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Chapter 246 - This is Africa (6)

-[Excalibur: Despair (???)] was obtained.

Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed the pitch-black sword falling from the air with a blank expression. Oh Joo-young, with the body of a monster, boasted powerful energy that even Kang Shin-hyuk, with his stats raised to the limit, couldn’t dare to tackle without the aid of various orbs. Yet, he was slain with a single lightning strike.

-It wasn’t just a single lightning strike. It was lightning that was pushed to the limit.

The administrator provided a brief explanation as Kang Shin-hyuk turned his gaze upwards to the person who had slain Oh Joo-young, Shin Eunah. She was floating above the gate as if she had been there from the start. Kang Shin-hyuk had his spatial coordination skill, yet he hadn’t sensed her arriving at all.

“...”

She was standing over his half-burnt body, her head turning slowly towards Bomber girl.

“What, huh...?”

Bomber girl, who had been fighting with Bridget, immediately flinched away.

“You, you... how? No, still outside...”

“The situation outside is over.”

Shin Eunah spoke calmly and then released her magic again. Bomber Girl tried to alter her magic power with her trait, but she could not dare to invade the power of the Master of Mana. The next moment, she was cut in half, just like Oh Joo-young.

-I hate to admit it, but I think she’s done it.

The administrator’s message flew by.

-It’s very annoying, but from this moment on, she’s a VIP member of the Hero Universe.

‘I guess it’s not a position acquirable just by accumulating points.’

-Of course. Being a VIP member means you’re in a position to lead other members and orchestrate worlds.

Kang Shin-hyuk looked up. Didn’t even the great Anvil barely become a VIP by completing the sword at the end of his life? He didn’t become one from the HP he had obtained, but because of that. And then...

“...This isn’t the main body.”

Shin Eunah mumbled as she suddenly realized something. It soon turned out she was right, as Bomber Girl’s body melted and vanished in the air.

“An alter ego created with magical power. She wasn’t that strong before...”

“She must’ve escaped the limits of a human-like Oh Joo-young.”

“Huh, what is it? So, was I fighting the same alter ego?”

Bridget Poulsen was shocked to realize that. As if to appease her shock, she flew towards Shin Eunah.

“Are you here to help me? After all, our love is now... ah.”

“Junior.”

However, Shin Eunah ignored her and moved straight to Kang Shin-hyuk’s side. This time, he could detect it with his ability.

“I’m glad you’re safe...!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, so there’s no need to check.”

Kang Shin-hyuk calmed down Shin Eunah, who was trying to hug him.

“Is the situation outside really over?”

“Yes. It’s not all over, but the most dangerous ones have been taken care of. By the way...”

Her eyes drifted over the gate that remained in the air.

“It was a good thing I arrived.”

“Can you close it?”

“No, but I can zone it.”

Shin Eunah’s lightning flashed out. Mana began to pour out of her, forming a sharp spear of lightning that shot towards the gate without hesitation. Kang Shin-hyuk decided to help her, drinking a potion quickly and then grasping the gate with his expanded spiritual power. Then, he cut the connection between it and this place.

‘It’s not that difficult with my spiritual power at SSS+ rank.’

-If you remember this sensation now, it will help your growth.

It was a fact he knew well enough; the feeling of his soul’s influence on the world was unforgettable. He drew Phoibos and activated Light Mastery simultaneously, using the power of light to create a bullet. Its power that pursued and destroyed evil would surely affect the gate! In addition to that...

“Give me that orb again.”

“Oh, wasn’t it a gift for our relationship?”

“Where did you get that idea?”

He concentrated the power of Bomber Girl (alter ego) that could alter magic into the bullet.

“Since she opened the gate with this power, it should be possible to close it...!”

“Ooh...? Don’t shoot for a second; I’ll help!”

Bridget, who realized what he was doing, began to dance on the spot. Kang Shin-hyuk felt energy concentrating on the bullet with her movements, increasing it even further.

‘What is this? How is this possible? The energy isn’t even magical power!’

But it was possible. From the start, her dance had two abilities: buff and attack. There was a reason she became a top ranker.

-This might be enough to close the gate!

‘Now!’

With no time to hesitate, he fired the bullet of light at the gate.

-Bang!

The gate collapsed as the bullet of light, containing the power to destroy the darkness and change magic, penetrated it. At the same time, Shin Eunah struck it with a massive bolt of lightning.

“Break!”

Kang Shin-hyuk heard the sound of the gate breaking, but he also sensed something rushing out of it. He fired off ten threads with all of his spiritual power in an instant.

[Kiiiii?!]

Perhaps because of the gate being broken, only one of the monsters jumped out. It would have been a frightening monster that had reached the current limit, but thanks to Kang Shin-hyuk’s Soul Connector tying him tightly, it couldn’t show off that strength.

-Oops, treasure predators!

“I beg your pardon?”

“I thought it was a space monster.”

Kang Shin-hyuk looked at the caterpillar the size of three people, thinking it looked simply disgusting, as Shin Eunah clenched her jaw and struck it with lightning.

-Kiiii?!

However, the moment it was about to be hit by lightning, it twisted the space around it to deflect the attack.

“What?!”

With Kang Shin-hyuk’s proficiency with his space coordination skill, he couldn’t prevent it from doing so.

-Kwaaaaang!

-Kiiii!

Shin Eunah concentrated her infinite magical power on one point, striking at the enemy. It kept twisting its body and tried to use its spatial ability, but it wasn’t possible without interrupting Kang Shin-hyuk’s threads, which were imbued with SSS+ rank spiritual power.

-Kiiiiii!

Eventually, the lightning broke through to kill it.

-With a colleague that challenges the realm of the transcendent, you have subdued one that is harmful to the order of things! Bonus based on membership level! You received 155,000,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you received an additional amount of HP equivalent to 50% of the reward, for a total of 232,500,000HP!

The HP that came in as a reward was considerable, especially given he had shared half of it with Shin Eunah, who was looking rather surprised.

“VIP bonus, amazing...!”

-Cheh.

The administrator was blatantly displeased. Kang Shin-hyuk tried to ignore his message, but suddenly, the space around them began to shake.

“Woah, it’s over somehow.”

Kang Shin-hyuk let out a sigh of relief. He was worried for a bit there, but with Shin Eunah’s appearance, the situation had ended surprisingly easily. He thought about what it would’ve been like if she hadn’t come to help, but there was no point in worrying about it.

“Junior!”

“Yes, yes. I think I’m lucky to be so fine, senior.”

Shin Eunah, convinced the situation was over, embraced him. In fact, he had roughly expected this, so he allowed her to hug him.

“Can’t you hug me too?”

“Ha...”

“We’re finished...”

Unlike the superhumans, who had maintained a relatively bright mood, the mercenaries were barely crawling out of their despair. However, that was normal. They had been suddenly kidnapped by an irregular gate, and both their allies and their guild master had tried to kill them.

“Ohhhhh.”

His friends were also relieved, running towards Kang Shin-hyuk. When Shin Eunah noticed, she hesitantly retreated and let them hug each other.

“...Doing okay now?”

“A little bit more.”

“Now, we’ll be leaving the gate right away.”

“That helps.”

Kang Shin-hyuk tried to understand Shin Eunah after seeing his friends were safe. She had thrown herself into the gate right away. There was no way she could’ve been calm when Jormungand was opening a gate to their home base. Maybe that was why she had ended Oh Joo-young in a single strike, or perhaps it was because she was worried about him.

‘Yes, I’m sure she has her reasons.’

It was too cruel for him to ignore her, given how she had been thinking about his safety. Kang Shin-hyuk reached out and hugged her, gently patting her back. It was like she was his young daughter or granddaughter.

“Ah...”

Shin Eunah buried her face in his arms. Bridget tilted her head and put her finger up to her lips but refrained from saying anything. Shortly thereafter, the gate was destroyed, and the mercenaries were able to escape with few sacrifices.

The expedition to Africa was just beginning.