NOVEL NEXT Chapter 195
The familiar loud explosions and ear-piercing screams echoed from all directions.
The defense system that Yoram had boasted about was of no help now.
In the midst of that chaos, Lee Hyun was hastily running towards the main building.
He seemed to be diving even deeper into something, trying to forget what just happened.
“Haah, haah…!”
A vast garden unfolded behind the main building, with the Century Tree rising in the middle.
To someone who had asked him to come under it by midnight.
“Get a grip! Why the sudden chaos…!”
“Ugh…!”
Even while keeping his body in constant motion, enhanced senses constantly brought him information about his surroundings.
A riot had started without any warning. He couldn’t discern the purpose or the instigator at this point.
He saw the mob unleashing magic indiscriminately on people and objects alike.
From the young to the old. The only commonality was that they were all male; there wasn’t even a trace of dark magic or the scent of beasts.
What was certain, however, was that they seemed to be frantically escalating the turmoil.
None of it was normal.
Their targets, just moments ago, seemed to be the festival-goers laughing together.
The nauseating smell of blood brushed against his nose. A dense fog of death loomed all around him.
Yet, amidst all that, he didn’t stop moving.
Right now, there was something that had to take precedence above all else.
That was to check on Yeon Minha’s safety.
“Blade… this is bad.”
He instinctively placed his hand on his waist and muttered a curse under his breath. The empty weight made his heart race even faster. He regretted the rules of Yoram that usually forbade him from carrying personal weapons today.
But it was too late to visit his personal armory now; every second counted.
In the end, all he could do was keep running forward.
Before he knew it, he reached the main building. The place that was always filled with the lively chatter of students had long since turned into a battlefield.
Lee Hyun stopped abruptly in front of the entrance, having noticed something.
In the blazing flames, a hulking man was lifting someone by the neck.
– Ka-boom!
“Gack…!”
The figure hurled himself against the wall after being thrown. This was a member of the security squad stationed at Yoram. The mere fact that the attacker had easily subdued such a person hinted at their skill level.
Soon after, the bulky man sensed Lee Hyun’s presence and approached, revealing himself.
“What’s this, a wee lad this time?”
His appearance was far from someone who would commit such heinous acts. That goofy, stretched smile with squinty eyes was downright bizarre.
The man’s flamboyant uniform further confused Lee Hyun. The Kingdom’s elite guard. A special unit composed of 100 powerful wizards. Some had been dispatched during this social gathering to protect Yoram.
Seeing such a member participating in this chaos was certainly disorienting.
– Dong! Dong! Dong…
Then, just as he blocked Lee Hyun’s path.
Lee Hyun could hear the twelve chimes from the clock tower.
“Move.”
Anxious, Lee Hyun glared at the man and muttered.
The man scratched his head apologetically.
“Sorry, kid. I’ve got my own job to do.”
But he showed no intention of stepping aside.
With a feigned troubled smile, he swung a massive Blade around as though it was a pair of chopsticks.
“Urgh…!”
– Bang! Crash!
The air-splitting sound was deafening. The stairs where Lee Hyun was standing and the surrounding garden trees were instantly reduced to splinters.
Lee Hyun swiftly ducked into his range, inviting close combat.
– Crash!
However, the man simply used his body-sized blade as a shield, effortlessly deflecting his attack.
Lee Hyun performed a backflip to evade and gritted his teeth.
The attacker pressed without a moment’s pause. The heavy blade felt like it could crush him at any moment.
Although it seemed randomly swung, there was no way to find a gap in the man’s stance.
He was surely at least a skilled fighter, if not on the level of Sa Jaehyuk. In a situation without a weapon, there was absolutely no way to fight back.
Avoiding the relentless attacks, Lee Hyun began to contemplate something. He landed and lowered his posture as if preparing to charge.
And in the next moment, he shot forward and threw a punch.
“Hahaha! You know that won’t work, right? That little bit won’t… huh?”
The man, who had been laughing heartily, suddenly wore a perplexed expression. The enhanced particles he had wrapped around himself felt nonexistent. They seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving him greatly puzzled.
Before the man realized what had happened.
Lee Hyun’s fist, now solidified with particles, landed squarely in his unguarded stomach.
– Pffft!
“Ugh!”
The shock made the man’s insides twist, and he groaned in pain.
Seizing that moment, Lee Hyun launched a barrage to his chin.
– Thud!
The man’s eyes lost focus, and it seemed he could no longer hold on as his massive body crumpled.
Lee Hyun sprang off the collapsing body as if it were a hill.
Just as he was about to grab the man’s blade and stab it into his neck.
“I found the big guy! Over here…!”
“Prepare to subdue him right now! Form a containment line… huh?”
As voices echoed and several presences quickly surrounded him.
“What the heck? Is he taking down the big guy without a weapon?”
“Huh? Come to think of it, that mask…”
The ones who approached with skilled formations bore bewildered expressions. They were all wizards dressed in the same elite guard uniforms as the fallen man.
From their exchanged dialogues, it seemed they intended to confront the hulking man.
“Stop, kid.”
A slender woman stepped forward from among the encircled wizards, blocking Lee Hyun’s attempt to kill the man.
“…Are you guys in cahoots with him?”
Lee Hyun glared at her while aiming the Blade, showing signs of wariness.
“Well, if you had to put it that way, we are indeed in some sort of alliance… no, no!”
Seeing Lee Hyun’s finger tighten on the trigger, the woman hastily changed her tone.
“We came because we received reports about him. We’re still trying to figure out the situation.”
She cast a glance at the fallen man.
“Why did a perfectly normal guy suddenly go berserk…”
With that, she spoke soothingly to Lee Hyun, who remained on guard.
“I’m the fourth-ranked Heukryeon of the elite guard. I’m in command of Yoram’s dispatched unit. You’ve heard my codename, right?”
She shrugged her shoulders, as if to boast.
“Well, you wouldn’t have missed it. It was prominently featured in this morning’s newspaper. Always topping the elite guard popularity polls…”
“I don’t know. First time hearing about it.”
“Huh?”
Her baffled expression was evident after his blunt reply. Laughter erupted among those surrounding them.
Embarrassed, she cleared her throat a couple of times and spoke again.
“Hmm, anyway, if an outsider meddles with a wizard from the elite guard, it could lead to trouble.”
“…”
“There will definitely be an interrogation. I promise on my name. So can’t we leave things to us from here?”
After hesitating, Lee Hyun gradually lowered the tip of the Blade. Seeing this, the woman let out a sigh of relief.
“Thanks, kid.”
Just as she approached the masked man with a more friendly demeanor.
“And I noticed your skills were impressive. You’re the second of Heukryeon, right? The one everyone talks about. Just by looking at the mask on your face, I can tell… wait!”
The masked man ignored her, turning away completely. In the blink of an eye, he vanished amidst the chaos of the entrance.
“Hey! Get over here and cuff him! What about the guards?”
“They’re alive. Just subdued, it seems.”
“Good to hear. Transport them to the clinic, and we’ll move to the next point…”
Among the bustling crowd thrummed with urgency, Heuk-myo the wizard muttered while gazing at where the man had just disappeared.
“…Did I just get ignored?”
*
“Haah, haah…”
After running nonstop, Lee Hyun finally reached the threshold of the garden.
Just as he was about to enter the forest, he noticed something and abruptly focused.
The ground was strewn with unfamiliar terrain features. Upon closer inspection, there was a body lying motionless.
Patches of blood and broken branches clearly indicated the aftermath of a battle.
“No…”
Lee Hyun mumbled, staggering. He dashed into the garden without hesitation, a swirl of thoughts racing through his mind.
The deeper he ventured in, the brighter the sky seemed to glow. Ethereal blue luminescent leaves glimmered all around him.
A vast garden spread out before him. At its center stood a massive tree that spread its branches in all directions.
Finally, he arrived at the gigantic trunk of the Century Tree.
Facing the empty space before him, Lee Hyun’s mind went blank.
He could find no trace of anyone around.
“No… no…”
He cradled his head in despair. Trembling, he started moving again, desperately searching for someone.
“Senpai! Where are you! Minha Senpai!”
He called out in a hoarse voice, but all that returned was an echo.
“Where are you? Answer me!! Yeon Minha!”
Even as he screamed to the point where he could taste blood, there was no response. Searching among the thorns on the roadside, partially bloodied, there were no signs of Minha anywhere.
“Oh no…”
He had lost all strength and was muttering in a daze when suddenly, his vision brightened, and he unknowingly looked ahead.
“Uh…?”
A swarm of colorful glowing butterflies fluttered around. Their translucent wings made it clear they were beyond earthly existence.
The unexpected appearance of spirits. Distracted, Lee Hyun stared mesmerized at the night sky of fluttering butterflies.
Just as he was about to grasp something.
– Pof!
A soft, squishy sensation dug into his back. Two thin, slender arms reached out from behind, wrapping around him.
“…You’re late.”
And the next thing he heard was a blunt yet sulky voice.