Chapter 881 – 881. Hero Academy (6)
A huge hallway covered in darkness.
It was a gloomy corridor with yellow flames rustling from the torches installed in each middle, as if leading to the underworld.
Seong Soo-ah, who was walking down the aisle, said a word to Yeriel, who was walking alongside her.
“The atmosphere is very different from the dungeons I’ve been to so far.”
“I know… Nothing.”
To say that there was nothing was actually close to a lie.
It was because there was a torch to guide them on their way.
But that wasn’t wrong, because those torches felt like part of this hallway.
The corridor boasted grandeur by itself, but on the other hand, it was also empty.
There were no ornaments or murals, not even the usual little pebbles.
Seong Soo-ah looked around her and started reciting her impressions.
“Looks like a place just built.”
As Seong Soo-ah said, it was a place where time seemed to have stopped as soon as it was built.
“Okay… So, never let go of tension. Well-maintained as if time has stopped… It means the traps are that clean as well.”
“Yes.”
At Yeriel’s words, Seong Soo-ah nodded her head.
Seong Soo-ah, who had cared about Yeri-el’s case deep in her heart, was able to sense light and vibration flowing from her wrist.
“I got a call from the search party.”
Seong Soo-ah said that to Yeriel and she answered her call right away.
And as soon as she answered the phone…
(It’s a combat situation!)
“A battle!? Who are you?”
(That, that’s… Keugh!)
The call ended without her even saying a word.
Seong Soo-ah shouted while looking at Yeriel with an urgent expression.
“Yeriel!”
“Okay! Let’s hurry!”
As soon as Yeriel floated in the air and flew away in an instant, Seongsuah also used movement magic next to her, and she started following behind Yeriel.
It was no longer a situation to relax.
Yeriel and Seongsuah decided to break through the dangerous place where there might be a trap.
The place where the two arrived after flying at full speed for 10 minutes…
“This place…”
“…”
A huge hall… Could reach the same place.
It had such a vast area that I wondered if I could use the expression hall.
Huge pillars guiding the way stretched all the way to the skylight, but the ceiling was so high that it was covered in darkness.
It was a place like a pillar hanging in the dark.
Most of all, instead of walls, the rows of pillars that seemed to guide the way stretched out long enough to cover the darkness before my eyes.
And from far away, a sound that stimulated the eardrums of the two could be heard.
Quaang… Tarak… Paaaaa…
Yeriel exclaimed as she jumped forward.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
Only humble torches lit the hall, but the two flew at full speed, guided by the distant sounds of fighting.
And at the place where we arrived after being guided by the sound…
Paaang! Percussion! Visor! Pababat!
The flames of various colors appeared and disappeared repeatedly enough to erase the darkness.
And in a place where that light blooms and fades…
“Keep camp as much as possible!”
“Be careful!”
Nearly a hundred people were wielding magic and wielding swords in battle.
And at the center of the battle, the search party led by Yeriel and Seongsuah was surrounded.
“Let’s join together!”
“Yes!”
Things weren’t that bad.
Although the search party was surrounded, they held their camp well.
Above all, the number of enemies surrounding them was smaller than that of the search party.
That was the moment when Yeriel and Seongsuah were about to attack the external enemy.
“Yeriel!”
“Sung Soo-ah!?”
Some members of the search party recognized Yeriel and Seong Soo-ah and made happy faces.
However, Yeriel responded with a command rather than a greeting to their happy expression.
“We’ll take over from the outside, so focus!”
The moment Yeriel and Sung Soo-ah try to attack the enemy together…
“Yeriel-sama, don’t attack!”
“!?”
Not only Yeriel, but also Seong Soo-ah were taken aback by the cry of the surrounded search party member and withdrew her outstretched arm.
In an instant, Yeriel began to interpret the crew’s cry.
‘Is it because of the mana control gimmick?’
If that was the case, a solution already existed.
A jewel received from an unknown man.
The problem could be solved at once by using the jewel that Seong Soo-ah had.
However, Yariel’s guess was wrong as she faced the enemy who looked back at her.
“Ugh…”
“Yeriel! That one… !
“!?”
As soon as Seongsuah and Yeriel were surprised, the crew shouted loudly.
“This is the vanguard that went missing before!”
It wasn’t until Yeriel and Sung Soo-ah heard the voice of the crew that the enemy’s faces began to come into their eyes.
Enemies standing like zombies with their clothes ripped here and there…
“Huh…”
All of them were members of the missing advance party.
Their eyes were always unfocused, and they couldn’t control their bodies like zombies.
However, unlike their sluggish behavior, their attacks were fierce, elaborate, and full of murder.
It wasn’t until Yariel learned the identity of her enemy that she was able to grasp the current situation.
‘That’s why I’m struggling!’
In terms of numbers, there was no room for the search party to be pushed back, but the situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable to the search party.
A situation where the missing comrades attack as if they were brainwashed.
The first goal of the search party was to find the advance party and rescue them.
From the perspective of the search party, no matter how dangerous their lives were, they could not sincerely attack their comrades.
“Gooooo!”
The missing members who had not cared about Yeriel and Seong Soo-ah turned their heads and started running towards them.
“Sua! Escort me!”
“Yes!”
Seong Soo-ah unleashed her defense magic at the same time as her answer.
It was because of the calculation that in order to safely subdue the opponent, you must secure your own safety first.
And Seong Soo-ah’s calculations matched well.
Thud!
“Keep it off!”
While Seong Soo-ah blocks the crew from attacking the two…
“Even if it hurts, bear with it!”
Yeri El began to subdue her at once using her gravity magic.
It wasn’t just one or two people who were affected by Yeriel’s gravity magic.
“Keep it off!”
“Keuouh!”
He began to press down on the bodies of the brainwashed members step by step.
They threw magic at Yeriel to escape her gravity, but all of them were blocked by Seongsuah’s defense magic.
With the appearance of Yeriel and Sung Soo-ah, the situation was reversed at once.
The members of the search party, who had been struggling to breathe properly until earlier, smiled dejectedly at the organized situation and opened their mouths.
“Whoa… I have no face.”
“I know…”
However, the search crew did not do anything while catching their breath.
Yeriel began to quickly subdue enemies out of reach.
As she subdued Yeriel, she was able to realize that she had enemies other than the Daewon.
“Is there anything besides the missing advance party?”
“Yes. Perhaps they were the ones who ambush the advance party.”
“…”
When Yeriel was put in this situation, she began to feel regret.
‘Shouldn’t I have listened to the matter at least briefly?’
The unidentified man had come for a business only with Yeriel and no one else.
He acted as if he had all the information about the dungeon in his hands, starting with knowing the people who raided the search party.
Furthermore, you can freely activate the dungeon’s gimmick, know the identity of the mana out of control phenomenon, and even an item that destroys a phenomenon that even Yeriel was unfamiliar with…
I don’t know what the man was looking for, but at least he thought it might help the situation.
But Yeriel immediately shook her head and thought.
‘No… I have to pay the most attention to the kindness of strangers.’
It was one of the words that Yariel had etched into her heart.
There were also cases where strangers reached out a helping hand.
However, for a person with a good heart, a word of thanks was often sufficient in return.
If you are a good person, a word of thanks is enough, but if you have an evil heart, you will not be satisfied with a word of greeting.
That was what Yeriel thought of as a favored person.
‘I’m sure we’ll meet again. It would be better to quickly organize it before then.’
Yariel thought so, and she began to subdue her step by step.
But it was the moment when I wanted things to be sorted out.
Aaaaang!
“Who dares to make a fuss in the throne room!!”
The sound rang out loud enough to fill this large space.
“What, what!”
“!?”
Not only the search party and Seongsuah, but also Yeriel turned her head toward the place where the sound came from with a surprised look on her face.
In the place where everyone looked, there were numerous stairs that had not been there before.
It was a structure of the same height as the stone gate we passed through earlier.
‘What? It was definitely an empty space earlier.’
At the end of the stair structure that suddenly protruded, there was a golden throne that was too large for one person to sit on.
And on that golden throne…
Kwaaang!
“I asked who was making a fuss on my throne!!”
“…”
There was a man sitting there who was dressed very well for this dungeon.
He was wearing a nemeth (a wide kerchief worn by the pharaohs) with a snake ornament on his head, and was dressed in white cloth.
And there were a lot of colorful ornaments hanging all over the body.
The most eye-catching among them was the golden cobra wand he was holding.
Everyone swallowed and remained silent, but no one opened their mouth.
And as if representing the silence of others, Yeriel opened her mouth.
“Who are you?”
Her youngest-looking woman opened her mouth as if she were her oldest.
Yeriel’s voice called the man who seemed to be the pharaoh, stamping his staff back on the floor.
Bang!
“Looking at Jim for being a surveillance girl and opening his mouth!!”
“Ha…”
Yeriel decided to actively agree with the old saying that her first impression tells everything about a person.
As Yeriel stared at her, sparks began to fly in the eyes of the search crew and Sung Soo-ah who were nearby.
If you ask the wizards of the tower to name just one person they admire, all the wizards will pick just one person.
It was Yeriel.
They say such rude things to their idols, and no one will like it.
“That bastard…”
Even with Yeriel in front of them, everyone couldn’t calm her anger easily.
Even Sung Soo-ah, who can easily pass over her own insults, this time…
“…”
She glared at the one sitting on the throne, with anger filling her face and eyes.
The man who appeared to be a pharaoh frowned and shook his head.
“Looking at the guys being swayed by that little girl, it must have been no big deal this time around. But don’t worry!”
“… ?”
Apart from anger, everyone started waiting for the man’s next words.
Then the man held out his staff and slammed it on the floor, shouting.
Aaaaang!
“I am the pharaoh who stands above all beings! I have a broad tolerance to understand the stupidity of those who will be my people!”
“!?”
Surprised by the waves of mana emanating from her staff, Yeriel took all the magic she had been holding back and jumped forward.
Then, gathering all his strength, he unleashed his gravity magic.
As the wave-like mana was blocked by Yeriel’s magic, a fierce storm began to rage around.
“Keuuugh!”
“Oh…”
Pharaoh, who was sitting on the throne, opened his mouth with a leisurely smile while holding out his staff.
“Contrary to what you look like, you’re not an ordinary girl!”
“Aww!”
“Looks like Jim judged too hastily based on appearance!”
Along with the sound of Pharaoh’s laughter, waves of mana began to come stronger.
Seongsuah’s voice resounded in the midst of such a strong mana storm.
“Yeriel!”
“Me too!”
Seong Soo-ah and her search crew stood by Yeriel and started to help.
But everyone’s help unfortunately couldn’t improve this situation.
Yeriel’s magic effectively blocked Pharaoh’s mana, but the rest of the people’s magic had no effect at all.
Yeriel cried out, sweating so hard that his hair was wet.
“Everyone retreat! While I’m blocking!!!”
“No! It could be…”
“Listen to me!!!”
Yeriel commanded with vocal chords that would tear her eardrums, which she did not normally do.
“The reason the advance party was brainwashed like that is because of that guy’s cane!!!”
As soon as Seong Soo-ah heard Yeriel’s words, she confirmed the appearance of the advance party that was attacking her.
All the vanguards who had been attacking as if hypnotized earlier had collapsed like puppets whose strings had been cut.
“If you focus only on defense like this, you won’t be able to fight him!!! While everyone is gone, I will deal with it alone!!”
“Ha, but… !”
“Don’t be swayed by emotions!!!”
“Oh…”
At Yeriel’s cry, Seongsuah flinched and took a step back from her.
And at the same time as she stepped back, a colleague put a hand on her shoulder and said urgently.
“Let’s go!”
“Ha, but…”
“You want to make the worst of it with your own hands? At least the vanguard we found must be taken to a safe place! Come back after that!”
“…”
Seong Soo-ah shouted as she closed her eyes tightly and opened them as if she had made up her mind.
“A little bit… Please hold on a little! I’ll bring someone to help right away!”
After Seong Soo-ah shouted that, she and her colleagues started to run away carrying her vanguard, who had lost her mind.
Yeriel smiled as she watched the back of Sung Soo-ah, who was gradually disappearing.
‘That man must be great. Seeing the relief that I didn’t know…’
Yariel thought so and confirmed that all of her companions had disappeared.
Yariel, who confirmed that she had all definitely retreated…
“Good!!!”
It began to fly up the stairs at her, shoveling flesh into her face.
Yeriel turned her magic, which had been blocking her, into a sharp awl, and she began to break through the huge waves of mana.
The pharaoh, who had been arrogant until now, panicked and grabbed her staff with both hands and began pouring out more mana.
“This guy!!”
“Haha!”
She had no choice but to stop again as Yeriel, who was recklessly charging, left about 5 meters away from Pharaoh.
Mana cannot be infinite.
It was the same with Yeriel, who is said to have reached the pinnacle of a wizard.
However, the pharaoh’s wand emitted an enormous amount of mana beyond common sense, as if mocking Yeriel’s common sense.
As for Yariel, she herself began to get crushed by the gravity magic she used.
‘A little bit… Going forward…’
Yeriel did not tell Seongsuah, but her spleen number was.
A brooch on her own clothes.
As the head of the tower, she was always prepared to face the worst, so it was an item she kept.
It was an item that could expend explosive mana by consuming vitality immediately after use.
However, depending on the amount of mana consumed, this item…
‘Article… Just a little more…’
It was also a dangerous item that could lead to death.
Yeriel said she wasn’t going to use her item right away.
‘The source of that guy’s power is his staff! If only I could take that away… !’
She still had her hopes in her.
Yeriel took a step forward, releasing her mana as if drawing her own life force.
That moment…
‘… Uh?’
The surroundings suddenly became dark, and memories of the past suddenly began to unfold around them.
‘With Hyun-ho… Chyle… ?’
Hyeon-ho was the president of Everyca, and Yu-mi was a sister who was not connected by blood to Yeriel in the past.
On Hyeon-ho, who is already old and unable to move, and On Yu-mi, who has already died and does not remain in this world.
The two appeared in front of Yeriel as children.
She is the same age as her…
‘What is this… ? Is it a dream?’
And the one who appeared in front of the three…
‘… Ugh.’
He was a man of great stature, well over two meters tall.
And the man’s true identity…
‘… Father.’
He was the one who raised her three orphaned siblings as if they were their real parents.
Her father, whom Yeriel has loved all her life… She killed Yumi, who had become an adult, and made Yeriel a child who couldn’t grow for the rest of her life, then disappeared.
‘… Monster.’
Yeriel held her heart in her hands as she watched the memories of her past rushing madly at her like a kaleidoscope.
Let’s calm her sore heart with her hands…
Aaaaa!!
“Wow!?”
The scene of blocking the pouring mana waves from earlier was unfolding in front of her eyes.
The Pharaoh, who saw Yeriel’s appearance, burst out with ugly laughter and began mocking her Yeriel.
Haha! Judging from his bewildered appearance, it seems that there isn’t much left! Don’t praise your ability. I will personally edify you and make you wait by my side for the rest of your life!! Phahahaha!”
“…”
It was only after seeing the figure of the pharaoh that Yeriel was able to realize that what she saw was her hallucination.
‘What I saw in what might be the last situation was such a hallucination…’
There was no obsession with her life.
But there was wind.
She wanted to ask the man why he had made her and her siblings like this and disappeared.
It seemed that if I could only know one reason why, I would be able to attain Buddhahood happily even after death.
But Yeriel had a hunch.
‘… Even if I die, I will remain in this world for the rest of my life.’
Yeriel says that now, this moment is her own last…
Her determination, such as her, and her Yeriel, made her take a step forward.
‘If I get brainwashed by this guy… It’s really over!’
Yariel had been brainwashed, and she had pictures of herself attacking her minions.
‘I can’t hope for luck anymore!’
Even if she was really brainwashed she would come in to rescue her comrades on the day she herself would be the main cause of her tower toppling.
The distance between the two is about 3 meters.
Yariel watched her fading magic of her own and placed her hand on her brooch on her chest.
The moment Yeriel put her hand on her brooch, she had a question.
‘… After all, what was the man’s business?’
It was the moment she tried to inject her mana into the brooch, with only that question left in her mind.
“Oh… Is this pretty cool?”
“?”
Yariel felt her mana waves suddenly disappear as if they were about to devour her.
She then raised her head with a puzzled expression.
What caught Yeriel’s eyes…
“I just wanted to buy a fan, and it worked out. Give it up.”
“…”
She was the back of the man he didn’t trust the most and yet desired the most.
