Chapter 63: Black Knight (3)
“Kihihihik!”
“Kyahahahahak!”
Thousands of Locusts flew forward, letting out bizarre, twisted laughter.
Jin-young followed behind them, completely erasing his presence with Assimilation.
And trailing after Jin-young was yet another swarm of thousands of monsters—and the Black Knight itself.
The monsters were being dragged along by Jin-young’s psychokinesis, while the Black Knight followed by sensing the faint traces of his hidden presence.
Strangely, it didn’t charge at full speed. It would circle around the area and occasionally return, as though reluctant to stray too far from its original position.
Yet whenever it picked up even the slightest trace Jin-young left behind, it would resume pursuit—repeating the pattern.
『It’s getting closer.』
‘At this rate, it’s definitely the Prophet.’
Meanwhile, at the tentacles’ warning of suspicious mana, Jin-young led the monster horde forward.
The density of black mana he sensed was similar to what he had felt when meeting the Prophet Yoshida Satoru.
Spreading his psionic energy wide, Jin-young scanned the area.
‘Not just one. And there’s someone being contaminated too… It can’t be, right?’
A chill ran through him at the thought that Yoon Soo-ho might have been captured by GODS and was in the process of being polluted.
『This is the perfect chance to test that ashen orb.』
Jin-young ignored the tentacles’ remark, though he was admittedly curious.
If he used the ashen orb on a hunter in the middle of Mine transformation, would they return to normal cleanly?
“Kehehehek!”
At that moment, the Locust swarm burst into grotesque laughter again.
Shwaaaak—
The toxic fog cleared all at once, revealing the scene ahead.
A woman with bronze skin and an ordinary-looking man stood out first.
Likely the Prophet and a regular organization member.
And bound entirely by black figures—unable to move—was one man.
Yoon Soo-ho.
Creep had already begun infiltrating his body, the early stages of Mine transformation underway.
Just as the Locust swarm descended upon them—
Shwaaaak—
Black figures erupted wildly from the Creep, forming a circular perimeter.
They created a black wall encircling the area.
Wheeeeeeeng—
Then the bronze-skinned woman transformed into thousands upon thousands of flies.
The swarm of flies began entering each of the black figures.
Shwaaaaa—
The Locusts ignored the ground-level black wall and flew straight over it.
Tzu-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The moment they touched the invisible barrier above the wall, the Locusts’ bodies disintegrated instantly.
Though they turned to dust and scattered, they soon regenerated.
Still, the Locusts mindlessly crashed into the barrier over and over, melting away each time.
‘A defensive-specialized ability, huh.’
Jin-young watched the spectacle with intrigued eyes before deactivating Assimilation and approaching the wall.
At that instant—
Chwaaaak—
Black figures surged up right in front of him.
***
“P-Prophet!”
Javier, the 1st-grade villain and the Prophet’s aide, paled in shock at the sight of thousands of Locusts.
He had heard about them before coming to Hongcheon, but actually hearing that grotesque laughter and seeing their bizarre appearance sent chills down his spine.
Even Prophet Talida’s expression twisted at the sudden appearance of the Locust swarm.
“It’s awake. The Black Knight.”
Only the Black Knight could summon and command so many Locusts.
The problem was that, according to the timeline, the disaster wasn’t supposed to move yet.
It had to be the interference of the one Godfather had mentioned.
But Talida’s thoughts couldn’t progress any further.
She simply didn’t have the luxury.
Shwaaaak—
Black figures burst out haphazardly from the Creep.
For now, she had to block them.
“Prepare yourself. I’ll hold them off.”
Leaving those words for Javier, Talida—
Sssss—
Suddenly split her body into thousands of fragments, transforming into a swarm of flies.
The thousands of flies each parasitized one of the black figures.
Zap—
The figures’ eyes opened, now glowing red.
What had been nothing more than meat shields now each housed a fragment of Talida’s consciousness and power.
Of course, divided into thousands of consciousnesses, none of them came close to her original strength.
Shssss…
Thousands of Talidas began absorbing the Creep’s toxicity, amplifying their power.
Ziiiiing—
And then the ability ‘Death’s Barrier’ activated.
As thousands of Talidas simultaneously generated barriers, a hemispherical transparent membrane enveloped the area.
At the same time, the swarm of Locusts that had been flying over the black figures—
Pukwakwakwak!
The moment they touched the invisible barrier, their bodies were shredded in an instant.
Of course, they didn’t die; they regenerated and charged again—but there was no way they could break through like this.
Only now did Talida finally relax.
She remained as the single fly that hadn’t parasitized a figure, surveying the surroundings.
The reason the disaster had suddenly awakened.
Only one culprit came to mind.
“Where are you, tentacle human?”
Surviving against the Black Knight proved he was certainly strong, but Talida was confident she could handle him.
The tentacle human must have fled here after failing to kill the Black Knight.
Even a Zero-grade hunter—or even a Prophet like herself—couldn’t face a disaster alone.
That was precisely why awakening disasters across various locations and driving them toward cities guaranteed destruction.
Korea, which had repeatedly thwarted GODS’s grand plan, would be the first target.
“I’ll make you regret it. Daring to oppose GODS.”
Whether intentional or not, Talida intended to force the insolent tentacle human—who had rudely awakened the disaster and interfered with her grand undertaking—onto his knees.
Killing him outright would be a waste.
Subjugating him as a loyal hound and slotting him in as one of the seven Prophets didn’t sound bad at all.
If that happened, her position and influence among the seven Prophets would grow even stronger.
The tentacle human would more than adequately fill the vacancy left by Yoshida Satoru’s death.
While scanning beyond the Locust swarm, she suddenly spotted a man who had appeared out of nowhere.
A man dressed in a black suit.
Talida was certain this was the tentacle human.
Chwaaaak—
She immediately summoned black figures to surround the man.
The figures rushed forward to seize the tentacle human.
But—
Pukwakwakwak!
Before they could even touch him, their bodies were torn to shreds and sent flying.
Gulp—
Talida swallowed hard at the sight.
The more she watched, the more desirable he seemed as talent.
“Aaah… I’m getting hungry.”
She wasn’t simply fond of food.
She was a predator who devoured not only Creep’s toxicity but even fellow hunters.
Making him a loyal hound would be nice, but consuming him and making him part of herself sounded even better.
That way, she could gain far greater power.
Talida swiftly passed through the barrier and flew toward the tentacle human.
Since she was in the form of a tiny fly, there was no chance of being detected.
Her plan was to parasitize one of the black figures and confront him from there.
But before she could even enter a black figure—
Puk!
Her body burst apart.
***
Sssss— Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
An invisible battle raged inside Yoon Soo-ho’s body.
Creep trying to dominate his body and mind versus the blue mana resisting to the very end.
Crack—
The black figures binding his entire body clung like ultra-strong adhesive, showing no sign of letting go.
Simply enduring this much was already a miracle.
Most hunters below 1st-grade would have succumbed to Creep and become Mines long ago.
“Huu… Huu…”
The more wildly Creep rampaged, the more Yoon Soo-ho steadied his breathing and circulated his mana efficiently.
At that moment, he suddenly felt his bound body growing slightly lighter.
Even the black figures seemed to be losing strength.
‘I can’t see her.’
He rolled his eyes to scan the surroundings, but Prophet Talida was nowhere in sight.
She could be in a blind spot he couldn’t see, but he sensed no presence at all.
This might be his only chance to escape.
Yet Yoon Soo-ho didn’t get excited. He maintained his original pace, circulating mana while relaxing his body.
Sssss…
The moment the black figures loosened their grip as well—
Kwaaaaa!
Yoon Soo-ho exploded his mana outward, shaking off the black figures.
Pukwak!
They shattered into pieces and flew off his body in an instant.
Yoon Soo-ho quickly moved to avoid being caught again.
“······!”
Javier’s eyes widened in shock at Yoon Soo-ho’s sudden escape.
While Talida bought time, he had been retrieving materials from the subspace bags of the dead 2nd-grade villains and assembling something.
A sort of incense burner covered in skulls.
Shwaat—
Yoon Soo-ho activated Lightning Flash and appeared behind Javier in an instant.
Javier swiftly wrapped black liquid around both arms and swung backward.
Crackcrackcrack—
Yoon Soo-ho’s fist collided with Javier’s at the same moment.
The air-tearing Destruction ability tried to rip Javier’s arm to shreds.
Sssss…
But the black liquid coating his arm absorbed the Destruction power.
BOOM!
In the end, the two were repelled from each other.
Having just expended more mana, Yoon Soo-ho felt Creep rampaging inside him again.
Thump—
His heart convulsed from Creep’s toxicity.
Gritting his teeth, Yoon Soo-ho steadied his stance.
If only he hadn’t lost his beloved Destroyer, he could have subdued him easily.
While bound by the black figures, Destroyer had been taken into Javier’s subspace bag.
“Resisting quite fiercely for someone who’s about to die soon.”
Javier had panicked during the initial ambush, but now he was brimming with confidence.
Just looking at the Creep gradually covering Yoon Soo-ho’s skin told him everything about the man’s condition.
He was on the verge of turning into a Mine at any moment.
“······.”
Yoon Soo-ho raised his blackened hand, inspecting it before locking eyes with Javier.
Even if he turned into a Mine, his gaze burned with the resolve to kill the man in front of him no matter what.
Javier sneered as he charged toward Yoon Soo-ho.
Yoon Soo-ho, conserving mana, refrained from activating any abilities.
Puuwaaak!
As Javier swung his arm, black liquid surged toward Yoon Soo-ho’s body.
‘Poison Hand’ was a terrifying ability that melted flesh like hydrochloric acid the moment it made contact.
Without a mana barrier or an ability to counter it, there was no defense.
Yoon Soo-ho gritted his teeth and quickly retreated.
Javier’s lips curled into a wicked smile.
The Poison Hand suddenly detached from his arm and flew straight toward Yoon Soo-ho.
“······!”
He hurriedly circulated mana and activated Lightning Flash.
Shwaat—
He succeeded in dodging backward in an instant.
But—
Kwaaaassss—
His mana drained away in a flash, and Creep began rampaging inside him with renewed vigor.
“Kuuk…!”
Yoon Soo-ho clutched his head.
He had reached the stage where reason was gradually eroding and emotions were surging uncontrollably.
Javier grinned maliciously as he pulled Destroyer out of his subspace bag.
“Dying with your own weapon caving in your skull sounds poetic, doesn’t it?”
He summoned Poison Hand around both arms and wrapped it around Destroyer.
Just as he was about to charge at Yoon Soo-ho—
Sssss—
A black portal appeared in midair, and a tentacle emerged from it.
Javier flinched the moment he saw it.
Having heard about the tentacle human from Prophet Talida, he instinctively dodged.
He had no idea what would happen if it touched him.
The black tentacle produced the ashen orb and sent it flying toward Yoon Soo-ho.
Yoon Soo-ho, in the midst of Mine transformation, his eyes glowing red, instinctively reached out to snatch the incoming ashen orb.
Chwaaaak—
At the same time, the Creep covering his arm extended toward the orb.
Paaaaat!
Suddenly, pure white light burst from the orb, instantly melting away the Creep.
“Grrrrk!”
As the Creep melted, Yoon Soo-ho—who was still undergoing Mine transformation—felt excruciating pain.
In that momentary hesitation, the orb reached his chest.
Pzzzzzzt—
The ashen orb abruptly turned pure white, radiating an extraordinary aura.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
A white whirlwind began swirling violently around Yoon Soo-ho.
The Creep dominating his body rapidly dissolved.
The moment the Creep’s toxicity that had been clouding his mind began to purify—
Flash!
“······!”
A familiar yet long-forgotten sensation flashed through his mind.
Like suddenly recalling the formula to a difficult math problem and solving it effortlessly.
Enlightenment.
Sssss—
It was the moment he awakened his third unique ability.
In perfect sync with the holy power from the ashen orb.
Holy power infiltrated the turbulent stream of his unique mana, rapidly filling Yoon Soo-ho’s body.
Pssshhh…
As pure white energy burst from his body, the Creep covering his skin turned to powder and scattered.
Yoon Soo-ho closed his eyes, his body slowly floating upward as though ascending.
“······.”
Javier stared blankly at the scene, momentarily stunned.
Then he snapped back to his senses and gripped Destroyer tightly.
The tentacle had vanished again, and something strange was happening to Yoon Soo-ho.
If he left it alone, who knew what might happen—he had to eliminate the variable quickly.
Tadat—
Javier charged toward Yoon Soo-ho.
Just as he kicked off the ground and leaped into the air—
Paht!
Yoon Soo-ho opened his closed eyes.
A sacred radiance poured from them.
Swoosh—
He slowly raised his hand.
To Javier, the entire motion appeared in slow motion.
“Aaah…”
Seeing the palm extended toward him, Javier instinctively foresaw his own end.
Crack— Crackcrackcrack—
White lightning extended from Yoon Soo-ho’s palm and enveloped Javier’s body.
Saaaa…
The polluted mana melted away in an instant, and Javier’s soul was extinguished.
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