Chapter 238: Collapse

Episode 237

Meanwhile,

there was one person inside the Alpha Clan headquarters who was cheering.

It was Kim Jinsung.

He was floating in the air, invisible, observing the scene below from the edge of the subspace magic circle’s ceiling.

‘The environment is perfect for summoning Omurga now.’

He had warped inside the headquarters through a warp magic circle, summoned an Omurga clone using the ‘Clone Technique’, and then started working on his next move.

He was using the ‘Creeping’ trait he had acquired after killing DuMont, the Master of the PCC Clan.

While the Omurga clone was drawing everyone’s attention, he had burrowed deep underground and started taking control of the entire Alpha Clan headquarters area with his roots.

By the time the Omurga clone was killed, he had already taken control of over 80% of the area.

That was why he was able to summon so many Omurga clones at once.

‘The operation is a complete success. I’ve successfully shaken both the Alpha Clan headquarters and their reinforcements.’

He looked at the faces of the hunters gathered in one place.

Their expressions were a mixture of shock, fear, and despair.

It was clear that their morale had plummeted.

‘If I shake them a little more, they’ll choose to flee instead of fighting.’

Morale was crucial in war. Even the strongest and most well-trained army would crumble if their morale was low.

He wanted to break their spirits, to see the Vice Masters’ alliance completely fall apart.

‘The best way to do that is to kill their leader, Hemingston.’

He scanned the area, searching for Hemingston.

He soon found him near the core of the Gravity Field magic circle, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the Omurgas.

‘If I eliminate Hemingston, the only variable that could turn the tide will be gone.’

The spiritual leader and pillar of the Alpha Clan, and the possessor of the deadly ‘Time Manipulation’ ability.

Considering his ability and his position, Hemingston was the most dangerous person to him.

‘Come on, use your ability.’

He stared at Hemingston, waiting for him to use his ability.

He was certain that Hemingston would use his ability in this desperate situation.

* * *

*Roarrr!*

A powerful fire breath erupted from Omurga’s mouth.

**Boom!**

“Aaaargh!”

“Ouch!”

Numerous Alpha Clan members were sent flying or engulfed in flames.

And this one-sided attack was happening repeatedly throughout the Alpha Clan headquarters,

thanks to the ten Omurgas.

Hemingston took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, and looked around.

Even the Vice Masters, the strongest group here, were looking grim.

“Oh my god…!”

“We had such a hard time killing just one, and now there are ten of them?”

“What if another monster appears after we kill all ten…?”

They were panicking, their morale clearly broken.

Even Yoo Jun-ho, the leader of the Vice Masters, had a dark expression on his face.

‘They could be Kim Jinsung’s clones. If that’s the case, killing them won’t solve the problem. We need to find his real body…’

The Vice Masters had lost their will to fight and were glancing at the outside, which was enveloped in the subspace magic circle.

They were clearly looking for an opportunity to escape.

‘If this continues, my Alpha Clan will be screwed.’

He made up his mind.

He was going to use his ‘Time Reversal’ ability again, to prevent the monsters from appearing in the first place.

‘It’s a good thing I brought plenty of Mana potions.’

He checked the numerous Mana potion bottles on his belt and gathered his Mana.

▶ ‘Time Reversal’ skill activated.

▶ ‘Time Reversal’ skill activated.

▶ Returning to 20 seconds in the past.

▶ Consumes 100% of total Mana.

The scenery changed rapidly as he used the ‘Time Reversal’ skill twice in a row.

*Roarrr!*

He saw the first Omurga, still alive, staggering.

And the other Alpha Clan buildings were still intact.

‘I need to move now.’

He started running at full speed.

He was heading towards the nearest building that had been destroyed when the Omurgas appeared.

’20 seconds should be enough to eliminate the cause before the monster is summoned.’

He thought to himself, grabbing a Mana potion from his belt and drinking it as he ran.

He soon reached the entrance of the building, which was about to collapse.

‘There it is!’

He entered the building and immediately found the location where Omurga was being summoned.

The spacious lobby on the first floor. Numerous subordinates were lying on the ground, bleeding, and a giant green root-like object was protruding from the floor in the center.

He saw the root transforming into a shape identical to Omurga’s.

‘I just need to burn the entire root, even the part buried deep underground!’

He gathered Mana in his hand and converted it into fire.

He was about to unleash the flames on the green root when

“Gotcha.”

“……!!”

He jumped in surprise, hearing a whisper behind him.

It was Kim Jinsung’s voice!

‘Shit!’

He instinctively sensed danger and channeled Mana into his armor.

He was going to use the ‘Warp’ skill embedded in his armor, just like before.

A faint light emanated from his armor, but then

“That won’t work twice.”

The light vanished as Kim Jinsung spoke.

He had canceled the warp with the ‘Nullify’ skill.

‘What…!’

His eyes widened in shock, and then the scenery changed.

He was in a gray, unfamiliar dimension.

“Welcome to my subspace.”

Kim Jinsung’s voice came from ahead.

He was standing there, looking at him with a smug smile.

“How do you like your grave?”

He just stood there, asking a question, not drawing his sword or attacking.

But Hemingston felt a chill run down his spine.

‘That bastard is stalling.’

He realized Kim Jinsung’s intention and gritted his teeth in frustration.

He knew that he was the one who would suffer if Kim Jinsung kept him here and stalled for time.

‘If this continues, those monsters will destroy the Alpha Clan headquarters.’

He couldn’t let that happen.

Now that he knew how the monsters were created, he had to go back and stop them.

‘I have no choice but to use Time Reversal again.’

There was only one solution.

He would use ‘Time Reversal’ to go back to the past, before he met Kim Jinsung.

And when he met him again, he would use ‘Time Stop’ to either kill him or avoid him and burn the plant.

‘I can do it. I have plenty of Mana potions.’

He made up his mind and gathered his Mana.

▶ ‘Time Reversal’ skill activated.

▶ Returning to 5 seconds in the past.

▶ Consumes 25% of total Mana.

The scenery changed back to the lobby on the first floor.

It was right before Kim Jinsung appeared behind him.

‘I need to use Time Stop now, before he appears…’

He started gathering Mana for ‘Time Stop’, but then

‘…Huh?’

His eyes widened.

The scenery changed again.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Kim Jinsung asked, smirking at him.

He was back in Kim Jinsung’s subspace.

‘What the…?!’

He looked around, bewildered.

Why was he back here?

He had clearly gone back 5 seconds in time, before he met Kim Jinsung. How could he be back here in less than a second?

“You’re not the only one who can manipulate time.”

Kim Jinsung answered his unspoken question.

“Have you heard of the ‘Time Fast Forward’ ability? It allows you to travel up to 20 seconds into the future.”

“……!!”

His eyes widened in shock.

He also had the ‘Time Fast Forward’ ability. He just hadn’t been able to use it because the conditions hadn’t been met.

‘How did he… Don’t tell me?!’

His premonition was never wrong.

“I just used it.”

As he finished speaking, a giant black figure started materializing around him.

It was a translucent figure, wearing a black robe, its face resembling an analog clock.

“Have you heard of ‘Eligos’? He’s a famous Demon God who can see the future.”

He couldn’t answer. He had never heard of that name.

“Eligos can’t travel to the past, but he can accelerate time. And he’s especially good at tracking time manipulators.”

It was the ‘Time Ability Sharing’ trait.

Whenever someone in the same dimension used a time manipulation ability, Eligos could also sense and use it.

So when Hemingston traveled to the past with his memories of the future, Eligos also traveled to the past in the same state.

Thanks to this trait, Kim Jinsung had been able to counter all of Hemingston’s attempts to interfere with the portal and the root transformation after he used ‘Time Reversal’.

“Thanks to him, I was able to trap you, Hemingston. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the ‘Spirit Summoning’ skill.”

Spirit Summoning.

It was a hidden skill he had learned from Dantalian.

Dantalian had highly recommended it, saying that it was a skill that Kim Jinsung, who was both a ‘Demon Physique’ and the monstrous Omurga, could easily use.

He had used the skill to summon Eligos, the ‘Demon God of Future Sight’, and gained the ability to freely manipulate time.

“Now, let’s have a one-on-one duel. A battle between time manipulators.”

He said confidently, taking a fighting stance.

Hemingston, who was frozen in shock, was a stark contrast to his confident demeanor.

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