Heaven-and-Earth Dragnet (5)

Seo Yerim and I dismounted and ran. I watched our progress keep climbing.

97. 98.

[Distance Traveled: 99%]

Even at 99%, the old monsters were nowhere in sight. Sprinting at full speed with every enhancement active had been the right call.

99.1

99.3

99.5

99.7

99.8

99.9

Just as we were practically there:

“Haha! Where are you going in such a hurry?”

An immense barrage of sword energy rained down from every direction. Faced with that terrifying power, I summoned Dolsoe and a horde of skeletons without hesitation.

[‘Dolsoe’ uses Defensive Stance!]

Dolsoe stood solidly in the way with his shield raised. The skeletons did the same.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions erupted.

[Skeleton 706 is being unsummoned...]

[Skeleton 1,032 is being unsummoned...]

.

.

Skeletons were unsummoned in droves for taking those hits. I'd used up Death Lord's passive long ago, so revival was out of the question. Dolsoe must have taken heavy damage too; his body was broken all over.

Martial Alliance leader Yang Jeonghak.

Heavenly Demon Gu Yangcheon.

Unorthodox Alliance leader Baek Hakseong.

The three old monsters stood blocking our path. They must have rushed here at a desperate pace; all three had gone deathly pale.

Gu Yangcheon cracked his knuckles.

“You cunning little thing. We nearly lost you. Must you be so infuriatingly good at running away?”

Yang Jeonghak leveled his sword.

“Heh heh. It's been a very long time since I ran that hard.”

Baek Hakseong's eyes turned cold.

“... You are no longer my flesh and blood.”

A chilling aura engulfed the entire area.

Seo Yerim's expression stiffened. She remembered what Kim Minwoo had told her before. He'd said they would struggle to last even ten minutes.

At the time, she'd inwardly scoffed. Now she felt she should be grateful for that assessment.

‘... Even five minutes would be tough.’

She was exhausted, but the three men were also that powerful. Their destination was right in front of them, yet she doubted they could break through the trio blocking their way.

Then Kim Minwoo looked straight at her and said,

“I'll take the two Alliance leaders.”

“... Will you be all right?”

“I have to be, if we're going to live. We need to break through before more pursuers arrive.”

“... All right.”

The two raised their swords.

“Heh heh. That boy Baek Socheon is certainly brave. He means to take on both me and the Unorthodox Alliance leader?”

“I thought he'd piss himself, but youngsters these days don't know fear. Haha! I'll take the girl, then!”

All five charged at once.

Explosive sword energy burst from Seo Yerim's blade. Gu Yangcheon snorted and threw a punch.

The two Alliance leaders charged, while Cedric and Dolsoe rushed forward on my side.

“I'll sweep away the riffraff! You deal with your worthless, unfilial son!”

“Very well.”

CLANG!

Baek Hakseong's sword collided with mine. Our first exchange was evenly matched.

‘I can take him.’

Strength and Agility were the most important stats when wielding a sword. Vitality and Magic Power were merely supplementary.

My stats now were worlds apart from when Baek Hakseong had tested me with a blast of sword energy. In raw stats, at least, I could hold my own against him.

We traded dozens of blows in an instant. Baek Hakseong narrowed his eyes slightly when I proved harder to overwhelm than he'd expected. A mass of mana gathered in his sword.

Sinister energy rose, and sword energy split into dozens of strands that swept over my entire body. I summoned some skeletons to block them. Several strands grazed me, sending blood spraying.

WHOOSH!

Baek Hakseong's blade was already darting toward an opening. I twisted Ghost Sword to parry it.

SCREECH!

Sparks flew as the blades scraped together.

I swept my sword downward. Baek Hakseong's figure blurred.

‘Knew it.’

Typical of guys who used footwork techniques: race around to attack from behind. I'd been ready for it. I immediately spun and thrust my sword.

SHUNK!

His blade pierced clean through Kim Minwoo's shoulder. In exchange, one of Baek Hakseong's arms was cut halfway through.

“Huh?”

Gu Yangcheon's startled voice rang out. Yang Jeonghak, who had been relentlessly attacking Cedric and Dolsoe, also faltered. Both combatants had ended up with one mangled arm.

That meant the boy had fought the Unorthodox Alliance leader to a draw.

Alarm bells rang in both men's minds. Baek Hakseong was by no means inferior to either of them. In other words, Baek Socheon was a truly dangerous threat.

Now completely serious, Gu Yangcheon unleashed a ferocious assault on Seo Yerim. She was forced onto the defensive in an instant.

Baek Hakseong also unleashed every kind of supreme technique. Dolsoe and Cedric couldn't last long before being unsummoned.

I was fighting a desperate brawl myself.

‘Shame I don't have any skills for this.’

I'd deliberately avoided using curses. They would probably fail dozens of times before one stuck, and even then the reduction would be less than 5%.

‘I need to conserve mana.’

Baek Hakseong was a master. He wouldn't give me room to drink a potion. Even if I managed it, getting addicted midfight would leave me screwed. As much as possible, I needed to save my mana for summoning Cedric and Dolsoe.

Then:

[Cedric is being unsummoned.]

[Dolsoe is being unsummoned.]

My summons were all gone. Yang Jeonghak immediately joined the fight against me. I hurriedly summoned them again, but both men were already right on top of me. Keeping up with their attacks became far more frantic.

‘This is brutal.’

Meanwhile, Seo Yerim was getting beaten to a pulp. One look told me all I needed to know: thirty seconds at best. After that, the Heavenly Demon's attacks might kill her.

Kim Minwoo weighed his options dozens of times in a single instant. Broadly speaking, there were two.

First, abandon Seo Yerim.

She wouldn't last long. The Heavenly Demon would soon join the others, and then surviving would be almost impossible. But if I abandoned her...

‘I could live.’

I thought I could somehow create an opening to escape.

Second, save her.

Baek Hakseong and Yang Jeonghak were no pushovers. I'd have to give up something major to reach her.

‘I might manage to save her somehow.’

The problem was that my own odds of dying would skyrocket.

Just then, I saw Seo Yerim cough up a mouthful of blood as she fended off the Heavenly Demon's punches.

‘Whew...’

Kim Minwoo tightened his grip on his sword.

The reason we'd made it this far so smoothly was all down to her. She'd shot down carrier pigeons and scouts alike with her bow.

And that wasn't all. She'd fought countless search parties alongside me. Without her, breaking through would have taken far longer.

‘Besides, this isn't a game.’

It was reality. Even knowing that, I rarely hesitated to kill someone who deserved it. But conversely, it meant I had to do everything I could to save those who deserved saving. Otherwise, it would weigh heavily on me.

My deliberation was brief. The decision came quickly.

‘I'll save her.’

And I'd make it back alive too. The odds might be slim, but they weren't zero. In other words, there was a way to beat this.

‘Then I've got to try.’

When had I ever taken the easy route, anyway?

“Cedric!”

Cedric instantly fired a breath attack ahead of him. The tremendous flames forced Baek Hakseong back a little. I immediately charged into the opening.

Both masters reflexively struck with their swords.

[Dolsoe uses Taunt (A) on Yang Jeonghak!]

[The target's level is too high!]

[Taunt takes effect for a very brief duration!]

Yang Jeonghak flinched for the briefest moment. I deflected Baek Hakseong's sword slightly. The two blades aimed at my heart and neck veered off course.

I raised the arm whose shoulder was already mangled to block one. I let the sword stabbing from behind hit me. Yang Jeonghak's blade burst out through my lower abdomen.

Blood gushed from my mouth. I ran on, my arm now reduced to utter shreds.

In that split second, what I pulled from my inventory wasn't a potion, but the clue to ascension.

“Cough! Here's what you bastards wanted!”

“...!”

All three gazes converged on the clue.

A fleeting opening.

I approached the staggering Seo Yerim. Snapping out of his distraction, Gu Yangcheon punched. Fist shadows rained down like a cluster of stars.

Chest, face, forearm.

Three searing injections of pain struck home. That was the price of reaching Seo Yerim. I immediately grabbed her around the waist.

“Go!”

I turned and threw her with all my strength. No one tried to pursue her as she flew toward the clear zone. The clue was drawing all their greed to itself.

Turning back, he raised his sword. The three masters had already kicked off the ground and were charging toward him.

‘Can I make it out alive?’

The old monsters' obsession exceeded anything I'd imagined. I'd taken more hits than expected. My body was shaking a bit—no, a lot.

Then:

WHOOSH!

A faint sound came from behind. It was all too familiar to Kim Minwoo.

Precision Snipe.

It was the sound he'd heard at her side whenever she used that skill.

A single arrow. Judging by the sound, its target was...

‘Baek Hakseong.’

The Unorthodox Alliance leader. It would reach the man hurtling toward me—and it was an arrow imbued with Precision Snipe.

My calculations were complete. Of the three charging men, I thrust my sword at Baek Hakseong alone.

The arrow flying hidden behind my back suddenly changed course and skimmed past Kim Minwoo's face. Startled by the arrow appearing right in front of him, Baek Hakseong raised his sword to block it.

Reacting in that fraction of a second proved he truly was a supreme master.

But could he also block the sword I'd thrust in anticipation of that very reaction?

SHUNK!

“...!”

His body faltered in midair as he blocked the arrow. A sword pierced straight through his heart.

A clean, instant kill.

[Unorthodox Alliance leader Baek Hakseong has died!]

[Your level increases by 6!]

[You have succeeded in a nearly impossible hunt!]

[You have acquired the title ‘The Beginning of a Legend’!]

[The title ‘Slayer of the Strong’ changes to ‘The Law of Victory’!]

[The clue to ascension absorbs the blood of a powerful foe and blooms!]

[Upon reaching level 151, you have fulfilled the conditions for the Death Lord's second trial!]

[You may now receive the call whenever you wish!]

I'd killed one bastard. In exchange:

SHUNK!

My own heart was pierced.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

The Heavenly Demon's fists battered my entire body and sent me flying. Even in that final moment, I didn't let go of the clue.

[Warning!]

[You have suffered a fatal injury!]

[‘Indomitable Soul’ activates!]

[Your soul is enduring the death of your body!]

[Soul begins to decrease!]

[Soul (56/60)]

When had my Soul increased from 50 to 60? I had no idea. That wasn't what mattered right now.

I couldn't move a finger, but that didn't matter either.

Inventory.

That miracle worked even for someone in a vegetative state.

[Soul (52/60)]

While still airborne, I put the clue into my inventory.

[Soul (48/60)]

My body hurtled through the air.

The Heavenly Demon and the Martial Alliance leader immediately flew after me, their eyes blazing. My already battered body had been stabbed through the heart and beaten all over.

Anyone would call that an instant death. By now they probably thought I was dead and were warily watching each other, thinking about claiming the clue.

[Soul (44/60)]

Except I wasn't dead yet.

And thanks to Baek Hakseong dying, their attacks had landed much harder than expected. The palm strike the startled Heavenly Demon had delivered to send me flying was particularly exquisite.

I was flying awfully fast.

Better still, from behind:

WHOOSH!

Another arrow flew in, blocking Yang Jeonghak, who was a step ahead. He tilted his head slightly to dodge it, slowing down just a little. Thanks to that, I reached the clear zone first by the narrowest margin.

At that moment:

[Soul (40/60)]

Everything froze, as though time inside the gate had stopped.

‘Buurp. Thanks for the feast. I'll be going now.’

[You have achieved the clear objective.]

[You have cleared the gate via a special route!]

[Gate clear rewards will be granted!]

[As a clear reward, the title ‘The Beginning of a Legend’ changes to ‘The Beginning of a Legend – Part One’!]

[As a clear reward, the ‘clue to ascension’ evolves into the ‘Ring of Ascension’!]

[Would you like to leave?]

“W-what do I do?!”

Seo Yerim rushed over through the frozen time. Perhaps because we'd both cleared the gate, she seemed able to move even while time was stopped.

Strictly speaking, though...

‘It hasn't stopped completely.’

For a brief period after a clear, time flowed extremely slowly, enough for one second to feel like dozens.

Seo Yerim had probably experienced this state first. She must have waited rather than leaving immediately. Since we were in a party and she'd already cleared the gate, she was presumably sharing this second instance of stopped time.

She hurriedly lifted my body and kept talking to me.

“A-are you okay? You're not dead, are you? You're alive, right? You won't die as soon as we leave, will you?”

She stared down at me with trembling eyes.

I wasn't dead yet...

I concentrated. My eyelids began to twitch ever so faintly. Seo Yerim's eyes widened at the sight.

“Y-you're alive! There should be priests outside. You just have to hold on a little longer, so don't worry!”

I'd figured as much. Priests and other healing classes usually waited at the entrances during high-rank gate raids. People often emerged in terrible shape.

This gate had already been drawing attention, and now it had changed to A-rank. The whole country would be in an uproar, and plenty of healing-class awakeners would be waiting at the entrance. They'd have to treat the Sword Phoenix when she came out, after all.

‘Let me get in on that too.’

High-ranking priests could save people on death's door. If they poured enough healing into me, I'd recover.

Indomitable Soul lasted considerably longer than I'd expected. I was losing about 4 points per second, so I'd have nine seconds even after leaving. That should be enough time for them to use healing skills.

And so we left the gate.

“H-hurry and heal Kim Minwoo! Right now!”

At Seo Yerim's cry, all the healing awakeners waiting by the entrance rushed over.

“My God... His whole body's a wreck!”

“Heal him, quickly!”

An immense flood of healing poured down. I was practically bathing in it, and every wound on my body began to close. Only then did the tension drain out of me.

Sleep overwhelmed me a moment later.