Chapter 103

Chapter 103

“Everyone, stick close to your teammates!”

The moment James Hunter’s desperate shout rang out, the ground began to ‘split open.’ Without exaggeration or embellishment, the earth between us—standing close to the gate—and the hunter unit waiting in the distance started to crack apart.

And from the gap that opened up, something began to surge up from deep underground. I had no time to worry about Caliburn in my hand; I grabbed Jeong Seojin tightly and stared blankly at the scene unfolding right before my eyes.

“A dragon…?”

Head, torso, wings. The membrane covering its entire body was black, and it was rising up through the fissure in the earth. *Grrrr.* Its breath mixed with pitch-black flames. *Kugugugu.* Amid the still-unceasing tremors, its single crimson eye turned toward me.

“…Boss, hold on tight!”

“Uwaaah!”

[Master, how could you abandon me!]

I felt sorry for Caliburn, left neglected in this utterly sudden chaos, but I was far too weak a human to go back and retrieve it. Jeong Seojin, steadying me as I wobbled and couldn’t find my footing, hugged me firmly and immediately started running toward the gate.

*—Grrrrr…*

I wrapped my arms around Jeong Seojin’s neck and looked back. The black dragon’s maw opened wide enough to touch the sky. And not long after—

*—Kwooooooooh!!*

Pitch-black flames began to spew from its gaping jaws. The flames burned everything indiscriminately—the grass with its half-formed buds, the lush vegetation brimming with vitality, even the brown soil.

“First line, deploy shields! Second line, prepare to attack!”

*Kwaang!*

The creature didn’t stop moving even as it belched black fire. A massive front paw, too huge to gauge, swung toward where I and Jeong Seojin were. *Kwaang!* A heavy fist, matching its size, struck the path we’d taken again and again. I gritted my teeth against the roar that threatened to burst my eardrums and scanned my surroundings.

‘Could that be the final boss?’

But we hadn’t even crossed the ‘gate’ yet. Sure, some mid-bosses occasionally strayed outside their fields, but that wasn’t the case for the final boss. Except for a very few, ‘abnormal’ ones, the final boss always stayed in the final gate—as if there were some barrier preventing it from leaving its field.

“Second line, commence firing all at once!”

*—Grrrrr…!*

Hundreds of bullets began to fly toward the black dragon, which had missed me and Jeong Seojin several times. *Dudududu!* Like machine-gun fire, the hunters on the far side unleashed a barrage that struck the dragon’s legs, torso, wings, and head—everywhere without distinction.

But the dragon wasn’t wounded. The black dragon, apparently displeased by this petty interference, spread its wings wide, its crimson eyes flashing.

“Tch…”

At the same time, dozens of blue magic circles spread around it. As it flapped its wings once violently, the magic circles emitted a bright light. From far away, someone—probably James Hunter—shouted faintly.

“Area magic! Deploy shields!”

True to his words, hundreds, thousands of ice chunks began to fall from the blue magic circles the creature had conjured. I reflexively suppressed the scream trying to escape my lips and hugged Jeong Seojin’s neck tightly.

“Knight Sword, Gallus.”

But not a single one of the thousands of icy raindrops falling from the sky touched us. *Hwareureuk.* Unlike the black flames the dragon had spewed, a sacred blaze tinged with gold wrapped around me and Jeong Seojin.

“Open.”

*Hwaaak!* The man who had suddenly appeared beside us swung his sword, and golden mana surged violently along its path. The golden flames shielding us blocked the falling ice rain, and the golden mana following the trajectory of his strike precisely hit the dragon’s wing.

*—Grrrrrr…!!*

“Are either of you injured?”

“We’re fine.”

The ice rain the dragon had been pouring down stopped after Adam Rogers’ strike wounded its wing. The golden flames surrounding us also subsided. As the wounded dragon roared in fury, he assumed a combat stance again and spoke to us.

“It seems you two will need to head toward the gate.”

“What?! In the middle of this mess?”

“Yes. After the earthquake started and that dragon appeared, I briefly went to the gate to assess the situation, but…”

*—Grrk, grrr…!*

A yellow magic circle formed around the dragon, whose eyes were blazing red with fury. *Rumble, rumble, rumble…* The distant sound of thunder echoed from somewhere far away. The moment I realized what attack was coming next, my expression hardened.

“Lightning.”

“They say no one can enter unless they’re qualified. And they also said that until the qualified person passes the test, the dragon acting as the gatekeeper will keep rampaging.”

*—Kuuuoooooh!!*

With those words, the magic circle floating in the air began to pour down lightning all at once. *Boom, boom-boom, KWA-BOOM!* Light that seemed blinding and sounds that felt like they’d burst my eardrums exploded in succession. Adam’s golden sword split the air again. *Whoosh,* the sound of golden flames spreading and scattering embers rang out.

“As much as I’d like to go with you, Miss Yoon Seohee, someone has to protect those people for now.”

*Kwaaaang!*

The raging lightning and the strike of Adam’s sword collided. Light burst, and a roar followed. The entire surroundings flashed white. As the lightning that seemed ready to dye the whole world white clashed with magical power, I wrapped my arms tightly around Jeong Seojin’s neck.

“Jeong Seojin, let’s go!”

“…Got it.”

What I could do here right now was crystal clear. As the “qualified person,” I had to pass the test and stop that black dragon. At the same time as my shout, Jeong Seojin immediately started sprinting toward the direction of the gate.

I held tight to his neck, curled up my body, and did my best to endure the speed an S+-Rank hunter could produce. Fortunately, the time I had to hold on wasn’t very long. Before long, Jeong Seojin arrived in front of the wide-open gate.

But we faced a sudden problem. For some reason, even though the gate was wide open, we couldn’t cross over to the other side.

“Wasn’t having the qualification supposed to be enough?!”

“How should I know… Ah, maybe you need to be holding Caliburn, the one you threw away earlier?”

“Ugh! …Huh?”

Just as I was sinking into despair, agonizing over whether I’d have to crawl back into the chaos Adam Rogers and the black dragon were creating, a golden light flashed before my eyes. I reflexively opened my tightly shut eyes and stared in surprise at the golden sword that had suddenly appeared in front of me.

“Ca, Caliburn?”

[Truly a cruel and cold-hearted master you are, how could you discard me so shabbily—]

“Sorry! But I had no choice! And thank you!”

As much as I wanted to hug Caliburn and pat it right then, there was absolutely no time for that. I urgently grabbed Caliburn’s hilt and met Jeong Seojin’s eyes again. Seeming to understand the meaning in my gaze, he once again stepped through the gate.

*Swoosh!*

This time, the invisible force that had blocked our entry was gone. Instead, a massive surge of magical power instantly began to envelop me and Jeong Seojin. Was it going to attack us? My body tensed with reflexive tension, but it relaxed not long after. Because all that magical power did was teleport us, not attack or threaten.

“…A fixed-point spatial movement spell?”

*Whoosh,* the magical power that had wrapped around us scattered and vanished into the air. I gasped for breath, having unknowingly held it from too much tension, and looked around. Just moments ago, I’d been at the scene of a disaster where lightning was falling and golden flames were surging, but what now entered my view was a flower field so peaceful and serene that I could believe it was the most tranquil place in the world.

“Jeong Seojin. Can you put me down for a moment?”

“Okay. But if it’s dangerous, I’ll pick you up again.”

“Yes.”

As I got down from Jeong Seojin’s arms, I kept looking around. Beneath a sky as blue as if a sunny midday had been transplanted here, a flower field densely packed with white blossoms stretched all the way to the distant horizon. I stopped breathing for a moment, then took a deep breath. A fragrance I guessed was coming from the flower field at my feet rushed in.

And then it happened.

*—…You…who…are…*

“Huh?”

*—…You…know?*

“…Jeong Seojin, did you say something?”

“No? Nothing.”

[I didn’t hear anything either, Master.]

I was sure I’d heard a low voice, presumably a man’s. Feeling a bit uneasy, I looked down at the flowers at my feet. The unknown white blossoms were all releasing a sweet fragrance so dizzying it felt like it could melt you away.

“Hmm, just an auditory hallucination…?”

Just moments ago, I’d been hearing a roar so loud it made me worry about hearing loss, so maybe I was just having an auditory hallucination. I furrowed my brow at the lingering unease that wouldn’t go away, but I managed to convince myself with a plausible excuse. After all, now wasn’t the time to dwell on some inexplicable hallucination—it was time to think about the people outside.

“Jeong Seojin. We should search the area around here—”

“We have a distinguished guest.”