Chapter 45
I operated my smartwatch. Immediately, light radiated from it, creating wireless earphones, and when I put them in my ears, Cha Yeri's sharp voice flowed out.
“Cadet Ji Seokhyeon! What in the world are you doing?! What were you doing until now...!”
Her attractive voice was clearly audible even through the earphones. I ran toward a towering building in my sight and made an excuse.
“The signal must have been out. It's working now after I turned it off and on again.”
“Do you expect me to believe that right now? Never mind, your current location is 80m southeast. There's a barrier stone and one mafia member nearby.”
“Underst— huh? What did you say? It's broken again. Hello? Cadet Cha Yeri?”
“Don't play games...!”
CRACKLE.
Smartwatch forcibly shut down. It was a function I gained while rooting it. A useful setting to escape GPS. My clumsy acting would certainly provoke a lot of curses. But there was nothing I could do.
“I'm used to being cursed at, anyway.”
I soon arrived on the rooftop of the tall building. I immediately used my Demonic Eye and memorized the location of the barrier stones.
It was impossible to deal with the barriers based solely on Cha Yeri's instructions from the beginning. After all, her ability could only distinguish mana that was adjacent. Unless the distant barrier stones emitted mana all the way to Cha Yeri's location, I had to move diligently.
Generally, Awakened beings could only perceive that mana 'exists'. Skilled individuals could only sense mana concentration to some extent. With the exception of special talents like Cha Yeri and Bruno the Hunter, most were limited to that level. There was no exception to this rule. Without opening a Demonic Eye or a specific item, even a Demonic Being couldn't differentiate mana.
“Then, it's about time...”
Currently, there were five remaining barrier stones on the opposite side of Lee Eunho's activity range. And several mafia members were sparsely visible. Among them, I searched for Yu Hyeonjeong's mana. She seemed to be protecting the residents somehow, and as expected, a mana of a unique color was visible within that group.
“A summoner was hidden in the original story.”
There still didn't seem to be any special movements. I confirmed the situation and took out the Cloak of the Alluring Hermit from my inventory and wrapped it around myself. One might think it was out of place, but this was my best option. After all, Camellia couldn't possibly be unaware of our four presences. Therefore, I wouldn't use Stealth. What was needed was the symbol itself to cause them confusion. For instance, "The Phantom Thief stole Park Chaeshin's data."
“To make Camellia chase an unspecified individual called the Phantom Thief.”
It was also to protect Lee Eunho and Cha Yeri, but ultimately, it was a choice to conceal myself. As I gently grasped one hand, the Mist-Clearing Sword appeared from my inventory. The sword blade, which always left me breathless whenever I saw it... Its mysterious light shining alone in the shadows of Seoul made it look exactly like Platium to anyone.
“Alright, shall I draw some aggro?”
***
Distance: 150m. A range where one could hit even with eyes closed. Sure enough, Cha Yeri's MA6 fired a magic bullet without a sound. The bullet flew straight, then its trajectory sharply twisted at a certain point. It then passed through a broken window at near-supersonic speed, instantly shattering the hidden barrier stone.
‘...Next.’
A curved shot. Cha Yeri, who displayed near-perfect marksmanship, left the spot as if it were nothing.
“I've handled this area.”
“Me too!”
“It seems there's nothing left in this vicinity, so let's move to the opposite side.”
“Location?”
Cha Yeri immediately ascended to the top of a building. And using her ability, she leaped across rooftops, discovering another target.
“70m west of Cadet Lee Eunho's location. A black car is parked nearby.”
“Understood!”
Lee Eunho’s reliable radio communication. However, in less than a minute, a distressed voice replied.
“It's not here! Could you give me the location again?”
“What? That can't be...”
The target she had just confirmed with her ability was gone. Cha Yeri quickly changed direction and moved directly to the target's location.
“It's unlikely the barrier stone was moved. That would strain the barrier itself. The hidden spellcaster must have pulled a trick.”
“I don't think so...”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It's really not here. I can't feel the spellcaster's mana either. I'd usually look harder, but...”
‘What is she talking about? So frustrating.’
Eventually, she reached an appropriate distance from the target. The effective range of her ability.
“...?”
But as Lee Eunho said, the traces of the target that had been there just moments ago had vanished.
“Correction. I apologize. I'll report back when I find the next target.”
“Understood!”
Cha Yeri stopped at the rooftop railing as if she had seen a ghost. Her sense of balance was so perfect it could be mistaken for a trick.
‘What exactly happened?’
Had she really made a mistake? Had she been complacent due to the slight elation of being able to use MA6 in a real battle?
‘No, someone is here...!’
Another presence, not belonging to the mafia. Cha Yeri heightened her senses as much as possible. If she couldn't distinguish mana with her ability, she would find the anomalous mana with her senses.
“...”
As expected, an anomalous presence was felt. Not the sound of footsteps, nor the rustling of clothes, but the rough panting of breath. Cha Yeri quickly turned her head, following the unknown figure with her eyes. Soon, a figure busily moving through the alley came into view. A gasp escaped her immediately.
“Ha, the Phantom Thief...?”
It was the Phantom Thief, just as she had seen him at the exhibition last time. The only difference was that he wasn't using his perception-inhibiting ability.
‘Ji Seokhyeon, what is that man really up to...!’
The blame could wait. For now, he was helping by destroying the barrier stones. Cha Yeri suppressed the urge to fire a bullet at the Phantom Thief and moved towards another target. However, after moving for several minutes, she couldn't find the mana of any barrier stones.
‘This is strange. Why can't I see the mana of the barrier stones?’
‘Perhaps that man...’
A physically impossible result unless Ji Seokhyeon found the barrier stones faster than she did.
‘Does he really have tracking abilities? ...Damn it, what exactly is he?’
As a result, they were able to breach the barrier faster than calculated, but it felt unsettling. The pervasive feeling was that she was being played by the slippery Ji Seokhyeon.
‘For now, I'll leave the remaining barrier stones to that man and deal with the mafia members.’
Dispel's reinforcements would arrive soon. Distracting the mafia until the barrier was lifted wouldn't be difficult. Just as she was about to feel a momentary sense of relief at the improved situation, the ground shook from a short distance away.
“...!”
It wasn't an earthquake. It was a tremor caused by something enormous. At the same time, a message arrived from Yu Hyeonjeong, who was protecting the residents.
“It's a Golem! A Golem has appeared here!”
“Wait a minute! Weren't there no mafia members there?”
“That's... it seems they were hidden among the residents from the start!”
“...I'm coming right away!”
The communication between Yu Hyeonjeong and Lee Eunho. Cha Yeri pushed off the ground even before they finished speaking. Her past boasting to Ji Seokhyeon about being a Ranger was relentlessly pursuing her.
‘Could that man...’
“...He didn't know and warn me beforehand, did he?”
***
I swung the Mist-Clearing Sword with both hands. The target was the last barrier stone remaining on the field.
CRACK!
The barrier stone was violently struck by the sword and shattered into pieces.
[Strength increases by 0.1.]
“It's ridiculously heavy.”
Despite being a sword, I couldn't cut with it; I just bludgeoned it like a blunt weapon. This was because I lacked the minimum strength to wield a sword. Should I practice shooting now instead...?
In any case, all the barrier stones on the field had been dealt with. All that remained was to protect the residents from the mafia and await Dispel's support. Leaving this neighborhood immediately was also an option, but unfortunately, the barrier was still maintained. Because the last hidden barrier stone still remained.
RUMBLE.
Just then, the ground shook. I casually swallowed a mana potion and stared at the Golem that stood tall in the distance.
“It looks bigger than described. Is it just my imagination?”
The Golem was liquid-like in form. It was the last hidden barrier stone, a Poisonous Golem with sticky skin. The Poisonous Golem's attribute was darkness, and its appearance meant that a Demonic Being using summoning magic was hidden behind Camellia. According to the original story, the Golem would be destroyed by Lee Eunho and disappear without a trace, but...
“I can't let my guard down until the episode ends.”
I ran toward the Golem's location with relative ease. Then, I climbed onto a building at a suitable distance and quickly surveyed the situation.
“We didn't do anything wrong! Why are you doing this?!”
“We're even paying protection money to you! Why are you destroying our homes?!”
“Hey, you guys! Do you think you'll get away with this?! Bringing monsters to Seoul!”
“Everyone calm down! Dispel will be here soon!”
A chaotic open space. Yu Hyeonjeong was trying to calm the people down somehow, but the huge Golem right in front of them was enough to rob them of their reason.
“The realism is beyond imagination...”
Lee Eunho and Cha Yeri were now helping Yu Hyeonjeong protect the residents, and mafia members were blocking the paths nearby. In addition, half of the mafia members were scattered throughout the neighborhood, tracking Park Chaeshin.
The mafia members did not respond to the residents' shouts. From the start, their goal was annihilation without negotiation. Using the Poisonous Golem indicated their intention to melt down the ground, including Park Chaeshin's bunker hidden somewhere underground.
“...Hey! Stop!”
Suddenly, one resident, escaping Yu Hyeonjeong's control, rushed toward a nearby mafia member. He seemed to only want to grab the mafia member by the collar and plead his case, but...
BANG!
The mafia member's unhesitating bullet struck the resident, and soon, blood and flesh were brutally scattered.
“...O-oh my god!”
“These crazy bastards!”
That sparked a wave of indignation among the residents. The open space was in danger of being stained with blood. But the trigger for indignation wasn't pulled only by the residents.
CRACKLE.
Lee Eunho stepped out, walking toward the Golem. The sky above his head was instantly covered with thunderclouds.
“Tch! Is he a Hero Prep cadet...?! He looks a bit dangerous!”
“Everyone, stay alert! He's the guy who wiped out the Catalina thugs at the exhibition hall in District 8!”
The mafia members' guns pointed at Lee Eunho. But Lee Eunho's figure vanished with a brief flash of light, as if mocking their movements.
“Damn it! Where is he?! He's gone!”
“...Damn it! Up there! Light from above!”
Lee Eunho leaped onto the Golem's head in the blink of an eye. Immense electricity gathered like a storm in his hand. A release of mana so vast that it was incomparable to the time he brought down the ceiling of the tactical training ground. It was Lightning Strike. In other words, he was genuinely angry.
If he struck the Golem with Lightning Strike from this distance and height, not only the residents but also the mafia would be caught in it.
However, he trusted Yu Hyeonjeong's ability and intended to instantly reverse the situation. In the original story, Yu Hyeonjeong's ability exquisitely protected the residents, and the Golem and mafia were utterly annihilated. I was also keeping my distance, considering that...
“Should I move back a little more...”
Suddenly, with a tremendous roar, Lightning Strike struck the Golem.
BOOOOM!
A considerable amount of backblast. A destructive power that would have sent me flying if I hadn't jammed the Mist-Clearing Sword into the cement. I used my Demonic Eye to observe the situation amidst the strong winds.
Yu Hyeonjeong seemed to have used her ability appropriately to protect the residents, and Cha Yeri was seizing the opportunity to break away from the group. She was undoubtedly moving to ambush some mafia members who had evaded the Lightning Strike.
Lee Eunho was propelled higher by the recoil of the Lightning Strike, floating in the air, and the Poisonous Golem, having taken the full force of the Lightning Strike, naturally...
“...W-wait!”
Something was wrong. According to the original story, it should have been unsummoned after being hit by Lightning Strike, but... In my Demonic Eye, the Poisonous Golem's mana was visible in the same color as before. As if it had taken no damage from the Lightning Strike.
“...Intervention rate.”
It was clear. The avid reader, using their authority, had done something to the Poisonous Golem. For example, making it immune to lightning.
“This is f***ing ridiculous.”
I had thought it was strange that there had been so little change for a 16% intervention rate. As long as the barrier didn't disappear, Dispel's support would arrive in, at best, five minutes. More than enough time for an enraged Golem to melt the residents in front of it with poison.
If Lee Eunho could accumulate Lightning Strikes, they might somehow hold out until Dispel arrived, but Lee Eunho was currently allowed only one Lightning Strike per day. And Cha Yeri, being a Ranger, didn't have enough firepower to deal with a giant monster... Yu Hyeonjeong was specialized in defense from the start...
Even as I racked my brains during the receding wind, no sharp answer emerged. Only the Mist-Clearing Sword in my hand, a weapon that was a natural counter to darkness-attribute.
“Hah, damn it...!”
I cursed and drew the Mist-Clearing Sword.