Chapter 29 – Corridor Of The Fallen’s Master (3)

It was a player who belonged to the Black Crow Guild.

Park Hajin.

“N-No way.”

Park Hajin’s voice trembled.

“To meet you here. It is a peculiar connection we have. So, what made you come this far?”

Jin-hyuk smiled brightly and grabbed Park Hajin’s neck.

“Kuka! Kuak! T…that is….!”

“You came to attack the ruins?”

“Ye-yes!

“Such bullshit.”

Jin-hyuk clenched tightly.

“Kuak. Let’s talk! I cannot breathe…!”

“It is going to be brief. Just answer yes or no. Those who killed the sentries and woke up the Guardian. It was you, right?”

“W-what do…”

Clench!

“Kuaaaak!”

Park Hajin twisted his body in pain.

When the thumb was used to press the middle of the throat, the pain would be excruciating.

“Right! You’re right!”

As expected.

He was convinced when he saw the wounds on the corpses’ necks. That kind of wound was something done by an assassin-type player.

Add in the fact that assassination wasn’t necessary for the ruins to be cleared narrowed down the suspects further.

Park Hajin.

Right. It had to be him.

“Your purpose for coming here, at least, must be to kill me.”

“T-that!”

If he said no in this situation where he could neither advance nor retreat, there was no way he would believe him.

If he said yes, then he would be killed.

“Unable to answer?”

Jin-hyuk’s eyes narrowed. At the same time, his magic-imbued finger dug into Park Hajin’s shoulder.

Chak!

The terrifying sound of bone being shattered.

“Kwak! Sto-stop! I will tell you! Stop!”

Park Hajin’s body twisted even more violently than before.

“Wait, just wait… I… Yes! That is what our guild leader has ordered me to do. I said no, but the bastard had threatened and forced me to do it.”

If it was the leader of the Black Crow Guild.

“Is it that guy Shin Gunsu?”

He’d seen the man on TV.

On a program that featured a special on emerging guilds.

It was hard to forget the appearance of him hanging out in a high-class suit and black sunglasses.

“Right! Shin Gunsu! That bastard did it! Please believe me.”

“… fine. I will.”

Jin-hyuk removed the strength away from his hand.

“Phew.”

Park Hajin sighed.

“Don’t be so relaxed. I still have no intention of saving you.”

Puak!

A dagger pierced into his skin.

“Ku… ack!”

Park Hajin looked blankly at his chest. It was exactly where his heart was located.

“Originally, people trying to take my life don’t get to live comfortably, but thanks to you, it made things easier, so I was being kind to you here. Thank you.”

Jin-hyuk spoke coldly and took a ring off Park Hajin’s finger.

[Braham’s Ring.
Acquisition Difficult: A
Magic Resistance: +10
Movement Speed: +5%
Unique Ability Suppression: +20]
It was an excessively precious item for a dead man to possess.

Jin-hyuk put the ring on his index finger.

Slash!

And mercilessly cut down the other assassins from the Black Crow Guild.

Maybe it was because of the effect of [Cold Heart], but there was no mercy in Jin-hyuk’s movements. Besides, there wasn’t anything stupider than showing consideration for people aiming for his own life.

In the middle of the bloody scene.

Jin-hyuk turned to Elise.

“Do you think this is enough proof?”

The vampires were clearly the most reluctant as he struck a deal with Teresa using the hostages they held.

One who thought about the future could never do this. He was easing their vigilance by using ‘Communion’ and also managed to move Elise’s heart.

“Good. I will say I believe you.”

Elise stood up.

Her long silver hair fell down her shoulders.

“In what way are you giving us freedom?”

… great.

Jin-hyuk calmed his beating heart. Be calm.

Do not get excited. Take it easy.

The fish had just caught the bait. It needed to be pulled up slowly.

“I have a 7th-grade item ready for you. We can deceive the ruins’ barrier if Miss Elise can seal her soul in the item.”

“Seal the soul? This is my first time hearing of it.”

“Right.”

Because this method only appeared on the 40th floor.

“To be honest, I was pretty lucky. In the process of learning the information… it wasn’t easy to figure out the exact amount of magic we would have to supply.”

Jin-hyuk gathered magic in his fingers.

Woong!

A blue light shone on his fingertips.

His fingers crossed the air as if he was writing letters.

One word.

[Signacuium]
And another…

[Immortalitas]
[Sancturium]
…

He drew a pattern made up of six words.

As each word was infused with a different amount of magic, they began to shine blue.

Wheik!

Strange energy was being exuded.

“Ho.”

Elise looked surprised at this.

“… this.”

“Can it be used that way?”

The blood clan members, who were watching the scene, asked aloud. They seemed overwhelmed by a sight they were seeing for the first time.

In the meantime, Jin-hyuk held Braham’s Ring in the middle of the formation.

[The level condition (Level 1) of caster Kang Jin-hyuk’ has been accepted.]
[7-star ‘Soul Transfer’ chant has been activated!]
[The order is completed when the target’s approval is obtained]
[You can only take one soul at a time.]
[The cooldown is 365 days.]
Only one person could leave the ruins. The next person would be able to after a year.

Time wasn’t a problem for vampires who received the blessing of immortality…

‘They will be very reluctant to accept a spell they have only seen for the first time.’

Elise’s eyes twitched.

But it was for just a short time as a smile formed on her lips.

A loophole to the chant.

‘If we break down the form which is the basis of the chant, we can destroy the entire rite.’

No matter what tricks this man used…

This means that as long as her men were here with Belus on her side, the human could be killed, and she could break away from the seal.

This was like a safety net for her.

But there was a feeling of confusion too.

‘You cannot just throw away a chance because it sounds absurd.’

Such a long life spent being locked up made this temptation hard to resist.

If not now…

Perhaps she would never get the chance to escape from here. Her worries didn’t last long.

“I get it. I will accept it.”

Elise nodded her head. And at that moment.

[Braham’s Ring absorbs the Soul of Elise.]
A dazzling light enveloped Elise’s body.

—

“Haa.”

Jin-hyuk retrieved the ring from the 7-star circle.

Ba-dump!

His heart was pounding hard

… it was a success.

It felt like all the hard work he did in the past was being rewarded.

If even one of the things he did was incorrect, Elise wouldn’t have been able to be sealed into the ring.

In fact, it had failed dozens of times in the past.

‘The variable called Terisa made it easy.’

[Hmm. Not as bad as I thought, I thought it would be stuffy, but it is strangely cozy.]
Elise’s voice could be heard from the ring in his palm.

He felt glad that she liked the inside. She was reacting as if it was a house she would live in.

It was then.

“Uh…”

A thin groan escaped from Teresa, who was lying on the ground.

“T-that woman on the floor!”

“Isn’t she dead?”

The clan members’ eyes were wide open in shock.

Obviously, they had confirmed that she had stopped breathing. They had even checked for a magic reaction and felt nothing.

She was clearly dead.

Then why?

“Ah… I forgot. Even if she dies, that friend will come back to life.”

It was called the ‘Blessing of the Star.’

If she died, she would come back to life. Jin-hyuk let out a relieved sigh as he looked at Teresa’s revived form.

Man. For real!

Watching it in person reinforced that feeling.

Wasn’t it like looking at a dead cockroach that started moving again?

[You! You deceived me!]
Elise shouted.

Now that she realized she was deceived, she couldn’t help but become angry. On the other hand, Teresa, who came to her senses, mumbled.

“This… this was the plan.”

With the Blessing of Stars, she was able to comprehend everything which happened around her.

Everything up to the monster being sealed. That was why he had asked her to believe…

“There are many things I want to ask, but now I have to help with this, right?”

“We aren’t in a situation to talk either.”

Right.

Talking would be for later because this wasn’t over yet.

[Teresa activated Lv4′ Sign of Cross’]
Teresa moved her sword to the left and right.

Tak!

The rope and blindfolds on the other people were removed.

“Ugh…”

“Huh!”

Those who had their senses blocked began to gasp as they were released.

“W-we live! We live!”

“Wow!”

Cheers erupted from everywhere.

They thought they were going to die. But now they were tasting freedom again.

“You came.”

Song Cheon-hwa bowed to Teresa.

“I am glad I wasn’t too late.”

Teresa made Song Cheon-hwa get up.

“How many rescue teams came?”

There were bound to be around 3 or 4 groups that were deployed from the other guilds to the ruins. That much was needed to save them here.

But…

“Excluding me, just one other.”

The words from Teresa’s mouth crushed Song Cheon-hwa’s expectations.

—

“To act like a demonic human and save himself.”

“Such a stupid human act…”

The blood clan members showed their teeth. They had been ordered to eliminate the humans if the man tried any tricks.

There was no need to wait any further.

Swish!

Various blood magics began to fill the surroundings.

Drops of blood gathered and formed into a giant wave.

The wave increased in height as if it would swallow the place up. It was a grotesque sight to see.

“W-we were wrong.”

“We barely lived…”

“I… I don’t want to die!”

That skill was something they had already witnessed once.

The tanks, who had been sturdy as rocks, were crushed into the ground. The damage dealers who were erased.

A nightmarish memory for the survivors.

The problem was that the same scene was happening again before the mental scars could be healed.

Song Cheon-hwa bit his lip.

“… is this it?”

It was no use even if Teresa was here.

There were more than 11 vampires here. The difference in power didn’t diminish in the slightest.

Right at that moment.

[Lv13′ Blood Wave’ is activated!]
Kwakwakwang!

A wave of blood came rushing in.

It couldn’t be stopped or avoided.

“…”

Song Cheon-hwa closed his eyes. Others shook their heads, and some bowed.

Waiting for death to come. But…

“…?”

The impact of the waves couldn’t be felt, and there was no pain, which made Song Cheon-hwa open his eyes.

In front of them stood a man in a strange mask.

Wheik!

A large fire barrier stopped the wave.

No, it wasn’t just blocking but standing tall. As the heat caused the moisture to evaporate, the drops of blood began to gradually disappear.

Who was it?

‘That mask… I’ve never heard of a ranker using a dagger.’

It must be someone he was seeing for the first time.

But did that make sense?

How could a player who wielded such strong fire magic be unknown?

He couldn’t believe it. So he had to ask.

“W-who is that person?”

At Song Cheon-hwa’s question, there was a soft smile on Teresa’s lip.

“He is someone who has to be trusted.”