episode_0122

122.

Is it because of losing the third eye and reverse scale that Ouroboros is filled with anger?

“Kieeee, eeee, eeeeeee!”

Ouroboros opened its large snake mouth wide. A mysterious power could be felt beyond the massive mouth. Magic was boiling.

The breath of a dragon.

Commonly known as a breath attack.

It seemed like Ouroboros was about to unleash its breath attack!

“Confirming dragon’s breath! Everyone, towards Soyeon!”

I quickly radioed the people.

To block the extensive dragon’s breath spanning thousands of degrees, an extraordinary ability was needed.

If it were the usual Hong Daye, she would have been able to block it.

But she had exerted too much power. It would be difficult to block such an attack in the current situation.

Although it seemed like the other heroes could block it if they joined forces, they would end up wasting more power than necessary.

So, I decided to ask Soyeon for help.

If it’s Soyeon and the artifact she possesses, she should be able to respond adequately.

Since Soyeon had already explained the effects of the artifact she possessed, she would readily cooperate.

“Everyone, gather over here!”

Soyeon raised her shield and took the lead.

Though she seemed slightly tense, Soyeon faced Ouroboros with a determined look in her eyes.

Suddenly, an immense heat began to surge towards Soyeon.

Intense flames poured down as if to engulf the whole world, melting buildings and roads.

The gust and flames seemed like they would swallow Soyeon’s body at any moment.

Soyeon slightly bit her lower lip. Eventually, after taking a deep breath, she forcefully expelled a battle cry and activated the artifact.

“Haaaah!”

Whiiiiing.

A kind of defensive barrier formed around Soyeon.

The shield Soyeon possessed was an artifact named Aegis.

With the nickname “Shield of the Gods,” it boasted considerable defensive capabilities. It was especially effective against such wide-ranging attacks.

Of course, it would consume a considerable amount of power, but its effectiveness was unparalleled.

“Kiiiriri? Kiiiriririri……!”

Fwoosh, fwoosh!

The dragon’s breath struck the barrier, but it didn’t budge.

It wasn’t just the effect of the artifact; it was also thanks to Soyeon’s extraordinary ability.

Through her ability, she could enhance the power of the artifact several times.

That’s why in the game world, the more artifacts Soyeon possessed, the stronger she could become exponentially.

“Kiiiiii!”

Seeing Soyeon and the heroes standing firm without flinching, Ouroboros became enraged.

Soyeon slightly staggered as she released the barrier.

It seemed she had consumed quite a bit of magic to block the dragon’s breath.

But Ouroboros was also exhausted.

Having unleashed a massive amount of magic to spew flames, it was momentarily stiff due to the recoil.

Soyeon seemed to have noticed this fact instinctively.

She realized it was a critical opportunity.

Suddenly, Soyeon tightly gripped her sword and swiftly turned her gaze towards the wind mage.

“Sir, please use the wind to throw me towards the snake’s head!”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s urgent! Hurry!”

“Got it.”

The wind mage immediately moved Soyeon towards Ouroboros’s head.

Rattled by Soyeon’s sudden actions, I quickly asked others to protect Soyeon.

The heroes worked hard to protect Soyeon from Ouroboros’s attacks.

The various attacks of the heroes made the Hydra waver, allowing Soyeon to safely reach the Hydra’s head.

“Kiiii? Kiiiiiiii!”

The Hydra quickly spat out its acidic breath.

Even though the acidic breath could melt steel, Soyeon activated her Aegis to block it safely.

And she landed on the Hydra’s head.

The Hydra tried to shake Soyeon off, but Hong Daye and other heroes joined forces to stop its movements.

Soyeon quickly drew her sword.

Right in the center of the Hydra’s head.

One of the relatively weak points of the Hydra.

Of course, even though the weak point was relatively weak, it would be difficult for an ordinary hero to penetrate it in one blow.

But Soyeon was not an ordinary hero.

She was the hero among heroes who would become the strongest in the world.

That was Soyeon.

Using her psychic abilities, she strengthened her sword several times and forcefully plunged it into the Hydra’s head.

Then she ignited her magic, burning the Hydra’s brain with magic.

“Haah!”

“K-ki, ki, ki, ki?!”

The Hydra thrashed around.

Thrashing its huge body around, it turned the city of Busan into a chaotic mess.

Swinging its head around, trying to shake off Soyeon, but she only pushed the sword in harder.

How much time had passed?

Due to Soyeon’s blow, the attacks of the heroes, the Hydra finally fell to the ground, its massive body collapsing with a thud.

With a gurgling sound, the Hydra’s body fell weakly to the dirty ground.

Spitting out blood and trembling, the Hydra finally stopped moving.

It was dead.

The Raid-type boss monster, the colossal Hydra with endless vitality.

Defeated by Soyeon and the heroes.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

Soyeon, looking pale, half-dazed, looked down at the Hydra.

Pulling out the deeply embedded sword, blood poured out.

Soyeon, slightly wet with blood, made a disgusted face and came down from the Hydra’s head. She glanced briefly at the Hydra, looking slightly worried that it might come back to life.

“It’s dead, right…?”

With those words.

“Wow, wow!”

“Damn, thought it was dead for real.”

“What, that kid? Amazing, right? Looks so young.”

The heroes exclaimed.

The noisy voices echoed through the radio.

I breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards Soyeon and the heroes with the security guards.

The heroes surrounded Soyeon, showering her with praise.

I saw the figures of heroes like Gaon Nuri and Black Shadow.

“Wow, kid, amazing, right? Looks like you’re still young.”

“What? She’s an academy student? Really?”

“Is the era changing…?”

“If she has this level of skill at that age, she could really become a solo ranker, right?”

Amidst the praises of the heroes, Soyeon scratched the back of her neck, looking embarrassed.

“Jin Soyeon, you were a bit reckless, but… you did well.”

“Ah, th-thank you, sir.”

Hong Daye, looking quite tired, approached and patted Soyeon on the shoulder.

Seeming to think that Soyeon’s actions were a bit reckless but not bad.

“Why are you only praising that kid? I worked hard too~.”

Aisha grumbled with a transparent cloak draped over her shoulders.

I approached her and gave her praise that wasn’t just praise.

“Aisha, you did well too. Thanks to you, we were able to successfully defeat that monster.”

“Is this some kind of Korean way of saying ‘bow down and receive’? Well, anyway, thanks for the praise. Hehe.”

Aisha chuckled as she savored the praise.

This girl, what an interesting personality.

“Jin Soyeon.”

“Yes, Daehan?”

“It seems like your skills have improved more than during the final exam.”

“Oh, yeah. I put in some effort.”

“Effort, huh… Huh. I see. I guess I need to put in more effort too.”

Kang Daehan made a subtle expression before chuckling.

I knew he had been through hellish training under Yoo Dahee.

Certainly, the effects of that training showed when he fought against Ouroboros. If it had been the Kang Daehan from midterms, he wouldn’t have been able to intervene in the fight, but somehow he managed to effectively restrain Ouroboros.

He had grown so rapidly that it was incomparable to the original.

It seems like being thoroughly crushed by Yoo Dahee had a big impact on him. If he hadn’t been completely trampled by Yoo Dahee, he probably wouldn’t have undergone such hellish training.

“Jin Soyeon, right? She’s definitely impressive.”

Juhwayoon approached and marveled.

“I watched her during the ranking match, but I didn’t expect her to be this good. I thought her only rivals were Ishiwoon and Baek Yurin from our clan.”

“Oh, well. It was just luck.”

“To be honest, she was better than some members of our clan, right? They were completely defeated and humiliated.”

“Oh, haha… I-I guess so.”

“Yeah. Do you have any clan in mind?”

“What?”

“If not, our clan…”

“Oh!”

Hanseowoo intervened.

“Juhwayoon, what are you saying to Soyeon?”

“Our Soyeon?”

“Yes, our Soyeon. Soyeon has decided to join our clan. Isn’t it better for her to come to the Heukyeong Clan? We can help her develop her talents more.”

“What are you saying? Are you saying that our Gaonnyuri is lacking for Soyeon?”

“I didn’t mean that, but if it sounded like that…”

Soyeon was at a loss for words between Hanseowoo and Juhwayoon’s argument.

Why are those two arguing again?

“Oh! Jinhuk!”

Soyeon spotted me.

She looked relieved.

She hurriedly approached me.

“Jinhuk, Jinhuk! It really happened just like you said!”

“It’s thanks to you and the others, not me.”

“Oh, look at her. She’s not modest for no reason.”

…Wasn’t I usually quite humble?

“Anyway, thanks to you, we were able to defeat that snake monster safely. Your extraordinary abilities!”

“Uh.”

Could you not shout it out so blatantly?

Anyway, she seemed quite pleased.

Well, facing that kind of monster for the first time in her life, it was understandable.

Looking back, it was truly surprising how Soyeon, a relatively inexperienced academy student, had performed so well in a real battle.

Is the protagonist really the protagonist?

“…Somehow, it seems like things ended well. Thankfully, it seems like no one died, and while some got injured, it seems like it’s nothing serious.”

Gaonnyuri and Heukyeong Clan seemed to relax as the tension dissipated.

The most threatening Ouroboros was successfully defeated without any casualties, as other heroes and police officers had already taken care of most of the remaining monsters.

Everyone seemed exhausted, having fought their hardest.

Some heroes were sitting down, drinking water.

One hero even lay down on the ground.

“Phew, is this finally over?”

Today had been eventful.

From the battle with Alex and his group, to the fight with Yudahee, and finally defeating Ouroboros.

Damn, all of this happened in just a few hours?

It could definitely be described as a hectic day.

“Well, compared to others, I haven’t done much.”

While everyone was busy running around the scene, I was just observing the situation through my binoculars and giving out orders.

Thanks to that, I didn’t feel mentally or physically exhausted.

I feel a bit guilty saying this, but am I the only one who’s fine?

While everyone else struggled with minor injuries and drained stamina, I felt a bit sorry for being unscathed.

It’s true.

I should also stay alert.

There might be surviving monsters approaching this way.

“Well done. I never expected you to take down that giant monster so easily.”

But then.

“But aren’t you letting your guard down too much?”

Right behind Soyeon.

“Because someone like me approaching like this shouldn’t go unnoticed.”

I could see Yudahee with white hair, waving his hand.

“Isn’t that right?”

Yudahee chuckled.

Why is that guy here?

Was he watching from afar without running away, waiting for everyone to lose stamina and let their guard down?

Damn.

“Goodbye.”

“Ah!”

Yudahee reached out towards Soyeon.

It felt like time stood still as my mind raced.

Why is he targeting Soyeon?

Wasn’t I the priority?

Oh, it’s because of the defensive artifact I have.

I could block an attack, so he targeted Soyeon first, thinking he could kill her with a surprise attack.

If Soyeon, exhausted from fighting Ouroboros, could be killed more easily than me.

So he targeted Soyeon…!

All these thoughts raced through my mind in an instant.

My thought process accelerated infinitely.

“Damn it, not Soyeon!”

Before I knew it, my body moved on its own.

I was the closest to Soyeon.

Only I could help her now.

Soyeon couldn’t afford to lose as much as Soyeon.

It wasn’t just because she was the protagonist.

Soyeon was like my last remaining family.

I couldn’t afford to lose her so easily, especially after losing my parents in this life.

“Hey?”

Thunk!

“What are you doing?”

“Ah.”

I unconsciously pushed Soyeon away.

It was a swift movement that was hard to believe.

Thanks to that, I was able to save Soyeon from Yudahee’s grasp.

But.

“I thought this was a defensive artifact that couldn’t be pierced.”

Was that the reason?

“If you give it some strength, it’ll pierce through, you know?”

Yudahee’s hand pierced through me instead of Soyeon.