Chapter 159

Chapter 159

In the middle of that, Ian slightly turned his direction and shouted as he confirmed the ornate iron gate.

"Everyone, just run forward!"

The group, who had just escaped the encirclement, started running with all their might. Behind them, the horde of monsters was still swarming. Now, the situation had reversed; they were being chased.

No matter how much of a bastard Karha is, he shouldn’t lose his mind just because I'm running away here.

With thoughts that seemed out of place for the nightmarish scene, Ian drew upon his magic. A blue light flickered in his eyes.

Crunch—

A white ice wall began to rise right behind Philip.

It was the Glacier Wall. It couldn't be maintained for long, but that didn't matter. He never intended to in the first place. He used only the minimum range and the minimum amount of magic power.

Thud.

The leading monsters crashed into the wall, and those following were crushed and burst apart. The ones that collided with the wall tangled and collapsed among themselves. The Glacier Wall only caused a brief confusion before crumbling down. But that was enough. Even Philip, the slowest runner, managed to gain some distance from the horde.

"The gate? Are we running to that gate?!" Philip shouted.

Instead of answering, Ian led the charge. The scenery beyond the gate became clearer. After a short path, a garden began immediately.

The tangled vines rose like walls. It was obvious at a glance that these were not ordinary vines. Regardless, there was no other choice. Once inside, they could face the monsters without fear of being surrounded.

"Stop right there!"

"No! Stop there!"

The desperate shouts echoed from behind them just then. Turning around, Ian saw vampires with bloodshot eyes reaching out as they flew toward them.

These were the ones who hadn't attacked Ian or his group yet. They had been too intimidated by Ian's relentless destruction of monsters to make a move. But now, their faces were mixed with desperation and fear as they flew in rapidly.

Ah, so they will be in big trouble if they don't stop us.

Thinking that, Ian shook his left hand repeatedly. Each time, throwing knives imbued with Wind Blade shot out and struck the vampires. All three hit their mark.

Boom—

A Fireball flew at the last one, exploding upon impact. Of course, such attacks couldn't kill them, but it was enough to knock them back.

Ian looked ahead again.

The gate wasn't far. Suddenly, the thought crossed his mind that it might be magically protected. Even so, it wouldn't change his plan. He just hoped he could break through it.

Ian raised his greatsword above his head and gripped it with both hands. Then, he pushed off the ground with all his might. The ground caved in slightly as his body propelled toward the firmly closed gate. The greatsword descended, tracing a red arc.

Crunch!

His worry was unfounded, as the iron bars of the gate tore like paper. Crashing through the gate with his entire body, Ian entered the mansion.

Woosh—

He rolled to a stop on the ground. Moonlight poured over him, suddenly so bright that it was almost blinding.

Squinting, Ian grabbed his greatsword and stood up.

The rest of the group, who had followed him inside, were rolling on the ground without any hesitation. They ran toward the entrance to block whatever might come in. But Ian didn't have to swing his greatsword again.

"...!" The monsters had stopped. They halted as if blocked by an invisible barrier at a reasonable distance from the entrance and the walls. The waves of monsters stretched left and right.

"No, I... Ah, aaaaaah—"

"Please, spare me, spare me...!"

Beyond that, screams and cries began to erupt. Vampires, with their arms outstretched as if being pulled, floated above the monsters' heads, screaming. Blood sprayed from their bodies in a red mist. Then, the condensed true blood gathered into several small clumps and shot past Ian's head like arrows.

"Gaaah...." The vampires fell with their death cries. Within seconds, their minions among the monster horde began to crumble and collapse. But it wasn't over.

"Raaaah–-"

"Then, you can wield the holy power now."

Unexpectedly, Mev shook her head.

"No. As it is, it's just filled in the stigma. It seems I can only use it for revenge."

"Damn...."

That ruined it.

Ian clicked his tongue. He touched his face here and there to check for injuries but felt only the tattered helmet and the sticky, repulsive sensation of bodily fluids. Any scratches must have already healed.

As Ian removed his helmet and wiped the fluids from his face with his palm, Mev, watching him, spoke.

"It was like seeing the reincarnation of Karha, Ian."

"...I agree." Philip, who had just lifted his head, said. He must have been listening even while praying.

"I have never seen such incredible martial prowess in my life. It's entirely different from the stories I've heard. Truly superhuman—"

"This isn't the time for that."

Ian cut him off with a click of his tongue and looked away.

"We have only just set foot in the Empress's courtyard."

"...Oh." Mev cleared her throat awkwardly while Philip, with a hardened expression, finally turned his gaze around.

"Now that I think about it... What are these plants? They can't be like those carnivorous trees from before, right?" Philip asked, stepping back with a grim expression.

Ian shrugged. "Who knows? I'm not sure myself."

"You're not sure...? Well, I guess it makes sense. Even you can't know everything about these mutated plants. I sometimes forget because you always seem to have the answers."

Ian only smacked his lips in response. Unfortunately, there were many things he didn't know at the moment. Almost everything they had encountered so far was new to him, things he had never experienced in the game.

The sky had always been overcast in the game, but it never had the swirling vortex it did now. He had never faced a horde of minions mixed with all sorts of monsters. Back then, they were scattered across Lu Sard, each controlled by their respective leaders. The only things he had seen near Glumir were those grotesque ghoul experiments and chimeras. Even those hadn't moved with such systematic control.

This change must have been because Thesaya had killed the current Empress back then, unlike now. The labyrinth garden before him was the same. It wasn't this expansive, and all the plants had been dead. It had merely been a passage with ghoul experiments wandering about, leading to the mansion.

Did I miss all of this while I was busy doing something else? Maybe I missed too much.

Anyway, the branching paths spreading out on either side looked like the entrance to a proper dungeon.

"It's hard to believe, but..."

Charlotte, who was scanning the garden before the others, spoke up.

"These look like rose vines."

"Ro...ses?” Philip furrowed his brow and turned to Charlotte. Then, following her gaze, he spoke again.

"No matter how mutated, roses couldn't possibly look this dreadful... Oh my god, Lu Solar." Philip sighed.

He finally saw the roses at the ends of the vines. They were blood-red and far larger than any normal rose. And it wasn't just one bloom. Though they hadn't been visible before entering the mansion, the roses were now scattered across the vines, with new buds blooming even now.

The buds rising at a visible pace felt less like flowers and more like sacs containing monstrous life forms. Soon, with a popping sound, one of the buds burst open. A dark red liquid flowed down the vines, resembling blood.

"Are these flowers blooming after absorbing the fluids from those things earlier...." Mev sighed.

Philip grimaced and spat. At least it was a relief that the flowers didn't have a scent. They wouldn't smell as fragrant as normal roses, at least.

"Everyone, step aside," Ian said as he picked up his greatsword.

Thanks to the residual holy power in his body, he didn't need to draw on the holy power in his tattoo. As Mev and Philip quickly moved to stand beside Charlotte, Ian raised the greatsword beside his face with both hands and added,

“Anyway, it's a plant, so it can probably be cut.”

Boom, Swoosh!

With a powerful leap, Ian swung the greatsword horizontally. The red arc imbued with Wind Blade sliced through the middle of the vine wall.