Chapter 58

“Keh, cough… cough…!”

To be honest, the members of the merchant guild garrisoned at the mountain stronghold possessed skills so outstanding that it felt unfair to even compare them to the group of four he had encountered earlier.

In particular, the man before him, who appeared to be the leader, was practically at a level equivalent to a Level 3 Hunter. Taewoon felt that if he had faced this man before clearing the Theater of the Final Rampart, he might have lost.

“Speak clearly. You’re saying there’s no information?”

“T-that’s right… we only confirmed them entering the forest, we didn’t find their exact location! In the first place, we haven’t even begun exploring the inner depths yet!”

Since the man’s words didn’t seem like lies, Taewoon instantly pierced through his heart and tossed the man’s corpse onto the ground.

It would have been great if this meant one less worry, but unfortunately, it seemed that this wasn’t the entire force dispatched from the Goldini Merchant Guild.

In that case, rather than worrying about them any further, it seemed better to somehow determine Leo’s location one step ahead of them.

“What should we do? It’s a bit far, but should we go to the place where they said they found that strange rock?”

“It’ll take longer since we don’t have the Dire Wolf’s guard… but I suppose we have to.”

Without further hesitation, Taewoon and Yerin headed toward the deepest part of the forest, moving continuously while dealing with the Magical Beasts that kept baring their teeth at them.

During their journey, Yerin, who noticed something strange thanks to her Sensory Expansion Ability, stopped in her tracks and called out to Taewoon.

“What is it?”

“T-this, something is… something is a bit strange…”

Flustered, Yerin began to carefully scan the surroundings again with a trembling voice.

Then, as if she had gained certainty, she tilted her head.

“What on earth is this…”

“Is there a problem?”

“I’m sure of it! At first, I thought it was just my imagination… but it feels like the surrounding terrain has changed. No, it feels more like we’re circling the same spot.”

“What?”

Taewoon was taken aback by Yerin’s words, but his mind raced to process the situation.

‘Now that I hear it, it does feel strange…’

He hadn’t sensed any suspicious presence, but after hearing Yerin’s words, he did feel a slight sense of incongruity.

“Then, can you find the correct direction?”

“The direction? Uh… hold on a moment.”

Despite her confusion, Yerin took the lead and guided Taewoon as he asked.

Since trees were scattered everywhere, it was difficult to determine their current position with the naked eye. After walking for a while, Yerin shook her head, signaling her failure.

“Ugh, it’s no use. I think some kind of Magic Technique has been cast.”

If that was the case, the solution was simple. From here on, he would simply use more forceful means.

“Pierce through, Barata.”

Barata’s vines, which shot up from the ground in an instant, began to push forward relentlessly, breaking through the ancient trees.

Immediately after, Taewoon felt his senses distort for a moment, feeling as though he was losing control over the vines.

With this, he could be certain that he had been caught in some suspicious trickery.

“Then, I’ll just turn this place into a disaster.”

As Taewoon drove Barata into the ground and drew up a massive amount of Magical Power, a giant vine was created and began to soar endlessly toward the sky.

He didn’t know what trick the opponent had used, but perhaps feeling a sense of crisis for the first time, tree roots began to entangle Taewoon’s ankles, and an ominous voice, sounding filled with terror, began to strike his mind.

“Kyaah!”

“…….”

However, Taewoon paid it no mind and pushed further to grow Barata’s vines, and eventually, before long, the surrounding environment began to collapse as if warping.

A loud sound, like something shattering violently, echoed for a moment, and soon a landscape quite different from before unfolded before Taewoon and Yerin.

And in the center of it, a long-haired man in bizarre clothing was staring at the two of them, emitting a chilling Magical Power.

“You there, who are you…”

Yerin spoke to the opponent without hiding her vigilance and hostility.

Unlike the people from the merchant guild they had met before, the man radiated an ominous sensation that made her skin crawl just by facing him.

Then, a low voice spoke briefly.

The man had no intention of answering Yerin’s question directly; he simply muttered to himself with a tone of annoyance, as if he were bothered.

“What the… I wanted to handle this comfortably, but you’ve come out. I’ve used up all my beads, too. How annoying. Really.”

It was a mere grumble, completely ignoring the opponent.

However, to Taewoon, that gave a more ominous impression than any answer could.

Taking a small breath, Taewoon began to question the man in a nonchalant manner.

“Are you a member of the Goldini Merchant Guild? Those guys were wiped out a long time ago.”

“Ah, that… you can tell just by looking. Well… they were useless anyway.”

On the surface, he seemed to respond calmly, but the man’s hands were shaking slightly with excitement. Furthermore, his body remained in a state of tension, ready to spring forward at any moment.

‘He’s no ordinary fellow.’

Feeling his ominous instincts prickle, Taewoon focused his attention on the man’s actions, staring at the position of the eyes hidden behind the hair.

Then, the man burst into laughter as if something were incredibly funny, and after laughing for a while, he slowly slotted several daggers attached to his waist between his fingers.

“Puhaha, don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Now that the illusion is broken, what more trouble could I possibly cause here? Let’s not live so stingily, it’s exhausting for the heart.”

At the man’s behavior, acting familiar as if they were old friends, Taewoon frowned slightly, feeling a hint of grotesqueness.

Despite his words, the man was only thinking of seizing a single moment of vulnerability, like a hawk snatching its prey.

As if that thought were correct, the man tilted his head and spoke to Taewoon with a dissatisfied attitude.

“What a boring reaction… how tedious…”

It was as if a different person was speaking compared to a moment ago.

He had been ominous before, but this voice was incomparably more chilling. And a terrifying bloodlust instantly began to encroach upon everything around them.

He was certainly not sane.

However, although Taewoon was surprised, he was not intimidated. The disruption to his movement lasted only a fleeting moment.

Yet, strangely, Taewoon felt that in that split second, an unbridgeable gap had opened between himself and the man. It was likely a kind of instinct developed from overcoming numerous crises.

By the time he regained his composure, Taewoon had already instinctively donned the Red Wax Mask and used a Cinema Skill to move to a position slightly further away.

Immediately after, a chilling sound echoed, and a long, thin line was drawn where Taewoon had been standing just a moment ago.

Wiping away a single drop of blood flowing down his neck, Taewoon silently focused his gaze on the man.

‘…….’

A strong opponent.

Moreover, an enemy with a feeling quite different from those he had faced so far.

Seeing Taewoon’s reaction, the man began to enjoy himself, letting out a grotesque laugh as if something were amusing again.

“Impressive, dodging that. Are you someone famous? My apologies, I tend to be uninterested in such things…”

Before he could finish speaking, a loud roar echoed, and the man’s voice was abruptly cut off.

The vine of Barata, which Taewoon had summoned in advance, had ambushed the man precisely from behind.

‘Did it work?’

However, feeling an immediate sense of crisis, Taewoon used the power of The Red Man to perform another mysterious movement and located the man.

Undried blood stained his clothes, dripping down his body onto the ground.

Even though it had been a perfect evasion, he clicked his tongue at the increasing wounds, and from below, he heard Yerin’s flustered gaze and voice.

“A-are you okay? Should I help you?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just stayed out of the way? He’s stronger than he looks.”

“I thought so, right?”

Perhaps having sensed something from the exchange just now, Yerin didn’t even hesitate before running off to hide.

She seemed to have decided that staying would only be a hindrance.

“Hah, how cold, abandoning your friend like this.”

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t abandon you. Because in the end, I’m the one who will win.”

“…What nonsense.”

Was Taewoon’s experience in the Theater a matter of just a day or two? He had already predicted that a hostile individual of this level would exist.

He simply had to think that the situation he would eventually have to face had arrived now.

‘Forget everything else, this guy—how on earth is he attacking?’

He was sure he had evaded properly, but the timing of the attacks had been strangely off for a while now.

In Taewoon’s opinion, the weapons the man held so ostentatiously were merely a deception.

By planting a firm perception in the opponent’s mind, the real means of attack must exist elsewhere.

‘In that case… first, I’ll confirm the enemy’s move for sure.’

Taewoon stood still, waiting for the man to launch the same attack as before.

And the moment his sharpened senses caught something, without a second thought, he drove Barata into the ground to create a golden barrier.

【Condition 1: There must be a target to protect with a sincere heart】

【Condition 2: There must be a threat or crisis facing the target of protection】

【Condition 3: A suitable casting posture must be taken using a body part or tool】

【Condition Fulfilled】

▶【Cinema Skill: Final Rampart】

As expected, confirming that his guess was correct, Taewoon smirked and met the man’s eyes with a look of disbelief.

The man’s real weapon was not daggers, but threads. He must have used some kind of Magic Technique to stay outside of Taewoon’s perception while continuously searching for an opening.

“You were creating confusion with your erratic words while insidiously deceiving the enemy’s perception.”

“…….”

“Tell me the truth, you piece of sh*t. That whole act is just a concept, isn’t it?”

At Taewoon’s sarcastic words, the man’s expression turned cold, and he began to emit an aura filled with rage.

Immediately after, countless threads shot out from the man’s wide-spread hands, aiming for Taewoon’s life.