Chapter 117: Escape

Episode 117

While running, Baek Jun urgently shouted through the microphone connected to his earpiece, addressing his staff.

“Kim Jinsung is fleeing east! Everyone, chase him!”

At his words, all the staff who could move, scattered around the island, rushed towards the east.

But they were already far too late.

The Inclusio phenomenon had forced everyone to flee to the edge of the island. Most of them were far from Kim Jinsung.

It was primarily due to the fact that they had discovered Kim Jinsung far too late, after the explosion.

By the time Baek Jun issued the order, Kim Jinsung had already reached the east coast.

“Maximize shield levels!”

Baek Jun shouted again, his voice urgent.

The staff member responsible for managing the shields responded immediately.

– P-President! The control panel malfunctioned due to the explosion earlier! It’s not working!

“What?! Damn it…!”

Baek Jun gritted his teeth.

Of all times for the shield control panel to malfunction!

The shield had already weakened considerably due to the explosion.

He wasn’t even sure if the shield could have stopped Kim Jinsung in its fully functional state, but in its weakened state, it was clear that he would break through.

Then, Yong Hangil’s sharp shout was heard from behind.

“Hunters near the east, listen!”

His voice, imbued with mana, echoed across the entire island.

“Stop Kim Jinsung by any means necessary! If he resists in any way, kill him!”

“……!”

Baek Jun flinched at Yong Hangil’s last words.

But he couldn’t voice any more opposition. He knew that the time to insist on capture had passed.

He just gritted his teeth and channeled more mana into his running legs.

* * *

Team Leader Hong Yeonseok, who happened to be on the east coast, heard Yong Hangil’s voice, nodded, and turned around.

He then shouted to his surrounding hunters.

“Everyone, prepare to kill Kim Jinsung!”

Hong Yeonseok hadn’t even thought about capturing Kim Jinsung.

He knew that even with everyone giving it their all, they wouldn’t be able to easily capture Kim Jinsung at his current level.

Above all, Kim Jinsung was a target to be eliminated for the Daehan Clan. There was no reason to keep him alive.

“Your opponent has overcome the Void and Illusion rifts! Don’t underestimate him!”

As Hong Yeonseok sternly reminded his hunters,

Kim Jinsung finally appeared before their eyes.

Hong Yeonseok shouted with a triumphant air.

“Hold your positions! Preventing his escape is top priority!”

Just as Hong Yeonseok himself prepared to attack, Kim Jinsung suddenly vanished.

At the same time, gray smoke instantly filled the surrounding area.

‘……!’

Hong Yeonseok widened his eyes in disbelief, looking around.

The gray smoke before him was all too familiar.

‘This is… the Mist of Illusions?!’

It was the same gray smoke as the Mist of Illusions he had seen on the Colosseum broadcast earlier.

“Get out of the mist…!”

Hong Yeonseok realized what it was and immediately shouted to evacuate, but he was already too late.

**Clang!**

“Ugh…!”

A Tainted One immediately attacked from within the gray smoke.

Hong Yeonseok reflexively raised his sword to block it.

Starting with that, various Tainted Ones began to emerge from the gray smoke and charged towards Hong Yeonseok.

They were all beings that Hong Yeonseok had personally dealt with in the New Continent.

‘This is bad! We’re trapped!’

Hong Yeonseok bit his lip, continuously defending against the Tainted Ones’ attacks.

‘Kim Jinsung is going to escape!’

He was right.

Having trapped Hong Yeonseok and the surrounding hunters in the Mist of Illusions, Kim Jinsung immediately leaped over them and ran towards the sea.

And there, he saw a massive mana shield.

He had taken a look at it earlier during the preliminary round on this island.

Without any hesitation, Kim Jinsung charged towards the shield.

Then, he swung his scythe-transformed hands with great force.

**Thud!**

The ‘Union of Body and Demon’ enhanced scythe attack instantly created a large hole in the shield.

It was big enough for one person to pass through.

Kim Jinsung finally escaped through the hole.

—

▶ You have used the ‘Organism Transformation’ skill.

▶ Transformed into ‘Black Hasid’.

▷ Stat Change: Agility increased by 20%.

—

Kim Jinsung, transformed into a Black Hasid, a carnivorous bird, soared high into the sky.

And that wasn’t all.

—

▶ Activating skill ‘Shadow Clone’.

▶ Activating skill ‘Shadow Clone’.

▶ Activating skill ‘Shadow Clone’.

.

.

.

He used all his remaining mana to create as many clones as possible.

Over ten carnivorous birds dispersed, spreading in all directions.

It was impossible to tell from a distance which bird was the real Kim Jinsung.

As they began to move away from Ambages Island,

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Yong Hangil, who had finally reached the east coast, leaped into the air with all his might.

He instantly soared to an incredible height, extending both hands towards the front.

Over 10 giant mana orbs were created, then began flying towards the fleeing carnivorous birds.

Scattered mana orbs chased each bird one by one.

The carnivorous birds swerved to avoid the mana orbs but ultimately couldn’t escape and were hit by all of them.

**Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!**

Massive explosions erupted in the air.

The carnivorous birds, powerless, began falling to the ground.

“……!”

Yong Hangil’s eyes widened in shock as he saw something unusual above the sea.

It was the entrance to the ‘Warp Hole’ skill that Kim Jinsung had used in the Demon World Dungeon.

And one of the falling carnivorous birds swooped into it.

“Damn it!!”

Yong Hangil roared in anger.

He had failed to capture Kim Jinsung.

In a fit of rage, he swung his fist at the sea before him with all his might.

**Bang!**

A giant hole appeared in the sea for a moment before vanishing, accompanied by the sound of a water explosion.

Yong Hangil, still trembling with anger, turned around.

He saw Baek Jun, who had arrived late, along with the Daehan Clan hunters and staff.

“Baek Jun!”

Yong Hangil glared at Baek Jun with a furious expression.

“The Colosseum Survival is over, and the survivor has escaped!”

“……”

“Answer me! What do you do with participants who escape during the competition?”

Baek Jun answered with a stern expression.

“They’re immediately classified as Class 1 criminals, and a nationwide warrant is issued in both Korea and the New Continent.”

Hearing that, Yong Hangil turned to Hong Yeonseok.

“Contact the New Continent and tell them to put Kim Jinsung on the Class 1 wanted list!”

“Understood.”

“Everyone else except the existing security personnel will prepare to return immediately!”

Yong Hangil, seemingly done with them, led the Daehan Clan hunters towards the airfield.

Baek Jun watched them leave silently, then turned to Jang Seungwook.

“Contact the PD back home and inform them that Kim Jinsung escaped during the finals. I’ll contact the Hunter Bureau directly.”

“…Yes.”

Jang Seungwook replied in a lifeless tone. The staff, including him, were all filled with a sense of disillusionment.

Baek Jun instructed his staff.

“Everyone except the injured will return to their original positions. That is all.”

Jang Seungwook and the staff, dejected, turned and began walking away.

As they disappeared from his sight, Baek Jun slumped onto the ground.

He then covered his face with his hands.

‘…The worst possible outcome.’

Kim Jinsung, the biggest star and a skilled competitor of Season 12.

His ambitious plan to make him the top prospect representing Korea and exploit his abilities had been shattered in an instant.

Instead, he had become a Class 1 criminal, giving the government and Daehan Clan a new headache.

But there was a fact that pained him even more.

‘This makes him the first ever escapee from Colosseum.’

In countless seasons, no contestant had ever escaped from Colosseum.

This was a major reason why the vicious program, which pitted awakened criminals against each other, was able to continue broadcasting.

It allowed the production team to paint the picture they wanted, which in turn led to the high ratings of Colosseum.

But now, there was finally an escapee.

‘Even Yoo Junho, who was chosen as the top prospect, couldn’t escape…’

Baek Jun, consumed by frustration, remained slumped with his face in his hands for a long time.

Baek Jun, the representative of Colosseum. If you asked him what the worst moment of his life was, he would undoubtedly answer that it was now.

* * *

In the middle of the sea, far east of Ambages Island.

Kim Jinsung emerged from a Warp Hole exit created there.

“Ugh…!”

He was floating in the air using the ‘Mana Controller’ trait, but he was in immense pain.

His body was in terrible shape.

His left arm and left ankle were completely severed, and he had numerous gaping wounds exposing bone.

It was the price he paid for taking a direct hit from Yong Hangil’s mana orbs.

‘It’s a good thing it wasn’t fatal…’

Thinking how lucky he was, Kim Jinsung immediately used his healing skill.

His serious wounds quickly began to heal.

‘I need to escape further just in case they chase me.’

Kim Jinsung created another Warp Hole, created an exit on the easternmost edge, and entered.

After repeating this multiple times, Kim Jinsung transformed into a carnivorous bird and soared into the sky.

‘They won’t be able to follow me now.’

His current location was above the sea, over a thousand kilometers east of Ambages Island.

Kim Jinsung judged that even if they pursued him with all their might, they wouldn’t be able to find him.

He finally caught his breath and recalled the situation earlier.

‘Honestly, I would have found it hard to escape without the Inclusio phenomenon.’

The Inclusio phenomenon was something Dantalian had explained.

He had said that when a Demon God invaded the middle world, the guardians of the Celestial Realm would appear to stop them.

Dantalian had suggested using the aftermath of the explosion to escape.

[The Inclusio will severely damage all the humans on the island. Use that chaos to escape the island.]

And it had happened exactly as Dantalian planned.

Immediately after the massive explosion caused by Inclusio, Kim Jinsung escaped through the exit, and as a result, successfully escaped as he was now.

‘I definitely owe Dantalian this time.’

He thought that maybe he could live with him for a while.

He didn’t know if Dantalian was helping because he didn’t want Kim Jinsung to be taken by other Demon Gods, but it was true that Dantalian had been a great help.

‘Now, I’m a Class 1 criminal in both Korea and the New Continent.’

Since the first preliminary of Colosseum began, he had heard the same words from the staff so many times that he was tired of it.

He was told that if he escaped before the Colosseum season ended, he would immediately become a Class 1 criminal and be placed on a warrant list in Korea.

And the Daehan Clan in the New Continent would also join the hunt.

‘So, I can’t return to Korea now. There are two options left…’

He was now facing two choices.

One was to go to another country, not Korea.

The other was to enter the New Continent.

‘…Let’s go to the New Continent for now. It’s not too late to go to another country after failing to adapt to the New Continent.’

Kim Jinsung was now somewhat confident.

His experience in the Demon World Dungeon, which was the finals, was not as difficult as he had expected.

Above all, he had a reliable ally in Dantalian.

He was confident that as long as Dantalian was with him, he could overcome anything, at least within the Demon World Dungeon.

It was then that,

**BOOM!**

A loud explosion suddenly came from the beach ahead.

—