Chapter 207 – Guild Lobby Battle (1)

“Damn it! Emergency! Emergency!”

The guild erupted into chaos.

Emergency bells blared throughout the building, and armed hunters, ready for a fight, rushed out.

“Aaaah!”

A staff member in the lobby shrieked, clutching her head as a beast-soldier charged at her.

WHAM!

Just then, the beast that was about to pounce on the staff member was slammed to the floor.

“Well, look at this. Talk about bad luck. Of all the places to crash, you pick the number one guild?”

Kim Tae-yang taunted the beast.

The beast, which had been knocked down by a single blow, cracked its neck and got back up.

“So what if you get up, furball?”

“Grrrr.”

The beast, which resembled a gorilla, stood up again.

Kim Tae-yang scoffed, twirling his kukri playfully in his hand.

“Formation Three, with Seo-yeon at the center!”

Dozens of beast-soldiers were storming in. On their side were In-ho, Tae-yang, Seo-yeon, and the three foreign brothers. Only six of them in total.

A formation that looked like a giant middle finger.

It was a formation that only worked with a mobile tank.

Kim Tae-yang was no tank. But as a regenerator, he didn’t even blink at most wounds.

Above all, Kim Tae-yang’s explosive athletic ability was already considered top-class within the Hanul Guild.

“Tae-yang, open wide! Buffs incoming!”

Katrinne cast all sorts of offensive and defensive buffs on Kim Tae-yang.

“Now *this* is what I’m talking about.”

Kim Tae-yang shouted as he charged at the beast-soldier in front of him.

The beast-soldier swung its giant palm like a flyswatter.

Whoosh!

The beast-soldier flinched. Its target had disappeared.

Shlick!

The kukri Kim Tae-yang swung sliced the beast’s neck.

Of course, the beast didn’t die instantly because of its HP shield. But since it was an unexpected attack, the damage was severe.

“One more!”

Double Slash.

His newly acquired skill activated, landing another blow.

“Grrraaargh!”

The beast roared, getting carved up one-sidedly by Kim Tae-yang.

“Don’t get too far ahead! Hold your position!”

“I know, I know.”

Kim Tae-yang stepped back as if disappointed.

His movements were as if he were playing a game.

Anyone else would have called him reckless, fooling around in a life-or-death situation.

But that was Kim Tae-yang’s strength.

Even with the system providing a buffer, most people would freeze up when faced with a monster.

However, Kim Tae-yang was as relaxed as someone who had stepped into a game.

When the person on the front line performs well, it’s natural for those behind to gain confidence.

“Blondie is reckless. Vincent has seen. The early worm is eaten by the bird. The reckless blondie will die first.”

“Bullshit. You just worry about not getting your ass handed to you.”

“Blondie is stupid. Vincent is not getting hit. Vincent is tanking.”

Saying that, Vincent swung his mace at a beast.

CRACK!

A satisfying crunch echoed as the beast’s head shattered.

“You see? This is the power of us three foreign brothers—Gah!”

While speaking, Vincent was hit by a fist swung by a beast.

“Agh, that idiot.”

Kim Tae-yang sneered as he looked at Vincent.

There was no need to worry. He knew Vincent’s durability better than anyone.

Just as expected, Vincent shot back up like a roly-poly toy and swung his mace.

CRACK!

The beast’s jaw was torn off.

Vincent bared his teeth and boasted to Kim Tae-yang.

“Watch what’s in front of you, you punk!”

“Blondie is afraid. Of my youth. My power!”

“You’re bleeding, you idiot.”

Fundamentally, the three foreign brothers were accustomed to battle.

But they were outnumbered.

It would be nice if they could be killed in one hit, but this wasn’t a game.

The beasts pushed forward even while taking hits. Soon, they filled the lobby in an instant.

“Damn it, what is everyone doing!”

No matter how frequent dungeon expeditions were, there were personnel training and on standby inside the guild.

“Seo-yeon, can you use more buffs?”

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

Seo-yeon continued to draw patterns in the air, using buff and healing skills.

Kim In-ho felt a momentary sense of awe.

A normal healer would only be able to replenish shield energy. Of course, there were high-ranking healers who possessed actual healing powers.

But Seo-yeon’s power was different from theirs.

‘Is that something a human can even do?’

He hadn’t bothered to ask until now. But even at this moment, Seo-yeon was using buff skills to protect her allies, and when she had a moment to spare, she cast attack buffs. If someone was injured, she would automatically cast long-range healing.

The fact that she could heal without contact was one thing, but seeing her move so mechanically with a blank expression sent a strange chill down his spine.

‘Then again, the Director is even more of a monster.’

Kim In-ho focused on the battle again.

“Over here, it’s over here!”

Manager Kim Ah-reum of the operations team pointed to the lobby where the battle was unfolding, her voice choked with tears.

“Whoa, are you kidding me? What is this mess!”

“Aren’t those people from Team 3? Were just six of them holding off dozens?”

“Fuck, stop talking and grab your weapons!”

Finally, support had arrived.

But a few beasts broke through the front line and rushed at Seo-yeon.

Kim In-ho tried to help, but there was no need.

BOOM!

A fire spirit blocked the beast, causing an explosion.

“What is all this? Seo-yeon, are you okay?”

“Hyun-ji!”

Seo Hyun-ji, who had joined late, took her place in Team 3’s formation and summoned her spirits.

The fire spirits she summoned burned away the beasts that stubbornly got back up.

Currently, the best damage dealer in the Hanul Guild was Seo Hyun-ji.

The spirits she unleashed boasted overwhelming firepower against the monsters.

Of course, as befitting the number one guild, the other hunters were also fighting calmly and effectively.

But then, something strange happened.

“Kuaaaack!”

A mage from the Hwarang Guild let out a scream.

A beast they thought was dead had suddenly gotten up and bitten into his shoulder.

By the time the guild members managed to pull the beast-soldier off, the mage was already dead.

He wasn’t the only victim.

Beasts they thought were dead were suddenly rising and counterattacking.

Caught off guard by the unexpected attacks, they were helpless.

“Everyone, be careful!”

It was a situation where they had to be wary of even the fallen monsters.

Katrinne, who was frantically healing the injured, felt that something was strange.

‘This is strange.’

The monsters were definitely dead. But they got up again.

‘Healing Factor?’

It was an ability that forced regeneration in a desired area.

A power strong enough to make even those who had lost their lives rise again.

Katrinne didn’t like using that power. She could feel the fearful gazes of others.

The Saint Witch.

A woman possessing sacred magic.

With a mix of reverence and fear, people had once called Katrinne that.

“…!”

In that moment, Katrinne felt a murderous intent.

She saw a woman outside the lobby wearing red Justice Armor.

Thump.

A face obscured by red noise. But she could feel it clearly.

Hostility towards her, hatred.

‘Why?’

Katrinne asked herself.

She couldn’t understand it. The opponent’s animosity.

But now was not the time to worry about that.

“Hyun-ji, can you cover me?”

“Huh? Okay!”

At Katrinne’s request, Seo Hyun-ji moved close to her, preventing the beasts from approaching.

Katrinne activated her ability, forming hand seals in the air.

A pattern activated, and a magic circle was drawn.

She released the magic she had sealed within herself. Like a broken dam, her magic began to pour out.

“…Seo-yeon?”

Katrinne didn’t answer Seo Hyun-ji’s call. Right now, she had to overwrite the opponent’s Healing Factor with her own.

Centered on where she stood, magic circles began to spread out in all directions.

Healing Factor.

Katrinne’s ability was complete.

“Jang-woo. Hey, Lee Jang-woo, are you okay?”

The mage who had died stood up again.

Instead of answering his comrade, he drew a pattern in the air and fired off a spell.

From this moment on, this place became a space for the undying.

Katrinne tried not to think about it. It was a power she had used several times before.

In a losing war, she had to create a path of retreat. To save herself, she had used Healing Factor on dead soldiers, forcing them to die again.

Katrinne thought to herself.

If there was a devil, it would be her.

“This is…!”

Seo Hyun-ji, being a mage-type herself, could feel the strange current of energy now filling the area.

Katrinne lifted her head.

Her eyes reddened, but she didn’t cry.

She looked outside.

Whoosh!

The moment the Regressor’s shortsword tried to slice Siegfried’s neck, a shield of blue light unfolded, blocking her attack.

CRASH!

The Regressor’s shortsword shattered the shield. But thanks to it, she failed to cut Siegfried’s neck.

“…?”

The Regressor looked at the person who had interfered.

A handsome, idol-like man with silver hair.

He was wearing a white power suit, the symbol of the Agency’s special guards.

“Seol Ji-hoon?”

A few people recognized the suddenly appeared Seol Ji-hoon.

Because he had been a villain, Seol Ji-hoon had been exiled from the hunter world—no, he had voluntarily retired.

And now he had appeared, wearing the same special guard uniform as Lee Hyunbin.

“Hah…”

Seol Ji-hoon let out a low sigh.

He didn’t care about the reactions of others.

He was just annoyed that his Aegis had been broken.

‘It’s never been broken before.’

First Lee Hyunbin, and now someone else had broken through it. His pride was wounded.

After the Tushin Guild incident, Seol Ji-hoon had retired and done a temple stay.

Waking up early in the morning to sweep and clean the temple courtyard, eating, bowing—he had learned many things.

When the anger in his heart had somewhat subsided, Lee Hyunbin came to find him.

Before he knew it, he had fallen for his sweet talk and was now wearing this ridiculous special guard uniform.

“Let’s see if you can break this one too.”

Seol Ji-hoon summoned several Aegis shields. He then merged them all into one solid, thick shield.

In that moment, Seol Ji-hoon couldn’t believe his eyes.

The Regressor who had been in front of him had vanished.

“…!”

Seol Ji-hoon saw the shortsword that was suddenly right in front of his face.

It was an unbelievably fast speed.

CLANG!

Just as Seol Ji-hoon failed to react in time, someone parried the Regressor’s blade.

“The debt is repaid.”

Siegfried exchanged blows with the Regressor once more.

Seeing this, Seol Ji-hoon furrowed his brow.

If he hadn’t helped just now, his head would have been gone.

“One after another!”

Seol Ji-hoon threw his Aegis at the Regressor and activated his exclusive weapon, the Twin Driver.

“…”

The Regressor now had to face Siegfried’s sharp sword strikes and the solid shield of light simultaneously.

To the Regressor, Seol Ji-hoon was no match for her. The problem was Siegfried.

When she tried to attack Seol Ji-hoon, Siegfried would cleverly block her path. And when she tried to attack Siegfried, Seol Ji-hoon would pester her.

‘Annoying.’

It didn’t matter if there were three or four opponents. The problem was that Siegfried was in front of her.

‘Why isn’t he coming?’

The Regressor felt something was strange.

Even if it was Siegfried, he couldn’t stop her.

No matter how much ‘he’ trusted Siegfried, the matchup itself was the worst possible.

And yet, he didn’t come.

‘Might as well… all of them.’

A new intensity entered the Regressor’s eyes.

Siegfried quickly dodged as holy power and magic exploded around her.

KABOOM!

She was anxious.

He wasn’t coming.

“What the, are Korean villains always this awesome?”

“Korea’s a really great country. They have bulgogi, and soju too.”

The Regressor frowned.

As if Siegfried and Seol Ji-hoon weren’t enough, now Henry had shown up.

He wasn’t alone.

“Is the Korean Monster not here?”

The world’s 10th-ranked hunter, Legion Commander Danny McGuire, looked at the gate the Regressor had created with his hands in his pockets.

“Unexpectedly, it looks like I’ll be able to score some points with the Korean Monster.”

Danny McGuire took his right hand out of his pocket.

His jacket began to flutter in the current of air.

“Because I’m also confident when it comes to a battle of numbers.”

Behind him, warriors in the guise of Roman soldiers began to appear one by one.

“It’s been a while. Let’s start the hunt together, Henry.”

“Shall we, Dan?”

The French hunter, David Henry, and the Italian hunter, Danny McGuire, had known each other for a long time.

For Danny, who was trying to create his own faction in the Union, all talented individuals were on his radar.

The reason Danny McGuire had come to Korea personally to scout the “Delivery Man” was also because Henry was here.

Killing two birds with one stone.

The materialized Roman soldiers stood on the streets of Seoul and began to charge towards the monsters.

In an instant, the surroundings became a chaotic battlefield.

Watching this, the Regressor bit her lip.

‘He’s not coming.’

He still hadn’t come.

A schoolgirl in the guild lobby came into her view.

Using the same power, the same ability as her, she was beginning to analyze and dismantle her power.

“Hup, hah!”

Hanul’s Team 3 Leader, David Henry, was approaching, smashing beasts with flying kicks.

“Where are you looking?”

Swish!

Siegfried’s sharp sword strike flew at her.

She tried to evade, but a shield of light had already blocked her escape path.

‘So annoying.’

The Regressor brought down her magic-infused shortsword on the shield of light.

CRASH!

With the sound of exploding magic, the Aegis shattered once again.

Siegfried’s Balmung grazed her cheek.

Drip, drip…!

Blood pooled on her chin before dripping down.

Enemies were everywhere.

Individually, they were weaker than her.

‘Unless I kill them all.’

The Regressor’s killing intent intensified.

Until now, she had been fighting to ‘subdue’ them. That was why she had been pushed into a corner.

But if she fought with the intention to simply kill, the story would be different.

An extraordinary current of magic unfolded around the Regressor.

Siegfried saw it and shouted.

“Everyone, get back!”

The Regressor unleashed Repillia Ressod, a sword formation.

Like bold ink strokes across a wash painting, she unleashed a torrent of sword strikes in every direction.