Chapter 92

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Bang—!

With the first explosion, the corridor—walls, ceiling, and floor—were torn to shreds, and various fragments flew everywhere.

At the same time, the gray defensive barrier the black mage had deployed disappeared, and the leading 7-8 people were flung away as if hit by a truck. The blood they spewed out spread hazily, covering the narrow corridor in a thick mist of blood.

“Choke!”

“Gaaaah—”

But that wasn’t the end.

After a menacing pump sound, another explosion rang out, but most didn’t hear it properly. This was because the ringing in their ears from the previous gunfire had filled their heads.

However, what was happening right before their eyes was clear. Four people who hadn’t managed to take cover in the room in time were swept away by the follow-up shots and fell.

“Cough! Cough!”

Seo Eun-ha took a step back, coughing. The corridor was filled with a haze of dust, like a sandstorm, and it carried a strong smell of blood.

“Cough— Save… me… Cough!”

“Aaaah— I’m sorry!”

Then, various screams intertwined and poured in.

“Ah…”

At that moment, Seo Eun-ha realized that they were ultimately human. However, their cries were quickly fading one by one.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Six knives, each imbued with 'divine power,' flew sharply like wasps and plunged into their necks. Even those who had fled into the room were tracked down and their lives were cut short.

Thus, the situation was resolved in just a few seconds.

“…”

Seo Eun-ha looked down at the scene with a strange sense of repulsion.

“That, that thing, a gun… using it on people is a bit….”

The mysterious shotgun used by Lee Hyun-wook felt like a 'non-lethal weapon' that should be banned due to its cruelty. However, there was not a hint of hesitation in Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes as he pulled the trigger.

“This, yes, the destructive power is excessive. But since these are people who do things that humans shouldn’t, I consider it a fitting punishment.”

Lee Hyun-wook spoke with a somewhat cruel tone as he walked down the blood-soaked corridor. Six knives spun above his shoulders, guarding the surroundings.

“If we let these people live, many more—civilians—will die silently and painfully.”

Lee Hyun-wook knew what the demon worshippers were doing and what they would do in the future. Not a single one of them should be spared. They were beasts in human form, having sold their souls to the devil.

For Seo Eun-ha, who hadn’t often engaged in PVP or PK, it was a shocking scene. But a time was coming when she would see even more cruel things and might even have to carry them out herself.

‘As time goes on, wars between players will become more frequent.’

And soon, there will be wars that can be called real wars.

Meanwhile, Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo ascended to the 6th floor.

“Huh—”

They were surprised by the horrific scene that adorned the corridor, but they approached Lee Hyun-wook with a more familiar expression than Seo Eun-ha.

“There’s a room at the end, and there are a few more people inside.”

Lee Hyun-wook noticed a particularly sturdy iron door at the end of the corridor and detected three moving metal objects inside.

“From the mana I feel from that door, it seems to be covered by a magical barrier.”

“Yes, I’ll break it. I can do it with this.”

He intended to use the shotgun for door breaching. No matter how strong the protective magic was, it wouldn’t withstand the firepower of this 'Black Rhino.'

Click—

“Everyone, move back.”

Lee Hyun-wook aimed the gun at the handle and pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

The door remained intact, but the defensive barrier on the surface seemed to fade, and the doorframe shook, indicating that it had been hit.

Click— Lee Hyun-wook pumped the shotgun again.

Bang—!

The doorframe finally caved in, creating a small gap. Lee Hyun-wook sent a 'Fly Eye (Prototype)' through the gap.

Whirr—

It penetrated the room, using the hazy dust as a smokescreen.

‘Let’s see what they’re doing.’

Lee Hyun-wook observed the room through the Fly Eye’s perspective.

“Damn, what the hell are you shooting? Is it a cannon?”

“I don’t know! Prepare your magic, they’re about to break in!”

Four demon worshippers had barricaded themselves behind furniture and were aiming their weapons at the door. However, Lee Hyun-wook had no intention of walking into their line of fire.

But…

‘That’s…’

To his surprise, they were holding a woman.

And it was none other than Gu Hyo-min, Choi Tae-joon’s hostage.

‘Choi Tae-joon isn’t here… He must have tried to negotiate with the Gu Guang Group and fled when we launched the attack. But he left Gu Hyo-min behind in the chaos.’

The demon worshippers probably didn’t expect such a sudden attack.

“Hey! Whoever’s out there, if you come in, you’ll die!”

“And we have the granddaughter of the Gu Guang Group as a hostage!”

While listening to their shouts, Lee Hyun-wook pondered how to safely rescue Gu Hyo-min.

‘Should I control the metal in the room and deal with them?’

But since it was ordinary metal, the chances of failure were high. If he couldn’t take them down in one go, it would be a disaster.

Then, Park Jun-mo caught his eye.

“Park Jun-mo, can you fill the entire room with a current that will temporarily paralyze the people without killing them? So strong that not even an ant can escape.”

“Ah… That… Yes, I think I can.”

He hesitated slightly but soon regained his confidence and nodded.

During this time, he had repeatedly grown his abilities by being struck by lightning and had spent a considerable amount of time in Laputa’s 'Superreal Training Ground.'

Now, he was in a state where he had some confidence.

“Huh—”

Park Jun-mo exhaled deeply and took on a solemn expression.

Zzzz—!

Soon, a blue current shot out from his hands and began to form a circular shape, like a ball of yarn.

As he extended his hand toward the hole, the current was sucked into it.

The room was immediately filled with a bright blue light.

Zzzz—!

At the same time, Lee Hyun-wook used his 'Metal Control' to push the metal door and entered the room, leading with six knives.

“Ugh—!”

In front of him, the four demon worshippers stood stiffly, apparently electrocuted. However, their hands wouldn’t move as Lee Hyun-wook launched 'metal beads' at their foreheads.

Pew— Pew— Pew— Pew—!

He then fired knives at the backs of their hands, pinning them to the floor like insect specimens.

“Gaaaah—”

He checked each of their faces one by one.

“… You, Black Mask, Itoya Shigenori, right?”

“Gah— Do you know me?”

“$950,000, wanted in Chad Republic? And you were with this guy during last year’s ‘Osaka Offering Incident’ for $470,000… Or has it gone up?”

These were members of a demon worshipper group active in Japan. They were notorious for committing all sorts of heinous crimes to receive 'support' from the demon they served.

Lee Hyun-wook deformed a few metal beads to bind their hands and feet.

Meanwhile, Kim Se-hee checked on Gu Hyo-min.

“She seems to be fine. She doesn’t have any injuries.”

She was probably kept unconscious with some kind of drug.

“Where is Choi Tae-joon, that guy?”

Seo Eun-ha asked, but the captives didn’t answer.

“You will be sent to Saint Dome in the Chad Republic.”

Lee Hyun-wook’s words made their faces turn pale.

“Huh! Don’t send me to that crazy Saint, please….”

“No! Please, just kill me!”

Saint, Emilia Mueller, gains power by 'punishing' dark-aligned players. Thus, Saint Dome is known as a place where the worst fate awaits them.

“But, Lee Hyun-wook, Choi Tae-joon doesn’t seem to be here at all. Given that Gu Hyo-min is here, it seems like he was here….”

Seo Eun-ha searched the room and said this.

This was definitely a secret facility of the demon worshippers, but without Choi Tae-joon, the mission was a failure.

“Yes, but until just now, he was in this room. … Right?”

Lee Hyun-wook pressed Itoya Shigenori’s thigh.

“Ugh!”

But he couldn’t answer. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. As a demon worshipper, revealing internal secrets would result in immediate 'death.'

“It’s fine, I already know there were about three more people. I felt the three ‘moving metals’ in here suddenly disappear just before the corridor was destroyed.”

It meant that someone had used magical power to teleport to another space.

“Let’s search the room a bit more.”

He soon found a suspicious item under the bed.

“Lieutenant Seo, can you take a look at this item?”

It was a mirror. Seo Eun-ha picked it up.

Then…

– Warning! You have come into contact with an item imbued with dark power.

“… Yes, this is an item imbued with the power of a demon.”

As a paladin player, she could sense the dark aura emanating from the mirror and had knowledge of dark-aligned entities, which are the enemies of the holy-aligned.

“And the purpose of this mirror is a kind of ‘portal.’”

“What? A portal….”

Kim Se-hee asked, and Seo Eun-ha, recalling the 'Paladin Training' she received when she reached C-rank and was dispatched to Saint Dome, continued.

“So, if you enter this, you’ll enter the demon’s domain, and when you reach a specific point, you’ll face a door leading outside….”

At that moment, Seo Eun-ha’s face crumpled.

“… In other words, there must be a mirror on the other side that serves as the exit. Choi Tae-joon must have entered this and gone somewhere else. Damn, we’ve already lost him. Demon worshippers use such methods to move around secretly, and it’s hard to catch them.”

However, Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.

“No, we haven’t lost him. They will come out again.”

“What?”

“I know that this group has other hideouts. I’ve already sent troops there. The exit mirror item is likely there.”

He said this confidently, opened his phone, and checked a text message.

– We’ve taken control of the bad guys’ hideout in the black market. (Go)

The message was from Go Jin-hwa, her burner phone in Red Hole Village. Lee Hyun-wo