Chapter 150

‘There is no space to dodge!’

Mustering his strength in an instant, Taewoon summoned a massive amount of Barata vines and began firing them toward the incoming swords.

The vines were easily torn and destroyed by the flaming blades, but they bought Taewoon just enough time to draw upon the power of The Red Man.

【Condition Fulfilled】

【Cinema Skill: The Red Man】

Along with a sudden, explosive burst of Crimson Mist, Taewoon vanished from sight for a moment, ignoring the raining swords, and reappeared behind Kaira.

And then.

【Condition Fulfilled】

【Cinema Skill: Soul Chasing Path Destruction】

Spear Shadows of god-like speed shot out in eight directions. Having witnessed this once before, Kaira drew her sword with an indifferent gaze, but Taewoon was more aware of that fact than anyone.

Shifting his posture instantly from the third strike of Soul Chasing Path Destruction, Taewoon stepped back for a split second, adding a variation to the technique to swiftly assume a spear-throwing stance.

‘Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear Second Form, Flying Spear!’

With a terrifying sonic boom, the launched Barata collided with Kaira’s sword at the speed of a beam of light, before being re-summoned back into Taewoon’s hand.

Landing with Barata in his grip, Taewoon corrected his stance and closed in on Kaira like an arrow, unleashing a continuous barrage of attacks.

From the steps of the Flying Ring Step to the Wind-Advancing Kick that disrupted the opponent’s posture, and the Pyeon-on Divine Art that delivered shockwaves to the opponent’s equipment through powerful vibrations.

Taewoon succeeded in distracting Kaira with a fluid, seamless sequence, but Kaira reduced the number of swords—including the greatsword—and began to drive Taewoon back by linking a few of them together.

A few drops of blood splattered, and a shallow laceration was instantly carved into Taewoon’s waist.

While Taewoon was confident in his understanding of martial arts, Kaira seemed to feel no pressure at all during their exchange.

It meant she was brimming with composure in both mind and body.

“You remain unshaken. Do you still have something to rely on?”

“…….”

“I believe we need to clear a few things up. First, if you are referring to the reinforcements from the home country that Padrik called for, they will never arrive on this island.”

Taewoon frowned slightly at the unexpected words, and seeing his reaction, Kaira continued in a low voice.

“Padrik likely intended to request support through the special communication device he brought when entering the island, but I had seen through that long ago. The communication was intercepted, and the one who promised Padrik false support was none other than a subordinate of mine.”

“…You mean you played him?”

“Hmph. He wasn’t entirely useless, but since he dared to show his fangs to me, his name is merely one destined for purge. I have no qualms about cleaning up the flies of this island while I’m at it.”

He had felt an ominous sense of anxiety for a reason; it seemed Padrik’s hand had been read by Kaira long ago.

“I do not know what the deserters are plotting by gathering in the Sanctuary… but it is not something I need to concern myself with. If you truly wish to oppose me, you would be wise to use your head a bit more.”

As Kaira swung her arm, a blue-lit whip-sword emerged from the air and shot toward Taewoon’s torso.

Taewoon barely managed to block the strike, but in that moment, blood surged from his grip, and the Barata he was holding fell to the ground.

“This time, I tried to mimic your mysterious magic techniques a little. Do you like it?”

“…….”

“If you do not find a breakthrough quickly, this place will simply become your grave.”

Finally, the duration of the second Apostle Transformation ended, making it even more difficult for Taewoon to respond to Kaira’s movements.

It was a truly desperate situation.

If he used a third Apostle Transformation, he could certainly break through Kaira’s Bounded Field, but there was no guarantee his body could withstand it.

Considering the first Cycle, it wouldn’t be strange if his physical body reached its limit and he died.

‘…Damn it, this isn’t the time to worry about the aftermath.’

He had been analyzing the weaknesses of the Bounded Field with the help of Reje and Aquila for a while, but there had been no significant results.

Concluding that his only option was to take a gamble, Taewoon used the Companion of Memories special privilege to begin summoning a girl from his memories.

“Ummm… where am I…?”

“Charlotte! Can you explode a curse at maximum output? I need to break the Bounded Field in front of us.”

“Huh? A Bounded Field?”

Charlotte looked bewildered, but upon seeing Kaira, she seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. She immediately summoned the Magic Tome of the Ruins and began releasing its massive power.

Once Taewoon confirmed the activation of the curse, he immediately reverse-summoned Charlotte. The massive energy, now without a controller, surged unstabley and began creating great ripples within the Bounded Field.

“Ho… you truly handle mysterious techniques. Go ahead, do as you please.”

Against the rampaging energy, Taewoon once again summoned Theogenes through the companion privilege and activated the Final Rampart Cinema Skill together. Kaira responded by summoning a massive round-shield shaped barrier.

As seen in the ‘Who Opened It?’ Theater, it was an explosion of a curse that brought the light of death to an entire city.

It possessed power immense enough to certainly affect Kaira’s Bounded Field, and Taewoon himself felt a slight impact, sensing the magical power within his body beginning to seethe.

‘Damn it, is she still taking zero damage?’

However, regardless of Kaira, a clear gap had opened in the Bounded Field due to the attack.

Immediately receiving the location of the weakness from Aquila, Taewoon activated The Red Man skill to move without delay, used Soul Chasing Path Destruction once more, and finally succeeded in breaking through the Bounded Field.

‘But…’

In the end, he failed to secure the second Seed, which had been his original objective.

Against Kaira, who still held many hidden cards, he simply couldn’t find an opening to steal it.

‘…As expected, she isn’t chasing me.’

Since she had protected the Seed, it was clear she didn’t care whether Taewoon escaped or not.

Or perhaps, given her personality, she was intentionally letting him go to observe the situation.

To her, it felt as if everything—including the overthrow of the Empire—was nothing more than a game.

In that sense, she could be seen as similar to Biryeong during the time in the Heavenly Secret Manual Theater.

‘…….’

At a glance, it might have seemed like they were evenly matched, but having fought her directly, Taewoon could confirm that a significant gap existed between the General and himself.

Though they both held many cards, it felt as if the very scale of their power was different.

Surpassing her, who was confirmed to possess power beyond Level 7-rank, was certainly one of the core tasks for clearing this Theater.

‘First… I should join the others at the Sanctuary.’

Although the theft of the second Seed had failed, Taewoon’s group had already accounted for the possibility that things would turn out this way.

Regardless, he had succeeded in achieving most of his objectives and stockpiling strength, and he had already secured the first Seed, the Fox.

It was far too early to speak of defeat.

“I see… it wasn’t an easy task to begin with, so it can’t be helped. It’s a miracle you even made it out.”

Upon joining the Sanctuary, Taewoon informed the group stationed there about Kaira’s intrusion and Padrik’s failure, briefly explaining the events.

As the General—whom they had only heard of—had made her move, a tense atmosphere inevitably settled over the group. Meanwhile, the prevailing opinion was that Padrik’s failure was not something to be overlooked easily.

“Tsk, incompetent fool. He only plots sickening things and is never of any help.”

“If Padrik failed, it will be difficult to hope for further support from the Empire’s forces. Wouldn’t it be impossible to oppose the General’s forces with only his subordinates?”

As Dominico said, no matter how high Padrik’s position on this island was, compared to the elites under Kaira, his situation was like a candle in the wind.

Specifically, there was no one under Padrik capable of matching Kaira’s own power or her Special-Class Guardians.

Ultimately, this meant that although they weren’t allies, Taewoon’s group had no choice but to fill that void.

“Hmph, I disagree. Failing to bring reinforcements and the karma he’s accumulated are his own personal failures. Why should we bear the loss alongside someone we don’t even like?”

“You’re just complaining for the sake of it. Is there actually any other way?”

“I alone am enough for the Empire’s elites. Even against the General, we just need everyone here to join forces. If you lack confidence, it would be wise to tuck your tail and leave now.”

Cherish, coming from a high-ranking noble family, frowned as if she disliked the current situation, but after Yerin pulled her aside and spent time coaxing and soothing her, she reluctantly agreed to the alliance with Padrik.

It was a moment that showed how much trust Yerin had earned from the group at the Sanctuary and how hard she had worked to coordinate them.

“…Now that that woman has quieted down, let’s get to the point. So, we have to stop the General’s plan to use that ‘Seed,’ right? Since we couldn’t steal the Seed, I think it’s time to think of the next move.”

At the words of the hunter Bollak, everyone in the group nodded solemnly.

Then, under the gaze of Taewoon and Yerin, who were recalling memories of the first Cycle, Seoyoon—who had spent the longest time with the General—began to speak.