Kwaarurung!
With a thunderous roar that reverberated through the sky, the giant old man's hand shattered like glass and crumbled. A moment later the distorted and twisted landscape of the village froze in place.
The villains, witnessing this awe-inspiring sight, gaped in astonishment.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"How could he so easily... break the old man's skill?!"
But while everyone was bewildered and frozen in shock.
"Get a grip, you bunch of cowards!" A stern shout suddenly rang out from behind them.
"A skill like that would have completely drained his mana! Don't just stand there, attack him all at once now!"
Hwang Dongsuk's words jolted the villains back to their senses. It was so obvious, an unchanging principle that the more powerful the skill, the more mana it required. A B-rank, no even an A-rank, would have exhausted all their mana using a skill of that magnitude. A sinister glint returned to the villains' eyes.
"Yeah! Let's go!"
"He's just one guy!"
"Uwaaaaaaaahaha!"
"That's right! Let's kill him!"
Even though most of them were lower ranks, as the villains gathered all their mana simultaneously, their sheer number created an intimidating aura that seemed to pierce the sky.
"That's right, you bastards! Don't forget we've taken High-Grade Stardust!" Hwang Dongsuk's spirited cry further fueled their morale.
Thud!
Gray, carrying Suho on his back, landed on the distorted ground. And the villains unleashed a barrage of attacks towards them.
"Kill him-!"
"Attack!"
Gray bit into the arm of the leading villain with his powerful fangs and shook his head violently.
"Aaack!"
The villain's body was flung backward faster than he charged in.
'Stardust?' Suho's eyes twitched at Hwang Dongsuk's words.
[My liege, his presence has vanished!] Beru glared at the sky where the old man's hand had disappeared.
"Yeah. Looks like he ran away." Suho nodded, recalling the sensation he felt when his fist connected. If he had killed him with that blow, a system message would have appeared so he was certain that the old man was still alive.
"He couldn't have gone far."
[I agree.] Beru, his eyes narrowed, surveyed the grotesquely distorted landscape of the village and said,
[If he had fled far away, this illusion wouldn't be maintained like this. He must be hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity.]
[The beings of the Spirit Realm are inherently cowardly and cunning. Even during the Monarch's War, Yogmunt, the Monarch of Transfiguration, only hid behind other Monarchs, casting illusions and opening gates.] Beru was quick to explain the nature of the creatures he had encountered before.
[Dealing with the Demonic Spirit Clans, whether during the war or later, was always troublesome and annoying.]
"So, how did my father break their illusions?" Suho, recalling stories he's been by the shadow ant, asked Beru,
[Of course... with overwhelming strength.] Beru grinned and glanced at the black energy enveloping Suho's fist.
[No matter what tricks they used to obstruct him, he tore through them all with absolute power and conviction.]
Bam!
Suho slammed his fists together and grinned, revealing his teeth.
"I like it. Simple yet effective."
Then his gaze turned towards the countless villains charging at him. This was his first time fighting other humans, and to face so many at once… They weren't all weaklings either. It was a formidable force, with B-ranks and even A-ranks mixed in. Thanks to recruiting Kang Taeshik, who used stealth, as a Shadow Soldier, they had gained the upper hand in the initial skirmish, but his daggers couldn't pierce the defenses of B or A rank tankers. So on the surface, the situation seemed overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Suho. But for some reason...
'I don't feel like we're in any danger of losing.'
Outnumbered? With the ability to turn the dead into soldiers, being outnumbered was no longer a problem for him as his army would grow the longer he fought. But for now, he decided to hold back on that due to the Demonic Spirit who was likely still watching them, hidden somewhere.
'They could be in league with Itarim.' So Suho looked down at his shadow and spoke.
"Esil, come out for a bit."
Whoosh!
The demon noble, emerged from Suho's shadow.
"...Where are we this time? And you're dragging me out only to fight right away?" Esil looked at the horde of vicious humans charging towards them with a dumbfounded expression.
But that was only for a moment. She smirked and reached out her hand to the side, her eyes gleaming with a thirst for battle.
"I love this."
Swish!
A long spear materialized in Esil's hand. Demons were a warrior race, born into a life of constant struggle. For a demon noble, who stood at the pinnacle of their kind, battle was more precious than anything else in the world.
"Can I kill them all?"
She didn't wait for an answer. Esil's spear pierced the villains' hearts before they could even react.
"Krrr!"
Gray, not to be outdone, lunged forward, baring his ferocious fangs and tearing into the villains' limbs. Suho also drew Vulcan's Horns and grinned broadly.
"Alright, let's make some mayhem."
They were still vastly outnumbered.
But truly...
'I don't think we'll ever lose.'
[Skill: 'Bladestorm' is activated.]
Kwaaang!
A storm of blades erupted from Suho's twin swords, sweeping through the villains.
'My skills are way more effective when enemies are clustered together.' Suho disrupted the enemy's formation with his wide-area attack. While Gray fearlessly charged into the fray, using his massive body to slam into and crush the enemies, throwing their ranks into disarray. And Esil, like a seasoned lancer, pierced the hearts of the panicked villains fleeing from Gray's onslaught. Their teamwork was reminiscent of a well-balanced raid party. Then, Esil tilted her head in confusion.
"What's this? Why are their heads falling off on their own?"
Splat!
Slash!
Thud! Gurgle!
For some time now, an unseen Shadow assassin had been continuously taking the villains' lives, hidden from sight.
"...You picked up an interesting one, didn't you?" Esil grinned joyfully, swinging her spear and shouting towards Suho.
"Suho! These guys, they may have the numbers, but they're all useless! They're just a bunch of kids who don't even know how to use their powers properly!"
Suho had also just realized that fact. Observing the movements of the Jisan Prison villains, he noticed that regardless of their mana rank or skills, they severely lacked combat experience.
It seemed that the villains fighting Suho and his companions were also starting to realize this reality.
"S-surrender!"
"We Surrender!"
"Please spare us!"
At that moment, those whose mana had run out began to raise their hands in surrender. More and more of them dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves on the ground, begging for their lives.
'...Look at this?' Suho, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, realized something intriguing.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks. Then, he roared fiercely at the villains surrounding him.
"Kneel !"
[Skill: 'Bloodlust' is activated.]
Some villains were able to resist this Bloodlust.
But what about this?
Suho unleashed an even more intense Bloodlust and shouted once more.
"Look around you! Your leader has abandoned you!"
"Hairy, that bastard… ?!" The villains were taken aback.
Meanwhile,
"Huff, huff, huff!" Hwang Dongsuk had pushed all his subordinates to the front lines and was now running in the opposite direction without hesitation.
'You idiots! Like that's gonna work!' He inwardly mocked the foolishness of his subordinates, who had easily fallen for his instigation.
'This is why those with no real-world experience lack common sense.'
People called Jisan Prison a notorious hellhole filled with the most vicious criminals, but to Hwang Dongsuk, who had reigned as king within those walls, it was all nonsense.
Villains?
The worst superhuman criminals?
'Bullshit.' Truthfully, despite being called villains, how many of them had actually fought anyone with their abilities?
'Most of them were caught by that Woo Jinchul bastard before they could even use their powers properly.'
Woo Jinchul was truly a formidable man. Somehow, he always seemed to know whenever the villains were about to commit a crime and would appear on the scene like a ghost, capturing them instantly. With the S-rank Choi Jong-in, even those able to escape were helplessly captured without putting up much of a fight. That's why Jisan Prison was a gathering place for villains who lacked real combat experience as Awakened beings.
"Because of that, the villains in Jisan Prison are severely lacking in practical experience as awakeners. They don't know how to properly utilize their skills, and they haven't developed the ability to gauge their opponents' strength."
"So they all fell for my nonsense about overwhelming them with numbers. Fools! Well, thanks to that, I've been able to take advantage of them until now."
But that was over.
'More than 50 of them are already dead.'
He had escaped with a whopping 500 people, and a tenth of their fighting force had been reduced overnight. Thinking positively, there were still nine-tenths left, but the reality wasn't so bright. Last night, about 300 people rebelled against him and left. In the end, only about 200 were following him, and he had lost 50 of them. Even now, more and more were losing their lives.
'There are only about 150 left. At this rate, they'll all be dead by the end of the day.'
It was a real headache. But to be honest, it was something he knew would happen eventually. The reason he was able to thrive as the kingpin in Jisan Prison was all thanks to his brother, Hwang Dongsoo. He was able to unite 500 prisoners and lead a successful breakout because of him as well. He had lied to all the villains in Jisan Prison to get them to escape.
"Once we break out, my brother will come find us soon!"
"Ooh! Does that mean we will become subordinates of an S-rank villain?"
"Of course, you idiots!"
S-rank villain Hwang Dongsoo would back them up. This lie moved the hearts of all the villains in Jisan Prison, and everyone participated in the breakout without exception.
But.
'There's no way that bastard Dongsoo would come to save me.'
Even two days after the noisy breakout, Hwang Dongsoo hadn't shown up in Pocheon. Anxiety began to sprout among the villains. They had taken such a big risk, trusting only in s-rank's villain help, but there was no sign of him coming... Their trust in Hwang Dongsuk started to crumble. The fact that Hwang Dongsuk's criminal record before becoming a villain was that of a swindler also played a part.
And finally, last night.
A group decided they wouldn't follow Hwang Dongsuk anymore and act independently. Hwang Dongsuk had no justification to stop them. No, he didn't even have the power. Without his brother's reputation, Hwang Dongsuk was nothing more than a C-rank villain.
'But it doesn't matter.'
Hwang Dongsuk with a meaningful smile opened the door to the hideout where the 'old man' was.
"Old man! We have a big problem... Huh!" His body froze.
Bzzzzt!
Inside, it wasn't just the old man. Countless bees were gathering, forming the shape of a woman.