“What’s going on, did we somehow offend that thing?”
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
“Then why is it acting like this!”
Thud!
Sherry, moving with the agility befitting an S-Class, kicked off the ground to dodge an incoming attack and exclaimed as if she had been wronged. Kang Sihyun, instead of replying, scrutinized the expression of Dekumanus. The creature, grinning with a snicker, seemed to have no interest in further dialogue.
After all, this was to be expected.
Why would an Irregular need a reason to attack humans?
It was rather strange that it hadn’t launched an attack the moment it awakened. Kang Sihyun, who thought they had been lucky until now, sweated coldly as he narrowly avoided the ground that seemed to come alive under his feet.
Dodging on his own wouldn’t have been so hard, but trying to do so while taking care of a listless Haeun made it significantly more difficult. His concentration had been drained twice as much as usual, and his stamina was similarly depleted. His movements had become sluggish compared to when he was in top condition.
Having spent so much energy getting here, it was natural that they were not fully recovered when the battle commenced.
Whisk!
The ground, changing shape like a whip, relentlessly pursued Kang Sihyun and finally wrapped around his leg. Kang Sihyun, not captured on the other side, kicked vigorously to free his leg wrapped by the ground and managed to pull it out forcefully.
Crack!
A chilling sound came from his leg, causing him to swallow a groan. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead as he found himself unable to exert any strength in his possibly broken ankle, making resistance even more difficult.
“Argh!”
Unable to bear it, Kang Sihyun grimaced and screamed, causing Jihae, who was taking care of Jihye, to turn around in shock.
“Kang Sihyun!”
Jihae, holding Jihye with one arm, rushed over and with a sword he drew, freed Kang Sihyun from the ground that moved like vines. Kang Sihyun, not wanting to be a burden, immediately used a healing skill on his leg. The sound of bones realigning could be heard. It would be a lie to say there was no pain.
“...Ugh!”
Finally collapsing and groaning through clenched teeth, Jihae alternated his gaze between Kang Sihyun and the boy he held, Haeun. His expression, full of contemplation, was not good. Wearing a troubled face as if revealing his complex feelings, Jihae did not pause and turned to deflect another wave of attacks with his sword.
Clang!
It seemed that the stone that trapped Kang Sihyun had become harder as Dekumanus manipulated the ground. Even when the sword clashed with the rock, it sounded as if metal struck metal.
“Huff!”
Struggling with just one hand, Jihae gripped his sword with both hands and pushed back with visible veins. He glanced at Kang Sihyun with a light brown aura flickering at the tip of his sword. Kang Sihyun caught sight of a face full of embarrassment and guilt.
“Uh, Kang Sihyun. Given the situation, we should first leave Haeun and…”
“I refuse.”
“...What?”
“You mean to leave Kang Haeun behind and save my own life first. I can’t do that.”
It was stubbornness.
It was the first act of such unreasonable stubbornness, possibly even petulance, that he had shown since arriving here. Knowing this, Kang Sihyun clenched his teeth and embraced Haeun with even more strength.
Making sure he would not let go.
When he looked up, Jihae looked back with troubled eyes. While protecting the group from Dekumanus’s attacks, he glanced at Kang Sihyun now and then, seemingly with much to say but holding back, perhaps to avoid giving them any more hurt or shock, especially to the young boys and girls.
Jihye shielded Kang Sihyun and Haeun from Jihae’s view. Standing in front of the two boys, she ignited flames and supported Jihae from behind, fighting alongside him.
Feeling the girl’s determination as if it were his own, Kang Sihyun gripped Haeun tightly, trembling, and looked down at the boy who had his eyes closed quietly. He was still not breathing, not opening his eyes. Kang Sihyun, not naive to what this meant, held the back of Haeun’s head so his face rested on his shoulder and watched the battle unfold.
He could compromise on anything but this.
If he couldn’t protect him, at the very least, he had to retrieve him, didn’t he?
He had to safely take his body away, didn’t he?
He couldn’t let go of Haeun for even
a bit of safety in this situation. If Haeun’s body were to become just a rag, then really, his barely held sanity might crumble.
He was already hanging by a thread of hope.
Hoping that he was still alive, that they could treat him upon returning, that he would be okay. He was comforting himself with these thoughts. If he were to completely lose Haeun now, if Haeun were to be crushed under those swirling stones, could he maintain his sanity?
He couldn’t.
He was certain of that.
He couldn’t do it.
And Jihae, who was expending mana to protect the two boys, felt the same.
After confirming the pain in his leg had fully subsided, Kang Sihyun stood up and rejoined the group. In the air, members of the American team were seen hopping around on flying stones.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed loudly. In the midst of everyone’s struggle to fend off attacks from all directions, Sherry climbed onto a stone attacking her and fired her gun.
Clang!
Unfortunately, the bullet fired at Dekumanus was deflected by a whip made of stone that appeared from nowhere. Yet, Sherry remained unfazed. Almost flying due to the recoil of firing in mid-air, the woman skillfully used it to retreat and immediately took a firing stance upon landing.
A blue aura flowed from the sniper rifle. This time, Sherry loaded her gun with mana.
“Tom!”
The blonde woman called out to Tom, who responded by covering her. Clang! Tom’s shield blocked the stones swirling towards them and taunted to focus the attack on him. Meanwhile, Sherry pulled the trigger of her mana-loaded gun.
Bang!
With a sound that rang in the ears, the mana bullet launched towards Dekumanus. Again, it smirked and used a stone to block the gun, but the outcome was different this time.
Crack!
The rapidly spinning mana bullet shattered the stone and surged towards its target without slowing down. The blue mana enveloped the bullet as if energizing it, causing Dekumanus to widen its eyes in surprise.
“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!”
Sherry boldly declared as she loaded the third bullet. Even though she managed to turn the tide momentarily, the situation remained dire, yet her smile showed a hint of leisure.
Catching a brief flow in such a situation was indeed remarkable.
Kang Sihyun muttered to himself while watching Jihae deal with the onslaught. Jihae, almost single-handedly protecting the three children with occasional cover from Jihye, seemed to be struggling as he bit his lip and swallowed his groans.
Since the attack began, his sword had not rested for a moment. His sword moved relentlessly in defense and attack, its path unbroken from down to up, up to down. It was natural that the many stones controlled by Dekumanus could not even scratch Jihae, given his terrifying concentration.
If Jihae missed even a minor attack, Jihye immediately caught it and launched a fireball to knock the stone away. Occasionally, Jihye glanced at the American team’s situation, helping them attack Dekumanus.
Sherry and Tom, pouring their efforts into attacking Dekumanus, supported by James and Emma. Jihae, tasked with distracting Dekumanus and protecting the Korean team, and Jihye, providing intermittent support in the battle.
With stones swirling incessantly and whips striking from all sides, amidst the sounds of gunshots and clashes, Kang Sihyun realized he was the only one not participating in the fight.
This stark realization compelled him to assess the situation and look down at Haeun.
His blue eyes hesitated for a moment before shining brightly with determination.
To resolve this situation, they had to defeat Dekumanus.
From their earlier conversation, it seemed they were gathering sacrifices for the resurrection of their mother, possibly Gula. The first target was Haeun, or perhaps, all Awakened who had entered the pyramid and gone missing.
Their reason for entering the pyramid was to uncover its secrets and find the missing Awakened.
To accomplish that, they had to defeat the enemy before them first. Defeating Dekumanus might also reveal the whereabouts of the other Awakened and what happened to Haeun, so Kang Sihyun took a deep breath and slowly crouched down.
His gaze, filled with worry and reluctance, lingered on Haeun before closing his eyes and slowly withdrawing.
“...I’ll be right back.”
“......”
“Just rest here for a bit.”
Just a little.
Whispering softly, Kang Sihyun checked the remaining mana within him. It had somewhat recovered, but not fully. Using too much mana now could be a misstep in later battles, but prioritizing Haeun, Kang Sihyun didn’t hesitate to pour his mana out.
More than half of his remaining mana went into creating a protective barrier that enveloped
the boy like armor. Not satisfied with just that, Kang Sihyun further reinforced the area within a 1m radius around Haeun with a solid barrier before finally placing the boy on the ground.
Only about 20% of his total mana remained, but Haeun’s location seemed safer than anywhere else, almost like a fortress. After briefly gazing at it, Kang Sihyun closed his eyes and turned around.
“I’ll be back.”
With those brief words and reopening his eyes, Kang Sihyun bit his tongue and scraped together the remaining mana.
Since failing to kill Dekumanus meant death for everyone, there was no need to be choosy about the means. Squeezing out mana until he felt pain in his heart, the 20% mana quickly rose to 50%. During this process, his eyes stung as if blood vessels had burst, but Kang Sihyun ignored it and used one of his remaining copy attempts.
Weakness Insight.
His eyes sharpened as he copied Haru’s skill, and the boy, gripping his staff firmly, joined the offensive.
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