Chapter 1090

〈 Chapter 1090 〉 1090. Spirit’s Atlantis

“Sung Yoojin! Joo Seohyun! Subdue the Thorn Rose Legion Master!!”

Joo Seohyun made the first move. Kicking off from the floor, she leaped over the toppled sofa and aimed for Federica’s neck.

“Sung Yoojin, stop her!!”

Federica shouted as she looked at me. My heart ached.

「The subordinate rose compels you to act.」

‘Not like I wasn’t about to anyway. There’s no way I can let Federica die here. In an instant.’

I moved belatedly but appeared in front of Federica before Joo Seohyun, deflecting her sword with my Hwaryeonbido. Joo Seohyun’s body was pushed back.

“…You, what are you doing?”

Joo Seohyun gritted her teeth. Her eyes flickered restlessly.

“There are circumstances.”

I chuckled bitterly while raising my sword. It was all for show. Inside, I was contemplating how to save and bring Federica along.

“It’s a subservience skill! Joo Seohyun, don’t push it and just buy time!”

Kang Myeongjin immediately understood my situation. With his Divine Eyes (S), it would’ve been strange if he hadn’t.

Joo Seohyun instantly regained her composure and charged at me. I deflected her sharp left-handed strike while unleashing lightning. She evaded using Back Tumbling. Seeing her light-footed movements made me chuckle wryly.

‘She seems faster somehow? Did she grow stronger recently?’

A single blade flew through the air. It was Joo Seohyun’s Yi Gi Eo Sword. Its target wasn’t me but Federica. I hurriedly moved to block the blade.

‘Protecting Federica makes this fight twice as hard.’

My top priority is Federica’s survival. To achieve that, I need to stop the Yi Gi Eo Sword. I kept scattering lightning to prevent Joo Seohyun from focusing on it.

“AAAAAAARGH! You damn bastard!!”

Santa Nua screamed. His right arm had been cut off. Enraged, Santa Nua recklessly charged toward Kang Myeongjin. At a glance, it seemed like Kang Myeongjin was being pushed back, but he was blocking all of Santa Nua’s attacks.

‘Santa Nua has already lost this one.’

Federica’s face darkened as if she’d reached the same conclusion.

“Sung Yoojin! Take this!”

Federica threw a potion at me. It contained something sparkling inside its blue liquid.

「Mana Overload Potion

Doubles mana stats for 10 minutes.

Cannot use mana for 3 hours after effect ends.

Rank: A」

It was an extreme potion.

Though the effect was useful, the side effects were too severe. Normally, I wouldn’t even consider this kind of potion.

‘To overwhelm Joo Seohyun and Kang Myeongjin, I have to resort to such extreme measures.’

Glug glug.

I drank the potion. It had no taste. The sensation of something sticking in my throat as it went down was far from pleasant.

Still, the effect was remarkable.

My current mana is 121. Thanks to the potion, it soared to 242.

Zzzzzt.

I dispersed my mana everywhere. The space around me became saturated with my mana. Kang Myeongjin and Joo Seohyun stepped back, swallowing their breaths.

“Astrape.”

The dispersed mana coalesced into lightning within my grasp, forming the shape of a spear. Gripping the lightning spear, I swung once at Joo Seohyun. A shockwave erupted, destroying everything around.

“Ughh…!”

Joo Seohyun’s body was sent flying backward. Kang Myeongjin stepped forward, planting his spear into the ground to withstand the shockwave. I directed a current toward him.


It was sent. Kang Myeongjin struggled to move, trying to block the current.

“What are you doing?! Kill those brats right now!!”

Santa Nuga shouted at me as he saw me. I ignored him and looked at Federica. Federica had a venomous expression on her face.

“What are you doing, Sung Yoojin? Kill them. Or do you want to die instead?”

My heart was under pressure. It stung like being pricked by thorns. I shook off the pain in my heart with a long sigh and said,

“Federica, think rationally. Even if we overwhelm them for a moment, eventually this will just end with your death.”

I only had 10 minutes to overpower Kang Myeongjin and Ju Seohyun. Annihilating the Legion and mercenaries that Kang Myeongjin brought within 10 minutes was impossible, even for me with Mana 242.

Ultimately, the best choice Federica could make was one.

“…Sung Yoojin. Open the way. We need to abandon the mansion.”

“Where are we going?”

“…That way. You need to open the path for us.”

Federica pointed at the wall. Realizing what she meant instantly, I threw Astrapae at the wall. The wall collapsed, revealing a rose garden. Battles were already taking place all over the rose garden.

“Federica! Are you retreating like this?! Those bastards need to die here!!”

“Calm down, Santa Nuga! We can’t afford to lose everything like this. Even if the city of roses gets forcibly occupied… as long as we’re alive, we can take it back. Retreating is the right move for now.”

Santa Nuga’s face contorted as he charged toward Kang Myeongjin.

“Hell no. This bastard needs to die here.”

“FEDERICA!!”

Kang Myeongjin momentarily exploded with energy. A dragon head silhouette appeared around his body before vanishing. Santa Nuga, who got hit by the short shockwave, stumbled backward. A brief flicker of fear crossed his eyes.

‘Dragon Roar, huh. Looks like werewolf-mode Santa Nuga really got scared. Must be the primal trait making it more effective.’

Shaking uncontrollably while looking at Kang Myeongjin, Santa Nuga fled out through the broken wall.

“Santa Nuga! Act with some sense, please…! Sung Yoojin, follow quickly!”

Federica followed after Santa Nuga and ran outside.

Before leaving, I glanced at Kang Myeongjin and Ju Seohyun.

“Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about this. Since things turned out this way… feel free to count this as betrayal and try to kill me later.”

“I know the responsibility lies with Federica, not you. Dependency skills are usually like that. There’s a way to break dependency skills. So don’t die—just hang on.”

“…Not much time left until the next duel. Don’t think about running away during it.”

“Those words are appreciated… but take it slow. Take it slow.”

With sincere words, I followed after Federica.

A mercenary charged at Federica. I threw Astrapae. Lightning flashed, piercing the mercenary’s head. I killed the charging foes and escaped outside the mansion.

Whether it was because Kang Myeongjin gave an order or not, no pursuers came. Still, we couldn’t relax, so Santa Nuga and Federica kept running even after leaving the city.

「The mana capacity enhancement effect is wearing off.」

「You cannot use mana for 3 hours.」

Even without mana, I had other abilities.

“Federica, are you okay?”

“Huff, huff… Not really. I boosted my stats with a potion, but… I’m reaching my limit.”

“I guess I’ll need to help you.”

I picked up Federica princess-style. She looked at me in surprise, drenched in sweat. Ignoring her gaze, I focused forward and ran.

Having returned to his human form, Santa Nuga glared at me.

“Carrying someone else’s woman so confidently, huh? People might think you’re Federica’s lover.”

“Why the sudden beef?”

“Put Federica down right now.”

“Federica is exhausted.”

“I’ll carry her. Put her down.”

Santa Nuga growled. Federica sighed and said,

“Let me down, Yoojin.”

Reluctantly, I put her down. Santa Nuga, acting as if it was obvious, picked up Federica. His body swayed heavily; he was missing an arm, and perhaps due to the side effects of transforming into a werewolf, he was sweating excessively.

“Santa Nuga, don’t push yourself.”

“Sh, shut up, Federica. I…”


“Even I can handle this much.”

Santa努 carried Federica and ran, but his unsteady movements filled me with unease. As expected, he collapsed onto the ground with Federica in his arms less than three minutes later.

“Gyaahhh!”

“F*ck…!!”

I helped Federica up. Aside from a slight abrasion on her shoulder, she seemed fine. However, Santa努 was so exhausted he could barely move, blood dripping profusely from his severed arm. Federica poured a potion over him. Though the effect wasn’t dramatic, his face appeared more relaxed than before.

“I’ll carry Federica. You just follow along as best you can. You should be able to do that much, right?”

“This brat… who the hell do you think you are to carry Federica?”

“Get your priorities straight. Right now, you’re the one holding Federica back. This whole situation is getting worse because of your petty jealousy.”

“Damn it…”

I picked Federica up again. She hesitated, glancing at Santa努, then said,

“…Put me down. I can run too.”

“Hold still. This is for the best right now. With your stamina, you’d collapse soon anyway. Santa努, this guy might barely manage running alone, but even if we escape like this, you know it’s meaningless, right? Do you have a plan?”

“…There’s a Legion we’ve allied with. We’ll consolidate our base with their help.”

Federica spoke in a melancholic tone. I nodded slightly, acknowledging her words. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I quite belonged among her comrades.

I ran in the direction Federica pointed while Santa努 huffed and puffed behind us.

We stopped running as dawn approached and took refuge in a nearby cave. The moment Santa努 sat on the cave floor, he reached out to Federica.

“F-Federica! Hey, give me some medicine!”

“Santa努, you should rest properly first. Let’s treat that arm properly.”

“Medicine! Give me the medicine!! The arm can wait! What matters now is the medicine! Medicine!”

Federica sighed and handed him a rose narcotic. His face immediately brightened as he swallowed it. Santa누 grinned foolishly and started twitching around, high on the drug.

Federica inspected Santa努’s severed arm, pouring a few potions over the wound before wrapping it with bandages. I eyed the bag she held curiously—it was clearly enchanted with spatial expansion magic.

“…Phew. Lucky it’s not severe enough to be critical. If we get you to a professional healer, your arm should heal.”

“Regenerating an arm will cost a pretty penny though.”

“Still better than living as an armless cripple, isn’t it?”

That was something only a skilled alchemist like her could say. Exiled amateurs without skills often had no choice but to live as cripples after losing limbs. Regenerating a severed arm required a minimum of 150,000 AP—an expense many couldn’t afford.

I approached Federica from behind and wrapped my arms around her. Her sweat mingled with a strangely alluring scent. Burying my face into her red hair, I fondled her breasts through her dress.

“Do you really want to do this now?”

“I betrayed the Legion for you. This much shouldn’t be a problem, right? If you decided to take me, you have to take responsibility.”

“With Santa努 still here? You’ve got guts.”

“The junkie’s just high out of his mind—what’s there to fear?”

Indeed, Santa努’s eyes were open, but they weren’t focused on us. He was lost in some distant vision induced by the drugs.

Slurrrk. Her dress slid down, revealing her voluptuous figure. I cupped her breast firmly in one hand.

“Augh… Are you really going to act like this? You haven’t forgotten that your life depends on my will, have you?”

My heart throbbed painfully. In response, I gripped her breast even tighter, her plump flesh bulging between my fingers.

“Kill me if you want. My life is already ruined because of someone.”

“…Haa. Fine, I’ll take responsibility.”

Federica raised her arms, pulling me close and tilting her head to kiss me deeply. A hot, sticky kiss ensued. Plop. My cock slid into her pussy.

“Hnnng, Haaaang….”

The atmosphere in the cave grew intensely heated.