Ch.211211. Joining Forces.

Everyone has dreams. Whether they’re shabby or not, they have goals.

Geum Do-hyun stood alongside Ariel, Seol Yu-hwa, and the instructors.

Now the rift had broken, and a 40-meter-tall thorn-covered monster had fallen through.

‘I’m scared, so scared. Jong-hyun, so this is what you’ve been fighting against.’

Whether he possessed a priest’s power or not, one wrong move could mean death.

Ancient Species. A monster that caused countless casualties even with Dok Go-jun and Park Tae-sang present.

That’s how powerful and destructive it was.

‘No. This is about blocking it. We can block it.’

Compared to before, their objective was simpler.

Not to win, but to “endure” until Do Jong-hyun could defeat the other Ancient Species.

Absolutely not to fight it.

Under Oh Ju-hwan’s command, alloy barriers began to rise impressively around the entire school.

Amid numerous buffs being applied, Geum Do-hyun proudly stood at the vanguard.

“I’ll try to seal its movements.”

From behind, Seol Yu-hwa worked to restrict the monster’s movements as much as possible, layering defense barriers.

They weren’t fighting. They just needed to buy time.

Receiving buffs, Geum Do-hyun concentrated the greatest flames he could muster into one mass.

Blue flames began to spread through the air. This was the sidekicks’ job. There was only one reason for this division.

“Here it comes!”

At Oh Ju-hwan’s shout, the monster released thorns from all over its body.

Soon, they collided with the flames, causing a series of tremendous explosions.

But the Ancient Species’ power was too much for Geum Do-hyun to handle, even with buffs.

The point was that if they only needed to “deflect” the attacks, they could block them.

“Next!”

While the walls around the buildings collided with the thorns, the sidekicks began applying debuffs to the thorns rather than the monster itself.

[The probability of a monster of that caliber being affected by debuffs is low. Just block it.]

In other words, their goal was to minimize damage rather than target the monster itself, so they focused solely on defense.

But it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“No!”

Some thorns had already pierced through the defensive walls and directly hit parts of the academy.

The affected areas literally crumbled under the thorns, and students began evacuating in an orderly fashion.

“We can block it!”

Seol Yu-hwa in particular had experience facing Ancient Species with Brisingamen.

So she was working with Ariel at the front line to block the enemy’s offensive.

Han Min-woo blocked thorns and threw his shield.

The shield flew at incredible speed, striking the monster’s face.

The shield returned to Han Min-woo’s hand, but surprisingly, it was cracked.

“Dangerous.”

That was all Han Min-woo had to say. It would be fortunate if they could target a weakness, but they didn’t have that luxury now.

At this moment, Gu Sang-heon was drawing attention by rushing out alone.

Geum Do-hyun shouted in surprise.

“Hey, where are you—”

But he quickly composed himself. After all, this was typical of Gu Sang-heon.

‘Actually, we need to coordinate.’

How many times had he coordinated with Gu Sang-heon over the past two years? This was something he needed to support.

The magical power emanating from Gu Sang-heon’s blade extended to attack the enemy.

It wouldn’t deal damage, but it was enough to draw attention.

Geum Do-hyun naturally directed his flames toward Gu Sang-heon.

Having drawn the monster’s attention, its direction changed.

While Geum Do-hyun’s flames protected Gu Sang-heon, the monster launched its second attack.

‘That’s purely for city destruction.’

The flames exploded before Geum Do-hyun’s eyes, and Gu Sang-heon released magical power in mid-air to change direction again.

Meanwhile, the academy side gained time to regroup and prepare their defenses again.

‘Sang-heon, hang in there a little longer.’

As Ariel thrust her sword into the ground and swung upward powerfully, intense magical power engulfed the monster.

She had prevented it from launching another attack.

“Huff… huff…”

Geum Do-hyun felt his stamina rapidly depleting.

‘What have I been doing? Geum Do-hyun, you idiot. You’re going to be a hero. A hero who shines brilliantly before everyone.’

Under tension, fatigue, and using his full power, his stamina was rapidly decreasing.

‘Right, this is still too much for me.’

Geum Do-hyun caught his breath while blocking the enemy’s third attack.

At this moment, Oh Ju-hwan joined forces with Seol Yu-hwa to fix one of the monster’s “toes” in place, making it stagger and giving them time to breathe.

“My God, did we actually block that?”

But thorns were sprayed in all directions. They had managed to block where they were standing, but in other areas, thorns had penetrated dozens of buildings and burrowed into the ground.

‘That’s incredible.’

This was the extent of damage even with evacuations being routine and their defensive efforts. Without those measures, the academy and surroundings would have been completely devastated.

“Huff… huff…”

Geum Do-hyun’s breathing grew ragged. Actually, everyone present was in the same condition.

‘Defeating monsters like this? I still have a long way to go.’

After several exchanges, they were merely blocking because the enemy was primarily focused on causing maximum destruction around them.

‘If that thing had deliberately targeted us as enemies…’

It was terrifying to think about. Fortunately, it prioritized surrounding destruction, which allowed them to endure.

That’s why they dared to face an Ancient Species.

Geum Do-hyun had already released flames countless times. Now they weren’t coming out with the same power as before.

‘I can do this. I want to be a hero too.’

The kind of hero cheered on TV when he was young.

Someone with power who receives everyone’s attention and praise.

But that role had gone to Do Jong-hyun.

‘I’ll let you have that. Since you can kill monsters like that.’

Geum Do-hyun threw himself into the fight for his friend and for the hero.

Just as he was about to fall to his knees, having lost all his energy, the monster was still vigorously preparing its finishing attack.

[Thank you!]

Hearing the monster’s voice from afar, Geum Do-hyun raised his head again.

Behind it, insect wings fluttered as the thorn monster was being blown away before his eyes.

“Haha, you did it?”

[Thanks for holding out. Truly, this is our victory.]

Do Jong-hyun’s words couldn’t have made him happier. Geum Do-hyun gave a thumbs up.

*

The underground shelter of the Magician Guild.

Important individuals were protected here. Honestly, there was only one person.

[Another sequential attack by monsters. Support is needed, but Jaegers are in short supply.]

[Even students are being mobilized, with age restrictions lifted. Even boy soldiers are being drafted.]

They had overcome the crisis, but it wasn’t over yet.

“It’s not just us—they’re targeting the whole world. They’re using this to threaten us.”

Humanity was desperately trying to prevent the enemy’s war of attrition. Whenever an Ancient Species appeared, they suffered inevitable damage.

No matter how hard they transformed into monsters, their range was limited.

The situation was worst when they were far from the action.

This sense of terror was spreading among ordinary people, even when they successfully defended themselves.

It was truly a state of war.

“The very fact that bombardment could come at any time is terrifying to people. In that sense, your strategy might actually be good.”

Eun Se-rin was typing on her laptop, having stolen my shirt.

“So can you do it?”

“Tracking is possible. But you have an interesting idea. Going directly to the enemy’s headquarters.”

I couldn’t mention that it was thanks to adult Jun-hoo.

Adult Jun-hoo had visited where the enemies were. He had communicated with the Ancient Species there.

That was exactly it.

If the enemy was planning for a long war…

I was thoroughly preparing to solve the problem Min-woo had pointed out.

“But is this possible too?”

“What?”

I whispered “the last bastion” in Eun Se-rin’s ear.

“That’s… quite innovative. It’s a reverse approach.”

“Is it possible?”

“Realistically, it seems difficult. It would require various gambles. First, DNA and information.”

Adult Jun-hoo could probably help with that.

“I’ll try somehow. So, noona, you know now?”

“I know. You need to meet Ji-ho, right? That child was taken by Danmal…”

“But there was definitely a response. If they’ve taken her mind, we might be able to take it back.”

“You’re quite the optimist.”

Eun Se-rin’s hand reached for my cheek.

“Thank you. She’s a child I created and must take responsibility for.”

Eun Se-rin stood up.

“Being an adult means considering worst-case scenarios too. I’ll tell the research institute about your proposal.”

“Yes. I’ll try what I mentioned earlier.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Eun Se-rin patted my cheek and left, and I called out adult Jun-hoo.

“You could die if things go wrong.”

[What are you worried about? My sister is at her peak now.]

“That’s not it, you…”

[I was going to die anyway. I’ve seen my sister happy, and we’re heading for the final battle with them… it’s all like a dream.]

Adult Jun-hoo was on the verge of tears.

“Calm down. Don’t act like you’re about to achieve enlightenment.”

[Right. We can’t end this yet. Not until we finish them off.]

He suddenly became blurry, and I thought he was really disappearing.

Anyway, while we were making our final preparations, the situation was far from easy.

That evening, Mahanaga appeared on the Australian continent.

Dok Go-jun, Jo Seong-hui, and Park Tae-sang all mobilized, and the world watched, but Mahanaga laughed amidst the thunder.

[This is deliberate. I waited for you to come.]

Mahanaga sent a warning to everyone watching through cameras—essentially the entire world.

[Futile, all futile. We can release monsters to torment you all over the world right now. But what do the Jaegers do? They merely follow behind us. I recommend surrender. Do you want to suddenly share the grief of losing those around you one day? We are generous. We will designate living areas for you and guarantee your freedom.]

Surprisingly, he was trying to persuade, but anyone could tell there was no sincerity.

He assumed no one would comply anyway.

[Of course, you can resist. But our preparations are faster than you expect. Have you gathered here now to threaten me?]

During this time, one Ancient Species was deployed in Africa.

Naturally, it succeeded in causing serious damage before the Jaegers could arrive.

Mahanaga mocked us, sent another monster, and struck lightning near the Australian desert.

That day, Australia’s geography was altered.

[I could destroy this entire continent in an instant. I’m saying I’ll spare you if you surrender. Give up your resistance.]

Mahanaga’s warning ended there, and a global sense of terror naturally followed.

Anxious public opinion and an apocalyptic atmosphere dominated everywhere.

Then he came back to Gyeonggi Province.

[Where shall I destroy next? We possess numerous species. We could spread them throughout this country. This is my second offer. Will you not surrender? Come out, our hostile kinsman.]

Mahanaga was calling for me.

Under everyone’s gaze, I transformed and flew into the sky.

Mahanaga said the same thing to me.

[Can you alone stop this? There will be countless casualties.]

“No, I probably can’t stop it.”

[Do you admit it?]

“‘I’ can’t stop it, but ‘we’ can.”

That’s right. It’s about fighting together with my friends and all the other Jaegers.

I couldn’t have handled the two monsters that attacked the Jaeger Academy simultaneously by myself. One would certainly have caused serious damage.

“We can do it. We stopped them before, and we will again. Mahanaga, stop running away and come fight. Otherwise, we’ll come for you.”

[Good confidence. You seem ready to fight here, but not yet.]

Mahanaga was retreating on his own.

At that moment, I confirmed that adult Jun-hoo was attached to his tail.

I’m counting on you.

Another brief period of peace arrived.