Chapter 81: End Cave

‘Mr. Luca…!’

I wanted to rush out and save him right away, but I knew that was exactly what those bastards were aiming for, so I couldn’t.

I checked Mr. Luca’s blood-soaked face. Thankfully, he was still breathing.

‘He’s alive. That’s a relief…’

My sigh of relief lasted only a moment.

‘You sons of bitches…’

I gritted my teeth to swallow the rage boiling up from deep inside me. Only when I tasted blood on the tip of my tongue did I calm down.

What should I do? The only thing in front of me was Mr. Luca, but in reality, that probably wasn’t the case.

Karelin might be there, or every member of that organization might be waiting.

Either way, that was an obvious trap. So blatant that only an idiot would fall for it.

But.

I took one step forward.

‘A trap? So what?’

I’d been holding back until now, worrying about what others thought.

But here, I didn’t need to. Back in the snowy mountain, when I’d briefly gone all out, even Jihyeok had been pushed back by me.

I didn’t know how many strong fighters were around Karelin. Even Glare and Vasquez, who seemed the weakest, were on par with S-Rank Hunters.

The rest could be far stronger than them.

But.

Even if all those bastards came at me at once, I was confident I wouldn’t just roll over and lose.

‘I don’t know what your goal is.’

But if you keep fucking with me, I’ll fuck you right back.

My life? You think I’d care about that after coming this far?

I’ll make you pay for doing this to the person most precious to me.

[ Ice Element — Ice Road Lv.1 ]

I reached my hand out toward Mr. Luca. What formed in the air was a blue magic circle radiating cold.

CRACK—!

A long path of ice stretched out before me, and I lightly jumped onto the created road.

SHWOOSH!

Riding on it, I slid swiftly as if on skates, reaching right in front of Mr. Luca.

“Mr. Luca…!”

As I got closer, I saw a binding spell placed around him. But that kind of restraint was useless in front of me.

[ Vacuum Element — Decomposition ]

As I stretched out my hand, a green magic circle formed for a moment, and the spell binding Mr. Luca was undone. The invisible chains suppressing him vanished, and his body started to tilt, so I quickly caught him.

The real problem would start now.

I could feel eyes on me.

“…How long are you going to keep watching? Why don’t you come out?”

I cast a gravity spell on Mr. Luca, floating him in the air, then glared at the direction where the gaze was coming from and spoke.

Then.

“…”

Slowly emerging from the cave wall was a figure in a black robe. His face was hidden, so I couldn’t see it well, but I could tell he was no ordinary bastard.

This was End Cave, an S-Rank Gate. Walking around a place like this without a care meant he was pretty crazy.

“…”

The robed figure took step after step toward me without saying a word. He just assumed a stance. From the knuckles he had on his hands, that seemed to be his weapon.

His stride widened, and he began to pick up speed.

Then, after about three steps.

—THUD! The bastard kicked off the ground and lunged first.

‘Hmph.’

He was fairly fast, but I casually reached out my hand. What formed in front of my palm was a blue magic circle.

[ Ice Element — Frost Wall Lv.7 ]

As I recalled the necessary spell, an ice wall burst up from the cave floor, which had been empty. This was the wall that had blocked an Earth Dragon’s breath without a single scratch. There was no way those knuckles could break it—

‘No, don’t get arrogant.’

I remembered getting hit by Jihyeok once because I was overconfident. So I immediately cast an additional spell with my other hand.

[ Superheat Element — Hell Fire ]

The Eternal Flame I’d used against the Snow Giant last time was specialized for prolonged battles or taking out multiple enemies. But this time, there was only one opponent.

I couldn’t drag this out. More of his comrades might show up. The total number in Karelin’s group was eleven. Excluding Jihyeok, Mateo, and Glare, that left eight. Since each one was expected to be a tough opponent, I’d end this quickly.

I thrust my palm forward. Five red magic circles formed. Hell Fire is the highest firepower flame magic I can unleash.

I could feel the scorching heat of high temperatures. This heat has no effect on the caster. But to those the caster opposes, it delivers the burning flames of hell.

I stared beyond the blaze.

The black robe. He slammed his knuckles into the ice barrier. *CRASH!* As expected, my Frost Wall, the same barrier that had blocked the Earth Dragon’s breath, completely stopped his first strike.

*CRASH! CRASH! CRUNCH!*

Just as I’d expected from someone who was no ordinary opponent, the repeated knuckle strikes slowly created cracks, then shattered it in an instant. Soon, as the cold air burst forth and the bastard revealed himself between the ice walls.

‘Eat this!’

Having waited for that moment, I immediately activated the spell. Red light flashed from the five magic circles, and I fired Hell Fire straight at him. The moment the crimson flames engulfed him in a straight line.

“…!!”

Through the robe, I saw his mouth open. He didn’t make a sound, but I was sure he was writhing in pain, caught in the blazing flames of hell.

The corner of my mouth curled up, but only for a moment.

“Crazy bastard…!”

From within the flames, the robe began to step forward.

*Thud, thud.* His stride gradually widened, and soon he kicked off the ground and charged.

‘Like a moth to a flame!’

The black robe’s body was still burning with flames. Hell Fire is a high-level Flame Series spell with considerable duration, even if not as long-lasting as Eternal Flame. Its power is a step above Eternal Flame, which is also in the same super-heat category. To endure flames that turn even S-Rank Demon Beasts and dragon scales to ash…

But.

‘No way!’

This kind of thing happened often back when I was active. The hand that had created the Frost Wall was free. I immediately stretched that hand toward the robe.

[ Extreme Ice Element — Icicle Spear ]

Five blue magic circles formed in front of my palm. And then, the moment the bastard charged right up to my nose.

*Thunk!*

Whether he’d lost his reason from being caught in the flames, or whether he’d never had any reason to begin with, I couldn’t tell, but the bastard didn’t even dodge the ice spears that shot out from the five magic circles drawn right in front of him, and was pierced straight through.

*CRACK—!*

Just like when I subdued Jihyeok, the Icicle Skewer doesn’t end there. The moment the Hell Fire, a flame that is the antithesis of ice, was extinguished, ice began to bloom from the pierced areas of the black robe. In an instant, his body became a frozen statue.

‘This is the end.’

To subdue him while he was frozen, I immediately deployed the next spell.

[ Extreme Wind Element — Aeroblast ]

Five green magic circles formed. He might die from this… but I judged that this wasn’t the time to be picky. Even if killing that robe branded me a murderer again, I wouldn’t stop.

‘If it’s to save Mr. Luca.’

I’d already made up my mind to save my benefactor. Mr. Luca, held up by gravity magic, was still unconscious. If he’d woken up, would he have stopped me? But I don’t think I would have stopped, even if Mr. Luca had woken up.

My precious people. My precious space.

I absolutely couldn’t forgive these bastards who had touched my reverse scale.

*BANG!*

A bullet of compressed wind shot forth. The Aeroblast destroyed the blooming ice in one blow and pierced straight through the black robe.

“…!”

The black robe’s body fell limply to the cave floor. He couldn’t even get up, let alone twitch a single part of his body.

But just in case, I watched for a moment.

When about ten seconds had passed like that, I was finally certain that the bastard had fallen.

I let out a sigh, *hoo*, for just a moment.

‘…Let’s see what his face looks like.’

Curiosity struck me. I wanted to see the face of the bastard who kidnapped Mr. Luca. To charge straight through Hell Fire like that — no sane person would do such a thing. Though I’d already thought he wasn’t sane from the moment he was casually wandering around End Cave.

Soon, I approached the lying bastard and carefully pulled off his robe.

‘What?’

The moment I confirmed his face, I found my mouth hanging open without meaning to.

Because the face revealed under the robe was a face I knew.

But.

‘Th-this bastard, why is he here?’

This bastard isn’t human. A Demon Beast… and an S-Rank one at that.

But the important thing is, this was a Demon Beast that had been slain years ago.

‘What the hell? What the hell is this bastard doing here…’

I rubbed my eyes and checked again.

Black Moon, Apollo.

The boss of the S-Rank Gate, Dark Moon.

The identity of the black robe was that S-Rank Demon Beast, Apollo, who had been taken down by Moonlight.

‘What is this…’

How could I ever forget that bastard’s face? It was one of the few Demon Beasts that had pushed Jihyeok and me to the brink of defeat.

Of course, back then, Jihyeok and I were just starting to make a name for ourselves, far weaker than our prime.

But the number of Demon Beasts that had pushed me that far could be counted on one hand.

At most, this Apollo and the boss of End Cave.

That’s why I’d never forgotten him, not even for a single moment. More than anything, the battle with Apollo was what sparked my desire to become stronger.

The reason was—

*Step.*

‘…!’

I was in the middle of thinking about Apollo. Footsteps sounded from behind me, and I quickly rose to my feet, turning toward the noise.

—Clap, clap.

“Impressive.”

Along with the sound of clapping, a woman’s voice tinged with admiration reached my ears.

Soon, what emerged was—

“So you’re Yoschuko Verdiol.”

A woman with long, straight black hair. She was clapping, wearing a relaxed smile as if she found this situation amusing.

“…Who are you?”

I asked her identity, but somehow, I felt like I already knew the answer without hearing it.

This woman’s identity was—

“I’m Karelin. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

Karelin.

That she was the owner of the name I’d been chasing so desperately.