Chapter 155
"...It wasn't just a bad feeling for nothing."
Of course, the judgment wasn't made solely on appearance.
The bizarre spirits that emerged from inside the gate were exuding such powerful killing intent that it made one's skin crawl. They seemed ready to destroy the city and unleash a massacre at any moment.
Moreover, there wasn't just one of these grotesque spirits.
They kept pouring out from between the opened cracks.
The number visible right now was already around 50.
'It's good I stayed behind just in case.'
To be completely honest, this wasn't quite the situation he had anticipated.
He had simply remained in Seoul until the very end to guard Jazan, the most important figure in this plan.
But looking back now, it truly was an excellent choice.
'If those monsters, steeped in murderous intent, had run wild in downtown Seoul...'
There was no need for much imagination.
The entire city would have been drenched in blood, creating a horrific scene.
While it was fortunate that he, Lee Seong-jun, had stayed behind, there was no time to be relieved.
'I must prevent those monsters from approaching the city.'
As Lee Seong-jun immediately took to the air, closing the distance with the bizarre spirits floating in the sky, he drew their attention.
Inside the spheres of the grotesque spirits, the skulls all flashed their eye lights simultaneously and opened their jaws wide.
Woong-!
Black energy began to gather in their mouths.
Given that their manifestation speed wasn't particularly fast, it wouldn't be difficult to avoid.
However, considering the city behind him, he couldn't dodge.
'I have to block it completely.'
Lee Seong-jun, his eyes narrowed, stared at the air and activated his skills.
'Star's Protection.'
As Lee Seong-jun quickly acted, overlaying a protective aura on the invisible veil spread in the air, it was at that moment.
Bang-!
The beam-like streams of light shot from the skulls' mouths collided with the veil, exploding and creating brilliant fireworks.
But the Star's Protection, surrounded by the protective aura, still maintained its intact form.
'The power isn't that strong.'
At best, it was similar to attacks from A-rank monsters.
From an objective standpoint, it couldn't be considered weak, but it wasn't much of a threat to Lee Seong-jun.
In other words, they were small fry he didn't need to be too wary of.
"I'll sweep them away in one go."
Having made his assessment, Lee Seong-jun drew up his blood energy.
Naturally, as he operated the Blood Demon Sovereign Skill, a small red flower bloomed on his palm.
'Blood Flower Heaven Opening, Blood Bud Resonance.'
A massive wave arose from the flower bud on his palm, spreading out into the air.
Kwaaang-!
Though a thunderous roar erupted, not even a hint of impact reached the ground.
Rather, the downtown area was more silent than ever.
The perfectly controlled force caused only the necessary destruction at the precise point.
With just one wave, it burst all 50 or so of the bizarre spirits.
No, "burst" wasn't the right expression.
It would be more accurate to say they were annihilated, as not even a trace remained.
Although he had dealt with all the bizarre spirits that came out of the gate, Lee Seong-jun's expression remained stiff.
"...It can't end this easily."
As if waiting for Lee Seong-jun's words to finish, the gate stirred once again.
Kugoong-!
With a loud rumble, the crack in the gate widened further, and bizarre spirits poured out like water from an open faucet.
The number was incomparable to the first time.
Unlike the initial invasion of only 50, now there were easily over hundreds.
Moreover, it wasn't just the numbers that had increased.
Among the spirits pouring out from inside the gate, there were also named monsters with unique appearances and powerful strengths interspersed here and there.
[Adore, Spirit of Fallen Flame-Bearing Wraith.]
'A real spirit?'
A wry smile escaped his lips as his seemingly absurd guess hit the mark.
However, now was not the time to focus on names or species.
'...This has become troublesome.'
It could be said that the power of the wraith spirits had become somewhat more vexing than before.
Looking at the power alone, it wasn't much, but with numbers exceeding hundreds and attacks from named monsters raining down, it was a different story.
Of course, this didn't mean Lee Seong-jun showed any signs of panic.
Rather, he was calmly accepting the reality with a composed expression.
"So this is what a Black Gate is like, I see."
In fact, it could be said that it still fell short of his expectations.
It was at a level he could sufficiently handle.
Lee Seong-jun, wearing a leisurely smile, advanced towards the bizarre spirits covering the sky.
* * *
At the moment when the sudden outbreak occurred.
Choi Chang-woo, the vice master of Phoenix, who had been trying to support Lee Seong-jun while quickly managing the panic, couldn't help but wear a shocked expression.
It was because the red wave that spread from the sky had annihilated all the bizarre spirits.
"Can, can he unleash such an attack without any preparation?"
He had been impressed when watching videos of Lee Seong-jun's exploits, but seeing it in person made the overwhelming power resonate even more deeply.
Even though Choi Chang-woo himself was one of the renowned sorcerers, even if he spent months preparing a spell, he wouldn't be able to match that level of power and control.
A wry smile naturally formed on Choi Chang-woo's lips.
"...Can this even be considered martial arts? No, is this the true power of martial arts?"
It was a situation where he couldn't find the answer with his existing knowledge.
However, one thing was certain.
'This is not the time to be like this.'
Choi Chang-woo's eyes, which had been fixed on the gate opened in the sky, moved busily.
"So it wasn't the end after all."
In fact, even the bizarre spirits that had just appeared would have caused considerable damage if it weren't for Lee Seong-jun.
Although he had eliminated such beings, the gate exuding an ominous aura was still intact.
Rather, it was widening its crack even further, flaunting its imposing presence.
Roughly hundreds of monsters, along with named ones, were falling, but considering the precedents of Black Gates, even this current invasion was likely just the beginning.
'...We were too complacent.'
Why did they try to measure and prepare for the Black Gate using existing common sense?
Regret for past mistakes washed over him like a tidal wave, but now was not the time to dwell on the past.
'We need to seal the gate's entrance as quickly as possible.'
As Choi Chang-woo's eyes began to emit light, Jazan, who could be called the overall person in charge of this plan, was also urgently raising his voice.
"Everyone, quickly take your seats! We need to spread the barrier before it's too late!"
At Jazan's shout, the hundred hunters who had been wearing dazed expressions hurriedly gathered their wits.
However, this made it impossible for them to accept Jazan's order.
"But, but..."
"We haven't received word that the deployment work is complete."
In other words, it could be called incomplete.
It meant they couldn't spread the full barrier as originally planned.
But Jazan, being a top-tier barrier artist, couldn't possibly be unaware of this.
It was simply a choice made because there was no other option.
"If the Black Gate opens completely, everything will be over!"
Just a small gap opening had resulted in hundreds of monsters appearing.
If it opened fully, thousands of monsters would pour out.
It meant the city would turn to ashes in an instant.
"Seoul! Aren't we fighting to protect our families and friends?! It's up to you and me, to all of us to do this!"
As Jazan shouted while looking around, a glint appeared in the hunters' eyes.
What was the reason they had voluntarily joined the war, not fleeing overseas, despite knowing it was dangerous from the start?
It was to protect what they held dear.
"Everyone, move!"
"Let's protect Seoul from those monsters!"
The hunters who raised their voices immediately sat down in seats marked with unique patterns.
At that moment, a somewhat strange yet mystical energy rose like purple haze.
Jazan's eyes turned purple as he knelt with both hands on the ground, and incantations were being muttered from his mouth.
Purple light shot up brightly into the air from various places in Seoul, forming the pattern of a hexagram.
A massive barrier began to unfold.
'Location: the entrance of the Black Gate in Seoul's airspace.'
It was at the moment when Jazan, smiling at the center of the pattern, once again uttered an incantation in a strange language.
The purple energy dispersed explosively.
Woowoong-!
Along with a resonating sound, a small hexagram pattern began to form centered on Jazan.
However, it wasn't a complete form like the one that had appeared in the sky.
There were sparsely empty patterns, emitting violent shock waves.
Kugugung-!
It was because the deployment work hadn't been perfectly carried out.
It could be said to be a precarious situation where the barrier could collapse at any moment.
But Jazan's expression showed not even a hint of agitation.
'This is a situation I had already foreseen.'
The deficient parts would be handled by the sorcerers and hunters.
Although the recoil they would have to bear from forcibly spreading it would be tremendous, if everyone shared the burden together, they should be able to manage.
'Deploy.'
It was at the moment when Jazan, with strong conviction, mentally uttered the activation word for the barrier.
Kwaa-!
Energy began to surge from the entire bodies of the hunters sitting on the pattern.
Eventually, as an enormous amount of energy seemed to engulf the area, it shot high into the air.
Woowoong-!
The hexagram pattern covering the sky emitted a resonating sound immediately after.
At the same time, the massive energy that had shot into the sky was sucked into the hexagram pattern like a whirlpool and disappeared.
There was no change in the visible scenery.
A huge gate was still in place in Seoul's airspace.
"What, what happened?"
To Choi Chang-woo's question, who had collapsed on the ground as if exhausted from the backlash of forcibly spreading an incomplete barrier, Jazan, who was breathing heavily, looked up at the sky.
"90 percent... We couldn't succeed perfectly due to the lack of deployment work."
It could be said that they hadn't fully achieved their original goal.
However, there was not a hint of worry in the expressions of Jazan and the nearby hunters.
"...It should be enough."
"Yes, we can rest easy about the rest now."
It was because they had just witnessed it with their own eyes.
Just how overwhelming the power of the man floating in Seoul's airspace, Lee Seong-jun, was.