episode_0057

Rising in the dungeon, an alien and massive entity.

On one side of that smooth entity, reflecting all light like a mirror,

“Open! Open!!!”

Blood was splattered all over it.

Yet, Eugene’s fist didn’t know how to stop.

The force of his fist, capable of splitting giant rocks, continued to erupt.

Even if his flesh tore and his fingers broke, he showed no sign of backing down.

‘It’s reflecting all the impact…’

Alicia silently watched the scene, licking her lips.

It was a shield that reflected all impacts in the opposite direction.

It meant there was no way to break it with physical force.

But Eugene, relentlessly pounding on the unbreakable shield, didn’t seem to care.

Because Kali was trapped inside.

Having watched Eugene observe Kali, Alicia felt like she could somewhat understand Eugene’s feelings.

“Calm down. Hitting it will only hurt your hands.”

“Let go. Release it.”

“Please, calm down. Now is the time to conserve your energy.”

“Sigh…”

Alicia leaped down from the ceiling, slowing her descent with wind magic.

She quickly embraced Eugene’s waist and restrained him.

Someone had to restrain him.

Otherwise, Eugene would have continued to pound until his limbs broke and his head shattered.

|Not a barrier, not a shield. Strange. Can’t find a way to break it. It’s a pity, human.|

“…”

Alicia couldn’t bring herself to say anything, but she felt like Ifrit.

She couldn’t figure out the true nature of this entity.

It was like an object from another realm.

Not knowing its nature made it seem even more impossible to break.

Kali is going to die.

Or maybe she’s already dead.

“Ah…”

With a disappointed expression, Eugene reached out to the entity.

He raised his bloodied hand to the shattered mirror.

It was painful to see his unfocused eyes.

It felt like he could see Kali through those eyes, making it even more difficult for Alicia.

Alicia turned away in that state of mind.

‘He’s really obsessed…’

He said it was just an object.

He said he could easily discard it without any burden.

It was a lie.

A lie that even deceived himself.

‘Now I’m wrong. I can only seek revenge.’

He must not lose his mind.

Kali is also trapped inside.

This entity won’t last forever either.

Once the shield disappears, he must strike and kill her by surprise.

He must seek revenge for Kali.

So, just as Alicia was about to tell Eugene to pull himself together,

“…”

Eugene’s eyes regained focus.

It was a determined gaze, as if he had decided something.

Silently, he picked up the ring that had fallen to the ground and placed it over the finger that already had one ring on it.

Then, he brought his bloodied hand back to the entity.

“What, what are you doing?”

“You can’t break this with physical strength. But with telekinesis, it should work.”

“What?”

Telekinesis is not about applying force to an object, it’s about moving the object. With enough mana, you can move anything.

“That’s…”

That’s a stretch.

Alicia was about to say, but her mouth gradually closed.

Indeed, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Telekinesis doesn’t apply physical force to objects.

It directly affects the object itself to move it.

But that’s just a theoretical explanation.

In practice, telekinesis involves moving easily interfered substances around the object, such as the air around it.

Most of the power comes from there.

For heavy and complex objects, using telekinesis becomes almost impossible.

“Phew…”

But Eugene didn’t care about any of that.

He didn’t know how likely it was.

If there is even a speck of possibility, there was no reason not to try.

“Ifrit. Please, just this once.”

With the help of Maseok, the magic control was activated.

All the magic within her body gathered into Yujin’s heart.

In an instant, the magic began to flow rapidly throughout her body.

In a moment of illusion, as if she were the only one left in this world,

Yujin focused her magic with intense concentration.

Every drop of magic felt as if it were being sensed.

“Just help me one last time.”

Yeomdong.

A magic that had succeeded only once.

That time was both the beginning and the end.

Yujin herself did not know how she had cast it.

She simply had the desire to overcome the situation, and it had manifested as Yeomdong’s magic.

It was all thanks to the help of the Great Spirit that she could activate it purely.

At least, Yujin believed so.

|It’s impossible|

“······.”

At the moment when Ifrit’s firm answer came back,

Yujin closed her eyes tightly.

She was more desperate than ever.

But being rejected did not mean she could give up.

She maintained her focus without faltering, holding onto the magic that had become difficult to control, preparing to release it.

It was only once.

If she failed this time, there would be no next.

|I did not help then. I have nothing to offer now|

“What?”

When Ifrit gave a belated response,

Yujin’s concentration almost wavered.

She forgot what she was going to say.

That she had not helped.

When the realization hit her heart,

Was it not that Ifrit had done something mischievous?

‘Was that entirely my own power?’

It was an unbelievable statement.

After that, no matter how hard she tried to use Yeomdong, she could not use it a second time.

“But!”

However, Yujin soon understood.

The essence of magic was to vividly imagine the desired outcome and bring it about through magic.

If impurities like other emotions were mixed in, the performance would be greatly diminished.

That’s why meditation and mind control were important in magic training.

It demanded becoming a monster with only reason left, suppressing emotions.

Despite countless attempts, the reason for repeated failures was not something else.

There were too many emotions.

Despite appearing calm and composed, Yujin’s inner world was chaotic.

She had to sort through all those emotions.

Only then could Yujin use magic.

‘Was it because my emotions were emptied when I crossed the boundary of death?’

Once she realized that, her task became clear.

Empty the emotions.

Clear the mind and control the spirit truly.

Her magic control was insufficient.

Far from enough.

She had to eliminate everything even submerged in her subconscious.

And there was no one to help her with that.

Yujin had to do it all by herself.

‘Is this even possible?’

The same days, the same years repeated 12 times.

To anyone, anywhere, 12 different memories resurfaced.

Good memories and bad memories emerged simultaneously, spreading conflicting emotions.

All affection and hatred were love, and all pain and pleasure were joy.

It felt as if all emotions were merged into one.

She had to remove them all.

Even the things submerged in her subconscious.

It was an almost impossible task.

“Just do it!”

In other words, it wasn’t impossible.

Yujin’s determination clashed.

In a fleeting moment, so brief that even she didn’t notice.

Leaving out only the desperate need to preserve the undecided.

All emotions swirled and disappeared.

And at the same time······

“Whoa?!”

Kugugugu!

A strike against an impenetrable sphere.

The sphere that had to bounce off all physical forces began to crack.

Crash!

And as if by a lie.

The sphere shattered, revealing a hole.

Light shone from the inside, and the faint face of Mijeong was revealed.

From that always expressionless face, a hint of emotion seemed to show.

“······Yujin?”

“Don’t touch my things.”

Yujin said coldly.

I had never been this angry before.

If Mijeong had been dead, I might have been so angry that I would have lost my mind by now.

It was only because she was alive that I could suppress my anger to this extent.

|How can the Heavenly Gauntlet······! Ugh!|

Yujin’s body flew like lightning and slammed into Kali’s body on the ground.

Yujin’s body was already drained of magic power.

But he endured the pain of his muscles convulsing.

Forcing his body to move against its will, he drew his dagger.

|Ah! No! I can’t die like this! I can’t die like this!!!|

“You know it’s a dog’s death. Die. You bitch.”

Thud.

The weakness seen through his special ability.

The dagger was thrust into the poison sac inside the body.

|Aaaaaah!!!|

And for a moment, the screams of the dying Kali echoed.

As she writhed and struggled with sharp legs, Kali’s movements ceased.

Soon, the magic that had escaped from Kali’s body gathered in the air and turned into a black sphere, falling with a thud.

It was over.

One of the Four Kings.

The moment when the druid Kali, who sought to control the World Tree and bring disaster, was killed by a mere human.

“······Yujin.”

Yujin turned around, pulling out his dagger at the sound of the weak voice.

There was a pale-faced girl sitting on the ground with her legs giving out.

Mijeong crawled towards Yujin, not caring about the wounds on her knees.

As Yujin approached in response to this, Mijeong hugged him tightly.

“······Yujin. Yujin, Yujin!”

“You took off the ring and really want to die? Pathetic.”

“······I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? It’s my fault for giving the wrong order. I didn’t know you would listen so well. Then, listen to my order again. Listen well.”

“······Yes.”

“Never die. It’s an order.”

“······Yes! I won’t die! Let go of Yujin, never, I won’t die!”

With her face buried in Yujin’s chest.

Mijeong sobbed and replied.

Crying without tears, she pressed her face against Yujin’s chest.

It seemed that Mijeong would not be easily separated.