ALL NOVEL Chapter 255
Chapter
255화. Full-scale Battle (4)
Kim Si-hu, maintaining a state of extreme focus, swung his staff downwards with great force.
The giant’s finger, mistaken for a divine entity by someone, plunged into the ground following the trajectory of the staff.
BAM!!
The ground caved in roundly, shaped like the curve of the finger.
The impact it had on the surroundings was lesser than Yoo Ji-han had anticipated.
At that moment, thick tree trunks began to wriggle from the giant’s finger and descended to the ground.
Swish!
Like agile creatures, the tree trunks crawled across the earth, ensnaring the bodies of the fake Yoon Do-has.
They thrashed about, struggling against the wood tightening around their limbs and necks.
But no matter how much they struggled, the thin tree trunks, no thicker than a pencil, proved too strong to break free from.
“Nice effect!”
Yoo Ji-han moved around like a fish in water, subduing the immobilized fake Yoon Do-has.
Using Qudy’s ability to analyze weaknesses, he pinpointed where the symbols were drawn and meticulously carved them off, skin and all.
Sizzle!
Repeatedly tearing away the symbols drawn on various parts like their buttocks, ankles, and groins.
Thanks to the physical removal of the symbols, one by one, those turned into puppets by Desa began to regain their original forms.
“This guy’s the last one.”
A total of 12 humans had collapsed due to Magic Discoloration Syndrome after their puppet transformation was undone.
Yoo Ji-han tore away the symbol drawn on the palm of the last fake Yoon Do-ha.
With that, every puppet could return to being human again.
Slide.
The tree trunks completed their task and detached from the human bodies.
They were retrieved by the giant’s finger that had yet to leave Kim Si-hu’s side, becoming one again.
Afterward, the giant’s finger slowly lifted from the ground and began to return to the floating oval in mid-air.
Yoo Ji-han quietly watched this unfold from below.
And…….
“……!”
—Hiiik! What is that?!
When the massive oval swallowed the giant’s finger whole.
Yoo Ji-han and the Sylph locked eyes with a colossal being just before the oval disappeared.
It wasn’t a metaphorical giant coined by Watanabe to describe a great hero.
It was the true appearance of a giant.
‘Is that the true body?!’
From toe to crown.
Every hair on its body stood prickly upright!
Bam!
Yoo Ji-han involuntarily gripped Qudy tightly, but the giant’s gaze held no animosity.
Following that, at the moment the oval formed from tree trunks dimmed as if it would soon vanish.
The giant’s eyes looking at Yoo Ji-han were now filled with sweat, focusing on Kim Si-hu, who was concentrating on magic.
[I wait.]
The giant’s eerie voice lingered as it vanished into thin air.
Yoo Ji-han sighed lightly, feeling as if the heavy air had finally lightened.
“Ah, this is exhausting….”
Having successfully finished his magic, Kim Si-hu clutched his head.
Yoo Ji-han rushed over to him, but he waved a hand lightly to indicate that he was okay.
“How’s your condition?”
“A bit dizzy.”
“Anything else?”
“Of course, I’m fine.”
Unlike before, Kim Si-hu had neither fainted nor had a nosebleed.
He only exhibited slight dizziness.
“More importantly, I just drained soooo much mana!”
“That’s what we expected.”
“It went way beyond the estimates!”
Kim Si-hu grumbled, realizing he’d used much more mana than anticipated.
He appeared somewhat dissatisfied with the results of his efforts.
“Ugh!”
“Stop complaining and let’s go.”
Yoo Ji-han popped Kim Si-hu’s forehead and hastened their departure.
With a slightly sulky expression, Kim Si-hu followed behind.
*
“……There was a separate monster.”
Desa, having lost over ten puppets at once, wore a serious expression.
Just moments ago, he had regarded Yoo Ji-han’s movements, which seemed godlike, as monstrous.
But the real monster had popped out of nowhere from the air and vanished just as quickly.
On the bright side, it was not a magic that could be maintained for long.
‘Did I make a mistake?’
The closer one was to the puppets, the stronger the connection to control them became.
In any group, when leaders fall, everyone beneath them falls into chaos.
Desa had aimed to eliminate the Rulers first and had been tracking their traces, establishing his position nearby.
However, beside them stood the heroes posing the greatest threat from Maz.
The best place to kill the Rulers was also the most dangerous place for Desa.
‘Don’t get excited, Desa! The plan is still going smoothly.’
With his eyes closed, sharing vision with the puppets, Desa shook his head side to side.
The puppet attacks happening throughout Maz.
When broadly viewing the battlefield, knights stationed in various areas were frantic in stopping Desa’s onslaught.
The civilian casualties were quite significant, and the only area experiencing as fierce a counterattack as Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu was the one where Watanabe was directly commanding.
‘The dwarves have been quite helpful.’
—Help!
—Gwaah…!
—Save our moms! Please save our moms!
Through the puppets’ eyes, the scenes of dying people reflected back.
Disappointed in humanity, the dwarves who joined this plan contributed to the area near the mine, suffering far greater losses than elsewhere.
By taming the wind among the mine dwarves, they helped the puppets infiltrate the city.
“They’re surprisingly useful in their own way.”
However, unfortunately, Desa held little goodwill toward the dwarves.
Seeing them as lesser beings compared to humans wasn’t much different for him either.
To liberate the dwarves treated as slaves throughout history and reclaim their freedom was but a superficial promise.
‘If it weren’t for those knights, I would have conquered over three areas by now!’
The knights had positioned themselves appropriately, almost as if they anticipated the appearance of puppets.
Desa had no doubt he would have been smiling broadly by now had it not been for them.
“Damn it, that guy is the real problem!”
Desa was well aware of the tendencies of the Rulers, who only looked out for their own interests.
How could the insignificant Rulers of Maz have prepared for these attacks now?
Yoo Ji-han was acting as an obstacle right there.
Desa knew better than anyone that it was because of him that he was unable to pinpoint the puppets accurately.
“Here they come.”
The distance between Desa and Yoo Ji-han was rapidly closing.
Standing on the same level ground made it easy to identify one another by sight.
Hiding underground, Desa only watched Yoo Ji-han’s movements as he navigated between various puppets’ line of sight.
‘Where is he?’
Then, just as he briefly lost sight of Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu, who had distanced themselves from the puppets.
Rumble…!
The tunnel where Desa was hiding tremored violently.
*
Bam bam bam!
Without needing a command, Mumu diligently tunneled into the ground.
The Thread of Truth visible only to Yoo Ji-han and the spirits extended below.
“Is it down here?”
“Yeah.”
“Heave-ho!”
Bam bam bam!
Kim Si-hu swung his staff like a shovel, assisting Mumu in digging.
In an instant, they were digging as deep as a tall building.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-han spotted a tremor in a thread he was chasing.
“That way!”
“MmmMM! MmmMM!”
With the small tremors of the thread, Yoo Ji-han pointed out where they were trying to escape.
Realizing that Yoon Do-ha was drawing closer, Mumu moved frantically, digging the earth faster.
“Hmm?”
After a while, they arrived at a massive chamber devoid of dirt.
Yoo Ji-han touched the uneven walls of the chamber with his hand.
A gentle tremor traveled through the wall to him.
‘It’s expanding.’
Was Desa trying to flee from that spot?
The artificially created chamber was widening in real-time.
“Mumu, can you solidify this entire space?”
“Mmmm!”
Brrrrah!
Bright yellow mana exploded from Mumu’s body.
That mana seeped into the surroundings.
Bam! Bam!
The ground and walls became solid enough that when tapped, they made a metallic sound.
The chamber continued to vibrate, but its intensity weakened significantly.
They were experiencing difficulties digging through the ground.
And at the end of the line, where Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu had dashed forward.
“You guys actually managed to come this far……!”
They were finally face-to-face with the Puppeteer, Desa.
Even on their first encounter, despite having seen him through the puppets’ memories, Yoo Ji-han felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Without hesitation, Yoo Ji-han pulled out the Dimension Phone and spoke into it.
“Watanabe, I found the guy.”
—What are the odds?
“Let’s say roughly 98%.”
—Nuhahahaha! Then I’ll leave it to you!
The call was succinct, wrapped up in just two exchanges.
Desa’s expression twisted slightly upon realizing that they had dismissed him.
“How dare you speak like that before a great magician?”
“A great magician? …Ah, are you talking about this guy?”
“Huh?”
Yoo Ji-han lightly grasped Kim Si-hu’s shoulder.
Desa’s expression appeared bemused.
“He was more arrogant than I imagined.”
“This is called confidence.”
The three of them stood in a standoff, gazing intently at one another.
As the fuse of a bomb silently burned away.
In between, the Sylph interjected.
—Hey! Are you Desa?
“……?”
—You’re doomed.
Swoosh!
As soon as they met Desa, the Sylph unleashed a powerful gust.
The wind whipped around, wildly ruffling the people’s hair before gathering in one spot to spin in a circle.
[Dirty Tornado]
A small whirlwind mixed with dirt and sand descended upon Desa.
Though small in size, this magic had the power to tear a human body apart.
Boom!
But a large pillar of earth rising from the ground dispelled the whirlwind.
Just after that, Yoon Do-ha stepped out from behind Desa.
“……!”
“Uh?”
“MmmMM?!”
Yoo Ji-han flinched for a moment.
The puppet connected to the Thread of Truth leading to Yoon Do-ha’s head.
However, it was no ordinary puppet; it was Yoon Do-ha’s true body.
Seeing the reactions of his opponents, Desa puffed up with pride.
“What’s this? Are you frightened?”
“How are you controlling the true body?”
“Cough! Did you actually think I would come out without this level of preparation?”
Unlike the puppets he created, Yoon Do-ha’s true body carried an entirely different level of mana.
Was it Desa who fell into a trap, or was it me?
Yoo Ji-han gazed at Yoon Do-ha with a considerably tense expression.
<—How to Subdue Yoon Do-ha>
If Yoon Do-ha had become an enemy, the only choice left was to subdue him.
Before long, a blurry afterimage unfolded before Yoo Ji-han’s eyes, using his sampling ability.
‘……A wall?’
One afterimage rushing directly at Desa and Yoon Do-ha.
And another one suddenly pointing at a wall with a hand.
Yoo Ji-han’s gaze shifted towards the wall indicated by the afterimage.
It was a region within the wall that jutted out unusually.
‘Something’s off.’
In the poorly constructed chamber, that area exuded a sense of discomfort.
He exchanged a glance with Mumu, who quickly understood his intent and dove underground.
Whump!
What Mumu unearthed from within the wall was a young dwarf.
“Train!”
Upon seeing the dwarf, Mumu immediately shouted his name.
He was the same dwarf who had helped Yoon Do-ha when he first reached Kallem.
“……!”
Perhaps caught off guard by a sudden turn of events, Desa quickly waved his hands.
He intended to retrieve the dward hidden away by Yoon Do-ha.
“Too. Slow!”
However, Mumu acted even faster.
The child dwarf Mumu caught landed in Kim Si-hu’s arms.
“Tsk!”
Desa, having turned the true body of a Rank 1 hero into a puppet, had now lost the initiative.
The composure he wore vanished at that instant.
At that moment, Yoo Ji-han realized one fact.
“You possess power that doesn’t suit you.”
“Shut up!!”
Desa’s furious shout echoed throughout the chamber.