Chapter 90 - Heading Towards the End (3)
The Holy Maiden stood in front of her goddess' statue.
“Oh, my goddess. Do I really have to go?”
She kept telling herself that she was going to go. However, she kept pushing it off until several days had passed.
Moreover, it seemed her destiny was fated to flow towards him. The Immortal had asked for the Titan Guild's cooperation, and they were about to head towards the Middle East to quell a terrorist organization.
It was as if he was waving at her to come towards him. She felt an uncomfortable feeling in her heart.
“Ha-ah.”
It wasn't as if she could refuse to go. Even now she felt her goddess' statue observing her, and she felt an uncomfortable feeling inside her heart. Her goddess had been the one to guide her to Earth in the first place.
If she wanted Melody to go to the Immortal, she must have a valid reason.
Maybe he really might be the person, who might save Alphen.
“I'll go.”
When she made her decision, she thought she saw the goddess' statue smile or was she mistaken?
After the Holy Maiden made up her mind, she immediately passed on the goddess' oracle to the Titan's guild master. This caused Deacon to immediately come meet her.
“You can't.”
Titan Guild had poured so much resource into the Holy Maiden, yet she was going to leave now? How was this acceptable?
“That is what the divine message said. Moreover, I do not want to walk down this path, but I have no choice.”
“You are putting me in a tough spot.”
Deacon really was in a hopeless situation.
He hadn’t dispatched high rank Roused to her as Holy Knights in good faith. He wasn’t helping her, so she could free Alphen.
He had done all this, so the Titan guild could profit from the situation.
The miraculous blessings she casted was caught on camera, and the Titan guild had become the center of attention of the world. She had also treated many people, so the Titan guild was thankful to the church of Aria. Moreover, her prophetic ability was of big help.
They had gained three times more high rank Dungeons than before, and this caused an influx of Roused joining the Titan guild. Of course, the Roused would flock towards a guild, who was excellent at obtaining Dungeons.
Many high rank Roused defected to become Holy Knights, but the Titan guild's overall strength had risen compared to before. If he had to quantitatively measure it, their expansion caused them to become several times more larger than before.
Still, how could he be satisfied with just that?
Their profit wasn’t suppose to end there. In the future, she would be the important key in the the widespread Dungeon Breaks, and the conquest of Alphen.
It was akin to people looking for god in a hopeless situation. When the calamity of monsters overflowing happened, it was natural for people to look for a deity and an organization that will protect them.
If he had the Holy Maiden in his grasp, it would put the guild in a better position to respond to future situations.
Unfortunately, he couldn't block her path.
“I'm very thankful for all the careful considerations shown to me by the Titan guild up until now. I will depart after I leave everything I received behind.”
Deacon's expression slightly darkened at the Holy Maiden's words.
He couldn't allow it.
“I have no choice, but to send you off, since you received an oracle. However, the Holy Knights will continue to follow you, the Holy Maiden. Moreover, our guild will actively support the Holy Maiden and the Aria church.”
“Is that true?”
She, who never showed her emotions, expressed her thanks.
Deacon nodded his head as he spoke.
“Both the Aria Church and the Holy Maiden may return here at any time.”
The main church of the Aria was on Planet Alphen. The church on Aria on earth was only a temporary church.
Holy Maiden Melody knew what Deacon wanted.
"Mrs. Hamilton has received the favor of the goddess and she will be able to share the goddess'
blessings. She will be named the bishop of this church.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Holy Maiden.”
Deacon laughed
At the very least, this was the next best outcome.
He tried his best to convince the Holy Maiden to stay at the Titan Guild, but that wasn't possible. So he was satisfied with this arrangement. The Aria church will still be with the Titan guild.
Moreover, the Holy Knights supporting the Holy Maiden were all from the Titan guild.
He was satisfied with the connection the guild had with the Holy Maiden.
“So Holy Maiden is going to the Middle East? Or do you want to head towards Korea?”
The Holy Maiden Melody thought about it for a moment, but she made her decision soon.
The goddess had told her to go to him.
“I have to go to the Middle East.”
“Please get ready.”
Deacon immediately put the guild's private plane on standby.
Woojin hadn't asked for much from the Titans.
He asked for a ride to the Middle East, and he wanted them to stabilize the region after he destroyed the place.
The ride would be provided by the Titan, and the latter mission would be handled by the US army.
Deacon didn't even need to go himself.
The car with the Melody and the Holy Knights headed towards the airport.
*
Inside the Dungeon.
“Kiba. Stop.”
[As master commands!]
Kiba's valiant voice rang out in a firm manner. One couldn't tell if it had been a fight or a spar, but both Sungoo and Haesol was lying on the floor in exhaustion.
“Ooh ooh.”
“President… Help me.”
Sunggoo had a hole in his stomach, and Haesol's shoulder had been crushed. One of her legs were snapped in an awkward angle, and she wasn't able to walk. They were both barely conscious, and they lay on the the ground immobilized by the pain.
“Chet.”
Woojin injected the souls he gathered into them, so he could heal the two.
“Kuh-hook.”
The twisted bone reset itself, and it caused an enormous amount of pain. However,their bodies were being quickly healed. After a moment, their complexion returned to a somewhat normal state. They still had blank faces as if they couldn't climb out of the mental shock.
However, Sunggoo recovered faster since he had experienced this numerous of times.
“Whew. Mr. Kiba is really strong.”
“Of course. He is an orc lord.”
He used to be a chieftain in charge of a whole tribe. Even amongst the chieftains, Kiba was a great chieftain able to represent all the other chiefs. The Gray Wing Tribe's Kiba was so well known that even Trahnet's underlings recognized him.
Rank A and Rank C.
They now barely entered the 6th Circle and 4th Circle according to Alphen's ranking system. They were still very far off until they will be able to handle someone like Kiba.
“Haesol. Get ahold of yourself.”
“What? Yes. Yes, sir!”
She felt fear. She had thought she was going to die. Haesol's numbed senses tightened when Woojin yelled. The image of Woojin's expression as he looked down at them was imprinted in her mind.
“You guys will be able to clear the 5 star Dungeons. If you work hard, it might be possible for you to clear a 6 star Dungeon.”
“Heh heh. We owe all of this to hyung-nim's guidance.”
Haesol was genuinely impressed by Sunggoo's flattery. How could someone recover so fast? Sunggoo, who had experienced numerous situations like this, looked incredible to Haesol.
“Then let's go again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“…….”
Sunggoo's eyes were glinting again with defiance, but Haesol's face was struck with fear.
‘Chet. She's too far off yet.’
Of course, anyone would be afraid if they were pushed to the brink of death.
However, if one repeatedly experienced it, one could overcome it. If one didn't want to die, then one had to become stronger like Sunggoo. Haesol had to follow the same path.
Sunggo and Haesol's abilities significantly decreased the time needed to clear a Dungeon. Woojin used the remaining time to summon Death Knights like Kiba to train both of them.
There was a time difference when one was in the Dungeon, so they were able to achieve 4 times the progress.
Each Death Knigh used different weapons, and they all had their own style of fighting. The two of them faced variety of situation, and they were able to learn the feel for live battles.
“Rakto.”
Woojin summoned and introduced his Death Knights in order. The two of them hovered over the boundary of death until it was time for Woojin to leave for the Middle East. .
*
A black sedan stopped near Dageoo's Jookjun Station.
Hwarang's guild master Lee-sahngho had frantically driven his car here, and he let out a string of swear words.
“Shit. What am I doing here?”
He wasn't sure if he had been bewitched by a ghost… Even as he got off the car, he couldn't understand his own behavior. In the end, he had come here. Did he really believe in the illusion-like vision he saw?
He didn’t want to believe it, but how can he when Yunhwee's sword was right in front of him?
“So who's behind this?”
After one clears a Dungeon, it re-initializes on one's re-entry. The basic monsters were newly summoned once again. Everything before the re-initialization disappeared from the Dungeon.
Someone was going against this law.
Maybe it was a god. Maybe it was a being that could change the Dungeon's structure or approach a Dungeon when it started to form....
“Ha-ah.”
It didn't matter if he believed it or not. He was tempted by the offer, and Lee-sahngho had come down to Daegoo.
He got off the car, then he looked for the entrance of the Jookjun station where Yunhwee had died.
“Shit.”
If he thought about it, everything started to go wrong starting from here. If he didn't send Yunhwee to Daegoo to inquire about Kahng-woojin...
In front of the entrance to the subway station, there was a small statue of Kahng-woojin.
[Admiration For the Hero Who Stopped the Calamity.]
Daegoo's local government wasn’t responsible for this. The people from the neighborhood footed the cost of erecting this small statue. When Lee-sahngho saw it, he felt swear words rise up his throat.
Woojin was a hero to the locals, but he was Lee-sahngho's nemesis.
Woojin had ruined his business, killed his dongsaeng and he was the main cause why his guild was in a free-fall.
Lee-sahngho stood in front of the Dungeon entrance.
The employee from the Management Bureau stared at him oddly. There were users inside the Dungeon, so the barrier was up.
“Hey. It's dangerous over here. If you don't have an appointment, then please back off.”
Even the employees from the Management Bureau couldn't recognize him? He was the guild master of the 3 Great Guilds of Korea.
Annoyance washed over him. Anger suddenly blossomed in his chest.
“Uh uh?”
The employee guarding the Dungeon Entrance, and the security personnel standing to the side started to float up into the air at the same time. Supernatural powers were moving them, and they had no control over their body. Their startled eyes headed towards Lee-sahngho, who they guessed was the culprit.
“You don't know who I am?”
It felt as if they had been submerged within water without any protective gears, and they felt the pressure increase. The pain was making their head hurt. Their self preservation instinct twitched, and they finally figured out the identity of man in front of them.
“H...Hwarang guild master.”
Lee-sahngho released the psychokinesis imprisoning the three.
After falling to the floor, the public employee took in a deep breath. Finally, after regaining his senses, he asked a question.
“W...what business brought you here...”
“…….”
Yes. Why did he come here?
Was it for power? Was it because he didn't have strength to extract his revenge?
How funny. He might have come here after an unknown illusion had tricked him. Moreover, he wanted to believe in the word of the illusion. The whole situation made him want to laugh.
“Nothing much.”
Lee-sahngho turned his back towards them.
Even though, he was in a bad spot, how could he act like a madman? Wasn't he acting like a cultist, who lost his sense of judgement?
It happened when Lee-sahngho was about to walk away.
[Koo kook. I like you.]
The illusion appeared once again in front of him, and it caused his eyes to shake.
[If you follow me, I'll give you power.]
The illusion turned into white smoke once again. It brushed by Lee-sahngho's ear as it headed towards the Dungeon.
The illusion disappeared as if it had been absorbed by the Dungeon. Lee-sahngho rubbed his eyes.
‘What the hell?’
Was he really bewitched by a ghost?
Lee-sahngho was shaking his head when something amazing happened to the Dungeon.
Pah-paht!
A pillar of light rose out of the Dungeon, and it shot up into the sky.
“It's a Dungeon Reset!”
“Huhk. It's for real.”
This was a Dungeon located at an intersection. The various people walking by and the Roused nearby was approaching to look at the spectacle.
This incident was too timely to call it a coincidence, so Lee-sahngho's eyes fluttered.
“Hello? This is Jookjuhn Station….”
Time was of the utmost importance when a Dungeon Reset happened. From this point on, there was 30 days left to clear it. The public employee was frantically talking into the phone when the receiver exploded. He couldn't complete his duty.
“What the hell are you doing!”
The public employee didn't even need to look around his surrounding. The public employee and the guards rose into the sky, then their heads were rammed into the wall.
Puh-uh-uhk!
Accompanying a sound akin to watermelons breaking, a long trail of blood flowed down the wall, then the 3 bodies fell to the floor.
“Power.”
As if he was being pulled by a magnet, Lee-sahngho headed towards the reset Dungeon.
He didn't care what the Dungeon Energy and what rank this Dungeon was. He didn't even think about whether he could realistically clear the Dungeon as a Rank B.
“Revenge.”
Something in there was willing to give him power.
He didn't care if he became some cultist. He wanted power.
A human from earth let go his sense of judgement and he passed through the Dungeon entrance.