Chapter 126 – Purification (3)

The group arrived in front of a massive circular arena in the northern part of the city through spatial movement.

The massive circular building without a ceiling looked extremely old with its antique appearance.

“From old times, it was a place where ability users showed off their abilities against monsters, or where ability users competed against each other to judge skill. It was closed quite long ago because of its cruelty and has been managed as ruins since then…”

Hayden explained to the group while looking at the arena’s outer wall.

Sun-woo could tell from the gladiator arena-like building how this place was operated in the past.

And now, light flowing from the building was dyeing the outer walls and sky red.

“We need to hurry.”

“Wait a moment.”

Hayden who saw the flowing light urged them forward with a worried face, but Sun-woo stopped the group.

No matter how urgent, rushing wouldn’t help.

Silvia said all Scavenger attacks failed.

According to her words, there was a high probability of traps prepared for attacks inside that arena or enemies the Scavengers couldn’t handle.

Moreover, there were non-combat personnel in the group. Moving thoughtlessly might meet the same fate as the Scavengers that Silvia saw in her prophecy.

Everyone agreed with Sun-woo’s explanation, but Hayden looked quite anxious.

That was because only Hayden was a person from this Empire dimension.

“Relax. Clara will be fine.”

“Right? Phew… Huh, huh? No, this has nothing to do with her!”

Hayden who completely fell for Sun-woo’s words protested with a red face, but the ship had already sailed.

Everyone smiled slightly.

Thanks to that, Hayden seemed to relax too, and Sun-woo’s excited heart also calmed down a bit.

Actually Sun-woo was quite excited because of the prophet’s last words.

[At the place you’re going now, there’s the man you were looking for.]

Sun-woo bit his lip.

***

Near this arena were many buildings that appeared to be shops.

But now they were all abandoned and turned into haunted houses.

The group didn’t enter the arena but went into an abandoned two-story building nearby.

And Sun-woo closed his eyes and drew up inner strength, extending sorcery and senses toward the arena.

As expected, many human presences were felt inside the arena.

The emptiness outside the arena was ultimately a ploy to lure people in.

They definitely knew about the underground city’s prophet.

Unfortunately, identifying personnel using earth spirits or sensing by extending energy couldn’t reveal opponents’ exact abilities.

If they were martial artists fighting or using inner strength like before, rough identification was possible.

But with restrained martial arts, there was no way to identify opponents’ skill.

Moreover, obtaining information itself was difficult because of the energy raging inside.

“Still, knowing the numbers and positions should make things much easier. Then can we depart?”

“No. Wait a moment.”

Sun-woo stopped Nanseol who was about to move once again.

Before, even if there were traps, he would have immediately rushed in after identifying the interior, but now there was no need.

Sun-woo raised the hand wearing the ring forward and began injecting mana into the summoning ring.

Thanks to wrestling with ring utilization methods during this time, he had almost completely identified the low-level monsters he could summon.

“Graaagh!”

Beast roars echoed from the building where Sun-woo’s group was.

Large red wolves burst out of the building and ran toward the arena.

They were all wolf monsters Sun-woo summoned.

But shortly after, another wolf pack again left the building.

“Now, let’s follow them. They’ll filter out most things up front.”

Mysteriously, Sun-woo’s voice came from the mouth of the lead wolf in the rear wolf pack.

“Wow, how fascinating. They all look like wolves to me.”

This time Yeonhwa’s voice flowed from the mouth of the wolf running at the very back.

“Don’t speak when you meet enemies. If they start suspecting, the illusion technique will immediately break.”

The wolf at the very front warned everyone.

The wolves that left the rear building were Sun-woo’s group transformed by illusion technique.

Sun-woo summoned wolf monsters then made the group appear as the same wolves with illusion technique.

***

Soon the arena filled with screams and emergency bell sounds simultaneously.

Clang clang clang!

“Wo-wolves appeared!”

“Not Scavengers but wolves, what nonsense!”

“Damn, what should we do at times like this!”

“First block them!”

Two wolf packs that suddenly appeared confused the contaminated ability users who were hiding and waiting for Scavengers.

They who had never experienced unexpected situations were flustered.

But the opponents were humans using superpowers. Contaminated ability users who had become much stronger.

Though they were red wolf monsters much larger and stronger than ordinary wolves, they weren’t enough.

Wolves charging toward humans that appeared in front suddenly stopped mid-air.

Some rolled on the ground in confusion from mental ability users’ attacks.

“Wh-where did these guys come from?”

“Grr, clean them up quickly! The Scavengers might have sent them for reconnaissance!”

The contaminated ability users blocked the lead wolves, but couldn’t block the other wolf pack that followed.

Thin beams of light shot out from the approaching wolf pack and struck the ability users blocking the lead wolves.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

All ability users swept by the shining lines fell to the ground spurting blood.

“B-backflow! Argh!”

Ability users who tried to use mental domination on the newly appeared wolves were no different.

Those who tried mental domination on animals without thinking suffered shock from powerful resistance and screamed.

The newly appeared wolves approached those screaming.

One ability user who barely overcame the backlash looked at the wolf appearing before his eyes with a puzzled expression.

“Not a wolf?”

Because the wolf began looking like a person at some point.

“Right. It’s human.”

Sun-woo’s sword pierced through the surprised ability user’s chest.

The enemies were cleaned up in an instant.

First, ability users hit by Sun-woo and Nanseol’s sword energy all lost their lives to Nanseol’s sword that followed immediately.

And Sun-woo finished off the mental ability users.

It happened so quickly that Hayden had no time to step forward, and Yeonhwa just barely arrived.

Sun-woo, who was watching Yeonhwa gasping for breath, reverse-summoned wolves among the summoned wolf monsters that received mental attacks.

Because commands didn’t work well due to mental attack aftereffects. Fortunately, wolves caught by telekinesis were all safe.

“Using wolves as vanguard will work about once more. With four remaining now. After that we’ll need to change methods.”

At Hayden’s words after checking remaining wolves, Sun-woo shook his head.

Soon the summoning ring on Sun-woo’s finger shone again and three intact wolves popped out before the group.

“There are still many wolves I can summon.”

Though he couldn’t yet summon beyond a certain number, continuous summoning was possible as long as he had inner strength.

“Now, let’s go again.”

At Sun-woo’s words Yeonhwa who was gasping tried to say something, but closed her mouth thanks to Nanseol who sighed and held her hand.

“I’ll pull you along, so trust your body to the flowing inner strength.”

Sun-woo nodded slightly to Nanseol who was infusing inner strength into Yeonhwa’s body, then cast illusion technique on the group again.

If anyone was alive he couldn’t cast illusion technique again, but all who saw the illusion technique break were eliminated.

The plan to confuse enemies using wolves as vanguard was successful. Enemies didn’t know what to do in the unexpected situation.

However, those positioned at the arena’s center showed no movement despite this confusion.

As expected, a contamination formation was definitely being created there. As expected, the showdown would happen where the contamination formation was.

The group began running again with summoned wolves in front.

Yeonhwa ran without falling behind the group with Nanseol’s help, and the two wolf packs crossed the passage.

***

The arena’s interior looked like Rome’s Colosseum or a large circular stadium.

Though the building was aged and spectator stands collapsed from time’s weathering, its majestic appearance still remained.

In this place left neglected as ruins for a long time, many people now gathered creating a new contamination formation.

In the wide arena’s center was drawn a large circular pattern.

At its rim, contaminated amplification stones floated in the air in a circle spreading ominous red light.

And at the pattern’s center, people wrapped in black cloaks surrounded a woman wearing priestess robes chanting spells.

The woman standing among them held out a hand holding a large gem and stood blankly.

From the gem the woman held flowed intense light incomparable to contaminated amplification stones.

The light that seemed trapped in the gem writhing looked like it would burst out at any moment and burn the world.

“Keke, we made traps but the guests who came are dogs?”

“Well, that prophet person seems to have used some method. Since we didn’t expect wolves to come, our side seems to be pushed back.”

“Kuk, but they’re just wolves. When we can block even if all Scavengers swarm in, it’s foolish.”

Two people beside the pattern leisurely conversed while watching the contamination formation gradually complete.

One was a person wrapped in a black cloak like those chanting spells inside the pattern.

Unlike others, his cloak had brilliant red patterns carved on it spreading light.

The other was a red-eyed man wearing jeans holding a sword in one hand.

It was the red-eyed warrior, Sun-woo’s enemy.

“But the brainwashed priestess won’t last long, is there an alternative?”

The warrior clicked his tongue watching the priestess with a blank expression contaminating the gem.

“Because you guys failed to kidnap other priestesses! We’re experimenting with saintesses from our world but it’s not giving quick answers.”

At the warrior’s words, the black cloak growled.

“Tsk, then advancing to other worlds will take more time. The priestess who reappeared disappeared again so that side became hopeless.”

“Hmph, the Summoner bastards figured it out too. That’s why you should have quickly finished them off. Why drag out time picking fights causing trouble?”

At the continued grumbling, the warrior shrugged and walked toward the entrance visible far ahead.

“Let’s do that story later and first greet guests.”

“Hmph, really wasteful to use just against wolves.”

The black-cloaked man also slowly followed the warrior.

The entrance they went to was one gladiators used in the past, but with no one going through during this time, only weeds grew thickly.

But today, new gladiators burst out from that entrance.

They were massive red wolf monsters.