Moving like lightning, his body reached Septimus in an instant. As he slashed his sword towards the wrist holding Pia, Septimus clicked his tongue in annoyance upon recognizing Sihyun. His tail flew in like a whip.
Thud!
"Gah!"
Just as the blade was about to touch his wrist, the swiftly flying tail struck Sihyun in the abdomen. Even as he was thrown back, Sihyun quickly caught the tail in front of him with the acceleration's force. Grasping tightly, his white hand exerted all its strength to hold onto the black tail. This forced Septimus to roll backward along with Sihyun.
Their bodies intertwined and rolled across the floor. Rolling this way and that, it eventually led to Septimus inadvertently releasing Pia as Sihyun intended. Though it was unclear what he muttered in his foul mood, one could easily guess it wasn't anything pleasant.
Now's my chance.
Sihyun got up and swung his sword at the tail. The glowing weapon finally severed Septimus' tail.
Swish!
With the sound of cutting, the pointed end of the tail fell to the ground. It all happened so fast that Septimus neither screamed nor grimaced, just stared at his tail with a frozen expression. His gaze shifted between Sihyun's sword and his tail, and it didn't take long for his expression to contort in pain.
Grinding noise was heard as if stones were being crushed. Septimus growled and charged at Sihyun.
Clang!
The first attack was blocked with the sword, but Sihyun was overpowered. Clang, clang, clang! Septimus' onslaught, now with elongated claws, was fierce. Barely blocking the ceaseless swings, Sihyun staggered backward, gripping his vibrating sword whenever it clashed with Septimus' claws. Seizing the moment Sihyun lost his balance, Septimus swiped Sihyun's sword away with his right hand and stretched his left hand towards Sihyun's abdomen.
Thud!
His hand penetrated Sihyun's belly.
"Kang Sihyun!"
Hamin, who was confronting three Awakened, screamed at the sight. Blood poured out, from his mouth and belly. The youthful-looking being smirked as he viciously pulled his hand out of Sihyun's belly without a moment's hesitation.
"Cough!"
Even then, he didn't forget to thoroughly ransack the insides. Sihyun trembled with the sensation of his organs being twisted and sliced. He was about to use a heal when...
"Argh!"
Septimus kicked Sihyun away from his shoulder and trampled on the wound. The brawl ceased, and all eyes turned to Sihyun and Septimus.
Damn it, Laochun cursed, Haehyuk called out Sihyun's name, and Hamin fearlessly charged at Septimus. Brave but outmatched. The moment Hamin leaped, he was sent flying back to the ground.
Boom!
Septimus rolled his foot over Sihyun as if punishing Hamin's impudence. Sihyun, spitting blood, grimaced and grabbed Septimus' ankle. The blue fluid pouring from his hand froze, trying to restrain Septimus and stop the bleeding, but with a single kick, Septimus shattered all the ice and grabbed Sihyun by the hair.
"You vile bastard."
Rarely cursing, Sihyun glared at Septimus. Despite continuously disturbing the wound with one foot, making it impossible to use the heal skill.
Even hearing such insults, Septimus' gaze, devoid of any slight irritation, shifted to his fallen tail. The sight of everything he had lost was met with a cold, indifferent look from everyone in the room. Choking, Sihyun groaned under the force lifting his hair.
Stronger than I thought.
Whatever power this creature possessed, it was incomparably stronger than any of Gulra's other children Sihyun had faced. As if reading Sihyun's thoughts, Septimus smirked and spoke.
"Did you think I'd be easily defeated like those you've killed before?"
There was no hint of playfulness in his voice anymore. The childlike, innocent tone was gone. Only the overwhelming presence of a being who had lived an immeasurably long time flowed from Septimus.
"The game ends here."
With those words, Septimus stepped down from Sihyun's body and stomped once more. Everything vanished. The wish disappeared, leaving an empty lot where Septimus stomped again as if to awaken something.
"...!"
Suddenly struck by a thought, Sihyun looked at Laochun in a panic.
"Mr. Laochun! Has anyone died here since this dungeon appeared?"
"...What?"
Caught off guard by Sihyun's shout, Laochun frowned. Septimus glanced at the boy he was holding, then let go of Sihyun's head. It was a gesture of leniency from one who knew resistance was futile. Thrown to the ground, Sihyun coughed up blood but continued to fix his gaze on Laochun.
"Is there?"
Despite coughing up blood, Sihyun persisted in his questioning, his resilience evident. Laochun grimaced but nodded. Damn, the worst-case scenario Sihyun had feared seemed to become reality as he spoke up. Laughter of scorn from Septimus was heard, but such minor details were the least of Sihyun's concerns now.
"Everyone, get down!"
"What?"
"Get down, now!"
Sihyun yelled, pressing his hand on his wound. A light blossomed from his palm, and new flesh grew over the pierced injury. Startled by his shout, his companions turned to retreat. They intended to head back the way they had come. However, Septimus wouldn't let them flee so easily.
Bang!
As he rolled his foot once more, a colossal wall enclosed the clearing. And then, the beings awakened by the last roll began to rise.
Crack! Creak!
The ground split open, and the hands of rotting corpses shot up. It wasn't just one or two; three, four, five—there were too many to count with the eyes.
Ten thousand.
Ten thousand people were rising from the ground.
"What is this!"
Raocheon, blocked by the wall and turning back, exclaimed in horror at the hellish scene. Whether Pia had finally cut off the control of one of the operators, or whether it was Lwoi Shang who had fallen to the ground, both the fake Decumanus and Nonus, and the one from the Philippines had met their deaths at the hands of Hahyuk and Raocheon. However, these few deaths were futile against the overwhelming forces.
Sihyun closed his mouth as he watched the people rising from all directions. After healing his broken leg thrown in the fray, he looked up at Septimus. As if he had never joined the battle, Septimus watched the whole situation from a distance, a sneer blooming on his face.
'You will be the architects of your own destruction.'
It was then that Sihyun fully grasped Septimus's words. He wasn't just talking about three members of the Jincheong guild. Understanding the true meaning of the power over life, Sihyun tightened his grip on his sword as he looked at the crowd, either dead or alive yet lost to their own will, being manipulated effortlessly.
"Ugh."
"......"
Facing the ones rising like a horde of zombies from a movie, everyone was at a loss for words. In fact, it was almost impossible to speak. It was a scene beyond understanding, unbelievable even when seen, and certainly not something one wanted to believe.
It was ten thousand.
A force of ten thousand was formidable enough, let alone when over 80% were Awakened Individuals.
If Septimus could control this many Awakened Individuals, how powerful was his ability?
Damn it.
If only he had known earlier that the ability could be used from the seventh instance, he would have brought Ruth along.
In regret, Sihyun scanned for any combatants they could fight with. Raocheon, missing a finger; Hamin, seemingly with a broken rib; Hahyuk, bleeding from the forearm; and himself.
That was all they were, just the four of them.
There was a brave phantom beast, but Pia was too busy severing the controls of two Awakeners of Jincheong.
Could the four of them face a force of ten thousand?
It was possible.
It would be a battle they could fight, albeit with severe injuries.
However.
Could they endure those injuries and defeat Septimus?
Gritting his teeth, Sihyun bit his lip until it bled. Septimus, feeling Sihyun's gaze, sat down on a chair made by forcing more than four people to the ground, laughing arrogantly. The return of his arrogant laughter revealed what he meant.
He was letting them know.
That they would have to defeat all ten thousand people before they could even attempt to challenge him.
Unless he provoked them first, it was a difficult situation to engage Septimus.
Finally, as everyone rose from the ground and enveloped Septimus, Sihyun joined his companions and checked behind them. He saw Lwoi Shang lying next to Haru. Flinch, the hand of the boy who had been lying there for a long time twitched. Sihyun, watching Septimus, called Pia to his side, who had been fighting two Jincheong guild members.
Septimus, regaining his initial leisurely smile and playfulness before the impending war among humans. As if he wouldn't mind even if the number of humans increased from four to five, Sihyun, with a phantom beast on his shoulder, whispered softly.
"Please help Haru hyung wake up."
"Pii..."
"If you can't, you can borrow... you can borrow him for a while."
He would even borrow a cat's hand if necessary. After much consideration, deciding that it was better for Haru to be controlled by Pia rather than being manipulated by Septimus, the phantom beast cried softly in response to Sihyun's gaze. Thank you. With a gentle greeting, the phantom beast flew towards Haru. Its flight was unstable, veering off course at times, likely due to injuries from Septimus earlier.
The phantom beast began to awaken Haru. Sihyun turned his head, hoping the unexpected force of the phantom beast would succeed.
Septimus could move the force of ten thousand with a flick of his finger, maintaining a standoff.
"...Let's eliminate them all without exception."
Among those controlled by Septimus were not only the dead. There were also the living, their minds dominated, losing their sense of
self, with at least two hundred among them. But it was a melee of ten thousand against four. Even biting down and fighting was a difficult battle, distinguishing between the living and the dead was beyond arrogance; it was a luxury.
To be destroyed by their own kind.
Sihyun and his companions chuckled bitterly at Septimus's words, tightened their grip on their weapons, and took a deep breath. Tension flowed in the gap, and everyone tensed their feet on the ground.
Click.
Septimus moved his finger.
Thud, thud, thud!
The ground vibrated as ten thousand people, like a wave, crashed over Sihyun and his companions.
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