ALL NOVEL Chapter 258
Chapter 258. Full-scale Battle (7)
Yoo Ji-han glanced at the ominous sign of destruction floating above the sun.
The black dot, twice the size of when he first arrived in Kallem, emitted a more intense presence than ever before.
——The sign of destruction had ultimately swallowed the sun.
Vampire Kazimir spoke to him.
That black dot had grown so large that it completely engulfed the sun.
In other words, the growing sign of destruction indicated that doom was approaching Kallem.
Fwooosh——!!
Spears and blades of earth, axes, and countless other weapons sprang up from the ground.
Magic seemed to turn the earth into an infinite armory, endlessly generating weapons.
Yoo Ji-han pushed those threatening objects away with the wind of the Sylph and used the power of Mumu to return them to the ground.
As this process repeated, the situation was devolving into a war of attrition, causing Desa’s face to twist with displeasure.
“You bastard!”
“If you didn’t want to be interrupted, you shouldn’t have messed with us.”
Desa complained about being disturbed.
But in truth, Yoo Ji-han had little connection to Kallem’s doom.
Whether the corrupted Desa toppled Maz or Leron, that had never been a matter for Yoo Ji-han to concern himself with.
It was just that he had dragged the unfortunate hero of Earth into his plans.
That alone was enough reason for the heroes to block Desa.
“I can use this power much more meaningfully than some dwarf blabbering nonsense!”
“With your greed, stealing others’ power—!”
“Shut up!”
Crash!
The ground shook, cracks appeared, and as those cracks widened, the earth completely shattered.
The solid ground Yoo Ji-han stood on turned into sand within seconds.
—No trouble at all!
“Mmmmmm!”
Having experienced a similar attack before, the spirits poured magic into Yoo Ji-han’s feet and legs.
The mound of dirt trying to engulf him was repelled by the wind blowing out from his body.
Only where his feet landed did the sand solidify to support him.
Tap!
Protected by the spirits, Yoo Ji-han leaped forward.
Weapons made of earth hindered his movement from all angles, but none could withstand the destructive power of Qudi.
Even Yoon Do-ha’s magic struggled to handle Drimium easily.
Swoosh!
Desa buried himself underground before getting too close to Yoo Ji-han.
He seemed to cause weak tremors in the surrounding earth, creating a vibe suggestive of preparing for a powerful spell.
‘Fake guy.’
Without hesitation, Yoo Ji-han jumped into the ground.
The earthquake was merely a distraction.
He had sensed that Desa was trying to escape the battle and target the shelter first.
‘But being underground puts me at a slight disadvantage.’
Even though Yoo Ji-han had formed a contract with the earth spirit Mumu, only a few hours had passed since.
Like what he had experienced before, fighting Desa, who had fully stolen Yoon Do-ha’s magic, underground was quite an unfavorable condition.
“I believe in you.”
“Yup!”
Thus, Yoo Ji-han entrusted everything happening underground solely to Mumu.
——Completely relying on Mumu.
That was one of the pieces of advice Yoon Do-ha had given him.
Pow pow pow pow!
Not a tunnel created by spirit mastery, but one generated according to the spirits’ free will.
Mumu concentrated solely on digging the ground and creating a path to chase after Desa.
Yoo Ji-han was busy just running down the path Mumu had made.
—Ugh! So frustrating……!
The Sylph, filled with anger, was only clearing away the sand clinging to Yoo Ji-han.
The Sylph was infuriated again at Desa, who was the reason Yoo Ji-han had contracted with Mumu.
“Look!”
Desa, who had entered underground first, was moving toward the basement of the building where the shelter had been established.
Above ground, the heroes continuously blocked him.
He was trying to collapse the shelter where the rulers were gathered underground.
‘There’s no way I’m letting that happen!’
Pow pow pow pow!
Mumu increased the speed of digging, and Yoo Ji-han quickly shortened the distance to Desa.
Recognizing that Yoo Ji-han was approaching, Desa clicked his tongue and evaded.
Yet Yoo Ji-han relentlessly pursued him.
“Stay away! I said stay back!”
Facing the endless chase, Desa felt an increasing pressure tightening around his throat.
Such power, one capable of easily toppling a faction.
How could he find himself being chased by someone despite possessing such incredible power?
His self-esteem, which had filled him up, felt like it was losing air in real-time.
‘Since it’s come to this……!’
Desa, who had freely moved underground as if it were his home, deeply shoved both arms upward.
Boom——!
A massive earthquake erupted from the point where Desa extended his arms, shaking the surrounding area.
Those above ground all lost their balance and fell or clutched onto something.
He was planning to sink not just a specific structure but the entire vicinity.
“I found it.”
Swish!
However, with that mere moment of space, Yoo Ji-han reached him faster than expected.
He lunged his sword deep into Desa around the hip area, inflicting a huge wound.
Had Desa not instinctively controlled the earth at that moment upon seeing the blade poking out?
It was undoubtedly an attack that would have pierced through his abdomen.
“Urgh!!”
Desa was prepared to accept a minor injury, but the greater pain than anticipated washed over him.
Yoon Do-ha’s true form had surely blocked Yoo Ji-han’s sword!
Yet he could not fend off attacks like the real Yoon Do-ha.
Yoo Ji-han grinned at Desa, holding his waist.
“Looks like it hurts?”
“You little……!”
Swoosh.
Desa’s body melted into the earth like water seeping away.
In response, Yoo Ji-han also concealed his body underground.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the situation where they could not see each other at all,
The two, freely traversing the earth, attempted to strike at each other purely by sensing each other’s magic.
A situation where there was no way to discern superiority with the ability to sense magic.
Slice!
A sharply honed blade of earth grazed Yoo Ji-han’s hand.
Afterward, small wounds began to appear on his body.
Seeing the drops of his blood scattered around, a grin crept onto Desa’s face.
Boom!
The magic of Yoon Do-ha erupted from Desa’s body, spreading throughout the ground.
Caught in the surveillance network of magic spreading out like radar were the magical energies of Mumu and the Sylph, approaching him in real time.
While several similar energies were sensed as if trying to launch a disruption operation, Desa was not fooled.
“There you are!”
Crash!
As he folded his palm like wringing out a rag, the opponent’s movements halted.
Thinking he had hit with his magic, Desa moved toward that spot.
“Hello.”
—Uheheehee!
“……?!”
There, only Mumu and the Sylph were visible.
Desa, flustered to see the spirits casually greeting him, hurriedly attempted to escape elsewhere.
Swish!
A Qudi blade popped up from beneath Desa’s feet, severing his left leg.
“Gahhh!! My, my leg……!”
“Disapper.”
His leg, chopped off to the bone, was quickly sucked into the earth by Mumu.
Creating a prosthetic leg from tightly packed earth, Desa spoke with a flushed face.
“H-how were you hidden!”
“Just well.”
——That guy must be distracted by the spirits.
By purposely spreading the magic of the spirits to various places, they blurred Yoo Ji-han’s presence.
Taking advantage of the distance from the spirits, Yoo Ji-han attacked Desa.
This was an attack crafted based on Yoon Do-ha’s opinion that Desa would likely be distracted by the spirits he could not possess.
“I told you. That power doesn’t suit you.”
“……!!”
A deep shadow fell over Desa’s previously confident face.
*
“Hmm?”
“Huh?”
The fake Yoon Do-ha, which Lee Mi-a and Min Yu-ri were facing, shuddered and stopped mid-magic.
Desa had issued a command to attack all the puppets, but received a serious injury, causing the connection between him and the puppets to grow unstable.
[Shield Bash]
Chilla watched as one puppet was downed by a hit from a shield.
“Chirp chirp! These guys are totally out of it!”
“Knock them down!”
Unaware of the details, they were simply busy knocking down the puppets that were exposing their vulnerabilities.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Flesh ruptured, and a few bones broke as people escaped the state of being puppets.
Thanks to the slightly merciful attacks mixed in, they miraculously survived without dying.
After sorting out the puppets to a degree, Lee Mi-a dashed toward where Yoo Ji-han was.
“Si-hoo!”
“Where did the captain go? Chirp!”
“He went down below with Desa.”
An uneasy tremor felt underground and collisions of different magical energies!
Still recovering from summoning the Giant, Kim Si-hoo swallowed dryly as he waited for Yoo Ji-han.
And a moment later.
Fwooosh—!!
Yoo Ji-han and Desa burst out simultaneously from underground.
Spreading moisture-laden soil around them, the eyes of the others widened in surprise.
Because Yoo Ji-han had a firm grip around Desa’s neck with one hand.
Boom!!
Yoo Ji-han slammed Desa’s body down to the ground.
Brushing off the dirt on his equipment, he looked down at Desa again.
Desa, with both legs severed, was trying to get up somehow using newly made prosthetic legs from dirt.
“Ugh!!”
Desa, twitching with bloodshot eyes, convulsed.
Yoo Ji-han, who was staring at him coldly, approached him slowly.
The closer they got, the more Desa’s convulsions subsided.
He realized he couldn’t escape from here.
“Return to your original form.”
“…….”
Overwhelmed by defeat, Desa released the puppet transformation and returned to his body.
However, unlike the original puppets, he didn’t lose consciousness.
The prosthetic legs he had created turned back into ordinary dirt.
“The people you turned into puppets.”
Reaching right in front of Desa, Yoo Ji-han said.
“They had no consciousness, and when magic touched them, their flesh turned black. That must be the condition needed to create puppets.”
“…….”
“You must know how to eliminate that, right?”
Desa, who knew of the treatment for Magic Discoloration Syndrome.
But he shook his head left and right.
“I have no reason to tell you that.”
“No. You have to tell me.”
“Why should I?”
“Because that’s how you’ll survive.”
“……What?”
The statement of sparing someone who had harmed many people and dreamed of Kallem’s destruction left Desa’s face in disbelief, but Yoo Ji-han was sincere.
‘Reading memories isn’t omnipotent.’
Sampling and reading Desa’s memories isn’t particularly difficult.
But treating Magic Discoloration Syndrome was an entirely different matter.
There was no guarantee that it was a task anyone could perform.
——I can’t do it either. It’s in the realm of talent…….
Even if Kim Si-hoo tried to steal and study Desa’s magic, he agreed that it would be challenging to become a puppeteer as skilled as Desa.
It wasn’t something as simple as acquiring knowledge alone.
‘Ultimately, our benefit comes first.’
Desa would be remembered as a criminal never to be forgiven.
Among Team 2’s heroes, some had been attacked and killed by his puppets.
However, Yoo Ji-han prioritized healing Min Yu-ri’s brother over punishing him for his crimes.
“From now on, use all your time to treat that disease.”
“……!”
Min Yu-ri, who had been quietly listening to Yoo Ji-han’s words, was taken aback.
She had also wanted to extract information regarding treating Magic Discoloration Syndrome from Desa.
“You expect me to believe you’ll spare me?”
“Or do you want to die right here?”
Desa, who was only managing to staunch the bleeding from his severed legs with magic, pressed his lips tight.
He evaluated the possibility that he would truly survive if he accepted this proposal.
But just then.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“That vile criminal must die here!”
“Execution! It’s execution!”
The knights from Maz appeared behind Yoo Ji-han.
Among them, seeing the commanding knight walking with dignity, Kim Si-hoo spoke with sheer incredulity.
“Why did you all just hide until now and come out now?”