NOVEL NEXT Ch. 71
The ten convicts of the Strike and Support Teams—everyone but the three-person reserve team—filed into the first basement level of Gangnam Station.
Shield Bearer led the way, his massive shield raised. Pathfinder followed close behind, with the rest of the convicts forming a long column.
Bringing up the rear, Jae-hee pinched his nose.
“Ugh…”
The stairwell leading down reeked of blood. The stench was sickening.
Halfway down, a temporary steel door blocked their path. It was a makeshift barrier, erected to control access after the Gate had erupted inside the station.
“Opening up~”
Shield Bearer, who had been given the key beforehand, unlocked the door.
Screeeech…
The lock disengaged, and the door swung open with a hair-raising shriek of metal.
The stuffy, subterranean air that billowed out was thick with a metallic stench, exponentially stronger than before. The smell was so overpowering Jae-hee felt his sense of smell go numb.
Something’s… making it hard to breathe…
But it was more than just a bloody stench.
There was a subtle wrongness to the air, a prickling sense of unease that crawled over his skin. It was the same faint discomfort he’d felt inside the Mirror Slime’s Gate.
Unease. Deja vu. Tension…
It was a sensation all Awakened felt in a place undergoing a Dungeon Break.
The world itself was telling them that this place, the area around Gangnam Station, was being terraformed by the Blood Clan. It was no longer human territory but a hostile, alien landscape.
It was an unease akin to setting foot in a foreign country—no, on an alien planet—for the first time, a primal dread simmering just beneath their instincts.
The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, Pathfinder raised his dowsing rod and focused.
“Hmm!”
The first basement level opened into a wide underground shopping arcade. The dim space was cast in a red glow, and the cloying smell was even thicker here.
Under the flickering, broken lights, the rows of clothing stores, convenience stores, and supermarkets were silent. There wasn’t a living soul in sight.
“Hmmmm…” Pathfinder muttered, scanning the area meticulously. “No survivors.”
“…”
“And as for monsters… I’m only sensing one.”
“They said it’s an immature Blood Clan that hasn’t made any thralls,” Jail Mojik said with a jerk of her chin as she stepped onto the basement floor. “It’s not surprising the Gate Lord is alone.”
“Where is it?”
“Just a second. I’ve got a reading, but… something’s strange…”
The result was baffling. Pathfinder kept readjusting his grip on the dowsing rod, his head tilted in confusion.
“It’s close.”
“How close?”
“Very close.”
“How very close?”
Just then—Snap!
With a sickening crack, the metal tip of the dowsing rod jerked upward… toward the ceiling.
“…Directly above us,” Pathfinder muttered flatly, looking up.
“What?”
CRUNCH!
Something shattered the ventilation duct and dropped down with impossible grace and—SPLACH—tore out Pathfinder’s throat.
Blood gushed from the shredded remains of the old man’s neck.
Jae-hee, who had just reached the bottom of the stairs at the back of the line, saw the whole thing and whispered, “Oh, shit.”
***
“What the hell?!”
Jail Mojik rushed forward, instantly weaving a rope around Pathfinder’s neck, but it did nothing to staunch the bleeding.
An urgent transmission crackled from the Commander.
«What’s happening?!»
“Dammit! The monster jumped out of a ceiling vent! Pathfinder’s been hit!”
«Is he dead?!»
“He will be soon!”
«Dammit, Doctor! Get in there with Rabid Dog! You’re right outside! Keep Pathfinder alive and get out!»
Hae-eun urgently called in the Reserve Team from the surface. The sounds of the Doctor and Rabid Dog scrambling to move came through the comms.
Amid the chaotic exchange, Ghost calmly observed the monster before them.
It had the form of a young girl… except she was crawling on all fours before propping herself up on a wall.
Her limbs extended at impossible angles no human could manage, all the while she leisurely chewed on the piece of flesh she had just torn from Pathfinder.
Her long hair shimmered a pale, bloody pink. She wore a neat, blood-red dress, and a crimson crown floated above her head like a halo.
And her eyes were gold.
The moment their eyes met, the monster’s golden irises flashed. A crack shot through the Blind Lens glasses Ghost was wearing.
“Agh!”
“…?”
Seeing that its Evil Eye had no effect, the girl-shaped monster tilted its head. Her neck, flexible as an owl’s, bent at a grotesque angle.
Ghost gripped the hilt of her black sword, Void Trinity, and steadied her breathing. “I’m going to use my ability to end this quickly. Everyone, buy me time.”
The moment she saw her opponent, Ghost knew. A head-on fight was hopeless.
It might have been different before the Dungeon Break, but here, in territory that had already become the monster’s domain, there was no way to defeat its master.
The only way to kill it was with the Special Ability only an S-Rank Awakened could use.
If this were a normal environment, I could use it right away…
But this was enemy territory, a place undergoing Realm Erosion.
Outside the erosion zone, she could activate her ability instantly. Here, the unique nature of her power combined with the alien environment meant she needed time to activate it.
The time she needed to focus her mind in this hostile land was ten seconds.
“I just need ten seconds. Everyone, use everything you’ve got. Just hold on for ten seconds.”
“…!”
Most of the convicts were hardened veterans. Their initial shock from the ambush quickly faded as they moved to form a defensive line in front of Ghost.
Ghost’s sharp blue eyes flashed as she instantly entered a state of deep concentration.
Fwoooosh…!
“Ooh…?”
Sensing a dangerous aura emanating from Ghost, the Rose Princess’s golden eyes widened in surprise.
“Hehee?”
After observing the convicts for a moment with an amused expression, the monster gracefully landed on the ground.
THUD!
Then it charged like a beast.
Scuttling like a spider along the walls on all fours, the Rose Princess shot out a pale arm. Five slashes tore through the air, following her claws.
Her gaze was fixed on Ghost, but her attack was aimed at Shield Bearer, who stood at the very front.
She was so fast that Shield Bearer didn’t have time to raise his shield. He couldn’t react.
But Jae-hee could.
“Hrk?!”
Jae-hee threw himself between the Rose Princess and Shield Bearer, swinging his white long sword, Mountain Lord.
CLANG!
Claw and blade collided, neutralizing each other.
“Wahhh?!”
The force behind the blow was immense. Jae-hee was sent flying backward, tumbling and crashing into the subway wall with a series of sickening thuds.
The Rose Princess didn’t stop. But thanks to Jae-hee buying him a precious moment, Shield Bearer gritted his teeth and braced himself, his long shield held forward in a defensive stance.
“You shall not paaass!”
BANG!
True to his reputation as a master of the shield, Shield Bearer’s defense easily deflected the Rose Princess’s initial strike. By tilting his shield to create a slanted surface, he ensured her five slashes couldn’t penetrate.
From the second line, Hangman undid all his restraints and even threw off his issued Blind Lens glasses.
His own ability was ocular; the glasses were a hindrance.
Hangman stared at the Rose Princess, black tears streaming down his face.
“Weep…”
But when Hangman’s blackened eyes met the Rose Princess’s flashing gold ones…
“Ah.”
Hangman was defeated instantly.
Both were users of the Evil Eye, but the Rose Princess’s output was several times greater.
“Aah…!”
His mind corrupted in an instant, Hangman staggered, then let out a bizarre laugh.
“May the Princess’s path be blessed with a hundred years of grace, a thousand years of glory, and ten thousand years of flowers—!”
Hangman reached out, grabbed Shield Bearer by the shoulders, and clung to him with all his might.
“Wh-what are you doing, you crazy sonova—!”
Shield Bearer desperately tried to shake him off and reset his stance, but the Rose Princess was not so foolish as to let an opening go to waste.
The monster’s hands slashed through the air, ten slashes ripping through space. Shield Bearer’s shield barely managed to block eight of them.
The other two slipped through the opening Hangman had created.
SPLAT!
The two slashes tore off one of Shield Bearer’s arms and his neck.
“Guh…”
Without so much as a final word, Shield Bearer collapsed.
At the same moment, Firestarter charged the Rose Princess.
“My pure flame is more powerful… than any ‘miracle’ you S-Ranks can muster.”
He had only thrown off his fireproof gloves, and dazzling flames were pouring from his burning hands.
He erected a thick wall of fire.
“I’ll prove it this time…”
But Firestarter never got the chance.
“Weep, for the Princess—!”
Having detached himself from Shield Bearer, Hangman turned his black, tear-streaked eyes on Firestarter and unleashed his suicidal aura.
Stunned, Firestarter used one hand to blast the aura away with a torrent of fire, but in doing so, his wall of flames weakened.
And a weakened wall of fire was not enough to stop the Rose Princess’s charge.
FWOOSH!
The Rose Princess tore through the flames bare-handed and closed the distance in an instant.
“Goddamn convicts…” Firestarter whispered, voice hollow.
SHRRRRIP!
The Rose Princess shredded Firestarter’s entire fireproof suit. He collapsed to the floor in pieces.
“My Princess!”
Having single-handedly removed the two front-line vanguards, Hangman knelt before the Rose Princess in ecstasy.
“Behold my loyalty—”
BAM!
The Rose Princess charged forward like a freight train and slammed into him with her shoulder.
Hangman was sent flying backward, smashing into the vertical restraint pole he had been tied to just moments before.
Thanks to Hangman’s trolling, two front-line convicts had fallen in an instant.
The defensive line had collapsed.
“Are you kidding me? Frickin’…!”
TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!
Jail Mojik fired off a series of ropes, trying to bind the Rose Princess, but it didn’t even buy them a second.
The moment the ropes materialized in the air, before they could even wrap around her, the Rose Princess tore them to shreds and closed in… toward Ghost.
Toward the S-Rank convict who was preparing some means to kill her.
“Don’t you dare…”
Jae-hee charged forward again, putting himself in the Rose Princess’s path.
“…touch my master!”
He lunged at top speed, slashing with his sword.
But the Rose Princess reacted.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
She selectively parried Jae-hee’s storm of slashes, ignoring the shallow cuts and precisely blocking the deeper ones. Not only that, she launched a counterattack.
In an instant, the boy and the monster were locked in a high-speed exchange of blows, shockwaves radiating outward with every impact.
She’s fast, and she hits hard…!
Normally, Jae-hee would have given up on defense and focused entirely on evasion.
But right behind him was Ghost, deep in concentration. He had to protect her, no matter what.
I have to protect Master…
The moment Jae-hee gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve—CLANG!
The Rose Princess executed an unorthodox move, whipping her hair. The flowing pink strands instantly coalesced into a sharp spike and shot toward Jae-hee.
With his transcendent speed, Jae-hee managed to block the attack.
SHLICK!
But the Rose Princess’s hair wrapped around his long sword, binding it and stopping its movement.
Then, the Rose Princess thrust her fingers forward, bunched together like a spear.
Straight for Jae-hee’s heart.
Ah.
Caught off guard by the unconventional attack, Jae-hee couldn’t dodge in time. Death was a cold certainty.
And then…
STAB!
The Rose Princess’s fingertips pierced through a chest.
“…?!”
Not Jae-hee’s, but the chest of someone who had suddenly pushed him aside and taken his place…
Ghost’s chest.
Blood gushed from her lips.
“Ma… Master!” Jae-hee screamed, his eyes wide with shock.