Chapter 136: Traitors of the Reverse Heaven Sect (3)
After Choi Yu-seong and Yu-hyeon finished their brief plotting.
The Sect Leader was the first to speak within the stagnant, bloodthirsty atmosphere.
"Do you really believe you stand a chance with just one active Player and an instructor? Don't complicate a matter that should have ended with a single person."
He did not say it directly, but it was a threat that anyone could recognize.
However, no one backed down despite the Sect Leader's intimidation.
The Sect Leader clicked his tongue at the sight and gave instructions to the Apostles.
"Tsk, tsk. How foolish, knowing it will not work. We do not have much time, so end this quickly."
"Yes, sir."
As soon as the command was given, the Apostles drew their weapons and stepped forward.
At the same time, the Sect Leader gradually retreated.
Eventually, as the caster who had created this sealed space, he began to withdraw from the area without any particular hindrance.
However.
"I cannot let that happen."
There was someone here who possessed the talent to leave the space even without the Sect Leader’s permission.
As the Sect Leader moved to exit, Yu-hyeon immediately charged toward the blocked, transparent wall.
The Sect Leader tried to scoff at the sight, but...
"Ho ho, you think that will—what?!"
He could not help but gasp in shock as he watched the transparent mana wall being shattered by Yu-hyeon.
It made sense; the mana wall of this space, created using an S-Rank Artifact, was composed of an incredibly complex structure.
Unless one's mana affinity had reached an absolute extreme, it was an impossible feat.
"This—this is impossible. Out of everyone I know, the only person capable of this is...!"
...I cannot say there is no one.
That was the judgment the Sect Leader reached.
'But there is no way that guy is him!'
Yu-hyeon was one of the four Apostles he had created for the Reverse Heaven Sect.
If it were that man, it was certainly possible.
But no matter how skilled that man was at disguises, there was no reason for him to be here right now.
'I excluded him from all the major plans until now, so how could he have known to come here!'
He was the only one among the Apostles who did not know the real reason the Reverse Heaven Sect was created.
Unlike the others, he was a man who moved by conviction rather than power, so the Sect Leader had never even considered trying to persuade him.
Still, his skills were so immense that the Sect Leader intended to use him as a temporary tool before discarding him as a sacrificial pawn.
'No. At the very least, it cannot be him.'
Since he was a man who could not be reasoned with, the Sect Leader had meticulously hidden the plan.
In reality, Yu-hyeon was here because he had learned the truth through Choi Yu-seong’s intervention, but how could the Sect Leader know that?
Thus, the Sect Leader's mind raced with complicated thoughts.
He needed to at least have a rough idea of who his enemy was to find a way to counter him.
However, the Sect Leader’s train of thought did not last long.
"They say there is no paradise in the place you flee to, don't they? Why don't you just die quietly?"
Just how high was his mana affinity? The man had already pierced through the wall and emerged.
The Sect Leader could not help but be gripped by terror as he looked at the man.
Because there were many restrictions, the effects were certain; the pierced wall would be restored immediately, so the plan itself would remain on track, but his life was in immediate danger.
"D-Dammit!"
Because of this, the Sect Leader forgot his dignity and hurriedly used one of the escape artifacts he carried.
It was a sight truly fitting for a Sect Leader who cherished his own safety above all else.
But.
"Do you think I will let you go after I have even incurred a debt to my brother? I will make sure to kill you."
Yu-hyeon had absolutely no intention of letting the Sect Leader escape.
Is it true that when a person becomes extremely enraged, they actually become calmer?
Muttering in a voice that sounded devoid of emotion, Yu-hyeon left the abandoned cathedral to pursue the vanished Sect Leader.
He carved a vow into his heart to kill the man no matter what happened.
****
'Dammit. Is this place more important?'
The sealed space remained after the Sect Leader and Yu-hyeon vanished.
The dangerous presence known as the Sect Leader was gone, but at the same time, Yu-hyeon—a significant portion of our combat power—had also disappeared, while the Apostles remained.
To be honest, I thought the situation might be easily resolved if the Apostles followed after Yu-hyeon, but unfortunately, that did not happen.
"Your master is being attacked. Shouldn't you go after him?"
"......"
"If I were the Sect Leader, I would feel a bit disappointed if the people I raised acted like this. That man just now is quite strong, you know."
However, accepting a situation rather than creating one is a poor tactic.
I tried to use my tongue in hopes of reducing their numbers by even one, but it had no significant effect.
Still, if there was one saving grace...
"I know that the man who just gave chase is strong. However, that does not change what must be done."
It was the fact that one of the three actually answered me.
"Is there any meaning if the master who gave the order dies?"
"Master? You mean that pathetic thing?"
"What?"
"That an ugly old man who is weak against the strong and strong against the weak is our master... what a funny thing to say."
Does that mean the Apostles are not the Sect Leader's subordinates?
'It seems there is more to this than meets the eye.'
The situation did not seem as simple as I had thought.
However, for now, there was no time to ponder such things.
The Apostles immediately raised their respective weapons and took up combat stances.
"It looks like you are trying to buy time, but that is not going to happen."
"......"
"Accept your fate gracefully."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Apostle wielding a sword lunged forward.
Im Seong-cheol was the first to step up against the Apostle's attack.
"How dare you!"
WHOOSH!
Im Seong-cheol blocked the path of the charging man by burning it with Blue Flame.
One could tell how strong Im Seong-cheol was in real combat just by looking at the placement and intensity of the flames.
However, that did not mean the situation had improved.
"Hmph!"
The moment Im Seong-cheol ignited the flames, several daggers flew from the direction of the Apostles.
CLANG!!!
Using the brief moment where the flames subsided because of that, the first Apostle struck again with his sword.
Fortunately, Im Seong-cheol succeeded in knocking away the daggers using his flames and parrying the sword with his secondary weapon, a shortsword.
But that was not the end.
SWOOSH!
Three arrows flew, accurately catching the moment when Im Seong-cheol was most vulnerable.
"...Mm."
Seeing this, Im Seong-cheol's expression could not help but darken.
The recoil from parrying the previous blow made it difficult to use his shortsword to block, and using Blue Flame would consume a significant amount of mana right at the start of the battle.
Fortunately, the situation Im Seong-cheol feared did not occur.
"Instructor!"
The arrows were neutralized by Kim Su-hyeok's sword, as he provided support just in time.
"Thank you."
"It was nothing. I will support you from now on."
"Part of me wants to tell you to stay out of it... but I will ask for your support."
"Yes, sir."
These were words that were difficult to hear from Im Seong-cheol, considering his personality of cherishing his students.
However, given the current situation, refusing support would be reckless.
'Dammit, so this is what Yu-hyeon meant when he said it would take a while.'
To be honest, I had not quite understood when Yu-hyeon expressed his reluctance.
Given the strength of Im Seong-cheol and Yu-hyeon, the difference in power should have been clear.
If those three were at a level reaching S-Rank, the story would be different, but that was logically impossible.
S-Rank is not some common title, and if they were truly that powerful, the Reverse Heaven Sect would have already made a name for itself as a massive organization.
However, in that split second, I realized why Yu-hyeon had said those words.
'Their coordination is unbelievably precise.'
Individually, Im Seong-cheol could likely handle them with ease.
If I were to rank them by Player grades... it would be somewhere between top-tier B-Rank and A-Rank?
However, the coordinated attack they just showed was detailed and precise enough to make up for that gap.
'I see what he meant when he said we could lose our lives if we are not careful.'
I said it before when I was on a mission with Ryu Jin-oh at Horizon.
That a pincer attack is when one plus one equals three or four.
I can guarantee that the coordination they just showed was not at the level of three or four, but closer to ten.
While each of the students is individually talented, they are still lacking and inexperienced.
It would not be strange for them to lose their lives in an instant if they were subjected to such precise coordination.
'I must not lose focus for even a second.'
I had confirmed the level of the enemy.
It was only a single exchange, but that was enough to realize that letting one's guard down meant death.
Therefore, from now on, it was right to stop worrying about when Yu-hyeon would return.
'For now, it is best to view them as one melee, one long-range, and one hybrid.'
The Apostle using a sword was melee, and the one with the bow was long-range.
And it was best to assume that the one using daggers could handle both positions.
He had only shown one throw just now, but he would not be called an Apostle if that was all he could do.
'In that case, the best choice is for me and Ryu Jin-oh to deal with the swordsman.'
It would be ideal if Im Seong-cheol took him on.
But we could not ignore the dagger and bow users.
That was why the best choice was for me and Ryu Jin-oh to tie down the swordsman.
Since Ryu Jin-oh's weapon was a greatsword, it would be difficult for him to deal with the dagger user and the archer in terms of mobility.
As for me, I had experience coordinating with Ryu Jin-oh during a real battle against villains before.
'Meanwhile, Ju Ha-yeon will keep the archer in check, and Kim Su-hyeok and Oh Jin-eon will assist her.'
It was true that Ju Ha-yeon was skilled, but the opponent was a villain who was both talented and had experienced countless real battles.
She must never be allowed to keep him in check alone.
'By using the time gained that way, Im Seong-cheol can eliminate the dagger user.'
Unlike the cadets, Im Seong-cheol possessed seasoned experience.
And I could guarantee that in terms of pure individual capability, he was definitely the strongest person here.
In short, there was no way he would lose in a one-on-one fight.
Therefore, the best strategy was for us to go into a holding pattern while Im Seong-cheol eliminated one of the others.
The reason for eliminating the dagger user first was that a person capable of both melee and long-range combat was the most troublesome.
'Of course, not everything will go exactly as planned.'
Actual combat is different from theory.
Real combat is rife with countless variables and unexpected situations.
The opponents have brains, too; would they really let themselves be defeated exactly as I just described?
'But there is nothing I can do about that part.'
It is not like I actually have Future Sight like the lies I spread; how could I know?
So, the only way was to judge and act according to the variables as they arose.
Having reached that conclusion, I spoke to the rest of the group, excluding Kim Su-hyeok and Im Seong-cheol, who were already in the middle of the confrontation.
"I have a plan. Do you want to hear it?"
Ju Ha-yeon was the first to answer.
"A plan? No, more importantly, where did that Player go...?"
"That person went to catch the root cause of this incident. We don't have time to talk about that right now, so I will just explain what I have in mind immediately."
There was no knowing when the enemy would move again.
Every second was precious.
Therefore, I simply dictated the plan I had come up with.
Fortunately...
"...For now, I can't think of anything better than that."
"I think it sounds like a good operation."
"Tsk. I am not listening to your orders. I am only moving because it is reasonable."
Everyone remained calm and agreed with my words.
I had been inwardly anxious about what I would do if there were objections, so it was a relief.
Of course, not everyone was calm.
"U-Um... because of me..."
Ha Eun-ha was even stuttering, perhaps because this situation was quite a shock to her.
It was understandable.
She had come thinking it was a normal villain mission, only for people aiming for her life to suddenly appear.
Because of that, a battle had broken out where she might lose her life if things went wrong.
It would be stranger not to be startled in this situation.
'Does she think this situation was created because of her?'
That was not it at all.
This damn plan was Yu-hyeon's idea, and it was entirely my fault for kicking away the chance for a safe situation to occur.
It meant Ha Eun-ha was not at fault at all.
However, regardless of my guilt, it was an urgent situation, so there was no time for a long talk.
"Stay as far back as possible. You are their target, so your safety comes first."
Therefore, the only thing I could do was to coolly tell her the priority action she needed to take.
'The rest will have to wait until we get through this.'
Yes, whether it was comforting her, apologizing, or doing anything else, the most important thing for now was to overcome this crisis.
Everything would happen after it was over. With that thought, I moved my body, which had been standing still.
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