episode_0087

*****

If you had to choose a difficult race among the monster waves that appear around the world, undead would definitely be in the top three.

First of all, there are too many cases where bullets are ineffective. Anyway, unlike zombies or skeletons, which can do anything if you pour a lot of them into them, you can’t even damage something like a wraith with lead bullets.

In addition, there were a number of things that were difficult for regular units to deal with, such as city poison and mental damage from opposing troops.

However, from the hero’s perspective, the story is different. Even if it looks gross, the magic attack is normally effective. Considering that the undead’s physical specifications are lower than those of other monsters, the relative difficulty level is lowered.

Of course, the undead who resided within the Otherworld under the Elder Lich were not such soft beings. Even regular skeleton soldiers are armed, and wraith-like ghosts line up to launch mental attacks from behind.

In that situation, the two people who shined the most were Raon and Marie.

“──Samadhi evolution!”

Every time Raon’s chant rang out, the number of undead decreased noticeably. It is difficult to enumerate the advantages a wizard has in one-on-many battles.

It’s not just fire magic. Meteor, which can inflict large damage in a wide area, and Turn Undead magic, which I learned the day I came here. The executive in charge of Raon raised the white flag after three days, saying there was nothing to teach.

While Raon excelled in attack, Mari stood out in defense. The magic of confusion and fear from the Wraiths disappeared like snow melting before Marie’s eyes.

There is no need to worry about the enemy’s wide-area attacks, and allies’ support is solid. Naturally, the momentum of the battle line had no choice but to go crazy.

“You’re an angel, is there anything that works well against the undead?”

“There is no such thing, it is!”

Sigh. Hyeran, named Brünnhild, flew up and dived down, slaughtering the undead. Sometimes, Jeong Young holds on to that momentum and blocks all counterattacks. With that alone, the two became an unstoppable storm in a melee, tearing through the enemy’s lines.

Everyone was freely unfolding what they had learned or already had in the past few days at the front. The sudden change in the environment due to otherworldliness also had less effect within the scope of the magic unleashed by the executive leading them.

There was only one person here who was not in good condition, Hwa-in.

bang.

A huge fist smashed the undead that was attacking the painter behind him. The painter looked back and made eye contact with the trainer riding on the giant’s shoulder.

The trainer was not sarcastic, saying that if his condition was bad, he should just stay at the base. Fine didn’t say that he would have been fine even if you hadn’t helped him. One chose to act immediately, out of annoyance and the other out of sincerity.

‘I feel dizzy.’

When he announced that he would go to the guerrilla team today, many people expressed concern. Anyone who had seen Surtur after training the day before would have done the same. In the end, Hwain chose to leave.

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t have confidence. But it wasn’t a lie to say that the condition wasn’t bad.

The painter already had the experience of dying in a fire as a child without being able to do anything. Compared to the helplessness I felt back then, I felt like I could shake off my fear now, and in fact, the next day, I didn’t see any fear in the painter’s movements.

The problem arose because the condition was too good.

‘Fine, right!’

“… Pfft!”

Even before Sarah told him, Hwain knew about the creature attacking from the right. This understanding was not simply limited to the direction in which the creature was charging.

The creature is raising its right foot. The creature is kicking the ground with its left foot. My back is twisted. The right fist will come out soon. My heart is racing. The left hand will be thrown away in a futile movement.

Unlike humans, the painter was able to know how the remodeled muscle mass would move. I knew it too well.

It’s not just Creature. There is a skeleton soldier running right in front of you. The joint of the shoulder being raised, the snowstorm bouncing off the ground, and the ally’s magic blowing from afar are shattered and the creature’s fist is already thrown out, but the sense of discomfort does not go away in the muscles of the leg that is stretched out to avoid it. ─

‘brand!!’

The Creature’s fist split the air in vain. The painter’s body, which jumped too far to the right, lost its balance and fell.

Creature didn’t want to miss that opportunity. However, at that moment, the painter’s sword was swung from his collapsed posture. The creature realized that the power contained in the sword was not a big deal and reached out to grab it.

At that moment, it burned and split vertically.

‘brand… ?’

Sarah’s voice filled with worry and confusion. I wanted to answer, but I didn’t have time to do so. Even that voice was one of the many pieces of information that gave Hwain a headache right now.

‘There are too many.’

Abnormally expanded senses provided the Chinese with numerous information and options. However, it was very difficult to choose the correct answer among them.

It felt like I had to decide the order in which water droplets would hit the ground in a pouring downpour.

The painter shook his head. That’s just a simple illusion. My senses didn’t become this sensitive until I actually entered the battle. Right now, I just don’t know how to use this sense.

[I’m still trying to see it with my own eyes. How about closing your eyes instead?]

What suddenly came to mind was the priest’s advice. The painter immediately closed his eyes. The information that had come in to the point where it made my head hurt was erased in an instant.

[Don’t stop looking.]

Ami said so. Seeing is half, responding is half. You shouldn’t stop looking. It’s just not something you see with your eyes.

One, another. Small trends began to appear. I can’t see it, but I see it. Little by little, I reflected on that feeling.

What was it like when you were a soul? There are no eyes in the soul. Nevertheless, when the painter was floating in the air, he was able to see everything around him in detail. So much so that one might mistakenly believe that one is spreading out into the sky.

Little by little, the world was depicted beyond my closed eyes. The sketch gradually becomes more similar to the world as seen from above. It was a precision that was incomparable to when he was hit with a stimulant during the battle with Hatter.

The boy does not know that it is an unreasonable talent.

‘Sarah.’

Red paint was painted over the sketch. When the red light painted over the undead that had been drawn like a sketch disappeared, there was nothing left there anymore.

Sarah’s figure was even drawn with one arm. Although the painter wanted to draw everything she had left in his memory, he instinctively realized that it would be impossible.

If so, just do what you can now.

“You idiot, what are you doing!”

Hyeran let out a sigh when she saw Hwa-in jumping forward from her seat. Although the efforts of the back row have created a good environment for the front row to be active, there are limits to that.

We had noticed before departure that the painter was not in good condition. No, even if that wasn’t the case, in Hyeran’s opinion, Hwa-in’s skills weren’t enough to jump forward like that.

Fortunately, there was some room in the battle line. Hyeran suppressed her nervousness and continued the fight, preparing to run out whenever Hwa-in was in even the slightest danger.

3 minutes. Still, I was fighting well, wondering if I had gone out without thinking at all. Even though I heard he didn’t learn martial arts, his movements were strangely good. But in one-on-many combat, that alone is not enough.

5 minutes. At this point, it was time for the enemies to realize that this guy was crossing the line. When viewed from the sky, an individual’s vision is limited, although he is good at penetrating gaps in the formation just before being surrounded. If we continue like that, we will soon be surrounded.

[Take my scythe!]

“It’s noisy!”

I couldn’t just look over there. This is because several Dullahan rushed in, shaking the ground. The Dullahan, which runs on horseback, was a target that Hyeran, who had good mobility, had to eliminate as a top priority.

Dullahan was definitely a different class from the average undead. There were a few moments where even Hyeran would have been in danger if Jeongyoung hadn’t helped her. Fortunately, the potential of the dark world and Jeong Young was the best, so they were able to capture it somehow.

Hye-ran, who was breathing heavily, then remembered Hwa-in’s situation again. Of course, since the executive is watching from the center, there will be no problem in most cases, but isn’t there such a thing as an emergency?

However, what caught Hyeran’s eyes as she rose into the sky was a completely unexpected situation.

“What is that… .”

How much time had passed while fighting the Dullahans? 10 minutes? 20 minutes? During that time, the painter moved further forward.

No matter how well the Chinese move, a siege is inevitable at that point. The moment Hyeran moved to help, powerful flames engulfed the entire area where Hwain was. It was Raon’s flame that I had seen several times.

“That… !”

Friendly Fire. The blood drained from Hye-ran’s face at the worst possibility, but Hwa-in jumped out of it unharmed and took a step back. I’m not sure, but there must have been some way to resist the flames.

No, even if that were the case, what kind of guts did they have to move forward like that? It was as if he knew that Raon’s magic was ready.

‘… ‘Did you tell me through communication magic?’

Hye-ran dismissed the questions that came to mind. The fact that communication magic does not work well in this world was momentarily forgotten in my complicated mind.

“Good, good, everyone is doing well! Let’s just keep doing it!”

The executive leading the students—Sergeant Ha—felt like he wanted to do a dance. When he heard the order to take the chicks who hadn’t even graduated yet, he grabbed his head, but the students crushed his expectations in a good way.

In the first place, there were too many students in this meeting who were not at the student level. For the first day or so, I was just a little confused by the unique atmosphere of the front line, but once I got used to it, I quickly demonstrated my skills, living up to the name of Cheonmyeong High School.

What excited Sergeant Ha was the fact that the probability of them coming to the front was quite high. It will probably rise above that level soon, but it would be welcome to see the survival rate increase even just for the time being.

However, his excited mood disappeared without a trace starting with Raon’s report.

“Now, wait a minute, Sergeant Ha!”

“Huh? Why are you doing that?”

“Something… , something is coming!”

Although abstract expressions are not good, she is a girl who has shown tremendous potential as a magician. In fact, it wasn’t long before Sergeant Ha could feel an ominous sensation prickling his skin.

“Everyone, retreat to the center!”

He shouted with all his magic power and found the epicenter of the ominous appearance as quickly as possible. In any case, at least the students had to run away. For him, a person who is good at protecting and supporting was appointed as the leader.

However, his face turned pale when he saw the distorted space.

[Your… , life… , give it to me!]

Because the one who opened the space and came out was the Elder Lich who was supposed to be fighting with their leader.

The size of the lich was 2 meters, so it wasn’t a very intimidating size. One of his arms was completely blown off, and his equipment was in tatters, as if he had suffered some kind of misfortune.

Nevertheless, the momentum radiated by the Elder Lich was overwhelming. It’s funny that the undead crave life, but the cornered lich was just as desperate.

I didn’t let my guard down. I thought it would be an easy victory since there was no priestess, but didn’t that monstrous human cut off all of the lich’s magic with a single iron rod and drove him to the brink of death?

Part of the Lich’s Life Vessel had already been cut off, and the life force contained within it was leaking out. Now, he is somehow holding on to his life force with his magic, but if things continue like this, it is as clear as day that he will die in vain.

No matter how much vitality there was, it was not enough. Richie had no intention of missing a single one of that group of humans.

“Student representative, who was it?”

“Me.”

“Okay. I like it somehow. Get as far away from that guy as possible. I’d like to tell you not to disperse if possible, but… I’ll leave the judgment to you.”

Sergeant Ha quickly told Hye-ran what needed to be said to Hye-ran, who stepped forward. The instructions were to survive even if it meant abandoning other students.

It was something that could not be helped. The place where the lich, who can use space magic, ran away to, was exactly where they were. This was purely a matter of luck. Sergeant Ha decided to do his duty.

“We too──”

“Go!!”

The Elderlich was already starting to chant. Sergeant Ha hurriedly unleashed the greatest barrier technique he could. Since he had given all the instructions, there was nothing he could do for the students.

Raon’s complexion turned blue after seeing the magic used by the Elder Lich. The level of magic was at the same level, but the unit of magical power was on a different level. At least, no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop that magic. It was doubtful whether even Sergeant Ha would be able to do it.

Then what should I do? Someone ran past Raon, who was struggling to think.

“Surt!?”

It wasn’t just Chinese people who took action. The trainer, who judged that he could stop it, as well as Hyeran and Jeongyoung, who judged that if they retreated like this, they would only be beaten by the lich, took action of their own. The fastest one among them was Hwain.

‘If you don’t stop it, you’ll die.’

At the moment of that decision, the painter’s body was running away. Sarah was making a lot of noise inside, saying it was the limit or something, but I ignored it. If you don’t overcome your limit now, you will die.

If you die, you will never be able to catch up with her.

‘see.’

The painter’s eyes were wide open as he ran. Is it because of Richie’s overwhelming presence or his obsession with life? The information that had been accepted indiscriminately was concentrated on one lich.

Ami told us to read the flow of magic power. Indeed, this is what it feels like, the painter thought. As the lich chanted, it was visible that the arrangement of the surrounding magic power changed and formed a single shape.

‘This is not it.’

The painter changed the path to raise the flame again. The road was already remembered as pain in the soul.

A pain that I hadn’t felt in a while, as if my whole body was on fire, came over me. It was due to some deviation from the unfamiliar route, but I decided to ignore it for now.

The sense of omnipotence I felt was too ecstatic to just give up here.

■(僞) concept■present──

[■■]

The incomplete blow burned away the lich’s magic.

[It’s ridiculous, this has happened twice… !]

The lich’s magic, which was almost complete, disappeared without a trace. But Fine didn’t care about the other person’s surprise. To be precise, I didn’t have time to worry about it.

The only thing that was cut down was magic. The opponent was still alive and well. Then there was no reason to stop the sword.

However, the painter’s body could not comply with his will.

‘Hwain!?’

Sarah’s voice sounds distant. The painter felt a scratching pain in his stomach and spit out something hot. My mouth was filled with the fishy smell of iron.

At a late tempo, other students also charged in, but they were blocked by a barrier that seemed to stand between them and the painter. Moreover, the remaining undead legions in the surrounding area began to attack again.

Ignoring the commotion outside the barrier, Lich lifted the painter up with his magic power. There was no expression on his skeletal face, but his eyes were glowing with anger.

[I can’t believe my life was threatened twice in one day by these idiots!]

“Cough, cough… .”

[Pay for that sin with your life.]

“Keuuu!”

The painter screamed, unable to withstand the pain of having the curse brand engraved on his chest. The lich smiled ominously after confirming the curse connection.

At that time, someone approached the outside of the barrier. However, lichs have been extorting all kinds of life in the other world for hundreds of years. His magic will not be broken by a midday human attack.

An ominous thought suddenly appeared in the confident Richie’s mind. It happened twice in one day. So, isn’t it possible for it to happen three times?

That imagination, which he would never have done normally, ended up saving Richie’s life.

Kwazijic.

The barrier has been broken. No, it didn’t stop there, and the wind gained even more momentum. The reason the lich was able to react was because he had cast a space movement spell just in case.

[dragon… !]

The lich said the names of the tribes he knew as if they were screaming. Black horns, vertically slit pupils, and even armor-like scales growing on both arms. Its features were similar to those of a humanoid dragon, except that it lacked a tail.

The girl who appeared didn’t care about what Richie said. Whatever it calls her doesn’t change what she does.

“Give 3 seconds. Get rid of that dirty magic right away.”

Because she is a hero──Fafnir.

***

It wasn’t too late. That’s how I judged the situation after joining the students.

Most of the other students seemed safe. Even though Hwain was cursed by the lich, if we take him to the priestess, it will be okay.

When I see Hwain bleeding from the corner of his mouth, something boils up inside me. Who makes a child like that?

It’s not a good thing to be overly emotional, but somehow this feeling was in my memory. Sure enough, after concentrating a bit, black scales popped out of my hand like armor.

“Happy!”

The punch broke the barrier and even got the lich involved. It’s a shame, if I had chosen defense, I would have just destroyed it.

Well, looking at Rich’s facial features, it seems clear that he ran away while dealing with the one-armed swordsman. Since you must have tried manipulating concepts until you got sick of them, your learning ability must have improved a little.

Perhaps the one-armed swordsman will come here soon. I have no intention of leaving that lich alone until then.

[dragon… !]

“Give 3 seconds. Get rid of that dirty magic right away.”

Actually, I didn’t mean to hear it. If it’s right, they’ll put it down on their own anyway, so what’s the point of warning them? It was nothing more or less than a bluff to rush in before the count of three.

But surprisingly, as soon as I finished speaking, Rich obediently put Hwain down. And quite politely.

[It was something like that. Was it all part of your plan from the beginning? The honor of the dragon race has fallen to the ground!]

… ? What does that mean? I feel like I’m misunderstanding something, but I don’t feel like I need to correct it. In fact, it is true that that lich was fooled by the Sphere Gentleman’s fraud.

[I may leave today, but I will definitely come back──]

“Who sent it to me?”

bang! With one kick, Rich bounced to the ground and then flew away. I tried to destroy it all at once, but I guess it’s not that easy. As expected, it would be difficult to deal with that guy without concept manipulation.

The lich, whose skull was shattered, was still building magic through beastmen. At the same time, numerous undead lined up among them to buy time.

no use. Just blow away all the undead like this and that will be enough.

Space magic affects not only the mass of the target but also its magic power. No matter how good he is at spatial magic, he cannot complete a spell that can move a being as large as an Elder Lich far away in a short period of time.

Once again, take the correct posture as if you had broken the barrier. The desire to kill lives in the tightly clenched fist. If I just raise my fist like this, I will win.

The strengthened gaze caught the hand of the guy who had stopped chanting. Already completed the magic? No, that can’t be true. In the first place, there was no sign of the space around him being distorted. Same goes for me.

His magic was being cast on the fallen Hwain.

“Tch!”

The other students—no, most of them are caught up in the battle with the undead. There were some students who noticed the situation here, but the magic casting speed was too fast for them to react.

All the magic power I had gathered in my fists was gathered into my legs. I kicked the ground with the feeling that I was being kicked out. An ignorant charge that only thought about speed.

The space around Hwain was already distorting. Even if that space magic were simply connected to the air, Hwain in his current state would die.

Please reach out. Would that origin have worked? My fingers touched Hwain’s body as if grazing,

At the same time, Hwain and I fell into a gap in space.

*****