< 87. Hell of Distrust (15) >
While the convicts who pursued in the direction Ha Eunsung fled found themselves in trouble, those who went in the opposite direction soon faced obstacles.
"Damn, we lost him!"
The convicts, who had been flying through the dark city skies, all landed on the ground. The trail, which had been left so obviously as if to taunt them, had suddenly vanished without a trace.
Even Asif-1,319,552, who was confident he could track any trace that wasn't left by an ancient dragon, was among them.
"..."
The spiritual realm he observed was just as clean as before.
"This is driving me crazy. Why did I have to make such bold claims?"
He let out a bitter laugh, his face hardening as if his pride had been wounded.
"It seems that the one we're after is Asif-666. The one who fled west was just a decoy."
"But if we let him slip away like this, all we'll catch is the bait. Are we going to have to resort to a hostage situation?"
"Hold on, let me try something."
The one who spoke was a spirit caller who had joined the group last.
As he focused his mind, the space around them warped, and a spirit was summoned. It took the form of a half-elf, much like the one he had called earlier, but this time it was shrouded in a blurry light rather than flames.
"Go!"
The spirit flew into the darkened city, searching for Minjun.
And a few minutes later.
"Agh!"
A sharp scream.
"What's going on?!"
The half-elf, who had drawn their attention, clutched at his chest. His knees buckled, and he collapsed, foaming at the mouth as he rolled on the ground.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Everyone was thrown into confusion by the sudden turn of events. The half-elf, his eyes streaming with blood, clawed at the ground and muttered in a voice filled with agony.
"That... bastard... my spirit!"
Only then did they begin to understand what had happened.
A spirit being forcibly sent back to the spiritual realm wouldn't cause such severe damage. The half-elf appeared to be in no condition to continue the fight.
They couldn't fathom how it happened, but the spirit they sent to track Minjun had been destroyed by him. The destruction of the ethereal body, which serves as a vessel for the soul, rather than a physical one.
"This won't do. We'll split up and search for him!"
Here, Asif-1,319,552 made another mistake.
He assumed that the group who went after the decoy would soon return. He believed that once they brought the decoy back, they could immediately proceed to take hostages.
Even if they split up to search for Asif-666, he thought that when someone found Minjun and the battle began, the rest would converge on the signal, and they would have the advantage.
None of these assumptions were correct, and the result was just what Minjun wanted—a situation perfect for picking them off one by one.
Crash!
Crack!
In a dark alleyway.
A black shadow on Minjun's shoulder solidified into a monstrous form. The seething darkness seamlessly merged into a mass with sharp teeth, which the summoned creature used to "bite" into a figure made of dim light.
Crunch!
The thing being ground up in the creature's mouth was the spirit sent by the convicts.
The spirit, which had taken the form of its summoner, was defenseless against the creature's attack, despite being an ethereal being immune to the resistance of the material world. The half-elf's expressionless face was split apart and sucked into the shadows.
Growl!
The creature let out a satisfied rumble. Once the summoned creature had completely finished its meal, Minjun began to move.
"Got one."
He spotted a dwarf flying through the alleys, scattering various tracking spells as he went.
The dwarf was moving alone.
"Good, they've split up."
The convicts, fearing that they would lose track of their target if they moved together, had allowed their judgment to be clouded. One reason was that most of them still considered him just a 'curse caster.' The convicts had no way of knowing his true nature, which even most ancient dragons were unaware of.
Incidentally, those convicts who knew Minjun well or had significant connections had already backed out when they heard he was involved.
Minjun silently aimed in the darkness. Casting a wide-area curse on a group required a rather cumbersome procedure, but dealing with individuals one by one was an easy task for someone as skilled as he was.
"Aaargh!"
A scream tore through the night sky.
Thud!
With a loud crash, a convict hit the ground and rolled.
"Argh! Damn it...!"
A clear change was visible in his body as he writhed in pain.
Even though it was a man's body, his belly had swelled as if he were pregnant. No, even the belly of a pregnant dwarf woman wouldn't swell like that. His skin stretched to the point where it seemed it would tear at any moment, filled with an enormous amount of ascitic fluid and gas that you'd only see in someone on the brink of death.
In that state, he couldn't walk, let alone run. His feet didn't even touch the ground because of his swollen belly. There was no way he could roll after Minjun.
"A week or so should be enough for this to wear off."
Since the ascites wasn't caused by a serious illness, it wouldn't be fatal. Leaving the immobilized convict behind, Minjun moved on.
As he was hunting for his next target.
Boom!
The pavement where Minjun had been standing a moment ago shattered into pieces.
He quickly leaped aside and identified his attacker.
"You!"
A black-skinned troll was glaring at him, his eyes wild with fury.
"Asif-666!"
His roar was as fierce as a wild beast's, enough to make the air quiver.
In his hand was a giant sword, more suited for construction than combat. Only a troll could wield such a massive weapon, its blade gleaming with a sharpness that seemed capable of slicing through anything.
'Weapon Master.'
When combined with the troll's extraordinary physique, it became a weapon of mass destruction more powerful than most wizards.
Minjun responded calmly to the hostile gaze, grumbling to himself.
"Why does your face look annoyingly familiar?"
His words served as a distraction for the spell he was casting.
Crackle!
The curse hit the troll under the guise of conversation.
But instead of taking effect, sparks and flames flickered across the troll's skin. The magic didn't seem to work.
Minjun clicked his tongue inwardly.
"He's wearing a year's worth of a major corporation's budget."
He had armed himself with anti-magic artifacts all over his body, fully prepared to counter curses.
The troll, with burning eyes, shouted out:
"We finally meet again!"
Minjun compared the troll's identification number above his head with his face. Since the troll had been given this body, it meant he was a convict sent to Earth after the 1980s. It didn't take long for Minjun to recall.
This was someone who had interfered with his work in the past and had fallen victim to a curse.
But... what curse was that?
"You can't even begin to imagine the humiliation I've suffered since that day! The agony of having my dignity and self-esteem as an intelligent being shattered to pieces! I howled every night, trying to overcome the devil's whispers that dominated my mind."
He growled.
"But I lost every time! I had no choice but to kneel before those disgusting urges every day. I would vomit anything else I tried to eat, and no medicine would work. Such a curse should not exist in this world. The committee made a terrible mistake in sparing your life and sentencing you to forced labor!"
As Minjun prepared another attack, realizing that curses wouldn't work, he thought to himself.
So, it wasn't kidney stones?
Well, that curse can be treated in a hospital. If he wanted to torment the troll for a long time, he must have messed with his mind...
"The reality that I can't kill you with my own hands is lamentable! But at least I won't let you regain your freedom! If someone this evil, even with lost memories, returns to their original state, what a monstrous creature they'll become!"
With a roar, the troll lunged.
The troll's massive body moved with unbelievable speed. A dazzling light followed the shockwave that tore through the air. His charge was ferocious. Almost simultaneously, a shadow erupted from Minjun's back, covering his entire body.
Impact.
Clang!
What followed was a flurry of blows too fast for ordinary people to track with their eyes. Sparks flew, and loud crashes echoed whenever darkness clashed with metal.
Despite his intense effort, the troll's deadly sword strikes, which seemed to burn through space, barely touched Minjun. The troll believed this was because he couldn't fully unleash his power due to the constraint of not killing.
However, as the exchange of attacks and defenses continued, a clear pattern began to emerge in the convict's eyes.
'This is...!'
The black-skinned troll felt the burning rage within him slowly cool. Replacing it was a sense of doubt and dread.
'Wasn't his most threatening skill supposed to be curses?!'
This was the perception held by most convicts on Earth, who feared and labeled Asif-666 as a monster.
Unlike in the previous dimension, Minjun had not undertaken many group missions with convicts in this world. The civilization was different, and the social conditions were entirely unlike any other world.
As a result, most of them had never seen Minjun fight like this.
'What kind of wizard is this?!'
Wrapped in shadows, Minjun moved at a speed that rivaled the Weapon Master troll and countered with equal force.
Moreover, the shadows that served as his body and weapon unleashed attacks more freely and unpredictably than the troll's sword. Those were supposed to be the superior traits of sword energy—to extend, bend, widen, and rain down attacks that could penetrate the opponent's defenses.
But the mutation of the shadows surpassed that. When the shadow on Minjun's left arm collapsed and scattered like raindrops, even the troll broke out in a cold sweat.
So, he decided not to distance himself from Minjun. That decision was immediately followed by action.
"Graaaah!"
He threw everything into a fierce charge.
Impact again.
Clang!
Crackle!
The sword aura on the massive sword collided with Minjun's shadow-covered arm, both locked in place.
Neither attack yielded to the other, resulting in a stalemate. They remained in close quarters, caught in a tense struggle for dominance.
"Grrr!"
The troll's expression was one of disbelief.
A wizard was holding his ground with sheer strength.
"You... insane...!"
The troll poured all his weight into his sword, unleashing immense power. This was strength beyond that of an ordinary troll, the muscle power of a supernatural being. This forced him to lean forward, bringing his face right up to Minjun's eyes.
It was then that a cracking sound came from Minjun's mouth.
"?!"
His tongue, severed by sharp teeth, melted inside his mouth and transformed into flames. The troll's massive head was so close that Minjun could feel the unpleasant breath coming out of his nose. Staring directly at him, Minjun opened his mouth.
And blew with all his might.
Whooosh!
Fwoooosh!
"Graaah!"
The blood-red flame that burst forth from between his lips enveloped the troll's face. As the condensed fire covered the troll's face, Minjun immediately pulled back.
The enemy collapsed with a horrific scream.
A direct hit like that would normally kill even a troll instantly. After all, it was a flame capable of melting steel.
But Minjun was certain that his opponent would survive and endure it. Considering the artifacts the troll was wearing, it was unlikely the full destructive power of the spell would be transmitted. The artifacts would block much of the heat.
However, just like with humans, there are particularly vulnerable mucous membranes on a troll's face. Even heat that tough and leathery skin could withstand would cause significant damage if it struck there directly.
And that spot is...
"Arrgh! My eyes! My eyeees!"
Even the troll's regenerative powers couldn't immediately restore the evaporated vitreous humor. Minjun calmly approached and began dismantling the artifacts from the convict's body. Sparks and flames flickered at his touch, but he ignored them.
As he stood over the troll, something he had forgotten suddenly came to mind.
'Ah, I remember what curse it was!'
Looking closely at the troll's face, he recalled the curse he had cast long ago.
It was coprophagia.
"Revenge... I'll definitely... revenge...!"
As the troll, who had lost his resistance to curses, muttered, Minjun unhesitatingly drove a dagger into the troll's shoulder.
Thunk!
A horrendous scream echoed through the night sky of the port city. It was a cry that the usually pain-resistant species wouldn't utter even under extreme torture.
'It's been a long time since I've heard a troll scream.'
After the troll passed out, Minjun pulled out the dagger and flicked off the blood.
'Another one down. Now, onto the next!'
Just as he was about to turn and leave to hunt his next target.
"..."
For some reason, he turned back to the troll and stared at him. His lips moved, muttering a few words of a spell.
The completed curse enveloped the unconscious troll.
'If I leave them with a half-baked curse, they become troublesome, trying to get revenge. I need to crush them properly so they won't even think about revenge. Like that shepherd at the strip bar who wet his pants and ran away... When I see him again, I'll make sure he's too terrified to even consider coming after me.'
With that resolve and determination, the curse he crafted with utmost care took hold of the troll's body. Minjun then tried to merge back into the darkness.
But then—
"We're a bit late."
Minjun clicked his tongue.
Four convicts stood blocking his path.
Among them, Asif-1,319,552 threw him a cold gaze and declared:
"The days of your sneaky ambushes end here."
Minjun glared at the identification number floating above the convict's head with a hardened expression.
< Chapter 87. Hell of Distrust (15) > End