Chương 160: Chapter 160
The twelve-lane road that had been well under reconstruction had long returned to a state of pandemonium. There were no longer any people to be found there.
Whirrrrrr–!
My only companion was the evacuation siren blaring overhead. I saw glimpses of the Fire Giant through the mess of abandoned cars. The giant stared at me, gaze fixed directly on me. The monster, a sizable lump of flame assuming the form of a person, was grinning.
'Even though it's this far away.'
I was standing at the top of a sloped road, and the Fire Giant was waaaay down there. Despite being extremely far away, I could still feel that the energetically burning flames were smiling.
'How chilling.'
The fire ki inside me reacted even more fiercely. To be more exact, it was jumping around in agitation upon meeting fire ki of a higher grade.
'It's not coming any closer.'
Its gaze was on me, but it didn't approach. No, it couldn't approach.
[The Guardian Tower is manifesting the 'Power of Guarding'.]
[The Guardian Tower has identified an enemy.]
I, the Guardian Tower Master, heard the notices.
[The 'Power of Guarding' does not permit the enemy's entry.]
The Guardian Tower Tintin was here. If I fought the Fire Giant head-on, I would lose ten times out of ten, but here, there was a monument set to protect me and this field.
'I'm going.'
I began to walk.
My solitary footsteps rang loudly in my ears.
Whirrrrrr–!
My footsteps continued to beat to the rhythm of the siren. And joining the score was the thump, thump of my racing heart.
The warning broadcast continued to blare.
–All residents, please evacuate.
–Once again, all residents, please evacuate to the nearest shelter.
The Fire Giant stared at me with a smile as I walked towards it. It raised its palm, then swung through empty air.
Whumpf–!
I didn't actually feel it, but I could feel the 'flow of fire' with Observer's Eye, along with the 'smell of fire'.
'The heat of the fire… is colliding with the Power of Guarding.'
Boom!
An explosion went off.
'An explosion only I can hear.'
The world around me right now was strangely silent, as if only the Fire Giant and I existed in this field. Only the 'fire sounds' the Fire Giant was producing and the 'movement sounds' of my body punctuated the silence.
Shock waves billowed out as the Fire Giant's attack crashed against the Power of Guarding, flaring up in the form of a red fire twister.
'This, too, isn't visible to the eye.'
When seen through the physical eye, the world was extremely peaceful and calm. But my eyes saw something else. Right now, a 'war of flow' was underway.
I continued to walk towards the Fire Giant until it was directly thirty meters ahead of me. I could now make out its features very clearly. I walked a little closer, giving me an even better view of the monster. Before me was a creature of a completely different level than the monsters I had met so far, a creature I could not hunt with only my ability no matter what tricks I used.
I could only feel one thing.
'Overwhelming… strength.'
Radiating from it was an aura that proved it certainly deserved its title of 'calamity'. If I hadn't had the Person of Fire title, I wouldn't have even been able to sense this aura.
[Your inner 'fire ki' is reacting more fiercely to the higher-grade flames.]
It felt as if my blood had become fire, and that fire was boiling up inside me.
'Fighting is dangerous.'
I couldn't just fight it head-on. We had to stack variable after variable after variable. Only then did we have a chance. I didn't want to die here. I would create my own future.
'Right up to this point.'
There were three meters between me and the Fire Giant, just barely out of reach if the giant could stretch out its fingertips.
'Up to this point… it's safe. For now.'
The Guardian Tower's authority was protecting me. The Fire Giant couldn't get any closer, at least for the time being.
"Are you the hunter that's after me?"
Groaaar–!
The Fire Giant's flames blazed up fiercely. Now that I was up close and face to face with the giant, I could tell more precisely.
'The time I've been given is seventeen minutes.'
After that, the Fire Giant would break through the Power of Guarding.
'Seventeen minutes, huh.'
Seventeen minutes could be seen as both short or long. I sat on the ground, completely defenseless.
"If you can hunt me, try it. I dare you."
Then, I closed my eyes. The Fire Giant froze, its flames burning even more red-hot, enraged that I was looking down on it. It slammed its fists down in anger on the formless wall manifested by the Power of Guarding.
Whumpf–! Whumpf–!
Craaaaaaash–!
A formless, soundless battle I could not see or hear. I sat there, focusing my mind with closed eyes.
'The others will do what they have to do.'
The giant was alone. But I wasn't. Something I could never even think of doing alone was possible together. I couldn't do it, but we could.
'And I'll do what I have to do.'
As I had always done, I would do the best I could.
'We need to stall anyway.''
I decided to focus on my situation while stalling. My 'Person of Fire' body was reacting fiercely. I had the feeling that if I could guide this tempest somehow, I would be able to gain a new kind of enlightenment. I had felt this way when I fought the Brown Bear Kim Taechun, who was slower than me, and when I uttered the half-conscious Will Incantation.
'An enlightenment of a new stage.'
It could be that I was right at the doorstep. It was possible that I might fail, but what I needed to do was focus on what I had to do now.
'I've aggroed it 100%.'
The aggro was 100% on me. What 'we' needed now was time.
Ahn Seohye was a Barrier Magician. With sufficient time and resources, she could display power far greater than similarly leveled Players. The problem was that typically, she wasn't given the time and resources she needed.
'I have to hurry.'
She moved busily, setting herself to the job of further strengthening the barrier as Hyukjin had instructed. She drew out all the mana she had, weaving her 'red threads' densely into the barrier.
So Yoohyun's voice sounded next to her. "I just have to move this car over there, right?"
Seohye nodded. The positions of the cars, the people, and even the direction of the wind were all factors that made up a 'barrier'.
[Frenzy Hunting Barrier is changing to Nemesis Doom Barrier.]
The Frenzy Hunting Barrier was used for hunting many opponents, while the Nemesis Doom Barrier was good for hunting a small number of opponents more efficiently.
That moment, she felt a refreshing energy ripple through her body. The Golden Priest Gong Jinhoon had buffed her.
'It's much easier now.'
"Seohye," Yeonseo called out, "I just have to put a hole here, yeah?"
Everyone hustled about, moving not as 'me alone' but 'us together'. That was the feeling Seohye experienced.
Some distance away, sitting alone before the Fire Giant, was Kim Hyukjin.
Seohye bit her lips.
'I want… to protect.'
Whether she wanted to protect that person, or 'us', or the first real home she'd ever had, she didn't know. She simply felt a will to protect, and the 'will' of a genius Barrier Magician became one more element of the Nemesis Doom Barrier.
[The Barrier Magician's strong will begins to imbue the Nemesis Doom Barrier.]
[The Guardian Tower recognizes the presence of 'Guardian Will'.]
[The Guardian Tower honors the 'Guardian Will' and assists the Barrier Magician.]
The best defense is a good offense. The 'will to protect' imbued the Nemesis Doom Barrier Seohye was deploying, becoming the best offensive barrier.
'This is the best I'm capable of right now.'
If the Fire Giant came closer, the barrier of red threads, the Nemesis Doom Barrier, would swallow it alive. Though whether it could truly pull it off was yet to be seen.
'I've done my best.'
It had taken about seven minutes.
'So now…'
Sweat ran down her forehead. She didn't even notice it as she walked towards Kim Hyukjin. The oppressive heat of the Fire Giant was bearing down on her, but she wasn't scared. Her desire to protect what she had now was greater than her fear of the calamity-class monster.
"I'm here."
Hyukjin hummed in response and opened his eyes.
'It's been about seven minutes.'
That left ten minutes. He had to set up the stage in that time. He believed in Seohye's barrier and the Guardian Tower's power, but those two alone were not enough to perfectly hunt a Fire Giant. No, it might actually be that they might be the ones that were hunted. He had to do everything he could.
Hyukjin glanced at Senia. The angel was streaming in a half-transparent state. Seeing as he hadn't heard any messages, he judged that she had used her Intermediate Administrator authority, and he was right. Senia deemed that Hyukjin required a great deal of concentration and put his notices on pause.
Senia was focusing on Hyukjin, and many Guardians were doing the same.
"Seohye. I know what you're capable of."
"...I did my absolute best."
"But I also know that it's not enough."
"After coming here, I can also tell that we cannot hunt that giant with my barrier alone."
Seohye's back was wet with sweat.
'Just being in front of it is making me feel so tense.'
It was a first for her. Even when she met the Evil Spirit Tycon, she didn't feel this way. Back then, 'hunting instinct' billowed up within her, but right now, she just wanted to run away.
"And so… I'm thinking that there's a possibility that I might have to return the Red Eyes to you."
"Th-The Red Eyes?"
Senia's wings fluttered. She, too, had grown a lot and realized right away that it was time to re-enable Hyukjin's notices. She informed the Guardians.
[The temporary pause on messages has been lifted. Message transmission is now possible.]
She intentionally sent the notice to Hyukjin as well.
'Not bad, Senia.'
Their teamwork had grown by leaps and bounds.
"There's a big difference in ability between you when you had the Red Eyes vs. now. You may not have noticed, but the Red Eyes amplify your killing and hunting instinct, which in turn influences the killing intent of your barriers."
"..."
"Actually, I need the Red Eyes, too." To be exact, not Hyukjin, but the Shepherd Boy. "But that means nothing if we die, right?"
I have the Red Eyes, Shepherd Boy. I know you're listening. Hyukjin said those words only in his heart. There were six minutes left. The more desperate side would take action.
"So the fact that I need them has to come second. Surviving this comes first."
There was no meaning to only stimulating the Shepherd Boy. He relayed the current situation precisely and objectively to the other Guardians as well.
"The other two Fire Giants are coming this way, too."
"...What?"
Seohye's eyes widened. One was already hard enough to deal with, but three? Senia's wings fluttered visibly. She couldn't figure out what Hyukjin's end goal was, either.
"So if we don't use the Red Eyes… if we cannot draw out all of its strength…"
Of course, he had no intention to really use the Red Eyes—he didn't know what kind of power it actually held. He was just telling the Shepherd Boy this: if you don't help me, your precious Red Eyes might disappear for good.
Seohye suddenly spoke up. "W-Wait a moment, Oppa."
She was so flustered that she inadvertently called him 'oppa'.
"What's going on?"
Hyukjin smiled inwardly. She had probably gotten a message from the Shepherd Boy. Hyukjin judged that the Guardian had sent a message to Seohye instead of him.
"I… got a message."
"A message?" he echoed, feigning ignorance. "What kind of message?"
"I've been given a favor. A marble that can allow me to use as much power as if I used the Red Eyes. It's a Barrier Magician exclusive item."
Hm? A Barrier Magician exclusive item? Was it not the Shepherd Boy?
"Which Guardian sent it?"
After some hesitation, Seohye answered, "The Shepherd Boy."
From those words, Hyukjin could see exactly why things turned out like this.
'The Shepherd Boy is desperate.'
He was extremely desperate.
'She says… she got that item from the Shepherd Boy?'
Was that item truly something the Shepherd Boy could grant? That much, Hyukjin didn't know. But there was a high chance that the Shepherd Boy borrowed it from another Guardian, one related to barriers. In any case, the Shepherd Boy currently had his stomach in knots.
He was sure of that. As a result, they scored a good favor. They could pull this off even without using the Red Eyes.
'Then next…'
There were five minutes left. In these five minutes, Hyukjin would punch open a path of survival more perfect than before.
The picture that had been fuzzy at first was steadily becoming clear, all while the 'fire ki' inside Hyukjin's chest continued to rage.
____
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