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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 47
Thump thump thump thump—!
Five large helicopters, emblazoned with the symbols of the sun and moon, flew across the Seoul sky.
Inside the lead aircraft, Ryu Haneul looked down at the streets of Seoul through the window.
In the distance, a black hemisphere swallowing a whole intersection caught his eye.
"...."
As a 'Heavenly Demon', he could feel it.
The immense malice emanating from that black hemisphere.
Ryu Haneul connected his headset to his smartphone and called one of the Regressors.
"Jeongwon hyung."
The response was filled with shock.
[Ryu Haneul? Don't tell me you're heading to the Gate?]
"Senior is there."
[....]
"You come too, hyung. Senior is holding onto that second chance you threw at him like a bone."
'Fairy King' Na Jeongwon asked nervously,
[Isn't it strange that a Rank 1 Gate suddenly appeared? What if it's a trap by the Gate Management Department? What if Cheong Siyeol and Lee Baejeong are planning to kill all the moderates like me and Lee Eunwoo? Just rushing in there without a plan...]
The Regressors were suspicious and wary of the situation, as were the Rankers.
There were too many precedents to simply dismiss their concerns as inappropriate in a national crisis.
There had been times when Rankers, receiving national defense budgets, tried to flee overseas on their private jets as soon as a Rank 1 Gate appeared.
There had been times when the government tried to steal the corpses of Rankers and send them to Necromancer Hunters to use as weapons.
There were many crazy Hunters who tried to use civilians caught in the Gate as meat shields.
There was even a famous urban legend that if a blacklisted Ranker got injured, an Awakened Management Bureau agent would give them dissolving liquid instead of a potion.
But Ryu Haneul didn't say much.
"Senior is there, I'm telling you."
[....]
He was a Heavenly Demon.
An acting immorality, a proactive evil.
The pilot shouted from the front.
"Deputy Sect Leader! There are too many helicopters, it'll be difficult to land on the road. We'll approach the top of a nearby building."
Ryu Haneul replied nonchalantly,
"No. We're going to skydive. Gain altitude, stabilize, and open the door."
"Pardon?"
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
The pilot, flustered, followed Ryu Haneul's instructions.
Click!
The helicopter door opened, and the wind rushed in.
[....!]
Na Jeongwon shouted something through the headset, but Ryu Haneul had already taken it off.
In the Seoul sky, where skyscrapers pierced the clouds.
"Jumping."
The Sun-Moon Divine Sect Hunters leaped from the helicopter.
But Ryu Haneul and the Hunters who followed him didn't plummet towards the ground.
【Skywalk】
Boom!
An invisible wave of energy erupted beneath Ryu Haneul's feet.
【Walking on Air】
Hum!
An invisible force supported the guild members.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The demons of the sky descended to the earth, walking on air.
For the sake of one respected individual.
The Gate Management Department Hunters, who were controlling the scene, all gasped.
"T-The Sun-Moon Divine Sect?"
"Are you here to enter now?"
The people holding smartphones near the barricade also widened their eyes.
"It's Ryu Haneul!"
"They're coming?!"
The Sun-Moon Divine Sect was a guild that blatantly disregarded the government's policies and the Awakened Association's regulations.
Incidents and accidents involving their Hunters were frequent, to the point where videos of them appearing in court circulated more than their combat footage.
They had even come close to being designated as a criminal organization and having their corporation dissolved.
"They're the third to arrive, right?"
"Azure Sky Sword Sect, Iron Blood Legion, Sun-Moon Divine Sect. That's right. They came incredibly fast!"
The Sun-Moon Divine Sect, of all guilds, was the third major guild to respond to the call.
Considering that the Azure Sky Sword Sect and the Iron Blood Legion had rushed in as if they 'knew' the Gate was going to break out, this was an incredible speed.
And they didn't just send a few third or second-string guild members.
"We will enter first. The Leader will personally lead the rearguard."
"The rearguard is coming too?"
"Yes."
The super rookie who had solo cleared the 50th floor had arrived.
"Because there's someone I need to protect."
Ryu Haneul, clad in a black dragon robe, stood at the forefront, and the guild members in white uniforms embroidered with the sun and moon formed a wedge behind him.
The guild members chanted.
"Heavenly Demon's Advent, All Demons Submit!"
"Sun and Moon Eternal, Demonic Rule!"
"The Heavenly Demon is Great!"
What evil spirit would dare to violate this land?
When the demon of the sky had already descended!
Ryu Haneul threw himself into the Gate without hesitation.
'Senior! Your good boy Ryu Haneul is coming!'
He thought, imagining how the guild members and people would grab him by the scruff of his neck if they knew his thoughts.
2:25 PM.
Ryu Haneul of the Sun-Moon Divine Sect joins the battle.
* * *
When Ryu Haneul opened his eyes, what he saw was...
"Kieeeeeek!"
A forest of burning blades.
From the mountain rising in the distance to right in front of him, demons filled the entire space.
"Pull back the front line!"
"Maintain the formation!"
"Move the wounded!"
Guild executives and Gate Management Department Hunters were shouting and running around.
"Wouldn't it be better to block them outside?"
"No! The diameter of this hemisphere is 1 km. Right now, we only need to defend this valley, but if we go outside, we'll have a 3.14 km front line."
"But still."
"The moment monsters appear in Seoul, housing prices and the KOSPI will plummet! Do you want to see all the foreign investors pull out?"
[TL/N: KOSPI stands for Korea Composite Stock Price Index. It is the benchmark stock market index of South Korea, similar to the S&P 500 in the United States. It tracks the performance of all common stocks listed on the Stock Market Division of the Korea Exchange.]
"Damn it! You're worried about that in this situation?"
"If we're not worried about that, why are we even fighting?!"
The bickering between the two commanders, so typical of Koreans, was brief.
Ryu Haneul confirmed that they were currently withdrawing the front line to reorganize the formation.
'There are so damn many of them.'
Of course, that wasn't Ryu Haneul's concern.
'Senior, Senior, Senior! Where are you?'
His purple eyes darted around restlessly until...
"....!"
He stopped abruptly.
Withdrawing the front line meant that the front would be momentarily empty.
Someone had to buy time until the formation was reorganized.
Usually, S-Rank or A+ Rank Hunters took on that role.
At the front line.
Amidst the endless rush of demons with black horns.
【Wave of Fire】
Fwoosh—!
A Hunter clad in strange full-body armor was raising both hands, creating a wave of fire.
"More, more, more!"
Every time he swung his arms in a circle, surging flames soared into the sky.
Finally, when the flames reached a height of over six stories of an apartment building...
"Ha."
The Hunter in full-body armor pushed his hands forward, releasing the wave.
The wave, spraying fiery sparks instead of white foam, crashed forward.
"Don't push yourself too hard!"
"Hyungnim! Stop worrying needlessly and just fall back!"
"He's really amazing. Why didn't we know who he was?"
The surrounding Hunters retreated, praising the Hunter in the full-body armor.
Rumble. Rumble. Rumble!
Just then, a demon even larger than the wave charged, shaking the ground.
【Myriad Horrors (A+) has appeared.】
Crack!
Small and medium-sized demons were crushed under the giant demon's feet.
The giant demon blocked the wave of fire with its entire body.
Swoosh!
The giant demon also staggered from the considerable recoil, but the wave of fire swept through a much narrower area than expected before dying out.
["Krrrr...!"]
The giant demon glared at Baekya with its yellow eyes.
'Senior!'
Ryu Haneul wanted to run towards Baekya immediately.
"Deputy Sect Leader, where should we join..."
"Figure it out yourselves! Just follow the Management guys!"
"Excuse me?!"
He even gave the order for "full cooperation," something he would never normally do.
At that moment, a sky-blue, star-like Hunter shot towards Baekya like a bolt of lightning.
Whoosh!
'Palace God's Swift Shadow?'
Ryu Haneul was certain of the guy's identity even without checking their halo.
It was Cheong Siyeol, the 'Sword Saint'.
【Azure Sky Sword Technique: External Qi Manifestation】
Fwoosh—!
Cheong Siyeol fired a blue sword aura, severing the demon's arm.
As if on cue, Baekya shot an inextinguishable flame into the wound.
The flames devoured the demon's body from within, and the massive demon writhed in agony before collapsing.
This time, a humanoid demon about 3 meters tall charged forward.
Whoosh!
【Elite Flame Ripper (A)】
It swung its flaming longsword, attacking Cheong Siyeol.
Fwoosh!
Cheong Siyeol took a step forward and deflected the longsword with a horizontal slash.
Clang!
It was a perfect defense, with no intention of counterattacking.
The demon grinned and was about to unleash a ferocious barrage of attacks, but...
【Incineration Ray】
Bzzt!
Baekya fired a beam, accurately piercing the demon's eyeball and scrambling its brain.
Next, a heavily armored demon swung its axe.
Clang!
Baekya parried the axe with the Fire Dragon Sword.
Stab!
Cheong Siyeol thrust his blue sword between the gaps in the armor.
'What is this?'
It was a flawless combo that only those who had trained together for a long time could pull off.
It was so natural that it seemed like they weren't even aware they were performing a coordinated attack.
Ryu Haneul felt his blood run cold.
'Should I call out "Senior!"?'
His vision blacked out and returned to normal several times.
He barely managed to regain his composure and looked back at his cultists.
"Stay close to the Azure Sky Sword Sect. We're going to deploy the Roaring Calamity, Death Emperor, Demon King, Radiant Formation."
* * *
With the Sun-Moon Divine Sect joining the fight, the tide of the battle stabilized considerably.
At the front, the Sun-Moon Divine Sect and the Azure Sky Sword Sect swung their swords.
"Heavenly Demon's Advent, All Demons Submit!"
"Azure Sky Swords!"
At the rear, the Iron Blood Legion provided support.
"Oh, God of Machines!"
The Sun-Moon Divine Sect's mystical swordsmanship, both offensive and defensive, held back the demons.
The Azure Sky Sword Sect's sharp swordsmanship pierced through the gaps they created.
Flying units and large demons were shot down by the Iron Blood Legion.
However, no one had a clue about the clear conditions.
Cheong Siyeol shouted,
"It's likely a wave-based system. We'll probably have to defend like this a few times to draw out and kill that Fallen Demon Commander."
Lee Eunwoo shouted,
"My rational analysis says it's definitely a headhunting mission. We need to form a separate team and kill the commander."
Ryu Haneul shouted—
"Senior! Let's run away together!"
"What?"
"No, that's not it... I mean, maybe it's just a simple extermination quest without any special conditions? It's manageable for a Rank 1 Gate so far, isn't it?"
"!"
"I think it'll only trigger as a Rank 1 if we consider this entire army as the enemy, not just individual demons! Don't you think so?"
Cheong Siyeol and Lee Eunwoo gritted their teeth.
'I hoped it wasn't the case.'
'That makes sense.'
Indeed, for a Rank 1 Gate, the individual demons were manageable.
Whether in the future or the past, ordinary Hunters couldn't even enter Rank 1 Gates due to their malice, toxicity, and mana density.
It was always Baekya and an extremely small, elite group, including them, who could participate...
"Shouldn't we confirm it?"
"Senior?"
At that moment, Baekya approached Ryu Haneul.
Baekya opened his inventory and took out the Winter Vanguard's Standard.
Lee Eunwoo and Ryu Haneul flinched simultaneously.
But Cheong Siyeol didn't seem to notice at all.
"If you have a way, please, I beg you!"
Baekya exchanged glances with Ryu Haneul, and they both grasped the Standard simultaneously.
'Are you serious? Here?'
'Dead serious. Right here.'
'I have no idea what's going on.'
They channeled their mana into the Standard, raised the pole, and then thrust it into the ground.
【Law of Light】
【I Alone Am The Honored One】
【Domain Expansion】
Fwoosh—!
A white hemisphere spread out in all directions, sparking flames in the air.
At the same time, a garbled status window appeared, as if being dragged out.
【Finale Story: The Fallen Demon Commander's Charge】
【The Fallen@#%* Demon Commander is gathering his army on the Mountain of Fire^&*. The Mountain of Fire^%#@...】
Ryu Haneul shouted—
"The Mountain of Fire! It says we need to stop or destroy the Mountain of Fire!"
The four of them looked ahead simultaneously.
The only thing in this land that could be called a mountain was the one towering in the distance on the horizon.
Cheong Siyeol gritted his teeth.
"We need to pull some people back."
Lee Eunwoo shook his head.
"If even one of us leaves, it's over. According to my analysis... we won't last 5 minutes."
He spoke coldly—
"If we gather only the elites, we might be able to break through. But then Seoul will burn. This Gate is a kind of time attack. We have to do something about that Mountain of Fire before Seoul is completely engulfed in flames."
Baekya lowered his head.
'Damn it.'
If it were before, he could have wiped out this measly horde with a few hand gestures.
But now, he didn't have the strength, and even if he did, he couldn't use it freely in this situation.
It was humiliating.
The four Hunters looked at each other.
The Gate Management Department Hunters who were listening nearby had determined expressions on their faces.
"We'll try to hold them off here somehow..."
Just then, a 9th-Level civil servant from the Gate Management Department rushed over.
"A Hunter has arrived."
"How many?"
"Just one. But..."
A 5th-Level official from the Gate Management Department shouted like a volcano erupting.
"Are you kidding me?! What can one person do..."
The Hunter who had come with the 9th-Level civil servant spoke calmly.
"Yeah, I wish this was a joke too."
"Who is it that dares... Wh-What?!"
Above his head, a laurel-like halo, mixed with green and brown, shone with a harmless and refreshing light.
"Never mind. Unfortunately, it's not."
3:13 PM.
Ranked 2nd in Korea.
'Fairy King' Na Jeongwon joins the battle.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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