Irene looked around with confused eyes.
After going through the gate with a search party of 60, it was strange to be alone.
But she quickly regained her composure.
She never thought it would be easy.
Although the mage spoke as if it was nothing, it was still related to the Demon King.
Finding Seo Woojin was more urgent than worrying about other invisible knights.
"The corridor."
Could it be a ruin?
Irene thought so.
She had never personally experienced exploring ruins, but she had heard stories.
Since this was a place that had been moved through the gate left by the Demon King, the chances of it being a ruin were high.
Irene raised her hand and tapped the wall and floor.
It felt quite solid because of the bricks.
"There seems to be no other way."
In that case, she had no choice but to follow the path.
Irene began to move cautiously, keeping an eye on the front and back.
Step by step, only the sound of her footsteps echoed in the corridor.
How long had she been walking?
"Hmm?"
Irene stopped walking.
"This is…"
The surroundings changed.
With the blink of an eye, the brick corridor instantly turned into a marble one.
Startled by the sudden change in the environment, Irene tensed and held her sword.
Tick-
At that moment, a small sound came from behind.
Sensing it, Irene turned and swung her sword.
It was a sword strike that extended dangerously, but the power in it was certainly not light.
However,
Clang!
With a metallic sound, the sword was easily blocked.
"Calm down."
The man who blocked the sword had a calm expression, as if nothing had happened.
"Baek Siwoo?"
The man who suddenly appeared from behind was indeed Baek Siwoo.
He was blocking Irene's sword with the sword given to him by the empire and had a calm expression on his face.
"Can you lower your sword?"
At Baek Siwoo's words, Irene nodded and relaxed her grip.
Her expression brightened.
Finding Baek Siwoo meant that there was a high chance that Seo Woojin was here.
Of course, she could only feel relieved.
"How did you get in here?"
Baek Siwoo also sheathed his sword and asked.
"Can you tell me what's going on?"
However, Irene answered with a question instead of an answer.
This was because their situation was more important than how they got there.
Then Baek Siwoo nodded.
"The discovery of this ruin was a coincidence."
He explained in detail from the process of discovering the ruin to what happened here, including the anomalies in space and time.
It was a story that was hard to believe, but at the same time, it couldn't be dismissed lightly.
To Irene, Baek Siwoo seemed to be in a surprisingly exhausted state, almost unbelievable that he had only been missing for a few days.
Looking at him, it seemed like at least a month had passed.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be in such an exhausted state.
After hearing the rough circumstances, Irene asked the most important question.
"Have you ever seen Mr. Seo Woojin?"
Baek Siwoo was also an important figure as he was the greatest force against the Demon King.
But from her point of view, Seo Woojin was more important than Baek Siwoo, who was just a stranger.
He was her colleague, comrade, and friend.
"... Unfortunately, I haven't seen him."
Baek Siwoo's face darkened.
In fact, it wasn't only Seo Woojin that he hadn't seen.
The knights following him and his friends were the same.
Or, to be more precise, they split up within 30 minutes of meeting.
They scattered as the room changed.
"It's been 50 days since I last saw anyone."
Irene remained silent at Baek Siwoo's words.
Thanks to reaching the realm of a transcendent being beyond level 50, he was able to endure this.
Considering that even a level increase was not easy from his perspective, and recovering from a level increase would be difficult.
Irene made a slightly pitiful expression.
Actually, she didn't really like Baek Siwoo.
More specifically, she did not like his friend Seong Yura.
It was because of her attitude of ignoring Seo Woojin at every turn.
Because of this, Baek Siwoo, who was also Seong Yura's friend, wasn't likable either.
But when she heard that he had been alone for 50 days, she felt a little sympathy for him.
"The time has come."
At that moment, Baek Siwoo suddenly approached Irene.
Her face furrowed at his actions.
"Soon, the room will undergo a change."
For 50 days, Baek Siwoo did not just play around.
He conducted an investigation into the phenomena inside the ruins, and there were some results.
"You must stay together to avoid scattering."
Before she could understand these words, Baek Siwoo grabbed Irene's shoulders.
At the same time, the surroundings began to change again.
A cave?
The corridor that had been made of marble just moments ago had now turned into a cave-like structure.
Only then did Irene understand what Baek Siwoo was trying to say.
"Well then, let's go."
After releasing his hands from her shoulders, he took the lead and started walking.
"Do you know which way to go?"
"I don't know."
Baek Siwoo shook his head.
No matter how much they walked, it felt like an endless labyrinth with no visible end.
But they couldn't just sit there and wait for death, they had no choice but to keep going.
As they walked for a while, the space changed once, but they couldn't find any particular clues or traces.
At that moment, Irene was lost in thought, thinking that it wouldn't be easy to find Seo Woojin.
"Wait a moment."
Baek Siwoo, who was walking ahead of her, stopped.
When she looked up to see what was happening, a monster appeared in front of her.
It resembled a black boar.
Irene, who Seo Woojin called a monster encyclopedia, had never seen this monster before.
"What is it?"
"It's not that strong, but you should be careful."
It might not be a big deal for Baek Siwoo, who was at level 51, but it was different for Irene.
She was still only an intermediate knight.
The boar monster began to charge forward.
Its massive body, which filled the straight corridor, approached with the intention of crushing them.
"I'll handle this, so stay behind…"
Kwa-a-a-ang!
Baek Siwoo, who was slowly drawing his sword, closed his mouth.
A situation he had never experienced before happened.
The wall of the corridor collapsed and someone jumped out.
With a tremendous impact, the wild boar turned into a flying mess without leaving its proper form.
"Ah, damn it! This is insanely strong!"
"Mister! Be careful up there!
Ka-ga-gak!
Irene's eyes widened as she saw those who appeared by breaking through the wall.
It was Seo Woojin.
* * *
Blocking Rosie Ruby's attack head on, Seo Woojin pierced through the room and flew backwards.
It was already the fifth passage he had seen.
I think I hit something else this time?
I don't know exactly what it is, but seeing the blue blood flowing on the floor of the corridor, it seemed like one of the monsters had been swept away by bad luck.
But there was no time to worry about such things now.
"Lee Ji-ah!"
At Seo Woojin's call, Lee Ji-ah jumped forward and punched Rosie Ruby's side.
"Hap!"
Boom!
With a strong spirit, the monster's body tilted slightly when it was hit by the fist.
Thanks to this, Seo Woojin was able to dodge its front paw.
Tudatadatadatada!
K-2's snout spewed fire, and Ludian's sword sliced through Rosie Ruby's body.
But the creature didn't seem to suffer any significant damage.
"Huh?"
Seo Woojin, who had just gotten up from the ground, blinked his eyes.
There was a familiar face in front of him.
"Baek Siwoo?"
And Irene behind him.
Seeing them, Seo Woojin smiled happily and quickly stepped back.
"Watch out!"
Crack!
The ground Seo Woojin had just stepped on split open as if cut by scissors.
It was Rosie Ruby's scythe-like front paw.
"Woojin!"
Irene called out Seo Woojin's name.
Since the person they had been desperately searching for had appeared, they had no choice but to be happy.
Of course, Seo Woojin was in no condition to respond to her greeting.
"Greetings later! We have to take care of this first!"
With an urgent tone, the two quickly assessed the situation and took an attacking stance.
Kigik?
Rosie Ruby, who was about to continue the attack, stopped moving and tilted her head with a puzzled expression when she saw the two newcomers.
Among them, she couldn't take her eyes off Baek Siwoo.
'Did it recognize a strong guy?'
Seo Woojin noticed that Rosie Ruby's actions were because of Baek Siwoo.
A Hero of SSS rank who has surpassed level 50.
There are still many shortcomings, but with that level of strength…
"Baek Siwoo!"
"Siwoo!"
Ludian, belatedly finding Baek Siwoo, shouted and pretended to recognize him.
At the same time, a feeling of relief filled his face.
If that guy has that kind of expression, he's more than capable of handling it.
If it's Ludian, a knight of the empire, he would know much more about Baek Siwoo than himself.
His relief means that Baek Siwoo is strong enough to face Rosie Ruby.
Seo Woojin stood next to Baek Siwoo and raised his sword.
"Do you roughly understand the situation?"
Baek Siwoo nodded in response to Seo Woojin's words.
He wasn't sure exactly, but it seemed like killing the spider-like thing in front of him would be enough.
"Good. Since I'm taking the initiative, wait for your chance and chop off its head."
Currently, Rosie Ruby was focusing on Baek Siwoo, but when the battle started, she would undoubtedly be drawn to Seo Woojin.
Up until now, he was the one who tormented her the most.
It couldn't ignore Seo Woojin who had left so many scars on its body.
"Understood."
When Baek Siwoo replied, Seo Woojin slammed the ground.
"Stop struggling now!"
There was no mana left.
His stamina had been exhausted for a long time.
Nevertheless, Seo Woojin moved.
Faster and stronger than ever.
The sword filled with all his power sliced horizontally through Rosie Ruby's head.
Kigikigik-!
It started moving again.
As if it was pathetic, it swung it's front paw towards the sword.
Thinking that Seo Woojin would be blown back as before.
However…
'This time it's different, you bastard!'
He shouted inwardly and changed the trajectory of the sword.
From bottom to top.
With all his might, he bounced the guy's front paw upward.
Momentarily overwhelmed by overload, he felt pain as if his wrist and shoulder were breaking.
But Seo Woojin didn't stop.
Even if it was just to endure for now to create an opening for Baek Siwoo's subsequent attack.
Eudddeuddeuk-!
Biting down hard enough for blood to flow, he lifted the sword.
Perhaps it was thanks to squeezing out every bit of strength, Rosie Ruby's front paw couldn't withstand Seo Woojin's sword strength and bounced upward.
And Seo Woojin didn't miss that opportunity.
"Now!"
In response to the short command, Baek Siwoo stepped forward as if he had been waiting.
Despite facing a formidable enemy, his expression remained remarkably calm.
He pointed his sword at Rosie Ruby and spoke.
"Thunderbolt."
Lightning struck down.
Kwarrung-!