Crossing and Accelerating (4)

“How…” Nathan Bodin looked up at Kang Shin-hyuk and trembled in disbelief.

“How on earth did you get out of the SS-class gate…?”

“It’s something I’ve seen fifty thousand times in comic books…no, that’s true…” Kang Shin-hyuk sighed after confirming he was still wearing his mask properly.

“Isn’t this meaningless? He knew right away.”

“It’s because Na-hee said your name. It’s meaningless to hide visual information in that case.”

“Then, I’ll blame Na-hee.” Kang Shin-hyuk stopped the blue cow mid-air, letting Claire jump down into the barrier around Na-hee and Karen.

“What sort of thing is this?”

“It moves automatically to block everything, unnie.”

“You hear that, Shin-hyuk? Don’t worry about us and go all out.”

“Okay.” Kang Shin-hyuk procured two scythes from his inventory, gripping them as transparent strands of thread flowed through the air. Perhaps thanks to awakening the soul poison skill and increasing his proficiency with spiritual power, it was now possible to manipulate the threads with spiritual power and Wind Mastery at the same time, even while handling different weapons. He had tested it inside the SSS-class gate, but it was even possible after the potion’s effects had ended.

“I don’t know how you escaped the gate, but bluffing won’t work against me!” As Nathan shouted, the monsters approached him. Kang Shin-hyuk tightened his grip around his scythe as Nathan landed on the ground to unleash a powerful earth magic called Ground Wave. It made the earth sway like a stormy sea, and it was one of the more advanced area magics.

“Algiers!”

“Kh!” It was capable of temporarily incapacitating those standing on the ground, particularly the lancer who had been charging with the weight of a large lance. Eleanor could not maintain her balance and hit the ground as the sudden and violent waves rocked the earth.

“Die! Ground Spear!” Although his head was no good, Nathan Bodin was a person who thought things through. He calculated it would be better to deal with Eleanor, who was already exhausted from the battle, before dealing with the high-rankers who had broken through the SS-class gate. However, if there was something he couldn’t calculate, it was the fact that Kang Shin-hyuk could move faster than his magic.

“Hoo!”

“Kyah!” Kang Shin-hyuk fired off threads the moment the ground wave had been activated, tying them around Eleanor’s feet. She was yanked off the ground and up onto the bike hovering in the air.

“Now!” Once saddled, the bike soared into the air. Nathan Bodin readied his magic shield in preparation for the following offensive, but it wasn’t him who Kang Shin-hyuk aimed for. The ten strands of thread spread out in all directions to cut through the monsters around Nathan Bodin. It would be too much effort to kill them all at once, even with soul poison, so instead, he pulled them all together and wrapped them up. Backed with the power of S-rank Wind Mastery, it was easy to do so.

-Kuoooooh?!

-Let me go!

-Ooh, I can’t move…!

“Kh!” The sight of the monsters being pulled and bound to a single point in the air was a spectacle, and it only became more of one when Kang Shin-hyuk activated his trait to slay them with the scythes all at once.

“Shin-hyuk wanted to try that… how cool.” Claire laughed happily at the sight, filming it all the while. She deliberated ignored the complicated expression Karen had beside her.

“Hahahah!”

“What?!” Eleanor realized what was happening as Kang Shin-hyuk aimed next at Nathan Bodin, rushing him atop the blue cow. Her spear pointed upward in time to aim right at him as the bike sped up towards him.

“What…!” He tried to call out to the monsters for support, but most of them were already dead. He urgently activated his trait and poured all of his magic into his shield, but unfortunately, the blue cow was a bike that moved with spiritual power. Eleanor’s power was weakened slightly by him, but thanks to Lee Na-hee’s evolved trait, more than enough power remained at the tip of her lance.

“Huoooooooooh!” Eleanor raised her voice to hide her embarrassment at charging with a lance on the back of a bike, expressing her trait to its fullest extent. Her will sharpened so that it couldn’t be shaken by Nathan Bodin, filling the lance that Kang Shin-hyuk had made and that Lee Na-hee strengthened.

“Kahak!” The shield was broken through in an instant, pierced by the lance that reached Nathan’s heart.

“Shin-hyuk!” Eleanor called out his name, unjustly.

“I’m surprised to see you move!”

“No, I wanted to give the last hit to you. I believed you would be able to react to the blue cow’s movements.”

“You believed…?” Eleanor’s momentum as she tried to let out her anger shrank. It was cute the way her shoulders sagged.

“Well… thanks.”

“Our Majesty’s pronunciation is suddenly bad again.”

“Ellie needs to relearn Korean. Her ability to speak the language always declines when she is a little embarrassed.” Karen and Lee Na-hee, who was calmly judging the situation from inside the barrier, gave Eleanor a failing grade. On the other hand, Kang Shin-hyuk’s keen eyes were surveying their surroundings as he noticed something rising up from the ground. He threw the growing scythe with the power of his Golden Dragon and spiritual power. It roared through the air right past Eleanor to stick into the ground.

“Uh, ah…?” Eleanor, dumbstruck, turned to the side and barely realized what had happened. A massive insect was rising from the ground with its mouth wide open to swallow up Nathan’s body, but it had been cut by the scythe and was now spewing blood.

“Senior, finish it.”

“Hm!” Eleanor stabbed the giant insect in its head with her massive lance that didn’t fit her small body.

-Kiiii!

“This tough guy…” Kang Shin-hyuk shot threads and daggers into the insect’s torso to stagger it as it tried to escape back underground. It writhed and tried to escape but suddenly collapsed with a terrible scream. Though it was bleeding immensely, something else had killed it.

“What is this, how…?”

“It’s a new skill.” Kang Shin-hyuk offered up that brief explanation as he landed on the ground by the insect, automatically recovering his weapons into his inventory. The insect had swallowed half of Nathan’s body, which was only placed in his inventory, unfortunately. He would need to figure out what that was about later.

“I’m glad you’re both safe.”

“Which two are you talking about, Shin-hyuk?”

“Oh yeah, all three of you.” Kang Shin-hyuk appeased Karen and looked around for any more monsters. Neither above nor under the ground, most were being dealt with by other superhumans. A few lurked in the skies, but they seemed content to stay back.

“Then, it’s over.”

“Yeah…alas, it goes like this.” Lee Na-hee lifted the barriers and changed them back to her original shield artifact, surveying the area with a bitter smile. Now that the illusionary magic had dissipated, leaving only the ruined cornerstone where a building had once remained.

“Nathan Bodin, you bastard.”

“Ah, um… I’m sorry, senior.” Lee Na-hee shook her head at his apology.

“Don’t worry, I know you did what you could.” She let out a bitter laugh.

“It’s not so bad to let it go and start anew. It’s not my mom and dad’s shop that was set up here anymore, but yours and mine.”

“… Isn’t that a little misleading?” Claire, who was still contemplating what was happening, stepped in.

“If you say it like that, it’s like you’re thinking about marriage, when in fact, you’re just a junior and senior in a club.”

“Yes? My unnie is also… it’s just me presenting the facts as they are. My junior and I decided to set up a store here, since rent is free on Champs-Elysees. Plus, my junior is profitable.” A smile returned to Lee Na-hee’s face as she looked back over at Kang Shin-hyuk.

“I’m glad you’re safe. Was it thanks to my enchantment?”

“…Do you hate me?”

“No. That enchantment can’t be placed on people who I don’t like. It’s the first time I tried it, so I wasn’t sure if it would work.” At the moment, everyone listening had a rough idea of what Lee Na-hee meant by enchantment. Karen pouted, and Eleanor had a rough look, but Claire only smiled.

Only

“Shin-hyuk, please tell me the details of this enchantment when we’re alone.”

“Uh, yes… okay, sorry…” Lee Na-hee frowned as she noticed that Claire’s attitude towards Shin-hyuk, and his attitude towards her, changed.

“I’ll let you know, unnie.”

“No, I’ll listen directly from Shin-hyuk. I’m interested.”

“Na-hee, tell me. I’m curious how it relates to laws related to sexual harassment.”

No one was using their abilities, but a dangerous current seemed to be running through everyone. Kang Shin-hyuk had hope in his heart as he looked to his savior, the administrator, for help, but found no answer.

Rather, no messages had come from him ever since that monster had appeared.