Matan’s Shooter

“Wow!?”

“If the person who uses the skill is that surprised, it could make people feel uneasy.”

“But it’s amazing, nuna!”

Raphaela looked at the massive eye floating above her head.

It wasn’t precisely formed enough to be called an eyeball. Therefore, even though an eyeball was floating in the air, it didn’t create a sense of disgust.

Rather, its indistinct and blurred boundaries, which naturally blended into the sky, offered a sense of warmth.

“That, that―”

“A buff!? A massive area-of-effect buff!”

The users were bewildered.

Raphaela had cast the skill at a point in the rear of the battlefront.

Yet, the buffs and heals had reached even the users on the frontline, affecting the entire extended battlefront.

That wasn’t the only surprising aspect.

“Keee―ruuuu―!”

“Grrrr―!”

White sparks were flickering on the surfaces of the chimeras confronting the frontline users.

“Could it be?”

“Does it attack too?”

The light emitted from the eye bestowed positive effects on allies and negative effects on enemies.

And it spanned across the entire battlefront.

“Holy… Raphaela?”

Kijung quietly observed her.

In the rear of the battle line, she was screaming excitedly.

‘Will her image as a Saintess change? It would be better to remain a Saintess than to gain a nickname like ‘God’s Eyeball’.’

Kijung glanced around.

Thanks to Raphaela’s massive area effects, their momentum had significantly diminished.

As the mindless chimeras hesitated, the manticores in the sky began to rampage even more.

―Hyein hyung, Bobae-ssi. How’s the situation?

―The manticores’ command is in turmoil. They’ll have to come closer to the ground, making them easier to target. If one burst from 〈Triple Gravity〉 lands accurately, Bobae’s arrow won’t miss. There are many long-range users also participating.

―Anyway, nothing could compare to my arrow! By the way, who is that Raphaela woman? Kijung, what’s going on with her?

Hyein’s cold analysis and Bobae’s sharp voice came through simultaneously.

Kijung waved his hands frantically.

Although he was quite far from Bobae, he knew that ‘Hawk’s Eye’ wouldn’t miss his actions.

―N, nothing’s going on! Anyway― since the chimeras have been pushed back a bit now…… I’m going to step away for a while.

―Step away? Kay, if you leave―

―Oh! Not logging out…… but stepping away from the battle line.

Kijung conveyed the same message to Tale.

Seeing Hyein’s surprised expression, Tale also looked at Kijung with wide eyes.

They both knew he wouldn’t leave the battle line in such an urgent time if it wasn’t necessary.

“Kay? It might be fine for now, but if you retreat, the morale of the tankers will drop drastically.”

“Ah… I’m not retreating, hyung.”

“Hmm? Then?”

Kijung shifted his gaze from Tale towards the front.

Beyond the central part of the new continent, towards the eastern forest. Kijung stared fiercely in that direction.

“Ghibrid moved back. Suddenly.”

Kijung couldn’t sit back and watch the unusual attack pattern and the precise movement marked on Rubini’s map.

Tale quickly grasped his intention.

“What, what are you thinking―”

“Rubini-nim said she’d check with the map. As you said, there won’t be a significant change in the battle line immediately. So… Please understand. Okay?”

“You know the time limit of 〈Dinosaurization〉 better than anyone. Once it ends, Ghibrid―”

“Haha, don’t worry. I’ll be back! 〈Protection Film〉.”

When breaking through enemy lines, defense was crucial.

However, it wasn’t about taking the enemy’s attacks directly but diverting them.

The tentacles of the chimera, which could barely be called arms or legs, slid and danced off Kijung’s shield.

“Wait! Kay!”

Kijung did not look back. Amid the chaotic frontline, a pitch-black mass swiftly passed by.

“Oh my?”

“Why, unni? Were you surprised because my skill is so~ powerful?”

“No, no, Raphaela. It’s not that…”

Rubini observed the map intently. She seemed to have discovered something, but nothing appeared on her map.

* * *

―So, I’m on my way now.

―A freaking lunatic! What do you think you’re doing alone again? This is totally different from the Pyrot-Cocri situation!

“Ah, he’s so loud.”

Kijung shook his head. Despite lowering the whisper volume to the minimum, Leeha’s voice throbbed through his skull.

―For now, Rubini-nim is watching over us with the map. As long as nothing crazy happens, we won’t get caught. Plus, Raphaela’s skill is so amazing that all the attention is directed there. Do you think I’m acting without any plan?

―You have no idea, do you! Kijung, you’re an idiot without a thought. Yep, a complete blockhead. We made such a fuss just to catch one clone of Pyrot-Cocri, and now you’re going alone against Ghibrid? How on earth do you think that’s a sane idea?

―You speak way too rashly, hyung. Anyway! I’ll just sneak a look at why Ghibrid is acting strange all of a sudden and get back to you.

―I appreciate it, but… sigh, alright. Just be careful! Two days ago, Bluebeard had a clash with Bahamut. The Demon King’s Fragment side is on high alert too. I can guess why Ghibrid is moving, but still…

In the current situation, there was only one reason for the Demon King’s army’s unusual movement. Kijung had been tipped off by Leeha.

―Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m going, hyung. If Tiamat really awakens… even I won’t have the confidence to lead.

The 1:1 duel between Bahamut and Bluebeard was already circulating among the top-grade users. Perhaps the unprecedented clash between these two beings piqued their interest even more.

“The result is a draw. Considering that Pyrot-Cocri was prevented from reviving, it could be seen as a victory for Bahamut. Yet, the important thing is that the other side holds a card too.”

Based on the achievement of their original goal, it was fair to call it a victory for Bahamut and the metal dragon. However, the decisive 1:1 duel ended in a draw, signifying the power balance with the Demon King’s army was found lacking.

“Ghibrid didn’t even move. If Ghibrid joins, the balance will break… and if another dragon like Tiamat, comparable to Bahamut, awakens—”

The balance would completely collapse. Kijung wanted to prevent that. Just as they had stopped Pyrot-Cocri’s full revival, he wished to prevent Tiamat’s summoning too.

―At 11 o’clock direction, 180 meters away, a Manticore is creating a Chimera. Try to avoid that area.

―Got it! I’ll go around!

―Don’t detour too much. They’re also creating Chimeras 300 meters away in the 2 o’clock direction.

―Yes, yes!

Kijung cautiously navigated while exchanging whispers with Rubini. From the frontline, it seemed like an endless surge of Chimeras, but as he maneuvered through, he found that there were more gaps than he initially perceived. Without Rubini, it would have been impossible to notice these faint openings, but for Kijung, they posed no issue.

“Kieeek—!”

He cautiously circled around and observed the 11 o’clock direction mentioned by Rubini. The Manticore appeared to be implanting its tail into an animal that wouldn’t even be recognized as a monster. The creature, resembling a rabbit, melted and dissolved.

“That small creature, not even the size of my head…”

Soon, it let out a bizarre scream and began merging with nearby rocks and trees. Thick tree trunks protruded from the rock surfaces. The branches and trunks quickly became veined, transforming as if they were the hind legs of the rabbit that had just been alive.

“Krarak, Kraralalak—”

The Chimera, with limbs resembling the rabbit’s hind legs, started running towards the frontline with a grotesque leap. This horrifying creature, which made one’s skin crawl just from looking at it, was exactly what Ghibrid and his Manticores created.

“At least the ones Ghibrid makes have proper forms. The ones made by Manticores are just… it’s a joke to even call them living creatures.”

Despite the grotesqueness, Kijung was troubled. How much impact would these rapidly-created Chimeras from the Manticores have on the frontline? It seemed all they needed to create a Chimera of such influence was a single rock, a tree, and one animal.

“Is it life alchemy? They’re able to create terrifying Chimeras with so few materials…”

This was one reason the Chimera army could proliferate nearly infinitely. Engaging them with sheer numbers was impossible.

“Hoo… let’s go.”

Kijung moved cautiously yet swiftly.

As he continued, 150 meters, 400 meters, 500 meters passed, and soon the core of the New Continent was barely visible.

―Master Kay!

―Yes?!

―From now on… move slowly.

Finally, Rubini’s voice began to change.

Without any extra words from her, Kijung reacted immediately. There was only one reason Rubini would suddenly become tense.

―Ghibrid is… spotted on the map. Approximately 800 meters from you, very close.

Around that time, many users had gathered near Rubini in the core of the New Continent.

The sheer size of the holographic map she used caught everyone’s attention.

“Is that… really it?”

“Crazy… How much did you zoom in, dr. Doom?”

“It’s not about the zoom!”

“Then, are you saying that the red dot is practically filling the map?”

More than half of the holographic map was filled with red dots.

What Rubini had found was the beginning of Ghibrid’s power reading; the true center of the dot, Ghibrid’s exact location, wasn’t yet marked on the map.

“Does that mean that’s where Master Kay is?”

“Why is he going there as if it’s a suicide mission?”

From Kijung’s position, what he saw was merely Ghibrid’s “spilling power”.

How much time had passed since he awakened?

Ghibrid, who had regained considerable power, was no longer the feeble Demon King’s Fragment he once was.

“Unni, sister! Can’t you zoom in more? How about moving the map? Focus it here!”

“I can’t do that, Raphaela.”

Rubini couldn’t hide her anxiety while looking at the map. It was something she had already told Kijung.

“What? Why not?”

“The map… is blocking the flow of mana itself. I can’t read any further.”

The map wasn’t updating.

Though she had captured Ghibrid’s “spilling power”, the moment he crossed an unreadable line, even Kijung’s position would no longer be displayed on her map.

All the users, including Rubini, focused on Kijung’s dot.

The dot, moving slowly, finally approached the boundary Rubini couldn’t read beyond.

“He’s going in, he’s going in!”

“Record it!”

“Crazy, if Master Kay dies, those rampaging Chimeras will go wilder!”

As users fussed over it, Kijung’s dot vanished as though it melted away.

Raphaela gnawed at her nails, and Rubini continued to stare at the now unreadable map.

Because of the anxiety that filled her mind.

‘I’m anxious… No, this is strange.’

Why was the flow of mana being blocked? If they could block the flow of mana, why didn’t they do it from the start?

Suddenly, Rubini raised her head.

* * *

―This is strange! If Ghibrid had such an ability, he would have blocked it from the beginning! Chaotically cut off the mana flow on the front lines to hide his position… Agh?!

Her words were cut off mid-whisper.

Kijung’s whisper arrived first.

―That’s right. Because Bluebeard is with them.

Kijung raised his sword. Bluebeard was perched on a rock.

Was it because the sun was still shining? Pyro and Igor weren’t visible. However, in front of Bluebeard stood another man.

“… Holy Knight.”

No longer hiding himself with bandages, the fully revealed Demon King’s Fragment.

“… Ghibrid.”

Kijung locked eyes with Bluebeard and Ghibrid.

Scattered before them were dragon heads of various colors. There were precisely five.

Among them were the heads of a Bronze Dragon, a Silver Dragon, a Steel Dragon, and a Copper Dragon of the Metal clan. Slightly separated from them was a bright red head.

The head of the Ancient red dragon, Kuzgunak’sh.

TL’s Corner:

Is Tiamat going to awaken?