Prisoners of Tartarus (2)

“Krugh..!!”

A moment later, Phantom Luna was being pushed back almost one-sidedly.

“[Is this all you’ve got.]”

“[A little more force.]”

CHARLARK!!

“[Show me!!]”

“Tch..Bear Bear!!”

PUNG-!!

The chain attack from the glib man continued with a giggling laugh.

Phantom Luna barely managed to block it by summoning a defensive summon.

And with the attack from the taciturn man that followed, Phantom Luna became annoyed.

“Haah..! Isn’t this too unfair?! I’m alone on this side!”

“[Isn’t it strange to expect fairness from villains?]”

“[Besides, strictly speaking, you’re not really alone, are you?]”

The glib man pointed at Bear Bear and Sylphie with his hand and shrugged his shoulders as if it was ridiculous.

“Tch..”

He wasn’t wrong.

Phantom Luna had just blurted it out because the situation was difficult.

‘..Actually, even if I fought one-on-one, I don’t think I could win.’

First, the man handling chains.

He was similar to the villain she had faced when she first came to Korea.

Unconventional attacks using chains, an unfamiliar weapon.

And with incredible accuracy and power, it was a brutal attack that could crush her bones if she were hit directly.

‘I don’t know if using chains itself is his ability, or if he simply has enhanced strength..’

Whatever his exact ability was, he was certainly a formidable opponent.

KUNG-!

-BEAR!!

“Kyaak!”

“[You’re thinking too much.]”

Next was the taciturn man.

Unlike the glib man, his ability was quite clear.

“[Come, remnants.]”

Woong-

“[Combination. Fusion. Compression.]”

Chunks of iron floated up at the man’s words.

They clustered and mixed together, and then a dagger with a clean exterior was completed in his hand.

‘An ability to handle metal..!’

Unless this was untouched nature, given the abundance of iron pieces lying around for him to use, he too was a formidable opponent.

PING-

And just as she was thinking this, a long spear flew from behind her.

Fortunately, Bear Bear noticed it in advance and blocked it, keeping her safe.

-BEAR!!

“Bear Bear!!”

“[Hoo. A useful beast. It can detect and block attacks aimed at blind spots.]”

Phantom Luna shuddered at the sight of Bear Bear, who had been pierced by the heavy spear in her place.

‘..Remote control similar to Ice Queen!’

Whether they had more to show or not, they were already threatening villains.

At least A-class.

Perhaps even S-class in pure combat ability.

‘Can I win…’

Phantom Luna’s current rank was A-class.

Even if they were weaker than expected and both A-class, that didn’t mean she could win.

The reason for the ranking system for heroes and villains wasn’t simply to indicate the scale of strength or level of danger.

It was a standard for capturing villains more easily.

In other words, it was a manual created to respond to them.

For villains A-class and above, it was almost essential to deploy a designated hero with good compatibility.

‘In that situation, I have to fight alone against villains whose detailed abilities I don’t even know..’

CHARLARK!

“[So, aren’t you going to attack?]”

“..No.”

An unfair fight with slim chances of winning.

But she couldn’t give up.

“Because I’m a hero.”

If she ran away, she wouldn’t know what damage might occur.

Preventing that was a hero’s duty.

“[Ooh, it’s good to be young~]”

“[It reminds me of the old days.]”

Phantom Luna charged toward enemies she couldn’t defeat.

CHARLARK!!

-BEARR!!

Bear Bear blocked and grabbed the chain flying at her again.

Then it pulled out the spear stuck in its arm and added rotational force with a snap of its wrist, throwing it directly at the enemies.

“[Stop, transform, disperse.]”

KAGAK-!! KAGAGAGAK-!!

As the spear collided with the iron wall gathered at the taciturn man’s words, a sound like a drill turning could be heard.

“[Combine.]”

Just as the spear’s rotation was slowing down and the surrounding iron was trying to merge with it…

“Sylphie!!”

-Pii!!

At Phantom Luna’s call, Sylphie surrounded the spear with wind to increase its acceleration.

KIIIIIING-!!

Along with the sound of heated chains, the iron wall gradually began to break through.

“[Cancel, interfere, transform.]”

“Hreup-!”

While the taciturn man was busy blocking the spear, Phantom Luna charged toward the glib man together with Bear Bear.

“[Hoo.]”

For some reason finding it amusing, the glib man alternately looked at the taciturn man’s situation and Phantom Luna charging at him, chuckling with a smile.

“[A diversion tactic? You’re using your head!]”

CHARLARK-!!

The man tried to swing an attack at Phantom Luna again with the chain on the opposite side that wasn’t grabbed by Bear Bear.

But.

TUP-!

“[Huh?!]”

Because Bear Bear pulled the chain in its hand and disrupted the man’s balance, the attack didn’t hit properly and flew through the air.

-BEAR!!

“[You crazy stuffed bear bastard!]”

To make matters worse, Bear Bear grabbed both of the man’s chains, resulting in an unexpected test of strength.

This created an opening, and Phantom Luna didn’t miss the opportunity to charge forward.

“Sylphie!!”

-Pii, Piiii..!!

She picked up an iron pipe lying around nearby and, with Sylphie’s help, accelerated her run.

And when Phantom Luna came within attack range…

KAGAGAK!

She swung the pipe.

“[Oh, I don’t think I can block this-!]”

The man noticed Phantom Luna’s approach too late.

Just as he was about to be hit on the head by the iron pipe Phantom Luna swung…

“[-is what you thought I’d say?]”

WHIK-

The man let go of the iron chains he was holding and dodged the incoming iron pipe with a precise twisting movement.

The man’s eyes gleamed brightly as he smiled.

“To abandon your weapon in battle…”

“[Hm? I can just pick up the weapon again. Like this!]”

PUNG-!!

-PIOR!!

The man took out a crowbar hidden on his back, then turned his waist and swung it wide.

As a result, one of Bear Bear’s underlings that was trying to attack secretly was immediately recalled.

“[You didn’t think dealing with the chains would be enough, did you?]”

“..Tch! Everyone attack!”

Unlike before when Phantom Luna charged in, now it was time for a counterattack.

The glib man charged forward with a smirk.

PUNG-! PUPUNG-!! PAANG-!!

Even among the many teddy bears charging in, the man didn’t lose his composure.

Whenever the man’s attack swung, the teddy bears commanded by Bear Bear were recalled one after another, and contrary to Phantom Luna’s brave charge, she was gradually pushed back.

-Bearr..!

“[You’ve lost a lot of strength since earlier, teddy bear? Don’t you need to replace the cotton?]”

Finally, even the main body, Bear Bear, stepped up, but nothing changed.

In the end, Bear Bear was also recalled after taking the man’s attack.

Seeing this, Phantom Luna gripped the iron pipe tightly.

“[Hmm, how do you plan to fight without your summons’ help?]”

“Don’t underestimate me..! I’m still A-class, you know?! I’ve learned basic combat and martial arts..!”

Although she spoke confidently as if nothing was wrong, she was actually struggling quite a bit.

‘I lack power..!’

Her firepower was insufficient.

Among the summons Phantom Luna could handle, the only one that could be considered offensive was Sylphie.

Since Sylphie was being used to block the taciturn man, she naturally lacked power.

‘The time to resummon Griffin is coming back, but my mana is starting to run low too..’

As Phantom Luna pretended to still have room to spare, picking up the pipe again and aiming it at the man…

“[By the way, aren’t you going to take out what’s in your chest?]”

The man suddenly said something incomprehensible.

At the man’s words, a question naturally arose in Phantom Luna’s mind.

“What do you mean…?”

“[It’s inside you. But why do you keep using things for other purposes..]”

What’s inside me?

Is there something I can’t summon?

Such thoughts occurred to Phantom Luna, but they didn’t lead to a question.

“[No. Never mind.]”

Because the man, organizing his thoughts alone, cut off the conversation.

“[So..they..did it.]”

And then.

“[Scatter shot.]”

PING-!

“Kyaak!!”

The attack from the taciturn man, who had already recalled Sylphie, hit Phantom Luna’s shoulder.

Fortunately, it only grazed her, but even that was enough to make blood rise up naturally, inducing fear.

“[Your summons were quite strong.]”

“[Hey, isn’t it a bit too much to scar a lady’s body~?..if knows-]”

“[It’s fine, I already told him beforehand. And..]”

The men exchanged some words like that.

But it was in such a small voice that Phantom Luna couldn’t hear their conversation.

‘Krup..itai..when is the backup coming?’

While tears welled up in her eyes from the pain beyond imagination, she was waiting for backup.

It had been about 30 minutes since this confrontation began.

She thought it was about time for them to arrive.

She didn’t think about running away, as she didn’t know what problems might arise if she did.

She only hoped that backup would come quickly.

But.

“[..I guess it’s time to wrap this up.]”

Whatever conversation they had, the men were now looking at Phantom Luna and muttering about finishing it.

The taciturn man extended his arm.

“[Combine, compress, transform, rotate.]”

At the man’s voice, which sounded like a declaration, Phantom Luna gripped the pipe again.

“[Scatter shot.]”

KAGAGAK..KAGAK!!

In front of the man, large iron masses reaching up to his abdomen were moving and creating unpleasant noises.

An attack that looked dangerous even at a glance.

With Bear Bear also recalled, she had no intention of taking that attack directly.

She ran toward a nearby building to hide herself.

“[This is the end. Disperse.]”

KAGAGAGAGAK-!!!

And the iron mass shot forward.

It wasn’t a single large mass.

KANG- KARALARARAK-!!

They started to break apart and spread.

Literally scattering.

Running away was useless.

A hail of numerous metal fragments, enough to cover her, was rapidly descending upon her.

‘Ah, it’s over-‘

Just as she thought she was going to die…

KUNG-

“Well, well.”

A man suddenly appeared and blocked her path.

Then he tightly embraced Phantom Luna and activated an artifact.

TAAK!

KAGAK-!! KAGAGAGAGAK-!!!

With a crisp bouncing sound, the coat wrapped around Phantom Luna and the man.

“Uh, uhh..?”

“Shhh-“

While the sudden situation was surprising, she couldn’t utter any questions.

KUNG-! KUNG-! KUNG-!

She could only feel the warmth of the man along with her pounding heart.

For an instant, there appeared to be only one person in her world.

And when the sound of metal collisions subsided, the man returned his coat to its original form and wore it.

“I should say it’s been a while.”

“..Ah.”

A man in a black uniform contrasting with the shining sunlight.

While the scene might seem out of place, the gold ornaments embroidered on his uniform shone brilliantly, making it beautiful.

Phantom Luna looked up at him with trembling eyes.

It was him again.

The man who had been appearing before her from some point on.

The man who had been involved in everything, teasing and tormenting her.

But despite that, the man who came to help her when she was in danger.

“..Maker.”

Maker was looking down at her with a bright smile.

Drip.

“..Huh?”

Even though his body was wounded by fragments that he couldn’t completely block.

“Maker!!”

Phantom Luna’s face turned pale white.