Chapter 64
Dream’s Boundary (19)
However, his body was far from normal. His vision was dizzy, and his stomach churned. His eyes felt like they were about to burst, and his hand holding the blade trembled slightly.
The anti-particle suit he wore was tattered in places from repeated physical impacts. Scratches and tears covered his entire body.
The suit could perfectly block magical attacks within its confines, but it couldn’t completely block the physical strikes from beasts and enhanced dark mages coming from all directions.
Dealing with the thrashing enemies had long surpassed what he could manage with just drugs.
Once the effects of the drugs wore off and the side effects set in, he would need to rest for a while once he returned to the Cradle.
Despite this, he felt a sense of satisfaction. It was his first time facing such a large number of powerful enemies alone, but he had managed to overcome them.
T h i s w as c o p i e d f r om k ingm tl. o r g
If they had fortified Jinryeong and contaminated the reservoirs or crops with dark magic, it would have caused even greater chaos later. It was heartbreaking that innocent people had to suffer, but he couldn’t protect everyone by himself.
He was satisfied that he had sent the person he needed to protect the most to safety and had crushed the intruders early, possibly leaving survivors in the city.
Even the 30% of the students who were missing might be hiding somewhere, protecting themselves.
T his wa s co p i e d f r o m k i ngmt l.or g
“This can’t be… Cough…! It wasn’t in the prophecy… This place was supposed to be… the new heaven…”
“Prophecy?”
A strangely unsettling word caught Lee Hyun’s ear from the man’s lament.
“The central army will arrive soon. Until then…”
“Cough… Central army…? Haha, haha… Kick… Bahahaha…!”
T hi s w a s c op i ed f r o m ki n g mt l . o r g
The dark mage burst into laughter at Lee Hyun’s words. The man’s reaction was bewildering. He coughed up blood from his throat but didn’t care, spilling it all over the ground.
“The young lady of the Jeokhwa Yeon family… Cough! She’ll never… escape the South alive… Cough!”
“What…?”
Lee Hyun’s contentment began to crack. Anxiety, not drugs, whipped his heart into a faster rhythm.
“Haha… The goal of this operation… isn’t just the destruction of the South… Cough! With the opportunity to kill a powerful spirit mage destined to become a great threat… Do you think we’d leave him alone?”
“What do you mean…”
T hi s wa s c o p ie d fr o m k i ng mtl . o rg
“Losing an entire battalion is painful… Cough! But exchanging that for a spirit mage, the heir of Jeokhwa Yeon, is worth it… Cough!”
Noticing Lee Hyun’s alarm, the dark mage continued with a gleeful tone.
“Haha… So confident, aren’t you? Jinryeong is just the beginning. You have no idea… Cough! What plans are in place…! Not just the South, this entire filthy country will…!”
The man’s words were cut short as Lee Hyun decapitated him. Without hesitation, he dashed toward the North Gate where Yeon Minha had gone.
Despite his body being severely overstrained, he didn’t care. His mind was filled with urgency.
One failure was enough. If he repeated the same mistake, he would never forgive himself.
***
“Hah… Hah…!”
Yeon Minha leaned against a rock in the misty canyon, panting heavily. Her left arm, struck by dark magic, hung limp, dripping blood and unmoving.
The anti-particle suit Lee Hyun had forced her to wear was now in tatters at her feet. Without it, she would have sustained fatal injuries long ago.
She had reached the canyon between the gate city and Jinryeong, holding onto a sliver of hope. But they were ambushed in the center of the canyon.
The other students had long scattered. The dense forest and blood-red mist made it impossible to find a path. She had no idea of their fates.
-Boom!
She barely erected a barrier to block the red bullets flying from the forest. She mustered her remaining strength to launch a counterattack. The sound of limbs hitting the ground followed the choking gasps.
“Hah… Huff…!”
Corpses lined her escape route, but the red eyes surrounding her were far more numerous.
She was being hunted. Her limits were closing in. No matter how powerful a mage, one couldn’t single-handedly change the battlefield. This was a law that had persisted throughout the history of magic.
“Miss Yeon Minha, you look terrible.”
A voice emerged from the red shadows, leisurely addressing her. It belonged to a middle-aged man with an obviously malevolent demeanor.
In his hand was a large spike of red dark magic, constantly aimed at her heart.
-Grit…
T hi s w as c o p i e d f r o m ki n g mt l . or g
Yeon Minha gritted her teeth and glared at him. She recognized him easily. His face was always on the most wanted posters distributed weekly to the Cradle’s students.
“Southern Tiger…”
“It’s an honor to be recognized by a young lady of a great family.”
-Haha…
The man made an exaggerated bow, causing the forest filled with blood-red mist to echo with jeers and laughter.
The man was Lee Jisang, head of the guerrilla command of the Southern Army of the People’s Liberation Front. Only the most dangerous criminals had ‘black’ status on their wanted posters. He was known as the ‘Southern Tiger.’
The man had single-handedly slaughtered numerous national army subjugation squads. Promising young wizards and seasoned commanders alike met their gruesome end at his hands.
After years of hiding, the sinister dark mage had now appeared before her.
No matter how powerful a spirit mage Yeon Minha was, there was nothing she could do in this situation. He was backed by countless dark mages encircling her.
“Why have you started acting now after lying low for so long?”
“The time has come. The Prophet’s foretold moment is approaching.”
His words confused her. The Prophet? Was there such a figure among the rebels? She couldn’t recall any such information.
“And your death will be the perfect signal for a new era. Isn’t that right?”
“The Prophet… What…”
“It’s tragic for someone so young, but it can’t be helped. May you attain bliss in the next life.”
Without further words, he sent the red dark magic spike flying towards her.
“Bastard…”
Th i s was c o p ie d f r om k i n gm t l . org
She no longer had the strength to create a barrier. She closed her eyes, bracing for the end.
Oddly, the last image in her mind was of a man wearing a strange mask.
He had tormented her until the end. He was probably the cause of all this.
A lowly man dared to mock the heir of a great family to her face. He added humiliating conditions to their duel and engraved an unforgettable shame on her.
She still felt phantom pain where he had struck during their duel.
His threats and abuse were endless. He barged into her dorm and took the room right next to hers.
He used sorcery to make her unable to sleep without him and forced her into a disgraceful slave contract, turning her into a puppet.
Despite being her betrothed, he saw every intimate and personal side of her.
Yet, he had completely cured her of Jeokhwa’s mental corruption. He returned to her the joy of dreaming happily.
Thanks to his mysterious power, she had been able to come to the South.
What had become of him? He was probably dead. She bore some responsibility for his death. She had failed to fulfill his life-risking request.
She lamented her broken hope at the last moment.
-Boom!
After a fleeting moment of reflection, a nearby explosion shook her. She was puzzled by the lack of pain. Was she already dead? But her senses were still sharp.
Thi s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i ng m t l .o r g
She opened her eyes to an unbelievable sight.
“You…”
“Hah, hah…”
Before her stood the broad back of the male student she thought dead. The dark magic had shattered the rocks beside her rather than hitting her.
T h i s wa s c o p i e d f r om k i n g m t l. o r g
“I’m not… too late…”
“How…”
He panted heavily, on the verge of collapse.
“How… did you…”
“Didn’t we make a contract…”
T h i s was c op ied fr o m k in g mt l .o r g
He spoke as if it were obvious.
T his w a s c o pi e d f r om ki n gmtl. o rg
“To protect you… from any danger.”
End of Chapter