Seo Eunha was like a bolt of lightning.
Radiant and cloaked in light, she shot forth and single-handedly crushed five units of Haunted Armor.
From behind Seo Eunha, the search team members saw a vivid hope.
"Wow, that's the combat style of Captain Seo Eunha I've only heard about…"
It was the first time they'd seen such a spectacle, and they couldn't help but be amazed.
Of course, they had heard stories from the unit leaders who had planned operations with her.
According to the sniper of the unit, Sergeant Kang Kang Ik-jun,
Captain Seo Eunha's fighting style is closer to a 'Berserker' than a 'Paladin'…
"So it was true…"
They finally understood what that meant.
An Min-tae was blankly staring at her before snapping back to reality and raising his shield.
"Alright! Let's provide covering fire as we follow the Captain!"
They moved slowly, maintaining a defensive posture while following Seo Eunha.
The light emanating from her pushed away the darkness, enabling them to advance toward hell itself.
Together, they cut down one zombie after another coming at them from all directions.
"Coming from the right!"
"-Focus fire!"
And soon, over a hundred zombies were strung out behind them.
'…We can do this! We can do it again!'
When they first faced this hellish scene, they thought there was no hope. But the moment their two most famous players demonstrated their true skills, everything turned around.
'Captain Seo Eunha is amazing, but Sergeant Choi Young-jun is no slouch either.'
On the right, in between the trees, Choi Young-jun was in combat.
"Argh!"
The thug who had boasted about taking revenge on Choi Young-jun was now limping backward on one leg. Choi Young-jun was relentlessly pursuing him, wielding his short sword.
Swoosh-Crack!
A single strike that soared from bottom to top tore through the thug's right shoulder. The thug had no choice but to jump back and flee. After just two slashes, the thug was already severely injured.
'The difference in skill is obvious.'
He had seen Choi Young-jun fight many times, but it was always overwhelmingly one-sided, making it difficult to gauge his real abilities. But it was the same now.
"We can do it!"
An Min-tae couldn't help but cheer.
As long as they keep pushing like this, everything will end smoothly.
'To survive in hell like this, it's a miracle!'
The fact that these two powerhouses were in the same unit was nothing short of a miracle.
But then…
Boom!
Out of nowhere, a loud explosion halted An Min-tae's thoughts.
"Ugh!"
The search team instinctively lowered their posture.
Flames were erupting from the darkness ahead.
Something flew toward the search team.
Thud.
"…What?"
…It was Seo Eunha.
Bright red blood trickled from her forehead.
An Min-tae's lips slowly drooped.
"Ca-Captain?"
"Fall, fall back…"
But for some reason, the divine glow had vanished from her body.
"You think you're famous for nothing?"
A female voice echoed from the darkness.
"Did you think I didn't know about your incredible skills? That's why I came prepared like this…"
Four arms sprouted from the woman's back.
And one of them was holding something that emanated a dark aura.
"…I've even prepared a second gift for you."
Ads by Pubfuture
Whirr whirr–
It was a necklace.
The necklace was emitting a strange noise, pushing away the light coming from Seo Eunha.
[ Warning! The curse of 'Gregory Azazel' spreads! Holy powers in the area are suppressed! ]
"Ugh! Of all things… a relic of the fallen angel…"
In Judeo-Christian tradition, the 'Grigori' are a group of fallen angels, and 'Azazel' is their leader.
In essence, they were originally holy but betrayed that power to embrace darkness. The artifact modeled after them was an anti-holy item.
Reddish stains started to spread over the white glyphs that floated above Seo Eunha's armor, shield, and greatsword. Her white light dimmed, and her power began to wane.
Seo Eunha struggled to her feet and staggered forward.
"Ugh… Huh…"
However, with her holy powers restricted, she was far from her full strength.
Thud- Thud-
Three Haunted Armors walked menacingly toward her.
For some reason, they seemed even more enormous than before.
As if they were about to crush and kill Seo Eunha right on the spot…
Even Choi Young-jun's situation wasn't looking good.
He had just succeeded in slicing off all four limbs of a hooded vampire.
However, black smoke started to emanate from the severed parts, regenerating the body.
"…What's this smoke?"
If it was in the form of smoke, Choi Young-jun's sword wouldn't be able to cut it.
And the next moment, the smoke enveloped the entire body of the hooded vampire…
Whoosh—
"Ah? Sergeant Choi Young-jun! Be caref—"
The smoke transformed into a whirlwind that engulfed Choi Young-jun.
His body floated into the air.
Wrapped in black smoke, Choi Young-jun vanished into the depths of the forest.
"…"
They couldn't know what happened after that.
Both of their hopes were extinguished at the same time.
"What the heck is happening all of a sudden?"
"What do we do now?"
The search team members felt their hearts sink, even more than before.
"We're all going to die."
"We need to run now…"
Panic soon set in.
"Hey! Snap out of it and raise your weapons!"
"Ah…"
"We have to keep fighting! Zombies are approaching from 11 o'clock!"
They reflexively raised their weapons to face the enemies before them.
It was all they could do.
However, they all knew that if even those two couldn't make it, there was no hope.
"Damn it! Of all the times, those things are coming this way!"
Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-
While Seo Eunha was struggling against three Haunted Armors, two more were approaching them.
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Arrows imbued with holy power were fired en masse toward them.
Ting- Ting-
But they only managed to bounce over the enormous armors.
"No! Run!"
Thud- Thud-
The approaching shadows loomed over the heads of the tanks.
An Min-tae looked up at them and raised his shield.
"We're done for."
This is really the end.
That's what he thought.
It felt like this was already the second time today he had felt this way.
Back then, Sergeant Choi Young-jun had miraculously appeared.
But now, he was nowhere to be seen, having flown far away.
Ads by Pubfuture
To hope for another miracle, frankly…
Bang—
"…Huh?"
At the sudden loud noise, An Min-tae slowly lowered his shield.
Ding—
The empty armor began to resonate as if it had turned into a giant bell.
The reason was that a silver rod-like object was stuck in the armor's chest plate and was vibrating.
Screech—
A horrible wail came from the spirit inside the Haunted Armor.
It was holy power. The unidentified rod contained holy power.
The creature tried to put down its weapon and remove the rod, but…
Bang— Bang— Bang—
Three more rods flew in and stuck in various parts of the armor.
More holy power stimulated the interior of the armor.
Unable to withstand it any longer, black smoke burst out from various parts of the armor, and it finally kneeled.
Creak—
The spirit had willingly abandoned the Living Armor.
"Isn't that… a stake?"
Some of the search team members recognized what it was.
Then, lights started to come on one by one from the dark forest behind them.
Flashlights attached to weapons,
Numerous AMT soldiers stood tall in the darkness.
"Reinforcements!"
And the man leading them was none other than Lee Hyunwook.
"Ah! Sergeant Lee Hyunwook!"
An Min-tae couldn't help but shout.
His voice was tinged with emotion.
Yes, he had momentarily forgotten.
The man who had been doing more than anyone else in this hellish place,
That Lee Hyunwook had yet to make his appearance…
He walked up and put his hand on An Min-tae's shoulder.
"An Min-tae, snap out of it, it's not over yet."
"Ah! Yes!"
Feeling his morale surge, An Min-tae raised his shield.
"What is everyone doing? Get ready to fight again!"
At his cry, the search team members who had been retreating stepped forward once again.
And the reinforcements that followed Lee Hyunwook began to line up on both sides of them.
They were female soldiers from the second company, and most of them were mage players.
"Alright! Focus and prepare your link magic!"
A female sergeant with a small stature led them with a shout.
Kim Se-hee, she was the most famous soldier in the 2nd Company.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyunwook was slowly scanning the battlefield while reading the system message that appeared before him.
[ You can acquire the 'Master Authority' for this Living Armor. ]
-Due to your low 'Control', it may not function properly!
This message had appeared the moment he defeated the Haunted Armor.
Living Armor was a combat weapon designed by magic, a sort of auto-hunting item.
Usually, mages secured Master Authority through 'Control Magic' to use it.
'But there's an easier way to use control.'
Control was among the very rare and powerful abilities for players.
Inferno controlling fire,
Park Jun-mo controlling electricity,
Necromancers controlling death,
And Lee Hyunwook could control metal. In the system, his 'Metal Control' could be a master key to acquire the 'Master Authority' of the Living Armor.
'Move.'
Then the surface of the fallen Living Armor began to glow, various magical circles etched on it lighting up one by one.
It seemed like a machine starting up, and soon a cyan light glowed in its 'eyes'.
Thud—
Ads by Pubfuture
It stood up tall in front of Lee Hyunwook.
[ You have acquired the 'Master Authority' of the Living Armor. ]
"…You sure did bring a lot of useful things."
Lee Hyunwook couldn't help but smile.
"Lee, Lee Hyunwook?"
It was Seo Eunha's voice. She was already in a terrible state.
"I was almost late this time, but I still made it before you."
"You! Is this a time for jokes? Ugh…"
As she staggered, about to fall, Lee Hyunwook approached and supported her.
Just then, his eyes met with a woman standing far away in the darkness.
"Ah, so you're the other one who killed Oh Kang-muk… you've finally shown up?"
Lee Hyunwook knew who that woman was.
'Carol Choi, the leader of the Five Slaughterers.'
She was one of the minions of the second child of the Blood Lord, Ki Baek-jun.
Being a vampire and able to wield death magic, she could control the undead.
Of course, she was nothing compared to the necromancer, the Death Army Commander…
Screech—
Behind her, in the wide valley, green glowing eyes started to gather.
"You've gathered quite a lot."
Lee Hyunwook walked towards them.
"It seems like you're planning a grand party. Sorry to interrupt, but I have to."
"Ha, I assume you're aware that what's going to be on the party table is your head?"
Carol tossed her last cigarette on the ground and stamped it out with her foot.
However, Lee Hyunwook didn't even glance at Carol.
His attitude seemed to suggest she was insignificant to him.
He simply walked forward, looking up at the sky.
"By the way, it looks like it's going to rain. Do you have an umbrella?"
At the rather irrelevant comment, Carol tilted her head.
"What are you talking about?"
"If you don't, it's unfortunate… but it seems we'll have to end the party now."
Saying that Lee Hyunwook raised his hand.
Then, as if they had been waiting for this, the mages of the 2nd Company simultaneously raised their wands and staffs.
Following that, Sergeant Kim Se-hee's voice echoed.
"Now! Link!"
Link was magic to summon spells cast from elsewhere.
15 mages drew magic circles simultaneously, and 15 beams of light shot up into the sky.
Zzzz—
The beams of light converged at one point.
Everyone looked at it.
Woong—
In the middle of the dark sky, a circular ripple occurred.
Then, as if the lid of the sky had opened,
A faint light began to leak out from there.
"It's a portal."
A portal is a dimensional tunnel, a door connected to 'somewhere else'.
"It's going to… rain?"
Carol's eyebrows twitched. It seemed she only just realized the ominous feeling.
Just then, someone's voice came through the walkie-talkie on Lee Hyunwook's shoulder.
―Chik- Battalion armory, wide-area magic deployment complete!
It was Major Moon Tae-ho, the wide-area magic controller.
"Yes, acknowledged."
―Chik- But remember! The duration of the wide-area portal is only 3 minutes!
"Yes, understood. And that's more than enough…"
Lee Hyunwook slowly raised his left hand.
The target was the 'wide-area portal' opened in the sky above.
He grasped it,
No,
He grasped what was beyond it, transcending space.
"Enough for a downpour to wash away all the filth."
With that final remark, his hand dropped,
And from the portal, hundreds of flashes of light began to pour down.
―Chik- Drop complete. Good luck.
That day in Seoul, rain made of steel fell.