A fierce battle ensued under me. I saw the guild members confused by the sudden surprise attack of the grade S monster.
"Ack!"
Something flew right in front of me and I reflexively shook my head. The acid solution brushed past my ear and left it sore.
Kyaaak—! (키아아악-!)
One monster looked up at me and cried out with its jaws wide open, then the other monsters all raised their heads in unison. A long tongue, wet with a sticky acid solution, sprouted through the teeth, pouring acid solutions from the open mouth.
Kweeehk! Kweehk!
The acidic solutions flew towards me like a water gun. The first one was easy to dodge, but when it came to the second and third, it was difficult to dodge quickly. There was too much acidic solution pouring out.
"Hold onto me—ack!—correctly!"
It was more difficult to dodge while holding onto Kim Woo-jin's waist. I kept slipping up because I was not used to floating in the air with someone else.
"Han Yi-gyeol, over there!"
Kim Woo-jin, who was looking around, pointed to his left. When I turned my gaze, I saw the healers and Cheon Sa-yeon holding a long sword. When I found Min Ah-rin, who was terrified, I immediately flew there.
"Min Ah-rin-ssi!"
"Yi-gyeol-ssi!"
Min Ah-rin, who saw me and Kim Woo-jin, welcomed me with great relief. I came down to the ground, let Kim Woo-jin go, and asked right away, "What happened?"
"As—as soon as we left the Rest section, a monster suddenly crawled out of the sand."
"You're late."
Even as everyone was struggling, Cheon Sa-yeon was relaxed as usual. I suppressed my emotions as much as possible and opened my mouth, "Why are you in such a hurry? If you stayed in the Rest section, it would have been more…"
"That doesn't change the situation."
Cheon Sa-yeon smiled softly. The black eyes that were exposed through his hair fluttering in the wind looked somewhat empty.
"Stand back."
Kugugung—! (쿠구궁-!)
As soon as Cheon Sa-yeon finished speaking, the ground shook violently. Min Ah-rin, who couldn't keep her balance, sank down. Kkwaaak! A terrible roar rang out. Looking back, I saw a monster with its front feet on the shoulder of a guild member who fell due to the earthquake.
"What the hell is this…"
Kim Woo-jin trembled and stepped back. I supported Min Ah-rin and strained my body. Thump, Thump, a pounding heartbeat rang in my ears and a chilling fear crawled up from my toes.
Sasaksasak… (사사사삭)
The sand sprang up. It was a great sickle that broke through the tip of the sand that came up around.
Ttuduk, crack, crack. (뚜둑, 끼릭, 끽)
The sound of bones hitting each other echoed in my ears. Flesh rushed through the sand, revealing a bare hand. Like a murderer returning from hell, or a corpse coming up from a grave. It slowly drilled through the sand and crawled out of the ground, snapping its teeth.
"That monster…"
I clasped my cold hands, wet with cold sweat. I felt instinctively the dozens of S-grade monsters could not compare to the one that arrived now. Covered in black, it thrashed its scythe with its tattered arms as if it had been bitten by something. At that moment, a shriek echoed in my head.
"The middle boss of this gate. It's a monster that hasn't been rated yet. If I had to guess, it should be around S+."
Unlike me, who became stiff, Cheon Sa-yeon looked at the monster in front of him. The act of unbuttoning the jacket and turning the hand holding the sword slightly seemed boring at first glance.
"Be careful not to get too close by mistake. Below S-rank, the fear can drive you crazy."
Cheon Sa-yeon raised his sword and cut the palm of his opposite hand without hesitation. I thought it was a light cut, but the amount of blood pouring from his palm was more than expected. Vivid blood was sprinkled on the blade that had already been covered in dried blood.
"Han Yi-gyeol."
The sword that swallowed Cheon Sa-yeon's blood began to burn with a roar of dark red flames. One of Cheon Sa-yeon's powers was blood fire. Anything that touched that fire would burn to ashes until it disappeared.
"You go and help Park Geon-ho."
"…Park Geon-ho?"
I glanced at Park Geon-ho, who was hunting monsters not far away. It was not difficult for me to understand the intention of the words to help Park Geon-ho. Even if it wasn't, I was thinking of joining forces with Park Geon-ho, so I immediately nodded my head.
"Then what about that monster?"
"I'll take care of it."
Since it was like this, I had no choice but to believe and do what I had to do. I looked back at Kim Woo-jin.
"Stay with Min Ah-rin-ssi. Be careful."
"…why are you worried about me? You be careful."
Fortunately, Kim Woo-jin seemed to have come to his senses. Yet his eyes fluttered anxiously.
I left Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin behind and flew to Park Geon-ho. With a considering gaze, I looked at this situation where guild members and monsters were fighting. If I used my ability hastily, my team members would be swept away in an explosion.
"Team leader."
"You are…"
I didn't have time to introduce myself. I cut the chase and got to the point.
"Team leader's ability, what must be kept in order to detonate an iron ball as a bomb?"
It was something I needed to know in order to implement my plan.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Do I have to fly with the iron ball by touching it? Or is it possible to explode if you can see them, Team leader? What is your range of abilities?"
His eyes looked down at me with caution. It was understandable. Each of the ability users had their own limitations, which were fatal weaknesses. It was information that could not be easily said under any circumstance.
"My ability is wind. It's possible to blow things up or move them where you want them to go."
Park Geon-ho, who had accumulated a lot of experience in gates, understood what I was saying without further explanation.
"You mean you can move the iron ball to the desired point?"
"Yes. I haven't tried it out, but at least 10 are possible at the same time."
"My eyes must be on it before it can explode. The situation is urgent, so let's start right away."
Park Geon-ho handed me the iron balls he was holding. The number was about 20. I took a deep breath and raised my ability.
Hwiiing! (휘이잉!)
A strong wind whirled around the iron ball in my palm. As I increased my concentration, iron balls began to pop up one by one. When the number exceeded 10 to 15, it was difficult to even breathe with the concentration raised to the limit.
Standing behind me, Park Geon-ho raised his arm and pointed out exactly where he wanted to blow it like a compass needle.
"At 11 o'clock, two. If it explodes near the bottom of the skull, the brain explodes and dies immediately. 12 o'clock position, one. 3 o'clock, four. Four o'clock, three. Five o'clock, the rest."
I shifted my gaze following Park Geon-ho's voice, which calmly commanded with a certain tone. As I stirred my trembling hand, the iron ball flew exactly where I wanted it. As soon as the iron balls arrived in order from 11 to 5 o'clock, explosions erupted from all directions.
Boom! Boom!
"Ugh…"
The 12 o'clock explosion was so close that I staggered from the smell of ammunition stinging my nose. Park Geon-ho grabbed my shoulder to support me while looking ahead.
The two monsters that tried to eat the face of a fallen guild member exploded and became corpses. The upper half of the monster that was swinging its arms at the fleeing guild member also disappeared, and the monsters running towards us were torn to pieces by the explosion.
Kyaaak! Kwaak!
Kyaaak!
However, there were still many monsters left. The guild members, who barely came to their senses, quickly raised their abilities and stared at the hordes of monsters running from the other side.
"One more time."
Park Geon-ho handed me a handful of iron balls he took out of his battle vest pocket. A cold sweat ran down my cheek.
It was not as easy as I thought to move several iron balls exactly to the desired point. I forced the unstable energy to gather in my heart.
"Team leader! The long-distance team has lined up!"
"Close-distance team: 7 people are currently on standby!"
Kyaaa! Kyek!
The monster, which I thought was quite far away, was already in front of me. As I floated the iron balls in the air one by one, I said softly, "Please give the command."
Park Geon-ho looked down at me and raised one eyebrow. He looked unhappy with my attitude, but I didn't have time to care.
Park Geon-ho raised his arm like before. It was different from just now when guild members and monsters were mixed. Now, the monsters were flocking from one place, so it was easier to deal with.
"Divide what you have and send in the first round. When the bomb explodes, the monster in the lead will be knocked down and the ranged team will attack from behind. When the long-distance team stops attacking, send in the second round. Do you understand?"
"Of course."
I lifted my lips up and smiled, even though I felt a piercing headache.
"Now."
At the command of Park Geon-ho, three of the several iron balls that floated in the air were fired at a high speed. The moment the iron ball hit the running monster's brain, a strong explosion occurred.