Chapter 363

M E M O R I Z E

Mule, a small city in the northern part of the Northern Continent.

"They're swarming in like a flock of ducks."

Standing on the city wall and surveying his surroundings, Kim Gap-su spat out a brief comment as he watched the tide of people surging toward them.

"Don't you think?"

When he turned his head as if seeking agreement, a man in leather armor to his right replied.

"A flock of ducks... That's an interesting way to put it."

"Right? So why the long face? If it's funny, you should laugh."

"I can't help it. If we stay here any longer... we might get pecked to death by those ducks if we're not careful."

Though spoken calmly, the man's pointed reply made Kim Gap-su let out a low chuckle.

He had compared them to ducks, but the man's words were, in fact, a very accurate description of their current situation. They were clearly at a disadvantage. No, it was more than a disadvantage. The number of people remaining in the city was less than two hundred, while the number of approaching 'ducks' was in the thousands.

"Heh heh... Right. What's the status of the evacuation?"

"The transfer to Barbara is almost complete... Ah. They say they're in the final stages now. If we head down, we should be able to make it just in time."

"Is that so... Then we'd better get going. Like you said, we can't just stand here and get pecked to death."

"A wise choice. The city gate has been sealed tight, so as long as we don't dawdle, there will be plenty of time to use the Warp Gate."

"I know, I know. I'm going now. Jeez, stop nagging..."

As Kim Gap-su waved his hand dismissively, the man, perhaps feeling awkward, didn't press the matter further. Soon, the group, led by Kim Gap-su, slowly began to descend the wall. Despite the roars from beyond the wall growing closer by the second, their steps were remarkably unhurried.

"The thought of them ending up like a dog who lost the chicken it was chasing makes me feel damn good... Ah! Speaking of which, what did you do with that bitch?"

"Pardon? Which bitch?"

"You know. The one who bit my dick."

"Ah! You mean that brown-haired cow?"

Finding the man's term for 'that bitch' amusing, Kim Gap-su chuckled again.

"Keke. Yeah. Did you bring that cow along safely?"

"Ah, yes. We've escorted her safely to Barbara, so you don't need to worry."

"Be careful she doesn't catch Lee Kang-san's eye. She's exactly his type, so if he spots her, he'll snatch her away immediately."

"I'll be as careful as I can... but even I can't do anything about matters beyond my authority. And to be honest, it's already..."

BOOM!

It happened just as Kim Gap-su and his band of vagrants had descended from the wall. A deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth echoed out, and the tightly sealed city gate shuddered violently. The sound was so loud that the man who had been speaking momentarily covered his ears, his face contorting in pain.

"F-Fucking hell! You scared the shit out of me!"

"S-So soon? I-I'm sure there was still some distance..."

Did they use magic? The man who had been talking about the 'cow' turned to look at the gate, his face filled with doubt.

WHOOSH!

This time, a sharp sound of something tearing through the air was heard, followed by the loud clang of metal striking the gate, which once again reverberated in all directions.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"Ugh! F... uck! What the hell? Is it about to break? Are you sure this gate was reinforced?"

"Y-Yes, sir. We definitely reinforced it on Hyeon-nim's orders... A-Anyway, this is no time for talk! We need to evacuate, now!"

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

But this time, the sound of the very earth shaking made the man's face turn as pale as a death row inmate's. The ominous noises that had been sounding for a while now seemed to erupt every time he tried to speak, as if forbidding him from opening his mouth.

By the time the dazed vagrants snapped back to their senses, the trembling of the earth had subsided.

But that was only the beginning.

Creak! Screeeech!

Suddenly, the center of the gate began to distort. Despite having been reinforced, the gate, made of thick steel, was twisting and bending like a piece of paper.

"The... The gate is crumpling...?" someone muttered, their voice filled with disbelief, unable to trust what they were seeing. Even as they spoke, the gate continued to groan and screech, twisting further. As if wringing out laundry with all its might, the gate was turning into a crumpled hunk of scrap metal with each passing moment.

CRUNCH! SCREEEEECH!

Then, with a sound of metal being torn apart, a large hole was ripped through the gate. A moment later, a massive, reddish-purple arm thrust through the opening.

Whoosh... Whoosh...

A hot, violet wind blasted through the mangled hole. The violet wind, thick with pulsing magic, instantly engulfed the area around the gate.

And in that fleeting moment.

"U-Uwaaah!"

"A monster! Run!"

Without a single exception, the vagrants began to scream and flee.

*

Barbara, a major city in the central region of the Northern Continent.

The area around Barbara's Warp Gate was incredibly crowded. The light that had been flashing nonstop just moments before had died down, but hundreds of Users who had come through the gate were milling about. Watching the scene, a woman spoke to the man standing next to her.

"See? They're the vagrants coming in from Mule."

"Ahem! I see."

"Ahem? Is that all you have to say?"

"Hmm. Well. This is... quite a predicament."

Watching the swarm of vagrants pouring out of Barbara's Warp Gate, Simon wore a genuinely troubled expression.

"Hahaha. I heard they only caught wind of it on our continent. It'll be quite awkward when we go back, won't it? Right, Yurina?"

"I think right now is more awkward, Simon Grimes."

At Simon's continued banter, the woman called Yurina retorted in a clear, precise tone. He looked abashed and scratched the back of his head before letting out a faint sigh.

"Ah~ It certainly is a predicament."

~ ~

"Mule is one thing... but to think they'd try to recapture Beth, Dorothy, and Halo all at the same time... I thought it was strange they brought so few people, but it seems they had a trick up their sleeve. Haha! And I didn't hear a single word about it from the vagrants. No wonder information on their movements suddenly..."

"Even so, blaming them is for later. Right now, I believe we need to activate the Magic Nullification Formation and support Halo."

Yurina's suggestion was to move to the city closest to the Western Continent and attempt an escape from there. On the surface, her opinion seemed reasonable. Although the other cities had all fallen, Halo, where they had left a small number of troops, was still fiercely resisting the Northern Continent's recapture efforts.

But Simon, smiling as if it were out of the question, simply shook his head.

"Come on. What kind of nonsense is that? We'll really die if we do that."

"What do you mean? Why would moving to Halo be a death sentence?"

"What you're suggesting, Yurina, is based on the premise that the monsters outside the walls will just stand by and watch over ten thousand people move. In other words, we'd have to ask them to please watch with satisfaction while they evacuate one by one."

"We have the Magic Nullification Formation..."

"Yurina. How long do you think that will last against those monsters?"

As Simon cut her off, Yurina bit her lip, at a loss for words. But seeing Simon's still-relaxed face was frustrating, and she narrowed her eyes, shooting him a sharp glare.

"Simon, what do you propose we do then? Just sit here and wait for them to choke us out?"

"Haha. Don't get so worked up. Everyone's enjoying the Northern Continent's performance right now... Why are you the only one so angry?"

"What? You find this situation amusing?"

"Well... It's not so much amusing as it is expected."

At that, Simon's sudden declaration left Yurina speechless.

"Ah. Of course, I didn't expect all of it. The Dragon Breath being returned was definitely a surprise. Phew. I really thought that was a golden opportunity..."

"Si..."

Yurina's lips parted as if to say something, but in the end, she pressed them tightly together again. Simon's eyes, as he looked at her, were still crinkled in a smile, and his expression seemed utterly at ease. He looked like an innocent young man out for a stroll in his neighborhood.

However.

Yurina, who had 'obeyed' Simon for a relatively long time, could feel it instinctively. This was a characteristic unique to him. No matter the situation, he never showed any sign of panic. He had overcome countless crises, even when facing 'Jackie,' who had come closest to conquering the Western Continent, but he had never once lost his composure. On the contrary, he always overcame crises with bizarre methods no one could ever imagined. That was the kind of man Simon was.

In any case, Simon had said this situation was expected. That meant he had some kind of plan. Knowing he never made empty boasts, Yurina was inclined to hear him out.

"Good. You seem to have calmed down a bit. Haha. Ah, about moving to Halo like you said, it's simple. It sets us up to be picked off one by one. It's a bad move you should never make if you truly want to live."

"..."

"I was thinking of letting them have a small victory anyway. It just turned into a real one, that's all. Ultimately, nothing has changed, so just accept the current situation as it is. If you want to live. And if you want to go back to the Western Continent. We just need to make our own way out."

"Are you saying you have a way?"

As if his claim of expecting this was true, Simon immediately nodded at Yurina's question.

"Yes. First, we need to activate the Magic Nullification Formation. It'd be a waste not to use it after drawing it up."

"...And then?"

"Hmm... Given the circumstances, we'll have to leave a few conditions to luck. It would be great if the Northern Continent has already analyzed the formation... Halo needs to hold out, too... Anyway, even if we leave it to luck, we can increase the odds, right? Let's send a few support troops to Halo right now. The most useless ones, of course."

Yurina looked puzzled at Simon's words. He was giving orders one by one as if he had a plan, but she couldn't make sense of any of it. Her brow twitched, but he wasn't finished speaking.

"Ah. What else do we need... Right. Yurina? We're going to use the Magic Shells. Prepare the entire stock we brought."

"What? The Magic Shells? The entire stock?"

"Yes! It's a bit of a waste, but my calculations show we won't be able to get out of here alive otherwise. And let's see... Aha. The weather's nice. Then, finally, could you call the Spirit Summoners? That should be everything."

Simon tilted his head slightly and began to waggle his index finger. But he must have seen the look on Yurina's face, because he grinned.

"Why the long face?"

"...I haven't understood a single thing you've been saying."

"If you don't understand, just do as you're told. Timing and speed are of the essence here. Hahaha!"

Then, Simon suddenly lifted his head and looked up at the cloudy sky. Spreading his arms wide, he spoke in a bright voice.

"See? Even the weather is on our side."

Dark shadows filled the sky, casting a dim gloom over the plains. Standing amidst the thick, encroaching fog, I was waiting for a User. The User I was waiting for was Shin Sang-yong. I was sure I had told him to pack his things and meet me at my barracks this morning, but he hadn't shown his face yet. Of course, the morning wasn't completely over. But since he was usually quite punctual, his absence even after the sun had risen was puzzling.

Why isn't he here yet?

Suddenly, I wondered if I had been too harsh with my words at dawn. What I had said to him was the very thing I had held back when we were discussing personnel selection. Of course, I didn't have the slightest intention of belittling him. In fact, I had spoken out of concern, but thinking back now, my words could easily have been misunderstood depending on one's perspective.

Anyway... I'll have to talk to him again when he gets here.

Regardless. I took advantage of the brief lull in the fighting and lay down on the simple cot in my barracks.

EternalFire's sudden awakening. News from the north and south. Shin Sang-yong. The cards.

Various thoughts tangled together, making my mind a complicated mess. I was lost in thought for a while, then found myself unconsciously rummaging through my pocket. Soon, a card was in my hand. As I held it up before my eyes, the angel with its usual expressionless face, shedding tears, came into view.

Seraph...

Why did I always think of Seraph whenever I looked at the angel on the card?

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

Just then, as I was about to get lost in thoughts of Seraph, an alarm suddenly rang out across the camp. I immediately stopped thinking, shot up from the cot, and rushed out of the barracks.

A murmur spread through the camp.

It seemed I wasn't the only one who had reacted to the signal. One by one, Users began to emerge from the surrounding barracks. All of them looked dazed; it seemed no one had grasped the situation yet. I quickly ran to the very front of the camp.

Perhaps because I ran with all my might, I reached the front line in an instant, but a dense fog obstructed my view. I couldn't see the city clearly. I immediately focused my magic to enhance my vision. Then, the blurry landscape slowly began to come into focus.

The city walls were covered in black soot. It was a masterpiece I had created by returning the Dragon Flame, but that wasn't what was important right now. The real anomaly was on the ground surrounding Barbara. The 'Protective Magic Nullification Formation' drawn around the city was emitting a clear blue light.

It was a precursor, a sign that the magic formation was about to activate.