The Celestial Spirit Maiden leaped towards the Reaper. Black energy surged from her entire body, overflowing.

She flipped her body once in mid-air and then brought her heel down onto the Reaper’s wing joint.

Boom!

The moment her heel touched the wing joint, a huge explosion sound erupted, and black energy spread out in concentric circles.

Screech!

The Reaper’s scream pierced the ears. Simultaneously, dozens of long tentacles shot up into the sky from the enemy’s entire body.

The ends of the tentacles had scythe-like blades.

The Reaper’s eyes gleamed, tracking the Celestial Spirit Maiden, and accordingly, the tentacles shot towards her.

Clang!

The tentacles were incredibly fast. The Celestial Spirit Maiden, with black energy surrounding both hands, urgently parried the blades flying at her neck.

Other tentacles also flew towards the Celestial Spirit Maiden a half-beat late, but she pushed off the air once and quickly retreated.

Screech!

It was then that Setsu’s green light orb flew in. The orb rapidly approached and clung to the Reaper’s two pairs of wings. The green light orb rapidly expanded and was clasped around the Reaper’s wings like handcuffs.

Clang!

It wasn’t particularly heavy for the Reaper’s size, but it hindered its flapping. The Reaper lost lift and slowly began to fall.

Kim Songcheol, riding his board, moved in an arc. His eyes were fixed on the Reaper, and red light was already blazing in both of his hands.

“Bolt Bringer.”

The moment Kim Songcheol’s hands stretched forward, two red lights spiraled around each other, targeting the Reaper’s head.

Crash!

The Reaper was struck by the intense red light, completely defenseless.

The black down feathers covering its face scattered everywhere, and its skin began to melt.

Soon, bone was exposed, and the Bolt Bringer’s red spiral gnawed at the bone before piercing through it with a ‘crunch!’ The beam that entered its cheek must have churned its brain.

However, the Reaper merely shook its head wildly as if in pain. This was possible because it wasn’t the ‘main body’s’ head.

Still, there was a connection.

Thud!

The Reaper lost its balance, tilted, and then completely crashed into the ground.

Ultimately, they succeeded in bringing it down to the ground.

The first objective could be said to have been perfectly accomplished.

Seizing the opportunity while the Reaper was disoriented, the Celestial Spirit Maiden struck its wing joint again. It was the same spot she had stomped on earlier with her heel.

Crack!

The weakness of avian monsters is their bones.

Unable to withstand two impacts, the wing snapped.

At the same time, lightning fell from the sky.

The lightning, barely grazing the Celestial Spirit Maiden, accurately struck the broken part of the wing.

It didn’t end with just one strike.

Red lightning poured down like a sewing machine needle.

Screech!

The Reaper let out a loud cry and flapped its wings, but it only worsened the injury. The wing, barely connected by muscle fragments, couldn’t withstand the movement and detached from its body.

“Excellent!”

Setsu shouted from the sky.

The key was how many wings they could sever before entering Phase 2.

The goal was to remove at least two. Half of that could be said to have been achieved.

“Not yet!”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden, who had retreated for a moment, charged again. Kim Songcheol’s already cast mana blade sped forward, cutting through the tentacles and clearing a path.

Thanks to this, the Celestial Spirit Maiden was able to easily attack the other wing.

Boom!

The moment her fist struck the wing, a loud noise erupted. At that moment, a horseshoe-shaped green light object fell from the sky, pressing down on the Reaper’s neck and pinning it to the ground. Its neck was fixed in place.

Kim Songcheol didn’t stay idle either.

His mana blade cut through the tentacles, and red lightning continued to fall from the sky towards the Reaper.

The three hunters were moving in sync.

They knew their mission without needing to speak and achieved the best results in their assigned tasks.

Setsu’s mission to block the Reaper’s movements was relatively easy, but the combination of the Celestial Spirit Maiden and Kim Songcheol was like a complex machine working in perfect alignment.

And that was something Kim Songcheol had never experienced before.

Although there was the Hawk team, their relationship with him was more about ‘protecting and taking care of’ rather than ‘fighting together.’

One part of his mind was always focused on his teammates, making it difficult to fully concentrate on the battle.

But now, it was different.

He could entrust certain parts to the Celestial Spirit Maiden and Setsu. And he didn’t even need to worry about the parts he entrusted to them.

Crunch!

At that moment, the sound of bones breaking was heard again from behind.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden retreated, dodging the flying tentacles like a gymnast. Seizing the opportunity, Kim Songcheol’s magic tore through skin and muscle, rupturing the tissue connecting the wing to the body.

Second wing ruptured.

With a few more attacks, the third wing also fell off. Since they had become quite accustomed to the Reaper’s movements, they were able to take out the third one quickly.

It was when the Celestial Spirit Maiden retreated for a brief moment to catch her breath.

All the tentacles stiffly shot up into the sky and trembled.

The Reaper’s glistening eyes also lost their light.

Grrrrrrr…!

The Reaper let out a low, alien cry, unlike its usual ones, and slumped. Its tentacles also lost strength and dropped down.

Second phase beginning.

Kim Songcheol on the board, the Celestial Spirit Maiden on the ground, and Setsu in the sky held their breath.

Crack!

The Reaper’s back heaved once, then split open with a gruesome sound.

A black form emerged from the gap, like a pupa metamorphosing.

Covered in blood and bodily fluids.

Just as it seemed halfway out, it suddenly leaped into the air, revealing its entire body.

Screech!

It was a creature with large scythes on both hands. It looked somewhat like a monkey, but its appearance was utterly hideous.

It looked like a half-rotted monkey that had been put into a drum full of blood and bodily fluids and then pulled out.

It was about 3 meters tall.

It was smaller than he had heard. This was thanks to removing three of its wings.

“I’ll catch it first!”

Just before the creature landed on the ground.

A green orb that had flown in from somewhere suddenly expanded and completely enveloped the monster.

Inside, there was chaos.

Bang! Crash!

Grinding!

The sounds of it thrashing wildly were clearly audible even outside.

“Aargh…! It feels like it’s going to break…!”

Setsu groaned.

Whoosh!

Black Energy exploded from the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s entire body and gathered into her fist.

Kim Songcheol also prepared his magic after using Over Brain.

That guy is incredibly fast. There was a possibility of missing even after using Over Brain.

Rupture!

At some point, a green sphere exploded. Green Light Grains scattered everywhere, and a monster appeared from within.

At the same time, the Celestial Spirit Maiden sprinted with all her might.

Her speed was so great that it was comparable to a light beam.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden channeled that speed directly into her fist and launched it towards the monster.

Swish…!

Instead of a powerful explosion, an eerie sound swept through the surroundings.

A black ray of light shot out from her fist and surged towards the monster.

Crackle!

Furthermore, the Bolt Bringer, which was flying into the air, changed its trajectory as if reflecting off a wall and fell onto the monster’s crown.

The spiral of Red Light, even more intense than before, rapidly closed the distance.

The next moment, the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s attack and Kim Songcheol’s attack struck the monster.

Clang!

Crunch!

Two scythes broke from the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s attack. It had crossed its scythes to block the attack during that gap.

It had perfectly aimed for the gap as it escaped from the sphere, but its movement was too fast.

However, it couldn’t block Kim Songcheol’s attack. Instead, it managed to evade it slightly.

The Bolt Bringer, which was aiming for its head, split the Foe’s shoulder before embedding itself in the ground.

Leaving behind one arm that had been attached to its shoulder and two broken scythes, the Foe retreated at an incredible speed.

Screech…!

Black blood gushing from its shoulder.

Less than half of its scythes remaining.

It had lost more than half of its attack power almost as soon as it was born.

But the Foe did not falter.

It immediately charged towards the Celestial Spirit Maiden. It closed the distance in an instant and swung its broken scythe with all its might, but it only sliced through empty air.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden was no longer there.

This was because Kim Songcheol had already given her a suggestion with Hypnosis.

Boom!

If you fail an attack, you have to face the consequences. The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s fist accurately struck the creature’s side.

The creature, flying sideways, hit a wall created by Setsu, and was hit in the same spot again by the pursuing Celestial Spirit Maiden.

This time, the impact was amplified.

It was as if it was caught in the middle with a wall behind its back.

Gasp…!

As the Foe let out a painful groan, a powerful Bolt Bringer flew in and tore through the Foe’s knee.

The Foe tried to escape even on its one remaining leg, but chains of Magic surged from the ground, ensnaring its entire body.

And right before its eyes, the Celestial Spirit Maiden once again gathered true energy into her fist.

The moment the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s image registered in The Foe’s eyes—

Swish…!

A black Light Beam shot from her fist, piercing through The Foe’s neck.

With a fist-sized hole in its neck, The Foe trembled a few times, then went limp.

It had died.

The chains released, and the wall that had been blocking The Foe also vanished.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden thrust her hand, blade-like, towards The Foe’s limp corpse.

When her hand, which had Ruptured The Foe’s solar plexus, was pulled back out, it held a fist-sized gemstone.

“Is that it? Is that the one?”

Kim Songcheol, who had flown over on his Board, asked.

“Yes. This is it.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden flicked off the black blood clinging to the gemstone. A luminous yellow light was revealed.

If three such gemstones are collected and offered to the Altar, the Upper Gate will open.

The gemstone was the key to opening the Upper Gate.

“This is the first time I’ve earned so many Points. 550,000 Points in one go…”

It was then that Setsu flew over and quietly expressed his feelings.

Grrrgle…

A strange sound came from the Board. Vibrations were transmitted through his legs. He quickly looked down to see smoke rising from the Board.

“Huh?”

Kim Songcheol immediately cut off the Mana and got off the Board, but even more smoke Fearfully billowed out. Initially, smoke had only come from one output port on the underside of the Board, but now both sides had become smokestacks.

Pshshshsh…

And ominous sounds to boot.

“…Is it broken?”

It was clearly broken. Kim Songcheol scratched his head and tried to send Mana through it with his hand. But, as expected, there was no reaction.

Perhaps the problem was removing the controller in the first place.

Kim Myeongju’s Graduation gift, imbued with her feelings, didn’t last even a few days and passed away.

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you one. I recommend cutting ties with someone who would buy you such a cheap thing.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden said, as if she had expected it. She seemed to think it broke quickly because it was cheap.

“I told you there’s a reason… But do you have a lot of Points?”

“Not many. But didn’t I just earn some?”

“Don’t you guys have to get rid of the gates?”

“The place where I live is already a Safe Zone. It was designated… I don’t remember exactly. Several hundred years ago.”

“Wow…”

Setsu looked at him with complex yet envious eyes.

Kim Songcheol glanced at him and opened his mouth.

“Do you eat well? Have you eaten?”

“Yes. The canned goods still have a long shelf life. I eat two of them. I’m the one who gets them all.”

Setsu nodded proudly and replied,

“Really? How many people live there? In the Safe Zone.”

Kim Songcheol asked casually.

“Currently, the Safe Zone is small, so not many can enter, and 65 people are squeezed in. There are many more who want to come in, but there’s no space…”

“Is there anything you need? Like blankets or water.”

“No. We don’t lack anything. It’s just that the Safe Zone is a bit cramped.”

“Then, would you like to try some chicken?”

“Chicken? What is chicken?”

“Fried chicken.”

“Oh, fried chicken? I’ve had something similar, but I haven’t tried that.”

“It’s not there. Please move me to a Stone Slab. My board is broken.”

“Oh, yes.”

Setsu placed Kim Songcheol on the disc and flew to a nearby Stone Slab.

Since they had been in the sky the whole time, he had already scouted two Stone Slab locations.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll be right back.”

Kim Songcheol immediately returned to Earth and placed an order with his mobile phone.

It was 100 chickens from each brand.

About 30 minutes later, a squadron of motorcycles proudly gathered in front of the Central Official Position.

The delivery riders neatly placed the chickens in front of Center Kim Songcheol and then returned confidently, like riders who had completed their mission.

Kim Songcheol lifted the 100 chickens with Telekinesis and returned to the Dungeon through the Stone Slab.

“Here, take these and share them.”

Kim Songcheol laid down the 100 chickens in front of Setsu.

“Wow…”

Setsu’s eyes were already wide. Even just from the smell.

“If it’s delicious, let me know. I’ll bring more.”

Kim Songcheol said with a smile.

“Yes, I’ll definitely let you know the feedback.”

Setsu was about to create a Green Light disc underneath to take the chickens when he suddenly held out two bags to the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

“Sister, you try some too.”

“Should I?”

“What do you mean, ‘should I’? I’ll bring you some later, so don’t take the child’s.”

“Is that so?”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden nodded confidently and pushed the chicken away slightly.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden was confident everywhere she went.