Chapter 113 – Liberation (Part Two)

“Ugh… This is insane, seriously.”

Seo Jeong-hwa muttered, her face a mask of despair.

She hadn’t been freed from brainwashing just to die so pointlessly in a place like this.

“I’ll hold her off. Go get my weapons first.”

“Wh… What?”

“My sword and coat!”

“Ah… Right!”

Startled by Il-hyeon’s sudden words, Seo Jeong-hwa reacted dazedly before the meaning registered, and she hastily turned to run.

He needed the weapon and Defensive Coat he had entrusted to them to enter the prison.

He hadn’t yet crossed swords with her, but it was clear his opponent was stronger than him. It would be difficult to win without a proper weapon.

*Thud!*

As if she had no intention of giving them time to retrieve his weapons, the woman in the white mask kicked off the ground and charged first.

At her unimaginably high speed, Il-hyeon hurriedly raised his sword to block the attack.

The heavy force behind her sword caused the ground beneath Il-hyeon’s feet to crater.

*Screeech!*

The two blades met and twisted violently against each other.

Without pulling her sword back, the woman pressed down, putting pressure on Il-hyeon.

Il-hyeon’s arms began to tremble, and the sword created from his ability started to crack with a splintering sound.

Just as he reached his limit, the surrounding steel pillars and rebars bent simultaneously and shot toward the woman.

*CRASH!*

The woman pulled back, and the steel bars slammed into the floor, shattering it loudly.

*To think it couldn’t even withstand a single proper blow…*

Il-hyeon glanced down at the cracked sword and clicked his tongue.

It was a temporary weapon, but he had focused on its durability. He hadn’t expected it to be damaged this badly from a single attack.

Il-hyeon tossed the cracked sword aside, then reshaped the floor once more to pull out another blade.

And Il-hyeon’s ability didn’t stop there.

From the writhing floor, five iron golems rose, their imposing forms swinging their fists down.

Behind Il-hyeon, two wolves with silver manes appeared, just as large pincer-wielding insects broke through the floor.

But their opponent showed no signs of being intimidated by the various summoned creatures appearing on all sides.

“Hmm…”

The woman, toying with her blade, looked around as if admiring Il-hyeon’s summons.

It wasn’t some bluff before a fight.

Il-hyeon knew he had to go all out from the very beginning.

Il-hyeon made the first move.

As his summons charged, countless spikes erupted from the floor, aiming for the woman.

Breaking through the Defensive Coat’s protective function was the priority.

However, sensing the attack in advance, she dodged every single rising spike and instead used them as footholds.

*Swoosh!*

She spun in mid-air and swung her sword with all her might.

The massive golem’s fist aimed at her, the dozens of extending spikes, the pincer bug’s head.

All were cleanly severed in a single sword strike.

The cut surfaces of the severed parts were impeccably smooth.

*Thump!*

The woman immediately leaped toward Il-hyeon.

She chose not to deal with the summons one by one.

She knew that against this type of opponent, she had to subdue the summoner himself.

Anyone without much experience fighting other Awakened would have panicked and been distracted by the summons, but the woman seemed to have an abundance of combat experience.

*Whoosh!*

The sharp sword grazed just past Il-hyeon’s chin.

To quickly create distance, Il-hyeon aimed a powerful kick at the woman, whose posture was off balance from the missed swing.

But the woman reacted with unbelievable speed.

She snatched his leg with her free arm.

In that state, she took a large step forward and used a joint lock, intending to break Il-hyeon’s leg right then and there.

But fortunately, the two silver wolves attacked from either side at almost the same moment, forcing her to release his leg to block their surging, sharp fangs.

Il-hyeon was freed with both legs intact, but a chill ran down his spine.

If his leg had been broken, he would have been as good as dead.

*I can’t just lash out recklessly…*

Il-hyeon quickly caught his breath and prepared to fight again.

The two silver wolves that had driven the woman back returned to their positions, circling Il-hyeon protectively and growling.

But in that brief moment, two golems and several insects had been struck down by unseen sword slashes.

The massive golems struck by the sword were collapsing, their chests caved in, while the remaining golems and insects continued to engage the woman.

The sharp pincers, the golem’s powerful fists, and their tough bodies were all useless against her; they were barely managing to buy time.

*Shnk!*

Another golem was perfectly split in two vertically.

And through the gap, the woman pushed forward, her gaze fixed on Il-hyeon from behind her mask as she fiercely closed the distance.

Il-hyeon took a lighter from his pocket, lit it, and threw it at the approaching woman. Just before it reached her, the lighter swelled up.

*BOOM!*

A large, fiery explosion erupted, engulfing the woman.

The force wasn’t as great as he’d expected.

Because the rain was pouring down so heavily, the resulting flames were relatively weak compared to usual.

But it was enough to stop the rampaging monster for a moment.

*T-t-tik!*

The air was filled with minuscule explosive insects.

Like tiny grains of sand scattered in the air, he had been summoning them little by little, unnoticed, while his other summons bought time.

Before the first explosion had even subsided, Il-hyeon gave the signal. They all rushed toward their target at once, triggering a second explosion.

*KABOOM!*

The massive explosion sent the woman flying backward.

Its power was incomparable to the first explosion.

Even so, the woman twisted her body in mid-air to right herself, immediately regained her balance, and landed on both feet, skidding to a stop.

“You really use all sorts of strange abilities.”

The woman said, blowing out a puff of smoke that had filled her mouth.

Even as she spoke, she caught the pincer of a large insect thrusting toward her with her bare hand and snapped it.

Il-hyeon also played to his strengths, giving her no time to rest.

But seeing her, Il-hyeon’s brow furrowed.

*She took that and she’s still fine…?*

He had delivered what he thought was a decisive blow, yet the Defensive Coat’s protective function was still active.

Of course, the coat’s own output seemed to have weakened significantly, as if it didn’t have much left.

But the previous attack should have been powerful enough to shatter the coat’s protective function entirely.

Not even the prototype coat from Aegis, which used an A-rank core and had the highest output available, could have withstood that kind of power.

But that mysterious white Defensive Coat had not only blocked it but was still functional.

He had used a considerable amount of power in one attack to summon the explosive insects, and it was not a good sign that he hadn’t achieved the expected results.

*That strange mask… and an absurdly strong white Defensive Coat. Just who are these people?*

When he first encountered her, he thought she had simply dyed her coat for style, but it was completely different from what he’d expected.

From her attire to her incomparable level as an Awakened.

He could feel she was completely different from anyone he had faced before.

He grew more and more curious about their identity and was determined to stop her here and uncover the truth.

*Thud!*

This time, it was Il-hyeon who kicked off the ground and charged at the woman.

His ordinary summons were struggling to even buy time against the monster before him. To finish this, he had to take the risk and step forward himself.

The woman in the white mask immediately thrust her sword, its formidable power concentrated on a single point as it shot toward Il-hyeon’s heart.

In that very instant, Il-hyeon quickly used his ability to gather the light from a surveillance spotlight shining in their direction.

The light coalesced between Il-hyeon and the woman, instantly taking on a human form.

*CLANG!*

The woman’s sword, surging toward Il-hyeon, collided with a spear of light that blocked its path.

Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed. With her attack blocked, the woman’s lips, the only part of her face visible beneath the white mask, twitched.

She seemed quite surprised by the appearance of a Valkyrie—not a monster, but a figure in shimmering golden armor—materializing out of thin air.

It was a different reaction from the woman, whose arrogant demeanor until now had suggested she already knew everything.

“Hah!”

The Valkyrie thrust its powerfully twisted spear, and at the same time, Il-hyeon’s sword struck at her abdomen.

The masked woman hurriedly swung her weapon to parry both attacks.

But the Valkyrie relentlessly pursued her, maintaining a suitable distance and unleashing an endless barrage of attacks with its long spear.

The Valkyrie’s spearmanship was so precise and sharp it was hard to believe it was a mere summon, and Il-hyeon also poured his sword attacks and transformation ability into the openings created as the woman was kept on the defensive.

She could no longer afford to be as composed as before.

With the other nearby summons joining the coordinated assault, the woman in the white mask finally began to show signs of being on the defensive for the first time.

*Wait…*

The woman’s sword, which he thought he had cornered, felt unusual.

He sensed something suspicious and felt a sudden, eerie chill, but he was already in the middle of a powerful thrust and wasn’t in a position to create distance.

Just as he realized his mistake, the Valkyrie grabbed the hem of his clothes and threw itself backward with him, retreating as far as possible.

*Sh-sh-sh-shk!*

The sword energy released in all directions cracked the floor, crumbled the walls, and sent bisected pillars toppling down.

Truly, everything in the vicinity was sliced apart, the area instantly devastated.

The surrounding summons were also torn to shreds, losing their forms as their summoning was canceled.

The woman in the white mask turned her head rather urgently toward Il-hyeon, confirming that he hadn’t been caught in the blast and was safe.

“Whew, I really almost killed you.”

The woman muttered, looking down at her sword.

She had just been trying to escape the situation for a moment but had misjudged her power.

“Your skills are greater than I heard. The information was wrong… no, I should say you’ve grown this much in that time.”

The woman, her face hidden by the white mask, let out a rare laugh.

“So this is the talent of an SSS-rank, I see.”