The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 175
175fury.
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In the midst of the upheavals of an era, there are always those called 'heroes'..
For example, as leaders of the revolution, heroes of war, and founders of nations, they subjugate their contemporary opponents and achieve great feats by demonstrating wit that is unbelievable in that of a single person..
However, if you think about it from the perspective of those on the other side, how on earth should you stop the ‘hero’ who has shown such overwhelming performance and has become an unstoppable threat??
The easiest way is to remove the hero itself.…….
That is, ‘assassination’.
Now, at the Omega Team camp in Dresden, a plan to eliminate such a hero was brewing..
“……So far, there have been several operations to eliminate Steelein, but each time they have failed..”
A man was speaking to the audience in the dark. And the room where they were gathered was covered with a strange flow of mana, but strangely enough, there was no flow of air at the border..
The reason was that the 'Silence' magic, which blocks all sounds at the source, was tripled..
“No, what kind of item did you have that made you react like that??”
“……Chu Kyo-yong, Ki Baek-jun, Red Berserker, Sword Saint, and even Shadow Baron were all defeated..”
Stillrain Lee Hyun-wook, that name is now the biggest thorn in the side of villains..
How many times have you hit him so far? But all he did was suffer..
And with each repeated failure, the villain's power inevitably diminished..
In that respect, the operation targeting Steele Rain became a poisoned chalice from the villain's perspective..
"But it will be different now. In the past, when we defeated him, it was on the battlefield... … So, I only targeted when the guy was fully armed and in a sensitive state. In my opinion, that is a failure. ‘Hugin’, a legendary level information collection item operated by this guy. Perhaps its performance is beyond imagination..”
The person who calmly analyzed the problem like this was a man named William Kane, an early member of Villain..
As he is an executive who has infiltrated the EPU for a long time and served as a bridgehead to dominate Europe, he had a fairly detailed understanding of how the villain organization targeted Lee Hyun-wook and how it failed..
"And since I usually stayed in Laputa, I didn't have a chance to target him properly.……."
"But now… … He's spending the night off guard right in front of us..”
"Yes, and that too while completely entrusting your own safety to someone else..”
William Kane thought this time was truly a perfect opportunity made in heaven..
“……So, is the hellfire magic scroll that will melt steel ready to start??”
At his question, a man standing in a corner walked forward..
"yes! Now, if you just pour in mana, it will work right away..”
"Okay, it's 1 am now... … The operation begins slowly..”
It's dusky dawn, you're most likely sleeping, and even if you're not, it's the time to be most let down..
Of course, here at Team Omega's camp, dozens of searchlights were turned on and numerous guards were patrolling, and the area was covered with multiple layers of magic shield, making infiltration impossible from the outside..
"But no one would expect that problems would arise from within. Aim for that blind spot.”
"Ugh—and if it’s Hellfire… … No matter how bad he is, he won't be able to handle it..”
Here, Hellfire is the highest level of attack magic in the flame series, which literally means hell fire, and was the ultimate skill with a level of difficulty that even an average A-rank wizard could cast alone..
However, if you put it in a 'magic scroll', anyone could use it just by infusing mana into it..
Of course, putting that incredible skill into a magic scroll wasn't something that just anyone could do..
'It was completed by 8 A-rank wizards who put their own lives in danger by squeezing out mana..’
It was originally an item specially prepared to destroy the entire Omega team in the end. However, William Kane decided that dealing with Steele Rain was more important than that..
After a while, someone's voice came out of William Kane's Mana Messenger..
- As a result of using the life-detection magic, Steele Lane and the others are all in their dorm and have not yet gone to bed..
The fact that they were still inside the dorm meant that they were completely unaware of the threat that was coming towards them..
"Okay, just get to that level and don't monitor too much. That kid... … As I said before, our intentions can be determined by strange numbers like Hugin, so we must be as careful as possible..”
- So, can I start the Hellfire magic script right now??
“……use."
- yes!
"......."
About 10 seconds later, outside the window, a red light pushed away the thick darkness of dawn..
Qua—ah—ah—ah—ah——!
A loud noise and vibration followed, as if the whole world was turning upside down, and as I was about 500 to 600 meters away, I could feel the windows of the villains' dormitory exploding all at once and the air heating up..
"Huh—it looks like a volcano erupted right in front of you..”
“……With this level of destructive power, there won't be anything left..”
This is the power of the strongest fire skill called Hellfire... … Even the people who exploded it were impressed..
“Damn it, it's fire!”
Soon there started to be a commotion outside the window, and the players came out to put out the fire..
but.......
"Um, that… … It's not just fire, it's magic!”
"what? So that means it was an attack and not an accident.?”
The flames blew up as many as five buildings in one blow, quickly consuming the remains of those buildings and growing in size... … The players who felt the extraordinary power coming from the fire could not help but be astonished..
If it was an ordinary fire, no matter how large it was, it could be extinguished with various types of magic..
However, the fire created by magical power... … If it was a high-level skill, the story would be different..
And soon, high-ranking wizards of B rank or higher saw through the true nature of the magical fire..
"—Damn it, everyone, stay away! Hey, that's 'Hellfire'!”
Hellfire, few have seen it in person, but no one is unaware of its notoriety..
"Heh, Hellfire... … Nonsense!”
“Why did something like that happen here?!”
The flames of hell are more powerful than any other fire and are not easily extinguished........
"But I'm still trapped in there?”
“……The center over there is S, Stillane's lodgings.!”
As his name came out from somewhere, murmurs became thicker here and there..
"what? Damn, that means someone was after him.?”
"Yes, that too with the Hellfire skill.……."
Soon, war reporters rushed out and began broadcasting the scene live..
"—This is breaking news! This is now the Omega Team camp in Dresden.……."
Just like that, the sad news that the hero who saved the world yesterday was in the explosion spread around the world..
"Wow—he's still in there! we have to save him!”
“Move quickly! I can't lose Stillane!”
Most of the players staying here at Team Omega's dormitory had a bad feeling towards Steele Lane, but no matter what, they did not want the person currently evaluated as the strongest fighter in humanity to die..
Soon, about a dozen wizard players cast spells together, and a huge magic circle was created in the sky..
"Now, pour all your mana into early evolving Hellfire.!”
Shoot—ah—ah—ah——!
Heavy rain began to pour down from that magic circle, a stream of water more powerful than any firefighting equipment. However, the moment the stream of water touched the hellfire, an explosion occurred and the flames spread further..
Puh-uh-uh——!
It was a symptom of a steam explosion, and along with it, sparks of hellfire flew in all directions..
"Pfft! Oh, stop! If this continues, the Hellfire sparks will spread to other buildings.!”
In the end, the evolution work had to be stopped after just one attempt..
"……That makes sense?”
"Ha, that doesn't work either.……."
It was a moment where it was proven once again that no fire extinguishing agent could extinguish the Hellfire..
They watched in bewilderment as the remains of the building quickly turned to ashes..
"however… … Wouldn't he be able to escape??”
A woman muttered that in a voice filled with strange hope..
"Yeah, now that I think about it, I think I saw a scene where Steele Lane goes into flames.!”
"Ah—that's right! It was quite a while ago, during the meteorite event.?”
He had been shown breaking through fire several times before..
For example, didn't we overcome the fire of 'Pheethon' in Jeju Island??
"That undistinguished hero will definitely be able to achieve a miracle..”
But one A-rank wizard player shook his head..
“……Sorry to sound like a candle, but hellfire isn't just strong fire..”
“yes?”
"The reason that’s scary is… … This is because it virtually ignores ‘fire resistance’.”
No matter how powerful a tank is, it will melt like burning plastic the moment it touches hellfire........
"......."
In the end, the players were just preparing to retreat far away to avoid the spreading hellfire..
"Currently, about 10 minutes have passed since an unidentified Hellfire attack erupted at Steele's residence, but his fate is still unknown, and many experts believe that he is dead.—”
As time passed, the voices of the reporters reporting this terrible moment became more and more somber..
But then—
"uh? But the movement of that flame is somewhere... … It's not that strange?”
Yes, strangely enough, at some point, the Hellfire flames are being sucked inward rather than spreading outward. It didn't seem like the fire was dying down, it was flowing somewhere..
“……Originally, did Hellfire have the characteristic of gradually shrinking like that??”
A while ago, someone asked a question to the A-rank wizard player who explained the Hellfire skill..
But he also looked like he couldn't understand, shook his head, and opened his mouth..
"Uh, I don't know. That… … Honestly, I don't know either..”
Whoa whoa——
But the strange scene became increasingly clearer. Yes, it was clear that the fire was going to the center..
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but that doesn't mean the lights go out.?”
Meanwhile, the villains mixed in with the military began to feel both puzzled and ominous..
‘What on earth is that? never heard of it.’
The villain's leader, William Kane, also felt a sense of discord and used the vision enhancement skill 'Hawkeye'..
“Pfft!”
My eyes hurt when I glared at the dark light, but I endured it and looked inside the flames..
Soon, I found a black shadow deep within the red shimmer..
'……You're a person?’
One person was standing tall amidst the flames of the fire that could not be extinguished or endured..
"Oh, no way……."
And soon, other players seemed to have caught the scene as well, and a buzz spread everywhere..
"—Look over there! It looks like someone is standing there!”
“……You're human, right? No way, it's stillrain?”
"what? Oh, that's ridiculous! What happened?”
And as Hellfire calmed down further, cheers began to erupt from everywhere..
"omg! That's it! He's right! he is standing there!”
"Ugh, how can you be so fine in Hellfire??”
“……By any chance, he didn't die standing up.?”
And what a huge sword he held in his right hand... … There, Hellfire was being sucked in..
At first glance, it looked like a Mowglai, and many assumed it was a Mowglai..
However, the sword he was holding was a completely different item from Deputy Director Hwang Yeon-soo's 'Panic Room'..
[Item information]
- Name: Completely Cooled Sword
- Effect: Can absorb heat and emit ‘heat’.
'I had no idea I would be using this sword like this..’
Lee Hyun-wook knew that the identity of this potential item was ‘Levatain’, but he did not know how to release the potential. That's why he was trying various methods from time to time.…….
'……The first thing I did was to apply heat..’
As stated in the description of this item, it can absorb heat and release it..
This meant that there was a high possibility that the potential liberation formula was related to ‘fire’..
‘So, I constantly came into contact with various types of fire..’
As a result…….
- The completely cooled sword wants even stronger ‘heat of flame’.!
* caution! Currently, this sword absorbs all 'Fire' properties around it.!
After about a dozen attempts, such a system message came to mind..
However, there were limits to the powerful fire magic that Hyunwook Lee could obtain. When he had time, he planned to ask General Choi Jeong-cheol for a favor, and if that didn't work, he also planned to go looking for Inferno..
But now, the hellfire that suddenly fell overhead had become the 'key'..
‘This time too, their conspiracy actually benefited me..’
Hwaaaaa——
It took about ten minutes to eat Hellfire whole.…….
- congratulations! Some of the potential of a sword that has completely cooled down is released and it becomes a ‘sword that has regained its heat.’!
[Item information]
- Name: The sword that regained its heat (Hero)
- Effect: When heat is absorbed, it becomes a 'magma sword' state..
……Isn't it not the legendary level 'Levatain', but the heroic level 'Sword with Recovered Heat'??
‘what? Even though I swallowed a hell of a lot of Hellfire, I still can't release my potential.…….'
Although the upgrade was still achieved to some extent, it meant that the fire equivalent of Hellfire had to be absorbed a few more times in the future. That's how much this sword, Levatein, has tremendous firepower when completed..
“Phew—I thought I was going to die from the heat..”
"Ha, I thought I was going to burn to death..”
Behind Lee Hyun-wook's back, behind the steel barrier made of adamant, Park Jun-mo and Kim Se-hee spoke..
They had minor burns, but they could get by with a healing potion..
"Now, we have to find the arsonist.?”
Kim Se-hee said that and ordered Hani to push out the toxic gas around her..
"I already found it.”
"ah… … As expected, you are fast..”
Lee Hyun-wook slowly walked forward. The place he stepped on fell with a thud..
It was a very brief fire, but the heat was strong enough to turn bricks into powder and rebar into molten metal..
He made his way through the smoke and ashes to stand in front of hundreds of players and dozens of cameras..
"uh… … S, stillane... … Are you okay??”
Someone asked somewhere, but Lee Hyun-wook walked forward without answering..
Then the players naturally split off to the left and right..
The metal that covered his body was intact, with only a little soot on his body..
There was a black crow sitting on his shoulder, its eyes scanning everywhere..
Behind him was a red-hot giant sword, radiating heat..
Meanwhile, the villains had no choice but to take a step back without realizing it as they watched the scene..
“……Everyone, don’t be rash..”
In the end, William Kane had no choice but to whisper quietly to his hesitating subordinates..
"No one knows we did it anyway.”
The ‘Dark Elf Shadow Hunter’ who cast that Hellfire magic scroll has already escaped this area..
And the time they had a secret meeting with him and delivered the magic scroll was extremely short and secret..
That is, William Kane was convinced that there were no eyewitnesses..
"Now, our actions will never be discovered..”
At his whisper, the villains took a breath and began to focus on managing their facial expressions..
however…….
Jeopuk- Jeobok—
Strangely enough, Steele Lane was approaching them, looking straight at them..
The grave-faced nemesis walks out of the flames of hell... … he gets closer.
gulp—
William Kane, who made eye contact with him, almost gave a business smile without realizing it, perhaps because he was nervous..
But it would be strange to smile at this moment, so I forced the corners of my mouth down..
“……Stillane, are you okay??”
Rather, he spoke first. At times like this, he had to pretend like nothing was wrong and joke around..
"Oh, my name is William Kane, Director of the EPU Guild Strategic Support Bureau, and I am in charge of disseminating this operation.."
And since he was one of the people in charge of the scene, it wasn't strange for the picture to come out like this..
however…….
"I got hit by Hellfire at 1 in the morning, how can I be okay??”
"ah… … Of course you would. You're okay though—”
"And I… … I know who did this..”
The moment he heard those words, William Kane also had the instinct to turn around and run away..
And then my eyes fell on the large sword floating behind Lee Hyun-wook’s back. That wasn't Mowglai.
‘I don't know what that is, but it's the sword that swallowed Hellfire. If you swing that thing, we'll all die.’
The heat emitted by the sword was so hot that the skin of anyone standing nearby could be burned..
“……So, do you know who used the Hellfire skill??”
At that time, the black mechanical crow sitting on Stillaine's shoulder—Hugin—flew up..
Hung——
In an instant, it soared high into the sky and began to look down on everyone..
That meant that Steelein detected a target and began hunting further..
"......."
For a moment, there was only silence among the hundreds of people..
Their eyes were focused on only one person, Lee Hyun-wook..
They all said what Hyunwook Lee said... … He heard that he knew the culprit..
“……That Hellfire isn't a skill. it was a magic scroll.”
Lee Hyun-wook answered late, and one of the villains let out a low groan without realizing it..
‘how do you do that…….'
If they know that much information, it may not be a big deal to know their identity..
That's why each of Lee Hyun-wook's movements, gaze, and voice began to feel like a dagger..
"Did you really think that I couldn't kill you if you were all mixed up here and acting like a fool??”
It wasn't something specific to anyone, but his eyes were particularly focused on villains..
For them, it could not help but be felt as an unspoken warning, and it acted as an indescribable pressure..
"If so, it's unfortunate... … I want to tell you that you think I'm too soft.”
That moment—
Pooh-ooh-ooh-ooh——!
The giant sword that was floating behind Lee Hyun-wook's back began to emit smoke out of nowhere. Like a steam locomotive starting, gray smoke was billowing out, and it looked quite menacing.…….
"Jeez, damn it.!”
In the end, one of the villains couldn't stand it anymore, twisted his body, took out a wand, and attempted an escape spell..
“—no!”
At that moment, the large sword ‘Sword with Recovered Heat’ standing behind Lee Hyun-wook glowed red..
Bright red flames bloomed from the tip of his sword, expanding as if spreading wings..
Woe—evil——!
The four villains standing in the range were eaten by the fire and crumbled to ashes..
"Wow——!”
Still, William Kane twisted his body in that moment and managed to lose only one arm.…….
Whoosh—
Two silver arrows flew in, cutting both of his Achilles tendons at the same time..
He fell to the floor and stretched out one arm to Hyunwook Lee, who was coming towards him..
“Please! Are you suddenly attacking me because I did something wrong??”
"Um, no way… … Are you still looking at me softly??”
“Pfft! Oh, no, I really don't know why you're doing that.……."
Lee Hyun-wook chuckled at his words and stepped on his ankle..
"......There is a proverb like this in Korea. When a thief says his feet are numb, this is exactly what he means."
"uh……."
"Can you explain why I tried to run away when I didn't do anything??”
But at that moment—
pop—!
Suddenly, William Kane's head exploded and his eyeballs rolled over..
‘As expected, I activated the latent spell.?’
The villain leadership must have been watching this scene right now.—
I decided that it would be better to kill this guy than to be captured alive..
Lee Hyun-wook exhaled and raised his head to look around..
"......."
Everyone in the area looked mesmerized..
And the whole world just watched that scene.
“……Stillane, you're going to have to explain what this is..”
Brian Thiel, the leader of Team Omega, who was approaching behind us, said that..
Lee Hyun-wook nodded and looked back at the players and cameras surrounding him..
'Yes, it's time..’
This timing wasn't bad.
'……Right now, the villain's name is revealed to the world..’
He saved the world several times and earned the image of a hero..
Therefore, it is trusted by the world more than ever before..
Just recently, he was on the verge of being assassinated by someone..
‘And shared all those stories with the world..’
Now, if I mention that unrealistic secret in this context:…….
'……The world will believe you.’
Lee Hyun-wook looked at a camera lens and slowly opened his mouth..
"For a long time, a very long time... … What group are you fighting with?."
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