episode_0169

169. Human Shield.

Kuu-oong!

Yohan, who landed on the ground, gasped for breath.

“Hee-eok, hee-eok. D, Did I get rid of it?”

Ah, I mustn’t die. Yohan chuckled wryly and wiped the sweat flowing down his chin.

It would be a disaster if she died.

It was only thanks to some luck that he escaped the bondage; there was almost no chance for her, who had realized everything, to escape.

Of course, from the next attempt, he could utilize [Memorize]. The storage condition of Memorize is ‘to perfectly execute the spell even once’.

“Well, there’s no way she’s dead.”

Yohan bent down and gently swept the ground with his palm. Then, with the sound of metal clashing, the ground wriggled.

As Yohan continued to infuse magic power into the ground, someone shouted from a distance.

“W, What is it? You!”

“Report it! Report it! Quick! A monster has appeared at Lost 3-2!”

“······Hmm.”

Citizens were holding something square in their hands and observing Yohan. There was a click-click sound. It was a cell phone in this world.

The citizens’ eyes sparkled with curiosity. But they couldn’t bring themselves to approach. They had witnessed the explosion that had just occurred in the air.

Yohan stared at them indifferently before turning his head. It was about time to come down…

Kwaa-ahng!

‘It’s here.’

A blackened object dropped from the sky. Coincidentally, it fell right in front of Yohan. Of course, it wasn’t a coincidence. That’s because Yohan controlled the wind.

Yohan snapped his fingers! Then, steel chains sprang from the ground, binding her.

Yohan was different from her. Unlike her, who had only been bound in parts, he wrapped her entire body tightly. It was like looking at a mummy buried in chains.

“Hoo-ooo······.”

Yohan sighed and recalled the past. Being forced to take medicine, forced to eat rice, forced to eat snacks. There wasn’t a single action he did with his free will.

‘Poop and pee were the same.’

It was a terrible day. Ironically, he also gained something from it.

Woo-oong-

Yohan poured a vast amount of internal magic power into the chains. Originally, the memory of pain is clearer to the victim than to the perpetrator.

Thanks to being bound by the magic power restraint chains, he had mostly figured out the mechanism of the artifact. And Yohan never forgets anything he has remembered once.

‘At this point, if I compress it all at once······.’

Clank-

A sound like something locking in Yohan’s head arose. Yohan instinctively realized that he had sealed Sara’s magic power.

“······What! No way!”

A magician, who had been observing Yohan from much farther away than the citizens, screamed in horror.

‘He created an artifact on the spot?’

Of course, it didn’t seem to be a permanent artifact. Still, it was an amazing skill.

‘That woman doesn’t seem to be an ordinary powerhouse either… This is absurd.’

The monster had a nonchalant expression. That made it even more bizarre. The magician, feeling a little nervous, slowly increased the distance. He shouldn’t get close to such a monster.

That’s when it happened.

Du-du-du-du-!

With steady footsteps, people wearing dark blue uniforms arrived. They were the city’s security forces.

A lizard-type beastman, who was at the front of the group, strode toward Yohan. The wide spread of the membrane near his neck indicated that he was a frilled-neck lizard type.

The lizard beastman spread his membrane wide and shouted.

“Stop! Stop! Kneel down and surrender quietly! You have the right to appoint a lawyer under the Miruni Principles, and the right to remain silent······.”

Yohan ignored the lizard beastman’s babbling and frowned. Then, he rolled his eyes to check her condition. She’s quiet now, but she might start rampaging at any time.

‘This has become troublesome.’

The security forces were subtly forming a circular formation. There’s no way they didn’t see his spell, so the more time he wasted, the more personnel would gather.

Yohan quickly made a decision. Thud, Yohan reached out and grabbed the chain mummy.

At the same time, the tension that had been pressing down on the surroundings became even heavier. The lizard beastman shook his membrane and shouted.

“Co, Co-”

Before he could say ‘attack’, Yohan stomped his foot roughly. Puh-ung! A black smoke instantly spread around.

The security forces, including the lizard beastman, instinctively cowered. They thought Yohan was attacking.

Only for a moment, they realized they had been tricked and rushed to the center of the incident. Various weapons were already in their hands.

The security forces swung their weapons as something flickered in front of their eyes.

Clang! Clang-clang-clang!

“Wa, Wait! He’s already gone! He ran away!”

“Aah! M, My arm!”

It was a thick smoke with a visibility of less than 1M. Even the security forces, who were naturally good at seeing, were limited to 5M.

“You guys! First, clear away this black fog! The citizens are uneasy!”

The lizard beastman shouted, wildly waving a long spear. The magic-infused spear blade gradually cleared away the smoke.

“Y, Yes!”

The lizard beastman sighed as he watched the security forces finally moving. Surprisingly, his face was calm. He didn’t expect to catch him in the first place.

“Tsk, as expected, he wasn’t someone we could handle. I guess it’s fortunate that there was no damage.”

He had been dispatched after receiving the report, but he realized it after seeing the explosion in the air. That monster was someone they could never stop.

If there are no expectations, there is no disappointment. He took out a walkie-talkie from his pocket and pressed a small button.

Woo-oong-

“Ah, Ah. This is Frill. This is Frill. Failed to capture the monster. Failed to capture the monster.”

Then, a androgynous voice came from the walkie-talkie.

[This is Bandage. Roger that. We’ll take over from now on.]

‘Bandage!’

The lizard beastman reflexively bowed.

“Ye, Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

Tak. As soon as he finished speaking, the communication was cut off. The lizard beastman licked his forked tongue.

“The headquarters must have designated the monster’s threat level as special. For Bandage to come out······.”

“Bandage, you say? Are those guys really going on a mission?”

His subordinate, who had heard his mumbling, chimed in.

The lizard beastman cleared away the smoke diligently and said.

“There’s a reason why Bandage’s nickname is Special Class Garbage Dump. Special Class isn’t common, and they can’t be dispatched often.”

“Is Bandage that strong? I’ve never seen them.”

“I’ve only seen them once. And I almost died then.”

The subordinate tilted his head.

“Were you a Special Class monster, Chief? Ack!”

“Say something that makes sense. Seriously.”

The subordinate stroked his head with his chitinous tail. He could have just said it, why hit me······.

The lizard beastman murmured with a wistful face.

“The conditions for Special Class are simple. Is it an existence that can determine the fate of the city? That’s all that’s needed.”

“······That’s not simple at all? Is that monster that strong?”

“Didn’t you see the monster’s spell just now? Even though it was that big?”

“I saw it. It exploded in the sky! It was like watching fireworks.”

“······.”

The lizard beastman rummaged through his memories to examine his subordinate’s characteristics. He was a pure physical type beastman. With very low magic affinity. For the record, his intelligence was also very low.

“You should quit soon.”

If you don’t want to die on the street.

***

Something black quickly passed over the citizens’ heads.

Hoo-oong-!

“Wh, What is it!”

“A person? Is it a person?”

Yohan floated his body with a wind-type spell and fled. He boosted his speed by striking magic power platforms in between.

Thanks to this, he got closer to the Colosseum at a rapid pace. Yohan spread his magic power to explore the surroundings. He could feel the busy movements, but he couldn’t see any forces that would be a threat.

At that moment.

Wee-ooo-wee-ooo-wee-ooo!

A piercing siren rang throughout the city.

At the same time, a sharp voice flowed from the loudspeakers attached to each street lamp.

[Emergency situation! Emergency situation! A ‘Special Class’ monster is currently rampaging through the city! Citizens, please stop what you are doing and move to the shelters nearest to your residential area!]

The voice was repeated endlessly. Yohan muttered with a slightly bewildered face.

“······This, this has become quite a big deal.”

Well, I should be able to reach the Colosseum in a little while, so it shouldn’t matter, right?

Yohan tried to understand the situation optimistically.

That’s when it happened. Yohan reflexively deployed a shield on his left.

‘Not enough!’

Kwa-jijik!

A pale fist pierces through the shield. Surprised, Yohan pulled his right hand. Then, Sara, bound by chains, was pulled along.

Soon, the chain mummy and the pale fist collided.

Kkwaaaaaang!

Yohan staggered and flew away due to the impact. He heard a calm voice in his ear.

“You use a strange shield.”

“Kuh!”

Yohan quickly created a magic power barrier in the air. Teoong! Yohan, who barely stopped, widened his eyes.

‘Mummy?’

A person wrapped in bandages all over his body was standing in the air. He wasn’t alone. Behind him, there were several people in various outfits.

The aura they exuded was not ordinary. To set a standard, they were at a similar level to Alex.

Anyway, Yohan glanced to check Sara’s condition.

‘She’s fine.’

Perhaps because he had poured a vast amount of magic power into the chains, their durability was quite excellent. And that was the same for Sara. Her durability stat was very high.

Yohan was relieved.

‘I should use it often. It’s a good performance.’

Yohan obtained an excellent shield.