§ 187. Penitence (4)
“… Lowering!”
Suddenly, at the sound of Lord Masain crying out, the knights who were struggling with the branches all turned their heads in the direction of the sound.
“… … ?!”
And they saw a sight they had never dreamed of.
Prince Mores was running on the magic tree.
Cutting and dodging branches flying from here and there. Occasionally, when a branch at an appropriate height flies in, it jumps up and jumps across the branch to show off its skills.
The sight was extremely unrealistic, like watching a squirrel climbing a tree at high speed.
That wasn’t the only surprising thing. Isn’t the prince fearlessly wandering through the fog of black demonic energy that is reluctant to even touch his body for a moment?
“That crazy… … !”
Kalmen, who had his mouth wide open, unconsciously let out an irreverent curse, but this time no one blamed him.
Because no one had any disagreement that what the prince was doing was truly crazy.
“What on earth is that!”
Lord Ilma, who had become thoughtful, hurriedly tried to chase after the prince.
However, she could only move from branch to branch a couple of times at most. Even though she was able to jump a much higher distance than the prince in one go, thanks to her Auror skills that were close to those of Dekaron Knight.
And it was the same for Masain, who immediately ran under the tree trunk.
Not only was it difficult to move on a tree that was shaking violently, but there was not always a branch in the right position to be the next stepping stone.
Is that all? I had to avoid attacks coming at me randomly from all directions, and I had to pay close attention not to be exposed to magic energy for too long.
In the end, the two gave up climbing any further and could only look with worried eyes at the prince, who had already climbed halfway up the tree.
Sir Ilma mutters.
“How can you move like that? Should I call that amazing… … .”
I couldn’t even think of making a harsh attack like an Aura blast, in case I lost my footing due to the shock. Masain neatly cut off the flying branch with his Misra, and looked anxiously at the sight of the prince who was now far away.
“Lowering… … .”
Meanwhile, in Seongjin’s head, the devil was freaking out and going crazy.
[Hey, Seongjin Lee! What should I do if they keep doing this!]
‘Well then, what should I do? ‘There’s nothing you can do from far away, right?’
Seongjin responded with a sullen expression and jumped onto a branch flying from the side at just the right time.
Tuk.
Then the branch shook like a wave and tried to shake off Seongjin.
Although the ground beneath my feet shook violently. After sliding down for a while, splitting his branch with a nutcracker, Seongjin kicked his feet and jumped onto the next branch before he completely lost his balance.
Paang.
And the moment I landed, I reflexively lowered my head due to an eerie feeling.
Squirt!
A branch flew at incredible speed from behind and passed by my head. Not only are the attacks coming from the tree, but the branches that are returned to the main body are also targeting Seongjin.
“… Phew.”
Seongjin let out the breath he had been holding.
It’s a situation where you really can’t relax even for a moment.
Cold sweat is running down my back, dopamine and adrenaline are pouring out of my body, and the corners of my mouth slowly turn up even though I’m not very happy.
but.
‘… It’s worth it.’
Branches were constantly flying in all directions, but in the end, each and every one of them was just the movement of an extremely instinctive creature.
Without using fakes or looking ahead like a human would, just an honest physical force aimed at the target.
There are no situations where the timing and damage range must be varied, such as chemicals spewed out by monsters or sonic attacks.
If so, the movement route that needs to be calculated becomes even simpler. Of course, if we had to take into account the magical energy emitted by the tree, it would have been a little more difficult.
Kiyi!
The movement of the demon beast becomes faster and rougher. However, Seongjin also gradually expanded his vision and awareness, and his forgotten sense of the past began to revive little by little.
A branch that passes by like a sword, a branch that strikes from above like a hammer, and a branch that flies by scratching the air like a whip.
Seongjin continued to run upward, upward, without missing the short gap and momentary connection that these things created as they intertwined and intersected.
However, after a while, the smooth climb finally reached a crisis when it reached the halfway point of the Magic Tree.
Unlike the lower branches that move actively up and down, the branches that move relatively downwards from above did not give Seongjin time to move up.
As a result, the speed gradually slowed down, and the number of times exposure to attacks inevitably increased.
‘If I had known something like this would happen, would I have learned archery a long time ago?’
For a moment, I felt that kind of regret.
Well, even if I had learned it, I doubt I would have been able to hit an invisible target.
‘There is no other way. All I can do is get as close as possible and cut it down!’
Kwasik!
Seongjin, who hit a nutcracker with all his might into a tree branch that came flying by, hung on to his sword and floated upwards along with the branch.
And it’s good. It fell off the twisting branch, making a strange sound, and began free falling for a while.
“Lowering!”
I hear a frightened cry from below.
Oh, I’m sorry for worrying you, Lord Masaine.
It won’t take long though.
Phew.
Seongjin, who barely managed to get his sword into a branch that was hitting from the side, concentrated a lot of aura on his arms to hang on to the shaking branch.
Crunchy.
Suddenly, an eerie sound came out of my overused arm.
‘… If I do this just a little bit wrong, my joints will hurt, right?’
Seongjin gritted his teeth and held on, pulling out the nutcracker just as the branch bounced diagonally and rising into the air again.
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“Tsk!”
While he was floating defenseless in the air, a branch struck him.
However, Seongjin, who prepared for the impact and concentrated his aura, swung his sword against the branch and used the force of the blow to lift his body even further.
And before his body was completely thrown off, he managed to pierce the nutcracker into another branch.
The result was a more intense rodeo. As it was pushed to the periphery, a terrifying fall occurred every time the branch shook.
‘I can’t last long here. We have to get up there as quickly as possible.’
After performing such breathtaking acrobatics several times in succession.
After passing 3/4 of the magic tree, Seongjin was able to see the branches extending upward again.
Seongjin was relieved as he put his feet down on a branch that, although precarious, was barely fit to stand on. Although my overworked legs were still painful, it was actually much more comfortable than when I had to endure all the impact with both arms.
However, as the movement of the body became easier, the black magic energy blooming from the top of the Demon Tree also became more dense, so Seongjin had to be a little more careful in moving from branch to branch.
‘Where is that growth nucleus?’
Seongjin, who had barely reached what could be called the top, asked the Demon King.
[It’s the eggplant in the exact center. The top of the branch growing upwards!]
A branch in the exact center.
Seongjin was impressed when he heard the answer. An unexpected problem arose.
‘Even if it’s the central branch, it’s not visible to the eye?’
So, the top center of the Demon World Tree was enveloped in a black cloud made of dark demonic energy, and nothing could be distinguished.
[Magic energy seems to come out concentrated in the center of the growth core. So wouldn’t it be a good idea to aim for the center of the Magi?]
‘What is the size of the nucleus?’
[It looks like it’s about the size of your fist.]
Seongjin looked at the clouds, which were at least 2 meters in radius, with a slightly embarrassed face.
No matter where you aim and stab, there seems to be a higher chance of missing.
‘I have no choice but to keep swinging the sword at random until I cut out the core… … .’
As we got closer to the center, the attacks from the tree branches became less frequent, probably because the tree’s structure made it easy to extend branches outward.
Seongjin moved his body more leisurely and approached the center in a circle.
and.
Wedge!
Seizing the opportunity, he flew into the clouds and unleashed Banajas Type 2, which boasts the widest horizontal slash range.
Huh.
The air in the area where the nutcracker touches becomes extremely thin, and a temporary disconnection of magical energy occurs.
[this! It’s a little lower than there!]
As we came out of the cloud, the demon lord cried out as if he was disappointed.
Seongjin asked as he cut down a branch that was flying towards him.
‘How far off did we miss?’
[The location is somewhat close. But you have to go at least one head further down from there!]
Something is ambiguous.
Seongjin moved from branch to branch and measured the location of the core once again.
If possible, wouldn’t it be better to aim a bit downwards?
And the second time he dived towards the center.
Seongjin left the cloud with a disappointed look on his face, feeling a slightly dull taste in his hands.
[…] ah! Slightly wrong! The wind brushed at a slight diagonal, so I missed the branch!]
The Demon King sighed.
And that moment.
Pow!
A branch that flew through the clouds without his knowledge hit Seongjin violently. The failure was that I was so busy trying to get out of the cloud that I couldn’t find the branch.
He reflexively blocked the attack with a nutcracker, but Seongjin’s body had already bounced a long way from the tree.
[Lee Seong-jin!]
The body falls at an incredible speed.
Seongjin quickly opened his eyes and looked for a tree branch nearby that he could step on, but he couldn’t find it at all.
‘Uh… … !’
The problem was that the attacks of the tree branches became less frequent, perhaps because they realized that Seongjin, who had been thrown away, had been completely defeated.
Since there is no attack, there is no foothold to stand on!
‘If you’re unlucky, you could die?’
Seongjin fell headfirst and clicked his tongue.
From a height of more than an 8-story building, it wasn’t even a free fall, but a powerful downward fall!
Seongjin tried to protect his head and neck with Aura as much as possible, and looked at the floor during the short time he fell.
If there was a skill like Aura Burst, it would have been possible to reduce the speed a bit just by throwing a downward attack.
Seongjin, who was thinking like that, suddenly discovered something below and was frightened.
It was Lord Masain who ran towards Seongjin without even thinking about avoiding the demon.
“Uh oh, get out of the way! Lord Masaine!”
If we collide at this speed, we’ll both die!
Wouldn’t it be better to try a failed method, whether it works or not?
However, the stubborn knight did not even pretend to listen, but settled down at the landing site and opened his arms towards Seongjin.
‘… ‘Holy shit!’
Seongjin had no choice but to load the nutcracker with Auror and violently throw it to the floor. Hoping that the recoil from throwing the sword would reduce the speed a little.
Quang!
The sword loaded with aura was deeply embedded in the dirt floor.
“this!”
From over there, Director Bruno extends his hand toward Seongjin.
Whiing.
A small wind blew from the leader and wrapped around Seongjin’s body.
Dekaron Knight’s Aura materialization. However, the aura was too weak to slow down the falling boy.
‘… Crash!’
Seongjin closed his eyes tightly, anticipating Masain’s gruesome injury.
But at that moment.
Phew!
For some reason, Seongjin’s body suddenly felt like it was rising upward.
‘… … ?’
However, the surprise was short-lived as Seongjin and Masain fell to the floor with a great shock.
Craddangtangtang!
“Lowering!”
“Lord Martha!”
Leader Bruno and the Wolf Knights came running in fright.
“Are you okay, sir?”
“Lowering!”
sparkle. As soon as Seongjin opened her eyes, she immediately stood up.
“Lord Martha!”
I was a little dizzy from the shock, but even though I fell from that high up, there wasn’t a single broken spot.
Surprisingly, Lord Masain received the Holy Spirit just right!
Even Lord Masaine seemed to have no special injuries. It seemed like she got a mild concussion from falling behind her and hitting her head on the floor.
Seongjin inwardly clicked his tongue at this miraculous situation.
“Okay.”
Masain, who got up fine, rubbed the back of his head and groaned.
“I never thought practicing booming as a child would help in times like this… … .”
Buung practice? What is it?
Anyway, Seongjin quickly got up and started nagging Masain.
“Have you decided to die now, Lord Martha? Assuming you got caught up in the fall! Also, why are you treating Magi so carelessly? “Are you out of your mind now?”
Then Masain’s face suddenly distorted.
Seongjin is startled by his increasing ferocity, and for the first time in a long time, Masain yells at Seongjin! He shouted.
“Now that you know that, are you rushing into a place full of demonic energy!? “Why on earth did you suddenly do something like that?”
“No, I…” … .”
“I won’t do anything dangerous! “Didn’t you definitely say that?!”
Seongjin, slightly surprised by the unusual atmosphere, averted his gaze.
This time, Seongjin realized that he was angry to the core and made an excuse.
“I’m sorry for causing you worry. But Sir Masain! “There is the core of the Demon Tree at the top!”
“… “Nuclear?”
“Yes, I guess it’s the driving force that keeps that tree growing.”
Masain, who had already caught monsters with Seongjin on two occasions, quickly understood.
“So, if you destroy it, you can catch the Demon Tree?”
Seeing his slightly softened attitude, Seongjin nodded enthusiastically.
“that’s right. I almost cut it, but I narrowly missed it. I’m not like that for nothing! Really!”
“… … .”
“We didn’t have time to discuss it earlier. I won’t do that arbitrarily anymore! Really sorry!”
When Seongjin came out in a completely low posture, Masain closed his eyes tightly and touched his forehead for a moment.
Then he took a deep sigh and asked:
“… “Then, how can I destroy that thing, sir?”
Oh, good. My anger is cooling down quickly.
fantasy,
