"I understand being stiff because it's your first battle, but if you freeze up like that again, I'll just leave you behind."
With an intention that could be seen as either a warning or comfort, Hahyuk firmly pressed Kang Sihyun's shoulder. Having regained his breath, Kang Sihyun resisted the suffocating fear by recalling Gula, just as he had before.
His body, which had been overtaken by an unfamiliar energy, returned to its normal state. His vision cleared. It was then that Kang Sihyun finally turned to look at Hahyuk.
"Thank you."
It was embarrassing, but he was grateful. His ability to regain his senses was entirely thanks to Hahyuk, so he said so in a voice as small as an ant's. Hahyuk didn't respond. Or more accurately, there wasn't time to respond. It was because Karis, having finished its demonstration of power, had coiled its body up.
Its massive wings wrapped around its large body. The body, as solid as a building, coiled into a black sphere. It was a form he had never seen but had heard of.
"This is the first pattern. Dodge it on your own."
Hahyuk warned as he turned back. Simultaneously, Karis unfolded its coiled wings.
Suddenly, the sky turned pitch black. Sharp crow feathers began to fall like hail, slicing through the space with their descent.
Crack, crack, crack.
With a chilling sound, the feathers fell, and Hahyuk, along with the others, nimbly dodged them. Since they were not coming from multiple directions, it was an attack that could be sufficiently avoided by just moving out of a certain area. Escaping that area was the challenge.
They had to fly at an astonishing speed to desperately escape the range of the attack. Kang Sihyun, utilizing the flight buff to its fullest, narrowly dodged an attack aimed at his shoulder. Haneul, a support and awakening character who had ensured his safety from a distance, was heard marveling.
There was no time to respond to the compliment that his flight buff proficiency seemed quite good.
Boom!
Feathers that missed the group crashed into the airport walls with a loud noise, half of them embedding into the wall. The destructive power was beyond imagination.
It would be instant death if hit.
Even a glancing blow to the limbs would be fatal. The fact that this was just a basic pattern sent shivers down their spines. Kang Sihyun understood why Hahyuk had emphasized the need for proper response during the briefing.
Catastrophe-class Irregular.
As if the attack had been just a warm-up, Karis, unfazed, raised its head and looked down coldly at Hahyuk and the group.
"Don't freeze, charge in."
After dodging the bombardment of attacks and freezing up, Hahyuk ordered them to move in. Hearing his voice, Hamin muttered that he knew and drew his sword. Purple energy emanated from the sword, directing a sinister presence toward it. Though swift, Karis effortlessly deflected Hamin's attack with an indifferent ease.
Bang!
"Cough!"
"..."
Watching Hamin fall helplessly, Kang Sihyun was speechless. Hamin, considered one of the top in class A, appeared powerless for the first time since their confrontation with Ruth.
"Kang Sihyun, support."
Immediately, Hahyuk leaped towards Karis. The man jumped off the ground, spun in mid-air, and positioned himself behind the crow. He extended his shoulder. However, the catastrophe-class did not easily expose its back.
Karis turned around faster than the eye could follow and swatted away Hahyuk's sword with a sharp claw.
Whoosh, Hahyuk's sword flew up. In that moment, Karis spread its opposite wing.
"...Ah!"
As Kang Sihyun watched the battle, he quickly activated a full recovery skill.
Puff, puff, puff, blood that had been spurting from Hahyuk's body due to the wing attack stopped quickly as the feathers embedded in his body fell away during recovery. Kang Sihyun gasped in astonishment.
What a terrifying person.
Hahyuk had taken a blow that should have been fatal, yet he didn't utter a single groan. Taking advantage of Karis's moment of confusion, Hahyuk soared, caught his falling sword in mid-air, and swung his arm widely.
Slash!
-Kyaaak!
Karis let out a scream as if being torn apart. The sharp tip of the sword left a mark on the Irregular's left eye.
Ssssaaack, enraged, Karis howled. Then, a familiar roar came from the sky.
"Dodge it!"
Instinctively shouting, Hahyuk looked up. Crack! A flash of light shone beneath the twilight.
Hahyuk rolled in the air, still wielding his sword.
Several bolts of lightning missed Hahyuk and fell, with one being blocked by a barrier. Then, an unseen presence appeared beside Karis.
Crack!
Haru, emerging silently with a sinister air, swiftly stabbed his dagger towards Karis's neck. Although it was a nimble combination of stealth deactivation and attack, unfortunately, his dagger couldn't penetrate Karis's tough feathers. Considering it could penetrate a concrete wall, it was to be expected.
"Haneul!"
"Yes!"
Responding to Hahyuk's call, Haneul immediately applied an attack power buff to Haru. Alert to this energy, Haru attempted to swing his arm again when Karis turned its head towards him. Matching this timing, Hahyuk, who had evaded the lightning barrage, charged again. Below, Hamin, having regained his senses, clenched his sword tightly and surged upward with a venomous look in his eyes.
Sensing danger, Karis soared into the sky. Its speed was unmatched, comparable to a rocket. The crow, having ascended, spread its wings once more. As they prepared to dodge the familiar attack,
Flap!
Two more wings appeared behind Karis, making a total of four. The Irregular, now with all four wings, coiled them in and then spread them out forcefully.
Whooosh!
A storm-like wind howled, rolling discarded vehicles across the ground, creating a cacophony of noise, while people relying on flight buffs swayed, unable to resist. At the same time, sharp feathers poured down like rain.
It was pitch black. The sky was dense with falling feathers. Even for Hahyuk or Haru, dodging so many feathers from such a close distance was impossible.
Kang Sihyun, making a split-second decision, widened his eyes. The staff in his hand consumed a massive amount of mana in an instant.
Crack!
Hundreds of feathers slammed into the barrier he had hastily erected. Despite striking with considerable force, the barrier began to crack under the relentless assault. Kang Sihyun bit his lip at the barrier's rapidly diminishing durability in the face of a catastrophe-class. Turning his head, he received a mana recovery buff from Haneul. Seizing the moment, Seunghyun threw a manufactured explosive bottle at the crow.
Boom!
The explosive bottle detonated right in front of Karis's eyes. Not pre-coordinated, but seizing the brief moment when a small cloud of smoke obscured the Irregular's vision, five combat-awakened individuals did not miss their chance.
Haru was the first to attach himself to the crow, scraping his dagger against the feathers on its lower body in the opposite direction of their alignment. A chilling sound accompanied several feathers being forcibly plucked. Behind him, two other Awakeners struck at Karis's shoulders and back.
The crow screamed and flapped its wings. As the wind roared, a boy, holding onto the crow's foot and refusing to let go, was there.
"Embarrassing, damn it..."
Hamin, who had been knocked out by a strike moments earlier, clung to Karis's foot with a determination that went beyond mere resilience. Then Haru drove his knife into the exposed mucous membrane.
-Kyaaaak!
Karis's scream filled the airport. Hamin delivered a decisive blow, pouring mana converted into aura into it. A purplish energy wrapped around one of Karis's legs. As the sharp energies gnawed at its flesh, Karis, struggling in mid-air, attempted to kick Hamin away with its other foot.
But refusing to be fooled twice, Hamin released Karis's foot and jumped down, holding onto his sword. Crunch. The sword was pulled out as he descended. Haneul promptly used the 'Safe Landing' skill to prevent Hamin from sustaining damage from the fall.
"......"
The fog created by the explosion cleared, revealing Karis, looking significantly more worn than before. One eye was closed, and one leg was in tatters. Yet, the fact that it remained overwhelmingly powerful did not change.
Despite their best efforts and inflicted wounds, the fact that they hadn't entered the second phase was undeniable.
Truly a catastrophe-class.
-Sssaaaack
Karis let out an unpleasant cry. Along with it, several cries echoed from the sky, and black lightning flashed from all directions. Those who couldn't evade in time were impaled by the lightning, shaped like spears, and crashed to the ground. Kang Sihyun was among them.
It wasn't something that could be predicted and evaded. There were thousands, not just tens. With lightning obscuring the vision to the point of blindness, how could one evade? As Kang Sihyun, battered and bruised, stood up, he used a wide-range healing skill.
Looking reproachfully at Hahyuk, who was trembling, having been struck by several bolts, he wiped the blood dripping from his mouth and smiled.
"Seems you're quite angry."
That was it. The man, dismissing the unexpectedly powerful attack merely as the Irregular's rage, and not yet fully recovered, prepared for battle once more.
There was no giving it a chance.
The moment everyone stopped attacking would be the moment they would be killed.
The pain was bearable, it seemed, as Hahyuk effortlessly stood up and looked at Haneul. Haneul, who had been preparing, used the flight buff again.
As Karis, looking down at them as if they were mere cockroaches, wrapped its body with four imposing wings, Hahyuk frowned.
"That attack is preventing us from getting close..."
It was an obvious statement, but the swordsman class excelled in close combat. However, with Karis continually using its wings to fend off, approaching became difficult, and the man, murmuring in frustration, dodged the pouring feathers as he charged towards Karis. His movements were swift and vigorous, hardly what you'd expect from someone who had just been knocked down.
Crack! Crack!
Chilling feathers embedded themselves near his feet. Unable to secure time to fly like Hahyuk, Kang Sihyun ran on the ground, narrowly dodging the feathers when suddenly Hahyuk issued a difficult order.
"Hane
ul, apply all available buffs to keep cooldowns rotating, and Kang Sihyun, can you cast a shield that can block about six feathers on everyone?"
"What?"
He was momentarily dumbfounded.
In a battle against a catastrophe-class, unnecessary mana loss was to be avoided. How could he create a shield that only blocked six feathers?
As he stood bewildered, Karis flew in the opposite direction to Hahyuk. The creature flapped its wings again. Realizing this wasn't the time to sulk, Kang Sihyun acted on instinct.
Crack!
"Ugh!"
He tried not to groan, but a sharp feather pierced his tender wrist, and an involuntary groan escaped. Hamin, who had been dodging lightning and feathers, widened his eyes at the sight.
"Kang Sihyun!"
Hamin shouted. Kang Sihyun swallowed the pain and pulled out the feather. Karis was preparing its third attack.
"It's okay."
Kang Sihyun, gasping for breath, swung his staff, bleeding hand and all.
Sssssik!
Hundreds more feathers sliced through the air.
And the newly formed shields enveloped the team members.
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