Chapter 100: Verification of Doom (6)

The Flame Sorcerer raid leader and the remaining two martial artists.

The three of them exchanged words in voices so low they were almost inaudible.

‘What should we do? He’s much stronger than we expected.’

‘What do you mean what should we do? We have to follow the plan.’

‘It’s the Village Head’s order. There are no changes to the plan.’

Clench-

They quietly tightened their grip on their weapons.

Their murderous intent, oddly enough, was directed at Sa-hyeok.

This wasn’t a sudden decision; it had been planned from outside the dungeon.

Borrow Sa-hyeok’s strength to clear the dungeon, then k*ll him and bury him inside.

That was the secret order given by the Village Head, Sung In-su.

They quietly finished preparing to carry out the order.

They took up the best position for a surprise attack and ran simulations in their heads of how to execute it.

It wasn’t difficult.

It wasn’t their first time killing someone inside a dungeon.

And until then, Sa-hyeok hadn’t even looked back.

He was completely engrossed in photographing the stele.

Now was the perfect time to strike.

The raid leader signaled to the other two with his eyes……

“Think carefully, guys.”

“……?!”

Sa-hyeok warned them in a low voice.

The three of them got goosebumps at Sa-hyeok’s words.

‘Wh-what?!’

‘How did he know……?! He wasn’t even looking this way!’

Swivel-

Sa-hyeok turned his head towards the three.

His eyes were filled with a sharp, menacing light.

A chilling gaze that sent shivers down their spines.

The three of them had seen that look in Sa-hyeok’s eyes before.

It was the same look he had given the Large Decapitated Demon when he was slaughtering it earlier.

The raid leader spoke.

“Think carefully? What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

A remark intended to dispel the heavy atmosphere with a seemingly calm voice.

But Sa-hyeok wasn’t fooled.

“What are you talking about? You were getting ready to k*ll me.”

“What absurd nonsense……”

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

Sa-hyeok’s voice was filled with strong conviction.

A tone that didn’t even consider the possibility of him being wrong.

And in reality, that assumption wasn’t wrong.

The raid leader felt it.

There was no benefit to be gained from lying any further.

The raid leader asked.

“……How did you know?”

“A hunch.”

“Bullshit.”

Actually, it was his telekinetic detection that first picked up on their suspicious movements, but saying he knew by a hunch wasn’t entirely false either.

Because Sa-hyeok had definitely felt their killing intent.

Three years ago, when he was surviving in Seoul’s District 3.

Sa-hyeok had learned to sense the tangible and intangible killing intent emanating from monsters.

It wasn’t something you were born with, nor was it something you could learn.

It was something etched into your bones after countless brushes with death.

In fact, Sa-hyeok had felt the killing intent radiating from behind him without even looking at them.

Sa-hyeok asked them.

“Did your Village Head tell you to do this?”

“Village ‘Head’-nim, you b*stard. No honorifics?”

“That Sung In-su son of a b*tch didn’t want to give me information, so he told you to just bury me here and leave?”

“This b*stard keeps talking about the Village Head-nim like that……!”

Even when Sa-hyeok had suddenly dropped the honorifics just now, the raid leader had remained calm.

But the moment Sung In-su was mentioned, the man’s voice was laced with a strangely intense rage.

Anger erupting simply because his superior was referred to without honorifics.

‘Is this what a fanatic is like?’

I can tolerate you touching me, but I won’t tolerate you touching my cult leader, is that it?

Only then did Sa-hyeok understand why Jang-hoon had called In-su a ‘cult leader.’

At the same time, his mouth felt bitter.

They had been comrades, trusting each other’s backs during the raid, even if only for a few hours, and yet they changed their attitude like flipping a hand.

But bitterness was bitterness, and what needed to be done had to be done.

Sa-hyeok spoke.

“First of all, it seems like you’ve all forgotten, but this is a dungeon, guys.”

“So?”

“There’s no one here to help you, no matter what happens.”

“That goes for you too, doesn’t it?”

The raid leader scoffed at Sa-hyeok’s words.

He didn’t take Sa-hyeok’s words seriously at all.

That’s why he was able to say this.

“Get him!”

Dash!

As soon as the raid leader’s command fell, the two men with the axe and the iron club charged towards Sa-hyeok.

They were relentless.

There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation that one might feel when about to k*ll another person.

Sa-hyeok thought.

Just how many people had they killed like this?

Swish!

The moment the axe blade and the iron club flew towards Sa-hyeok’s vital points.

Sa-hyeok raised a hand and pointed his index and middle fingers at the axe and the club.

At that moment.

Halt-

The movement of the axe and the club stopped dead in their tracks.

“What the……!”

“Ugh……!”

No matter how hard they tried, their weapons wouldn’t budge.

Naturally, it was because Sa-hyeok had seized them with his telekinesis.

Sa-hyeok said.

“You’re going up against a Telekinesis user without even learning Protective Aura?”

“What……!”

Sa-hyeok flicked his fingers upwards.

Ping!

Whizz!

Simultaneously, the axe and the club slipped from their grasp and flew into the air as if bounced.

They were disarmed.

Now there was nothing to protect them from Sa-hyeok.

Sa-hyeok clenched his fists.

Wham! Bam! Pow!

Fist techniques, leg techniques, palm techniques.

Sa-hyeok’s indiscriminate barrage of attacks rained down on their bodies.

He showed no mercy.

You tried to k*ll me first, so I’ll k*ll you just the same, was his mindset.

The impact inflicted damage severe enough to shatter ribs, dislocate joints, break foot bones, and injure internal organs.

Thud!

They were flung far away, sprawled on the floor, reduced to near lifeless ragdolls.

“Ugh……”

“Gah……”

Looking down at them, Sa-hyeok sneered.

“You call yourselves martial artists, and you get knocked out by a mage?”

Now Sa-hyeok’s gaze shifted to the raid leader.

“Still think you can k*ll me?”

Instead of answering, the raid leader just let out a grim chuckle.

Then he pointed his wand at Sa-hyeok.

It meant he had no intention of backing down.

Sa-hyeok had no reason to show mercy either.

Zoom!

Sa-hyeok tried to seize the man’s wand with his telekinesis……

Clang!

His telekinesis was nullified.

Sa-hyeok said.

“Protective Aura?”

“That’s a martial artist’s term. We call it Aura Shield.”

Looking closely, a spherical, transparent membrane surrounded him.

Just like Protective Aura, it was a high-level defensive technique that utilized the user’s life force.

And the fact that he could use this…… meant he had reached at least the beginning of A-rank.

Sa-hyeok thought.

‘To send a mage of that caliber…… they were really determined to k*ll me.’

The raid leader spoke.

“It seems that your telekinesis, whatever it is, is blocked by Aura Shield.”

“Hmm.”

Whoosh!

Sa-hyeok flung the Mubuchamdo towards him.

Clang!

The Mubuchamdo was blocked by the Aura Shield.

But he had no intention of giving up just because it was blocked.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Mubuchamdo vibrated fiercely, gradually digging into the Aura Shield.

After all, Aura Shield or Protective Aura were just sturdy barriers that blocked direct interference from telekinesis, not invincible defenses.

Seeing the Mubuchamdo chipping away at the barrier and digging in, the raid leader’s face turned pale.

“D*mn it……!”

Boom!!

An explosion erupted from the spot where the Mubuchamdo was digging in.

A considerable amount of explosive pressure.

The impact sent the Mubuchamdo flying back.

He had used a flame attribute explosion on the surface of the Aura Shield, like a Anti-Projectile Aura.

The moment the Mubuchamdo was repelled.

“Overwhelm and burn him! Fire Wave!”

Whoosh!

A massive wave of flames instantly materialized along with the incantation.

It surged towards Sa-hyeok.

Whoosh!

The wave of fire engulfed Sa-hyeok.

Its power was enough to instantly k*ll an ordinary Hunter.

But the raid leader knew Sa-hyeok’s strength.

So he didn’t let his guard down.

Flick-

The raid leader moved his wand as if conducting an orchestra.

The flames in the dungeon began to react to the movement of the wand.

The flames that were flickering all over the floor began to move under his command.

Whoosh!

The flames began to add to the wave of fire that was engulfing Sa-hyeok.

This was why Flame Sorcerers were stronger in flame-type dungeons.

Because the flames that a Flame Sorcerer could use were scattered everywhere.

Just like how Water Stream Sorcerers were stronger near lakes or swimming pools.

Whoosh!

The flames blazed relentlessly.

He didn’t intend to simply burn Sa-hyeok to death.

He intended to burn and burn him until he was completely reduced to ashes, then scatter him in the lava.

Thoroughly, completely.

“You fool…… To challenge a Flame Sorcerer in a dungeon like this?!”

Indeed, he was skilled enough to challenge Sa-hyeok even after seeing him fight.

A triumphant expression appeared on the man’s face.

But.

Thud.

Footsteps that shouldn’t have been heard echoed through the flames.

“What……?”

Thud, thud.

He was walking out.

From within that wave of fire.

Step by step, Sa-hyeok was walking towards him.

The man’s face began to turn white.

“……No, this can’t be, it’s impossible……!”

Whoosh!

He poured even more flames onto Sa-hyeok.

But Sa-hyeok’s steps didn’t stop.

Like the Red Sea before Moses, the flames parted for Sa-hyeok.

Sa-hyeok felt it.

The dizzying control that manipulated the flickering of the flames.

Even the flames were now under the control of his telekinesis.

Sa-hyeok said.

“You fool…… To challenge a Telekinesis user with mere flames?”

He returned the words the man had said to him.

Now the distance between Sa-hyeok and the man was only 5 meters.

The man withdrew the wave of fire he had unleashed.

“Compressed!”

Soon, the massive amount of flames began to gather together.

Swoosh!

The scattered flames instantly coalesced into a small fireball about 1 meter in diameter.

A fireball with reduced attack range and maximized destructive power.

“D*e!!”

He hurled the condensed fireball towards Sa-hyeok.

Of course……

Whiff-

It missed.

To be precise, Sa-hyeok had parried it.

Boom!!

The final desperate attack crashed into the empty floor.

“……No.”

Step.

Now the distance between the man and Sa-hyeok was only 1 meter.

The moment death approached.

All the man could do was defend.

Kiiiiing!

He deployed his Aura Shield even thicker, even more solid.

If he couldn’t k*ll him, he was determined to at least avoid death himself.

Sa-hyeok felt it too.

The man had chosen to barricade himself inside the shield like a turtle.

Slide-

Sa-hyeok grasped one of the Thunderbolt Needles in his left hand.

The hand with the Lightning Ring.

The raid leader said.

“You think you can break my shield with that……?”

“Yes.”

Crackle!

The Lightning Ring emitted an electric shock.

The released electricity flowed directly into the Thunderbolt Needle he held in his left hand.

An immense amount of electricity was concentrated at the tip of this small iron needle.

Of course, Sa-hyeok was wearing the Iron Arms of the Bone King on his arms, so he wasn’t electrocuted.

Sa-hyeok struck down at the man’s Aura Shield with the electrified Thunderbolt Needle.

Crack!

Crackle!!

Cracks began to appear on the previously unyielding Aura Shield.

And-

Pachaang!

Shattered.

The shield was completely broken, and the b*stard was exposed in a perfectly defenseless state.

But Sa-hyeok didn’t stop.

Thud!!

Sa-hyeok plunged the Thunderbolt Needle into the man’s shoulder.

“Gaaaaah!!”

Crackle!

Electricity coursed through the man’s body.

Just before the man’s consciousness faded to white.

Swish-

Sa-hyeok pulled out the Thunderbolt Needle.

“Ugh……”

Thud!

The man collapsed onto the floor.

He was conscious, but his muscles were paralyzed, making it impossible for him to control his body properly.

“Hmm.”

Sa-hyeok checked the condition of the three.

All three were severely injured, but alive.

There were two reasons why he kept them alive.

First, to interrogate them.

Second, because of a lingering unease in the depths of his heart.

He had declared that he would treat them like monsters, but actually killing people wasn’t an easy task.

Sa-hyeok took out a Healing Potion from his hip sack.

It was the potion he had received from the village warehouse earlier.

He poured the potion into the mouth of the axe-wielding man, who was the most severely injured.

He looked like he would d*e in about 3 minutes if left alone.

But……

“Puke!”

A large amount of blood gushed from the mouth of the man who drank the potion.

Violent convulsions.

At the same time, a dark poisonous energy spread over his skin.

And soon after, the man’s heart stopped.

This Healing Potion that they had given Sa-hyeok.

It wasn’t a potion, but poison.

“……These bastards.”

Smash!

Sa-hyeok crushed the potion bottle in his hand.

It was the moment when the last shred of unease in the depths of his heart burned to black ashes.