Primus, this madman.
Struggling to wield his divine power, Kang Sihyun, unshackled by only one hand, wiped his mouth and genuinely cursed the dungeon master. The swaggering confidence displayed before even entering, claiming it as 'my dungeon,' indeed had a solid reason behind it.
Who would have thought they'd devise a way to seal divine power?
It was the ultimate variable of the last dungeon.
How on earth did they manage it?
Sihyun speculated if they had been confined to the dungeon for thousands of years solely researching how to seal divine power. It was an absurd thought, but what was scary was that Primus was implausibly simple; if he decided to ponder over sealing his divine power, he would bury himself in that thought for ten thousand years if needed.
Damn it.
Being sealed off in a place enclosed by walls, Sihyun felt like a rat trapped in a jar. It seemed he needed to defeat all five Irregulars in front to escape, but lacking the strength to do so, every moment was perilous.
He needed to break the seal somehow so everyone could survive. Sihyun reflected on how he ended up in this situation while feeling the energy of the chains wrapped around his wrist and heart.
Initially, it seemed just an ordinary path.
When he turned left, nothing suspicious was detected by Sihyun’s senses, and he moved forward without letting his guard down. Although the path narrowed, nothing particularly creepy was sensed, so he hastened his steps.
After walking a bit, the path tightened uncomfortably until it suddenly expanded into a wide-open space, like a hall. It was then that they all entered, alert. Suddenly, black smoke surged from the floor and rushed toward Sihyun and his companions as if alive.
He quickly covered his mouth and cast a barrier, but the smoke penetrated the moment Sihyun was slightly late, engulfing his companions and entering their bodies with their breaths. After coughing out tears and physiological reactions, a strange phenomenon occurred.
No one used their power, yet the divine energy started to involuntarily flow out.
From Hamin, Seowoo, and even Jonathan's bodies, divine power surged. It was the same for him, and a flustered Sihyun struggled to control the flowing power, advising everyone to steady themselves.
The walls moved to block the path they created, pressing forward and pushing Sihyun and his companions. The rest of the paths closed, and the vast hall quickly transformed into a small square room. The chains burst out afterward.
Without warning, gray chains attacked from the ceiling. Sihyun tried to swing his divine power to block, but as if someone had trampled on his heart, it throbbed violently, weakening his grip on his divine power, which then crashed to the floor, and the chains coiled around his wrist.
Writing appeared on the cement ceiling. It was the writing of an Irregular, but Sihyun read it instantly.
‘The one with the most divine power shall be shackled.’
He then realized that the earlier smoke had scanned everyone’s divine power and sealed the power of the person with the most. Despite being Primus, finding a way to block everyone's power was impossible, so he turned to only sealing the strongest person’s power.
Immediately after, light erupted from the floor, revealing a dark red formation that flashed and summoned the Irregulars. The bewildered companions blinked cluelessly before grabbing their swords to defend Sihyun and themselves from the Irregulars’ attack.
Since then, this fierce battle had continued.
“There’s no hope if we each fend for ourselves! Let's focus and reduce their number one by one!”
With his body restrained, all he could do was shout to his companions using his free mouth.
If they tried to fight off a catastrophe-class alone, they would lack the numbers, and the other two Irregulars would attach to the others, dragging down the situation unfavorably. If they kept fighting like this, eventually, one would fall. It would be better for the three to unite and fight to take down one at a time.
As Sihyun instructed, his companions’ pattern of action changed, and the green-skinned Irregular showed a murderous intent in its eyes. It tilted its head and roared.
Krarak!
It was a bizarre cry.
“Be careful!”
Sensing an ominous aura, he warned as the creature's thigh swelled as if to burst and it stomped on the ground. Taang! It was merely a leap, but the floor vibrated. The creature targeted not Hamin or Seowoo, other companions, but Sihyun, who was restrained and limited in action.
Hwaek!
Long nails threatened to bisect Sihyun as he glared back at the incoming attack, and the sound of iron scraping was heard.
“You attack so despicably.”
His voice trembled with effort. Sihyun rolled his eyes to look at the man in front
of him. Hamin, who had narrowly dodged to his side, was now holding up a sword to block the blow.
The attack carried the full weight of the Irregular, bending Hamin’s waist backward.
“Kuk!”
The young boy groaned, pushed back with his rear foot, and with a counterforce, he repelled the Irregular. As the Irregular retreated, it still managed to rotate its body and scratched Hamin’s cheek. Blood trickled down his face.
“Are you alright?”
While he was the one injured, he worried about Sihyun. As Sihyun opened his mouth to signal that he was safe, thanks to him, he saw the Irregular charging again and widened his eyes.
“In front!”
Hamin reacted to the shout.
“Don’t take it head-on, deflect!”
“I know even if you don’t tell me!”
Hamin muttered roughly, adjusting his pride as he twisted his sword to deflect the Irregular’s nails. Then it was.
The creature reached back and grasped a stone axe it had been carrying on its back. It hadn't used it, so Sihyun thought it might be unusable or broken, but it seemed there was no need until now.
Voom!
The stone axe cut through the air, aiming for Hamin’s head. With agility pushed to the extreme, Hamin tilted his head. The axe, missing its intended target, the boy’s head, chopped down on his shoulder instead.
“Eeuk!”
With a thunk, the boy’s shoulder sagged, and he slumped down.
“Iha Hamin!”
Seowoo, along with Jonathan, who had been desperately blocking the monsters’ advance, turned his head at the sound of the impact.
“Don’t come!”
Surprised at seeing one arm hanging limp, Hamin shouted, stopping Seowoo’s charge.
“What?”
Seowoo’s eyes widened. The Irregular took advantage of the distraction and kicked Seowoo’s back, sending the stunned boy tumbling with a groan.
“That idiot.”
Hamin gritted his teeth and cursed as he glared at the green monster looking down at him. Crunch. With one hand, he fixed his dislocated shoulder despite the pain of a broken bone and somehow managed to grasp his sword and stand up.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Sihyun shouted to the rising boy, and Hamin let out a gasp.
“What if I’m not?”
The boy murmured lowly and swung his sword held in his uninjured left hand. The Irregular, intrigued by the sharp sword strike, stepped back. Hamin seemed surprised as he continued his stance.
“Keep doing that.”
Hamin spoke as if chewing his words, gritting his teeth and swinging his broken arm. The trajectory continued. Without pausing, the sword crosses made by Hamin’s foot did not stay in the same spot for even a second, advancing forward.
The right hand drew a trajectory that the left hand followed, continuing the offensive. The risen sword energy became like a tangible blade, inflicting wounds on the Irregular’s body. The swordsmanship, unseen for a while, appeared to have become quite sophisticated, as dozens of sword energies flew along astonishingly identical paths. What might have been small scratches at first became deadly wounds as they kept slicing over them.
Krarak!
The retreating Irregular realized it couldn’t keep avoiding and swung its giant axe vigorously, pressing Hamin. Hamin dodged the axe and moved to the side of the creature. His swift movement resembled someone.
Ban Haru.
Despite this and that, frequently supporting in various fractures and frequently attacking dungeons seemed to have taught him the fast movements typical of an assassin class. Sihyun, outwardly seeing Hamin having the upper hand, pursed his lips. He tried once more to gather his divine power, but the chains gripping his heart did not allow it. As he resisted, the force became fiercer, and he spat blood again. Each time the force gripping his heart strengthened, the power of the chains holding his wrist also increased, making the wrist feel painfully tight.
Damn it.
His heart ached. It wasn’t the pain from the chains. The battle before his eyes was so vivid, it felt agonizing because it was so desperate.
The fact that Hamin, always at the forefront, was now behind protecting him was the worst. This was evidence that the crisis was enough to break their usual routine.
Moreover, the actions of Seowoo and Jonathan were slowing down. Whether it was their leader or not, the strongest Irregular was the one Hamin was dealing with, but the other four were by no means weak. The two enduring the joint attack of these four Irregulars must have been suffering.
And the Hamin in front seemed to be barely hanging on.
The number of times the axe grazed Hamin’s body increased. As it did, Hamin’s sword strikes also became sharper, but the effort of moving made his breathing heavy and unmistakable. The sound of labored breathing continued, and sweat poured down like rain. Though it was not immediately apparent, Hamin's legs occasionally lost their footing, making him stagger.
This way, they were heading towards annihilation.
Hamin gritted his teeth and persevered, but the inevitable future was clear in Sihyun's eyes.
How much longer could he last?
Who could have predicted that five catastrophe-class Irregulars would appear at once? Who could have anticipated that his divine power would be sealed?
Sihyun remained silent, watching as cries and grunts faded, and the only sounds filling the air were the endless clashing of swords, axes, and claws. Finally, he closed his eyes.
It was time to make a choice.
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