MDR-C15

Chapter 15

While the strange standoff continued in the rear, the battle had already erupted at the front.

“Defensive line, forward! Get the wounded to the rear!”

Yoo Cheolmin slammed his enormous shield into the ground.

“Decree of Inviolability!”

The earth twisted, and a massive mana barrier rose from the shield, forming a hemispherical dome.

The Huntsman Spider Queen’s grotesque red eyes were forcibly drawn toward Yoo Cheolmin.

It was the effect of his skill’s forced aggro.

“Keeeeeeek!”

Perhaps because it was the master of the colony, the Queen was not completely bound by the compulsion. It shrieked and thrashed wildly, one of its vicious forelegs crashing down toward Yoo Cheolmin’s shield.

Han Seyeon refused to waste the brief opening he had created. She raised her staff high.

The ranged hunters also raised their weapons in unison, as though they had been waiting for this exact moment.

Han Seyeon swept her staff sharply through the air.

“Glacial Guillotine.”

As her low voice faded, an absolute-zero freezing field formed beneath the Huntsman Spider Queen.

The air cracked as though it were shattering, and ice slowly bloomed upward from the ground.

Frost spread like fractures, creeping around the Queen’s legs one after another.

“Focus your attacks!”

At the same instant, the ranged hunters unleashed a barrage.

The Huntsman Spider Queen’s carapace turned white with frost, cracking loudly beneath the relentless assault.

But the Queen did not remain passive.

Its abdomen suddenly swelled, then contracted.

Dozens of mutated spiders poured from its body like a waterfall, scattering in every direction.

“Stop them! Don’t let them reach the damage dealers!”

“Close the gaps!”

The defenders of the joint force shouted urgently as they deployed their shield skills.

An innumerable swarm of mutated spiders surged forward, crashing into the shields with horrifying screeches.

Then—

“Now! Wipe them all out!”

Cha Taekyung’s crazed roar tore across the battlefield.

Wherever Cha Taekyung passed, nothing remained but wreckage, as though a swarm of locusts had swept through.

He leaped with such force that the ground caved beneath his feet, then brought his greatsword crashing down toward the Huntsman Spider Queen.

A ghastly metallic boom rang out as steel collided with its hardened shell.

The tremendous shockwave blasted dust from the ground like an explosion.

Cha Taekyung did not stop there.

He drove his greatsword into one of the Queen’s frozen leg joints and twisted viciously.

Amid the scattering shards of ice, a pitch-black shadow slipped soundlessly into the Queen’s blind spot.

Kang Mujin.

Shhhhk!

Just before the acidic fluid spewing from the Huntsman Spider Queen’s mouth melted through the ground, Mujin lowered his body and slid beneath the stream.

One of its scythe-like forelegs swept toward him.

Mujin twisted his ankle and instead drove deeper into the creature’s reach.

He adjusted his grip on Lord of the Black Night.

[Activating Skill: ‘Reaper’s Mark (EX)’.]

[An absolute trajectory of death has been engraved upon the target’s weakness.]

Every color drained from Mujin’s vision.

Only a vivid red line marking the Huntsman Spider Queen’s vital point remained.

Mujin’s sword cut through the darkness without the slightest hesitation.

A black arc, like a stroke of ink, carved across the air.

The massive joint was severed cleanly, spraying dark violet fluid.

The Huntsman Spider Queen’s horrific scream shook the entire colony.

The attacks continued without pause.

Under the relentless assault of Zenith’s attack force, led by Cha Taekyung, the mutated spider swarm was slaughtered mercilessly, and the Huntsman Spider Queen was steadily driven backward.

And at the heart of it all was Kang Mujin.

Watching the scene, Eunseong swallowed dryly.

…What’s gotten into him? Wasn’t he supposed to be hiding his strength? What is he thinking, using his abilities so openly?!

Eunseong’s gaze remained fixed on Mujin’s back.

Watching him fight so close to the edge, Eunseong clenched a fist slick with cold sweat.

Oblivious to what was going through Eunseong’s mind, the battle at the front was approaching its climax.

Mortally wounded by the relentless assault, the Huntsman Spider Queen slammed its remaining legs against the ground and flashed all eight of its bloodshot eyes.

“Keeeeeeeeek—!”

With a sound even more chilling than before, poisonous gas began pouring from its gaping mouth and severed wounds like a tidal wave.

At the same time, an ominous system window appeared before Eunseong.

[The ‘Huntsman Spider Queen’ has entered an enraged state.]

[The venom concentration in this area has reached lethal levels.]

“It’s a wide-area attack! Everyone fall back!”

A harsh curse and an urgent shout burst from Cha Taekyung, but it was already too late.

Kang Mujin had already penetrated deep into the creature’s reach to strike at its most heavily protected blind spot.

The poisonous mist expanded in an instant, engulfing him and completely cutting off his retreat.

The corpses of mutated spiders began bubbling and melting inside the acidic poison fog.

If that thick, corrosive mist hit Mujin head-on, even he would be dissolved until not a single fragment of bone remained.

“……!”

Eunseong’s eyes shook violently.

His hand tore through the air as he opened his inventory.

A bottle filled with clear liquid appeared in his grasp.

The highest-grade mana recovery potion.

Dew of the World Tree.

It was said to be priceless—something that money alone could never buy.

Eunseong brought it to his lips without even considering its value.

What’s the point of saving it if Mujin might die?!

He poured the cold liquid straight down his throat.

[Mana has been restored to 100%.]

[The maximum capacity of your mana circuits has permanently increased.]

[Warning: Mana Circuit Overload.]

[Mana output has temporarily risen to abnormal levels.]

[Penalty: Severe exhaustion after the effect ends.]

He had only a moment to be startled by the sudden penalty.

The mana that had been scraping along the bottom surged back to full in an instant.

Along with the overflowing power, every sensation in his body sharpened.

Eunseong casually dropped the empty bottle to the ground and extended one hand toward the Huntsman Spider Queen, whose mouth was stretched wide open.

[Activating Skill: ‘Spear of Ruinous Thunder (SS)’.]

KRAAAAAAAM!

A brutally magnificent blue-white spear of lightning ripped through the air and crashed down like divine punishment.

The merciless attack shook the entire colony and shattered the Queen’s enraged state as easily as tearing through paper.

A dying monster’s shriek mingled with the blinding flash.

Acrid smoke and a vile burning stench filled the colony.

Still standing with his sword in hand, Kang Mujin followed the trajectory of the lightning back toward the rear.

Straight toward Eunseong.

Eunseong had used the skill at the exact moment Mujin became isolated.

The timing would have been impossible unless Eunseong had been watching him—and only him—from that distant position the entire time.

…He read everything from the beginning. How I would move. Even where my limits were.

A chill ran down Mujin’s spine at the thought that Eunseong had seen through everything about him.

Mujin narrowed his eyes, then turned away.

The opening Eunseong had created was the perfect chance to finish off the creature.

Mujin and Cha Taekyung kicked off the ground simultaneously, preparing to deliver the final blow to the Huntsman Spider Queen.

Then it happened.

The mortally wounded creature staggered, its head twisting around at an unnatural angle.

All eight of its scorched, grotesque red eyes fixed on a single point.

On the one person who had dealt it the most devastating blow.

In the suffocating silence, the bloody gaze of the Huntsman Spider Queen locked directly with Eunseong’s across the battlefield.

[The ‘Huntsman Spider Queen’ has detected the greatest threat and changed targets.]

[Highest-Priority Target: Baek Eunseong]

[Status Effect: Exposed to ‘Queen’s Brand (Fear)’.]

Fuck! Why me…?

In an instant, it felt as though every trace of oxygen had vanished from the air.

Eunseong’s breath caught.

It felt like an invisible noose was tightening around his throat.

A horrific ringing filled his ears, accompanied by hallucinated voices screaming at him to run.

But his legs, heavy as though iron weights had been chained to them, remained rooted to the floor and refused to move.

Eunseong’s bloodless lips trembled violently as he managed only shallow, broken breaths.

Fuuuck… I’m going to die two days after transmigrating!

The Venomous Mist shifted with the airflow and surged fiercely toward Eunseong, as though being sucked in his direction.

The Queen’s red eyes gleamed dangerously as they remained fixed on him.

That was no ordinary hostility.

It was a persistent, vicious killing intent—the determination to kill this one target, no matter how many other prey stood in its way.

[Status Effect: ‘Queen’s Brand (Fear)’ has activated.]

Sensation began disappearing from Eunseong’s body, starting at his toes.

He could no longer even tell whether he was standing or sitting.

He knew he needed to breathe, yet his body refused to obey.

His vision remained perfectly clear.

Only his body had stopped moving, while his gaze remained helplessly locked on the Huntsman Spider Queen.

He had to run.

No matter what.