Rosie Ruby was undeniably strong.
No skill Seo Woojin used could penetrate it.
No, to be precise, he couldn't cause any significant damage.
However, it wasn't completely ineffective.
"It's just a scratch, but…"
Rosie Ruby had minor wounds on her body.
However, it was only a small cut in the epidermis.
"There's no way out."
He was now in a state where he couldn't use any more skills.
His mana was completely depleted.
All Seo Woojin could do was grit his teeth and swing his sword.
Clang!
Her front paw and the sword collided.
"Argh!"
The sturdy black sword withstood it, but Seo Woojin did not.
The power in the sickle-shaped front paw was too immense.
Seo Woojin was thrown back as he blocked the attack.
"Damn it…"
The impact was severe.
Every time the creature swung its front paw, he was bounced back, making it difficult to maintain his composure.
Still, he couldn't just lie there quietly.
Otherwise, his body would be torn apart.
"Fuck!"
Seo Woojin, who bounced back by pushing his hips, dodged the diagonally drawn front paw and swung his sword.
Clang!
A scratch appeared on the tough, seemingly impenetrable skin.
'Shallow!'
Perhaps because the proper force wasn't applied, all it did was lightly scratch the surface.
If Irene had seen this, she would have scolded him for his lackluster attack.
Ki-gi-gi!
Rosie Ruby taunted Seo Woojin and swung her front paw down from top to bottom.
'I can't avoid this.'
It wasn't the kind of attack that could be blocked.
There wasn't even enough time to raise the sword due to his distorted posture.
Seo Woojin, seeing the creature's front paw falling towards him, turned his eyes.
Grrrr!
Their eyes met.
At that moment, the creature stopped for a moment.
"Now!"
Taking advantage of the creature's momentary pause, Seo Woojin rolled backwards a few times and managed to get out of the attack's range.
"Huuk- Huuk-!"
The breath he had been holding burst out all at once.
'Thank goodness.'
How many times had this happened?
Did he survive because it stopped moving?
The reason was unknown, but every time Rosie Ruby met Seo Woojin's eyes, she would freeze for a moment.
It was similar to the situation when Draconis or Ice Bug froze.
The difference between them and Rosie Ruby was ....
'This time is only about 1 to 2 seconds.'
Unlike the monsters from the north who couldn't move for a long time, Rosie Ruby quickly resumed her movements.
Then, as if she could not understand her own actions, she went into a frenzied rampage.
Seo Woojin took a moment to take a deep breath and adjusted his stance.
Sure enough, she was once again venting her anger at being stopped.
'What should I do?'
Winning is impossible.
Now, finding a way to survive in this place was more important than winning.
Looks like everyone managed to escape.
Although the battle seemed to have lasted a long time, it was only about 10 minutes.
During those 10 minutes, Seo Woojin did everything he could.
He unleashed attacks until all of his magic was exhausted.
But now that he realized that he couldn't handle it anymore, he had to find a way to escape.
Except to the side where my teammates are.
Going there would only cause more unnecessary casualties.
So, it would be better to go in the opposite direction, but to do that, he would have to go through where that creature was standing.
"That's impossible."
With Seo Woojin's movements, it was impossible to break through that creature.
"Then the only option left is…"
Since the front and the back were blocked, only the left and the right were left.
Among them, Seo Woojin decided to run to the left.
Since Rosie Ruby's speed was slower than her strength, he might be able to escape.
"If it doesn't work, I'll just have to make eye contact every now and then."
It was only a few seconds, but it didn't seem to be too dangerous in such a short time.
'Since I've earned enough time, let's run!'
Before Rosie Ruby could attack again, it was the moment when Seo Woojin stepped forward to jump into the air.
"Mister!"
A familiar voice came from behind.
"Damn it!"
Wasn't there only one person here who would call him 'Mister'?
Turning around, he saw Lee Ji-ah running towards him.
It wasn't just her.
Everyone who had fled came back.
Even Seong Yura.
In a normal situation, he might have felt gratitude towards those who took risks to help him.
But not now.
It was the moment he had just decided to run away, ready to take the risk.
Keeeeeek-!
Rosie Ruby started to move again, screaming with excitement as her missing prey returned.
'Should I just dodge?
He thought about it for a moment.
Even now, if he moved, he seemed to be able to outrun the guy.
But soon, he shook his head.
If he disappeared, it's target would undoubtedly be his teammates.
"This doesn't help."
Seo Woojin sighed and lifted his sword.
There was no mana left.
So he had to block the guy's attack with pure swordsmanship.
He didn't know how much his teammates would help, but it was clear that he couldn't expect much.
So he had to keep the aggro to himself.
I don't know how long I can hold out.
Seo Woojin thought for a moment.
He had to do what he could.
Clang!
Its forelimb slid along Seo Woojin's black sword.
Instead of blocking it directly, he deflected it at an angle.
His wrist tingled because he couldn't dissipate the force completely.
"Now!"
The first to react to Seo Woojin's call was Kim Dahye.
She once again summoned the long, pink staff of Allah.
Pwoosh-!
The fired projectile was shot towards Rosie Ruby with a sharp noise.
With a sudden sound, Rosie Ruby turned her head, and Seo Woojin kicked her and flew away.
Kwaaaang-!
"Ugh!"
A shock wave swept over.
* * *
"Hmm."
The mage furrowed his brow.
"Is there a problem?"
Rioc asked carefully.
The unnamed mage's expression seemed somewhat serious, so Rioc was careful with his question.
"It's nothing."
But he did not seem to want to answer Rioc's question.
He just examined the box in front of him with slightly sunken eyes.
'Is it some kind of seal?'
The box with the Kademain's emblem engraved on it was in a sealed state.
'This was unexpected.'
He had thought that it was just a trace of the vanished demon king, but it seemed to be more valuable than he thought.
It was still unknown what was sealed inside.
Since the Demon King had sealed it himself, whatever was inside would surely be extraordinary, but…
The mage didn't care.
'It is probably not worth worrying about that much.'
The seal engraved on the box was not of a very high level.
Thanks to this, it was not too difficult to interpret.
Now, all he had to do was to slowly decipher the magical patterns of the seal one by one.
The mage raised his magic power and began to slowly unlock the seals one by one.
Click- Click-
A sound like a lock being opened could be heard from inside the box.
And a moment later.
And after a while.
The mage placed a box slightly larger than the palm of his hand on the ground.
Then the lid began to slowly open.
"Back off."
The mage commanded the knights to step back, his eyes filled with curiosity as he stared at the box.
"Magi…?"
The demonic energy emanating from the box was becoming increasingly dense.
Although there were no noticeable effects so far, if time continued to pass like this, it could become quite serious.
When Rioc looked at the mage, he nodded as if to assure him.
"It's just a temporary phenomenon. It will disappear soon."
Although it was a little uneasy to believe blindly, there was nothing he could do.
He could only wait for the box to open completely.
"It's done."
At the mage's words, the lid of the box opened completely.
Whoosh!
At the same time, dark beams of light began to spew into the sky.
Rather than being mysterious, it was an unprecedentedly fiery light.
All the knights, including Rioc, put their hands on their swords.
The tension began to build as the magic energy became increasingly powerful.
The only person who seemed unfazed was the mage.
He stared at the ominous light and extended his hand.
"Cancel release."
With the activation of the magic, all the seals were released, and the light disappeared.
"What's that?"
Rioc's eyes widened.
"It's a gate."
As the light vanished, a blood-red gate appeared before them.
The mage walked slowly towards the gate.
"It's dangerous!"
Rioc shouted, but the mage shook his head.
Although he could feel demonic energy, it was not at a very dangerous level.
The mage began analyzing the gate.
"A conditional gate."
"…Conditional gate?" Rioc asked as if wondering about its meaning.
Fortunately, this time the mage satisfied his curiosity.
"Exactly. It means that when the conditions are met, the gate opens. Now the seal has been broken and revealed, but even if not, it would have been activated if the conditions were right."
"What do you mean?"
He had a suspicious expression.
There was a part of his words that hinted at something.
"Yes, that's right. It seems like the Heroes have passed through this gate."
As the mage finished speaking, Rioc turned around.
"Prepare to enter."
It was impossible to know where the gate led.
But whatever danger lurked, the mission had to be completed.
Following Rioc's command, the knights began preparing to cross the gate, forming ranks.
"How would you like to proceed?"
While the mages were a bit arrogant, they were valuable beings.
If they acted together, they could be of great help.
When Rioc asked about his intentions with anticipation, the mage nodded.
Although his assigned task was to analyze a box engraved with the demon king's seal, since the gate had appeared, he wanted to thoroughly investigate it.
To satisfy such curiosity, he was willing to take the risk.
"Let's go in together."
"Thank you."
As the reconnaissance team finished their preparations, Rioc took the lead and stood in front of the gate.
Watching the shimmering crimson, a sense of unease crept in.
Drawing his sword with a suitable amount of tension, he took a step forward.
Swooosh-
With a sensation like passing through a squishy jelly, his body was absorbed.
"Ugh!"
Anticipating the impending pressure, he gathered his mana.
As expected, the tremendous weight pressed down on his entire body as he passed through the gate.
After a few seconds like that,
Having finished the transfer, Rioc, in preparation for a possible ambush, opened his eyes wide and looked around.
However, the monsters he worried about were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a corridor stretched out endlessly before him.
"Where is this?"
"…Is it a ruin?"
Startled by the voice coming from behind, Rioc turned around.
But there was only one person in sight.
A mage.