Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Choi Mi-yeon thought.
Is this what the so-called omnipotence that Imanbok, the Pastor, boasted about within the church looks like?
"Evacuate! Get away!"
"Protect the Pastor!"
"Aaaagh!"
Crack!
The trees in the oasis broke with a loud snap, and the fleeing guards were threatened by the force of the desert whale.
Against a monster with such an overwhelming size like the desert whale, the feeble defense prepared by the guards was utterly useless.
"Help... help me!"
The voice of Jeong Soo-yeon, crying out in desperation, brushed past her ears.
"Huh, huff!"
What caught her attention more than anything was seeing Imanbok, desperately panting and fleeing.
‘I feel... so good.’
Indeed.
What overwhelmed Choi Mi-yeon right now was pure exhilaration.
Controlling the desert whale and crushing the insignificant toys in front of her, destroying and trampling over her enemies felt incredibly satisfying.
Her heart, filled with anger and resentment, felt as though it had burst wide open.
‘For such insignificant things...’
Lee Ah-rin, her father, me!
Crash!
The whale swung its massive tail again, striking the fleeing humans.
She deliberately avoided landing a precise hit.
That way, she could cause more pain and suffering, extending the torment for a while longer.
That much was only fitting for the revenge she sought after everything she had suffered!
But then, it happened.
Flash!
Choi Mi-yeon had no idea what had just occurred.
What she could only perceive was that suddenly, a straight line of light shot out from the center of Imanbok.
And that light attacked the desert whale.
Fortunately, the desert whale, sensing something strange, twisted its body mid-air to avoid being pierced directly by the attack, but regardless of the outcome, it was the worst possible result for Mi-yeon.
Boom!
The desert whale, struck by the unknown attack, fell to the sand, spewing white blood.
Thanks to that, Mi-yeon, who had been riding on the whale’s back, was thrown violently to the ground.
"Aaagh!"
She tried to roll with the fall, but the scorching hot sand left her skin screaming in pain.
But there was no time to complain about the pain.
- Woo...ooh!
"No, no!"
Suddenly, the desert whale, which had been tamed by Mi-yeon, regained its senses.@@@@
The desert whale, which had never been one to enjoy fighting, cried out in pain and burrowed deep into the sand.
Just as Mi-yeon tried to regain control of it, something else happened.
Kwang!
A deafening explosion seemed to tear the heavens and earth apart.
This time, Mi-yeon knew exactly what had happened.
‘You bastard! How dare you!’
Imanbok, with a shout, released a laser-like beam from his two hands!
The green beam shot out like a sword, cleaving the desert whale in two.
Mi-yeon blankly stared at the scene, which looked like some cheap CGI.
The whale, which had appeared as towering as a mountain, was killed in that one moment.
- Boss monster defeated. The dimensional rift is restored.
- The dungeon has been normalized and is now clearable.
- Dungeon escape is now possible in 00:10:00.
- The system will protect the user until the dungeon escape.
Even the dungeon clear message appeared.
It was unbelievable.
This was like witnessing one of Imanbok’s so-called miracles that he boasted about during every New Year’s event.
How? How was this happening?
The astonishing scene wasn’t only witnessed by Mi-yeon.
"I-it’s a miracle."
"Pastor!"
"As expected of the Pastor!"
"He took down a monster like that in one shot!"
The guards, who had been too busy fleeing to care about the Pastor, were now rushing toward Imanbok, cheering him on.
Jeong Soo-yeon, who had collapsed on the ground, crying, was the same.
Watching the believers, who had just witnessed an unbelievable miracle, Mi-yeon felt confused.
How did Imanbok possess the power to kill an A-rank monster in a single blow?
‘Did he use the Soul Core, like Lee Ah-rin said...? No, even so, that kind of power...’
She had gotten caught up in the exhilaration of tormenting Imanbok, thinking that gaining power would be the answer, but she had ended up failing miserably.
It was unbearable to think of the opportunity Lee Ah-rin had sacrificed her life for, which Mi-yeon had thrown away.
‘I guess I’m not meant to be a real person.’
Once again, she had turned away from reality, and ruined everything.
It wasn’t surprising.
Maybe it was better for me to die.
If I died, and Lee Ah-rin had been here, she would have succeeded in her revenge.
Yes, dying like this might be the best.
"Aagh!"
Suddenly, the pain from the kicks vanished with a short scream.
‘What’s going on?’
Mi-yeon lifted her head.
And what she saw was...
"A-a monster! It’s a monster!"
"Wait, wasn’t the system supposed to protect us until the dungeon clear?"
"We need to save the Pastor first! Aaagh, Pastor!"
A massive black leopard, with short fur and easily over 3 meters tall, stood proudly, tilting its head.
"M-Madness! What is this?!"
And in its mouth, Imanbok was dangling.
Suddenly, Imanbok was being carried through the air by the fierce beast’s jaws. He screamed.
"This crazy monster! Why isn’t anyone killing it..."
The guards hesitated, looking at the beast and unable to act.
"But..."
"If we attack the monster, the Pastor will be caught up in it!"
Since the leopard was shaking Imanbok around in its mouth, they couldn’t attack without risking the Pastor’s safety.
Mi-yeon, who was watching this sudden attack, rubbed her eyes.
For some reason, that massive black leopard seemed strangely familiar to her.
Its shiny fur and emerald-green eyes...
"No way... Is that... Butterfly?"
- Grurrr!
The black leopard, still holding Imanbok in its jaws, growled deeply.
It was a growl on a completely different level from a cat’s purr.
As Mi-yeon, frightened, instinctively turned away from it, a voice came.
"Why are you scaring innocent people?"
Grroooowl!
Like a shadow, with no warning, a girl walked into the chaos.
Her steps were so natural, it was as though she was performing a play. Everyone watching the scene froze, unable to respond.
One of the guards, who had been a spectator just moments ago, called out the girl’s name.
Of course, everyone knew her name.
She had been the most famous name in South Korea for the past few weeks.
"J-Jeong Da-on, Hunter?"
But Jeong Da-on didn’t respond to the call.
Instead, she simply nodded at the black leopard. In an instant, the leopard threw Imanbok, who had been shaking in its jaws, to the ground.
"Huff, huff!"
Imanbok, who had been thrown to the ground, tried to lift his head in surprise.
No, he tried to.
Thud!
"Aaagh!"
Jeong Da-on kicked the old man’s head as if it were a soccer ball.
The old man rolled across the desert sand, almost flying.
There was no respect for the elderly here, only a grotesque display of sacrilege.
At the same time, those who had been watching the scene gasped.
The guards, who had been distracted by the miraculous event, now gripped their weapons and glared at Jeong Da-on.
"What are you doing to the Pastor, Jeong Da-on Hunter!"
"How dare you!"
"How dare you!"
"I’m the one who dares to say that."
"You crazy bitch! What the hell is this?!"
After rolling for some time, Imanbok, clutching his head, screamed.
"Where did you come from? You have no parents!"
"Yeah, that’s right. Interesting. A shaman, huh?"
"W-What?"
"Shut up and answer my question."
Jeong Da-on’s gaze.
Her pitch-black eyes were locked on one point.
"Where did you get that?"
Without realizing it, everyone followed her gaze.
"That bracelet."
FVN