Episode 604. Burning World (1)
Tower of Trials 50th floor, ‘Palace of the Fool’.
Buildings and bizarre scenery filled with things that are hard to think of this world made me let go of reason just by looking at them.
Even if the targets were the operators who designed the Tower of Trials.
and.
At the center of the chaos were Azathoth and the ‘man’ who commanded all the primeval beings.
The man was looking at the chess pieces carved out of numerous figures, including the Goinmul Corporation.
On a chessboard set in Seoul, giant pieces were intricately arranged.
“Kuk-kuk. What do you do when you play a hundred days war game like that? Didn’t Kang Jin-hyeok smash the barrier that the operators they were in charge of spread out in one hit? Only then can we work together…”
Nyarlathotep chuckled.
As if the failure of the men and operators would sue and die.
Then, a terrifying killing spree flowed from the bodies of many people standing by the man’s side.
“You can’t understand the subject and are making fun of your snout.”
“Do you not know that you are nothing more than a creature created by us?”
“Besides, Nyarlathotep. Isn’t it because the idiots you recruited from India also didn’t play their part?”
“what? Did you dare to call us creatures?”
“My father is here, but he’s cocky…”
“Do you think that clumsy manipulation ability will work for us?”
Primordial beings also raised tentacles.
Cuckoo Cuckoo!
A wave of magic that distorts space.
A tense battle of nerves ensued, with no retreat.
It felt like the whole place would turn into a battlefield if I made a mistake.
Right then.
“Hmm. I know you’re all nervous, but I’d like you to be quiet for a bit…”
The man opened his mouth slowly.
Creepy…!
The hot air froze cold.
Magic beyond imagination.
Even though he had simply said one word, an irresistible feeling of intimidation pressed his whole body.
“This…is…”
Even Nyarlathotep couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the situation.
The only thing unaffected was Azathoth in this place.
“It has calmed down a little now.”
The man smiled brightly when he could no longer hear the sound of the mouse dying.
Then he added a word.
“Once again, we are on the same boat, not enemies. I know it’s disgusting to see each other’s faces, but let’s be a little more proud for a common goal. And you don’t have to worry too much. I never thought that hunting Kang Jin-hyeok would be easy.”
Fluffy.
Some chess pieces were moved by something invisible.
The topography and features also changed accordingly.
“Anyway, you can predict what he’s thinking and how he’ll move. Above all, we, who designed the plate, have the initiative, so what are we so worried about or dissatisfied with?”
It is acknowledged that the ability to create variables is excellent.
but.
There is always a guy who flies above the guy who runs.
The man looked at the other side of the chessboard and twisted the corners of his mouth strangely.
In the empty seat, there was an opponent who only existed in the man’s head.
‘Come on, please me more. So that I can feel a little bit of tension in this boring and dull life.’
It was very obvious
how the busy chess pieces would move next, what they were aiming for, and what cards they were fiddling with .
Even so, the reason why my heart is beating is because the opponent is none other than ‘Kang Jin-hyeok’.
the only one in this world. Because there was only one person who could threaten a man, Jinhyeok.
⁕⁕⁕
Boo waaang!
Motorbikes galloped at speeds of over 150 km/h.
Jinhyeok, who had succeeded in beating the rankers of Gandara, took the shortest route to the Seoul Arts Center.
The roads are controlled and it’s early morning.
It was a distance that could be reached in the blink of an eye if done right.
however.
Muddy water splashed on the smooth plan.
Doo doo doo!
A number of helicopters appeared in the sky before moving less than 1 km.
Anyway, I can’t find it anymore.
The reason immediately became clear.
A bright light flickering in the distant sky.
It is a reconnaissance satellite that can be said to be the core of modern information warfare.
“…You mean you won’t miss it easily.”
In the worst-case scenario, you’d have to kill both Unknown and you, who are being protected by the Awakened Association.
If so, securing new recruits within the time limit would be of utmost importance.
I’m starting to realize what it means to be chasing at the national level.
Whoa!
Elise immediately summoned skewers made of blood.
“The flies are bothering me. I will drop them all.”
“No, it’s useless. No matter how much you destroy the helicopter, if you don’t do something with the satellite, you’ll keep getting caught.”
“Ugh. I can’t do anything about it until it’s far away.”
“It’s not too much to go to space.”
No matter how Elise was, she couldn’t throw a javelin of such power without a propellant.
“brother. I will give it a try.”
Then Lee Tae-min stepped in.
Blue magic radiated from Lee Tae-min’s body as the five attack helicopters closed the distance at terrifying speed.
[Lee Tae-min activates his unique voice, ‘Last Meister’!]
The power to control all machines freely.
It was a skill that could be used in the Tower of Trials, but in modern warfare, it showed power that was incomparable to the Tower.
A wide spread wave hit the helicopters in the blink of an eye.
Wheein!
“What is it?”
“Why is this?”
“Aagh! The pendulum is going down!”
Cuckoo Cuckoo!
Helicopters with messed up dashboards fell down the Han River bridge.
The spray rose high with a loud sound.
In the meantime, the safety devices were released to allow the pilots to escape, so no one should have died.
‘It’s really reassuring, but reassuring.’
Jinhyuk let out a small exclamation.
Although he copied his ability from Lee Tae-min, it was impossible to control that level of precision.
Furthermore, by using a special magic wave, it is possible to hide from the pursuit of satellites.
This bought me some time.
“I guess we can use this opportunity to go to the association.”
Chun Yoo-seong got on the motorcycle again.
The destination could be reached within 5 minutes.
But at that very moment.
Kwak Kwah Kwah Kwah!
Waves of black light surged from the Han River.
like a tidal wave A sticky liquid tens of meters high rushed in.
‘What is that again?’ thought went through everyone’s mind.
for a while too.
Cheeik!
Just in case, Teresa’s ‘Holy Arc’, which had been activated a long time ago, melted as it came into contact with the liquid.
The golden curtain disappeared and black liquid slowly rose.
“You have to avoid blood!”
Theresa’s voice became urgent.
The fact that the Lv30 divine skill was destroyed so vain means that you should never be beaten with your bare body.
Ellis may not know, but the others will turn into a handful of blood.
However, running away was not what I wanted.
[…the additional conditions have been met.]
Du-du-du-du-du…!
Along with the red status window, the shape of the road suddenly began to change.
The bridge moves and the position of the buildings changes.
It was a cataclysm that reminded me of a scene in a movie.
A kind similar to ‘barrier’.
That, too, is something that reaches at least 12 stars.
“Hyung’s ability… the unique vocal chant doesn’t work anymore!”
“What the hell… what’s going on here?”
“brother! Bad liquids are pouring from the left side!”
Due to the completely changed world, the rest of the members were clearly embarrassed.
“Damn it…”
Jinhyeok bit his molars.
I can’t believe I didn’t notice until a skill of this magnitude was activated. This is not the kind that can be created in just a few days.
I’ve been preparing for months… maybe more.
‘You couldn’t believe I was predicting that I would move this way?’
It’s nonsense even thinking about it yourself.
But other than that, there was no other way to explain it.
[Erasing of ‘Area 153’ begins.]
[Time limit 0h : 19m : 59s]
Gurg gurg gurg gurg gurg!
A huge amount of black liquid rushed in.
What does Area 153 mean?
Does that mean Seoul is divided into 153 categories?
What is the standard for the 20-minute time limit? What additional clues can you get from that?
My head was complicated with the number and possibilities of all kinds of cases, but first I had to go to the highlands.
“run!”
Jinhyeok moved to find a way out in the changed city center.
⁕⁕⁕
It’s been 3 days since Jinhyeok and the deceased corporation disappeared from the radar.
During that time, great changes took place around the world.
After the ‘covenant’ started counting, a huge number of outbreaks began to occur simultaneously.
“…I think it would be better if a meteorite fell. Let’s all gather our strength and try to deal with it.”
Han Sang-jin pressed his temple at the report he heard one after another.
The frequency of occurrence of outbreaks was also the frequency, but the more troublesome problem was the rank of the gate.
On the 4th day, powerful monsters that even rankers could not handle started attacking the city.
America Europe South America Middle East West Africa.
Over 20 large cities have been occupied by named monsters. Hundreds of cities were under evacuation orders.
It was the most hopeless situation since the Tower of Trials first appeared.
Korea also lost Busan and Daejeon, and was on the verge of losing Yeongdeungpo, Yongsan, and Seongnam, Bundang.
None of the maps marked in red were hopeful.
Even those who gathered through video conferences could not come up with a sharp solution with their mouths tightly closed.
At that time, one of the employees who received the whisper delivered a new breaking news.
“Chief of the association… I just heard the news… that the B grade outbreak in Cheonan has been upgraded to A grade… There are a lot of black ogres mixed among the orcs…”
A total of three raiding parties were mobilized in Pangyo.
They were players who were barely squeezed out of the shortage of manpower.
They were members that could somehow deal with the Orcs, but the Black Ogre, who could take a fair amount of attacks with his bare body, would not be able to do anything about it.
Cheonan should also be considered hopeless.
“How much time do you have left?”
“There are about 88 hours left, but if the time comes for the S-class gate to come out, we will have to see that there is nothing we can do. Considering that, the deadline should be up to 36 hours.”
only 36 hours.
That was all that was left of humanity.
“Are there still no clues about player Kang Jin-hyuk?”
“…yes. All US satellites are being mobilized, but there is no trace of it after Olympic Boulevard.”
“I guess you should consider that one fake.”
“Otherwise there would be no reason to hide.”
It was nice to know who was real and who was fake, but the problem was there was no way to spot the fake.
Even in the midst of worrying, time continued to decrease.
‘This is the end.’
Han Sang-jin closed his eyes tightly as if resigned.
When everyone is putting a string of hope like that.
[Unknown requested a video call.]
Unknown, who had been silent until now, moved.
