By Zephyria Seo Yakrin merely circled in a wide arc in the sky, not attacking readily. Judging by the movement of its right pupil, larger than Yohan’s head, it seemed to be watching Lee Hyun-muk. Yet, its other left eye rolled around, persistently tracking Yoon Seung-ryong.
“Hey! Old man! Come here! Let’s have a fair and square 4-on-1 fight!”
Yoon Seung-ryong delivered quite a despicable line, but on the surface, the situation was not despicable at all. That’s how threatening Seo Yakrin’s aura was. Being an aerial creature, its mobility was also a problem, covering an incomparably vast range. Knowing this well, Yoon Seung-ryong shouted at the top of his lungs to draw its aggro.
“Huh? Scared? You scared? You are scared? You always acted tough, but Seo Yakrin, this is all you’ve got? You’ve gotten much weaker since I last saw you?”
Even in its severely corrupted state, Seo Yakrin somehow understood Yoon Seung-ryong’s words and seemed provoked. It finally narrowed the circle it had been making. Then, it stretched its long neck towards Yoon Seung-ryong and opened its eyes wide. Just like Joo Ho-young, who had persistently protected the target of his obsession even while being scorched by Lee Hyun-muk, Seo Yakrin feared Lee Hyun-muk but couldn’t shake its obsession with Yoon Seung-ryong. As it flapped its wings in the distant sky, lowering its altitude, Lee Hyun-muk, who had been silently gazing at Seo Yakrin, struck with lightning.
CRASH! BOOM! With thunderous roars, black lightning, a blinding counter-light extending from Lee Hyun-muk’s body, struck its wings and entire body. Feathers as large as its torso scattered into the Reed Sea. Seo Yakrin, staggering but still flying, shrieked in agony. Then, the birds hidden among the reeds all took flight. Birds reduced to mere bones and skin formed a swarm like a dark cloud, circling Seo Yakrin.
The lightning that had been pouring down on Seo Yakrin struck the small birds flying below. Charred black, the birds fell with a flutter. A faint red glow flickered in Lee Hyun-muk’s pupils, and the lightning strikes became more frequent. Finally, lightning pierced through the flock of birds, striking its injured and twisted wings a couple of times.
“Aaaaaargh!” The giant bird shrieked in pain. As its altitude dropped further, Joo Ho-young, who had been aiming and waiting, seized the opportunity. Finally releasing the taut bowstring, an ice arrow soared, cutting through the swaying reeds. It pierced the weak part of its injured wing.
As Yohan marveled at the incredible sniping skill, several more ice arrows were fired in succession. Only after being hit twice more did Seo Yakrin hastily twist its body and evade with evasive maneuvers. Its right eye, which had been furiously glaring at the origin of the arrows, rolled back in pain. This was due to Lee Hyun-muk’s lightning striking its wings.
The sharp, long ice arrow protruding from its pierced wing served as an excellent lightning rod. The defense of the swarm of birds, densely packed like a dark cloud, also had its limits. Seo Yakrin attempted to flee belatedly, but it was too late. With one wing damaged, it could no longer fly. The giant Monstrous Bird shrieked and plummeted into the Reed Sea.
Reeds snapped off in a rustle, and after a moment, a CRUNCH, the sound of Seo Yakrin’s body crashing into the muddy ground was heard.
“It finally fell!”
Yoon Seung-ryong, looking relieved, quickly descended from the ice pillar. Lee Hyun-muk, who had leaped down below the mass of reeds, first checked on Yohan’s safety. It was then that a chilling killing intent was felt. As Joo Ho-young hastily created an ice wall using the thick reeds as support, a wave emanated from where Seo Yakrin had fallen.
The third Dealer of Sunrise, Seo Yakrin. Primary ability: Psychokinesis.
It was a terrifying attack, like a tidal wave. Golden waves erupted from Seo Yakrin, snapping all the nearby reeds and laying them flat on the ground. In an instant, a radius of several kilometers of reeds was swept away, transforming into a wide clearing revealing a dark red sky. The power of the waves was so immense that the rock-hard ice wall erected by Joo Ho-young cracked with a creak, creak. Joo Ho-young, removing his hands from the ice wall, whistled.
“Is this Boss Battle Phase 2?”
As he spoke, Seo Yakrin, which had been crouched on the ground, raised its head. Grrr… Emitting breaths of fury, it stretched its comically long and slender neck relative to its body. Its bloodshot red eyes stared at the group. A frightened Yohan involuntarily gulped.
“Scatter!”
With Lee Hyun-muk’s firm shout, they sprinted in different directions. As instructed beforehand, Yohan and Joo Ho-young threw themselves into the reeds to hide, while Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong ran towards the clearing to draw Seo Yakrin’s attention. Seo Yakrin glanced at Lee Hyun-muk, who was approaching with crackling sparks, then immediately shifted its gaze towards Yoon Seung-ryong. Thump, thump, Seo Yakrin stomped the ground a few times with its sharp claws and charged.
“Hey! You hit me, Team Leader, why… are you going crazy at me!”
Yoon Seung-ryong, fleeing while shouting back at the enraged Monstrous Bird, unleashed a dense toxic miasma. A yellow cloud of toxic miasma spread thickly on the ground. Even in its deranged state, the Monstrous Bird hesitated, knowing well how potent Yoon Seung-ryong’s poison was. Yoon Seung-ryong threw fuel on the fire of the Monstrous Bird’s rage.
Suddenly, clumps of foul-smelling mud appeared from nowhere and fell on Seo Yakrin’s face. While not causing significant damage, it was an utterly humiliating attack. Seo Yakrin’s gaze, which had been scanning its surroundings, immediately snapped back. Its eyes bulged as if about to pop out. In an instant, amidst the bright yellow mist that had bloomed like a giant cumulus cloud, Yoon Seung-ryong disappeared with a sneer. It was a poisonous fog so dense that one couldn’t see an inch ahead, just like when it fought Lee Hyun-muk.
Seo Yakrin plunged into the yellow mist without hesitation. Whether its feathers melted in the toxic miasma or not, blinded by rage, it randomly swiped its claws and then flapped its wings to clear the fog.
As the dense mist on the ground suddenly billowed up into the air, Lee Hyun-muk, who had been keeping his distance and only crackling with sparks, struck with lightning. It wasn’t aimed at Seo Yakrin but at the center of the densest mist. The effect was terrifying.
KA-BOOOOM! A deafening explosion erupted. The flammability of the toxic fog Yoon Seung-ryong had dispersed as thickly as possible was so strong that the ground vibrated, and red flames engulfed Seo Yakrin, then set its entire body ablaze.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Sensing danger, Seo Yakrin flapped its wings again, trying to fly up, but it fell again. This time, dozens of Joo Ho-young’s arrows pierced its wings. They were ice arrows pre-made with a powerful paralyzing poison obtained from Yoon Seung-ryong beforehand.
The battered giant Monstrous Bird thrashed about in greater fury. It no longer cared about Lee Hyun-muk or Yoon Seung-ryong, blindly stomping around and charging. Its unseeing movements actually made it more advantageous for the seasoned hunters, Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong.
Thump, CRUNCH! Screech…! Just as Lee Hyun-muk had done to Yoon Seung-ryong once, the two began to slowly carve away at Seo Yakrin’s massive body. The sound of flesh and blood flowing down was so horrific that Yohan shivered. Seo Yakrin would be dismembered until it could no longer move. The plan was for Yohan to then purify it and restore it to its original state once it was completely disarmed. It was then. As its rage reached a certain limit, Seo Yakrin finally began to speak coherently.
“Get out of my sight right now! Die! Break my neck and shove my head in upside down! Burst! Crush and tear me to shreds—!”
It wailed and screamed, filled with an inexplicable sense of injustice and rage. At first, Yohan thought Seo Yakrin was angry at Yoon Seung-ryong. But listening carefully, the target was unexpectedly not Yoon Seung-ryong. Seo Yakrin was angry at Lee Hyun-muk.
“Why did you save me!”
Dark red tears, like blood, dripped from its bulging eyes. It screamed with a voice torn by deep hatred and resentment.
“Why did you leave me to live in this hell!”
The man who had never given up protecting his teammates in the Abyss listened silently, his expressionless face absorbing all that resentment and murderous intent. Seeing him so accustomed to accepting distorted anger, Yohan’s heart ached.
Unable to harm Lee Hyun-muk due to fear and the overwhelming difference in power, Seo Yakrin’s rage was once again distorted. The Monstrous Bird sharply twisted its long neck and began to savagely bite its own body. Driven by rage, it was self-harming. Feathers fell off in clumps, skin tore, and blood splattered. Yohan squeezed his eyes shut.
He truly wanted to purify Seo Yakrin quickly. He earnestly wished for both Lee Hyun-muk and Seo Yakrin to be freed from their suffering. As its power gradually waned even from its fierce monstrous roars, a chilling feeling struck Yohan, and he suddenly lifted his head.
“Ho-young, doesn’t something… feel wrong?”
“What feeling?”
Joo Ho-young, who had been waiting with his gaze fixed on Seo Yakrin, asked in confusion. Yohan looked around again. He couldn’t understand why he was getting goosebumps. Was it because of Seo Yakrin? He hesitated and spoke cautiously.
“It feels like a Flood… is coming.”