Chapter 46 – New Continent (6)

The red-eyed swordsman looked around and made an incredulous expression. 

“What’s all this commotion? Did some wild beast go on a rampage?” 

“We had visitors.” 

She pointed to the mess below the hill. That place could no longer find its original appearance thanks to the raised earth walls and overturned ground. 

“Visitors? Don’t tell me summoned?” 

“Probably so. There was a face I’d seen before.” 

At her words, the swordsman looked at where the barrier stone had been. 

“In the end, did they discover the secret of the medicine?” 

“It was bound to be revealed someday. It might have been faster because someone was causing trouble.” 

When she brought up the factory incident again, he sighed. 

“Geez, the nagging never stops.” 

“Anyway, we can’t let them leave safely like this.” 

“Then we should say hello. The kids are chasing well, right?” 

“Of course.” 

Along with her words, she created a gate in the air again. A black hole appeared in the air and the swordsman grinned. 

“Then shall I go ahead and wait.” 

The two entered the black hole. 

The hole disappeared, and low screams continued flowing from the base shrouded in dark red energy. 

***

The party was racing toward the beach. 

Hayden blew away the beasts blocking their path at the front of the party with telekinesis, and Daniel protected Caroline behind him while striking approaching contaminated beasts with his greatsword. 

And Sun-woo and Michael handled the pursuing cloaked figures. 

The earth walls Sun-woo created blocked the fireballs the cloaked figures threw, and the traps he made blocked the cloaked figures’ advance. 

Rat-tat-tat-tat! 

And Michael’s bullets poured down on the cloaked figures jumping over traps and earth walls. 

“What are these guys! Are they immortals or something?” 

Even after shooting down a cloaked figure, Michael’s expression was very bad. 

Because the fallen cloaked figure got up shortly after and joined the chase again. 

Sun-woo’s situation wasn’t good either. Even after collapsing earth walls and digging traps to bury them, after time passed the cloaked figures followed again in perfect condition. 

If they came close enough, he could compete with martial arts, but they were staying beyond a certain distance and continuously throwing fireballs and such. 

If it weren’t for escorting the escaping party, he really would have wanted to have a proper fight. 

They were unexpectedly not attacking aggressively. They were just steadily chasing as if herding them. 

“They seem to have some scheme. We can’t go on like this.” 

Sun-woo also agreed with Michael’s words as he shouted while running backward. 

“Just hold on a little longer!” 

“Ugh, this is a complete loss!” 

Along with Michael’s words, Sun-woo turned and ran toward the cloaked figures. 

Fireballs flew toward the approaching Sun-woo, but with the power of improved lightness skills and footwork, Sun-woo succeeded in dodging all those fireballs. 

When Sun-woo approached, the targeted cloaked figure stopped running forward and retreated backward, while other cloaked figures ran past Sun-woo toward the party. 

“Can’t let that happen.” 

Sun-woo stamped his foot forcefully and shot forward. Simultaneously, a long earth wall rose behind Sun-woo and blocked the cloaked figures’ progress. 

Sun-woo was able to reach the cloaked figure retreating backward from the reaction of stamping his foot. The cloaked opponent shot fireballs at the approaching Sun-woo, but Sun-woo drew his sword and cut through the fireballs. 

Sun-woo leaped through the halved fireballs, and the next moment Sun-woo’s sword swung toward the opponent’s neck. 

Slash! 

The opponent’s neck shot up along with the cloak. And the remaining body collapsed on the spot. 

“Huh? No blood?” 

It wasn’t that there was no blood. Only enough blood to stain the sword flowed from the severed neck. 

That’s when Caroline’s scream seemed to be heard from where the party was. 

When Sun-woo turned around in surprise, she was looking at the cloaked figure’s head that had risen into the sky. 

There, the head of an expressionless man with pale, bleached skin with the cloak removed was crossing the sky. 

“He was definitely dead. I saw it myself.” 

Caroline, who had screamed, stood there half-dazed and muttered. 

“Snap out of it! We can’t stop here!” 

Daniel shouted while swinging his sword at a contaminated creature that looked like a wild dog, but Caroline couldn’t think of moving. 

Seeing this, Michael shouted. 

“Damn it! Leave it to Sun-woo! Only that guy can fight while carrying a crazy woman on his back!” 

Michael’s voice also reached Sun-woo. Sun-woo turned back while blowing off one leg of another cloaked figure and picked up Caroline. 

Though two intact cloaked figures still remained, this seemed to be the limit to avoid being surrounded by the increasingly swarming beasts. 

Sun-woo took out a potion, drank it, and began running after the party. 

The race toward the beach began again. 

“It was definitely Captain Max. He was definitely dead. He was stabbed by a contamination source’s tentacle and stopped breathing in front of me.” 

Even while being carried on Sun-woo’s back, she continued muttering. 

“He might really be dead. His neck was cut off but barely any blood came out.” 

“Right? He is dead, right?” 

At Sun-woo’s answer, Caroline asked with a brightened voice. 

Her emotional ups and downs seemed very severe. Her emotions had probably become unstable from continuous shock. 

But Caroline’s appearance so far hadn’t been that of a woman who would weaken to this degree. 

‘Was her guilt that severe?’ 

Sun-woo was puzzled by Caroline’s sudden collapse while continuing to interfere with pursuit using sorcery and running forward. Sea breeze was blowing from ahead. 

Shortly after, the party was able to safely reach the beach where they had first landed, but waiting for them were a broken raft and two people. 

“Oh, so that young man was the face you said you’d seen before? This is jackpot.” 

The red-eyed swordsman smiled showing his teeth while looking at Sun-woo under the bright moonlight. 

“Hmm, that’s right… I’m also surprised. To see an old colleague in this place.” 

The beauty standing next to the swordsman tilted her head while looking at Caroline on Sun-woo’s back. 

“Uh, uh,” 

Caroline couldn’t speak seeing her old comrade who appeared before her eyes. 

Sun-woo put Caroline down and bared his teeth toward the swordsman. The image of his family flashed through Sun-woo’s mind. 

“I wanted to meet you.” 

“Oh? Did your memories return?” 

At Sun-woo’s appearance, the swordsman looked pleased and waved his sword. 

“Nice to see you. Seeing you emit such killing intent, there must have been family or precious people among those who died then? But the summoned killed more than I did.” 

Though his words seemed intended to cause confusion, Sun-woo only walked toward him while infusing energy into his sword. 

“No, you killed our family right in front of my eyes.” 

At Sun-woo’s words, the swordsman chuckled and infused energy into his sword. Red energy rippled throughout the entire sword. 

Sun-woo’s sword also began blazing with blue light, and soon the two collided in the middle of the beach. 

“What the hell is going on?” 

“I don’t really understand the situation, but it definitely seems to have gotten worse?” 

Hayden added his comment to Michael’s grumbling. 

Fortunately, when they escaped to the beach, the contaminated beasts no longer pursued and returned to their places, but the cloaked figures surrounding the party from a distance could attack at any time, and the two newly appeared people also didn’t seem to be ordinary. 

More than that, the biggest problem wasn’t such things. It was the raft that was shattered to pieces. 

Because there was no way to escape from this land like this. 

***

“Hmm, it would be troublesome to interfere with a long-awaited reunion.” 

Charlotte, the contaminated spatial ability user, sent signals to the cloaked figures surrounding Sun-woo’s party from a distance, and the cloaked figures rushed at Sun-woo’s party. 

The party hastily blocked them, but they were pushed away from Caroline, who sat collapsed on the ground, by the cloaked figures who kept getting up again. 

The cloaked figures ignored Caroline and continued pushing the party. 

“Hello, Carol.” 

Charlotte stood in front of Caroline, who was left alone, and greeted her. 

“You really were alive.” 

“Of course I was alive. Runaway Carol.” 

“No, back then I believed everyone could follow…” 

“You probably expected it roughly. In the end, you’ve been putting on such hypocrisy all this time?” 

“No! Don’t tell me… are you fighting against the Summoners and us because of that?” 

At Caroline’s words, Charlotte tilted her head. 

“You don’t know anything. Playing with someone who doesn’t know isn’t very fun.” 

Charlotte looked at Caroline with pitying eyes. 

“Tsk, if the time wasn’t right I’d kill you immediately. Really disappointing.” 

At Charlotte’s words, Caroline’s questions grew even more, and Charlotte ignored her while watching the increasingly fierce fight between Sun-woo and the swordsman. 

***

“Haha, this is really fun!” 

Along with violent collision sounds, Sun-woo was knocked into the air. Sun-woo, who spun once in the air, landed safely on the sandy beach, but due to the aftermath, he was pushed back further. 

The red-eyed swordsman rushed at such Sun-woo, and Sun-woo dug a big hole in front of him. 

“Oops. That was dangerous. Your tricks are really amazing, aren’t they?” 

The swordsman stopped in place while trying to jump over the hole and praised Sun-woo. 

At that sight, Sun-woo frowned. He had made an even bigger trap behind the hole, slightly covered with sand, but he hadn’t fallen for it. 

The opponent seemed to know well about various abilities. 

‘Well, he would have been a summoned long ago.’ 

Moreover, he had been fighting summoned even when Sun-woo was young. He couldn’t not know about abilities. 

The surroundings were already a mess with broken sand pillars, walls, and holes. 

Sun-woo had attacked him using various methods, but had no choice but to be continuously pushed back. 

Though Sun-woo had reached peak level, his martial arts were still lacking compared to him, and sorcery and illusion arts were all destroyed and seen through by him. 

Moreover, the sand on this beach was too weak to utilize with sorcery. 

“Hmm, I think I’ve seen everything roughly. I should end this now. I came out while sleeping so I’m still tired.” 

He said that and ran around the hole toward Sun-woo. But unlike before, Sun-woo didn’t face him and retreated backward. 

“Huh? Why are you running away? Weren’t we mortal enemies? Are you backing down because you lack power?” 

At his words, Sun-woo, who had been retreating, stopped walking. 

“It’s true that I lack power, but I didn’t run away.” 

Sun-woo raised his sword again. At that sight, the swordsman who had been sneering hurriedly turned his body. Then he blocked the sword falling toward him. 

Clang clang clang! 

A beautiful sword passed by the swordsman at invisible speed. The red-eyed swordsman was able to frantically swing his sword to block all attacks, but couldn’t avoid the attack from behind. 

Sun-woo’s sword cut through the swordsman’s side. 

“Am I not too late?” 

A fairy smiled brightly in the moonlight. Nan-seol had arrived.