"King? Who?" Choi Jong-In asked the angel statue's incomprehensible words.
"What did you just say...?"
But the angel statue didn't deign to respond to him. Would a human converse with a bug? The angel statue was no different. It had manifested in this form due to certain circumstances, but as a higher being, it had no intention of exchanging words with a lowly human. If the bug got annoying, it could simply be beaten to death. The angel statue raised its fist overhead and brought it down like a hammer. The ultra-high-speed hammer blow was aimed at Choi Jong-In's head. Whoosh! Choi Jong-In's heart dropped. But he didn't turn away. Don't give up until the very, very end — that was what he had repeatedly emphasized to his team members. But just before the fist could crush his head, a flash of light flickered before his eyes. Bang! When he opened his shut eyes, a sword of light was wavering in front of him. Choi Jong-In's eyes went wide.
"Cha Hunter!"
Cha Hae-In was holding her ground, having blocked the angel statue's fist with the skill 'Light Sword'. If she had been even a moment later, Choi Jong-In's head would have been blown off. As he let out an internal sigh of relief, Cha Hae-In spoke to him.
"Leave this one to me. Go help the Hunters."
"Got it."
Choi Jong-In rushed over to join the Hunters fighting the statues. The angel statue looked down at Cha Hae-In's light-wreathed sword with eyes full of curiosity.
"Hah."
So there was another human besides Jin-Woo who could block its attacks.
"You're interesting. Interesting."
The angel statue put more force behind its fist. Cha Hae-In's knees buckled slightly. She had managed to block it, but the strength was overwhelming.
"Ngh..."
A faint groan escaped her delicate lips. Her wrist trembled.
"There, there."
The angel statue grinned as it gradually increased the pressure, like turning up the heat. The floor beneath Cha Hae-In's feet cracked with a sharp crunch. An absurd amount of pressure was bearing down on a single arm. Cha Hae-In bit down hard on her lower lip.
'At this rate... I can't hold out for long.'
Judging that she had no more room to fall back, she concentrated every ounce of strength she had in an instant and shoved the angel statue's fist away. The explosive power of a Hunter who ranked among the very top of the S-ranks! The angel statue took a step back and smiled.
"Hah."
What it had thought to be mere amusement had turned out to be more entertaining than expected. It looked like there was still more fun to be had.
"Good, good."
This time, magic power began to condense in both of the angel statue's hands. Gulp. Cha Hae-In swallowed hard. A tremendous power was emanating from both fists. The fear made her want to fly away from this place if she could.
'But...'
If she turned her back now, when Jin-Woo was down, no one would be able to handle this monster. Her eyes sharpened. In contrast, the angel statue stepped forward with a grin. The nearly three-meter-tall enemy flashed a sinister smile. Then, its assault began again. The angel statue swung both hands wildly at her, just as it had done to Jin-Woo. It was a shame it only had two hands, but that would be more than enough for this human. Clenched fists shot out like bullets. Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak—! Cha Hae-In's eyes blazed.
'Sword Dance!'
Her movements accelerated until they were like a dance, and her blade began tracing elegant arcs. But the angel statue's fists were so fast that she could barely keep up, let alone counter. In one instant — just one instant of letting her guard down — she could lose her life. Deadly attacks rained down, over and over. Clang! Kka-clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Ka-ang! Ka-clang! Clang! Ka-clang! Clang, clang! Clang! Ka-clang! Clang! Clang! Ka-ang! Ka-ang! Clang!
"Yes. Yes. Hah."
The angel statue had its fill of excitement, unleashing attacks so fast that ordinary Hunters couldn't even track them with their eyes. Cha Hae-In was gradually being pushed back, drenched in sweat from head to toe. Was that why? Or had she reached her limit? Her slick hand slipped and she missed one of the angel statue's blows. It was a costly mistake. The fist that grazed past her sword slammed into her shoulder. Crack!
"...!"
Cha Hae-In leaped back in haste, teeth clenched. But there was no sensation in her shoulder — as if the bone had shattered. Just like that, she had lost her left hand. Cha Hae-In gazed at her dangling left arm with a look of regret.
"Hah. That's it? That's all?"
The angel statue immediately closed the distance. It gave her no openings. The attack that had briefly paused resumed its barrage. Clang! Ka-clang! Ka-ang! These were blows that had been hard to handle even when both hands were intact. One hand was simply not enough. She began missing more and more blocks, and Cha Hae-In's body was torn apart. Thud! Smack! Thud! Bones shattered, flesh was ripped. And then, the decisive blow. Thud! The fist drove into her abdomen, and as her feet left the ground, she spewed blood from her mouth.
"Kgh—!"
Her bent body flew up into the air. Naturally, midair left her movements restricted and her ability to brace for the next attack compromised. The angel statue lost interest in a broken toy. To finish it off, the angel statue moved toward her as she plummeted toward the ground. It extended its fingertips to form a blade and aimed for her chest. But then, a blue light erupted from somewhere and enveloped Cha Hae-In's body. As she fell helplessly, Cha Hae-In's eyes shot open. She twisted her body around and swung her sword. The angel statue flinched. It halted abruptly and tilted its neck back to dodge the blade, but the tip grazed the skin near its eye. Sssk. A line was drawn across the angel statue's face. Tsk. Having pulled off the counterattack, Cha Hae-In barely managed to regain her footing and land. Thanks to the heal that had arrived just in time, she had narrowly escaped a fatal crisis. It was a stroke of incredible luck. But what was fortunate for Cha Hae-In was not fortunate for everyone. Whoosh. The angel statue's head turned toward the direction the heal had come from. Oh no. Cha Hae-In screamed toward the healer.
"Get out of there!"
The main healer, who had been casting healing magic from behind the tankers, flinched at Cha Hae-In's cry.
"Huh?"
But by the time he turned his head toward her, the angel statue was already blocking his view.
"Ah..."
The main healer's mouth fell open. The angel statue did without hesitation what it had intended to do to Choi Jong-In. Bang! The healer's head was driven into the ground. His twitching legs soon stopped moving.
"No!"
The Hunters surrounding the angel statue charged forward, unable to contain their rage. But it was futile. They had no power to stop it. Thud, thud. Every time the angel statue swung its fists, A-rank Hunters fell dead as helplessly as low-rank Hunters before an upper-class magic beast.
"Boring. You humans are boring."
The higher being, its entertainment ruined, showed no more mercy. As the backline Hunters' numbers dwindled, the front line of tanks holding off the goddess statue and the stone statues collapsed like dominoes. Chaos. The balance of the battle tilted in an instant. Bang! When the goddess statue hammered its massive fist down, bypassing the tanks, two Hunters below were killed simultaneously. After that, stone statues wielding weapons surged in, surrounding the Hunters with terrifying speed.
'Damn it...!'
Cha Hae-In quickly sliced through four stone statues that had latched onto the Hunters, then charged toward the angel statue. She had to stop it. But the angel statue effortlessly blocked her descending sword with its forearm, then kicked her exposed side with its foot. Boom! Once the angel statue had decided to get serious, she was no longer a match either. Seeing Cha Hae-In go flying, Choi Jong-In grabbed the shoulder of Woo Jin-Chel nearby. Woo Jin-Chel, who had just knocked a statue flat, spun around with a start.
"I'll draw its attention. Woo, you wake up Sung Hunter. There's no other way."
"Huh? Isn't Sung Hunter unconscious?"
"No. He's just sleeping. His breathing and mana are both stable. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have any injuries."
Had he been hit by some kind of sleep magic? Perhaps the only reason the angel statue wasn't attacking Sung Hunter while he slept was because it feared him waking up.
'I don't know what it means by "the King's sleep"...'
Choi Jong-In recalled the angel statue's desperate attempts to protect Sung Hunter. It was certain that his awakening would be fatal to the angel statue.
"Hurry!"
Woo Jin-Chel nodded. Choi Jong-In drew out every last drop of mana he had. Soon, a massive ball of fire formed above his hands, spewing flames in every direction. The flames that shot in straight lines caused powerful explosions wherever they touched objects. Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Naturally, the statues' attention turned to Choi Jong-In. While he bought time, Woo Jin-Chel sprinted toward Jin-Woo. In his heart, he prayed that Choi Jong-In's hunch was right.
On one side, Choi Jong-In and Woo Jin-Chel struggled to wake Jin-Woo. On the other, the angel stood before Cha Hae-In, who lay on her back gasping for breath. When she had been kicked, every rib on one side had already been shattered. Even in that state, the angel statue stomped on the arm that was reaching for the fallen sword. Crunch!
"Aaaargh!"
Cha Hae-In clutched her broken arm and screamed. Every human with the ability to heal had been killed, and the female human was now a critically wounded casualty. The only remaining threat among the humans had been eliminated.
"Hah."
The angel statue raised its hand-blade once more.
"So this is the end."
The human woman glared at it, chest heaving. Even with everything over, she showed no sign of giving up on life. In that regard, she was like him. Sung Jin-Woo. He had that same look in his eyes when they had first met here. The angel's lips curled upward as it thrust its hand toward Cha Hae-In's chest. No — it tried to thrust its hand. But right before its fingers could pierce through the heart, its hand stopped. The angel statue flinched and pulled back. A shadow soldier had been hiding within the human woman's shadow. By this room's rules, the soldier couldn't come out, but its existence was unmistakable. Seeing the angel's seemingly startled face, Cha Hae-In shot it a bewildered look.
'...?'
It could have ended her life in an instant, yet it seemed to hesitate. That was right. The angel statue was genuinely wavering. To think the King had planted a soldier inside a human. Could there be some special purpose behind it? Of course, this might have been the human's own intention rather than the King's. But.
'The King and the human were definitely somewhat merged together.'
Then how could one distinguish whether his actions were the King's will or the human's? If the King had planted the soldier in the woman for some purpose, it would be unwise to meddle carelessly. So the angel asked.
"How did you find this place?"
"..."
Cha Hae-In did not answer. When the silence dragged on, the angel changed its question.
"What is your relationship with Sung Jin-Woo?"
"..."
Again, no answer. Cha Hae-In knew well that she had no obligation to answer the enemy's questions. The angel sensed that it wouldn't get her to speak like this, so it changed tactics. Snap. The angel snapped its fingers, and the Hunters' screams stopped. The goddess statue and the stone statues, as if receiving a signal, ceased fighting, slowly turned, and moved to one side. Then it extended its hand. Woo Jin-Chel, who had been approaching Jin-Woo, was dragged by an 'invisible hand' and slammed to the floor.
"Kgh!"
He struggled against the force pressing down on him, but couldn't move an inch. Woo Jin-Chel's clenched fist trembled as a groan escaped him. The angel withdrew its hand. Nothing happening inside went unnoticed. No matter how the humans struggled, they were in the palm of its hand. That was the difference between humans and a higher being like itself. Bridging that gap was virtually impossible.
"I'll ask again."
The angel's fingertip pointed at Woo Jin-Chel.
"If there's no answer this time, I'll kill that man and all your companions."
"...Fine."
Cha Hae-In nodded. If it bought even this much time, that alone was a gain. The angel looked down at her as she pushed her upper body upright and quietly asked.
"What is your relationship with Sung Jin-Woo?"
"...Friends."
"Why did you come here?"
After a brief moment of thought, she answered.
"To save Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
A smile spread across the angel's face upon hearing the answer. Save whom? It was certain now. They knew nothing. It felt a moment of embarrassment for having briefly assumed the King's will was at play. These humans had simply known of the human 'Sung Jin-Woo' and come here for him. Unable to hold back, the angel burst into loud laughter. Then it spoke.
"I will give you a chance."
"...A chance?"
"Today, one of the great Monarchs descends into this world. I will grant you the chance to witness that glorious moment."
Until the King's intentions were confirmed, it couldn't do anything with Cha Hae-In. So it had to keep her alive. But she was the only exception — it had no intention of sparing the other humans.
"As for the humans besides you..."
The smile vanished from the angel's face, which turned savage.
"They all die here."
It couldn't very well leave uninvited guests at such a glorious occasion. But. The answer came from behind, not from the front.
"By whose authority?"
"...?"
Before the angel could even turn around, a fist that had flown in struck it squarely in the face. Boom! The angel was sent flying and crashed into the wall. The impact left spider-web cracks across the wall's surface, and chunks of stone fell away. Just before the angel slid down to the floor, Jin-Woo stood before it and seized it by the neck.
"You."
Jin-Woo's other hand was pressed against his right chest. Just as he'd suspected. It wasn't a dream. Another heart on the right side was pounding away. Thump, thump. Jin-Woo tightened his grip on the angel's neck and asked.
"What did you do to my body?"
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