#273
Re-battle (2)
Hesperon even used “Nervousness” to quickly look around and understand the situation.
‘A slum on the outskirts of Jeron. There’s…no one else around. Is it a barrier? ‘It looks like you planned and prepared from the beginning.’
No matter how prosperous a city is, there is bound to be darkness where the marginalized gather.
That’s exactly where he is now.
Like Daesinjeon, it was located on the outskirts of the capital, but at a considerable distance from it, making it a crime-ridden area with both poor surroundings and security.
‘It wasn’t prepared spontaneously. ‘The fact that they dug a trap and waited in a place like this means that they predicted my every move.’
Next, his eyes turned to the group of about thirty masked people surrounding him on all sides.
The sharp energy that was clearly felt even by Hesperon’s senses, which had not yet fully grown, was full of the scent of those living in the shadows.
‘assassin? No, it’s simply not that way. ‘It seems like there are people who have learned Auror skills as well as wizards.’
There was no way anyone could handle people like that.
Even though it is the slums of Amman, it is even more so when they plan an attack that mobilizes even the barrier in a place that is in name and name the capital.
Finally, he turned his attention to the only man not wearing a mask.
In fact, he was the most problematic person in this place.
“It’s been a while, Sir Stav. … Isn’t it Gyeongdo now?”
Starv, a master-level warrior and former imperial guard captain.
Since Riley didn’t say anything during this time, I thought he had dealt with it and buried it, but it seems he somehow managed to escape.
“Huh—well, it’s nice to see that face after a long time. I really missed you. Thanks to you, I had a very valuable experience.”
Stav responded with a smile to Hesperon’s friendly greeting.
Looking at his appearance, I was able to fully guess what kind of experience he was talking about.
‘It certainly seems like you’ve had a lot of trouble.’
His strong body, which was full of strong muscles as a knight of the highest order, was shriveled in a terrible way.
His complexion was extremely haggard due to rapid aging, lack of nutrition, and fatigue.
And above all….
“Phew—when I face this, it feels like a comedy. It got very funny.”
A right arm cut off from the shoulder and a leather eye patch covering the right eye.
In addition, many other traces of torture remained all over the body.
It seemed like it had been cured somehow, but the damage to the body was so severe that the resulting defects and aftereffects were clearly visible.
“It doesn’t seem like he got out on his own. I guess those friends helped him, right?”
Hesperon quietly said something to the sight of the person who looked like he had been imprisoned somewhere for a long time and had finally escaped.
I have a rough idea of the situation, but just to be more certain.
“…I wonder if he is really the same guy as before. That power is also unique. “It’s not dark magic or abyss, it’s pure curse.”
But Stav only looked at him with a strange gaze and said something else.
Slurp—
Then he brought his left hand, which had only three fingers, to his waist and slowly pulled out the sword.
“I want to kill you right now, but I made a promise, so I’ll have to endure it.”
Then, a black energy rose like flames through his sword.
It was a destructive and eerie energy of dark magic that was completely different from the aurors he had used before.
“…!”
And the moment I felt the flow of energy.
Hesperon moved instinctively.
He twisted his body and stretched his right hand forward.
As the arm coiled with black energy turned towards the front…
Kwaaaang—!
“Tsk!”
Before I knew it, it collided with the black magic that rushed right in front of me, sending out strong shock waves in all directions.
“Tsk, I was thinking of cutting off my shoulder. “As expected, I’m not used to this at all.”
A one-armed dark knight muttering dissatisfiedly.
In addition to the secretly prepared body strengthening auxiliary magic, Hesperon immediately retreated and frowned.
First of all, I blocked the attack, but the arm that blocked the attack started to tremble, as if the shock was greater than expected.
In the first place, the dark magic itself was such an aggressive energy that his “Right Arm of Craving,” which was equally specialized in attacks, could not offset all the impact.
‘Is it true that even if it’s rotten, it’s still okay?’
It seems that even his auror hall was damaged, so he accepted dark magic instead…
As he was a powerhouse at the top of the extreme level, the adaptation period may not have been very long, but he was extremely powerful.
‘Still, I’m sure I’m weaker than before, so I think I might be able to hold on. ‘The problem is with them.’
At that moment, some of the masked people surrounding him began to show signs of moving in sympathy with Stav.
Most of them were still holding their positions and blocking the escape route, but additional interference in such an extreme situation was never good news.
‘「Footsteps of a Hero」 cannot be used yet. Then the only remaining means of avoidance is canceling the summoning.’
It was only recently that Harley was sent to Tarak to hunt revolutionaries, fill the cooldown, and then sent back to the south.
However, I was reluctant to cancel the summoning because “Summon the Otherworldly Transmission” had a cooldown of more than one day remaining.
When he was thinking about how to respond.
-Heron? Is there any problem?
Riley’s signal was transmitted through the “Chain of Pact,” ignoring the barrier that blocked spatial movement and communication set up by the masked people.
He looked very worried, as if he had vaguely sensed something from the violent collision that had occurred a moment ago.
-ah! Riley. We’re in big trouble here now!
And Hesperon.
Without any hesitation, I quickly told her the situation she was currently facing.
‘Riley is also a party, so of course he should know! This is actually something I got caught up in.’
The attack occurred as soon as she was away, and judging from what Stav said, the goal was to take Hesperon hostage.
Then wouldn’t it be obvious what their intentions were?
-Stav is there?
Her voice became cold as she heard the whole story so quickly.
A cool vibe that had never been shown to Hesperon before.
-So that means he was alive and not dead?
-Uh… I’m a bit hurt, but I’m still alive.
-under! …This is embarrassing. I thought I had it under control, but were the rats still lurking? Actually, if you think about it, it hasn’t been that long since he took the lead, so it might be natural. … There’s a lot to handle ahead.
Apparently, she knew that Stave was already dead.
In order to vent his anger, he hid him in an unofficial place and while interrogating him, he took advantage of the loophole created by the sudden increase in power.
Riley’s exasperated sigh came from the other end of the connection.
-But Heron, are you really okay? As for Stave being there…
Then, she suddenly asked urgently in a worried voice.
No matter how damaged the body is, the level of achievement that has been achieved does not go anywhere.
How much more, did she not see with her own eyes Hesperon barely escaping from the bastard, fearing death?
Because of this, not only did I have problems with my eyes and arms, but I also had to be hospitalized for a while, so it was natural to be worried.
-Well, that’s it.
And in his response to those concerns.
-It’s more bearable than you might think…?
There was a confidence in the air that did not fit the situation.
***
Wedge—
Stave rushed forward with fierce force.
I felt it the first time we collided, but it was still dangerous to face him head on.
‘Then you just have to face it head on.’
The bracelet on Hesperon’s arm gave off an ominous glow.
Along with that, his reflexes are surging past their limits as if he were running wild.
As effective as the ones he had used before, it was an item imbued with a deadly curse, but he didn’t have the slightest hesitation in using it.
‘Wow, this is awesome.’
Because the “Curse Devourer” he had was devouring them all and creating them with his own power.
However, it was too much to defeat the dark knight who had reached the peak with just that.
A sword imbued with black magic instantly flew in front of his nose.
Kwachang—!
It shattered the defense shield that formed in the air just before being hit, leaving behind only a shock wave without being able to cut his body.
“Ugh!”
Hesperon, caught in the aftermath, flew backwards and frowned.
Although I felt sick from the shock of my internal organs turning over, it was much better than being cut directly by that vicious knife.
After gaining some time from Stave’s pursuit, he lightly lifted his finger again.
Dozens of black threads that momentarily materialized appeared blurry in the air, and his body quickly rose upward as if being pulled by something.
“Ugh— again! You’re bothering me! “You clown!”
Stave, who had missed this opportunity again, gritted his teeth and waved his sword nervously.
Contrary to Stav’s feelings, Hesperon sighed in relief as he watched the protection ring disappear into dust after its usefulness had expired.
‘Phew, it was close this time.’
Hissing—
Every time you move your fingers, some of the energy scattered everywhere momentarily appears like a thread and pulls your body.
It gave him not only speed, but also a variety of movements that allowed him to move freely through the air.
‘Motivating power using the latent and materialization of the curse. This is my first time using it properly in real life, but it’s taking up more mental power than I thought.’
In the first place, the curse was an ability that was unrivaled in its stealth.
Since it is not physically tangible, it cannot be cut off using normal methods, and even if the curse hidden in the atmosphere is erased with powerful energy, it will be constantly restored by the “Right Arm of Craving” if given a short period of time.
‘It’s just a short period of time. I can somehow survive with magic tools and status.’
In addition, the curse that was gradually consumed in the process could be refilled with magic tools.
‘It’s worth the effort of working hard from the beginning.’
A little time provided in a limited space.
This place was already a spider web he had woven with a curse.
Of course, an anti-magic technique that blows up the entire area at once would be a bit dangerous, but there was no archmage of that level here, so there was no need to worry too much.
‘Here we go again.’
At that time, Hesperon’s gaze flicked to the side.
Although he was able to briefly outsmart Stave due to his superior mobility, he was not his only enemy in the first place.
Sigh!
As if predicting the path of movement, the masked person suddenly jumped out and swung his sword.
He probably didn’t know he could do this, but his attitude was active, unlike the first time when he was quiet, as if he was leaving it to Stav.
‘But with an opponent of this caliber…’
In the first place, curses were basically extremely aggressive and harmful.
It is said that applying it as a mobility power as it is now is only additional.
The masked man arrived right in front of us.
He stretched out his right hand towards it.
I just clenched my fist.
“…!”
And at the same time.
Hundreds of black threads connected to hands appeared around the creature.
And then.
Wow!
In an instant, it tightened towards the center, scattering a pile of blood mist.
It is not just physical power that has been materialized, but also a curse mixed with a curse that drastically reduces resistance and defense.
It was a technique that was close to lethal against an opponent who had reached a certain level or had not developed resistance through supernatural defense.
‘Of course, it consumes a lot of energy.’
Grumble—!
Immediately after taking a life like that, the black flames that were wrapped around Hesperon’s arms like a coil took on a certain shape.
A long snake-like body with a head sticking out from the shoulder.
A black dragon with a pair of horns rising upward and a rich mane opened its sharp eyes and showed its teeth in satisfaction.
As if a life is eating away the resentment it harbored until the end.
“Inoom—!”
“Eek.”
Quad deuk—!
Quaaaang!
And Hesperon rushed forward with terrifying force and hurriedly ran away to avoid Starv’s dark magic that was destroying the entire area.
While wearing a bunch of curse magic tools supplied by “Avatar Cloud” again.
-Heron, are you sure you’ll be okay? Can’t we move through space like we did back then? No, it’s better for me to go back…
At that time, Riley’s voice, which had been cut off for a moment while concentrating on the battle, was heard again.
The soft voice was full of only worry and anxiety, as if it had been in a bloody atmosphere for some time.
-No, if the CEO does that, it will look strange. It’s still okay. It seems I’ve grown a lot more than I thought. Maybe I can get out of this on my own?
As expected, it was rewarding to drink 『Elixir of Growth (7 Days) (200000)』 every time the time came.
How wonderful is capitalism that even overwhelming differences in level can be replaced by quality?
Long live the Karma store.
-Phew— You said it was located in the southeastern slums of Jerron, right?
-uh? Uh… by the way.
-Don’t worry about getting out on your own, but focus on holding on as long as you can. We’ll send someone out soon.
However, it was Riley’s firm voice that restored Hesperon’s confidence.
-Of course, he should have swept it all away right away…
It seemed like something bloody came out after that, but he was too busy dealing with Stave who followed him again, so he just let it go.
‘The growth speed is amazing because it combines the effects of the elixir with actual combat!’
I was too busy paying attention to my skill level increasing in real time to pay attention to such trivial things.