Chapter 297
Chapter 297
“What the h.e.l.l is he planning?”
When he learned about it, the Mayor reacted the same way as Sungyoon did .
Plu-El had told them about the Mage Gem, which was the last missing special Gem . So, Sungyoon acquiring this Gem was a welcome development, and the Mayor had even cheered when he heard Sungyoon had acquired it . However, when Sungyoon explained how he got the Gem, the Mayor"s expression soured .
A lot of words were exchanged, but Sungyoon could only say one thing .
“I have no idea . ”
“Anyway, it"s good that we obtained the Mage Gem . However, of all the people, it came from . . . ”
The bundle Sung Hyunwoo had given to Sungyoon didn"t only contain the Mage Gem .
“What’s in the USB stick?”
“I’m having it a.n.a.lyzed . The file on it isn’t big, but they want to be careful in examining it . There might be something nefarious on it, so it’ll take them some time . ”
Apart from the Gem, the bundle contained a USB stick . It was an item that might explain Sung Hyunwoo’s odd behavior .
“The result is in!”
An employee yelled as he opened the door . Sungyoon and the Mayor shot up to their feet .
***
“This came out from the USB Sung Hyunwoo gave to us?”
“That"s correct . ”
Plu-El slowly looked over the doc.u.ments .
She fluently spoke Korean, but she wasn’t that knowledgeable about the language of the doc.u.ments . So it took her a lot of time to read the doc.u.ments . She still kept the doc.u.ments with her as she was interested in them .
The director of the International Moon research facility stood next to her . When he had mentioned he was going to see Sungyoon, Chelsea had followed him .
Dark circles had appeared around the eyes of the two researchers . They had lost their research facility, but they were busier than ever . Ironically, they were learning about the secrets of the Moon and the labyrinths after they lost their research facility on the Moon . In fact, they felt as if things were going too smoothly for them .
A lot of the Moon people, including Aruwen and Plu-El, had taken root in Korea . Therefore, the Director and Chelsea had half-settled here too .
“Is this true, Mr . Sungyoon?”
The Director was tired . His eyes were bloodshot, and he was roughly breathing like an angry bull .
Chelsea kept staring at her copy of the doc.u.ments . The doc.u.ments had been translated into English for her .
“I have no idea if it"s true . The only thing that can be verified is that these doc.u.ments came from the USB . ”
“That… That means… . ”
The Director looked at Plu-El, then rushed out of the room . He returned seconds later, holding a small model of the Moon . After taking out a black marker, he drew circles on the model indicating the locations of the Great Labyrinths .
“Ms . Plu-El!”
He approached Plu-El .
“Can you tell me the locations of the Great Labyrinths you know about?”
“Alright . ”
She wanted to confirm this information too . The Director handed her a different colored marker . She used the red marker to draw circles on the model . The locations of the Great Labyrinths known to Plu-El and the Director mostly coincided with each other . However, there was one difference .
The Director knew about the location of four Great Labyrinths, and Plu-El also knew the location of four Great Labyrinths .
However, five locations had been circled .
“I’ll tell you this ahead of time . These are the exact locations of the Great Labyrinths we know . This knowledge was pa.s.sed down through our ancestors, and it has been confirmed several times throughout our history . ”
Plu-El spoke up first . The Director had no intention of gainsaying her words .
“Then what is this one?”
The Director pointed at the location circled only by the black marker .
“This place has all the special characteristics found in the Great Labyrinths . There’s always a Mana Stream ongoing here, and each floor is unique as if each floor is a different world .
“Jeez! We no longer have a facility on the Moon that’ll allow us to research this topic . ”
The Director pounded his chest in frustration .
Sungyoon asked a question .
“What if Grenoid created a fifth Great Labyrinth? Is that a possibility?”
“Impossible . Even if its seal is unraveling, the magical energy started to leak out from the labyrinths not too long ago . Grenoid doesn’t have the enormous power needed to create another Great Labyrinth . ”
“Then let’s work under the a.s.sumption that Grenoid didn’t create this Great Labyrinth . ”
Everyone glared at the model of the Moon as if it were their worst enemy .
Sungyoon once again took the initiative to speak .
“Could this Great Labyrinth have been naturally formed?”
“If it were a cave, I would agree with you . However, a Great Labyrinth can"t form naturally . ”
“Is there a possibility that your ancestors created this?”
“That would be too important of a fact to not pa.s.s down to us . ”
“What if the descendants of Planote left behind on Earth did it?”
“Magical energy was the foundation of our civilization . Without magical energy, it"s obvious what happened to our ancestors left behind on Earth . I don’t know when science was found, but anyone left on Earth would"ve lived like beasts before that . Their lifestyle would"ve been primitive . ”
Plu-El responded in the negative to all of Sungyoon"s questions . Sungyoon, who had been hunched over to see the model, straightened his back .
“In the end, we have no choice but to go and investigate it . ”
“It might be a trap . ”
“The possibility is high . ”
Sung Hyunwoo had betrayed humanity, and he was the source of this information . Of course, these people were suspicious .
However, the topic of the information was too interesting .
“I’m sure it"s a trick, but…”
Plu-El closed the report and looked at the big t.i.tle printed on the t.i.tle page .
“Isn’t the t.i.tle a bit too grandiose for it to be a deception?”
‘Method of Defeating Grenoid . ’
It was a very sensational t.i.tle . Aside from the traitors, all of humanity wanted to defeat Grenoid, and Hyunwoo was claiming that the method of defeating the Grenoid was in this labyrinth .
“Did Sung Hyunwoo join the monsters for humanity? Is he a double agent?”
“Bulls.h.i.+t!”
Plu-El curtly dismissed the Mayor’s words .
The Mayor became a bit embarra.s.sed for making such a suggestion, and he lowered his head a little .
“If he were a spy for us, he would"ve shown some signs of committing to our cause in some form . ”
He may have a great cause . He might be sacrificing himself to spy on humanity"s enemies from within their rank . However, such n.o.ble actions only appeared in novels or movies . In reality, it was much better to act as a spy by working with an outside agency . Such a plan was all about efficiency and stability .
“Then it really is a trap?”
The Mayor was deep in his thoughts when it happened .
Kwahng!
“Emergency! It"s an emergency!”
Someone slammed open the door and entered .
“What’s wrong?”
“Monsters! Monsters have appeared!”
“What about it?”
The appearance of monsters on Earth was a big deal, but it was treated more like a recurring event that had to be dealt with . The Connectors waiting nearby would go and kill the monsters, so this person had no reason to panic like this .
“The… The number of monsters is on a different level! Swarms of monsters are appearing all over the world! The government is asking for the Knight to be mobilized!”
“They are making their move . ”
Sungyoon ran out of the room as he left the sighing Plu-El .
***
A simultaneous multi-p.r.o.nged attack—that was how the attack was described .
The government had quickly sent a helicopter to Sungyoon, and he was watching the site of the battle from the sky .
‘This is no joke . ’
This wasn’t like the sporadic attacks from before . The number wasn’t as large as the number of monsters that had attacked Armstrong city, but it was still enough to swarm the Connectors .
However, it seemed that high level monsters were absent from this attack . On top of that, monsters suffered a decrease in power when they moved away from locations having a pool of ambient magical energy . Thus, the monsters here were weak . The problem was that there were too many of them, and they could easily kill regular people .
Sungyoon didn’t have the time to hesitate, and he jumped out of the helicopter .
Ggoo-uhhhhhh!
An Ogre was chasing after a boy . The teenager ran as if his feet were on fire, and his face was so pale that it looked as if he were wearing white powder .
Sungyoon maintained a straight posture in the air as he gathered his feet . His thick steel boots slammed into the Orc’s head, and he let gravity do all the work .
Ggoo-uh!
Crunch!
Before the Ogre could finish its roar, it turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp .
“Tsk!”
It was great that he had killed a monster as soon as he landed, but he was covered in blood now . Sungyoon clicked his tongue in disgust .
“K . . . Knight?”
The teenager froze in place when he saw Sungyoon .
“Hurry! Go, run away to somewhere safe . ”
“Yes, yes!”
After hearing Sungyoon’s words, the teenager started running again as if his feet were on fire .
Sungyoon immediately zeroed in on the next monster, a Bigfoot rampaging in the distance .
‘It"s quite a diverse group of monsters . ’
Sungyoon summoned his halberd and threw it with all his might .
Kwah-jeek!
The halberd pierced through the Bigfoot’s head, and with a spray of blood, the monster fell .
Sungyoon unsummoned his halberd and climbed to the roof of the nearest building . He caught sight of three monsters wreaking havoc in the city . Two of them were chasing down humans, while the third . . .
‘s.h.i.+t!’
It was chewing the corpse of a young girl . Sungyoon unconsciously ground his teeth . He wanted to hack the monster into pieces, but he somehow held himself back .
“I have to save the people who are still alive . ”
Sungyoon spoke to himself as he pushed off the roof .
Tuh-uhng!
His body started falling .
Woo-oong!
Suddenly, his wings unfurled behind him, and his surroundings whizzed by . After accelerating, Sungyoon soon arrived in front of a roaring monster that was causing a rampage . He swung his sword .
Sss-kahk!
Rumble!
The two sounds rang out in a harmonious manner .
The unstoppable monster split into half, and its corpse was burnt into a crisp .
Tunk!
Sungyoon changed directions, and his wings unfurled once again . A halberd appeared in his hands, and without slowing down, Sungyoon jammed the spear blade of the halberd into the head of the second monster .
Puh-uhng!
The monster’s head exploded as if a shotgun had hit it .
In a flash, Sungyoon had killed two monsters .
‘Next!’
Sungyoon moved once again, and his target was the monster he planned on killing the last . Since it had been eating a corpse, he had decided it posed less of a threat compared to the other two . However, all this time, fury was surging in Sungyoon"s heart .
Tuhk!
He stood next to the monster and looked down at the girl’s corpse .
She was younger than an elementary student and seemed to be of the same age as his daughter .
Ggoo-uh?
The monster that had been eating the girl"s arm took notice of Sungyoon’s presence . It turned its head .
Ggoo-uhhhhhhhhh!
The monster became angry since Sungyoon was standing next to it as if it weren"t a threat . Pus.h.i.+ng itself to full height, the monster yelled .
However, the monster"s anger couldn"t even be compared to the fury in Sungyoon"s heart .
“Die . ”
He said one word, then swung his ax .
Kwah-jeek!
The monster’s arm was sent flying . It screamed as it rolled around on the ground . The monster had great vitality, so even when its arm was cut off, it was undeterred . It stood up in anger as it tried to attack Sungyoon . No, it had tried to get up .
The poison had spread from the wound and circulated through its entire body .
Ggoo, ggoo-roo-roo-roohk!
The monster’s body shook as it thrashed in pain . It convulsed until it lost its life .
However, Sungyoon had already moved on from the monster . He was looking down at the corpse of the girl, seeing the terror etched in her eyes . After closing her eyelids, Sungyoon resumed hunting monsters .
He climbed up to a new roof and again looked for monsters .
Puh-uhk!
Sungyoon saw a monster in the distance fall to the ground . He looked up to see a helicopter rumbling in the air . Aruwen was inside the helicopter, and he had pointed his longbow toward the surface .
‘Finally, they have been deployed . ’
The Moon people had been confined in a settled zone, but they were here now . They all jumped out of the helicopter at once .