"Everyone, back off!"
I shouted hastily, but the smoke spread too quickly. The guild members, who were ankle-deep in the purple smoke, groaned and staggered.
"Ghg, wait a minute…"
"Ugh…"
Clink.
The guild members who dropped their weapons bowed their heads with empty faces. Waving their arms helplessly, they began to walk in unison to somewhere involuntarily.
"Wake up!"
The same was true of the two healers standing next to me who had frightened faces. They blocked me, pushed me, and walked forward as if possessed.
"Han Yi-gyeol-ssi."
Woo Seo-hyuk ran to me. Fortunately, he looked fine. Cheon Sa-yeon, who quietly watched the guild members staggering and moving in the direction of the monster's cry, turned to me.
"Hmm."
He smiled at me. Why are you smiling in such a serious situation?
"Master! This smoke…!"
"Mh."
Cheon Sa-yeon, who took out his sword and jacket, suddenly pulled my arm strongly.
"Ugh, what…"
"What should I do, Han Yi-gyeol?" He looked down at me and smiled brightly. "It's so much fun."
"What?"
"It's so fun; I think I'm going crazy."
You mean even more than now? I opened my eyes wide and couldn't hide my surprise. Woo Seo-hyuk, who was watching from behind, also made a surprised face.
Kugugung! Kureureung!
The sound of falling stones was heard one after another. It was very close.
"Let's put this on for now." Cheon Sa-yeon put his jacket over my shoulder and smiled pleasantly. "Woo Seo-hyuk."
"Yes."
"Let's change the plan. I don't think we need to worry about the guild members."
"Oh—wait!" Cheon Sa-yeon held me tightly in his arms as I freaked out. I grabbed his collar and asked, "What do you mean we don't need to worry?"
"Literally."
Cheon Sa-yeon cut his palm with his sword. His gorgeous-looking long sword. I immediately recognized the identity of the sword. It was the SS-class Lilith sword.
"The banshee's magic skill. Do you know it?"
"Are you talking about its ability to mind control? But that…"
"Since the grade has increased, the conditions for activating that ability seems to have changed."
"Are you saying that the banshee is coming this way?"
"Including the ghosts."
The banshee cast a spell on one person and ordered them to protect its relatively weak body. As the banshee, which used to be S-grade, became S+, the range of its magic ability had expanded to this extent.
"If you are under a spell, there is no need to worry about being attacked by monsters. So, the first thing to do is to deal with the ghosts first. Woo Seo-hyuk, you keep the banshee in check to prevent any more troublesome spells from being used."
"I understand."
Woo Seo-hyuk stepped back. When the distance widened enough that the conversation could not be heard, Cheon Sa-yeon started speaking as he used his ability.
"I'm telling you because you don't seem to notice, Han Yi-gyeol."
"…what?"
"Every A-rank except you is under the spell."
I frowned at the words whispered in my ear.
It was then that I realized why Cheon Sa-yeon was so happy. Wearing the jacket and standing close to Cheon Sa-yeon, I forced a smile.
"I thought it was something important."
"It's not a light matter."
Kkiiii—
Geugeuk, geugeuk. Gigik.
Beyond the darkness, a blue light flickered as we heard the cries of ghosts. Even hearing it once, we could tell it wasn't just one or two. As the last line of defence, the remaining iron bars shook as if they were about to break.
"So? Do you want to hear the answer, or do you want to dig into it yourself? If it's the latter, I think we should reconsider our partnership."
"Then unfortunately, I'll wait until later."
Come to think of it, even at the SS-grade gate, everyone except me and Cheon Sa-yeon was dragged into the sand. Even the S-rank Park Geon-ho was helpless and the SS-grade boss Lilith's ability was deflected by me. It was definitely not normal.
Kkigigik! Kuung!
The iron bars crumpled like paper. The flames surrounding Cheon Sa-yeon's sword burned even hotter.
"For whatever reason, it is true that you should be careful. Above all, Woo Seo-hyuk is a quick-witted person, so there's a good chance he'd noticed it."
That was true. I didn't think Woo Seo-hyuk would be the type of person who can talk about it in haste.
"Whatever it is, I'll have fun."
It must be interesting, including the situation that Woo Seo-hyuk would have noticed. I sighed and raised my ability. At the same time, the entrance collapsed and monsters appeared.
Geugeugeuk, geugeuk.
Ghosts with opaque bodies and blue light presumed to be eyes entered with bizarre cries.
The guild members standing at the entrance passed the ghost and walked towards the banshee. The banshee, floating in the air with its rough grey hair fluttering, tore its mouth long and grinned at us.
The hem of its overgrown, dirty robe flew in the wind, and rotten teeth could be seen through the open mouth. The guild members surrounded the banshee, which looked like a witch from an old fairy tale.
Kihihihi. Hihihik.
When ghosts and the banshee added up, there were a total of 16 S+ grade monsters. My body stiffened at the horror of that number. I breathed in calmly and lifted Cheon Sa-yeon's body.
The ghosts, who had twisted their bodies like broken machines, came out at once and turned their heads towards Cheon Sa-yeon.
Gagagak, geugeuk. Geuk!
Zzztztzt!, the electric current that wrapped around the ghost's body flashed. At the same time, Cheon Sa-yeon flew to the right. Kwaang! Blue lightning struck and the floor shattered. I swallowed back a scream.
"Ugh!"
Cheon Sa-yeon swung his sword sharply. Zzzztzztzzt! Prickly electricity passed through the cheeks, splitting the centre of the ghost's body near him. Blood splattered.
As it was a monster with electric current flowing through its body, every time it was killed, strong electricity rose through the sword. Fortunately, Cheon Sa-yeon, who had to attack directly, was SS-grade, so he didn't take any major damage.
Cheon Sa-yeon looked at the blood flowing down my cheek from the cut. I shook my head.
"Don't mind it."
It wouldn't help anything if I cared about getting hurt. Perhaps Cheon Sa-yeon had the same thoughts as me, and there was no hesitation in his hand wielding the sword.
Kyaaaak!
A number of poisonous crystals flew with the screams of the banshee that pierced my ears. I quickly changed the wind flow around me and lifted Cheon Sa-yeon's body high. The poisonous crystals that hit the floor sizzled and melted the ground.
"Right!"
At my cry, Cheon Sa-yeon bent his upper body forward and drew his sword horizontally at the same time. As soon as the poisonous crystal passed right over my head, a hot electric current ran through my body once more.
"Ugh!"
Geuook! Geugeuk!
White light exploded in my vision and I felt a burning pain on my forehead. Driiibble, something flowed past my eyes and down my cheeks. Kwagwang! Kwang! Lightning struck everywhere Cheon Sa-yeon passed.
Again, my body shuddered. I clenched my teeth and endured the pain. The number of remaining ghosts was 12.
Among the ghosts, I saw Woo Seo-hyuk fighting with the banshee. It didn't seem easy to attack the guild members who were blocking him.
I pulled out the energy that surrounded my heart strongly.
Whoooooosh! The strong wind gradually increased in size around me. The jewel on the bracelet I was wearing began to glow and the energy started to fill up little by little, but it didn't help because the amount that escaped was enormous.
Gagagak, gigik! Geugeuk!
A whirlwind strong enough to stop the ghosts swept over the guild members. Noticing my intentions, Woo Seo-hyuk put his changed arm on the floor and endured the wind.
Kkyaaak!
The guild members who were guarding the banshee flew off due to my ability and crashed into the wall then fainted. There were no injuries because there was no attack; it was just a strong wind.
When all the guild members were flying away by the wind, the banshee began to panic. As the wind subsided, Woo Seo-hyuk rushed to the banshee as if he had been waiting for it.
"Not bad."
Cheon Sa-yeon, who was not attacking any ghosts, swung his sword again with the intention of watching what I was going to do.
"...!"
The ghost was devoured by the blazing fire along with the electric current. I endured the pain by grabbing Cheon Sa-yeon's clothes.
The wound on my shoulder throbbed heavily and was soaked in hot liquid. I could even tell without having to check it. The wound was suddenly opened.
"Your body will not be able to handle it if I go at them one by one."
"What? Just do it…"
The blood surrounding the sword burned hot as if it would burn the surroundings.
Instead of answering, Cheon Sa-yeon hugged me tightly and quickly dug into the centre of the ghosts. Noticing what he was trying to do, I spit out a curse and grabbed him tightly.
Geuooo! Geugeuk! Geuo!
Whooosh, as he swung his sword, the three ghosts were set on fire at the same time. The opaque body turned to black ashes and a strong electric current ran through it.
"Huu, uuaaaaah, ack!"
It was a different intensity than when I killed one—my back twisted as I screamed. A thin cut appeared on the back of my hand and thigh, and blood dripped down.
"You—dog—!"
"Hold on," Cheon Sa-yeon said sternly.
Unlike me, who was suffering from the current flowing through the sword every time a ghost died, Cheon Sa-yeon, who didn't take any damage, seemed to enjoy the battle.
Kureureung! Kureung!
The dark room flashed with blue lightning. Ghosts flocked to capture Cheon Sa-yeon.
Cheon Sa-yeon widened his stance and lowered his upper body. The muscles in his shoulders and arms clenched, and his wrists twisted slightly. From left to right. I fixed my gaze on the tip of Cheon Sa-yeon's sword.
Geugagak! Geuak!
The ghost's body, from getting too close to the fire, melted little by little. Lightning flashed among the crowd of ghosts. At the same time, Cheon Sa-yeon's sword moved quickly with the power of the wind.
The bright red fire and blue lightning struck and blazed splendidly. Parts of the melting ghosts dripped into the sword and poured down on the floor.
"Huurgh, ah…"
My body trembled at the unbearable pain. The electric current that ran through my body tore through my back. My heart was beating so fast—I couldn't control it. My breathing became rough.
"Three left." Avoiding the lightning that was aiming at him, Cheon Sa-yeon lightly patted my bloody back, as he asked, "What should I do, Yi-gyeol-ah? Are you having a hard time?"
"Shut up…"
It was very heinous to pretend to be sweet to someone you were playing around with.
"Should I kill them one by one, or should I kill them all at once? Hm? I'll do whatever you want."
I answered in a cold sweat. "…at once."
"Hmm." Cheon Sa-yeon held my limp body and said in a smiling voice, "Hold on, then."
Huuk, as soon as his body jumped forward, the flames rose sharply. Geuoo, the pain that was waiting along with the Ghost's last cry passed through my waist and heated the back of my neck.
"Ugh, uh… uugh."
As Cheon Sa-yeon walked through the flames that were burning the ghosts, he held onto my writhing body.