Chapter 186 – The Authority of Predation (Part Five)

“Squeak, squeak!”

The mouse perched on the wolf’s head hopped and squeaked.

The creature didn’t hide its delight at seeing Il-hyeon after so long. Il-hyeon chuckled and raised an eyebrow in response.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy to see it, but this was no time for greetings.

“Grrrrr…”

The large wolf bared its fangs and growled.

Not just the wolf, but his other summons also kept their distance, warily watching what was ahead. They had recognized the woman standing before them with a sword as a formidable foe they couldn’t afford to ignore.

Tsssss!

The sinister energy radiating from Hwayeon began to expand, and a black, fog-like substance started to form around her.

Il-hyeon watched it carefully, wondering if it held special properties like paralysis or vision obstruction, similar to Kim Yoo-jin’s mist, but he saw nothing unusual. It didn’t seem to be the case.

It merely exuded an ominous aura.

‘This is no joke…’

Goosebumps rose on his skin as Il-hyeon tightened his grip on his sword.

Pitch-black legs sprouted from the blackened floor, writhing as they corroded their surroundings. He began to doubt if something like this was possible with a mere illusion ability.

Considering she had nullified his future precognition, which had never failed before, and was now emitting such an extraordinary aura, there was a good chance she possessed another ability.

Moreover, when Il-hyeon had faced her before, he’d read her energy and estimated her to be around high A-rank or low S-rank. This time was completely different.

Now that she had recalled all the abilities she had implanted in others, the caliber of her energy was on another level. At a glance, she seemed to be at the very peak of the S-rank.

Realizing this would undoubtedly be a difficult fight, Il-hyeon decided to strike first.

With a light gesture from Il-hyeon, the floor on either side of Hwayeon abruptly rose and transformed, dozens of venomous snakes lunging at her.

But Hwayeon stood still, not even moving the sword in her hand.

The black tentacles that had already appeared simply moved in unison, devouring and absorbing all the snakes.

Though Il-hyeon had seen countless monsters, the movements and appearance of these unidentified legs were among the most unsettling he had ever witnessed.

However, the tentacles surrounding her had momentarily created an opening as they consumed the summoned snakes. Il-hyeon seized that chance and used his Transmutation ability.

An ability aimed at the floor beneath where Hwayeon stood.

But this time, there was no reaction.

‘What…?’

A bewildered Il-hyeon frowned.

His Transmutation ability felt as if it had hit a wall, failing to affect the target in any way.

But as he looked closely at the ground beneath her, Il-hyeon realized something.

The floor had been corroded and blackened by the suspicious mist emanating from the tentacles and her dark energy, rendering his Transmutation ability useless.

Fwoosh!

A thick leg shot out from the floor, attacking Il-hyeon.

A menacing strike aimed straight for his heart.

But the phoenix, spreading its massive wings, flared up and burned away the attack.

Exposed directly to the pitch-black, unknown energy, the phoenix’s body seemed to corrode and crumble for a moment. But a creature with the powerful ability to never die as long as Il-hyeon existed wouldn’t fall so easily.

The dying flames roared back to life, more brilliant than before, and the fire enveloping the phoenix grew even larger.

Watching the scene impassively, Hwayeon raised her arm as if grasping something.

Snap!

The sound of a thread snapping echoed in the air.

Then, the relatively intact wall behind her began to corrode rapidly, turning black.

Ssssss!

The wall crumbled, and from the corroded passageway, a monster emerged.

It was enormous, filling the wide corridor of the floor, its body covered with over a hundred eyes.

A jet-black giant of unknown origin, with grotesquely repulsive arms, legs, and a single head.

As the creature fully emerged from the passage, the chilling energy radiating from Hwayeon intensified, closing in on him as if to devour him.

He instinctively recoiled, feeling as if he were floundering in a terrible nightmare rather than reality.

Nightmare and Illusion.

These were indeed her two abilities, and a primal fear he had never experienced before pressed down on him.

It was strong enough to bypass and penetrate the mental defense ability he had absorbed.

The ability called Nightmare was one that had never been discovered before. For Il-hyeon, finding a way to counter it was bound to be difficult.

“Hoo…”

But the fear he felt soon subsided.

It was thanks to the summons surrounding him.

He shared his mind and senses with his summons, to whom such mind-invading abilities were useless, and the slight wavering and agitation vanished completely.

Kwang!

In an instant, Il-hyeon kicked off the ground and lunged at her.

The black tentacles rising from the floor simultaneously thrust forward to intercept his direct approach.

Charging into an attack of that number and speed would have been dangerous, even for him.

But the fox perched on Il-hyeon’s left shoulder flicked its tail, showing its skill.

As its eyes flashed, an intense blaze erupted around Il-hyeon, engulfing them.

And Il-hyeon added another ability to it.

A new ability gained through Predation: Amplification.

As if pouring oil on the fire the fox had created, the flames’ intensity increased explosively, incinerating all the tentacles that had reached for him.

Claaaang!

Hwayeon parried the sword Il-hyeon brought down with all his might.

Despite Il-hyeon’s repeated onslaughts, Hwayeon’s defense was as fluid as flowing water.

Then came a rather low attack aimed below her waist. The trajectory was obvious, and Hwayeon easily blocked it as well.

But in that instant, the situation changed.

With their swords locked, a sudden chill emanated from Il-hyeon’s blade, and it began to freeze with a cracking sound.

As the point of contact between the swords froze over, Hwayeon tried to pull her weapon back, but it was too late. It was firmly stuck.

Fwoosh!

The amplified flames flared up once more.

With them both immobilized, a tremendous blaze erupted beside them, and a suffocating heat washed over them.

But only his opponent was affected by the flames; Il-hyeon was completely unharmed by the heat his own summon created.

Of course, the black giant behind them didn’t just stand by and watch.

It extended its gruesome claws and charged toward Il-hyeon.

Crunch!

Its arm stopped before it could even reach the encircling flames.

Il-hyeon’s summons had intercepted it.

The wolf, charging head-on, suddenly grew as large as the giant and latched onto it, while the phoenix’s flames engulfed the monster’s head.

While the summons bought time, Hwayeon’s coat overloaded and began to shut down, letting off harsh sparks.

In response, Hwayeon hurriedly drew upon her ability.

Black shadows rose from the floor and enveloped her, shielding her from the heat.

Thwack!

The shadows didn’t stop at just protecting her.

Though weakened by the intense flames, dozens of tendrils shot out toward the equally trapped Il-hyeon.

The fiercely constricting and piercing shadows completely shattered his defensive functions, and a few thin tendrils pierced his body.

Red blood dripped to the floor.

But Il-hyeon endured it, his expression twisting in pain.

The mouse, leaping from outside through the flames, darted into the shadows enveloping Hwayeon.

“Squeak squeak!”

“Ugh?!”

Hwayeon, who had been holding her ground, let out a groan at the sharp sensation.

The mouse had somehow slipped through a gap and was biting the nape of her neck.

Its bite pierced her skin, which was as tough as iron armor, and blood trickled out along with the pain.

Setting aside how it got past the shadows, she hadn’t felt its presence at all. It was a completely unexpected variable.

Hwayeon struggled to pry the mouse off, but it was one of Il-hyeon’s most veteran summons.

In a situation where she had to focus her attention elsewhere, there was no way it would come off easily.

Crunch!

Her concentration finally broken, Hwayeon managed to rip the mouse away along with a piece of her own flesh and threw it aside. As she did, the shadows protecting her scattered.

At the same time, Il-hyeon’s outstretched arm grabbed Hwayeon’s neck.

Even that arm had been pierced by the thorn-like shadows, but he squeezed with all his might.

A few more thorns shot up and pierced Il-hyeon’s legs, while the surrounding heat continued to scorch Hwayeon.

In that moment, when neither would yield an inch.

Fwoosh!

Their forms vanished from the facility simultaneously.

***

On the rooftop of a tall building, where the wind blew fiercely.

Far from the nuclear facility that had been under attack by Eclipse, Il-hyeon and Hwayeon stood facing each other.

Hwayeon frowned, scanned her surroundings, and slowly opened her mouth.

“This place is…”

“Baek Il-ho was scheduled to arrive here shortly.”

Il-hyeon said, staunching his wounds.

He had foreseen a future where Baek Il-ho would intervene before their fight was decided.

Although the future precognition he’d used against her had gone awry, the fact that Baek Il-ho was on his way to their battleground remained unchanged.

Tsssss!

Il-hyeon used his Transmutation ability to knit his wounds together.

It was only a temporary fix, but it was enough to continue fighting.

Hwayeon’s charred skin and the wound on her neck shimmered once and returned to normal.

The internal damage likely hadn’t vanished. Il-hyeon took a calm breath and readjusted his grip on his sword.

Just a week ago, he would have been no match for her, but that was no longer the case.

“We have to end this here.”

Il-hyeon said, looking at Hwayeon.

There wasn’t much time left, and he had no intention of dragging this out any longer.

“I agree.”

With an inscrutable smile, Hwayeon began to draw up her power.