparks flew from the surface of the barrier, and team members gritted their teeth while blocking the ricocheting fragments.

Meanwhile, Yuria tracked Morbis’s subtle presence with beast-like agility.

“Where are you! Come out, you rat!”

She swung her sharp claws at every place where shadows deepened, moving at invisible speeds, but repeatedly came up empty.

Morbis moved freely, perfectly utilizing the grotesquely elongated shadows in the hall and the momentarily distorted spatial warps.

His presence was almost but not quite within grasp, and while Valt and Professor Liman were focused on the other Obscurant, a pitch-black dagger flashed like lightning from the blind spots of the team members.

KAGANG—!

Irene instinctively raised her sword to block Morbis’s dagger.

A sharp metallic sound rang out as sword met dagger.

Befitting a disciple of the Sword Saint, her swordsmanship was solid and precise, but Morbis’s speed emerging from the shadows barely outpaced her reaction time, grazing her collar as he passed by.

It was a perilously close moment.

“Damn it! That bastard is impossible to pin down!”

Solphin attempted his draconic transformation in response to the powerful enemy’s appearance.

Though its duration wasn’t long and he had been saving it, now was not the time to hold back.

“Get out of the way!!”

TUWHOAAAK—!

Energy resembling a dragon’s breath was fired from Solphin’s hand.

The shockwave destroyed the unstable devices inside the hall and raised dust.

Kallian seemed to enjoy this chaotic situation.

He absorbed the unstable energy flowing from the massive dimensional rift and the distorted magical power within the hall without hesitation, further amplifying his demonic energy.

His orb glowed fiercely like a burning heart, unleashing even more powerful and irregular magical attacks.

Exploding crimson energy spheres, shadow tentacles crawling along the floor targeting the team members’ ankles, and strange frequency curses that ate away at one’s mind just by hearing them.

Every attack was lethal.

Professor Liman desperately maintained the defensive line while blocking Kallian’s powerful and irregular magical attacks and curses, while simultaneously watching out for Morbis who would spring out from the shadows from time to time.

Cold sweat ran down his face with tension, but his eyes remained sharp, searching for the enemy’s weakness. He still showed flawless defense and sharp counterattacks, but the composure he had when facing the 8th Seat was nowhere to be found.

‘Damn it…! These guys really came prepared to catch us! We’re running out of time, and we can’t afford a war of attrition like this!’

Valt’s mind raced.

Clearly, the power of the two Obscurants was overwhelming.

They were formidable opponents individually, and their coordination threatened the entire team.

But something was strange. They were certainly strong, but… somehow they didn’t feel desperate.

Their attacks were powerful, but gave the impression of ‘tormenting’ rather than delivering decisive blows.

As if… they weren’t really trying to defeat them, but rather stalling for time or perhaps…

‘Why does this feel too easy? They’re supposed to be upper Master-class or even beyond. Do they think we’ll fall to attacks of this level? Or… are they not using their full power?’

Valt’s instinct, honed through countless battles, sent a warning.

It was the distinctive sense of dissonance felt when an opponent is hiding their strength or fighting with a different objective.

Kallian stood beside the massive dimensional rift, leisurely launching magical attacks, while Morbis seemed to be testing the waters rather than delivering lethal assassinations, circling around team members.

With their power, they could have blown up the entire hall or caused the dimensional rift to go berserk and swallow everyone. Why weren’t they doing that?

‘Is this… a trap? Or are they deliberately letting us take this component?’

A chill ran down his spine momentarily.

The Dark Council’s intentions, the Kingdom of Duron’s ulterior motives, and the massive conspiracy hidden behind all this commotion. Perhaps they were all dancing on the stage of a grand play.

‘But… there’s no time to think now. I can figure out those conspiracies later.’

Valt looked at the final component, the Dimensional Phase Magic Stabilizer, unstably fluctuating in the center of the hall.

Then he looked at the faces of Lamrpo and his exhausted comrades behind him.

They were waiting for his decision.

And in his ears, the cold voice of the Southern Absolute, Kwan, lingered like the whisper of a grim reaper.

‘If that bastard crawls back empty-handed with some pathetic excuse, or if he dares to be even a day late and disturb my mood… then those fertile Duron plains will make an excellent hunting ground.’

That was undoubtedly what Kwan would have said.

That terrible threat, the wrath of an Absolute who could determine the fate of countless lives. Whatever the Dark Council’s scheme, whatever their true purpose, the most important thing for Valt now was to secure this unstable component within the allotted time and deliver it to Kwan.

If they wasted time trying to figure out the Dark Council’s intentions, Kwan’s wrath could bring doom not only to themselves but to the entire Kingdom of Duron, perhaps even beyond.

‘Damn… Is that what they’re aiming for?? Could the component be defective, and they’re planning to provoke Kwan’s anger with it?’

Nothing made sense.

However, even if the component was defective, they still needed to take it.

The deadline and its consequences loomed as a far greater and more realistic threat than the suspicious situation before them.

‘Right. Secure the component first. The Dark Council’s intentions… I can think about those after completing the mission.’

Valt forcibly suppressed the ominous premonition and logical doubts rising in his chest.

Why the enemies before him felt different from expectations was a secondary issue. The important thing was to seize this opportunity and achieve their goal.

“Professor Liman! I’ll handle Morbis! Please hold off Kallian! The rest of the team approaches the component with Lamrpo! Find a way! We’re out of time!”

As Valt made his decision and shouted, he hurled himself toward the darkest shadow space where Morbis might appear. Wind aura compressed around his fist, ready to explode.

“Hmph! Finally starting to struggle, mongrel? I’ll entertain you!”

Morbis revealed himself from the shadows with a smirk. His eyes showed interest rather than caution. Kallian likewise accepted Professor Liman’s challenge.

“Insolent old man! I’ll deal with you just like your disciple! I’ll show you the true power of Lord Kallian!”

Just as the Obscurants’ attention and main attacks focused on Valt and Professor Liman, the rest of the team rushed at full speed toward the unstably fluctuating final component core in the center of the hall.

Lati tried to stabilize the space however slightly, while Yuria, Solphin, and Irene guarded the front and sides, prepared for Morbis’s surprise attacks or Kallian’s area attacks.

Lamrpo, terrified but determined, kept up in the center of the team under Lilith’s protection.

The fierce battle continued, but Valt and Professor Liman succeeded in keeping the Obscurants occupied or pushing them back with surprising ease.

The Obscurants were certainly powerful, but they didn’t show the same ferocity or persistence as before.

It was as if… they were only fighting for a predetermined time, making things flow according to a script.

Valt was now certain.

‘I’m sure of it, they’re not serious.’

In truth, this was the kind of suspicion and certainty that only Valt could realize.

There was no logic to it.

It was simply that as one who carried the bloodline of Gerungtoo Kwan, he was the most sensitive to genuine combat.

In the end, they reached the target core much more easily than expected, breaking through the highest-ranking members of the Dark Council.