The Hero Returns

Act 9

The mission on the 18th floor was pretty simple. Su-hyeun had to knock down a single object, a single monster.

The mission itself sounded the easiest and simplest. But as a result, the trial on the 18th floor was the most difficult one.

[Knock down an old Imoogi.]

Although it was described as old, Su-hyeun was dumbfounded about this trial at first.

"Imoogi? Did it just say Imoogi?" he asked.

It was an unreasonable monster to come out on the 18th floor. Although it was a single monster, it was difficult to defeat. After fighting for more than half a day, Su-hyeun finally knocked down Imoogi. Without a second thought, he used transfiguration skills to defeat it.

As a result, Su-hyeun gained the power of the Imoogi, the mythical snaked that tried to become a dragon with divinity.

"Of course, it is not perfect yet," he thought.

So far, he could not control the power of the Imoogi perfectly. Physically, Su-hyeun was not as powerful as the Imoogi. Because of this, Su-hyeun did not try to the traits of the Imoogi. Unless he was trying to improve his proficiency on purpose. However,

"If I do this..."

Crunch—

As he grasped his hands, he could feel the scales on the back of his hands. Without spreading his magic, he could feel the surroundings and energy vividly. It had been a long time since he felt this.

"Well, then…" he said.

Whip—!

Riiiip—

He tore the energy down that flew in front of him. His long, sharp nails were better than any other sword.

"Watch out! This brat—" one Richie shouted.

"It is too" —Su-hyeun said and grabbed the head of the Richie—"late to watch out."

Bam—!

Crack, crack—!

The hallway floor was shattered. Su-hyeun's hand broke Richie's head and the Life Stone came out.

Snatch—

Su-hyeun quickly grabbed the Life Stone. At the same time, he glanced at the other three remaining Richies.

"I don't have much time. I have to finish it quickly," he thought.

As his five senses extended, he could feel signs from outside of the castle. Soldiers were coming into the castle. Their signs quickly approached. Soon, they would arrive here. Then, it would be difficult for him to keep this state.

"Well…" he said.

Swish—

Su-hyeun's new form disappeared, leaving afterimages. In an instant, he got closer to the monsters. Three Richies condensed their magic.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

A solid dark sphere wrapped around Richies. Su-hyeun stroked the sphere with Gram.

Crack, crack—!

Whirl—

A curtain created by the three Richies magic didn't stay long. It started to crack.

Crack—!

The crack had broken, and huge magic came out from it. Dozens of dark ashes began to embrace Su-hyeun.

Whoosh—!

At that moment, Su-hyeun made the Flame on the other hand. The red Flame quickly got bigger and started to cover the Richies.

"What the…?!" one Richie screamed.

The three Richies were surprised and moved away from Flame. In the middle of that, one Richie pushed another Richie's back. The Flame pushed the darkness away and turned that Richie into ash. It was the kind of heat that would turn everything, even a Life Stone to ash.

"Now, there are two," Su-hyeun said.

Slash—!

He swung the sword once more, successfully cutting off one Richie's arm. He meant to cut the body in half, but only one arm flew away.

Crack—!

The curtain that the Richies made was pointless. They finally realized that and chose to avoid rather than to block.

"We have to get out of here…" one Richie said.

"We can't win like this," the other Richie realized when he was Su-hyeun was using the transfiguration skill. He should have figured that out sooner.

Crunch—!

A bird flew from somewhere bit off one Richie's neck. That Richie's movement stopped. Soon, his body began to burn.

Crunch—!

Caw, caw—!

A phoenix came and bit off the neck and separated the body and head of one Richie.

There was only one Richie left.

"Damn. No way..." he screamed.

"Yes way," Su-hyeun said.

Swish—

Su-hyeun's new form flew to Richie's front. The surprised Richie stretched his arms quickly. Soon, he released his magic with all his strength.

Whoosh—!

Once again, Guide covered Su-hyeun's body.

It was a hit.

Richie yelled for joy. Since he swept with the Guide, Su-hyeun would not be safe.

"Finally!" Richie thought.

But his pleasure didn't last long. When he yelled for joy—

[Indomitable body.]

Whoosh—!

—Su-hyeun stretched his arm and grabbed Richie's neck. Richie grabbed Su-hyeun's wrist with his bony hand as if he couldn't believe what was happening.

"How could he...!" Richie screamed.

The Guide was the dark magic about space. It was supposed to trample space and the pressure was strong enough to break down quite a bit of steel. In such a space, an ordinary human couldn't survive.

There were two facts that this Richie overlooked. First, Su-hyeun was not an ordinary human. Second, his body was now assimilated into the body of the Imoogi.

"If you answer my question, I won't break your head," Su-hyeun said.

With the threat of Su-hyeun, the magic on Richie's hand disappeared. He was wanted to live, but he knew he could die if Su-hyeun made the Flame at that moment.

But as Su-hyeun said, if he could answer the question, he would survive. Because Richie's power was not in the body; it was the Life Stone in his head.

"So, what do you think?" Su-hyeun asked.

Most of the Richies were born from refusing death too frequently. They could not give up their lives. Su-hyeun thought this Richie in front of him would not be much different. And his guess was correct.

"O…K," Richie said.

Richie, who seemed to be worried for a while, soon accepted Su-hyeun's proposal. Su-hyeun decided to use this Richie. He could just blow away the body, and there was no reason to keep the promise. There was nothing to worry about.

"First, what's down here?" he asked.

"Under here…"

The moment Richie tried to open his mouth.

Shiver—

Su-hyeun got chills. He was surprised and released Richie's neck. He activated the Indomitable body again and quickly fell from the spot.

Squish—

Stab—

Two black spears came out from under his feet. One of them pierced Richie from the bottom. The other rose where Su-hyeun was standing. He could be pierced if he didn't move. Richie could not continue to speak and stayed still.

Slide—

Clink, clink—

The spears went back to the floor. Life Stone that was pierced fell from Richie's head to the floor. Richie lost the Life Stone and his life.

"...Well. That is annoying." Su-hyeun mumbled.

Su-hyeun wanted to get the answer and tried to leave quickly.

"This way!

"He is here!"

Soldiers found Su-hyeun.

Among them, the man who was at the forefront was skilled. He had the most intense magic of anyone in the castle. He was Maxman.

"Everyone! Don't approach. Cover me..." Maxman yelled.

When Maxman found Su-hyeun, he pulled his sword and watched him. He soon froze after he saw the area where Su-hyeun and the Richies fought. He found remains.

"What, what is all this?" he asked.

Only bones of the Richies' remained. And Su-hyeun was standing in the middle. The sight made Maxman very confused.

"Well. Should I say it is good timing...?" Su-hyeun glanced down and said, "you are in charge here, right? Take your men out of the castle, right now."

"What are you talking about?" Maxman made an expression that showed his mixed feelings

It was their castle. He was the commander of this castle, and Su-hyeun was the one who had to get out.

But Su-hyeun looked very dignified as if it was his house. Maxman was a bit embarrassed about it, but first, he had to figure out the situation.

"Well, if you look around, you will figure it out. This is what happened," Su-hyeun said.

"You mean...Richie?" Maxman asked.

"Yes. This is a den of Richies. If you stay here, you will die," Su-hyeun said.

"Maybe it is you who brought Richies. Or maybe those skeletons were our soldiers."

Maxman couldn't just step out of his protection just because they were Richies. He wasn't even sure they were Richies. He couldn't afford to blindly believe the words of an invader.

"Can you see this?" Su-hyeun said.

He lifted the hollow Life Stone on the floor.

"This is Richie's Life Stone. Richies plant these in their heads and save their lives."

"...Prove to me that you didn't bring these Richies," Maxman said.

"Well. If I could bring this number of Richies, I wouldn't make you guys come to the castle. If I was a real enemy, I probably would have just killed everyone already."

It was creepy, but it was true. Richie was a monster like a high-ranking wizard. If Richies teamed up with such a skilled swordsman, they would easily raze the castle to the ground.

In such a situation, Su-hyeun acted like this and killed all Richies? That would be nonsense.

"Then, really, Richies were here?" Maxman thought, "if that is true, should we escape the castle as this guy said?"

"Don't you have to save your soldiers?" Su-hyeun pointed at his feet and said, "If you guys stay here... you all are going to die."

It sounded a bit extreme. Nothing was certain. But Su-hyeun's believed it and fortunately, Maxman thought the same.

"I…" Maxman opened his mouth. When he almost finished his worrying—

-Don't run away.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

—they heard the voice ringing the whole castle. It was the voice of Maxman's immediate superior, who descended from the kingdom.

"What…the…?" Maxman said.

-Don't run away. Kill that man. Right now.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

The voice rang the castle. Su-hyeun could tell whose voice it was.

"It is him," he thought.

It was the Richie that he met the first time when he entered this place. He had the highest concentration of magic. It was that man's voice.

I am ordering you, as your superior, Maxman.

"Did he just say superior?" Su-hyeun thought.

He looked at Maxman with surprise. Maxman was about to agree with Su-hyeun, but now he was restless.

"So… Richie was drawing feudal allowance." he thought.

It was a ridiculous situation. The man in front of Su-hyeun, Maxman, was a soldier. For soldiers, the command of the superior was like the command of a god. It was the absolute rule that had made men like Maxman serve for a lifetime. So, he had no choice but to fight. Even if he thought Su-hyeun was right...

"What should I do?" Maxman had no choice. He had to fight.