Chapter 713: Meteor (1)
The tide of battle was tilting steeply in our favor.
Right from the start, I’d seized the high ground by planting [Concussion Mark(B)] across the board.
We’d gotten rid of the totems early, too, and gone a step further by crippling the evil cultists themselves.
And the finishing blow had been me completely restoring our side with [Retrocovery].
“Urgh.”
“Ghk!”
One Blood Cultist after another took critical wounds and collapsed onto the ground.
Even the ones still standing looked like they wanted to give up and lie down already.
Of course they wouldn’t want to keep fighting.
Most of them had probably been locked in fierce exchanges with their opponents.
Maybe they’d been waiting for a chance to turn things around. Maybe they were just about to finish someone off if they pushed a little harder.
Then, in the blink of an eye, their enemy’s HP went back to 100%?
There was no way morale wouldn’t hit rock bottom.
The War Demon Commander didn’t seem all that different.
He looked around at the battlefield and let out a sigh and a hollow laugh at the same time.
“Both I and Blood Brain were confident this battle was twelve parts certain victory, yet how could the outcome become the exact opposite?”
“Everybody’s got a solid plan.”
Until they get [CAW—!]-ed.
Looking back, the Blood Cult always seemed to run the same routine. I was guessing it was because they trusted that Blood Brain guy way too much.
Which, fair enough. Up to now, he’d probably been riding a pretty decent streak of success.
Ahn Jeongmi soon faced the War Demon Commander head-on.
Then they returned the exact same offer he’d made at the start.
“If you come quietly, we won’t harm you.”
“......”
“Unlike your cult, Hyeseong keeps its promises. If you pay a fair price, we’re even willing to let you go.”
Of course, that ransom wouldn’t be cheap.
He was elder- or commander-class material, and they’d be pricing in all the damage his side had caused too.
The War Demon Commander seemed to have arrived at much the same conclusion, because his face kept twitching nonstop.
“Let me go for a price? Do you take me for some third-rate thug from the dark-blade side?”
“Hyeseong isn’t some hole-in-the-wall shop either.”
At Ahn Jeongmi’s calm reply, crimson force aura burst explosively out of his whole body once more.
“As a martial artist—! Rather than endure such humiliation, I would sooner—!”
CRACK—!
And in the very next moment, a shining hammer came down on the crown of his head.
Oh Sehun smiled pleasantly as he spoke.
“Wish granted.”
“...!”
The War Demon Commander lost consciousness and flopped to the ground in ugly fashion.
Watching that, Seo Ye-in and Fast-Luckless raised their brows, then offered their impressed assessments one by one.
“Clean swing.”
“Not a trace of wasted motion.”
“Pros really are different.”
Then they started mimicking the movement they’d just seen in midair.
I walked over and confiscated the pot from both of them.
“Don’t go copying stuff like that.”
*****
We’d finished the rabbit puzzle from the outside request, and we’d beaten down the Blood Cultists and evil cultists too, so there was no reason to stay at the ruins any longer.
So we left the cleanup to Hyeseong, returned, took a short rest, and then sat down with the seniors.
Oh Sehun opened with a smile.
“Sorry. For hiding it and not telling you.”
“It’s fine. You were under constraints.”
At that, Kang Daesan nodded and picked up the thread.
“At first, we only had suspicious individuals. We couldn’t identify which of them was the mole.”
“If you’d exposed their identities too early, the information would’ve leaked. The oracle might’ve gone off course too.”
“Exactly.”
Kang Daesan added that in a satisfied tone, as if to say, You really do catch on fast. Nice.
Then he frowned slightly and asked Oh Sehun,
“But isn’t this strange? If I remember right, those juniors were never mentioned at all from the start.”
“Yeah. I don’t really get it either.”
“There is no way the Saintess would have left out something this important.”
If the future had been foreseen through oracle, then it would only be natural that they’d also known we were coming to the ruins.
That went double when you considered that I’d neutralized a large-scale spell with [CAW—!] afterward and had a massive impact on the battle.
But when the two of them first met us, they’d looked a little surprised.
Like a variable had appeared without anyone doing anything.
After thinking for a moment, Oh Sehun said to me,
“This is unprecedented, so I was thinking of filing a report. Would that be all right with you?”
“If I ask you to leave us out, will you?”
“If possible, I’d like to report everything exactly as it happened. But it’s also true that this whole incident went more smoothly because of you.”
Meaning, if he judged our contribution highly enough, he could be flexible.
So I grinned and answered,
“I don’t see any reason to hide it. You can report it.”
“Thanks. I’ll hear what the Saintess thinks and let you know.”
That more or less wrapped up the ruins side of things for now.
Then Oh Sehun continued in a markedly serious tone.
“The Blood Cult took a pretty big hit this time, but I think they’ll start moving again before long.”
“They still have a larger objective left.”
If I went back over the conversation between the War Demon Commander and Ahn Jeongmi—
“Hyeseong has been judged an obstacle to what the Supreme One seeks to accomplish.”
That meant the attack on the ruins had been nothing more than a step to remove an obstacle.
Would someone on the level of the Blood Cult Leader really give up and go home just because that failed hard?
No chance. He’d either try similar crap a few more times, or just push forward whether the obstacle was there or not.
There was one more basis for that guess too.
The main quest.
I’d shoved it aside for the moment when it popped up during the raid.
[Main Quest 5]
▷Objective: Clear away the dark clouds hanging over Hyeseong
▷Reward: Scaled according to completion rate
A Blood Cult combat-unit commander and what was probably the head of an evil-cult splinter faction was no small catch, so I could’ve reasonably expected a payout when the battle ended.
But the fact that there hadn’t even been a hint of that meant the main quest still had more to it.
My guess was that I’d have to wait and see whether the Blood Cult Leader’s goal ended in success or failure.
Oh Sehun and Kang Daesan each added a word.
“You should be careful for a while.”
“If it were up to me, I’d stay and help longer, but unfortunately that won’t be possible.”
Now that the oracle’s effect had ended, the two of them were actually far behind Hyeseong in terms of information.
Meaning that even if they stayed, they wouldn’t be of much use.
Oh Sehun added with a faint smile,
“We’ll return and wait until the next oracle comes down. The situation’s so messy it probably won’t take long.”
“Is getting back urgent?”
“The sooner the better, but it’s not urgent. Why do you ask?”
“As you know, I’ve got all kinds of miscellaneous knowledge.”
“That’s a pretty useful category to call miscellaneous.”
“Thanks for thinking so highly of it. I was going to give you something useful again this time.”
As I said that, I handed over a document.
A walkthrough containing the locations of hidden pieces and how to obtain them.
They were already strong, and even if I left them alone, they’d keep getting stronger on their own. But there was nothing bad about adding more power on top of that.
And while I was at it, I could put them in my debt too.
Oh Sehun and Kang Daesan exchanged glances, then started reading through the walkthrough page by page.
Before long, a distinct gleam appeared in their eyes.
“...This isn’t just paladin hidden pieces.”
“Please pass along my regards.”
I’d added a few things that would be useful not just to the two seniors, but to the Saintess as well.
Either way, none of my bonded people were going to end up as divine-attribute or priest-type classes.
I figured releasing this now would be better for world peace.
Soon enough, Oh Sehun and Kang Daesan began discussing the walkthrough among themselves.
“This one and this one are too far apart, right?”
“Better to hold off until we get dispatched somewhere nearby.”
“This one happens to be along the route back.”
“Then let’s recover it on the way back. It’s something that person needs too.”
“We’ll be able to give an unexpected gift.”
Then the two of them each spoke again in the gentlest tone imaginable.
“Thanks again, Kim Ho.”
“One day, you will absolutely be repaid for this.”
*****
The former Discipline Committee seniors left Hyeseong.
Not long after, we were summoned by Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter.
When we headed to the Chairman’s office just like on the first day, he got straight to the point.
“Meteor Dragon says preparations are complete.”
So the astrology was finally done, and we were now able to meet.
I’d already half expected as much on the way here, so I nodded easily.
“We’re ready whenever.”
“Then we leave at once. Come closer.”
Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter beckoned with his fingers.
So we did as told and approached him, and a vast amount of mana poured out of his body.
Then a huge magic circle was inscribed beneath our feet and gave off a dazzling light.
WOOOOOOONG—!
Soon, Seo Ye-in, Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter, and I began to float up into the air.
As if we’d turned into ghosts, we passed straight through the ceiling of the Chairman’s office and kept rising high into the sky.
Then, just when it felt like we stopped dead—
FWOOSH—!
We shot forward at a terrifying speed.
I only blinked a few times, but by then we’d already flown far beyond Hyeseong New City.
Then the speed dropped sharply, and just like when we’d set off, we floated gently downward.
A mansion stood below us, neither especially large nor especially small.
It looked something like a private villa celebrities would build in a resort town.
And standing guard in front of it was a woman.
Her hair was blue, her clothes were blue, and just looking at her, she seemed to be bursting with energy.
For some reason, she looked like the type who’d mastered not just swimming, but every sport under the sun.
The moment our eyes met, she strode toward us in a brisk, energetic gait.
Then she spoke to Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter in a voice that was practically a shout.
“You’re early!”
“You said the preparations were complete.”
“Then I suppose that’s how it is. Niece, it’s been a while!”
Seo Ye-in greeted her back with obvious warmth.
“Godmother.”
As expected, the blue woman was the final third guardian, and also a dragon.
Soon, her gaze turned toward me, full of competitive interest.
“So you’re the one! I heard that not long ago you were still just a Little Sovereign!”
“I’m Kim Ho.”
“I’m Neptune!”
The Seos’ godmother added, “Some also call me the Mad Sea Dragon.”
Then she casually asked Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter,
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a strong human. My hands are itching. Can I test him?”
“Personal matters later. Do not forget the real purpose.”
“A pity! But there’ll be other days!”
The Mad Sea Dragon smacked her lips in disappointment, but stepped back for now and went into the mansion to announce our arrival.
A short while later, she came back out almost as if escorting a woman with great care.
Judging by how even Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter’s attitude became more respectful, that woman had to be—
Meteor Dragon.
The fact that she was white from head to toe reminded me of White Serpent, the hidden boss from Black Serpent Fang, but the atmosphere was completely different.
White Serpent had been cold and lifeless, like a walking corpse.
Meteor Dragon, on the other hand, gave off an untouchable, numinous aura.
She even looks a little like Seo Ye-in at full power.
While I was thinking that, Meteor Dragon looked at us and spoke gently.
“Welcome, all of you.”
At that, a very, very delighted look appeared on Seo Ye-in’s expressionless face.
Even more so than when she’d seen her parents or Dark Dragon Lord.
Then, completely unlike a sloth, she ran over in one burst and threw herself into Meteor Dragon’s arms.
“Grandma.”