CH 361

‘What?! Fenrir could always talk?’ Gi-Gyu was surprised, but what shocked him the most was how he was seemingly the only one ignorant of that fact. Haures and Go Hyung-Chul had acted as if they had known it all along.

“What is happening…?” Gi-Gyu wondered out loud, but before he could figure it out, he heard and felt Fenrir leaping across the field. Every step of the wolf shook the earth like an earthquake.

Thud, thud, thud!

A monster jumped out of the barrier and crashed into Fenrir.

Kaboom!

“That’s huge,” Gi-Gyu muttered. Had someone placed an enlarging spell on the Tower’s upper floors? Or was it the opposite, and someone had put a diminution spell on them? He was in awe as he watched a monster even larger than Dark Dragon battling Fenrir. Fenrir was the size of a mountain, but its opponent was just as big.

“Kerrrk!” the monster shrieked. Gi-Gyu couldn’t identify the monster from its appearance alone. And the barrier it had jumped out of wasn’t completely gone; it had only retracted enough to let the creature out. The remaining barrier still stood strong behind the monster.

Crack!

The two beasts fought head-on. Fenrir attacked the monster with its horn, kicked its hind legs, and then tried to bite down on what was likely the monster’s neck. The scene seemed straight out of a documentary depicting a wolf’s hunting process.

Go Hyung-Chul exclaimed, “This is crazy!”

However, this couldn’t be a documentary. There were no animals as big as those two monsters on Earth. It looked like a mountain was fighting another mountain.

Fenrir seemed to be winning initially, but not long after, the monster grabbed the wolf’s neck and threw it on the ground.

“Shadow Barrier!” Go Hyung-Chul activated his skill to protect himself and those around him. The beasts were fighting far away, yet the shockwaves were powerful enough to reach Gi-Gyu and his group.

Go Hyung-Chul asked Gi-Gyu, “Are you just going to watch?”

Even if Fenrir had asked to do this alone, Gi-Gyu considered helping his wolf. Time was of the essence, after all.

‘And Fenrir is losing.’ Gi-Gyu felt that helping the wolf would be better than watching the fight from afar.

When Gi-Gyu didn’t reply, Go Hyung-Chul continued, “I understand that respecting Fenrir’s wish is important too, but…”

“That’s not why I’m standing here.” Gi-Gyu’s answer was unexpected. “So you can’t feel it either.”

“What?” Go Hyung-Chul raised his eyebrow in confusion.

Gi-Gyu explained, “Fenrir didn’t volunteer to fight this monster because it wanted to.”

“What do you mean?”

In Eden, Go Hyung-Chul was one of the best at detecting and sensing different presences. Yet it seemed that even he couldn’t detect the creature behind the barrier.

Gi-Gyu continued, “There is one more. It’s hiding its presence behind the monster, but I can tell it’s even more powerful than the monster.”

“What?”

Gi-Gyu narrowed his eyes and concentrated. “Fenrir felt it too. It is giving me a chance to deal with the stronger enemy.”

Just then, Hal’s Dark Dragon screamed, “Kwerrrrk!”

“It’s above us!” Gi-Gyu yelled and leaped. Hermes shone, using its last bit of strength to assist him.

Boom!

Something fell from the sky and crashed against Gi-Gyu.

“Barrier!” The Angela Guild players activated their barriers for protection on top of Go Hyung-Chul’s skill.

“Fuck… What the hell is that?!” Go Hyung-Chul shrieked, his voice filled with shock.

A black, muscular monster the size of a normal human had dropped down from the sky and had then unceremoniously punched Gi-Gyu in the stomach.

Boom!

***

“Why are angels in a place like this?” El couldn’t hide her shock. How could there be angels here?

“...” Lou looked at the group coldly. The terrifying magic emanating from him made the hundreds staring at him flinch.

“Hmmm…” Lou slowly retrieved his energy because he had felt the eyes of those around him change slightly. The group showed slight hostility toward Lou and El but nothing more.

Lou shrugged and announced, “Fine, I’m sorry. I felt a bloodthirsty aura, so I couldn’t help but respond with my own.”

Lou had exuded his aura to restrain whoever was responsible for the faint hostility. “I felt bloodthirst before, but I can’t feel any real killing intent from you. I guess you people mean no intentional harm to us.”

Lou had retrieved his energy, but just as he had guessed, the group before him didn’t attack them.

‘I think hostility is embedded in them,’ Lou thought. Considering where they lived, they probably couldn’t help but be hostile all the time. What was actually shocking was the fact that they never realized they were being hostile. Aggression had become a part of their lives, and they usually ignored each other’s hostility.  

Just then, someone began walking toward Lou and El. The people there watched the newcomers and moved aside to create a path for them. El was still confused about the angels’ presence, but this wasn’t the time to wonder. Lou and El watched two men with cold eyes walking toward them.

Yeon Nam-Ju had been nervous the entire time, but as the two men got closer, he stopped shaking. He even seemed a little relieved.

‘I can understand why,’ Lou thought, watching the two men.

“I didn’t expect to see you here like this,” one of the men said politely. He stood before Lou and El and asked, “Did Gi-Gyu send you?”

Lou and El remained quiet. They knew this man, and this man knew them as well.

“Yoo Suk-Woo.” Lou finally asked, “Why are you here?”

Both Lou and El stared coldly at Yoo Suk-Woo.

***

‘Where did this beast come from…?’ Gi-Gyu wondered as his fist collided with the beast’s fist.

Boom.

A small blast was the result of that collision. Like the fallout of a nuclear explosion, the resulting shockwaves swept through the area. Before long, the shockwaves had swallowed everything.

“Dammit!” Go Hyung-Chul screamed as he looked up. His barrier was the main one protecting the group. He yelled in frustration, “Why do I have to defend everyone every time?!”

Go Hyung-Chul didn’t specialize in all-out battles or even normal battles. His strength was detection and information gathering. And he was also an excellent assassin. So, he was fairly confident he could save his hide well in any kind of battle.

But since he had entered the Tower, Go Hyung-Chul hadn’t done anything notable. ‘Dammit! This is so embarrassing!’ 

After syncing with Gi-Gyu, Go Hyung-Chul had gained new powers, but he hadn’t gotten an opportunity to use them so far. Till now, he had only done one thing: barely surviving.

‘I know I’m helping, but…’ Go Hyung-Chul still felt frustrated. He had given up and endured a lot to obtain this new power. After syncing with Gi-Gyu, he had gained a new job, Shadow Lord. Although he hadn’t gotten many chances to use his new power, he had to admit that he was still alive thanks to it.

“Dammit…” Go Hyung-Chul now had a problem. Two battles were going on around them. He had barely blocked the shockwave from Gi-Gyu and the beast; now, another shockwave was coming from the fight between Fenrir and the black monster.

“Ugh!” Go Hyung-Chul groaned, feeling like someone was trying to rip his arms off. Since he was responsible for the main barrier, he had to endure the brunt of the two battles. But thankfully, what he had to handle now wasn’t as bad as what he had to handle during the fight between Ironshield and Lim Hyun-Soo. Plus, Hal could also help now. The Angela Guild players were also surprisingly powerful. Go Hyung-Chul wasn’t sure about the Angela players’ attack skills, but their defense ability was top-notch.

Go Hyung-Chul yelled at Gi-Gyu, “Hurry up and finish it! I’m begging you!”

A Death sword appeared in Gi-Gyu’s hand as if he had heard Go Hyung-Chul’s plea. It grew into a giant weapon, and he swung it over the beast’s head. Normally, such a move should have been enough to behead the enemy, but as if the black beast was made of rock, only a loud thud rang in the area.

Still, the attack was enough to knock the beast out of the sky.

“It’s falling!” Go Hyung-Chul screamed, bracing for another shockwave. It looked like Gi-Gyu had decided it was time to end this battle. Gi-Gyu shot down from the sky toward the beast. Once again, and maybe for the last time, Hermes shone.

The battle between Fenrir and the monster was seemingly coming to a close. Initially, the wolf had dominated the battle, then the monster had taken the lead, and finally, Fenrir had started dominating the battle again. Fenrir was rough, vicious, and powerful. It looked like the king of all wolves, perhaps all beasts. It mercilessly cornered the monster, and every time it swung its giant front paw, it tore away a bit of the barrier protecting the monster.

‘By the way…’ Go Hyung-Chul saw something odd as the deteriorating barrier revealed more of the monster. ‘It looks so familiar.’ 

Unfortunately, Go Hyung-Chul didn’t get much time to ponder. Both battles were almost over now. While Gi-Gyu’s Hermes shone brighter than ever, Fenrir’s horn jolted with thunderbolts.

‘Seems like both fights will end simultaneously.’ Go Hyung-Chul summoned all of his power in anticipation of the aftereffects of the battles. The others around him were doing the same because they could also feel that the end was near. It almost seemed like Gi-Gyu and Fenrir were waiting for Go Hyung-Chul and the rest to get ready.

When the barrier around them was as strong as it could be, Gi-Gyu reached the black creature and plunged his Death sword into it. At that same moment, the thunderbolt from Fenrir’s horn targeted the monster.

“Ah…” Go Hyung-Chul muttered, “Fucking bastards…”

He had thought the barrier would be strong enough, but he quickly realized how wrong he had been. He ordered, “Hold the barrier! It’s coming!”

Kaboooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

An explosion destructive enough to shatter the land and the sky occurred.

***

“Hup…” Gi-Gyu looked around.

‘Good job,’ Gi-Gyu said to Go Hyung-Chul telepathically. It seemed that everyone had survived just fine. However, apart from the ground they were currently occupying, all the ground was crumbling down, and the sky turned red.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

After making sure Go Hyung-Chul and Fenrir were okay, Gi-Gyu turned toward the black creature. “You…”

‘Perhaps I overdid it,’ Gi-Gyu admitted, but he felt he was right to use this much power. The Death sword hadn’t pierced the black creature’s head. Instead, it was stuck in the creature’s shoulder. Gi-Gyu summoned it back, and it disappeared.

“Who are you?” Gi-Gyu asked. He had gotten a little too excited and had forgotten to control his power. And it really wasn't his fault, as the black creature had revealed something unexpected: Its weapon.

“Why do you have Behemoth’s Thorn?” Gi-Gyu whispered.

The weapon the black creature wielded belonged to Oh Tae-Shik.