Chapter 80 – Rashmode (2)
There were only 72 commanders in existence and, as his title implied, Rashmode wasn’t an easy opponent. He continuously used Demon Summons to get rid of Woojin’s Skeleton army while simultaneously performing dangerous black magic.
“I guess you are getting tired now?”
“Koo koo kook. You shouldn’t compare me to you.”
Rashmode snorted in derision. He was tired, but Woojin was in the same boat.
Woojin was drenched in blood, and a haze of heat was rising up from his body. Woojin grinned.
“I’m sure now.”
“Are you trying to bluff me again?”
“You can’t use your full power either.”
“…….”
Rashmode stayed silent as if Woojin’s words had hit the mark. Moreover, he realized he had made a mistake. His silence had basically confirmed his opponent’s words.
“Koo-kook. Clearly the Link is unstable right now.”
Rashmode acknowledged the point. Woojin frowned.
Link? What was he talking about.
“Still, you also lost your power, the same as me.”
The Immortal had been Initialized.
He could tell that Woojin wasn’t the Immortal of the past. The Immortal was barely able to fight off his weakened self. Moreover, Rashmode was slowly gaining the upper-hand.
Woojin’s surrounding was filled with broken Skeletons.
“I’m quickly regaining what I have lost.”
“What?”
Woojin smirked as he looked at the face of Rashmode, who made a retort.
Woojin felt as if the pinnacle of power he had reached on Alphen wasn’t far from his grasp. He was close. Moreover, even if he wasn’t hunting right now, his level up was currently progressing.
He had gained a good amount of EXP hunting the monsters that were summoned by Rashmode. Moreover, Dolsae was fighting outside and the EXP he was sending Woojin’s way was pushing him very close to a level up.
Woojin lifted his great sword, then clashed with Rashmode.
Kwahng, kwah-kwahng.!
Woojin attacked with all he had, but Rashmode blocked all his attacks. Woojin was too tired to face off against a monster like Rashmode, who had turned himself into a Chimera.
His Magic had bottomed out and his Energy was almost all used up.
Pah-paht!
At that moment, a light exploded forth from Woojin’s body.
Woojin’s body was filled with energy and he smiled.
This sensation always made Woojin feel giddy.
“Your condition doesn’t look too good.”
Rashmode made a face as if he chewed on something sour.
“Go and get some rest.”
Woojin’s hammer came down on Rashmode’s head.
Puhhhhk!
His swing that was filled with Energy crushed Rashmode’s head in an instant.
Black bubbles started forming oas Rashmode’s head was quickly regenerating. Wojin quickly changed his hammer into an axe and brought it down on Rashmode’s neck.
Kahng, kwah-jee.
He didn’t know what Rashmode had done to his cervical vertebrae. It was like trying to sever a steel chain. The black magician’s head was separated from the body, and it came to a stop after rolling several times. His head was boiling as if he had received a severe burn. It was a sickening sight.
Rashmode’s one eye barely moved as he glared at Woojin.
“Koo-koo-koo. The Link is starting soon. Why don’t you run away again? Which dimension are you going to run away to?”
Woojin’s foot crushed Rashmode’s head.
Kwah-jeek.
“I’m not going to run away! You son of a bitch.”
Fucking bastard.
At least, he gave Woojin a lot of EXP.
As if he was trying to get rid of his leery feeling, Woojin started to scrape Rashmode’s brain matter off of his shoe by scuffing it against the floor.
Woojin started walking, heading towards the corpse of a cat that was sprawled out on the floor.
“Hoo-ooh.”
His heart was heavy. Until she was revived, she would have to roam through the deep emptiness. He knew how scary and horrible such an experience could be.
“Rest, Bibi.”
When Woojin touched the corpse of the cat, it turned into black smoke and it was absorbed back into Woojin’s body.
She would wait in the Summoning room for her revival.
“Where’s the Return Stone?”
Woojin used his Search Magic, and he couldn’t find anything on Rashmode’s body. There were a lot of doors on every wall he faced. He headed towards the door that was giving off the most magical energy.
When he opened the door, he saw a stone stairway leading up to an altar. There was a red gem as large as his body.
“Dragon’s Heart?”
The magical energy it held couldn’t even be compared to the bloodstones. This was a treasure Woojin had only seen a few times before.
Woojin looked around the lab as he put away the item inside his Inventory. There were various body parts and bones of monsters mounted all around the lab, and they gave off a creepy vibe.
“What had he been trying to make?”
He didn’t know what great Chimera Rashmode was trying to make, but it had required the use of a Dragon’s Heart. However, Woojin didn’t really need to know that information now.
“I’ll use it well.”
Woojin’s hand touched the gem.
“Maybe I should make RyongRyong a friend.”
Woojin searched the lab in a good mood, since he had made an unexpected profit. There were high quality monster ingredients piled everywhere. He also found several black magic tomes. He put it all away into his Inventory, then used the Return Stone to cross the portal.
When Woojin exited the stairway, he saw the large figure made out of scrap metals. He looked like a pile one could find at a junk yard.
Gee-gee-geek.
When Woojin spotted him, the Steel Giant stood up. His entire body was drenched with the blood of the monsters. Instead of an Iron Golem, he looked like a Blood Golem.
“Goo-uhhh.”
“……”
Dolsae asked if Woojin had rescued Bibi. Even amongst his familiars, those two were unusually close…
“Come here.”
At Woojin’s words, the pieces of tanks and helicopters that made up Dolsae’s body fell to to floor.
Weeeeeng.
Golem’s Heart, the ball of light that was the size of a person’s head, approached Woojin and Dolsae wept in sadness.
Woojin felt complicated emotions as he stroked Dolsae once.
“Good job. Go back in to look after Bibi.
Weeeeeng.
Dolsae vibrated in mid-air, then he disappeared as if he had just melted away.
He probably shouldn’t summon Dolsae for awhile.
At least, Bibi won’t be lonely as she waited to be reborn in the Summoning room. Dolsae would be waiting night and day for her return.
Woojin looked around his surrounding and saw armed men taking care of the monsters’ corpses.
The Holy Maiden approached Woojin and bowed her head.
She made the right choice in not attacking him. He didn’t have his Death Knights, yet he was able to defeat Trahnet’s commander…
His reputation as being the God of Destruction’s Champion was warranted.
“Do you know what happened here?”
Melody immediately knew what Woojin was talking about.
“Earth isn’t synchronized fully yet. This was the work of a summoning circle.”
“Give me a more detailed explanation.”
“…….”
The Holy Maiden was silent for a moment as she chose what she would say.
“Dungeon… This magic circle can summon a waypoint.”
“A waypoint?”
“It is a tunnel capable of connecting to the Dimensional Domain. People of earth call it a Dungeon. It is called a Gate on Alphen.”
“…….”
Woojin pressed firmly on his temple.
They were having a hard time defending against the existing Dungeons, yet people were trying to create new Dungeons?
Why were there so many crazy people on earth?
“Melody.”
“Yes….”
“Cooperate with me.”
“What are….”
“I don’t want to see Trahnet’s forces tread on Earth.”
“…….”
“Give me your full cooperation. If I am able to earn my Dimensional Domain, I’ll actively help you reclaim Alphen.”
“…!”
Melody’s eyes opened wide all of a sudden.
She gave a shiver of disbelief, her entire body trembling.
How could those words have come out of the Immortal’s mouth?
It was so shocking that tears threatened to form in her eyes.
How great would it have been if the Immortal had been as concerned and took active interest when he was on Alphen? Maybe they have been able to protect their planet?
‘Oh, my goddess….’
Maybe goddess Aria wanted her to bring back the Immortal, who had crossed back to earth. Maybe this was why she had guided Melody here.
“I’ll move heaven and earth to help you….”
By protecting Earth, she would be able to regain Alphen.
The Holy Maiden bowed deeply towards Woojin to express her thanks.
*
Woojin was provided a room in a hotel owned by the Titan Guild. Only the VIPs was allowed to use this hotel. However, Woojin only stayed there for 5 minutes.
With the help of the Titan Guild, Woojin spent all of his time mainly clearing the 6 star Dungeons nearby, as well as leveling up. He had also been lucky. He had come across a 6 star Dungeon when it was Reset, and he was able to clear it.
The hotel was mainly used by Jung-minchan.
Even if he had stayed in the hotel, it wasn’t as if he would be able to kick back and relax.
At the Holy Maiden’s strong suggestion, Titan Guild and Alandal Guild created a powerful new alliance. They were busy making detailed plans on Earth’s defense, and the expedition they will send to Planet Alphen.
The consortium had ended with a troubled atmosphere in the air. The information about Trahnet’s conquest forces, the state of Alphen, the reason why Dungeons were forming, and the structure of the Dungeons were all revealed. It caused widespread chaos.
There was a dilemma.
If they excavated and used the bloodstones, Earth would fall faster into danger. However, the bloodstones could also be used as a weapon in protecting earth from danger.
On one side, there were people who wanted to stop clearing Dungeons immediately. On the other, people wanted to aggressively clear the Dungeons to strengthen earth’s defense. A fierce debate had erupted.
During all of this, everyone agreed the world needed to mount a unified defense. There were some talk of creating a command group able to direct the effort of all Roused on this world.
There were too many Roused from too many countries gathered at the consortium, so no one could come up with a consensus. It seemed that it would take a long time to come to an agreement.
It was the thirty-second day since he had defeated Rashmode.
It was the day Bibi would be revived. It was also the day Woojin would be returning to Korea. Titan prepared their private plane for Woojin’s return journey.
Woojin shook hands with the Titan Guild master Deacon, who had footed all the expense relating to using the 6 star Dungeons.
“Thank you for everything.”
“No. We should be the one thanking you. I’ve never witnessed a Roused clear a Dungeon as fast as you, Mr Kahng-woojin.”
Deacon was astonished at the speed, in which Woojin cleared the vaunted Dungeons. Even after clearing a vast number of Dungeons, Woojin still hadn’t been able to reach level 70. He needed 10% more EXP to reach level 70.
It wasn’t as if Korea didn’t have Dungeons. He could take care of leveling in Korea.
The only regret he felt was not being able to find a Dimensional Fragment in the newly Reset 6 Star Dungeon after he cleared it.
“Please travel safely.”
“I’ll see you again at a later date.”
Woojin looked at the Holy Maiden. She was still careful around Woojin, but she wasn’t always in a state of panic any more.
“Let’s go together when we raid Alphen.”
“There’s no doubt I’ll be there.”
Woojin put on a mischievous smile when the Holy Maiden lowered her head.
“You must feel relieved since you don’t have to see me any more.”
“…….”
She was as thankful as she could be for his promise of regaining Alphen. The problem was she still had a lot of fear and discomfort leftover for Woojin from the past. Whenever she was next to Woojin, she always felt anxious. So, the fact that he would be gone made Melody feel much more relieved.
“Huh? Since you aren’t answering, it must be true.”
“…It isn’t like that.”
“It’s all right. Take care of yourself.”
“Please be safe on your travels, Monarch.”
She would have never thought she would develop a relationship with the Immortal, one in which they would exchange greetings.….
After Melody saw Woojin’s plane disappear into the sky, she left the airport.
The shadow from her face disappeared, and a sense of peace came over her.
The haughty and dignified air that had been missing for a brief amount of time returned.
When she returned to the temple located inside the Guild’s headquarters, Melody prayed in front of the goddess’ statue.
“Oh goddess… Let the day when we return to Alphen come as soon as possible….”
[…….]
“Ah!”
The Holy Maiden had her eyes closed as she prayed. She was surprised when there was a buzz around her. She calmed her heart then she sat up straight. This was her goddess’s divine message. Even she had only experienced this a few times in her life.
Her forehead, palms, knees and toes touched the ground in front of the goddess’ statue. Her holy and kind voice rang in Melody’s ears.
[…Follow him.]
She said to follow him. Who….
[Go after him.]
“…….”
The Holy Maiden fervently wished the person, who the goddess referred to, wasn’t the one that came unbidden to her mind. As if the goddess had read her thought, her brilliant voice rang once again in the Holy Maiden’s heart.
[You will stay by his side.]
“…Oh goddess.”
She wanted to act as if she hadn’t hadn’t heard her goddess. Did her goddess want to strengthen her weak heart by putting her next to him?
[Stay next to Kahng-woojin.]
The divine message was unusually long today.
I’ve already understood what you meant, goddess.
I just don’t want to believe it.
She didn’t feel this wretched even when the goddess had told her she would have to sacrifice her body for the salvation of Alphen by crossing the dimension…
Oh, my goddess. Why would you give me such a tribulation…