Chapter 579: Demon Contractor (3)
“Please, follow me.”
‘Sure, sure. Of course, I’ll follow you. I will follow you until the very end.’
I looked at Cho Hyejin with a warm smile. Had I ever looked at someone with such a warm face in my life?
‘I can’t express it in words.’
It felt like we thought the same.
I didn’t know why she was in that place, but she must have instinctively noticed her friend was in danger. Wasn’t that evidence that she cared for me deep inside, even though we argued a lot?
It was like a warm breeze suddenly blew through the chaotic scene.
‘I guess it’s better to thank her…’
No matter how close people were, At that moment, I thought that there was nothing better than expressing things in words.
“Um…”
Cho Hyejin spoke before I could. I thought that my feelings were conveyed enough, but her tone was quite surprising, and honestly, it was a line that made me want to smack her.
“Are you okay? You have a dirty look on your face… If… your headache gets worse, you must tell me.”
“What do you mean, dirty look…”
“No… for a moment… you looked like a demon… I mean, I’m sorry. Inexplicable gooseb.u.mps came up on my back… It was my mistake. Still, if something goes wrong, you should tell me immediately.”
‘There’s nothing that she can’t say.’
“Yes, I will.”
“You shouldn’t stay like this. I think it’s better to change your form right now. Although there is a time limit, that power will surely devour your spirit.”
“No, it’s okay. I can still afford to use this. I’m a little bit relieved since you came, but I want to get out with everyone here.”
“Ch-Chairman…”
“You don’t have to worry about us, Chairman.”
“For your safety, we will sacrifice our own safety with no concern. Please consider our original role and cherish your body more than ours.”
“Even if we have to throw our lives…”
‘I’m saying you don’t have to throw your life away… What’s up with you all? You’re very important volunteers.’
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Sigh… The time limit is two and a half hours. I promise. If it still remains, I will take action myself.”
“Yes, please.”
If it were Kim Hyunsung, he would get irritated, saying that it was nonsense.
I even made a useless setup to rea.s.sure the guild members, but Kim Hyunsung would jump up even while sleeping if he heard about my Doom state.
On the contrary, Jung Hayan, the root of the incident that gave me the new cla.s.s, seemed to like it secretly. Still, our lovely returner had become very sensitive to my new appearance to the extent that it went beyond trauma and turned into a characteristic.
No, if Kim Hyunsung were with us in the first place, it wouldn’t have been necessary to maintain my corrupted state. Although Cho Hyejin was strong, her capacity was still limited to that of humans.
Those reactionary punks, who were still using all the firepower they had, were likely to have their limbs split if it was Kim Hyunsung they were fighting against. Objectively speaking, it was impossible to deal with all the demon contractors with Cho Hyejin alone.
She knew that too, and perhaps that was why she temporarily agreed with Doom Kiyoung.
If I were alone, she could have succeeded in rescuing me, but we were way outnumbered.
‘No, still, is it really impossible?’
Considering how she was opening the way for us, it seemed to be possible. In fact, in the Blue, she was one of the strongest five.
Except for the first and second place in the armed forces’ rank, Kim Hyunsung and Jung Hayan, who were already difficult to cla.s.sify as human beings, there was no problem to say that she was the strongest in the Blue.
Even if I searched all over the continent, no one was as skilled in spear-wielding as she was.
Our Hyunsung did choose her for a reason, and a good one as well.
‘Wow, she fights really well. Really, really well.’
Although I felt that her movements were larger than Kim Hyunsung, who always handles things concisely, it evoked the illusion that made her look gorgeous.
How could she dodge the magic spells bombarding us from all over?
There were many scenes that I didn’t understand earlier, and there were even more that I couldn’t understand at that point. As if the reactionary b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who initially focused their firepower on Cho Hyejin also thought that there was no hope if it continued like that, it had been a long time since they converted magic into a range type.
Magic spells that lacked any penetrative power since they couldn’t concentrate in one place couldn’t do great damage to my allies.
‘This is enough to keep us protected.’
Baaanng! Craaaash!
Although it made a loud noise, the armor of bones that covered the entire allied camp wasn’t easily broken. I thought it might be difficult to get out of there, but it was surprisingly progressing very smoothly.
In the meantime, plague ghosts were flying around and inflicting damage to my enemies.
‘Hold on, guys. Oops! Yes, good job. Good job.’
Changes were happening to the faction that rushed to their deaths together.
‘They’re aiming for a long-term battle.’
It seemed obvious that they chose to use the troops in a hurry to keep us inside as soon as they saw a chance.
“Don’t rush in. The advantage is on our side. Try to attack the weak part of their formation and exhaust them as much as possible. Ignore the spearwoman.”
“Ignore the spearwoman and aim for the rear. However, the avant-garde must focus on stopping the spearwoman and refrain from making a direct attack. Just think about limiting their movement as much as possible! Overlap the curses or debuffs. Tie them up where they’re standing!”
‘Yes, I have to come out dirty.’
“Please remove the curse that falls on Hyejin with a purification spell. You only need to remove the curse. It’s better to save your divine power as much as possible…”
“I-I’m sorry… Vice Guild Master.”
“No. It’s not something you guys should be sorry for.”
‘That’s why the Mind’s Eyes is a great a.s.set.’
I could see what kinds of curses were applied to Cho Hyejin.
‘Removing the reduction in movement speed. I think I can wait a little more about the muscle strength loss… removing the curse of neutralization too. Removing all the ones related to the mind. No, since she has a strong mentality, would it be better to save a little more divine power?’
She would be able to withstand that kind of battle anyway.
‘Multiple dark spells are aimed toward the rear. I can block those while Park Li-ahn marks the troops coming from the left side, and those who are chanting powerful spells in the corner need to be kept in control with arrows and long-range attacks. I think I can deal with that too.’
Troops trained to follow orders were also one of the factors that enabled them to deal with the current situation well. They moved by faith, never questioning my words.
They didn’t judge for themselves why there was a long-distance check over there or why they needed to give more power to the left.
They completely left their fate to me.
‘This is right.’
No matter how I thought about it, wasn’t that the most rational way?
It wasn’t easy to see the war objectively in such a chaotic situation, but the information provided by the Mind’s Eyes made it possible. It was even visible that their performance was improving soon after some time had pa.s.sed.
‘About 13 opponents have been defeated…’
From fifty, to about thirty. None of my bodyguards had been killed yet.
Although they weren’t used to their newly-gained power, if I considered that we were outnumbered by the enemy forces, it was only proper to call it a great victory. It was obvious as to who would be the winner if it went on like that.
‘Let’s keep going with this flow… Come on…’
“Don’t give up! Comrades of the Order, never falter!. We have to make that dirty scammer aware of what resentment we have and what we think of him!”
“Move! Let’s move! It’s okay to die while casting magic, so just keep conjuring spells! Don’t stop! Don’t let your hands rest. Keep moving and pressure them!”
“d.a.m.n it! Why… Why can’t it reach them? Why? Why?!”
“Even if we all die here, we will definitely take you with us. We won’t have it any other way!”
I had to say something back at them.
“The continent’s light will never go out. No matter how much you try to exterminate the light, it will always shine.”
“You… talk so well with that appearance… Ugh.”
‘Tentacle, thank you.’
The barrier was getting relatively thin, as if they were getting anxious, and the demon contractors gradually lost their reason.
At that point, they had to make another choice. And as expected, they visibly deployed the high-ranking undead that they had been saving.
‘I guess this is all they can do.’
Of course, that was a trick.
The only logical explanation behind sending the undead at that moment was that it had a different purpose other than dragging time, after all. As expected, the magic power of contractors who thought they could no longer fight began to rise explosively.
‘This firepower… It must be different from before.’
However, there was no need to take it head-on. I didn’t know if it was possible until the time of the explosion, but… it was a gamble worth trying.
While the retired members’ corpses prepared for a meaningless bombing, the remaining personnel escaped from there. As I pointed to the inevitable danger, I realized Cho Hyejin was already clearing the way.
“Let’s go. We can get out now.”
“Okay.”
“Park Li-ahn, help Cho Hyejin clear the path. Wizards, please focus on defensive magic that can minimize explosion damage.”
“This is our opportunity to get out! The Chairman said this is the right time! Do not stop! Run!”
“Push them! Push them!”
“Aaaaahhh!”
‘Idiots.’
“Sh*t! Stop that! Stop that right now!”
“Even we will end up getting caught up in the explosion. It’s too late…”
“Sh*t! They’re escaping! The dirty scammer’s group is escaping! Stop them right now!”
Craaaa.s.shhhhh.
Baaaaaaaannnnnnnnngg!!
“Run! Run! Run! Run! Hyejin, run! Run! Nuna! Run!”
Craaack! Baaaangg!
‘Overlap, overlap, overlap.’
Craaaashhh!! Booom! Boooom!
I continued to chant spells whilst running.
Of course, Cho Hyejin was practically carrying me since I was pretty slow compared to the others. It was quite humiliating, but it was efficient.
The bone shield, which was made to prevent the explosion’s effects from coming out toward the exit, was smashed so easily that its existence became futile, but new shields continued to fill its place.
The protagonist and his party barely escaped from the explosion. How far had I laughed at Hollywood movies containing such absurd clichés?
The only thing I thought of was that I was fortunate enough for it to happen to me.
As I barely escaped, the area turned upside down with the explosion and smoke. The smell of the outside air, as if it had been a long time ago, pierced my nose.
I heard someone speak before I could even look around. It wasn’t part of their plans since they wanted to put an end to it inside the building, but it was also the best option they had.
“Loo… Loo…Look! Look at this, people of the continent! This is the true ident.i.ty of the Honorary Cardinal, said to be the devotion of light and the Second Coming of the G.o.ddess Benignore. He has signed a contract with the demon to deceive the continent! That is why our Order is risking everything for our land where we all live. We are here, risking our lives for a truly free, just, and equal society.”
‘…’
“I know it’s hard to believe! But what we are talking about is the truth and darkness that was never revealed on the continent. Chairman Lee Kiyoung is the continental dictator, a scammer, and a deceiver who deceives everyone. Yes, he is a deceiver! Open your eyes and look straight ahead. The way he wears this mask is what he really looks like!”
There were people there who tried to persuade any charm or persuasive abilities.
‘You seem too drunk on your role. Wake up, uncle, seriously.’
From the moment they left the government building, those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds were nothing more or less than demon contractors. In fact, I didn’t even have to go ahead and make excuses.
It was regrettable that I couldn’t switch cla.s.ses in advance, but I still believed in them, our beloved continent.
‘Our people will judge which one of us is the real evil.’
The appearance of the Order hiding all the dark energy came into my eyes.
As an extra measure, I began to cough out some blood.