Chapter 47

At the very least, this train carrying the shield generator was now completely engulfed in Paradoxical Flame. Even the noise that should have naturally been generated from a moving train had all been burned away.

The gayageum swung rapidly through the air, but the only thing that emanated from it now was black flame, the proof that sound had been burned.

The battle continued in silence. The gayageum, which had once delivered powerful shockwaves with its cacophony, was now halved in its power within the silence.

The chant, spell, or whatever it had been that enhanced Seo Yeonju and disrupted my movements had vanished as well.

And above all else.

These bastards clearly had no experience fighting on a battlefield this quiet. It showed in the way they moved and reacted.

My spear clashed with her gayageum. Unlike before, when the two weapons wouldn’t even make contact, they now collided directly.

“...”

Seo Yeonju gritted her teeth and shouted something, but instead of sound, black fire spilled from her lips. It looked like a monster spewing flame, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Rotten as it might be, that gayageum still packed a punch, but it no longer carried that overwhelming weight that used to bear down on my spear.

They tried desperately to produce louder sounds, something strong enough to overcome the Paradoxical Flame.

But the louder they tried to be, the more viciously the black flames devoured their sound and drained their mana. That mana flowed into my body and steadily strengthened my meridians.

There was no sudden, explosive awakening. But slowly and steadily, like rocks being eroded by waves or a lake drying under a blazing sun, things began to shift.

The blue trails hovering around my body expanded, forming layered spears and canons that further restricted Seo Yeonju’s movements.

* * *

Seo Yeonju blocked the incoming spear and hastily lifted her leg to avoid the blue trail targeting her ankle.

What the hell is this bastard? Seo Yeonju screamed in her head, but no sound escaped her lips. Nothing could be heard. Even the sound of her own heartbeat was gone from this world.

Her opponent showed no signs of tiring. On the contrary, the longer the battle went on, the fiercer he became.

This was no ordinary enemy. His offense, defense, and evasion were all so sharp and precise it was almost unbelievable.

He attacked like a raging storm, scattered like a spring breeze, then struck like lightning. The more the fight dragged on, the more her movements were restricted.

She wasn’t losing in terms of magical output. In fact, she still had the advantage.

But she couldn’t escape, and as time passed, the situation grew more and more dangerous.

A swamp. A carnivorous plant. A mousetrap. Poison. There were too many fitting words to describe her current predicament.

The more she struggled, the deeper she sank. If she stayed still, she’d be devoured instantly.

The blue trails scattered in the air by his spear were getting more threatening. She had to pay attention to them, and as she did, his spear pierced through the openings she left.

She blocked another fierce thrust, only to find another lethal trail laid behind her. The battle was repeating in this pattern endlessly.

‘I see it. but-’

Even if she understood the pattern, she couldn’t escape it. The only thing left was the warning in her mind that things were getting dangerous. Seo Yeonju plucked her gayageum strings in frustration.

The gayageum coughed up only black flame instead of sound, like a person choking on phlegm.

‘He’s getting stronger.’

Little by little. So little it was almost imperceptible. But the Yoo Chan-seok standing before her now was stronger than when the fight began. His condition improved as the battle dragged on.

Seo Yeonju glanced behind her. Lee Hayoon needed to chant to use his spells...

Lee Hayoon scowled and suddenly dozens of talismans burst out from his sleeves. The very same kind used to suppress Lee Se-eun before.

No, he wasn’t given orders to use that. That was something even the commander had said not to try. Seo Yeonju shouted, but her voice reached no one.

Hundreds of talismans surrounded Yoo Chan-seok, instantly forming a seal. At the same time, Lee Hayoon’s face turned ghostly pale.

“Damn it, Lee Hayoon! The commander told you not to do that!”

“What else could I do? At least I managed to hold him down for a bit, now go grab the shield generator…?”

All of a sudden the sound came back to them. Just moments ago it had been total silence.

The black flame-coated spear pierced through the barrier made from those hundreds of talismans that had once held down even the infamous Candy Lady for nearly an hour.

It was like watching a red-hot chopstick pierce through a plastic bottle.

“Gagh…!”

Lee Hayoon trembled and coughed up thick, black blood. Through the crumbling barrier, Yoo Chan-seok’s grinning face emerged.

* * *

Of all people, you tried this kind of trick on me?

“Know who you’re dealing with.”

The seal where the spear touched melted under the Paradoxical Flame. And from that puncture, black fire spread across the entire formation, burning it all.

Once again, immense magic power poured out. Since it had been a seal strong enough to suppress even Lee Se-eun, the amount of magic it now released was enormous.

Ambient mana surged into my body, and with a cracking sound, my meridians were rapidly reinforced once more.

“Haa… hagh…”

That fake shaman was rendered completely useless the moment the seal was broken. All that was left was Seo Yeonju with her gayageum tricks.

“Took down one bastard!”

At my shout, the eyes of both the Hunters and the Descendants of Dangun turned toward us.

“Sir Lee Hayoon?”

What they saw was their leader coughing up blood like a dying patient. One of their commanders was down.

No matter how much nationalist zeal they had, it was impossible to keep morale when their leader was vomiting up fresh blood.

“Now, let’s go back to the library.”

Once again, Paradoxical Flame spread through the train, burning away all sound. Seo Yeonju clutched her ears and did something quickly.

The strategy going forward was simple. All I had to do was target Lee Hayoon, who couldn’t even stand properly.

If Seo Yeonju didn’t want to watch her ally die, she’d have no choice but to defend her. In a world without sound, Seo Yeonju and I traded blows evenly.

Now that I had absorbed the seal’s magical power, I was a little stronger, while Seo Yeonju had to defend someone else during our fight.

‘Just earlier.’

She had touched her ears. She probably made a request right before the sound disappeared. Moreover, now her movements were more hesitant than before.  

She’s going to run I see. I continued attacking, and at a key moment, I suddenly turned my attention to the fake shaman.

A small capsule fired from my gauntlet embedded itself deep into his stomach. I immediately fired a marker at the train wall.

The marker etched itself into the metal, and the anchor cable shot from the capsule connected to it.

It was a simple restraint device. If I could capture him alive, I could extract a ton of information.

‘It’s going to be hard to escape with that guy so- ’

The trembling shaman drew his ritual knife and stabbed into his own abdomen all of a sudden. His mouth opened wide, and Paradoxical Flame burst from it. The scream he let out as he carved into himself was burning.

That… that crazy bastard.

The capsule had gone deep. Trying to pull it out by force would definitely rip out some organs for sure. But the guy didn’t hesitate for a second.

Entrails spilled out through the wound. The capsule was lodged in them. Without any hesitation, he cut away the part of his intestines that held the capsule.

Seo Yeonju rushed in, scooped him up, and leapt off the train.

I muttered with a disgusted look on my face.

“Yeah, go. Just go, you stubborn maniacs.”

I had to let them go. There was no other choice. I wasn’t in a position to chase them now.

The rest of the Descendants of Dangun were still trying to destroy the shield generator, and judging by the numbers, we were outnumbered. If I chase them now, the higher the chance it was for us to fail in protecting the shield generator.  

“Let’s finish up here first.”

I’d regroup with Lee Se-eun in the Netherlands. With that decision made, I turned to deal with the remaining grunts on the train.

* * *

Lee Se-eun’s sword exploded, and an entire building vanished without a trace. Arrows poured out from the attacker who burst from the explosion, turning the ground around her into a warzone.

Hamburg had been utterly destroyed. It looked like a nuclear bomb had dropped. Craters everywhere, collapsed buildings, shattered streets. If you told someone all this was caused by just two people, they’d never believe it.

“What are you?”

Lee Se-eun drew her greatsword and questioned the man before her.

“I lead the Descendants of Dangun.”

That much she was able to guess. A fighter this strong wouldn’t be serving under anyone.

“Why not use that power for the good of humanity?”

As she spoke, Lee Se-eun quickly checked her body and gear.

Her mana was still sufficient.

Strength enhancement, acceleration, mana amplification, shock absorption, rapid healing, magic resistance…

All her gear was functioning properly. But just like her, the man in military uniform was also utilizing a wide array of equipment.

‘This isn’t good. I’m falling behind.’

That was the biggest problem. She was losing. It wasn’t a total mismatch… but the fact remained that she was being overwhelmed.

“Use that power for humanity, huh?”

The man with the bow glanced around and spoke.

“We already wiped out eighty percent of Hamburg.”

“It’s because of you.”

She hadn’t had the luxury to hold back for the sake of collateral damage. Thankfully, Hamburg had been evacuated due to the sarin gas spread by this bastard and his lackeys, so there were no civilian casualties.

With Lee Se-eun’s level of strength, she was unaffected by the gas.

“I never intended to kill you from the start.”

“What are you saying?”

The man twirled an arrow between his fingers as he continued.

“We Descendants of Dangun are proud of you. You’re living proof of the superiority of the Korean people.”

He meant to capture her alive from the start.

Lee Se-eun hurled her greatsword. It exploded with a sonic boom, creating another massive crater.

“Do you actually believe that?”

The man replied to Lee Se-eun’s question.

“That Hwanguk ruled all of Eurasia sixty thousand years ago, and that they invented submarines, printing presses, and telephones back then?”

The man chuckled.

“You’d have to be insane to believe something like that.”

“Then why…”

“Does it matter whether I believe it or not? What matters is that the people who do believe it are with me, and because of that belief, they share in my grand vision.”

He put away his bow and continued.

“Faith doesn’t need proof. You just believe. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re a scammer.”

“No, I’m a patriot who puts national interest above all else.”

He clicked his tongue and spoke again.

“Things aren’t going as planned again. Guess I’ll be going now. “

“Like hell you will…!”

Before she could finish, the man unleashed a storm of arrows and vanished. Lee Se-eun stood silently, staring at the ruined city of Hamburg.

She planted her greatsword into the ground and shut her eyes tightly.

“This is so humiliating.”

She was only alive because that bastard had never intended to kill her. There was a clear difference in their abilities.

Setting aside her shame and anger, Lee Se-eun began walking toward the Netherlands.

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