Chapter 487

〈 Chapter 487 〉 Part 1, Chapter 20, Section 19

What is most important when it comes to saving the world?

Some might say the resolution to throw one’s life away like straw. Others might mention the tenacity to survive countless brushes with death. Still others would bring up the unwavering will to stand firm against any temptation.

But such thoughts don’t apply here in this place.

“Hey, Team 1! Block the incoming Terralist from the right!”

“Two more coming from the left! Stop their charge!”

Male and female special ability users alike, wearing black uniforms, aimed their K2 rifles at the falling Terralists. The rifle muzzles were painted blue instead of gray because magic power, not gas, was being discharged.

BOOM BOOM!!

“Shit!! Thanks to Sun Icheol, even after becoming a special ability user, I still have to do reserve duty!”

“If you have time to talk nonsense, aim better!!”

The K2-wielding members of the Blue Wind Sect – men and women of all ages – unleashed a wall of fire at the flying Terralists. Each member considered themselves a single piece on a chessboard, following the directions displayed through the holographic scopes on their heads and firing magical bullets.

BOOM!

The sharp magical bullets began chipping away at the shields of the flying Terralists. No matter how fast the Terralists moved, they couldn’t completely evade the wall of fire created by over a hundred trained members.

Kee-heeck!!

Instead, the members’ magical bullets couldn’t penetrate the Terralists’ shields.

“So damn tough!”

“S-Rank! You think an S-Rank monster will die just from getting scratched by a Land Dog?!”

“KYAAAK! One of them broke through our wall of fire!!”

A single Terralist broke through the wall of fire on the left and landed on the deck of the turtle ship. Nearby heroes immediately threw down their K2s and drew their weapons from their waists.

“It’s too early to put away your guns.”

Poo-WHACK!

The Terralist that landed on the deck didn’t even get a chance to roar before being kicked into the sea by something. The members saw Chang-yeom standing where the Terralist had been and cheered.

“Woooh! As expected, True Lord!”

“She’s warm to me but merciless to monsters!”

“Who said anything about being warm?”

Chang-yeom blushed while looking at me perched on the dragon’s head. Apparently, she couldn’t stay still or maybe she didn’t want to see the Blue Wind Sect members being overwhelmed by the Terralists, so she started loosening up for close combat.

“Lord! Do we really have to do the weak monster controller cosplay?!”

The only remaining officer and commander shouted at Chang-yeom who had already started rampaging. Now that Chang-yeom was acting as Cheongnyeon, it was essentially advertising to the world that Cheongnyeon possessed S-Rank or higher combat capabilities.

“What now?”

Keeeeeek!!

Chang-yeom shrugged as a single Terralist swooped down toward her. She didn’t even bother paying attention.

Crunch.

I spread my wings and struck the Terralist’s head. Its neck twisted 270 degrees and it plunged into the sea without even managing to stab Chang-yeom with its tail.

“Now there’s no reason to hide our strength, so why hold back?”

“That’s true…but will you help command as well?”

“Nope. You handle the details like spreading out the wall of fire and moving the members. That’s why I gave you the armband, isn’t it? Gather the members together right now. I’ll spread my magic power.”

Thanks to watching me work from inside, Chang-yeom naturally handled Kim Ji-hwa while subtly giving orders according to her own preferences. I circled behind Chang-yeom and spread my magic power in all directions.

“The magazines are filling up.”

Thump thump.

Magic power transmitted from Chang-yeom passed through me and seeped into the members’ K2 rifles. Just like how Chang-yeom and I infused TAT with magical bullets, I refined Chang-yeom’s magic power into magical bullets and scattered it among the members’ K2s.

“Just pull the trigger. Don’t worry about shell casings; just keep shooting.”

“Woooh! Infinite magazine!”

“Yes!! The Lord is definitely a veteran high school girl!”

“…Shut up.”

Chang-yeom glared at me and frowned. I had merely refined the core bullets into magical bullets for the members’ convenience, yet Chang-yeom seemed somehow dissatisfied.

‘Does something bother her?’

‘I just want to finish quickly.’

Chang-yeom’s eyes were fixed on the dragon’s head that had fired the Spirit Bomb, as named by Hikari and approved by Chang-yeom. The dragon’s head that had launched the Spirit Bomb was still gaping its mouth toward the Flame King. I checked the stopwatch flowing through Chang-yeom’s magical gear.

[50:30:29.]

Approximately 50 minutes remained until the current assault. If the A~S-Rank infiltration team couldn’t conquer the Flame King, it would leave Korean waters.

‘And soon enter Japanese waters.’

Exactly 50 minutes remain to fight entirely within Korean waters. Korea started the assault with the condition that if 50 minutes passed, priority rights to conquer the Flame King would be handed over to Japan.

‘On the premise that the assault must succeed absolutely.’

To conquer the Flame King which spawns hundreds of S-Rank monsters per minute like a hydrangea? At first glance, it seems beyond difficult, almost impossible, but in reality, the premise is an unchanging absolute truth.

“Tch.”

Chang-yeom summoned the stopwatch of the magical gear. A small hourglass hologram began to flow above the countdown signaling the end of the Flame King assault operation.

[Chang-yeom’s Ultimate Fireblast cooldown would be best at 59 minutes!]

“Hng….”

Following Hikari’s dramatic staging request, Chang-yeom refrained from using the Chang-yeom Ultimate Fireblast which could incinerate the Flame King in one strike.

“I want to shoot now and get it over with…”

Chang-yeom played with the TAT in both hands and licked her lips. Despite cooldowns and everything else, she could instantly shoot a blue phoenix through the darkness and incinerate the Flame King, but to give other subordinates a chance and for the heroic achievements of the Blue Wind Sect, we had to wait a full hour.

“To give other subordinates a chance, you must endure.”

“Still, to make the final assault on the Flame King and announce it as an issue to the world… Miss Baek Hee-a is quite remarkable.”

“It’ll stick better in people’s minds that way.”

Already assaults on not just the Flame King but also other Kings had begun, and the attention of people worldwide was focused on videos ‘live broadcasting’ the King assault operations.

‘S-Ranks fighting directly, experienced indirectly by humanity.’

Through magical gear, the struggles of heroes are being transmitted in real-time to all earthlings. They either look at the battlefield near them, watch heroes they’re related to, or observe the strongest heroes while watching the King assault operations in real-time.

Like Carna rushing forward like an autobahn while slashing Terralists with arrows.

Or Seok Harang freezing the Water King solid so it can’t move.

Or the Phantom swinging transparent crescent blades and steadily eradicating Terralists from the outskirts.

…Or Blue Wind Sect members lying prone and pulling the triggers of their K2s aimed skyward.

“Fire toward 45 degrees ahead!”

“Don’t ruin the mood! Just shoot as the lighthouse directs!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

The enhanced magical bullets cut through the Terralists’ shields much faster than before. The consumption rate of magical bullets increased significantly, nearly matching the original rate of automatic fire from the K2, but the enhanced firepower and accuracy were enough to deal sufficient damage to the Terralists.

Keeeeeek!!

A single Terralist’s bat wings caught fire with blue flames. With its shield completely stripped, the Terralist’s wings caught blue flames and it screamed as it fell into the sea.

“EMP! Bring out the EMP!!”

“There’s no way we’d have something like that….”

“Psst.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Chang-yeom. She scratched her head while pressing her magical gear.

“Executioner, may I use it?”

[No! That’s not the image of overcoming adversity! It’s forbidden!]

“It’s not allowed.”

At Chang-yeom’s words, everyone sighed regretfully. Though the enemies could be killed with a single bullet once their shields were stripped, Baek Hee-a strongly opposed ending the battle that would go down in human history with a single magic EMP.

[We need to defend Dokdo in a difficult manner so they won’t dare say anything!]

“If we win easily, they’ll think we were just playing around with it, right?”

[Of course! Ah, we’re entering the core layer now! Please endure!!]

Baek Hee-a earnestly urged and disappeared into the darkness. Chang-yeom, with her index finger on the TAT trigger, licked her lips and muttered.

“…I’m really good at enduring, but this is hard.”

Keeeeeek!!

The sky was still covered with Terralists, and the members waited for their emptied magic power magazines to refill. Chang-yeom scowled while looking up at the starless sky.

“I want to burn them all.”

“Just endure a little longer.”

“I want to shoot them all down.”

“They’re all destined to die anyway once the time is up.”

I embraced Chang-yeom from behind to comfort her. Nearby Lighthouse looked at Chang-yeom and me with a sympathetic gaze, muttering that the Lord was finally doing self-hypnosis while playing two roles.

‘Chang-yeom, for the sake of the country where our honeymoon home will be, please endure.’

“…If you say it like that, there’s nothing I can do.”

Strictly speaking, since nationality doesn’t really mean much to Chang-yeom, it’s difficult to make her understand this delicate sentiment. Thus, my task is to coax and comfort Chang-yeom who wants to instantly sweep away the Terralists. And incidentally, refill the magical bullets.

“This time, I’ve filled the magazines with a bit more ammunition. Lighthouse, take down the Terralists like spraying Eureka on mosquitoes.”

“Hem hem. Understood. Blue Wind Sect members, listen up carefully!!”

Lighthouse pointed at the Flame King.

“The officers are going in to destroy the Flame King’s core! So let’s do our part! Think of it as the last period of the college entrance exam and endure for an hour!”

“That’s the hardest part!!”

“Shut up!! After this fight, a second life begins, so endure! For the sake of saving the world?! …From now on, off the record, dammit!”

Lighthouse shouted angrily.

“We have to win this fight impressively to clearly announce to the world that Dokdo is our land!!”

“…….”

Saving the world.

It’s neither resolution nor tenacity nor will, perhaps it’s national pride.

‘Really don’t understand it.’

‘Leaving aside what Sun Icheol set up, basically everyone has some resentment. It’s hard to understand with spirit sensitivity.’

“If Japan bothers you so much, why not just blow up the Flame King and the entire Japanese archipelago? We’re not lacking in firepower. Can’t we just pretend we don’t know and blow it up?”

“…Sigh.”

My task is…

to coax and comfort Chang-yeom.

Unlike the infiltration team led by Black Flame Dragon facing the ‘Replica Phoenix’ inside the Flame King.

* * *

“Blaze forth!!”

Human-form Black Flame Dragon spewed black flames from his left arm and incinerated the Terralists.

“This flame carries the power of purification…heh heh.”

Black Flame Dragon covered one eye with his left arm and chuckled. If Phoenix saw him, she might comment on his rich sensitivity, but unfortunately, Black Flame Dragon’s appearance was still unmistakably Cheongnyeon’s face.

“You shouldn’t say things like that with that face, right?”

The Phantom wearing a nine-tailed fox mask used the negative form of the tail to grab a Terralist by the neck and slammed it into the ground. Those who knew understood the true nature of the tail, but Phantom insisted on maintaining a nine-tailed fox image, even making her nails slender.

“Please understand. Black Flame Dragon…puh, who would willingly become like this?”

The previous Gongsung, Tubulus, also spoke respectfully while firing arrows. The arrows, which consumed magic power, devoured the shield’s magic power upon contact and pierced through the Terralist’s head.

“Hei! You guys! Stop chatting! Not much time left!! Found the boss room!”

Architect, who had been touching the floor of the Flame King, pointed to the end of the corridor. The infiltration team evaded the pursuing Terralists and stood before a thick iron door.

“…Can we open it a bit?”

“How terrifying it looks.”

The officers were stunned by the iron door made rigid like a twisted object. Knowing there was an enemy acting as the Flame King’s core beyond the door, they hesitated to open it easily.

“The boss was right. This door, he said it wouldn’t open easily…”

“Not good! Are you planning to sit here?! The Phoenix ultimate attack is coming in one minute! Want to steal the cool scene?!”

“Damn, so noisy.”

The Flame Giant silently stepped forward and grabbed the doorknob. The doorknob squirmed like human intestines, but the Flame Giant shrugged and forcefully pulled the door open.

“Yah-rahtcha—!!”

As the Flame Giant flung the door wide open to the left and right, the officers leapt inside. In the Flame King’s heart, where walls writhed like organs, a familiar armored fiend sat alone in a chair.

[Thought the original would come.]

“Wow, goosebumps. Really a replica?”

[Could Master Seongju not do even this?]

The armored fiend with a vulture-like helmet flicked his finger.

Whoosh.

Purple flames began to rise between the gaps of the black armor. The armored fiend – raised his hand and wiggled his fingers.

[Let the starter pass. Come. If I die, the Flame King stops.]

“You this brat!! Nice to meet you!!”

With the Flame Giant leading the charge with a gleaming head, the fiend conquest operation began.